Live To Eat

Food has always been an integral part of my life. Even more so here. Cooking has become somewhat a necessity and a form of relaxation and therapy. Planning what to buy and what to cook is part of the fun. Since food is so important to me and you are what you eat, I have decided to deconstruct my weekly diet.

Bread: I love soy and linseed bread. It is the best and tastiest bread I've ever eaten. And it's healthy to boot. Oh, and slather on the chunky peanut butter please.

Meat: I am now almost exclusively eating chicken only. Not because I've sworn off red meat, I just haven't found the inspiration to cook beef. I have however, almost turned Muslim and given up pork due to the extremely "porky" smell which lingers even after you wash and completely cook the meat. I have since taken baby steps and been eating lean minced pork bought from a Chinese butcher. I have yet to muster the courage to cook pork fillets. That would take a big leap of faith.

Seafood: Prawns only. Have never cooked fish and not about to start. Fear of the "fishy" smell is a phobia.

Pasta: Lots and lots of it. With salami and semi-dried tomatoes in white sauce. Common bolognaise sauce. Even fried, Asian-style with honey mustard chicken and lots of kailan. And mostly rigatoni as it cooks evenly.

Curry: Too much really. Red Thai curry, Green Thai curry, local laksa. With chicken, with prawns. And all with coconut cream. No healthy substitutes allowed. Hence I've imposed a self-declared quota of one curry every fortnight.

Rice: Less often than pasta. Home-made Hainanese chicken rice has failed twice. Nasi lemak was declared a success. Fried rice clocked in one failure, and one average attempt.

Fruit: Mainly sweet plums. But as the season is near over, I have to learn to like a different fruit quickly.

Veggies: Any green and leafy Asian veggies, I can never differentiate between them anyway. Leafy greens are almost always blanched and then stir-fried quickly in light soy sauce and sesame oil. Also carrots, onions and peas which are thrown in soups and curries. And occasionally broccoli.

After dinner treats: Heathly - sweet potato and ginger soup which is extremely warming in this cold weather. Unhealthy - chocolates, either Violet Crumble or dark chocolate buttons. When the mood hits, I also have been baking my rock buns which have been rather highly acclaimed by the folks at work. Potato chip intake is seriously guarded, sometimes the Devil wins. The strangest flavour most recently devoured was Roast Lamb and Mint, it was quite good actually. Biscuits also are hard to resist, especially savoury ones like Parmesan cheese and roasted garlic.

To all those who live to eat, eat, drink and be merry...