Monday, August 29, 2011
Sometime life will give you really ugly sour lemons
Oman brings out the cook in me. When I’m here I hardly ever feel like cooking. My mental status has a lot to do with cooking. When I am happy I cook. When I am sad I just bum around, sleep, and watch A LOT of nonsense. The other reason would be that I have all my utensils back home and it’s so much easier to cook in a kitchen you are comfortable with. But the biggest reason of them all would perhaps be my student budget :D My dad supports me a lot when it comes to cooking. He basically has gotten me everything I’ve ever asked for, for which I’m so very grateful. Ingredients are the core to any good food and without my dads willingness to spend and take me around looking for tiny minute things I would not be able to make most of what I do.
This summer I had a few hits and misses; a few recipes that I will keep in the bag for later and some that I am slightly afraid to try :S
My friend Simone and her sister Cherisse were in town staying with me for a while and I decided to take up the courage to make lasagna; something I don’t remember ever making in my life; something that I am really really afraid of.
Surprise surprise it turned out horrible. I honestly don’t think I understand the whole concept of lasagna. If I used a no cook/no bake lasagna sheet how do I get the top most sheet to cook while baking? Grrrrr and plus I made a fish lasagna, which was relatively mushy. Sigh so one miss there! Thankfully Sim and Cher were nice enough to eat it. I did however make pumpkin soup which has always been the tastiest and easiest soup to make, ever since Sim and I made it earlier this year. Pumpkin soup will always stay in the bag :D
The other HORRIBLE miss was pumpkin and spinach rotolo. So I was having some friends over and I wasn’t content with searching only paella so I decided to make the rotolo. It was very RISKY! I knew it from the onset. I had never made pasta from scratch and I was making a vegetarian pasta dish for a bunch of guys. So I started rolling the pasta and it was horribly dry and tough, so I thought ‘ok you don’t want to screw this up. Start over’ so I redid the dough and it was the same again and this time I was thoroughly confused. I continued and it became worse. By this time I was behind schedule so I rolled it and put in the pumpkin, spinach and ricotta rolled it and put it to boil. Well as you’d expect, it was a FAIL!! The pasta did not cook AT ALL! I cut it and it was tough and disgusting which was really really depressing because I had people over. Anyway Marie salvaged it by cutting them up and sticking them in the oven. The dough was tough but atleast it was eatable. I don’t think it went down very well with the
crowd as well. They didn’t seem to like the filling.
I really do wish I could go for a pasta making class. I frantically want to learn how to. Rotolo…. Yes I want to try it again but the filling I loved (Im a big pumpkin and ricotta fan) Ill definitely used that again for cannelloni or something.
This summer I had a few hits and misses; a few recipes that I will keep in the bag for later and some that I am slightly afraid to try :S
My friend Simone and her sister Cherisse were in town staying with me for a while and I decided to take up the courage to make lasagna; something I don’t remember ever making in my life; something that I am really really afraid of.
Surprise surprise it turned out horrible. I honestly don’t think I understand the whole concept of lasagna. If I used a no cook/no bake lasagna sheet how do I get the top most sheet to cook while baking? Grrrrr and plus I made a fish lasagna, which was relatively mushy. Sigh so one miss there! Thankfully Sim and Cher were nice enough to eat it. I did however make pumpkin soup which has always been the tastiest and easiest soup to make, ever since Sim and I made it earlier this year. Pumpkin soup will always stay in the bag :D
The other HORRIBLE miss was pumpkin and spinach rotolo. So I was having some friends over and I wasn’t content with searching only paella so I decided to make the rotolo. It was very RISKY! I knew it from the onset. I had never made pasta from scratch and I was making a vegetarian pasta dish for a bunch of guys. So I started rolling the pasta and it was horribly dry and tough, so I thought ‘ok you don’t want to screw this up. Start over’ so I redid the dough and it was the same again and this time I was thoroughly confused. I continued and it became worse. By this time I was behind schedule so I rolled it and put in the pumpkin, spinach and ricotta rolled it and put it to boil. Well as you’d expect, it was a FAIL!! The pasta did not cook AT ALL! I cut it and it was tough and disgusting which was really really depressing because I had people over. Anyway Marie salvaged it by cutting them up and sticking them in the oven. The dough was tough but atleast it was eatable. I don’t think it went down very well with the
crowd as well. They didn’t seem to like the filling.
