Hiatus End-us

... As my kitchen supplies make their way via slow boat to the big apple.

Watched a documentary called Food Inc and it freaked the holy crap out of me. The industrialized world's food supply is a production line of yuck from the depths of hell. Even fresh food ain't safe any more.

Therefore, I'm making the decision to switch to organics from now on. It'll be more expensive but ultimately kinder on my health and the environment.

Stay tuned for great picks at my local farmer's market!

Grilled Red Pepper and Sundried Tomato Pasta

Homemade roasted peppers are just the bestest of the best. I occasionally make large batches of these and store in jars with olive oil. They keep well and make great additions to salads, pasta and just generally everything.

To roast the peppers, simply grill them whole over the stovetop until the skins have blackened in the fire. In my case, since my stovetop is a hotplate, I'm just placing them on the hotplate till they get as blackened as possible, then using my butane torch to finish off the job.

Pop the peppers into a plastic bag for a few minutes. This lets the steam loosen the skins from the peppers. Then remove them and peel skins off, slice them to remove the stem and seeds, and you're ready to rock and roll.

Serves 2:

• 1 roasted bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 2 pieces of sundried tomatoes, sliced into strips
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• A pinch of chilli flakes or 1 teaspoon finely diced red chilli
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Splash of white wine
• Freshly ground salt and black pepper

Heat olive oil in a saucepan and saute garlic and chilli till soft and fragrant. Add peppers and sundried tomatoes and mix well. Add a splash of white wine and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Throw in the cooked pasta and toss till well coated, and sprinkle your choice of crumbled feta or grated parmesan reggiano over before serving.

Other items on the Red, White and Ooohhh menu:

• Mozzarella and cherry tomato salad
• Boeuf bourguignon with mashed potatoes
• White chocolate and cherry cupcakes
• Red rubies in coconut milk
• Raspberry macarons with a buttercream filling
• Cream scones with homemade raspberry preserves and freshly made whipped cream

Childhood comfort food

This is why I seldom cook Chinese food. The preparation is a pain in the ass that's why. Between Miss Z and myself, we peeled and sliced the Mount Everest of shallots. Why you may ask?

It's the first month into my new Tai-Tai life and frankly, I'm not taking all too well to it. In short, I'm bored, completely out of sorts and not quite sure what to do with myself. There's only so much TV I can watch and golf I can play. Being a Tai-Tai is overrated I say. Although, my swing is getting better.

Anyway, when I'm feeling this disconcerted, I always crave the comfort foods of my childhood. Dishes that my Mum used to make, or foods that my Dad used to love.

The Sunday morning ritual used to be breakfast at Chin Mee Chin, with soft-boiled eggs and homemade nonya kaya slathered on soft buns.

If I pretty-pleased nicely enough, he would take us to eat Beach Road Prawn Mee at East Coast. And please don't ask me why Beach Road Prawn Mee is at East Coast, it never made sense to me either.

And finally.... my favourite weekday dish was Mee Swa Soup. The dish was simple enough, which brings me back to the mountain of shallots.

I'll be re-visiting my childhood favourites, hence the need for massive amounts of fried shallots.

Keep watching this space for Mee Swa Soup, Prawn and Pork Rib Noodle Soup and Nonya Kaya.

Roasted Garlic

Roasted garlic is my secret power ingredient. Roasting takes the "bite" out of raw garlic, caramelizes the sugars and gives it a deep rich flavour like no other. Add it to any dish and watch it come to life.

I like making large batches every now and then, mash into a paste and store it in the fridge.

You can pop it out of the skin and eat it, spread it on toast, make hummus, it's versatile to the nth degree.

To make the roasted garlic, simply remove the outer skins from a whole head of garlic and cut off the top.

If you have muffin pans, place one in each hole, drizzle with olive oil and cover with tin foil. If you don't, toss them in olive oil and wrap each head in foil.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 200C.

The paste keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and in the freezer for up to 4 weeks.

Classic Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce

If you're guilty of using canned or bottled tomato sauce for your pasta, for the love of god and everything sacred, please stop NOW. It's just wrong on so many levels that I don't know where to start ranting.

First of all, it tastes like crap.

Second, it's way too consistent in texture. Part of what makes a good pasta dish is the rough bits of tomato and herbs in the sauce that gives it some bite.

Third, it's just WRONG. I can't say it enough and I'll say it again.

Here's what you need:

• 1 can whole roma tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced or minced (sliced garlic yields a gentler flavour, while minced gives the sauce a stronger garlic kick)
• 2 tablespoons of concentrated tomato paste
• 6-8 basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Fry garlic till soft, taking care not to let it burn and get too brown (over-browned or burnt garlic has a nasty bitter taste).

Squash the tomatoes roughly in your hands into the pot, pouring all the juices from the tin. Using a spoon, break up large chunks of tomato into smaller bits. Add the tomato paste, basil leaves and oregano and stir well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Gently simmer on low heat till slightly thickened for about 15-20 minutes.

Here's another thing you can make with this basic recipe and technique. To make an Italian inspired ketchup, continue simmering until reduced to a thick paste. The volume should be reduced to about half. When that happens, chuck it into a food processor and puree to a fine paste. There you go, the best ketchup you've ever tasted.

Make the sauce base in advance and store in the fridge if you're time-strapped. Otherwise, proceed to whip up your favourite tomato-based pasta.

See, easy peasy and utterly divine. Good as a base, or even on it's own.

Essence-tials

Essences and extracts lifts an otherwise average dish, just like how travel perks up an otherwise mundane life. I'm sure my upcoming trip to Egypt is going to yield a bonanza of scrummy yummy exotic spices and herbs. The expedition to the Khan El Khalili souk in Cairo is going to be legendary.

On my list is saffron, lavender extract, cardamom, pickled lemons, vanilla beans, anise, whole nutmeg... it might well be endless.

And what's flavour without some colour? My haul from Phoon Huat yesterday included some unusual shades for macarons, and some pretty glittery bling as well.

Cocoa-licious

Happiness is Valhorna 72% Aruguani dark chocolate and dutch-processed cocoa. That, and a shameless shopping trip to Phoon Huat for my baking fix.

I firmly stand behind the fact that chocolate is good for you. And now that the men in white coats have verified that it indeed has anti-oxidants, gives you an endorphine rush and improves performance and mood, my chocolate addiction is now somehow legitimized.

So, 35 buckaroos will bring you good health and happiness. Go forth and indulge!