If At First You Don't Succeed...

Tried my hand at aglio olio again. Was way more generous with my garlic this time but as pretty as it looks, it still didn't cut it. My mum reckons that the fault lies in the garlic I used, which I bought from the supermarket and it come in cloves. Apparently it isn't as robust as those that are sold as bulbs or bought from the wet market. I have since purchased a bag of them and will attempt aglio olio sometime soon. My apron is gathering dust as I type. Dust, anybody? Nobody?

Aglio Idio Olio

It was Sunday. I was home alone; The Husband had a full day of school. I felt a little more adventurous than most Sundays, plus I had fresh garlic at home. (Yes! I am complete!) Lunch choices at home are always limited. I hardly buy perishables because, well, they perish. Unless I know I am definitely making something, my occasional grocery shopping list typically consists of:

- Florida's Natural Orange and/or Grapefruit juice
- Canned tuna (soaked in olive oil and/or in mineral water only)
- Some sort of salad, like spinach or rocket
- Instant noodles
- Cereal Bars
- Some kind of fruit like bananas, grapefruit or green apples
- I think I just fell asleep

So yes, to have fresh garlic and chilli is indeed very rare. So I set out to make Aglio Olio Pasta con Tonno. English: Olive oil and Garlic Pasta with Tuna. Ok, I am very picky when it comes to tuna, as you might have deduced from my shopping list. I actually sort of hate it. I never ever have tuna sashimi or tuna sandwiches or tuna anything. Which you might have noticed, if you have been following, that it totally contradicts the 123 Sandwich. Basically, I will only eat tuna if I open a can of it myself. It's just one of my idiosyncratic random psycho neurosis obsessive compulsive behavior. Why? What's wrong? I think I am allowed to have a preference. Go ahead and think what you want. I don't care. Leave me alone.

A friend, JT is a huge fan of Aglio Olio pasta. He once told me he can eat it several times in a day. Talk about idiosyncratic random psycho neurosis obsessive compulsive behavior. Just kidding JT! So I sliced up some garlic and heat up the pan with olive oil, threw in the cooked pasta (wholemeal,no less) and breathed in the garlicky aroma in the kitchen. Added in the drained tuna, tossed in some black pepper, bottled herbs and a wee bit of "magic powder". Lastly, fresh spinach gently folded in to prevent over cooking and a sprinkling of my very own basil.

Lunch is served with an Alfred Hitchcock dvd on the side.

Ezzit so?

How long has it been? 3 months. Really? That long? Yes. Auntiead commented that I haven't been writing and I felt a little sad. I have been so swamped at work, leaving whatever free weekend time to laundry and housekeeping. Whoopee-do.

On the same note as laundry and housekeeping, a relative sent me a link to a website (www.ezziliving.com) recently to check out the clothes hanging systems available. It is most "hapz" (i.e. happening, refers to something that is totally rocking). I think I will consider installing something from them because I am currently using one of those foldable types and its not sturdy. We had already gone through one. It gave way one day after I hung out a batch of freshly washed laundry. Like totally broken, beyond repair, flat on the ground, type of gave way. So yes, perhaps this one that installs on the ceiling will be the answer to my panty hose. I mean woes.

Image taken from www.ezziliving.com.

Chew Stew

An attempt to make beef stew failed miserably. The meat couldn't soften in time and my guests, The Husband and The Housemate, were hungry. Yes, I know stews take hours to make because you need to simmer it and stuff. But the recipe I referenced with said to simmer for 50 mins only. Oh well, nonetheless, it was served with what little dignity it had. I wish I had the time to make the perfect stew. I mean, the recipe is perfect already. Its got beer and red wine in it! It shall not be robbed off its glory. I will be Super Chef!

On a Whim

Decided to cook all of a sudden on Thursday. Had no plans because it was family day for my sister and I haven't cooked in awhile. On the menu was Skillet Sutchi with Fettucine Pomodoro. English: Pan fried fish fillet with pasta in tomato sauce. I actually wanted to try making Spaghetti Aglio Olio but I had no garlic at home. I mean, which household doesn't have garlic?! Such a taboo for domestic goddesses! I had brought them to my parents' place and forgot to take them back.
So anyway, I had to do some crisis management and the contingency was the aforementioned dish. Since it was on a whim, I used whatever I had at home. Bottled herbs (all purpose, thyme) and spices (black pepper, paprika) to marinate the fish (which was frozen), and lazy left over bottled pasta sauce for the fettucine (spinach, by the way). I must say it was pretty decent. The Housemate looked on with envy, not that I didn't offer.

I am looking forward to experimenting more with frozen sutchi fillet. Another taboo perhaps? But it is really quite convenient. Definitely recommend to buy some for random I-feel-like-cooking-today moments.

Brought to you today by the letter A

We went to see the Andy Warhol show on Sunday after hokkien mee. The queue was scary when we got there and contemplated for a split second whether to go. I'm glad we did because it was great and I like going for exhibitions. But I am not going to write about it or about Andy Warhol because I'm not going to pretend to like him or dislike him, or pretend to be very knowledgeable about him. He is Andy Warhol. And A is for Andy.

Please Come Daily

I haven't written in a while... thats because I haven't cooked in a while. Not even 123 Sandwiches. But I have been eating though. Eating is good. Eating is fun.

For lunch on Sunday, The Husband and I tucked into Hokkien Mee from our favourite store, Come Daily (天天来) at Toa Payoh. It is probably the best hokkien mee ever. We used to eat it relatively often when we were still dating. His work place was in the area and I would buy dinner up. It feels really good to eat it again after so long. Sinful pleasure, I say.



Unlike a lot of places where you can pick up clumps of egg, the egg in this hokkien mee is evenly spread, so that its in every spoonful. The noodles is just moist enough with generous servings of fresh prawns and squid. I like that the thick bee hoon is used; absolutely dislike it when some stores use the skinny ones. And the chilli.. oh the chilli! Mmm mm! One thing to watch out for is the sneaky lard pieces that were coated with egg. If you're not careful, you might end up eating up those very unhealthy clumps.