Instant "Mama" Tom Yam Noodles.

gosh, thousand apologies for the lack of updates here. to say the least, school has been kicking my ass so badly that i haven't had much time to spend in the kitchen. what little 'culinary experience' remains limited to vicarious examples from watching Top Chef. at best, it's me jazzing up a bowl of instant noodles...

but hey, you know what? if there's anything i need to share with people, it's that the best brand of instant tom yam noodles is this Thai brand called "MaMa", which is available at most asian grocers.




i remember my mother bringing them home from her trip to Bangkok more than a decade ago. back then, the noodles was a hard find, and we had to assuage our fix by driving out to singapore's Golden Mile Complex--what we called the Little Thailand of singapore--where she would make me lug two cartons of the noodles.

the dried noodles in the pack is amazingly fragrant, thanks to what i suspect to be a par-cook process, likely a quick-fry. so straight out of the pack, the noodles already taste great without the need of any heat-involved cooking. the tom yam seasoning includes a sachet containing chilli oil, and that i guess is its winning formula. not to forget the fact that its tom yam stock powder is nice and spicy.

all right, that's all the attention i'm allowing the noodles. i really don't want to encourage people to centre their dietary needs on instant noodles :) shall attempt to share some recipes soon. meanwhile, continue enjoying your food people!

Top Chef & Cook Books.

sorry about the lack of updates, i swung from doing absolute jackshit during the june holidays to being piled with work when school came back this month. there were a couple of recipes i worked on in the last month that i thought i might blog about, but decided otherwise as they were honestly a tad subpar.



i decided then that i would get my hands on two cookbooks for ideas. truth be told, i've never been a fan of cookbooks because i'm b-a-d at following instructions. but like cook shows, we can learn so much--about technique, ingredients, flavours and plating--without actually following recipes. for me it's esentially about being inspired, seeing as how i often end up cooking something completely different from what i'm reading/ watching.

but a good point about testing or following recipes is summed up well by Laurence Fishburne's character, chef Edward Robinson, in the movie Bobby (2006). describing the importance of taking ownership of his food, Robinson says:

See, the first few times I tried to make this dessert, couldn't get it right. Too much sugar one time, not enough sugar the next time; couldn't find the balance. I realised I was forcing it; I'm trying to make it taste like my mama's and her mama's, but mine didn't have any poetry, didn't have any light. And then I realised, I was trying to force it to taste like my mother's, to taste like her mother's. See, it had to be Edward's creation. It had to come from me.

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anyway, to say the least, my cooking has been lived vicariously through the latest season of BravoTV's "Top Chef". for the uninitiated, this reality-tv programme features professional chefs competing for the title of, well, 'Top Chef' (entailed by prize money and other goodies). similar to its sister programme "Project Runway", the contestants have to cook to save themselves from being eliminated each episode. the first challenge--the "quick fire"--sees the chefs fighting to win elimination immunity, but the real fun comes in the elimination challenge. the loveliest thing about the show is that it almost always has a renown chef coming in as a guest judge for the challenges. the first from this season being Anthony Bourdain. next week, we're apparently going to see a very yummy Rocco DiSpirito guest judging.

can't wait!

(for aussie readers: although the show's not on free-to-air television--i'm not even sure if cable has it, it is readily downloadable.)

Shao Xing/ Rice Wine Chicken.

i like how sometimes i psyche myself up bad to cook a particular dish, but see it take a completely different course half-way through the cooking process? yeah, i'm weird like that. anyway, i was going to prepare the usual honey-glazed chicken schtick, but when i got all the ingredients together, i decided to try something completely new instead.

Shao Xing (more often referred to as Chinese Rice/ Cooking Wine) Chicken is a dish i used to indulge in whenever i had the opportunity to visit Cantonese restaurants in singapore. i've never really gotten down to its true recipe--mostly because my family doesn't cook it, but from what i can tell, it's a lot about drowning your chicken in rice wine. drowning dead birds in alcohol, can't be that hard!

so this is NOT the authentic recipe, but it's nice enough to enjoy with my bowl of rice.

