I am getting really excited as we enter day 24 of the Royal Selangor - Get Your Jelly On– 30-day Challenge. As I said before, I have never blogged on a daily basis and I think I deserve a short break after this challenge, haha!! As today is Monday, my least favourite day of the week, I have chosen to prepare something really easy yet delicious for my starter, presented in a cone shape, using  Royal Selangor Pewter Jelly Mould.

Two very simple ingredients: beetroot and goat cheese. Beetroot, informally known as beet, is one of the many vegetables that is rich in antioxidant and nutrients including magnesium, sodium, potassium and vitamin C, and betaine, which is important for cardiovascular health.

I never knew about beetroot before I came to the UK. I have never seen nor tasted beet before. When I first tasted and saw it, my first impression was it has really nice vibrant red, which I love! It tastes subtle and great to be served as starter. Goat cheese or chèvre is a cheese made out of the goat’s milk. I love it and thought it would go really well with beetroot, thus the combo!

Just a reminder if you are interested to purchase the jelly mould, click here. Proceeds from the sale of the jelly mould go towards the Breast Cancer Welfare Association in aid of their continuous efforts to raise awareness and support for breast cancer.

beetroot & goat cheese salad

Yield: 4 persons

Ingredients:

3 beetroot, cut into cubes
150g goat cheese, mashed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Put the mashed goat cheese into the jelly mould until it is half full. Then, top the rest with the beetroot. Remove from the mould and present on individual plate.

2. For the dressings, mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mixed herbs and season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Drizzle generously over the salad. Serve at room temperature.

Another glorious day in London! I spent the whole day busy cooking, so, basically my time was spent in the kitchen, preparing dishes for this week’s Royal Selangor - Get Your Jelly On– 30-day Challenge. 2 more weeks to go! Can’t believe it has gone passed really fast, halfway through now. Not bad that I am still doing my daily post and I have been using Royal Selangor Pewter Jelly Mould a lot! It is really handy to make food into interesting shape which we usually don’t.

For lunch, I made a really quick and tasty salad that uses only 3 ingredients – avocado, smoked salmon and grapefruit. These are some of my favourite ingredients in making salad. I particularly love grapefruit as it kind of reminds me of pomelo, though the taste isn’t quite the same. I could have used pomelo but that would mean to make a special trip to Chinatown, so, I stick to grapefruit.

What is important in making this dish is the balance of flavours – as smoked salmon is slightly salty, the citrusy taste of grapefruit pairs it so well that it does not only cut down the saltiness but gives a really light and refreshing taste to the whole dish. I made a really simple dressings to go with it too as I want to preserve as much of the original flavours as possible. Making this salad takes you less than 15 minutes!

avocado, smoked salmon & grapefruit salad

Yield: 2 persons

Ingredients:

1 avocado, cut into cubes
150g smoked salmon, cut into strips
1 white grapefruit, cut into segments

Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Put avocado into the jelly mould and fill up to 1/3 full. Then, layer the smoked salmon until it is 2/3 full. Add the grapefruit until the mould is full. Press to make sure it is compact.

2. Turn out the ingredients from the mould carefully into cone shape. Drizzle some dressing and serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Every time when I go to an Italian restaurant, almost without fail I will order Caprese salad, or known as insalata Caprese in Italian. Caprese salad is probably one of the most beautiful and simplest salad. The 3 main ingredients for this salad are mozzarella, tomato and basil. The colours of this dish are basically the colours of the Italian flag – green, white and red.

Buffalo mozzarella is an Italian cheese that is made from water buffalo milk. The texture is semi-soft and it has high moisture content. According to Wikipedia: Mozzarella is traditionally produced solely from the milk of the domestic water buffalo. A whey starter is added from the previous batch that contains thermophilic bacteria, and the milk is left to ripen so the bacteria can multiply. Then, rennet is added to coagulate the milk. After coagulation, the curd is cut to large, 1″-2″ pieces, and left to sit so the curds firm up in a process known as healing. After the curd heals, it is further cut to 3/8″ -1/2″ large pieces. The curds are stirred and heated to separate the curds from the whey. The whey is then drained from the curds and the curds are placed in a hoop to form a solid mass.The curd mass is left until the pH is at around 5.2-5.5, which is the point when the cheese can be stretched. The cheese is then stretched and kneaded to produce a delicate consistency—this process is generally known as pasta filata.

