Chicken with roasted carrots

There are times when you prepare a meal for dinner, you just wanted to cook it quicker and at the same time mantain the flavor and keep it on the healthier side. Today's meal was a simple roasted carrots, with some white rice and a piece of chicken breast. How to cook the white rice. use a cup of rice, wash and drain the water 2 times. No detergent needed for this. Just use cold tap water. For a cup of rice, you will need 2 cups of water. Cook tge rice in a pan on medium low heat. Stir occasionally until all the water has been absorb by the rice. Tutn the heat off and cover the pot Next is to roast the carrot. Take one long carrot, clean the skin off and cut both ends off. Slice the carrot at an angle. Sprinkle some salt and ground black pepper. Drizzle some olive oil. Mix well. Bake in the oven at 400 degree F for 20 minutes. Clean, wash and pat dry the chicken breast. Sprinkle some salt and ground black pepper. I like to sprinkle tiny bits if ground turmeric. It will give a kick to the flavor. In a pan, heated some olive oil on medium high heat. Fry each side of tge chicken breadt for at least 5 minutes. Last but not least is to cook beef gravy or any gravy you like. Boil a cup of water to a 3 tablespoons of powdered beef gravy. Stir it until it thickened. Garnish the meal with chopped green onion.

Ramadan day 20

A seafood day today. My meal for tonight's dinner was shrimp fried rice. It was a simple dish yet delicious.

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Ramadan day 9

Breaking fast dinner tonight was fried chicken, cube rice and pau with sweetened coconut flakes. Yummy!

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Ramadan day 5

Dinner tonight a little bit heavier. I bought beriyani rice with chicken curry
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Ramadan 2015 Day 24 - Break Fasting Party part 4

It was a nice break fasting dinner at a friend's house. I ate too much that I had to stop or else I would not be able to drive home. Everyone are happy and enjoyed the meal. We start the course with some appetizers followed with rice and all kind of side dishes. It was a potluck dinner where everyone brought their own dish and share it at the party.

 One of my favorite appetizer is the spring rolls. The filling of this spring roll is a mixture of eggs and vegetables. Someone brought quesadilla. I am not sure what is the filling. It might be egg and cheese.

 The hostess prepared the fried noddle. It was really tasty. My blood sugar probably went up to the roof after eating this meal. But it was really delicious.

 More main dishes are served. There are biryani rice, pineapple and cucumber salad, fish, bergedil, rice stick noodles, etc.

 We had watermelon and cocktail fruits for the drink.

 One lady brought this delicious tiramisu. I really had a good time enjoying the food and the company.
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Ramadan 2015 Day 20 - Coriander Fried Chicken and Tomato Rice

I craved for mom's home cooked meal. This was a simple meal... fried chicken marinated in onion, coriander, ginger, cumin, salt and corn starch.

The chicken was cooked with some oil and on medium heat until cooked through.
For the side, I cooked tomato rice. I used a  can of tomato soup and add some basil and parsley to the rice.

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Yellow Sweet Rice and Curry Chicken

Once in a while I do like to indulge on delicious asian meal. This yellow sweet rice is easy to cook. The curry chicken as the side dish to this rice was also cook in simplest way.
For the yellow sweet rice:
2 cups of glutinuous rice/sweet rice/sticky rice
1 tablespoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups of water
5 cups of water for soaking

Soak the sweet rice in 5 cups of water for more than 5 hours. Then drain the water.
On low heat, add rice, 4 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder. Cover the pot.
Occasionally stir with a fork.
Cook until all water are absorbed.
Turn off the stove and cover the pot.

For the curry chicken:
4 pieces chicken thighs (Cut into 3 pieces of each thigh)
1 large onion
2 green bell peppers
2 tablespoons of spicy curry powder
1 tablespoon of powdered cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
A handful of curry plant leaves

In a big pot, heat olive oil on medium.
Fry diced onion, grated ginger, curry plant leaves and bite sized bell peppers until fragrant.
Add chicken and stir until half cooked.
Add curry powder and cayenne pepper
Add water and salt.
Let the curry simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve warm.
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Ramadan 2013 Day 7 - Basmathi Rice and Beef Curry with Tempeh

Yet another hot hot day today. The temperature went up to 103 degree F again. I Had to go straight home after work. I don't have to heat the car engine further. The parking lot has no shade at all. Today break fasting meal was special. I am just in te mood for some extra spicy food. The first meal I cooked was beef curry with tempeh. Then I cooked basmathi rice with some chocolate mint. They are superb!

The rice was cooked in a cast iron pot. I love this pot. The rice came out soft and just delicious!

I do have to make sure that the flame was at the lowest. This pot gets very hot so quickly.

I sautee the onion, cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamon and chopped garlic in olive oil directly in this pot. Then I added rice and stir all the flavors. I also added some grated ginger and a tablespoon of turmeric powder. Add some salt for taste. Then I added water twice the measurement of the rice. Cover and simmer on low flame until cooked. Delicious!
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Vege Fried Rice

A simple breaking fast meal tonight. This fried rice was loaded with sliced zucchini, chopped green bell peppers, chopped ripe tomato, chopped long string beans and an egg. I was using about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauteed the chopped onion. Then I added all of the vegetables I've picked from the garden. Add cooked rice and fry them until heated through. I used soy sauce for seasoning. Delicious!

