TVaddictlovesfood

Despite my love for fresh home-cooked meals, I must admit that instant noodles have a small place in my pantry. It is quite a guilty pleasure. Almost like chocolates. All the various Es' and chemicals in one packet that satisfies that midnight crave in ten minutes.

I haven't tried them all which explains why I still have most of my hair (there is a myth that eating too much instant noodles will give you cancer and makes you lose your hair). But I do like a couple:

1) Prima Taste Singapore Curry Noodles
The portion is very generous. You can easily share a packet with a friend. It does take more than 10 minutes to cook but when done well, it is almost the real deal. What I love most about it is that the manufacturer finally understood that pots are not square. Their dried noodles are shaped into a round patty instead of a square patty and it fits easily into a pot without having to crack it into pieces. So your noodles remain in long strands. How clever!

Photo sourced from foodology.ca

2) Indomie Mee Goreng
This is my all time favorite. I remembered my dad used to bring home cartons from Indonesia when he was working there. These days they have many variations of it: extra spicy, chicken flavor, rendang flavor etc. I like the original.

Photo sourced from Amazon

3) Nissin Cup Noodle
I ate too many of them during my university years. Just add hot water and you are done! My favorite is the chicken flavor. It comes with dehydrated corn and spring onions, adding some luxury to the otherwise unhealthy and boring cup of soup noodles.

Photo sourced from Google

4) Myojo Mee
Anyone who grew up in Singapore in the 80s would remember their advertisement and jingle. I honestly don't remember how they taste. I just love their marketing campaign.

Anyway to round off this post, while googling for the various images off the internet, I found out that there is a blog (www.theramenrater.com) that reviews instant noodles all around the world! I wonder if the reviewers still have a full head of hair. Nevertheless I am proud that Prima Taste is in the top 10!

C was romantic this February and bought a voucher for us to experience the making of artisan pasta and sauce making in a 3 hour workshop. So after a one hour journey to Woolwich (we thought that the workshop would be in Central London), we arrived at Casa Grande.

Spinach tagliatelle

The workshop is run by Tatiana, the artiste. Although she is not Italian, her roots are. Brought up on traditional pasta made and cooked by her grandma, she was unhappy at the quality of pasta in the UK. She found it strange that UK, despite producing their own eggs and flour, imports tons of dried pasta from Italy. She aims to make the best dried home made pasta from her studio using only organic, locally sourced ingredients.

During the workshop, she explains how the pasta is the made and dried naturally. She then demonstrates a few traditional recipes using the fresh pasta that was just made and we got to taste them with wine.

Her products feature different types of flour from strong flour to spelt and buckwheat. She also mixes in beetroot or spinach for added flavor, and with a simple sauce such as carbonara, that certainly brings color to the plate.

She was definitely a fan of technology and the pasta machine is equipped with a bronze die. This allows the pasta to be more porous than the regular commercial brands; hence when cooked, the pasta will absorb the sauce much more to create a homogenous flavor.

It was a truly an enjoyable morning, and I have learned so much more about pasta than in my three hour practical in school. I am inspired to try my hand at making my own pasta again. Until then, I have some naturally dried pasta that is non chemically processed to enjoy.

To order your own homemade artisan pasta or to find out more about the workshop, please visit her website.

Pasta drying naturally

I just had my second cheese lecture at school and I enjoyed it as much as the first and probably even more, not having to attend it after a disastrous attempt at quiche this time.

Tom Badcock, the cheese specialist from The Cheese Cellar is an entertainer. He speaks about cheese with such passion and humor that you makes you stay at the edge of your seat for 3 hours.

The lecture  follows the history of cheese making from it's beginnings to  how different regions in Europe have developed their local flavors and techniques. The story is accompanied by the tasting of various cheeses from soft to hard, mild to strong. While he is going on about the great cheeses of Europe, he even attempts to make some. At the end of the lecture you will see cheese in a different light.

The Cheese Cellar mainly supplies to restaurants throughout the UK, but they also conduct similar cheese tastings and lectures. If you love cheese or would like to know more about it, why not get a group of friends or colleagues together and organise a cheese evening?

Remember to ask for Tom. Without him, it wouldn't be the same.

I was shopping for a new hand blender and I find myself in a sea of same-ness if that is even a word. I got quite upset with the whole process and I just need it get it off my chest.

