The Unexpected News

The situation at my workplace was pretty bad the past few weeks with rumors spreading that my Director was resigning at the end of the month. It's complicated to explain how the situation of him resigning will affect us but trust me, the morale to work was super low. Because of that, I have been slacking in my job, trying to pass through days and drag myself to work everyday. I was quite depressed considering that I had only been 5 months into the job and this was what I was already feeling.

But something changed. I received an email from my VP Marketing from HQ, #Chiasso.

To cut the story short, I have to go Chiasso for training and it will happen in 2 weeks time!

Credits: Glee Wiki

Shit. Nervous. And scared.

Imagine, me, alone, on a 12 hours flight, carrying a freaking heavy luggage, with laptop, and my blur eyesight, landing in Milan instead of Swiss Airport since it's nearer to travel to Chiasso and hoping that I would not get lost from country to another country, and not forgetting that these European rarely speaks English and how am I suppose to commute with them??!!

Plus...plus...plus....

I have to make a presentation to the Marketing Team there and I'm having some Asian inferiority syndrome that it's making my stomach do crunches each time I think of it!

2 weeks. DIE.

Credits: Quizzicalllama

Suddenly, with that news, I became super busy. I was scrambling to complete my unfinished task at work because straight after I come back from Chiasso, I have 2 events and the preparation have yet to even start. Serious shit.

My first ever #SOLO Business Trip. Good luck to me man!

Leah AA

LEAH's Kitchen: Spaghetti Prawn Aglio Olio

Yummeh!

The only pasta that I can make it super spicy to satisfy my tastebuds. I was craving badly for aglio olio from #SPIZE simpang bedok since last Saturday however, my hubby was too tired to bring me to SPIZE since he was working the following day. All night, I kept drooling at videos of #aglioolio and on Monday, we went to #Pastamania to satisfy my cravings.

However, I wasn't satisfied. Period.

You know the feeling when something just doesn't satisfy you? You will keep thinking and thinking about it non-stop. And yes, it happened to me. Hence, I decided to whipped up my own aglio olio with the balance prawns I had in the freezer yesterday. And oh boy, I am glad I did that. I finally got my favourite #pasta down my hungry belly!

Spaghetti Prawn Aglio Olio (4 pax)

 

Ingredients:

15 x Garlic (chopped)

3 x Italian Parsley stalk (chopped)

8 x Chilli padi (sliced)

1 x tablespoon of grounded black pepper

500gm fresh prawns

1 x packet of Spaghetti

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt

 

 

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to packaging instructions. Drain water and put pasta aside.

2. Pour substantial amount of olive oil into frying pan. Cook garlic until fragrant

3. Pour in Chilli Padi, Black Pepper and Parsley and stir-fry.

4. Add in prawns and cook till prawn turns orange.

5. Add in pasta and stir-fry till the dish is mixed well.

6. Add salt to taste.

7. Using tongs, served pasta and garnish with parsley flakes.

 

My Healthy Rating:

This dish tends to be high with oil content (Aglio Olio simply meant Oil and Garlic). Fret not, I heard that olive oil is good for a human body. Hence, I rate this dish to be 3/5.

 

Sewing, the new Generation :D

May day... or rather, it's May HEAT!

Help, the weather is freaking humid and I perspire almost anytime of the day, including the moment I step out from my shower. How bad is that? This is so human nature, hot weather complain, cold weather also complain, and I'm so guilty of that ;p

The dry spell is causing me dizzy spells, and I'm feeling nauseas for a week already (I didn't really vomit). Wait! I know what you're thinking...

NOPE. I'm not pregnant...Yet.

Credit: themarysue

Erm, well, it couldn't be right? LOL.

Anyway, I just started my sewing class recently and it's pretty awesome! It was a 3 hour lesson and I had only learnt how to take blouse measurements plus practising to sew straight and curved lines using the sewing machine. I'm amazed at the number of youngsters, including me (teehee), whom actually signed up for this private sewing classes( #sewingclassessingapore ). I had never thought that it would interest this age group.

