Less Than 2 Weeks

..and we'll be ushering Eid again.

Seems like we'd only just started fasting, and soon it'll be the end of Ramadhan... Unbelievable!

Okie... let's get on with babbling about food and what we've been up to the past week :-D

I'd started buying Aina's clothes for the festive season but I still can't, for the life of me, find an acceptable (read: cute and of suitable fabric) baju kurung for Aina. It's probably useless too, since Aina still does not want to walk on her own, but I think she'd look really nice in one, ehehehe. Disney Baby and Poney were having a sale, and the items I bought were between 30% - 50% less their normal price. Believe it or not, 3 tops and 4 pants just cut me back around RM200!

Hubby has decided not to buy a new baju melayu this year, since the one he got last year was only worn twice (Aidil Fitri & Raya Haji!), so that left me looking for something that would look nice with his existing suit. Managed to find it at the Mall :-) AND, not too pricey too!!

19th Ramadhan Menu
Spongegourd Soup with Dried Anchovies & Fishballs, Squid in Spicy Chilli Gravy,
Sweet & Sour Fish and Bubur SumSum to start :-)

OK, menu was kept simple but on Tuesday I decided to divert from rice and made Roasted Chicken with Garlic & Rosemary with Potato & Egg Salad with Green Salad, and added homemade cream of mushroom soup. One BIG mistake -- I'd seasoned the soup perfectly but when I reheated for iftar, it turned out too salty! I had to finish my serving with bread....

18th Ramadhan Menu

HOMEMADE CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP
(i did this by feel since i didn't have a lot of mushrooms -- an
experiment, really!)

note that quantity of ingredients will depend on how much mushrooms you
have at hand

you need:
1/2 pkt of mushrooms (i used oyster, but u can use a combination of
mushrooms)*
1 large onion, diced finely
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs butter
1 bit of olive oil
1 vegetable or chicken stock cube
1 cup full cream milk
1/2 cup water
1 potato, cubed (as thickener)
1 bay leaf
white pepper, salt
canned button mushrooms, sliced - optional

how to:
heat butter with oil in a large pot -- the oil keeps the butter from
burning.
add in the onions and garlic, together with the bay leaf and reduce heat.
just cook the onions thru until translucent. only low heat is required as you
don't want the onions to brown.
stir in the mushrooms and cook until it softens and begins to break down.
add in the potato, stock cube and water and bring up to boil. simmer gently to
cook the potato. remove from heat; take out the bay leaf. use a hand
blender to blend the soup, or pour into a stand blender. if using a stand
blender, make sure you leave the small cap on the cover off. you don't want an explosion of hot soup in your
kitchen!

reheat the soup and add in the full cream milk (may use heavy cream if
desired), and add in the seasoning and sliced mushrooms (for added texture). ready to serve.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

you need:
3 large chicken thighs, keep skin
5 - 6 cloves
garlic, crushed roughly
1 Tbs minced ginger
2 bunches fresh rosemary,
chopped finely
olive oil
salt, pepper

how to:
prepare chicken -- poke through the meatiest parts with a
fork and also between joints to ensure it'll be cooked through. combine
allother ingredients and leave to marinade for an hour or so. place on a
roasting pan and put in a low oven (about 130'C) for about an hour. crank up
to maximum (about 250'C) for the last 10 minutes to get a nice crunch of the
garlic and rosemary on the skin. done this way, most of the fat in the skin
would have dripped, leaving a crunchy
layer of skin.

I'm looking to make clam chowder or some sort of a bisque, but will need to source for the ingredients first. I'm also hankering for pumpkin soup, but have yet to be able to find the 'right' pumpkin LOL LOL LOL(the one I saw at Cold Storage costs RM35 for a whole pumpkin!!!)

Monday was a holiday for hubby so he went to Keramat to get ikan bakar on before picking me up from work. Hence, the menu below for our iftar on the 17th of Ramadhan.

On Sunday, we went to Sg Buloh to (finally!) get some plants to decorate our mini (miniscule?) garden. I decided on portulacas, or commonly known also as Japanese Roses, as they were hardy and can tolerate direct sunlight, with minimum care required. Hubby also bought a kasturi lime tree, to add to the existing kaffir lime tree, and I picked out fennel to add to my already existing roesmary plant. I'm sourcing for more herb plants, so another trip to Sg Buloh is extremely crucial :-P ehehehehhe

I fell in love with so many orchids there but I need to sort out my porch/garden area to accommodate all that we have now before I can add more plants (of any species) to the existing ones we have.

