Al Fatihah

Semoga ruh Allahyarham Mariam binti Ali dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan di kalangan orang yang beriman.

Janganlah jangan jangan ku hiba...

My winter jiwang-movie fest!

Here's a list of my long-winter-night-watch-while-eating-biscuits-dunked-in-hot-tea jiwang movies:

1. The Bridges of Madison County

2. The Holiday

3. Contact 

4. It's Not You, It's Me

5. The Lunchbox

6. The Cyrano Agency

7. Starter for 10

Sinfully delicious mug

Made this milkshake/smoothie because I have a very wrinkly, overripe peach in my fridge.

Banana Peach milkshake

1 ripe banana, peeled and cut into small pieces
1 peach, skinned, pitted and diced (mine was over over overripe so I only used the part that still looked orangey instead of brownish)
1 tsp honey (or sugar or any sweetener you like)
2 tbs vanilla yogurt (optional)
Milk

Put banana, peach, honey and yogurt into a mug. Top up with milk until half full (yes, I can be optimistic sometimes :p...). Blend with stick blender or normal jug blender. Top up with milk until the mug is full and blend again. Drink and enjoy.

Resipi aneh: pasta terung & lada benggala

Bahan-bahan:

Pasta untuk seorang makan
1 Terung bulat
1 lada benggala
1 ulas bawang putih
Minyak zaitun
Garam
Lada hitam

Bakar terung & lada benggala dalam oven bersuhu 190C selama 30 minit. Buang kulit terung & lada benggala dan kisar sehingga lumat. Rebus pasta sampai masak dan toskan. Panaskan sedikit minyak, goreng sebentar pes terung & lada benggala. Masukkan pasta dan gaul. Tambahkan garam & lada hitam secukup rasa.

Autumn is definitely here

Days are getting colder and shorter now. I quite dislike this weather - it gives me a feeling of 'neither here nor there'. Sunny weather can easily change to a rainy one (and vice versa). Wearing a winter coat makes you feel too warm, but it's too chilly to wear a thin(ish) jacket. More the reason to shop for autumn wear, I guess.

Ghazal by Mimi Khalvati

Ghazal

If I am the grass and you the breeze, blow through me.

If I am the rose and you the bird, then woo me.

If you are the rhyme and I the refrain, don’t hang

on my lips, come and I’ll come too when you cue me.

If yours is the iron fist in the velvet glove

when the arrow flies, the heart is pierced, tattoo me.

If mine is the venomous tongue, the serpent’s tail,

charmer, use your charm, weave a spell and subdue me.

If I am the laurel leaf in your crown, you are

the arms around my bark, arms that never knew me.

Oh would that I were bark! So old and still in leaf.

And you, dropping in my shade, dew to bedew me!

What shape should I take to marry your own, have you

– hawk to my shadow, moth to my flame – pursue me?

If I rise in the east as you die in the west,

die for my sake, my love, every night renew me.

If, when it ends, we are just good friends, be my Friend,

muse, lover and guide, Shamsuddin to my Rumi.

Be heaven and earth to me and I’ll be twice the me

I am, if only half the world you are to me.

Sup Ayam (Chicken Soup)

It is cold and I miss home. Managed to write 3-4 lines of discussion, which is pathetic. Time to soothe the soul with chicken soup.

No matter how I tweak my recipe, I never get the flavours of my mom's chicken soup. The same goes for many other dishes, too. Perhaps experience counts, but I'd like to think that the missing ingredient was love.

