Work It

Hello Blogosphere!! And sorry for having been M.I.A... things got a bit hectic over the last week and I've been trying to readjust to work mode, sleep mode and entertainment mode.

It has not been easy. Fun! But not easy!

The BFF came down under.. that sounds so wrong.. let me reword that..

My best friend came down to Australia for a visit... there.. that sounds... cleaner!

And I started a temp role yesterday!! HECTIC!!!

I will do my best to post everything.. it is up to you to want to read everything from then =)

Creamy Crab Linguine Recipe

Because I'm tired.. and because I'm too lazy to write today.

Here are some (many) pictures of my Creamy Crab Linguine.

Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
Linguine, Crab Meat, Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic, Red Chilli, 1 Large Shallot, 5 Garlic Cloves, Cream, Butter, Olive Oil, Parmesan Cheese, Chicken Stock, Parsley Leaves
Salt, and Pepper to taste



Slice the garlic up like so...



Dice the Chili and Onion like so...



Halve the Cherry Tomatoes



Crab Meat...



Because I feel like it...



And still feel like it....



Heat up a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive olive oil.

Once hot, throw in the garlic slices.



Add in the diced chili and shallots and stir-fry until soft.



Add in the cherry tomatoes and parsley flakes.



Add in the cream (Half a cup) and 1/2 cup of chicken stock and simmer.



Add in the crab meat



Add in the parmesan cheese (as much or as little as you want, depending on how cheesy you want the cream to be.



Add in the cooked linguine (Which you would have done concurrently, cooking in lightly salted boiling water in a different pot)



Serve and enjoy!

Mine *slurp*



The Boy's... he doesn't like tomatoes.. of any sort.. unless it's ketchup...

True Colours

Pretty, no? I was playing with some salt and somehow it ended up star shapped!

Thanks Ms Tinymouse for your luck.. I somehow think I survived it =)

I finally am getting some sort of life back. From all the solitude of the last 6 months, I suddenly hear about 2 job opportunities and I start temping for one of them tomorrow.

Sure, it's a 2-3 week thing. But it's better than nothing!! And to the other one... fingers crossed!!

So well done ME!...

*pats myself on the back*

Ode to Connex...
Today, as I waited on the platform...
We were as one gathered around like a flock of crows...
Settling in staring up...
All in black...
All eyes questioning...
When will it come, where will it be...
Head scratching...
Patience dwindling...
Like vultures descending on their prey...
We wondered...
O'Connex train...
Public transport from hell...
Where the bloody hell are ya?!

Complicated Maggie Mee with Siu Yuk (Roast Pork) Recipe

I like making things complicated... and a great way to complicate a simple 2 minute noodle will have you drooling for more ;)

This is in a few parts, because I like complication.

The 1st is for NyonyaChef... who leaves very motivating comments =)


Complicated Maggi Mee with Siu Yuk:
Take a couple of strips of pork belly with skin, and marinate rub with salt. Rub the meaty bit with 5 Chinese 5 spice.

Make sure you pierce the skin (for crackling) and also the fat (so that it won't shrink) with a wooden stick (skewer)



Pop it into the toaster oven for around 30 mins (or until the crackling forms)



Slice them up and *slurp*



I served mine with Maggi Mee (flavour of your choice), poached egg and bean sprouts



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Complicated Mi Goreng 1:

I've only got 1 picture for this.

I had Mi Goreng (Indo Mie) with sliced snow peas, mushrooms and mince pork... Delish!!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Complicated Mi Goreng With Mince Chicken and Broccoli Stems:

Note:
I just had this for lunch... *burp* "'scuse me!"

'Ze Ingredients:
1/2 a chopped red chili, slice Broccoli stems, mince chicken, an egg and 1 packet of Indo Mie



Whilst you're boiling up water to cook the Indo Mie, heat up some oil in a pan and fry the chili first for about 1 minute, and then adding in the mince chicken



Add in the Broccoli stems when the chicken is cooked, and add in 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire (L&P) sauce



Serve with fried egg (BULLS EYE!)

Vietnamese Deep Fried Spring Roll Recipe

We got a bit carried away on Sunday night making these lovely golden parcels... and finished the whole "Wan Tan" skin packet... (I think there were 50?)

So anyways, the Boy wanted to make fried spring rolls, and once we got underway, realised that we had Wan Tan skin instead of Spring Roll skin (rice paper), decided to go full steam ahead anyway.

This is from a Vietnamese (fried) Spring Roll recipe, and it did turn out gorgeous!!

I took too many pictures and am too lazy to put them up and explained them all, so I did what all lazy people do, and compiled them into a single frame (most of it anyway).

So here are the ingredients:

Chicken (minced and marinated with Chinese 5 spice), 5 Prawns (de-veined and minced), Crab Meat (from a can), 1 Carrot (finely diced), 1 Celery (finely diced), 1 Onion (Finely chopped), Half a serving of Vermicelli (blanched and drained), and Button Mushrooms (diced)



Firstly, heat up some oil and then add the onions, followed by the chicken, prawns, crab meat and finally with the mushrooms.

Add in a mixture of 2 tablespoons of Oyster Sauce, 1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce, 1/4 cup of Chicken Stock and 1 teaspoon of Sesame Oil.

Remove and allow to cool.



Mix the diced celery, carrots and vermicelli together.

And when the cooked ingredients have cooled, add into the mixture and mix well.



I forgot to take a picture of the wan tan making process (as my hands were covered with corn starch)... but it's simple and just have fun!

