Cooking Mood

Last year January Pat asked if I cook. I used to cook everyday back in lowland. In fact I used to bake once a week and took it to the office. I enjoyed baking more than cooking actually. I heart Delia Smith. She gives detailed instruction and pictures,which help a lot.

Back in Nusantara, I cook on average once or twice a year, perhaps three times if I had good mood. I baked just once. The fact that we have a good cook at home and it's always hot in the kitchen doesnt help. As for baking, I still havent figured out how to use English recipes in Indonesia properly and dont feel like experimenting anyways.

Since I've been sick two weeks or so ago, I've been on porridge/soft rice diet and had enough them. I started to look for recipes again. The most frustrating thing about cooking is most of the time I was in the mood of cooking, I missed an ingredient or two at home. Just like in the weekend when I was looking forward for some French onion soup. I've cooked the onion for about an hour already when I found out someone nicked my wine, all 3 bottles of them! There went my soup, because I couldnt pour whatever left from my Pineau de Charantes bottle as a substitute for white wine. Had I found out before starting cooking I might've experiment with some substitute ingredient for whatever missing like tonight, but that day I was so pissed I stopped cooking altogether.

Tonight I experimented making Enoki en papillotte. Not that great, but it was in the right direction as in the restaurant. I just put a bit too much rice vinegar and lime juice to substitute ponzu. Oh well, at least I'm cooking again. Next stop: Chawan Mushi & Salmon en papillotte. See the trend here?