Flatemate Dinner! This time it's East-Meets-West!

Time really flies. It feels like it was just a few days ago that I experimented with my sweet potato onde-ondes, but in fact many weeks have passed and today was my turn to cook for the girls again. I took a lot of time to think about this one and I finally came up with a menu that seemed plausible.
-Citrus Jasmine Rice
-Attah's Tomato soup
-Thai Fishcakes
-Strawberry Clafouti [traditional French dessert]

As usual, I wrote the menu on the fridge 2 days ago so that anyone could object if they were not feeling it - not that it has ever happened, but we don't want to end up serving something someone would hate. Thankfully everyone just told me how interesting it sounded.

So this afternoon at 2:45 after I got back from church, wishing my dad 'Happy Swedish Father's Day ' and talking to Redzman and Shaun for a bit, I got cracking.

I think the hardest part is not cooking per se, but cooking everything at ONCE. It's a lot of multitasking to ensure that no time is wasted. So while I defrosted the fish for the fishcakes, I chopped up everything and boiled all the potatoes I needed. While mashing the fish and other ingredients for the fishcakes I got the rice going. While baking the Clafouti I started pan-frying the fishcakes. Wah Piang Eh!

In the background were Kenza and Lucie going "Shila! Shila! We're HUNGRY!!!" or "Shila! I'm so hungry I'm gonna eat my slippers!". It was really funny but I felt bad that they were starving. I promised dinner at 7, but it was served at 6:45 =D Not much, but for someone who cooks as slowly as me, preparing a four course dinner for 4 hungry girls in 4 hours is no small matter.

Kenza was watching me cook for a while and she announced to the other two, "I know why Shila cooks so slowly. She takes the vegetable, feels it, looks at it, cuts it so gently and kindly..." I thought she was so funny, I just told them I like to "respect my ingredients". But I must say all the girls in my flat are good cooks, especially Kenza, who remains unfrazzled at the prospect of cooking couscous and accompanying gravy with vegetables and roasted chicken for 20 people!

I digress.....here's how it turned out! Click on the names of the dishes for the recipes.
Thai Fishcakes. Bad picture, I assure you they look a lot better in real life.
Clafouti. For how good it tastes, it was ridiculously simple.
The whole shebang :) With Citrus Rice still in the pots.

The girls were all smiles and the plates were empty, so I'm satisfied.