中華餐室海南雞飯 Chop Chung Wah Hainanese Chicken Rice ........ Melaka - Malaysia

The first stop of our Melaka trip was a visit to 中華餐室海南雞飯 Chop Chung Wah Hainanese Chicken Rice. This Hainanese chicken rice shop is very popular. There is always going to be a queue no matter rain or shine. It was one of the must-try food places in Melaka. Do prepare to wait 30~60mins to get a table.

The chicken rice was rolled into bite size balls, the size of golf balls. Though fragrant, I thought it was a bit too sticky.

Chop Chung Wah's chicken was tasty from the sauce that was drizzled over it. The chicken was tender but not the most tender of Hainanese chicken that I've eaten. The savory sauce was the highlight for their chicken. It was good enough that 8 of us polished off 2 chickens.

Chop Chung Wah's chicken rice is located at the start of Jonker street, beside the river. As we walk into Jonker street, there were so many chicken rice shops, unlike Chop Chung Wah, they were all too commercialised by one look of their shop fronts. All of them definitely didn't have Chop Chung Wah's queue that was consistent no matter rain or shine.

Location : Shop house at the junction of Lorong Hang Jebat and Jalan Hang Jebat at the start of Jonker Street

Melaka, Malaysia

EASY SLOW COOKER LAMB SHANKS

the slow cooker wins another round. i love my little red slow cooker. i think it is the best 20$ i ever spent. no need for the big fancy model with the digital readout. no need for the auto timer. i guarantee when it's done you'll be there waiting.

i know we're moving into summer and everyone is is starting up with their "Lite Summer Fair", but i say, "Don't put away the slow cooker". there's just something so satisfying about throwing a few ingredients in a pot, walking away with no worries and coming home to a fabulous, no-fail meal that tastes and smells like grandma's been in the kitchen all day. pure comfort.

did i mention the clean up?...one pot.



SLOW COOKER LAMB SHANKS...easy peezy

3-4 lbs lamb shanks

1 onion sliced thick

3-5 spears fresh rosemary

8-9 peeled garlic cloves

2 carrots cut large

put sliced onion in the bottom of the crock pot.

salt and pepper the lamb shanks...generously

put everything in the pot.

add enough beef stock or broth to almost cover meat (shown above). don't fill too full.

NOTE...please read comments.  i have cooked this both ways...with water and with beef broth, but broth is better.  homemade broth is best.  watch your salt content if using canned broth.  sometimes i will add in some veal demi glace. 

get the rosemary tucked in so that it's not just floating on the top.

cook on low for 7-8 hours.

if you're home you might want to check it around 5 hours and flip the meat. also you might want to squeeze in a few small potatoes...there should be enough room at this time.

7-8 hours later your ready for a tried and true comfort meal

remove the meat and the veg. for serving and strain the liquid.

DON'T THROW THE COOKING LIQUID OUT. strain, let it sit and separate. refrigerate or freeze for another fabulous dish that requires a rich deep homemade broth.

Bharat Traders

Four years ago, as the moving truck swayed over the Bolte Bridge and we began our life in the West, we were already salivating at the thought of mountains of cheap, fresh herbs and bottomless bowls of pho, all within walking distance.  However, we were totally unaware of the spicy delights nestled in nearby Barkly Street's Little India, like fairies at the bottom of the garden.  Bharat Traders, the largest Indian store in the strip, is a place I am now enchanted with and regularly get lost in.  Claudia, a reader and fellow devotee of all things Bharat, has kindly shared some of its secrets with us...

The Footscray Food Blog has fast become one of my favourite cyber haunts.  My own private Footscray food odyssey has been reinspired by Ms. Baklover’s own adventures, and it certainly is a lot cheaper than physically visiting the countries themselves.  We are so lucky to have it all in our own backyard.  Recently, after 12 years in Footscray, I decamped to Spotswood but I return at least once or twice a fortnight for regular epicurean pilgrimages – grey boring day in Melbourne, go to Saigon Market for hustle, bustle and super soup.  There’s just so much life in the joint.

