Memories of my grandmother

As I was going through some of the cookbooks I have worked on, memories of watching and helping my grandmother preparing food at home triggered a flood of nostalgia and a tinge of regret. Some cookbook authors have inherited legacies of written recipes from their ancestors. Alas, I cannot boast of inheriting recipes handed down by my grandmother or my mother. I can only rely on my memories and to cook from my heart.

I spent a good 10 years growing up with this grand old lady. She had learned to master cooking although she grew up in a well to do family in Guangzhou. Forced to leave her family behind she came to Malaya with nothing however, it did not dampen her spirits.

Widowed at a young age,( her goldsmith husband was murdered) with a meager salary, she managed to put food on the table for her three children, my mother and her two younger brothers. By the time I arrived, she was already in her early sixties.

I remember all too well, preparing delicious dishes, especially for the festivals. It was a major event for her as she would use her private savings to buy the best quality ingredients. We had to wait for this very special occasion once a year. Her eight treasure duck , pig trotters in ginger vinegar, dried octopus fried rice, ginger chicken in homemade wine soup, superior soy prawns, home made waxed pork belly, fried glutinous rice, steamed radish cake and of course her piece de resistance ........ her peanut puffs, left us wanting for more the next day too.

Using the best peanut oil, which was known as the infamous "Cock Brand" (they also made one of the most delicious peanut butter spread I've ever eaten during the 70's) she slowly mixes it into the flour, gently kneading and pulling till it turns into a soft dough. There was no need for measures, just passion.

I would be instructed to cut round pastry skins using an old drinking glass. Crushed sugary peanuts would fill up the wrappers waiting to be coaxed, crimped and turned into petite dainty peanut puffs. Each puff would then be fried to a golden perfection. Leftover dough would then be turned into pieces of art to please the God of the Kitchen ...... miniature mandarin oranges, peaches, lily bulbs, prosperity pillows, each carrying significant auspicious meanings invoking blessings for the new year.

She lived well into her seventies, still cooking and teaching all the women in the family. Of course, Auntie no 1 is the only one who still carries on the tradition of preparing grandmother's dishes during Chinese New Year, which includes the peanut puffs.

Though I have not master the art of making traditional peanut puffs, I will definitely make an attempt before the next Spring Festival. In fact, just the very thought of this makes me want to make a batch of peanut butter now using organic peanuts of course. That, is another topic to write on next time.

Venus verses Mars

We women are blessed. Most of us women share an undeniable....well ....almost an invisible cord of sisterhood with each other. We have the ability to become friends in a split second and behave like we have known each other for a million years especially if they share the same hobbies, have kids, go to the same supermarket, read the same books or have similar life's crisis etc.
Men .... most of them have a problem understanding this. This form of gender net-working is perceived ..... well..... as gossiping. This may be true if the whole town knows about it and of course when only half truths are divulged.
Remember the donkey in the movie 'Shrek', ' Only a true friend would be that honest'.
Me, I am blessed to have a handful who lovingly and loyally brace up to me. Being the only child, I realized that sisterhood is not born through flesh. They are everywhere. In different ages, sizes, colors and backgrounds .....
A salute to all my dearest sisters, a big hug to all of you. Thank you

Well, what about the men. Give them a couple of beers, chips .... in this case a packet of Murrukku ( Indian tit-bits) or a bag of Menglembu groundnuts (It's a famous town near Ipoh). and let them have their last laugh about us.

