Dining in

My dad's gotten into this habit of making us go for family meals once a week on his day off. Depending on the availability of the family members, we'll go out on either Saturday/Sunday for brunch/lunch/dinner. At first it was a bit of a bother for me cos that means I've gotta spare a day outta my already miserable short weekend for the family instead of heading out with friends. Then again, lately, I'm not really having much of social life cos no one ever dates me out. :( And I've gotten into the mood for the once-a-week meals cos that means I get to bring my baby (the Canon 500D) out for photographs! (Yes, I take photos of the meals we have and that means no one gets to eat till I get my shot! Haha.)

But then again, after all the weekly dining out sessions, sometimes it's just good to stay at home for a nice homecooked meal yes? Sis was having the same sentiments. So when Daddy dearest asked me mid-week, "So what are we eating this weekend?", I said, "Why not stay home? I'll cook!".

 

Saffon threads. Can you guess where this is heading?

Paella (pardon the bad night lighting.)

Sis got me some spices when she went Nepal last year. Packs of ground cinnamon (still using, it's quite a sizable bag!) and ginger (had to throw out after taking only a small portion out cos insects got into it :( So wasted.), and also, a small yellow box of gold. Saffron threads.

Ignore the words that say Spanish Saffron, my Sis got it in Nepal. Or could it be Spanish Saffron exported to Nepal which my Sis then brought back to Singapore? Saffron that's been to places. Snigger.

After a late night shopping spree in town the night before (I got three pairs of new shoes, yay), I got up early on Saturday, and spent almost my entire Saturday in the kitchen. I was making desserts for after dinner - pecan date tart and salted caramel ice cream, which will be posted er soon? Then I took a short break after lunch to head to NTUC to get the ingredients for dinner. I was debating whether I should get that huge pack of clams, but I decided against it in the end, and just got the green mussels and prawns. The green mussels were frozen cooked ones cos the only fresh package lying in the aisle didn't look very fresh. Not fresh at all baby.

So after getting home from the supermart, I resumed my place in the kitchen. Again. Dicing the bell peppers and onions. Chopping the chicken and chorizo. Cleaning the prawns and mussels. Cooking the paella , which wasn't hard cos it was a straightforward recipe.

It was awesome to sit down with a glass of white, and tuck into something I cooked . Mmmmm. Wine and paella. Good combination. The family seemed to like the meal, and they had second servings of the rice. It's my first time using saffron in cooking, and I was really pleased with the results. The fluffy saffron rice with the vegetables, combined with the burnt bits at the bottom of the pan, together with the sautéed chorizo - awesome. This is the recipe I used. I omitted the peas and sweet paprika cos I didn't have any on hand, and I used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh ones. The recipe states that it serves four, but well, in reality, it  actually served eight! The portions were gigantic if divided by four. We had it for dinner as a family, and my Sister and I both brought lunchboxes today, for ourselves and our friends. Yums. I'm just back from lunch with my girlfriend, and we're both stuffed to the brim with rice (and our side dish of sweet potato haha).

This is one dish I'll be making again as it's definitely a keeper in my books. (: