Started my first day at work today, it's nice to have great company. =) Felt really bad asking Ta Ta about stuff all the time though, they're busy enough as it is. I think something needs to be done about the stupid room. I inherited an absolutely run-down consult room that consists of a great spew of computer wires, enough room under the desk to put 1 leg into, no dustbin, and some cranky-looking video players at the back. Hmmm ... it'd be too much to bring my own decor in? Haha .. Yx, I might start doing re-grouting if I'm not careful.
Been feeling quite awful these 2 days, having recurrent bouts of palpitations especially in the evenings. They go away after an hour or so, but come back again relentlessly. On the verge of taking some beta blockers from my dad's medicine stash, but it'll probably precipitate a heart block of some sort which will worsen the damned palpitations. Herbal remedies, perhaps?
While living in solitude these few days, I've come up with a whole slew of recipes! =) Feeling really excited just thinking about them (not helping with the palpitations here). And today I'm going to come up with something that uses smoked duck - dad brought back more of that fantastic new product he's been stocking, a vacuum-packed smoked duck breast.
Pardon me, but I just have to rant about Miss Singapore World. Just look at this, if you haven't already:
Seriously, I have no idea how she even managed to fill in her application forms! "I like leopard pweens, and zip-bwras .." I wouldn't even call her a bimbo - she's not really there in the looks department. One of those who look good in photos, but gross up close. Thank you, M.A.C. - the wonders of make-up.
And while we're on the subject of Miss Singapore World, whats happening? Just look at that picture.
Oh, and I just received a shocking revelation today - my barber (the neighbourhood kind of Malay barber) ever participated in ManHunt way back in the 1980s!
Brownie's not feeling too good today - I came home from dropping Yanxian off at the airport to find that he had puked. And shortly after I cleaned up, he puked again. Now usually when he goes off food or when he pukes too much I'll make a special broth to entice him to at least stay hydrated, so here it is! (Actually, I'm doubting whether he's that ill. He's prancing around still - they're like kids, it's bad news when they are lethargic.)
1. Making the soup base by adding a pinch each of basil, terragon and sage - they're quite good for bad tummies. I added a small pinch of salt to make it more palatable, but do keep in mind that I'm trying to hydrate him, not do the opposite. Also, the broth will reduce later which will make it quite salty.
2. Chop up a portion of chicken breast into bite-sized chunks, and leave the skin intact - that's where all the good stuff is!! If you're wondering why the breast meat in the pic is whitish in places, ask Panasonic - their microwave oven was supposed to defrost the breast, not cook it.
3. Add the chicken breast meat into the soup, and let it cook for 15 minutes on a simmer.
4. Use a wooden spoon or something to break the meat chunks up to release more goodness into the broth. At this stage you can add something yummy (their favourite meat etc) - for Brownie he got a couple small pieces of pork lard thrown in. He likes egg white in his broth too, but I ran out. =(
5. Sieve the meat out, and reserve it in the refrigerator to let him have it when he's starting to eat again. Now you have the broth! I can assure you that even ill dogs will go for this, and keep themselves hydrated. They will lick some of it then look at you dolefully - you just need to encourage them and the whole lot will be slurped down.
6. Since he's actually still prancing around and working up quite an appetite, I gave him both the meat and the broth anyway. This is very odd indeed. How can he puke so much and still be so active?
7. And I finished up the remaining broth ... muahahaha. Honestly, this is a great broth for humans even. It works when you're down with stomach flu or just feeling down and grey and rainy (ever wondered why "Chicken soup for the soul" ?) Simple, but honestly one of the best things on earth.
OK, he just ate it up with great gusto, broth and all, and is snoring away in the room. Come think of it, I actually wouldn't put it past him to puke on purpose so that he can get broth.
I went nuts today doing something that was most Auntie-like - I spent 2 hours at Temple Street, shopping for kitchenware. In my defence though, the place had 3 kinds of people in them. Aunties who somehow know how to get kitchenware straight from the distributor, Tai-Tais who were mostly gathered around the fine china section, and ... MEN. 2 were chefs (Brotzeit's chef was there today, ordering some stuff), and the rare home cook. Sure beats the hell out of the gender distribution in a lingerie shop.
As could be expected, I grossly overbought stuff. I wouldn't say that I overspent - I simply bought stuff that I think I would need. You know, the usual "I probably could find a use for this" thing when you walk down Daiso. I think Yx will be happy with a couple of my purchases though - I got us a 12-piece shotglass set, 2 beautiful salt and pepper grinders at $14 each (I swear the same thing is going for $35 and up apiece at department stores), 8 pieces of dining plates at a third the usual price, and a knife! OK, there are some other $2 items that form the miscellaneous .. sugar bowls, ladles etc. And now I'm stuck with a whole load of stuff that I can't find a place for in the kitchen.
