Sunday, May 31, 2009

100 truths


Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 100 Truths about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. Last beverage: mango yogurt drink [bliss]
2. Last phone call: adilah [college mate]
3. Last text message: kambInK [ttm]
4. Last song you listened to: thinking of u [katy perry]
5. Last time you cried: last night. a couple of tears.

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice: yes.
7. Been cheated on: yes.
8. Kissed someone & regretted it: no.
9. Lost someone special: yes. but i let it go.
10. Been depressed: sometimes.
11. Been drunk and threw up: no no no.

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLOURS:
12. white
13. rainbow
14. pink

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2009)
15. Made a new friend: yes. a lot and a lot of new friends.
16. Fallen out of love: a big NO [budget setia...]
17. Laughed until you cried: yes i did!
18. Met someone who changed you: yes. she makes my life better.
19. Found out who your true friends are: yes yes yes! obviously!
20. Found out someone was talking about you: yes, they did.
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: quite a number.
23. How many kids do you want to have: 3 would b just fine.
24. Do you have any pets: yes. few cats ++ lola!!! [facebook]
25. Do you want to change your name: no. i love my name.
26. What did you do for your last birthday: nothing. no cake. just.being alone at home.
27. What time did you wake up today: sesudah subuh...
28. What were you doing at midnight last night: try on9, but internet x betul.
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: finished this sem.
30. Last time you saw your Mother: she's here with me.
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: my spirit.
32. What are you listening to right now: sound of the TV.
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: no no no.
34. What's getting on your nerves right now: can't think of one.
35. Most visited web page: blogger, google, facebook, myspace, yahoo, friendster.
36. What's your real name: nur aqilah bt mohd amin
37. Nicknames: aqilah. qila. qilah. qill. rainbow =P and so on...
38. Relationship Status: it's complicated.
39. Zodiac sign: Libra
40. Male or female: Female
41. phone(s): nokia(s)
42. laptop: compaq
43. High school/college: mrsm / miim
44. Hair colour: black
45. Long or short: short.
46. Height: 163 / 164
47. Do you have a crush on someone: only hope.
48: What do you like about yourself: i dont know?
49. Piercings: none.
50. Tattoos: none ++ never.
51. Righty or lefty: righty

FIRSTS :
52. First surgery: i can't recall.
53. First piercing: back to when i was 3 @ 4
54. First best friend: ashraff kacak!!! where are u eh..???
55. First sport you joined: lumba lari. LOL.
56. First vacation: idk.
58. First pair of trainers: -

RIGHT NOW
59. Eating: nope.
60. Drinking: nope. too lazy to get a drink.
61. I'm about to: finish my assignment(s)
62. Listening to: news
63. Waiting on: to feel better.

YOUR FUTURE :
64. Want kids: yup.
65. Get Married: with some1 i love, and he loves me too.
66. Career: successful person.

WHICH IS BETTER :
67. Lips or eyes: eyes
68. Hugs or kisses: hugs
69. Shorter or taller: taller
70. Older or Younger: older
71. Romantic or spontaneous: spontaneous
72. Nice stomach or nice arms: nice stomach.
73. Sensitive or loud: sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship: relationship
75. Trouble maker or hesitant: trouble maker

HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger: never
77. Drank hard liquor: nope
78. Lost glasses/contacts: yes i did.
79. Sex on first date: not for me.
80. Broken someone's heart: a long time ago.
82. Been arrested: never
83. Turned someone down: yup
84. Cried when someone died: yes.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself: most of the time, no.
87. Miracles: 50-50.
88. Love at first sight: no no no!!!
89. Heaven: yes. always.
90. Santa Claus: no.
91. Kiss on the first date: owh i did.
92. Angels: yes.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 boyfriend at a time: back to when i was in 2ndry school.
95. Did you sing today: no.
96. Ever cheated on somebody: yes.
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go: 10 years ago?
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be: the day when i decided to let him go.
99. Are you afraid of falling in love: now? idk.
100. Posting this as 100 truths: yes.


Menu 3: The Diversity of South Africa

There are so many cultures involved in South African cuisine. I knew nothing about the complexity and the diversity until I found two South African cookbooks and started cooking. Dutch settlers (the Afrikaners) brought a European influence with Milk Tarts and other delicious baked goods along with an amazing barbeque (braai) with beef and chicken; Malay laborers from Java and Indonesia brought their spices; indigenous Africans added in cornmeal porridge and greens, reminders for us of the soul food of the American south; Indians brought their curries. I love how the colors and flavors intermingle and dance with each other. Bobotie is a classic example.

Bobotie from South Africa

















2 onions, finely chopped
2 pounds ground beef, or a mix of ground meats
1 slice bread
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
1½ tablespoons sugar
½ cup raisins
3 tablespoons chutney, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup slivered almonds
1 egg

1. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Sauté beef or meat mix with onions until meat is brown, breaking the meat up into small pieces. If necessary, drain fat from the pan and discard.
3. Soak the bread in half the milk; mash it with a fork. Add it to the meat.
4. Combine all the remaining ingredients except the egg and the remaining milk. Spread the mixture in a greased casserole.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Beat the egg with the remaining ½ cup milk and pour it over the casserole. Return to the oven for another ½ hour.