One of my and my daughter’s favourite post-school treats on a Friday afternoon is a visit to the West Footscray Library, where two bookworms nestle in a pile of books for about 45 minutes.  Then, laden with new ones, we both feel the pull of over the road – Bharat’s supermarket, a gorgeous multi-function repository of all things Indian.

Usually we have a peek in the window at the religious furnishings, silvery Shivas and golden Ganeshes, lustrous devotional mini-temples and bowls. Great stuff. But they are just visual entrées.

We head in the door and there is an instant waft of spice that my daughter particularly enjoys. A quick but lingering glance at the trays of sweets and samosas near the front door (we’ll be back) and then straight to the fridges down at the back for kid-friendly mango lassis and delicious instant naan bread, paneer cheese and huge containers of yoghurt.  Who's watching their weight on Friday anyway!

The naan is great over the weekend with curry, soups... Its butteriness is irresistible to one and all and it also freezes well. If I shop alone I also love to grab some eggplant or mango pickles, spicy bhujia and the masala cashews should be sold with a warning – you WILL eat all of these before you even get home!

Finally it’s time to leave this treasure trove and we head to the counter for bright pink barfi (Indian sweet) for Ella and an ambrosial gulab jamon for me. We usually scoff this booty a few doors down in front of one of the amazing Bollywood stores as we decide which is the best outfit, and which bejewelled sandals would suit – a seven year old girl's heaven really! And then it’s over... the colour and scents, the sparkle... Until next time...

Thank you so much, Claudia!  Like you, for us, no trip to the library is complete with a trip across the road for whatever obscure spice or lentil Mum needs, followed by a long, passionate "discussion" of who would get which dress in the sari shop window.  As you mentioned, the yoghurt is so good at Bharat's and so much cheaper than the supermarket.  I also buy huge bags of stoneground wholemeal flour (known as chakki atta) for really low prices.  The kids love the barfi (Indian fudge) – flavours include cashew (pink), chick pea (yellow), and almond (white).  Just ask the staff, as they are always happy to run through the different varieties.  Oh, and those cashews!  A spice fiend's fairytale ending.

Bharat Traders
580 Barkly St, West Footscray (map)
Phone: (03) 9687 6071
Hours: 9.00 a.m. - 9.00 p.m., 7 days

Do you have a foodie secret in the western or northwestern suburbs you'd like to share?  I've been guilty in the past of "keeping things for myself," but go on - do the owners you like so much a favour and spread the word about their business!  Guest contributions are always welcome and much appreciated.  Email footscrayfoodblog at gmail dot com.

Gleaming the Cube

For a couple of years now I have been, shall we say, sauntering through what we will call my love life. I have not settled into anyone nor have I necessarily been very concerned about it. Yes, of course I’d like to find my person – if it actually works that way, but I also understand that it’s not up to me (apparently some self help books would disagree, but don’t get me started on that). I will say I have met a lot of interesting people and made some great friends during this stretch of time. But for the most part, bated breath, butterflies, nothing.

Every so often, this laissez-faire attitude towards romance in my life, or the people that flit in and out defining it gets shattered. My patina vanishes. I get geeky, girly, giddy, nervous, excited and frightened. My palms get sweaty. I say frightened because this means someone, to whom my stupid rules don’t apply, has made me wonder what’s happening and, moreover, what’s next. I crave definition. I’m no longer rolling with the punches, I no longer could take it or leave it. This means my Achilles heel is showing. And, oh my gawd, is that a pimple on my nose?!

My friend, Doug, with whom I was sharing all this on the phone earlier, tells me that he has always thought, in this realm of my life, that I exhibit Negative Capability which I think is sort of like philosophical pragmatism. He thinks that I am able to let things be in whatever may be their mystery, that I am capable of being in uncertainty. He must think I’m cool. Which is funny because, while I try pretty hard to wear that outfit and project that impression onto the world, inside I often feel quite the opposite.

