Food!

ehehehe... a few people have commented that I don't put in many recipe entries in here.

Thing is, when I started blogspot, hubby was away in Japan, so there was no need to cook up such a feast since it was just me and the maid LOL

Now that hubby's back, my kitchen is functioning again, hehehehe


These dishes were for lunch on Saturday.

We'd gone to Pasar Borong Selangor in the morning, and since Kak MaDiHa's kerabu had been beckoning for days, I bought the ingredients to make my own :-D

Saturday evening, hubby and I had to sneak out while Aina was having her bath, for fear she'll start crying when she sees us leave the house!

We were off to Istana Budaya for M. Nasir's Konsert Alam Muzik.
IT WAS GREAT!!!!

Hubby had this to say "betul ke ni bini aku??" LOL LOL LOL

We'd never been to any concerts together before, and in my 'younger days' I used to jam in a studio in Bangsar with live musicians backing me up :-)

So, this particular side of me... he's never seen, although he has seen pictures which kinda proves I was a groupie of sorts, LOL

Anyway, needless to say, M.Nasir still has IT.

He had the whole Panggung Sari audience on their feet, singing along with him (except the two sitting in front of us, but that's another story altogether!), including 2 'veteran' couples who sportingly stood up, pranced around and sang to his songs word for word :-D :-D :-D

The 2-hour concert just flew by so fast that the audience were left wanting MUCH more, which M. Nasir obligingly gave in with an encore with 4 songs.

The musicians backing him were also a force to be reckoned with. This time around, Nan was his Musical Director, and honestly........they ROCKED!!!!!!!!!! Jay Jay, Zul Mahat, Eddie (of Ekamatra), Ujang (of Exist), Mohar (of Mohram), (can't remember) of Spider, and his backing vocals were AWESOME... The 3 'adorable' jaipong dancers were a pleasant addition to his show :-D

By the time we got home, it was already 12.30am and Aina was of course asleep.

Then, the cheeky-pot decided to wake up just as I was about to fall asleep, at around 1.30am. AND, she refused to sleep back till 4am!!!!

We had to get up early as hubby wanted to go to Pulau Ketam Sunday morning to look for crabs (read: LOOK not catch, ok) :-S

Anyway, hubby walked to the place he was supposed to meet up with his friends, since I was too zonked out to send him anyways...

Not long after, I woke up, showered and got stuff ready for Aina's visit to TokMi's so that TokMi can take her swimming at TokMi's condo.

Aina woke up around 7.20am, so I changed her diaper and got her ready while Ana hung out the clothes from the machine. We finally left for TokMi's at 8am.

After Aina's playtime, we stayed till lunch, then I had to leave as we had an appointment with the contractor to get a quotation for some work we want to do to the house.

I almost fainted when I got home and saw hubby's Coleman.....!

TEN live crabs in there, waiting to be 'served'!!!!


He also got the tiny clams (I think they're a type of clam, hahahah!)

This time, I cooked the crabs a bit differently, which hubby LOVED.

Spicy Chilli Crabs

you need:
5 med-sized crabs (meaty ones like mud crabs are perfect)
blend:
1 large onion
5 cloves garlic
1 1/2inch ginger
6 - 8 cili padi
5 - 8 fresh red chillies
1/2 inch belacan
1 med-sized stalk lemongrass
sauces:
2 Tbs oyster sauce
2 Tbs hoisin sauce
water, as required
sugar, to taste

how to:
heat oil in a large wok and fry the blended ingredients until fragrant and a bit dry. add in the sauces and water. when the mixture starts to simmer (and you sneeze like crazy!) throw in the crabs and stir to combine. cover and leave to cook about 6-8 mins. remove cover, add more water if necessary, then stir to mix crabs with gravy well. it's up to you to make more or less of the gravy, producing a drier dish with a more intense flavour if less liquid is added. serve hot with white rice.

as hubby put it "POWWEEERRRRR!!!" LOL LOL LOL

Hubby cleaned the crabs but forgot to knock the thick claws a bit so I had to take care of that befor I started cooking. Imagine my surprise when I took one, knocked it's claw, and it actually pinched my thumb!!! I yelled, and the claw relaxed, but not before leaving a mark and making me bleed a little bit... well, this was one claw I thoroughly enjoyed eating!!! LOL LOL LOL



The bolognaise you see above is hubby's lunch. He prepared the beefballs, and so while he was cleaning the crabs, I finished cooking the sauce for him while Ana boiled his pasta.

Oh yeah... before I forget, this is the recipe for my version of the kerabu.

Kerabu Kerang & Taugeh

you need:
2 kg cockles, boiled and shelled
3 Tbs fresh coconut, fried without oil until they just start to turn brown
approx. 3 handfuls of beansprouts, blanched lightly
(accurate measuring method, huh!! ;-p)
pounded:
5 fresh red chillies
5 cili padi
2 Tbs fresh coconut
1 Tbs dried shrimp (dry-fried)
a bit of belacan
sliced finely:
4 - 5 shallots
1 med-sized stalk lemongrass, use only the tender inner part
1 kantan bud
Juice from 1 large lime
sugar, to taste

how to:
to assemble the kerabu, combine all of the above and refrigerate to allow the ingredients to absorb respective flavours. take out from fridge about 1/2 hour before serving if prefer it not to be too cold.

OK... it is now only 9.15pm but I can barely open my eyes...
Till my next entry....




AM

p.s. there is a possibility I may have to 're-activate' my Fotopages as well since my colleagues complaint that they cannot access my blog since it's been blocked by our Administrator... We'll see how it goes.... :-)