To many Vietnamese people, pig heart is believed to be good for our heath due to its nutritional value. Pig heats are always very expensive at the butcher’s. Only better-off families can afford buying and eating pig hearts frequently. 

When I was small, only when her children got sick, my mom would ask if we had any appetite for pig heart and she would buy one and cooked into porridge or stewed dishes so that after eating, we could regain our strength. 

In Singapore, pig hearts are not so expensive as such. And sometimes I buy pig hearts to cook into delicious food. For two people, I only use half a pig heart each meal. 

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I got the inspiration from the website www.joyofbaking.com to bake this cake. My only problem was that I had only one spring-form pan, and because this recipe required dividing the batter into two pans and baked them at the same time, this is how the two layers of the cake could be done, therefore, I had to bake two times with half of the recipe each time. 

I didn’t have enough walnuts in my pantry, so I used both walnuts and hazelnuts in this cake. And again, as usual, I reduced the sugar almost by 1/3 of the original amount. I took more time, however, the cake turned out perfectly to our taste. I gave one serving of the cake to my Indonesian flat-mate, and at first glance, she could tell that was the carrot cake. I also invited the two Chinese guys who also share the flat with us to enjoy this cake, and after a short time, they finished the cake and I heard them washing the dishes in the pantry. 

After three days, we finished the whole cake and the quality stayed the same. I felt so happy with this cake. 

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 Not feeling like eating so much, I only wanted to make something simple, plain and quick. I asked my fiance if he had any suggestion or if he wanted to eat anything special. My fiance told me to cook anything I liked, and he would eat everything. Looking into my fridge, seeing some slices of ham in the chill room, some fresh asparagus in the veggie room, I thought this dish would bring back my appetite. 

So, I only made this dish for my quick dinner. Nothing else. We did enjoy the meal and finished them very quickly, then returned back to our everyday’s tasks we had to finish before the day ended. 

These roll-ups  were very interesting to eat. The asparagus were still juicy, crunchy and fresh. After being baked for a short time in the oven, the ham slices became a little drier and more chewy. What a wonderful combination of the texture! Serving together with cheddar sauce was perfect as well. Just a small issue that the sauce was too much for us and we only finished half of it. These roll-ups can be eaten with the sauce poured over them or you may want to keep the sauce separately and dip the rolls in after each bite. So, if you prefer less sauce, just reduce the ingredients for making the sauce. And enjoy!

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My simple chicken soup with bitter gourds and young pineapple chunks.

Cooking for two people, I used only two chicken wings. Using the boned parts of the chicken offers better stock to the soup. Also, I only prefer the very small bitter gourds with dark green color to cook with this soup.  

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I bought a cookie press not long ago and this was my first time to practise making cookies with it. It was a very interesting experience. Making the press-typed cookies with this tool was quite fast and clean as well. Just need to wash a few things after placing the cookies in the oven, and when you finish, the cookies may be ready. 

Once again, I had to say "wow" with these cookies for their softness and crispiness. There was a funny cracking sound when I bit a cookie between my teeth. Yeah, of course with a small cookie like this one I could throw the whole thing into my mouth, yet I wanted to see the texture of it. The smell and taste of almonds were very strong and special. However, they were so fragile that needed to be handled with care, or they would be easily broken into pieces. 

After keeping them in the air-tight container for a few days, they were still crunchy and soft. A good treat to our frequent visitors !

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I was expecting a heavy rain for a few days and it is raining heavily now. I like sitting inside the house, looking out through the windows and see the raindrops falling down, trying to catch one another. For many people, cold and rainy weather is unpleasant. For me, it may be wet but I like the mood, the feeling on rainy days. 

Since the air is a bit cool down now, I am wiling to have something heavy for my lunch. (for me, anything that uses too much oil in cooking is considered heavy). For two people, I often cook with 10 large prawns or 12 medium prawns, which is also a large serving for each of us. In order to save the oil when cooking deep-fried dishes, I use a small saucepan which can fry only one or two pieces at a time. Cooking for two people is often faster too.

I like these prawns coated in parmesan and breadcrumbs as they are very crispy outside while still tender and juicy, very tasty inside with the worcestershire and lemon juice applied to them earlier. Just eating them like this without any other dipping sauce is delightful enough. 

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This way of cooking asparagus turned out quite strange to my taste. I was not surprised by the dish for its amazingly deliciousness, still I enjoyed it to the last pieces. I liked the freshiness of the vegetables even after cooking, since both the asparagus and the bean sprouts were cooked until just tender. In my mouth, I could feel clearly the crunchiness of the vegetables. The roasted almonds were slightly fragrant and offered a little buttery taste and also added texture to the dish. 

The dish should be served while hot or warm or it would lose the best taste when cooled. 

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Singapore is entering its hottest days and months. The harsh sunlight and hot air-temperature make me easily feel tired and sometimes lose my appertite. On hot days, what I always feel like eating is something mild and sour to soothen the heat. 

These days, the weather in Vietnam is also getting hotter and hotter. The heat, the dust and the noise of the city life makes people irritated. Sour soups are always the best remedy to liven up people’s trength. My mom, after a day at work, often got exhausted, and a glass of lime juice or a bowl of sour soup would help her regain the power. 

The very small green mango has another name in Vietnamese. People use those mangoes in soups to add sourness and a gentle fragrance to the soup. Each season has its own typical "fruits" to use in sour soups. Although they all add sourness, the sourness realy tastes differently with their own distinctive flavor. 

This soup is very simple to cook. The sourness of the soup is suitable for people living in tropical weather. Mild soups are pleasant to the bodies and good to the health too. Eating spicy or greasy things bring about negative effects to people’s mood and health, at least this fact is true for me and my family. 

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