It is very important to use the best mozzarella and tomato you could get. Normally, the mozzarella is sliced into pieces, so as the tomato and then arrange on a plate by alternating them. The basil leave is tucked in each layer. For a change, I have decided to serve the mozzarella as a whole and place it in the centre, as if it’s the star of the dish! Now, the dressing is just extra virgin olive oil. So, get the best quality too! As we are heading into autumn soon, the day will get shorter and weather will get slightly more chilly. I just want to grab every chance I could to enjoy this sort of late summer meal – refreshing and simple salad.

Caprese Salad - Insalata Caprese

Yield: 4 persons

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes, sliced
4 buffalo mozzarella, sliced
a big handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped (if liked)
20 pitted black olives
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

Directions:

Arrange the sliced tomato on each individual plate. Place the whole mozzarella in the middle. Divide the basil leaves and pitted black olives amongst all plates. Drizzle the extra virgin over and season with black pepper and sea salt. Serve at room temperature.

Every now and then, I crave for spicy dishes that make me sweat. I am always being questioned why eating spicy food is enjoyable. It is hard to explain – it is a kind of sensation that sends tingle to the taste buds, which enhances the taste of food even more. I think it’s kind of a shame if I ever leave out the spicy taste in my cooking.

Not too long ago, I was craving for a dish that I haven’t tasted since I left Malaysia. Thanks to the internet for making the world smaller and makes information easily and instantly available. If you guys could recall Bihun Soup (Rice Vermicelli with in Beef Broth) - a childhood dish that remains in my heart until today that was brought to us by Lisa from My Lemony Kitchen. As I was browsing Lisa’s blog, I came across nasi ulam that I was really excited about. The first look of the dish had me a sudden craving and I couldn’t wait but wanted to eat it at the moment I saw!

Ulam refers to herbs, plants, edible wild plants, shoots, leaves  and stems, that are eaten raw or simply blanch for a few seconds before being eaten with rice. Condiment that is eaten with is sambal belacan. Nasi Ulam, literally translated as rice with variety of greens. In Kelantan and Terengganu state, this dish is more commonly known as Nasi Kerabu. You can equate this as a Malaysian-style salad, that is very popular among the Peranakans and Malays. The only difference of this salad is that, unlike the western green salad that is usually dressed with vinaigrette; Malaysian-style salad needs only sambal belacan to make the whole dish tastes yummy!

To make my nasi ulam even better, I decided to pan-fry mackerel fillets that were slightly seasoned with turmeric. I have to say that the combination of the fresh herbs and mackerel is just excellent!

Nasi Ulam - Herbs & Rice Salad

Yield: 2-3 persons

Ingredients:

1 tsp turmeric
a pinch of salt
200g mackerel fillet
1 tbsp sunflower oil
300g cooked basmati rice or brown rice or wild rice
50g green beans (optional), finely chopped
50g thai basil leaves, finely chopped
30g coriander leaves, finely chopped
20g mint leaves, finely chopped
20g vietnamese coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp toasted desiccated coconut

Directions:

1. Marinate the mackerel with turmeric and salt for 15 minutes. Then, heat up a pan over medium heat and put the sunflower oil. Put the mackerel skin side down and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp and brown. Flip over and cook the other side for the same amount of time and set aside to let cool.

2. In a salad bowl, add the cooked rice and the rest of the ingredients. Give it a good toss to get all the ingredients well mixed. Meanwhile, when the mackerel fillets are cold enough to handle, roughly flake the flesh and add to the salad boss and give a few more toss.

3. Divide equal portion onto individual plate, serve with sambal belacan.

I have been extremely busy and felt like there too many things to get done but have too little time. It is one of those days that you just want to not think about anything, sit back and relax. June is going to be a really demanding month too. Hopefully, I will be able to cope and post as frequent as I should. I have been doing some housekeeping on my blog – this is one of those things that I have been busy with. So, stay tuned for a different look and feel soon!!

Weather has started to get warmer, the day also has started to get longer. To be honest, I haven’t been cooking a lot for my blog (I’m sorry for lacking of new posts!),  which I really hope to plan ahead for more yummy posts soon. These days, I am more keen to make something quick, simple and delicious. Though, there are times when I do want to try out making things that I have never tried making before. I have quite a number of those that are still on my to do list, I will make sure I try them out this year, we are in June, so I still have 6 months to get them done.

