Never eat food you can't pronounce. Except quinoa. You must eat quinoa.

Quinoa. That's probably gotta be something close to quiche right? I mean, milk and eggs. How could that go wrong? Oh quiche was right but I could be wrong about quinoa. And I was. Quinoa is an ancient seed. A superfood that's one of the few plant based sources of complete protein. Little wonder why it would have been regarded as the Incas' gold, the mother grain.

I've had it in my pantry for the longest time but I wasn't sure how to introduce this to my family on the dinner table. Not as a side but as a substitute for that starchy rice that's a staple at every Chinese family dinner. Lofty ideas. Never attempted. Till tonight. That one special day every four years. 

Now where do I start? I read about bitter tastes, mushy turnouts. That would be a recipe for disaster. So I made sure I had backup. Made sure there was rice grains to be cooked, noodles on standby. With a deep breath, I took out my nearly forgotten white and red quinoa grains and got down to washing them. So apparently the white quinoa has the most neutral and easy to love flavour for first timers but I was keen on trying the red ones too, which have a more earthy flavour. Plus a colour pop would really appeal to one's stomach I figured? 

Quinoa has a natural coating, saponin that gives rise to a bitter taste if not washed properly. How much washing is enough? To be honest, I was none the wiser, and gave it two rounds of  vigorous washing in a fine mesh strainer. I took three quarters of the white quinoa and topped it off with another quarter of the red quinoa to make one cup. The standard ratio of quinoa to water/ stock is 1 : 2. Keep to that ratio and try it out with different stocks. I boiled up a pot of wintermelon, dried cuttlefish, pork bones and chicken breast broth and I used that as my stock. Since that was already pre-salted, I didn't add any additional seasonings. 

Boil it over high heat till the liquid is almost absorbed. That's about ten minutes worth of boiling. Then add in the carrot from the soup stock, raw cubed pumpkin and raw chopped broccoli because these cook quickly. Then turn off the flame and let it stand for five minutes. Don't peek! Then remove the lid, you should see the spirals separated from and curling around the quinoa. Use a fork and fluff up the quinoa gently. Serve warm. :)

The verdict? The jury decides... that this would not be a staple. But this would be a welcome side :) Simple. Versatile. Tasty. And a very worthwhile attempt into eating well. 

First try and definitely not the last!

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Eating clean: Steamed chicken with Chicken Essence

Ingredients

1.2 kg chicken, chopped into parts
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp hua tiao chiew
1 + 1 tsp of sesame oil
 A knob of ginger sliced into matchsticks

1 bottle of Chicken Essence

8 large chinese mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons of wolfberries

Handful of black fungus, sliced

Method

Put everything into a large bowl and mix well together to marinate.
Arrange chicken parts in a steaming plate. Place black fungus and chinese mushrooms on top of the chicken. 

Pour Chicken Essence over. 

Press in all ingredients to ensure that all parts are well coated with the liquid. 

Finish with a dash of sesame oil before putting it into the steamer.

Steam for 20 minutes or until cooked.

*Add red dates for added sweetness :)

I added soya sauce for added fragrance

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Jamie's 30 minute meals. MADE.

How to whip up a meal that impresses.

All the time.

Every Time.

In 30 minutes.

These were some of Jamie's 30 minute meal recipes that we've tried and tested this long weekend.

Adapted from the recipes on 

www.jamieoliver.com/

Perfect roast potatoes

Tips & tweaks:

Use Yukon Gold potatoes.

They are my gold standard for baked carbs that are worth every single calorie.

Salt generously.

And those cloves of garlic would be so sweet, you wish you put more in the first place.

Mustard chicken with leek

Tips & tweaks:

Even a non mustard lover would eat this all up.

The taste of wholegrain mustard is not the same as mustard from a squeeze bottle on hotdogs.

Just so there was gravy,

some chicken broth was added.

And because bacon ANYTHING tastes like heaven,

some roughly chopped pieces of bacon were thrown in. 

Leek.

More leek definitely.

It was a lot more watery that planned but the unmistakable sweetness from the mustard and savoury tinge from the bacon was unmistakable.

And perhaps the added taste dimensions of some pan fried crisp bacon as toppings in the next attempt.

The best pork chops sans the crackling

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/the-best-pork-chops-with-fresh-bay-salt-crackling-and-squashed-purple-potatoes

Cubed carrots and beetroot.

Sage.

Rosemary.

And a generous drizzle of olive oil.

As always.

Roast them for half an hour at 220 degrees celcius.

Tips & tweaks:

The meats were marinated for about 3 hours.

The honey was omitted.

The apple cider did wonders to lock in the juice in the pork chops.

Side salad of lettuce, chopped sundried tomatoes, pitted olives and cubed feta cheese.

Generously drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Top with roughly torn pieces of turkey breast.

Now that's what I call a HAPPY MEAL :)

and a healthy one at that.

Yum.

Chicken soup for the soul.

Black charcoal and white hot ash. 

I watch as she toils over the well-worn stove. 

Her movements restricted. 

Her hearing impaired. 

Her speech lacking in life. 

Her pride, 

however, 

intact. 

As a proud woman who devotes her life to keeping the house in order. 

She will clean. 

And cook. 

For as long as she lives. 

Her stubborness translates into a perfect bowl of chicken soup. 

She feeds my soul. 

My grandma.

Chic-a-cherry. Skip the cola.

This comes a little late but its cherry season and I've been having a bunch of these juice pops on a daily basis.

The most commonly seen cherries in our supermarkets in this period are the Bing cherries and the Rainier cherries (pictured above)

Bing cherries have a deep red color with a firm texture.
In theory, they should have more antioxidants with their deep rich colors.

But I'd choose my Rainier cherries over them any day.
Simply because I like sweet :)
These golden hued berries with a slight red blush have a generally higher fruit sugar content than the Bing cherries.

But really.

What's the deal with cherries anyway?



I loved this infograph.
These juice pops, while small in size
are amazing big on our health benefits.
Eat them for a healthy heart,
a better night's rest.
And?
They even combat pain.
Gotta love popping painkillers if they look and taste like that all the time. :)

So chic-a-cherry.
Skip the Cola.

Shinkansen- Life on the fast track

When fast food doesn't have to be supersize-me food.

A choice of transit, station and terminal.

Let's go straight for the Terminal.

A base, 5 toppings, sauce, 2 add-ons and a choice of meat.

This goes for $12 for a hefty serving.

This was my choice for today.

A base of soba noodles.

Almonds, mushrooms, carrots, tamago, pickled seaweed.

Apricots and Quinoa.

Tuna Tataki.

With sesame plum dressing. :)

Other than the fact that the tuna was sliced too thin,

everything else was a joy to eat.

A mix of sweet, salty, savoury yum.

Healthy never tasted better.

Ask the staff for their sauce pairing recommendations.

And if you still aren't too sure about your choice of sauce,

make a request for it to be packed separately.

They'll gladly oblige.

And you wouldn't have to worry that the sauce isn't enough.

They always make sure their customers are well fed.

And their takeaway bowls well dressed!

They have an opening promotion now for their branch at 100AM in the Tanjong Pagar area.

Get your bowls here with their one-for-one deal till the 25th of July.

Time to hop on the Shinkansen! :)