"CousCous Tossed With Veggie and Mushroom"

it took me the whole morning to think of what should i break my fast with later. i seriously really didn't know what to cook for my evening meal. i had something in mind this morning but at that moment, liur ku nada kan makan atu... so yeah, fikir punya fikir, finally i decided to make couscouslah... i said to self, "i've never tried this even once, so might as well attempt at cooking it lah". so here it is, couscous toss with veggie and mushroom. oklah couscous ani... if i added salt, msg, fennel seeds and cumin seeds tadi, berasa lagi lah but i didn't, instead i just seasoned it with white pepper and vegeta chicken stock. i think it is best served with beef or chicken curry but i'm happy to have it with BBQ parsley chicken breast (see previous post for recipe: BBQ Parsley Chicken Wrap)

so here goes the couscous... add 1/2 cup water to a pot and bring it to a boil. season with white pepper. keep aside for a while. then, add 1/2 cup san remo couscous to the boiling water. give it a stir and cover the pot for 3 minutes. heat the pot again over low heat to separate the grain. or if it's too complicated, simply, just follow the instructions on the packet. you can add turmeric powder to give it a bit of a yellowish colour but i didn't as i forgot to put!

heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot over high heat. throw in 1 clove chopped garlic, 1/4 chopped red onion, 3 cloves, 1 cardamon seed and 1/2 cinnamon quill. give it a constant stir-fry till golden brown. then, drizzle it with white pepper and vegeta chicken stock to taste. chuck in mushroom and blended red chilli (just a little). continue stir-frying. then add diced/chopped carrot, zucchini, red capsicum, celery stalk, and corn kernel to a pot followed by cooked couscous, and stir to toss. finally, stir through spinah until just wilted. after removing from heat, sprinkle some parsley flakes and chopped coriander leaves, to garnish.

that's the healthy couscous recipe for people on a diet but those who just want to maintain weight, i personally think you can give a variety by seasoning it with (kinda a repetition of what was said earlier), salt, msg, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and whatever sauces you wanna put in. i'm sure it will be more scrumptious and full of taste. just a reminder, it's the veggies that make a dish look more appetizing (and healthy too), and if you have tossed the correct combination of veggies besides right, healthy seasonings and garnishes, you'll get a good taste... wah!!! banarkah tu aku ah... but hey... as for myself, i reckon it's true ah from what i've experienced so far...

...inda payah rasa, cium bau saja... - "master chef" BB

"Chicken Veggie Mee Hoon Soup"

this morning was my weigh in day. i stepped up on the scale and then yay!!! i shed another few kilos, in fact more than expected. so again yay! so so happy...

moving on... as today is first day of Ramadhan, a while ago, i broke my fast with chicken veggie mee hoon soup.

boil broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and bok choy for a while until just tender. soak mee hoon in hot water, drain and set aside. for the soup, add water to a pot and let it boil. then add chicken breast, crushed garlic and ginger (put as much as you want), cinnamon quill, cardamon seeds, cloves, less than or half cube chicken stock and white pepper to taste.

the soup is purposely prepared like that as i'm trying to make a healthy chicken soup without oil, salt and msg. i know it probably won't taste as nice as the usual tasty chicken soup, but hey it wasn't bad at all 2 hours ago. so siapa2 on diet atu jua, you can try this one lah jua...

almost forgot, for the mee hoon. i managed to find 99% fat free mee hoon. and it only has 10mg per 100g sodium. i compared this with other brands and to my surprise, mee hoon is actually high in sodium. needless to say more. luckily i could find that one. oh yea, and... it's gluten free also. not that i can't have gluten in my diet. i just feel like to mention it here for completion. hehe. so next time, health-conscious people, go for trident rice vermicelli!

on a side note, for those who haven't known this fact yet, when you are comparing NIP from one brand to another, you must actually look at the second column (i.e. per 100g) and not the first column (i.e. per serve). so there you go... hope this helps in controlling what brand item you would go for in the future.

