No taste for the bitter

When June cooks, the animals usually crowd around her legs, mewing and making enough of a nuisance of themselves to be noticed and offered a taste of what's in the wok. Once in a while, Momo would take an impatient nip at an exposed ankle which would result in her summary ejection from the kitchen. Ms Teeth-and-claws would then spend her exile in my study where I am supposed to entertain her until the cooking's done.

This afternoon, June cooked in peace. The animals, they were minding their own business in the living room giving the kitchen a wide berth.  On the menu was yesterday's bittergourd fried up with mincemeat and dao chioh (a thick version of fermented soybean sauce)... nothing the animals recognised as food.

Can't say I'm a big fan of bittergourd either, so fortunately the dish wasn't for us. Packed with nutrients, June's culinary masterpiece was for the old folks we take food to once a month. To my surprise, it went down with them just fine, though out of the corner of my eye I spotted a couple of surreptitious food trades going on between some of our beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, M-i-L has taken receipt of our remaining stocks of bittergourd. I can just imagine what's on the menu for next week...!