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My love affair with risotto goes way back in 90s. It was my favourite dish I would order at an Italian restaurant, growing up. I love its creamy texture, which I found many years later when I started cooking it myself that the creamy texture actually came from the starch of the rice, not cream, and I got to enjoy it even more, guilt free, kind of 
, one of my favourite is creamy seafood risotto though.;-)
Whereas pasta is well-known and enjoyed by people all around the world, risotto, another traditional Italian dish, seems to be lost on the restaurant menu. The best risotto award from me still goes to the ones at a risotto cafe in Newtown in Sydney. You can try this specialist risotto place if you are interested in any imaginable risotto varieties possible. It is called, I think, Risotto Cafe, opposite to Enmore Theatre. I used to have pumpkin and fetta cheese risotto there and it was absolutely delicious. Another thing I liked was…I can’t remember it exactly, but it was something like a mix of Italian and Indian flavour.
I think risotto is a super-comforting and food for winter. It can be quite complicated and tiring to cook if you are going to follow the traditional technique of stirring the rice for an hour or so by adding a ladle of broth at a time. But you can get away with adding the whole broth at once. We live busy lives, don’t we? And I don’t think the risotto in restaurants is cooked in the conventional method, otherwise diners would starve waiting for their food.
You can make it with any choice of your favourite ingredients and the good thing about risotto is that it’s so easy to come up with great vegetarian ideas and it never disappoints you. I often make mushroom risotto, not with white mushrooms but with swiss brown or crimini mushrooms with white wine sauce and kalamata olives. It’s so good.
The other recipes I made recently are these:
<Risotto with sun-dried tomato and mushroom>
<Risotto with mussel and capers>
This is a funny video, at least it made me laugh out loud for a minute. I am a tough audience, you know?
This had been created by a Korean Uni sutudent a year ago as part of a school assignment. It was buried under the shadow of Transformer’s fame, but finally came out to the light after he gained his confidence seeing the new movie.
I hope you will have a good laugh. Enjoy!
I came home on Friday night to find a weird little creature on my cheese board eating up all the yummy food I prepared for the night. When I growled at him, he had this pleading look in his eyes and I couldn’t help but to forgive him. We had a good time in the company of the new alien friend. We will update you on how our new friend is getting on on the Earth.
I watched ‘Floyd’s India’ on a food channel last night. Watching him throwing around all sorts of spices in exotic Indian settings got me craving for hot curry. It was coming to midnight then, and there was no way I could get Indian takeaway at that time of night. “I hate it when I can’t get late night munchies. Shops close so early!” Quietly protesting, I had to go to sleep dreaming about spicy curry dinner the next day.
I was writing this post last night and my computer went all funny, so I had to stop here. So I’m going to resume my writing, pretending now is the moment last night. It’s like traveling in time. Quite weird. It’s annoying the draft wasn’t saved automatically. I have to start all over again.
Anyway, here I am, with a full happy tummy, writing about the Indian dish I made remembering how Floyd did.
The first is a searing hot lentil curry with lots of garlic&ginger, chopped onion, ground red chilli, fennel, tumeric&corriandar powder. Throw the spice mix with lentils into a pan with oil and cook to bring out the flavour. Add chopped tomatoes and simmer until well cooked by adding a drop of water if necessary. (Indians will probably add more oil though) It sounds like an ordinary curry dish so far. Now I add tofu to complete is as Nancy’s fusion dish. Ha Ha! I love fresh tofu! I made soy ice cream with tofu a few days ago. I’m not telling you what it tasted like! Total secret!
The other dish is called ‘Taro coconut curry’. To balance the hotness I made it very mild and coconuty. Instead of using coconut cream with high saturated fat, I used grated coconut, just enough to give the flavour. Follow the same process as the first one with the different spice mix(curry, tumeric, cumin, garlic, coconut, onion). To distinguish this recipe from others I put sliced parsnip and precooked taro. Slightly fruit flavour of parsnip matched well with coconut and taro, I think? What do you think?
The picture below is hot hot hot fish masala and vegetable korma with tofu, which I made a few weeks before. I particularly enjoyed the fish curry very much. Yogurt with chopped cucumber&mint is a must have for your burning mouth. Tee Hee.
One of the three pizzas we had during the hours of painting. This was Kyle’s favourite. No wonder why, for a stinky blue cheese maniac. By the time we had the second and last pizza, we were feeling too jolly to be bothered to take pictures.
What would you call this? It’s a cross between cake and frittata, made with pumpkin, spinach & fetta cheese. I must have put too much grated pumpkin in and it ended up too moist in the middle. I baked a whole loaf and it disappeared into our mouth in a blink of an eye. It was so yummy! I ate too fast and had a digestion problem afterwards. So Kyle patted hard on my back to relieve the blockage. I shouldn’t make it so yummy next time. 
I had a quite special Saturday with Kyle doing some painting. We made a trip to an art store and bought painting tools. I never knew how expensive the tools, especially the brushes were, and the canvases, too. I was surprised by the price of small brushes costing up to a couple of hundreds dollars. I don’t think I will ever play around with brushes that belong to my artist friends now. They will kill me.
