Something Sweet....

I have been craving for some "Indian dessert" I was telling mom last night that It has been quite sometime since we made 'em. Mom was like we should make some Semiah tomorrow. Anyways, she went out today and she will be back late. So E idea of semiah was aborted. That didn't stop my craving though! :D I was thinking what should I make for myself? It has to be simple, something tht I can make in small proportion coz there's no1 to share it with and most importantly....it has to be yummy enough to satisfy my craving. In e end I decided to make Kheer (Rice pudding) I tried making this about 3 months ago. It was nice but not very good. E instant premix that mom bought from Mustafa was sooooooo good! This is embarrassing I tell you. HOW can Instant food taste better than those make from scratch and that too with lots of love??! That thought was enough to motivate me to try making this again. I sat down and tried to remember how E premix tasted like and what is the difference between E premix and mine. I don't really remember much except for E fact that the premix tasted better than mine! :p After surfing for some recipes of Kheer, I concluded that on E previous attempt, I used too little milk, too much rice and I cooked E rice for too long. So I made E kheer. E original recipe uses a cup of rice. I used 2 tbsp coz its for ME only! :p N yah, I already ate it. It was a small portion but I'm satisfied and it was VERY GOOD! Goodbye to premix!! Sayonara to Cravings!

Kheer is a Northern India dessert. In Southern India's known as Payasam. Kheer is made with either toastd vermicelli or rice and lots of milk. An important dessert for Indian weddings and festivals. This creamy and sweet stove top pudding is fairly quick and easy to prepare. Every part of India has its own version of Kheer. In Singapore itself, it is widely served at restaurants. It is more commonly known as payasam though except in North Indian restaurants. I remember going to Komala's and they have this on their menu. They included some sago in E kheer :)


Ingredients
2 tbsp of long grain rice
1.5 cup of milk (drop 1 cardamon in E milk)
2 Tbsp condensed milk (original recipe uses 1 tbsp of sugar too, but I omitted coz it was sweet enough according to me)
1 Tsp raisins
1 Tbsp of dry roasted cashew nuts/almonds/pistachios.

Method
Boil the rice in the milk on a medium flame until the rice is just cooked but still firm.Make sure you stir frequently.
Add the condensed milk, raisins, and nuts.
Done! Top with more nuts if you prefer.
Serve hot or chilled.

* For a stronger flavour, add a couple of strand of saffron over it.
*You can pan fry E nuts in some Ghee if you want it to be "more sinful" :D

There was a STRINGRAY in my kitchenette!!!

Whenever I pass by some fish stalls in E market, and I see whole stingrays plus its tails, I'm reminded of Steve Irwin aka E crocodile Hunter. He was killed by a Stingray! He is some1 who is well known for his tendency to get close and personal with wildlife especially crocodiles! He always showed amazing enthusiasm! God bless his soul :) Anyways, back to E string ray in my kitchenette. It's already all cut u, cook and submerged in a pot of Spicy Assam Gravy aka Assam Pedas! So no1 gonna get killed or anything like tht...*lame joke, I know* Assam Pedas Pari is 1 of my favourite dish. I love to add salted veg or some okra too! Of coz adding some polygonum leaves makes a whole lot of difference!

Ingredients:

Blend these 4 ingredients
A handful of dried chillies - Cut and soak in hot water
2 Large onions
6 Garlic
A small knob of shrimp cake/paste (belacan)
--------------------------------------
A slice of ginger
A slice of galangal
3 Lemongrass - Lightly crushed
A handful of polygonum leaves (Also known as laksa leaves and daun kesum)
12 Okra (Ladies fingers)
1 Tomato - Quartered
Some tamarind (add some water to it and strain)
Some string ray (cut into squares)

*You can also use salted veg or eggplant in place of Okra


Method:
Add some oil in a wok. Fry lemongrass, ginger, galangal and blended ingredients.
Fry till it releases a pleasant aroma and some oil float on the surface. THis takes about 15- 20mins.
Add in fish, okra, polygonum leaves and salt.
Add tomato and tamarind juice. .

