My children dah besar or I'm getting older....

Just now dalam kecoh kecoh nak solat maghrib, Yusof said...dad can I wear your C..lv...n Kl...in underwear? DH was terkejut.....and Yusof came infront of us parading himself in DH's underwear....now after solat DH has gone out to get Yusof new......
Same thing also happened to me, my innerwear being chilok (taken) by Khadijah...but sometimes it's a blessing in disguise..like the other day I bought 2 pairs of padded and underwired bras from Marks..am still makcik makcik from uni days...but DH didnt like it....so I gave them away to Khadijah...my bajus are Khadijah's but definitely not vice versa...I looked weird in some of her outfits, she's young ma...am a mama!!

How time flies....

Today is the last day in the office before 2009 begins. When I looked back, I havent written much this year, which has been pretty occupied with the little one Hajar and loads to do in the office and during weekends. Despite that DH and me managed to escape to Pangkor Laut Resort for our 15th year anniversary weekend, which was brilliant..The food is to die for and the service was excellent. We might go there for a second round next year.

Finally, today I sent out my last document to be signed, a very controversial one, right from the very first day of negotiation sometime this time last year. To make it worse, all the instructions to me on the matter came right from upstairs...I hated it. I have told my boss several times that I dont wish to be considered to take on any more complicating and high profile projects/matters...they take so much time and all the stress, I dont envy anyone for having to do such work....thay are simply not worth it...

Anyway, am going home early today...After months and breaking several promises, I went to lunch with Mrs Nordin No.2 at Delifrance in Hock Choon just now. Lovely, we only had soup and croissant and tea, but its the company and the time out that I longed for. Talking about croissant, I must try again baking Croissant Pudding with Anglaise Sauce that I learnt from my dear friend Saf. Saf is a regular writer in our local magazine Flavours, and I can tell you that the Mee Abu she last made for me has stayed berhantu in me until today!! And her mini Carrot Cake...hai mak mentua lalu oun tak nampak...

I also still have a few recipies that I'm due to put up in this blog...Sambal Goreng Johor, Terung Masak Assem, Mee Melicau, Ayam Masak Ungkep, Semur Ayam, Serunding Kelapa, all this are part of the lauk pauk in Nasi Ambeng....nanti yah!

Esok, we are taking the morning flight out to Langkawi, woo hoo, so breakfast will be in Langkawi...best nya...The last time after I came back from Langkawi, I was preggers with Hajar...no, no it was not bacause I dipped into Tasik Dayang Bunting. This time, we'll skip the cable car and island hopping...probably just go to Pulau Payar for kids to swim and swim along the beaches in Langkawi and enjoy the foods there. We are planning to eat at this place called something "Tomato"..the kids loved the sandwiches with home made bread, breakfast at "The Big Breakfast" and a pizza and pasta plae belonged to an Italian couple...sedappp. I'll post later and hopefully some pics when I return on 31.1.2008 late night.

My new year is starting with watching Mamma Mia on 1.1.2009, after lunch with some friends......happening jugak hidup kau ni...Yani..

A very "normal" weekend that I so much long for...

After all the festivities and makans, the syawal open houses, the khenduri for those leaving for haj and weddings, i had my peaceful and serene weekend last weekend. On Saturday, i dragged dh (we had a late night with the kids at california pizza) to my usual pasar tani trip to refill my freezer with fresh fishes, sayur kampung, bawangs, cili kering (very particular about this as I have been buying from this kakak evere since khadijah was one!), mangos. My, the jenahak was so fresh and so does the prawns and parang...so moi sudah beli lagi...probably make beryani udang this week and assam pedas ikan parang, the kids and dh will love it... after pasar tani , we headed to my usual lepak gerai on saturdays...kak jee's, had her bubur lambuk, hmm brilliant and the small mug special nescafe for yani , a bit thick but easy on the sugar, made by her husband..then balik rumah, lepak...took a nap and went to dh's niece's wedding in Ampang, one thing interesting was jeruk limau wt cili api and sugar, apparently from Min's mom in law who loves in Malacca...must ask Min how to make it the next time I see her, apparently it is cooked in periuk tembaga for 5 hours to get rid of the bitterness...