Ingredients.
2 pieces, chicken drumstick & thigh (i.e. 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs)
2 inch, ginger (finely sliced/ diced)
2-3 cloves, garlic (bruised and minced)
3 sprigs, spring onion (finely sliced)
1.5 cup, chinese rice/ cooking wine (dark variety)
1 tbsp, salt
1 tbsp, ground white pepper
1 tbsp, light soy sauce (which i find optional, but only because i'm weird)
1 tbsp, sesame oil

Serves.
2

Step 1: Marinating the Chicken.
combine all the ingredients into a bowl, and just massage the marinade into the chicken for about 5-10 minutes, before sealing the bowl up with some wrap, and leaving that to marinate for at least 3 hours (i like overnight because the marinade really gets into the meat).

Step 2: Double-Boil.
when ready, just transfer that bowl onto a steaming rack in a nice big pot. fill that with water until the water reaches about the centre of the bowl. put the lid on, switch your medium-flame on and let everything boil for at least half an hour; stop depending on how cooked you like your chicken. a full hour more or less guarantees well-cooked meat.



Removing & Adding Oil.
the fat from the chicken probably melted to give you a layer of oil on top of the gravy. if you're not a fat of that, which makes no difference to the taste for the dish, then slowly remove that layer of oil. after that, add the sesame oil in.



i know; the irony!

Final Serve.
simple dish, but pretty delightful results i thought. served well with some rice as a main, side or entree!

Simple Slow-Roast Kangeroo Fillet.

my good friend, affectionately known as Cazzie Cumface--i'm Fiona Fisting to her, made the most splendid roast lambshank last friday. apparently, she was inspired by the slow-roast rosemary chicken i cooked for her one night, so she took part of the recipe for a ride.

what i was most enamoured with were the vegetable sides she had added to the roast. in her attempt, she simply cut some sweet potatoes, pumpkin and brown onions, and left them on the side of the roast. the vegetables not only added flavour to the gravy, but also soaked up the juices pretty well.

for last night's dinner, i decided to give this simple slow-roast recipe a test.

Ingredient.
the food.
3-4 pieces, kangeroo fillet (substitutable with any red meat)
6, baby carrots (washed and chopped into halves)
2, spanish/ red onions (you SHOULD use brown ones!!!)
2, green apples (granny smiths)
4, roma tomatoes

the marinade
2-3 sprigs, rosemary (just the leaves)
1 lime (juiced)
1 lemon (juiced)
2 tbsp, sherry
1 tsp, salt
1 tsp, ground black pepper

missing.
potatoes (recommend desirees; skinned if you don't like it)

Serving.
2

Step 1: Marinating.
throw all the marinade ingredients together. i like to have my rosemary thrown into the grinder so that they end up nice and fine. add the meat to the marinade, and let set for at least 3 hours (i prefer overnight marinate).

Step 2: Roasting.
in a nice big roasting pan, lay your meat in. around or beside it, lay the rest of the food (i.e. carrots, apples, onions, etc). cover it with a lid or with some foil, and set your fan-oven to 160-170degreeC. when the oven's ready, put the pan in.

Step 3: Deciding When to Remove.
now, here's the tricky part. in general, i've devised my own inch theory on slow-roasting. for every inch of meat, we leave it to roast for 1.5 hours. so the thinner it is, the less time you want it in the oven otherwise it will get a bit overcooked.

the vegetables, however, have to remain in there for at least 3 hours.

Final Serve.
when the vegetables are just about done (5 mins before the 3-hour mark), just pop the meat back into the oven to warm it. then you can have everything ready for serving.

be sure to serve the food with a generous supply of gravy. remember also that the gravy may be used for further roasting of other vegetables. just pop more vegetables in the gravy, and let them roast for the same duration.



i really recommend adding some carbo staple like potato for the roast. because i forgot, i'm going to serve mine with some bread.



ETA:
spanish onions turned out really weird; please use brown onions!

updates, or lackthereof.

L. and i are busy applying to various new schools to further our studies. she's hoping to get into a good film school in london, and i'm hoping to get into law school in either sydney or melbourne.

other than that, school has been a factor for our blog being such a non-event, but we thank everyone who continues to visit. there're some recipes that i've been meaning to post but haven't had the time; watch out for them this month.

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our heartfelt gratitude to new linkages:

Anne Jovi
we were hoping you'd reveal exactly how you managed the paper-mâché issue. also, i have similar disdain towards jamie oliver's cooking for the same reasons you cited; glad to know i'm not alone in the world!