...inda payah rasa, cium bau saja... - "master chef" BB

"BBQ Parsley Chicken Wrap"

yesterday was another healthy day for me. there were many temptations but i managed to resist. am so happy about that :))) and oh yea, i've been doing so so well with my diet too. i'm also very delighted with the amount of weight i lost in the first two weeks of my diet. it's so unbelievable. i guess i'm eating right this time but i just need to exercise more. am so gonna continue this good effort till i finally reach my targeted weight of which i won't reveal here. LOL

back to the real deal... the recipes posted today are, i shall say, superbly simple.

this was my breakfast yesterday - a bowl of weet-bix with 99% fat-free fresh milk, topped with sliced strawberries for extra flavour. actually, i prefer bananas over strawberries as they naturally taste sweeter and blend so well with weet-bix. some people like to add brown sugar but i don't.


for yesterday's dinner, i made BBQ parsley chicken wrap saluted with mixed salad (zucchini, carrot, celery stalk, cabbage, cherry tomatoes, bak choy and red onion).

To Make BBQ Parsley Chicken:
first cut into strips. then microwave till just cooked or it turns white. microwave to me is good in a way that the natural oil in the chicken itself can be extracted. after that, make sure to wash the chicken strips before coating them with 1/2 tablespoon masterfoods BBQ sauce. sprinkle some parsley flake as well. no salt or msg needed. then grill the chicken strips till firm or to your liking - 5-10minutes. after switching the oven off, i purposely leave the chicken in there for a while.

tomorrow i'm thinking of preparing wholemeal mustard chicken with spinach and corn salad for dinner. hmmm... maybe, maybe not. i'll see tomorrow. hahaha. nowadays, i enjoy adding some variety to my dinner meals (only dinner meals as i'm fine having the same breakfast everyday).

...inda payah rasa, cium bau saja... - "master chef" BB

"Mustard and Herb Chicken"

heart this chicken recipe heaps. it was Mea who first introduced the woolworths mustard and herb marinade sauce to me. if i'm not mistaken it was about 3 years ago. but seriously! it is so nyamannnn kamu!!! you all should try especially to those in oz lah. pasal di mana jua kan berlurih brand woolworths. if brand lain, i doubt it'll be as nice as woolworths's one. anyway, it only cost you about AUD$2.19 per bottle. cheap right? so why not grab a bottle and try this easy-peasy recipe! kalau kata babuku, "tunggang saja jubur, masak cia!" lol

...inda payah rasa, cium bau saja... - "master chef" BB

Ingredients:
chicken wings OR chicken breast in small chunks or big chunks
woolworths mustard and herb
blended dried chilli (optional)
blended mixture of red onion,garlic, ginger (optional)
salt and msg (optional)

Method:
coat chicken breast or chicken wings with woolworths mustard and herb sauce. marinade for a few hours or overnight. prepared as a stir-fry, pan-fry, oven-baked, BBQ, or grilled. go for which one you like the most. i personally like to stir-fry on a medium heat. tastier but not so healthy. there's not need to add anything extra to compliment the marinade sauce. the sauce is tasty enough! trust me! but as i love blended dried chilli so much in my cooking, so i usually add a tablespoon of it as well as a spoonful of blended mixture of red onion, garlic and ginger, along with a little bit of salt and msg to taste .

Served With:
plain rice, chips, roasted herb potatoes, salads, etc

Tips:
for a more enhanced flavour, add generously the marinade sauce to the chicken breast/wings during cooking and right before taking them away from the heat.

"Ayam Goreng ala Gailey" :P

there are lots of different recipes for ayam goreng but here's one that's easy and cheap..hehe as you only need the basic ingredients to marinade the chicken..

What you need:
Curry powder
Turmeric powder
Salt
Mr Aji

What you do:
if you'd like to fry let's say 6 chicken pieces (or 6 gulungs as I recall Amal and Azim called the drumstick part hehe), add 1 to 2 tablespoon curry powder depending on how spicy you want them to be. As for the turmeric powder, you only need a little, about a quarter teaspoon. The rest, salt and Mr Aji, up to your taste. Marinade for at least half an hour but I personally think the longer you marinade, the better.

I think Nrl taught me this ayam goreng..so yea Nrl..I hope you don't mind me posting one of your recipes.. :P

…sorry if inda nyaman… - naïve chef