Easy Like Sunday Morning (Avocado Toast)

It’s a Sunday!

And it’s a day of rest, altho I’m sure for some, it’s pretty hectic spending time with family and kids and chores and errands and groceries and …. gosh, I’m feeling tired already.

Feel blessed you have things to do. Feel blessed you have people to do it with.

As for me, I’m taking a break and taking it easy. For lunch/brunch. 

There’ll be some face stuffing later with the tribe.

It’s been a lovely yet stressful week. (How can a mere seven days cause so many mixed feelings?)

Had someone very close to my heart visit for a few short days. It’s always too short. But it was good.

I miss her already.

That’s obviously not the stress part.

A word of advice on texting that most probably already know but we all need reminding, esp folks like me who have diarrhoea of the mouth and thumb/fingers.

Anything you type/text can be misread. It all depends on the other person who’s reading it, what kind of a mood they’re in, whether they’re menopausing/andropausing and possibly a host of past traumatic history they’ve gone thru and one word might just trigger some negative response. 

They could read it as a ‘Grrrr’ or as an ‘Awwww’. 

Sometimes concern can be misread as criticism … how? …. only they know. 

And sometimes, they’re just too damned sensitive. Bah! Humbug!

I have no energy for dramatics.

And then I find out I have no chickpeas …. AARRRGGHHH!!!

*Breath*

*count to ten*

Make do….

1 Avocado, nice and ripe

2 Garlic cloves, nice and chubby

1 can Canellini beans, Chickpeas would’ve been nice

1 handful coriander leaves

Juice of half a lemon

Drizzle of sesame oil

1/4 cup Grapeseed oil, or Olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Some toasted pine nuts

Plonk them all into a food processor except for the pine nuts (you can add it in but I like some crunch).

Buzzzzzzzzzzz

It’s up to you how smooth you like it

Sprinkle pine nuts.

Use as a dip, a spread on toast or toss with some cooked pasta (just add some grated parmesan for extra flavour)

Easy!

No stress ….. 

Penang Style Indian Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles)

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Especially when you’re desperate.

I’ve been having a craving for the Penang style Indian Mee Goreng for the longest time. Actually, come to think of it, I’m forever craving this. It’s a life long, constant crave. 

It’s addictive.

There’s a ton of carbs in here … but who cares. Malaysian food is all about carbs anyway. 

And I don’t get this anywhere in the big city, nothing that can compare to the ones on the island.

And when you’ve had one too many bad ones, you kinda give up and get all hot and bothered and then decide to just make it yourself.

I must say it isn’t bad at all …. can’t get up to par to the island masters but it’s as close as I can get without the sweet potato spiced gravy or the chilly squid curry/sambal that is such a secret to each individual stall. It’s enough to satisfy my crave …. for now.

INGREDIENTS

Oil for frying

5 large garlic cloves (chopped)

4 tbs chilli paste

500g yellow noodles (blanched and drained)

2 pieces firm tofu (fried and cut into cubes)

1 large waxy potato (boiled, peeled and diced)

1 tomato (diced)

dough  and shrimp fritters (I got these from the rojak man), cut into bite sized pieces

2 large handfuls beansprouts

1/2 cup coarsely ground peanuts (optional)

Sliced chinese lettuce for garnish

Sliced green chillies for garnish

Sugar and salt to taste

Lime or calamansi

Sauce: mix together

3 tbs soy sauce

3 tbs thick dark caramel soy 

3 tbs thick tamarind juice

1 tbs white vinegar

3 tbs tomato ketchup

METHOD

Heat a deep pan or wok with a few tbs of cooking oil. Fry chopped garlic and chilly paste.

Add cut potatoes and tomatoes.

Stir in drained noodles and sauce mix.

Stir until noodles are slightly dry. Then add in the tofu, fritters and bean sprouts. 

Turn off heat. You don’t want to overcook the beansprouts. 

Stir in ground peanuts or just sprinkle over the top when you wanna eat. 

Garnish with sliced lettuce and sliced green chillies.

Eat with a squeeze of lime and get transported to the lovely Pearl of the Orient. 

I’m so satisfied right now …. burp …. squeeze me.

Tomato Cream Pasta Sauce

How the heck do you make a blob look good?!

Anyway…this was a spur of the moment “I-need-food-and-crave-something-sweet-yet-sour-and-savory”. It’s simple, deliciously satisfying and I am now sharing it with you, ugly, blobby pic or not.

It’s all about the sauce so I’m not getting into the meatballs which you can see (if you squint very intently) contributing to the blobbiness of the blob. I needed something a little more substantial than plain old pasta, even as good a sauce as this …. I need meat! Besides, gotta replace whatever I lost after this morning’s tough workout. Now I’m nicely padded again ….. sigh.

This was cooked by “feel”, as in, no precise measurements, just by my tastebuds. But I shall attempt to give you the amounts …. just an estimate. Taste as you go along. 

INGREDIENTS

250g tomato puree

1 large onion

4 -5 large cloves garlic

about 2 tbs grated parmesan cheese

salt & sugar, to taste 

200g cream

oil

butter

Chopped herbs

METHOD

Chop onion and garlic.

Heat oil and butter.

Saute chopped onion and garlic.

Pour in tomato paste.

Stir and simmer gently for a few minutes. 

Add parmesan. 

Taste and add salt and sugar as needed. (I’d used about 1/2 tsp salt and about 1 tbs sugar - this depends on how salty the parmesan is. So, tasting the sauce after adding the parmesan is important).

Remove from heat and cool a little before stirring in the cream.

Serve with prepared pasta of choice and a sprinkling of freshly chopped herbs …. and meatballs, if you prefer. 

Thanksgiving Roasted Duck & Sundried Tomatoes Pasta

Okay, so I cheated, and used a store bought roasted duck. 
Hey, Thanksgiving isn't even celebrated big time here. It should, if not just to remind everyone to be thankful and doesn't have to be about any country's traditions and shmaditions if you don't want it to be. Gratitude is the keyword, not stuffing, yams or turkeys .... or even pasta ... well, it can be, but gratitude comes first, and then stuffing, yams and turkeys ... even pasta.

I'm thankful, even after several months of sadness, mishaps and not-nice whatnots, I still have some sanity and strength left in me. Thankful that I still have some time to make and post this. Thankful that you are reading this. Thankful to be here. 
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I've never had to roast a duck (I'm thankful for that too, altho I'd like to try do so one fine day). People seem to like giving me roast duck. I get this quite often. I love roast duck ... any which way. I'm happy.
I was given this, I said thanks. Thanks-given. Thanksgiving ... get it? Oh well ...
This one was roasted in the Cantonese style, with a strong flavor of five spice. You can use any kind of roasted duck meat.
The usual way we enjoy this is with fluffy steamed rice and perhaps some vegetable side dish. 
I like teasing off the meat and using them in all sorts of concoctions. This is one of our favorites.

Notice I don't have any measurements. It's up to you how much you stuff you want in your pasta. Just toss everything in.


INGREDIENTS

Roasted duck meat, sliced
Garlic, finely chopped
Sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (if not using those already packed in oil, soak dried ones in hot water until soft)
sweet basil leaves
salt, to taste
chilly flakes, optional

prepared pasta (I used Vermicelli, the finer spaghetti)


METHOD

Saute chopped garlic in a little oil until fragrant but not burnt. (If you have duck fat, it would be awesome!)
Stir in chilly flakes, if using.
Add in duck meat. 
And then the tomatoes.
Stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Toss the prepared pasta to mix evenly with everything.
Season with salt to taste.
Finally add in the sweet basil leaves just before serving.


Sounds simple? I can tell you, the sun-dried tomatoes, basil and the roasted duck goes perfect with each other! 
This is actually similar in method to the shrimp/seafood pasta recipe, just a twist to the ingredients.



                         ~ Thank you for being you ~

Simple Shrimp Pasta

[Thank you everyone for helping get this to Foodbuzz Top 9]

Another quickie dish with a quickie pic.

Normally I'd add in some squid rings and some mussels if I can find some fresh ones in the market .... a seafood pasta. But not this time.

This could get all hoity-toity if you dress it up a little and do the pasta twirl on a fancy plate and call it "Pasta al Frutti di Mare" or "Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Frutti di Mare" or something of the sort, but I've unhoity-toity it to save some time.

Today, it's got to be quick. So, today, it's plain ol' Shrimp Pasta, or in all hoity-toityness ... "Pasta Piccante di Gamberetti". (Italian speaking folks ... did I get that right?)

(I am a little behind in my postings as well as visits to all your lovely posts. I shall slowly, but surely, make my way through them all. Also, I usually make it a point to reply to every single comment made on all of my posts, guest posts included. I definitely will reply to everyone soon once I'm fully recovered from my bleary state and have tuned my very tired being to regular mode. Oh, and in case anyone is interested, things are better now. Thank you all for your well wishes and concern and of course, all the help with the guest posts.)

So, in the meantime, you find out what a half-zonked person eats.

Pasta is actually one of my many comfort foods. Hey, I need the carbs for energy.

I can't think straight, I can't write straight, I can't spell stagriht (eek), I'm gonna shut up and eat.

INGREDIENTS

(Note: This recipe is for 2 - 3 people. Adjust amounts to suit your taste.)

half a garlic bulb (not clove, bulb), finely chopped

10 - 12 medium prawns / shrimp, shelled

1 medium-sized fennel bulb, sliced (I looove fennel, don't you just love fennel?)

chilly flakes (I used about 1 tbs)

2 - 3 tbs grapeseed / olive oil

1 small bunch of coriander, chopped

salt, to taste

prepared spaghetti for 2 - 3 people (al dente)

METHOD

Heat oil in a wok or deep frying pan.

Stir in garlic, chilly flakes and shrimp.

Give it a quick stir (you don't want to burn the chilly flakes, otherwise you'll get a slight bitter flavor and also to not overcook the shrimp) and add in the fennel. Stir fry until fennel is lightly translucent.

(If you want to be a little more refined, remove the shrimp when it's just cooked and set aside. I couldn't be bothered.)

Toss in the prepared pasta and chopped coriander.

Turn off the heat and mix well.

Add in salt to taste.

Add more chilly flakes if you like it spicy.