French Fridays with Dorie - Coconut Lemongrass-Braised Chicken with Pink Fettuccine

There is hope in every heartbeat
Tiny as it seems
You're a beautiful seed

~ Beautiful Seed lyrics, Corrinne May

If you're a regular here on Fridays, you'll probably do a double-take on my new banner. Overnight, it looks as if I've turned into an anime version of myself. Wearing pearls and a pink apron as per real life, but 20lbs thinner. I really like it! The banner is actually a gift from my friend, Nic in Singapore. I can't say 'thank you' enough times, Nic. In case you're all wondering, yes, I do have a bunch of fabulous and selfless friends like him. I try to surround myself with the real deal, or maybe they come to me. I really can't say for sure. 

Anyway, back to the business at hand. There was no ducking out of this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe without seeming a bit lame (after last week's absence). Coconut, lemongrass, turmeric, coriander, cardamom...I have them all; these ingredients form the hallmarks of my territory. In a twee twist, for there is always at least one, Dorie's Coconut Lemongrass-Braised Pork recipe was chicken-fied under my pork-less abode, but the rest of the ingredients remained. Oh, except for the turmeric, which Diva D threw out because she thought it had expired (I bought it just last year!). While writing this up, I did a quick research to see if turmeric in its powder form really does expire and came across this anecdote entitled Old Spice. You must click on the link and read it because it cracked me up...the things we women hoard in our kitchens!

Oreo Milk Ice Cream with Fierce Chocolate Tuile Cones

You may have heard of Momofuku's famed Cereal Milk, the outrageous (but oh-so-real and yummy) creation of Momofuku Milk Bar's pastry chef and owner, Christina Tosi. This imaginative woman also created the equally addictive-sounding Crack Pie and Compost Cookies. Well, enough said.

A while ago, I was surfing through the net when I came across this very interesting twist to Cereal Milk, which is much, much better. What's better than Cereal Milk, you ask? Why, Cereal Milk Ice Cream, of course! Well done, Cenk of Cafe Fernando for doing something to realize the fantasies of many a foodie across the globe. His post then got me thinking...what else tastes good dipped in milk? I think you see where I'm going with this, yes? Well, your second foodie fantasy is about to be fulfilled.

Secret Recipe Club - Homemade Nutella Apple Coconut Chocolate Pop Tarts

I wish all my friends' houses were connected to mine via secret tunnels.

~ Blue Lady at tumblr.com

Whenever the Secret Recipe Club event rolls around, I feel as if I'm being given the opportunity to bear someone a precious gift. Not only to the blog owner that I'm assigned to by the event host, Amanda of Amanda's Cookin', but also to you, my friends and readers. So this month I'm lucky enough to get Savor The Thyme owned by the incredibly hip and talented Jennifer. I'm not sure why I've never come across her blog before this assignment but once I looked through it, I was hooked. There are plenty of healthy recipes using fresh and 'real' ingredients that I felt rather spoilt for choice. More than that, there is a paragraph in her 'About' page that sums up everything I myself personally value where she says:

"I believe in a healthy lifestyle and family: To us that includes being healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It includes great times with friends, life experiences and lots of hugging and laughing."

Well, I don't know you from Eve, Jennifer....but I think we could be psychological twins! I hope you will view this attempt at one of your recipes as a gift from me, 8000 miles away. To everyone else, go and discover Savor The Thyme now, for that is really my gift to you. 

Starry Night Grape and Pineapple Cake with Pineapple Curd

La tristesse durera toujours. (The sadness will last forever)

~ Last words, Vincent van Gogh

Whenever Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment makes an appearance on my bedside table, I get slightly worried. It usually means that there's been too much going on in my life, I can't sleep well (hence the punishing read) and I'm simply....tired.

My Red Kitchen Debut - One Bowl Mango and Raspberry Muffins

It's funny how resilient, how resourceful the human spirit becomes when it's stripped to the core. I discovered this when my father fell critically ill while on a work trip to Mexico in the spring of last year. After a stint at the ICU, he wasn't getting any better and was promptly flown to Washington DC for further treatment and surgery. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, my mother, sisters and I rushed over (well, if you can call a 2-day long flight 'rushing over') to be with him.

We ended up staying for about a month while he recuperated but in our hurry to get there, brought only the bare essentials. It's a bit like that question people often ask that makes you pause and ponder before you reply, which is - if you were stranded on an island and could bring only 3 things, what would you take with you? We had less than 24 hours to pack, so apart from the necessary travel documents and phone, I brought only a small pair of scissors, undergarments, a pair of jeans and a bare-shimmer lip gloss. What that says about me, I'm really not sure. When I'm alone, I travel extremely light. Of course, I returned home with 6 rather huge suitcases but that's another story altogether. Okay, it was the sales and I couldn't resist!

Of Figs, Mangoes, Pull-Apart Bread and Pudding Cake. A Guest Post Exchange with Evelyne of CEE.

Have I got something special for you today! Well, it's two recipes actually....one here and one over at Evelyne's blog, Cheap Ethnic Eatz, because we have both decided to do a guest post exchange cooking something that inspired us out of the other person's blog. By way of an intro, I first met Evelyne at an online cooking party (IIP). Through her various posts, I got to know that she's one adventurous gal and pretty fearless at trying out exotic and unusual flavors in her recipes. She's plenty of fun, has a big heart and gets really excited whenever she's out at the farmer's market because she tries to buy a little bit of everything.... Wait, am I describing Evelyne here or myself? Definitely Evelyne! But we're so much alike and that's probably why I said yes! when she asked me to do this fun project with her. 

      

I chose to bake her sweet potato pudding cake because I'd been dazzled by her description and photos of it from the word go. You can check the recipe out on my guest post on her blog. In the meantime, please join me in warmly welcoming Evelyne with her sweet-savory version of my pull-apart bread. The flavor combinations here just blew me away, and I know you'll feel the same way!

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French Fridays with Dorie - Salmon and Nectarines En Papillote

En papillote is quite a popular method of cooking in this household. Wrap a piece of meat or fish in parchment paper or foil, pop it in the oven, set the timer and forget about it for a while. Exactly our kind of effortless cooking! So luckily for us, this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Salmon and Tomatoes En Papillote, urged us to employ this method for baking our salmon. It was no major hardship and produced a result that was quite satisfying.