Sambal Kacang & Ikan Bilis

I can never say no to sambal kacang and ikan bilis. It goes with everything. It isn't the healthiest, but it makes everything so tasty. E's helper remembered that I love it. When she fried up a batch for the family, E packed a bottle for me. Yayyyy! Hehehehe.

Hoarded the bottle in the fridge. It's precious, these homecooked things. There was a day that began at 5am and ended at 8pm. All I wanted to do was to get home and have a hot shower. There wasn't any plan for dinner. I didn't even want to stop by anywhere to get a take-out. I figured I'd just boil up eggs or something.

When I felt more human and took a look at the fridge, I grinned. There were leftovers. Yay! I never mind leftovers as long as they have been properly kept. There was a small minced pork patty and 80g of white rice. That would do nicely. I didn't feel like boiled eggs, so I seared a sunny-side up. I was hungry, but not that much till I needed a full portion of food or wanted to boil up a bak zhang.

Took out the sambal kacang and ikan bilis, added a dash of sambal belachan too. LOVE. There, that was dinner done at  9.30pm. The small portions wouldn't cost indigestion or affect my sleep. It really wasn't too shabby, and absolutely delicious. I was very pleased with it.

Cajun Chicken & Wraps for Lunch

We gathered for another homecooked lunch at E's. She has been generously opening up her kitchen and larder for us to prep food, and host us to lunch at her dining table. 

On the menu today, there were stir-fried peppers with garlic, and tomatoes on the menu. Then there were Lousiana Cajun breast fillets from 68°Chicken. and Mexican black beans. We had it with low-carb wraps. It was quite delicious!

To be honest, chicken isn't my favorite protein. The breast cut isn't my preferred for sure. And I have to pop an antihistamine in order to eat it and not have my eyes swell or rashes flare. Still, today's lunch made for one healthy meal. 

I really enjoy the get-togethers. They're comfortable, leisurely and supportive. We chat in a safe space, and glean insights from one another since we have vastly different perspectives of situations and matters. We bounce ideas off of one another; we get a rounded idea of what we need to separately resolve in our lives.

Bittergourd & Eggs!

In order to have a homecooked lunch together, we had to clear dates weeks ahead. We did a grocery run at the nearest supermarket. It was really fun checking in with each other, and getting ingredients and meeting in E's kitchen. It was comfortable when you've known each other for years, and we are perfectly fine with whatever food we could do.

There was a bittergourd that needed to be eaten. We all love bittergourd. Easy! We did a stir-fry of bittergourd with omelette, and boiled up a bowl of edamame as well. Loads of fiber and such in the vegetables. 

For protein, we thawed out Japanese shoyu fillets from 68°Chicken. We ordered a bundle of three flavors from the brand. Chicken breast fillets are always a healthy option for many. S and E really didn't mind chicken breast either. I'm not a fan, but I'll eat it if it's well done. There was furikake and Japanese rice to complement the meal. And sambal belachan. Tehehehe. S and I can never move far away from chilli and spices.

This was a really precious meal when we cooked it in an orderly manner, and ate it over great conversation and companionship. It was a rather focused sort of prep; the eating was done unhurriedly, of which we didn't have to think anything else that didn't involve mastication and deglutition. We could shelve work and such till after lunch. That made the digestion so much smoother, I believe. My stomach was pleased. These sort of comfort meals meant that my irritable bowels are kept very happy. 

Loads of Dal and Homecooked Goodness

We had a meet and made lunch that day. Decided to sear fish and stir-fry some easy okra. S had made dal a few days ago and had loads frozen. She brought tubs over. We had that too. A tad odd, but we were too lazy to do fish curry, so this would do. 

Unfortunately, we didn't choose the right fish to sear. These are Nile pre-cuts. It's tilapia, so it would do best in batter as fish and chips. Or in fish curry, as what we had intended. At least it's not powdery like some weird dory. We marinated it enough anyway. They were edible. This sea-water farmed tilapia (from Indonesian waters, I think) oddly offers a high protein count.

The okra provided sufficient fiber. We didn't overcook it, so there was still crunch to offset the softer fish. E's helper had fried up sambal ikan bilis and peanuts. I loved it! That went great with the entire meal. E wasn't having rice. S and I needed some rice. We added furikake to it. Heheheheh. Very very weird I know. But I love furikake! The rice complemented the plant protein provided by the dal. 