6 servings
Adapted from The Africa News Cookbook

Braised Carrots

















2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 3½ x ½ x ½-inch sticks)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
3 slices lemon, seeds removed, plus juice from the rest of the lemon
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon anise seeds
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Put the oil and the carrots into a heavy 10-inch skillet. Cook on high heat, stirring and shaking the pan often and scraping the browned bits occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the carrots have lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, tomatoes, mint, lemon slices, sugar, salt, anise and cumin; mix well.
3. Cook until bubbling vigorously; reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir, turning the carrots. Cover and cook until the carrots are very soft, 10 minutes or so more. Add lemon juice and season with pepper. Remove the lemon slices.
4. Before serving, sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot or at room temperature.

If you make this ahead, you can reheat for 1-2 minutes in the microwave.

4 servings
Adapted from Eating Well, February/March 2006

Oven-Roasted Zucchini

















8 medium zucchini, thickly sliced (½ inch) on the bias
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
or 2 roasted garlic cloves, chopped, and 1 fresh garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped or ¼ cup chopped herbs of your choice (tarragon and chervil or tarragon and thyme or oregano and thyme or dill are all good)
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper

1. Place the zucchini in a roasting pan(s), add the olive oil, toss to coat, and arrange in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Put the pan(s) in the oven and turn the temperature to 425ºF. Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning once mid-way. The zucchini should be nice and brown on both sides.
2. Mix together the garlic, parsley, lemon zest, and herbs.
3. Make a layer of some of the zucchini slices on a serving dish. Sprinkle with some of the herb mixture, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the lemon juice. Continue making layers until all the ingredients are used, ending with some herbs on top.
4. Set aside in a cool place for about an hour for the flavors to mingle before serving. Can serve warm or at room temperature. To warm slightly, put the dish in a microwave and heat for 1-2 minutes.

Note: I have made just steps 1 and 2 of this recipe with salt added along with the olive oil. Even at its most simple, it is a delicious dish.

4-5 servings
Adapted from The Silver Spoon, a comprehensive cookbook of Italian food.


Yellow Rice

















1½ cups basmati rice
2 tablespoons oil or butter
2 2/3 cups water
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ cup raisins or currants, optional
1 stick of cinnamon
1½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped or sliced, optional
4 tablespoon desiccated coconut, optional
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil or butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and sauté until the individual grains are shiny, about 1 minute.
2. Add the turmeric, raisins or currants, cinnamon, water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes.
3. While the rice is cooking, heat the 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat in a frying pan and sauté the onions until they are golden.
4. Once the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork, and stir in the onions and coconut or spread them over the top, if desired. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Serves 5-6
Adapted from Lehla Eldridge’s The South African Illustrated Cookbook

Traveling, Cooking, and Eating
















Four years into my marriage, we moved to Taipei, Taiwan for my husband to study Chinese at the Stanford Program at Taida University. Because we were so very Berkeley, we decided that we would shop and cook for ourselves rather than hire an amah. This was a pretty radical decision in 1970. So I learned to count in Chinese. I learned the names of vegetables. I shopped nearly every day at our neighborhood market. I bought a couple of pirated Chinese cookbooks. I took some cooking classes. In the course of the year I learned a huge amount about Chinese food but the shopping also brought me into the community. Neighborhood grannies would peek in my shopping basket to see what I had bought, ask how much I had paid for my cabbage and offer suggestions on how to prepare it.
















When we moved to Kyoto, Japan with our month-old baby, Franz, I did pretty much the same thing. Counting. A couple of cookbooks. Daily shopping. Asking questions of neighbors. And cooking a lot of Japanese food. I also taught Western cooking to some women in my neighborhood, as shown in the photo. They reciprocated by teaching me Japanese cooking. Just great for me.

So I’m going to jump ahead to the near present.

In 2003 I caught the travel bug. It started with the Middle East and went on to Spain and Morroco, southern France, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and Greece, Malawi, back to South Africa, Spain, Sweden on and on. And most recently Italy, Iran, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine. An amazing opportunity to see the world and to delve into cultures so different from my own.

Before going on trips, I educate myself about the new place by doing three things: I buy cookbooks (from my favorite used bookstore), read them, and cook some of the special dishes of the region. Good cookbooks tell me so much about the agriculture, immigration patterns and influences, the climate, and the traditions of the country. And then I get to eat their food. Smell it. Taste it. I literally ingest the culture of the new place before I take a step outside this country. When I finally get there, I can look for the dishes I want to try and delight in seeing how closely my dishes approximate the “real” thing.

Chorizo pasta - Rachel Allen - Market Kitchen

Rachel does the demos at Ballymaloe cooking school

Mark Bittman: What's wrong with what we eat

A Must Watch

'Half a Pound of Crap' In Daily American Diet - Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman: "Food Matters", part 1

Mark Bittman: Food Matters, part 2