BM entry: air tangan Ibu?

Dah 2 3 hari memasak. Tetiba macam rajin walaupun hakikatnya aku banyak keja.. 81 mukasurat nak kena translate masuk English..target at least 5 pages per day tapi tau saja la kan..dengan anak2 ni, nak dapat 3 pages per day pun susah :(

Dah la tadi dapat call dr client, Big Boss dia review ada 1 file yg aku dah siap translate & email kat dia. Benda ni nak kena translate ikut lingo perundangan..cek mana ada background law, so ada la dia tegur word choices yang tak on par dgn lingo law. So now, aku punya momentum dah down sbb asyik doubt myself. Buat sikit then rasa mcm salah plak..baca balik ayat2 yg dah translate, click kanan tgk synonyms..then baca blk ayat..dok ulang2 benda yg sama..buang masa ja huhu..rasa cam nak ngadu kat sapa2 tp tatau sapa yg boleh di call :'( takkan aku nak ngadu benda ni kat mak baba plak..depa nak tolong pun tak bleh, lgpun aku keja kat rumah, takdak makna depa nak mai cni tolong jaga cucu while aku siapkan keja aku nih... *sigh*

Harap2 malam ni dapat balik momentum, due 20hb. & plan nak siapkan by 19th, insya Allah.

Eh, nak cerita pasai air tangan kan? hahah..terbabas plak. Ok, dah tak ble fokus kat keja, meh la nak cerita skit. Aku ni kan minimalist, dlm fridge paling kurang ada kicap & sos cili ja, condiments lain takdak. 2 3 hari ni masak cara minimalist la, goreng2 ikan bilis, ikan masin, sayur kicap, buat penkek utk anak2.

Dah tu, nak mai mana ayaq tangan nya? Cuba pikiaq, macam tadi, Ahmad suh masak ja, so dia pi kedai beli 1 tin sardin. Aku panaskan minyak then terus tuang sos tomato dlm tin tu, tuang plak 1 tin air dalam tu sbb nak kuah, pastu amik sos cili, tuang sikit bagi ada rasa pedas, then amik sejemput gula & sikit garam. Masa masak tu, sikit pun tangan aku tak kena sardin. So, nak mai mana air tangan? Kacau sardin tu pakai senduk, nak rasa pakai sudu..see what I mean?

Masa nak buat penkek pun, tuang bahan2 dalam cawan penyukat, blender sampai sebati, panaskan pan & tuang minyak skit, pastu tuang adunan penkek tu straight dr dalam blender (dasar pemalas kaaannn heh), balik2 penken dengan sudip..so, bila yang tangan aku nak kena penken tu?

ISh..tak jadi keja sungguh tetiba dok pikiaq pasal air tangan nih..hahahhahahahahaha

Productive day indeed.

I was finally able to persuade Ahmad to start his business going again, alhamdulillah.

We went to the market this morning and open up shop there after being away for sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long.

The last time I went along with Ahmad to the market was way back when Nazrin was only 2 years old. He is now 3. It has been THAT long. Anyway, nothing much has changed except for the vendors who were there this morning. I don't know most of them, maybe they are newbies, maybe they have been going there for the past year. But I did recognize a few of the old time vendors who we used to be tight with before we stopped going there. Customers come and go and we did receive visits from quite a number of our 'loyal' customers from back then. Well, suffice to say that we managed to get the ball rolling again with Ahmad saying that we'll be going back there tomorrow morning. YAY!! to the end of Ahmad's bundle drought. 

Since we were already at the market, I took the time to buy half a chicken and the makings of 'Kailan Ikan Bilis'. When we got home around 12, I quickly went to work cleaning the chicken and the kailan. Okay, I was only motivated by the fact that Ahmad's mother and sister were here heh & I wanted to get lunch ready before they head back to Pokok Assam (they rent a house there since Ahmad's brother works in Taiping). Konon menantu yang baik la heheh.