Just make it work and last
I used to have a Philips blender. The glass jar had a screw-on plastic base ring that also locks into the heavy motor base. After blending, the jar doesn't unlock from the motor base, unless I screw the glass jar out of the plastic ring, resulting in a complete mess over my kitchen counter. I had the blender for only a year using it perhaps a total of 5 times before the problem started to occur.

So Christmas is around the corner and you dread getting presents you don't want, especially from relatives or friends who don't know you well enough. Luckily for us, we have gone past this and tell our parents and friends what we like. Some might think that this misses the point. I don't agree. I am always much happier to get what I want and the giver is still happy as they are feel like they have given us something that we appreciate.

However if you would like to surprise your love ones who is a foodie with presents this holiday, here are some items you can consider.

1) Cold Press Juicer
This is one of those items that I would never have bought for myself. It is significantly more expensive compared to other juicers, and I wondered if I was going to use it enough to justify the cost. Once you have it, however, you will never buy another bottled juice from the supermarket again. This new technology of juicing retains more nutrients than the traditional centrifugal types. The pulp is collected via an outlet while the juicing happens, making it also easier to clean. For more details on the health benefits of a cold press juicer, you can read it here.

There are many brands out there offering this technology with its growing popularity. Find one that fits the size and budget.

2) Pans that can be used with almost any heat source
Our new place has an induction stove top. However, the pans that C & I both brought to our relationship were not induction ready. Also, they have plastic handles so I can't use them in the oven. I took the opportunity to splurge on a set of Le Creuset aluminum core series but they are worth it. Searing a filet mignon on the stove and straight into the oven to finish off to medium is much simpler now, saving me on the hassle to transfer it to a baking tray. You could probably find something less expensive but it is good to get something that you know can be used with almost any heat source.


3) Joseph Joseph set of chopping boards
After my culinary course, I now understand the importance of cross contamination. Most people get food poisoning from home cooking without even realizing. How often have you chopped your veg and use the same chopping board to dice up your chicken without giving it a good wash. Well, luckily for us, Joseph Joseph has come up with a stack of chopping board with clear labels for the home chefs to use without consuming too much space. With anti-slip rubber corners, it also prevents the board from moving about when chopping. The only downside is that it is just a little too small. So if anyone from Joseph Joseph is reading my blog, please make a bigger version.

http://www.josephjoseph.com/product/index-chopping-boards



4) A pair of kitchen scissors that comes apart
Something that every avid home chef should own is a good set of knives. However the tool which often gets forgotten is the scissors. Prior to my culinary course, I never gave much thought to scissors. A good pair of scissors can help you cut off fat from bones to render. What annoys me is that scissors are difficult to clean. As part of my school kit, there was a pair of Wusthof scissors. It's everything you expect a scissors to be and it comes apart for easy washing. There are no screws whatsoever. Just a really simple design that clicks into place once you are done cleaning and drying.


5) An experience gift
If they have it all, why not give them an experience gift such as learning to cook a new cuisine. There are many culinary schools that offers short classes in various types of cuisine. Anything from a day to five days, you would be able to find classes for thai, indian, traditional french or italian cuisine. Of course if you wish to splurge, you can always send them to the country to learn from the masters and have a little holiday while they are there.

So Christmas is approaching soon. I am off to do some shopping of my own.

Images from JosephJoseph and Amazon

I realised that my last post was in May! Time really flies when you are busy. For some of you who don't know, C & I moved to London in September. We were busy getting ready for the move from June onwards. Since then I enrolled in culinary school and have been cooking up a stir in the kitchen. Well, at least I would like to think that I have been.

Being halfway through the semester, I am not sure if standing 15 hours in kitchen is the kind of career I am pursuing. I am at a dilemma right now. However I did take out some invaluable lessons:

1. I will look at a hot plate of food with a deeper level of appreciation. It is very much like what you see on Masterchef. The pressure to get everything right at the very last minute is much bigger than I ever thought it will be. Rightfully so as customers will not be happy if their food arrive cold or on a dirty plate.
2. I will appreciate every julienned or evenly diced vegetables in future.
3. Cooking does require a great deal of common sense. Switch off your brain for one minute and you could burn your onions.
4. Hence, in my opinion, the kitchen is probably one of the most dangerous place to be.
5. Nevertheless, when my food is good, the person getting the bigger satisfaction is me, not the person eating it.

Good night for now. I am exhausted.