Sup Ayam (Chicken Soup)

Serves 2 (or 1, one portion for dinner and another for the next day)

1 shallot - sliced thinly
1/2 small onion - sliced thinly
1 clove garlic - sliced thinly
1/2 inch of garlic - chopped finely
2 cloves
2 cardamon
1 aniseed
1 small cinnamon
4 chicken wings, each cut at the joint into three pieces
1 potato, diced
1 tbs vegetable oil
2 cups water
salt
pepper
dried chili (optional)

Fry shallot, onion and garlic in oil till translucent and a bit brown. Stir to avoid them being burnt. Add cloves, cardamom, aniseed and cinnamon and let fry for a minute. Add chicken pieces and stirfry for a few minutes, till the skin lightly browns. Add water, dried chili and potatoes. Let boil for 3 minutes. Lower heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Flavour ideas for cupcakes, eclairs and frostings

1. Rose with berries
2. Lavender
3. Mint Chocolate
4. Honey and Lemon
5. Peanut butter and Strawberry Jelly
6. Honey and Dates
7. Nuts and Dates
8. Chocolate and Mango
9. Ginger and Honey
10. Cardamom and Orange

Malaysia Airlines

My first memory of flying was with Malaysia Airlines. Back in the 70s and 80s, my family and I had to fly to go back to my father's hometown Lahad Datu as there were no proper public roads connecting it to Kota Kinabalu. I remember that, for some flights, we had to stop over in Sandakan, and I remember standing outside the small airport, waiting to get back into the Fokker-27 for the next leg.

And then there were the end-of-year trips back to my mom's hometown in KL, also with MAS. Each time it was an anticipated trip. Back then, kids would each get a goodie bag, with batik-clad teddies and a colouring set, to keep them occupied. Basically, almost all our year-end school holidays involved MAS in some way.

I grew up with the airport being close, too. When the KK airport terminal was still in Tanjung Aru, our house was 10-minutes walking distance away. My primary school was next to the airport; the loud sound of planes taking off and landing didn't affect our classes anymore. When we moved to Putatan, the terminal moved to Petagas, 10 minutes drive away.

Then I moved to Kuala Lumpur, and then Kuantan. With parents and family members being either in Sabah or KL, flight trips were many, and trips to the airport were even more frequent. MAS was, and still is, the preferred airline to fly with, even after the arrival of Air Asia and Malindo Air. Perhaps it was the familiarity, perhaps it was the reputation of MAS being safe (at least in my mind), that made me choose MAS, given the chance.

I was watching the TV when the news on Flight MH2133 crashing near Tawau airport came out in 1993. It affected me deeply because that was one of the route we might take to go back to Lahad Datu, too. I was in Leicester when MH370 went missing.

I was having teh tarik in Bandar Baru Bangi with my family when the news on MH17 broke. It affected me big time. It was in Ramadhan, soon to be Syawal. I had just arrived in Malaysia a week before, to celebrate Eid with the family. I believe quite many of those in the flight were looking forward to do so, too. It was summer, there would be many on their way to their holidays, as well. But all was not meant to be.

Today, the remains of 20 of the deceased victims arrive in Malaysia, flown from Amsterdam by MAS. They were given a special service, received by the Agong himself, apart from their next-of-kin. It is the National Mourning Day today.

"To all Malaysians, welcome home". That greeting bears a whole new meaning now.

Innalillahi wainnailaihirojiun.

Experiment: Carrot & mixed fruit muffin

Problem: Excess carrots in the fridge and hunger for cake.

Aim: To bake a carrot-based muffin

Objective: To modify a basic muffin recipe by adding carrots and other ingredients I can find in the fridge/cupboard

Carrot, mixed fruit and honey muffin
(yield: 6 medium muffins)

Equipment: oven, bowls, weighing scale, muffin tin, paper cases

Ingredients:

150g plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
2 medium or 140g carrots, grated
1 tbs mixed fruit
30 g sugar

125ml milk
1 tbs honey
60ml vegetable oil
1 egg

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and mix. Add sugar, grated carrots and mixed fruit and mix again.
3. Combine milk, honey, oil and egg in another bowl and mix well.
4. Pour wet mix into dry mix and stir until flour is moistened. Do not overstir.
5. Divide and pour into muffin cases.
6. Bake in oven for 25-30 mins. Check by inserting skewer into the centre of a muffin; skewer should come out clean.
7. Let cool and then serve.

Result:

Conclusion: Good moist texture. Not too sweet. Perhaps a little bit more sugar and/or honey and some cinnamon powder for next time.