Sunday afternoon, after replanting the portulacas, we headed to Sentul as hubby wanted to buka puasa with Mak. We stopped by at Keramat to get ikan bakar, and hubby was so happy to manage to get tuka for Mak.

Saturday (notice I'm doing this in reverse this time, LOL), hubby decided to take me out for supper at Tenji @ Solaris, Hartamas. It's a Japanese fusion buffet restaurant, and reservations are crucial. Do not go without one, and go slightly early if you do have reservations. You need to re-check and reconfirm your reservation, and pay in advance, before you're seated at your table.

My Starter @ Tenji Sashimi - Butterfish, Salmon, Scallops, Octopus and Fresh Oysters

My verdict? MONEY WELL SPENT! There's a whole sashimi area complete with scallops, squid, fresh oysters, butterfish, salmon... you name it, and they'd probably have it all! There's a counter for the DIY steamboat, tempura, grilled items, vegetables, local fare, western offerings as well as a dessert bar which includes Haagen Daaz ice cream.

Oh yea... This is Aina, 'dressed' in her stuffed toy snake thingy by her Babah!!

See...! Leave a man with his daughter for a while and this happens!! I didn't know whether to laugh or hit her Babah....!! I had to leave Aina to her Babah as I made cookies as well as Bread Pudding for our iftar, before we went out.

Earlier in the week, I'd made these simple dishes which we enjoyed very much! :-)

14th Ramadhan Menu

13th Ramadhan Menu

12th Ramadhan Menu

Okie... that's it for now...

I will be on leave on Friday, in hopes of being able to catch up on some kitchen projects but we'll see how that goes, especially with Aina around LOL LOL LOL

AM

Menu.... Menu, Food.... Food

Yup... I know I've been 'gone' for a while but it's not without good reason :-)



Aina has now decided to become more demanding, especially for attention, so my evenings with her are spent together, watching her favourite cartoons and then putting her to bed with me joining her in Dreamland.



Anyway... last Friday (7th Ramadhan), I made lamb chops for iftar, with coleslaw and roasted potatoes with gravy. I'd marinated the chops with fresh chopped rosemary, garlic and a bit of salt and pepper and seared them on a hot pan before transferring them into the oven to cook.





I used the bits left on the pan to make the gravy, adding beef stock and minced garlic and ginger for added flavour. At the end, I added a cornflour paste to thicken the gravy.

ROASTED POTATOES

you need:
new (or baby) potaotes, cleaned and halved -- leave skin on
fresh chopped rosemary
cracked black peppercorns
salt
olive oil, to coat

how to:
preheat oven to 190'C. Mix all of the above ingredients in a large bowl and
steam or microwave until halfway done. Place in the oven and let roast for about
35 - 40 mins till done.

In the pic above, you see my little drama queen displaying a bit of her 'talent' while we are about to leave for a friend's house for buka puasa. Don't really know what made her do it, but she just decided to hang off the edge of the bed until I had to call her to climb down as we were about ready to leave.

Sorry, no pics from my friend's house as we were just too engrossed eating!! LOL LOL LOL

On Sunday, since it was Mom & Dad's anniversary, we had dinner there. Again, no pics as we were too focused on finishing the food off the table, ehehehehehehee...

On Monday, I decided to make Nasi Lemak but this time I made 2 sambal dishes to go with it -- ikan bilis and prawns with petai.

And for our sweet starter, I made onde onde :-D



Alrite, I know I have a bit of entry-catching up to do, so this will do until I edit and load another set of pics.... :-)

Cheerios!





AM

Aina Makan Nasi....SENDIRI

We woke up to a very wet and cold morning today, and traffic was not heavy when I left for work. Well... most people would wait till the rain subsides abit (in vain, usually!) but I am the kind of person who would stick to my routine, regardless.

Anyway, for the 5th day of Ramadhan, we had a bit of leftover from the days before, and I just added the Deep Fried Prawns and fresh veggies to be eaten with the balance of the sambal belacan from the previous day as well.