We made three pizzas, including the blue brie pizza to start off with. That was gorgeous. And followed wine, many glasses of wine to put us in the arty mood. Once we started to feel like we were walking on the floor covered with white bird feather, we walked down to our workshop and let the brushes take us over.
I really enjoyed expressing myself on a canvas. I think the piece of art I did was pretty good considering the fact that I had never painted before excluding the times I did in art classes at school, but that didn’t really count because I did it for good marks not for the sake of art.
I must have a lot of artistic side inside me, which have been suppressed the whole life. I should let it come out. I should…
I’m impressed, and you?
(article from BBC-Tees)
It’s been all over The Matthew Davies programme and we’ve published the details for you to print out at home.
With nutrition in the spotlight at the moment and Sudan 1 proving that we’re not so sure about what we eat, Clinical Nutrionist Angela Beecroft joined Matthew Davies on BBC Radio Cleveland recently with a beginners guide to whats in our food.
The response for the factsheet was unprecendented so for those not into snail mail, here’s Angela’s advice.
Additives are added to food, some are natural compounds others are man made. After an additive has been tested and approved for use in foods it is given a classification known as an E number. In total there are approximately 290 food additives. Only 32 natural additives are permitted in organic food.
Antioxidants, these prevent oxidation in the foods, for example an apple going brown is the result of a chemical process where oxygen in the air reacts with the chemicals in the apple. Antioxidants prevent meat and fats from going rancid. The good naturally occurring antioxidant additives are:
The ascorbates (Vitamin C) E300- E304, The tocopherols (Vitamin E) E306-309,
Colours, these are simply added to foods to make them look more attractive. We know from research that certain colouring additives can have adverse side effects in the body, especially in children. These can include hyperactivity and allergies. We don’t know the combined effect of taking many additives in one food, for example a packet of different brightly coloured sweets.
Natural good food additives are E100 Curcumin, E160 Carotene.
Chemical additives which may have an adverse affect in the body include: E102 Tartrazine, E104 Quinolene Yellow, E107 Yellow, E110 Sunset Yellow, E120 Cochineal, E122 Carmoisine, E 123 Amaranth, E124 Ponceau, E128 Red, E129 Allura Red, E131 Patent Blue, E132 Indigo, E133 Brilliant Blue, E142 Green, E151 Black, E153 Carbon Black, E154 Brown, E155 Chocolate Brown, E160 Annatto.
Emulsifiers, (mix oil with water) Gelling agents, (pectin for setting jam), Stabilisers, and Thickeners are usually found in their named for on packaging. E322 Lecithin, E375 Nicotinic acid and E440 Pectin are natural and good additives.
Flavourings are used to enhance the taste of food, the most widely used is Monosodium Glutamate E621. For thousands of years the Japanese used it in its natural source for its flavour enhancing qualities, In 1908 MSG was isolated from its natural state and utilised for commercial purposes. With increased use over the last two decades many people may suffer from skin rashes, sweating, headaches and panic attacks after ingesting MSG. These ingredients always contain MSG: Calcium caseinate, Sodium caseinate, Textured protein, Hydrolysed protein, Yeast extract and Gelatine.
Preservatives such as E220 Sulpher Dioxide, E221 Sodium Sulphite, E222 Sodium Hydrogen Sulphite, E223 Sodium Metabisulphite, E224 Potassium Metabisulphite may exacerbate Asthma in children and adults.
Sweeteners such as aspartame are very popular as they contain minimal calories. Most foods labelled sugar free or tooth kind contain aspartame. Side effects from aspartame consumption may include headaches, migraines, insomnia, weight gain and heart palpitations.
If you’re married you should get more money from the government. The idea’s being considered by the Conservatives as they start thinking about policies ahead of the next General Election.
They’re looking at plans which could mean married couples getting £20-a-week tax breaks along with higher benefit payments of £32-a-week.
Some say it would boost the chances of children growing up with both a mum and a dad. Others reckon it won’t be fair on unmarried couples.
It’s all part of a series of 200 recommendations in a report aimed at tackling family breakdown, under-achievement and crime.
BBC documentary about anorexic children in Britain. You can see the reality and seriousness of the illness in this. Because of the size of the file, it has been cut into three parts.
It’s a very nice photo of Wellington City taken by Brad Selkirk, my ex- flatmate. It looks so beautiful and peaceful.
You can see the major beach in the middle of the city called Oriental Bay.
(Te Papa)
It is a main museum in Wellington where major exhibitions and events are held.
and around Te Papa
City Centre: business and shopping district. You can take a cable car up the hill where you can see the panoramic view of the city.
Courtney Place : cinema, theatre, language schools, cafes, bars, shops, etc. There are electric bus powered by two overhead electric wires. They are quite slow, not that laid-back Kiwis care, and cause less air pollution and their green image is their priority.
I remember, 5 years ago, being surprised by people saying “Thanks, driver!”, “Thank you!”, “Cheers!” when they get off the bus. They still say those words here and I think it is great that the courtesy remains in this sweet city after all those years. Bus drivers waiting for the elderly to be seated is another thing that warms my heart.
