bon appetite

Monday, 11 October 2010

Day 101 : Lamb Stew With Pasta (Pressure Cooker)

LAMB STEW with PASTA

(Pressure Cooker)

This evening, we are going to prepare lamb stew with the pressure cooker. In 3 simple steps :-

1. Sear the Lamb

2. Add the Vegetables

3. Boil the Pasta

The Ingredients

onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, lamb shoulder,

brown gravy mix, cinnamon stick and star anise

1. The Lamb

Chop the meat into bite size.

Marinate with seasalt, black pepper,

arrowroot powder and rosemary herbs.

Pressure Cooker : Round 1
Saute garlic and onions until fragrant.

Sear the meat.

Add the brown gravy mix (with water).

Add mushroom stock (no preservative) and seasalt.

Toss in cinnamon stick and star anise.

Close lid. Turn on flame.

The pressure cooker will let us know when it's done.

The red button will drop in about 20 minutes or so

and that's when we open the lid to check.

At this point, let me assure You, the aroma is intoxicating!

When I sent Bryan a text message to get some large mushrooms, I really did not expect them to be of this gigantic size! King Oyster Mushrooms, they are called apparently. The spoon by the side is a dining spoon. Not a teaspoon. So You'd have an idea of how large these mushrooms are. :D

2. Add Vegetables
Pressure Cooker Round 2

Add the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and some green olives.

Close lid. Turn on flame for the second time.

Black olives would have been more ideal for a contrasting color but we only have green ones. Work with what we've got.

Again, the pressure cooker will let us know when it's done.

Roughly about 15 minutes.

Dish out the delicious stew and sprinkle some
spring onions on the top.

At this point, Bryan says, "The smell is phenomenal,

if I may say so myself, and I'm definitely saying so ..."
I'm saying so too ... Ooh, definitely saying so too!

I am taking a close-up shot

of the lamb stew from THIS angle ...

... THIS angle ...

... and THIS angle! :D
Good, all angles covered.

3. The Pasta

While waiting for the contents to cook in Round 2,

boil spaghetti noodles in salted water until al dente.

Drain and mix with extra virgin olive oil and a bit butter.

Dish on to individual plates. Wait patiently. :D

Must-Have Condiment

Chopped garlic and chillies.

Add a dash of sesame seed oil and dark shoyu.

Oooohhhh ... Let's drool a bit more,
and take another snapshot

one more time, before we serve ...

Justine's plate.

Bryan's plate.

A close-up of my plate

BEFORE tossing the pasta about.

AFTER tossing ... :D

Oh boy, what an absolutely wonderful dinner.

I'm sure our neighbours could hear repeated echoes of HmMmm-mMm-mMm throughout dinner. :D My, my, the lamb is absolutely tender and thoroughly juicy and the potatoes literally melts in the mouth. The carrots are sweet and the mushrooms have a springy bite, surprisingly. The gravy on the pasta is, ohh, definitely, definitely, out - of - this - world! Super-duper AWESOME delicious!

Today, I had my one shake of The Green Drink in the morning, noodles for lunch and lamb pasta for dinner.

To Sum Up

1 shake & 2 meals

Juice. Fruit. HemoBerry. Water. Milk Tea.

Time of Posting : 5:27 pm (Tuesday)

Sunday, 10 October 2010

Day 1OO : Pan Fried Fish in Marmite Sauce

PAN FRIED FISH in MARMITE SAUCE

(IKAN PARANG / WOLF HERRING)

Today is our 100th day blogging about dinner!

Justine reminds, Today's also 10-10-10.

At the time the top photo was uploaded,

the time stated here on the draft was 10:10 pm.

Oh my, what a special day indeed!

Bryan is preparing dinner this evening.

We're having fish and vegetables with brown rice. :D

1. The Fish

Season the fish with seasalt, pepper,

five spice powder and arrowroot powder.

Fry the fish in medium heat.

Perfect!

Remember the 3 commandments

to observe when frying fish :

Hot pan, hot oil and dry fish.

The arrowroot powder helps to keep the fish dry,

and gives the sides a crispier texture.

2. The Sauce

In a bowl of hot water, mix a teaspoon of Marmite,

seasalt, brown sugar, organic dark sauce,

shoyu and arrowroot powder (thickening agent).

Saute garlic, onions and ginger

in sesame seed oil until fragrant.

Pour in the Marmite mixture.

Bring to boil. Sauce will thicken.

Pour over the fish. :D

Garnish with spring onions and carrots (strips).

3. The Vegetables

Water-fry broccoli, carrots, french beans and bell peppers.

Add oyster sauce and water.

Toss and stir. Dish out.

Scatter sunflower seeds.

Oh, dinner is just superb! The fish is super-delicious. Fresh and crispy on the sides. The sauce is so good with the rice as well as the fingers. :D The vegetables are crunchy and wholesome. Absolutely yummy! :D

Saturday, 9 October 2010

Day 99 : Spicy Tuna Tomato Pasta

SPICY TUNA TOMATO PASTA

This evening, dinner will be just for two. Justine and myself. Bryan is outstation. I am asking my daughter whether she wants to take a break from her books and try to de-stress and un-wind a bit in the kitchen. She says YES. She's all for it. :D

So, I'm gonna let her cook tonight. I'll prepare the necessary ingredients for her though. We are going to cook pasta tonight. Quick and easy. No fuss. Plus, we are pasta lovers.We can eat pasta every night. :D We think some of our ancestors may just be from Italy. Grin.

