nothing, blank, toink, doink

harini rasa kosong, bukan tak ada benda nak buat but just feel blank! makcik tak dak apa nak enter so ronda ronda cyber, jumpa benda alah ni & cubalah buat nak tengok apa jadi...hmmmm camnilah jadinye.
yang mickey tu copy code, whereas yang 'awesome' tu "copy and paste"...

More Smile Comments on Funscrape.com

All the best son

We started off early morning to beat the queue....Alif(my eldest) and myself - sending Adil, my second (youngest) son off to college - UiTM. Not far, just across the bridge in Permatang Pauh, Seberang Perai. 

Being one of the early birds, there's practically no waiting N no sweating.

Salute to UiTM for making this registration (very) simple. As we drive thru the main entrance, we were greeted by the orientation committee, given a slip that tells  your hostel block and key to your room plus a file containing forms/instructions.

The only queuing we have to do was at the lift. 'Freshies' and their entourage waited patiently for their turns to go up to their respective rooms. My son's is at level 7 (total 8 floors).

The bed/cupboard/study table were labelled so there's no question of who stays up the bunker.

Comfortably at their study tables, the 'freshies' sat down to fill up forms that were given earlier.

Unpack and they're done! Actually we were done within 30 minutes of entering the main gate but we just stayed on upon request from Adil.

Unfortunately mr troy cannot join as he was away on working trip and only return late evening

Registration proper will only take place on sunday, with no parents in tow and that's cool.

Adil, we miss you but all the best to you. Study hard. 

Mak bapak mula lah pening, tinggal dua orang, adalah Alif sebagai penglipur lara...tapi he's also waiting for entry to uni to further his studies. Meanwhile, he's ever so busy with his photography......(like father like son).

Mak????-----cooking, sewing dreaming....and doing all other '..ing' that you can think of.

Yeah...ni mak bapak nak keluar pi ronda2 dua orang (pst pst..orang Penang kata merendek- me=penambahan, rendek= #2 (two) in tamil)

Baking baking

Feels like baking today. I got this recipe while visiting  ummi's kitchen & have kept it for sometime.

It was my first try so I halve the recipe.....(full recipe at ummi's). Thank you ummi

Strawberry Chocolate Marble Cake

Ingredients:

5 eggs 

42 ml water

225 gm sugar

210 hongkong flour (*)

53 gm self raising flour (*).........(*) i use only self raising flour

200 gm butter

1/2 Tbsp strawberry paste (+ a little bit red colour if you want it bright red; i don't use)

1/2 Tbsp chocolate paste

1 tsp vanilla flavour

Method:

- Beat butter till creamy

- In another container, mix eggs, water, flour, sugar and beat - I mix this in a blender.

- Add flour mixture to butter and beat again until well mix (like you beat sponge mix)

- Divide into 3 and stir in paste separately in each portion; red (s'berry), brown (chocolate) and the original colour.

- Place a spoonful of the original mixture in a baking pan, followed by chocolate and strawberry(one on top of the other). Continue this process until finish. 

- Bake @ 170 deg C for ~ 40 mins (depending on oven)

It will look something like in this picture before bake;   

Steaming method local delicacy

Have been quite busy last week that I don't really have time to complete this posting. I made several types of food last week like nasi tomato+dishes, fish curry etc. However due to my poor quality photography (that's what mr abang says-lazy, i always use my hp rather than the slr), I cannot share the picture with you all-next time.

This time, let us just share this simple steaming method - mini sponge cake.

Steamed Mini sponge cake 

A: 150 gm sugar

     200 ml water

     200 gm butter

Method:

Fry sugar under medium fire, stirring all the time until it turns brown/caramelized(slightly burnt).

Turn fire to slowest, pour water slowly into the sugar (be careful) and let it boil slowly until all the 'lumps' are dissloved. 

Stir in butter and let it cool down a bit.

B: 300 gm flour

     150 gm sugar

     2 tsp soda bicabonate

     2 eggs

     1 tin evaporated milk

- Beat sugar & eggs until well mixed & sugar dissolved

- Add in evaporated milk, mix well

- Fold in flour that has been sifted w soda bicab

- Pour A into the mixture and mix well.

- Put in container of you choice and steam  accordingly. I used the small one and takes about 10-15 minutes to steam.

koay teow th'ng

This is another simple dish, suitable for lunch, dinner or anytime in-between.

 

Koay Teow Th'ng 

2 l water

2 chicken stock cube

white pepper

Fish ball of your choice- boil and put aside

Sawi - Clean, cut ,boil & strain

Bean sprout, boil & strain

1 clove garlic.

- Boil water. Add chicken stock and about 1 tsp white pepper.

