Ramadhan.....

This year Umar started to fast. (at his own will)

"I want to fast too",..

By noon,
"Umar, adik is having her lunch. do you want to have lunch with her?", I asked him. He's still young, and this is his first attempt in fasting...I thought he might want to break fast by noon. (moreover, I did not wake him up during sahur).
"No, I'll eat when you eat".

By late afternoon,
"Mama, can I have a taste of what adik is having? Just a little, tiny miny. i don't want to break fast yet, I just want to have a taste."
After a long explaination to him, he break fast at 3pm.
I think that's good enough for a five year-old.
I didn't expect him to last later than lunch, to begin with.

Chocolate Pecan Toffee

This is absolutely scrumptious.....

Really is..once you POP, you can't stop.

It's a bit costly, since the market price for pecans here in Malaysia is like rm75 per kg.
I was browsing the cookbooks in BORDERS The Curve the other day, and found this recipe. It's easy enough. The book is quite expensive, can't remember the price..anyway only this recipe that interest me from that book, so i memorised it, and go to one side, began writing the recipe on the back of one of the many old bills found in my purse. Then I went back in again, to double check the recipe...(don't want to end up with silly mistake).
Hah...what a cheap way to get a recipe yea...
Shhhhhhh...don't report me in...

CHOCOLATE PECAN TOFFEE

1 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 cup chocolate morsels ( chocolate chips)

##
Spread half of the pecans on a cookie sheet, into a 9"circle.
Mix butter, sugar, corn syrup and water in a sauce pan.
Heat, stir, until thick.
Pour evenly onto the pecans.
Quickly, spread chocolate morsels all over.
Leave for 2-3minutes, until the chocolate melts.
Spread the melted chocolate.
Sprinkle with the rest of the pecans.
Cool in fridge for 2 hours.
Take out, cut into bit-size pieces.

p/s- Ab, I know u love toffee.
so, come back quick, or I'll gonna finished them all during breakfast today...:):):)

Have a great weekend.

Kek Lapis Asam Haw Flakes

I made this a few days ago.
The first time I made this.
A bit tedious...but being the lazy me, I made the layer a bit thick, so that i can finish it up quickly. :)
And I'll definitely making this again this raya.

Let's go back in time. When I was 8years old, my mum went to her friend's house(or is it a demo cooking class??) to learn making this layered cake.
When she came back home, she tried making this, and it's a flop. She just threw it away.

So, this Raya...I'll be making this...so, mak, tengok...kita pandai buat...hehehheheh......

By the way, I got the recipe from Lynnhassan's.

If you notice, some of the dish/cakes/cookies, etc, I did not attach the recipe with them. That is because, either it's from a friend personal collection or recipes that have been emailed to me. To respect their need of privacy, i won't post them here. But you can request for it, and i can ask them the permission and forward them to you. I'm sure they would like to share them with everyone too.

Feast for the Eyes... raya cookies

One fine day......

One fine day...I was browsing, surfing the net, and bloghopping.....
Suddenly, ta..da... I found this blog with an incredible rainbow picture..... I was mesmerized...captured by how beautiful it was created...

Hahahahha...how melodramatic...and sooooo not me...
Anyway, what the heck is i'm talking about....????
Well, it's not about rainbow, rainbow, but it's 'rainbow pudding' (puding pelangi). And the blog owner...is of course... Jun's.
Her rainbow pudding looks sooo beautiful and nice, and i felt like making one.
So, gather all the gears and ingredients...and I'm off to the new challenge in my cooking journal...creating a rainbow pudding....

:D :D :D My rainbow pudding did not look anything like a rainbow at all....
tsk...tsk...tsk...
A bit shame to put up the picture here...but anyway...I think mine is still beautiful (in it's own class).
So...here it is....

Cool isn't it...ahhahhahhahha
You can laugh all u have...

And by the way Jun- I have to change the name to
-Puding Celorang Celoreng....

p/s- i shud have made it in black, dark green and green- that will definitely resembles the army...
or better still- I shud have not made it....muahhahhhahhha

Anyone who would like to make this pudding...pls refer here ----> Puding Pelangi (to get the real picture)

Steam Chocolate Cake

This afternoon I chatted with my 'creative niece'. She wanted a 'steam chocolate cake' recipe. I have an old steam cake recipe, but the outcome was not really consistence (ie. sometimes it turned out okay, the other time, not really good.)
So, this time I tried the one from Diba's fotopage.
It looks good...spongy enough, soft,and just enough dense for a good chocolate cake.
The only thing that I would change next time is the amount of cocoa powder. I'll used 3/4cup...(sorry to the owner...it's good, only I would prefer less cocoa to lessen the bitterness.)
And if add chocolate fudge topping...it'll sure be great....yummy.......