I have always like edible flowers and thought of getting them online. One day, I was at Marks & Spencer, browsing the vegetable section. Then I saw some boxes of salad which were on special offer. I took a box and had a look. The label reads something like ‘microleave & edible flower salad’. I was really excited when I saw a few colourful and edible flowers. Without thinking twice, I grabbed 2 boxes, left the supermarket happily!

That evening, when I got home, I thought it would be better for me to use the salad leaves fresh, instead of storing them in the fridge for the next day. I checked my fridge and saw I had some eggs, cherry tomatoes and a small block of Pecorino cheese, which were enough to make a big serving of simple yet delicious colourful salad! When when I was dishing up my salad, I thought it was probably the most pretties salad I’ve ever had!

Microleave & Edible Flower Salad

Ingredients:

300g microleave & edible flower salad
1 hard boiled egg, halved
80g pecorino cheese, shaved
100g cherry tomato, halved

Dressing:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions:

Toss the salad leaves and edible flowers in a large bowl and drizzle over the dressing. To serve, place in the middle of a large plate and arrange the hard boiled egg, cherry tomato and pecorino cheese on the salad.

I love the authentic food that she makes, which she then beautifully styled and photographed them. Pepy, the blog owner and editor of Indonesia Eats is very talented and never fails to share mouth-watering recipes on her blog. Coming from her neighbouring country, Malaysia, there are many similarities in our cookings. Of course, there are also those that I learn as I read her blog on a regular basis. Today, I am tremendously happy to have Pepy on my blog, where she shares a dish that I love most, Rujak Manis (or Rojak, we called it in Malaysia). Let’s welcome Pepy!

This is my third guest post for Malaysian bloggers.  Leemei Tan is very talented food photographer that I’ve known; beautiful photos, recipes and travel notes. About a week ago, she sent an email and offered me to be her blog’s guest writer. Thank you for the offer!  I replied that I have rujak manis picture ready to post.  She gave me a freedom to choose what food and when I’m ready to do so.  There is no deadline and no pressure as she told me. She agreed with my choice.

Rujak Manis (or rujak buah in other parts of the country) is a fruit salad which is served with spicy peanut sauce.  This time I picked the Surabaya style rujak manis.  This rujak manis is one of many rujaks that I grew up with.  For Malaysian and Singaporean, rujak is pronounced as rojak. There are several versions of rujak in Indonesia. As a person who grew up in East  Java, I know rujak manis, rujak Madura, rujak cingur which have differences in sauce. Beside using many different tropical fruit, the Surabaya style rujak manis is added with slices of fried tofu.

Rujak Manis (Indonesian Fruit Salad with Spicy Peanut sauce)

Recipe by Lia of Dapurgue

Ingredients:

pineapple, peeled and cut
sweet potato, peeled and sliced
green mango, peeled and sliced
starfruit, cut
jicama, peeled, sliced
rose apple, sliced
guava, sliced
fried tofu, sliced

Spicy Peanut Sauce for Rujak Manis:
100g roasted/fried peanuts
250g coconut sugar, warmed up in a microwave for couple seconds to soften
3 tbsp roasted/fried garlic
2 tbsp tamarind juice
bird eye's chilies (as many as you like)
1/4 tsp dried shrimp paste (terasi), roasted
a pinch of salt
water

Tamarind Juice:
5 seeds of tamarind
water

Directions:

1. In a mortar, place bird eye's chllies and grind. Add terasi, salt and tamarind juice.

2. Add coconut sugar, add a small amount of water at time and increase until reach the desired consistency.

3. Add garlic and peanut, pound or grind until done (do not process the peanut to smooth, but some people might like the smoother version). If the sauce is too thick, add water.

4. Serve with sliced fruits.

Cook’s Note:

- You can use a food processor to make the sauce.

- I like using roasted garlic since it’s easy to grind.

No, purple is not my favourite colour but I’m always intrigued by purple vegetables. Perhaps, they look extraordinary and that got me thinking if they taste the same? I did roughly mention about the benefits of eating colourful vegetables in this post. So far, I have eaten purple cabbage and purple sprouting broccoli. I have yet tried purple carrots as they are pretty difficult to get hold of.

