Cooking

Cooking, is not my strongest strength even though I am enjoying cooking. Why I don't think I'm  good in that?

Well, I'm married to a chef who is good at his field. He is the one who cooks for our restaurant guests and our visitors whenever I have invited friends home. Cooking is not really his passion but he loves to cook for people rather for himself. By looking at people enjoying his food would be the most satisfactory moment for him. So, through out the years, whether it's at the restaurant or home, I don't really have the chance to cook for our guests, plus I don't really have the confidence in cooking for the others (except my girls).

I need to share a conversation that occurred between my mom and my chef  before we got married, in which he loves to share it with others every time people ask him questions like: "Does you wife cook?", "So, who cooks at home?" He will never answer, "Oh yes, my wife can cook,", or "Yes she cooks for the children at home", instead of these answers I always hope him would give to these people, he will laugh it out loud and then starts his line, "Ha ha, talking about Doris cooking, let me tell you about that about what her mom said about her."

The following is the joke about "Doris doesn't know how to cook" which he enjoys telling people time after time.

"Before Doris and I got married, one day my mother-in-law called me in and wanted to talk to me in private. I was wondering what happened? Have I done something wrong? Carefully, seriously in almost a whispering voice, she said, "just that you know, my Ah Ping ( my Chinese's name) does not how to cook!". I was relieved and answered her, "Hahaha, Aiya, no worrylah, mom, I will teach her!"

Before I continuing to tell you about his promise,  I need to tell you about my mom's concern about that "Ah Ping has no-cooking-experience"thing. My mom was a traditional Chinese woman who thought that it was very important for a wife to know how to feed the husband's stomach. The problem was she never really taught me how to cook when I was young. She would rather get me out from the kitchen than letting me helping her out. So, indirectly she was the reason why I didn't know how to cook. Well, now you know why she was worrying.

Let's come back to today. Did my hubby keep his promise to his mother-in-law? Not really. 

After 25 years of marriage, I still does not know how to cook his yummy satay sauce, rendang, chaw kuih teow, char siew, crispy pork, apung balik and many more. He is not very good in teaching people to cook his dishes. He has all his ingredients in his mind and never write them down, he likes to prepare or cook in the middle of the night when he is alone. His best curry or marinating which turn up to be the best out of his best is when his cooking magic show is performed at night without audience. So, I have became very good in eating his food rather than cooking his recipe. 

Truly I do enjoy his food very much, just like our girls, guests and friends. I appreciate his effort in pleasing me with his cooking, especially after a big fight or a few days of "cold war". His best way of saying sorry will be a question like this, "What do you want to eat, I will cook for you." 

Many people admire me I have a private chef at home. Actually he doesn't cook much at home. We always eat left-over from the restaurant ever since my girls were a little girl. People say me and my girls are lucky that having restaurant food every day. In the matter of fact, because of that, I started cooking simple and easy-to-cook food at home for me and the girls. My girls are my best customers and supporters who I am grateful to because they enjoy my cooking even though my food are not as delicious as their father's.

Gradually I have found my touch and confidence in my cooking which is always based on simplicity. I still don't have much confidence in testing a lot of difference spices and ingredients. I still don't feel that I am very good in cooking, but the most important thing is I have found a passion in cooking which gave me a lot of enjoyment! Furthermore, cooking has become one of my soul therapies.

I have found some old photos. I will share the recipe at www.wokandoven.blogspot.com when I have time to update or taking detailed photos.

 Christmas meatball.
(The sausage were from the store though. One day I will learn how to make sausages.)

Red cabbage pie with hem

Coconut tarts

Wantan soup

Broccoli with shitaki

Spagetti with leftover saiussage

Steamed buns with char siew

Dumpling with chives and dried prawns

Salmon with macaroni and squash

Christmas Cinnamon cookie 

Fried vegetable with chicken

Noodle salad 

Noodle soup

steamed codfish

Just a cake :)

Pasta with spinach and sausage 

I am back

I have not visited my own place for the past 10 months and I am not very proud of this. I couldn't explain why I didn't do that. Time just slipped away. The only explanation I can give is I got a part time job in April and since suddenly time was not enough at all, and shame on me that I didn't make an effect to make a time or a routine to update here. After finding out I have over 10000 views last week, I made a promise to myself. I have to write again!

So, now I am back!

Start with today's little escape to the forest to clear my mind and charged my energy for another new day!

Autumn is here and it¨s the season where mixture of feeling is kind of bothering me. Mood swinging is quite strong. So, I need some kind of therapy to tame myself.  Today, Sunday, the only off day I have, being so tiring and having no strength to do anything at all, I had decided to stay home and watch TV for the day. Then, the sun came and said hello at 3 p.m.! Not having a second thought, I switched off the TV,  quickly took out Canon and the battery for charging, and then turned my pyjamas into jogging suit, (I tried to have the speed as fast as the superman changing his outfit), off  I went to Botaniska Garden. I have not been using my Canon since March after visiting Julie in New Market.. It's about time for Canon and I to be charged! Another best part of today's move was I managed to get my old man to follow me!

I guess you will figure it out how I feel after this short visit at Botaniska today by throwing myself into the farm of the Mother Nature.

Left over from the summer!

Burning sky!

My craving for sunshine is driving me mad sometimes in the autumn and winter time. So that is why as long as the sun comes out from nowhere after a few cloudy and dull grey days, I get so excited and cannot take my eyes out off her.

Because of my insanity or you can call it obsession to the sun (people who stay in Scandinavian may understand my insanity), as long as there is light in the sky, I will quickly run for it or chase after it. No kidding!

It rained almost everyday last week and the sun was hidden by the clouds until last Friday around 5 p.m. I was getting ready to work, feeling tired, lit up some candles in the living room just to warm up my mood in that boring evening. Suddenly I saw a golden light shone through the opened door of my bedroom.

I quickly ran into my room and the scenery outside the window really stunned me!

I love to stand here and you know why...

The sky was on fire! Out of the blue the sun came out before Day passed the shift to Night. I stood there for 10 minutes and was enjoying the sun's magic show. That precious moment!

I was hoping I was a magician too so that I could freeze that moment.. The only magic wand I had was my old Samsung Galaxy Mini which helped me to capture this moment for memory.

The excitement of finally got to see the sun for that few minutes was enough to boost up my rainy mood!

I zoomed in the camera...wanted to see Samsung's camera effect, it was not very shaped but was enough in my eyes.

That day, the outfit I wore for my karaoke night was a red T-shirt and black mini skirt with black leggings, instead of the black t-shirt and black long pants which I was going to put on before the sun's s super short visit.

Thank you, Sun! ^_^