The Perfect Sunny Side Up

This is what my husband makes for me for brekkie ~ a lovely sunny side up, beautifully crisp around the edges & runny in the middle, with finely chopped spring onion & a splash of Sri Racha chilli sauce & dark soy sauce.

Mmm...I'm so spoilt!

Angelhair pasta aglio e olio with avocado, bacon & wilted spinach

By the time the weekend rolls by, and I'm really tired of cooking but don't wanna cave in to takeaway, I turn to this superquick dish that maximum flavour for minimal effort.

First, fry the bacon. I use my Philips Airfryer for this because a) it's the best way to cook without the fat spattering everywhere and b) the excess fat drips away, leaving the bacon crisp.

While the bacon is frying, I boil the angelhair pasta, which only takes 3 minutes, which I then drain into a colander. I toss the spinach into the same pot I used to boil the pasta, then pour the angelhair on top (the heat of which wilts the spinach).

To this I add the bacon, some crushed garlic, olive oil, avocado & chillies.

Mmmmmmm...

Philips Airfryer

I finally got myself the Philips Airfryer during the Boxing Day sale at The Good Guys. It was $210 (rrp $320) ~ what a bargain! I was hugging myself in glee.

I love deep fried stuff, but not the accompanying oil spattering. With my new contraption, I can with ABANDON! Chicken, potatoes, bacon, croquettes... the possibilities are endless.

The first thing I tried was home-made chips. I used Desiree potatoes, which produce a really crunchy chip with the recommended one tablespoon of oil. Like buzzards, the kids polished them off in no time.

Next, it was chicken wings with ginger & soy. Tender & juicy!

After which I tried potato cubes, to which I added the recommended one tablespoon of oil (you heard right ~ one tablespoon). Mmmmm...

Finally, I made my favourite har cheong kai (shrimp paste chicken) and roasted cabbage.

If you haven't tried making this before, it is super delicious. To the unitiated, the smell of shrimp paste is like nothing on earth, and loosely resembles that of a dead rat. But if you persevere, you will be greatly rewarded with the crunchiest, most delicious chicken you've ever sunk your teeth into. Just don't dig your nose if you've been using your hands to marinade... 

For the marinade, you need shrimp paste, soy or fish sauce, pepper & cornflour. Here's what I used (you can use any brand, so long as it looks authentic).

Simply massage the marinade into the chicken for at least half an hour, then deep fry, or, in this case, fry with the Airfryer using one tablespoon of oil.

Hash Waffles

When I saw this on Pinterest, I made a mental bookmark to make this when I next had the chance. What better time than on a weekend, when ~ for the first time in a long while ~ we had absolutely nothing to do.

Unfortunately, my waffle iron doesn't get hot enough to crisp it in a timely manner, so I finished it off under the grill. However, it's a far better option in that I don't have to deal with all the oil spatter that invariably occurs during such a venture.

Delish!

Magic Microwave Merengues

Too easy merengues: just mix egg white & icing sugar to a dough-like consistency, then microwave on baking paper for about 40secs. Voila!

 

 

Partyzilla ~ Christmas 2011 edition

Last Christmas, I went into full-on Partyzilla mode with custom-made Christmas bonbons, giant Santa sacks for the kids to put their pressies in and lanterns made out of doilies. The menu board at the bottom shows the sumptuous spread we had that afternoon.

I don't think I'll be doing anything as elaborate this year (bubsy Ty will still be under 3 monnths old). Maybe next year!

 

 

Baby Ty's 1st Month Celebration

Our little bubsy Ty just turned one month old, so as our tradition dictates, we had a celebration to mark the event.

I have to admit that pulling this spread together was tricky - every time I started making something, Ty would start wailing. I had to keep running into the bedroom to pacify him every few minutes :P