Cheng Teng

This is a favourite in our household especially on hot days. When I make this. It has to be 1 BIG pot! :p Anyways, usually I just go to sum chinese medical hall and ask for $3 worth of Cheng Teng ingredients. E ingredients consist of Gingko Nuts, Lianzi, longan meat, sago, red dates, white fungus, dried melon strips...etc2. I would also purchase extra longan meat coz we love that the most.

Basically I would soak E Lianzi n fungus for a few hours. I would then boil a pot of water with some screw pine leaves and all E "Hard ingredients" 1st. Once E ingredients are almost tender, I add the rest of the other ingredients and slices of sweet potato. As the sago and longan meat expands, some rock sugar and light brown sugar are added. You can just use white sugar but I personally prefer the taste of light brown sugar. It smells so good too!

Tapai Pudding

Tapai is a traditional food that is usually fermented. It's usually made of glutinous rice, rice, cassava...etc. Anyways I made this Pudding yesterday. It was Mami's (mom's younger sis)bday. They went for lunch yesterday and I made some of this dessert for her. Initially I thought it tasted just okay. It was still warm then. As E recipe suggested this has to be served chilled. I kept it in E fridge for a few hours. Tried it again a few hours later and it was DELICIOUS!! Just like a custard! Thanks to Ummi for E recipe. Yes you were right. This pudding is indeed delicious! :)

Ingredients:

2 Packs of Tapai Ubi (fermented Cassava) - About 8 pcs

1/2 Cup sugar

600Ml fresh milk

1 Egg

1.5 Tbsp corn flour

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Green colouring ( I used pink!) :D

Method:

Blend all E ingredients and pour in little moulds.

Prepare a steamer and place a few screw pine leaves in the water.

Steam for 15-20mins.

Chill for a few hours.

Sauce:

1 Can evaporated milk

2/3 cup sugar - I used less.

1.5 Cups water

Screw pine leaves

1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

Method:

Place all E ingredients in a pot and simmer.

Cool, place in a container/jug with a cover and keep it in the fridge till cold.

To serve:

Place E pudding in individual bowls, pour over sauce.

Serve Chilled!

Brown Loaf in E pan...tra la la la la!

I made this a few days ago. It's chocolate 'n' raisins loaf. I used E Hokkaido milk loaf recipe and as usual, it never disappoints. Its soft and fluffy!

E Whole Loaf

Cut it up!

And yes, a close up! :D

540 g Bread flour
60 g Cake flour
10 g Dry active yeast
30 g Milk powder
80 g Sugar
9 g Salt
1 pc Egg
250 g Fresh milk
150 g Heavy cream
1 Tbsp Chocolate Emulco
Raisins

Method:
I did this in a breadmaker, thus I just kneaded the dough first and add E raisins last, just before the proving.

Watermelon+Rose Syrup+Milk=??

My mom told me to finish up my "share" of E watermelon in the fridge. I ate a slice and couldn't eat more. Somehow, an idea just struck in my head! Since I made rose syrup a day before, I decided to make watermelon bandung!!! I know it sounds a bit weird, but trust me it worked like a charm! Only yummilious food and beverages get a posting on my blog :p E watermelon actually made the bandung taste yummier and lighter. I lurveeeeeeeee it! Well E recipe was just an "agaration" so do add according to your taste :) As for E rose syrup, you can buy those ready-made ones or make your own. It's really simple!

Recipe for rose syrup:
2 Cups water
2 Cups sugar
2 Pandan leaves
1 tbsp rose water and/or 1/2 tsp rose essence
1/4 tsp red food colouring

Method:
In a pot, stir together the sugar, pandan leaves. and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the colouring and rose water or essence. Cool completely and store in a bottle.

Note: You can use half part sugar and half part rock sugar too.


Recipe for watermelon bandung:

1 part rose syrup
3 parts water
1 part evaporated milk
a large slice of watermelon - medium sized cubes
Ice

Method:
Place E watermelon in a jug. Add in rose syrup. (Leave these 2 ingredients to "mingle" for 10mins)
Add water and milk
Top with ice and serve chilled!

Easy Peasy Snack...

