Jade: Bitemyspinach

I am immensely competitive. Not so much with other people...right, who am I kidding..yes, with other people. But certainly not as harshly as I compete with me. Nothing bugs me more than not setting another high score every time I play Fruit Ninja. And I have taken it upon myself to time my morning ward rounds...determined to finish my jobs at least 5 minutes earlier each day..not that there is much point, really..seeing as I had one patient who has now gone home. The things I view as a challenge, though...I worry sometimes..as does my mother when I occasionally let slip what idiocy I indulge in. I'd gone to my usual Malaysian restaurant to pick up some food. The waitress, who was clearly new, asked if I wanted medium spicy noodles. No, very spicy, I said. She looked a little alarmed, 'Miss ah..our spicy wery spicy you know'..I tried not to roll my eyes, reassuring her I could handle it. I got home, had a forkful...and it was unadulterated...physical..pain. Couldn't even swear my tongue was so damn numb. I briefly considered throwing the lot away...and then I remembered the waitress's warning..which in my head just sounded smug now. Could I live with myself if I just surrendered after one bite?...surely not..I popped the carton in the fridge to let the noodles get nice and cold..hoping it would temper the heat. I like to think there is method to my madness. Got out a punnet of strawberries and that was how I spent my saturday night~ alternating excruciating mouthfuls of noodles with bites of strawberries. I finished every last strand of it eventually...my lips triple their original size...and then I spent most of Sunday on the toilet for my sins...with a self satisfied smile playing on my still engorged lips. Jade-1; smug waitresses-0.

I realize I have a problem, I do.

Spinach soup~ the only thing I could stomach for about a week after..and because I've just watched wicked and fancied something gloriously green

1 shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 baby potatoes, cubed

2-3 large handfuls spinach

1 bowl vegetable stock

splash white wine

Salt + paprika to taste

1. Melt some butter in a pan, drizzle in some oil so the butter doesn't burn.

2. Sauteed the shallots and garlic until soft and translucent

3. Add potatoes and stock and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

4. Add the spinach and let it wilt

5. Get your stick blender and puree until smooth and silky

6. Stir in some white wine and season to taste

I'm fairly sure it's a lovely soup...I say fairly because I don't think I've quite regained my sense of taste after the assault I launched on my palate.

Jade: Bitemypasta #4

Saturday evening, doctor's mess: [I don't know why I was there on my day off...I'm sad that way]

Jade: No...I can't picture myself wanting children

SHO: What is wrong with you, Jade? Even Elton John adopted a kid!

Jade: .....................

As I sat reading the BTS guidelines later that night, I found my mind drifting as I briefly considered the whole idea of motherhood....To play the role of friend, foe, super hero and evil villain all at the same time...and in between all the calamity-saving, triumphant moments and angry tears..the latter of which you can only hope come few and far between... the realization that a lot of what you do is the small stuff...little things that make a noticeable difference when they're not done, but taken for granted when they are...To have to really pay attention because you know that when something's not right, it is not enough to hand out a chocolate bar and pray the problem goes away...because they generally don't..not until you find the cause; To learn to live your life on someone else's terms...while keeping a smile on your face.

It's a bit like being a house officer....for the rest of your life.

Tuna Arrabiata~ thinking makes me hungry

120g spaghetti

2 cloves garlic minced

1 shallot minced

2 anchovy fillets

2 birds eye chillies, chopped

Half a can chopped tomatoes

Splash of white wine

Half a can tuna chunks in sunflower oil, drained [ I don't do flakes...reminds me of catfood]

salt and sugar to taste

Fresh basil

1. Boil the pasta

2. In the meantime, heat up some oil, n gently sauteed garlic, shallots, chillies and anchovies. Crush the anchovies as you go along so they melt into the oil

3. Add the tomatoes, tuna and wine, give it a quick stir and leave to simmer

4. The sauce should be ready by the time the pasta's done. Season to taste and stir in some torn basil

5. Chuck in the pasta and give everything a good toss

6. Curl up with a good book and your bowl of fiery pasta. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a good place to start ;)

Jade: Bitemyputtanesca

It's been a week since I've left home and I have yet to venture out of my room save to go to work...and even that is within the same compound. I have the post-home blues and online shopping with its guarantees of "free delivery whenever you want" is enabling my lack of motivation to do anything that requires more energy than tapping on a keyboard. Sometimes I think all these modern conveniences do nothing but feed laziness and the general moroseness that comes with it. Take away my swivelly chair and I just might have to walk to the bathroom instead of wheeling myself..or knowing me..just go into retention; Take away my card or my internet and I'll actually be forced to get off my arse and rediscover the satisfaction I once got from exploring the aisles of Waitrose. Better yet, tell me Papa John's website is down and I'll have no choice but to cook something...I suppose I could get some Ensures from the wards but that would require me to walk further..

Spaghetti puttanesca~salty, spicy and definitely worth a walk to the kitchen.

120g spaghetti/ linguine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 thai chilli, thinly sliced [or pepper flakes, I just happened to have fresh chillies]

2 anchovy fillets

200g tomatoes, fresh/canned [ I used cherry tomatoes..but whatever led me to believe I could/would peel the skins of 20 odd cherry tomatoes..we will never know. I lost the will to live after 4, so I say go canned...or get the heaviest tomato you can find]

1/2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained

Splash of white wine

salt and sugar to taste

torn fresh basil

** It's meant to have olives but I didn't have any...or rather the grocery store didn't deliver them

1. Heat up some oil, I used the oil from the anchovy can. Gently sauteed the garlic, chilli and anchovy fillets until they melt into the oil.

