Food Cravings

Someone went to J.Co Donuts and left a half-empty half-dozen pack lying temptingly on the kitchen table. I'd been reading about them week in week out and was dying to have a bite, but my concerns about some of its ingredients being prohibited by Confinement made me put the box into the fridge instead (manalah tau, ada yang cheese topping, tinggal kat luar nanti masam pulak).

Seriously, my food cravings are really strong nowadays. They're worse than pregnancy cravings! But then again, pre-natal food wishlists can be easily satisfied as long as they're reasonably within reach and nothing is exactly off-limits. And during the last pregnancy, I suffered virtually no aversions to anything, so I was able to wolf down burgers, cakes, soft-shell crabs and a whole lot of other stuff to my heart and tummy's content(s).

And this confinement, by contrast, is very limited in terms of the menu being offered - just different varieties of fish (selar, gelama, senangin) but all cooked the same manner. BORING!!!

Somehow I don't remember being so put off by it during the previous two episodes. The first one was by far the most interesting. As I had delivered Nuaim by C-section, ikan haruan featured quite prominently then. And it was cooked in a variety of ways too - grilled, steamed or made into soups with Chinese herbs (this was my favourite). A friend of mine had to eat live baby haruan during her confinement (eeuww!!). However, they're not your typical supermarket fish so unless I have to undergo another major surgery I'm not going to be feasting on this any time soon. I also remember taking a lot of ayam kampung (free-range organic chicken) then which strangely is absent this time round, the tough meat and higher price making it an uncommon dish to be served in our household.

I guess it can't be helped that this being the festive month of Syawal, the house is filled with raya cookies, cakes and chocolates. Normally I don't crave raya cookies but I'm dying to have something sweet to take away the fishy aftertaste. Thank goodness I have rediscovered the joys of breakfast cereals. Gan's mini market stocks a wide variety, some I've never even heard of (Kellogg's Mueslix, anyone? Pretty good too) but at least I wake up looking forward to something.

One thing that I did enjoy, though, was a glass of warm water mixed with honey after each meal. And not just any honey, but a lovely specimen that came all the way from Africa! Very refreshing, not as sugary sweet as the Australian honeys you get in the shops. But sadly between my brother and I we've finished it to the last drop so will have to wait another 50 days before Hubby comes home with some more (I hope he's reading this, HINT HINT!).

Hubby is also picking up some new culinary skills in Sudan, so I'm really looking forward to the foodtasting sessions. And maybe then we'll be able to start our own doughnut franchise, served with Malaysian-style kopi kampung!!!