It’s Monday (June 24, 2024)

Some things last week:

We have a really good burrito place near us so we haven’t been to Chevy’s in a while, but they do have this surf and turf platter (chicken taco, steak on Spanish rice, crab enchilada), that I do like. Since we were near one on Sunday, we decided to eat there.

Made this carrot cake loaf (recipe here). It’s delicious (and sweet enough) on its own, without the need for the cream cheese frosting.

Currently…

Reading:

The Grub Hunter – Amir Tag Elsir

Kindling – Traci Chee

Watching:

Over the weekend, we watched The Marvels which was pretty fun.

Listening:

There There – Tommy Orange

Eating and Drinking:

A slice of carrot cake

Cooking:

A fried noodle dish with lots of vegetables!

Last week:

I read:

Ghost Town – Kevin Chen

Tom Lake – Ann Patchett (audiobook)

I posted:

Hao: Stories by Ye Chun

Library Loot (June 19 to 25)

All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (June 17, 2024)

Some things last week:

For Father’s Day, we picked up a wagyu ribeye from the Japanese supermarket. Look at that marbling on the meat! I’ve never cooked wagyu myself before (and have only had proper Japanese wagyu once at a restaurant in Singapore). So I was honestly a bit concerned that I wouldn’t cook this expensive steak well. I looked it up and one recipe had the instructions as just cook it for 1 minute on each side. It is a rather slim slice of steak, but it does have big part of fat on the side, so I cooked it for more like 1.5 minutes on each side. Of course, seasoned it well with sea salt on both sides prior.

I later cooked up some king trumpet mushrooms and oyster mushrooms in the remaining beef fat. Served with basmati butter rice, steamed asparagus. And because we weren’t sure if that steak was enough for 4 people (it wasn’t), we had picked up some regular beef for yakiniku, which was also delicious, but not as buttery and soft as the wagyu.

Japanese supermarket sushi and sake

Also dim sum

Made some sourdough last week

I was just thinking about how when I first started on this sourdough journey a couple of years ago, I was so concerned about the starter. Of course when the starter first is erm, started, it’s a lot more work, having to feed it daily and make sure it’s doing well. But these days, it lives in the fridge, and is fed maybe once a week. It’s been left unfed for over a month when traveling, and still is doing pretty ok!

Our little blueberry shrub has fruits!

Currently…

Reading:

Ghost Town – Kevin Chen

Poet Warrior – Joy Harjo 

Watching:

We finished watching Band of Brothers, and although the husband and I have seen it several times, it was great to watch it with the kids.

Listening:

Tom Lake – Anne

Eating and Drinking:

Sourdough toast for breakfast, along with tea

Cooking:

We have some leftovers today, but I was thinking of cooking kimchi jigae to use up some of the kimchi I have in the fridge.

Last week:

I read:

The Accidental Alchemist – Gigi Pandian

Crooked Plow – Itamar Vieria Junior

Watership Down: The Graphic Novel – Richard Adams

I posted:

Kween by Vichet Chum

Library Loot (June 12 to 18)

The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (June 10, 2024)

Some things last week:

It was the first week of summer break for the kids.

We went to an Italian place known for its wood fired Italian style pizza. I saw that they had a seafood squid ink pasta, so had to get that too.

Also this prosciutto, burrata, arugula pizza.

A browse at the indie bookstore

The fancy (but oh so delicious and delicate) cakes we got. The front one is a pistachio cake with a raspberry centre (I loved it as the raspberry was a bit tart and the pistachio had this slightly savoury note to it, but the younger one had one bite and said, it’s too salty!). The one behind is a chocolatey chocolate cake.

More rainier cherries at the farmers market

The white nectarines and peaches have been sweet too!

We had to go to an outlet mall to get shoes for the older one, and there’s nothing much to eat around there but walking around, we realised that there’s a Jollibee, which we had never eaten at before. We all got chicken sandwiches, peach mango pie, and a pineapple refresher.

Currently…

Reading:

Crooked Plow – Itamar Vieria Junior

Ghost Town – Kevin Chen

Watching:

Band of Brothers with the kids (we’re almost done, and last weekend reached the part where they found a concentration camp, it was hard to watch, but we talked about it together afterwards).

The new Star Wars series, Acolyte.

Listening:

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, read by Meryl Streep (!)

Eating and Drinking:

Half a bagel with a cup of tea for breakfast

Cooking:

Last night, I made tom yum soup as well as Japanese curry. So we have that for leftovers.

Last week:

I read:

The Right Notes – Dominic Lim

The Obsession – Jesse Q Sutanto

I posted:

Library Loot (June 5 to 11)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (June 3, 2024)

It’s the summer break!

Some things last week:

My younger son graduated from elementary school last week. The school held a promotion ceremony on campus, and the parents organised a graduation party, as the Mandarin immersion parents council sets aside money for grad parties each year.

