Not quite a greenthumb

I'd like to think that I'm a bit of  a green thumb, but so far I have yet to prove that I have a talent in gardening. Just recently I became more interested in tidying up and beautifying the backyard (probably due to the fact that the lawn is very patchy and the vegetation pretty much dying.. ^_~, but that's beside the point). So Bunnings and I naturally became close friends... I go there so often that I'm sure pretty soon the shop assistants there will be offering me a discount card or Bunnings' platinum membership card, if they have any...

Well, this story went back a few weeks ago, that's when Spring is in the air and all the pretty flowers are in bloom. Before, I always enjoy looking at a well-manicured and well-kept gardens, *the keyword here is looking* not doing it on my own.. Not for someone who hates insects so much like me, nu-uh! But this particular Spring I suddenly have this urge to try my hands on gardening. What causes it? I really don't know, I just blame it on my pregnancy hormones...

So to cut long story short, I started buying a pot of hydrangeas, lawn feeder, lots of potting mix and mulch, and so on. Diligently I toiled on early mornings and late afternoons to revive my backyard that has been wasted for a long time (my Dad is the only person who cares about the garden enough to mow the lawn and water the garden, but he's not always around...). I hand-watered the lot, replanted & threw away dead plants, and hacked the weeds & moss in-between the paved stones and on the lawn.

Today I look at the backyard and saw some improvements, thankfully, (though the lawn is barely surviving still) and my hydrangeas are blooming beautifully :) The pear, apple & plum trees that my Dad planted a while ago also seem to be thriving, and started bearing little buds of fruits now because of the regular watering & the food compost that I collect daily, all safely buried under the soil. Perhaps sometime next month we could even be harvesting the fruits!

As my pregnancy advances, I do less, even though there are so much still to be done in the garden. If it were up to me, I'd cut down some trees too! ^_^ oh well, it'll have to wait until after the arrival of the bub, maybe then I can further develop these set of not quite a green-thumb of mine!

Going to the ball

My husband's niece is turning one today! She is such a bubbly character and always full of smile, it's adorable..
Getting back into decorating cakes has its perks.. one of them is the fact that we get to eat the left-overs ^_~, usually I make a bit more than required so we always end up with some extra bits & pieces.. repeat this for a few times and you can easily gain a couple of kilos, so there you have it.. :P

Something simple and girly, without so much pinks, but purple instead, I opted for the Barbie princess option. Also, I had fun deciding what dress she gets to wear. Underneath the ball dress, we've got lemon & poppyseed cake, very light in texture and a little crumbly, perfect for those cholesterol conscious adults (less eggs!).. but the cake still holds pretty well for sculpting.

Lemongrass prawn

Losing appetite is normal during a hot day such as this one. I initially felt very uninspired to cook today because the sun glare was so strong I had to close the curtains in the family room, yet it didn't help much (thank goodness for air-con!), then I rummaged through the fridge and started taking out 'lighter' ingredients.. chicken as opposed to beef, plenty of veggies and prawn from the freezer. 

The heat makes me want to cook something that tastes a bit tropical, if you know what I mean.. things like coconut, lemongrass, and pineapple. (cross the last one out, I don't have it handy in my kitchen)  So, I decided that the combination of coconut & lemongrass will be palatable with the prawns, and the chicken will have to go with chinese cabbage in a light, soupy dish. I'm all set to cook!!

Lemongrass Prawn with sweet sesame dipping sauce - serves 2

150 g raw prawns, peeled, minced

2 1/2 tbsp corn starch

2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp fish sauce

salt & white pepper to taste (approx 1/4 tsp)

3 tbsp dessicated coconut

3 stalks lemongrass, cut into 6 pcs 

1 egg yolk mixed with 1/2 tsp brown sugar (for brushing)

Dipping sauce:

2 tsp hoisin sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

about 7 tbsp water

1/2 tsp sesame oil

white pepper & salt

sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

Pre-heat the oven (I used grill/ fan grill) at 180C, line a baking tray with baking paper/ greased aluminium foil.

Heat a small frying pan (without oil) to toast the dessicated coconut for about 3 minutes, or until it turns golden brown & fragrant, set aside.

Mix the minced prawns with corn starch, brown sugar, salt & pepper together. Add the toasted coconut last. 

Mould the prawn mixture onto the cut lemongrass stalks (use a little water on your hand to handle the sticky mixture)

Place the prawn skewers onto the prepared tray & brush with the egg wash.

Grill for about 10-15 minutes, repeat the egg wash, turning once as they brown slightly.

Meanwhile, prepare the dipping sauce: 

Mix all ingredients but the sesame seeds (if using) together in a small pan, stir occasionally until it bubbles and is thickened slightly. Turn the heat off, pour the sauce into a small bowl & sprinkle sesame seeds on top. 

Simple Cabbage soup

This is embarrassingly simple to make, I'm not sure whether I want to put it up here, but it offsets the slightly strong flavour of the prawns quite well, the key is on the chicken stock you're using. I feel they are nice eaten together... so here goes..

