Monday, June 23, 2014

A Date!

Oooh I'm so excited. I'm getting ready to leave the office (in about 5 minutes) to go on a date!

Was chatting with a colleague today and somehow ended up talking about Geylang. Me, being the glutton that I am, immediately thought of the beef hor fun and how it's been a long time since I've eaten there (almost 10 years methinks).

Pinged +3 and asked if he would mind going there for instead of having the steamed vegetable dinner we originally planned, and the answer was obvious. Hehehe.

I'm excited because it's been a while since the both of us did something new and different. These days, we tend to meet at the same places or just have a home cooked dinner. But now it feels like we're going on a date and I can't wait!

Happiness! It's almost 6pm. Time to log off. Wheee!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Green Chilli Sambal

Here is a very simple recipe for a green chilli sambal. The level of spiciness can be adjusted by the number of chilli padi added - more if you like it spicy, less if you prefer a milder version.

Ingredients:
10pcs of green chilli
4-5 pcs of green chilli padi (more if you want it more spicy, less if you prefer is milder)
3-4pcs of shallots, sliced thinly
3pcs of kaffir lime leaves, julienned after centre stalk removed
salt
sugar
lime juice
oil

Instructions:
Steam green chilli and chilli padi for about 5 minutes till it softens. Remove and roughly blend in a food processor, or pound it using a mortar and pestle.
Heat up oil with high heat, add the chilli paste, shallots and lime leaves. Reduce heat and keep stirring. Add salt, sugar and lime juice to taste.

Oh Such Joy! - Simple Granola Bars

Found a very simple recipe online for making no-bake granola bars. This was perfect because we do not have an oven at +3's place, and the ingredients required were quite minimal.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds
1 cup pitted dates (I'll reduce this next time)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
parchment paper to line

Instructions:
Chop dates finely. You can use a food processor but I just chopped them up with a knife on a chopping board.
Add peanut butter and honey to a small pot and heat it up to melt. Mix thoroughly and remove from heat. Add oats and peanuts and chopped dates and mix thoroughly till the dates are well incorporated.
Line a small tray with parchment paper, and put the granola mix on. Cover with parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll it flat. The mix should be packed quite densely.
Leave to cool and place in the fridge overnight. Remove the next morning and cut into bars.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Malgudi Days

I'm reading a collection of short stories that I studied for Literature when I was back in school.  Chanced upon a copy of Malgudi Days in a bookshop on one of my many trips to India a couple of years ago, bought it out of nostalgia and left it in my cupboard.  It was only when I was going through my shelf last night did I find this book that I once spent days reading and re-reading in preparation for the exams.
The stories are familiar but there is a new pleasure in reading these words again.  Perhaps my many jaunts in India has given me a better appreciation of the descriptions of the sights and sounds written in these stories.  Perhaps it's knowing that I do not have to remember details of names and the corresponding facts to be questioned on later. Or perhaps it is just really being able to enjoy lying in bed with my book in hand.
Doesn't really matter why, does it.  Back to my book.  :)

Thursday, June 5, 2014

I'm An Aunt! (Again)

My sister has popped, and we welcomed baby Ivy to the family.
Don't want to be biased or anything but I must say Ivy is such an adorable little bub. She looks just like how her parents did when they were babies, and everyone who has seen pictures all remark how cute she is.
I can't wait to meet her. Hopefully my sister will plan a trip to Singapore to show off the baby soon. Haven't met her yet but already I love her so much. :)