my new toys

look at what i have!

it's my new kindle!

i love it!

less books = less paper...

i can download a book in less than a minute...

i can buy a book even if it's not here yet...

the battery lasts for more than a month (since it's low tech)...

it's light and i bring it everywhere. yahoo!

TOY #2:

my new griller!

absolutely love it.

the oil drips out on the side...

and we can make paninis too.

case in point:

that was my grilled chicken panini that i made myself. it was good too!

kitchen duty

spent my saturday on kitchen duty and this is what i cooked (under instructions from a chef friend)....



roast chicken stuffed with (home-made) herb butter, onions, garlic, lemongrass, pandan leaves and celery, seasoned with soy sauce, oyster sauce and drizzled with sesame oil - slow cooked for over 2 hours at 350degrees. mmmm. good. *proud too* (but not as proud as you - haha)

happy eatster

what's nice about staying home over a long weekend is having time to cook. (nuk).

here's a few of what i whipped up today:

my own version of cibo's roasted pork with herbs using organic shabu-shabu-cut pork (sorry no photo of finished product).

my usual-and-fave baked squash & pesto gratin.

hub's usual-and-fave grilled chicken pesto panini.

parmesan-crusted (well, this time emental-crusted since i forgot to buy parmesan yesterday before everything closed!) cream dory fillet.

and my new masterpiece, a once-boiled, twice-cooled, twice-fried fries... so it tastes like those uber-good-crunchy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside fries in restos. it's a recipe we took from one of the hub's gq mags.

and the nice thing about cooking at home is being in control of what you eat -- organic, free-range, no-gmo, low-fat, low-salt, blah blah...

and now, i'm really into this whole organic, free-range, no-gmo, low-fat, low-salt, blah blah, thanks to this documentary:

this flick is the perfect way to jumpstart your new healthy life. watch me make some lifestyle switches, slowly but surely.

if you're wondering, here's a snippet of the docu... and checkout the uber cool & creative opening credits.

apart from eating right, i'm also starting a different workout now...

since i always thought that running made me eat more than i actually would burn, i switched to this:

it's a little cheesy but it seems to work. think lotsa lunges and weights (and embarrassing-for-your-eyes-only dance steps).

good cardio and strength combo.

(and guaranteed results in 10 sessions... haha)

cooking for me

since the hub was away with the boys,

i was able to just focus on myself in the kitchen.

so for lunch, i prepared one of my favorite classics: smoked salmon, capers and dijon.

then, i made a squash gratin that i'm quite proud of.

seasoned only with malunggay pesto, sea salt and parmesan cheese...

it makes for a wonderful healthy & hearty dish.

(and squash is a very low-carb veggie).

foodeedoo2

i wasn't going to snap a photo of this, but the hub insisted that i blog this since it was, in his words "excellent".

meet my grilled chicken garlic-pesto panini with onions in multi-grain bread (as inspired by his fave chixmosa sandwich from terry's).

naks.

foodeedoo

i attempted to make something a bit more complex in the kitchen this time...

the hub's favorite: "tsukune" or japanese chicken meatball yakitori

and "chahan" or japanese fried rice...

and for me, baked cauliflower

they look good... but as for taste? not so much... hwe hwe.

i shall try and try until i succeed...

but before i sulk, here's my real pride and joy:

it's my little bowl of fresh chicken stock that i keep in my freezer.

i made it myself (!), and i use it to replace those msg-ridden knorr chicken cubes.

and while we still can't stand to eat my cooking everyday (hwe hwe), we continue our sunday lunch habit in seryna.

and yes, guess what the hub had:

as for moi, this is what i had: MY NEW FAVE SUSHI ROLL. (it beats my ol' fave since it's a healthier-but-still-with-crunchy-bits version)

it's a salmon roll -- with salmon, salmon roe and salmon skin. not too much rice... super tasty. mmmmm.

and while i'm at it, i'm sharing with you my other healthy faves that i hope one day i can make at home...

1. ebi puri puri harumaki -- japan's version of our fresh lumpia. this time with miso sauce. mmmmm.

2. my latest discovery in terry's: salmon tartar. but this time, instead of mayo, they use fromage blanc...

and that's not a parmesan crisp, it's a manchego crisp... underneath is chopped egg and capers.... mmmmmm...

mmmmmm....

kitchen heroes

lemme share with you our heroes (ever since lita left).

these 2 are our fave additions to any (yummy?) dish i come up with.

for the mister, it's this: bonifacio's revenge.

cute name dontchatink?

it's the sooper spicy sauce of cafe med.

for me, it's this:

white truffle balsamic cream. (got it from terry's).

waaaah! so yummy! i love it!

yun lang :)

queen of the kitchen

just wanted to share how i fared on my first night as queen of the kitchen...

here's my dinner: garlicky spinach (although i should have called it salty spinach -- hwe hwe -- watch out i might be bloated tomorrow).

for the mister, it's spicy grilled salmon kebabs... he liked it!

i even improvised and added his fave japanese chili oil to the rub.

not bad at all... good things always come out of bad ones, i guess.