popeye soup

when cooking for her young children in the late 80's and early 90's, she'd use all kinds of gimmick to make eating vegetables fun.

weekdays she'd cook dinner as soon as she arrived home from the office. her kids used to quarrel over bowls of piping hot spinach and anchovies soup which she named 'popeye soup'! they'd finish the simple yet nutritious soup within seconds. remember popeye the sailorman?

then she'd make carrot flowers, cucumber fishes, egg salads with enticing fresh sparkling green lettuce, yellow egg yolks, rings of onions, cucumber and dashes of chilly sauce. colorful, attractively laid in cheerful stoneware plates.

she'd decorate dishes with chilly, spring onion flowers. (the chilly flowers turned into hearty sambal belacan the next evening). sprinkle raisins on tomato rice. made green colored drinks and sorbets. cakes, cookies, even simple fritters and puddings came in various shapes, colors, designs and sizes. there'd be fritters that looked like goats, cats, hens even dinosaurs. her girls and boys would snatch the prawn fritters as soon as they were cooked

some evenings they'd pack dinner curry and all and had a picnic by moonlight on the grassy waterfront facing the penang bridge.

weekends they'd have tea on the lawn where there was a garden set with a sunny yellow umbrella. 

it was fun.