Steamed Brussel Sprouts

Fall season is also brussel sprouts season and I am going to eat them wholeheartedly.

They are usually expensive (due to being typically imported from nearby countries such as Australia) in Singapore. But now, I have the luxury to buy them reasonably, seasonably and relatively cheap in the US. Brussel sprouts are high in Vitamin K, C, A; folate, maganese, potassium, iron....mmmmm...you should look at the long nutrients list.

Contrary to the popular and common method of pan-frying with bacon or butter, I did the "Chinese" thing and steam them. Cooking Tip: To get them uniformly cooked yet not overcooked remains the same regardless of cuisine if you want to cook them whole. Cut a cross at the base/bottom of each brussel sprout so that "heat" can get in there easily.

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Williams-Sonoma promo code STARWARS20: Save 20% on Star Wars Assortment

It is less than a month before Thanksgiving. Did you go on a shopping spree last year? What did you buy? If you need gift ideas this year, William-Sonoma may be the answer. You can Save 15% on Breakfast Essentials - Use promo code BREAKFAST15; Save 20% on Our Entire Star Wars Assortment- Use promo code STARWARS20 ; Save $245 on the Top-rated Cuisinart Elite Food Processor and even enjoy Free Shipping on Select Cookware .

Look! Cool cookie cutters, they are.

If you have an eye for class and quality; and a soft spot for anything kitchen...*evil grin*...welcome to the "dark side".

Happy Shopping, and get the mood soon. May the force be with you. Ho ho!

Presto Pasta Night #187

Allo Allo!

This week's delicious entries for Presto Pasta Night Roundup (Presto Pasta Nights - a blog event originally created by Ruth of Once upon A Feast ) will whet your appetite.

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Roasted Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Initially, I bought the sweet potato to cook with porridge (sweet potato porridge/congee -番薯粥). However, with those comments from the Roasted Butternut Squash post, I decided to roast the sweet potato instead.

Sweet potato is nutritious with Vitamin A, C, B6 and minerals such as manganese and potassium.

Basically, I use the spices I have in my pantry. I wanted it spicy, added a lil' red chili powder (Note: Paprika or Cayenne Pepper should work too). Too bad I have no ground cinnamon at home if not I would have added that.

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Tea Rusk

If the Aussies have their Tim Tam (as a "drinking straw") for their coffee or tea (also called Tim Tam Slam), then I have my Tea Rusk.


Rusk is a traditional "hard" biscuit that is enjoyed, while being dipped in coffee or tea. My friend bought this for me over at the Indian Cash and Carry stores around the Bay Area. I usually have this as a really light (lazy) breakfast, when all I have to do is: Make Coffee!; or as supper (not with coffee of course, rather...a cup of warm milk) if I am too hungry to even fall asleep.

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The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook

My book has only been in stores since August 2010 and what else could make me happier when I heard from the publisher that sales has been pretty good. I want to thank you all again, if you have bought my book as a form of support; and even if you have not, I also appreciate your encouragement over here at my blog.

If you are considering to buy any book, Barnes and Noble is currently having 50% off their Halloween collection.


Oh, just to promote The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook again, it is also available in Barnes and Noble.

Improve your Math at Tutorvista

1/2 teaspoon of sugar + 1/2 teaspoon of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar. A 1cm by 1cm by 1cm piece of butter is 1cm3 of butter. Isn't adding fractions easy and the formula for volume right at your fingertips? That might be some fun in recipe measurements and calcuations here but Math might not appear an easy subject for some. How did you learn Maths when you were a kid? My Dad guided me along the basics in Maths. Then, I started to like Maths when I found that the solutions to problems were often based on facts: answers are simply "1" or "0", hardly any "gray" areas. I do not have to glamorize sentences and paragraphs.

With Tutorvista, you can now learn Algebra 2; and tackle 5th grade math or 4th grade math with ease. You are assigned an Academic Counseler at Tutorvista and then - Start asking questions! Why didn't we have that in our generation? You can even learn graphing linear equation over the virtual network. I am quite impressed by the 24x7 tutoring which means whatever kind of learner you are: the early bird, the night owl, the fast or slow learner, you use the services as much as you want (for a fixed price a month), whenever you need it. Do check out their site for monthly packages and try the free demo for first time user.