This is a suitable snack for teatime and unexpected guests. Basically you just mash up some tofu, break 2 eggs, add 2 tbsp of evaporated milk, a couple tbsp of self raising flour, slices of red chill, onion and spring onion. Season with salt and fry it! Just like how you fry the jemput2! Dip with chilli sauce and serve hot! Its go0o0ood! :D

Note: You can add some cubed prawns/shrimps for added flavour.

Test2...:p

Heard so much about Photoshop but I never gave it a try personally. I wanted to try using Windows movie maker earlier too. I tried and it was pretty easy, so I presumed Photoshop ain't gonna be that difficult. Boy, I was so wrong! After my 1st attempt, I had a headache! :p But it was really cool and fun! I should read up some Photoshop tutorials. Anyways, this is my 1st "creation" Quite crappy considering E fact tht Photoshop can perform miracles. I know! Then again....It's MINE, MY own creation! :D

E Busy Bee was Buzzing Around....!

I have been BUSY! Yes, busy with Caps! :p This is a mega post, but I am really gonna condensed it and make this quick. Do pardon my errors...if possible, just overlook my mistakes and pretend that it's a perfect post! :D

It all started with marketing, preparation for mom's bday party. A party consisting of mom's close and dear ones. I also had to print E invitations for my cousin's wedding! It's gonna be a family affair at some clubhouse, so I didn't really need to print that much. E scrolls ended up looking really nice and sweet! I already print about 50 of these...halfway done.... :)

E party was on Sunday but preparations started on Friday. It was a surprise party, thus I had to be "secretive" as possible! I went to E market on Friday which was good coz Mom was out with her friend. On Saturday, there was some function going on at my cousin's place. I had to skip that but mom went. In her absence, I quickly whipped up puddings, agar2 and jellies. On Sunday, my sister in law took Mom to Ikea while I get down with cooking. We were good I tell you. She didn't suspect a thing!! :D She came back from Ikea and voila! All of us were here! I just loveeeee surprise parties! My family always failed to surprise me despite their several attempts. They are not very good at this, I tell you. I'm E pro! :p *Grins*

Anyways it was a fun filled day...tiring, yet but it's just so worth it!
In fact we had guests on Monday too! Mom's good fren and her family came over. There were my cousin and family too!

Anyways we had fried bihun, glutinous rice eaten with beef curry, watermelon 'n' grass jelly jelly, caramel pudding, beef chops eaten with cucumbers, sunny side eggs and potato wedges. Btw, we didn't have a birthday cake since mom don't really like cakes. She love glutinous rice though! Usually on her b'day she would request this. So I shaped E glutinous rice into a 2 tier cake. E little birds/ducks were cute! Guests love'em! :)

And yes, It was my nephew bday 2 weeks back. We didn't get to meet him on his bday. He has been asking for Oreo Agar agar a couple of times. So I made it for his bday. I made some plain agar agar and cut it into alphabets using a cookie cutter. I then "sprayed" a little whipped cream all around E edges. He was of course very happy!

Some of E food that was on E table.....

I didn't really remember to snap individual snaps of all E food but oh well, E guests were more important! Check out my Food Ambassadors! All were willing parties, they knew that they are gonna appear on my blog. I don't have to literally "pay" them though....just need to feed 'em with good food! :p

Look at my niece! Doesn't she just make E perfect food ambassador??! Hehe....

Ok, that's it for now! I have to go and get mom's bday gift! Her bday is actually today. She already went out with her friend, so I'm like free to shop around! :D

Tan Ma-Ya :p

Bought a Canon Pixma today. Actually I wanted to buy Hp printer as I'm used to using Hp only and I like E quality printouts of Hp's! Nevertheless, I decided to try something different, thus I'm trying a Canon! :D Actually, this isn't E main attraction of this post. In the evening, my brother went to collect E printer for me. Since I had some questions b4 purchasing the printer, I had already talked to E shop owner thrice on E fone.His name is Vin**** :D I called him once only :p E other 2 times, he had called to make some confirmations :)

When my brother came back from his shop,he told me that, E shop owner was shocked to see him. This was how conversation went...
V: Eh, you Indian right?
Bro: Yalah Indian.
V: Then how come Maya is Chinese??
Bro: Huh? Chinese??
V: Maya is Indian?
Bro: Yalah of coz!
V: Ur sister sounded so chinese!! She speaks like a chinese.
Bro: Huh? Oookk....