Some of the goodies at the grad party. Some of their teachers were invited, including their kindergarten teacher!

I had many photos of the ceremony and party but I won’t be sharing them as the kids don’t want them to be put online.

Instead, here’s a burger I had on Sunday 😛

Currently…

Reading:

The Right Notes – Dominic Lim

The Art of Prophecy – Wesley Chu

Watching:

Band of Brothers

Listening:

I just finished Kween so have yet to start a new audiobook

Eating and Drinking:

I had pancakes and tea for breakfast. The pancakes were extra I made on Sunday, so we had breakfast today.

Cooking:

I have some thinly sliced pork belly, so will make that into a pork belly rice bowl for dinner.

Last week:

I read:

Extremely Online – Taylor Lorenz

I posted:

Library Loot (May 29 to June 4)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday, actually Tuesday (May 28, 2024)

Some things last week:

Went to have Vietnamese food, I had bún (Vietnamese rice noodle bowl) with grilled pork and egg rolls.

The kids wanted doughnuts this weekend, so we got some from the local bakery.

And we had to get an apple fritter too of course.

The kids planted some radishes

Currently…

Reading:

Extremely Online – Taylor Lorenz

Watching:

Band of Brothers

Listening:

Kween – Vichet Chum

Eating and Drinking:

Baguette with cheese for breakfast this morning

Cooking:

We have some leftovers from the weekend, but this week I have to cook up the cauliflower and green beans I got last week, so I was thinking of making a Singapore dish called vegetarian beehoon, which uses a lot of vegetables like cabbage, green beans, carrots, and beehoon, which is rice vermicelli. In Singapore, some eateries also serve it with mock meats, but I’ll probably cook it with fried tofu and eggs.

Last week:

I read:

The Family Chao – Lan Samantha Chang

Confrontations – Simone Atangana Bekono

Shooting Kabul- N.H. Senzai

I posted:

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum

Library Loot (May 22 to 28)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (May 20, 2024)

Some things last week:

Made the usual Tartine country sourdough, using a 50/50 whole wheat/plain flour blend.

Sashimi special!

And also mixed tempura for Sunday lunch.

And the kids said that we haven’t had In-N-Out in ages, so here we are.

We went to the farmers market for the first time this year. There were cherries out, and at $5 a pound, that was a pretty good price for sweet cherries. We’re not sure if we want to go cherry picking this year (it’s about 1h drive from us), and I heard from someone who went last week that it’s about $4 a pound there. So I guess $5 a pound for cherries at a farmers market a few min from us is pretty good.

And we grabbed a flat of strawberries and they were huge!

The fifth grader made a solar oven at school and wanted me to take a photo of his creation.

Currently…

Reading:

The Family Chao – Lan Samantha Chang

Watching:

Over the weekend, we started watching Band of Brothers with the kids. The husband and I have watched it a few times, but after the kids enjoyed watching Masters of the Air, we figured they could probably watch Band of Brothers too.

Listening:

Kween – Vichet Chum

Eating and Drinking:

Had some overnight oats with honey, raisins and sliced banana for breakfast.

Cooking:

We still have some bits of leftovers for dinner. But I was thinking of making Thai curry, maybe with chicken and different vegetables.

Last week:

I read:

We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal

The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee – Ellen Oh

Stars in Your Eyes – Kacen Callender

I posted:

Library Loot (May 15 to 21)

Mott Street by Ava Chin

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (May 13, 2024)

Some things last week:

Did you get to see the aurora borealis? The first night, I was asleep, the second night I tried to see it in the backyard but that day there were hardly any sightings in my area. So I didn’t bother last night either. Oh well!

We haven’t had Indian food for a while, so here’s my favourite, dal makhani, as well as saag paneer. Tandoori chicken and garlic naan.

Some flowers for Mother’s Day

Pear cake, as I wanted to use up the pears that we had (recipe here)

Made Hong Kong pai bao (recipe here), because I don’t like to turn on the oven for just one thing. This is a very soft bread sweetened with condensed milk.

Currently…

Reading:

Stars in Your Eyes – Kacen Callender

The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee – Ellen Oh

Watching:

The kdrama Chicken Nugget. The younger kid was sitting next to me when I browsing Netflix and saw this series, he wanted to check it out. It’s a very strange show, where a young woman enters this unknown machine and turns into a chicken nugget (she happens to say the words “chicken nugget” when she’s in the machine).

Listening:

Kween – Vichet Chum

A book by a Cambodian-American author.