I really do wish I could go for a pasta making class. I frantically want to learn how to. Rotolo…. Yes I want to try it again but the filling I loved (Im a big pumpkin and ricotta fan) Ill definitely used that again for cannelloni or something.
This is what the rotolo was SUPPOSED to look like ;
:(
BUSY BEE
I've been really busy.
I was hoping on cooking alot and taking lots of pictures but as usual; i ended up cooking but didnt take any pictures. i dont quite understand why i constantly do this!!! So as lousy as it seems im going to have to tell you about what I’ve done without any pictures L
So this summer was my brothers wedding… in Sudan. Had the best experience ever and ate some amazing food! I had no expectations going there and I had the time of my life.
I had some really really good feta too!!! :D i really didnt want to embarass myself with my cheese addiction but it was almost impossivle to stop eating!... (im salivating thinking about it) plus i had these pickled olives with this crumbly feta that was perfect.. not too salty ohhhhhhhhhhh... it was brief heaven!!
I was hoping on cooking alot and taking lots of pictures but as usual; i ended up cooking but didnt take any pictures. i dont quite understand why i constantly do this!!! So as lousy as it seems im going to have to tell you about what I’ve done without any pictures L
So this summer was my brothers wedding… in Sudan. Had the best experience ever and ate some amazing food! I had no expectations going there and I had the time of my life.
I had some really really good feta too!!! :D i really didnt want to embarass myself with my cheese addiction but it was almost impossivle to stop eating!... (im salivating thinking about it) plus i had these pickled olives with this crumbly feta that was perfect.. not too salty ohhhhhhhhhhh... it was brief heaven!!
In other news im in my final semester and as much as i love the thought of finishing up with uni for a while im haunted with whats next... work?study?where?how?WHAT WILL I STUDY??? Should I be completely psychotic and do something in culinary??Sigh if only. I really wish I could ditch this entire architecture thing and do something that I really would feel happy doing. Questions questions… never answers. I suppose in someway I know the answers myself. I’ll probably have the courage to quite something I spent 3 years doing and completely redo my degree again in something completely different.
????????
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Indian girls
I realize my last 2 posts have nothing to do with food really but i sort of felt like venting. sorryyyyy
I think its beautiful how food has this unique way of making you happy. When i say this i truly mean it because i know I'm not a very joyous person but when i see or eat exciting food, i could swear i feel a slight twitch on the corners of my mouth.
I've never really been big on Sri Lankan food but when i ate my friend's grandmothers Sri Lankan food a week back it was happiness. It reminded me of home... it made me happy.
Yesterday Shameema, Kylie and I went shopping for sarees in Masjid India. Its hard to explain the feeling you get when you are there. All the tiny shops and the Indian people; you could swear you were on ruwi highstreet somewhere drinking lassis and buying textiles. I know alot of people hate going to town but its crazy how wierdly comforting this place is to me! The lack of perfection is divine! Its like how when i hear someone speak Arabic on the bus i smile to myself :D
For the few hours that we were there i felt like i was transported away from my monotonous life. The highlight of the day other than the fact that i fell in love with and bought a sari was that i ate at Sarvana Bhavan. It looked, smelt and felt just just the one in Oman! Seriously i sometimes think there is nothing better than north indian food. Now i know alot of you might wonder what I'm on about, but there is this feeling you get when you see something you know that is completely indescribable. I could swear my mouth was salivating from the time i entered that place. If you sat with your back to the entrance it was like i was in Oman eating dosas with my sister going on about how much she hates vegetarian food.
It was like we were home!
After months of eating tasteless rice i swear i wanted to eat everything on that menu!!!! Seriously give me poori or a dosa and id be a content girl!!!
