Marsha Maung: Write. Cook. Read. Watch. Try. Innovate.

 things we needed to get done:- Josh needs to get to work on time; he woke all of us up and we got there on time; and he was OK at the end Jad and I needed to route ourselves to the new workplace, although it is not necessary, but we did it. anyway I Watch Skies a Lot This was when we stopped at the KJ station, parked, and tried to plan the timing. I did not notice anything because I was focused on the parking and the system but then, my son asked me look up. He tentatively asked me, "What do you do see"? Didn't see anything but he said, "Look to the right" and capture that. And I did. Gorgeous.  That was a little beautiful, don't you think so? No clouds to a rain-drenched rainbow over the background of a usual PowerGrid. Rainbows are fabled indications of favorable bridges to the future. As in the 'Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow', I think it's nice to see that so early in the morning with the many other early commuters at the ...

Getting older made me go through the photo album and this is one of those pictures that cannot ever be replicated ever, ever, EVER, again.  Jad was 4/5 and Josh was 6/7. According to Jad, he remembers nothing, absolutely nothing but at least I remembered everything about being an adult, a parent, absorbing all the joy of being in Disneyland for the first and possibly last time ever.  I was the only one who was in complete awe of seeing Ariel and Cinderella 'in person'. The parade and the end fireworks were things should remember what Disneyland is about. There's no replacing those things.  I think I will share more pics of the past from here on, together with the food that I make. xxx

Before saying anything else, I've got to worry about the quality of my pictures. It does the food absolutely no justice.  These are not the usual Ramly burger patties which are drier, honestly speaking, but they're mouth-watering all-the-same. We got the frozen patties from Lotus's (no, this is not a sponsored post. I wish); they're affordable and the meat are raw. As in they're still flexible and technically can be mushed around into ground meat for minced stir-fried dishes or shaped into meatballs or anything you want to use them for, including soups.  We found some burger buns (it's harder to find than you think - where we are at, anyway) from a nearby fruits store. We did not have lettuce (which would have been more perfect) so I decided that sliced tomatoes is just fine.  After flipping the patties both sides, we slathered on the marjerin on the bottom of the halved buns and just quickly toast the buns butter-side-down Other ingredients were che...

,  There's an old adage of chicken breasts being dry and boring. I am here to stand in their defense. They're not dry, not boring, not tasteless. It's about how well you understand how to work with it. The way most of us use chicken breasts is to cut it into strips and stir-fry it. But you'll be surprised with how versatile this part of chicken can be if you paid it enough attention.  PREP Brine the chicken by butterflying the thick parts. Put the chicken into a deep bowl, toss in 2 TBsp of salt, cover with water, use your hands to mesh things up in the bowl until the salt is dissolved, cover. and refrigerate for 20 mins to overnight. When you're ready for it, wash off the chicken breasts and set aside. Use the same pan where there are still juices from the pan-fried chicken. We don't waste good juices from the meat.  In this case, there was no need to marinade it but if you want to... MARINADE garlic powder onion powder paprika powder cayenne salt pepper...

Japanese Curry with Carrots and Potatoes The star of the dish is the mild Japanese curry (apple and honey base) and we just need to get some vegetables into the meal. We got stashes of carrots and potatoes after lunch and we said " Yeah, THAT's what we will have for dinner. Done Deal !" I didn't make the curry paste myself because it's store-bought. Nothing wrong with that, honestly. Healthy, delicious food is the priority.  Simple Pan-Fried Salmon How I made it is simple : Just washed the fish, wiped it down with a paper towel because water and oil are no friends. So, if you hate splatter as much as I do, then drying it makes a world of difference. I, then, seasoned the salmon with just salt and pepper. Heat the pan with a little bit of oil and pan-fry the skin side down for about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fish onto both sides, each for about 1 minute. We focus on keeping meals affordable, we don't have seafood, pork, and other uni...

Steamed Egg Plant with Chicken & Pork Mince These pics are GodAwful . There's no excuses. The only justification is that it tasted good.  Steamed Egg Plants  :  Wash egg plants Wipe down the egg plants Heat 2 or 3 bowls of water Steam the egg plant for about 11 mins. Please check and reheat if needed Remove and cool down (no need ice water - just let it cool down) Meat Top-Up Minced garlic Prep minced chicken (breasts) and pork - Mix them well and don't worry about them. They good.  Prep sauce - Soy sauce, Oyster sauce, Fish sauce, Seasoning, Salt, Pepper, MSG if you want, Sugar, Dark soy sauce, Sesame seed oil, Veg oil Heat up wok or pan or pot = saute garlic = UNTIL FRAGRANT   = fry and toss = Add the prepped sauce = Cook down = Set aside## On The Side I had free green onions (or what some people call leeks) from the morning market. We get that free stuff when we buy above a certain item. And I got them and kept them.  The steam Eggplants ...

I won't remove this picture because me and the boys had a laugh about how ugly it looked despite us enjoying it.  It's effing ugly but the only proof of what I made. However, I will replace it with a new picture when I make it again. 😂😂😂 I know this looks ugly but I did my best to salvage what I could, pictures of what I cooked for the day. It's especially regretful today because it was really delicious, the men in the house ate them up, and this was what I salvaged.  Anyway, a couple of days ago, I bought a lot of chicken breasts from the morning market because they're cheaper than the usual parts and decided to rampage the internet to find recipes I can experiment with. And this was one of them and I've kept them in my recipe keeper for some time now. Honey, Soy, Garlic Chicken Breasts. Sweet, Salty, Savory...a combination you can't go wrong with, isn't it? The pictures I posted these few days really don't cut it.  Anyway, it's not t...

I've been trying so hard to make home cooked meals and, honestly, I think I am doing a good job so far.  Most of the time, the boys enjoy the food that I make. As far as I can tell.  This picture is just of me taking the day off. All of us need a break sometimes. 

As a kid, I never liked Okra or Eggplant because of its slimy nature; no amount of convincing about its health benefits got me to eat them. During one of our family-outings, we ordered a really crunchy okra dish that changed my mind a little. Not all the way but just a little . But just like other greens, it depends on how you want to cook it that will make the difference on how others enjoy it.  I am no expert but I quickly learn from the Internet and YouTube. I think we learn a lot from mistakes. Just a couple of days ago, I burnt down a whole pot of red beans dessert that I wanted to enjoy. Still cleaning the pot two days down. Ah well... OKRA/EGGPLANT with SALTED PRAWNS & DRIED SHALLOTS TOPPING Really important to wash the okra down because this is a skin-in dish. We don't want impurities Heat up water with salt Once boiling, pop the okra into the pot and cook for about 2 to 3 mins Prep cold water or ice water Remove okra and place into cold water to stop the co...