18 September 2008

Homemade


I fervently believe that the best things are homemade. Small diced pumpkin cubes, celery and carrots with brown rice and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Now that my mum has time on her hands to pamper herself, spend time with our not-so-little bunny Moka and spend more time in the kitchen which used to be almost solely my domain, she has been preparing soups with plenty of healthful properties and cooking dinners for the whole family.

One delightful morning, I woke up groggy-eyed and was typically slow to start on my morning routine. I opened my room door only to find my mother, ladle in hand. She asked if I would like to pack some fried rice for lunch, and I flippantly responded to the affirmative. Just before I left home, I noticed a carefully wrapped green Tupperware container snuck into my oversized carry-all bag, together with a sturdy little bowl (for reheating the food in the microwave oven, she says) but did not give much thought to it.

When lunchtime came, I bashfully unveiled the delicious jeweled grains much to the envy of my colleagues. I felt transported back to my secondary school days when my mum packed lunch and snacks for me. When carrots were particularly cheap, I was given a stick of carrot almost everyday as a snack for the 10 minute breaktime at 950am on schooldays. Until I turned slightly orange and stopped. My night vision at that time was however, par excellence.

But I digress.

As I savoured every spoonful of fried rice, grains of brown rice milled about on my tongue dancing around with its herbivorous friends. It was tasty alright. My mum had outdone herself again. More significantly, I could taste the effort my mum put into ensuring the pumpkin and celery were diced into tiny cubes, scrambling the beaten eggs briefly before tossing the cooked brown rice through the half-cooked eggs, and adding her signature finishing touch of sesame seeds (she adds it to almost anything, you name it, she's done it) before packing the container into my bag.

That has got to be one of the best meals I'd ever eaten in my sad little office. Ever. I'd typically jump at any chance to lunch outside, but for home-cooked fried rice, I'd stay in anytime.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

aww thats such a sweet thing that your mommy did :)

so hope you are doing well these days..take care!
-kai

Anonymous said...

Indeed =) Thanks!