Christmas Joy

Posted on December 24, 2009 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star
upon the highest bough.
And have yourself
A merry little Christmas now.

FOOD for thought –

“HERE IS A MAN who was born in an obscure village, the Child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book… He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of His Divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a Cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while he was dying- and that His Coat. When He was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Such was His human life – He rises from the dead. Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the Centerpiece of the human race and the Leader of the column of progress. I am within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that One Solitary Life.”

-From One Solitary Life by Dr. James A. Francis-

Wishing all of you a very blessed Christmas!

Love,
Tim & Meena

Cookbook Giveaway CONTEST – Christmas Comes Early at A Whiff of Lemongrass

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Lyrical Lemongrass

1.

Hello. I have a friend. His name is Fatboybakes.

Fatboybakes loves to cook.

Fatboybakes loves to watch Nigella cooking. Fatboybakes loves Nigella.

2.

Behold Nigella!

(Photo credit: courtesy of Discovery Travel & Living)

If you’re like Fatboybakes and you love to cook and you love Nigella, set your scheduler for 7.00pm (Malaysian time) today and tune in to Channel 707 on Astro to catch NIGELLA’S CHRISTMAS KITCHEN 2 on Discovery Travel & Living. (Repeats on Mondays at 1400 hrs (2:00 pm), Tuesdays at 0200 hrs (2:00 am) and 0500 hrs (5:00 am) and Saturdays at 0200 hrs (2:00 pm) and 1400 hrs (2:00 pm).) Nigella reveals tips on how to avoid the Christmas queues (although at this point, with just 12 days to Christmas, it’s a bit too late lah as the malls will be bursting with last minute shoppers like me ack!) and the lure of the jingling tills by getting back to basics. In addition, watch her liven up traditional Christmas recipes (or just watch her) after being inspired on trips to Paris and Salzburg.

I’ll probably catch these episodes to get ideas on cooking castrated chicken (capon). Not that I’m cooking it myself. Not when there’s a better cook around in the form of my mother-in-law whom I love very very much.

NIGELLA’S CHRISTMAS KITCHEN 2 – episode descriptions as provided by Discovery Travel & Living:

The Big Freeze

Cooking at Christmas is a wonderful piece of slow-down therapy but that doesn’t mean that you have to be tied to the stove the entire time. Getting ahead and filling the freezer can be the answer to a Christmas prayer. In The Big Freeze, Nigella whips up a feast that includes Roast Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup with a Stilton swirl, Mincemeat pies and her Star from the East, and a Lamb and Date Tagine, which are all wonderful to either eat straight away or to store in the freezer for the arrival of last-minute guests.

The Stocking Filler

Nigella Lawson starts early by filling her shelves with homemade Beetroot and Ginger Chutney, Chilli Jelly, Spiced Fruits steeped in Ximinez Sherry and Winter Spiced Vodka. Nigella also makes her Christmas ‘Puddin’ Truffles and Christmas cookies, showing that Christmas doesn’t have to come off the shelf. Later, Nigella opens her doors to a few friends for a pre-Christmas brunch featuring an Espresso Martini, Triple Cheese and Onion Strata, Glazed and Toasted Vanilla Cake ‘Brioche’ and an antioxidant Fruit Salad.

Short & Sweet

Nigella enjoys the run-up to Christmas and prepares her Christmas larder in advance. She takes a trip to Paris to explore the chocolate haven of this famous city and, armed with inspiration, she then demonstrates a few sweet recipes including a chocolate rocky road and her favourite Christmas Pavlova. Nigella has a series of short cuts and culinary tips that will transform the familiar Sunday rib of beef into a sumptuous Christmas treat with her port and Stilton sauce. Also on the menu are Thai Beef Salad and Poinsettia Cocktail.

The Unhappy Hour

Although the very idea of canapés seems to scream 1970s, they are always popular with both the host and guests as Christmas entertaining comes underway. In this episode, Nigella offers some simple guides to getting them right. The salty combinations of parma ham, creamy goats cheese and figgy wraps provide a befitting start to Nigella’s spicy mini ribs and irresistible crab cakes. For an all-girls-get-together dinner party, Nigella whips up a cinnamon rubbed pousin with a scented couscous. Saving the day is Nigella’s never-fail hangover cure – a Cuban Chorizo and Black Bean Soup.