Chicken soup for the kusut soul

Was doing some number crunching yesterday. A lot of number crunching, actually. I'm not good with crunching numbers and am really unsure about what I'm doing. Not really stuck - I did find some sort of help from the ever-knowledgeable Google - but that's the thing with the information you gain from the internet, it will tell you what to do but it won't tell you whether it is right or wrong.

So, what better way to unwind and cool off than cooking?

I roasted a whole baby chicken the day before. The reason it being whole is that it is cheaper than cut up chicken parts, and I prefer roasting whole chicken rather than chicken quarters as I think whole chickens taste better. The reason it being a baby chicken instead of a normal (adult?) one is that the baby is cheaper by a pound. I don't know whether the one I bought is truly a baby chicken as it has the same weight and size as the normal one. Looked up the internet (where else?!) for baby chicken; it is also known as spring chicken or 'poussin', aged 4-6 weeks old and not weighing more than 500g. Hmmm, mine is almost three times that weight...

Not this baby chicken...

...or these (awwwww neon chicks!)...

...but possibly that one on the right....

Anyway, back to my roasted chicken. I only had about 3/4 of one side of the breast part for dinner on the first night, and the rest of the quarter for lunch yesterday. I thought I had enough of roast for two meals in a row so I looked up for chicken leftover recipes. Ever so helpful Google listed hundreds of them so I picked the two most reliable recipe websites Allrecipes.com and BBC Good Food/BBC Food (tthe BBC ones are two different websites with very similar content, actually).

No. 1 is turkey, no. 11 is chicken and no. 6 poussin/baby chicken

Allrecipes gave me an idea of making soup out of the leftover chicken which, apart from making salad (didn't feel like having cold supper), is much easier than making pies and a bit less troublesome than cooking noodles or pasta. So I went on to search chicken soup recipes. There was so much variety - creamed chicken soup, chicken noodle soup (with a choice of Asian clear soup or Western cloudy ones), chicken soup with chili/egg/butter bean/rice/sweetcorn et cetera et cetera et cetera.

So I settled with a simple looking and simple sounding Chicken Soup. I had all the ingredients or their substitutes, it takes 30 mins to prepare and 30-60 mins to cook, which is not bad. Should have my hot supper in an hour and a bit. The picture looks nice as well.

I didn't bother to follow the recipe to a T; carrots were just chopped roughly, celery sliced with uneven thickness, chicken were not skinned. After all, the vegetables would soften and I had no one to impress. And it's the taste that counts :p. The aroma whilst cooking was so delightful, it made me drool (but not over the pan, of course). Flour made the soup cloudy and thick, and there was no need of cream or milk to make it, well, creamy. The seared (burnt, actually) skin of the chicken did make soup a bit darker and speckled with black bits, but I didn't mind. I didn't prep beforehand; I chopped and sliced the ingredients as I cook, so the soup was done in just under an hour. It tasted very heavenly and delicious, at least to a hungry person like me. Comforting as well for a chilly evening. Can't wait to have it again for today's lunch :).

I added a bit of plain yoghurt just to make it a bit creamier (and for drama :p)

They say chicken soup is good for unwell people. If only I can cook this for my dear...

Red currant jam

I bought some red currants at the market yesterday. It was selling for a pound for two little punnets. I have never tasted raw red currants before, so I thought they would be sweet like those tiny tiny grapes. I was so wrong; raw red currants are very sour and tart, and they have this bitter aftertaste, much like some sort of medicine. Hopefully I didn't buy the wrong sort of currant.

So I googled the recipes and things you can do with red currants. Most recommend cooking them with sugar and turn them into preserves/jellies/jams/sauces. The preserves can be eaten with bread or yogurt or cereal, while the sauce you can have with lamb or other kinds of meat, much like cranberry sauce. I decided to make jam as I have all the basic ingredients - fruit, sugar & water. All you have to do is boil all the ingredients until it reaches certain thickness and have the ability to set.

Equal weight of fruit and sugar plus equal number in ml of water.