We made all sorts of funny shapes =)

The Boy still insisted on making spring roll shaped wan tans (denial!)



Cook each wan tan until it turns golden brown, remove and drain on paper towels.

Deep Fried Crispies!!!



Golden Delight!!!



Very very very delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jamie Oliver's Baked Barramundi Recipe

I am cranky!

Cranky that it's Monday again... (Oh, but you don't have to work, so why do you even hate weekdays?)

Well, I'll tell you why. Weekdays means that I'm home alone for a minimum of 8 hours with zero human interaction minus that of MSN, email and Facebook.

Oh yeah, and the gazillion of job application rejection letters that flood my inbox.

BAH!

I'm also cranky, because the Boy is at work, and I want him at home... to entertain me...

:(

So... anyways... Ms Tinymouse... WOMAN... of course I did not doubt your efforts... and I'm over the whole driving thing... if I get it, I get it, if not... I'm learning how to ride a motorbike!

And... it'll soon be all noisy again from Friday!!!

My BFF is arriving with her Man in tow (I say man and not Boy, cos he is older than all of us)!! Ahahaha.. YAYYYYY....

Although, I am cranky that I can't get this place to look any nicer and to look any prettier, cleaner, BIGGER!!!...

It's a very cranky Monday.

Oh and yes, my Gigolo (who is one of my male BFF's) so please... he would like me to start plugging him on my blog postings...

A very talented individual, newly single (and enjoying himself), with new fantastic Quicksilver frames to line his err... MACHO jawline... he would like to have some nice girls (and maybe boys) to find him and chill and chat with a nice glass of beer (preferably Guinness) whilst he charms you with his witty humour.

Oh, and he's pretty good with the camera too (And I'm not saying that he'll take naked pictures of you, that is of course optional and entirely your own suggestion!)

So with that, to cheer myself up, here's a recipe which I imitated from Jamie Oliver (back when he was still naked)... I think he might have repeated this recipe in his newer programs.. but I saw it first.. when he was still naked!

Ingredients:

The only important thing here is the fish (Barramundi), lemon and ginger... cancel out the other two (Broccoli stems and Hash Browns)

NOTE:
If you don't like ginger, you can skip the ginger (it's not part of the recipe)... but I find that it adds a new taste dimension when it's cooked



Slice the lemon and ginger, like so.



Now, the key to this extremely fast and simple recipe.

Take aluminium foil, and fold it into half, sealing the edges to cover up and to make a shiny envelope.
The size of the envelope you make equates to the size of the fish you have and the size of your oven/ toaster oven



Marinate the fish fillets with olive oil (2 Tablespoons), sea salt and cracked black pepper



Next, you want to open up the envelope, and place the fish fillets, sliced lemon and sliced ginger onto it, placing a huge dollop of butter on the top (about 2 tablespoons)



Fold it back up and toss it into the oven. I used a conventional oven toaster.



Set it for 15 minutes



And mouth wateringly, the sauce oozes out of the packet when you open it.

Tantalising your taste buds with a buttery, lemony, yet ginger zest light sauce.



Yes, it is that simple.

Gon Loh Hor Fun (Dried Noodles with Mince Pork) Recipe

*BRINGGGG*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The head next to mine, turned and muttered, "You better wake up early if you want to drive".

Bah! As if I wanted to drive... more like I'm forced into this position to train me to adjust to the psycho Sunday drivers.

Fortunately, the other drivers on the road are more or less used to slow "L" (Legends), like myself.

I DROVE INTO THE CBD!!! And I PARKED!!! WUHOOOO!!!!

And I didn't KILL anyone... yet...

The Boy seemed relatively surprised that there were no exciting incidents or mishaps along the way and was quite relieved to have all his limbs still attached upon his torso.

Whatever!

However, I was fortunate enough to not have to drive home. Pheww... Due to my great *tortoise* speed (Hey, I follow speed limits aight!), we arrived a little late for church... Meh!

Lunch and a visit to Minataur with a brand new book (Diana Wynne Jones's - House of Many Ways) under my belt had me skipping on this dreary Sunday.

How is it possible that Big W, a giant retail store, not stock any glass paper in their stationary department?

How do poor school children have fun making things for their art classes?

How am I suppose to create my very own 3-D glasses?

BAH!

So anyways, because I'm too lazy to upload new pictures, you shall have to slobber over my dried noodles =)

"Gon Loh Hor Fun" - My style

The ingredients (Clockwise from top left):
Garlic, Ginger, Shallots; Bean Sprouts and Choy Sum, Minced Pork, Barramundi Fillets, and Flat Rice Noodles



For the soup, (because the Boy, unfortunately, is still coughing) I added (into boiling water), the ginger, and garlic cloves (smashed).

Once the water was boiling and I was ready to serve, I added in the Barramundi fish (which I had sliced into bite sizes), and veggies



For the minced pork, fry the shallots and ginger until fragrant.
Add in the minced pork, and saute until it changes colour, add in 1 tablespoon of Thick Soy Sauce, 1 tablespoon of Worcestishire (L&P), 1 tablespoon of Light Soy Sauce and pepper to taste



Finished product of the pork *Slurp*



Serve the noodles dry with garlic oil and toss with 1-2 tablespoons of thick soy sauce



If you have leftovers, which I had, (there's enough for lunch!)



Place the noodles, and veggies into boiling water for about 1-2 minutes (which is just enough to cook it)



Heat up the mince pork and place onto the noodles. Drizzle with garlic oil and Voila!