Anyway, here's the revelation - I decided that I'm going to stop cooking regularly. No, that's not a typographical error. I'm going to STOP cooking regularly. The game now is to cook 4, maybe 5, times a year. These will be full-fledged meals though, from starter all the way to dessert. (shiiiitt ... dessert ... I can't do these for nuts!!)
Hmmm ... actually it does sound a little silly. I have a hint of suspicion that somewhere down the line another little culinary adventure will pop up when I least expect it. Like if I chance upon that amazing streaky tuna in the store that I simply can't pass up. We'll see! =)
Shit. You know one of those situations when you yearn for something, and when it finally comes, you don't really know what to do with it? Well, I'm stuck here, with truffles. I've got truffle oil, truffle salt, and was just bitching to Yx about getting my paws on some fresh truffles. Now I've finally got access to them (not from the hotels, Yx - commercial stock!), I'm actually deliberating!!
Thing is that they last just 1 week at best, and are through-the-nose expensive. Also, these aren't the swoon-inducing Perigord winter truffles - they're Italian summer black truffles. But ooh ooh OOH I do so want to cook with them!
Was pacing my room and deliberating, haha .. such a comical sight. All this, for mushrooms. Ugly mushrooms, at that. I wouldn't actually bat an eyelid about buying, say, 200grams of the stuff, but Yx is leaving for Korea in a few days' time, and I really don't fancy eating the truffles all alone.
I am, however, suddenly moved by passion to plant more edibles in the garden. I'm thinking eggplant, peppers, rosemary, squash. Dang this perfectly disgusting weather. Imagine what I could do up in the Cameron Highlands.
Further to this out-of-the-blue gastronomy post, Yx and I visited this Cold-Storage lookalike at Ion Orchard (they are run by the same company, according to Yx). Our friend Ariel had tipped me off on cheap white asparagus there, but alas! They looked like they were out. We did have a good look around though, and I liked what I saw. In particular, they had baby vegetables (imagine farm-style baby carrots with roots and leaves intact - YUUUUMMM on a grill with salt and pepper!), smoked salt and white truffle salt (salt .. Mmmmmmmm), and sevruga caviar (I can only afford lumpfish pseudo-caviar, muahahahahaha). Guess I'll be back when/if my pocket gets fuller.
Yx and I just came back from a weekend getaway at the Quincy. It's this smallish hotel at the vicinity of Mt. Elizabeth Hospital, right opposite York Hotel. We both had a nice pseudo-holiday of sorts, and Yx rather enjoyed it more than I did. What I did like about the Hotel was that all 3 meals are provided - and they aren't shabby, mind. The quality of food is reasonably good, somewhat like what you'd get at Swensen's restaurant (just avoid the pasta!). The drinks are also on the house from 6-8pm every day (once again, avoid the reds), and the room's minibar fridge is entirely FOC. The other great thing about the hotel is the pool and sauna facilities on Level 12.
This pool, as you can see, is on this platform that kind of juts out, with plexiglass walls which makes it a thrilling experience for acrophobes. I was initially a little wary, of course - if the glass breaks, we'll all just flow right out and down 12 storeys.
The bad? Well, I thought it was a tad too sterile. And the service leaves much to be desired, at the restaurant. But given the rates and the free meals, I probably would stay there again if I were a tourist and looking for good value.
"If you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them."
Saw an awful sight tonight while driving to the petrol kiosk, and was very shaken by it. To the unknown doggie that was knocked down by some irresponsible car and run over again many times, R.I.P.
It's going to be a scary week ahead. ACLS, ATLS and our concluding exercise, all in 1 week!!
Found a gem of a fruit at Seng Siong this weekend (although Yx doesn't think so!) - champagne grapes, or more correctly, Black Corinth grapes. They are tiny little things, each about the size of a pea and taste a little more tart than your usual grape. And obviously they are seedless. The nice thing about them though is how they look - very compact, very tiny, and very pretty. I think they'd function well as a garnish for a meat-and-berry dish. Still working on that! They aren't cheap unfortunately, a packet costs $7 or so.
Also managed to cook up something with frog's legs today. Dipped them in a mint-flour batter, with a parsley broth sauce and with finely-diced mushrooms. Unfortunately they were eaten up before I could take pics, and Brownie had a piece of frog too.
We also made a trip down Shark's Avenue (Tanjong Pagar Road actually), where rows upon rows of bridal boutiques are situated. I shall elaborate on the wedding blog. Was in quite an alright mood so I didn't really bite anyone's head off.
