My Cooking Utensils and Equipments...

~ Posted on Monday, December 15, 2014 at 11:00 AM ~

Few months back, I wrote about a look back into my homecooked journey so far. Prior to this year, my mother-in-law cooked for our dinner mostly and since buckling up and slapping myself back into senses to take up the cooking task, I'm pretty happy to report that I'm getting more confident with my cooking skills now hahaha...

It wasn't until few months back that I overheard my hubby telling someone that some of his clients and friends asking him what are the gadgets and equipments I used for cooking and he told them the answer that made them surprised and wondered. I asked my hubby to tell me more on why they reacted that way and was surprised with what I hear from hubby.

So surprised that I feel I should write a post on my preparation when cooking.

Firstly, I have always been holding back from posting a picture of how our kitchen looks like and I don't think I will ever post it. It's definitely nothing like how Martha Stewart's or Nigella's or Jamie Oliver's kitchen would look like. As for gadgetry and equipments, what I normally use when cooking:

- steamer to steam rice (use every weekday) ** Philips food steamer

- frying pan to stir-fry vege, meats etc dishes (use every weekday) ** Cooka brand RM40 bought online

- single gas stove to cook dishes (use every weekday)

- slow cooker to make soup (use once or twice a week)

- metal pot for braising meat (use probably once a week?)

- airfryer to roast chicken (use probably once a month?)  ** Takada brand RM600 bought from Parkson during year end sales

 

Nothing fancy. No branded stuff. Really.

Right before I start to cook, my gas stove counter will look something like this:

Like I said earlier, I won't be posting picture of how my entire kitchen looks like so this is the most I can allow myself to show to the public. Frying pan all ready on gas stove (I've been looking to get a 2 gas stove instead of the single one we've been using since we shifted here 7 years ago). My trusted wooden chopsticks that I use to stir the ingredients in the frying pan. I don't like to use wooden spatula or the wok spatula as I feel clumsy and uncomfortable holding big utensils like that hahaha.

On the right side, you can see the ingredients in plates and bowls all ready to be tossed into frying pan based on what dishes I planned to cook. I will also have plates ready on the left side of the frying pan (not shown in picture above) so that I can easily and gently tossed the cooked dishes onto the plate to be cooled down before serving.

That's all. This is a typical look on how it is when I'm cooking most of the time. Again, no fancy smancy gadgetry or equipments. Just plain old greased up frying pan on a greased up single gas stove.

To be honest, I used to feel embarrassed with the condition of our kitchen but after listening to hubby's story that surprises me, I feel happy that I can churn out delicious food for the family without all the fancy smancy gadgets and equipments that people used to think I am using or relying to do my cooking. So, there you go, a tiny peek into my cooking utensils and equipments and my cooking preparations :)


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Add An Apple Before Preparing Soup

~ Posted on Monday, November 3, 2014 at 7:51 AM ~

If you are planning to venture into soup making recipes, read up on my post today where I share a personal tip of mine on how to make our soup tastes sweeter.

You can prepare the ingredients for the soup you plan to make as usual, just that, at the final step, to add in an apple, peeled, cored and sliced into smaller chunks and start cooking the soup.

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Don't Throw Away The Broccoli Stems!

~ Posted on Monday, October 20, 2014 at 7:07 AM ~

During my earlier days when I started to cook for my family, I always discard the broccoli stems and only make use of the florets part for stir-frying and steaming broccoli dishes. That all changed when my mother-in law caught me throwing away the stem and told me not to waste the stem as we can use it when preparing soup.Think of all the stems I have thrown away in the past! Horror! Guilt!

Since then, whenever I bought broccoli, what I do is:

* Clean and wash the broccoli

* Use up the florets part for stir-frying / steaming dishes

* Keep the stem part in freezer if I am not using it immediately

* Use the stem part for my soup making days (just add into the pot before preparing the soup)

Benefits of broccoli stems:

Broccoli stems are as nutritious as the broccoli crown. One hundred grams of broccoli stems contains 28 calories, 2.98 grams of protein, 48 milligrams of calcium, .88 milligrams of iron, 25 milligrams of magnesium, 325 milligrams of potassium, 27 milligrams of sodium and 400 IU of vitamin A. One hundred grams of broccoli florets contains identical nutrition information, making broccoli stems just as healthy and vitamin-packed as the more visually appealing broccoli florets. ~ Source

 

Now that you know this, do give it a try! Keep the broccoli stems and use them when you prepare soup next time!

Further reading:

* Conscientious Cook: Good Uses for Broccoli Stalks

* 7 Ways to Use Broccoli Stalks

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.