Leah’s Cafe

I love pearls, and pearls come from oysters. But, do you know that some people also believe that this gooey slippery and slimy mollusks can improve your sex life? The oysters have been deemed as having Vigra equivalent values for centuries.

The Greek mythology said Aphrodite the goddess of love sprang forth from the sea on the back of an oyster and gave birth to Eros, thus born the word “aphrodisiac”. The handsome lover is said used to start his meal eating 12 dozen of oysters! Like the Chinese who assumed that the sexual strength comes from eating foods resembling a sex organ, it might be just something based on the psychological aspect. :-)

Nonetheless, modern scientific analysis did find oysters contain high level of zinc, which is the main mineral that keep the testosterone at its peak performance. That may explain the belief that oysters are natural aphrodisiac libido increasing food has stood the test of time!!

Well, before you run off to swallow 12 dozens of raw oysters, you may want to be aware of the Vibrio Vulnificus disease that can be caused by contaminated Gulf oysters, which are harvested from the Gulf of Mexico. Apparently, when at-risk individuals consume raw oysters that are contaminated with this bacteria, it can cause serious illness and can even result in death. SO, if you like to eat oysters raw, check out http://beoysteraware.com, find out whether you belong to the at risk group of people.

I know a lot of friends who are crazy about food or should I say obsess with food? Every meal is an ultimate olfactory and gustatory experience to them. A two hour drive hunting for that ultimate restaurant is as common as a 10-minute journey across the town to get a quick bite at that legendary food vendor at the corner of the building by the bank. They can also talk enthusiastically with strangers about food. I would think food explorer succinctly describes them.

Are you one of those people who live to eat? You may want to check out www.foodconnect.com! It’s a new social networking site for where you may share and network with other food enthusiasts. You can find generous inside information, recipes for dishes that you could possibly cook and taste in a solid 3 months of 3-meal-a-day eating.:-)

Press Release:

www.foodconnect.com is the ultimate tool for every foodie.

What makes foodconnect.com so great? These and many other features:

- Free nutritional analysis, for all recipes on the site and every recipe you submit.

- Share your recipes with your friends and other foodies.

- Discuss recipe ideas and techniques.

- Plan your meal and easily print off your shopping list.

- Create the perfect dinner party

All of this and much more and best of all its all free. Get to foodconnecct.com to get started today.

Saw these fish (shi2 ban1 ? ? ? ) at the farmer’s market on Wednesday and bought four of them. But didn’t know what to do with them.

Of course I searched the web for more information and found out this type of fish are usually for steaming(? ?). What do people do under this situation prior internet search engines? :-)

Here it goes, my “steam fish of the week”, I have four of them, remember?

After reading about Joyce’s Giddy giddy chicken stew, I have been craving for the comforting chicken stew and wanting to cook it. I didn’t have time to do grocery shopping last two days. This morning, I dug out some ingredients from the refrigerator, realized that though lack of some ingredients, I still have enough ingredients to cook chicken stew.

So, here is my version of chicken stew.

The chicken stew that my mom cooked called for potatoes and dried mushrooms. But I only have fresh mushrooms and some corns on the cobs that were intended for chicken soup. I dumped all into the stew and ended up having a big pot of chicken stew for 3-4 person, which I planned to share with my parents when I go to their place in the evening.

2 chicken breasts and 2 drumsticks (cut into bite size)
2 carrots (skinned and cut into about 1/2″ length)
2 corns (cut into 3-4 parts)
1 package of fresh mushroom (500g) (cut into two)
2 onions (sliced)
3 shallots (sliced)
1 teaspoon of bean paste (optional)

1) Heat up the wok, fry the shallots until a little brownish

2) Add in the bean paste, keep stirring until fragrance.

3) Add in the chicken, stir fry a little bit.

4) Add in the rest of of the ingredients, stir until the juice start boiling.

5) Lower the temperature and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

6) Add salt to taste. (I don’t add salt coz I used the bean paste)

This is an easy no brainer recipes that tastes good and make you feel comforting especially on a cold day.:-)

My second sister bought several boxes of chocolates when she went to UK recently. I ended up eating some of them. Luckily mom gave away the rest of them to friends and relatives. I love chocolates but can no longer afford the luxury of unlimited chocolate binge. Not because I can’t afford a box of chocolates, but because I cannot really afford to put on more weight from eating chocolates!

If you like chocolate but concern about the sugar content, are you aware that there is such a thing as sugar free chocolates? At Fannie May they carry no sugar added chocolates. You can also find assortment of chocolates at Fannie May, they literally makes me drool! Check out the chocolates at fanniemay.com and remember them the next time you think of a gift for your loved ones or friends.

Went to JJ store for grocery shopping and decided to have lunch at the food court. Have not eaten there for a long time, just “discovered” a new food stall called “Mr Teppanyaki”. Well, it might have been there for a long time, but it’s new to me! :-)

Since I have been craving for something hot and spicy, I ordered this Teppanyaki pomfret.

The fish came with rice and some pappadums (lentils chips - the spicy Indian crackers). Everything tasted alright. But I wished the guy who grilled the fish had turned it around, as it’s burned on one side.

As a result of that, quite a big chunk of the fish was burned and stuck on the Aluminum foil.

All my siblings were home yesterday for the Tong Zi Festival (Winter Solstice). Mom cooked some customary Tang Yuan (glutinous rice balls). They are easy to make, but most of the adults in my family do not fancy this sweet balls cook in syrup, they were for my niece and nephew who like sweet stuffs.

However, we were looking forward to eat the vegetable glutinous rice dumplings that mom also make on the same day. Mom cooked the vegetable dumplings in chicken soup, very yummy, especially on cold days, one of the comfort foods that we miss very much.

I like to know what is inside a meal, that’s why I prefer to eat at home instead of eating out. However, it’s not very motivating to cook up a proper meal for one person. I usually just cook very simple dishes required very little preparation in the kitchen

Fish slice in with ginger and fermented bean paste.

Ridged gourd (Petola in Malay) with egg.

Bitter gourd soup

(photos will be uploaded in a minute)