Cook Next Door Meme

Posted by spots (Singapore, Singapore) on 1 July 2005 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.

I have been 'tagged' by Chubby Hubby for this meme. Being a big blur block, I wasn't sure what a meme was, so had to go read up before finally 'getting it'. ^__^ Anyways, here we go!

(Before we start, I feel the need to explain - YES, it is 5am in the morn. I cannot sleep. Why? I am about 6 weeks from giving birth - go figure... :))

Meme asks: What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?

Spots: Hmm... I have a lousy memory, particularly so because I am pregnant (Pregnancy is a good excuse to blame everything on! Hee.) But I do remember when I was really young, I used to toast hot dogs in the toaster quite a bit! They were my specialty and I especially enjoyed toasting them until the skin got all burnt and dry and the usually-long straight hot dogs began to curl and wrinkle under the weight of heat. What a strange child I was...

The other early memories of "cooking on my own" would be during my college days in the good ol' US of A. In particular, my mom always made sure I packed bak kut teh spice packs and I used them frequently when I fell sick due to cold weather. It was quite funny, because to American noses, bak kut teh has quite a pungent smell. I still remember one dorm mate exclaiming loudly in the common kitchen, "Eeow...What is THAT?" when she saw/smelt my bak kut teh packet floating unappetisingly in a pot of murky pork bones! BWAHAHAHA.

Meme asks: Who had the most influence on your cooking?

Spots: Weirdly enough, I did not start cooking avidly till after I got married. So, in the first 2+ decades of my life, I had a lot of time to be influenced by a myriad of people. I would say one of my key influences was this couple from church - Adrian & Esther. Esther is this amazing cook and Adrian a consummate entertainer. Almost every month, for a substantial period of time, I would get invited over to their house to eat like all this amazing gourmet stuff, like osso buco, flambe, steak, cranberry cous cous, fusion cuisine ... the list goes on. She was a real inspiration, and so naturally, when I got married, Husband & I also began trying out our culinary skills and inviting people over for dinner parties etc.,

The other significant source of influence has been the foodblogging community. (Husband sometimes refers to this as the Flogging community, for short!). I have to make mention of Shiokadelicious, Mik (whose blog has since closed down) and Thepassionatecook who played a very influential role during my days as a young & nervous wife cooking for Husband. I was particularly inspired by Thepassionatecook because all the dishes she turned out (on a DAILY basis) had names like "Smoked haddock and leek quichettes" and she was a mother, taking care of a young kid at that time. How cool is THAT!

Meme asks: Do you have an old photo as "evidence" of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?

Spots: Of course, my early exposure to the culinary world consisted of eating food, not cooking yet! Here I am, on my 4th birthday!

Meme asks: Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?

Spots: I'm not really a sweaty palms type of person, but I do have a strange aversion to working with EGGPLANT. It's sad, cos eggplant is really cool (in other's people's cooking) but whenever I try to cook (boil, stir fry, bake) eggplant, disaster looms.

Meme asks: What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?

Spots: My most valued gadget would be my Kenwood handheld electric mixer. I bought it like 10+ years ago and you can "see" its age as the wire has become all yellow-ed, but it works like new! The most used kitchen gadget would be my Braun Multiquick Advantage. This multiusage food processor that chops, slices, grates, dices etc., was a wedding gift from a fellow cook, Lynette, who obviously knew her kitchen equipment! I really love this gadget!

Meme asks: Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like and probably no one else.

Spots: I have recently taken a fancy to Toasted Cranberry Cheese Sandwiches. Anyone like those? Also, McDonalds French Fries dipped in its Soft-serve Ice cream is pretty cool too, but I think that's common, right?

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don't want to live without?

Spots: At this point in pregnancy time, I'd have to say (1) Hainanese Chicken Rice (2) McDonalds Soft-serve Ice cream (at $0.50, it's the cheapest and yummiest pregnancy craving a woman could have!) (3) Sushi

Meme asks: Three quickies:

Your favourite ice cream... Hazelnut gelare
You will probably never eat... Durian (Gotta agree with Chubby Hubby on this one!)
Your own signature dish... Husband is asleep right now, but he'd probably say my Bee Bim Bap (which he's always asking for), my calming soups (e.g., pork rib and watercress soup, pork rib and corn soup, eight treasures chicken soup etc) and my lor bar.

Meme says: And last but not least: Tag three people!

Spots: YAY, I get to arrow arrow... Thepassionatecook, Baby rambutan and Aromacookery!