Bro told me tht this V is crazy!! Hehehe! I really find this conversation amusing. Actually, this isn't E first time I was told that I sounded chinese. There were a few others. Most of E time, Indians find me sounding like a chinese....but for chinese. It rarely happened! But seriously, I don't think I sound like a chinese at all...! But this is indeed interesting. 1 of these days, I should call up some1 and say "Hi, I'm Maya Tan!" Wonder if tht is gonna work or not...Haha!

Milolicious 'n' Pinkalicious!

Dearest mom went to her good fren's house today. When she told me that last night, I was practically cracking my brain as to what I should make for her friend. Mom said that there wasn't such a need coz she's gonna buy some "kueh kueh" for her friend. I just felt that I should make something. The sad part was, I was flour less, butter less, cheese less, chocolate'less....etc2. To put it simply, I have NO ingredients to bake! I had eggs and caramel pudding would be delish...but then, I was VANILLA'LESS! Le sigh! I could always buy E ingredients E next morning, but then again, I had to go to E market today! So after some ransacking, I had 2 packs of Agar agar My life saviour! With very limited ingredients, I came up with 2 types of agar agar...

E Milo Agar2 was yummy I tell you! I bet it would be better if I replace half of the milk with cream. I'm sure that kids would love this! Even for some1 like me, who don't take much chocolate...I find it nice. E other 1.....I don't really have a name for it, thus I name it Pinkalicious coz its pink! Makes a lot of "sense" right? :p Anyways, thanks to Elizabeth Kann for E inspiration! *Grins* It's basically E normal Agar agar Bandung that I used to make, but this time...I made it into 2 layers, 1 with milk and E other without. It in PINK but in E pic, E bottom layer looks orange! Must be E sun! *Ya rite maya, sun at 11pm?!!* :p

Do give these recipes a try. It's very simple yet pleasant especially in hot weathers like ours.

YY Milo Agar Agar YY

Ingredients:

1 packet agar agar powder

200g sugar or more (Add, according to taste)

900Ml water

150Ml evaporated milk

3 Tbsp Milo

Method:

Bring agar agar agar powder and water to boil on medium heat.

When it’s about to boil, add in sugar.

Once everything dissolves, add milk.

Let it boil a little and take out half of the mixture.

Pour in mould and let it set.

Add 3 tbsp of milo in the other half of the agar agar mixture. Keep it warm.

Using a fork, scrape/prick E top of the set agar agar lightly.

Pour milo mixture.

Chill.

YY Pinkalicious Agar Agar YY

Ingredients:

1 Packet agar agar

200G sugar or more (According to taste)

1 Tbsp sugar

Pandan Leaves

1/4 Tsp rosewater

900ml water

100ml Milk

A few drops of red colouring

Method:

Bring agar agar agar powder, pandan leaves and water to boil on medium heat.

When it’s about to boil, add in sugar.

Add in rosewater, red colouring and pour half of the mixure in a mould

Leave it to set.

Add in milk + 1tbsp sugar in the other half of the agar agar mixture. Keep it warm over very low heat.

Once bottom layer sets, lightly scrap/poke the top with a fork.

Pour the milky mixture. Leave it to set.

Serve chilled!

Oishii!!

Konnichiwa!! Yesterday Nk came over for a sushi making session. This is our second attempt and I dare say that we are getting better and faster ! :D We made lots and lots of fushi aka sushi in 2.5 hrs! Nk said I'm my biggest critic. I never realised that till yesterday. Thanks Nk...for E realisation. :D I guess its better to criticize myself before someone else does that :p That's living up to your words of "wisdom" which is "Don't criticize me in front of me!" Haha! Anyways, I tink we are deff getting better. E rice was more flavourful and the fillings were good too :) It was Oishiii aka delicious!

