SO cute AND helpful. This writer followed her Mom around Costco and this is what she learned.
Good looking people sharethe contents of their fridge. What? Why? Because they’re good looking and that makes me care.
Do.
It’s the last weekend of the Singapore Night Festival – gotta love it when people try to marry the (supposed) mundanity of museums with the novelty of staying out past your bedtime.
The SGD18++ six-plate degustation pasta with wine at Bottura. Can you say value for money?
A parting thought – what do you guys think about cookbooks? I think they’re beautiful but I never use them – I either find recipes on the Interweb, make something up or call my Mom.
So, DiniBlini, is still a food blog in it’s essence. Just that I haven’t been repping that side of it that hard, recently.
PZ sent me a picture of some amazing risotto she had made a couple of weeks ago – which she had served with what looked like an enticing salad.
Since I’ve never met a salad I don’t like I was all “Hayyyy what’s that? Is it tasty? Can I get the recipe??”
PZ obliged and sent me her version – which I promptly adapted – and messed up.
The first time round I made it, it looked like this:
Goi Ga close-up
Which is to say – it was GORGEOUS but I forgot to put sugar in the dressing and left the onions I had marinated in vinegar on the counter and didn’t put it in the salad. I also added the quinoa which I had prepared to make it a full meal on the counter and only added it after I was halfway through. Which made me sad. It also made me hate my counter.
The second day I prepared the salad – I was ready. Onions went in! Honey (I didn’t feel like sugar), went in! Quinoa went in! And it was great. This was a salad on a budget (Let’s face it Chinese cabbage is a lot cheaper than those mixed salad leaves) and it does a body (and wallet) good.
Serves 2 – or 1 hungry girl, twice
Protein
1 chicken thigh
1/4 tsp salt
olive oil
Salad
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 – 3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 head of Chinese cabbage, about 500gm, quartered, cored and cut crosswise into 1/4″ ribbons
1 carrot, peeled and finely shredded
1/2 bunch chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
Dressing
1 to 2 chillies, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Pinch of salt
1 tsp honey
4 Tbsps fish sauce
2 Tbsps lime juice
3 Tbsps water
Protein
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
Toss the chicken with a bit of olive oil.
Lay it on the grill bit and bake for 20 to 30 minutes – flipping once halfway through.
Remove from the oven and let cool. Chop into bite sized chunks.
Original recipe: Fill saucepan half full of water, add salt, let the water reach a rolling boil on high heat, and drop in the chicken. When the water bubbles at the edges, remove from the heat, cover tightly and let it stand 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and reserve the stock for another use. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it by hand and let cool to room temperature.
Dressing Pound the chili, garlic and salt into a paste. Scrape into a bowl and add the honey, fish sauce, lime juice and water. Combine well.
Salad
Place the sliced onion in a small bowl, add enough white vinegar to cover the slices and let sit for 15 minutes.
Drain the onion, add it to the chicken, along with the cabbage, carrot, coriander/cilantro and quinoa.
Toss the salad with the dressing just before serving.
There was so much sweat. SO MUCH SWEAT. I have embarked on a more-intense-than-usual training regime since I need to look good for an upcoming Valencia vacation. The picture above was taken after doing this workout. I’m smiling but I’m actually IN SO MUCH PAIN. Honestly though, it was a good challenge and you should try it if you’re bored with your current running routine.
Recently I’ve been feeling like some of the world’s problems could be solved if we kept an open mind AND ate some food together.
For some reason I can’t stop reading articles about the Orlando Bloom-Justin Bieber (almost) fight and then cracking up 😛
Need to try this whole summer-time pin up look soon – would it work on a brown girl like me???
When I read food blogs I feel the way little kids do when they meet a cool grown-up.
I want my blog to be just like this blog when it grows up!
Thing is, I read a lot of food blogs so I have a feeling my blog is a little confused about its future.
Some blogs standout because of their witty writing, some with the best recipes I’ve ever made, some with stunning photography and the rare few with all of the above.
And the personality of each blog? Wildly different.
Still, since my blog is in its infancy it may be wise to draw inspiration from all these varied wildly talented people.
SO I give you the best food blogs on the Internet (according to me).
The Sugar Hit – All-Rounder
1) Lip-smacking in your face photos with none of that overdone faded effect (both pictures in this post are from The Sugar Hit)
2) Funny and very relatable. Bonus: the recipes aren’t overly descriptive (aka the blog assumes you have some common sense).
3) Flavor combos that have you slack-jawed and drooling at the screen – like chocolate and raspberry muffins and apple fritters and salted caramel.
4) I can’t comment on the recipes because I’ve never made one! (SORRY SARAH – FYI Sarah is the author and we’re totes best friends now because she replied to my email, ok?) Shall I start with the Salted Caramel & Macadamia Pull-Apart Bread???
Joy the Baker – Famous
1) There’s a reason why this blog is famous. The recipes are something special. The Cranberry Orange & Pecan Coffee Cake? Best cake I’ve made in my life to date.
2) Bewarned the recipes are elaborate – but they are detailed and the blog features useful tips.
Cooking Classy – Reliable
1) Cook anything from this blog and I guarantee it will be amazing. The Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting were not only the first cupcakes I made in my life, they were better than ANY cupcakes I’ve eaten ever.
2) The savory dishes are simple and good, like the Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad that kickstarted a salad binge in my house.
3) Really regular posts = key in this short attention span world.
Lady and Pups – Asian Fusion and Kick-Ass Personality
1) Recipes that make you sit up and go WOAH – like this gem: The New York Halal Drunk Food
2) That photography – THAT PHOTOGRAPHY
3) The tagline – An Angry Food Blog – which hints at the deliciously acerbic prose
The Kitchn/Bon Appetit/Food52 – ResourceFULL
Not exactly blogs more like Internet food bibles – they have HUGE recipe databases, useful advice like how to pack a better lunch and are a great place to hangout for any foodie.
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