If we're trying to eat healthier and do homecooked meals a little more, then this was a lovely lunch. We cooked it ourselves too. Heh. It's nothing gourmet, but it filled our hearts and tummies. Mmmmm.

Lunch with the girls.

I took home a tub of S's dal. She said that her pressure cooker can do another batch quite easily. So she generously gave it to me. I would not reject such a royal gift. She warned that it would be low in sodium (as it should be), and I could sprinkle additional salt if I wished.

That night, the husband and I decided to stay in for dinner. For these last minute decisions, we're glad for the frozen food. The freezer had basmati rice, S's dal and chicken breast from 68°Chicken. Thawed out the 'royal Indian masala' fillet, and everything else. 

I didn't care for the chicken breast. I had leftover mushroom masala for myself, so I thawed that out and ate it. Heh. That dal anchored the meal. It was delicious. The husband loved it. He was perfectly cool with the sodium levels. That made a really good meal. Healthy enough and satisfying. 

Fish Broth for Choya!

I felt like having fish soup — my own. I also wanted to do a light fish broth for Choya, to add to her rotation of foods that wouldn't trigger her IBD. So I toddled to the supermarket to get some daikon, carrots and shimeiji, and tofu, kanpachi bones, and fillets of kinmedai. Since there were chicken back bones available, I got a pack too. The bok choi at home was totally ready for harvesting, so there was a bunch taken. Heh.

Separated the ingredients for two pots. One for Choya, and one for us. Choya's pot wouldn't hold salt and pepper; no soy, tomatoes or onions. I still popped in a piece of garlic and ginger; she can take those. Marinated the kinmedai fillets for the humans; Choya's fillet only had a touch of salt flakes.

Choya's broth went into two silicone trays for the freezer. They have been frozen into perfectly-sized cubes to be thawed out whenever. That one-cube volume would suffice for Choya for the day. It adds loads of nutrition and moisture to her meals.

The husband totally enjoyed his bowl of soup. He loves this type of soup. Something light, savory and easy. And this, you can't find it outside at the restaurants. I can boil up a superb version. The bigger pot for humans boiled down and yielded only enough for four bowls — for us to sip today, and a bowl to keep for the next day.

A Salmon Fillet

When I was nearer to the supermarket than N was, and I was headed to her home next, I told her I would get the ingredients for dinner. She was at the doctor's for a review for her injured elbow and shoulder; I didn't want her to be going to the supermarket right after, and be carrying heavy things. 

She wanted salmon fillets and a tub of yoghurt. The supermarket only had Tasmanian salmon fillets. Those would do. They were discounted too, but packed today and not even close to sell-by date. I threw in a fillet of threadfin as well. In case they needed more food. N could keep that for her lunch or dinner the next day. 

I'm not the biggest fan of salmon. I would eat them, and I have my favorites. But it's very hard to seek out a proper king (Chinook) or sockeye. It's an easy ingredient to prep for dinner for many people. When the dear girlfriend is so kind as to feed me, I won't quibble with protein in the form of fish. I'll make do with this salmon. But I wouldn't be able to stomach tuna or cod. I have lost all taste for cod and its associated sablefish marketed as 'black cod' or 'ling cod'. I don't mind haddock though. 

Tonight's dinner was great. The salmon was nicely seared in the pan. N prepped loads of vegetables as sides— grilled cabbage and blanched spinach. I ate so much vegetables. Nothing too heavy, and loads of protein, antioxidants and fibre. That was an absolutely perfect plate. 

Pumpkin Soup, Soba & Perilla Oil!

Stopped by J's to collect our bulk orders of bak zhang. Instead of simply doing a pick-up, she had also invited Choya and I to stay for lunch. Wheeeeee!!! I didn't want to put her out, but she said she would simply do a portion for me of whatever she was having for lunch, and it would be easy. OKAY!

She has been food-prepping loads for easy lunches and dinners, so I was glad that she didn't have to rush to cook things 'fresh' that morning. Except to boil up the soba. J didn't mind Choya having lunch at hers either; Choya was comfortable enough to eat too. So I brought along lunch for Choya in her little jars and her plate. She was happily slurped it all up. She was especially thrilled with pieces of cheese generously offered by J.

