Summary:

Cooling drinks and palatable bites, prepared in small portions, are a thing in hot weather, especially if eating for one and they are good for hydration. ‘Build’ a creative meal, even from leftovers, with cooking methods like pickling and blanching.

Back Story:

What are you drinking and eating in April 2025?

As we move into the second quarter of the year, it feels like a ‘new season’.

The weather turns hot, like a dry kind of heat, when one leans towards liquids and foods which are lighter on the palate.

Interesting how the humming of human life does not change much.

I wrote an article in 2012 mentioning all the drinks I cooked and prepped for a young family.

Interestingly, as the years have passed, I suddenly remember a wise classmate saying, “Just drink water, it can be found everywhere.”

So, I don’t prep those beverages as much these days.

I used to think the youth liked to drink sweet drinks as their ‘go-to’ beverage when it is hot. Then, I recall a memory, visiting my child’s school during recess, and noticing the classmates at her table were all drinking from their water bottles. It struck me, “Oh, I am wrong. Some families advocate a healthier lifestyle, and their children have picked up on it.”

Recently, the hot weather has beckoned me to construct easy and fun meals. I like to use the word ‘constructing’; it’s like using Lego bricks to build something from one’s imagination!

One of these ‘constructing’ dishes involves pickling carrots and radishes. It is something easy to do, and I got that inspiration from the ubiquitous ‘banh mi’, a Vietnamese sandwich that has sprung up all over Singapore as a daily delicacy.

I have been pickling carrot and readish sticks but if I have them too many, I blanch them and use them in stir-fries.

Sandwiches are a good thing in hot weather: they are a fast and substantial meal.

I now understand why ‘banh mi’, ‘banchan’ and ‘bento’ are such a thing in the Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese cultures. They involve smaller bites and use the local ingredients accessible in their home country.

For me, I am just ‘putting together’ meals.

To cook everything!

No food wastage.

Eating and drinking, from one’s pantry.

“Gan Bei!” (‘干杯’ is a traditional Chinese toast meaning “Cheers!”)