It’s interesting to occasionally be provided with an idea of how you are perceived. It reminds me of a line from a Hal Hartley movie that was something like, I want the image of myself and my true self to become one. So, in this case, the image I am projecting is apparently effective but entirely different from either how I really am or how I perceive myself. I guess that lays out the question, is my true self how I perceive myself or is it how I project myself and appear to others?

Oh, right. Negative Capability.

The thing is, right now, I’m not exactly brimming with it. Of course, being the philosophical pragmatist I realize, logically, that I simply cannot control any of this anyway. We shall see and whatnot. I mean, what can I really do to control it? But, honestly, inside I’m in a state of agitation. And it seems to dominate conversations with a few of my friends. That can’t be much fun for them. Especially since I’m just repeating myself a bunch and acting like a dorky chick.

So I don’t continue to drive them crazy and to help my own dithery ditherness, I’m forcing this upon you. But the payoff for you, as always, is a wonderful recipe. 

A couple of years ago, while in Southern France with Chris, I would visit the farmers' market each morning and buy wonderful, fresh produce to play with. One day I grabbed up a bunch of baby, purple artichokes. My house host showed me the most beautiful and simple way to prepare them. Artichokes seem apropos here as their exterior belies what is inside, but they seem most comfortable in their mystery.

Sautéed Baby Artichokes with Olive Oil, Garlic & Lemon

Serves 4
 
1 pound baby artichokes

Juice from one lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper to taste 

Italian Parsley, chopped

Peel off outer leaves, trim stems and cut artichokes into quarters.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and garlic. When the oil is good and hot, add artichokes. Season with salt and pepper; toss well. Add juice of 1/2 lemon. Lower heat to medium and cook until artichokes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add remainder of lemon juice. Garnish with Italian Parsley and serve immediately. (These are also good at room temperature.)

Potted Meat...Homemade "Almost Pate"

Potted Meat...the poor mans Pate ...?

easy to make and really does taste like a rich pate, but without the Liver Factor. pack it into cute little jars for a fun, gourmet lunch treat or mold it in a terrine and slice for sandwiches and salad topping. if you're the canning type you could top it off with a little rendered fat or some clarified butter. actually it's not necessary to go through the whole canning process. if you seal the top with some type of fat, it will last in the fridge for quite a few weeks just like it's fancy French cousin "The Rillette".

the basic concept is...well cooked(boiled even) meat, seasoned, pureed and stored/packed in it's own juices. pates, of course, are a bit more complex, but this i found to be quite easy...maybe not as sophisticated, but so much easier to make and, again, no liver is involved...not that i have a problem with liver. it's one of the things with which i haven't had any experience. a while back i had a small nibble of a chicken liver and reeeeally wasn't pleased with the flavor or the lingering taste. i do, however, love braunschweiger and "real pate"...go figure. i just don't think i'm ready to cook with it yet...and as i said, it's absolutely NOT necessary for Potted Meat.

served as a spread or sliced from a terrine this is a great versatile meat course...appetizer, sandwich, snack or on a salad. i really enjoyed it in a lettuce wrap with a cornichon and a little dijon.

easy instructions...

1 lb of ground veal (lamb or pork would work well)

1/2 diced onion

good stock...i had some oxtail stock. enough to cover the meat. approx 4-5 cups. use something that pairs well with the meat you choose. real stock(not canned or cubed) seems to set-up better because of the gelatinous effect when chilled.

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp tarragon

bone marrow-OPTIONAL. i happen to have some.

bring this to a boil and then simmer for 2 hours. check to see that your liquid has not reduced below the meat.

remove from heat and strain. keep liquid.

put meat in a processor with...

1-2 tsp fresh minced rosemary

3-4 roasted garlic cloves-i always have some on hand.

