Thursday, August 11, 2011

Nasi oh nasi...




Memang, kalo ikutkan, bulan puasa nie tak nak makan nasi, tapi disebabkan Mr Hubby kurang suka makan benda2 berasaskan noodles, susah sket kan. Lagi pun kat cafe tempat keje nie, xbanyak pilihan lain kecuali nasi (amboi..banyak nyer alasan...)



Actually, my workplace memang ada sponsor RM4/day untuk meal allowance. So sebab bulan puasa kan xmakan, so biasanye akan tapau bawa balik lauk atau kuih ke rumah. Dolu dah try amek kuih-muih, balik pulak masak pasta, atau makanan western lain, tapi selalunyer kuih muih tu cam terbuang jer sebab dah kenyang makan benda lain. Nak tak nak, untuk elakkan pembaziran (dan tak payah susah2 masak kat rumah... hehe), kire dterpaksalah aku tapau nasi dan lauk balik.



Memang dah dua hari nie makan nasi, tapi aku ambil nasi sebungkus jer, share dua orang ngn mr hubby (saja xnak masak nasi.. kang nasi terbuang jer), then amek lauk. Semalam, aku tapau nasi sebungkus, isi ikan sweat sour, kari ikan tongkol (ikan amek seketul jer) dan bubur lambuk satu. Niat hati biarlah bubur lambuk tu makan untuk sahur. Tapi, on second thought, biler dh sampai rumah, terfikir, best nie kalo beli roti cicah kari ikan tu... hahaha...



Sayur kat cafe memang dorang xder buat, so balik semalam just masak sayur jer, cendawan and broccoli, masak dengan sos tiram, letak lada hitam sket. Done! Berbukalah kami dengan nasi sorang separuh, sayur cendawan broccoli, dan ikan sweet sour. Itu pun punyalah kenyang. Mr Hubby kata, bulan puasa perut jadik kecik, tu sebab makan sket pun dah kenyang... memang betullah tu.



Bubur lambuk tak bersentuh pun, letak dalam peti ais jer bersama dengan kari ikan. bangun sahur, aku panaskan bubur lambuk dan kari ikan. Mr Hubby makan roti cicah kari jek, aku lak makan bubur lambuk separuh, pastu roti dua keping. Kesian bubur lambuk tu, tak dapat dihabiskan jugak. Simpan dalam peti ais lagik... nak buang sayang, rasa membazir pulak.



Hari nie memang kena beli sket jer. Dah tahu selalu makan tak banyak pun. Kang membazir je makanan tu... sayang...



Sahur esok pula, niat nak buat Banana oat milk shake. Banana bekalkan tenaga, dan oat mengeyangkan, rasa cukup kot untuk bertahan sepanjang hari...



Hehe..panjang lak membebel di pagi Jumaat nie... macam la korang nak tau sangat apa yang aku makan kan... apapun, bulan Ramadhan mengingatkan kita agar bersederhana. Ambil kesempatan nie kaji balik diet harian kiter. Kita orang Malaysia nie memang banyak dapat penyakit disebabkan makanan. Kena jaga sangat apa yang masuk perut.



Makanan asas kesihatan. :)


soul food friday ~ what labels do you give yourself?

Are you new to soul food fridays? It's where I get all philosophical on you. Buckle up and come along for the ride. And welcome.
Ever since I came back from Bali I've been writing. Short stories, random thoughts in pretty notebooks, ideas that inconveniently float into my mind while I'm in the shower, the first sentence of something or other that's yet to fully reveal itself. 
I said in this post that I'd found what I wanted to do. And what I want, more than I think I've wanted many things in my life, is to write. And yet, even though I'm writing, even though I'm more determined about this than a lifetime of other things I've tried, I still can't offer myself the label 'writer'. Not even after having coffee with a friend the other day who told me that at least 90% of my job is writing. Which is true. But it's not the right sort of writing if you know what I mean.

So I did the only sensible thing. I started to write about my reluctance to tattoo writer on my forehead. Here's a snippet from a piece I'm working on...

