Am I missing anything?
My husband calls me a "Low-Tech" person! What sort of a person is it who doesn't know how to use a handphone? Well, some of you may have spent a small fortune investing the latest model. Believe it or not, this is my first and it is a hand-down from my son! A month ago, I have no problem answering to the house phone. Now when both the phones go ringing at the same time, I get rather annoyed. Having to decide which call to attend first is quite frustating. By the time I activated the handphone and pressed the correct keys, the caller would have decided to end the call! Never mind, give me some time and I will be an expert soon! Then, recently I informed my niece in NZ that she could text- message me. She was amused! Hi Auntie Rose, welcome aboard! My God, what have I been missing??? Tell me!
I have been daunted for years by my lack of equipment. For example: The microwave. It was a 'must-have' thing in every modern day kitchen in the early 80's. But, I never forbid one in my house, because I believe they are dangerous and totally unnecessary unless you are running a fast-food operation or you are amused by watching eggs explode, my daughter says. Today, the microwave has become one of my favourite equipment in my kitchen. My dearTsui Yun, we didnt know it was so convenient, did we? The defrosting and reheating mode is so frequently used, you can tell by the look of the labels on the press buttons! Why dont the manufacturers improve on this! Anyway, I still trust my electric pure convection oven when it comes to baking my cake and bread for the family.
Five years ago, on our 20th wedding anniversary, my husband gave me an electric sewing machine. It has been lying in the store room gathering dust! I dont even know how to thread the machine, so how could I possibly sew anything?! Thank God, I am blessed with a pair of quite creative hands - I can hand-sew a few things! Pain-staking and very time consuming - but, the effort is overall, rewarding.
Until I bought a hand-held electric beater ( twenty-five years ago and still going strong) what egg whites or butter whipped by me was done with a whisk in an extremely heavy ceramic bowl- better known as the mixing bowl. Then one day, quite reluctantly though, I attended a cooking session with a close friend. The lady was demonstrating a food processor and I vowed I would get one as soon as I get home! Why? It pureed the soup! It shredded the carrots in 2 seconds! It could also juice, whisk, knead, slice and grate! How had I ever lived without one? Thank goodness, I no longer have to use those cylindrical tin graters with patches for shredding, grating and slicing. I still remember keeping a box of Band-Aids handy, since it is impossible not to grate your knuckles as well.
There are things worth spending money on and good things dont come cheap says my husband.I adore him for knowing the difference! He knows I have an expensive taste when it comes to selecting the accessories of cooking!
Well, low or high tech....who cares for as long as it is good food that comes from the kitchens of the world's greatest mother of Gerard and Carmen! Aaaah! ................ that familiar tone.....
I've got message!
Home Cooking
One of the delights of life is eating with family and friends: second to that is talking about eating. People who like to cook - like to talk about food. Unlike some people, who love to go out, I love to stay home. I could wake up in the morning, make the coffee and wander outside to admire my garden. Later I could wander around the market figuring out what to cook for dinner. When I am back in Malaysia or even when I am home in New Zealand, I am drawn into grocery shops, supermarkets, the bakeries and kitchen supply shops. I love to eat out, but even more, I love to eat in. It is a depressing fact of life that we must now be so vigilant about what we eat. Not a day goes by that we are told that something else is bad for us: butter, coffee, sugar, chocolate, tap water, and recently bread!
We live in an age of convenience foods and household appliances. We do not have to slaughter pigs, pluck chickens, grow our own vegetables. We do not hand-wash clothes. Machines often wash our dishes for us - and still everyone complains that they hardly have any time.I do know that many people still like to cook for their family, but that when they rush home after a day at the office they may not have a lot of time and energy to spend on cooking.
I am no superwoman, but I like to cook and I am lucky I work at home. On the other hand, while I like a nice meal, I do not want to be made a nervous wreck in the process of producing one. I like dishes that are easy...but on weekends and special occassions I can get a little more ambitious!
Cooking is like anything else: some people have an inborn talent for it. Me? I came to cooking late in life- by this I mean after getting married! My lessons in cooking came from my mother-in-law, a wonderful cook who makes, among other things, a never-fail straighforward Hakka braised duck. As you gather courage, after cooking it a dozen times, you can begin to experiment and refine your technique. This is for now.
Extremely Easy - Old fashioned Hakka Braised Duck.
Wash and drip dry a medium size duck. Rub some salt over the body and inside the duck's cavity. Heat a cup of oil in a wok and then fry the duck until the skin turns brown. Remove the duck and discard the oil. Place 1/2 a cup of cooking oil in the wok, turn down the flame, add a few cloves of garlic with skin on, 2 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of light soya sauce and fry the garlic until the sugar has dissolved. Quickly tip in the duck, add 3-4 tbsp of thick black soy sauce (the true purpose of this is to add color and depth to the sauce) Add enough water to cook the bird. Lower the flame and slowly simmer until duck is tender. It is wise to cover the wok or pot when you cook the duck. You may also add in a couple of hard boiled eggs once the water is reduced to half. When the bird is done, remove together with the eggs and allow the sauce to cook down, stirring all the time until the sauce begins to bubble. Be careful not to burn the sauce! Chop the duck and cut the eggs into halves. Have them arranged on a plate. Drizzle with the gravy and serve.
Bon appetite!
Golden Egg Dumplings
A) 2 oz ground pork
pinch of salt
1 tsp cooking wine or sherry
dash of black pepper, sesame oil
1 Tbsp water
1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
B) 2 eggs
C) 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch mix with 1/2 Tbsp water
D) 1 cup stock or water
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp cooking wine or sherry
1/4 tsp salt, dash of sugar
Method:
Mix the ground pork with (A) to make the filling. Lightly beat the eggs; add mixture(C) and mix. Set aside for later use.
Heat the wok then turn the heat low. Lightly oil the wok. Spoon 1 big Tbsp egg mixture into the wok and rotate the wok to form a 2 1/2inch pancake;
Place1 tbsp filling in the middle and fold the egg pancake over in half. Cook over low heat; cook both sides until golden; remove. Repeat this step to make a few dumplings.
Put (D) and egg dumplings in a pot; cover and cook over medium heat until the filling is cooked and the liquid has almost evaporated; serve hot.