1/4 cup minced parsley

S & P to taste

pulse process and add cooking liqiuid to desired consistancy. don't separate out the fat. you'll need this to help set-up the cooled finished product. i think it should be smooth, but not too creamy. spoon into vessel of your choice. if using jars you can have fun layering in other components as shown in picture above. if using a terrine...line it with foil or saran wrap and sprinkle chopped parsley on the bottom and sides. this will make for easy removal and nice presentation.

Ohsumi's shabu shabu ....... a light tasting meat meal

Cuppage Plaza has always been our good source of Japanese food. We've tried sumiyaki, sushis, even izakaya food. This time round we were there for Ohsumi's Shabu Shabu. If you are a Chinese steamboat lover and a staunch believer that we get chicken, fish ... stock, or that myriads of herbs, with many ingredients to get a sweetened soup base, you'll be in for a surprise and maybe even a disappointment.

I am a Chongqing steamboat and fish head steamboat lover. So, I've brought with me, my own preconception of a steamboat meal to this virgin shabu shabu dinner. Inevitably, I felt sore and cheated over the lack of taste and flavors in this Japanese meal until I learnt out more about shabu shabu. Still I couldn't reconcile this meal with my taste buds. HY could and thought it was light and good. Well, it's just my personal taste preference, no one else's fault.

Plain water as Soup Base?

There was no tasty soup base to start with, only plain boiling water to cook our meat. This seemed absurp to me as a newbie to shabu shabu. According to what I learnt later, the idea of Ohsumi's shabu shabu was to taste the natural flavor of the meat, untainted by other flavors. We started dumping the vegetables into the steamboat and then as the soup start to boil we start cooking the meat one slice at a time.

Standard heap of vegetable, mushrooms, tofu, mochi and vermicelli that came with every standard set of meat.

Beef Set

This is the dish of regular sliced beef from the beef set cost S$42++. It was the most economical type of beef available. There's the wagyu set if you prefer more tender slices of beef at S$75++.

Assorted Kurobuta Set

This assorted Kutobuta set consisted of slices of belly, loin and shoulder meat from the revered Berkshire black pig @ S$45++. My first experience with this tender pork was in the bowl of ramen at Tampopo.

Having them simply cooked inside boiling water was a first for me.

Some taste at last!

I was glad that at least Ohsumi provided 3 dip sauces for my meal, else I wouldn't have survived the ordeal. Eating Kurobuta dunk in boiling water..... huh? There was the soya sauce, the ponzu sauce and the sesame sauce. I got all my meat dunked into the dip dishes like there was no tomorrow.

This was by far the 'healthiest' meal that I had out of Kurobuta pork, no offense to the Grilled and Deep Fried Kurobutas that I'm more smittened with. As for steamboats, Oh Sumi-masen, get me that 麻辣 Ma La Chongqing steamboat, I need more flavors please!

5 Koek Road

#03-24/28 Cuppage Plaza

Tel : 6235 6178

Singapore

Gold Leaf Sunshine

The weekend could have gone either way.  It started with me getting up at 5.00 a.m. to study, just as Mr Baklover was getting home from a big one.  Nothing says "I love you" like a big, snoring lump on Saturday morning, while the kids clamour for pancakes and the paper sits accusingly in its plastic wrap, unread.  Rather than become bitter, I decided to meet Dad for yum cha.  This had the unintended and wonderful effect of raising Mr B from his slumber, and we headed for Gold Leaf Sunshine.

Get here early if you want a parking spot.  To enter from the parking lot, you walk down a covered walkway that hugs the building, which reminds me of a serene Buddhist temple.

The atmosphere inside is far from serene, though.  It's warm and full of life, and the low ceiling bristles with chandeliers.  The trolleys duck and weave through the narrow aisles between the tables, dodging the constant flow of patrons in and out as the tables turn over as fast as you can say...

Duck tongues with jellyfish

... quack?  Dad loves these.  Eating the placenta of an embryonic duckling recently was enough duck for me, though.

Har gow

These prawn dumplings are supposed to have very delicate, translucent wrappers, but these were too thick and mushy.