I think its beautiful how food has this unique way of making you happy. When i say this i truly mean it because i know I'm not a very joyous person but when i see or eat exciting food, i could swear i feel a slight twitch on the corners of my mouth.
I've never really been big on Sri Lankan food but when i ate my friend's grandmothers Sri Lankan food a week back it was happiness. It reminded me of home... it made me happy.
Yesterday Shameema, Kylie and I went shopping for sarees in Masjid India. Its hard to explain the feeling you get when you are there. All the tiny shops and the Indian people; you could swear you were on ruwi highstreet somewhere drinking lassis and buying textiles. I know alot of people hate going to town but its crazy how wierdly comforting this place is to me! The lack of perfection is divine! Its like how when i hear someone speak Arabic on the bus i smile to myself :D
For the few hours that we were there i felt like i was transported away from my monotonous life. The highlight of the day other than the fact that i fell in love with and bought a sari was that i ate at Sarvana Bhavan. It looked, smelt and felt just just the one in Oman! Seriously i sometimes think there is nothing better than north indian food. Now i know alot of you might wonder what I'm on about, but there is this feeling you get when you see something you know that is completely indescribable. I could swear my mouth was salivating from the time i entered that place. If you sat with your back to the entrance it was like i was in Oman eating dosas with my sister going on about how much she hates vegetarian food.
It was like we were home!
After months of eating tasteless rice i swear i wanted to eat everything on that menu!!!! Seriously give me poori or a dosa and id be a content girl!!!
Bad days
Ive been having a crappy week or two after i got back from Taiping. 1st i fell sick and then i had alot of work to do which really brought me down... although im taking food and culture this sem there isnt a single subject im taking that makes me excited. Everything seems like such a drag.
Plus i sort of missed doing nothing in Taiping.
Taiping really was incredible. 80% of the people i spoke to before i left told me it would be miserable, but i kept my mind open and i enjoyed it. The fact that we went there to eat just made me indulge in everything i could see. I discovered a new found liking for Teh Tarik with fresh milk and tiny spherical sweets made of jaggery and coconut! Who knew the Sri Lankan appam could be combined with sweetened coconut shaving or crushed peanuts to be ultimately DELICIOUS! But what i liked most of all about the trip was the fact that there was no itinerary and we did what ever we felt like doing whenever.
Having gotten back from Taiping i came to a horrible realization a week later; the pictures i had taken for my assignment were near unusable. I dont understand why i am so horrible at taking photographs. I have a camera that supposedly is good enough but i just have no eye for things beautiful so i just cant hold a camera straight it my hand. I am so upset i seriously feel like crying. Seeing everyone else's fancy DLSR pictures does not make it any better. I have half the mind to take a bus back to Taiping to take more PROPER pictures. EVER since that dreaded day i have been in such a weird mood. I have done everything i could possibly think of to ignore the fact that ive had work to do. Sometimes i dont think i understand myself.I think i really miss home these days. I just wish i could get away from here for a while; just forget all the work i have to do, all the responsibilities.. sigh.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Mango Burger
I've seen this burger at Nandos often but ive never thought of trying it out. If i find something i like i have the tendency to keep going back to eat the same thing. However with all the masterchef I've been watching, i was suddenly feeling very adventurous and i decided to try the burger out.So the burger really is a chicken breast with mango on top. Truthfully the whole thing was exciting to eat! Im not a big fan of mixing sweet and spicy but that burger really was good! I was genuinely surprised so next time you are in Nandos TRY IT! u must!
Kid in a candy store
When i see new things at the grocery store i get super excited. This can go for a new cut of meat or even a new kind of pasta (The day i saw lamb shanks, i was happy for 2 days which is quite a big thing for me :)So my dads alot like me, when he sees something new and exciting at the grocery store he has to buy it. Now you see i live in Oman and you dont get alot of exotic products or produce, so when my dad brought home these gorgeous vacuum packed gourmet mussels. Look at them!!!!! i cant get over how beautiful they are!