1. The Pasta

Boil the pasta in salted water until half-cooked.

Drain and set aside.

2. Saute Ingredients

Saute garlic, onions, ginger and chillies

in olive oil until fragrant.

ingredients in photo : tuna, chillies, ginger, garlic, onions, egg, spring onions

3. Add On

Add the chunks of tuna.

Add basil herbs, seasalt and pepper.

Add tomato puree. Add water.

Bryan wasn't around to blend the tomatoes

so we are using tomato puree straight from a can.

Add the pasta noodles.

Mix well and simmer until

the half-cooked noodles are done.

Squeeze some lemon juice over.

When the noodles are done, turn off the flame.

Add the beaten egg and toss well.

Sprinkle the spring onions, sunflower seeds and a pinch of black sesame seeds over the pasta and add a slice of lemon for a bright garnish. We are having our spaghetti with a side salad topped with mayonnaise and some green olives.

The spaghetti is absolutely tasty-delicious and we are enjoying our pasta dinner very much.

Bravo Justine!

Friday, 8 October 2010

Day 98 ... Crabby Spaghetti

CRABBY SPAGHETTI :D

This evening, my mother brings over some crabs she bought at the Pasar Malam (Night Market). I am taken aback when I find the crabs still moving about and very much alive in the paper bag. It was all very - geli - seeing the crabs still moving about, probably trying to escape.

Plenty of squealing and panic response (obviously not from Bryan) as Bryan empties the paper bag contents on to the sink, the crabs dropping out, one by one. This is obviously not a job for the faint-hearted. Seeing those large creepy crawlies in my kitchen sink made me shudder. Physically.

I am noticing a gangster-crab, the largest one, that is facing Bryan fearlessly. Not moving, very still, confronting his attacker bravely despite having both claws tied up very securely. Bryan tries to flip it over several times but it seems to remain quite firmly centered on its balance. A battle of wits pursued between man and crab, as Bryan tried to flip it over and Mr Claw resisting with all its might.

1. Kill The Crabs

Yup, the first step is to grab your weapon and kill the crab. I'm sorry but I doubt if there is a peaceful way of saying this. You tell me. We can't possibly say, our crab is going to heaven, can we? Or our crab is going to be an angel. Holy crab! That would be weird. Put the crab to sleep, maybe? Absurd. I want to be careful here and say the right thing, so I'm gonna ask Bryan.

He says, "Just say, KILL THE CRAB." Oh, okay ...

So anyway, Bryan defeats the crab when he finally manages to flip the crab over. He focuses the tip of the knife right at THAT point, at the center, at the heart of the crab. With determined force, he plunges the sharp knife into the crab and holds the knife in place for several seconds until there is no more movement. My husband, the uhhh, crab murderer.

When the crab stops struggling, he brings the knife right down, cutting through the flap. He mercilessly handles the other 4 crabs, probably shivering in their shells, in the same horrifying way. He cuts the strings loose. Crab legs are still moving in the air. Spasms detected. More shudders.

OMG, THAT one's still alive!!! I almost dropped the camera in my haste to scurry out of the kitchen. It does not help that Bryan says, "It's not gonna chase You..."

A few minutes later, I peer into the kitchen. Bryan is now giving the crabs a refreshing water spa treatment. Scrubbing and exfoliating the crabs clean with a kitchen massage brush and making doubly sure that all impurities are removed and extracted.

Okay, the coast is clear. It's safe to come back in. I watch in fascination as he pries open the shell. He removes all that is unwanted, the gills and the what-evers that can't be eaten, and chucks them into the trash bin.

2. The Crab Ingredients

Cooking the crabs is fairly easy.
It is the killing part that is
traumatically challenging.
If you can get through that,
preparing this crab dish is a breeze.

Get a large deep pot.

Saute garlic, onions, ginger and cili padi (chop finely)

in sesame seed oil.

Add the crabs.

Add a bunch of mint leaves and spring onions.

Tomatoes (roughly chopped) and carrots (strips).

Seasalt and pepper. Lemon juice. Water.

Close lid and allow the crabs to sauna-cook at low heat.

Before adding the crabs into the pot, Bryan whacks, hammers and cracks the hard claws with the back of a heavy cleaver. This sure sounds like a violent dish, huh. Don't worry, it's all good ... :D

3. Boil The Pasta

in salted water until al dente. Drain.

Toss and mix with butter and extra virgin olive oil.

Leave it in the serving dish.

The crabs should be ready in 15 minutes or so. Beat 2 eggs and add that in to get a nicer texture to the gravy. Toss and stir. Transfer the crabs to the serving dish, and place them on top of the pasta. Scoop the remaining contents over. Ooh, the sight and the aroma of the orange-tanned crabs are just amazing! :D

Ta-Dahhh ...

What a fantabulous sight to behold!

This is my plate. :D

My mother could not stop commenting after every mouthful, that, It's delicious, It's very good, It's better than the restaurants, Never seen people serving crabs in this manner, We have to do this every Friday etc. :D