Here's the recipe...(diba...I just copy and paste...hope u don't mind :):))

KEK COKLAT KUKUS

Bahan A
1 cawan serbuk koko
1 cawan gula pasir
1 cawan susu cair
1 cawan minyak masak (vegetable oil)
1/2 cawan susu pekat

Bahan B
1 1/4 cawan tepung gandum
1 sudu teh soda bikarbonat
1 sudu teh baking powder
(ayak bersama)

1 sudu teh esen vanila
3 biji telur

Cara-cara
1.Masak dan cairkan bahan A atas api yang kecil hingga sebati.
2.Sementara masak bahan A,pukul telur hingga kembang.
3.Campur bahan A yang telah masak tadi ke dalam telur yang sudah kembang berserta esen vanila,pukul hingga sebati.
4.Akhir sekali masuk bahan B yang telah diayak bersama-sama,kacau hingga sebati.
5.Masukan ke dalam baking tray dan kukus sekurang-kurangnya 1 jam.(penutup kukus hendaklah di balut dengan kain bersih)

So, to kakak- u can try this steam cake recipe, it's not too sweet and that's what make it great (most cakes are too sweet). But, pls note..this is not a moist chocolate cake.

p/s- if anyone need the recipe in English, lemme know...i'll give u the translated version.

10 Q - me n tags..., tags n me...

It's tagging time....again...for me...
Hehhehhe....nevermind..pour them in...I'll answer them all...yeah...:):)
This time, the lovely Pat tagged me... thanks dear :D ;P



Here is the tag :- Ten Questions

These are the rules :-Five answers to each question and then tagged five others.

Instructions :- Remove the first Blog and add your own blog last.

Wishing On A Falling Star; Bokjae; simply888here; cat cat; Asiana Pat; drNO


Here it goes.....

Q1. What were you doing 10 Years ago?

1-Struggling in my 2nd year in medical college.
2-Went to the cinema almost everyweek...(sort of therapy to me. But that therapy have stopped since I have kids....:( )
3-Cooked almost everything using only a rice cooker in the hostel (cooking is prohibited-but i did cook fried rice, chips and even tom yum using the rice cooker......is funny though, thinking about it...it's easier to just buy ur food, but, cooking them is the challenge. The best part is, if there's a 'spot check' by the warden, we hid the 'rice cooker' in the janitor's closet next to the toilet..:D)
4- studying
5- studying


Q2. What were you doing 1 Year ago?

1- Travel back and forth to visit my mother-in-law.
2- My mum-in-law passed away last Ramadhan.... (a few days before Eid)
3- moved house
4- cooking
5- start this blog

Q3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?

1-Chocolates
2-Twisties
3-Pringles
4-Doritos
5-Fruits

Q4. What are 5 songs you know the lyrics to?

1- Bob The Builder
2- Wonder Pets
3- I love u, u love me (from Barney)
4- Twinkle, twinkle Little Star
(wow...motherhood really have taken its toll on me... Hmmm, I must know at least one song that have nothing to do with cartoon character...think...think....)
5-........ (huahhhh...can't think of any at the moment...there must be one.....let me leave this blank, until I can think of something...hehhehe)
(yes...at last...I know the whole 'Negaraku' song....:D)


Q5. 5 things you would do if you are a Millionaire?

1- Invest in business
2- Save for the kids future
3- Buy a small house in a nice, quiet place (Ipoh is just nice-not too crowded, but complete with all the facilities) -and complete it with the trendiest kitchen
4- Umrah n Hajj
5- Donate to the less fortunate

Q6. 5 Bad habits?

1- Proscrastinate
2- I always make a 'list of things to buy', but always forget to bring them to the shop
3- Hypersensitive
4- I think I'm lazy :)
5- Disorganize


Q7. 5 things you like to do?

1- bloghopping...I love bloghopping more than updating my own blog
2- baking
3- trying out new recipes
4- traveling- it always nice to see other people's places
5- relaxing....


Q8. 5 Favourite Toys?


1- my iBook
2- my Finepix
3- my kitchen
4- Laiqa
5- Umar


Q9. 5 things you would never wear?

1- white jeans
2- red jeans
3- orange jeans
4- polka dots
5- tight-fitting clothes


Q10. 5 things you hate to do?

1- ironing
2- mopping the floor
3- going out for 'lepak2'
4- anything that requires me to be away from the kids
5- (hmmm...can't think of any...)

I'm not tagging anyone....but you are most welcome to answer this....


mama scolded her
(lepas kena marah)

after being scolded
(tengah merajuk ni...)






happy again-playing with abang

Hello.......Hello..... and the Brain...

Hello…hello…

I didn’t update this blog for a while. I was away. Been in Lumut for a few days…no internet connection in the hotel room. Lumut could be a great tourist spot, except that it lack a few tourist facilities. The hotels there for instance, could be improved a lot. They are not up to standard. I could list all of the lackness here, but…better not. Anyway, stop fussing… (p/s-Lumut residence…please take note…complaint this to the district officer or whoever responsible)
And I can’t imagine myself going to the ‘cyber café’ with the two kids tailgating behind me.. ☺ ☺

The view from my room balcony. That's the navy base. (on the far left)


Just wanna share some graphics that I found somewhere.
It’s kinda interesting.