Anyway i didnt really know what to do with it because i didnt have the patience to leave them till i had a recipe that called for them. So i just made a salad
If you are in Oman you have to have to have to buy these!! They even have clams!!! Omg they are so good! I made paella with the same mussels and clams earlier this year and then i even made clam pizza with hooters sauce haha... I can't get over them!
CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE ...CAKE
The first time i made a cheesecake i didn't know what cheesecake was. I had never eaten a cheesecake or even seen one so when the recipe asked for 800g of cream cheese i thought i had written it down wrong. So i stupidly used a lot less. I guess the problem was the recipe was from a book that didnt have any pictures. It ended up being a biscuit :S it was rather embarrassing later when i saw the real cheesecake.
My 2nd attempt at a cheesecake really couldn't be counted. It was a no bake cheesecake that 2 of my friends and i made together. At least I finally knew what a cheesecake looked like. Ever since then i have been on the constant rampage to find and eat cheesecakes. I had never tried to make a cheesecake though;because its so complicated. It was like lasagna; loved to eat it just too complicated to make.
Later my friend Nuzha wanted to make cheesecake a few years ago, so we decided to get together and make a very basic baked cheesecake. Sadly it cracked right in the middle... a big gaping hole so we filled it in with a lot of betty crockers frosting. Everyone at home loved it, they just dint know what a failure it was. Ive made the same cheesecake a few times after and Ive continuously had problems with it. It would either crack as soon as i took it out of the oven or just collapse. It didnt't really have to look perfect for my brother. He would demolish it either way.
SO FINALLY one fine day in September 2010 i decided to attempt to make a proper cheesecake! I did tonnes of research on the proper way it had to be done and turns out the biggest mistake i was making was taking the cake right out of the oven and placing it on the counter. I thought that was what people did normally??!Im always impatient to ice a cake once im done baking it. So i would take the cake straight of the oven and place it on an exceptionally cold counter assuming that it would help cool down the cake faster.
I wasn't even supposed to open the door during the process of baking as it would reduce the baking temperature! What i apparently had to do was switch off the oven once it was done baking and leave the cake inside the oven so that it would cool to room temperature after which i could take the cake out! Who knew....
I know it isnt the most beautiful thing on earth but there is no way to describe how excited i was when i saw this. I was on top of the world!!!
:D:D:D:D:D:D
My 2nd attempt at a cheesecake really couldn't be counted. It was a no bake cheesecake that 2 of my friends and i made together. At least I finally knew what a cheesecake looked like. Ever since then i have been on the constant rampage to find and eat cheesecakes. I had never tried to make a cheesecake though;because its so complicated. It was like lasagna; loved to eat it just too complicated to make.
Later my friend Nuzha wanted to make cheesecake a few years ago, so we decided to get together and make a very basic baked cheesecake. Sadly it cracked right in the middle... a big gaping hole so we filled it in with a lot of betty crockers frosting. Everyone at home loved it, they just dint know what a failure it was. Ive made the same cheesecake a few times after and Ive continuously had problems with it. It would either crack as soon as i took it out of the oven or just collapse. It didnt't really have to look perfect for my brother. He would demolish it either way.
SO FINALLY one fine day in September 2010 i decided to attempt to make a proper cheesecake! I did tonnes of research on the proper way it had to be done and turns out the biggest mistake i was making was taking the cake right out of the oven and placing it on the counter. I thought that was what people did normally??!Im always impatient to ice a cake once im done baking it. So i would take the cake straight of the oven and place it on an exceptionally cold counter assuming that it would help cool down the cake faster.
I wasn't even supposed to open the door during the process of baking as it would reduce the baking temperature! What i apparently had to do was switch off the oven once it was done baking and leave the cake inside the oven so that it would cool to room temperature after which i could take the cake out! Who knew....
I know it isnt the most beautiful thing on earth but there is no way to describe how excited i was when i saw this. I was on top of the world!!!
:D:D:D:D:D:D
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