MEME - The Cook Next Door
I was tagged by Umami to this meme that has been going around the food blogging world for the past month. This is going to be fun... so here goes...
What is your first memory of baking/ cooking on your own?
When I was a child, I did not spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The only task that my mom assigned to me was removing the roots from bean sprouts. Other than that, I spent most of my time playing and studying. I only started baking when I was about 17 years old. I was bored during school holidays, and one day, I picked up my mom's cookbooks and was fascinated. So I started baking! I baked cakes or cookies every other day, until my father begged me not to bake for a period of time... he has developed "cake-phobia"... haha!
Who had the most influence on your cooking?
I've mentioned in my "Profile" that my mom is a very good cook. She was a housewife when I was a child, she's got all the free time on her hand, and so she would whip up something new/ interesting almost everyday. I took it for granted then. I only started to appreciate her efforts when I came to Singapore to pursue further studies. During that time, I had to eat out everyday... Yikes!
I'm determined to learn all my mom's cooking skills and I've already started to develope my own handwritten recipes. My mom imparts her knowledge to me through narration, so I'd better write them all down while she's talking... and fast too!
Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Unfortunately, no. I don't think my parents were that excited about taking photo of me removing roots from bean sprouts...
Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
That will have to be bread. I've bought a bread cookbook last year, I attempted two recipes and both failed miserably. The dough was always too moist to handle and I had to add more and more flour to it. I even tried to knead the dough and ended up with two sticky and gooey hands. The bread was edible but it did not have the texture that I wanted. I think I'd lay off baking bread for a while...
What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?
Most valuable kitchen gadgets - Kenwood mixer and Ariston oven
Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!
Well, I like to eat internal organs like intestines, liver, pig's blood etc... It's not weird to me but these things do not agree well with my hubby's appetite. There goes the saying one man's meat is another man's poison.
What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
1) Vegetables and fruits - I eat all kinds of junk food but I make sure that I have sufficient amount of greens in every meal
2) Ice-cream
3) Pastry
Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer?
Well then, feel free to add one!
Your favorite ice-cream… Avocado flavoured ice-cream, Arce brand from The Philippines!
You will probably never eat... something while it is still alive, e.g., chopped live octopus or fried fish on the table with the fish still gasping for air. That's very cruel!
Your food-related dream... Study to become a chef in Le Cordon Bleu or Culinary Institute of America
I've looked through the originator of this meme, Delicious Day's map of tagged bloggers.... seems like most bloggers were tagged already. So I'm not going to tag anyone for now...
What is your first memory of baking/ cooking on your own?
When I was a child, I did not spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The only task that my mom assigned to me was removing the roots from bean sprouts. Other than that, I spent most of my time playing and studying. I only started baking when I was about 17 years old. I was bored during school holidays, and one day, I picked up my mom's cookbooks and was fascinated. So I started baking! I baked cakes or cookies every other day, until my father begged me not to bake for a period of time... he has developed "cake-phobia"... haha!
Who had the most influence on your cooking?
I've mentioned in my "Profile" that my mom is a very good cook. She was a housewife when I was a child, she's got all the free time on her hand, and so she would whip up something new/ interesting almost everyday. I took it for granted then. I only started to appreciate her efforts when I came to Singapore to pursue further studies. During that time, I had to eat out everyday... Yikes!
I'm determined to learn all my mom's cooking skills and I've already started to develope my own handwritten recipes. My mom imparts her knowledge to me through narration, so I'd better write them all down while she's talking... and fast too!
Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Unfortunately, no. I don't think my parents were that excited about taking photo of me removing roots from bean sprouts...
Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
That will have to be bread. I've bought a bread cookbook last year, I attempted two recipes and both failed miserably. The dough was always too moist to handle and I had to add more and more flour to it. I even tried to knead the dough and ended up with two sticky and gooey hands. The bread was edible but it did not have the texture that I wanted. I think I'd lay off baking bread for a while...
What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?
Most valuable kitchen gadgets - Kenwood mixer and Ariston oven
Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!
Well, I like to eat internal organs like intestines, liver, pig's blood etc... It's not weird to me but these things do not agree well with my hubby's appetite. There goes the saying one man's meat is another man's poison.
What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
1) Vegetables and fruits - I eat all kinds of junk food but I make sure that I have sufficient amount of greens in every meal
2) Ice-cream
3) Pastry
Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer?
Well then, feel free to add one!
Your favorite ice-cream… Avocado flavoured ice-cream, Arce brand from The Philippines!
You will probably never eat... something while it is still alive, e.g., chopped live octopus or fried fish on the table with the fish still gasping for air. That's very cruel!
Your food-related dream... Study to become a chef in Le Cordon Bleu or Culinary Institute of America
I've looked through the originator of this meme, Delicious Day's map of tagged bloggers.... seems like most bloggers were tagged already. So I'm not going to tag anyone for now...
Comments
I enjoyed reading your blog!
Hey, food lovers unite!! :-)
Thanks for dropping by my blog!