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Ramadan 29 - Last Breakfast Nasi Lemak

The last sahur or early morning breakfast for this year's ramadan meal was nasi lemak. Nasi lemak is a rice cooked in coconut milk and ginger. The side dishes for today's nasi lemak are spicy anchovies sambal, spicy squid sambal, hard boiled eggs, fried peanuts, fried anchovies, fried chicken, cucumber,  and petai.
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Ramadan 24 - Bubur Lambok Part 2

I have to admit it, watching on news in TV3 distributing bubur lambok, make me crave for bubur lambok one more time during this ramadan. This version is simple. I fry chopped onion with 1 cup ground beef. Then I added 2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash dry herbs.
Add 1 tablespoon ground white pepper,and salt.
Then add 1 cup shredded carrots.
Add washed rice.
Lastly, I added 1 can of coconut milk.
I let the rice cook slowly on low heat.
Dellicious!
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Ramadan 12 - Salmon Fried Rice

I am using salmon in a can. This meal is Mupi's favorite rice. I like this fried rice too not only because of the delicious flavor, but also because it is easy to cook.

Cook rice. I am using about 4 cups cooked rice to a big can of pink salmon.
In a big wok, heat 3 tablespoon olive oil.
Remove the bone from the salmon.
Saute the salmon in olive oil.
Keep stiring slowly until salmon slightly dry.
Add 4 cups of cooked rice.
Mix well.
Serve warm.
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Nasi Kerabu

This is a simple nasi kerabu (Rice Salad) without the blue rice. Instead I am using a regular white rice. I am also missing the battered fried fish and roasted beef. Anyway, here I am using a mixture of asparagus string beans that I chop them small, cucumber, daun kesum and bean sprouts.
I also add solok lada to this meal.
Budu soup :
Cook coconut milk with hot peppers, onion, ginger, and lemon grass.
Add 1 teaspoon budu sauce.
Cook until thickened.

My next project is to find the bunga telang to color the rice blue.
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White Chayote and Sardine

The green chayote is a little bit tougher than this white chayote. The price is a little bit higher for the white one but the vegetable is very sweet and taste almost like jicama (sengkuang if in bahasa melayu).
I served clam chowder for honey and for myself was this simple sardine in tomato sauce over left over tomato rice.
I just cut half and core the seed from the chayote.
Then I blanched them in hot water.
Drained and set aside.
In a pot, heated 1 can of goya sardine in tomato sauce.
Turn off the stove and add the cooked chayote.
Sprinkle with some spring onion.

Dessert in tonight's menu was sweet canteloupe.
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Sunday Break-fasting Meal

I woke up this morning greeted again by another rainy day. My plan to work in the garden once again went down the drain. But I feel bless because the weather is not screaming hot and I can fast with limited dehydration. I was going to sew my baju raya then but I have to go back to JCP to return the broken belt. Penneys open a 11 am today and I was 30 minutes early. Luckily Christmas Tree store already open. I walked inside the store. There are so many nice items I wanted to buy but I had to refrain myself from doing so. After JCp, I went to my grocery store, price rite. I bought the chicken gizzard. I am craving fo the curry chicken gizzard I cooked last week. The store is selling cucumber at $0.33 a piece. I grab 3 cucumber and 2 pineapples. Cucumber, pineaapple and onion are good combination in this simple homemade pickle.

I also bought these beautiful cactus fruit. I have no idea how to eat them. At the store, I saw people are using plastic bag to hold the cactus pear. I simply grab these fruits with my bare hands.

Below is the explanation I found in wikipedia which explained why people are using the plastic bag as a glove.

"The pears with the reddish-orange or purple skin and deep purple interiors are considered to be the sweetest, but the white-skinned varieties are more popular in Mexico.
Store-bought prickly pears are usually spine-free and sometimes can be handled with your bare hands. Unprocessed pears still have glochids that will drive you crazy if you get some on your skin. Just to be sure, always use tongs or at least a plastic bag as a glove.
If you're foraging for prickly pears, remember that while all pears are edible, only a few will actually be ripe and taste good.
Remove the spines.

Place the pear in a container of cold water. Doing this washes some spines away, but not all of them.
Skin the pears.

Pick up the end of the pear with a few paper towels folded together, cradling the pear within the paper towels and not allowing the surface of the pear to touch your skin.
Slice off the thicker skin at both ends of the prickly pear (the bottom and the top). It takes a little practice to know how much to slice off. Generally, you want to take off the skin without getting at the seed-filled center.
Cut lengthwise along the pear's top-bottom centerline just through the skin. Using that slit, and being careful about the spines, use the knife to lever the skin and peel it off of the rest of the pear.
Cut the pear into slices, or stick onto a fork or skewer and serve.

