A Relaxing Meal Week

This week was a pleasant departure from the usual kitchen duties as I savored a variety of delightful dishes without having to slog in the kitchen. With food from hubby’s kitchen gracing our table almost every day, the burden of cooking was significantly lightened. In addition, Sherilyn, was home for a few days as her lecturers opted for online classes, giving us the delightful opportunity to enjoy her cooking.

Food from Catermate – French beans sauteed with turmeric, fried mackeral with fermented soy beans and shallots, and chicken Kuzi.

From Catermate – Garoupa fish head curry with lots of veggies.

Lunch for Cass – chicken braised with potatoes, sweet and sour fish, sauteed broccoli with carrots (all from Catermate); airfried Shimeji mushrooms with garlic prepped by Sherilyn.

Sherilyn’s cooking took the spotlight this week, and we were more than happy to be her enthusiastic taste testers once again. She has not cooked for a long time due to her busyness, first in her part-time job and now, in college.  On one occasion, she cooked our favorite dish of air-fried shimeji mushrooms, proving that you don’t need complex recipes for a delicious meal. The mushrooms were seasoned with olive oil, black pepper, celery salt, and chopped garlic.

Two days ago, she transformed a humble box of Campbell’s beef broth and a mountain of yellow onions into a pot of delightful French Onion soup, topped with cheese and toasted baguette.

Delightful French onion soup. This is labour intensive as it involves a lot of work from peeling and chopping the onions to caramelizing the onions (she did this step in the Thermomix), boiling the caramelized onions with the beef broth and finally broiling the soup with cheese and toasted baguette in the oven.

Onion soup with toasted wholemeal bread fingers. I love this pink Le Creuset plate in heart shape.

Airfried crispy bread fingers

On my part, I decided to step into the kitchen on Monday and cook up a heartwarming dish of pumpkin and roast pork bones porridge. There’s something deeply satisfying about preparing a simple yet nourishing porridge. Even the finicky hubby liked it and ate a big bowl of porridge.

Comforting pork ribs and pumpkin porridge.

For me, a break from the kitchen can be a welcome relief, especially in the sweltering heat. It’s a chance to enjoy not only the food itself but also the freedom from the relentless demands of meal preparation and the aftermath of cooking from moping the floor to wiping down the stove, washing, drying, and keeping the dishes.

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HEALTH FREAK MOMMY