Corn Casserole

wow, would you look at that! Jagung Mutiara or Pearl Corn. You can eat it raw or steam it over a pot of boiling water and slather it with butter. Absolutely the best corn I've ever eaten - sweet, crunchy and juicy. Its so dense that I couldnt even finish one! We got it from our recent trip to Cameron.

You can even make a casserole out of it but this is definitely not for the faint hearted. Since I had some leftover whipping cream, and I remember reading a recipe from Pioneer Woman on corn... so here goes!

First, slice the kernels off the corn. Now this is a messy and potentially dangerous process for the clumsy ppl. Be careful! I did a pretty lazy job here. Didnt get a clean finish, created such a wasteful mess that I quickly hid it away before Hubs got the chance to ramble on about how many ppl out there are starving. Ok ok i know but my arms are really aching. Anyway, Elise recently came up with some good tips on this. Read it here.

So ok, once you've got all the kernels out, or whatever you can manage, pour in some whipping cream (not too much, you want it to be creamy, not watery), a dash of salt and pepper and of course some butter.

Put the whole thing into the oven and bake for 20-25 mins. And there you have it!

Enjoy!

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Squeezing in a quick post here. Must share this recipe with you guys. Its sooo easy and the results are fantastic!

Cherry tomatoes eaten fresh are great - juicy, sweet but I would say 'mild'. To really appreciate its potential, you gotta let it go thru some fire! (heat lah) haha.

Cut the tomatoes into half, sprinkle some salt and toss it around. Leave for about 15 mins then drain the excess liquids. Now put them into a roasting pan, sprinkle on some olive oil and roast it at 180deg for about 20 mins or more, until the juices have sort of dried up.

Wow. The flavour is deep, intense and sooo good. Trust me. Serve on top some toasty French bread or just eat it on its own.

Tummy Filling Cream of Broccoli Soup

I know some of you may cringe and go eww broccoli soup? I had that with some guys who went ewww .... pumpkin soup? Pumpkin soup was one of the very first recipes I ever tried and got hooked on cooking!

Now, broccoli soup. I like it coz its completely different from pumpkin soup. Its a light green colour. Pumpkin soup is a bright orange colour. So there. I have different coloured soups to blog about.

AND its so much easier.

Chop up shallots and sautee them with oil or butter until they turn translucent. Add in broccoli together with chicken stock. Simmer till the broccoli turns a bright green (don't overcook them!). Save some broccoli florets for garnishing.

Transfer the whole lot into a blender and puree to however fine you want the broccoli bits to be. Pour back into the pot, add whipping cream and lemon juice. Simmer, season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Lamb Chops with Herbs

I saw a whole lot of chilled Australian lamb on promotion and grabbed them off the freezer. I have yet to try my hand at cooking lamb. Hooray! Something new.

I made a simple marinade of dry mixed herbs, added extra dried thyme, then salt, pepper and olive oil. Massage well into the meat and leave in the fridge overnight. To cook, heat up pan with some oil. Cook lamb on one side for about 6-8 mins (depending on thickness of cut) .When its lightly browned, turn to the other side and cook several minutes.

The fat was the best part - all the flavour from the marinade is here and it has a delicious melt in mouth texture.

For more info and tips on cooking lamb, try out these sites

Great Midwest Lamb Company

Lamb cooking guidelines