There was a rather excellent bowl of pumpkin soup. And a happy bowl of Korean soba noodles tossed in perilla oil, and topped with a giant heap of seaweed. I loved it! I was in an absolute food coma after that. 

Then I had coffee. That was a very lovely afternoon catching up. Sooo thankful to have a comfy space to hang out for a few hours on an afternoon that I had intentionally cleared for J. When we don't meet often, an afternoon like this after months of not meeting, is precious. 

Grilled Eggplants & Brussels Sprouts

Happiness is managing to find a night to catch up with the friends before they flew out for their usual mid-year thing. For the comfort of the floofs, everyone's sanity and in case of mad rains, we decided to gather at home. They generously didn't mind cooking at all. 

There was good conversation to be had. Lots of hilarious things that went on. And an early birthday celebration for B. May this trip for them be all smooth without crazy flight delays. When you're doing these many flights across three time zones, it's exhausting!

There was so much food. We wanted to clear the fridge for them before they took a flight out two days later. Hehehe. That was the whole point. But they also added on a ton of ingredients for dinner tonight. Awwww. We felt the love.

There were starters of crab blinis and a lovely gazpacho that was perfect for this humidity. Then we had the main of a ribeye steak with grilled eggplants with spring onions and peppers, and beautifully charred brussels sprouts. Loved all the vegetables. Then a cheesecake and fruits for dessert. We were absolutely stuffed.

It was also Ryo's dinner-time. He was hungry. This Choya insisted on having a bit of whatever Ryo had for dinner. She was sooo greedy that it was mildly embarrassing. But she would still need her supper and bedtime pee. So we don't usually stay out past 11pm. Plus our dear friends need to clean up and rest too. Of course we didn't stay beyond 10.30pm tonight. We never do. We are sleepy by then too. Heh. 

Roasted Vegetables for Fibre!

I usually steam Choya's pumpkin. Today, I decided to roast it. Since I needed to roast a pumpkin for Choya, as well as a fillet of chicken breast, I offered to roast a tray of vegetables for the husband. He said 'yes please'. 

He had loads of sous vide chicken breast prepped and frozen — they only needed to be thawed out. That would be super quick. It was a happy and colorful tray of pumpkin, fine beans and sweet potatoes. The husband's tray was seasoned, and lined with paprika, cheyenne pepper and such. #ImpieCooks2026

He really loved how the pumpkin turned out. Sweet and savory and totally yummy. The sweet potato would provide enough carbs and fibre for him too. That would be kept in the fridge for him to munch for the next three days.  

Choya was also pleased with her chimken. She doesn't mind pumpkin at all, and having it roasted taste a bit different from being steamed. At this point, she could have either pumpkin or psyllium husk to help with her microbiome. I'm opting for pumpkin this week. 

Protein! Oven-Baked Fillets of Chicken Breast!

I quite like the oven as a default 'cooker' at home. It doesn't involve crazy cleaning like when I cook on the stove. Since Choya was feeling poorly, I decided to do a fillet of oven-baked chimken breast for her. Choya's fillet always the tender version with a bit of water for the 'broth', and sprinkled with simple herbs, and just like six salt flakes. 

I'm wary of feeding Choya raw pork and chicken. I'd really prefer them cooked. I don't mind her chomping on raw chicken feet though. Choya loves her sous vide and grilled chicken breast. A whole fillet would be added to her food for the week. It should help settle and bind things in her gastrointestinal tract. 

Since the oven would be hot, chicken breast fillets were prepped for the husband too. Marinated his fillets in a tandoori sort of paste. They sat for about 25 minutes, and then they went into the oven for another ~25 minutes. The fillets were beautifully done, and still tender and juicy. You know how much of a challenge it is to have chicken breast fillets not turn out to be like rubber.

I still had the last bits of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes left from the friends' gifts. It was enough for two servings. So I added asparagus and roasted them together as a side to the chicken fillets for the husband. I had parmesan sourdough crotons sprinkled atop upon serving. Extra cheese is optional. Heh. #ImpieCooks2026

The husband was absolutely pleased with lunch. He husband has gone on a low-carb tracking diet thing again. He's trying out a new app to track his macros and protein intake, so prepping food to keep in the fridge this way at home would be great. He could have these for lunch, as an add-on to lunch the next two days or simply chomp on them as a snack. 

Gorgeous Gifts of Zucchini, Tomatoes & Pesto!

