After surviving 3 full weeks here on fast food, restaurants eating and takeaways, I was so ready to cook! Can't wait for a taste of home.
On Mon when I first cooked, it took me 3 whole hours from the start of preparing the ingredients to the washing. The results: Potato, Carrot and Onion Soup + Sweet and Sour Cabbage for dinner; chicken fried rice for hubby's lunchbox tomorrow. 3 dishes and I was so knocked out.
Tues was better because I told myself that I need to plan. Even the usage of plates needs to be strategic! Here's what is on the menu: Melon soup with dates + Pepper beef with french beans for dinner; Mince chicken corn fritter + Chicken with potato in dark soy sauce for next day's lunch.
Ok, I was very happy with the end results and the time was shaved by 30mins to 2h30mins. As a result, I could shower and then sit back to watch Masterchef Australia on StarWorld (yes, my fav show currently) and wait for the hubby to come home. :)
But... over dinner, we found out that the beef was so tough that it was inedible! Not sure if it is because I overcooked it or because they sell beef here in cubes and that the cut is meant for stews only. Anyway, I still have half of it in the freezer and I will experiment stewing with it!
Today,I clocked in 2h30 mins too. 2 course dinner tonight of Tomato Garlic Prawns + Tofu with Mixed veg; Lunchbox tomorrow has Onion Omelette + Cabbage with Chicken in Oyster Sauce.
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Tofu with Mixed veg + Tomato Garlic Prawns |
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| Cabbage with Chicken in Oyster Sauce + Onion Omelette |
As I am writing this, its 1010pm (India Standard Time) and I am waiting for hubby to come back to have dinner together. He called earlier to say that today will be a long night. So, that gives me the time to update the blog!
A few peeves about cooking so far:
A few peeves about cooking so far:
1. My nails are peeling! This is the worst state I have ever seen my nails in, suffering from the food prep and washing. MUST use the gloves more diligently. Thank you Claire for your thoughtful gift of L'occitane hand cream, most useful!
2. Garlic. I love garlic and can eat lots of it but it is such a pain to include garlic in cooking here. The cloves of the garlic are so small that after all the effort of peeling it, you only get that much! Either I am going to try that garlic paste that supermarkets are selling or I will eat less of it.
3. For the last 25 days, me and the hubby had not tasted pork at all. Closest to finding pork would be the canned sausages that contains pork. This is definitely the longest time I had gone without pork for sure! This could be because 40% of people here in the state are Muslims. I heard you can get it at 5-star hotels and specific "pork shops" but I wonder what is the freshness of it.
Things to rave about:
1. Teflon pots and pans are definitely one of the best thing to have in a kitchen! I found out that because they are non-stick, I can get away with not washing the pan at all if I plan the cooking well (i.e. start from dishes with no sauce to the one with sauce/ strong flavours). Just let it cool a bit and wipe it with napkins.
2. Microwave oven is an essential item. On Mon, the gas was leaking and I couldn't start cooking. Called for a gas repair person but given their rubber band timing, was not sure if they would turn up at all. I was determined to eat home cooked food today at all costs! So, I started using the microwave to cook rice and it works. Made me realise that one can cook an entire meal using a microwave. Just make sure you have read the manual or still have it around.
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| Clockwise: Our Reverse Osmosis water machine, Whirlpool microwave, Teflon pot, Drinking Water |
3. The satisfaction from seeing all your dishes gives me a real high! Sense of great accomplishment! :)
Anyway, one challenge is that I need more recipes so that I can do many varieties of the same ingredients. So, please do share with me recipes that works for you and is simple!
P.s: I am still keeping the fish in the freezer till when I feel more confident to handle it. Maybe tomorrow.
2 comments:
Hi, read your interesting blog. For the garlic, just smash it with a cleaver - makes peeling easy! As for frying beef, you have to get the more expensive cuts like fillet. The one you have will be suitable for beef stew. Always remember to apply hand cream once you finish cooking and of course, at bedtime. Good Luck!
Hey! Thanks a lot for the garlic tip. It really helps! Now that you mention, think I have seen my mum doing it before too. So thanks to you, I still have my fresh garlic to saute!
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