Life in the Old Bird Yet?

In Nigella’s mind, most of us would be too hangover to wake up for breakfast and thus Christmas lunch should be the meal to look out for. In this episode, she spruces up an age-old recipe of making turkey with the Domestic Goddess’s twist. Nigella shares her tips of cooking a turkey that will have your guest go, gobble gobble – one that is superbly spiced and juicily roasted. To go with it, Nigella adds Pancetta and Chestnut Sprouts, Gingerbread Stuffing, Maple Syrup Parsnips, and finishes off with a vodka-flamed Christmas Pudding.

(Photo credit: courtesy of Discovery Travel & Living)

Thanks to Western propaganda, we’re all yearning for a white Christmas and mistletoe and mulled wine (in sunny Kuala Lumpur?), so why not get totally in the mood with WILLIE’S PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS? If you’ve tuned in to Channel 707 before, you’ll probably have heard of Willie Harcourt-Cooze and his ‘wonky’ chocolate factory in Devon. Me? I really should stop watching DVDs (has anyone watched True Blood Season 2? yum yum) for some wholesome family-type programmes on television.

In WILLIE’S PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS, the eccentric chocolatier returns to his family home in Devon for a festive foodie extravaganza with his wife Tania and their three children. Willie will be taking care of the menu for the holiday season, preparing a series of mouth watering chocolate themed recipes, boozy chocolate mince pies, a classic chocolate tart and the perfect party treats for entertaining friends including a quince chocolate cheese and a chocolate and clementine cheesecake. WILLIE’S PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS premieres on ASTRO Channel 707 on Wednesday, December 23 at 9:00 p.m. (Malaysia time). (Repeats on Thursday, December 24 at 2300 hrs (11:00 p.m.), Friday, December 25 at 0900 hrs (9:00 a.m.) and 1500 hrs (3:00 p.m.), Saturday, December 26 at 1700 hrs (5:00 p.m.), Sunday, December 27 at 2000 hrs (8:00 p.m.), Monday, December 28 at midnight (12:00 a.m.), Thursday, December 31 at 1500 hrs (3:00 p.m.)).

If you’d like to catch Willie’s Easter series, tune in to Channel 707 on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m (Malaysia time), starting from December 2 for Raising the Bar: Willie’s Chocolate Revolution. Repeats are on Mondays at midnight, Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m., Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m., Thursdays at 7:00 a.m. and Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

3.

This Christmas, I racked my brains to come up with an appropriate gift for my friend, Fatboybakes, who loves Nigella. This is a picture of Nigella, with gorgeous glowing skin that we can only pray we are blessed with when we turn 50.

(Photo credit: courtesy of Discovery Travel & Living)

This is my gift to Fatboybakes, a picture of him with gorgeous glowing skin that we can only pray we are blessed with when we turn 50.

(Photo taken by and skillfully edited by Lyrical Lemongrass)

Notice how very much they look alike?

For the Cookbook Giveaway Contest, all you have to do is come up with the wittiest quote for Fatboybakes in the final picture. Email you answers to lyrical(dot)lemongrass(at)gmail(dot)com by Monday, noon, December 28, 2009. Winners will be announced on December 31, 2009. Multiple entries are permitted. Easy peasy, right?

And yes, PRIZES! I have FIVE cookbooks to give away to five witty winners, courtesy of Discovery Travel & Living:

2 x David Rocco’s Dolce Vita
2 x Willie’s Chocolate Factory Cookbook
1 x Kylie Kwong’s My China

Sorry peeps, but this contest is only open to those currently residing in Malaysia. Yes, even Fatboybakes can participate in this contest since I know he isn’t going to leave the country anytime in the near future.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