I fried 1/3 of the chicken and made some chicken soup with the other 1/3 and get this, I made the soup using  ingredients already prepared by MY mother! Talk about instant! She knew that I am a lazy cook, that's why she went through all that trouble of preparing these things, heh. She gave me 1 small container of chicken broth/stock and a few packets of spices that she packed herself when she came here last month. I kept the stock in the freezer and was able to use it when I made the soup just now. THANK YOU MAK!!!! Love you lotsss.... <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

As for the kailan, I sauteed some onions, garlic and 3 chilies. Then, I added a handful of anchovies and stirred them till they were a bit crispy. Finally, I added the kailan and some soy sauce. Should have used oyster sauce but I didn't have any. So, today's lunch was prepared by moi and not bought at a restaurant like we usually do. *patting myself on the shoulder* 

I'm so proud of me.

Heheheh...feel free to make silly faces at the screen now....  ~ _______~

p/s: how I wish I can upload pictures...waaaa...

BM post: Kisah keluarga Ahmad

family sebelah Ahmad ni nalaaaa punya ramai. pasai pa? pasai kena amik kira adik bradik sepupu sepapat belah arwah mak dia, mak tiri dia, pak dia, mak angkat dia, pak angkat dia & mak angkat tiri dia (ok, tipu la, kami tak kenai pun sapa2 sebelah mak angkat tiri dia heh)

tapi kira ok la jugak sebab kalau nak ikut, pak angkat dia tu sepatutnya sepupu dia, sebab arwah mak dia dengan orang yang dia panggil 'tok' tu adalah adik dengan kakak & anak lelaki 'tok' tu dah lama kawin dengan mak angkat dia tapi takdak anak, so depa amik la Ahmad ni wat anak angkat.

masa mula2 kawin dulu, aku blur sungguh nak ingat sapa yang mana & apa kaitan, pehtu bila sembang2 pasai Ahmad or cerita pasai 'dulu-dulu' (zaman Ahmad kecik) jenuh la aku pasang telinga betui2 sebab waktu2 ni je la aku ble tau kisah Ahmad waktu dia kecik, kalau aku tanya dia sendiri, jangan harap la dia nak cerita..ada pun sekali ja dia cerita pasal waktu dia naik basikal dari rumah ni sampai la Bukit Merah. Serius jauh tu..mcm tak percaya ja cerita dia tapi dia kata dia ikut short-cut..cut kut mana pun aku tatau la hehe..

anyway, semalam ada kenduri tahlil hari ke-14 untuk arwah mak tiri Ahmad. ramai jugak yang pi w/pun pagi tu hujan lebat giler & ada 2 kenduri lain kat area kampung tu jugak. dapat la aku berjumpa lagi adik bradik belah pak & arwah mak w/pun tak ramai. Kakak Ahmad yang sulung dgn adik bongsu dia anak2 arwah mak (biological mom) dia ja yang balik, yg lain nak tunggu tahlil hari ke-100 baru nak balik. Adik Ahmad dengan arwah mak tiri ni ada 2 ja, yg sulung perempuan & yg bongsu lelaki. aku kagum dengan adik tiri yg perempuan tu, senang & efficient ja aku tengok dia urus rumah tu..kalau suruh aku, 2 hari lum tentu boleh buat benda2 yg dia buat dalam masa 3 jam..serius cekap buat kerja..

plus, she's very opinionated. apa yang dia rasa dia nak cakap, dia cakap ja depan2..kalau aku, jenuh la karang ayat dulu camna nak cakap..paling busuk, aku sengih & diam ja daripada cakap benda yg kut2 boleh sakitkan hati orang lain. ni la salah satu kelemahan aku, penakut sangat. kalau aku rasa tak puas hati pun aku diam ja sebab based on experience, bila aku bersuara, aku jugak yg akan kena balik, so baik diamkan diri ja. tatau la kut ada jugak orang yang akan anggap perangai aku ni cam sombong, sebab bila berkumpul ramai2 & semua orang bersembang sana sini, kiri kanan, aku prefer cari spot yg jauh skit dari orang, unless aku kenai orang tu baru aku duduk dekat2..