The Secret Foodie
really nice to see a fellow student on the hunt for good food! we're keeping an eye on your not-so-secret adventures for recommendations.

Where's The Beef?
where is the beef, indeed! gosh, okay, i was always no fan of not eating meat, but i'm really intrigued by the array of vegan food that looks soooo delicious! mmmmMMMmmmMMMM....

Stir-Fried Beef Salad.

it's strange how i find myself cooking at the best of times and at the worst of times. when i'm happy i cook to please; when i'm depressed, however, i cook to relieve my mind of the looming unhappiness. from my experience, i can vouch that the old adage applies: love is an important ingredient for good food. clearly, i'm not meant to be a full-time chef.

today's recipe, sadly, stems from the sad side of life :(

anyway, enough of my bs. this recipe is a rehash of my housemate, linzi's. much credit goes to her then.

Ingredients.
500g of sliced beef (they sell in Asian Grocers for steamboats)
4-5 potatoes, skinned & diced (Desiree)
6-7 baby carrots, skinned & diced
2-3 onions, skinned and diced/ sliced (brown)
3-4 cloves, garlic (bruised and minced)
5tsp chinese rice wine
3tsp cooking oil (olive in my case)
3tsp honey
2tsp crushed basil leaves
2tsp chilli flakes
2tsp five spice powder



Serves.
3-4

Step 1: FRY! FRY!! FRY!!!.
before you start, start your oven to about 220degreee Cel.

heat your pot/ wok over a medium flame. when it's hot enough, fry the garlic and onion till brown. add the beef strips in, and before it cooks fully, add the condiments (i.e. wine, honey, basil leaves, chill flakes and five spice powder). stir-fry a little more, then add the vegetables.

fry everything till the vegetables are more or less cooked, remove from fire and transfer to an oven-safe ware.



the oven should be ready by now. cover the food with some foil and set the salad into the oven for about twenty to twenty-five minutes.



remove from oven, leave the foil on for at least ten minutes to trap some steam, before serving.

Final Serve.
good with some mash, rice or any other form of carbo. or eaten alone really.

Shelling A Hard Boiled Egg.

i'm just completely impressed with this:

[via Queerclick's Sticky]

Simple Minty Couscous

Couscous is probably the fastest thing to cook. ever.
Actually, you don't even need to cook it.
its like a strange conceptual cross between rice and pasta.

Its great as a side dish, or if you're like me, you have sides as a main for lunch ...

The ingredients *look* fancy, but i got them on special offer at the supermarket bargain bin.
the balsamic vinegar cost me one pound (i am suspicious of it's authenticity, but its still vinegar so i don't really mind).




I haven't been cooking as regularly as I'd like, due to several unforeseen circumstances (read: flooded kitchen) in addition to general laziness and the lack of well, heart.

You need love to cook.
(which means cooking when depressed, or stressed, is disastrous. for me at least)

Oh well, on to the recipe.


Ingredients.
1 cup couscous
2 tbs mint sauce
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs mixed herbs
3 tbs olive oil
a little over a cup of water
salt and black pepper to taste

Extra Ingredients.
some lettuce or some other salad greens
(its like, the side to my side)




Special Equipment.
a microwave oven
microwavable container / bowl with a lid


Serves.
1 or 2 (depending on how hungry you are)


Step 1: Preparing the ingredients.
Grab a plate and dress it with some salad greens.
Measure out your cup of couscous and pour into your microwavable container.

Step 2: Adding taste.
Because couscous will suck up and expand in ANY liquid, we do the dry bits first.
Mix into your bowl of dry couscous, the herbs, a pinch of salt, a few twists of black pepper, then followed by the mint sauce and then the balsamic vinegar, and use a fork and mix it all up.
It should still be relatively dry at this point.




Step 3: Adding moisture.
Here's the fun bit. Very quickly, add water to your couscous till a point about 1.5 centimeters over the level of couscous, lightly cover with the lid and pop into the microwave oven at max for one minute.


You don't really need to put it in the microwave, because it will expand anyway in cold water over time (which is why all the dry bits went in first) but i like the little bit of heat and steam to 'cook' the stuff i put into the couscous, and to warm it.


Step 4: Fluff it.
Once the microwave dings, let it sit for about thirty seconds and be careful of the steam as you take it out. get your olive oil and drizzle it over your couscous and fluff everything up with your fork.