Bun Cha in Hanoi

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Lyrical Lemongrass

The internet has liberated a new kind of beast. In the NST yesterday, it was reported that Ah Longs (loan sharks) used Facebook to humiliate their debtors. Gone are the days of splashing red paint on the doors. It does look like the more access you have to public media, be it Facebook or Twitter or blogging, the more susceptible you are to being victimized. And talking about Facebook, even our Prime Minister has his own Facebook page now. It’s a little unnerving to learn that he likes Ronan Keating’s When You Say Nothing At All. “In my spare time I focus on Sunday family lunches, watching TV with my kids and going on holidays.” I don’t know about you, but this is as bad as finding out that your parents have sex. Anyway, back to Ah Longs and the perils of the internet, it got me thinking of all my misdeeds in the past. About a month back, I was in a car chase with an incorrigibly fractious driver. I had anger management issues then, and decided to snap photographs of the rodent in question (and petulantly indicated to him that I was doing it). Well, he got peeved about being caught on my iPhone, so he reciprocated by snapping my picture instead. A cat and mouse chase ensued and numerous pictures were captured on each other’s cameras. I reckon that photographs of me and my car are floating around the internet by now. I hope he at least had the decency to photoshop my mug to tone down my maniacal expression. (It wouldn’t hurt to make me look slimmer as well.) I have since addressed my anger issues as I’ve realised that the only person I’m hurting when I get upset in traffic is myself. This newfound zen is sometimes forgotten, though. About a week ago, Bald Eagle and I were in Hanoi to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. We had obtained free tickets on a particular airlines early this year to fly to Hanoi on the 10th and back to KL on 11 November. We were pleased as Punch with our amazing deal. Lesson learnt post 11 November: A deal is only good when it’s real. In simple terms, there is no such thing as a free meal. The airlines cancelled our return flight without informing us, and I was kicking their flimsy door down with my size 7 feet at the Hanoi International Airport. Other lesson learnt: Size 7 feet don’t create much of a dent. It’s as good as nudging your boobies against the door expecting the door to fall off the hinge.

It’s just as well that our only negative experience occurred at the end of our holiday. I’m not good at hiding my feelings. When I travel, my face lights up in wonderment and I am 21 again, young with wide-eyed naivety. The joy of discovering a new place and meeting new people envelopes my whole being and I’m literally radiating in a warm aura. A pity that I lose it the instant that I am back at work.

Our first meal in Hanoi, at a restaurant located just 20 metres away from our hotel, was bun cha that came highly recommended by Paprika and Sze. Bun cha is generally eaten at lunchtime, and popular restaurants or stalls get filled up pretty fast. Not knowing what to expect, we were ushered upstairs where even more tables were available. Before we could even start with our sign language (English is hardly spoken in Hanoi), several types of receptacles were placed before us.

We merely stared at the array of delicious looking food. A mountainous plate of rice vermicelli, clumped together in a sticky mess, a bowl of pork patties that had just been grilled, evidence of hardened charred bits floating in a soup that tasted of rice wine and fish sauce, a large mound of herbs and greens, some tasting very much like our local ulam, a bowl of thinly sliced young papaya in the same soupy liquid as the pork patties, some coarsely chopped chilli and garlic for more punch, and a plate of nem, crispy fried spring rolls bursting with minced pork.

“So,” I looked to my husband, “how does one eat this?”

Seeing our puzzled look, one of the servers came over and proceeded to pile in the ingredients into our bowls, starting with some noodles, followed by some of the tart sweet savoury nuoc cham sauce to flavour the noodles, then the grilled pork, a portion of spring rolls, some sliced papaya, garlic and chilli and finally topped with the greens. The resultant dish, so quickly assembled, resembled a noodle salad. We ate up everything in sight.

I still have memories of that first meal. We ate a lot more after that; in fact, it was two days of non-stop eating from typical street food to the finest french restaurants. We drank copious amounts of Vietnamese coffee flavoured with sweetened condensed milk. But that first meal hit the mark on my gastronomic quest.

***********

I wonder if one day, there will be an online voting for our favourite Ah Long on Facebook? And whether our Prime Minister will be voting since he has his own Facebook account?

Bun Cha
Hang Manh Street (Old Quarters)
Hanoi

A Whiff of Lemongrass

NOT a food blog

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