The thing I love about Gold Leaf Sunshine is that they have a lot of interesting thing that are unique to them.  I had never seen these before - it was a kind of prawn dumpling mince wrapped around the tail, and enveloped in a won ton wrapper.  I didn't think they worked, but Mr Baklover loved them.

Mixed offal

Speaking of which, his hangover breakfast this morning was a duck tongue followed by a big piece of tripe.  Now I remember why I married him!

Shu mai

Many of my Sundays as a child were spent nibbling at a shu mai dumpling, impaled on a chopstick.  My girls have recently woken up to the delights of yum cha and they are now continuing in the tradition.  I've had much better shu mai than these, though, and in fact, Gold Leaf Sunshine really let itself down with the calibre of its dumplings today.

This was a gentle dish of braised mushrooms atop balls of minced prawn.  It was OK; nothing memorable.

Prawns in fried beancurd skin

I hang out for these deep-fried beauties.  They are hard to stuff up, but again, I've had better.

 

Sticky rice

This sticky rice was, again, pretty good but not amazing.

Crispy pork and jellyfish

But oh, the crispy pork!  Glazed and bubbled skin that shattered like candy in your mouth.  The meat underneath was succulent, and the hoi sin dipping sauce entirely superfluous.  This was served with more jellyfish, which is mild, chewy, and sweet.

Crispy squid

The squid was fantastic, crisp yet tender.  I love the way the batter adheres to the suckers and provides textural variation to the smoother top side of the legs.  Whitebait is often done in the same way.

This was eggplant stuffed with the same nondescript prawn mince that kept featuring in this meal.  The sauce it was in was glutinous and bland, and the eggplant was oily and unsalted.

Chicken's feet

Another of Dad's favourites, and a must if you are bringing a baby to yum cha - they love to gnaw on the big bone.  They all eventually develop a "gross factor" though, it seems, and refuse to eat chicken's feet any more.  I know - I was that baby once!

Pig's blood

I know, you want to know what it tasted like, right?  Erm, I was full, just had NO room to fit a piece of wobbly, grey blood jelly in.  I mean, I totally would have eaten it otherwise.
 

Ham sui gok

Oh, so I guess you don't have any room for ham sui gok?  A crispy torpedo of sweet dough, enclosing delectable, savoury pork and mushroom?

*cries*

The troops were growing restless, but the dessert cart kept hovering around the outer edges of the restaurant, like a mirage.  Thankfully our waiter was kind enough to see us looking at it yearningly and brought us over a bowl of jelly.  See the wooden "bucket" on the left?  That is silken tofu, which is served with a sweet ginger syrup.  Do try it, it's absolutely delicious.

I've had far better dumplings here - it must have been an off day.  So far, I still think Gold Leaf Sunshine is your best option in the west.

And the rest of the day?  Nothing says "I love you" like an uninterrupted afternoon of study and a mango pudding.

Gold Leaf Sunshine
491 Ballarat Rd, Sunshine (map)
Phone: 9311 1863
Yum cha prices: $5, $6, $7, $8.50, $10.50

Baklava

I still ask myself all the time what I want to do when I grow up. And all sorts of things come up, but the two biggest things that come to mind are TRAVEL and COOK. Who knows, maybe I can be a traveling caterer someday, cooking and baking my way around the world! But I do know that I want to do as much of the two as possible.

One of my top destinations is Greece, without a doubt. I mean, seriously, how could you not want to go there?



But it's not just the scenery that I want to experience, it's the food! (I'm sure you saw that coming). I adore Greek food, with it's sharp rich flavors and meats. But my latest favorite has become their trademark Baklava.

Baklava is simply several layers of Phyllo Dough, baked with nuts and spices, and then soaked in a sweet syrup. It sounds simple, but it is out of this world delicious. I was also pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make. The Phyllo got a bit tricky to work with at time because it is so thin, but ultimately I felt like I was just making a bed, with about 100 sheets on it! My favorite part though was how pretty it turned out, with very little effort, I just love all of those layers!

