Geometric Melbourne

Almost Healthy

My quest for eating healthy meals continues with this colorful red-green-white veggie-fruit combo salad in a simple 3:1 olive oil lemon juice dressing. Lettuce, celery and red pepper pack a good crunch. Watermelon and pamelo add a delightful freshness. And I couldn't help myself and sprinkled some crispy bacon all over.

Almost healthy, I guess.

Mnemonic

This just in and would probably help some alcoholic college kids with their East African countries in Geography. TUSKER, the popular beer in East Africa is actually the acronym for Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda.

Now that's easy to chug remember. 

Cheers.

Comfort Zone

Yes, it's scary. But it's also exciting. 

Grow a pair and move!

Fortune favors the bold.

Fleeting Views

Friends and family coming over to my place would definitely be amazed by the view from my balcony.  The green lung of the Gasing Hill Reserve at the front then the Petaling Jaya skyline and the city extends afar. One can look into the horizon, sweeping and unobstructed. The view is simply breathtaking, especially in the evening. Personally, I like sipping my first cup of coffee at my balcony in the morning looking out at the mist lifting off the Gasing Hill Reserve and listening to the birds singing away, buck naked.

Recently my sister, Y was asking how long will the view last. In the age when land is such a scarce commodity, who knows when the next high rise, be it condominium or office or mega-mall or parking lots would be erected? More importantly, how close to my balcony?

I noticed some land clearing work and construction at the far left, at the edge of the reserve. I think my days of enjoying my naked morning coffee at my balcony is numbered.

God damn!

Cooking Love

This is my first ever M&M (mom and me) cooking project. Obviously it was a joint effort. We made her delicious and almost unheard of sweet potatoes dumpling. Or was it a sweet potatoes puff? Or somewhat a hybrid? Anyway the last time she made them was definitely no less than 20 years ago. I wanted to learn to make this from mom. I want to catalogue all mom's recipes. 

Essentially it's simply a curry puff with the puff pastry replaced with a dough kneaded with boiled sweet potatoes and glutinous rice flour and the curry filling swapped with a savory minced vegetable and dried shrimp. Well I think curry filling just would not go well with the soft and sweet doughy skin.

There was no glutinous rice flour in the house the morning we made them so mom used the plain flour and corn flour combo. Using glutinous rice flour would make the doughy skin softer but we weren't too keen to make a dash to the shop for it. We just improvised as we cook along. Sweet potatoes boiled till soft and then mashed with a fork. The flour was added and kneaded until it turn into a dough, this one a golden orangey dough. Measurement of the flour? We were just simply eye balling it and feeling it as we go along, a sprinkling of water if it was too dry, pinch of flour if it was too wet.

For the filling, we finely diced the fermented mustard green and sengkuang and they were first fried with a few cloves of minced garlic. Dried shrimps were added to the mix and more frying until they sizzle with excitement and fragrant. We also threw in about a handful of fried shallot to up the fragrant level a couple notches. In a moment of genius I asked mom to add a table spoon of her spicy sambal dried shrimp from the freezer. So we have two types of filling, savory and spicy.

The next step was wrapping the filling in the rolled out sweet potatoes doughy skin. The task requires incredible hand-eye coordination and extremely high motor dexterity. Mom was wrapping and piling them up so quickly I was completely floored and shamed at the same time. Mom waited for me to get done before we move on to the second last step, frying them into golden brown.

And the last step, eat! 

The taste, just as good as 20 years ago. The sweet potato skin was crispy sweet on the outside but chewy soft inside. Mom and I both agreed that the spicy filing was better. The spicy sambal just added a good hot kick as we take a hearty bite. We made so many of them that we shared some the neighbors and my aunts nearby. Still we had enough for lunch and dinner that day, as well as my breakfast for the next morning!

Obviously it was a successful joint effort M&M cooking project. But mostly I was just along for the ride. So, all the we in the above should be replaced with mom.

More M&M cooking project to come.

Overheard #26

"I love him but I don't like him." My friend B talking about his brother.

By replacing him with her, I finally found an expression that succinctly and eloquently sums up my feeling towards my sister, R. Oh, that woman sure drives me mad sometimes!