Eating well

These days, I'm not the only one at home cutting down on carbs. SK has been telling me not to give him any rice during dinner while YK hardly eats rice anyway. I've been trying to introduce brown rice but they do not like the taste.

It's hard to fill two growing boys up without any carbs, so I have to be more creative during mealtime. Last night, I made roast chicken marinated with herbs (majoram, tarragon, sage and rosemary) from my garden. Even though I found it delicious, the boys who aren't huge meat eaters, didn't really fancy it. On the other hand, the Vietnamese rice rolls were polished off quickly with nods of approval.

Since YK is busy studying for his test this afternoon, I decided to make a simple pasta salad before leaving for work today. It's one of the easiest dishes to make and the taste improves after a couple of hours. It's great for picnics and potluck parties. Yes, pasta is still carbs.

If you're thinking of making some, here's the recipe.

1. Boil pasta in a pot of salted water until al-dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
2. Panfry minced garlic, shelled shrimps and squid in olive oil until tender and lightly cooked.
3. Chop red and yellow capsicum, sugar peas and 1 red onion into small pieces. You can be as imaginative as you like and add anything like cheese, olive, tomato etc.
4. Toss pasta and vegetables together.
5. Make a dressing using juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon of mustard, 4 tablespoon olive oil, pinch of salt and ground pepper. Pour over the salad and mix well.

I've discovered the perfect food for my own breakfast. It's the humble tempeh, a kind of fermented soybean cake. Here is what it looks like before cooking.

I panfry it in olive oil until it is crispy at the edges and eat it with a light sprinkling of sea salt. It's surprisingly delicious and packed with lots of nutrition.