French Revolution

I picked this recipe up from a cook show on TV. But I only learnt the name later while flipping through a cookbook I recently bought. Vol-au-vent is a small round puff pastry hollow case filled with savory fillings such as mushroom, onions, seafood, cheese or meat. In French, literally it means windblown, to describe the lightness of the puff pastry.

Well this is my version of vol-au-vents. It's a little different from the Frenchies. One it's square, and two it's not exactly small. All due to my laziness to cut them into rounds. And due to my laziness again, I use frozen ready-made puff-pastry. Trust me, making it from scratch is simply too much work, not exactly in line with my quick bite philosophy on meals.

Anyway, this is how to make them. Saute crushed garlic, sliced onions and mushrooms in some olive oil. Add in some bacon chips. Drop a dash of worcestershire sauce, pinch of black pepper, and glugs of white wine. Simmer and reduce. That's done for the filling.

For the pastry cases, cut 4 strips of the thawed puff pastry slice and line that around the edge of a new square of puff pastry, building a little pastry fence. Pile up the filling into the the puff pastry square. Sprinkle generously grated parmesan and chili powder before loading it into a hot oven. Bake until the puff pastry fence puff up and turn golden brown.

Vol-au-vent ala Boonsky done!

Bon appetit!

Fight

Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrating the triumph of the good in battle against the evil. Light defeats darkness. Hope prevails.

But for some, the battle is far from over. Perhaps it is the beginning of a long and testing battle ahead.

Now that merely a year later, at this same festive season, another battle is shaping up. Sometimes life, (or God) has a sick sense of humor. Same scenario, just a different parent. Losing loved one is painfully devastating. Losing loved one in the midst of such celebration and rejoicing, the pain is just simply unimaginable and unreal.

Unreal!

But the battle is real, here and now. Forge on, my friend. Fight! Never give up. Never back down.

In the spirit of Diwali, may hope truly prevail, and light emerges victorious over evil.

Hope prevails.

Returning Home

Just got back from a workshop in Penang, reached home slightly after 5 PM. My herbs plants wilted lifelessly, after being left unattended for 3 days. The basil was most probably gone, but there might still be hope for the spear mints.

Am I going to be one of those people who returns home to his dog or gold fish or plants?

Suddenly, I wanted to return home to someone or I wanted to wait for someone to return home to or I wanted to return home together with someone.

That would be nice.

What Are You Reading Now?

"I like to read." A newly aquatinted friend said to me, making conversation I think. He went on and said how much he loves Japanese authors, how beautiful and detailed they get describing nature and people.

He then asked me if I enjoy reading. Indeed I do. But lately, I find myself reading a lot of cookbooks.

Suddenly I felt like quitting my day job and running a catering service business, out of my own kitchen, ala Martha Stewart. Maybe I'll name it Martin Stewart.

I'm just mad about cooking lately.

Beyonce Is Coming To Town!

Beyonce is coming to town for a concert soon. Everyone is getting excited, including some religious quarters. They are excited, all up in arms to call off the concert, voicing so very strongly their disgust and disapproval of Beyonce's performance and her stage appearance. It is considered too revealing, too sex; insensitive, inappropriate and contracting to our local culture and Oriental values. Our youngsters going to concert would be poisoned by such hideous, despicable acts. So they claimed.

I was pumping iron at the gym this evening. TV screens everywhere in the gym playing Beyounce's music video, Single Ladies.

Oh my God, have you seen that before? I must admit it was my first time catching that. I dropped my workout all together and had my eyes plastered on the TV, gawking and almost drooling. How hot is Beyonce with all those crazy sexy moves! Mmm mmm... Damn! Jay-Z is one lucky bastard.

Then I thought, how accessible and how common a TV is nowadays. Every home has got at least one. Then the gym, mamak stalls, in the bus, shopping malls, airports, TV is everywhere, omnipresent. Basically, everyone is watching TV everywhere. More importantly, everyone is watching Beyonce prancing around in her skimpy outfits shaking her bootie everywhere! So how effective is banning her concert her shield our kids from the supposedly evil of Beyonce?

You tell me.

The List

1. After School

2. Crude

3. Paris

4. The Maid

5. White On Rice

6. One Good Man

7. Lying

8. The Road

9. How I Got Lost

10. Amreeka

11. Art&Copy

12. The September Issue

13. Extract

14. The Lovely Bones

15. Price Of Life

16. Adventures Of Power

17. Leslie My Name Is Evil

18. The Boys Are Back

19. Trucker

20. Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

21. Untitled

22. How To Seduce Difficult Women

So that's the list, my list. They are the movies I'd like to watch, indie flicks, subtitles, documentaries, dramas, comedies and even some Hollywood stuff, good ones. But unfortunately I don't think most of them will make it to the local theatre. So how do I get hold of these flicks?

Legally, if I may add.

Man vs Beast

I think it was Tuesday morning, 7 o'clock. I was inching along in the rush hour traffic, bumper to bumper madness.

Suddenly the sound of siren was heard from afar, approaching from behind. Along the already super congested road, everyone was struggling to make room for that.

It was a motorcade, small one, just 2 cops on bikes, clearing the street, (now here's the kicker in the nuts) for a trailer carrying horses! They must be some really special horses belong to some really big shots.

Still, what the fuck?!

We, the people, were held off in jam-ville for a couple of horses! Now that was something new, wasn't it?

Well, I suppose the 1 Malaysia concept also extends to animals.

Some animal-rights activists, happy now?

Juicy Goodness

Mom came for a short stay last week, bringing with her tidal of good news, I mean a huge bag of passion fruits. Seriously, huge bags of them passion fruits.

Normally I'd just cut them open, scope up the tangy sweet juicy goodness and down them straight. It's refreshing having a couple of those babies after dinner. But, somehow I wasn't eating them up fast enough. There were still loads left in the fridge, some heading to rotten-ville. Seriously now, imagine how big a bag mom hauled in.

Then a moment of genius struck! Let's juice them up!

Out came the blender. Loaded the last 7 into the blender, along a couple teaspoons of yogurt, honey and some ice. Then pulsed them for a couple of time before blended them on high speed for a couple of minutes. Strained off the pulp and the seeds. Topped with sliced mint leaves.

Voila!

7 passion fruits made this tiny glass. I downed it in 2 gulps.

Refreshing!

A shot of rum would be nice.