Snacks

Snacks are one of my favourite types of food. Snacks can be easily found in any place, any time and every country have their own speciality.

Some times, we just need something light, simple & quick. Or we are having a bad day and prefer to have something easy to eat, snacks are always the choice.

In Malaysia, the choices of snacks is uncountable. There are 'Kuih, satay and different varieties of noodle from Malay, 'Dim Sum' and different variety of noodles from Chinese, and 'Muruku' and different kind of roti from Indian . Malaysian food has become the fusion of Malay, Chinese & Indian or more.I'll introduce more Malaysian food in this blog in future.

In UK, with the cold weather you don't have the urge to go out to get snacks even though they are available so you can make them yourself. I do fancy some unhealthy snacks. What I mean by unhealthy here, is it does not contain much nutrition, not freshly made and you will put on tonnes of weight quickly. Basically it does not bring any benefit beside then satisfying your craving but because of cold weather I would prefer to prepare some healthier snacks.Here are some of the snacks I had prepared during winter.

French toast, crumpet with peanut butter & sausage roll

Scotch egg, toasted tortilla with cheese & toasted corn nuts

Fruit, mixed freah fruits yoghurt & smoothies, this might not many people prefer to have in winter but I love fruites and tried to have it in different way.

Salmon Fish Cake with Spicy Mayonnaise

This is one of my favourite dishes. And I had it consistently for 3 days as dinner because I made too much.

Salmon Fish Cake with Spicy Mayonnaise

salmon fillet
potatoes
pepper
olive oil
mayonnaise
lemon juice
egg
plain flour
breadcrumbs
tiny bit of sweet chili sauce or Tabasco

1. steam salmon fillet or poach it in milk.

2. steam potatoes or boil them.

3. mash fish fillet & potatoes with some olive oil, lemon juice and pepper. Add some salt if you like.

4. shape it to any shape or size you like and coat it with flour, soak in a beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs before frying it in heated oil. I prefer natural breadcrumbs instead of golden breadcrumbs.

5. mix sweet chili sauce with mayonnaise and serve it with fresh salads and salmon fish cakes.

Mushroom Soup

Weather has not been pleasant in the UK since I arrived. Most of the time it is cold & freezing. I crave hot food more than ever, especially compared to when I was in Malaysia. This is definitely a great change in my aspect, from 33 Celsius to 3, from partying, salsa to staying in for cooking..that's me, a Gemini who can cope with most things, NICE!!

I love mushrooms. Not many fresh mushrooms are available in Malaysia. You can find button mushrooms in the can or dried Chinese mushrooms. There are many choices of mushrooms available in the market of UK and fresh! And you can use mushrooms in almost any type of cuisine.

I'll be posting most of the food that I have prepared at home since I arrived.

Mushroom Soup

closed button mushrooms
chestnut mushrooms
potatoes
onions
milk
butter or olive oil

1. slice all mushrooms and onions, peel potatoes and boil for 30 mins and set aside.

2. heat butter in a coking pan/ wok and put in all sliced onions & mushrooms. Cook till all ingredients soft.
3. add boiled potatoes together and blend with food blender. No worry of adding water as after cooking the mushrooms & onion it does relish water in the cooking.

4. finally recook all ingredients, adding some milk or cream. I like it light with no salt added.

5.Serve with some garlic bread & dough balls.

It always ends up with empty bowl!!

Mushrooms soup is simple and easy to cook and I always love to make extra and keep in the fridge. For lunch box or a light lunch at home all you need to do is to reheat in the microwave on the next day.

Waffle Breakfast

One of my favorite dining places is The Waffle House in St.Albans. It serves the best waffle I have ever had. The location, decoration, services, and especially the food is fantastic.

Once I arrived in St.Albans, my best great friend brought me there. It has not changed since I left, everything is great. We ordered the waffle breakfast with some tea and milk shake.

Waffle to me is like dessert and my experience before this I only had it with butter, honey or ice cream. Now waffle is like pizza, you can have have it with almost everything. May be one day I will try making it with chinese tea, green tea or pandan flavour.

