All-in-one-pot

Here's another variation to "tomato rice"! This time with fish cubes, and when better to try this than when in the greatest angling country in Europe? ;)

This happened after a long day in the laboratory, and the mental fatigue was getting into me. Thinking about having to prepare a meal is not exactly the best cure for a cranky mood. As I contemplated popping pre-packed food into the microwave oven, I suddenly remembered *to my horror* that I have already defrosted that darn piece of salmon. And y'know what they say... never refreeze defrosted food ...

I really didn't want to pan fry the fish and wash up the extra frying pan afterwards. And it annoyed me even further that I did not have an oven here in Stockholm. Man, am I starting to miss home. And then, I had a light bulb moment.

I could cook rice with tomato pieces / cubes of salmon, all together!

Simply "break" the tomato and stir it all in once the rice is cooked. All-in-one-pot literally! I didn't have a rice cooker here so this was made with a pot on the stove. I only roughly estimated the amount of water I should have, so I ended up with a mushy mess. But it was a yummy wholesome mess! Don't judge! :p

Other types of fish could be used too. Here I have cod seasoned with some grounded black pepper.

I like it that this is so easy to make, and I only have one small pot to wash after! And yea ok, maybe that bowl too... But what if I just eat out of the pot... *light bulb lights up*

Coffee chocolate muffins

Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane?

An all too familiar nursery rhyme, and it keeps ringing in my head as I tried to practice my script in vain. As a consequence of my fruitless attempt at work, I caved in - time for some therapeutic baking! :D

I knew I needed some caffeine... And what better way to have it than infusing it a sweet treat? This, is a coffee muffin, double shot. (Yea, really. I added twice the amount of coffee granules than usual...)

Look at those cute little coffee domes! Round and bouncy, I just wanna poke poke poke...

Presenting the not-so-pretty ones, albeit dressed it pretty pink polka dots.

Tsk, you pale in comparison to the perfect dome.

And because you aren't as pretty, I'm gonna eat you first.

Ooo I smell the coffee. Yummiliciously paired with dark chocolate chunks. Caffeine rush!

One last bite...

I decided to pack up the perfect domes to share with others. And well, since these aren't as pretty... I might as well just have them now...

Happy long weekend everyone! :D WOOHOO to bank holiday!

Green bean dessert

It is always a comfort to have warm desserts in a faraway land. :) However, mom said that green bean is "cooling" and I shouldn`t be taking it during the cold winter. Haha, whether a certain dish is "heaty" or "cooling" is a concept of the east, I can`t even explain it properly - moms.just.know.

Yet I like my green bean soup best served warm, and was craving for them when it was freezing cold here. So if I can`t have them in winter, I made it as we break into spring. :) The beans were first soaked in water for 2-3 hours before they were poured into a pot of water to boil. I added rock sugar together with the beans - got the sugar from a chinese shop in London and they were a little orangey in colour, hence the slight golden tinge in my soup. When the sugar have dissolved and the beans have softened (haha the picture shows them a little mushed...), I added my favourite component - sago! :D

I finished the whole pot in 2 days. One of the few times I think it`s just right to cook for 1. :D

Assam fish

I do it the easy way, I use assam paste! No-fail method - a definite success. :D

With onions, garlic, celery, carrots and fish, and served with rice. I like it better with porridge though. :) Easy to prepare, nevertheless still yummy and remains as one of my favourite "fast" food.

But I still miss baking sweets.

Ginseng chicken

I am always just cooking for one these days. So my daily meals have evolved to include all the necessary in one pot - my lazy food. They are quick and easy to make, thus have become the usuals on my dinner plate.

Onions and garlics for the antioxidants.

Celery and carrots for vitamins A and C. Surely these contain antioxidants too?

Chicken as the protein in this dish - marinated in ginseng and dark soy sauce.

Let it simmer for a while...

And served with steamed rice. 

This makes one meal for one!

Pound cake

It's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas. As I eagerly await the coming of the special season, I begin to realise it's the preparation towards the festive day that makes it all so special; in fact, it is already that season now. The writing of Christmas cards, sending of gifts, having parties and dinners with friends and family, decorated streets and homes, and happy people - these are the reasons why I love Christmas.

It's my first Christmas with B. :) To "celebrate" his arrival in York, I baked him a pound cake! Traditionally, pound cake is made of a pound of each ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs and flour, hence its name. There have been quite some "modern alterations" of this old recipe, you can add berries, chocolate chip, banana and even peanut butter (eww...) to the basic pound cake recipe.

I wasn't gonna make a 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 pound pound cake, so I scaled it down, keeping the 1:1:1:1 ratio. I squeezed in some lemon and added some grated lemon skin as well. Itchy fingers despite wanting to stick to keeping it simple.

The lemons provided a little tart taste, and I like that it is so moist and dense. Gives a christmasy-cake feel. :p

Merry blessed Christmas to all. :) And a happy new beginning to the new year!

Tomato rice

Preparing meals for one has never really been the easiest thing to do. Having lived alone for almost 9 months now, I have been repeating my dinner menus so often I could easily count the number of variations with just my fingers. Yes yes it is the same old excuses of not having enough time to cook, being tired when I get back from school and just wanting quick relief to my gruelling hunger.

My friend, J, recently pasted me a link to a recipe for making tomato rice. I was absolutely delighted when I realised it was so simple to make - literally no effort at all. All you need is some pepper and salt, a teaspoon or two of olive oil, rice, water, a big tomato and a rice cooker. Put all of the mentioned ingredients into the rice cooker and cook as you would normally do.

When it is all done, stir everything up, popping the tomato as you do so. That's it!

The best part about this dish is that you can add anything you like. I flavour my rice with basil every time I make this (I loveeee basil! Shall have a pot of it in my own kitchen next time!), sometimes I added chilli flakes or mixed herbs. I added mixed vegetables once and some celery another time. The celery gave a very nice crunch to the dish *om nom nom*. To make it a "complete" meal, I top it off with cooked meat during the last few minutes of cooking in the rice cooker. You could add an egg too if you like! :)

This is really so easy to make, without the compromise of taste and flavour, plus the flexibility of adding almost any ingredient you like. This is for me a definite tried, tested and repeat.