Brisling Sardines Pasta - PPN#187, Alton Brown on Brisling Sardines

Presto Pasta Nights #187...I'm hosting!
How many times have you gathered ideas of what to cook for the next meal, while currently cooking another dish? Many times for me. When I made this Lightly Spiced Tomatoey Brisling Sardines, I told myself I wanted to make pasta with it another time because the sauce was just...TOO GOOD. May not be the most pleasant-looking pasta but I promise it is delicious - if you like sardines.

Yes! Woo hoo! I am bringing a close to October (gawd, just two months away from 2011!) by hosting Presto Pasta Nights # 187 - event originally created by Ruth from Once upon a Feast. Create your dish, link to this post (more submission guidelines here), send your treats (no tricks, please!) to tigerfish1101 (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) sg and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday 28 October 2010. Round up will be Friday 29 October 2010. Come and join the fun, will ya?

And...so...what did I make for October's closing ? Sardine Pasta! I mashed the sardines up in this sauce so that the boney fish gets disintegrated into the sauce, giving that flavor bomb for thy pasta. You should watch Alton Brown's Video on Brisling Sardines at the end of this post :)

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Vegetarian Spicy Linguine with Spinach, Mushrooms, Tomatoes

No sauce? There is. Just most of the sauce has been absorbed by the linguine while tossing the pasta in the pan of vegetables, mushrooms and sauce. I actually allow the "not-fully-cooked" linguine to sit and soak in the sauce till most of the sauce is absorbed (gone), and then linguine cooks to al-dente perfect. Of course, I did not start off with making a huge batch of sauce.

Yes yes. In the style of stir-fry noodles if you wish to call this. Without meat, a vegetarian pasta can be made equally tasty and it is not heavy on the stomach at all. How tasty? We have tomatoes, a variety of mushrooms (shitake, brown crimini, woodear)....woo hoo..so earthy! and spinach. Of course, the spices work in really well.

And to me, this is another "beat-the-tradition" vegetarian pasta dish out from the usual vegetarian or cream-based mushroom pasta dish served up in restaurants/cafes.

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Cabbage Tomato Soup, with Egg

Clearly, the Cabbage Tomato Soup is one soup I cook quite often. Why not...come Fall or into the colder winter months when most people keep their grills and warm up at home with a soothing comfort soup.

A little spice and garnish. Pinch of curry powder and turmeric powder, if you wish, while you cook the soup; or pinch of freshly ground black pepper. This time, I did it without dried herbs of oregano and basil and used coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves instead.

I know a lot of you can have this as a meal on its own, just like myself. However, to get a little protein (balanced nutrition) out of the cabbage and tomatoes, I usually add a hard-boil egg. How I enjoy simplicity at its best.


What do you think of embroided table linen? You know how I hated "lacey" stuff when I was much much younger. It feels SO OLD-FASHIONED, so off-beat. But now that I am not young, I am beginning to see some beauty in such table linen. They can actually be quaint and pretty gorgeous? ^o^
What do you think?

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Shine at Dinnertime with Lea & Perrins + Foodbuzz

Another "what a surprise!" moment for me just this weekend. I received free "samples" of Lea& Perrins Worcestershire Sauce in an envelope. To be exact, manufacturer's coupons to buy Lea & Perrins in my next grocery shopping. Just in time as I am still stocking up my pantry sauces.

I am definitely not ready for Lea & Perrins "Shine at Dinnertime" Video Recipe Challenge since I have not even bought my sauce!!

But I know you are. Make a home video (under four minutes) of a simple mealtime recipe that features Lea & Perrins and the grand prize winner will receive $10,000. Check out Shine at Dinnertime site for official rules.



What I have done with Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce in the past:

Homemade Beer Ragu Pasta Sauce
Wontons Dipping Sauce

The sauce is just so good!


If you intend to buy some Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce soon, make use of these savings coupons from Lea & Perrins.

Good luck! Good buying! Good eats!

Disclaimer: The Lea & Perrins Coupons were samples received from Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. No monetary compensation was involved. Opinions and review are my own.
Tag: Worcestershire Sauce, Lea & Perrins

An Escape to Food on Facebook

Nature's Pride + Foodbuzz Tastemaker

They came just in time - Nature's Pride in a box delivered last Friday, just in time for our planned trip to Half Moon Bay, CA on Saturday, just in time for a lil' simple sandwich picnic. As part of Foodbuzz's Tastemakers program, I received two Nature's Pride varieties: 100% Whole Wheat and Oatmeal.A delightful surprise!

