Spices are my colour palettes when it comes to food. Making a curry paste from scratch is a lot of fun, but can be a lot of work. Being a modern day lazy girl, however, I don't use the mortar and pestle to grind the spices together -- just like my grandma did. The food processor cuts the length of 3 hours into less than 1 hour. Sometimes, even the simplest combination of spices can change the way you eat food. I just discovered that paprika is such a versatile spice! You can use it to brown ground beef and chicken (in lieu of black pepper) or you can use it to make a huge pot of chilli.
Since I am no longer in school, I have all the luxurious time to experiment with cooking. The inspiration, of course, usually comes from eating my boyfriend's Oma's cooking, watching cooking shows and browsing various recipes online. We can watch as many cooking shows as we can, but it is only practice that makes us better cooks. There are so many reasons why we should try to eat home-cooked meals everyday: you can have a lot of fun shopping for fresh ingredients weekly at the local farmer's market -- which surprisingly is a lot cheaper than buying from grocery stores. YOU have control of what you put into your meal; also, it allows room to be creative and fun while it helps leave less carbon footprint for the environment.
The daunting part, however, is usually the number of people you are cooking for. I find it unmotivating to cook for just myself -- heaps of leftovers every day for the next few days... hurrah! But then, it solves the problem of having to go out for lunch when you're on a strict budget.
Some spices are best taken uncooked; a holistic doctor told me that if you were to drink water mixed with a quarter teaspoon of tumeric powder, its enzymes will help kill any bacterial infection in the intestines. Cumin seed goes well with your tea for good health. Without further due, here was what I did to the chicken drumsticks with paprika:
-Marinate with salt and pepper and paprika; the paprika gives it a sweet red pepper zest to it
-Brown the chicken in two tablespoonfuls of heated olive oil for at least more than 20 minutes, until thoroughly cooked through
- Add a splash of sherry cooking wine and a sprinkle of brown sugar at the near end.
My boyfriend was complaining that he doesn't like brown rice, so I did something different: add a bit of chicken broth while cooking the rice. There are many exciting ways to prepare rice -- it can be boiled, fried or steamed; to make curry fried rice: fry it in a pan using approximately one tablespoonful of curry powder (or tumeric powder, cumin seed, coriander, tad bit of red chilli, lemongrass) along with a bit of yoghurt or coconut milk; if you don't like the heatiness of curry, you can always wind it down further with a sprinkle of sugar. Alternatively, simply adding just a bit of coconut milk when you are boiling your rice gives it a nice flavour too. Then, you can always prepare rice in jambalaya -- the perfect hearty one-pot dish to have for the week. In the case of adding too much water and broth while making rice, you will end up with a delicious congee.
Cooking doesn't have to be restaurant grade to be good; it just has to be nourishing and wholesome for your body and mind.
Some spices are best taken uncooked; a holistic doctor told me that if you were to drink water mixed with a quarter teaspoon of tumeric powder, its enzymes will help kill any bacterial infection in the intestines. Cumin seed goes well with your tea for good health. Without further due, here was what I did to the chicken drumsticks with paprika:
-Marinate with salt and pepper and paprika; the paprika gives it a sweet red pepper zest to it
-Brown the chicken in two tablespoonfuls of heated olive oil for at least more than 20 minutes, until thoroughly cooked through
- Add a splash of sherry cooking wine and a sprinkle of brown sugar at the near end.
My boyfriend was complaining that he doesn't like brown rice, so I did something different: add a bit of chicken broth while cooking the rice. There are many exciting ways to prepare rice -- it can be boiled, fried or steamed; to make curry fried rice: fry it in a pan using approximately one tablespoonful of curry powder (or tumeric powder, cumin seed, coriander, tad bit of red chilli, lemongrass) along with a bit of yoghurt or coconut milk; if you don't like the heatiness of curry, you can always wind it down further with a sprinkle of sugar. Alternatively, simply adding just a bit of coconut milk when you are boiling your rice gives it a nice flavour too. Then, you can always prepare rice in jambalaya -- the perfect hearty one-pot dish to have for the week. In the case of adding too much water and broth while making rice, you will end up with a delicious congee.
Cooking doesn't have to be restaurant grade to be good; it just has to be nourishing and wholesome for your body and mind.