- Finely chop garlic and fry till it turns slightly brown (careful not to burn it). Scoop into a container together with the oil.

- Cut cili padi (bird's eye cili) and pour black soy sauce.

Put koay teow/mee in a bowl, garnish with fishball, garlic oil, cili and bean sprout. Put enough soup and enjoy your food while hot.

Note: you may also add shredded boiled chicken flesh if you like

Serawa keladi & keledek

Half of my afternoon was spent on sewing-trying to complete my cushion cover...wanna see?? Part of me say okay when i'm done, but the other part say 'aiiyooo no need to show, your sewing not good...' yes, basically I only can sew straight, we'll see how when that day comes. If i'm proud of my work, i'll show it..otherwise...its 'for my eyes only...'

And saja je nak kongsi makan petang hari ni....serawa keladi campur keledek. Kalau orang selatan/timur, rasanya benda ni di panggil pengat-wallahualam

Keladi N keledek ni di potong dadu dan di rebus berasingan. Add sago, sugar, santan, sikit garam - dah siap. My 'serawa' is not sweet and not too creamy. Pssst daun pandan dalam gambar tu bukan untuk makan tau...cuma eksyen

monday blues....

Monday.....

I think my urat rajin very kembang today........(simple translation: today i'm quite hardworking).

Morning, prepared breakfast-cucur badak & cucur kacang (frozen, fry only). 

Almost immediately after I made lasagna since i've plenty of pasta sauce in the fridge. Sorry no photo.....by the time i remembered, its finished! 

But the cook actually went out to have breakfast with other not-desperate-housewives at the mamak shop nearby. Reason? simple. You're being served there! 

All the housework bla bla bla after that then its time to prepare dinner.

Simple dishes to have with white rice; egg curry, stir-fried vege (chinese called it ong tey chai)

diced tomatoes with onions,cili,lemon juice & thick soy sauce and fried ikan sebelah

Home made pasta sauce

In one of my previous entries, I did promise to share my home made pasta sauce. 

Home made pasta sauce

1 kg ripe tomatoes

3Tbsp brown sugar

Salt

Olive oil 

150 gm sun dried tomatoes-chopped (i used bottled one in sunflower oil as in pic below)

200 gm tomato puree (i used tesco's in the tube)

4 onions - diced

1 can button mushroom - sliced (optional)

150 gm mince chicken (optional)

5 pulp garlic - chopped

mixed herbs or chopped fresh basil.

1-2 bayleaves

- Halve tomatoes and place in suitable baking dish.

- Sprinkle with brown sugar, salt and a dash of olive oil.

- Bake in oven for about 30 mins (160 deg C). Another way is to blanch

- Cooled, remove skin & mash lightly

- Saute garlic in olive oil, add in mince chicken and fry till meat is cooked.

- Add in onions followed by mushroom and keep stirring until soft.

- Pour mashed tomatoes into pan, stir.

- Add sun dried tomatoes & tomato puree.

- Add mixed herbs & bay leaf

- Stir and let it boil for about 10 minutes.

- Put to small fire and let it simmer for one hour ( i transferred to rice cooker/slow cooker after this and cook it further for few hours)

- Done. Let it cool, keep in air tight container and refrigerate.

Note: As always, different people have different style of preparing, this is just one of it.  

# I keep my extras in the freezer as this one has no preservatives.

# Use this basic sauce on spaghetti, pizzas, lasagna, stews or even coney dogs etc as you like it!

# Add cili paste if you prefer hot. 

# Sometimes sauce colour is slightly 'orange(not dark)'-depending on the tomatoes,unlike those bottled sauces, what i do is to add one bottle of the pasta sauce (my fav is prego or heinz) to my mix (pst pst, my grown up children is very fussy as they don't really like their sauce to be different from that in the bottle)

 Whatever it is, if you want to try this recipe 'just as it is' please do so as i can assure YOU WON'T FAIL. Happy trying, have a good day and be happy with what you do. 

Refer sini & here for more info on tomatoes. 

choty chety

Lagi lagi pasal dia orang niii..... (tapi tak boring laaa)

After 3 days at home.......Chot (nickname for Mansor) who seemed 'shy' earlier began to show his colours. He started to be more active, 'walking' the perimeter of the living area, and on one occasion even left his trademark ( i don't really like this!).

Chet (manja for Rashid, rather pronounced as 'Chate'{chade} looked more quiet and 'manja' this time, coming to sniff and gnaw my hands. His favourite place is under the chair whereas Chot likes to be behind the curtains.

Note: chosen names has no connection with those dead or alive, just merely to give them a kampung name, if ever, they're just coincidence-no hard feelings).

I weighed them last night...Chot weighed 400 gm and Chet (who looked bigger) was only 340 gm.