The kedondong juice was hubby's responsibility while I slaved at the stove :-)
(I say 'slaved' because I really dislike deep frying anything since it tends to make my kitchen top and floor greasy, which means I'll have to remind Ana to use hot water to mop the floor after I'm done -- yep, I'm a fussy person)

And here is my little tough gal having her first bite of fresh i.e. raw angled beans. She sees bright coloured things on plates and just has to have them. So I gave her one. Needless to say, after having a teeny bite, she handed it right back to me LOL LOL LOL




Yesterday, I made these dishes for buka puasa, while hubby took Aina to the Bazaar to buy his favourite tepung pelita. It may be simple to prepare, but I can't squeeze that into my routine since we reach home only around 6.00 - 6.15pm everyday. I can maybe try it one weekend and keep stock in the fridge. We'll see how that plan works out LOL LOL

Bendi Rebus, Sayur Keladi & Pucuk Ubi Masak Lemak Cili Api & Black Pepper Beef

It was raining in buckets yesterday, so I reminded hubby over and over not to take Aina out of the car. In the end, since there wasn't a huge crowd, hubby drove along side some of the stalls and made his purchase a'la drive through :-D


And here are pics of Aina, who refused to be fed yesterday and wanted to eat her rice on her own. Fine! I put a scoop of rice in her plastic bowl and let her feed herself. The outcome is as you see here.... LOL LOL LOL

In the end, we had to rinse her hair a bit, thoroughly wipe her down with a wet washcloth and change her clothes. Her chair had to be taken outside to be washed LOL LOL LOL

I'm planning a Western meal for today, but if I get tied up tonight, I'll only update tomorrow. I have a dinner invite tomorrow, so we'll see if I have the nerve to snap pics of food in people's house this time LOL LOL LOL

AM

p.s. no recipe this time since I put up a few in the last two entries :-)

Yesterday (Tuesday), I went into the office in the morning, but felt so crappy that I decided to go to the clinic. Turned out my throat was a bit red and my nose was all runny so doc gave me the rest of the day off.

Earlier, we (me and a few colleagues) got to talk about the ultra sensitive case of the part time model who was found guilty of consuming alcohol (she's a Muslim), and her subsequent 'suspending' of whipping (or is it supposed to be caning?) in the midst of all the hoo-haa surrounding the case.

In our (extremely) humble opinion, there is no need to subject her to that kind of treatment, and even if it was a punishment that she deserves, what about the others out there who do the exact same thing, but have the luxury of not getting caught or being let go due to their 'status'?

It's always the case of the ikan bilis suffering the brunt while the "Jaws" gets away scott-free!!

Anyway, enough of that very depressing news (and subsequent developments), let's just move on to our buka puasa menu the last 2 days.
(please note i'm trying to make a regular update every 2 days, LOL)

On Monday, I asked Ana to make the cucur, while I preapred food for the main, so to speak. We had Stir Fried Asparagus with Scallops & Fishballs, Squid in a Spicy Tomato Gravy and Grilled Beef.


For the first time, hubby actually ate quite a bit of the cucur. Ana passed! Usually, it ends up either too hard or too salty, but this time it was just right LOL LOL LOL

SQUID IN SPICY TOMATO GRAVY

you need:
400g squid, cleaned
blend:
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbs chilli paste
1 cinnamon stick
2 pcs cardamom pods
1 star anise
1/2 cup tomato paste
salt and sugar, to taste

how to:
heat oil in pan and fry the dry spices. when seeds pop, add in the blended ingredients. fry until oil comes up to surface, then add in the tomato paste. bring up to boil and add in the squid. simmer until squid is done; check seasoning.

For Tuesday, since I had the rest of the day off, I made chicken soup which should help with my slight touch of flu, and the rest are stuff that I found as I rummaged through my fridge and freezer :-D

Keropok Lekor (from sis-in-law), Golden Kiwi & Red Globe Seedless Grapes, Fresh Icy Cold Watermelon Juice, Akok (bought), Chicken Soup, Ikan Bulus Goreng Kunyit, Sambal Belacan & Ulam and Bergedil.

FRESH WATERMELON JUICE



you need:
enough watermelon, cut into small pieces
icing sugar
crushed ice
a tiny bit of cold water

how to:
place all ingredients in a blender and whizz till desired consistency -- some may like extra chunky pieces of watermelon to chew on :-D

This is Aina, at the dining table with us, waiting to buka puasa also LOL LOL LOL



Actually, I had asked Ana to fry some ikan kering, but I kept it in the microwave to avoid flies, and in the end forgot about it LOL LOL LOL







AM

Ramadhan Datang Lagi

This year, the first day of Ramadhan fell on a Saturday.

