Me and the Vietnamese Spring Rolls

I admit, I've been on a spring roll craze. Vietnamese Spring Roll to be more exact.

Why did I succumb to this craze?

Well, it all started when a good friend of mine shared this delectable homemade tidbit his mum had made for a bunch of us...

EAT ME!!!!

This is addictive, I swear! But sometimes it's really hard to wait for these delectable yummies to fall right to your lap...especially when the person making these are usually too busy to make more :/

So what's a girl with a craving to do? Experiment of course!

To be honest, it took me a darn long while to accomplish this experiment of mine. It isn't because I tend to fail on my cooking adventures, but because a) I couldn't find the ingredients and b) I didn't have the time for it! D:

After so many months of dilly-dallying, lo and behold I finally managed to make a couple of rolls! :D It wasn't easy the first time cause I was new to it but I sincerely did have fun all the same! :D

My first attempt

OMNOMNOMNOM

My first attempt actually looked neater lol! For this, I made the accompanying sauce (cause I had followed the recipe found on Pinterest, with some minor amendments on my end lol) but I didn't really use it in the end! Hahahaha...

Gave this to my friend and boyfriend, and while the former said that it's good the latter commented that the rice paper skin was a bit too hard (my fault cause I didn't soften the rice paper enough before rolling it up!). But both stated that the fillings were yummy (YAY!)

As I was rolling these rolls away, I ended up eating more than I should have stored for others (oops!). That was how much I had liked my concoction hahaha :P

My second attempt

I may not look purdy, but I taste yummy! *strikes a pose*

My second attempt looks slightly different. This is because instead of placing the coriander leaves on the prawns, I chopped them up and mixed 'em with the marinade sauce (used for the glass noodles). So...less color to the rolls I suppose? :P

Doesn't affect the flavour though. The boyfriend said that it's really good and he pretty much gobbled up half of the total amount made that night. So I suppose, it is another success? Yay! :D

Now of course, the next question would be...Should I pen this recipe down? It's not something superbly hard to write, but at the same time, with tons of good recipes out there, why would mine make a difference? Eh heh.

My first attempt was a modified recipe from this original: Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls - DroolFactor.

Recipe: Oil-Free Chicken Meatballs & Tomato "Minestrone" Soup

Cooking is fun, especially when you get to cook for yourself (and loved ones). For me, I cook for myself....for my office lunch the next day.

So every now and then, I'd ask myself what should I cook? Especially should I want something with less oil and salt? That's when I began experimenting and fooling around :)

This was my packed lunch a couple of weeks back. It was a part of my #LunchboxMonday challenge from Jewelpie.

A bowl of soup and some chicken meatballs. Yums?

Some of my friends had asked me for the recipe, and me being horrifyingly lazy, took quite a while to write up this recipe to post it out (cause I generally whip something up spontaneously without much thought about following recipe instructions or writing anything down lol). So here you go. Enjoy :)

Oil-free chicken meatballs

Ingredients

• 200g minced chicken
• ½ carrot, finely diced
• ½ onion, finely diced
• 2 bird’s eye chilli, finely diced
• ½ teaspoon ground flax seeds
• ¼ teaspoon paprika powder
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ tablespoon oats (I used organic rolled oats, but instant oats are fine too)
• 5-7 leaves of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• Salt & pepper for taste
• ½ cube of chicken stock
• 1 liter water

Directions

• Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan & add in the chicken stock. Swill the concoction occasionally to ensure that the stock is fully dissolved in the water. This will be the light broth to cook the meatballs.
• Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
• Using a spoon (or a melon scoop if you have any), scoop the mixture and make it as round as you can before gently lowering it into the boiling pan. 
• *Protip* wet your utensil before each scoop to make it easier to pick up the mixture without too much hassle.
• Depending on the size of the chicken balls, allow it to cook for about 2-3 minutes before scooping them out into a bowl.
• And you’re done! Garnish your bowl of chicken meatballs with your favourite side salad and seasonings to complete the look.

Tomato “minestrone” soup

Ingredients

• 1 stalk of celery, sliced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 1 russet potato, cubed
• 1 can of stewed tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ tsp dry basil (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 liter water
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

• Sauté cubed potatoes on a saucepan with a tablespoon of olive oil. This is to ensure that the potatoes will not crumble easily when added into the soup later.
• Add water into a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook it on high heat for about 10 minutes before reducing the flames to medium heat.
• Continue to let it simmer for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove bay leaves. Your  pot of soup is now ready to be served! :)

My Cooking Adventures

If you've been  stalking following my Instagram/Twitter/Facebook for the past month, you will probably realize that I've been actively posting food recipes/homemade lunchboxes in the month of May.

Why?

Well for starters, it's relatively cheaper to pack food from home (healthier too, since you have the final say in total nutrition/not-so-healthy add ons in your food) and I've always love the challenge to cook and pack simple food stuff for office.

Remember my microwave recipes? That was conjured up due to the lack of space (and availability) of my poor kitchen at home (pipes decided to go haywire on us). But even so, having these recipes in handy is excellent for office noms, especially impromptu ones (one of the benefits of having a supermarket nearby).

But anyway, what pushed me further to constantly brainstorm for new simple recipes (or recipes that I can easily follow and modify) is Jewelpie's #LunchboxMonday challenge.

What's the challenge about?

Malaysians eat out a lot. We cook less at home and have abandoned the habit of bringing our own food to school or to work. JewelPie wants to change that phenomena and bring back the culture of packing our own lunches. Together with 1M4U, we are supporting the ‘Lunchbox Monday campaign’. Every Monday, we encourage you to pack homemade food to your office! ~Sara from Jewelpie

The packing tools I was given to work with:

Photo Credit to Jewelpie

Link to the original article: LunchboxMonday Challenge


So what was cooked up so far?