Medley Of Four - Rolled sushi with strips of sausages, cucumbers, omelette and crab stick. This is Oishiiiiiiii! :D

Kung Pao Sushi - It's a Battleship Sushi. This is E height of fusion cuisine! E classic Szechuan Kung Pao Chicken was E inspiration, but we used beef instead. With a little improvising, E sauce that Nk's brought over was good! This was E best among all E sushi we made. Spicy beef + crunchy cool cucumbers. E combo worked miracles!

Tuna Mayo Sushi - Battleship Sushi is a way to put semi liquid ingredients in sushi form. We used lots of Mayo in our tuna, thus this is E best way to present it. This is my personal favourite. I think its perfect for those who are not so used to the taste of authentic sushi.

Hand Rolled Sushi - Its rice, strips of cucumbers, omelette and crab-stick all wrapped with seaweed into a cone shaped. I love E "look" of this sushi but I still need to work on E rolling! My cousins like this but I don't eat this. I don't take much seaweed :p

Roti John-athan :p

Roti John (literally translated as John's Bread) is a popular "Malay sandwich" in Singapore and many part of Malaysia too. It's basically an omelette baguette sandwich with minced beef/mutton. It is then serve with chilli sauce. Nowadays, there's lots of variations. Cheesy Roti John, Mushroom Roti John and Black pepper Roti john, just to name a few.

Back then, I used to wonder, what are Roti John origins? Why Roti John? Why not, Roti Ali, Roti Tan or Roti Samy? :D I've heard stories as to how it originated. E first story said that Roti John had been inspired by a homesick tourist named John who was in search of a sandwich. A hawker sliced up a loaf of French bread, clapped in a mixture of minced mutton and onion and dipped the whole in beaten egg which he fried until crisp. Well that makes sense to me :p Another story about E origination of Roti John said that this food is actually named after the British who were stationed in Singapore during the colonial era. Roti means bread in Malay and E British were known as “John” to E Malays and that is how the name of this dish originated.

Whatever E story is, its a good discovery :p So, this was what we had for dinner last night. My bro loves E Roti John from Banquet. I tried to replicate their Roti John. It's actually a pretty ordinary 1, but its served with a good chili sauce and lotsa mayo. It was yummy. My brother said "no need to buy@ banquet again" That's a good indirect comment I guess! Haha! Anyways, It was good...perfect for those who don't wanna cook up a storm in E kitchen, yet wants something delicious :)

Ingredients:
250g Minced beef (Use more if you want)
3 Garlic - Minced
4 Eggs
1 long Baguette
Black pepper
Spring onions (cut into small bits)
Chili (cut small or omit if you don't like it hot)
1 onion - cubed


Heat a little oil in pan and throw in garlic. Put the mince beef in. Season with salt and black pepper and fry the mince until quite dry. Set aside.
In a bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in the spring onions, chili, onion. Season with salt and pepper. Add in minced meat. Sliced the baguette long wise.
Heat a skillet with a tiny amount of oil/margarine. ( I used a tsp each)
Slather the egg-mince mixture onto the baguette.
Pan fried on a skillet with E egg mixture side facing down.
Press the baguette down so that the egg mixture is well cooked.
Flip over to brown the other side of the bread.
Once cooked, top with chilli sauce and mayo!
Serve hot with sliced cucumber.
You can even place a slice of cheese in between :)

A Small Get-together

Since it was Mother's Day yesterday, my eldest brother came over. He told me not to cook...*yeah2!* :p He bought mom favourite Bone steak. He bought some Indian Mi and beefsteak too. And yah, even my late dad loves bone steak. Mom used to tell me that he always took her to Beach Road to eat Bone steak but she always refuses to eat there and request for take away everytime coz its embarrassing to eat tht in public :p
Mom doesn't like cream cakes much. She do eat ice cream though! I made an ice cream cake. Got E idea from Suyin's blog.



