Sheperd's Pie Again? Well not quite^^

Here I was watching Top Chef the other day and they were deconstructing classical dishes. One of them happen to chance onto one of my favorite comfort foods - the Sheperd's Pie^^

Unfortunately for the contestant, he's only ever tried his own sheperd's pie, so we couldn't really see the real deconstruction process^^ As for me, I've had quite a few in my time in the industry, and I can still remember the one I had in the land down under, chunky chunks of lamb and veal braised in veal & chicken stock, tomatoes, carrots & a generous helping of mashed potatoes on top, gratinated to a crisp;)


So this is what a regular sheperd's pie looks like, somewhat, depending on the chef who's making it... This one's mine^^

And this is what my deconstructed one looked like:



For those of you wondering, a deconstruction is basically when one breaks down a dish so that all the components are allowed to shine on their own and when eaten together comes together in the mouth as the complete dish it was^^ It sounds confusing and all, however, the experience of trying dishes that are executed properly, you'll really fall in love with the dish no matter how it looks like;) Boy would my lecturer's back from school would love to smack me in the head for writing this down. Though they've probably always known I've always taken my food far left field, its always risky but I'm akways capable of executing it just right^^



This is my up close and personal shot of my dish^^ Cool huh? One dish executed two ways^^

Vegan Salad

You know how, when you're trying out something new, everyone around you will be curious and would want to try it out too? Well this so goes with my vegan diet right now, It was funny when I made this salad, everyone was eyeing it and they wanted to have a nice bite at it too... cheeky people I work with...

I was trying out salad combinations in my mind and somehow I got to this creation... Its a very interesting combination, one somehow I've taken a liking to once I actually sat down to munch on it hehe;p



So here's to my Fruit & vegetable salad with Gula Melaka Dressing.
I enjoyed eating it though, it actually balances out the sweetness of the dressing and cos lettuce^^ Though on reflecting, I think I could've added some nuts into the mix to give it that extra bite^^

Well, there's always another trial run^^

Pop! Goes the Popcorn

Well here's another day of being a vegan, and surprisingly enough I was craving for something sweet^^ And of all things, I wanted Popcorn^^ Well i got one of the boys to go buy some corn kernels which I could use to make them, however the store only sold microwaveable ones-_-''' Totally uncalled for, so what do i do when I was presented this option? I ripped out the bag, washed the corn kernels and made them myself^^ hehe;p



Doesn't look half bad eh? You couldn't even tell it was popped in the pot^^ and drizzle some caramel topping and say hello to extra pounds haha;p

Vegan, I'm going vegan

Vegan... Surprisingly alot of my coworkers have been asking me why I've decided to become a vegan. Honestly, I don't know... its just that I've been on vegan diets before and no, its not from a religous aspect, I think its more on personal well being^^

However before I bore whomever is reading about me going on and on about my vegan stint, FYI I'm probably gonna stick to this indefinietly - yes, its very hard as there are plenty of temptations in the kitchen; what with everyone munching on tender juicy steaks, and crispy fried chicken but I disgress^^

So here's to my first week as a vegan (trust me I've got tons and tons of dishes whcih are completely catered to vegans so I know in a sense I aint really missing out - much hehe;p).


So here's one of the first few dishes I made which is cooked without any garlic, onions(well this is more of the buddhist belief, am not really sure how it relates to being a vegan but apparently they don't belong on the diet - will probably have to get some research done) and anything that is of animal origin^^ Looks yummy huh? I knew you guys will have a hard time believing this but everyone wanted to try some and I was left with just small scraps (thanks guys, I owe ya one-_-').



Till then, I'll be posting more soon^^

Sheperd pie, one of my comfort foods^^

This little guy will probably be one of my last carnivorous meal in a while and I've been hankering to make some pie in the kitchen for awhile since its been raining quite frequently on the little island^^

Since we've got an excess of mutton in the kitchen the other day, I thought I might as well make some comfort food which I've yet to have in a loooooooong while^^



I gotta admit, I've always liked sheperd's pie since the time I went to the land down under for my studies in the field and it is easily one of the things I can make at home with my eyes closed hehe;p well not literally;)



And what's more better than one sheperd's pie? Its having more than one.... boy have I become a glutton hahaha;p

And the answer is....

Here's to you guys & gals who have been squaring off in my facebook about what this particular thing was^^



Well the answer is.... wait for it... wait for it.... Its (you guys are gonna kill me hahaha;p) just a plain ol' simple egg, which I've removed the yolk & whites and just markered it black hehe;p

It was fun though guys & gals, Lets see if you'll have better luck with this one^^

Bon-Journo Italiano

Recently I've been feeling down in the rut, so my cooking has been kind of off lately. This was one of the interesting outcomes I've had, however the only thing that made it not such a great dish was that I was kinda short on the seasoning^^



I was trying for a rustic Italian feel, sure I was lacking in alot of particular ingredients from the region, so you do what you need to do^^ If only my company would ever start to understand and use 'real' food one day, but eh, one can wish hehe;p

If only I had some olives, sun-dried tomatoes, black truffles & shaved parmesan cheese, this dish would've been heaven....I should probably find a way to incorporate aioli...hmmm now that has gotten me to start thinking again....Till next time, I wonder whats in the works hehe;p

From a Hole in the head to a Toad in a Hole - Go figure...

This dish is such a coincidentel experiment, I was listening to a song on the radio the other day which was playing hole in the head by the sugarbabes and when I got home I was rewatching Top Chef Season 2 where Sam made a toad in a hole, on the way to work, while I was reading Larousse on English cookery, it mentioned Toad in a Hole... Fast forward to work, I thought I should try and make it, since its been in my face for the whole day already hehe;p

And to top it off I had a new guinea pig to try my food, he's a new commis who just tansferred from Junction 8...



Well I must say considering the only visual reference I've ever had about a toad in a hole was the one made by Sam on Top Chef, and I must say, it was his own interpertation^^ So this is mine, I've actually made it differently from the regular one, which apparently use yorkshire pudding base, mine was more of the dough type and its flavored with bananas & raisins and 'stuffed' with herb sausages^^

Waffles, I want some Belgium Waffles...

Funnily enough, I was craving for some Belgium waffles, though unfortunately for me the outlet only has its own regular waffles. So what does one do when life gives you lemons, you make lemon meringue pie right? Well that was kind of my case in point, I decided to add fruits and crunchy topping to my own waffles^^

This isn't exactly an original, though I did enjoy sharing it with my cooks^^ and I had a little help from a former staff^^