The 3 Fs

I'm off to Singapore today for the 3 most important "F"s in life - Family, Friends and Food. My bags are packed, including 10 bottles of pesto for mum, which she thoroughly deserves for the 8 packets of curry powder she brought me in July. I wonder if she's mowed through the 15 bags of "fun-size" mars, twix, bounty and cherry-ripe chocolates Diane totted home 2 months ago. What is it with Asians and our atavistic need to cart food around with us? For the Chinese, there is no greater gift than one which satisfies the palate. Gold bullion and designer bags run a close second and third.

Anywho, I'm thoroughly looking forward to fattening myself up with local food and mum's cooking, the cheap shopping and catching up with friends and relos. CNY's round the corner, and I'll be dolling out red packets in person for the first time. Last year, I did so via direct bank deposit from Hakuba. Let it not be said that technology has no part to play in the preservation of traditions.

The other big thing - I'll be officially changing my name. Well, to be precise, I'll be tweaking it . I'll be retaining my original name, but my surname shall henceforth be "Hedley", and my original surname will be incorporated into my chinese name and turned into a middle name. So far so confused? Good. You may refer to me as "Your Majesty", if it all gets too hard.

Before I leave for my 2 week quest, I got busy in the kitchen and made my husband 12 thai chicken curry pies and a chocolate fudge mud cake. Wouldn't want the poor man to waste away or subsist on a diet of pizza and coke, would I?

Thai Red Curry Chicken Pies

Makes 12

600 gm organic chicken breast, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 zucchini, cied

1 medium onion, diced

1 inch ginger grated

10 basil leaves

150gm thai red curry paste

150ml coconut cream

0.5 cup water

flour

frozen puff pastry sheets

1 egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 190 degrees. In a large frypan, heat some oil and brown chicken in batches. Set aside. Heat more oil, fry the ginger, onion and curry paste on a medium heat until fragrant and onion is translucent, then add chicken, vegetables coconut cream and water. Simmer until vegetables are half cooked, then thicken mixture with flour if necessary. Mixture should be thick but not gluggy. Mix in chopped basil leaves and allow to cool.

Lay out one sheet of pastry and with a bowl or cutter, make 6 imprints. Pile filling into the 6 rounds, wet the perimeter with water, place another sheet over and press down around the filling. Cut out pies with the bowl or cutter, seal edges by pressing down with a fork. Make a slit in the middle of each pie to allow steam to escape, then brush on eggwash. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

*If you wish to freeze them, as I have done, bake until pies are a light brown colour, remove and allow to cool. Wrap tightly in cling wrap and freeze for up to a month.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

(adapted from BBC Goodfood)

Serves 10

175gm self raising flour

3 tspn baking powder

2 tblspn coco powder

150gm castor sugar

150ml sunflower oil

150ml semi skimmed milk

2 eggs

2 tblspn golden syrup

For icing:

75gm unsalted butter

125gm icing sugar

3 tblspn coco powder

milk

DIRECTIONS

Line a 9inch cake tin and preheat oven to 180 degrees. Sieve flour, bicarb and coco powder, then add sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, milk, eggs and syrup. Add dry mixture to wet and combine well. Pour cake mix into the cake tin and bake for about 30min or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes away clean. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, make the icing by combining the ingredients (sift the icing sugar and coco. I forgot to do that and ended up with white specks). Add as much milk as is required to produce a fluffy but smooth icing. Ice cake and dig in!