The Soup Queen

Yes, I drink coconut oil by the spoonfuls. Actually 2 tablespoons each day, usually after a meal like breakfast or lunch. Let me just say this - in our tropical climate, coconut oil is liquid. It's a clear oil with a lovely coconut aroma. Reminds me of the coconut log sweets wrapped in red, green or blue cellophane that I ate when I was growing up. Some people still make these hard coconut candies but they're quite a rare breed. Maybe the sweet making involves lots of stirring or something. Anyway, I need to say this because some of you live in non-tropical climes. And your coconut oil is more like coconut butter! I discovered this in Hong Kong many years ago. I carried with me a bottle of coconut oil - as a quick facial moisturiser, as a lip balm treatment at night before sleeping. It was my go-to oil for dry areas of my skin. I wanted to show my friend, SP, this bottle of amazing multipurpose skincare oil only to realise the oil had hardened! It was March in Hong...

Remember my joy at re-discovering mugwort or Ai Ye atop a hill in Balik Pulau?  Well, guess what? I am growing them in my garden now.  The recent rainy weather has helped. The plants are flourishing.  And mugwort is a plant that keeps on propagating too. Each time I pluck off the leaves, I stick its stem back into the earth or pot of soil and the stem soon starts growing!  I love making omelette with mugwort leaves. There's something about the distinct fragrance of this plant that I crave.  I also am a big believer that if I crave something, my body is telling me I need the nutrients in that particular type of food. So I go ahead and indulge myself.  Still I find that my own mugwort leaves aren't as pungent as the ones my mom-in-law grows in her garden in Kuching. It must be the weather!  Ai Ye or mugwort plants happily growing in my garden Anyway, when my mugwort plants start to grow all over, I start pl...

Ripe berries or fruits from my 9 foot curry leaf tree.  This is a photo of the ripe fruits from my 9 foot curry leaf tree or known scientifically as  Murraya koenigii   . Yes, most curry leaf plants are about human height.  Mine is a bit special because when it was still a young sapling, I used a lot of my own homemade compost . It had so much of nutrients that it started growing taller and taller.  Right now, it is shading the compost pots!  Which means I am cooler when I stand under this tree to do my daily composting. You see how wonderful it all works out to be?  Because these berries attract the Asian koel (black birds with fiery red eyes which make the annoying loud "ku-yo, ku-yo" sounds), the curry leaf seeds get propagated everywhere.  Yet some drop right under the tree and start growing. I have a curry leaf sapling attack haha. I keep pulling the saplings up as there's just too many.  Besides throwing ...

I know.  It isn't the sexiest cough cure around.  It's not even exotic. It's just a plain vegetable. But today I shall praises of the humble watercress because it is a well-known cure for the sort of incurable, annoying and keep-you-awake-at-night coughing sessions. So what's in the watercress?  In the West, it is commonly eaten fresh and raw in a salad or sandwich.  Here in Malaysia, I've always eaten this cooked in soups. Never raw.  So what's so fascinating about watercress?  Watercress' botanical name is Nasturtium officinale.  It is a fast grower in aquatic or semi-aquatic environments. It usually grows in ditches rapidly.  It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetables eaten by humans. The plant is native to Europe and Asia.  It has a peppery flavour and is related to the cabbage and mustard family.  The town of Alresford, near Winchester, UK holds a Watercress Festival that brings in more th...

Remember I mentioned about he shou wu , a herb that helps hair growth? It's also called Fleeceflower Root or Polygonum Multiflorum. (My hair shenanigans were a big deal to me. You can read about Shou Wu Chih or my hair darkening tea posts.) I bought some - actually RM5 worth of it - and boiled it a couple of times. Each time I also added some dried black dates too. Initially I'd simmer the herb over the stove but later decided to use my slow cooker. When i couldn't finish drinking it all I'd store it in an old-fashioned thermos flask. Two weeks ago I was in town buying dried scallops and Chinese sausages for my mother in law when I decided to ask the shop assistant if they had he show wu. Mind you, this was a Chinese medical store cum grocery store.  So below was what they recommended to me. It was RM16.50 for a 200gm pack. When I opened it, the slices were thicker and darker. It wasn't sliced thinly - in fact it was hard and knobbly lik...

Happy New Year everyone! That's me with that funny Xmas hair band and in a beige dress with Nic, my husband. This photo was taken at our Christmas party with our website clients - Kester (in green) and Wei Min (in red) are from KesterMusic.com I am actually blogging this on New Year's Day because it's a holiday and I just got home after a lovely lunch of pork porridge at the famous Hon Kei cafe in Jalan Kampung Malabar, off Penang Road. This pork porridge seller used to be just a simple stall on the same road, nearer Ho Ping Cafe, a corner coffeeshop. My late grandmother used to love eating this pork porridge because it wasn't just minced pork - it has all the pig innards, pig brain, liver, kidney etc. It does sound gross but you just have to love pork and the old style porridge to enjoy this. Hon Kei has upgraded itself into a two shop lot business - it's literally buzzing with customers all day. Of course besides pork porridge, you can also have lor...