Baby Bellas

I’m delighted to have found portabella mushrooms at Ben’s supermarket in Dutamas. That was three weeks ago when Izwin took me to suffer nostalgia at this neat coffee place there that seems to have cleverly been transported from some place cold…speaking of which, “coffee” would be a good choice for word association in vocabulary building exercise in my next English language workshop. Or even for creative expression. When I use “chocolates”, I sometimes bring ‘M&M”s to massage the words out of the students. Coffee…well, there is usually free flow at the back of the room twice a day, so there should be sufficient stimulation unless there are too many coffee connoisseurs among them who must have their special blend of Sumatran or Colombian Arabica coffee beans and what-have-you, to start spinning.

So when Izwin told me she was going to put up a stall at the bazaar in Dutamas next Saturday (4^th Aug),  the first thing that came to mind was portabella cheese burger! I found this super recipe in the Star newspaper. At times like this, I feel truly thrilled with the internet…for giving me instant information on portabella mushrooms, to realize that “Arugula” is simply wild rockets…making it possible for me to experiment right away before I get lazy again. I substituted balsamic vinegar with apple cider vinegar (for seasoning baby bellas), sweet red wine with chicken stock (for flavouring with fried red onions) and blue cheese with a cheddar and parmesan mix….voila! Oily yet detoxifying with just enough arugula and tomatoes to sanction the rich creamy taste. Other nutritious ingredients in it are olive oil, garlic and whole-wheat bread. So we can have that again soon…yummy.

Izwin has suggested that I should add in food sale at her stall. Going by her experience at a similar bazaar last Ramadan, people will be looking forward to food choices for berbuka. My inclination is towards something savoury…we’ll see.