Have a taste and add more salt and black pepper and maybe olive oil if you'd like.


Final Serve.

Fluff the couscous onto your bed of greens and enjoy!


I actually usually do couscous Mediterranean style, but I finished my olives and tomatoes ... so ... next time then. :)

Chinese Rice Porridge/ Congee.

my new housemate, linzi (read: lindsay), has a penchant for Cantonese-style rice porridge/ congee which i must admit--before i met her--i've never attempted cooking. as i've explained earlier, i'm hainanese and our congee is quite different from how the cantonese prepare theirs. mainly, the difference lies in the viscosity: of all the dialects, the cantonese congee is the most fluid, to the point where it gets mistaken as a soup by the uninitiated.

lucky for us, not only is L. Cantonese, but she also knows her congee recipe well. for the most part, therefore, this recipe will be credited to her!

because linzi and i are going to be terribly busy over the next few days, we're cooking a big pot of congee to last us till wednesday/ thursday.

Ingredients.
500g, jasmine rice (washed and drained)
4 cloves, garlic
1-2 inch, ginger
1 pc, chicken stock cube (or 1 cup, chicken stock, or whatever stock you prefer)
1 tbsp, ground white pepper
2 tbsp, sesame oil
A LOT OF WATER

substitutable ingredients.
6 pc, dried mushrooms
1 pc, chicken breast
2 stalk, continental parsley (garnishing)
some thai fish sauce (for flavour)

(because the congee is made quite separately, you might want to add prawns, duck meat, beef strips, etc instead. pretty free-form once the congee is done.)



Special Equipment.
food processor (preferably handheld)

Serves.
8

Step 1: Preparing the ingredients
bruise and dice the garlic and ginger.

set the dried mushrooms in boiling water, and let it soak till soft.



remove the mushroom and dice them. set the mushroom broth aside for cooking later.

dice the chicken breast into finer portions.



Step 2: Quick fry of the main ingredients.
set your nice big wok/ pot over a medium flame. pour the sesame oil in. when hot, throw the garlic and ginger in.



before they brown, add the rice in and stir fry everything for about five minutes.



Step 2: Adding Water and Broth.
pour the mushroom broth into the mixture; remember to keep stirring. add about 10 portions of water--the water to rice ratio for this recipe is roughly 10:1. let the rice cook, but remember to stir intermittently.



Step 3: Processing the Congee.
when the rice is more or less cooked, you'll notice that it's broken down quite a bit. however, the rice bits are still somewhat separated from the water. traditionally, the porridge is cooked over the stove for about an hour so that the rice breaks down naturally. thankfully i haven't the patience; we're going to break it down actively.



turn your flame off, stick your food processor into the pot and let it rip! you'll probably have to spin the stick processor around for at least ten minutes so that you get a beautiful liquid texture out of the congee.



when done, return pot to stove.

Step 4: Adding stuff.
this is where we may depart and differ. i'm adding the mushroom chicken in right now. also, i'm adding more water so that the congee becomes even more fluid. the aim is to keep the congee as fluid as possible. so whenever water evaporates over the stove, add a bit into the pot and stir the water in.



make sure you allow the congee to come to a boil if you added raw meat in.

Final Serve.
taste your congee and you might realise that while it has a nice soothing taste to it, it's not exactly the most flavourful dish. most restaurants prepare their congee in a similar fashion: cook the main congee, remove part of it to add specific ingredients according to your order.

I'm serving my congee with a tsp of Thai Fish Sauce, pinch of continental parsley and pepper. you may decide on some other sauce (e.g. soy sauce, chinese vinegar, etc) or to have none at all. really, it's up to you at this point.

Dark Sauce Pork.

since we're all pressed for time thesedays, i'll share another fuss-free recipe handed down to me by my granny. the dish is quite a popular (or at least common) one that you can find at most ala carte cooked-food stalls back in singapore. as per normal, my granny does it slightly differently from the rest.

due to the fact that i lack some necessary ingredients for the full-blown recipe, i'll be delineating the differences between what my gran does and what i've done. this way, anyone attempting the full recipe might get a notional understanding of going about cooking it.