Sunday was another lepak day, after the ustaz left for the kids mengaji, I decided to make nasi goreng kampung for breakfast, and instead of using anchovies, used the left over of fried ikan kembung (mackerel), pound it with red chillies, a bit of cili padi kampung, onions and garlic, and a bit of salt. Fry with some oil, until fragrant, throw an egg or two and put the rice...wulla, berebut my children and the father habiskan the rice.

For lunch, I decided to heat up the left over of kari ikan bawal, ikan cencaru goreng with fresh turmeric (just like how my tok yam makes them), labu goreng dengan halba and jintan, omelete and air asam t0mato. The boys and dh loved the air asam tomato....pound to bruise some tomatoes (cherry tomatoes are better), shallots, a bit of belacan, red chillies and cili padi, tgether wt salt and sugar to taste, last add air assam jawa (tamarind juice) or a zing of lemon or lime...really membuka selera!! After that I tidoq while watching a slot in NONA covering the wedding of Ashraf Sinclair and Buncis (Bunga Cinta Lestari), don't really care hoods about artists, sebab tulah iI sudah tertidoq...and woken up by the usual friendly another makan visit by BAd, Liza and the two girls...since I didn't prepare antyhing for tea, decided to get some kueh mueh from this gerai that i have been going since we settled dwn in the area....we had goreng pisang, apam manis inti kelapa, putu buloh, cucuq udang, apam balik and laksa utara.....and dinner, told eeryone no food, coz we had so much already for the day!!

I feel energised everyday coz I cook every morning...

Yeah, I notice that when I arrive at work everyday, I feel fresh and ready and eager to start the day with the documents...never thought about but I think since i prepare the family's meal everyday, almost without fail and that has really helped to relief stress and add some spice, literally!



I usually repeat the dishes that i cook, however, the children will never refuse mom's fish curry and assam pedas. And they have also learnt to enjoy curry and assam pedas with bread or roti boom segera that i got weekly from my pasar tani.



And today I prepared Chicken Bombay Biryani....got the masala from a mamak shop in Plaza City One in Jln TAR. The one that i use is under the brand NAtional, however you can also try Shan's that is available at most nearby supermarkets.



It's ano brainer way to prepare and it only takes about 45 minutes to cook, the only secret ingredient is to get the masala.....i will one day just use plain masala and add it wit some curry powder, to see if I will get the same result.



How you prepare is very easy....fry sliced onions (3 medium) with screwpine leaves and curry leaves until golden and fragrant, add in chopped garlic and ginger, add chicken pieces about 1 kg), cut tomatoes [(4 or 5), the lazy me uses dices 1 can stewed tomatoes), 150 ml plain yoghurt, corriander leaves, mint leaves.....leave to simmer on medium fire until chicken is almost cooked. Well you can use ghee that will give a wulla taste, otherwise just use butter, whih is equally as good. On the other stove, boil rice, i loved to use basmathi or long grain, pre-soaked for about 15 minutes, boil until almost done, add a bit of salt to add to taste.



Once both chicken and rice are done, layer the chicken and rice and cook again, i use the rice cooker all the time because of its onvenience. I know some people use the pressure cooker in which case the chicken and rice should just be half cooked. I like to cover my rice with a corning plate before covering it with the rice cooker top to keep all the moisture in and ensure that the rice is cooked properly....this way has never failed me.....



See, its very easy and it definitely is lovely to serve the biryani with cucumber raita (as in cube japanese cucumbers with tomatoes, with a bit of corriander and mint leaves and natural yoghurt with a dash of salt) and dhal......well, i got to go, Daniel Craig is waiting for me....will post the dhal recipe later....tara

I"M BACK!!!!!

Yes, I'm back after disapperaing for almost two years...my that is a long time......then I was preggers with no. 5 and I was stuck with this project to revamp the system architecture at the place where I'm working. No, I wont be putting any recipies this time, just a tip...hmmm short and sweet come back!! Here we go...

Try adding tomatoes or mushrooms in your dishes to enhane the taste, however, bear in mind that mushroom cooked over a long period will have a sulphuric effect!!