We were soooo lucky to be blessed with so many gifts of food from our friends. We had so much things delivered over that would supply us for a few meals! Our friends came by to drop off a basket of items just flown in from Italy! 

There were oranges, grey zucchini (this species is also known as Lebanese squash or Mexican grey), cherry tomatoes and cooking tomatoes. Wow!

Then there was a big jar of homemade pesto all rich and thick from D and N. They grew so much basil at home that they made this huge batch of pesto and gave it to friends. We were lucky to be allocated a jar too. We love pesto, especially good iterations!!!

Roasted the zucchini and tomatoes. Easy prep for lunch. The husband had a tub of dal and prawn biryani, and those were heated up. The roasted tomatoes went well with the Indian spices. He had the roasted zucchini as a starter mixed with pesto. He loved lunch so much. 

There was plenty left and these would go into the fridge for the next two days. Gotta go get a slab of bread. Foccacia or ciabatta. The zucchini and tomatoes would go well with toasted bread and anchovies too. #ImpieCooks2026

I wasn't going to have biryani. Made a pasta for myself. I made orecchiette with pork sausages (salsiccia toscana) because these go so well with pesto. The zucchini and tomatoes went well with my pasta too. Mmmm. All right, I think did justice to the friends' gifts. These are precious and should never be wasted. 

お家ですき焼きは

The friends said it was time to celebrate our birthdays! A belated one for me and an advance toast for the husband. Yes, but we didn't want to put them out about the meal and proposed a to-go or delivery. We agreed on sukiyaki (すき焼き). Heh. There's no need to complicate it with additional seafood or whatever and turn it into a Chinese hotpot. Sukiyaki is meant to be fuss-free. 

The friends thoughtfully also got trays of non-wagyu beef. Donki supplied all ingredients, including negi and shungiku. We're not fans of tang-oh but as shungiku, it lends a nicer flavor to the soup, although I wouldn't eat it. But negi is LOVE. Heheheh. The kamaboko-chikuwa, tofu and mushrooms were all yummy. I was really happy with the udon too. In this manner, five strands of udon filled me up!

Dipping beef in hot stock worked nicely for everyone. We could control our done-ness. I simply love dipping beef and everything else in raw egg yolk. The husband didn't finish his dip (cholesterol lah), so I slurped it up for him.

We had a gorgeous bottle of champagne to go along. Crisp and beautiful. Totally loved catching up with the friends too. It's been a hectic quarter at work. Everyone's glad to have an easy night. Our friends' generosity made this evening truly enjoyable — the best gifts, truly. 

Lunch Was Perfect

I'm touched to receive gifts of food this season. The dining table was piled full again. It hasn't quite emptied out since Christmas. When I don't bother hosting, I obviously use the dining table to place all sorts of gifts of food on it. 

However, I am so biased. I appreciate the salty and savory over sweets and sugary tarts or bakes. I don't have a habit of taking a cookie or anything sweet in the afternoons or with coffee. I'd consider a small salty dark chocolate cookie though. Heh. I like pineapple tarts, but it's very very very hard to find the ones I want. Nothing comes close to the tarts I have in mind, or that I have tasted and love. It's about the balance of butter vs a rich thick tart pineapple jam that isn't commercially made in big batches. 

That day, my lunch at home was made up of gifts and people's thoughts. Aunty J had given me her home-pickled belimbing and achar. M gave us two jars of her Mum's chilli. And that day, as I was wrapping up my visit, one of my old folks (on the roster) handed me a box of rice, pork chop and egg tofu. She cooked the batch for herself and the neighbors and saved me a portion by way of a Lunar New Year gift.

I heated up all these for lunch the next day. How lovely. I added all the gifted condiments to this heartfelt bowl of care. The achar is soooo good. It's very hard to taste good achar nowadays. I don't even know how many people get what good achar is. I'm so lucky to get this small precious jar.

The pickled belimbing, as always, is friggin sour. But that went well with M's mum's super hot chilli. I dunno if that's counted as sambal belachan because it tasted like super spicy chicken rice chilli to me. I don't like putting lime with any sort of chilli, but paired with belimbing, that was perfect. This chilli is likely too spicy for many people. But the husband and I are chilli fiends, so it's just right for us. 

Lunch was truly perfect. It made my stomach really happy. 