Eating and Drinking:

I had a slice of pear cake

Cooking:

Yesterday I made a kind of mapo pork belly eggplant, but really it wasn’t mapo at all, I just don’t know what to call it. I fried up some sliced up pork belly, removed from heat, then fried some cubed eggplant and zucchini, also cooked down some minced ginger and garlic. Authentic mapo tofu relies on doubanjiang or spicy bean sauce, Sichuan peppercorns etc to give the flavour. I had none of those but wanted to make something with a sauce that’s somewhat reminiscent of mapo tofu (while also not using tofu as I only had firm tofu). I ended up using Korean ssamjang, which is a paste of fermented soy beans, garlic, chilli paste etc. Added some chicken broth, sesame oil, sugar to taste. Let simmer with all the ingredients for a bit for the flavours to meld. Served it with rice.

Last week:

I read:

Eli Over Easy – Phil Stamper

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop – Hwang Bo-reum

I posted:

Vegetable pancakes #WeekendCooking

Library Loot (May 8 to 14)

What I’d Rather Not Talk About – Jente Posthuma

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (May 6, 2024)

Some things last week:

My mum flew back to Singapore on Saturday morning! She had stayed with us for about a month, and it was so nice to have her here. The kids were sad and teary about her leaving so after the airport, we took them to have burgers at Gott’s, which we hadn’t been to in years.

I had the bacon cheeseburger and the kids wanted a chocolate milkshake and onion rings. It was a strangely rainy day for May! It rained all the way to the airport, and it still rained all the way when we reached home.

The lovely indie bookstore Books Inc is next to Gott’s, so we had a nice wander around.

The day before my mum flew off, we took her to try the Korean beef soup place. I had the kalbi tang (beef rib soup) which was delicious. Unfortunately, this eatery doesn’t have the best side dishes though.

One of the dishes my mum cooked last week – Singapore-style chicken curry. So good, although a bit spicy for the kids!

Another Singapore dish is kong bah or pork stew. We used the storebought buns to put the pieces of tender meat in.

And hotpot!

Currently…

Reading:

Watching:

Listening:

Eating and Drinking:

Half a strawberry and half a chocolate cereal mochi doughnut

Cooking:

We have some leftovers today for dinner. But I may make a baked pasta dish for tomorrow.

Last week:

I read:

Cat + Gamer Vol 1 – Wataru Nadatani

What I’d Rather Not Think About – Jente Posthuma

I posted:

Ice-cream Cake, Black Forest Cake #WeekendCooking

Library Loot (May 1 to 7)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (April 29, 2024)

Some things last week:

My younger son turned 11 last week and for his actual birthday itself, he wanted a Black Forest cake. As some of you may know, I’ve been making black forest cakes for a few years now, as it’s my husband’s favourite cake – and I guess now the boys have decided that it’s their favourite too 😛

I last posted about Black Forest cake here a couple of years ago. Maybe I should update the post!

/

The birthday boy was disappointed that his birthday was on a weekday, with regular school plus a state test too! But he perked up when we took him out for birthday dinner where he ordered this salmon and ikura bowl and devoured it.

On Saturday, he had friends over for his birthday party, with lots of video games, nerf guns, playground tag and more, and he wanted an ice-cream cake. I’ve never made an ice-cream cake before, so it was something new for me!

Back at the track again on Sunday.

On Sunday, we went to our favourite Korean place for dinner.

Currently…

Reading:

What I’d Rather Not Think About – Jente Posthuma

Watching:

Hope on the Street

Listening:

Mott Street – Ava Chin

Eating and Drinking:

A coffee and an Oreo

Cooking:

Today we have leftovers, but tomorrow, a Singapore-style curry chicken.

Last week:

I read:

Mater 2-10 – Hwang Sok-yong

I posted:

Library Loot (April 24 to 30)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (April 22, 2024)

Some things last week:

Oof last week was a tough one for me, as I was sick all week with some kind of cough/cold/chills situation that still lingers today.

The older boy’s middle school band performed at a music festival, where they bands are graded. They also did a sight-reading test, which I didn’t realise that bands do. They did great, receiving top scores for their performances.

Sunday was again track meet day, but as I was still not feeling 100%, I stayed mostly under the shady trees. It was pretty hot out there!

My son wanted a photo of his burger. We went out for dinner on Sunday and the younger boy got to pick the place as his birthday is coming up. Of course it involved burgers. But I did suggest a diner that allowed for the rest of us to eat other things too

Currently…

Reading:

Mater 2-10 – Hwang Sok-yong

Watching:

Weirdly I started watching Grey’s Anatomy, which I had not watched for a long time.

Listening:

Mott Street – Ava Chin

Eating and Drinking:

Toast and tea

Cooking:

Tonight we have leftovers from dinner out yesterday, but was thinking of cooking some chicken curry this week.

Last week:

I read:

Game On – Seressia Glass

Cleat Cute – Meryl Wilsner

I posted:

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Library Loot (April 17 to 23)

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.