In no particular order, the food stuff that I have concocted so far are as below:

Poached egg (microwave) with beef salami on a toasted bread

Cream of Tomato with pasta and vegetables (microwave)

Homemade lamb burger patties with mashed potatoes & a side salad

German Lamb Stew with a side of citrus salad

Cocoa Nutty pancakes with maple syrup

Homemade mutton  meatloaf with a side salad 

No-Bake peanut butter cocoa oatmeal bites (perfect for breakfast)

Home cooked ABC soup with shell pasta

Quinoa with minced mutton and vegetables

A full version of my #LunchboxMonday with ABC soup and mutton-quinoa

Tomato pasta with chicken meatloaf (microwave recipe, both)

Porridge pancakes with a side of English Breakfast sausages (Ayamas) with caramelized onions

And there you have it, irregular edited photos to its finest! Hahahaha :P

I haven't written down most of my recipes (I'm a lazy bugger who tends to "agak-agak" her recipe formula lol) but should there be more interest in my recipes, I'll be more than happy to share them as I move along :)

Mind you, most recipes are available online (a little Google and Pinterest helps) but I generally amend the ingredients/instructions to my own liking hahahaha ;)

Microwave Recipe: Cream of Tomato Soup

I’ve always loved to experiment new creations, and being one who prefers hiding in the office than getting out there for lunch…well. Microwave food is always my best friend.

Even so, it’s not wise to consume frozen ‘fast’ food on a daily basis (as much as they’re lovely and convenient to have) so I decided to experiment out on some recipes in office. While some of you may or may not be able to work on these recipes in office, it’s definitely worth a shot!

Well anyway, one day, as I was trying to figure out what to have for lunch (always a headache, isn’t it?) I felt like having a nice bowl of soup. With pasta. And my favorite vegetables. So hmm…what would it be? Went down to Cold Storage to look for a suitable option, but found none. So I ended up experimenting a dish in office: Cream of Tomato soup (with macaroni, carrots, onions, and cherry tomato). And yes, this was done using a microwave. Cool eh? ;)

I’ve received some requests to share this recipe out, so here it is! Mind you, this was tailored to suit my tastebuds, so feel free to adjust or modify the ingredients/spices used according to your own taste eh?

P/S: I didn’t use any recipes for this. It was an impulsive cooking experiment on my end, but I like the results all the same =]

Ingredients:

 

I made this up for fun, but for the full list of ingredients have a look below k? ;)

One Carrot, sliced

One large yellow onion, sliced

Half cup cherry tomatoes, halved

One cup pasta (elbow macaroni was used here)

Tomato puree, 100g

Thickened cream, 3 tbsp

Sugar, ½ tsp

Thyme (optional)

Black pepper (optional)

Water, 2 cups

Directions

1. Combine the sliced carrots, onions, and two cups of water into a microwaveable bowl.
2. Microwave the bowl for 3 minutes to soften the carrots & onions. Note: Skip this step if you prefer your vegetables to be hard and crunchy.
3. Add the tomato puree, thickened cream, sugar, a pinch of thyme, and pasta into the bowl and stir.
4. Microwave the concoction for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure that the pasta’s evenly cooked.
5. Remove bowl from microwave, dish out and enjoy your meal! J

How it looks like when I plated it on a very small dish (for photography purpose)

A yummy hearty meal at work! All done in a microwave =]

ProTip: Prepare all ingredients beforehand at home if you really do want to cook this in office. Makes life so much easier too! :D

Well there you have it, the random microwave recipe from me. Hope you enjoyed reading/experimenting this as much as I enjoyed concocting this up! ^_^

My "Cooking" Adventure: Making the perfect Valentine Gift

Last month during Valentine’s Day, I decided to surprise my boyfriend with a special homemade gift. We’ve all heard that the best way to the man’s heart is through this stomach, right? So I search through Pinterest to find the perfect food gift I could make for him.

Now I couldn’t use the oven, microwave, or (to a certain extent) the stove at home due to a nasty problem that’s currently plaguing my kitchen (it’s not insects or anything don’t worry). So I had to look up for No-Bake recipes, and lo and behold, I found the perfect one to try out!

Quick + Easy No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bites

(Click on the link above for the recipe I had used...with some personal modifications on my end)

When I saw it, I literally went OMG this is perfect! Not only does it combine chocolate and peanut butter in the concoction, the oatmeal and various types of nuts makes the snack (relatively) healthy too! :D So once I secured the recipe, it was time for a little bit of ingredient shopping…and off to make the perfect V-Day gift for him.

.:Ingredients Used:.

1 cup of rolled oats

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of salt

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, melted and slightly cooled

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons chocolate chips

2 tablespoons of Van Houten chocolate powder

1/4 cup ground peanuts or ground almonds, to roll the balls in

.:Directions:.

Combine oats, sunflower seeds, flax seed, chia seeds, chocolate powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir.

Melt peanut butter and allow it to cool slightly (I melted mine on the stove with low heat), then stir in honey and vanilla extract until it's combined. Once peanut butter has cooled a bit, pour it over the oat mixture and mix well with a spoon then bring together with your hands. 

Once mixture is sticking together, fold in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into golf-ball sized (or in whatever size that you prefer) balls, then roll it about in your bowl of ground peanuts. 

These scrumptious snack can be eaten immediately (room temperature) but I decided to store mine in the fridge to let it set properly! :D

.:The Packaging:.

Yep the sappy part of me actually DID this for the package. Heh Heh Heh.... *blushes*

Bonus:

Look what he gave me for Valentine's Day! Bacon Jam! :D