It was my 1st attempt. This wasn't how it was supposed to look like. I was supposed to top it with strawberries and whipped cream. It wld have looked soooooooo pretty! In E end, I didn't have time to buy tht...le sigh! Anyways, it turned out good. How wrong can you go with cake and ice cream? I used 2 flavours of ice cream. Raspberry ice cream for E bottom layer, strawberry ice cream for E top. Both are mom favourite flavours. :) E funny thing was tht, while she was helping me to keep E springform pan in E cabinet...she was like
"wat was this for?" "Its for E cake" I answered. "Which cake. I didnt see any cake?" Im like..."E ice cream cake we ate momm!" Looking all confused, she said "U made tht? I thot ur bro bought that!" I was shocked! I told mom that my cakes can never passed off as something tht is store bought. Its aint pretty enough. Her reply was "Well with all E ribbons, I thot it look like sumthing you buy from a cake shop. Furthermore, You never make ice cream cakes before" Well2...I guess I managed to surprised her! Oh this is really nothing. Wait till she see wat I have in store for her next sunday, which is her bday!! *Sheepish grin*


Oh ya, E little 1 came looking like this.

When it was time to eat, she changed and her hair was all piled up! It was amusing to see her eating bone steak! I was paying more attention to her than my food! I was so busy clicking away! :p



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tutorial on how to eat a bone steak by BabyJa

1. Take note that E gravy goes well with bread.

2. Carefully lift E bone steak as to avoid a mess.

3. This is E best part. You are supposed to suck E bottom part. (Don't ask me
why, I'm just following E adults!

4. Check whether it's all clear. If not, repeat step 3.

5. Start on E meat. (If E camera is on you. try to look as cool as possible!)

(now you know, why i had to change my clothes. Eating
this can be pretty messy! Papa is weird...why did he have to buy this? Why can't
we just eat burgers and fries?!

Hope this tutorial was helpful!

Till we meet again some other time! See ya and keep smiling!!

Happy Mother's Day To All E Beautiful Mothers In E World! :)

Before I was myself...u made me with luv, patience, discipline and even tears.

Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free, allowing me to sail upon my sea, though deep inside lay some unspoken fears.

Before I was myself, u made me with dreams and hopes. Dreams of me being up there and hopes that would be sculpted as the years past....U kept me near yet with enough space for me to grow n shape myself among others.

Before I was myself, u made me good n responsible. U were E 1 with E powers to mould me, yet u relinquish ur powers gradually so that I can be me, and not just another mirror image of u. It was all through love that u made me....

You proved that love inspires learning naturally.
Happy Mother's Day Mum!!

Happieeeeeeee!

I had a satisfying breakfast! It was yummy!! Im referring to
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THIS!!!

Hehe! I know it's nothing "special" but hei, wat can be better than waking up to warm toasted bread slathered with smooth margarine and delicious home made jam?? Did I hear some1 saying MCD??? Whoever it was, shame of you! Piling calories in your body so early in E morning!!!! :p Ok fine, MCD's big breakfast is cool but then again....this was go0o0od! :D Every bite was a sensation! It was heavenly! I might be exagerating a bit, but I really enjoyed it! I'm not a breakfast kinda person; in fact I dread it when my mom forces me to eat something in the morn but this was enjoyable.
I don't take jams much, when I do...I like E jam from St Dalfour.
There's no sugar added, they used concentrated grape juice is place of sugar and best of all....there's a lot of chunky bits of fruits in there! I like to see real fruit in food that I ate, be it ice cream, yogurt or jams. I think its just a way to divert my mind that E food is healthy cause there's fruits! Lame me! Anyways, E jam was really good! (I meant mine) Haha! I actually thought it tasted better than St.Dalfour's! But then again, it must be me only. Mom said its very good but she didn't say its as good or better than St.Dalfour's! Hehe! But its OK, at least I believe its better! *Evil Grin*

I guess this would be E ambarkment of a beautiful journey into E world of Jams :D I wanna try with blueberries, kiwis...etc2! Btw, I followed E steps in this book.

Btw, this is E setting point I was talking abt.....