apa2 je la yer..tatau nak tulis apa sebenaqnya ni, nak upload gambaq pun tak lulus lagi padahal aku sekarang makin jatuh chenta dengan baking. SERIOUSLY!!! I've fallen in love with baking. Dah try buat kek coklat kukus 4 kali (ok, tipu, 2 kali kukus tapi sbb bkn pakai periuk kukus asli & banyak kali kemalangan, terus pakai oven cikai yg diwarisi dr my older sis ja), buat brownies tapi pakai instant mix tu ja, choc chip cookies pun dah try (menjadi plak tu, alhamdulillah), buat pudding caramel (1 instant mix, 1 fresh tp bnyk sgt telur jadi loya plak tekak)..teringin sangat nak upload gambaq kat sini..nanti belajaq ilmu kat Ahmad dulu lah..

so, TTFN folks!  

Come on, be honest. What's in your fridge?

Love this haiku. Kind of funny in a truthful way. 

 

Both images are curtsy of Google.

This is a normal condition/situation for my fridge.

Bottom compartment:

It's only ever constantly filled with plain water and a jug of Nescafe (for Ahmad and me) 

or Milo (for the boys). A container of honey, some kids' medicine (usual cough and fever ones),

a bottle of soy sauce (kicap la tu hehe), chili sauce and oyster sauce, each and 6 eggs.

Top/freezer compartment:

2 alphabets ice makers (you know, containers to put water in to make ice cubes?), 3 frozen puffs (my mom gave these 2 weeks ago hehe) and icicles. 

These items are what's currently in my fridge, as of today.

Since we often eat out, there's basically no left-overs in here.

Hopefully when my editing payment comes through sometime this week, we can go

shopping for things to fatten up my fridge again. 

*sigh*

So, what's in your fridge today?

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple Stupid. (Someone in the internet used this phrase, I'm just borrowing it)

Or something to that effect, heh.
Shahrin has been going at me to make him some pancakes. He just wouldn't drop it since yesterday.
So, today after coming home from Taiping Hospital (another post), Ahmad picked up some stuff from the grocery shop.

To make my version of pancakes. I kind of cheated on the recipe since my version is the simplified version of 2 recipes I found online (no links though, sorry). I used only the same ingredients found in both recipes and ignored the ones that were mentioned only in either one of them.

A bit burnt since I had to multitask between cooking & making sure the boys took their baths

Shahrin's body parts heh

That's not maple syrup (drool...don't know where to get me some) just honey...

My recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh milk
Essence of vanilla
2 tablespoon cooking oil (couldn't find butter here)

I just threw everything in the blender and gave it a whizz. Put a saucepan on the stove, drizzle in some oil and I went to town making my family some pancakes for dinner.

Simple. Just the way I like things to be.

Pictures of my cooking adventures.

Simple dishes, just the way I like them. So says the wife who doesn't like to cook, hehe.

Soy sauce, minced onions, chili, sugar and a splash of vinegar. (Chicken dip)

 

 Chopped cabbage with sauteed onion, garlic and chili. Sort of soupy but with a taste of hotness.

These are my latest trial runs. Sometimes, I do get the urge to try something new. 

I got the idea to make these from Expect the Unexpected, Adik's blog.

Well, these chicken nuggets are so simple, I wonder why I didn't learn how to make them sooner.

All I did was boiled 3 medium potatoes, mashed them up, mixed them with some minced chicken meat and onions (she used the leafy bit). Add a bit of salt, mixed them well and then make patties out of the mix.

I dipped the patties in egg wash and fried them. That was it!

Still have some more patties in the freezer, will make more of these tomorrow.

Yummy!!