I know these breads are up to more delicious creations as long as they last in my kitchen. However, as a last minute creation, I did two no-brainer sandwiches for our picnic:  peanut butter and superfruit (berry) jam for breakfast to-go; and turkey ham + superfruit (berry) jam for lunch to-go.

Coincidentally, I love 100% Whole Wheat bread and it has been my pantry staple. Without artificial colors and flavors, and less sodium (oh, you know how some breads can taste quite salty), I am ready to have more Nature's Pride in my pantry. Thanks Foodbuzz and Nature's Pride for an opportunity to try something new and to discover good eats!


Tag: nature's pride, sandwich

An Escape to Food on Facebook

A recommended diet for Multiple Sclerosis

When I first heard of Multiple Sclerosis (abbreviated as MS), I did not know head and tail about it. However, from this site about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and MS treatment, I am able to read up more on this demyelinating disease that affects the central nervous system related to the brain and spinal cord. Imagine a degeneration of the nervous system, it already sounds terrible with our daily movements affected and impaired. So be early to detect symptoms of MS. A Multiple Sclerosis Diet may also help in early prevention or even ease patients through a difficult period.

Basically for any good balanced diet, try to eat a wide variety of foods (which I usually inculcate in my blog). Avoid excess dietary fat (especially saturated) and cholesterol in foods, reduce simple sugar intake, that is: No processed foods (or Minimal processed foods which includes drinking less canned soda and sweetened beverages). Also try to avoid high-sodium food.

If you have sugar cravings, try to add a few berries or lemons in your water to flavor your water. You can also replace sugar by using seasonings and spices such as vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and ginger. Similar to sodium in food, try to substitute excess salt with spices such as cumin, fennel, garlic and ginger. They bring much good tasty flavors in food without using too much salt.

Rice Cooker Steamed Ribs with Garlic-Chinese Black Bean Sauce

Working on a cookbook is no easy feat, especially when you basically do everything from the proposal, to the cooking/experimenting; to writing/typing all the contents and to the final close of proofing the final manuscript/s. I worked on the proposal beginning of last year and before I knew it, the first deadline for manuscript was up. :O

Of course, a lot of the recipes can be done over the stove-top or partial stove-top then finished-off in the rice cooker. However, that was not the intention of this book. To make it a solely rice cooker cookbook cookbook, the publisher suggested it was best to keep most of the recipes to the rice cooker. Makes sense. So while working on the proposal, I had to remind myself: to keep the cooking in the rice cooker as much as possible. I need to prove the concept works.

Let's take, for example, the classic Fermented Chinese Black Bean Pork Ribs (豆豉排骨).  One way to cook this dish is to saute the aromatics (garlic, ginger, red chili, green onions) with the fermented black beans in a pan over the stove-top, then set the fragrant aromatics to steam with the pork ribs over a steamer. Another way is to braise/simmer the pork ribs to cook with the aromatics, after pre-frying the aromatics in the same wok or something?

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Roasted Butternut Squash, Blog Giveaway - reasons to smile

Smile. Say Cheese. Kacha *click of camera* Kabocha! Kabocha is one squash of the many to be seen in the welcome of Fall. I love Fall for its colors. The golden-orange hue of colors. These colors,  deliver warmth, comfort, coziness but sometimes solitude.

Roasted Butternut Squash

But I tend to buy Butternut Squash more often. Why ? I find that it is an easier squash to slice through using a non-electric knife. Cutting through a pumpkin takes the hell out of me. I decided it was not a "super-high-yielding ingredient" to handle: Takes extra energy to handle before the nutritional benefits and yum-factor can be truly enjoyed. Low "ROI". I have stir-fried Acorn Squash before and had to peel rather tediously as part of preparation before cooking. For this Butternut Squash recipe, I don't have to. How?

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Roasted Cauliflower Naan Pizza

I have been re-visiting some of my older recipes and giving them a fresh new spin. So today, I am making Oven-Roasted Cauliflower, which goes as the topping for my Indian Naan-bread pizza base. Decided to do away with pita bread as the pizza base this time and try another kind of bread-base.

Roasted Cauliflower Indian-Style Naan Pizza! It works!


Oh boy, am I stagnating right now? I seem to be toying with my comfort-zone ingredients. I need new ingredients! More! More! To excite me, to inspire me.

