Author's Comments

I never bothered with cooking and baking until I was in Seconday school. My mother did all the cooking at home and we helped with the other chores. My mother was a good cook and we enjoyed many wonderful home cooked meals daily.

During my Secondary school years in Cookery class, we had to cook simple meals and bake cakes and biscuits. I learned quite by accident that I had a penchant for cooking and baking. It piqued my interest to pursue making food and desserts. When I felt like making something, my mother would guide me and advice me on my early attempts. I would often help my mother after she returned from the market (as would my other sisters too) and we would proceed to prepare the ingredients according to instructions from my mother depending on the dish being cooked that day. My mother would cook a most delicious curry but could not give you precise ingredient amounts. She would remark, "When I am cooking, you watch. Then you will learn how to make it." I was in my mid teens and had other interests too like shopping, painting my fingernails, curling my hair, trying on make-up and going out with my friends. So I never bothered with doing much cooking at home then.

After marriage, I relied on the recipes in Ellice Handy's Cook Book to guide me. I lacked some of the finer cooking techniques and important skills and so my dishes did not always end up exactly like how I wished it would. I would call my mother and lament about my failure and my mother would give me some advice. I did not give up and slowly but surely, my cooking got better.

I would pour over many cook books from the library and spend many hours in the kitchen trying out various recipes. I am grateful for having the Cordon Bleu cook book because their recipes and cooking instructions were so precise and in detail. I watched Julia Child and she gives such good tips. Then there were the local cooking program on Television in the afternoons. Gradually, after much effort and practice, my cooking and baking skills improved.

The cooking that I do best is rustic home cooking. I am glad that my three children have a keen interest in cooking and very often cook their own meals. I feel it is an important skill in life to know how to cook, even if its just very simple soups, salads or stir-fry.

I do hope that you enjoy the recipes in this book. They are some of my favourites.

Alegrih Kuzina! (Happy Cooking)