Huff, puff, puff!

No, this post isn't about running or any kinds of sports, although... I did just came back from doing yoga. With all that ZEN in me (ahem!), I decided not to get lazy and start cleaning up my kitchen counter so I can make this dish.

Spaghetti aglio e olio...

Sounds fancy, right? I thought so. :) But this is a deceptively simple dish to make. As in, it's seriously super easy (at least in my non-fancy way) but it's super delicious.

I stumbled upon Korean drama: Pasta. This is one of the dishes featured in that series. Of course, the way they do it is a bit more complicated (what with that serving temperature and all that...). My way is probably not even close to the real Italian way, but it results in something super delicious. Or maybe I was just hungry... 

I like the Italian name better. The English name is just Spaghetti with garlic and olive oil. Too "not fancy". :D

Christmas Cooking!!!!

This Christmas I play host to VERY SPECIAL guests: my dear friends Evelyn, Chris, Sophia and Lily. Prior to them visiting me all the way from the eastern part of the US, I asked them if they wanted traditional American-style Christmas dinner with all the trimmings or the Indonesian rice table. They opted for the latter. So here goes.

Figure 1. Clockwise from the top: coconut milk sambal, prawn crackers, soy sauce tofu/tempeh/potatoes, and fried rice noodle sticks surrounding a cup of coconut milk rice

Something different for a change...

Okay... I owe my utmost, deepest apology for not being able to keep up with the blog as much as I wanted to. After all, I was supposed to post a recipe a day. 

Truffles

Happy almost Val's! Val's is all about chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. So here's a simple truffle recipe adapted from the book of everything chocolate-ish.

Dimsum day part 1 - easy dimsum

...and there goes my diet. I caved because I'd been working late nights working on the proposal. So today, I treated myself to dimsum. I think I will have to pay dearly for this "excursion". 


But! On to dimsum... It is single-handedly the kind of thing that will make you feel like you've pigged out quite a bit. It's certainly not the kind of thing for single consumption. Plus, because they're all "bite sized", well... if you don't watch it, you may end up overeating...


OK! Now that those dire warnings are out of the way... Below are recipes for simple dimsum, simple meaning all you have to do is to throw everything together in a steamer and call it a day. The dimsum itself isn't a one dish meal. It's actually several dishes. So, you can combine the recipe below with the congee and twice cooked rice recipes and the spring roll recipe (sans chili sauce) for a full dimsum meal.


Alternatively, you can also use this recipe to make some wontons/pot stickers for your noodles, and the pork to accompany your quick stir-fry.


I'll discuss the more "complicated" ones later on (because I'm at a cafe and I don't bring my bible for pao's/steamed buns).

Interruption to your scheduled programming...

I have to say that real life is "calling"... Well, I have things I have to work on since I have due date coming up. Don't worry, I've been compiling recipes and drinking plenty of water and orange juice to keep up with everything life's throwing at me. 


Recipes will come back after I'm finished with my fellowship. It's like the fellowship of the ring except with computer, lots of typing, and words.


Bear with me, y'all...