Chinese cabbage soup - serves 2

1/3 chinese cabbage leaves (small), separate & wash thoroughly

1/2 L plain chicken stock (I used a few pieces of chicken thighs to make this)

1 tsp fried garlic

salt & pepper to taste

1. Prepare the chicken stock in advance, add garlic & let it simmer.
2. Chop the cabbage leaves into slices, and add into the stock (cooks in less than 10 minutes)
3. Turn off the heat as the soup boils, season with salt & pepper.
 

Pan fried pork fillet in butter

This goes pretty well together with the kangkung...

Pan-fried pork fillets in butter - serves 2


For the pork fillet, I've used about 1/2 a pack (8-10 slices) only since it's enough for two people. Firstly, I marinated the fillets in light soy sauce and a little Chinese rice wine for 10 minutes. Then I heat up 2 tbsp of butter, adding in the marinated fillets as the butter sizzles away, turning the fillets once as it browns nicely. Set the cooked fillets aside. 

Using the remaining sauce on the pan, I added 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar and a little water to make the dipping sauce. Pour the dipping sauce once it bubbles away into a sauce dish.

After that, it only takes a few minutes to boil the soba noodle and scooped out the kim chee & squid out of their plastic containers. By the way, I love the organic Hakubaku brand, it's so versatile and tastes nice. Do try the ramen, somen and of course, the soba variety, you'll be hooked!

Stir-fried Kangkung

The Oriental market near our place has a great range of stock, and today when we were out and about doing grocery shopping, to my delight, I saw a perfect bunch of kangkung. I don't see them around too often, so Immediately I snatched it away off the shelf, along with thinly sliced pork fillet, and soon I was happily plotting away the dinner menu tonight.

Kim Chee shop just across the street was open then, and before we knew it we made our way there, only to come out a few minutes later with a few containers of kim chee and marinated chili squid. We never checked out the place before, but from the looks (and smell) of things, we'll probably be back there again soon :)

Tonight I'm cooking stir-fried kangkung with garlic and soybean sauce, pan-fried pork fillet marinated in soy sauce and butter, and serve them with cold soba noodle, the kim chee and the squid. 


When I cook kangkung, I like to cook the leaves separately, so that they won't get overcooked, but that's just me... below are the ingredients I use:

Stir-fried kangkung- serves 2 (starving adults)

1 bunch of kangkung, washed & strained
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red chilli, de-seeded & chopped.
3-3 1/2 tsp soy bean sauce ( I used the white variety)
1 tsp dark soy sauce 
sugar, salt & white pepper to taste

1. Heat a few tbsp oil in the wok, add in minced garlic & chilli. 
2. Add in the kangkung (leaves last) in two batches (as they started off quite huge before wilting away)
3. Pour in the soy bean sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar & pepper as necessary.
4. As the leaves wilt nicely, turn the heat off and season with salt to taste.

Fragrant eggplant with pork

Aside from baking, I do most of the day-to-day cooking, especially when my parents are overseas (which is, most of the time) and there are only two of us at home. 

I like the spicy South East Asian foods, especially Indonesian and Thai, but I also enjoy the subtle combination of flavors in Japanese food, and everything else in between.

When it comes to cooking it, though, I mostly cook based on what we have on hand (I call it innovative cooking *grins*) or if I'm in the mood, I'm willing to try out new recipes and follow them to a 't'.

For last night's dinner, I tried out fragrant eggplant with pork, adapted from "The Food of Asia" and as the picture in the book suggested, it turned out great!

 Fragrant Eggplant with Pork - serves 4


1 medium sized eggplant/ aubergine
oil for deep frying
50 g lean pork fillet, minced
2 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked & finely chopped
2 tbsp chilli paste
1 tsp salted soybeans, mashed
2 tsp finely sliced scallion
1 tsp finely chopped dried shiitake mushroom
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chinese rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp corn flour mixed with a little water (as a thickener)

1. Wash and halve the eggplant. Slice each half into 1 cm thickness, pat dry.
2. Deep fry the eggplant pieces in hot oil for about a minute, set aside.
3. Pour out all but about 2 tsp of the oil to stir fry the minced pork until it browns slightly. Add chopped dried shrimp, chilli paste, salted soy beans, half of the scallion and the chopped mushroom. 
4. Add in the stock, soy sauces, sesame oil and salt and stir the mixture until combined.
5. Add in the fried eggplant pieces, then thicken with cornflour while stirring.
6. Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining sliced scallion.

The latest trend - pregnancy photography

Have you noticed that pregnancy photos are 'in' these days? the photographers are expanding their market rapidly and the photos sell like hot cakes, it's really interesting. 
I myself never thought about it until just recently when I came across a few (well, one was my husband's friend who just turned it into a side job..)  photographers whose portfolios are quite incredible. Perth professional photographers has displayed some great work on their site, but when it comes to pregnancy, baby & kids photos, I personally Fiona Rogerson's work the best. 

Check it out and see it for yourself. Perhaps if I have the time, I'd love to see her and get my pregnancy photos done too... definitely no nudes though, I'm really, really uncomfortable with the idea of dressing down to a slinky piece of fabric draped on my person and just that, and with a huge tummy to boot! ;P ... The (near) nude photos look great on her website though.