晚餐 :: 三菜一湯

Woke up to a day cleared of work. Wheeeeee. I didn't head to the gym or pilates studio either. I had intended it to be a rest day, and I was glad that it could be kept that way. Began the day at the coffeeshop with an unhurried well-brewed cup of caffé latte.

Since I had time, I went out to the market to get groceries and fresh foods. There were no plans for the night. The evening meal could be sorted out at home then. Decided to do a classic Asian meal of a soup and three dishes of fish and vegetables. Thrilled that the girlfriend could make it for dinner too.

Also brought out two small golden pomfrets to be done in two ways- steamed and pan-fried with sambal belachan on the side. These people can eat a lot of fish. Two pomfrets weren't overdoing it. Stir-fried vegetables were necessary of course. They came in the form of baby bok choi, and french beans with minced beef. I only cooked two cups of brown rice because we don't take that much rice. Two cups fed us well, and included one portion left for the man's (next day) lunchbox.

Prepped ingredients for soup. Everyone at this table loves soup, so I wanted to boil up a classic Cantonese chicken soup for them. Soup isn't difficult to boil, and ingredients are easy to gather. Anyone can produce a decent pot of soup. It's just a matter of how thick the soup turns out, and what sort of flavors one prefers. I have my own preferences, of course.

The pot yielded exactly seven bowls of tasty chicken soup. Perfect. Everyone had one and half bowls. I had saved some cabbage leaves and lotus root for the last boil so that they would remain crunchy and edible. Nowadays, boiling up a good pot of soup for friends (who like soups) is one way of telling them that I care. #ImpieCooks2018

Although cooking isn't my favorite activity, I'm glad I don't suck too bad at it. I was quite happy producing these edibles. It was an unimaginative dinner, but it filled tummies. For these friends who don't have time to cook and eat out too often (even though choices are usually to take less salt and sugar), it was just a simple meal to contribute towards their daily healthy calorie intake. A mundane evening with good company that wrapped up a tiring work day for the faeriefolk.