Thoughts on Cooking from a Novice Chef

I am a novice cook and these few months I have been given the opportunity to cook breakfast for my family,so I bought this book "Healthy Appetite" by Gordon Ramsay (who else). For those who are not familiar, Gordon Ramsay is the foul mouthed chef who has several Michelin star restaurants in London and other parts of the world. He has his own cooking show,on AFC or Asian Food Channel and my wife, May is a fan.

Cooking is very much an art with scientific techniques applied, and you have to be on your toes, all the time in the kitchen.
The chef is like the "Commander in Chief" and he has control over everything when he creates his dishes. The mind must be thinking of what to do next, for how long, apply what, pace the stir fry or steaming, when to turn over the food, fire level,
seasoning, tasting and a whole host of other parameters. I am a beginner or a Novice so these are my initial thoughts on cooking.

Tasting the food at the beginning and before it is finally served is a must, as is the Presentation of the food.

The result ? When your guets or your family tuck in and the expression on their faces is the reward. It can be
priceless. Try cooking, get in touch with your creative side.

1 month to SC marathon - I am in trouble

The picture says it all, a long road ahead, it is sunset, the last rays of the day Sunday 9th November are at an ebb. I have just finished only 8km of the Nassim Road route (2 laps) and my body or specifically my knee, is telling me to stop.
I have to adjust my left leg so that it pronates inwards to compensate for the strain on m knee.Not a good sign.

I have finished 2 loops of 4km each today and as I had experienced some nagging pain,which is due to a strain on my Illiotibial Band - the ligament running from the outside of each knee, I decided against finishing my targetted 12km distance.

This week I have completed the following :
- Monday Rest ;
- Tuesday 8 km Goldhill
- Wednesday Rest
- Thursday 6 km in KL gym
- Friday 8 km Goldhill Avenue
- Saturday Rest
- Sunday 8 km Nassim

Total : 30 km , a far cry from the 50 - 60km needed to log before a marathon

My thoughts are about my injury and whether I should stop and give my tired body,especially my knee, a rest.
The surest way to recover is to employ the RICE method :

R est ; Take a few months complete no running rest
I ce - Ice the affected area
C ompression - Provide some Bandaging to the affected area
E lavation - Lift up the leg when sleeping

This week I will formally decide whether to proceed with my marathon on 7th December or skip and rest
till my injury heals.

Cool Bungalow in KL

Located in Banting, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur and near PutraJaya, the Admisitrative Capital of Malaysia, this Bungalow is designed in the Modern Minimalist Look pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright of the United States. It sits near the top of a hill
overlooking the faux grandiose (trying too hard to look expensive) looking Marriot Hotel.

The bangalow comes attached with a 30m infinity pool, a cabana, a huge car courtyard for tethering your racing breed Ferraris and Lamboghinis as well as 15 (I counted) air conditioned split units. The house is shaped like a "H" with the West Wing and the East Wing. Pool parties as well as all kinds of movie scenes ala CSI Miami come to mind.

Land Area : 40,000 ft2

Built Up Area : 16,000 ft2 fully furninshed - its a show house on the Hill. The development is called Diamond Hill if you
are interested

Asking Price : RM 15 Million or S$ 6.4 Million

My Goal : Forget About It !!

I want to live my life and not slave to get a dream house.

New Office in 2012

This is the view of the water feature outside the Xilinx Building, in Changi South Avenue 2. It resembles something like
Silicon Valley in California. As I remarked to Johnson,my colleague, it is good to set a goal in the near future
for all in the company to achieve so :

Objective : To have an Office located in Changi South Avenue 2

Date of Achievement : by 2012 - in 4 years (before I turn 50).

Watch this Blog for further updates !!

Happy 89th Papa

My father, Geoffrey Abisheganaden, will turn 89 years old on 23rd November. He is to me and my brother John,a kind,humble man who epitomised all the values of a Christian servant of God. A lawyer by training,he studied at the Gray's Inn College in London and was the the same cohort as the Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew and former Deputy Prime Minister the late S. Rajaratnam.

When he graduated, he was the legal assistant to Mr. David Marshall, the Chief Minister of Singapore in the late 50s.They had many successes in court and he was always coming home to our house at 6 Adis Road in the 60's and early 70's with tales of his courtroom successes,whenever David Marshall managed to get his client acquitted or on reduced charges. He helped quite a number of neighbours and people who couldn't afford legal fees, (pro bono) and never looked down on the uneducated or poorer citizens.

He was the past President of the NUS Guild House, as well as past Chairman of the St Andrew's School Board of Governors, he has sat in many other Boards ranging from the Bible House,the Synod, Singapore Swimming Club as well as the St Andrew's Junior College.

He helped my Undergraduate NTI debating team tremendously as an advisor in the mid 80's by providing mature and logical viewpoints as well as oratorical tips in public speaking. My Army buddies from '82-83 remember vividly when he would drive 4 to 5 of us back to camp in Sungei Gedong in Lim Chu Kang every Sunday night to 'book in' to our army camp of 46th Singapore Armoured Regiment. He never complained of the long 45 minute drive from Goldhill Avenue to Lim Chu Kang road, taking the dark and then winding road and dropping us off and driving back home.

His Law practice, Abisheganaden and Company, was disbanded and handed over to younger partners and although he is a Notary Public, he is still active. His health of late is stable but he is weak in the legs,but his mind is still sharp, reading as many as 3 - 4 books each week.

A good father, loving husband and an Uncommon Man of Character,my Papa.

Happy 89th Birthday on 23rd November.

Visit from an Australian Musician

My friend Suresh,dropped into Singapore last week and here is a photo of us.
Suresh is the guy with the beard and Richard is his ex-colleague in a company specialising in vision and number plate recognition with business is Asia Pacific.
Suresh is living out his dream by working for Nokia in Gold Coast Australia
and playing the tabla with an Australian singer in certain Indian food estalishments,acting in plays (Othello),writing sonnets as well as rock climbing, running, cycling and many other things.
Quite a different lifestyle from your 9 to 5 working person with family or living in Singapore.

Crisis ? What Crisis ?

My son Andrew, turned 11 on October 25th this past week, so HE arranged his own party by inviting 4 friends over to our house for a) Xbox 360, b) Play Station Portable and c) Maple Story gaming for 4 hours.
It was very timely as the last time he celebrated was in 2006 and that was
a testosterone filled party (about 10 boys / teenagers) whereby his brother Noel invited all the neighbourhood friends and it was a riot !
This time around, he sent out Personal Invitation Cards, asked his friends what they were giving him (at this age it is OK to be impolite !) which were mainly Maple Story cards and stuff and it was Game On from 2pm to 6pm.
When you are 0- 12 years old you are in La La Land and everything is in serach of fun.
Come to think of it, us men are in La La Land even when we are 40+ !!.

HAPPY BITRHDAY ANDREW !