Culinary Inspiration and Adventures

The last few weeks have been inspirational to say the least.  At the beginning of the year I decided I was going to learn to cook more vegetarian.  Here in Asia, cooking without meat is pretty easy and veggies are quite plentiful.  There are several reasons I feel this push to cook without meat.  First, my Brother-in-Law has been following a new diet.  It includes no meat and includes many grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.  He looks great, has a lot more energy, and has dropped his cholesterol considerably.  I have also started reading a book recommended by my neighbor titled "The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics".  Fascinating!  Lastly, since fruits and vegetables are easy to get and inexpensive I figured I had better think about it.  Keep in mind I don't think I can completely cut out meat, but it sure is an adventure trying.


My inspiration began a few weeks ago when I took a cooking class.  My friend Kristin invited me and I thought it was a good way to "get out of the house".  Well, I had a blast and learned so much about food and culture that I realized it was something that I "needed to do".  Our class was at someone's home in the center of town.  Their kitchen was "AMAZING" on Singapore condo standards with an island and lots of space.  I was so jealous of that kitchen that I have been thinking about it now for weeks!  Oh well, I'll have to be happy with my tiny space.  So that day we cooked:
Wontons and Sumai - made from a filling of shrimp, water chesnuts etc. We fried and steamed them
Po Piah - a Paranakan(Chinese and Malay) dish which is a spring roll of sorts.  Delicious!!
Pandan Chicken - Specially seasoned chicken wrapped in a Pandan leaf (sister of the Palm tree)
Curry Puffs - an indian specialty, yummy!
And Nagasari - a banana and coconut dessert wrapped in a banana leaf


After the class I was inspired to try more local food in my cooking and learn more about the local vegetables.  I quickly signed up for the Tekka Market tour the following week.  Even though I had been to Tekka several times I thought it would be good to know how and what to buy from the local selections.


Our market tour started at the Vietnamese stall then on to the Vegetable stall. This visit is best described in photos.  Be sure to read past the photos as lot of other interesting things to come later.

 Tapioca Root

 Wing Bean

 Banana Flower (You can cook with these, and yes, from the banana tree)

 Banana trunk and Sugar Cane 

(Sugar Cane drinks are very popular here.  They grind the sugar cane till the juice comes out.  If you get a chance, try it with some lemon.  Delicious!)

 Banana Leaves

 Loofa plant

Yep, that's what they use to make the scrubby things you use in the shower

 Lotus Root

 Lemongrass

 Blue Ginger

 Ginger Flower Bud

 Curry Leaf

 Tiny Eggplants 

(Used in Thai food)

 Tofu/Bean Curd stall

Really cheap!  I got 2 squares for less than $1.50.

 Tempeh

Fermented soybean cake

Tempeh - the paper wrapped packages

 Noodles!

The flat ones that are used in Thai are in the center of the photo.

 Dried fish

 More dried fish

Not sure I will graduate to cooking with these; nor do I want to!

 Turmeric

 Purple Yam

 Jack Fruit

The fish selection at one stall from above.

So, did you know that the curry spice is not actually one spice?  Nope!  It is a combination of:  turmeric, chili powder (not the one we use in chili), and cumin.  So funny, I never thought I liked curry, but I like all these spices individually.  Maybe it was how it was used, but let me tell you the curry puffs that we made in class were great!

At the end of our Market tour we went for a tea and some snacks at a local Indian restaurant.  Our tour guide Kay is Indian and she did all the ordering.  Delicious!  I really enjoyed the Masala tea.  Below is a pic of them pouring the tea to "cool it off".  Our waiter poured the lightly sweetened seasoned tea from cup to cup to cool it down to drinking temperature.  What a nifty idea.  (If you can do it without spilling!)

Last week I attempted to create some sauces with tofu.  I tried a recipe for Mayo and Sour Cream.  Neither really turned out like I wanted.  I also tried a recipe for ricotta cheese.  I am hoping to make that into Lasagna rolls.  We'll see how that one tastes.

Since the tofu thing wasn't working out as great as I wanted I figured I had better put in an order for some chicken.  I called and placed my order with the "Chicken Man".  There really is a "Chicken Man" here. You call him up and place an order and he will deliver fresh chicken to your door.  And let me tell you, it is the best chicken!  I got my order and got everything in the freezer except for one whole chicken which I decided I would roast.  Yesterday, I opened the fridge to get the chicken and quickly saw the poor bird's head curled up in the bag.  I pulled out the bird realizing that I had forgotten to tell them to "remove the head and feet".  It is common here to cook the WHOLE chicken.  I remembered now that I was supposed to order it American style.  Although, American style is when they remove all of the extras.  I do like "some" of the parts and wanted them to bring those.  Well they brought those and a lot more too!  

