Spaghetti with chorizo and garlic

Dinner tonight was saucy and satisfying! I started off by frying some chorizo with a little olive oil. I added some capers, and about 3 cloves of garlic ( I am such a garlic lover!). In goes some thin slices of courgette, that needed to be finished off, and a can of tomatoes. When the sauce bubbled, I added some cherry tomatoes, sliced into half, and season with salt and sage (my fav herb for the moment. Not a common herb to use for pasta, but it worked, for me at least :p)

The sauce looks a bit watery in the picture, and it isn't as thick as I would like it to be. Still very tomato-ey though.  I did make quite a lot of sauce, so, I ended spooning more onto the plate!

Pan fried scallops

I love scallops! I didn't use to eat seafood much back home, but since Z infected me with his enthusiasm for (and good cooking of) seafood, I am now a fan. Yesterday night, Z defrosted a tupperware of scallops that he bought from Old Billingsgate Market some time ago. Despite it being a few weeks old, once defrosted, they looked (and smelled) very fresh indeed.

Pan frying the scallops with garlic

All done! Some bits of garlic were a bit burnt, I ate it all anyway:)

We had this for lunch today, along with a "Cheat's Paella". I called it a paella because it had chorizo in it, though I am by no means claiming it to be authentic. I fried some red onions, with some chorizo. Then I added a little tumeric powder and some paprika, as I love the colour and the hint of smokiness that it gives. I then tipped some long grain rice (I didn't have any arborio rice) into the pan, and gave it a quick stir. I tipped everything into a rice cooker, and pourred some chicken stock into the rice pot. 20-30 minutes later, the rice was done. No fuss at all, and really quick to do. No pictures of the rice I'm afraid, I was a bit too hungry by then!

Here's an outline (I don't really dare to call it a recipe!) of how I cooked the scallops.

10-12 fresh scallops
Juice of half a lemon
A teaspoon of lemon zest
3-4 cloves of garlic
Salt to season
1 tablespoon of oil (I used vegetable oil, any oil without strong flavour will do)

1. Heat a frying pan with the oil to high heat, and add the garlic. Turn it down to medium heat after about 10 seconds (before the garlic turns brown)
2. Add the scallops, and pan fry on each side for about 3 minutes until caramelised (depending on how big your scallops are)
3. Add lemon zest, and the lemon juice. Add salt to season.
4. Use a fork to check if the scallops are cooked. Be careful not to overcook it, otherwise it'll turn rubbery.
5. Serve with lemon wedges.

Pan fried salmon for dinner

Dinner tonight was yummy! I pan fried salmon and stir fried some okra with some dried shrimp paste. I marinated the salmon pieces with ginger, honey, soy and some rice vinegar. The initial intention was to make some home made teriyaki sauce, but somehow, it didn't turn out to taste like teriyaki sauce unfortunately. It probably was because of the lack of one key ingredient in making teriyaki: mirin. Oh well, it turned pretty yummy anyways, if I may say so myself! :) Z and W enjoyed it, so I was happy! :) I didn't use any measurements, as I am rubbish with being precise! Just adjust it to your taste, if you like it sweeter, just add more honey.

The okra was stir-fried with plenty of garlic, courtesy of Z's enthusiastic peeling and chopping. I used the dried shrimp paste I got from home, and put about a tablespoon in towards the end. The shrimp paste already has hints of chilli (it's not actually belacan, more like grounded dried shrimp in chilli oil), and gives a lovely spicy hint to the dish.

With a plate of steamed rice,  dinner was very satisfying :)

P.S: While I'm writing this, Z is trying to peep and read the post! It's only my second entry, and for some reason, I would feel a bit funny if he reads it in front of me. Maybe next time I'll have that weird feeling less :)

First post!

I've always wanted to start a food blog, and always seem to find the excuse not to. Too busy with work and studies, not a great cook anyways etc etc. But I was thinking in the shower just now, why wait longer? Why have so many excuses to start a food blog? I've been eating yummy meals recently, and have been taking some photos as well. I LOVE food, and actually count it as one of my hobbies. Documenting it all sounds like a perfect opportunity to share my love for food.

Right, now enough of the waffle, and here goes my first post! I actually had this meal some time ago, in New York when I went to visit Z. I was in Central Park, and when it was lunch time, wandered around to find some food. I ended up at TGI Fridays, hungry, and rather tired, as I had been walking for close to 3 hours!

This was what I had! Italian sausage, spinach and cheese ( I believe it was parmesan, but I can't quite recall now) omelette with spicy potatoes. It was delicious, and really hit the spot! The egg was creamy, and the addition of spinach gave it the healthy edge. The potatoes were fluffy, but was crispy at the edges. Yums!One disappointment was the sausage, I thought it was a little on the dry side. The portion was huge, as expected of TGI's and I didn't manage to finish this unfortunately. I can't recall how much it was, I believe it was c. USD 15. It also came with some bread. Well worth it me thinks!

I also found it interesting that the calorie content of each dish was disclosed in the menu. I have yet to see this in the UK. It'll probably stop me from ordering dessert! (or at least think twice:p)

That's all for my first post. I will endeavour to post as often as I can, this shall be one of my New Year's resolutions :)