July 19, 2009

Roast Ribs

For more reasons to celebrate life with food, here comes an impromptu lunch. Beer marinated, honey glazed pork ribs with  caramelised onion. Very very un-halal indeed.

About a rack of ribs, soaked in a can of beer (about an hour or so or more …)

And the marinade consist of:

- 3-4 tablespoons of honey,

- 2 tablespoons of chilli sauce

- 2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

-a pinch of cayenne pepper

- a pinch of fennel seed

-a pinch of oregano

- 1 piece of bay leave

- 4-6 bulb of garlic

- 1 onion

- salt & pepper

So after soaking the ribs long enough in the beer, rub the marinade and massage it well onto the ribs.

With layers of sliced onions as the base, roast the rib, bone side up in 170’c for an hour. Then turn over to the meat side up and roast for another 45 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the balance of the beer with some sugar, salt pepper and a dash of flour.

Now … chomp chomp

IMG_2733

IMG_2730

IMG_2736

IMG_2738

IMG_2746

July 9, 2009

a weekend of pound

So over the weekend while camping at home trying to  finish up proposals is, of course stressful. And like my typical way of managing my stress. I cook.

250gm of self raising flour

250gm of butter

200gm of sugar

4 eggs

two tablespoon of milk

a teaspoon of vanilla essence.

handful of mix fruits (raising, orange peel, nuts and etc.)

IMG_2458

How difficult to bake? Easy peasy,

IMG_2462

40 mins in 160’c and here you go. Fresh aroma of the butter and eggs.IMG_2466

Sitting at the balcony, watching tv and having fresh pound cake with a dollop of NZ icecream-fruits of the forest.

Oh, de-stressing.

Now back to my proposal.

July 4, 2009

King of all kings

The king of all fruits, the craziest burst of flavours, always the sharpest smell that fills the air and texture one will always remember.

IMG_2433

So, my parents came for a visit (yet again) and this time, mum pass me this bag of filled with damp newspaper, and surprise surprise… it’s durian. All the way from Kelantan.

There’s this breed, which my parents would only eat, as they pre-order them when they start to fruit on the trees. No joke here, these breed are in high demand, and over the years my parents had made friend with the orchard owner. It’s the ‘kunyit’  / turmeric breed. And according to my parents, they have lotsa immitation breed claiming they are kunyit durians, and charge you for something it’s not.

Well, having durian the old school way isn’t too bad, and that reminds me of the excitement of ‘opening’ my durians when I younger.

So I decided to do it at the balcony, with newspapers all placed and a cleaver in hand.

IMG_2434

First you cut/chop along the lines. Two cuts at least, and after doing so, use the sides of the cleaver to push for space.

IMG_2436

Then using upper body strength, open the crack! There’s the excitement when you see some of the golden flesh. And the smell…. Yum yum.

IMG_2438

Look at those beautiful baby.

IMG_2439

 IMG_2441

And without further adieu, you feast.

I like my durian sweet with a tinge of bitter after taste. The bitter aftertaste that lingers in the mouth always give a nice conclusion to it’s early creamy, pungenty texture. And especially if they have those smaller-wrinkly-shrinkly seeds, you know that you’re getting more durian flesh than seeds.

IMG_2443

Then came the part you work your way thru other goodies. Squat down and use upper body strength again to crack open them.

IMG_2446

Oh what a beautiful day.