0 Doughy, carby, chocolatey

Things have been busy lately, but it's the repetitive-kind-of-busy, which means not much progress made on the lab front. At least I've managed to clear 90% of confocal imaging, which was my target set for 31-12-12. I'm really quite sick of lab now; what's keeping me sane is knowing that it'll all be over in a matter of months time. It's so near yet so far. I know all this will pass in a whiz, yet during this period of time there's still the data to process, thesis to write, poster presentation. These very thoughts scare me.

On the food front, things could not have been better. I take every meal, especially breakfasts and Sunday dinners, as an opportunity to exercise creativity. From Christmassy oatmeal themes featuring s'nog (soy nogs) and homemade cranberry sauce (above) to pools of hot mole chocolate made with good quality dark chocolate like Godiva and Fauchon (below).

Today's breakfast theme - triple chocolate & banana (from bottom up): seared 'nana coins; Rude Health The Oatmeal cooked in water with a nugget of Justin's chocolate almond butter stuck in the core; topped with hot chocolate mole sauce made with soy milk, protein powder, square of Fauchon 65% coffee chocolate noir, chocolate mole powder and extra coffee granules.

This week I also bought Rudi's cinnamon raisin bagels which I had for a quick lunch today before going off to Middle Earth. Mouthfuls of doughy carbs paired with mushy avocado and flakey salmon = pure satisfaction.

Dinner was aloo matar gajar, basic indian curry with potatoes, peas and carrots (translated in that order). I added carrots for extra bulk. Alongside I had a hunk of Curry Times' curry bun, which was filled with even more potatoey goodness, and I must admit, their filling was much tastier than mine. I loved the soft sweet white bread bun. Doughy carbs again!

It's yet another eventful year gone by. I'll be ruminating on the changes and challenges I'll like to take on for 2013 as I reflect on events of 2012. Maybe a dedicated post tomorrow, if I can fit the time in.

2 Medz about mediterranean

A lonesome Sunday lunch at the Medz, tucked in a far corner of Orchard Central B2. This has a dining concept similar to Marche where you get a card which captures your orders, except that the food has a Mediterranean focus. The various stalls were ordered by cuisines of Mediterranean countries such as Greek, French, Tunisian, Italian etc.

I had the vegetable tagine with couscous ($8+). I was hoping it would come in those cute tagine earthenware pots but sadly, it was served without the lid. The stew was hearty and mildly spicy, with chunks of tender braised broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, tomato, corn and peas. The couscous was topped with a simple but delicious sweet golden raisins. Overall a very heartwarming dish, although the gravy was a bit oily and salty.

A view of the restaurant from the corner where I was sitting. I wouldn't mind a return visit to check out the paellas and kebab station, which looked really tempting.

1 What stole my weekend

It was a whirlwind of a weekend that ended much to quickly. In the name of saving time, I'll let the photos tell the bulk of the story.

1. The Amazing Spiderman! Although it boasted a typical storyline, it was nevertheless an enjoyable film with bits of humour and lots of swinging action. Andrew Garfield (who I prefer to Tobey Maguire as Spidey) and Emma Stone freshens up the blockbuster series with their younger personalities. James Horner is now added to my favorite list of composers, with his grandiose take on the main theme, filled with the fanfare of trumpets doling out a soulful tune. Just listen!
2. Crab bee hoon soup from Hong Kong Street Chun Tat Kee at Balestier Road. This cze char place is known to dish out a mean bowl of XO slice fish bee hoon and san lo hor fun. Wanting to venture out of our usual orders, we had the crab bee hoon this time round. This is my first time handling crabs in their fully shelled form and it was certainly an experience with the shelling and extraction of the meat. A very tedious and painful (literally) process but the reward was sweet, succulent and robust fresh crab meat. The stock was superbly flavorful with the crabby taste, with notes of hua diao rice wine dancing on the palate. It bordered on being excessively salty towards the end though. Our other orders were sambal kangkong and cereal prawns. After the tasty meal the bill came as shock though: $59 for two people!
3. Pizzeria Mozza.My sis and I had lunch here before the Harry Potter exhibition (see below). It's her first visit and my second, 10 months after celebrating my birthday here.
   

   Rucola, funghi and piave salad came as a mound of fresh rocket leaves with (raw) white button shrooms and shaven piave (an Italian cow's milk cheese similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano) layered in-between. The vinegary dressing did well to highlight the peppery tones of rocket, although it somewhat overwhelmed the less ostentatious shroom profile.

   

   Long-cooked broccoli, caviocavallo and chiles pizza. Another first for having broccoli on pizza. The long-cooked broccoli was tender and tasty on its own but I felt it didn't pair too well as a pizza topping. Caviocavallo is another type of cheese but I'm not an avid fan of cheese and especially when melted on pizzas, all the cheeses taste the same to me. On the whole this pizza okay, if not a tad salty.

   

   Of the Tomato, Sicilian oregano and extra virgin olive oil pizza and Broccoli pizza today, and the Margherita pizza the previous visit, the former is my favorite of the lot. If you're a tomato lover, you'll be most delighted. Intense tomato sauce topped with oregano, this upheld the adage of beauty in simplicity. You'll get your lycopene dose filled with this one!