     I paint. But this doesn’t make me an artist. I garden. I plant and I prune and I dig but I’m hardly a gardener. I cook but I don't call myself a cook, much less a chef.  I take photos and some of them turn out quite well. I’ve managed to capture some lovely things through my camera but do I call myself a photographer? Do you call me that? Do you call me any of these things? No. And neither do I. Because I'm not paid to cook, garden or take photos. 
     This is why, although I write, I can’t name myself writer. I can't meet someone new, shake their hand and in response to the inevitable 'what do you do?' can't bring myself to say 'I write'. It’s a label that won’t stick. It slides easily off and away like the sticker on a jam jar that's been soaking in the sink for just the right amount of time.

It's fear isn't it? And now I think about it, most of the labels I've given myself don't earn me a living, apart from my business of course. I don't get paid to be a mum, partner, reader, rambler, friend. Of course I don't. In fact I'm usually the one doling out the dollars! But I do all these things, happily and willingly. I am all of these things. We do stuff we aren't paid for, lots of it, all the time. We do it because it's worthwhile, because we have to, because these things give us pleasure and hope and add meaning to our lives. Why should 'writer' be any different? 

... I've tried so many things. Tried, failed or just got bored. My failures laugh quietly at me from the corners of my home, stashed in cupboards, shoved under beds. Half done paintings, incomplete quilts, balls of yarn artfully resting in a wicker basket under an antique desk, with its barley twist legs and beautiful brass handles. Unfinished tapestries on wooden frames are shoved away at the end of this long brown desk I’m writing at now. Flung one day between it and the window they wag their bright woolly fingers at me. Psych degrees started and abandoned. Not just once, not even twice, but three times and that's it, you're out. And I wonder whether this thing called writing will end up stashed in a cupboard or somewhere on a forgotten thumb drive.

So, dear bloggy people, as my first step, over there in the about me section, I've snuck in 'writer' along with those other things I know I am. I can say it to you here in the safety of this blogging community. I know you'll get it. And even if you don't it doesn't matter, it still feels good. I'm keeping it.
Are you a bit like me? 
What are the labels that you'd love to shout out loud to the world but can't bring yourself to do just yet? 

Culinary Journey with Master Chefs - Jay Gamboa

Barangay Bel-Air and Women of Bel-Air sponsored a cooking demonstration today entitled "Culinary Journey with Master Chefs".




Jay Gamboa with Tita Linda Floro (Women of Bel-Air) and Chef Watee
The guest chefs were Jay Gamboa of Azuthai and his Thai chef, Watee, from Phuket, Thailand.



My friend, Celine, also attended together with her cook.  It was an enjoyable, entertaining and most of all, a delicious afternoon.

They showed us how to cook four of Azuthai's bestsellers.  I will share with you two of those recipes, the ingredients are easy to find plus the recipes are even easier to follow.

Azuthai Chili Garlic Prawns



Seasoning:

2 T. white sugar
3 T. light soy sauce
1 t. salt
1/2 C. water

1 T. vegetable oil
200 g. Prawns, headless, split with tail and shell
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. chili, minced
1 T spring onions, chopped

1. Combine the seasoning in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
2. In a wok, heat oil and stir fry prawns until just done.  Remove prawns and set aside.
3. In the same wok, saute garlic and chili, add seasoning mix.  Bring to a boil.  Return prawns and add chili.  Toss well and top with spring onions.

Another very simple recipe anybody can cook is ....

Steamed Whole Boneless Apahap



1 pc. Apahap (800 grams), whole, scaled and gutted.
         To be placed inside the fish:

1 pc. kaffir leaves
3 slices ginger (sliced)
3 slices lemongrass (sliced)
1 stalk celery
3 pcs. spring onion (sliced)
2 T. salt and pepper
2 T. lemon juice

For the Sauce:

4 T.. lemon juice
4 T.  Thai fish sauce
1.5 T. palm sugar
1.5 T. white sugar
4 pcs. chili, minced
1 t. garlic, chopped
1 T. coriander roots, chopped

1.  Remove the spine of spine of the Apahap from the back. (Ask your fish vendor to butterfly the fish like "daing" but to leave part of the head intact.)
2. Put all the ingredients inside the fish.  Then steam the fish for 10 minutes ONLY, do not overcook.
3.  When fish is done, combine all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and pour over the fish.
4. For garnish, place three slices of green lemon and coriander leaves on top of the fish.