Our menu for today.

 I was feeling rather motivated this morning, so I went grocery shopping. I bought half a chicken, some Chinese mustard plant (sayur sawi), I actually wanted to buy kailan but since they don't have any, I had to settle with the mustard plant instead. I also bought some chilies, dried anchovies and the makings of a 

chicken soup.

 

 Here they are! Clockwise from top: chicken soup, fried chicken with chilies, fried mustard plant with anchovies, chilies and soy sauce, and some plain fried chicken.

 

Chicken soup

Fried chicken with chilies.

Fried mustard plant with anchovies, chilies and a dash of soy sauce.

The basic preparation needed for all 3 dishes were the same; onions, garlic and some ginger.

I peeled and blended these 3 ingredients separately, for easy use/sauteing in all 3 dishes.

Just the type of cooking I prefer, easy and simple! 

The simplest lunch ever!

 

Fried anchovies with chilies

Well folks, I have got to be the laziest wife ever! Ahahahahahahaha.........
I served this to my husband this afternoon, with a side dish of fried egg.
And that was it for lunch. However, if it were up to him, the fried egg alone would've been just fine, with a splash of soy sauce and a dollop of chili sauce on the side.
This one is very easy to do.
All you need are:

1) Sun dried anchovies (half a bowl or how much you want it)
2) 3 - 4 small chilies (a.k.a cabai Melaka)
3) 3 medium size onions
4) 2 garlic cloves
5) Vinegar
6) Sugar

Cooking:

Firstly, fry all the anchovies till they are crisp. Remove from the frying pan and set aside.
Then, saute the diced/sliced onions, chilies and garlic. When they are just about turned brownish, pour in some vinegar, about 4 spoon fulls or depending on how much sourness you prefer. Finally, add in about 3 spoon full of sugar. Stir everything together till the caramelized sugar have coated every anchovies.

And that's it. You're done! Simple, right?
Just the way I like things to be, simple. Heh 

Recipe: Onion dumplings with anchovies

Today I made my mom's famous (within the family anyway heh) onion dumplings with anchovies for breakfast. P/s: Sorry Adik, no pictures, again..*sigh* I need to buy me a digital camera..
Actually, she has many variations for this type of dumpling, but today I just went with what I had in the kitchen.

So, the ingredients:

3 cups of wheat flour.
Half a cup of grounded dried anchovies.
1 minced onion (it was very big).
1 egg.
Salt to taste.


Preparations:
1- Mix all the above ingredients together with half a cup of water. Add more water till you reach a workable batter consistency.
2- Once you are satisfied with the batter, use a spoon to pour the batter into hot oil.
3- When the dumplings are golden brown, take them out of the fryer and drain excess oil on kitchen roll.
4- Serve warm (because of the kids heh) with chili sauce for dipping.
Bon apatite!!

Next time, I'm going to try her 'famous' plain sweet dumpling recipe. Till next time, folks.

Fried rice MY way!

Haha.

This is a recipe for Fried Rice My Way.
It was inspired by Mr. Pakaq a.k.a Pakcik Anak Badak.

The base:
3 garlic cloves, minced.
2 medium onions, minced.
6 chili Melaka, crushed (small, hot chili).
Half a cup of premixed veggies (orn, carrot & green peas).
2 eggs and fish-balls.
2 tablespoon oil.
1 small pot of rice.
Soy sauce for taste.



How to cook:

1- Heat the oil in a large wok.
2- Saute the onions first till they turn brownish. Then toss in the garlic, chili and veggies. Let them fry a bit with constant stirring.
3- Toss in the fish-balls and mix well.
4- Crack the eggs into the mix and stir till the eggs form scrambled eggs.
5. Pour in the rice and stir everything together. Pour a splash of soy sauce according to how salty you want the fried rice to be.

Once you are satisfied with how the fried rice taste, serve it hot with a pitcher of cold Nescafe O.

Yummy!