About 3 years ago, there were some news on the internet mentioning about purple tomatoes that have been genetically modified, which apparently are rich in an antioxidant pigment that thought to have anti-cancer properties. I have yet seen these beautiful and unusual colour of tomatoes in the market. Anyway, so much said on purple colour vegetables, they taste the same but just look unusual. I am one of them that are always fall for things that look unusual and get very curious, wanting to try. Good or bad?

I bought this packet of usual looking potatoes, that have got darker skin with the same shape of potatoes. Apart from using them in making soup, which the colour looked pretty scary and unappetising after mixing in a carrot. What I did with the rest was to boil them, peeled and cut into chunks and made into potato salad. Now, it is a special potato salad because it is called Purple Majesty Potato Salad. Not the normal kind of potato salad that we usually have. Though, taste the same, I just think it’s special! Perhaps, you were thinking, it’s better for me to share the recipe than to keep rambling on.

Well, the fact is that purple majesty potato is said to contain up to 10 times the level of antioxidant, anthocyanins, compared with white potatoes. Besides, it could have a positive effect on blood vessels and reducing blood pressure. It indeed has some extras compared to the normal white potato. I am not liking something extraordinary for no reason!

Purple Majesty Potato Salad

Ingredients:

6 purple majesty potato, peeled
2 - 3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon
2 spring onions, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil over high heat. Remove the lid and boil for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender when tested with a skewer. Drain in a colander and set aside to cool slightly.

2. Add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon and spring onions in a bowl, mix to combine and set aside.

3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into large chunks. Place in a large bowl and place in the fridge for 20 minutes or until cooled to room temperature. To serve, transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and stir in the mayonnaise mixture until well coated. Garnish with some chopped parsley.

Summer is back! We have been having sunny days since Saturday. Looks like we are experiencing late summer at the moment. However, I don’t know how long it is going to stay.

Anyway, whether it’s summer or not, it still doesn’t deter me to enjoy salad from time to time! There are probably countless of times that I mention how I love salad and the ease of preparing it. The combination is just endless. One of the main ingredients that I always like is fish or seafood. Salmon is one of my favourites. Not only it’s delicious with exceptional nutritional value of omega 3 fatty acids, the lovely pink-hued salmon can be served in a variety of ways and is always a favourite among fish lovers and enjoyed even by those who are not always fond of fish.

Accompanying ingredients in this dish are radishes, cherry tomatoes and cress. These are ingredients that you can easily bought at supermarket and I think they go really well with the salmon and not too overpowering compared to using stronger taste of salad leaves. It’s perfect for my liking. For the salmon, I choose to pan-fry, which is easy and can be done within minutes. You can choose to poach or steam it if you want.

Well, well, well… I know you guys are probably waiting for the result of the draw for the giveaways of Cambodian traditional scarves. I am pleased to say that the result is out! I have carried out a random draw on RANDOM.ORG and yes the result is with me! Right, I have got 2 winners for 2 Cambodian traditional scarves, and they are:

1) Siew Moy

2) Jun

Congratulations Siew Moy and Jun!! I hope both of you will love the scarf! Full list of entrants can be found on this link: http://www.random.org/draws/details/?draw=3481 Meanwhile, please email me to provide your mailing address that I can arrange your prize to be delivered!!

Salmon Salad

Yield: 2 persons

Ingredients:

250g-300g salmon filet
1 tbsp olive oil
a handful cress
16 cherry tomatoes
3 radishes, thinly sliced
salt and pepper

Dressing:
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Season salmon fillets with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the fillet to the hot pan and cook for 3 minutes on both sides. Flake the fillets, set aside and keep warm.

2. In individual plates, arrange equal and enough portion of tomatoes, radishes and cress.

3. To prepare the dressing, combine all dressing ingredients in a jam jar. Cover and give it a good shake.

4. Drizzle enough dressing onto each portion of salad. Sprinkle with some toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Living in a country where the sun likes to play hide and seek, it has gotten me to learn the real meaning of sun over these years. Sun means happiness to me. When I see the sun coming out to play, I feel motivated and happier than the usual grey, cloudy, and windy day. Well, it’s not only me that feels differently when the sun shines. I suppose, fruits and vegetables are happier too as the sun makes them tastier and sweeter.

Salad is great, not only it’s easy to prepare but delicious and healthy to eat. I especially love making salad during summer and eat it as a meal on its own (with lots of ingredients of course) or make small and light salad to eat as starter. Either way, I think it’s a great way to eat fresh vegetables and fruits!