The other two recipes.....

Green Chicken Curry




Tom Yam Goong




The ingredients of these two recipes are harder to find but the chef said they are available at Salcedo market.  Check out Azuthai's website for the recipes,  http://azuthai.com/recipes.html

After the demo, the most exciting part was the food sampling!!!!  The Thai Iced tea was so refreshing!  They gave us a small plate of Phad Thai, Fresh vegetable spring roll with peanut sauce, Green Chicken Curry over Thai rice



and Tapioca with Coconut cream in pandan cups.



I can not wait for the next Culinary Journey on August 25.  I know they invited Jessie Sinsioco of Le Souffle.  I hope next time my other friends can join me!   Hmmmm I wonder what food will they let us taste.

Jom tempah kuih raya!

Alhamdulillah hari ini kita dah berpuasa selama 11 hari. Rasa macam tak percaya pun ada. Cepat masa berlalu kan? Tak sangka dah 2 minggu di KL. Puasa seorang diri tanpa keluarga. huhu :(
So, lagi 2 minggu nak raya? Macam mana persiapan raya? Dah beli baju raya? Kuih raya? Sediakan duit raya? Hmmm.. macam-macam kan.. Haihhh poning kepala ni.


Tahun ni Ain beli kuih raya online. Tapi ada lah beli jugak dari kawan mak. Ain jumpa blog akak ni masa surf kuih raya di Google. Hmm, nampak macam sedap. Tak rasa pun tau dah mesti sedap punya! Hehehe :)


So, korang leh try usha blog ni, http://mamanur-bakery.blogspot.com/. Akak ni memang terer la bab baking, cooking semua ni. Gambar-gambar kuih, kek, cookies perghh semua cun-cun belaka.
Tak percaya tgk kat bawah ni.




cake


Perghh ni kalau tengok masa ngah puasa, lagi-lagi time lunch, memang confirm terliur aaa..hihi




cake2


Birthday cake pun akak ni buat tau. Perghh memang terbaik!


kekkahwin
Ha, kepada siapa-siapa yang nak kahwin tu leh order kek kahwin kat akak ni. Confirm lain daripada yang lain. Baru kelasss gitu...


coklat
Pening kepala pikir nak bagi hantaran ape? Hmm, ni homemade chocolate untuk hantaran kahwin/tunang. Senang citer order jee..tak payah pening-pening lagi..


moistcake


Coklat moist ni memang menarik hati kan?? Dapat lak pekena dengan teh masa minum petang.. Memang terbaik!


kuehraya
Antara kuih raya yang dijual oleh akak blogger ni.. Yang depan skali tu coklat swirl. Saya order jugakkk...hihihi :)


kuehraya2
Ni pulak harga kuih raya. Tapi banyak lagi la kat blog akak ni. Korang pegi tgk la ye :)


Kat mana???


P/S: Akak ni stay kt JB. Tak tau lah if dia nak amik tak if jauh. hehehe :)
Korang tanya la eaaa...


Credit gambar to: Mama Nur




Envy




"Each time you look at other people's life, and the envy creep in your heart, know that there's someone out there, envying your life. Anyway, you choose how to live your life, so no point in envying others"



Hehe... entry tak boleh blah... nak sedapkan hati...



Happy 11th Ramadhan!! Semoga Allah menjauhkan kita dari rasa cemburu dan iri hati pada orang lain. :)



p/s: korang penah rasa tak, tetibe macam sayang sangat kat hubby? Sesungguhnya Allah memang mengetahui pasangan yang terbaik utk kita kan... dan menghembuskan rasa cinta kita pada pasangan kita <3