I'm so geared up for my Saturday weekly as I will be learning how to sew. Those who know me personally may find it weird that I am attending this classes as my mom is a seamstress. So why am I not getting lessons from her? Well, all I can say is that, she is a Busy Woman. LOL. Guess I will learn the basics and approach her when I am more confident in doing patterned designs :D

And for the record, throughout my 26 years of life, my mom had only taught me how to sew a skirt.

Hehe.

I'm so excited! I just bought cloth yesterday at Woodlands Town Centre (had a hard time to find this place, seriously!) for my next lesson and also, for me to recap on how to sew a pencil skirt. Who knows someday, I will own a fashion retail business!

Leah A A

LEAH's Kitchen: Black Pepper Prawn

One of our friend hosted a #potluck session at her new house last week. And since I had to come up with a dish for the gathering, I decided to give it a go for #blackpepperprawn. I've always loved the way my mom did her black pepper dishes but I decided that I shall venture into my own recipe without asking her for the recipe, grabbing some tips here and there from the internet :D
 
Feeling like a "Kiasu-aunty", I was so happy when I saw Sheng Siong was having a promotion for prawns, at only $14.90 per kg! Perfecto...! So I bought 2 kg, to cook for my friends, as well as for my own family. Oh, and I did a "bimbotic" act in the supermarket, refusing to touch the prawns with my own bare hands and getting the staff to select and weigh the prawns for me! LOL.
 

 

Black Pepper Prawns (15-20 pax)

 

Ingredients:

20 x Garlic (chopped)

2 x Onion (chopped)

A small bit of Ginger (sliced thinly)

4 x Chilli padi (smashed)

2kg fresh prawns

2 bottle of Black Pepper Sauce (Wohup brand)

Oyster Sauce

Grounded Black Pepper

Curry Leaves

Water

Salt

Ajinomoto

 

Instructions:

1. Pour oil into a cooking wok and start frying garlic, onion, ginger and chilli padi till fragrance.

2. Pour in the black pepper sauce and water (do not pour in too much. The amount depends on how watery or how thick you want the dish to be.)

3. Add oyster sauce, prawns and black pepper. Stir-fry the dish regularly.

4. Add in curry leaves, salt and ajinomoto to taste. Mixed dish until prawn is cooked (turns orange).

 

My Healthy Rating:

Prawn is high in cholesterol so I wouldn't rate this dish as healthy.

Those with health problems should eat it in moderation.



Freezing Cold #2DegreeIceArt Exhibition

It was an impromptu decision to visit the #2DegreeIceArt exhibition on Good Friday last week. Initially, we had planned to do a family picnic at ECP but Dad wasn't up to it. So both hubby and I made plans to date just like we used to - taking the train, visit someplace, had a pleasant dinner and end off with some good drinks and snacks in Clarke Quay. It was a date that we both needed much considering the frequent bickering that week (life is full of ups and downs ~).

The queue was quite long when we reached the exhibition. Damn it. We just walked miles from Marina Bay station to Bayfront station and have to join a long queue?! The exhibition better be good! LOL. So while waiting, what do typical Singaporeans do?

CAMWHORE... Duh. LOL

 



We waited for about 30 minutes to enter the freezing ice cold freezer-like looking cabin. No kidding, it was freaking COLD! I bet the real snow don't feel as cold as this. It feels as if we are live chickens being left roaming around in the freezer while the butcher waits for any of us to freeze to death and butcher our meat... urgh! Anyway, we had real fun even though the exhibition was only a small area...

Later that day, we went to Suntec for a light dinner and head on to Clarke Quay for some drinks (not alcohol okay!). We chanced upon this pub restaurant called "Aero"-something. Can't really remember the exact name but it was a nice place to chill! The staff were wearing those cool US-like Airspace Uniform and for once, I thought few of the guys were real military guys. Great ambience, with the spiciest buffalo wings and yummy salsa nachos in town! I know right, we just had dinner and yet we are eating again. And as if that is not enough, I drank 1 glass of "Pussy Foot" and chocolate milkshake.

