bargain AJ cutlery!!!

i have been keeping an eye on these for yonks... was going to buy the 5 piece (main knife, fork, spoon & dessert fork & spoon) set for nearly 200 bucks... and i chance upon this absolute bargain at "the most beautiful mall" in the north shore today... the iconic AJ cutley set for 2 people for $65 instead of RRP $225!!! although this bargain pack doesn't include the dessert spoon and fork - it doesn't matter... as it'll go v well with my last set of bargain - AJ cuppacino spoons & tea spoons... the 'quack' flask was also on special, but they don't have the beige one...
this bargain could be found on the top floor of "the most beautiful mall" in the north shore - the one with copper artichoke lights dangling from the ceiling...
now i just have to devise a gem of a dinner menu to match them...

psychedelic corningware

i wa digging around in the garage and made a v special archaeological finds! - 1970s corning ware v similar to these... they have the same blue flower pattern anyway... i love these things as they are suited to all terrains - direct heat (fire), oven, microwave etc... and i am lucky enough to have a plate warmer & gravy pot with the same flower theme (which i can add to my collection of a carving plate and salad plate) ... now i just need to think of a menu to make use of them all at the same time... it would have to be a 70s menu, prepared while dressed in a psychedelic apron...
today's cooking tip: carrot rice with cumin seeds finished with a knob of butter - best way to recycle left over rice from last night... fry up some sliced onion & cumin seeds...then add the shredded carrots... add abit of liquid (1 tinned tomatoes, 1 v small tin of coconut milk)... then let the rice absorb all the liquid (also add 2 stock cubes /salt )... turn down the heat for absorption and then just b4 finishing add the knob of butter... and pepper...

new year cooking tips

the year of the golden pig started off hot... we descended into the oz capital of fashion and at the same time our skin started to shrivel up as our sweat vapourise into the 38 degree heat... it was a great weekend (although we didn't have much time to sleep)... there was the endless food preparation before the new year's eve family lunch... there were numerous cooking tips to be remembered... there was the quick arvo nap and then catching up with old friends in (yet another) wedding... and there was the family visit and red packets to collect...

the most interesting cooking tip: nian gao (new year cake) is steamed with cake sugar & rice flour mixture for 1 hour only (in my childhood i was told it takes 4,5,6 even 7 hours to steam); and the trick is to steam it in a glad wrap lined container and decorate it with a chinese stamp with red food dye at the end - the end result really looks like the one in the shops

the hardest goodbye: was to gramps at hospital... having to visit him at the last leg of his life and then had to wake him up from his sleep to say goodbye... how important it is to have everyone (and i mean everyone) around - can one imagine struggling at the end, by yourself, no one giving you a tissue as you drown in your own saliva... or dying of thirst as you do not have the strength to grab your glass of water...

the dryest country: the grass was brown, and washing machine water was being piped into the bathtub for garden watering / flushing loo, my dried and itchy nose, and the thirst for cold water...

more red packets: 30 years of red packets... abit embarassing really...

happy year of the golden pig!

hong hei fat choy! happy year of the golden pig! we are well prepared for this coming auspicious new year by sticking red paper cuttings of 'good fortune' & 'good omen' on our walls. we abandoned elaborate designs and stuck with simple characters (firstly it fits with our minimalist decor, secondly - i have poor cutting skills). should do the job anyway...

din din terrorist

i was proud to have dished up a gourmet meal (yet again) by recycling my yummy tomato spicy lamb shanks from the weekend. the story began with my full pot of slow cooked lamb shanks with lentils. its second reincarnation was "lamb shanks stew accompanied by a composite of boulghul (bulgar wheat)/rice/shallots". it was thick, rustic and fatty... but the nutty fine bulgar wheat crisscrossing the underlying body of rice gave the whole dish an edge... of course the grassy ev olive oil helped too - but a v heavy meal indeed...

anyway... into its third reincarnation today - as our dindin - "thin spaghetti with lamb shreds in tomato & lentil sauce"... this was definitely the most delish of them all... the deboned lamb shanks shredded and suspended into a light tomato & lentil sauce... when combined (not drowning it) with hot the pasta and snippets of fresh parsley it was perfection!! ***see top picture - sorry about the plating*** - until it was terrorised by an assault of sweet chilli sauce AND japanese mayo!!! total devastation!!! ***see second pic with white worms of mayo and splatter of chilli sauce***

who was the food terrorist you ask? lipowhale of course!! mcduck and i have seen much of her previous terrorist attacks... but honestly - this time we were speechless... lipoW has not even put the victim (din din) to the taste test b4 the assault!

***i failed to mentioned the most most delish by product of the shanks - the bony shanks themselves - sucking out the juicy bony marrow afterwards and chewing the gelatinous tendons / joints - also speechless...

powerless...

it is a wonderful day today! we have bucket loads of water pouring down from the heavens, while we sliped a tiny bit away from level 4 restritions... and of course our car got cleaner in the process too...

at work though it was a different matter... we worked in the dark (like in stone age)... no phones, no computers, no power! we had a pool (of water) to (nearly) swim in... at one point we were sure we had to start making sand bags to fight the incoming floods... what a day without internet access and background music! hope this never happens again...

where is 'freshworld' of the leafy north?

this is a savoy cabbage... i discovered this yummy veggie in the uk - then, as a substitute for the astronomically priced chinese broccoli... i still love this now, cos washing chinese broccoli is quite a chore, esp after a hard day's work... the curly veins on the leaves are perfect for catching juices/ sauces/ gravy/ seasoning...

stir fry with carrot, cumin, salt n pepper with some ev olive oil - yum...

... ever since we have moved, i have not been able to locate a 'freshworld burwood' of the north... there were trips to the local coles and F4L (where a common cabbage can set you back 5 bucks)... and there is the dodgy cheap fruit n veg shop (which i think they source their produce from flemington near closing time or after closing time - on the floor)... just wish that someone out there would be able to enlighten me on a good fruit and veg place within 5km radius... until then, i'll keep searching...

the truth is...

... that the freebie movie "an invonvenient truth" in the park was a shocker... i went straight home to look for a bargin compost bin on the net... walking to work with hives on thighs is a possibility now... what about another car? u say... no no no... even moped has become a silly idea now...

well... i cannot deny that it was also an exercise for self promotion in Mr Al's part... but i guess he deserves the free advertising after giving the same lecture 1000 times over and being exposed to x-s radiaton (travelling on planes that often)... he is quite convinicing i must say - as he left me with teary-eyes and a fat guilty conscience at the end of the horror movie...