I, the Maybahay

The sweet lady behind Dhanggit's kitchen has tagged me for my first meme.
I'm finding it fun reading everyone else's little revelations and finding tidbits that make up the personalities behind the blogs.

Getting on with mine...

What were you cooking/baking 10 years ago?
Lots of vegetables! I was living with a friend who has asthma and allergies, and so had to watch his diet carefully (If you are reading this Anthony Long, let me know where you are. I've been looking everywhere for you!!!!). His Mum would come around every week with a large box full of fruit and vegetables straight from the markets. Curried vegetables were regularly on the menu. The rest were eaten in salads. Unfortunately, we always ended up binning lots of the vegies as neither myself nor my friend had much time to cook. I was enjoying singledom then and was eating out lots.

I didn't bake much then though, I remember the' unfortunate incident of the shattered lemon tart'. I had a beautiful tart made for my housemate's dinner party. One of his guests turned on the electric hob unknowingly while the pyrex tart dish was sitting on it. Apparently there was tart everywhere and no one got to try it...


What were you cooking/baking one year ago?
I was cooking and baking our daily family staples like meat and couscous salads, stir-frys, lots of Thai curries and Indian curries, the occassional brownies and muffins. One of the reasons I decided to start blogging is so I can widen my cooking repertoire a bit.

Five snacks you enjoy:

Me love salt and grease! Yum
1. Bhuja/Bombay mix
2. Seaweed rice crackers
3. Char Siu Bao (Siopao or Barbecue pork buns)
4. Hot Chips
5. Sushi (yes, as a snack!)

Five recipes you know by heart:

1. My very own 'special' fried rice (this dish has seen me through feasts and famines in my life)
2. Kare Kare
3. standard Sunday roast (whether it be chicken, pork, beef or lamb)
4. pancakes
5. Sinigang

Five culinary luxuries you would indulge in if you were a millionaire:

1. Pay someone to clean-up after me so I can cook up a storm everyday with no worries.
2. Go to as many Michelin star -rated restaurants as possible.
3. Set up my own cook book shop/bistro.
4. Set up my own arena to hold 'Iron Chef' style cook-offs in. I get to try all the dishes at the end, of course ;-)
5. Have a cellar of the best Margaux' for my husband.

Five foods you love to cook/bake:

1. Pakbet. I love vegetables and this is a uniquely Filipino way of enjoying them.
2. Stir-fries. The variety can be endless. Experiments hardly ever go wrong.
3. My 'party pork'. Slow-roasted pork belly sitting in a braising liquid (stock, cane sugar, sometimes with anise, fish sauce, etc). Chuck it in a low oven, forget about it for a few hours, serve it on the table and watch your guests devour it.
4. Simple sugar cookies made with my darling little girl.
5. Wickedly fudgy brownies.

Five foods you cannot/will not eat:
1. Any dish made from creatures that could count as a housepet :-(
2. Licorice. I just don't get it.
3. can't think of anything else...
4.
5.


Five favorite culinary toys:

My collection of kitchen gadgets is quite lean. I don't even like food processors.

1. My husband's big set of Wüsthof knives and kitchen utensils. Very sharp knives are safe knives. He got these before we got together. I think it's what sealed the deal for me ;-)
2. can't think of anything else...

Five dishes on your "last meal" menu:

I would like to keep this quite simple

1. soft-boiled egg and toast (I have this almost everyday for breakfast)
2. rocket and parmesan with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
3. crispy roast duck
4. lemon meringue pie
5. gruyere on crackers



Five happy food memories:
1. Weekend meals at my Mum's or an aunt's house. My extended family love to eat and the table is never big enough for the food everyone brings to share. Food tastes best over gossip, laughter, a little bit of fighting, complaints about ailments, plans for the future, etc.
2. As a child in the Philippines, waiting for the street vendor bearing the afternoon's merienda.
After an imposed siesta, we got to enjoy daily treats like fried noodles, sticky rice in coconut milk, different types of rice cakes and spring rolls.
3. Packed picnics by my husband. Alpine mountain and lakeside walks were made the more special by his little parcels of goodies-cheese, crusty bread, cold meats and a few bars of Swiss chocolate.
4. LOTS of cheese and LOTS of wine while on holidays with friends in the south of France.
5. Introducing my children to their first taste of anything. Seeing my kids' expression when they first had ice cream is priceless.

It would be great to get to know more about the other bloggers who inspire me.
Of course, there's no obligation on their part to do this. I am passing this on to:
Margot of Coffee and Vanilla- she's such a prolific poster, has great variety of recipes and beautiful photography.
Veron of Kitchen Musings- her posts are always very informative. And this lady CAN make Macarons!
Kate of Applemint-there's always freshness about her recipes and photographs
Zuzana of Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen - her recipe collection is so culturally-diverse. And I LOVE spicy food
Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen - this site is a recent discovery for me. The recipes are varied, simple and elegant.