Baklava
By Recipezaar

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 lb chopped nuts
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
3. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon.
4. Set aside.
5. Unroll phyllo dough.
6. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan.
7. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work.
8. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly.
9. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered.
10. Sprinkle 2- 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top.
11. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go.
12. The top layer should be about 6- 8 sheets deep.
13. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan.
14. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts.
15. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
16. Make sauce while baklava is baking.
17. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted.
18. Add vanilla and honey.
19. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
20. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it.
21. Let cool.
22. Serve in cupcake papers.
23. This freezes well.
24. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Great Summer Cookbooks

Winter is the easiest time of year to feel motivated to cook. When it's cold outside nothing is better than hunkering down in a cozy kitchen to braise and bake and simmer the day away. Summer time is perhaps the toughest season for cooking. Who wants to be in the kitchen when the weather is beckoning you to stay in the sun? When I think of Summer I think of tomato salads, guacamole, ceviche and big antipasto platters served al fresco. And of course anything and everything on the grill.

There are tons of grilling cookbooks and each season a new batch comes out (in fact you can find a recent round up of grilling book reviews on MattBites). But this year there are two Summer cookbooks that go way beyond just grilling, giving you many more options when things heat up. They are very different books, though either would be perfect to take with you on Summer vacation to a beach house or mountain cabin, or make a great hostess gift.

The Big Summer Cookbook is a soft cover book with 300 recipes written by author Jeff Cox who seems particularly attuned to what is ripe and in season. The book starts with a Summer seasonality chart and perhaps even more interestingly a section on how to stock your Summer pantry. This would be helpful in planning meals for a week at a Summer house. There are recipes for no-cook dishes such as Mango Watermelon Salad and Caprese Skewers as well as some baked goods that you will want to eat during the Summer such as Plum and Nectarine Crisp and Sour Cream Breakfast Cake. Recipes I have bookmarked include a No-Cook Blackberry Pie that features a graham cracker crust and a Couscous Salad with Pine Nuts and Summer Fruit. The vegetable and fruit recipes are more interesting in general than the meat recipes which tend to be standbys such as burgers and grilled chicken. There are some new ideas in this book, but it's really more about the basics. Read an excerpt.

By contrast, the substantial hardcover Recipes from an Italian Summer will make you dream of Summer in a villa eating dishes like Grilled Sardines scented with Orange, Wild Duck with Figs, and Spaghetti and Lobster. It begins with a seasonal food calendar and features nearly 400 exciting and adventurous recipes. These are primarily Italian recipes, many you have not likely seen before. With a few notable exceptions, they are generally not complicated dishes and in tune with the season but written for someone who is a confident cook. By "in tune" I mean things you might want to eat in Summer, as there are recipes using ingredients not strictly available in the Summer like apples and radicchio. Here and there the recipes suffer from less than optimal translations. But they are the things you will want to eat when you get bored of tomato salad and grilled chicken. The book has gorgeous photos of food in a rustic style and lots of photos of Italy. If you love Italian food you will find this book deeply satisfying because of the many fresh ideas it presents although there is some overlap with the Silver Spoon cookbook. Personally I can't wait to make dishes like Potato Pizza and Sunflower Petal Salad. It's a book that inspires. Look inside the book.

K-ki ....... epitome of Japanese dessert shop?

Kinabaru

The highlight of Kinabaru was the alternating layers of white coconut and yellow passion fruit mousse. The color splash made it a visual pleasure and rich coconut milk tasted a contrast with the sour-rish passion fruit layer.

Souffle Cheesecake

Even though the Souffle cheesecake looked pretty mundane among the other desserts, I liked it the most. It's one of the softest cheesecake I've ever eaten. Of course one can argue on the economies of this cheese cake being more airy than the typical rich denseness of other cheesecakes. This one got my attention.

Mont Blanc

This chestnut cake is one of the popular choices in K-ki. It looked pretty, the cake base tasted soft enough but didn't catch anyone's attention, as no one on the table was a chestnut fan. I thought Glace's version tasted better.