Ugh!  Now I had to be the brave housewife that I am and do some heavy chopping.  E was so interested in what I was doing.  She had to touch the chicken's feet before I chopped and was not at all afraid.  With knife in hand and my little E at a safe distance I went to chopping.   Time to chop!  I had to cover the head so I could go about my business.  After a few wacks the head was gone.  The feet were a little easier.  Now my chicken looked like what I was used to!  Normally I use the neck to make broth, but I was so grossed out by that head that I threw them out.  Bye, Bye Birdie!

At the end of the night when we sat down to dinner with a yummy smelling freshly roasted chicken; I had almost forgotten about my adventure in chicken butchery.  That is until the hubby brought it up.  One fleeting thought about it and I quickly put it out of my head as I took another bite of my chicken.  Humm, maybe I really should become a vegetarian!

CNY 2012

So, here I am 2 weeks later and only now doing my "official" post about Chinese New Year.  Yes, time has gotten away from me and life is in full swing.  It's hard you know, to live a life and have a hobby too.  (And, honestly, I have way to many hobbies!)  Someone asked me recently, what are you doing with your time there in Singapore.  You would think that I would have LOTS of time.  Honestly, it seems like I don't have enough.  I told my friend that it took me all of my 6 months here to learn how to navigate the system.  Grocery shopping, getting around, and cleaning.  Yes, cleaning!  Doesn't take a rocket scientist to clean, but here it takes everything I've got!  Best of all, I now have a cleaning lady, she comes once a week and she is fabulous!!  That gives me time to do all of the other stuff and still have a day for me.  Laundry is still a pain in the you know what, but I think I have gotten it down to only taking 2 to 3 days.  I know the grocery store now, but there is still the occasional ingredient that I need that I can't seem to find.  The sticker shock is gone, so I don't panic about the cost anymore.  Cooking is still challenging, but that is mostly due to the fact that I don't have a dishwasher.  (Which I soon hope to remedy!)  I am baking bread now and that makes me feel great!  More to come on that later.


Chinese New Year was good!  Very low key for our little family.  The hubby got back in town after his "almost" 2 week business trip.  We did go to Chinatown. It rained, which kept the crowds down.  E fell asleep before we got to see much, but we did get to enjoy a couple of Tiger beers as we sat at a street side cafe over dinner - nice!  Chinatown was full of red and gold and lots of tchotchkes as usual.  I have yet to discover the authentic side to Chinatown here.  I know there has to be one.  All I have seen so far is lots of stuff I don't really need.  Either way it was pretty with all of the colors and lights.


Sunday evening we went to the River Hongbo Festival.  Lots of lanterns, cheap food, rides for the the kids and lots of Chinese New Year spirit.  It rained again, but the views of the city after the rain were amazing!  


BTW, everything closes on the actual new years day (Monday).  We ran out of coffee, so I decided to go to the local mall/grocery store.  EVERYTHING was closed; except for the grocery store.  Good thing they were open!  My taxi driver said that the New Year's Day and the day after were all about family.  New Year's Day all of the children come home to their parent's home.  The day after is for visiting other family members: Aunts, Uncles, Cousins etc. I guess we did just that.  We spent a lot of time together as a family and enjoyed the time together!


Here are some pics for you to enjoy!  Happy Lunar New Year!!!

 Bak Kwa Stand (also called rougan)  A sweet jerky type meat.  

 Year of the Dragon

 A big pot of brown tea eggs.  I have tried them before and they aren't too bad.

 Chinatown

 Chinese New Year goodies

 More goodies

 And more!

 Lanterns over Chinatown

 The Lucky Prosperity tree at River HaungBo

 The Goat

 The Dog

 Check it out - a dragon made of tea cups and saucers

 And the Dragon!

 Dragon sugar treat on a stick

 The Fam!

 Cherry Blossom lights

 E in a beachball!  

E in the beachball in a pool of water!  She looked like a gerbil running around in there!

And, my first loaf of homemade bread from scratch!!

Till next time!

恭禧發財 (Happy Chinese New Year!)

Gong Xi Fa Cai as they say here!


There is so much going on here I decided that I needed more than one post about Chinese New Year (CNY).  First let me say that this is the biggest celebration that I have seen yet in this country and to tell you the truth we are always celebrating something!  


The Christmas decorations were down and CNY ones up before you knew it.  Actually, we got back from our visit to the states and we were in a whole other celebration mode.  It is a very exciting time here in Asia.  Lots of red and gold, treats, festivities, lights, happiness and so much more.  Yes, everyone here seems happier!  Unlike the "stress" of Christmas (why is that anyway) CNY is relaxed and full of fun, laughter, and celebrating.