Here is the website of The Waffle House :

http://www.wafflehouse.co.uk/

Sunday Chicken Roast

Nothing is better than a Sunday Roast as dinner in winter.

Sunday roast is a popular, traditional British main meal served on Sundays (usually in the early afternoon for lunch) throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. It normally consists of roasted meat, roast potato together with accompaniments, such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, vegetables and gravy.

I never had a whole chicken roast before coming to the UK and can only see it from movie. Now, I truly admire and love this main meal and prefer to have it as dinner in winter. I normally don't fancy a heavy lunch or dinner but in England, I have excuses to have a heavy dinner to warm myself up. Besides , there is a cardio work out waiting for me.

Generally I am 'what is in the fridge needs to be finished to create a good meal' kind of person. So,what I have is some seasonal vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips and brussel sprouts. Guess I have to skip my favourite Yorkshire pudding this time.

Sunday Chicken Roast

1 whole chicken
potato
parsnip
dried rosemary
dried thyme
broccoli
brussel sprouts


1. wash chicken, pat dry and place on a tray. Massage chicken with all herbs and let it rest in peace in the fridge.

2. cut potatoes & parsnip in to wedges and boil for 10 mins in slow heat. Drain and put aside.

3. place chicken in to preheat oven mark 200. After 20 mins add potatoes & parsnip.

4. it depends on the weight of the chicken how long it should cook.20 mins per lb. Served together with steamed broccoli & brussel sprouts.

5. I have instant sage & onion gravy this time.

That is my version of Sunday Roast when I have limited ingredients.

Home Style Chicken Casserole

When I was in Malaysia last year I had almost no chance to cook.Partly because was busy at work in the city and partly because my mum is a brilliant chef at work or at home.I am very fortunate and proud of my mum and her cooking. Thanks mum.

Now I am back in the UK and can't wait to get back to my 'culina'. I wouldn't say it is bad timing for me to be back, even though it is winter. In fact I have lots of winter food that I missed so much and can't wait to put on my table.

What I am going to share is a quick & simple meal in winter. One of my best friend cooked for me when I was in UK for the first time.

Home Style Chicken Casserole

4 chicken thigh
1 can of tomato soup
carrots
onions
button mushrooms
brussel sprouts

(All ingredient measurement is up to your choice, if you love mushrooms more you can top it.)

1. clean chicken thigh and put in a casserole dish. Pour all the tomato soup and vegetables together and put in a hot oven for about 45 mins.

2. boil brussel sprouts 5 mins before the casserole done.


Most of my cooking does not add salt. If you can get your ingredients as fresh as you can, such as locally produced, seasonal veg it does bring up the taste of the food. Trust me, after a couple of weeks, you can even smell and tell the difference from the original flavour.

Money Saving & Efficiency

Cooking,exploring new food recipes & drink has always been my interest. I was born & raised in Malaysia where we have many cultures and the most exciting thing is I can enjoy different food every day. From breakfast, lunch, tea break, dinner to supper there is a variety of choices available, any time anywhere. Trust me, with every day different breakfast, lunch, tea break, snacks, dinner & supper for 3 months you will never finished trying all Malaysian food and it is cheap!

When I moved to the UK, I became concerned with saving money on a daily basis but as a human you can't skip eating, me especially. I guess this is the same for mothers, working women and the new man. We are all suffering when it comes to 'what to cook today?'. So, I decided to give myself a challenging task. How to prepare a weekly meal on only £5 per day, including breakfast, lunch & dinner, but still can enjoy my meal without sacrificing my craving for good food.

However, repeating the same ingredients with different cooking method & cuisine needs lots of research, planning & preparation. Not many people have time for all of this. And that is why I am excited to take up with this challenge to share with my friends & family and those who are interested in saving money and still enjoying a different meal every day.

My past experience was having lots of left over ingredients when preparing a meal and no idea what to do with them next. I hate wasting food, especially when think of people suffering with no food due to disaster,poverty...and my main concern also includes global warming. Saving food is saving energy!
How beautiful if you save £1 a day or a week or a month from not on wasting food and contributed to charity!!