Spaghetti for the Soul

Warning : This is a vent post. Usually I am a happy, cheerful, contented person, but being blue once in a while is also important as it gets us in touch with our inner self and brings to our awareness, the things in our lives that we need to change. Or so I'm told.

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Sometimes I'm convinced that some women are put on this Earth (and Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and fashion magazines that make you feel ugly  - shout out to Barz Luhrman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI) to make you feel bad about yourself. Of course this is entirely my own self-construct (/destruct) brought about by days when I already feel blue, but let me put in words what normal, slightly overwhelmed mothers with no outside help, earning peanuts (or paid in hugs) feel when confronted with such a reality (or illusion that is passed off as reality in our state of blueness). We start to ask ourselves, why are we given this end of the stick? Why are we not born blond and beautiful or brunette and svelte? I mean that 30-year-old model has 2 kids and still looks amazing and is lauded for looking amazing on the catwalk after a mere 6 weeks of giving birth (while I looked and felt like a cross between a cow and a dugong), and has $8 million in her bank account to boot.  Or how about an (ex) supermodel who is merely 4 years older than me but caused an online uproar at how amazing she looked in her non-photoshopped photos, and how perfect her family is (all perfect skin and teeth and probably with an IQ of 160, due to her perfect mothering I suppose). Or how another uh.ma.zing mother of 4 (4!!) small children appeared on  Huffingtonpost with perfect hair, make-up and body with the brazen tagline "What's your excuse?". Really just makes me want to stop trying because whatever I do, I don't think I can reach these pinnacles of perfection, right? Might as well not work, wear pyjamas the whole day, don't wash my hair, don't wear makeup, eat all the crunchy fried chicken, eat nutella by the bottle and outsource the bringing up of my kids to kindergartens and schools that would probably do a better job of nurturing their intellect.

(A week later.....)

(actually no...I was just being a drama queen...)

But I just can't do it. I just can't have smelly hair and eat fried chicken all day long and outsource my children to kindergartens and schools. I realised we humans are wired to want to be the best we can be and that is why it is so darn difficult to accept that our best is perhaps not enough. Or maybe I am speaking for myself. But one thing is clear, I can choose. I can choose to look at those women as a reminder and a reflection of who I am (woefully) not, or I can take them as examples of women who have managed to use their strengths to succeed in their various niches and thus remind myself of my own strengths and to look for my own niche to succeed in.

And so today is another day where I will give my best (and convince myself that it is enough). And hug my children and husband tightly when they come home and give them homecooked food to eat, because I think for now, that is my niche. Because it is damn tough to be everything to everyone and credit should be given for trying (credit should also be given to good ol' homecooked food for nourishing the soul as well as the body, and thus, this post on Spaghetti for the Soul).

 

Ingredients (for 2 adults and 2 children)

For the pasta

• Half a pack of spaghetti or linguine, cooked until al dente according to packet  instructions. 

Start making the sauce first. While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta and save about 1/3 cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce.

For the sauce

• 300ml passata tomatoes (or canned tomatoes)
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• 100ml chicken or vegetable stock (or water)
• 2 eggs

Pour everything except the 2 eggs into a pan and let them simmer merrily together for about 20 minutes, occassionally stirring it to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Season to taste. At the 15th minute, crack the 2 eggs in and cover, undisturbed. Check after 3 minutes that the whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny. Turn off heat and remove pan. We need the yolks runny for the sauce.

Breadcrumb topping

• Breadcrumbs from about 4 pieces of white bread (ciabatta, foccacia, baguette all work well or about 2 cups of Panko breadcrumbs)
• A pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder
• A teaspoon of rosemary or dried herbs of your choice
• Zest from half a lemon
• A teaspoon of olive oil or butter

Put the oil together with all the other ingredients into a small frying pan. Stir and keep and eye on it as once it gets brown, it gets brown really quickly. Once the crumbs are light brown and crunchy and the lemony-herb scent hit your nose, turn of heat and remove breadcrumbs into a bowl.

Assembly

• Drain your pasta and pour back into the pot.
• Add the sauce to your pasta and stir stir stir to make sure that the yolks break and emulsify into the sauce and that each spaghetti strand is slickly coated. It is alright to leave some of the cooked egg whites in chunks.
• Add a half of the pasta water and stir again. Cover the pot and do not disturb for about 3-5 minutes. Add more pasta water if you need more sauce.
• Then stir again and place in bowls.
• Add a healthy serving of the crunchy breadcrumb topping and add some grated parmesan and lots of freshly cracked pepperand chilli flakes if you wish.

Twist and slurp away and feel better :-)

Moneypenny and Timesaver Chicken and Vegetables in Creamy Provencal Sauce

This chicken dish has saved my family many times from preservative-laden frozen foods or expensive restaurant takeaways.  Eating out here is expensive compared to Singapore where you can get a delicious meal for about 20 Euros as a family (even less at food courts).  A restaurant meal for 2 adults and 2 children with drinks will set you back at least 40 Euros, and that is for the pizza-pasta-burger-salad-and-the-occassional-small-steak variety at most places. And when we go out for sushi at our favourite Tokyo Sushi Restaurant in Mannheim - well it's more likely close to 90 Euros (doesn't help that my children gobble up a plate of sashimi each.) And there is nary a Thai, Malaysian or Chinese food place that does not use MSG (gives me debilitating headaches), although I do make an exception for Tiger and Dragon Cafe in Heidelberg that serves Thai/Vietnamese/Asian-influenced rice and noodle-based dishes as they seem to use the least of that stuff. But a really great bowl of Pho without MSG with broth made from scratch will set you back 12 Euros. And a plate or rice with beef rendang? 15 Euros! Not to mention 3 sticks of satay with condiments for 10 Euros!! Aarrrgh! And so you see, being able to cook here is actually a survival skill. And as my friend (you know who you are Mr K.A) and I fervently concur, "Eating well is the best revenge".