It’s almost true, but I’m sure not everyone is the same.
The ‘jealousy’ area kind of large…hmmm…are women that jealous…well,, may be…may be not… Women are not jealous, it’s just that men are always ??? (can't find the right word... 'gatal'(?)..) so, women have to really keep an eye on them, to prevent them from doing anything stupid right…hahhahah…(lame excuse for being jealous, I guess).
And no wonder I always have trouble in choosing things. Hehehehheh…

But let’s see the another interesting graphic….
This is interesting and funny….


Isn’t it interesting. Anyway, most of us are already aware of this, but when everything is highlighted like in this graphic...things are clearer, isn't it??

Just see what accommodate the most part of their brain…hmmm…true though, right.
The ‘attention span’ area is small….but what caught my attention is the area for ‘listening particle’…almost nil…
Hahahhaha…now I know why my ‘ever dearest’ won’t have a clue of what I’m saying after a while…he’s not even listening….
Can we change this? Or men brain are already created to be like this…???

4 THINGS........ -tagging time

:) I've been tagged...this time by the sis (GoD's Slave) in Morocco... (amboi... nak tag akak yg glamer ni yek...mentang2 la akak ni sporting...) anyway i always have fun answering tags- eventhough, sometimes i've no idea to answer them...there are always help around (in the form of my 'ever dearest')

it's about 4 things....not sure who created this, and why is it about 4 (not 3, or 7 or whatever...)

4 things that scare me:
- ALLAH- banyak lagi amalan yg blum cukup
- if something bad happened to my 'ever dearest' )
- if something bad happened to my prince & princess ) - Nauzubillah
- Dead


4 people who make me laugh:
- AB-my hubby -the senior joker
- Umar -the junior joker
- Laiqa- the cute joker
- the sitcom 'my family' in UK (can this be considered people??)






'junior joker' tgh men'fire' cute joker...
cute joker x sedar dia kena 'fire' sbb tgh mengkaji batu
















4 things i love:
- my iBook (old but reliable; AB pls understand, it's time to upgrade :p - a Macbook will do)
- my oven ( I love baking/cooking)
- my old fuji finepix digital camera that we bought in Japan (AB- I heard the brand new fujifilm finepix f31fd is rocking....)
- books ( I love reading)

4 things i hate:
- Cigarette smoke
- Ironing (there's more to life than ironing...:P)- thanks to my Tefal iron-makes it much easier
- food that have animals internal organs...yucks...
- people with 'old school' mentality


- 4 things i don't understand:
- Men (they always answer ur question with a yes @ ok , eventhough they are not listening- bcoz they won't know anything about the topic if we ask them again after a few minutes)- paham x apa yg cuba disampaikan???
- Politics (why have to 'gaduh2'- world peace...)
- Football
- Life

4 things on my desk:
- handphone
- papers strewn all over the desk
- my laptop
- recipes (some under the desk...:))

4 things i'm doing right now:
- completing this tag...(susah jugak rupanya nak cukup kan 4 utk each Q...)
- surfing the net
- watching Harry Potter movie dvd (for the 'don't know how many times')
- listening to Umar talking none stop
(wow....i can do lots of thing at a time.......:D)

4 things i want to do before i die:
- travel around the world
- do umra and hajj
- grow old with my 'everdearest'
- be a millionaire

4 simple things to describe my personality:
- I hold back to new friends, but once you get to know me, I'll be at ease and can be very friendly...
- caring
- passion to cook
- low self-esteem ( I always see the 'bad' in me)

4 things i can't do:
- swim
- carry a tray full of glasses.(my hand tremble)
- be an army.
- makes ugly faces in public (I'm a control freak)

I'm not tagging anyone...but u r most welcome to...
it might be fun to know some fun stuff about yourself.....

Kuih Belang

Umar loves this kuih. If he's in his grandfather's(atok) house, his 'atok' is sure to buy this 'kuih' every single day for him.
In Ipoh, I yet to find stalls selling this kuih ( and i am not looking hard enough :)),
so once a while, he will has this craving for kuih belang. The mummy have to make them for him.

Resepi kuih belang

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cornflour
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups water
5 tbsp sugar (to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
red food coloring

methods:

-prepare a steamer(put in a well oiled 9" round cake tin)
-mix all ingredients together(except the food coloring)
-mix well(it's easier if you mix everything in a food processor or blender and pulse for a few seconds), then sift so there won't be any lumps
-divide into two equal portion
-color one portion red

-when the water in the steamer started to boil, pour a ladle of the white batter(I use a soup ladle) into the prepared cake tin which is inside the steamer.
-steam for about 2-3minutes,
-then pour a ladle of red batter, steam another 2-3 minutes.
repeat, until finished (end with red batter- I add a drop more food coloring to this last portion)
-steam for 15 minutes
-cool before slicing