Green Thumb?

Now everyone who knows me, down to my maid, knows that I do not have a green thumb. In fact, this picture is of the only green chlorophyll producing organism that I have ever kept alive for more than 6 months' duration. Mr Plant was a gift of Jackie, a good compatriot in crime in the lab, who gave it for a birthday present and promised to help look after it even after I had left. Now she's gone as well, to study medicine, (bully for her!), and this plant is either being kept alive by Sindu (biochemist supremo and faithful plant manager), or has died a natural death. In any case, it needed to be repotted, but I never did it, because I figured that anything requiring more effort than 10 ml a day via measuring cylinder was not going to work very well given my track record. So back in Singapore, I have tried to grow pandan leaves, money plants and herbs, and given the inevitable, have gone back to good ol' plastic.

Sotong Story

My interest in cooking, apart from being rooted in my innate "yao-gui" personality, probably was honed in the US. Working day in and day out in the lab, sequencing painfully with the old ABI machine that could only do 1 capillary per hour (max of 24 samples a day, tops!), there were many moments of depression when experiments didn't quite work out. So cooking became a quick fix - after all the principle was pretty much the same; follow the protocol (recipe) and voila, results. Cooking became a way of making things work, when everything else wasn't. On and off however, I did have my moments - like the time my foccacia bread caught fire in the oven, and the rock hard chicken I bought as a cheap deal from Gristedes (old spanish chicken). Since coming back to Singapore, I have much less time to cook, but make up for it with trying out more exotic stuff. So the picture above came from the time I was trying out Sebastian's (of Ember fame) Polenta Encrusted Squid Fatouche Salad, which had me scurrying off to Bukit Batok market to find the fattest, freshest, thickest squid. Number 3 squid that I sliced open had a little pink fish in it. At least I know the squid died happy, even if the fish didn't.

Trying out new exotica doesn't always work out for the family. Significant Other is always very supportive, but he eats everything anyway. The kids have diametrically opposite taste buds. Ben hates chocolate, Steffi loves chocolate. Ben loves meat, Steffi hates meat. Any dish that one kid likes will be ignored by the other. Last night, I finally managed to get a happy equilibrium when I made Nabeyaki Udon. Never realized it was so easy, so here is the truncated recipe for people who are out for an instant fix:

Soup base
1000 ml water
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 pkt bonito powder
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
Chicken bones.

Bring stock to the boil, then remove from heat and strain.
Boil with chicken breast (cut in 2 cm chunks), udon and spinach. Try to keep ingredients separate in claypot. When udon is done, add 1 whole egg and remove from heat. Arrange in bowl.

Squeeky Cheezels Rat Peck

Faithful car companion, Squeeky is an agouti rat (colour changes when diet is folate supplemented) with an attitude. He was named by Steffi, who probably has a streak of Native American in her after having eaten too much Mac and Cheese in America. Remember she called her koala "Rainbow Koala Climb Tree"? By the same token, she should be known as "Girl-child Who Always Wears Pink And Leaps Onto Unsuspecting Parent When Parent Is Sleeping". So back to Squeaky, who was bought from Ikea in a fit of melancholy, to remind myself to stay out of the rat race lest I become a rat.

I have succumbed!

I have succumbed!
Okay, for all my friends who have observed my yo-yoing dietary habits, this is a novel attempt to distract my mind from food. Blog, don't keep thinking of the chestnut souffle at Au Petit Salut. Also, I have succumbed to the blogging frenzy as an alternative to mega-spending at Blum. Hey, I don't exercise, so I have to find another way of generating endorphins. My significant other has not seen the credit card bill for October yet...Anyway, one has to do something or i'll look like the ob mouse soon (mouse on right). I swear there is something wrong with my leptin gene - lousy sense of satiety. No wonder Ben, "son of my right hand", used to drink milk until he vomited as a baby. Last night, he had a ginormous tub of mashed potato from KFC all to himself for supper. Ewww. Then this morning he wants waffles for breakfast at 6 am, and I actually make them!!! Talk about overcompensating for all the guilt complexes I have for being a working mom.

Speaking of guilt complexes, I again overcompensated by organizing a kiddy bowling party for Ben's 7th birthday. After I sent out the invites, I realized that it was an entirely rash thing to do - imagine trying to rein in about 20 seven-year-old hyperactive BOYS armed with bowling balls...So I've had a bunch of mothers telling me about balls that fly backwards and strike other kids on their heads, balls that fall on and split fingers and toes...one mother asked me if there was going to be medical standby! So I created a list of rules that will be read out to the kids at 10 am on Deepavali: Stay 10 m away from anybody about to bowl. Nobody is allowed to fool around with the bowling balls before your turn to bowl or I will personally confiscate all balls, bowling and otherwise. I swear the kids will be so high because it is after their exams. Think of all that pent up energy bouncing off the bowling lanes.

Then the day after bowling will be us flying off to Sydney - yay - a welcome break from my pager. Main mission: find a pudding bowl to make Shermay's toffee and date pudding. Secondary mission: attend conference and catch up with former colleagues from New York. Wanted to book dinner at Tetsuya, but significant other insisted on bringing kids AND in-laws (double ARRGGH) so that's not on the cards now. I swear I must be the only doctor who brings an extended family on conference. Still, looking forward to Aussie-type relaxed lifestyle for the next 2 weeks. Good ol' Ben, who was threated with forgoing his holiday if he didn't get through his P1 exam looks safe to go. He actually got 95% for Chinese, which is amazing for someone who didn't speak Chinese when we came back from US 1 1/2 years ago. Steffi is really looking forward to the trip and can't understand why she has got to go to school until Wednesday. She gets to visit the home of Rainbow Koala Climb Tree again!