I'd mentioned to hubby that it was probably a good idea if we berbuka with Mak (i.e. my mom-in-law) since it was a weekend. Turned out, my 2 other sisters-in-law also came down to KL for the holidays, so it turned out to be a big 'do with a LOT of home made food :-)


Aina was not well, in fact my plans to make capati for sahur that Saturday had to be scratched as Aina had a runny nose and was clingy since I got back from work on Friday :-s


After 3 days of taking her prescribed meds for the cold, and with no improvement, I decided to go back to nature so to speak and used a traditional remedy using fresh turmeric. Alhamdulillah that night itself the runny nose stopped. Her sneezing stopped the next morning.

For the gathering on 1st Ramadhan, my contribution was grilled beef and a seafood salad i.e. kerabu.

SEAFOOD SALAD

you need:
300g squid, cleaned and blanched
500g prawns, cleaned and blanched
4 - 5 strings green beans, blanched
to slice finely:
1 large white onion, quartered
1 large tomato, quartered
10 cili padi
2 fresh red chillies
a handful of mint leaves
2 stalks lemongrass, use the whites only
a handful of coriander leaves
pound:
2 Tbs dired shrimp, roasted
combine for dressing:
Juice from 2 limes
Juice from 4 kasturi limes or calamansi
1 Tbs fish sauce
sugar, to taste

how to:
combine all of the above and leave to rest for about 20 mins. before serving. can be served at room temparature or chilled.

Aina was in high spirits when the other little ones came, but she still wanted me to be near... It was not fun... :-)


On 2nd Ramadhan, I invited my sisters over to buka puasa. I prepared these....

NASI MINYAK

you need:
4 cups of basmathi rice - washed and tossed well
1 large onion, quartered and sliced
1/2 inch ginger, julienned
3 pcs. star anise
5 pcs. cardamom pods
1 pc. cinnamon stick
1 1/2 Tbs clarified butter (ghee)
1 pc. pandan leaf, knotted
100ml milk
300ml water
salt
a handful of raisins

how to:
heat ghee in rice pot at the stove. add in the dry spices and as soon as seeds start to pop, add in the onions and ginger. toss in the pandan leaf as well. fry until fragrant, then stir in the rice. turn off heat and continue to stir the rice to coat well with the spice and ghee. add in all other ingredients and place into rice cooker to cook as usual.

AYAM MASAK MERAH

you need:
1 1/2 chicken, cut into pieces
- sprinkle with salt & turmeric powder and fry till just cooked.
Blend:
2 large onions
6 shallots
5 cloves garlic
2 inches ginger
2 Tbs ground chilli
Sauce:
1/2 can tomato puree
3 Tbs sweet chilli sauce
4 Tbs tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
Dry Spice:
1 stick cinnamon
4 cardamom pods
2 star anise
5 cloves

how to:
heat oil in a large wok and fry the dry spices. add in the blended ingredients and fry till mixture becomes almost dry. add on the sauce ingredients. check seasoning. more or less of the ingredients may be added according to preference. mine is a bit more 'saucey' that's why a large amount of the sauce and puree goes in. if you like it drier, then cut back.

toss in the cooked chicken and stir well to combine. leave to simmer until you achieve the desired consistency, or add more water if you like to have a sauce.

Anyway, here are my two sisters playing with Aina :-)



After dinner, I packed up some leftovers for them to take home, then showed them the way to go home...

LOL LOL LOL

Yep, signboards and road signages are lost on them ok. The one studying in Sheffield can even get lost when she's travelling ON FOOT!! LOL LOL LOL





AM

p.s. made the HUGE mistake of giving Aina one of the donuts, she could not sleep and was playing until 11.30pm!!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!

Aina Cuti Cuti Langkawi

I was at odds with myself on this one... Should we or should we not?

To be honest, we were not especially comfortable with the idea of travelling, well.. not travelling per se, but the idea of sitting in a confined space albeit for just an hour.

In the end, I made sure Aina was given a flu shot to boost her immunity (we consulted the family doc, and this seems the only thing one can do at this point), because if she gets a common flu now, it would be sooo NOT good :-s

So, on top of that, we decided to wear masks at the airport and on flight. Aina was not too happy, but when she was asleep, we sneaked it on her... :-D :-D :-D


As soon as we arrived, got our luggages then headed to the carpark to meet with the rep from the car rental place. Proton Wira for 48hrs, RM120... :-D We went for lunch at Hj. Ismail's @ Chenang Beach, then headed for Malibest Resort, our temporary home for the next two nights :-D

We rested for a bit, unpacked, then around 5pm we left for Tg. Rhu.