Chinese New Year is the new year celebration based on the Lunar calendar.  This year is the year of the Dragon.  (The hubby is a dragon)

E sitting on the dragon!

There are so many traditions with CNY that I wouldn't even know where to start.  (Not to mention, I really don't know them all.)  I know that treats and eating are a big thing.  The grocery stores have been filled with goodies!  All kinds!  From cookies to candy to some strange looking chinese treats that I am sure include some sort of fish.  One of the ones that may have become one of my new favorites is "mochi".  


Mochi is a rice candy that is made from glutinous rice and is pounded into paste and molded into shapes.  Not sure why I like it.  It kind of sticks to the roof of your mouth and is extremely chewy.  Maybe it is the interesting flavors like red bean or coconut etc.  Maybe just because it is different.  


I came upon this treat stand in our local mall.  It was selling "Taiwan Goodies".  This place is popular!  They sell mochi as well as these little square looking bags that have jello treats in them.  Yes, Jello!  Not sure how they keep it from melting; maybe it is more like a knox block (remember those?).  They come in every flavor under the sun!  They also let you taste as many as you want.  After riding our bikes to the mall E and I started sampling.  Oh, so dangerous!  We tried so many, they all started tasting the same.  I had one that had a cherry in it.  They have everything from coffee to durian.  

Taiwan Goodies!

 Small selection of goodies.  (Round ones are mochi)

 Peach jello treat in a bag.  Humm!

 Mochi treat (Red Bean and milk flavor)

 Red Bean mochi treat out of the wrapper (not too appealing, eh?)

The inside.  You can't judge a book by its cover.  This thing was tasty!

(I might have to go get more!)

So not only is it a public holiday (everyone has Monday and Tuesday off), but everyone has a celebration.  E's school had a big assembly today.  All of the Mandarin students performed either a song, poem, or skit.  Even the Mandarin teachers put on a show.  Not so bad actually, but sitting there in the smeltering heat for an hour at 9am wasn't too much fun.  (they don't have a/c in the common/assembly area)  Not sure how they get the kids to sit there an watch for that long either.

Was going to post a few videos of the performances, but they are way too long to share.  Instead, I'll end with a personal CNY message from E!

Want to know more about CNY or find out what your chinese symbol is check out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year

(Thanks Wikipedia!  Not sure what I would do without you!)

A fun filled week!

First, did anyone notice that I changed the look of my blog?  And, the most important part is that I added a time clock.  Everyone is always asking what time it is here.  So, now you can just look at the blog and see the day, date and time.  Easy!  

Its been a busy couple of weeks since the hubby has been out of town.  E and I have been doing projects, visiting, and preparing for chinese new year.  We've been trying to fill our time with fun things to do.

Our first project was planting a garden.  A couple of weeks ago we went to a local garden store and got our supplies.  We also purchased a Malasyian lime tree or a calamansi tree.  So beautiful and full of fruit.  It is supposed to reproduce fruit and we hope it will!  It has lost some leaves, but we hope that is just because of the move to our balcony.  We've been watering daily as instructed.

So, we got our pots prepped and planted cucumber, zinnias, jalapenos, basil, and zucchini.  We still have tomatos, mint and some other flowers to plan.  Just need to get some additional supplies.  

Our pretty new lime tree all decked out for Chinese New Year!

In less than a week our tiny seeds have sprouted and are very happy in their new balcony home!  I am already dreaming of going out to my balcony and picking fresh vegetables.  One thing that brings so much joy.  It really is just the simple things.  These little plants somehow make me feel connected to my old life back in the US.

 Zucchini plants

Cucumber (left) and Zinnia (right)

Our little garden corner, complete with an American flag.

We've also been playing with Legos.  Aren't you excited?  We've branched out beyond the plans that came with the set and have built some pretty exciting things.  (or so se think!)

 Stable for our horse (notice the swinging door)

 Rapunzel's castle.  

See Flynn Ryder sitting on his horse at the bottom of the castle?

 Rapunzel looking out her window.

We even built it with a removable roof.

Rapunzel relaxing on her bed.  See the fireplace in the corner?

I think Mom had as much fun with this project as E did!

I also decided to try "hot yoga" for the first time this week.  I was a bit intimidated by the pure name of the class.  Not to mention, I haven't done yoga in several years.  But, in keeping with my New Year's resolution I needed to go!  So it wasn't as bad as I thought.  Yes, it was HOT!  But I didn't mind it.  For someone who doesn't sweat, I did!  Actually, it was kind of refreshing.  Crazy to think that when I walked outside it was cooler than it was in that room.  As I rode my bike home from my yoga class I was so much more aware of my surroundings.  I could hear the birds and the wind.  I just felt good!  Not a bad start.  Hopefully I can keep it up!  

