ASPARAGUS WRAP WITH BACON

This recipe is too common and simple for most but it is my first time making it.

I would have to agree that these two ingredients are a match-made in heaven

after broiling them together with some olive oil and basic seasoning.

Fat asparagus

Streaky bacon

Olive oil

Black pepper

Your favorite chili sauce (optional)

A wedge of lemon juice

Wrap asparagus evenly with bacon from bottom to top. Brush bacon with chili sauce.

Grease a baking pan with olive oil to prevent sticking.

Place asparagus evenly on pan and season with crushed black pepper.

Broil till bacon turns crispy.

Squeeze a wedge of lemon juice over it before serving with a glass of chardonnay. 

DEEPAVALI LUNCH

There are not many happy moments in my life and that makes them too precious to be forgotten. Hence I decided to start a new category “happy moments” to collect them from now on and share my joy.

Today is Deepavali and it happens to be my first post for this category.

One of the best decisions I have made over the past two years is to move from my old apartment to this new home surrounded by lovely neighbors and nice scenery. Since I shifted in, Deepavali has been a happy moment each year when my Indian neighbor Mr. Raju will bring over mouthwatering lunch to celebrate the occasion. 

Happy Deepavali!

WINE FOOD MUSIC

I cook with music and it must be there from the moment I draw my knife. I normally keep my mini hi-fi tuned to our local station Class 95FM with non-stop love songs from the 80s and 90s. These are songs with the power to arouse my emotions and awaken all my senses  to create the right aroma, taste, texture and color for my dish with love.

Along with music, tasting a glass of wine when I am cooking increases the sensation to elevate the whole process to a different level. It keeps my momentum going when I need to take short breaks while waiting for the fragrance of the garlic to infuse into the olive oil or when my marinara sauce is simmering away with fresh basil, onions, garlic and Italian canned tomatoes.

Something that adds to the happiness is to appreciate all the ingredients in front of me. I give huge respect to the farmers who had put in hard work to plant, rear and cultivate all the beautiful produce that are able to help me create my dish. No ingredients are to be taken for granted. Every grain of rice, every dash of black pepper is precious and should be treated with great value.

When you cook with passion and love, people can taste it.

MEAT SAUCE SPAGHETTI

I tried a nice meat sauce spaghetti in Interlaken, Switzerland. Not knowing the recipe, I created my own version. This is a recipe for two.

Streaky Bacon, 50g

Mince Beef, 150g

Italian Canned Tomato, 1 can

Chopped Onion, 1/2 bulb

Chopped Garlic

Red Wine, 1/4 cup

Freshly Chopped Rosemary

Sea Salt

Freshly Crushed Black Pepper

Olive Oil

Heat up a pan with some olive oil and fry bacon till crispy then put aside for later use.

In the same pan, add in more olive oil and saute onion and garlic till golden brown.

Add in mince beef, salt, pepper and rosemary. Saute for 30 seconds.

Add in red wine follow by crushed tomatoes. Add in a little pasta water and simmer sauce for 8 minutes.

Toss spaghetti in the sauce with bacon and serve immediately with parmigiano cheese.

PASTA WITH SAUSAGE

Once you get your aglio olio right, you can add in anything to have it your way. Today I top it up with my favorite Thai sausage and sunflower sprouts.

OLD STYLE FRIED RICE

One ingredient to give fried rice an old style flavor is chopped dried radish. For this recipe, I’ve added Taiwan sausages to enhance the overall taste.

Ingredients

Cooked Rice – Cook it the previous day and put in the fridge overnight. It helps the rice to break up more easily during frying.

Dried Radish, chopped

Shallots, thinly sliced

2 eggs

Frozen Peas – Do not defrost the peas. Boil a little water and throw them in straight from the fridge. Once cooked, scoop out for later use.

2 Taiwan Sausages, diced

Light Soy Sauce

White Pepper, ground

Flower Oil

Heat up a wok over medium heat, pour in flower oil. Once oil is hot, fry shallots till golden brown. Throw in dried radish. Stir, cover with lid and watch the radish dance in the wok. Throw in Taiwan sausages and fry till aroma fills the air. Throw in peas. Put in rice and use spatula to tap with patient till rice breaks up into individual grains covered with oil. Push everything to one side of the wok. On the empty area, pour in some more oil and crack eggs directly into the wok. Stir to mix yolk and whites together then combine with rest of ingredients. Pour a sufficient amount of soy sauce around the edge of the wok to flow into rice and stir well. Sprinkle white ground pepper and serve.

MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE

This is a dish i fear to cook all along. I fear the meat balls may turn out too tough and taste like rubber. I fear they may not hold together and end up becoming a pot of minced beef stew.

Staring at my blooming rosemary plant being untouched for quite a while, I took the courage to cook it. Combining different recipes from the web, i came up with my own version.

It turns out ten times tastier than i expect it to be.

Meatballs

600g Ground Beef

100g Leg Ham – finely chopped

1/2 Onion – finely chopped

1/4 wedge Parmesan Cheese – grated

5 pieces Biscuit – Crumbs

3 Stalks of Rosemary – finely chopped

1 Egg

Black Pepper

White Pepper

Sea Salt

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and shape them into balls. Makes about 25 balls. Heat up a pot using high heat with olive oil and fry them in batches to seal the external.

Sauce

2 tins of Italy Canned Tomatoes

1/2 an Onion finely chopped

5 cloves of Garlic finely chopped

Half a Carrot grated

2 stalks of Celery grated

2 red chilli finely chopped

1 glass of red wine

Fresh Sweet Basil or Parsley

Black Pepper

Sea Salt

Using the same pot which fries the meatballs, add in more olive oil to the remaining juice and saute the onion till brown. Add in garlic, red chilli and saute till garlic turns brown and oil turns red. Add carrots and celery. Add tomatoes and simmer till the sauce bubbles. Add red wine, black pepper, sea salt, basil and simmer for a while.

Add in the meat balls and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve with crusty bread or pasta.

Life don’t get any better than this.