Wednesday, December 17, 2008

A week of dogmumhood + Corn Veggie Fritters



The day we brought home the pup, it was snowing flurries. This morning it has been dropping big globs of snow. The white stuff is coming down again willy-nilly and the balcony railing has collected 17cm of it. It looks iced and ready to be served like creme cake (snow always reminds me of ice-kacang, a colourful Malaysian shaved-ice dessert).

Umbria, our black Labrador ward, was happy to romp on the sidewalk, plowing the snow with her inquisitive nose. At least, she is not tempted by the discarded cigarette butts and other trash (Swiss residents can be so slack!) on a usually snowless kerb.

When I took the pup out at 7am, a janitor was already shovelling a path up the ramp to our apartment building. Later, another man beat down some snow caught up in a fir tree -- so as not to surprise (shock, likelier!) passers-by with a heavy shower of dislodged snow every so often. A motorised snow plough was driven up and down the main street, pushing the powder to the sides. Well, at least it was easy to pick up Umbria's solid production with a plastic-bagged hand. Voila! No traces. (Potential Seeing-Eye dogs are only allowed to do their business in the gutter between kerb and street and by isolated walls.)

If I sit on the floor, Umbria would climb into my lap. Here is her favourite 'manja' position -- between my knees.


Before coming back into the apartment house, I stomped away the snow covering my shoes and brushed off the snow from my beanie and shoulders. Inside the front door, we do a little dance on the big doormat to get rid of the remaining moisture.

It's good to counter such white weather with something hot and crisp. Let's find a gentle reminder of an equatorial childhood while nursing a cup of hot tea and looking out at the snowy scenes. How about some Corn Veggie Fritters eaten with homemade chilli sauce?


Corn Veggie Fritters


1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup rice flour
2 tbs chives, chopped
3 tbs spring onions, sliced
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fine sugar
3/4 cup corn, drained of brine
2 tsp red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced (optional)
1/2 cup small shrimp, shelled (optional)
2 tbs cooking oil or butter


1. Mix the flours with the salt and sugar.
2. Mix the egg and the veggies (and shrimp, if using) into it.
3. Heat to medium-hot a bit of the oil or butter in a large frying pan.
4. Drop patties of the mixture and fry on both sides till gently browned.
5. Serve cold or warm with tomato ketchup or homemade chilli sauce (blend together 3 chopped/deseeded chillies, a tsp of sugar, 3 tsp lime juice, 2 tbs water and a clove of chopped garlic if you like).

30 comments:

Kenny Mah said...

Awww... she is so manja! Kinda like me with Prada. Hehe. :p

Argus Lou said...

OK, I'm guessing Prada is a person and not the brand name. But your ears can't hold a candle to Umbria's. ;-)

jesse said...

Awww, manja sekali! Looks like she's going to be quite a handful in the best way possible! And that snow looks beautiful!

Argus Lou said...

Thanks, Jesse. This sounds like the 'awww' post. :) And, yes, when she's in a devilish mood and full of beans, she's a handful indeed.

Kak Teh said...

corn veggie fritters look nice for a cold day. I made jemput-jemput jagung as well a few days ago-
it went so well withcold weather and british soaps repeat in the afternoon.

oh, I forgot. Awwwwwwww!

Argus Lou said...

Kak Teh, jemput-jemput jagung sounds exactly like corn veggie fritters. Your cold day is a bit different from our cold day here, right? The only British soap I've seen here on BBC Prime is 'Love Soup'.

Naz in Norway said...

Seems like many of us are in the corny corner these few days :D
it's corn fritters here in scandinavia too!

Argus Lou said...

Naz, sounds like it's the new international comfort food. ^_^

Christo Gonzales said...

nice puppy, nice fritters...

you can dehydrate things on a low setting in your oven - email me for more detailed instructions...

Argus Lou said...

Thanks, Doggybloggy. I've done it. And thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Cynthia said...

She is adorable!

Argus Lou said...

Thanks, Cynthia. I agree. ^_^ But when she has cabin fever, she needs a helmet and body armour.

Kenny Mah said...

Prada is my Devils Wears Prada. You've met, my dear. *snickers*

But yeah, my ears certainly cannot hold a candle to lovely Umbria's. I can only hold my head in shame and utter defeat. Tee hee.

Argus Lou said...

*snickers* means you're giggling/sniggering while eating Snickers? How delicious!
I'm sure your Prada finds your ears nibble-worthy. :)

Lydia Teh said...

Argus, haven't been here for a while :( Bowled over by the pretty pictures and yummy food! Wishing you a happy new year.

Argus Lou said...

Dear Lydia, thanks for coming by. I know you're pretty busy. A happy and prosperous new year to you too!

Mary Bergfeld said...

What a lovely blog! And your "pup" too cute for words. I stopeed by to thank you for visiting my site.

Argus Lou said...

Thanks, Mary. Hope you'll come by again sometime.

Unknown said...

love your pup!!! and the fritters look so tasty... happy new year to you!!! :)

Argus Lou said...

Thanks, Mikky, for visiting. Do come again soon.

Alisa said...

She is adorable! And your corn fritters are great too! I'd like to invite you to take some time to drop by at Foodista and share your delicious recipe with us. We have launched an online food and cooking encyclopedia ala wikipedia. Don't forget to register first so we know who to thank the recipe for. Thanks!

Argus Lou said...

Thumbbook, thanks for the invite. Pretty busy at the moment - will have to consider it another day.

SteamyKitchen said...

oh cute cute cute!!!!!!!

Argus Lou said...

Thanks, Jaden.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Thanks for stopping by. Your lab pup is absolutely the cutest thing. Great job, being a dogmum for such a worthy cause. My two are Australian Shepherds, which is actually an American breed, rather than Australian at all. Great looking corn fritters btw.
Nancy

Alexandra Wong said...

Hello Argus,

Thank you very much for dropping by. Makes the coffee-fuelled sleepless nights at the computer worth it :)

Fellow Perakean too, eh?

Alexandra Wong

Argus Lou said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Argus Lou said...

Thanks, Noe. I didn't know Australian Shepherds are American and so pretty.

Alexandra, thanks for visiting. Yes, I'm a fellow Perakian, born and bred in Taiping.

fatboybakes said...

eh, no db challenge?

Argus Lou said...

Tak ada, FBB. Sudah drop out, nampaknya.

My old living-room

My old living-room
In Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

A cherished dream

A cherished dream
To live on a pale beach by a crystal clear sea. (This was taken on the east coast of Johor state, Malaysia.)

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