Les Miserables and Les Disposable

Most of us are familiar with the saying, "When it rains, it pours".
Seems my well-equipped home is now suffering from a freak break-down of electrical appliances.
First on the line of fire was my 5 month old LG (Life Gone!) vacuum cleaner. How the floor/carpet attachment completely disemboweled itself, is beyond my comprehension. Could it be that my terracotta floors proved to be far more challenging or using it twice a week too much for it to handle.
I definitely can feel some frustration and disappointment but certainly no attachment to this plastic robot vac. So much for the fantastic sales pitch at Harvey Norman. I ditched it as fast as I could, like how you would with a soiled baby diaper filled with poo!
Mr Kirby (my other vacuum cleaner). He's been with me through thick and thin. Six house renovations, two kids, four dogs, two rabbits, six budgies, a pond of kois and a partridge in a pear tree !............ Ever loyal, trustworthy, from the inside as well as out, multi-functional, versatile and came with a whole bag of freebies. Mind you, he is a 15 years old with lots of life still ahead of him. I would recommend him to you but my daughter has already put her eyes on him. So has Brenda my kitchen (help) genie. We always shed a tear or two when he has to go for his annual tune-up. We would one day feel miserable if that unavoidable day comes. When he has to be put down...He is my hero and hero's deserves a grand sent-off ......except that gun laws in my country prohibits me from giving him a 21 round gun salute.
In the meanwhile, two more appliances also protested. My 4 litre electric water boiler ( The spring clasp broke). As a remedial measure, I placed a packet of unopened pasta on it. Then changed it to my Bed-Buddy heat pad yesterday as I had to make pasta and broccoli soup for the kids. But to DISPOSE her! Not yet! Not now! Why? well, she still works!
I have patience. Patience is my name. She is staying put. Right where I can see her, on my kitchen counter. I'm determined to get every cent I paid for her!
The fridge was not not that cooperative. She broke down finally after groaning and gasping for the past 4-5 weeks. She seems to be on the road to recovery but then soon resumed her groaning
Well, yes, my refridgerator happens to be from the family of Korean appliances too. Very popular very expensive. Calling the servicing department at Samsung Malaysia 3 times in about 7 months is no laughing matter. Throwing all my delicious "Aloo Chole, Murungakkai Sambhar. Aaday Marver" is a serious offence and I wasn't prepared to put up with it any longer. Vengeance is mine and the service department got a earful of it. No serving charge was required from me. Guess that's a form of apology until .... I opened the fridge a couple of hours later and fumes were emitting from the refrigerator vent at the back of the panel which soon erupted into a fire.
At that point I was wondering whether I should report this matter to our consumer court. Fortunately for them, they came by and replaced the fridge with a new one. They even went as far as paying me back for the contents in the fridge. I have now decided to let that episode rest.

Thanks to the total closure of the kitchen for 4 days, I enjoyed letting go of all kitchen duties.

Just a word of caution. There will be many things in our live we would like to dispose of. That task can be quite daunting as the good and bad can be quite confusing if you are used to seeing them together in a 'box'. I have been accused of being too pragmatic, cold, insensitive and a "baddie". Clothes, brand new shoes, furniture, pots and pans, food, linen etc have gone to friends who nevertheless appreciated my gestures.
I am what I am. But I do hope I will change and be even better in the quest of " To dispose or not to dispose".
See you bloggers next.

The Missionary of the Delicious

I am a newbie to this thing called blogging. In fact four days new. For the past four days I have come across many impressive blog sites and even gave them my two cents worth. Thank you and my appreciation to Bureka Boy, Nandita in Mumbai, Canadianbaker and Priya. All of you are my inspiration . As of today, May the 1st 2007, I have joined this army of web bloggers, journeying into the secret Labyrinth of Blog.

Let me tell you about ME ..... I am a food stylist living and working in Malaysia. For those out there having a mental" blog", it is quite similar to a ...... make up artist except that I deal with food. Actually my job is to make food look the prettiest before the photographer takes over. Well, as the saying goes, exquisite food and things in life comes in pretty packages. Mine is definitely made in the food photography heaven as the photographer is also my good half. (Check out our website: www.redsstudio.com) Currently residing in a vibrant suburb in Kuala Lumpur where food, food and more food is to be found round the clock. Restaurants, bistros, delis, kopitiams (Local coffee shops, Starbuck, Dome Cafe and Coffee Bean) pop up as fast as lallang( local wild weeds ). Food is like a sniff away. Not surprising that my American friend always remarks that no one needs to cook in Malaysia ..... fantastic food and it doesn't burn a hole in your pocket. Not surprising too, as obesity in Malaysia ranks the highest in South-East Asia.

Food in Malaysia does offer lots of inspiration to everyone. Professionals or novices can learn and pick up different style of cooking. Endless varieties, be it Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indo-chinese, Thai, Italian, German, Ikea food? ..... definitely a melting pot for different cuisines and cultures.
At home too, we can be having south Indian meals for lunch(courtesy of my good half) or Italian for dinner. Variety is the spice of life and cooking is MY PASSION. Both my kids are very kitchen savvy and we have a fantastic and well equipped kitchen. Many a reason to indulge in experimenting and creating recipes. Occasionally when time allows, I write and contribute recipes to food companies, magazines, publications and the newspapers.

I am also a self professed health-nut and great supporter of alternative treatment therapy.

As of today, I will begin a new mission .... meeting and blogging with those who believe in what I believe. Eating to satisfy the soul as well as to heal the body and mind.

To those I would meet in the world of blog .....
Good Day! Vanakkam! Selamat Datang! Ni Hau! Sawadee ka! Salama Po! Namaaste!

For those venturing into my inner space ..... Welcome to the Domain of the Kitchen Nymph!

Psst,psst ....... just finished 3 pieces of my eggless citrus sugee cake I made on Sunday night. Just blame it on the lack of self-control and the love of food ....... glorious food. So much for the low-carb lunch which now has been equalized with some hi-carb dessert. Naughty girl.