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"What to Eat" Marion Nestle - Kindle on the Web

POM - the wonderful juice not so wonderful afterall? Did you read this recent article by Marion Nestle?

Marion Nestle's "What to Eat" was one of the first books I read along my food journey. That was less than five years ago. Not that I was not interested way back in the past but I never took effort to probe into nutrition and food health till recently.

I also particularly enjoyed her chapters on food selection/grocery shopping. Oh just how "evil" those merchants can be when it comes to marketing their products. "The treacherous landscape of American supermarket", she calls it. Hey, it may apply to supermarkets over the world, not just America!

Knowing these dark little secrets, I have since became a smarter shopper e.g avoid the central aisle (mostly processed food); look high and low, not just the middle (eye-level) product shelves; read ingredients and nutrition labels smartly.

How about sharing one of your good grocery-shopping habits with us (looking for bargain counts!)?

Or share your favorite food-related book, excluding cookbooks/recipe books? ;p I would like to read some of your recommendations using Kindle on the Web. Thanks. Meanwhile, you can try reading "What to Eat" by Marion Nestle using Kindle on the Web (use the Scroll tab at bottom of reader to start from Page 1). Sorry but due to my blog layout, the reading might not be too pleasurable for you :O

Apple Celery Carrot Cantaloupe Chunky Juice

Occasionally, when things get too perfect, it may not be too good since it becomes too artificial. But if it is naturally perfect, then it is ok.

This juice is not as smooth (appealing) as commercial juices. Chunky because I did not filter the juice blend and discard the fibrous residue of the fruits after blending them in my Ninja Master Prep. I bought The Ninja Master Prep, three months ago from Costco. It was placed side-by-side the Magic Bullet but I recalled the Ninja Master Prep recommendation from Rasa Malaysia some time back, and decided to go with the expert. ^o^ . No regrets since I have been using my ONLY blender (cum food processor) to make fresh fruit (and veggie) smoothies. To me, smoothie makes it easier for me to adopt raw food as part of regular diet.


What did I make this time? Appcantacarelyorarasp Juice! Try pronouncing that! Ha ha....
I use: Apple (in season right now!). Cantaloupe (almost out of season soon). Carrot. Celery. Orange. Frozen raspberries.

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Celtuce, Seared Scallops, Fried Shallots with Pasta

Scallops for its umami and savory deliciousness. Fried caramelized shallots for its charred fragrance. Celtuce or Stem Letture for its crunch, natural vegetable-sweet and subtle bitter aftertaste.

Three ingredients, a few critical steps, then basically the assembling. And are we in for Celtuce and Pasta in Fried Shallots and Pan-Seared Scallops.

No celtuce? Don't know what is celtuce*? This will work well with broccoli (and its stems too).

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Daikon Omelette, Fried Egg with Daikon

Have a vision in mind - just how strategic management preaches. I started with that, knowing that I will be just half way there since I hardly use any type of flour at home. Without flour, making Fried Carrot Cake (Chai Tow Kueh) is impossible. But my friend made something similar for me at her home the other day which I thought - good gracious, it tasted like Fried Carrot Cake (sorry, no picture)! She sliced fresh daikon, added some green onions and fried them like an omelette! Of course, the texture is no way near to Chai Tow Kueh - as the use of flour in Chai Tow Kueh gives its pillowy yet firm texture. But really, the taste is near...the vision.

Then I made mine...


How strange is that when I tried to make the same dish my friend made for me, my dish turn out very differently from hers and tasted like another classic. What I have done differently was how fine I grated/sliced my daikon. I sliced it to finer strips, thinking: hey, I may make it more like Chai Tow Kueh (how naive!) but NO! It does not work this way. But I am happy. Errr....but wait? What makes me happy?

My "omelette" tasted like Fried Egg with Preserved Turnip/Salty Radish (Chai Po Omelette). Now, this is not preserved in any way (which is good for me since I don't buy any preserved food at home.) and I have Chai Po Omelette by using fresh daikon. How good does this get? Woo hoo.....very good!

So to my friends and you all, who does not have any idea how the Teochew-famed Fried Egg with Preserved Turnip/Salty Radish (Chai Po Omelette) taste - here is your chance. Get some fresh daikon, green onions, eggs, salt and you are on your way...to taste this Asian classic.

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