Saturday, June 30, 2007

Kuih Ketayap


We had this for tea yesterday.
Anyway, anyone have any idea where the name 'ketayap' come from?
Actually I planned to make 'hot cross bun'. I asked my son, what he wanted for tea. between hot cross bun and kuih ketayap, he chooses ketayap. (:)))

Inti:
1/2 bj kelapa parut
1 keping manisan
1/2 cawan air
gula merah secukup rasa.
secubit garam
sehelai daun pandan
# masak air dan manisan sehingga larut, masukkan daun pandan supaya bau sedap. masukkan guka merah, rasa manis secukupnya. tambahkan secubit garam.
masukkan kelapa parut. kacau sehingga kering.
sejukkan

kulit:

1 cawan tepung gandum
1 1/2 cawan santan cair/ air
1 bj telur
secubit garam
air daun pandan/ pewarna hijau
# campurkan semua dalam mixer. pulse.

panaskan frying pan. sapu sedikit minyak. tuangkan sesenduk adunan kulit.
pusing2kan supaya dapat bentuk yg nipis.
selapas 1minit, angkat. letakkan inti di bahagian tepi dan memanjang.
gulungkan, lipat tepinya. gulung kemas2.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

A Very Sweet Cupcakes


I will write about this later.
Creative mind at rest :)

I've Been Tag

:)
I've been tag! Thank god it's a simple topic- favourite flower.
But, it's still took me quite sometimes to think about it. hmmm..really, I haven't thought about what my favourite flower is. Thanks to the hot mama bear for 'tagging' me, if not I still don't take the time to really think of what my fav flower is, and I would still be clueless the next time anyone ask.
but...which flower???
It have to be the red rose... or is it the elegant white lily? but of course not rafflesia. How about orchid?? I hate orchid...no not the one. Crysanthemum?? even have a hard time to spell it...nope. gerbera? unique, but not to my liking.
And the winner goes to.........the elegant, the mysterious, the beautiful, the romantic, and the everlasting popular....RED ROSE


I have lots of history that involved red roses in my life. ( my love life to be precise :))
during my college years, my 'ever dearest' boyfriend, always sent me red roses. delivered right to HUKM. I felt happy, but embarrased as well. (mengalah kan patient...hehehhe)
He sent me red roses once every few months.
If i was mad with him, he would wait for me at the 'ronald mcdonald's house' near my hostel with a bouquet of roses. how romantic....hehheh...yes..that's him.
After we'r married, I still get flowers occasionally. Life have been busier, and lots more things to think about (the kids, etc).

Anyway, AB, with or without flowers, I still love u much...muahhh... :)

I have no idea who to tag.
Anyway,
-isleasy
-hliza
-diba(sambil2 buat kek, buat tag pulak...tihiihi)
-wan the queen
-boogie (lamanya ko x apdet)
-vadai (if only u r interested :))
-and anyone
p/s if all of u are busy...just ignore this yea...

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Kids Cupcakes



My talkative son kept bugging me to make him a spiderman cake(he got a batman cake for his birthday). Since there's none any special occassion for me to make a CAKE, so i baked cupcakes instead.
But, remember...i have 2 kids, which mean I have to make one for the little sister too. And her favourite character is Winnie the Pooh.
I just make the cupcakes using the basic pound cake recipe.
May be I'll post the recipe later.
The frosting is snowwhite buttercream frosting and use an edible cake deco for this one (my hands are shaky , so, no minute details deco on cakes...hehehhehe).
And the two kids are really in a 'helping mum' mood. I have to make a fast deco before both of them are covered in frosting.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Curry Mee

My parents were here last two days. My father loves curry mee, especially home-cooked (by his only daughter- me of course :)).

