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| that's how HHB looks like after going through so many books...of course, she is much rounder and many times fatter than cute pinky piggy! |
For the past weeks, I have been working very hard...I don't think I was ever that hardworking when I was a student. I am not dreaming to become a chef or a baker...I was just trying to gather as many meal ideas as possible. It is high time I add a few new items to my family meals. I was a complete culinary idiot (I am still one) before I started baking and cooking for my family. Despite reading tons of cookbooks and magazines for the past few years, I am still relatively new to the culinary world, probably because I have been an armchair cook all along ;) I enjoying gawking at illustrations of delicious, lip-smacking dishes, sometimes I even bothered to copy down the recipes, but I hardly transform those instructions into a real dish to be served at my dining table. Most of the time I chicken out...be it due to the ease of getting the ingredients or the techniques or skills required. I tend to move back to my comfort zone, to prepare meals that I could do with my eyes half opened...dishes that I do not have to keep referring to the recipe for fear of missing out some key ingredients, or meals that are oh-so-forgiving that a lazy cook like me could get away with it easily.
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| sources of my inspiration...free, from the public library |
...what about you?
27 comments:
After eating out for the first six years of our marriage and with the arrival of my first born. I started slowly to pick up cooking, out of desperation as we were so sick and tired of takeway food and definitely not choice but to cook porridge for my young kid.
From there, I slowly start to enjoy the process. Never look back since then and now I am at lost what to eat when dine out.
Glad to know that you are embarking on this journey and wish you success.
nice post...so cute!
what an adorable post! I look forward to see more your creative cooking with the recipes of these books.
Wow, you got a mini library collection of cook books ;)
Looking forward to more baked from you ;)
Nice post! Always inspired by you.
Hi HHB,
I'm like you but not an arm chair chef but more of a bed chef. Maybe that way I can have a delicious dream of food. Heh..
I love the first two pictures. So delightful! In the second pic, looks like piggy is exhausted from all the reading. Love this post :) Great pics!
I wished that I could read chinese better to have more baking books in chinese, they're interesting! I hve this bad habit that I tend to forget the books I've bought, and not put them in shelves, and have a hard time finding them later. Can't wait for my new house to be ready ><
I've been cooking and baking since the age of ten and I'm still learning especially from all the expert food bloggers and also from you.
You borrow so many books from the library at one time? I borrow at most 4 including magazines. I think I'm becoming an armchair baker already. No motivation to bake now.
That's many Chinese cookbooks - I enjoy you - for your bilingual skills :)
So cute! I mean you! How can a piggy be compared to a great mother and wife like you?! No way! :)
I love reading cookbooks just like you. I love to include as many books as i could into my collection, sometime i really hope that i have a big library full of cookbooks hahaha...
edith, thanks for the encouragement…I think it will take me many years to learn!
CaThY, all those are books from the public library, I own only a few cookbooks.
Airen-chan, I am guilty of falling asleep half way reading a cookbook ;)
NEL, piggy look really exhausted…information Overload, haha! btw, piggy needs a shower badly!
Swee San, I don't own that many cookbooks, and the problem with me is, I hardly try the recipes from the books that I own…maybe there is no pressure to return the books, so I tend to procrastinate.
busygran, you are my sifu!
SSB, everyone can borrow up to 6 books…since last year or the year before? I used my husband's card as well. Every weekend I'll lug back tons of books from the library…including those for my kids. I understand the 'no motivation' part. I am gaining steam at the moment…hope I can send you some of my steam to get you fired up ;)
The Experimental Cook, this is just about the only thing I am proud of myself…being able to read both Chinese simple and traditional text with ease.
Jane, I am more sloppy than you could imagine, lolz!
Ellena, I hardly buy cookbooks for myself…I don't really have much wants…probably because I am super stingy!! Besides I am only given a tiny space to keep my books, the rest of the 99% all taken up by the rest of the family.
You inspired me some time back to "use" the library more... I've learnt a lot from it (even if it is not always well stocked). But a lot it is to learn, yet. I'm enjoying the sun behind the windows these days, so warming! Here it is still full winter! I'm waiting to see new great inspiration from your discoveries (as always)
keep going
cheers
Martina
So cute and a good post! Me too , I mainly have a lot of food magazines but never try them out. But I start to buy baking recipe book now , hope I will bake some from the books, hehehe.
呵呵,期待你未来的作品,我等着向你学习喔:P
I've not stepped into the library for years :p
Coming from a big family and being the youngest, I never had a chance to help out in the kitchen. To make matters worst, I was a technical student. I never knew how to cook white rice (either too much or too little water), neither do I know how to cook a bowl of decent instant noodles.
Like Edith, I only started cooking (infant porridge) upon the arrival of my first born. No interest in cooking, just cooked for the sake of cooking. With the arrival of ds2 and we had a domestic helper then, I started to bake some simple cookies and cakes. That was when my interest in baking grow. I started off with visiting forums, not much into cookbooks as most of the recipe books are in Chinese and I regret to say that I'm not very well verse in that.
Remember I mentioned before, you are my inspiration? ;-)
you are so humble, i think if you would have taken a culinary examination, you will score way above A. I never get tired of buying recipe books which i still have one or two books which i havent touched on a single recipe, bad huh? But i do find it inspiring and enjoyable just by reading the recipes and looking at the pictures! have a great weekend!
Such a delightful post HHB. I enjoy very much reading it and a good laugh at piggy. Piggy belongs to you or from your boys?
I agree with you that very often, I bake mostly from the books I borrowed from the library. Guess it's the urgency to finish and return. I think I am a bed cook, hopefully dint drool as I doze off lol!
I am currently into cooking too starting with simple Chinese dishes. I love to follow zhi char style but of cos have not achieve that standard. I'm lucky that my 4boys can eat fried rice everyday without complain hehe...At one time I even learn to fried all the different types of fried rice lol
Let's enjoy the process as we explore the fun, all for being a better Sahm with our own badge "top cook/baker" credited in time to come. Jia you!
Martina, thanks for your lovely comments :)
Sonia, I used to subscribe to travel magazines, but I have stopped because I find them taking up space and collecting dust, I prefer to borrow from the library...our libraries here are quite well stock.
Blessed Homemaker...seems like we all started with cooking baby food, lolz! I came from a big family too, second youngest ;) If you come across any Chinese recipes that you want to try, let me know, I can translate it for you. Serious, I am not paying lip service.
lena, provided it is a Theory exam...I think I can pass but not practical exams. You should look at the way I chop up the ingredients...they come in all shapes and sizes, hahaha!
Jessie, piggy is mine...my younger son has got his own cute turtle, elly the elephant, pangy the panguin, lula the puppy, goaty the half goat half donkey, and many many more!
I am only capable of cooking fried rice, this is the most forgiving dish, isn't it?
HHB...same over here..the difference is I am a full time working momsie :) I carry my bread book to work and read them during lunch time and when I get home, I am already inspired to bake a bread :p and while working , my mind will be thinking of the kneading process ( I don't use a bread maker ) while working...hahaha this is what I called multi tasking of the brain !
Have a great day,
Elin
Piggy! I just did a post about pink things too ^_^ I go through phases where I read and read and then through phases where I cook and cook - have yet to find a more useful balance where I do both at the same time ;P
hi HHB
a very helpful blog and an equally beautiful kitchen. can i add u in my blog roll..pls
hi happy-bowl, thanks for visiting, I am very honored to have you link me up, thanks :):)
As a korean, I am glad to see a korean cooking book! :) I enjoy reading your blog. Thank you for all your great posts!
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