favourite recipes for everyday cooking and baking

  So, I googled " game meat " and according to Wikipedia, " Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport".  I never knew that duck was considered game until someone told me that it is not commonly served or eaten in the United States for that very reason. Well, it makes sense now that I recall seeing duck hunting on TV (specifically the old Looney Tunes cartoons featuring Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck - rings a bell?). Maybe because I've grown up eating a lot of Chinese roast duck (and Peking duck during special occasions), and so I can't say that it tastes gamey at all. Or maybe duck just tastes best when it's roasted until the fat has rendered and the skin's gone all thin and crispy. The only thing I don't like about duck is that it's really boney and fatty. If you buy half a roast duck, you'd end up with half of it being bones and fat. The meat and skin however is very tasty. ...

 Wine matching with Thai cuisine     Almost everyone we've ever invited over for lunch would have tried Mr G's Hainanese chicken rice, at least once. Mr G being Mr TFWL, but I'll save on the keystrokes. In fact, we serve it so often that people have come to expect it from Mr and Mrs G's House of Chicken Rice . Okay, so there are a couple of reasons why it has become a staple on our "menu". Firstly, everyone eats chicken (unless you're vegetarian of course, which means you'd best be eating rice with cucumbers) and I think the neutral flavours agree with the general palate. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like chicken rice. Secondly, it's pretty much a one dish meal served with rice, and perhaps accompanied by a side dish of stir-fried vegetables, which makes preparation a breeze. Coincidentally (ahem...), it also suits my personal agenda, as it means that Mr G does all the cooking while I sit back and relax. No, of course no...

The thing about kids' birthday cakes is that, it's not what's on the inside that counts, but what's on the outside. Always judge a cake by its icing . Well, the icing is always the first thing to go whenever I present cupcakes to my kids anyway, whilst the cake is left behind, still stuck to its cupcake liner. Remember that episode from Seinfeld where Elaine had that idea about selling muffin tops ? Now, wouldn't that be a fabulous idea for cupcakes too? *wink* When it came to deciding what cake to make for Z's birthday, it was simply a choice between vanilla or chocolate, and Z chose vanilla. Vanilla and strawberries. I wished he could have chosen something a little bit fancy so that I had an excuse to bake something different. I did a search on strawberry vanilla cakes and found this recipe which had pretty rave reviews. I usually don't believe in butterless cakes, although this one which uses vegetable oil with a hint of lemon zest tastes pretty amazing...

There's been all this hype over kale chips, and how they taste like potato chips, except that they are loaded with vitamins and minerals. I finally bought some kale from the supermarket last Sunday and was pretty excited to make these. It's really easy. Roughly tear up the kale into pieces, and then wash and dry them thoroughly. Lay them out on a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch salt. Be careful not to put too much oil or salt, because the kale will shrink to a quarter of its size and you don't want to end up with oily salty kale chips (now how did I know that?). Bake them in the oven at 180C (350F) for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through. They will be turn translucent and crispy, and they really taste almost like potato chips! And totally guilt-free! PS: These make a good substitute for crispy seaweed, the Japanese or Korean type that comes in individual packs and taste so umami with flakes of MSG all ove...

It was a bright and sunny Sunday morning. I was riding in the car when this song started playing on the radio:   Whatever I said, whatever I did I didn't mean it, I just want you back for good, (Want you back, want you back, want you back for good...)   Does that sound familiar? Well, Take That! Listening to the song evoked memories from my 21st birthday which I celebrated with my college friends. I still have photos from that day, when I had my first go at ice-skating and ended up with cuts and grazes from constantly breaking my fall with my bare hands. A couple of my friends had brought a guitar along and made a notable attempt to serenade me with " Back For Good ", which is why hearing the song again made me feel quite nostalgic. Like music, food can sometimes trigger feelings of nostalgia too. Back in my childhood days, before my cousins and I grew up and went our separate ways, we used to come together during festivit...

    Have you ever tried salmon with black bean sauce before? Honestly, I never knew salmon could be prepared this way until I found out from some friends that it is a common Chinese dish. I uusally cook salmon with either miso or teriyaki sauce, but with black beans? It actually turned out really good - sweet, salty, smoky (from the beans), with a hit of chilli in there. These flavours are just perfect with a bowl of steamed white rice, and it's all you really need for a satisfying meal. Of course, to make it complete, serve it with a plate of stir-fried asian greens like bok choy or snow pea sprouts. I used fermented black beans that came in a jar, and not the dried ones that come in a packet. You should be able to find them at the Asian supermarket at the aisle where all the sauces and jars of pastes are. I've never tried the dried version before, so I'm not sure if they are any different. The flavours should be similar though. If salmon with black b...

I'm thrilled to be writing a post ( sponsored by Nuffnang ) reviewing the newly released DVD, SBS Cooking Titles - " Exploring China - A Culinary Adventure ", featuring Ken Hom and Ching-He Huang . SBS is my go-to for all foodie programs, with my favourite being Food Safari. Showcasing the best in local & international cuisines, SBS is home to a who's who of the food scene – along with Luke Nguyen, Peter Kuruvita, Maeve O'Meara, Tetsuya, Matthew Evans, Adriano Zumbo and many more.  Ken Hom is just one of the SBS chefs and personalities whose wonderful shows are available on DVD. Click here to watch the trailer .    " Exploring China " is a new series which was aired on SBS early this year, and comprises four episodes where Ken and Ching cook their way across China in a visually rich culinary journey. If you missed the premiere of this new series, don't worry because you can now get them on DVD - all four episodes in one! Read on to find out h...