KELLY MOORE'S CAMERA BAGS

You'd probably like to know what this is all about. Well this has been my latest pre-occupation. I'm almost saturated with excitement.

                                                                                           Back view

I don't have an excessive weakness for bags. Or shoes. But when I first saw Kelly Moore's B-Hobo camera bag on Pam's Sidewalk Shoes about a month ago I couldn't resist. I had to have it.

I've been fondling it ever since. And H has been giving me funny looks. But it was worth the wait and the dollars spent. Unless you have an odd fondness for the bulky and the black, ugly camera bag this is a stylishly sweet respite. Finally, a camera bag that doubles as a trendy handbag :) A camera girl's dream.

                                                                         Front view with the flap up

It has compartments for one camera, a lens or two and for your girlie what-nots. 

Just one grouse though. The inside of the bag is lined with Velcro all along the bottom. The purpose being that the size of the compartments may be adjusted to fit your needs. Good.

However, Velcro may cause scratches to the monitor of your camera. So super duper DIY H fixed it. He cut out a soft piece of foam rubber to the required size and lined the bottom with it. Thank you. My camera now sits snug and safe inside. 

This is not a sponsored post. I wish it was. And I hope they heard me. Because I'm craving another one. 2 Sues in Raspberry  OMG 

SAFFRON INFUSED SUGAR CUBES

Amber is beautiful, saffron is precious and so are dear, close friends. 

Back from her trip to the Middle East A had bought me a pack of these beautiful saffron infused sugar cubes in addition to two boxes of saffron threads, a beautiful, giant sized ornamental glass tazbih and...get this.... a pair of glamorous 'diamond' studded high heels. Wheeee ~

I had inadvertently earned the last by pure luck. A had bought the wrong size. Unfortunately  for Z or fortunately for me, depending on how you see it, it fitted me perfectly. So you see...size does matter. Now, all I need is a fairy god mother.

Aren't friends sweet? Thank you. Not just for the gifts but for being there. ~ :)

These precious sweet saffron infused sugar cubes I would revel in, in a cup of hot tea, when I am alone, curled up with a book on a couch so that I can sip and enjoy it in all its glory. They are far too precious to be used with gay abandon. 

I am enjoying a cuppa now. And it is infused with the fragrance of saffron. Love it :)

I can't get over how gloriously beautiful these sweet saffron infused sugar cubes are. Saffron are as precious as gold. "It takes about 80,000 crocus flowers to make 450 gm of this ancient spice....the most expensive of all spices, often more costly per gram than gold..... Saffron's name comes from the Arabic za'faran which means yellow and it's made form the fiery red stigma of the purple crocus" ~ Excerpt from Hugh Fearnly Wittingstall's article.

Here is a recipe I found here for making your own sugar cubes. I have not tried it but perhaps you would like to. Now I know how sugar cubes are made ~ I learn something everyday ~

DIY Sugar Cubes ~

2 cups sugar
1-2 tsp hot water
1-2 drops food colouring or flavour (in this case saffron)

Mix sugar, water and colouring. Make sure sugar is not sopping wet but just wet enough to hold its shape. Put into moulds, press into moulds, turn it over and tap it out of the mould.. let sugar cubes dry until hard. About 30 minutes to an hour. 

How easy is that?

I have plans for the saffron threads. I can't wait to play with them :)

And I have something else to share with you my friends. Something that I have been waiting for... for weeks. I will show it to you in my next post. I can't wait to share. You will be excited too. Perhaps you will want to get one too. Like I did when I saw it.  :)

CHICKEN FRIED IN DRY COCONUT SAMBAL ~ AYAM MASAK KALASAN BERSERI

On the occasions when I accompanied my dad to do a take away from the Malay food shops in Section 17 after school I always wondered whether this dish was a rendang that had been cooked until it was bone dry or was it simply a dish of fried chicken with lots of scraps from the bottom of the wok put and piled on top thus making it an accidental but delicious dish. 

I have wondered for more than 4 decades and have never encountered anyone who cooks this at home. I don' t think many know what its called. I could not do a google search because of that. But if  you were to go to a Malay food shop you will surely see it. So I sometimes wonder if all this is just me ? Or is this all just me ?

Then I found a photograph and the elusive recipe of this I-didn't-know-the-name dish on Jom Masak Jom Makan who got it from Ummi of Home Sweet Home. Finally.

The name of this dish is Ayam Masak Kalasan Berseri. It's no wonder I was unable to locate this recipe. It's named after a place I have never heard of and I would never have guessed that this dish was named after a place. That I've never heard of. Phew. I'm feeling rather Nancy Drew-ish.

It originates from an area called Kalasan in Yogjakarta in Indonesia. Apparently Kalasan is famous for its fried chicken fried in this special way. Thus it's name. The original recipe is here. It has a lot more ingredients, uses onions, garlic , chillies, coconut milk...etc.. ..very similar to a rendang recipe. But this shorter version adapted by Ummi is most delicious  inspite of the omission of onions and other ingredients. This is the second time I am making this within a week. Yes it's good. 


