2019 Secondary 4 Week 27 Update

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Week one of the new term and things are really hotting up in schools. We have gotten the dates and in BB’s case, the timetable for their prelim exams. They will also have their O level English Oral exam sometime in August.

GG had applied to one of the junior colleges for Direct School Admission through her CCA which is Choir, and got called for an audition next week. She was super excited when she got the message even though this was something she was not particularly interested in. So lets see how this goes.

It’s going to be a hectic 4.5 months until mid-November when the O level exams finish. Then, if their EAE results have been declared by then, its time to party until the results are declared in mid-January.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

In My Hands Today…

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Chocolat – Joanne Harris

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Illuminating Peter Mayle’s South of France with a touch of Laura Esquivel’s magic realism, Chocolat is a timeless novel of a straitlaced village’s awakening to joy and sensuality.

In tiny Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful newcomer Vianne Rocher and her exquisite chocolate shop arrive and instantly begin to play havoc with Lenten vows. Each box of luscious bonbons comes with a free gift: Vianne’s uncanny perception of its buyer’s private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them.

Is she a witch? Soon the parish no longer cares, as it abandons itself to temptation, happiness, and a dramatic face-off between Easter solemnity and the pagan gaiety of a chocolate festival.

Recipes: Kadhai Vegetable

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Another Sunday and another recipe. While browsing online for something to pair with my Saffron Cumin Rice, I found a few kadhai vegetable recipes which I modified to make this delicious recipe for our Sunday lunch. It was super yummy and a definite keeper.

Kadhai Vegetables

Ingredients:

For the masala powder:

  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2-3 cloves
  • 2-3 green cardamom
  • 1/2 inch piece of cinammon
  • 4-5 dried red chillies
  • 5-7 black peppercorns
  • 8-10 raw cashewnuts
  • 1 tbsp kasuri methi

For the vegetables:

  • 1 carrot
  • 1 medium-sized potato
  • 1/2 cup frozen green peas
  • 1 large sized green bell pepper
  • 2 medium sized onions
  • 1 cup frozen paneer
  • 2-3 tbsp oil

For the Gravy:

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 medium-sized onion
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 4-5 garlic cloves
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder (or to taste)
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • In a dry pan, dry roast the ingredients for the masala – coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, green cardamom, cinammon, dried red chillies, peppercorns, cashewnuts and kasuri methi – until it becomes fragrant and starts to brown.
  • Remove and keep aside until it is cooled. Then blend using a spice grinder into a fine and smooth powder. Keep aside.
  • In a blender, blend the ginger and garlic and make into a fine paste and keep aside.
  • Soak the frozen paneer in hot water for 20-30 minutes, then drain and keep aside.
  • Chop the carrot, potato and green bell pepper into 1 inch sticks and keep aside.
  • Slice 2 onions and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, heat 2 tbsp oil and one by one, fry the carrot, potato and peas until they are half cooked and start to slightly char. Remove and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, add another tbsp oil and fry the sliced onions until they start caramelising and keep aside. Fry the bell pepper until it is half cooked (it shuld have a bit of crunch in it) and keep aside.
  • Chop the remaining onion finely and keep aside.
  • In thr same blender, blend the tomatoes into a fine puree and keep aside.
  • Heat the balance oil in the pan and when the oil warms up, put in the ginger-garlic paste and saute the paste till the raw smell goes away.
  • Then add the finely chopped onions and saute till it turns translucent.
  • At this point, add the pureed tomatoes and stir well.
  • Add the dried spices (turmeric and red chilli powders) and stir well. Keep stirring occassionally until the gravy starts to thicken and you can see the oil leaving the sides of the pan.
  • Add in the fried carrot, potato and peas and let the vegetables finish cooking completely.
  • Then add the ground masala powder, salt, and about one cup of water and let the gravy simmer on a low to medium heat, covered, for about 5-6 minutes.
  • Then add the paneer, fried onions and capsicum and contine simmering for another 5 minutes. Add more water if needed.
  • Check for seasoning and garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or rotis.

In My Hands Today…

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Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan

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When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry.

What she doesn’t know is that Nick’s family home happens to look like a palace, that she’ll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back.

Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick’s formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should–and should not–marry.

Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider’s look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.

Recipe: Saffron Cumin Rice

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I saw a reference to Saffron Rice in some recipes I was browsing while thinking about what to cook last Sunday. The name intrigued me and I got thinking about how this recipe would look and taste. So I tried making my version and the result was a delicious, fragrant but simple dish which I put together in less than 15 minutes of prep time plus cooking time.

Saffron is a very exotic and expensive spice. It is derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus”. The vivid crimson stigmata and styles, called threads, are collected and dried to be used mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in food. Although some doubts remain on its origin, it is believed that saffron originated in Iran, but Greece and Mesopotamia have also been suggested as the possible region of origin of this plant.

Saffron is a powerful antioxidant and is said to have cancer fighting properties. It is also said to reduce heart disease risk factors, lower blood sugar levels and improve eyesight in adults with age-related macular degeneration. It may improve memory in adults with Alzheimer’s disease

Saffron and Cumin Rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup basmati rice, soaked in water for 20 minutes
  • 2 pinches saffron
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1 cup water
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Soak the basmati rice for 20-30 minutes and drain and keep aside.
  • Warm the milk in a small container and then put one pinch of the saffron and let the saffron dissolve in the milk.
  • Heat the ghee in a pan and when warm, add the cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds splutter and then crush the remaining saffron with your fingertips and add to the ghee.
  • Add the turmeric powder and stir for a couple of seconds. The turmeric is added to enhance the colour of the rice plus for its antiseptic properties. So you can omit it if you want.
  • Next add the soaked rice and stir for a few minutes. Stir the dissolved saffron and milk and add this to the rice. Mix well.
  • Add the salt (approximately 1 tsp per cup of rice) and stir well.
  • Transfer to a rice cooker, add the water and cook until it is done. Let it sit in the rice cooker for 10 minutes and then fluff the rice. Serve hot with any gravy vegetable.
  • If you are cooking using the stove top, add the water to the rice while using the pan to fry the rice, then cook it until it is al-dente. Keep an eye on the rice and add more water if needed.

I served this rice with a yummy kadhai vegetable, the recipe which I will share very soon