Sauteed zuchini

Zuchini is a vegetable that only recently I came to love. It was alien to me before. We could not grow these vegetable at our backyards (or could we?). They look like cucumber only softer and they have great colors. The ones that I always see at the supermarket is bright yellow and dark green.

After searching for zuchini recipes on the net, I found that the simplest for me to try is just to sautee these vegetable. Heat the pan on medium high, then put in some olive oil. Then put in some sliced onion, sautee it until they become transparent. Then put in the zuchini that has been sliced. I like mine thinly sliced so that they cook faster. Then add salt and pepper. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, flipping the zuchini often. It's done!

Sauteed zuchini - it tastes good, looks good and very light, great for everybody even for dieters (not that I am dieting, which I think I should..) and the aroma, aahh.. so nice.

Long Beans with Shrimp

Today is Saturday, but my kids have sekolah ganti. My parents will have their kenduri for Umrah tonite. So I have to cook lunch for the kids and my husband, and I will be going to my parents house to help with whatever necessary. As you know me, I love simple dishes but tasty, at least for my kids' taste buds. And today I chose to cook long beans with shrimp. But looking at the picture, it's more like shrimp with long beans, haha..

Clean some shrimp, slice a couple cloves of garlic, cut some onions, slice some red chili and bird's eye chili (this is optional, only if you want the dish hotter). And with about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, put all your ingredients in the kuali. Add some tumeric powder (for the color) and salt to taste. It's done!

You can also replace the shrimp with sliced chicken, beef, squid, whatever. It will taste good. Trust me.

The not so bitter Bitter Gourd

Went to the market today, as any other Sundays or sometimes Saturdays, depending on the mood. Been planning to go to my mom's house for lunch today, and I intend to bring food. Now what do I cook? I've been asking this question a lot lately. Really, it's always the same thing, over and over again. Chicken curry, ikan sambal, beef soup, you know, the usual. Asking the kids doesn't help either. Whatever, ma.. that's their usual response.

Ok, let's see.. for the kids, I will cook ayam masak kicap. For my parents, I will fry terubok fish, make some sambal asam jawa to eat the fish with. And some ulam would be nice.

And then, I thought of this - bitter gourd. It is always welcomed at my parent's house. Actually this vege tastes quite nice. What you do is pound some onion + garlic + red chili + anchovy and stir fry with the bitter gourd. And some salt to taste, and a little water. The normal process takes about 10 minutes to complete.

For those of you who're 'afraid' of trying this vege, now is the time. The vege is cheap, the other ingredients are also cheap. If you don't like the result, just dump it in the trash. Simple huh?