赤馬年 :: 大年初一

We had an unexpected invitation to the dear friends' parents' home for a mee siam lunch on the first day. OH YES PLEASE. How gorgeous. This was a visit that we welcomed very much, and it was no chore to pop over with mandarin oranges and little gifts. 

When the friends' parents were all getting on in the years, and cooking is no longer viable for many, it's a precious thing to taste their food. These are the flavors we'll never be able to recreate, and we'll deeply miss it. While we can, we appreciate the food loads, and give thanks to God's grace. 

This year, the first few days of Lunar New Year saw such low temps. I didn't even perspire much. The rains are back. Day 1 was some sort of mad rain from the morning til the night. At our area, it began at 5.30am, took a break, and returned in earnest at 10am, lasting all the way till 10pm. Luckily it wasn't a monsoon surge, and the flooding all over was controlled. We had an okay drive to lunch and back. The floofs also found pee breaks in between the rains. They've got no issues with going out in a drizzle.  

At lunch, it was nice to see Fawkes too. She's a silly girl, and had fun sniffing all of us. I didn't realize how much she likes toys. I gave her a toy at Christmas and it's become her chou-chou. Hehehe. So I brought her a whole 'seafood platter' this time. She liked the selections — plush and with ropes. Wheeeeee. She was spoilt for choice! 

年三十晚 :: 年夜飯

I was really pleased that I heated up my own dinner and stayed in with the floofs. That was my peace. The kiddos were even happier to chill out with me and eat noms. Sent the husband to rep us on his maternal side's reunion dinner. I straight-out declined since I wanted to stay at home with the floofs. Nowadays, I have no issues saying no. I make it very clear that my priority is with floofs, not humans. And the husband absolutely understands that. 

The evening rains are back, and while we've lucked out with no thunder so far, I wouldn't be able to predict when it would roll in. If it rained and thunder came, I would have be really upset that I went to this dinner that I didn't care for instead of being there for the floofs. 

I got the kiddos a small bowl of poon choi (盆菜) from MumMumGourmet. Cooked, not freeze-dried. I have nothing against freeze-dried, but if I have options for freshly cooked items, I'll take that. Fresh is always better, in a way. The bottle of pork broth would be put to good use too, and not be inhaled in one shot. I wasn't intending to heat up the poon choi in the traditional manner. 

This poon choi is the floofs’ little pot of toppers.

By now, I'm well aware of what food intolerances both Ryo and Choya have, and what might trigger a one-off diarrhea or mushy poop. The ingredients in the poon choi were fine, but I wasn't going to let them eat all of it. These were to be toppers to their raw base. The floofs were so pleased with their dinner and supper. Hahahah. 

I decided not to cook udon or noodles this year. I had gotten a takeout from Kizuna — an osechi box (おせち料理) and a miso-nabe (味噌鍋) with pork loin. Kizuna actually gave pork belly, but they thought that I would prefer the less fatty pork loin, so they gave me that instead. Ahhh, the pork loin was much appreciated. The miso paste was included as well. All I needed was to add some water to dilute it. #ImpieCooks2026

I also had plenty of XO sauce and chilli as dips to accompany the soup. I loved this light and clean meal. Absolutely satisfying. Yes, I'm aware of the irony of having Japanese food for a lunar new year reunion dinner, and considering 15 February was the fall of Singapore in 1942. BUT. Well...... culture versus heritage versus history. You pick one. 

I kept a small portion for the husband who didn't mind some soup when he came home. He had a nibble of the osechi box's prawns, tamago, abalone and clams, and garlic before going out. Dinner was at 8pm, and he needed some food before that. 

These are for humans.

Pork Congee with Ama-ebi

I had a small pack of chicken stock in the freezer that should be used up soon. I found a free morning to cook lunch, so I decided on pork congee. I could easily get the ingredients the day before at the supermarket or the wet market, depending on where I passed by. 

Besides minced pork, the husband also likes his congee/porridge with innards. Of course I didn't have to clean or slice any innards. I simply went to the supermarket to get a pack of sliced mixed innards. All I needed to do was to slightly marinate and sear them before putting them into the boil with the rice. #ImpieCooks2026

Decided to add on ama-ebi (甘エビ). It wasn't really for the husband. It was for Choya. Hahahaha. It's good for her to have a variety of proteins and vitamins going in. But she can't finish a tray in two days. She can have two pieces raw on the day of purchase, and two pieces cooked the next day, but no more. So the husband will always take her leftovers. 

