Dear Friends and Family,

Thanks for your support thus far.

I will not update this site any longer. I am migrating to a different editor. It is still free. So, feel free to pay me a visit. Sorry for the inconveniences.

Here is the new webaddress for my blog: http://hipfood.wordpress.com.

The Beginnings of Wine and Cheese

Who is this handsome young man? My Dad, of course. Pa, remember this photo, we took it almost a year ago at Duck Pond winery tour when you were visiting us? I absolutely love this photo.




Bought the following bottle of wine for $23 last night. How is this bottle different from the $2.99 a bottle of "Charles Shaw" from Trader's Joes? I would splurge a bottle of expensive wine once in a while. However, for daily drinking for health purposes, I will still continue with my $2.99 a bottle. A word of warning: not all cheap wines are drinkable. I tried "La Boca" once, it tasted so bad that I could not even swallow it.

I don't think just one posting can cover all the know-hows. However, to start, last night, I learnt that the correct way of holding the wine glass is on the stem. That will ensure the heat of the palm does not transfer to the wine and thus affecting the wine tasting. So, Pa, you are holding it incorrectly!




This cheese was actually quite delicious. Perhaps it is because I did not have my dinner last night. Even plain french bread tasted good.

So, I also learnt that the rinds on the cheese can be eaten. At least the rind on this small piece of cheese. However, it is NOT recommended to eat the rinds on those big barrel of cheese because these barrel of cheeses roll on the floor.

OK, I need some help on photography again. Does anyone know how come this cheese photo is so dark looking?

Curry Puffs

My daughter said that it was the best ever. The outer layer (skin) is crunchy yet flaky. The inner layer (filling) is smooth. I was glad.

I think a good curry puff is one that stays enclosed, even after going thru the deep frying process.

(reference: The food of Malaysia by Periplus Editions)

Filling:
5 tbsp oil
1 medium sized red or brown onion finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp kurma powder or chicken curry powder
2 tsp meat or chicken curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups finely diced, cooked chicken
2 large potatoes boiled and finely diced
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Pastry:
4 cups white flour
10 tbsp butter or margarine (I used butter the last time and the pastry did not turn out as good as when I used shortening.)
Just over 3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
Make the filling first. Heat oil and fry the onion gently until golden brown. Add the curry powders, chili, turmeric and fry gently. Add the chicken, potatoes, sugar, pepper, and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Mix well and leave aside to cool.
To make pastry, mix flour with butter or margarine, water and salt and knead well. Let it rest for 1/2 hour. Cut the dough into circles 3 inches in diameter. Take a tbsp of filling and place in center. Fold pastry over to make a half circle and crimp at edges. Deep fry in hot oil until golden.
Author's hints: Not all margarine are suitable for pastry. The Malaysian brand Planta is recommended; Crisco is a suitable substitute.

I haven't tried Lily's recipe yet but I can imagine it will be very tasty as well. http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/08/spiral-curry-puffs.html

Thanks!

I have to thank all the people that wrote in giving me tips on photographing. I shall "Pay it Forward".

Now, even red onion looks appetizing. Can anyone guess what the second photo is? It is flour mixed with butter and salt. It is tonight's snack, curry puffs. Stay tuned for recipes... and more appetizing photos.

Check out these non-food Malaysian BLOGs!

Thumbs up to the following Malaysian Bloggers/Writers, that I stumbled upon while blogging this morning:
Lydia Teh
KennyMah

I have also started a new posting to record my daily prayers to God.