Then, since Aina had SOOO much fun at the beach, chasing after waves, we had to buy her this new top and pants to change her from her wet clothes.

From Tg. Rhu we went to Kuah to buy chocolates and Ana wanted to get souvenirs. We ended up having dinner at the little kiosk at the junction along the shops, which served great laksa and nasi lemak.


The next day, we decided to treat Aina and Ana to a visit to Underwater World. Aina was so excited, she screamed and giggled the whole time :-D :-D :-D

For lunch, we just crossed the road and had nasi campur at the little restaurant. A bit pricey, about RM5 for one prawn. Good thing I only took one! AhahahHhHAhHahhahaaa....

After lunch we drove around, went to see the new Chenang Quay (or something or rather) which offered dining by the sea. We were scouting around for a place for dinner.


In the end, we stopped at the Laksa Power van near the Airport for a bowl of laksa before heading back to the hotel to rest.


That night, since it was my birthday and our 3rd Anniversary, we had a seafood dinner at Restoran Hj. Jelani (a short walk from Malibest Resort). Quite pricey though -- a plate of Butter Prawns (6 pcs of prawns) for RM40! Dunno if it was worth it, but the food was good... :-)

On Sunday morning, Aina had her final run on the beach with her babah before her bath, then we went out for breakfast and headed back to pack before checking out.

We decided to check out a bit early and drive around, hoping to find monkeys near Perdana Quay area to feed some scraps that we had.... Yippeeeeee!!! There was a whole community of them but pity Aina was asleep so only Ana and babah had a great time with the monkeys. No pics since I was holding Aina :-P

We reached Langkawi Airport a bit early, and decided to have an early lunch. It goes against my principle to pay RM9 for a packet of Nasi Lemak, or RM6 for a cup of instant noodles!!! LOL

Aina shared my Spaghetti Bolognese then hubby exchanged his chicken meal for my pasta :-s


Aina fell asleep during the taxi ride back to Puchong, and I put her down on the couch while I unpacked the bags of dirty laundry and 'stinky' souvenirs i.e. ikan bilis, ikan kering, etc. LOL LOL

Poor baby was out until it was time to wake her up for her bath...






AM

Dinners

for the last 2 days...

Udang Masak Lemak Cili Api, Sayur Campur, Senangin Masak Tauchu & Pucuk Labu Tumis

Hubby bought the prawns with the specific intention of having me prepare it this way :-) So, obviously couldn't disappoint him, right?

For my Senangin with Tauchu Sauce, the recipe is as follows:

SENANGIN WITH SALTED BEAN (A.K.A. TAUCHU) SAUCE

you need:
1 med-sized senangin
- sprinkle with salt and turmeric powder and fry til fish is cooked, but not dry

1 tsp chopped garlic
4 bird's eye chilli
1/2 large onion, sliced into rings
1 - 1 1/2 Tbs salted bean paste
1/4 cup water
sugar (to balance the saltiness of the bean paste)

how to:
heat oil in awok and fry the garlic, chilli and onion till fragrant. add in the bean paste and water. bring up to a boil, simmer about 3 mins, then add in the sugar. check seasoning. stir in the fish and stir just enough to coat with the sauce -- add or lessen water according to preference. serve hot.

For the shoots (pucuk labu), I made a simple dish which required practically no work at all -- perfect for arushed day since I got back from work later than usual.

STIR-FRIED PUMPKIN SHOOTS

you need:
1 bundle pumpkin shoots, cleaned thoroughly and cut into 2-inch lengths
1 tsp sliced garlic
1 Tbs sliced onions
a handful of dried anchovies, cleaned
1/2 cup water

how to:
heat a small amount of oil, just enough to get the aromatics going, then add water and the anchovies. bring up to a rapid boil, then check seasoning. add in shoots and continue to cook until shoots are done. serve hot, sprinkled with a bit of fried shallots for garnish.

I have a meeting tomorow afternoon which I'm hoping will not run too late but myhopes may be in vain.

OK. This entry is particularly short since it's already past 11pm and I am soooooo sleepy! My baby girl is already fast asleep, and her babah is at the office.

Nite-nite ......................




AM