After about 10 mins, the currants burst, turning the syrup red. I decided to put in a cinnamon stick. Couldn't be bothered with the cold spoon/saucer test - less dish to wash.

After about 30 mins. I guess I overcooked the jam a bit. Some of it stuck on to the wooden spoon and had to be scraped off, hence the unshiny bit in the middle. I didn't have any empty glass jars, either, so a plastic container would do. This is made of 250g of fruit; probably about 200ml of jam.

mmmm...foooood...

I am trying to lose weight. Easier said than done, of course. Apparently there's a new fad for losing weight called 2-day diet. You eat normally 5 days within the week and fast for two days. The diet program recommends taking  a max of 300kcal for each of the fasting days. This is not your normal Ramadhan fast as plain water is allowed throughout the day. 
So today I made a two-pronged decision to fast - make up for the incomplete Ramadhan fasting as well as try to limit the day's calorie intake. Had my sahur with buttered toasts AND cereal (not really a good start if I want to do the 300kcal thingy). Broke my fast with pan fried salmon, potato and egg salad (because I was googling  the recipe and watching youtube on how best to make it 2 hours before Maghrib) and some broccoli. By 10pm I felt the need to munch again, so I opened a large packet of crisps and had it while reading Dan Brown's Inferno. All in all, my calorie intake today is probably the highest this week :P....

Note to self:
* Do not eat broccoli - it makes you jittery, worse than having a mug of tea
*Do not store crisps anywhere in the house. You'll do better storing chocolate bars.
*Two slices of toast is enough for sahur. Anything extra is just your paranoia telling you to have. You won't starve.
*Try to block foodie websites and videos on fasting days. One of these days you might end up roasting a turkey if you're not careful.

AAAWWWWWWWW!

This blog post by Obefiend made my day! :D :D :D



Blog Serius - Serius Beb!: Serius Cute - 18 Cosplay Kanak-Kanak Yang Paling Comel Dalam Sistem Cakerawala

To apply in and for life

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. - Samuel Beckett

My work playlist

1. A Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum Live in Denmark 2006 - Beautiful song

2. With or Without You, U2 - A very personal song

2. When Love and Hate Collide, Def Leppard - Another very personal song

4. Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Verve - An amazing symphony made in the 20th century

5. Windmills of Your Mind, Jose Feliciano - This song just gets me every time

6. I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Meatloaf - The video clip mesmerised me the first time I saw it 20 years ago and it still mesmerises me now

7. November Rain, Guns N' Roses - A great 7-minute buildup to a mindblowing 2 minutes. And look at the number of views!

8. Paradise City, Guns N' Roses - Yeeeeeha!

9. Dumb Ways To Die, Tangerine Kitty - Lighthearted song with morbid lyrics lol!

And last but not least...

10. Let It Be, Otai Rock! - The ultimate jam

Stupid mistake

Made a very stupid mistake a few days ago.

I have just moved into the new flat. Nothing to shout about, the new flat building is just next door to my old one. Still a 3-sharer, except with no lifts :(. I've had my stuff sent over from the storage place but I have not fully unpacked yet. The important ones - duvet, warm clothes, boots, pillows, surat cinta - are all out but most of the cooking utensils are still in the box.
And so, as with most cold wintry days, I like to surround myself with food. That particular day, I decided to have rice with leftover fried chicken from the night before. So I cooked some, brown basmati to be exact, on the pot "tanak nasi" style because the rice cooker was still packed away somewhere.
And then somehow my 'let's get working' mood came, and I forgot about the rice. The realisation that I have something boiling on the stove only struck me after about 45 minutes, probably an hour. So I rushed into the kitchen and saw that it was already filled with smoke. Alhamdulillah the window was open and the ventilator was on, or the smoke might have seeped out to the lounge area and activate the alarm (don't need firemen running up the stairs, do we?).
All was left in the pan was the charred remains of the rice, looking like a black plate. Time to look for a new pan...

Happy New Year!

May all our endeavours be blessed by Allah :)

Am sitting in front of the TV thinking of what to write and (more importantly) what to eat. A good start to a new year, I think.