Calories overloaded. SHIT. Haha.

Ok some random ranting for now - I just went for my waxing treatment at #StripSingapore #Ministryofwaxing and it hurts like a bitch. This is my 5th time and I still can't tolerate the pain each time I go for it. But hell yeah, certainly feels much cleaner, like a virgin baby :)

Haha!

Leah A A

LEAH's Kitchen: Stir-Fried Basil Beef

#Basilchicken has always been one of my favourite Thai dish. And when one of my friend told me she knew how to cook that dish, I was delighted! Of course, I would ask her for the recipe and try cooking it on my own ;p Why not since I can drown myself by eating a whole plate of Basil Chicken be it 100gm, 200gm or 300gm and it will still much cheaper compare to when you order from hawker stall. Heh.

I have tried cooking Basil chicken before and it was delicious ^self-praise^ huhu... I did a little twist this time round by swapping the protein from chicken to beef since I had some leftover minced beef from the previous cooking tryst (Fried Tom Yum Macaroni, will share this recipe soon!). Yup, so I made a full good use of the frozen minced beef and cooked #basilbeef for my husband.

Oh yes, I need to complain. I really hate defrosting meat. It takes forever to defrost. Bleah.

Thai Basil Beef (3 pax)

 

 

Ingredients:

1 x Onion (chopped)

4 x Garlic (chopped)

5 x Chilli Padi (varies, depends on the level of spiciness that you want)

250gm minced beef (can substitute for chicken)

Thai Fish Sauce

Light Soya Sauce

Sweet Soya Sauce (Kicap Manis)

Basil Leaves (just the leaves)

Salt

Pepper

 

Instructions:

1. Using vegetable oil, stir fry onions, garlic and chilli padi in your wok. Fry till fragrance.

2. Add light soya sauce, thai fish sauce and sweet soya sauce. Add minced beef and stir fry the beef till the meat is 90% cooked.

3. Add basil leaves and stir-fry till the leaves soften.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

My Healthy Rating:

This dish can be pretty salty since Thai Fish Sauce is being used here. Hence, watch out for the saltiness level when you add the sauces and salt to this dish.

This dish is best served with fragrance rich and sunny side up egg (malay call it "mata lembu"). Overall, I would say that the dish is a good source of protein if you cut down on the carbohydrate intake :)

LEAH's Kitchen: Creamy Chicken Pasta

My hubby had a craving for a creamy pasta and so I started googling for recipes to whip up something delicious. And I found something simple and fast to cook... #creamychicken ! A creamy pasta is not something that I fancy though but the thought of making it was enough to make me salivate. Recalling that my cousin used to use Campbell soup in her creamy pasta, I make it a point to include that in my recipe as well.

 

Creamy Chicken Pasta (3-4 pax)

 

  

Ingredients:

1 x Onion (chopped)

1 x Garlic (chopped)

Chicken Breast (cooked, shredded)

Chicken stock

Broccoli

1 can of Campbell Cream of Mushroom

Linguine pasta (depends on your pasta choice)

Low fat milk

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Parsley flakes

Salt

Pepper

 

Instructions:

 1. Cook pasta according to packaging instruction until pasta is al dente. Drain water and place pasta in a serving plate.

2. In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in olive oil till the onion turns translucent.

3. Pour in the Campbell soup, milk and chicken stock. Regularly stir so that the sauce doesn't stick to the sides of the saucepan

4. Add in chicken and broccoli.

5. Stir until cook. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Pour the sauce over the pasta on serving plate.

7. Garnish with grated cheese and parsley flakes

 

My Healthy Rating:

Since the dish is high in carbo, I would rate the healthiness as 3/5.

To make it a healthy dish, try using a wholemeal pasta instead of the normal ones and use low fat milk.