Ingredients.
500g, San Chen Rou (三辰肉)--literally, three-layer meat/ pork* (i'm using spare ribs instead because it was all i had in the freezer)
10-12 pieces, Chinese Dried Mushrooms (shitake's good)
4-5 cloves, garlic
2 inches, ginger
2 tbsp, Five Spice Powder
5 tbsp, Chinese Rice Wine
1.5 tbsp, ground white pepper
2 tbsp, light soy sauce
.5 cup, dark soy sauce
2 tbsp, sugar



Missing In My Attempt:
5-6, egg
200g, dried tofu

Serves.
4

Step 1: Preparing the meat and everything else.
chop the meat up into bite-size portions, and braise the pork with abt 1.5l of boiling water, and drain the water away. my grandma says it rids the pork of its overly pungent taste.

soak the mushrooms in boiling water until they're all soft. put the water aside to be used for the cooking later. slice the mushrooms.

bruise and dice the ginger and garlic.

full version:
slice the dried tofu into bite sizes.

hard boil the eggs, shell them and set aside for cooking later.

Step 2: The Cooking.
oil your pot or wok and set it on top of a medium flame. when hot enough, throw the garlic and ginger in and stir fry for a minute, making sure that you don't brown it too much.

throw the pork and mushrooms in. add the water in which the mushrooms were soaked as well. stir fry for a bit, before you throw everything else in: (in no particular order) light soy sauce, five spice powder, ground pepper, rice wine, dark soy sauce, and sugar.

bring the whole pot over to your smallest flame, put a lid on it. leave to simmer for about half an hour.



full version:
before you put the lid on, throw the eggs and tofu in. let them soak up the sauce and simmer with the rest of the ingredients.

Final Serve.
like i always say: best served with rice! (yes, i'm a proud yellow, rice-loving "smells a bit like soy sauce" chink.)



Additional Notes:
San Chen Rou. i'm quite sure this refers to streaky slab, seeing as how they both refer to the cut from the pig's belly. it's important to use this cut of the pork because this dish actually depends on the oil you'll get from the layers of fats for additional taste. and yes, it gets pretty oily after a while, so consume with discretion.

Recooking. my grandmother reboils the dish whenever we have a meal. the more you recook it, the nicer it gets. basically, it takes time for all the ingredients to infuse one another. so if you can, cook a whole pot of it and experience the wonders of this dish getting tastier by the day. you may also add new hard-boiled eggs whenever you run out.

Wounds & Dark Sauce. the chinese believe that people with wounds that are still healing should avoid eating dark-colored food, especially dark sauce. it causes the wound to heal with a dark tone; i've got brown patches on my legs from when i was young as evidence. seeing as how i just got inked at the nape, i really shouldn't be promoting this recipe right now. oops :(

I'm singing in the Kitchen.

"Yes, I'm dreadfully sorry for the lack of updates ... but you see, my kitchen ... is flooded."

alright, thats not the REAL reason why there haven't been updates from me ... I just haven't had the time to cook anything remotely interesting recently.

but my kitchen, really is flooded.



fun times.

i'll be free by tuesday.

i promise something after.

:)

Much Less Digest.

apologies for the want of updates. both L. and i have been so caught up with school that we hardly have time to ingest, much less digest or even cook anything. thesedays, my best meals are delivered to me by Classic Curry Company (03-93294040), which says more than it should about my recent dietary habits--my staple: butter chicken, tandoori chicken, plain naan, chapati, and mango lassi. (their lamb biryani's pretty good as well).

just a shout out to the various people with whom we've earned your mention or/ and linkage:

No Stupid Questions... Just Stupid People.
torby's so cute we could eat him!!! careful the womb raider doesn't come in and steal him away.

Totally Addicted To Taste.
there's nothing sexier than a cutie who loves his cooking; go you!

Smell & Taste.
we don't care what Steven thinks of your western food, we'll pay for your fail-proof chinese meals anyday.

What I Cooked Last Night.
you know what's really funny? we get a lot of hits from people googling "how to make cum taste good". we'll explore that inquiry right when cum appears in the quicky bag on Ready, Steady, Cook.

Noodles and Rice.
who ever knew that rock sugar has such a rich history!?

Everything You Needed to Know.
your partner and you really don't have to suffer the desserts in agony. why don't you send them over to me, and i'll (in low insinuating mafia tone) settle them for you.

