cashew milk

A huge bag of unroasted cashews landed in my lap a few days ago. They're expensive and I didn't want them to go to waste so, I've been putting them to every imaginable use in the kitchen. Nuts tend to go rancid quite quickly in warm, humid weather and if kept in the fridge, haphazardly packaged, they will absorb odours from other foods very easily.

kopi see (coffee with evaporated milk)

I'm really an americano kinda girl. If you're into coffee culture, you'd probably know that an americano (aka "long black" or "caffee lungo" or "aqua sporca") is what Italians call an espresso that's been diluted by at least an equal amount of hot water, into something the coffee gods of Europe deem suitable only for Americans with soft hands, and no stomach for real coffee. Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger. It gets worse; "aqua sporca" is Italian for dirty water. *yikes* I am not making this up. And I have absolutely nothing against Americans, soft hands or weak coffee. I mean, I love weak coffee, apparently.

singapore sling

I was surprised and touched by the response that the rather morose (on hindsight *blush* oh my) ramblings on my last post elicited. You left me thoughtful and encouraging comments. Some of you went further and sent me private emails, asking after me; someone even tried to cheer me up with a chuckle inducing personal story. I'm convinced I have the loveliest blog readers, anywhere on the internet. What can I say? I'm really happy, that you're mine. This week, I've got my big girl pants on, and I'm not letting anything else get me that low again.

Food bloggers especially, are guilty of bombarding readers' senses with tantalising copy and voluptuous, soft focus visuals of sunlight drenched domesticity.

teh tarik (pulled tea)

I don't know if you've noticed, but the names of Asian dishes can be delightfully graphic and evocative. It says volumes about the way we view our sustenance, or are we really perhaps, beneath our usually placid exteriors, poets at heart or slightly crazed? ;)

Sometimes, we almost wax lyrical, as in the case of Dragon Beard Candy or Putri Salat (Princess Salat or salat of the Princess??). Sometimes we get physical, for instance when a Monk (sometimes Buddha himself!) Jumps Over the Wall.

lime drink with pandan

At the risk of being known as "that pandan blog" I have decided to post today's recipe because it's hot. Go on, ask me how hot it is. Ask me. So hot, I could fry an egg on the pavement? Probably not. But definitely hot enough for my laundry to dry almost crisp as crackers within two hours. And just so you know, I do not own a dryer, so that's air dried laundry I'm talking about. Oh, how about I could make a Nescafe with tap water, if I wanted to, with the water heater off? No, I don't drink Nescafe, I save it for guests, but I only use boiled water to make it, I swear! *phew* ;)

I did tell you, didn't I , that I looooove pandan? It's so common, so available here, we take it for granted. When I was little, it used to grow everywhere; by the side of the road, clinging tenaciously to the mossy green sides of huge drains, gaily dotting the gardens of kampung houses in big, rusting milk cans with holes punched out at the bottom.