Also, I have been meaning to show this to all of you.  A very popular thing here are outdoor exercise areas.  It baffles me why you would want to exercise in such humid heat, but a lot of locals do.  They have them in the parks, at most apartment buildings, and all over the place.  Here is what I am talking about:

This photo was taken later in the morning, but in the early morning and evening it is packed!

The place is even equipped with outdoor showers.  Although that seems kind of gross to me again it is very common here.

So, until next time.  I will have a great treat for you; we are heading to Chinatown for Chinese New Year this weekend.  I know it will be crazy, but we can't wait to see it!  We'll have lots of photos for you.

Happy New Year!

We're back!  It's been a month already since we left for our trip to the states, yet it really doesn't seem that long ago.  It has been a great month and, by the way, Happy New Year!


So, for everyone reading my blog for the first time I start with an apology!  I usually try to have my blog be fun and thought provoking, but today I just needed a place to vent!  I don't want to be the type of person that I always complaining to my "new" friends, so I decided to put out my frustrations here.  Oh well, again sorry.


First, let me start by saying that our trip to the states was great!  When we first got there it was cold and I loved it.  Hard to believe since I am the coldest person you will ever know.  Even here in Singapore I am wrapped up in a blanket when I watch TV.  The cool air was sooo refreshing.  It was so much fun wearing my boots and wool socks.  I just loved it!  It was also great seeing all of our friends and family.  That first week I realized how much I missed everything.  Conveniences, conveniences, conveniences!  I enjoyed my Target trips, Chick-fil-a, Taco Bell, dishwasher and just driving a car.  I almost got a little depressed thinking about the fact that it was so great to be back.  Singapore and the US just don't even compare!


The second week was all about seeing family.  We did our usual 6 hour drive to GA; remembering how long that drive can be.  Not to mention sitting in one place for that long after flying for 24 hours the week before wasn't easy.  My back was begging me to stop!  We had a great time visiting the hubby's family.  It was so nice having everyone around us.  Then it was 6 hours back to NC.  


By the 3rd week we were tired!  Driving and seeing everyone was becoming exhausting!  By that last week I was craving to be back home in Singapore.  Here we don't know many people and a lot of our time is spent just hanging out.  Since we don't have a regular sitter we don't do much as far as "going out".  I was amazed that I just wanted to get back and be back in "MY" life here.  


I think I am at a crossroads of really making Singapore my home.  I was just thinking the other day that maybe it is best to flexible and relish in the things that you have that aren't tied to where you are, but what makes things feel like home.  So this year will be about doing what I love to do.  Yes, there will be travel and new and exciting things, but with that there will be sewing projects and time together.  This year I am going to make bread!  Last year I had a bread maker, but this year I am going to do it all by myself!  For some reason it seems so intimidating to me, but I know it isn't that hard.  I have such wonderful memories of my Mom making bread every week.  I loved to watch her and be a part of it.  Those days are gone to most, but I really want that for myself and for E.  So, put that on my list of new years resolutions.  I also want to get back in shape.  If my painful back will cooperate, I think I can actually do this.  Might take me all year, but I will get there!


So, it is good to be back, but it is still hard some days.  Today is one of those days.  It is E's first day back to school (which you would think would be great).  I started the day with laundry.  E even said it was time as her laundry hamper was full.  So, I got started.  Remember, it takes several hours to do one load of laundry here.  I got the first load in and all went well till I put the machine on dry.  I must have missed something because before I knew it; it was washing that load all over again!  I caught it before it went too far.  Oh well, now laundry will take 3 days instead of 2.  I also began following up on all of our medical claims here.  Since we have been here E has had tons on asthma episodes.  She has been sick pretty much the entire time we have been here.  Yesterday the hubby brought home the rejection letters on our international insurance.  The max had been met on E's medication allowance.  We had only been here for 4 months!  Lord, what will the next year look like.  Thank God we kept our US insurance!  We will be carting back a bunch of meds with us from the US this summer.  With how the day was going, I decided that I would book a massage using a Groupon I had recently purchased.  Since the places here don't open until 11am or later I realized that I would never get to use it unless it was a weekend and the hubby was home or I got a sitter at $15+ an hour.  Oh well, yet another thing to work out.  Lastly, the hubby just left for Hong Kong today.  Then it is on to Bangkok and then London.  Another week and 1/2 as a single Mom.  Now I really need that massage!


Ok, I should feel lucky that we are all healthy and are having such an amazing opportunity, but I guess we all have days where nothing seems to be going right.  After writing it all down my frustrations seem petty and small.  I guess "life is just like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get."


Happy New Year everyone!  And if this is the first time you have read; please come back!  It really helps to know all of you are out there reading.  And feel free to comment!
Miss you all!

James 1:2-4
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.