The Great Wall of China,
Brazil’s statue of Christ the Redeemer,
the Colosseum in Rome,
Mexico’s Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza,
Peru’s Machu Picchu,
the Taj Mahal in India and
Petra in Jordan and have been chosen as the modern-day seven Wonders of the World in a poll of 100 million online voters
The seven winners were announced at a glitzy show at the Benfica stadium in Lisbon after what is likely to be the biggest online poll at www.new7wonders.com.
“Never before in history have so many people participated in a global decision,” actress Hilary Swank said at the presentation.
The ancient seven wonders of the world all existed more than 2,000 years ago and were all in the Mediterranean region. Only one remains standing today – the Pyramids of Giza.
The originals were selected by one man, believed by many to be ancient Greek writer Antipater of Sidon.
The New 7 Wonders of the World organizers say the contest was a chance to level the global cultural playing field and recognize the achievements of societies outside Europe and the Middle East.
Only one European site, the Colosseum, was picked. The Eiffel Tower and the Acropolis had also been contenders.
“I am happy that for the first time in history the world was able to vote and decide,” said Jose Freitas do Amaral, commissioner of the New 7 Wonders of the World and Portugal’s former foreign minister.
After weeks of hard(?) working and waiting, boys finally got to taste their first product. All excited and at the same time nervous, everyone’s watching Dorian carefully pouring the precious beer into each tasting glass.
Smelling, sipping and sloshing it around in the mouth, a content smile breaks out on their faces.
Out in the sun after days of rain, it couldn’t be better timing for tasting healthy tasty home brew beer. Look at the lively bubbles!
Cheers, everyone! 
(fried tofu with soy&apple sauce, fried rice with eggplant&veggies, kimchi)
First proper(?) Korean dinner, I mean I finally managed to make some ‘kimchi‘. You can’t really call a meal without kimchi a Korean meal. Unlike in Sydney, It is hard to get the Chinese cabbage here in Wellington, let alone a radish. I went to the veggie market last Sunday where you could get some Chinese vegetables. They were so cheap there, less than half the price at a supermarket. So I got one cabbage, but couldn’t get a radish after all, so I got parsnips instead. Replacing a radish with a parsnip will be experimental.
I cut and salted the cabbage(baechu) first overnight, and next day I rinsed it off with cold water and put it aside for later. Slice thinly some onion and parsnip, and grate some carrot as well. Kimchi usually has Chinese chives(boochu), but I don’t think I can get them here, so I will pass that until I eventually see them around. So I chopped some spring onions, more than normal for green color which the chive’s supposed to give. Now, here comes the most important and stinky(?) part. You blend lots of peeled garlic and ginger with fish sauce. That is the main seasoning mixed with Korean chilli powder and a bit of sugar, which gives kimchi the unique and healthy flavours. Wonder why it kills the bird flu virus!
Mix everything together and leave it for a few days to ferment. Of course you can eat it straight away. By fermenting it you can get some extra tangy flavour as well as a number of lactic acids, which is effective to curing intestinal disorders.
Kimchi is full of Vitamin A and C and enjoyed throuhout the cold Winter when vegetables are rare. It’s a good appetite booster too. You can make any dishes out of kimchi such as soup, stir-fry, dumpling or pancake, kimbap, etc. You name it. If you are a lover of spicy food , you will die for kimchi. Home made kimchi is alway much better and tastier than the commercial ones from the shop.
Fried tofu with soy&apple sauce
It’s become one of my favourite vegetarian dish. I just loved it! Soy sauce with apple syrup went well. It tastes like Teriyaki sauce, I guess, which has sugar in it, but with the apple flavour it’s quite something I can’t really describe. And as for the tofu, the way I normally do-frying fresh tofu crispy- gives the tofu chewy texture that’s closer to meat flesh.
Come over, guys, I will make some for you. ^^*
Judge Judy is a famous reality judicial(법정의) show in America. She became one of the highest-paid woman in television, with her $100 million dollar contract for the show. She’s talking about problems with the young generation theses days.
Script & Lesson : judge-judy_young-generation.doc
(Wholemeal bread and Turkish flat bread)
I have been baking bread at home for about 2 months. The idea of eating freshly made wholemeal bread with lots of goodies such as linseed, millet, sunflower seeds, soy or rice flour, etc. I don’t have a bread maker. I make with my two little hands. T.T (crying emoticon)
For me, kneading part is the most challenging. And the fermenting part is a bit tricky. You have to have a warm place in your house to set the dough to rise properly. As it’s winter and cold now, it’s hard to find a place to put doughs in. No fireplace. But last Friday I found the best spot for fermenting and sitting dough, thanks to my new heater. I got very happy it worked very well and the dough rose like the Himalayas.
The reason I’m so obsessed about the fermentation is that if the dough’s not fermented or risen enough you’d end up with very hard and heavy bread with dense texture. White bread is so so so easy to make compared to wholemeal bread.
I just thought it would be nice to share the hard process of making wholemeal bread with you. The other one is Turkish flat bread, which I tried for the first time.
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