Deep fried Mars Bar

I know I am into healthy foods nowadays, but sometimes there's always this strange recipe that is sooooooo rich and tasty that you just can't resist posting it. Just ONE deep fried Mars bar can pack up to at least 400 calories. That's huge! One bowl of beef noodle soup or one Mars bar? Choose only one (I cheated. I chose both)

Green Tea Panna Cotta

"Panna Cotta literally translates as "cooked cream" in Italian. These softly set and creamy Italian puddings are so silky-smooth they slip down beautifully at the end of a meal. Perfect served with fresh berries or fruits according to the season. They are also perfect for dinner parties because they can be made a day or two in advance and kept refrigerated until ready to be served." What's Cooking America

To me, Panna Cotta is like a eating a cream based jelly. It's in between a pudding and a jelly. They are soft and creamy and you can flavour them in many ways. Here are some typical photos of panna cotta. Feast your eyes.

A simple panna cotta with chocolate sauce.

Chocolate panna cotta with rasberry sauce
Some chefs can be very creative with their panna cotta
Nicely arranged with style.

A pink panna cotta. Looks really appetizing


Usually, you don't even have to remove the panna cotta from it's mould. What I usually do is serve them in wine glasses or other nice glasses like these

Never Starve Yourself to Lose Weight

The internet's a wonderful thing but sometimes there can be too much misleading information on how to lose weight. There are many myths that we tend to hear about:

We just have to eat very little in order to lose weight. Consume less than 1000 calories a day.

We can eliminate certain foods, such as fats or carbohydrates since they have too much calories and focus on just eating proteins.
Most people who go on these diets DO lose weight and DO lose it very quickly. However, most of the weight loss is from the loss of water and muscle tissue, and not actual body fat.

This is actually like sabotaging your body since muscle tissue is necessary if you want to have a healthy metabolism, plus, muscle tissue actively burns calories even when you are at rest. These diets make you lose weight by burning away your muscle tissue. Therefore, a drop in the amount of muscle tissue in your body will lead to a drop in the number of calories you need each day to maintain your weight, making it much harder to keep your weight under control the moment you stop following your so called low calorie diet.

A typical tragic story
According to the dailymuscle.com, (click on the link for more detailed information)it includes statistics and the story of how a guy decides to take in only 1500 calories a day with some exercises in order to lose weight quickly. The guy will lose a lot of weight in around six weeks, but what he has done is actually burning away a lot of his muscle tissue. This guy lost 21 pounds but 11.5 pounds lost were actually MUSCLE TISSUE! The other were a combination of water loss and fat loss. He'll still lose some weight and look different but what happens when he goes back to his normal diet? Can he maintain the diet in a long term?
When this guy loses muscle tissue, what happens is that he's actually decreasing his metabolism. That means, compared to BEFORE the diet, he actually has 11.5 pounds less muscle tissue to help him burn calories. Therefore, if he used to be able to burn 2200 calories per day before the diet, now he would probably burn only 2000 or maybe even less. Therefore, if he suddenly goes back to his normal eating habits. He will grow back to his original size in six weeks or more.

Now comes the scary part. This guy set out to lose weight and look good. He did succeed in a short run, but in the end, he goes back to square one but WORSE. He has less lean muscle tissue than when he first started and lower metabolism than before. This will make it even harder to lose weight the next time he tries.

If he keeps repeating this process over and over again. It will do him no good and worse, make him feel that he'll never seem to be thin and fit. Now, some of you might say, what if he continues to eat only 1500 calories for the rest of his life?My god. He'll be a miserable guy and he'll be slowly destroying himself, since he'll end up starving his body of essential nutrients and energy.

Want an even better testimonial?

Sad to say, I did the same things as that guy. I would always go on a strict diet, lose weight, feel thinner and better for a few months and then go back to the same state, for what? Having less muscle tissue and lowering my metabolism, making it easier for me to get fat, each time I had an unsuccessful diet. The result? A guy who has low self esteem, who never understands why its so easy to gain weight and always thinking it must be the DNA.

Thanks to the internet (dailymuscle.com). I found out what I was doing wrong and in order to lose weight, you must never starve yourself or go on those fad-diets, but just do proper exercises and weight lifting to gain more muscle tissue to increase my metabolism. Muscles burn calories even when resting.

From now on, I will eat a healthy balanced diet combined with lots of exercise and weight lifting. Hopefully this time, I will feel better about myself and finally have a fit and healthy body. So this goes out to all those who always seem to fail in their dieting.

NEVER STARVE YOURSELF TO LOSE WEIGHT! The best way, although takes more time, is to exercise and eat a well balanced healthy diet. No more skipping meals. I realise that after hitting the gym, I can eat good food and still lose weight, because I am burning calories and building muscle. Just make sure not to overeat.

Now that's the way to live - eating the foods you love but you need to work hard for it. Usually on days I don't exercise, I don't eat as much but make sure I don't skip or skimp my meals.