4. Harry Potter exhibition.
   

   We breezed through the exhibition in 45 mins. It mainly featured the actual costumes and props used in the film. It was quite surreal to actually see the exact items used in the film right before your very eyes. The Marauder's Map and Potions book were some of the cooler items on display, filled with scribbles of wizardry language. I also enjoyed the display of the Yule Ball costumes; Hermione's lilac dress was so pretty! The souvenir shop of a cash-milking machine though. $50 for a wand?

5. Hacking open a young coconut. Yet another first this weekend. Much skills and strength is called for!

6. Church talk on Biomedical Ethics. An interesting and informative insight on biomedical ethics from a theological perspetive

There goes my weekend. It's past the 6-month mark of 2012. Scary how June whizzed past in a flash.Time to start relooking at monthly resolutions again.

1 Pizza patrol

Pizza making session today! Specifically, a spelt crust pizza.

It didn't turn out too bad, considering this is my first attempt at homemade pizza. I was aiming for slightly crispy, thin-crust pizza but the base turned out to be more bread-like than pizza-like, or to put it crudely, soggy pizza. This was especially so in the areas where there were toppings, and I attribute it to uneven cooking/too much "wet" toppings. Nevertheless, the edges of the pizza were exactly what I was after - crisy and slightly chewy. Delish!

For all first-timers in pizza-making, a useful pizza guide can be found here.

8 Boo to moo: vegetarian moussaka

When you are carte blanche, what will you do? For me, cooking is a form of relaxation, a practice of science, and an expression of creativity all at the same time. Even before the exams ended, my hands have been itching to cook up a storm. I set out to conquer the moussaka today, my most ambitious culinary endevour to date. It is a Mediterranean (Greek?) dish and typically consists of eggplants, ground meat, tomatoes & vegetables and topped with a white sauce. Although I knew moussaka is time-consuming, still, I totally underestimated the the recipe. But the toil and effort is absolutely worth every vegetable peel. And to set another record, I have incorporated real butter and cheese into the recipe, and not the vegan forms, for the richness of 'authentic' moussaka. A little goes a long way, although I doubt they'll become staples in my diet anytime soon.

Be prepared for a wealth of ingredients and instructions.

Vegetarian Moussaka (serves 4-6)

A colorful mix of golden potatoes, purple sweet potatoes and orange chickpeas take the place of meat. The bechamel sauce is lightened with the use of soy milk, but with the complexity of flavours going on, you won't miss the richness!

Ingredients

"The Layers"

1 tbsp salt

1 eggplant (globe), peeled and thinly sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small potato, peeled and thinly sliced

1 purple sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced

"The Sauce"

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar (I subbed with raspberry balsamic vinegar)

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup chopped tomatoes (Waitrose chopped tomatoes with chopped herbs)

1 cup cooked chickpeas, skins removed and roughly chopped (Waitrose chickpeas in water)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder (I subbed 1 tsp chicken seasoning for the onion & garlic powder)

1/4 tsp cumin

2 tbsp black olives, minced

1 cup fresh arugula

2 tbsp fresh basil

"Bechamel topping"

2 tbsp butter (Lurpak)

3/4 cup non-dairy milk (Silk soy, unsweetened)

1 tbsp flour (Bob's Red Mill spelt flour)

Generous sprinkle of nutmeg

1 egg white, beatened

Ground black pepper

1/4 cup mozzarella, shredded

Directions
"Pre-preparations"
1. Preheat oven to 375 F (180 C).
2. Grease a baking dish (6.75" x 10") with olive oil.
3. Place eggplant slices on kitchen tissues and generously rub with salt to draw out moisture. Let sit for 30 min.
4. Glaze potatoes & sweet potato slices with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Bake for 10 min.

"The Sauce"
5. Heat 1/2 tbsp oilive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion for 3-5 min until translucent. 6. Add in garlic and cook 30s until fragrant.
7. Add red wine vinegar, lemon juice, tomatoes, chickpeas, oregano, onion & garlic powder and cumin.
8. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 min.

9. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Brown eggplant slices, about 2-3 min each side. Set aside.

"Assembly"
10. Line casserole according to the following layers: 1/2 of eggplant, 1/2 potato mixture, 1/2 basil, arugula & olives, 1/2 sauce. Repeat (it should be enough to make two of such layers).
11. Bake for 25 min.

"Bechamel Topping"
11. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.
12. Add milk & flour. Whisk well to combine. 13. Bring to slow boil until thickened and reduced.
13. Season with nutmeg and black pepper.
14. Cool 5 min, then whisk in egg whites.
15. After moussaka has baked 25 min, remove, pour cream mix on top.
16. Top with mozzarella and bake another 15-20 min.

This seemingly endless recipe left me all sweaty and hungry after 3 hours, yes 3 hours in the oven-like kitchen. I started at 12 and ended about 3+. After quickly snapping some (mandatory) photos, I couldn't wait to see how it turned out.... it was a flavour bomb! I can't really tease out the taste of each ingredients; no one flavor dominated, but they melded to form a harmonious new blend of je nai se quoi. I believe the only other time I had moussaka was at Whole Foods in London, and this is quite comparable, if not better, since I get mine piping hot (at Whole Foods it was served chilled I think).