It was bought by my 2nd bro. It costs $100+! But then again, this is a very, very good book for those who are into cooking and baking. You can always count on Reader's Digest I guess. This book have been around for more than 6 years but it still look brand new cause my sister in law didn't really touch it. She was unfamiliar with some of the "cooking terms" Back then, even I couldn't understand every single page of this book. Now, all the pages in the books seems very familiar. I know just what they are talking about and it all makes sense! I just marvel at how I learn something new every time I flipped through E pages. ! There's lotsa recipes, tips and answers to all your cooking and baking questions. Qs like... How do you save a cake that has failed? Is there a such a thing as healthy hamburgers? How can I start my baby on a truly varied and balanced diet? How do I decorate a wedding cake? And of cause there are hundreds of other questions! There also step by step photos for making macaroons, pastries, royal icing, etc. This book consists of about 400pages...all informative!! I'm so in love with this book! Okay, enough of endorsement, I'm not getting paid for this! :P

Easy Homemade Jam

I was soooooo ill yesterday! It was halfway thru cooking when I realised my head was spinning. I was preparing a very simple meal yet it felt as if I was preparing for a banquet! Anyways, I managed to get things done with some huff and puff! After cooking and some cleaning up, I took a rest. Then, I started vomiting! My tummy hurts, my head was hurting too! I said a silent prayer in my heart and thought to myself, "I can't die now! Mom is not home and I have not seen her for 2 days! (She spend E nite with her Indonesian fren as her daughter is having her treatments here, thus mom is keeping them company) Anyways, after sometime, every1 came home. My head actually felt a little better when mom came home...but my tummy still hurts and I was still vomiting! My bro gave me some hot mixture; a mix of raw honey and dunno wat else! But hei, It actually worked! He said I have not been eating so theres "wind in my tummy" and thus E vomiting and stuffs. Boy, its sure useful to have a doctor at home! :p
I know this post is so digressing, so I shall put a full stop to non related posting for this entry :D

Today, as I was "ransacking" my fridge, I noticed tht I still have some strawberries left! I can't waste it coz Nk gave it with some much "love" *Grins* I didn't really have much ingredients and I wasn't in E condition to "toil" in the kitchen :p I then remembered that I have been wanting to make Jam...! So I did just tht :) I attempted a simple recipe. 1 tht doesn't need extra pectin added or even jelly! Just use fruits that are not overripe and E content of pectin in E fruit would be sufficient. You can of coz us any fruit you like! Blackberry, blueberry, peach, kiwi, or even mixed berries!

Ingredients:

3 cups of strawberries - cut into small cubes.
1/2 -1 cup sugar ( Depends on how sweet your strawberries are and how sweet you want your jam to be)
1 tbsp lemon Juice

Direction:

Clean the fruit and dry.

Place an empty saucer in the freezer ( You gonna know why in E next few lines)

Simmer all E ingredients in large pan for 15 minutes or until you get a jam like consistency.
While berries are cooking, boil your jar in hot water.

Make sure the jam boils hard until it reaches E setting point.

Check the setting point every ten minutes, although it may take up to half an hour to reach setting point.

To test E setting point, take your saucer from the freezer and place a drop of jam onto the cold plate. After a few seconds push the jam with your finger.
If the jam surface wrinkles then it has reached setting point and is ready. If it slides about as a liquid, then it hasn't reached setting point, continue boiling for a few more minutes before testing again.
When setting point has been reached, turn off the heat. Skim off any bubble on E surface of the jam.

Remove you jar from E boiling water and shake excess water off the jar.

Pour Jam in E glass jar and place it in hot water for 10 minutes. If you plan to keep in the refrigerator there is no need for the last water bath.
Allow to cool completely before storing in the pantry or the refrigerate.

Done! :D

I skipped E last hot water bath coz I made really little jam and I have no intentions on keeping it for a year! For those who are planning to keep it for a long time, or you wanna keep it on the shelves, do not skip tht step! :) Tom, am planning to have this for breakfast! Gonna get mom to try it too. Hopefully E feedback gonna be good! This is 1 task accomplished! A lot pending ones though! :S

PS: This is a 3am post, so plz excuse watever mistakes I made in this entry. Furthermore, I'm distracted by this "lovesick puppy" that is just close by and its making all this "awwww awww" sounds! :D