Watermelon is one of my favourite fruits. Since young, watermelon has managed to make it to my top 10 list of favourite fruits! I love eating it slightly chilled. Even so, I have never used watermelon in salad. I have seen some recipes using watermelon as one of the main ingredients in salad accompanied with feta cheese. I blogged about Greek salad a while ago. This is one of the salads that I have been making from time to time. Reason being the tastiness and its simplicity!

Like Greek salad, Feta cheese is important in this salad too. Try to get the best Feta cheese that you could find. Normally when I buy Feta cheese, I look for those that are imported from Greece. Same goes for Greek yoghurt.

Well, a little more about watermelon. Like I mentioned just now, it’s one of my favourites. I am very particular as I prefer the seedless watermelon. I really find it troublesome to spit out the seeds! Too bad that the one I bought wasn’t seedless. Arggggh! Anyway, I like to slice into chunky cubes and discard the rind. I also love to make it into juice. The other way to eat watermelon is to slice it into small and thin triangle shape with the rind on. Recently, I came across a post about the best way to serve watermelon on My Simple Food. I got really excited and thought that was a great idea!

If you like salad, watermelon or any of the ingredients in this salad, you will enjoy this very summery dish!

Watermelon, Cucumber, Olive and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 small watermelon, cut cubes
200g feta cheese
2-3 purple radish, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, cut into cubes
60g pitted black olives
a small bunch fresh mint

Dressing:
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. For the watermelon, you can cut into square or use either a melon baller or a tablespoon to create scallops along the watermelon flesh of the watermelon.

2. In 4 individual bowls, arrange equal and enough portion of watermelon, cucumber, feta cheese, sliced radish and black olives.

3. To prepare the dressing, combine all dressing ingredients in a jam jar. Cover and give it a good shake.

4. Drizzle enough dressing onto each portion of salad in each bowl. Garnish with some mint before serving.

Mango is such an amazing fruit that you can use it in making dessert or even in main/side dishes. Let me tell you, when I was young, I hated ripe mango. Unripe mango is always my preference. I eat it by itself. What? Yeah, just slice it, dip with salt (or without) and put it in my mouth. Sometimes, I like to pickle unripe mango too, then eat it as a snack. Or use it to make into salad. Apart from Som Tam – Thai papaya salad, Thai mango salad is also my favourite.

So, why is it that I like unripe mango so much? Errr.. it’s kind of hard to explain. My tolerance to acidity is pretty high compared to others in my family. I love sour, sweet and sour stuff. The rest would wait for the mango to ripe but, for me, unripe mango suits my palates. However, as time goes by, I kind of open my mind a little and give ripe mango a go. Well, it tastes pretty good too. So, I slowly accepted ripe mango later in my life. Now that I am a very ‘mango’ person, I like to use both ripe and unripe in my cooking.

Thai mango salad can be a great side dish. Like its sister, Thai papaya salad, both of them share pretty much the same features – sweet, sour, and spicy. In terms of ingredients, you can pretty much make your own version of Thai mango salad. The standard version is always a mixture of thinly sliced unripe mango with roasted peanuts, dried shrimps, shallots, and chopped bird’s eyes chili. My version – I always like to top some toasted crispy anchovies! This dish is pretty much about flavours and textures. I love the crunch of the anchovies, while having the sweetness, sourness, and spiciness of other ingredients. Given just Thai mango salad, I can eat it with rice. Yes, just white plain rice. You can serve Thai mango salad with just about anything – chicken, meat, prawns… or eat on its own.

Thai Mango Salad

Ingredients:

400g mango
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2-3 red bird eye's chillies
3-4 tbsp fish sauce
4-5 tbsp lime juice
20g dried shrimps
40g peanuts, toasted
3-4 tbsp palm sugar
a handful of dried anchovies, toasted
a handful of coriander, to garnish

Directions:

1. Peel the green mango and shred with a zigzag peeler.

2. Soak the mango in ice cold water to make it crispy.

3. Slightly crush the chilies, shallots, dried shrimps and peanuts in a mortar. Then, put in fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar. Mix well.

4. Pour in the above mixture into the sliced mango. Mix well.

5. Garnish with some toasted anchovies and coriander. Serve as a side dish.