Love Nest, literally!

It has been barely 2 months old, and it looks like our neighbourhood birds are already making themselves comfortable at our home. I'm hoping it's the good fengshui that's attracting the nature. First, there was the bumble bee trying to tunnel through my new wooden kerosene lamp in the garden, leaving a permanent coin-sized imprint on the wood. Next came a green-feathered bird happily building its nest on our backyard bamboos. And now a small bird who's finding our bonsai tree a haven for its newborn. She's weaving a nest from twigs, pellets, and just about anything found from the surrounding area that could hold the nest together. It's humbling to see how hard the bird has been working (flying in and out, and weaving non-stop for 2 days now). The choice of location could not have been more conspicuous - the nest hangs precariously on the bonsai tree right in front of our main entrance, along the walking path and within reach by hand. The prospect of destruction by human or nature does not seem to be a deterrent at all. Mother nature is awesome!

Bird landing on its newly built nest

Bird starting to weave

Bird trying out its nest

Bird resting at night after a hard day's work

P.S. I just found out from a website maintained by a group of bird watchers in Singapore that the little bird is a female olive-back sunbird. She's probably incubating her eggs in her new nest attached to our bonsai. I'll try to see if I could catch a glimpse of the eggs.

Oxtail Soup - Two Ways

It had been a productive Sunday. Got up early. Prepared green curry base. Boiled oxtail bones soup base. Hit the gym. Lunched out at La Petite Cuisine. Watered plants and lawn. Fixed new solar-powered plant lights. Cooked dinner. Set up dining table. Guests arrived. Enjoyed dinner conversations. Prepared coffee from Spinelli's coffee beans. Watched Man U struck 2nd goal. Guests called it a day. Washed up. Started blogging....

Oxtail soup - Chinese style - clear soup with yam and white radish

Oxtail soup - Western style - Goulash

Sour cream green curry shin beef fillet

La Petite Cuisine

5 main events, 2 entrees and a soup. That sums up our Mother's Day lunch-out today at a little French kitchen, La Petite Cuisine, located at Bukit Timah Serene Centre.  No-frills scrumptious French cooking that's kind to the pocket but generous on tastes. The best part is there's no service charge and GST, which is music to the ears in this economy.  Not surprisingly, with its very casual dining experience (almost canteen-styled) and its very reasonable pricing, La Petite Cuisine is a popular regular joint, especially for the Bukit Timah expatriate community.  One critique though - food is a tad salty, but some people may just prefer that as being flavorful. Otherwise, it's perfect and seems authentic enough.

Entree #1 : Escargot served with hot tomato and herbs sauce over a croissant and green salad.

Entree #2 : Goat cheese and green salad

Mushroom Soup

Main Event #1 : Macaroni stuffed with salmon and cooked in creamy sauce

Main event #2 : Duck confit with baked potatoes

Main event # 3: Spaghetti with mushrooms

Main event # 4 : Rack of lamb

Main event #5 : Creamy prawns served with butter rice and salad

Black Olive Rice

This Labour Day weekend presented yet another opportunity for me to try some new dishes. As always, I love to modify existing recipes to suit my own style, which inevitably will have something to do with swifter cooking time, healthy(ier) choices and freshly available ingredients. My version of black olive rice uses less oil, no seasoning, and cooked using a rice cooker. Instead of canned salted olives, I used pitted black olives which are a lot less salty and fresher. I first stir-fried the finely chopped black olives in a small amount of garlic-infused olive oil until fragrant. I then added in soaked long-grain rice to the fried olive paste until well mixed in low heat. (Sprinkle a little salt to the rice mixture, if you prefer). Lastly, I transferred the rice to a rice cooker, filled it with water just enough to cover the rice, and let it cooked automatically in the cooker. Easy and hassle-free.

I served the olive rice with baked cashew nuts, fried shrimps, fresh-cut onion slices and hot chillies. Rice and condiments are best eaten when mixed.

To compliment the olive rice, I made some mild green curry mutton, with long beans and fresh peas (again not canned or frozen).

Another dish to go with the rice was baked chicken with orange zest and spring onions. This is yet another simple and easy recipe. I first rubbed sea salt over the chicken, let it marinate for an hour (this is the seasoning), before browning them on medium heat with a small amount of oil (skin side on the pan or skillet) for a brief few minutes. I then poured in a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, a few strips of orange peel, and spring onions, before placing the pan in the oven for about 20 minutes at 170 degrees C.

To balance the meat, I prepared a simple vegetarian dish - stir-fried brussels sprout in garlic infused oil. I served the cooked vegetable with fresh onion slices for added punch and freshness.

Cantonese Roast Duck

Preparation was somewhat tedious. I had to first blanch the duck in boiling water for a few minutes, prepare the stuffing (which is where the magic is), insert the stuffing into the cavity of the blanched duck, sew it up, glaze the duck with honey dissolved in rice vinegar, tie a string onto its neck and hang the duck overnight to dry. 

Honey glazed, stuffed, and ready for the oven

Roast duck fresh out of the oven

Carving the roast duck

Succulent pieces of duck breast meat

For the stuffing, I first fried finely chopped ginger roots and star anise in vegetable oil until fragrant, then added in a mixture of yellow bean sauce, hoisin sauce, five spices powder and chinese wine. I then tossed in a bundle of chopped spring onions, and let the gravy boiled for a minute or two. 

Pasta for Vegetarian and Seafood Lovers

It's a little more complicated when there's a vegetarian in the house of meat eaters. To make sure that everyone has a satisfying meal, the vegetarian gets enough nutrients and there's no over-cooking, the menu needs careful consideration. For that reason, I cooked two different types of pasta. Spinach tagliatelle with brussels sprout, asparagus and goat cheese for the vegetarian, and spaghetti with clams and green mussels for the rest of us.

Boil tagliatelle

Stir-fry brussels sprout and asparagus in olive oil with garlic

Mix in pasta and goat cheese

Cook for a few minutes, and you'll have spinach tagliatelle with brussel sprout, asparagus and goat cheese. I used 1 tablespoon of goat cheese just for flavouring. If you prefer a more cheesy or creamy flavour, you could add more goat cheese to taste. This is a light and healthy pasta, as long as one uses a considered amount of olive oil and cheese.

Spaghetti with clams and green mussels was a crowd pleaser. One can't get it wrong with seafood. It's so easy to cook, and sure to impress your guests.  I first stir-fried the clams and mussels in garlic-infused olive oil, then added in a little white wine for extra flavouring, and finally mix in the pasta.  I let the pasta cooked for a few more minutes in the clams/mussels base. 

Spaghetti with clams and green mussels

A Simple Dinner for Five

It has been months since I last cooked a complete meal. Now that the house is ready, it's time to unpack the wok and cook up a storm. Not exactly....

It's not easy to pick up the pace after a long time away. For me, this applies to everything in life, including cooking. I need to be inspired, and inspired I did.  This weekend, I tried cooking something based mostly on imagination and a little on past experiences. Yup, first-time dishes and with no recipe, I whipped up a light dinner for five. 

Briyani-styled Rice

Fish curry with assorted vegetables

Beef Rendang

Stewed Pork Ribs with Bitter Gourd

As always, I enjoyed setting up the table. Nothing elaborate as it was a casual dinner for family members. A good presentation helps to wet one's appetite.