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The Ordinary Chef AKA Mike LokMy Blog On Food, Recipes, Cooking, Family and Friends: My Life In A Few Sentences (Previously The Chinese Elvis)
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July 07 Caught sucking on a pipe!
Anyway, it was great! Tried the grape and lemon pipes and the smoke was just cold and smooth, nothing like a cigar or even God forbid a cigarette (tried years ago, hate it). The only downside was being caught in this unfortunate, compromising position! Found an online place you can buy the full works at www.theshishashop.com while it’s a hobby I can fully get into, not sure if it’s really a good idea!
July 06 I am the light and it burns bright
Went to a church yesterday, our good friends got their little bubba christened and afterward went back to their house for drinks and food. The party was great and the 5 minutes watching little Emily getting christened was wonderful for her parents, friends and family. But sitting through the other very long and drawn out church service was frankly like hell on earth, which is somewhat ironic. Not going to go into some long blog about religious beliefs, I can only talk about my own views here. I used to be a christian, for quite a while actually, started of at a normal Chinese church in Baker Street but eventuality graduated to the hardcore happy clappy version in Soho. I don't regret it, not in the sense that it must have helped me go through a pretty rough patch in my life after my parents died, growing up where I did, rough inner city council estate, without the support of the church, I guess I "could" have gone off the rails. I say I guess, because I will never know what I would have turned out like on my own. One of the main reasons, and there were many reasons why I left the church and christianity was, it and the people within it encourages mediocrity, good or bad, it's Gods will and you should accept the cards God deals out for you. When I turned 18, I wanted to discover who I was and what I can do with this life of mine. So I left the church and went on my journey, alone. You know what, I've never looked back. In fact, the older I get the more my belief in nature, evolution and the brilliance of the universe and of course individual choice and how me and only me can drive the direction of my life. I guess being in church yesterday bought all those thoughts and feelings to the surface and frankly, reaffirmed them. Not everyone is going to agree and thats fair enough, end of the day, each to his own. The other reason is, it's so boring, seriously, how much standing, hymns, readings, prayers, sermon does one need in the space of an hour and a half! The fact God made me sit through that, I guess he does have a sense of humour after all, 1.0. * Sent by mobile July 04 Look how beautiful they lookSince last weeks BBQ I’ve eaten too much meat. To that end, decided to cook some seafood this evening. Bought these lovely clams, cockles and carpet shells from my fishmonger as well as a couple of sea bass.
As a starter, cooked the shells in a tomato based broth. Pretty easy, fry chopped onion and fresh deseeded tomato in lots of extra virgin olive oil. Add paprika, pinch of saffron, chopped red chill, garlic and tomato puree. Throw in the shells with a glass of water and season. Cook for a few minutes until done. Dress with some fresh parsley, squeeze of lemon and serve. It was lovely, pure taste of the sea! Baked the sea bass in herbs and served with new potatos and steamed beans, pretty easy stuff. Been a great day, finally got out on my motorbike, did some town riding combined with food shopping. Visited the deli and bought some smoked pancetta, on to West Croydon and a ethnic shops for a load of spices, including some chat masala, which I’ve been trying to get for ages. Finally to Wing Yip Chinese supermarket for some fresh fish and clams. Nice ride of the bike too! Chicken and dried tofu hot pot – The boy who would be chef
What
How Extract from my book: Download the whole book “The Boy Who Would Be Chef” for FREE! July 02 Smart coffee How cool is this! One day, I’m gonna open a cafe, not a restaurant (crap hours) but a coffee bar or cafe, surfing around this evening and I found this www.thecoffeecar.co.uk and they produced this little Smart Car with a coffee machine in the back. I’ve see the Vespa Car mobile coffee franchises before but not one in a Smart Car. Going to do this corporate things for a few more years, get where I want to be, pay of the mortgage, stash away some money, retire early, then I would love to open a small cafe or perhaps buy one of these, park it up somewhere nice and serve coffee, smoothes, drink, croissants, homemade snacks all day and chat to the locals. Not much to ask is it? July 01 You are stunning in that dress! Made a great salad dressing this evening. Seville orange marmalade (orange would work too), whole grain mustard, crushed garlic, white wine vinegar, chopped red chilli, black pepper, Maldon sea salt and extra virgin olive oil. Whisk vigorously to emulsify the mixture and pour over your selected leaves or vegetables. It’s from a idea I’ve been experimenting with for a few weeks, but I think this is the final version, you know what, it tastes divine! It's getting cold in hereStarted to take a different train to work, gets me in later at 9am but has the added benifit of being fully air conditioned. Southern run a fantastic service, hardly ever late or cancelled and the 30 minute journey both ways is in an icebox, perfect for work and getting home too. Air con is one of the most taken for granted but brilliant inventions ever, think about it, there is probably not a single person in the country that don't benifit from it and some citys probably wouldn't exsist or at least thrive without it. Our loft room is a great sanctuary now I'm fitted air conditioning, going to bed is a joy! Been thinking back on this program I watched last night on Channel 4, Dispatches: Terror in Mumbai. It was the most brilliant way to tell one of the most shocking stories of the decade, weaving footage, eye witness accounts and phonecalls between the terrorists into a rollercoaster ride of stunning storytelling, never been so captivated by a documentry and the horror or those days really came through, it was a event up there with 9/11. * Sent by mobile June 29 Lola and her T-bone steak!
That’s a solid 10 hours of cooking and entertaining, luckily not all 25-30 people came at the same time but throughout the day which made things easier but it also meant I was on BBQ duty all afternoon, in 28c heat! Wont go through the entire menu but the T-Bone steaks (pictured) was a massive hit, they’re quite expensive, about £10 a slab but sliced thinly, they go far and are extremely tastily as they contain two great cuts, sirloin and fillet separated by bone. Made a light rub out of dried tarragon, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic, black pepper and salt. Rub all over, leave for a few hours and grill on the BBQ, medium rare, leave to rest, slice and serve, leaving the T-bone for the chef and Lola of course!
June 27 My weekend BBQ party menu
Grilled on the BBQ
Slow cooked in the smoker with oak
Sides
Dips
June 26 Michael Jackson 1958 – 2009, full coverage on MSN MusicBeen a long day for the MSN team, building, sourcing and creating this full coverage on the death of the legend that is Michael Jackson.
We never appreciate what we have until it’s gone…RIP |
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