Cookbookmaniac
  • Curried Butternut Squash Soup by Ellie Krieger
    Curried Butternut Squash Soup by Ellie Krieger
    Asian Recipes

    It was not long ago when I first made this soup. If you follow me on facebook you would recall a status update that read something like "ARGH!!!" I had the hardest time peeling the skin off the butternut squash. I used almost every sharp utensil in the kitchen to skin the bastard and I barely scratched the surface. I even beckoned Pizzaboy for help. We stood at the kitchen bench for almost an hour trying to cut away the tough outer layer and chop the flesh. Although the soup tasted very nice - albeit thin because i had cut quite a bit of flesh away with the skin and ended up with less than what the recipe called for - I declared I would never do it again. I told my mother about our ordeal and she let out a chuckle. "You are silly. You did not boil the…

  • Banh Mi Thit – Vietnamese Pork Rolls – Miniature version
    Banh Mi Thit – Vietnamese Pork Rolls – Miniature version
    Asian Recipes

    I grew up in a small suburb in Sydney called Cabramatta. It is a thriving, family-oriented Vietnamese metropolis. Taking a stroll through the shopping centre can be best described as, "a cleaned up version of Saigon." The streets are lined with bakeries, sweet shops, tiny restaurants, grocery shops and many other places touting to make the best vietnamese products outside of the motherland. When I was in primary school mum use to walk my sisters and I home almost everyday. There were two different routes that we could take. One was a quick walk through suburban streets and the other was a longer walk through the shopping centre. I always secretly hoped that we would walk through the shopping centre. It gave me ample opportunity to put on the desperately-hungry-act so that I could weasel a few dollars out of mama's wallet to buy whatever sweetie that took my fancy.…

  • Homemade Udon Noodles by Harumi Kurihara
    Homemade Udon Noodles by Harumi Kurihara
    Asian Recipes

    Regret. There is a popular saying that goes, "Live your life with no regrets." This saying does not ring true to me. I am not a perfect person. I have made mistakes that I wish I could undo. For example: * I started to learn how to drive in high school over 10 years ago, but I never went for my P's. I am now a sardine in the can that we call Cityrail. I went to get my L's again a year ago but I still have not had one driving lesson since. * My ability to save money did not start until a few years ago. I wish I had started earlier, my bounty would have been a lot more voluptuous today. However, that Alannah Hill dress that I bought many years ago and still have not worn was worth every cent. * I wasted many years pining…