An extended Like Water for Chocolate moment...

These days, when Serene Koh gets upset, she cooks. I figure it's cheaper than therapy. Or shopping, which is what I would have done in my past life. But since that requires funds I do not currently possess- and Ann Arbor isn't what one would consider the shopping mecca of the world anyway- cooking it was today...

I was feeling a little crummy that I had to squander my Fall break on a meeting in my windowless basement office instead of being to do my own work. And so when I got home in the evening, I raided the fridge and cooked up a teeny-mini storm. For dinner, it was sup kum hor fun, which is basically pan-fried rice noodles with seafood in an egg-based gravy (adapted from here). It's pure comfort food from home, and something readily available at many food stalls in Singapore. Jude and I haven't really found anywhere here that does a good version so I figured what we crave and can't get outside, we'll just have to recreate on our own... It turned out pretty well, and quite close to the real thing, actually- my mom would be proud! :)


For dessert (yes, I was that upset...) I made a simple apple crisp from Simply Recipes. It calls for hardly any ingredients at all, and was ridiculously easy to make. We had some slightly tart Michigan Honey Crisps lying in the fridge which are perfect for this recipe. The apples should be tart because you don't want the dessert cloyingly sweet like an apple pie. It ended up being a most delightful juxtaposition of texture and flavor- the sweet and buttery crunchy oat topping against the tender, slightly tart apples (the flavor intensifies beautifully as it baked), served warm and made even more yummy with a scoop of cold, creamy ice-cream...


So yes, it was one extended Like Water For Chocolate moment- channeling all my frustrations into the cooking. Thankfully no one cried after cake or went into a quail-induced frenzy (mostly because I didn't make cake or quail. Ok, sorry... Go read the book.) I feel much better than I did this afternoon and we had a good dinner plus yummy leftovers- almost makes being moody worthwhile. But only almost... :)