The flesh of the prickly pear can be used to make jam, jelly, sorbet, wine, and "cactus candy."
The seeds can be consumed with the fruit (but be careful not to bite into them, as they're quite hard) or spit out.
Some people eat the seeds in soup or dry them to be ground into flour. "

Fried Rice

My Avon biz is booming. I don't have the time this week to actually cook a good meal for our breakfasting. It is unbelievable that I am a unit leader with down line and having second generation within a shorter time period. I have appointment almost everyday. I thank all of my customers who give support to me. I
 learn a lot from each of them.

Keeping a full time job during the day and having to rush to appointment in the evening did not give me the chance to arrange the furniture back in the rooms after replacing the carpet. Luckily, honey is not a big meal eater. I can serve him fried fish with potato salad and he is good to go. Although he still disliking fresh vegetables from my garden, he still enjoying frozen string beans and asparagus from the can.

Speaking of the garden, I have not been able to visit my garden since last week. We received another rainy day yesterday. The weather is very nice today, but I have appointments and unable to find the time to pick the tomatoes.

Anyway, today we breakfasting with Nanny McPhee. I brought strawberry yogurt and tortilla wrap into the cinema. I bought a big cup of diet coke from them though. When we got home, I quickly cook the fried rice with all the left over meal in the fridge. I have spring onions, roasted chicken and chicken gizzard and liver curry. Stir them all in a big wok. Walla! dinner is served. Honey doesn't eat it. He had a piece of pizza.

I have lost another 7 lbs according to my doctor's record. I didn't do anything different for it. I was shocked. Like I was telling everyone at work, I am on "All you can eat diet". :-)

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Tomato Rice

It feels like in spring today. The temperature was around 70 degree F. Very breezy and the house is not as hot as an oven. I spent 2 hours earlier at the garden. Watering the thirsty plants. One zucchini turned orange instead of green because lack of water.

Since the weather is very beautiful, I decided to cook a special meal for our dinner. I like tomato rice and it has been a long time since I ate rice. This tomato rice is very simple to cook.

Roasted Chicken Drumstick and Kabocha Pumpkin

Beautiful day outside and I am in the mood for some roasted chicken and kabocha squash in coconut milk. I bought a cut piece of kabocha squash at Karn's yesterday and planning to cook it in the coconut milk with onion, garlic, hot pepper and salt. In Bahasa Melayu this pumpkin dish is called Lemak labu cili padi (pumkin in hot chilli and coconut milk).
For the protein that can go well with this kabocha squash is none other than some roasted chicken. I dug out in my freezer and found 12 pieces of young chicken drumsticks. I thawed this frozen chicken by soaking it in cold water for about 30 minutes.
Then, I drain them and rub evenly with the following spices:
ground black pepper, salt, rosemary, mrs. dash (with garlic), cumin, coriander, ground white pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, parsley, paprika, ground ginger, and powdered onion.

Shrimp Sambal and Nasi Lemak

It is a President's Day today and I have the day off from work. I decided to slave myself in the kitchen and splurge a little on this delicious hot and spicy Shrimp Sambal. Nothing is better to eat this hot and spicy sambal other than Nasi Lemak or translated into Rice in coconut milk.

I garnished this dish with slices of fresh and crunchy cucumber, slices of hard boiled egg and some roasted peanuts.

Ingredients for hot and spicy shrimp sambal:

Pancake and Porridge

We received more than a foot high of snow yesterday. I was snowed in the house. A family came to the door and offer to shovel our driveway for $30. We accepted their offer. There are too much snow to shovel just the two of us.

They did a good job given just 10 minutes to finish the area. It seems sufficient they did it just around the house and not the whole walkway. We have the longest walkway to deal with.

I would be happy as long as my car could go in and out of the driveway. When snowed in the house like this, nothing is comforting than to have pancakes for our breakfast. My pancake was loaded with fresh apples and top off with some cinnamon and sugar. It was the best pancake I have ever made.

I am using a regular pancake mix. One cup of pancake mix with 3/4 cup of water. Whisk it well. This batter yield 4 pieces of 5 inches in diameter pancakes.

I cored, skinned off of an apple. I was using the green apple. Then I diced the apple thinly.

I was also using a ready to use cinnamon sugar sprinkles.

Melt 2 tablespoons salted butter in the non stick pan.

Pour 1/4 of the batter. Let the heat on medium low.

Once the pancake bubble at the top, layer it evenly with diced apple.

Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

After about 3 minutes, turn the pancake to the other side.

Let it cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Serve warm with some maple syrup. The First magazine said maple syrup is the secret ingredients to lose weight.

As for lunch, I was having a bowl of warm porridge. I garnished this porridge with some pickled radishes and salted peanuts.

Ingredients for the porridge:

1 cup long grain rice

4 cups water

1 cube chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 cup shredded carrots

1 white potato (dice small)

Method:

In a big pot, add water , salt and chicken cube.

Heat on medium high uncover.

Add rice and potato.

Add carrots.

Add parsley flakes.

Let it boil for 1 minute.

Then turn the heat to low and let it simmer until rice broken up.

Turn off the heat and cover.

Serve warm.