Labels and Caution warnings

Recognise this brand Veet? Ah yes. The friendly neighbourhood product of hair removal creams and wax. Ever read the instructions or caution warnings on the box? One of it was 'Do not apply on irritated skin'. No? Well you better.

And even if you do read the instructions and caution warnings, like me, do REALLY take notice of them. Few days ago I had this small little patch of skin on my leg recovering from weeks long of mosquito bite. The stories goes that it itches, so I scratch. So the top layer of skin peels off and it hurts. You know, the usual scratch too much thingy.

Anyway... after weeks, the top layer of skin grows back and I thought "Yay! I have my beautiful leg again~" And there, I happily apply the Veet Hair removal cream over it with the rest of my leg... then it feels funny.

lalalala~ after shower~

This happens to the spot.

Apparently, the cream ate through the still-recovering-sensitive-skin. It looks better now cause I've apply some magic healing cream on it. Now I have an ugly big patch on my leg T__T

*Moral of this post: Read the label and obey them. They mean it.

Ashley still staring at her poor leg away~ T__T

Sushi

A great many of us love Japanese food, whether it is sushi, sashimi, tempura, ramen, udon and so on. I came across this book (Food Culture in Japan by Michael Ashkenazi and Jeanne Jacob) and found it to be quite interesting.

It talks about the Japanese food culture as a whole, from history to basic ingredients in Japanese cooking and even eating equitities in different places and occasion. It even discusses the good and bad sides of Japanese diet.

One interesting fact was that sushi actually started out as a preservation method. An Osaka merchant found that by wrapping fish in vinegared rice, the fish would last longer. This was because the in-land people wanted 'fresh' fish instead of the usual dried ones. The rice was thrown away after the fish has been taken out of the rice ball.

After trend caught on by the samurai of Edo (now Tokyo), they too wanted that dish. However they wanted true fresh fish and will not accept the preserved ones. Hence it was changed to little vinegared rice balls with the freshest fish on it. That was the birth of the current popular Edozushi (sushi from Tokyo).

Ever wondered about the little green fringe-cut plastic film that is always found in Japanese sets? Well in the olden days, it was not compulsory to put expirery date on food products. So box lunches (obento) makers would place the food on green bamboo leaves, which degrade at a fairly predictable rate. This is used by people to judge the freshness of the obento. If the leaves are still green, then it is fresh, but if it is brown... well it would be best not to purchase it :D This tradition of using freshly cut bamboo leaves is hard to maintain in modern Japan, so the evergreen plastic strips have become substitues.

For those who likes Japanese food, this should be a good read... warning, it is not for those who expect pictures with brilliant colours... Everyone who took a look at the book asked why it is so boring. But with a little bit of imagination, it will take you through time in Japan.

Thinking about eating sushi.....
Valerie

Potatoes...

Sometime ago, someone asked me if potato skin works like tomato skin (it is much easier to peel it off after boiling it) so I tried that yesterday with russet potatoes...

After boiling the whole potato for 20 minutes, it is still rock hard (ok fine, it is not really as hard as a rock but you get the point...). So I then cut each potato into four parts and steamed it (boiling will cause too much of the potato to be lost, russet is the soft kind of potato).

When it is cooked, I peeled off the skin. The skin can be pulled off quite easily but some parts still stick to the potato. If you are planning to cut the potato into cubes, then this is definetly not the way... your hands will all get sticky (which I hate) and again potato bits will be lost on the knife and chopping board. If you are making mash potatoes then it is not so bad.

Conclusion, I personally prefer to peel the potato, cut and then steam. It saves cooking time (and of cause gas) and the amount of water used (steaming requires less water then boiling).

Val

P/s - the other day we went for claypot chicken rice in Chan Sow Lin but since I'm not a fan of this particular dish, please read the review here