For the husband, I didn't exactly include the ama-ebi as sashimi. I blanched them quickly before serving. That kept its crunch and sweetness. I fried up an omelette with spring onions to go with the meal. Extra protein is always welcomed. 

A Delicious Bowl of ABC Soup!

We were thoroughly pampered by the friends with a homecooked meal. They had just returned from their annual long ski vacation. They also wanted Asian food, and wanted to eat at home instead of us all going out for a meal. My flat can’t contain this number of humans. So we were invited over to their home to partake in this dinner. Awwwww. 

Sometimes we decline invitations to dine at people's homes because we're honestly not that close, and I don't want to put people out. And I don't exactly want to tell them that I'm intolerant to 1001 things/foods. Often I might choose to suffer the effects of the allergy flares (even with antihistamines) back at home. When these are good friends, I suck it up and never tell them what my food allergies are. I wouldn’t want to do it with acquaintances.

If the friends are simply interested in cooking and do this all the time, with either a hired chef, or helpers to clean up, then I'm less iffy about it. Plus I feel a lot more comfortable dining at friends' homes when we have a solid friendship and regular interactions going on throughout the year. 

There were so many delicious things on the table! There were roast pork with an awesome crackle top, easy stir-fried nai bai, steamed salmon, basil minced pork, prawn omelette and ABC soup! We contributed the home-baked/oven-grilled siu yuk and prawn omelette. I couldn’t very well go empty-handed. We feasted. I ate so much vegetables. The soup was so good that I had two servings. Wheeeeeee.

It was too cute because we all agreed to go easy on the alcohol. Only one bottle of champagne was had. Whewww! Our darling hosts wanted to open up a bottle of red. We hastily assured them that it was really not necessary. We were really happy with fruits and water after the champagne.  

自家暖心暖胃滋補養顏魚片湯

I had a craving for fish soup. Not any iteration at the restaurants. I wanted my own. So I made that. Yes, I quite like my own fish soup; I'm persnickety like that. I don't like it too salty, and I like it hearty. I don't want it to taste of shitty fish, powdered stock and ginger. Ugh. 

I didn't have time to meander to the wet market. The fastest option was the supermarkets. Great World City had CS Fresh and Meidi-ya, and Ryan's — the combo is always perfect for my needs. The supermarket had lovely Japanese madai head and bones on sale, as well as a slab of easy tai on half price too. Those would be seared to form the base of the soup, in addition to chicken back bones and pork ribs.

The shelves didn't offer madai fillets today. Only tai. Will do. There were plenty of ikan kurau as well. These would be the fish marinated and seared to preserve their tenderness instead of being boiled to death in the soup. I could also crisp the fish skin with all its collagen. The husband loves fish skin. That goes for kyabetsu and bok choi too. The carrots and vegetable stems go into the boil, but the leaves would remain simply blanched at the end. The daikon is popped in somewhere in between. 

Choya likes fish too. And often, cooked fish is nice. I made two pots of soup. One small pot for Choya and a bigger one for us humans. This isn't exactly fish bone broth. I didn't cook it long enough to extract all the essence, but it's pretty nutritious broth. #ImpieCooks2025

I also got a pack of scallops and a pack of prawns. These would be seared in butter, drained, and then served atop the soup. It's umami too. The husband loves shellfish and never minds extra protein. Neither would the dog. 

Seared the ikan kurau and tai for Choya, along with one scallop and one prawn. The fish and some skin would go into the little cubed trays to be frozen. I'm not fond of freezing shellfish too long. If it's just one scallop and a prawn, she can finish it over two meals. Yes I'm very conservative with her intake because the goal is NO MUSHY POOP.

For the humans, one pot of soup was boiled down to three generous bowls over three hours. It would be our dinner tonight, and one bowl left for the husband's sipping pleasure the next day. We had a ton of fish, and so much cabbage. That would do nicely to fill the stomach. Neither the husband or I felt like having rice or noodles with the soup. 

The piping hot bowl of fish soup with all its gorgeous protein and omega-3 oils perfectly complemented the thunderstorm tonight. Husband was so thrilled with dinner. He loves soup lah, and can appreciate a superb bowl. Yup, I would totally and shamelessly say 'superb'. Mmmmmm.

