No longer chicken

Hahaha...I am feeling victorious as I finally chopped the first fresh whole chicken in my life!!!

Growing up I often feel "disgusted" when my mum prepares the dinner. Nothing beats witnessing my dad slaughter a poor hen when i was very young. I saw him bend the neck of the bird and slashed the throat. The helpless bird then struggled and bled to death inside the dark inverted pail in the bathroom. Once certified dead, the new carcass was immersed in boiling hot water after which the feathers were dutifully removed. Looking at the kill, I thought I may become a vegetarian, but NAH, i love the fresh chicken meat even more . Besides being a O+ blood group person I need a lot of meat to line the acidic stomach and to keep the metabolism and energy levels up.

I've tried eating only vegetables and fruits only in preparation of a 40day fast several years ago. Yes the inital few days were really tiring and "detoxifying" but no I did not really experience the high energy levels in the subsequent days until the end of the fast when i resume my "proper balanced meals". Yes, meat esp red meat and red wine and good coffee along with stir fry or raw vegetables and fruits that's my best diet, going by the energy levels, general well being and weight gain, which is hardly unless I consume too much carbohydrates. Coincidentally, bread is also my favourite. My perfect breakfast is a plain baguette with coffee, while yan prefers the bacon, eggs and sausages.

Just last fortnight, I bought a pomfret,a white one from my favourite supermarket Cold Storage and to my horror discovered that it had not been cleaned out. I had no choice but tried to cleaned it, all the yucky entails and all, in the manner of my parents. The delicious fish was steamed and eaten, and upon reflection its not that YUCKY after all. Of course, nowadays, places like NTUC and Giant do offer the cleaning services so one does not need to further dirty the hands but still its a skill that every home grown chef should possess.

Chicken, fish, prawns. I really will like to kill the live crabs next but not after at least watching my dad DO IT one more time. Indeed Jamie Oliver is the next most life changing person in my life after Christ and Yan. Because of Jamie, I developed GREEN FINGERS. In our mini garden in the sea view balcony are herbs, chives, basil, tomatoes, chilli, chilli padi, ginger, garlic, onions and now my potatoes are growing in a bag against the balcony wall.

I learnt several dishes already. I loved the English Onion Soup which saw me improve dramatically my onion slicing skills. Now i think a food processor which we do not own is actually a waste of money. Though I do not mind owning a blender or a juice extractor. An electric oven will be necessary in time to come when i do more heavy duty meat roasting.

Looking back, I never imagined that I will cook well. I mean as a busy senior executive, cooking is microwaving and stir frying everything. Indeed motherhood changes me. Call me an aunty it does not bother me at all.

I am happy learning everyday. From gardening, to cooking, to home schooling rachel and new violin pieces. Life can be simple, challenging and inspiring at home as well.