The “Cook next door” meme

I have been tagged by the baker/Cheryl for the meme. This is my 1st time doing one and it’s quite fun :)

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
It was in Secondary 1 when I was 13 and girls have to learn cooking, sewing, etc during Home Economics lessons. I forgot what my first dish was but I remember cooking fish, vegetable, rock buns, butter cake and bringing them home for my family to try.

Who had the most influence on your cooking?
My mum. She is a homemaker and used to make pieapple tarts, peach pie and apple pie and sausage pastry. Nowadays she would just bake butter cake with coffee, banana or durian and make desserts like bean curd skin barley and gingko nut. I love eating the dishes (not too oily and salty) she cooks for dinner – panfried salmon, omelette with salmon or fish or pork, clear soup with green leafy vegetables and minced pork and fish, curry chicken or fish, meats marinated with Lea and Perrins sauce, chicken stew and soups like carrot and potato in the slow cooker, etc. Whenever I bake or cook, I will get mum to try them as she is my food critic.

Do you have an old photo as evidence of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Sadly no.

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
I haven’t suffered from any phobia yet because I’m still taking baby steps in baking and cooking. I always look out for recipes that are easy to do, so it’s a bit hard for cooking phobia to take place :)

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?
The new oven that Dad bought a few months ago can make my heart sink sometimes because my cookie bottoms were burnt even after I shortened the baking time and lower oven temperature and the cookie top and centre weren’t really cooked yet. The oven gets heated up easily, so I have to monitor closely. But I shall get to know the oven better and make it my most valued gadgets.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!
My bread spread with margarine and toasted wheatgerm is considered weird by my friends. I have it for breakfast almost everyday.

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don't want to live without?
Mum’s dishes, soya bean milk and bread

Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one!
Three quickies:Your favorite ice-cream?
I don’t really have cravings for ice cream. It could be as long as a month before I eat ice cream and I normally eat it with friends when they want to order desserts after a meal. I used to love Swensen’s Yam ice cream when I was in primary/secondary school and ate that after my piano lessons @ Yamaha @ Thomson Plaza. A few years ago, I would enjoy occasional treats of MacDonald’s ice cream cone or Hot Fudge Sundae. No favorite ice cream but I don’t like to waste my stomach space for ice cream like Kings and I find Bravissimo gelato too sweet for me.

You will probably never eat?
Definitely not cats, dogs, hamsters because they are pets. Meat from endangered animals. And insects too.

Your own signature dish?
My chocolate centred walnut cookies

Question added by Zarah: On average, how many times a week would you cook something to satisfy your sweet tooth?
I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so I would bake fortnightly or when the mood strikes me.

Question added by Cathy: What do you usually eat for breakfast?
I usually eat bread spread with margarine and toasted wheatgerm or cereals and nuts and dried apricot. If there are fruits and soya bean milk, I will go for them too. And when Mum or I bake, I will have cookies or cakes too. If there’s plain yogurt, I will sprinkle some wheatgerm and honey to go with it. I believe in having a hearty breakfast before I start the day.

Question added by Alice: What are your stand-by dinner options when you don't have the time or the inclination to follow or create a new recipe?
Omelette with diced carrots or capsicum or mushroom or celery. Porridge with diced chicken sausage or minced pork and carrots or celery. Cereals with milk and nuts. Quaker oatmeal with honey and milk. Cheese sandwich. If there is cooked rice in the fridge, I will cook fried rice with egg and some meat and diced vegetables. I will try to have some fruits after the meal.

And, last but not least: Tag three people!
I’m going to tag Slushy and Fairy Godmother. I would love to tag Hui Jen if she ever starts to blog as we 4 used to do baking experiments togetherand she makes yummy baked rice too. And Joan, if you have a blog, I would tag you too. I still remember your delicious turkey, lemon tart and all the yummy food made by you and Anne.