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Of late, rif and I try to cook at home because it’s cheaper and supposedly healthier. At least that’s how I feel because we shop for the ingredients and we usually go for quality. Also, I’ve been buying more kitchen items, like a Korean stone bowl, casserole bowl, blow torch and large white plates. Truth is, I don’t need them BUT it is nice to have good utensils and serving dishes. Plus I like my plates and bowls to match. :P

When it comes to grocery shopping, I like going to Village Grocer because the fruits and vegetables are of better quality. Plus, I get to buy freshly baked breads from Hiestand and good chorizo sausages. Village Grocer also carries fresh pasta from Bella Luca and I find the quality quite decent. Ben’s Independent Grocer is also another place I like to go for fresh produce and imported goods.

We made a huge batch of Bolognese sauce on Sunday – took us more than 5 hours to chop, dice, slice, cook and clean-up. But the end result was good. At least we think so…after slogging for hours in the kitchen hahaha! I made baked eggs for dinner the following night, using a bit of the Bolognese, baby spinach, cheese and chorizo sausage. Ate this with toasted sundried tomato bread and it was yummy. Shall make this for brunch when I have friends over soon. ;)

The week before, I whipped up a quick pasta using fettuccine from Bella Luca, fresh mushrooms, bacon, thick cream and a bit of tomato paste for colour. It makes a big difference when you use fresh pasta versus dry-packed ones. So I don’t mind paying more for it. A small bundle of fettuccine costs RM4.50; and I use three bundles to cook for rif and I.

I also made meatloaf since rif has never eaten my version before. When I was living in the UK, I made this often because beef was cheap and I needed quick meals. I’ve since modified the recipe – I use less breadcrumbs and combine beef and pork into the mix. Also spiced it up a bit with paprika which my friend Kinga got for me from Hungary.

It is easy to make and tasted better the next day. Since meatloaf is dry in nature, I suggest serving some gravy with it. I made mine using meat drippings, red wine and Worcestershire sauce, with a bit of cream to thicken. Next round, I’m going to make chicken curry devil. I’ve done it before but this time around, I’m aiming to make it better than rif’s nanny’s. #kiasu This is going to be a bit tricky because I need a lot of oil, chilli and tamarind juice to make this ‘curry from hell’. Wish me luck!

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