2. Add the tomatoes, mashing them with your wooden spoon as you go along

3. Add the capers, olives and white wine, and let it all simmer on medium heat

4. In the meantime, boil your pasta in salted water

5. The sauce should be fairly thick by the time your pasta is ready. Season to taste and loosen it with some water from the pasta pot if it's too thick.

6. Add the drained pasta, chuck in some torn basil and give it all a good toss

7. Grate some cheese over it and give your fork a good twirl :)

Jade: Bitemysoup #2

I went for dinner with my friends the other day, 2 of the safest people I know when it comes to food~think white meat only, and the same order from the same fish & chips shop every week for the past 15 years. So when fish& chip boy remarked on how boring my choice of appetiser was, I was, I think, completely justified in my indignation. It was cream of white onion soup with beer, beautifully thick and creamy with bits of sweet caramelized onion. But as much as it pains me to admit this, I secretly knew what he meant...because I used to think soup was old people food...watery broth with the wilted remains of something that could've been a carrot once... And then my mum bought a book on chinese double-boiled soups. Soup of the day became double-boiled free-range chicken with aged cucumber and wolfberries...wintermelon with pork ribs and dried scallops...lotus root and soft peanuts with belly pork....all gorgeously clear yet so packed with flavour and depth..My little bowl of soup was no longer something I gulped down at the end of dinner...it became the star of my meal, something I looked forward to and eventually savoured..sip by sip..

For the record, 'soup is boring' boy~he had garlic bread.

Double-boiled chicken and dried shiitake mushroom soup~ the perfect remedy for homesickness

2 chicken thighs, chopped and trimmed of excess fat

5-6 pieces dried shiitake

small handful wolfberries

small handful dried scallops

2 honey dates

salt to taste

1. Blanch chicken pieces in boiling water and drain. This is meant to yield a clearer soup.

2. Dump everything in the top half of your double boiler and fill with cold water, leaving about a 2 inch margin from the top. There is a reason for using cold water...I just don't know what it is..I do as I'm told.

3. Once the water in the bottom half of the double boiler is boiling, lower the heat, fit the top half over it and let simmer for a few hours. I normally just leave it for the afternoon. Do check in periodically to make sure the bottom pot hasn't dried out.

4. Season to taste and enjoy piping hot.

5. Alternatively, boil some mee sua and have yourself the best bowl of noodle soup you'll ever have.

** If you don't have a double boiler, simmer over very low heat. The pressure cooker for all it's conveniences is not your friend.

Ice Room, Port Dickson

We decided to drive down to PD for the day to get away from the city. And my awesome cousin brought us to the PD branch of Ice Room.

An interesting little place that you can spot as soon as you make the turning into PD town. The exterior is decked in a bright neon-ish green that you can spot from a mile away!

Anyhoos! The Ice Room is not like the flurry of fro-yo outlets that has been mushrooming around KL.

It's flavoured shaved ice! But the ice is so smooth that it's almost like ice cream! The toppings are quite basic but adds a variety of texture to your eating experience.

This commentor's favourite is the Black Knight, which is the black sesame snow ice!

Price-wise, Ice Room is very reasonable. Each Snow Series special is still under RM 10.

And they have other things on the menu such as the Durian Tempura - which is also highly recommended!

I'm pretty sure they have a KL/Selangor branch - though I'm not exactly sure where it is. The cousin says its in Bangi, near UKM. Will edit the post if I manage to find an address!

But if you're ever in PD, take a break from the hot sun and the beach and stop by this place. ;)


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Jade: Bitemypasta#3

I should be packing, really..I start a 13 hour oncall in about 4 hours...and my flight leaves 3 hours after my shift. My suitcases are somewhere, I'm sure...I just don't know where they are. And in about 10 days, when I'm due to come back here, I will be the exact same picture of procrastination and disorganisation(? is it even a word); but for entirely different reasons. You see, in my head, if I don't acknowledge something, there is a good chance it might not have to happen; so I refuse to think unhappy thoughts...thoughts like me getting on a plane and leaving home, yet again..I dissociate myself from anything remotely related to the notion of leaving...I lock my suitcases away, hide my passport..and I don't pack because in my head, if I don't pack, I don't have to go. Just like how in my head, if I don't send that email ranking my F2 jobs, I won't have to leave Basingstoke. I think we can safely say my head's a pretty twisted place to be...except maybe for 5-year olds who hide their dad's briefcase so he can't go for another long business trip; they get me. Which isn't such a bad thing if you think about it...It all stems from some semblance of hope, however misguided....

Jade: Bitemycabbage

I always finish my rice... I try to, anyway. I grew up with my mum telling me: if you leave any rice on in your bowl, you'll end up marrying a pockmarked man. It made me giggle..but deep down, there was always a nagging fear that she might be right. I remember looking at my dad at the dinner table... I used to sneak a sidelong glance at my mother's rice bowl everytime he got a new pimple...and this fear of mine would grow a little bit more. So I made sure I scraped up every last grain of rice..although it did worry me on a few occasions how the bits of meat and fish I chose to leave behind instead would manifest on my future husband's face. And then I got a boyfriend...and another...none of whom, sadly, were blessed with particularly good complexions and realized actually..all my efforts to clear my plate throughout the years hadn't made the blindest bit of difference.

Braised napa cabbage~ perfect with hot, steamed rice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bacon rasher

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

some woodear fungus, soaked n sliced

mushrooms, sliced

napa cabbage, roughly torn

splash of shaoxing wine

oyster sauce

chicken stock

1. Heat up some oil and sautee garlic

2. Add the chopped up bacon, and let it brown and crisp up

3. Add the mushrooms and cabbage, give it all a quick stir

4. Add the oyster sauce, wine and stock..how much you add depends on how much liquid you want

5. Slap a lid on, and leave it to braise on low heat for about half an hour

6. Serve with rice...I would finish the rice...just in case ;)