Some Ideas on how to lose weight.
Eat five small meals a day instead of three big meals.
Never skip breakfast, as this will lower your metabolism for the day.
Make lunch your main meal of the day, instead of dinner.
It's okay to eat your favourite foods, just make sure in small portions and don't overeat.
Exercising is a must! If possible, do some weights, you won't look like KingKong one, so girls should try it too.
Eat less on days you don't train.

There are probably other good ideas out there. So post your comments here. I hope this post has been educational and informative for you. I hope this will help change your life. This information has certainly changed my life and I hope it can do the same for you.



PS: I know this post is not about food but I feel weight control or weight loss is important for food lovers out there. Cheers ;)

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Use google to search for cream of mushroom soup and you'll find all sorts of different recipes online. I tried it and I got 16000000 results. My god! I clicked on a couple of recipes and analyzed what are the typical ingredients and style to cook a good cream of mushroom soup. SinYeen, you must thank me for doing the research so you can cook a nice cream of mushroom soup!

Usually when we want cream of mushroom soup, we go instant. Now, there's so many varieties out there.

In Brunei, we probably have seen this one in the shelves of supermarkets.

Family comes first

Anyone of you seen family movies like "Click"? Movies like these usually emphasizes how important it is to appreciate members of your family, especially your parents or grandparents. I was watching another movie today about two man who didn't really cherish their parents and grandparents. It's only when they finally realize that they had lost them, then they start to regret things.

My parents had been working hard all their lives for me and my siblings to have a good and fruitful life. Sometimes, all I could ever think of was about myself that I tend to not spend enough time with my parents. To that, I just want to say, I love my parents and am very grateful for all the things they had done for me. Cherish the people that are close to you, especially your parents.

Today's recipe is a great recipe you can make for your family. Here's a nice thai style curry and all you have to do is cook rice and serve it with this wholesome curry that's exotic yet easy to make.
Chicken and Mango Thai Curry

Serves 4-6 people

1/3 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
3-4 tablespoons red curry or yellow curry paste (more if you are a fire breathing dragon
with a passion for chilies)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock (or just add half chicken stock cube to one cup water)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thigh pieces, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 inch fresh ginger, cut in thick slices
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper (capsicum), seeded,and cut in strips
1 green bell pepper(capsicum), seeded and cut in strips
1 large mango, peeled,pitted,cut in strips
1 can straw mushrooms, drained
4 tablespoons fish sauce (add more to taste)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped coriander (optional)

1. In a hot wok, heat oil over medium heat until hot.
2. Add curry paste and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
3. Slowly stir in coconut milk and chicken stock.
4. Reduce heat to simmer; add chicken and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Add ginger, onion, and peppers; cook until tender, about 7 minutes.
6. Add mango, straw mushrooms, fish sauce, and sugar.
7. When heated through, serve over individual plates of hot rice.
8. Garnish with coriander.

Serve with steamed rice. (or steamed tofu, if you wanna watch your carb intake)

Torture

Torture is someone who loves food and enjoys very single moment of it ..... going on a diet. Torture is when that someone is me... hai........

Nowadays, I seem to try and avoid drinks as they are empty calories --- as in you are not aware of how much you are putting in, since you don't get full easily from them....

I am trying to avoid rice for dinner unless for special occasions -- like eating out with friends....

For dinner, my rice = Boiled Soft Tofu. This way I replace my carbs mostly with protein. And I eat mostly veggies and little bit of meat. Yah ... its kinda sad but I reckon I'll treat myself to some good food once in a while.

There are some good low fat recipes out there. I like this one for instance...

BARBECUE CHICKEN

4 chicken breasts/thighs
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. tomato puree
1 tsp. tomato ketchup
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. mustard
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce;
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. chili powder

Crush the garlic and mix all ingredients together. Spread over the chicken and marinade for several hours. Grill or barbecue the chicken pieces.

Of course you don't eat all that for yourself la. However low fat also will become fat tu... That's enough for 3-4 people, if you eat it with steamed rice (or boiled tofu for me )

Gambatte Cookie Monster! Your quest for burning away those kilos of fats must go on! Grrrzz

Someone Like You

I was browsing friendster one day - and I came across this song sung by Sissel.

Sissel Kyrkjebø, or fondly known as just Sissel is a Norwegian singer. She is best known for singing the Olympic Hymn (Hymne Olympique) at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, for duets with Plácido Domingo, Warren G and The Chieftains, and for participation on the Titanic film soundtrack. Her work on the soundtrack to Titanic has led to comparisons with Irish singer Enya.

She has such a heavenly voice!

Download ‘Sissel - Someone Like You’ MP3

I highly recommend this song. Now I know this is a food blog but occasionally I will post some non-cooking related stuff. However, I'll post a recipe here that matches her heavenly voice and that's heavenly Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins!

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins.
Ingredients
75 g cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg (beaten)
60 g butter (melted)
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 190°C Beat cream cheese & 2 tbsp sugar together & set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, chocolate chips, 1/2 cup sugar, cocoa, baking powder & salt.