Top 20 Cooking Myths

There are lots of myths in regards to cooking. Sadly, they tend to discourage people from practicing a very basic life skill. Here are the myths about cooking that I have heard repeatedly from friends, acquaintances and even cooking pundits. Are any of them keeping YOU out of the kitchen?

1. You can't cook anything good in a short amount of time
You don't need to cook something complicated or cutting edge (unless of course you want to!), plenty of great recipes take very little time at all. Here are just a few examples:

Asparagus Frittata from Simply Recipes
Black Bean Clams from Single Guy Chef
High-roast Chicken and Potatoes from Hedonia
Grilled Tri Tip Steak with Chimol Salsa from Kalyn's Kitchen
Orechiette with Sausage and Kale from The Kitchn
Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Aglio e Olio from Skillet Chronicles

Choose from steak, chicken, pasta, seafood, some dishes are even vegetarian--all are delicious!
2. Cooking takes too long
I don't know what "too long" means. But I can cook dinner faster than you can get it served to you at a restaurant and quicker than it takes to get it delivered. Really. Don't believe me? Revisit the recipes above.

3. You need lots of ingredients There are tons of recipes that use 5 ingredients or less. Just check out this collection on Epicurious. Or just revisit the recipes above, the ingredients for those recipe would fit in a single grocery bag.

4. Cooking is not enjoyableCooking can and SHOULD BE ENJOYABLE! It's not just a necessity, it's actually fun or why would so many bloggers (myself included) be droning on about it endlessly?

5. Cooking is hard
Cooking in a restaurant is hard work. Cooking at home does not need to be hard. If you don't believe me, see Michael Ruhlman's sarcastically named, World's Most Difficult Roasted Chicken Recipe.

6. You need to use processed foods to save time, effort and moneyProcessed foods actually cost more than raw foods, not less. They do not necessarily save you time. The Kitchn did a test to see what the difference was between making a cake from scratch and from a mix. The results will surprise you!

7. Cooking from scratch is expensive, even more than eating outCheck out this blogger's challenge to create $2 a serving meals.

8. Cooking requires a lot of skill
Nope. Even dummies can cook French food.

9. You need expensive pots and pan to cookThe Breakaway Cook shows you how to use some of the cheapest pans around, cast iron.

10. You need lots of expensive knives to cookThree knives. That's all you need! And this from a restaurant blogger.

11. You need a very well-stocked kitchen to cook
A basic pantry doesn't need to be overflowing with ingredients. Not sure where to start? Check out this primer on Slashfood.

12. Good cooks never use recipes
There are cooks who advocate ratios rather than recipes, but you know what? They too use recipes too sometimes.

13. Good cooks always use recipes
Pastry chef and blogger Shuna Lydon dispels this myth, thoughtfully and provocatively.

14. Cooking is too messy
Yes, cooking can be messy. But you should be able to clean everything in your kitchen. Keeping your kitchen clean is not a good reason for not cooking!

15. Cleaning up takes longer than cooking so it's not worth the effort
The secret is to clean as you cook, just ask Martha.

16. Cooking is too dangerous for kids to do
When kids learn to cook with adult supervision it's not dangerous. Check out What's Cooking Blog to learn more about cooking with kids.

17. Cooking is fattening and leads to overeating By cooking you can control and be aware of exactly what is in your food. I guess if you cook well you might be inclined to overeat, but that's about will power, not cooking!

18. You must follow recipes exactly or they won't workIf that was true you would never see the word "adapted" next to recipes.

19. Cooking is menial or dullIn the 1950's women were told that cooking was a chore and not worth the effort. Laura Shapiro writes about the phenomenon in Something from the Oven. But cooking was and is something truly enjoyable. Cleaning might be menial and dull, but cooking is a joy. The classic cookbook that proclaims it so has sold over 18 million copies!

20. Cooking for one is not worth the effortLegendary cookbook editor Judith Jones would beg to differ. She's the author of The Pleasures of Cooking for One.