I found the recipe in a magazine (Jelita- if I'm not mistaken), dated back in the 80's. My mum subscribed to a few women magazine, and she kept lots of cut-out recipes from those magazine. We've been making curry mee using this recipe since I was still in primary school.
Here's the recipe:


CURRY MEE

1kg yellow noodles (mee kuning) - blanch in hot water

1 kg shellfish (kerang-rebus ambil isi)
1/2 kg prawns (medium- shelled)
10-12 fish balls (cut in halves)
2 pieces fish cakes (sliced thinly)

3 garlic cloves
5 onions
1 inch ginger
1 inch galangal
-blend/pound (A)

3 tbsp chilli paste (cili boh)

4-5tbsp curry powder (preferably meat curry powder)-mix with some water to make a paste
2 lemongrass (smash with the back of knife)
1 cup thick coconut milk
3 cups water
2 tamarind slices (asam keping)
salt

#
-Heat 3 tbsp cooking oil in a pot.
-Saute the blended ingredients (A) until fragrance.
-Add in chilli n curry powder. Stir a minute.
-Add coconut milk, and water.
-Let boil.
-Add in shellfish, prawns, fish balls and fish cake.
-Season with salt.

Garnishing:

Bean sprouts
Sawi(cut into !inches)
- blanch in hot water

Boiled eggs
Puff tofu
Fried tofu
Sliced red chillies
Fried onions
Lime

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home...home messy home...
After about one month leaving home, we're back at last.
The house is covered with dust. It's a big mess. Every time we walked around, our feet are covered with dust. This must be due of the pollution here. Or may be because Ipoh have lots of cement processing factory. Spider web everywhere.
Hmmm...I am sooooo lazy in terms of cleaning the house. (second to ironing-I hate ironing)
so, after some dusting, I did things to entertain myself... What is the 'thing'?
hehheheh what else....baking lar...hahhaha



I baked 'Sour Cream Chocolate Cake' that I have posted the recipe sometimes ago in this blog.
But, this time I used 2 8inch pan (because that the only pan size that I have in pair).
Why I decorate it into a flower basket??....heheheh...I just bought the basket weave icing tip two days ago, and can't wait to try.
Howveer, the deco is far from perfect, since I lost my star pointed icing tip that I need to make the basket edges and the tip for the roses. So, I just make do with whatever i have in hand. And the kids have used the cake board as a drawing board without my knowledge.
Moreover, the kids can't wait for me to finish. They said the cake smells so good. Umar even managed to poke a finger right through one of the layer while I was not looking.
So, how was the cake for a first timer ( with basket weave) and never go to any cake classes. Okay I guess...hehehheh..

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

White / Wholemeal Bread


I cooked fish curry for lunch. And every time we had curry for meal, my son have to have it with bread.
Being too lazy to make a trip to the nearest groceries store, so I baked one.
I got the recipe from some online recipe site, make some changes, and voila…bread for the family.
Even though the recipe said ‘white bread’, mine was brownish… ☺ ..I used whole meal bread flour instead of the regular high-protein flour…. Need me to remind us all of the 2007 resolution??-eat healthily, add more fiber in our diet. ☺
I halved the recipe, baked only one loaf.

White Bread

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups warm water (45 degrees C)
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 6 cups bread flour

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. (about 10minutes)
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 175 degrees C for 30 minutes.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Malaysian PM getting Married -congratulations...

I guess this time it's true, since the news is officially released to the media.
Our Prime MInister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has announced he will marry Jeanne Abdullah, 53, in a private ceremony in Seri Perdana on Saturday, June 9.
You can read about it here
-the Prime Minister Office.
And the news about it in TheStar.
Anyway...CONGRATULATIONS...

Shrek The Third



I watched this movie yesterday.
In short...I don't really like it. Shrek 1 and 2 are better. I think most of us that have watched it would agree. I just can't (or rather don't know) the reason that I don't like it, the movie is just plain dull, the jokes are not that funny like it used to be in the first and second movie.
But, it's still worth watching (especially when you have no other things to do).
And what with the 'interspecies marriage'??! Eeww...Please, can someone explain that, or is it that funny. Hmmm... By the way, to those who have not watched it, Donkey married Dragon, and they have kids-Dronkey(..what else could we call them...).

The only conversation that interest me was the one during Princess Fiona's baby shower.
It goes something like this:

Fiona(F) : What is this?
SnowWhite(SW): He's a living babysitter.
Babysitter(BS) : Where's the baby?
F : You are too kind. But I can't accept this.
SW : Oh..think nothing. But I got 6 more at home.
F : What does he do?
Cinderella(C) : The cleaning.
SW : The feeding.
BS : The burping.
F : So, what are Shrek and I suppose to do?
Rapunzel(R) : Well, now you have plenty of time to work on your marriage.
F : Gee...thanks for the counsel. But, what's that supposed to mean?
R : Oh..c'mon Fiona. You know what happen.
SleepingBeauty(SB) : You are tired all the time.
SW : You'll start letting yourself go.
GingerbreadMan(GM): Stretch mark
R : Say good bye to romance.