The food: Apart from the pellets, we also feed them cabbage, as was told by the sales guy. Jangan start mintak pizza dah le...

They eat & drink a lot so they 'passed' out plenty too, so i try to limit their food; pellets by day and cabbage by night, otherwise, they'll be chewing all day long.

Having them at home means more work for me......have to always clean/mop the house.....(part yg kurang best nih)

While cleaning their cage every morning, I let them wonder around the patio, as seen here in the picture..

Welcoming new extended members

Welcome Chot & Chet

Sunday morning....during a visit to a friend's house, I was talking to another friend's son about rabbits....then mr abang drove to the market and we bought two rabbits! Cute.

So, today 7th June 2009, makcikkantin & mr troy16 officially adopted two male rabbits (or hare) and we named them Chot and Chet....

Chot....a white with little black patches and charcoal black eyes! Shy and stayed wherever you put him. Alif fell in love with him almost immediately, stroking & kissing this adorable darling.

and Chet.....an all-white fur with red eyes. This is the more active one, started to 'walk' around the living room once we put him out of the cage. Bigger, he seemed to be a bully as he kept pushing Chot away when they had their first meal together. Obviously, he's my other son Adil's choice.....

Unfortunately, I don't know how old they are or how will they behave as they're only few hours 'old' in our home. Welcome Chot & Chet.

Let's be healthy together

Good morning, I received this from our email group and I think it's good to share with my friends here. Hope this info helps to make us aware & more cautious . God willing, I will share some other useful tips that I have from the group emails

The top five cancer-causing foods are:
1. Hot dogs 

Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate. 
2. Processed meats and bacon
Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer. 
3. Doughnuts
Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams , may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer. 
4. French f ries
Like doughnuts, French fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain cancer- causing acryl amides which occur during the frying process.They should be called cancer fries, not French fries,said Adams . 
5. Chips, crackers, and cookies 
All are usually made with white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amounts of trans-fats. 
BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS 
1. No Breakfast 
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. 
This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration. 
2. Overeating 
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.. 
3. Smoking 
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.   
4. High Sugar consumption 
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development. 
5. Air Pollution 
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency. 
6. Sleep Deprivation 
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.   
7. Head covered while sleeping 
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects. 
8. Working your brain during illness 
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain. 
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts 
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage. 
10. Talking Rarely 
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain 
The main causes of liver damage are: 
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.   
2. Not urinating in the morning.   
3. Too much eating.   
4.. Skipping breakfast.   
5. Consuming too much medication.   
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring, and artificial sweetener.   
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.   
8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store. 
We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to 'schedule.'   
DO TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH..................
AND PASS THIS TO ALL WHOM YOU LOVE & CARE FOR. .....................SAFETY FIRST!!!

Dah balik dahhhh

Alhamdulillah, Adil has been discharged today. No more young beautiful nurses checking on him, instead he has to listen to this "old grumpy matron" now. No more jog-in-the -park for him, at least for the time being.

As for the 'matron'......hmmmm now I have to convert myself to become the 'utility lady' again doing ironing, cleaning, cook etc.

Thank you to those who visited/called/messaged.

The culprit! 

This is the exaggerated model (~1000x the original). Yet to be worked upon to give a more 'original' look.

The scourge of dengue

My weekend was 'disrupted' by my second son's (youngest) high fever. Saturday morning, took him to the hospital, came back home after prescription, went back again at midnight when temperature remained high.

Warded, and here I am, camping at the hospital eversince.......

Have to put on hold plans to all preparation for his entry to college this month end..there's still time though. 

Having both my sons hospitalized before (the elder one was warded about 6 days late last year), I observed their differences while at hospital.

Son 1 - Quiet, never grumble, never smile, slim&tall(like #1). Obviously he was tensed at that time as it was just 2 weeks away from his semester exams. One of the nurses even told him....... "Alif, pls put some smile to your face!"

Despite this, those nurses remembered him because when I was warded a month later, the nurses tending to me had this to say..."oooo ini bukan mak alif ke..." he he, either they remembered him being the very 'unfriendly' one or me being there 'feeling like home'.

Son 2 - Talkative, ohhh grumbled a lot, smile like 'kerang busuk', chubby&tall (like #0). However he sure was very scared whenever the nurses came to check him. Besides looking (a bit) tense, his blood pressure showed; on few occasions, the procedures have to be repeated until the doctor once asked.. " Adil, who or what is pressuring you? His answer was... "ohhh, the TV programmes....bla..bla..." until doctor asked him to suggest programmes that should be included.

Whatever it is, they are the appleS, overgrown babies of both mr abang and me. 

Hmmmm, I called my family KT & the Boyz (myself, hubby, alif & adil).