Food of Love

Mr. G has been away on work for seven weeks and believe you me, I've been feeling deprived on love and affection. I proposed to Mr. G that we should have a weekend with just the two of us. And I thought, why not have a picnic? Mr. G happily agreed. (Of course this is my blog and when I say Mr. G is happy, Mr. G is happy)

Monday was beautiful. Thursday still fine.

Saturday? Damn rain.

But my mother didn't call me a stubborn cow for no reason. No rain's going to spoil my parade. Nu-uh. I want my picnic and I want it today! So even though it was spitting rain, we got up and armed ourselves with green grocer bags and went off to the fresh market.



I love markets. The sights and sounds are dazzling. The taste... ahh... spectacular. As for the day's menu, I settled for baked curry chicken wings, triple decker avocado chicken sandwiches and banana bread pudding.

So this weekend, it's bonus weekend. More recipes and more pictures! And you don't have to thank me, I had an absolutely astounding time.



Baked Curry Chicken Wings (feeds 2)
----------------------------------------------------------
500g of chicken wings
2 tbsp of curry powder
1/2 tbsp of cumin
salt and pepper

Let's Cook!
1. Preheat oven to 240c.
2. Marinate chicken with salt and pepper, curry powder and cumin.
3. Rest the wings for 15 mins.
4. Pop it into the oven.
5. Bake for 45 mins. Be sure to check and turn them over after 25 mins or so.



Triple Decker Avocado Chicken Sandwich
----------------------------------------------------------
500g chicken fillet
salt & pepper
1 avocado, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
lettuce, shredded
one small carrot, shredded
6 slices of bread

Let's Cook!
1. Marinate chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Let it snooze for 15 mins.
3. Pan fry chicken fillet on low-heat flame. Turn after 5 minutes.
4. The chicken's cook when clear juice runs as you slay it with a knife through.
5. Dice the bird into cubes. It looks better in squares anyway.
6. Toast the bread, butter one side, pile as much lettuce as you like, add avocado and carrots.
7. Sandwich another slice of buttered toast on, this time pile on tomatoes and diced chicken.
8. Finish it up with one more slice of buttered toast.
9. Cut the crust off and half the sandwich.



Banana Bread Pudding
----------------------------------------------------------
6 slices of raisin loaf
3 eggs
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of milk
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla essence
4 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided in half
1/2 teaspoon fresh, finely grated ginger root
2 tablespoons Kahlua or rum

The Joy!
1. Cube the bread, put it in a bowl with the Kahlua and milk and allow to stand for 30 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, ginger and spices.
3. Mash the bananas and combine all ingredients together.
4. Stir into a lightly greased baking dish and bake at 325 degrees.
5. It's good to go when the edges are golden and skewer comes out nearly clean (same test as for cakes).
6. Cool and serve with whipped cream.

Before I baked, I was more of a... cook. I made breakfasts, lunches and dinners but never, ever, did I bake (unless it came in a box and all you had to do was cheat). As fate would have had it, the main reason why I've shifted into baking mode is because pictures turn out decent in day light. I can't for the life of me, make dinner pictures look good in incandescent light (OK, whatever those orangy mangly lightings are). So, my question to anyone is, how do I take night foodography without big flashy photographer lighting?

(Note: Mr. G and I drove to the beach and sat in the car, looking out into the ocean, munching our sandwiches, sipping on white wine and listening to tracks on his ipod. We sat in each others' company, chatting, enjoying the view and loving each other with chicken juices running down our chin. Ah, what a perfect way to spend a rainy Saturday).