And so it's a blessing that I can cook and love to cook but being a busy work-at-home mom  (I am typing this after doing translation work for the university and organising my lesson plans for a class I will be teaching while the laundry stares at me, fervently hoping I will finish my to-do list before I have to pick up the children from kindergarten - oh shi* i still have to cook lunch!)  and that my children love chicken but my husband has his days when he feels "chickened-out" (due to a childhood chicken overdose) and for those days, I will add potatoes and more vegetables to the dish so he'll get the vegetarian version.

The leftovers are wonderful as a sandwich (mash the chicken pieces into the sauce and pile it up on a sourdough with crunchy salad on the side).  Or top it with some mashed potatoes and cheese and bake it until the cheese melts for a chicken pot pie + cottage pie mash up.

Ingredients (for 4 and some leftovers):

Note : If making the vegetarian version, leave out the chicken breast pieces, add more vegetables and use vegetable stock.

• 2 or 3 chicken breasts
• 1 large potato, peeled
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• A handful of french beans (or peas or brocolli or something green)
• A handful of mushrooms (I used brown button ones but any kind will do)
• 300 ml of chicken or vegetable stock (homemade or from concentrate or cube)
• 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche or cream (or in a pinch, cream cheese)
• A pinch of dried herb de provence or tarragon or thyme 
• A dash of garlic powder (you can also use 1 finely chopped garlic but make sure they don't burn)
• Shakes of salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour

This is how we do it :

Cut the chicken breast meat and the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.

Add the butter (and a little vegetable oil to the pan to stop the butter from burning), to the pan and add the chicken, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and onions. Let them brown a little before adding the flour.

Once everything is coated and slick with the flour and butter, add the stock. Let it bubble a little before adding the cream (or cream cheese). Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and the dried herb de provence and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Let it bubble some more, thickening the sauce. Put the lid on and stir occassionally for the next 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender enough to your liking.

Towards the end, add in the french beans (they take the least time to cook but if you are using broccoli add that together with the other vegetables). If the sauce is too thick, add in some water and if it still too runny, add in some more cream or parmesan cheese if you want.

And so, your creamy chicken should look somewhat like this :

Creamy Chicken Provencal (sans the carrots though, sorry)

I served it with steamed white rice with lots of cracked black pepper, but it also goes well over mashed potatoes, cooked polenta or eaten with with biscuits/savoury scones.

And definitely a winner as a tummy-warmer in 30 minutes.

I need Salmon Fishcakes more than I need Taylor Swift

I  caught my almost 3-year-old daughter singing 'shake it off, shake it off' the other day. I almost choked on my coffee. Not because she is one of the most articulate and talented 2 3/4-year-olds that I know (totally unbiased opinion of course), but most of all she is singing along to Taylor Swift! Having said, I must say though that her songs are getting (albeit annoyingly) catchier and even I caught myself humming 'shake it off' to myself while stirring risotto. Not a proud moment.

So anyway I decided to retreat to the kitchen and leave my children to their own devices for a while (dancing and singing to the radio) and stood in front of the fridge and looked at the assorted mix of leftovers and wondered what to make out of them. And saw that I had leftover baked salmon fillet and potatoes from yesterday's dinner. And thus, came up with the brilliant idea of making salmon fishcakes. And these were what I laid out on my counter :

Ingredients :

• 4 large boiled potatoes, cut into chunks and mashed
• 3-4 pieces of salmon fillets (each about the size of a smallish palm). If you don't have any, I suppose canned salmon fillets would work in the equivalent amount)
• 2 tsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 heaped tbsp chopped dill (or half a tsp of dried dill)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 small egg, beaten
• Dashes of salt and black pepper
• Sprinkling of garlic powder
• A handful of frozen or fresh peas (optional)
• Sunflower oil for pan frying 

Optional sauces for serving:

• Chilli sauce/tomato ketcup/tartar sauce
• Teriyaki sauce 

 

 So this is how we do it : 

Take everything (except the sunflower oil and sauces) and mash it into a bowl with your hands or a fork. Shape into patties (this time, you have to use your hands, I'm afraid). Pour sunflower oil into a shallow non-stick pan and when it's hot, add in the patties and cook for about 1 minute (depending on how hot your pan is) until brown, before flipping to the other side. Place on grease-proof paper and serve while still warm with steamed vegetables, a salad or cut vegetables or even fries if you are so inclined, and dipping sauces of your choice. (mine being chilli sauce, but tartar sauce works especially well too when you bite into the pickle-y pieces)

Or, the Japanese-inspired version will be to just pour Teriyaki sauce from the bottle over the salmon patties, or just as a glaze. Then serve it with steaming white jasmine or Japanese rice and a clear vegetable or miso soup.

Salmon Fishcakes with Lamb's Lettuce in Vinagrette dressing