So last night Fai and Carrie came over for a night of food + video games + movie. I was going to try the Chilled Cucumber Soup with Garlic Prawns from the Best of Delicious Book I got a few months ago. But I think I got the wrong creme and yogurt and it ended up tasting rather disgusting. So at the spur of the moment I decided to cook the pumpkin soup I tried last time. Right away, Fai and I went down to the grocery store nearby to pick up some pumpkin, onion, garlic, ginger, lemon..etc. It turned out to be a good decision!
The last time I tried this, it was really curry-y and coconut-y. In other words, it tasted more like curry than anything. So this time I really toned down on the coconut milk and curry. As a result, one could really taste the pumpkin-ness. The sweet tasting pumpkin provided for a good contrast with the citrus and sharp flavor of the coriander (cilantro)-lemon pesto. (Seen as a “A” above haha). (PS Sorry Carrie, I turned that loaf of bed into this rock-hard super toast! hahaha…. next time… :D)
I tried another new recipe for the first time as well, the Pork with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce. I was surprised by how tasty this was! And I even messed up the execution a bit! I accidentally cooked the pork on medium heat while trying to get both sides to be golden brown. It should have been on high heat. So and such I overcooked it a bit. I also thought the pork cutlets I got could have been of higher quality. Not to mention, I should have marinated the pork a lot earlier (as remarked by Fai) In any case, let’s talk about the good stuff!
First, the cool part.
I spent a much longer time than recommended to let the balsamic + chicken stock slowly heat through the strawberries. I was rather pleased with the effect!
The result:
The pork and the strawberries really off each other well here in the juxtapositions of texture, sweetness, and fragrance. Add the balsamic vinegar’s sour taste is a very interesting culinary symphony. I am really looking forward to making this again with 1)better quality pork 2) earlier/longer marinating and 3) better grilling. I think the result would be even more fantastic then!
click here to see the gallery
