Fried! Schnitzel mit Tofu

This is a super backdated entry. I found the photos some weeks ago.

Anyway it was obviously a case of trying to use up whatever was in the fridge, because I have mashed potatoes (which I mashed with milk, spring onion before lightly salting), deep fried tofu (which I top up with pork mince which I got from a can *oops*. So much for cooking from scratch)and chicken schnitzel.

Scallops and Winter melon 干贝冬瓜汤

Scallops 80g
Wintermelon 300g
Pork ribs 100g

Boil Boil Boil.

Dispels heat, remove dampness, encourages weight loss (winter melon) and replenishes the liver and kidney.

That was the recipe, but I forgot to use scallops in the recipe. Instead I used the following:

I did the same thing, boil for at least six hours to get this:

As you can see, I added some salt but I am not so hardcore about it. B1 did complain that the soup was not flavorful. I think it's because of the wintermelon to water ratio and maybe because scallops were not used. :D

Chrysanthemum Tea 菊花茶

B1 and I are super "heaty", and I am developing a sore throat and losing my voice.  So I said I would boil Chrysanthemum tea since I bought a bag full of these dried flowers some months ago. It's supposed to have a "cooling" effect against the heat.

Initially I thought that we wouldn't drink much of it. I actually hate drinking it because restaurants and my parents make it somewhat sour (and in my parents case, not sweet at all). So, I only made 2 litres of it. But when B1 said, we might not end up with 2 litres, so I thoughfully added another litre of water in.

I only let the flowers steep for about 10 minutes in the hot water after boiling, before chucking them out. This helped to minimize the sourness, I think. I dumped some sugar.

I am not sure what is the flower:sugar:water ratio, but I thought if the damn liquid looks like pee, I am golden =D (puns totally intended). In the end we drank all the water up. Sigh. I should have made more.

Read about benefits of Chrysanthemums (in Mandarin).

Last Saturday Lunch

I was feeling dreadfully sleepy, and after that egg breakfast B1 did, I wasn't hungry until 3pm after I had finished ogling the male models on Remodeled. That Hunter guy from Courtier Model and Talent Management is HOT!

I wasn't feeling up to a hot meal, so I made some cold pasta. I cooked some spaghetti, dumped it into cold water (soba-style) to stop the cooking once it became al dente, mixed in some endamame, corn and black olives.

The sauce was made with bacon bits (hehe, I crave that little bit of meat), mirin, sesame seed oil, soya sauce (lesser because of the bacon), sugar, salt and vinegar. Microwave the mixture in 1 min, and toss in your salad.

 

After this I had a delightful snooze, which meant I stayed up until 4am. WTF.

2nd attempt at my Italian Bread - Simple Sandwich lunch

This is my second attempt at the same recipe. I totally love this bread. This time I put 60% bread flour and 40% plain flour, and I wasn't so industrious to mist the bread with water for 3 times within the first 10 minutes.

The bread turned out more chewy with a thicker crust, B1 tried a piece after it cooled, and immediately returned the bread to me. However I realized that zapping Mr Bread in the Microwave restored it to its soft yumminess.

So holey! I like!

I like the denser crumb, but I preferred the other attempt. I made sandwiches again, this time for lunch with chips, with strawberries and grapes with Sahne for afters.

I am not sure how else to get rid of the cream. Should I play lick the frosties with B1? =D haha.

I forgot to mention that I made my own hamburger patties. Well, everyone uses beef in their patties. I use mincemeat. I should borrow a book on 50 ways to eat mince. I have been buying a lot of mince because it's cheap, but I am realizing that the pre-minced meat could contain miscellaneous mysterious piggy (hopefully mostly piggy) part.

I added panko and basil and thyme as well as the usual seasonings and shaped them into little patties which I then fried. It was pretty yummy between the bread, especially after I spread some brie on the toasted bread. Yumz.

Deeper Shades of Purple - Purple carrots anyone?

I came across the purple carrots at the supermarket. I couldn't resist buying them. It's strange really, I grew up eating carrots because my mother always puts it in her cooking. She always said (nowadays it's Vater who cooks) "carrots are good for your eyes. Look, the bunny rabbit does not wear glasses." What fucking bull, which animal wears glasses, other than Man?

That said, now I feel a strange sense that all is right with the world when I open the fridge and see carrots inside. I cooked one of the carrots in a niku jaga (though I cheated and used pork slices instead of beef, we are poor people after all). It made everything purplish grey. But trust me, Mr Purple Carrot tastes as good as his orange brother =D.

Kamameshi

I am really into natural flavors. I hate MSG, because it makes my tongue swell.

I made this with bonito flakes, julienned chicken thigh and endamame. Just throw everything in the same pot until cooked.