It's that time of the year again. Jingle bells, jingle bells... hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King... we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas....
Of course, I gotta have my feel-good chicken soup from my FAVOURITE chef, Jamie Oliver. Bacon slices, roughly chopped carrots cooked with a whole chicken. I gave the celery a miss since I reckoned there was enough greens already. Skipped the mushrooms too. The best part is when the rosemary twigs hit the pot 10 minutes before the fire is turned off. THAT is simply heaven! The flavour of rosemary gives the soup it's signature blend while the chicken provides great nourishment. SOUP - my life is incomplete without you! Ahhhhh.........! And yes, Fred, he who swears he never likes chicken boiled in anything but each time I serve this soup, he slurps it up without complains. So - Jamie, you DID IT. Kudos to the naked chef for this magic recipe!
The other old-time favourite is none other than mummy's fried bee hoon. There is no bee hoon quite as good as my mum's, seriously. The panfried egg slices, mixed with carrot, cabbage & mushroom slices are just the right ingredients for bee hoon fried to perfection and tastiness - not a tad too savory nor sweet. I asked mum casually how she prepared such a tasty comfort food & in a no-nonsense manner, she replied: with my heart. Mmmm... important point noted.
The only dish I cheated on was this mutton satah, frozen & prepacked from Fairprice, including the sauce. They were leftovers from the recent BBQ session we hosted. I grilled them in the oven & most turned out slightly tough. The saving grace was the sauce. I actually like the peanut-rich sauce over the 'genuine' ones served from hawker satah stalls because it wasn't too oily.
This simple home-cooked meal was finished with a Christmas log-cake from Breadtalk, which was very nice. Spongy & not overly sweet. And scoops & scoops of ice cream topped with fudge, nuts & chocolate rice, which were consumed in a jolly spirit by both the young and the old and also the in-betweens.
I always look forward to Christmas because it's a season of giving, a season of remembering friends & catching up with them after an entire busy year, a season where the shopping malls go all out to woo customers with glittering, dazzling deco & attractive bargains. It's also a season of rainfall in Singapore, this hot humid tropical island home of mine. So to me, this change in climate is quite refreshing. Well, no snowfall, no white Christmas so to have at least some rain & cooling weather is welcomed.
When I was a kid, Christmas was a time of TV indulgence - cartoons, movies. A 'one-last-time' indulgence before the school year would begin all over again. When I entered adolescence, Christmas time was packed neck-to-neck with church activities - carolling, skits, street evangelism, services. Now that I am well into adulthood, I appreciate Christmas most for the family warmth, the coziness of eating together & the fun that the children bring. Nothing beats family warmth: the simplicity & honesty shared among family members.
I have kept this year's Christmas spread simple & used the grilling function of my oven to the fullest. I absolutely like the sweetness of grilled capsicum. And grilled bacon wrapped with golden mushrooms & asparagus are always a bigtime favourite. The veggies when grilled become quite chewy and crunchy while the bacon is crispy and aromatic. Honey-baked ham is just good old ham. One can never go wrong with that. This year, we topped our slices with strawberry jam, lots of fresh olives & a good drizzle of honey mustard. YUMS!
Of course, I gotta have my feel-good chicken soup from my FAVOURITE chef, Jamie Oliver. Bacon slices, roughly chopped carrots cooked with a whole chicken. I gave the celery a miss since I reckoned there was enough greens already. Skipped the mushrooms too. The best part is when the rosemary twigs hit the pot 10 minutes before the fire is turned off. THAT is simply heaven! The flavour of rosemary gives the soup it's signature blend while the chicken provides great nourishment. SOUP - my life is incomplete without you! Ahhhhh.........! And yes, Fred, he who swears he never likes chicken boiled in anything but each time I serve this soup, he slurps it up without complains. So - Jamie, you DID IT. Kudos to the naked chef for this magic recipe!
The other old-time favourite is none other than mummy's fried bee hoon. There is no bee hoon quite as good as my mum's, seriously. The panfried egg slices, mixed with carrot, cabbage & mushroom slices are just the right ingredients for bee hoon fried to perfection and tastiness - not a tad too savory nor sweet. I asked mum casually how she prepared such a tasty comfort food & in a no-nonsense manner, she replied: with my heart. Mmmm... important point noted.
The only dish I cheated on was this mutton satah, frozen & prepacked from Fairprice, including the sauce. They were leftovers from the recent BBQ session we hosted. I grilled them in the oven & most turned out slightly tough. The saving grace was the sauce. I actually like the peanut-rich sauce over the 'genuine' ones served from hawker satah stalls because it wasn't too oily.This simple home-cooked meal was finished with a Christmas log-cake from Breadtalk, which was very nice. Spongy & not overly sweet. And scoops & scoops of ice cream topped with fudge, nuts & chocolate rice, which were consumed in a jolly spirit by both the young and the old and also the in-betweens.
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