First

Had meself a coupla interesting firsts for me over the weekend.

The first “first” was the long-overdue debut of yours truly on the padang. Yup, I finally tried field football. See, a few of us Kucing Lior got offered to train under a certain Coach Andy. A rather strict chap, he is, but with a dash of humour.

His training regime is far from funny, though. “Jog seven rounds!” “Gotta raise that fitness level!” “Football is not like futsal--you have to play for FOURTY-FIVE MINUTES per half!” “No rolling substitutions!”  “Come on! No quitting! Don’t give up! I don’t want to hear ‘tired’ or ‘stop’!” While I am some kind of a sadist when it comes to sports training (I somehow enjoy being tortured, don't know why), I've gotta agree with my teammate Veena's "we're getting too old for this sh*t" notion. It ain't too easy to take instructions at this age, nah-uh. But I shan't give up just yet. Not when I'm just gettin started--and when I'm gettin free training!

Anyways, ball handling is kinda tricky. Soccer balls are much bouncier than futsal balls, and the field is so uneven there’s no telling where exactly the ball is gonna land. Not just that, the bumpy surface is kinda hard on the joints; my ankle (which gloriously sprained last June) and knees (recurring injuries… biasalah kalau main bola ;p ) felt very the pain, you knows. I guess (I hope) it just needs some getting used to.

But other than that, love love love the technical stuff. Few things are greater than that high you get from a blend of concentration, frustration and jubilation when learning new dribbles and other such skills. And the fact that I’m with my fellow beloved Catz is sheer bliss. Best gile. But penat woo!

Now, my second “first” was cooking. I mean, of course I’ve cooked many, many times before. But never with my beau  ;)  Ah, the joy of dating a man who can cook up a meal. The sight of him cutting, chopping, crushing… It’s truly something. Especially when you’re a woman who’s only so-so when it comes to culinary skills.

Last nite, we decided on pasta. Took us quite a while to settle for which style, but I insisted on spicy aglio e olio. Being a lover of garlic, I truly adore this dish and found Dome’s to be the best that I’ve ever tasted. Was trying to recall all the wonderful things that makes up the dish, but wasn’t successful as I haven’t had it in a while.

So, off we went to Sect. 14 PJ. To Dome, of course! My boo had a cup of long black, an excuse for me to have a look-see at the café’s menu. Heh.

Anyway, the result was only so-so. Give chan la, first-time try ma  ;p  Next time, must put in much much more chilli and especially garlic. It is “aglio e olio”, after all (which is Italian for “garlic and oil”). But nonetheless, I was rather pleased when Nik said “let’s work on this recipe. I really like the taste!”

Anyone out there got any pointers for making the best aglio e olio?

Comments

[Publicado por: belinda]

told ya football is fun...fun fun fun...wait till u try D sliding tackle...aawww...ooooouuu...waahhhh

[Publicado por: Adriene]

aglio e olio. when i make it, i use fine olive oil (the slightly more pricey ones), dash of parsley, sliced garlic lightly sauteed, and sliced onions also lightly sauteed.

i also use good quality pasta. that makes quite big difference, whether it's maggi brand, or a fancier italian brand. and i boil it with salt so the pasta itself also gets infused with a slight salty flavour.

toss together and if you like, add a dash of crushed black pepper.

you van try variations, by adding sauteed button mushrooms into the aglio olio, or chicken slivers.

take care!

[Publicado por: Adriene]

and the boy cooks? wow, that's not that common. a keeper :)

[Publicado por: SeLLy SeLiNa]

yeah bel, learning how to do a sliding tackle is at the top of my agenda! mesti best and glorious giler, hahah! you know, when i first started futsal i was so disappointed tat sliding ain't allowed. but now... BEWARE WORLD! heh heh ;)

[Publicado por: SeLLy SeLiNa]

adriene, muchas gracias for the tip! we forgot to get olive oil the other day, so we made-do with the extra-virgin tat was in the almari. think it tasted okkk only la w the latter. and yeah i SO agree about the pasta. we used fettuccine, and it was too thick for my liking. will go for linguine next ;)

keep them recipes comin, girl!

[Publicado por: Faarhad Masraf]

Hello there,

Slight correction if you don't mind.

Fact 1. "Sliding" is allowed in Futsal. It is just sliding tackles that aren't allowed.

Fact 2. Football has greater Wear and Tear. Not only to the boots, but also to the body and joints. Try asking a certain Dr Gan Eng Cheng or Dr Rozman Idrus from Damansara Specialist about the main reasons of sports injuries in Malaysia, and they will certainly tell you one of the reasons "The playing fields"

Fact 3. Did this guy, Andy say “Football is not like futsal--you have to play for FOURTY-FIVE MINUTES per half!” “No rolling substitutions!”......I think he should check the facts before uttering that. Because futsal is mostly anaerobic based, you certainly have to have excellent aerobic base first before playing futsal. And when I say excellent aerobic base, believe me, I have gone through playing for Kuala Lumpur Youth Under-16 and 17 team during my days, the aerobic workout for futsal is I would rate a few times more harder. Don't take things lightly....it isn't easy to play competitive futsal. Imagine running on sub-max and max heart rate for a full 5 minutes before being subtituted and then brought to play again. Ask that person if he has ever heard of the term "Oxygen debt"? Also, feel free to ask Lula.

Fact 4. "The bumpy surface is kinda hard on the joints; my ankle (which gloriously sprained last June) and knees (recurring injuries)"......Try checking the boots that you are wearing whether it suits the ground type you are playing on. "Hard studs on hard fields" sure brings pain. If still hurts....hehehe...Potong and throw.....hahahahaha

Fact 4. Football is fun. Remember futsal and football compliments each other.

No offence. Just feel that justice to futsal has never been justified.

Cheers and regards,
-ur futsal friend-