The recipe ~

Chicken Fried in Dry Coconut Sambal ~ adapted from Jom Masak Jom Makan


I made a large amount using 6 whole chicken legs, bone in. You may halve the recipe.


6 whole chicken legs, bone in, each leg cut into two pieces
3 cups grated coconut, you could sub with dessicated coconut
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
salt


Dry spices :


4 T coriander seeds
2-3 T black or white pepper

Wet paste :

6-7 stalks lemon grass, white part only, sliced
1 1/2" fresh ginger, peeled
1 1/2" fresh tumeric, peeled
a little water


Dry roast the coriander seeds and pepper in a small pan until fragrant. Then grind in a processor or pound in a pestle and mortar until medium fine. Keep aside.


Process the lemon grass, ginger and tumeric in a food processor until fine. Add some water if necessary to loosen it up. Then mix with the dry ground spices.


Place the gound spices and wet paste into a  large wok or pot. Add the grated coconut and water and mix top combine the mixture evenly. Add the chicken pieces and about a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar.


Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, covered until the chicken is cooked through or 3/4 way done. Turn off heat for a moment. It will be still be a wet pasty mixture. Take the chicken pieces out from the pot or wok shaking of excess moisture and the coconut/spice paste.


This is where you are supposed to deep fry the chicken in oil. I did not. Instead, I placed the chicken pieces on a baking tray, brushed each piece with oil and then placed them under a broiler until they turned a golden brown.


While the chicken is broiling in the oven continue to cook the coconut-spice mixture on the stove top until most of the moisture has evaporated then pour in the 1/2 cup of oil and continue to fry until the mixture becomes drier and golden brown. 

Note : Originally this coconut-spice mixture is also deep fried in the oil used to deep fry the chicken pieces. I thought that was too much deep frying for one's health. So I opted to simply add a 1/2 cup of oil and then dry-fry the mix until a golden brown.

By which time the browned chicken pieces should be ready  and thrown back into the coconut-spice mix in the wok. Stir the chicken pieces in with a spatula to coat the chicken pieces evenly and continue to dry fry a couple of minutes more until everything is evenly mixed and golden brown and dry. 


This is simply good served warm or at room temperature with steaming hot white rice eaten with the coconut sambal mixed into the hot rice and accompanied perhaps with a hot vegetable soup or curry.

Wishing you a lovely day ~

THAI PAPAYA SALAD

Papaya trees grow from a seed to a fruit-bearing 20 foot tree in about eighteen months. And they fruit the way rabbits breed. In a bunch. They are not one of my favourite fruit because they have a slight bitter undertone. But young green papaya when made into a Thai salad transforms into something quite, quite wonderful. Utterly refreshing. 

My first encounter of a Thai papaya salad was at the Thai ambassador's cocktail party many years ago. In an effort to promote their cuisine they had booths set up to demonstrate the makings of various scrumptious Thai dishes. Surprisingly amoung all other mouth-watering dishes the one dish that I fell in love with was the Thai papaya salad. 

I think it was the combination and perfect balance of fresh fruit, toasted dried shrimps, hot chillies, salty fish sauce, tart lime juice and crunchy peanuts that won me over.

With the Thai papaya salad comes the above, right, which, I  believe, is a Thai invention. The papaya/fruit shredder. It looks like an ordinary fruit or vegetable peeler the only difference being that the blade is grooved intermittently across. 

I saw this device on Luke Nguyen's show and have been scavenging the shops ever since. I had asked the Thai girl at the organic shop which I frequent where to get one. She looked at me incredulously and said ...anywhere. Obviously I had not been anywhere. Well finally it wasn't anywhere that I found this pretty device but at Vivahome along Jalan Loke Yew....a large spanking new mall that has shops selling nothing else but kitchen things and home furnishings. From end to end and top to bottom. Finally mother and I had landed in heaven.

 

The recipe ~


I bought a very firm, dark green, young papaya, the inside a light orange and firm, the shredding of which was bliss.

Thai Papaya Salad ~


2 - 2 1/2 cups of shredded young papaya
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup palm sugar , grated
1 T water
salt
1 red chilli, chopped finely or 2 bird chillies crushed
1 T fish sauce
2 T dried shrimps, toasted or lightly fried in a little oil
a few sprigs of coriander leaves with stems, chopped finely


Put the shredded papaya into a large bowl. throw in the chopped chilli and coriander.

Mix the palm sugar and water in a small pot and heat until sugar dissolves. Keep aside and allow to cool. 


Meanwhile pound dried shrimps in a pestle and mortar and then add peanuts and pound gently to just crush peanuts. Do not pound to a paste.The mixture should be crumbly and the nuts in small chunks.


Mix the cooled syrup with the lime juice and fish sauce in another bowl and pour this dressing over the shredded papaya mixture. Add the pounded shrimps and peanuts and mix with your fingers or two spoons gently to coat the fruit evenly with the dressing. Add fish sauce or extra lime juice to balance the flavours.

Sprinkle more crushed peanuts over the top.


Serve cold or at room temperature as a side dish.

Note : A combination of shredded cucumber and papaya is good too.