Thanksgiving 2025 :: Sous Vide Chicken!!

My aunts are in town. They said they're visiting ME and Choya. LOL They're not technically incorrect. But on a flight itinerary, Singapore is a stopover on their way to their actual vacation in New Zealand. They're also 'stopping over' here on their way home. It has become a 'new tradition' of sorts since Choya came along. I'm appreciative of their love for us. 

I had suggested eating out on Thanksgiving Day. They would not hear of it. They said they would eat my cooking. They didn't mind simplicity. They claimed that they would rather eat my food than any restaurant's items that might be too rich and induce the runs for them, rendering them in agony for their 9am flight out the next day. I was like..... 'and you think MY food won't give you the runs?'

Anyway, I succumbed and agreed to cook them dinner. Very few people can coerce me to cook. Accccck. Now, I'm not a cook. I can provide edible food, and that's it. Chicken it is this year too! It was chicken curry last year. No more of that. I shall do it sous vide. Nobody is that fond of turkey in this home. I most certainly do not want to deal with a slippery butterball that can't quite fit inside the oven. Imagine the cleaning of the burnt grease after. Ugh. 

I certainly didn't mind doing sous vide chicken since I was prepping that for the floofs too. But for the humans, I marinated the meat for a bit and seared it in the pan first before sous-viding. Searing it would lend that brown loveliness to the tenderness of the sous-vide meat. 

I didn't do a whole chicken. I did chicken breast for floofs and humans. All these people like chicken breast. They wanted to tank up on protein as well. To be honest, they can't get 2-kg of chicken breast at restaurants unless they pre-order it. This morning, I had no issues buying 2.5-kg of chicken breasts at the grocer's for tonight's dinner. 500g were apportioned for the floofs. Teheheheheh.

Dinner turned out pretty edible. The easy marinade was lovely — with fish sauce, garlic, shallots and spices, and the meat was sooooo tender. I didn't bother with a salad. I did throw coriander on the side since some weird people like coriander. I made Asian stir-fried greens with store-bought broccoli, homegrown nai bai and shanghai greens, and carrots. I did feed them carbs. Made two pots of rice — a plain basmati, and an autumn-flavored rice with a bit of mushroom dashi, pumpkin, mushrooms and chestnuts. It was an odd little meal that nobody seemed to mind. 

I also quietly heaved a sigh of relief and whispered a prayer of thanksgiving that Choya is okay without symptoms of tick fever. It's been a week and a half since the clean removal of that damn tick. I know clearly that the preventives would work as they are supposed to. But I still worry. 

We had an early dinner because the husband was heading out for a jam session. Suited us fine. The Aunts woke up early and were still kinda jet-lagged, and the earlier meal complemented their stomachs. They stayed on for a bit before they returned to the hotel to pack up. That was a most lovely evening.

May we be blessed by God as we share this food and as we work and live together for the good of all.

Beemster and Maaslander

Shamelessly went over to our friends' for dinner. They promised us an easy one-dish meal, and then we would do wine and cheese. They had Beemster and Maaslander to share. Yayyy! Okay. A one-dish pasta meal with salad sounded about right, and wouldn't put them out too much. Tomatoes, mushrooms and pici. That was a happy meal. I might have over-ate the carbs. The pici was boiled nicely al dente. Ooooof. 

Choya finally had a proper sniff of my godson's baby brother's feet. Hahaha. She knew there's an additional member in the home who's a baby, but when we visited the last time, he was still a newborn, so I didn't want her to approach him just yet. 

My godson was simply very thrilled to have Choya to toddle after. They hung out together like best buddies for a bit. We all ROTFL when Choya drank water from a bowl on the floor, and the godson followed suit by placing his bottle on the floor and he bent down to drink from it. 

The Smol Girl was surprisingly rather accommodating towards the godson. I think she likes him. Of course we watched the little boy's hands and his strength. His parents are mad strict with him not bothering Choya. But his own too-familiar Maddie the JRT is relentlessly 'bullied'. LOL Luckily Maddie knows how to run away!

Choya had the time of her life with cheese. Till she happily sat down for a long while to beg for it! She ate SO MUCH CHEESE. She even got a piece of parma ham. Goodness. Luckily I was smart and gave her probiotics that morning, and would give her another dose the next day. Her poop was excellent, and she said that her stomach was meant to contain a ton of cheese.