Fuss-Free Steamed Salmon.

i was tempted to call this the idiot's guide to steaming fish, but it occurred to me that it wasn't like i didn't learn it from observing my grandmother in the first place. nobody's that gifted.

the recipe is good for most fish, but i chose salmon over the others simply because it was on sale and i really do love the taste of these upstream-swimming fuckers.

Ingredients.
2, salmon fillet
1 inch, ginger
2, red chilli
1, tomato
4 tbsp, chinese (rice) cooking wine
1 tsp, salt
1 stalk, spring onion/ scallion (not included this round; i ran out)

Serves.
2

Step 1: Salt, Chop, and Splash.
my salmon fillets came nicely packed for cooking, so there's no real preparatory action needed before we start.

take a few stabs in the fillet with your knife, and salt the fillets.

chop the ginger, chilli and spring onion up, setting them all atop the fillets when you're done. slice the tomato into about 12 pieces, and line them along the side (skin up).

splash the cooking wine over, and set everything aside in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.



Step 2: Steaming.
while the fish is set aside, we can prepare the steamer. i'm using a wok and steaming rack. i boiled water with an electric kettle to save time, and then pour that into the wok over the fire.

when the water reboils in the wok, place the bowl on to the rack, and set the cover on. let it steam cook for 10 minutes.



take the lid off and see if the fish is cooked. it should flake off quite easily when it's ready.

Final Serve.
that's all for this fuss-free recipe. it can be taken as a main, or as a side with some steamed rice.

dee's kitchen.

as an avid cook, one of the things i'm proudest of at home is my new kitchen. eventhough i moved in to this apartment only a month ago, i'm already very in love with the kitchen seeing as how it's almost twice the size of my last one. and because i'm so enamoured by it, much money has been pumped into kitchenware and electricals so that i might better enjoy the cooking and dining processes.

figured it's about time i show the world just where it is that all my recent and future cooking experiences take place.



top-down perspective of my kitchen from the lounge area, with the cabinet doors closed and opened. the apartment is a bit old, so everything looks a little eighties in it.



the one thing i hate is the fact that most grocery bags provided by the supermarts thesedays don't fit very well with the ikea bins. therefore i either have to live with hanging smaller bags in the bin, or buy Glad bin liners.

i'm really happy with the working and clear space provided by this kitchen. at my previous place, the clear space was half this size, so there could only be one effective cook in the kitchen.



the sink counter features a food disposal unit (sink on the left), which i don't use for its designed purpose because it makes way too much noise. this kitchen comes with a dish washer (bottom right), but it doesn't work so i'm reduced to washing everything by hand. which isn't a problem until i throw fancy dinner parties that require my full arsenal of kitchenware!



other than my Tefal wok, pots and pans are mainly cheap stuff that i got from various kitchenware stores. i don't care what people say about it, but i'm really proud of my lovely Maxwell & Williams dinnerware set, which was on sale at Matchbox.



as you can see, this is a relatively empty cabinet because i don't indulge in a lot of instant meals. the bottom right side of my cabinet boosts my various cheap tea collection. i'm not a fan of coffee.



the oils are kept directly above the kitchen hood. other than the olive oil, i really seldom use the other oils.



the top shelf is where i keep my garlic, ginger, onion and other dry but fresh food. alongside them are other dry food stuff like cinnamon, chinese herbs, etc. thanks to the combined powers of both my housemate and i, we now have a full shelf of condiments and spices. not exactly comprehensive, but more than enough for a variety of treats.



my sad stemware from ikea. these break very easily. honestly, they should be used only at big parties where you have to consider people breaking things. i'm waiting for most of them to break before i get myself a proper set of glasses.

my hard liquor collection is also very sad right now because i don't have the habit of making my own drinks. i find beer and champagne a way easier alternative for inebriation.



i recently acquired my Maxwell William Mondo cutlery set, as my previous housemate took over the terrible ikea set we had at the previous place. fiq often complains i'm using stainless steel instead of silverware like he does, but i am after all only a full-time student. so i'm more than happy enough to own this cutlery set.

my scissors and knives are Victorinox (the same people who give you the original swiss army knife), supposedly more commonly used by apprentice chefs.



okay, this is just a mess of my utensils! pardon the lack of organisation!

well, this concludes the pictorial-tour of my kitchen. hope to see how other people organise and run heir kitchens as well!