Fresh Carrot Juice

This is probably the healthiest sweet drink you can find - fresh carrot juice.

Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, a good source of potassium, and contain vitamins C & B6, copper, folic acid,thiamine and magnesium. The high level of beta-carotene gives carrots their distinctive orange colour. Beta-carotene is a strong antioxidant, so carrots are really really good for you and your skin. (As with everything in life though, moderation is key. Consume too much and you'd turn into a carroty shade as well)

When juicing carrots, it's better to use big, older carrots than those soft, young ones. I've found that the bigger, older carrots tend to make sweeter carrot juice.

In fact, the bigger ones are also better for soups and in stir-fry, so I find myself buying young carrots only very occasionally, when I use them raw in salads.

Have a good week ahead.

Craving for Thai Food

A pot of tom yum soup I've made recently. 

It's good but doesn't taste like the "real thing"

I have been craving Thai food recently and I guess there is no better way to satisfy the cravings by booking a trip to Bangkok.

It's been a while since I've been to Bangkok. Hm.. come to think of it... I've not been there since I started this blog!

I'm really looking forward to this trip.

See you all very soon!

MasterChef Australia and Caesar Salad Dressing

I've been watching every episode of MasterChef Australia Season 2 on cable TV (Star World Channel).

It is an extremely long TV game show series but I must say it is really quite enjoyable.

Firstly, the participants are pretty nice people and they actually seem to quite like each other (compare this with MasterChef US and you'd know what I mean).

Secondly, I've found myself learning so much about cooking from the series, particularly from the "Masterclass" episodes.

The recipes look very good and I find myself picking up useful tips along the way, like scoring the skin of duck before roasting, how to make lava chocolate cake ahead of time, etc.

All the recipes from the classes are also available online, and I'm sure I will be using quite a few of them soon.

This is one that The Husband used recently - Caesar Salad Dressing by Donna Hay.

Ingredients
1 egg
2 anchovies
1/2 tsp Wostershire sauce
1 tsp of lemon juice
3/4 cup grape seed oil
salt to season

Mix all dressing ingredients together in blender until smooth. We have found that it's also good to add in some finely grated garlic and dijon mustard.. but it's important to add these slowly and taste along the way.

Now that I know this dressing works, next time, I'd try adding all the works to this salad - soft boiled eggs and honey-roasted bacon.

Caesar salad with homemade dressing