Nigella Lawson's Pancakes with Strawberries

Sorry for this long overdue post. I had a couple of requests for this recipe. Finally...i got down to post this. Anyways, I was fasting today and I didn't feel like eating rice, so I just made these. With E 150g of premix, I got about 12 small pancakes. My sil and 1 had 3 each. E rest were devoured by E 1 on mc :P I used strawberries instead. I just cooked it for a few minutes coz I wanted E crunch to still be there. I lessen E maple syrup as E strawberries were big and really juicy. Thanks to Nk for E beautiful basket of strawberries! I'm gonna love you a little more every time u give me a nice punnet of berries.. *Grins*

I thot of making heart shaped pancakes, but then I was lazy...so i just made 1! Haha!

Ingredients:
For the dry pancake mix
600g plain flour
3 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
40g caster sugar

To make the pancakes (amounts per 150g dry mixture)
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
250ml milk
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla (I added this)

For the blueberry syrup
125ml maple syrup
200g blueberries (I used strawberries)

Method
1. For the dry pancake mix, place all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Transfer to an airtight container, seal and store until needed.
2. To make the pancakes, add the appropriate quantity of egg, milk and melted butter per 150g of the dry mixture (a filled American cup measure will give you the requisite amount per batch, so you may like to use one and dispense with any weighing). Mix well to form a smooth batter.
3. Heat a flat griddle or non-stick frying pan without adding oil.
4. Spoon drops of 1½-2 tablespoons of the batter onto the hot griddle and when bubbles appear on the surface of the little pancakes, flip them over and cook until golden-brown on both sides. It should take about a minute per side.
5. Meanwhile, for the blueberry syrup, place the maple syrup and blueberries into a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the blueberries have broken down slightly.
6. To serve, pour the blueberry syrup into a jug and take to the breakfast table with the pancakes. If you have any of the syrup left over, you will notice that it sets into a kind of glossy jam. This will keep for a few days.

Rice Vermicilli in Tom Yam Soup

Made this last week. I just loved soupy noodles compare to stir Fry's! I added fish balls, prawns and some caixin in E tom yam soup. It's basically a well balanced meal :D

Sweet Glutinious Rice...

I have not been updating my blog. Quite a lot seems to be happening. E major 1 has to be bro n sil accident in Jb. Thanks god both of them did not sustain serious injuries. Bro is still on mc though. Hes on 10days mc. With him around E house, mom tends to be more "active" :P She wants to make this n that for tea since we rarely snack during teatime. Anyways, we made stuffs like Jemput2, donuts, getas2, sweet potato dessert...oh well, those kinda sweet stuffs! This is 1 of those...Its basically steamed glutinous rice served with shredded coconut and drizzled with gula melaka. Not much difference with pulot inti...

My blog type...

From E same Irishgal! :D This is quite true actually. I do blog abt my frens...family and cousins a lot! It's just me I guess. When I make new frens, I rather know more abt their families than who their bg/gf is :p In return, I tell them abt my family too, especially cute stories abt my nieces and nephews :)

Your Blogging Type is Worldly and Charismatic

You are broad minded and have a wide perspective on things. As a result, you tend to make observations that surprise and delight others. Welcoming and social, you are always ready to make a new friend online. In fact, you often tend to be blogging about what your friends are saying or doing!

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Omg! Im a geek?! :p

I know that I have not been blogging. I shall explain why some other time. Its labour day! Time for fun! Obviously a so called "computer geek" gonna have fun on E pc only...need to live up to E reputation! *Grins* Anyways, I saw this on
Singairishgirl's Blog Its quite true actually. But E geek part...noo0o0o0o! Ok fine! Truth hurts!!! :p

What Your Pizza Reveals

Your appetite is pretty average. You don't go overboard - but you don't deprive yourself either. You are a very picky pizza eater. Not any pizza will do. You fit in best in the Northeast part of the US. Your taste is rather complex and sophisticated. You consider yourself a gourmet - and a bit of a snob. You are generous, outgoing, and considerate with your choices. You are cultured and intellectual. You should consider traveling to Vienna. The stereotype that best fits you is geek. You're the type most likely to order pizza to avoid leaving your computer.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?