Haahahaha..that are just among many things that first time parents really worried about.
And the babysitter part is quite true come to think of it. If the babysitter do all the bonding stuff (eg. change diaper, bathing, feeding, etc), what is left for parents to do. No offence though..... :)

Anyway, for Shrek fans, go watch it, then u tell me what you think...

p/s really looking forward for the 'Harry Potter' movie.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

How To Be A Great Dad

I was bloghopping (that's what I do if I go somewhere that have no decent kitchen- a microwave oven and a fridge do not make a kitchen-THE KITCHEN :)), and I found yet another interesting entry.
This is dedicated to all fathers or father-to-be or even the single men out there (who knows u might be a father one day.) In short, this is for all men, a father or not(yet) :)
This entry comes from Zen Habits
(You can read the complete article there).

1. Put their interests first, always.

2. Protect them. As a dad, one of your main roles is protector. There are many ways you need to do this. Safety is one: child-proof your home, teach them good safety habits, set a good example by using your seatbelt, make sure they use a car seat if below a certain age & weight, etc. But financial protection is also important: have life insurance, car insurance, an emergency fund, a will.

3. Spend your spare time with them. When we get home from work, often we’re tired and just want to relax. But this is the only time we have with them during the weekdays, often, and you shouldn’t waste it. While work may be your passion, it won’t be long before they’re grown and no longer want to spend time with you. Take advantage of these years.

4. Give them hugs.

5. Play with them.

6. Do the “mom” stuff. Things that are traditionally considered “mom” duties are not just for moms anymore — changing diapers, feeding, bathing, rocking them to sleep in the middle of the night.

7. Read to them.

8. Stand by mom.

9. Teach them self-esteem. Show them (not telling them) that you value them, by spending time with them, by talking and listening to them, by praising things they do, by teaching them (not telling them) how to be competent.

10. Teach them about finances. From an early age, you can teach them the value of money, how to save money to reach a goal, and later, how earn money and how to manage money properly.

11. Be good to yourself. You shouldn’t give up your entire life when you become a dad. Also take care of your health — eat healthy, exercise.

12. Be good to the mom. This isn’t the same as No. 8 — you should be good to their mom even when they’re not looking. Take her to dinner, give her a massage, do chores around the house for her, give her some time alone and babysit while she goes out, show affection to her, give her little surprises. Because when mom’s happy, the kids are happy. And dad will be happy too!


p/s many thanks to my hubby.
Ab, u already been doing all of it.

I am sure, both of them wanted to thank their daddy too...

Friday, June 1, 2007

Men Are Hard To Pleased...

I was visiting a friend's blog ( The Vadai Has Landed ) earlier today, and found this entry quite interesting.
Most of it are quite true anyway.. :)


The problems with GUYS:

If u TREAT him nicely, he says u are IN LOVE with him;
If u Don't, he says u are PROUD.
If u DRESS Nicely, he says u are trying to LURE him;
If u Don't, he says u are from KAMPUNG.
If u ARGUE with him, he says u are STUBBORN;
If u keep QUIET, he says u have no BRAINS.
If u are SMARTER than him, he'll lose FACE;
If he's Smarter than u, he is GREAT.
If u don't Love him, he tries to POSSESS u;
If u Love him, he will try to LEAVE u.(very true huh?)
If u don't make love with him., he says u don't Love him;
If u do!! he says u are CHEAP.
If u tell him your PROBLEM, he says u are TROUBLESOME;
If u don't, he says that u don't TRUST him.
If u SCOLD him, u are like a NANNY to him;
If he SCOLDS u, it is because he CARES for u.
If u BREAK your PROMISE, u Cannot be TRUSTED;
If he BREAKS his, he is FORCED to do so.
If u SMOKE, u are BAD girl;
If he SMOKES, he is GENTLEMENT.
If u do WELL in your exams, he says it's LUCK;
If he does WELL, it's BRAINS.
If u HURT him, u are CRUEL;
If he HURTS u, u are too SENSITIVE!!
& sooo hard to please!!!!!