3. Make a well in the centre. Pour in egg, butter & milk stirring till just moist.

4. Spoon some chocolate batter into each muffin tin & drop 1 tsp of cream cheese mixture on top. Then cover with chocolate batter. Basically you'll have a cheesecake centre.

5. Bake 15-20 min till springy to touch.

So bake the nice heavenly muffins and enjoy the music. Bon Appetit!

Kahlua

Kahlua

Kahlua is a rich, dark and smooth coffee based liqueur drink from Mexico. Although it is a liqueur, it is extremely versatile and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways and thus lends itself to a wide choice of occasions.

Pronounced "Kah-loo-aah", the beverage is a dark, but soft and semi-sweet liqueur with a coffee base. Kahlua is blended in Mexico and exported world-wide. You can buy Kahlua in most supermarkets and liquor stores around the UK/Europe as well as North America. Look for the dark colored bottle and the bright yellow and red label.

Kahlua Cocktail Recipes - Different Ways to Enjoy Kahlua

Black Russian
Ingredients: 1 Part Kahlua, 2 Parts Vodka

Method: Pour ingredients into a short glass, stir gently and serve immediately.

Kahlua Mudslide
This is what a Kahlua mudslide looks like
Ingredients: 1 Part Kahlua, 1 Part Irish Cream Liqueur, 2 Parts Vodka, 2 Parts Milk or Cream, ice cubes.

Method: Pour the Kahlua, Irish Cream and Vodka over a short glass with ice. Top with Cream or full-cream milk. Serve.

Sombrero

Ingredients: 1 Part Kahlua, 2 or 3 Parts Cream or Milk

Method: Pour the Kahlua and Cream or full cream milk into a short glass (ice optional) and stir.

Kahlua Cream Soda

Ingredients: 2 Parts Kahlua, 1.5 Parts whipping cream, 4 Parts Soda Water

Method: Pour Kahlua and whipping cream into a cocktail mixer and shake thoroughly. Strain mixture into a tall glass and then add soda water. Best consumed with a straw!

Kahlua Hot Chocolate

Ingredients: 1 Part Kahlua, 5 Parts Hot Chocolate, 1 TbSp of whipped cream

Method: Pour hot chocolate drink (made with milk or water) onto the Kahlua in a glass or mug. Top with whipped cream and serve.

Kahlua Coffee

Ingredients: Kahlua, Coffee

Method: Liven up your after dinner coffee with Kahlua! Prepare your coffee to taste (with or without milk). If you normally take sugar, leave it out, and pour some Kahlua in the cup or mug to taste. Enjoy!

Kahlua Cockroach

Ingredients: 1 Part of Kahlua, 1.5 Parts Tequila.

Method: This drink combines the two great Mexican classics of Tequila and Kahlua. Pour the Tequila and Kahlua into a glass, and (optionally) set on fire with a lighter. If you light it, pop a straw in the glass and drink! Otherwise this can be enjoyed slowly, on its own or as an after dinner liqueur. The Tequila thins the texture of the Kahlua and gives it a little "bite" - excellent!

And yes - Kahlua can be very eroti...erm..I mean exotic.

Plastic vs Wooden cutting boards

There's always lots of things that our parents or aunties tell us about food. One of the biggest debates and uncertainties are always this.

Plastic cutting boards are more hygienic

"No way. At one time, many believed that the microscopic pores in a wooden cutting surface harbored harmful bacteria. Plastic, they thought, was too smooth for bacteria to hold on to. It’s quite the opposite. In 1993, microbiologists at the University of Wisconsin’s Food Research Institute infected wooden and plastic cutting boards with a smattering of bacteria that cause food poisoning.

Their findings? The bacteria shriveled up and died on the wooden boards in about three minutes, but they multiplied out of control on the plastic boards. So if you’re looking for a sterile cutting surface, go with wood. Plastic can still be clean, but scrub it down with a mild solution of bleach and water every week or so". -askmen.com

"Wood has some advantages over plastic in that it is somewhat self healing; shallow cuts in the wood will close up on their own. Wood also has an advantage over other materials because in general, it has a natural anti-septic property. Hardwoods, are tightly grained wood with small pores, such as hard maple are best. Good hardness and tight grain helps reduce scoring of the cutting surface and seepage of liquid and dirt into the surface." -Wikipedia

"However, there have been other studies and reports that have since contradicted this, and some studies have found that bacteria lie dormant in a wood cutting board until it is re-wetted and used again.

Conversely, one argument against plastic is that it could chip off gradually and tiny particles of inorganic plastic could lodge themselves in your food. Whether you choose wood or plastic will probably be a personal decision, and you should always keep cutting board safety in mind".

Cutting board safety

Whether you choose a plastic or wood cutting board, keep the following safety tips in mind:

Wash all cutting boards with hot soapy water and a brush after each use.

Sanitize both wood and plastic cutting boards with a bleach based cleaning spray.

Discard excessively worn cutting boards.

Designate one cutting board for meat, poultry, and fish, and another for fruits, vegetables, and breads.