Masak2,mix-match deco & Hari lahir di bulan puasa:)

Alhamdulillah, yesterday was my birthday 29/7.

In the morning when i raised my hands for dua i thought of asking for this and that then i realized that He has given me so much- not only in a form of money but others-only heart can see it-  Alhamdulillah tidak terhingga moga diampuni, diberkati dan dikasihi diri dan seluruh ahli keluarga serta umat Nabi Muhammad sekeliannya.Amin.

And time flies so fast- cepat nya masa berlalu- 10 terakhir Ramadhan telah bermula- moga kita bertemu dengan segala kebaikanya.

As usual nak raya banyak lah benda2 nak di buat- Heni dah balik raya- this time dia cuti one month - memang banyak benda nak di selesaikan- me masih kerja lagi,so budak2 kena duduk Kindy until petang, balik office baru ambik,Uwan pulak tak boleh tinggal sorang2 kat rumah takut jatuh ke apa, so maklang ambik bawak ke rumah dia, at least maklang ada rumah and she has maid too. Alhamdulillah, itu pun rezeki dan keberkatan Allah, ada jalan, ada penyelesaian.

Checklist pun bermula- baju raya budak2, hb,Uwan,PIL, biskut raya, etc etc dan yang akhir baru lah diri sendiri- semua orang perempuan pun macam tu lah rasanya. I managed to order one baju for myself, order size M tapi bila sampai aduihh besar lah pulak, memang susah beli baju designer- so tak adalah baju lagi, tak apalah baju yg lain2 semua dah selesai,tak sempat esok recycle ajer:)
 

 

Hujung minggu ni boleh lah mencari shawl ke tudung ke..cantik pulak colour shawl pakwe ni kan..i loikee:);)



 

Tak ada membeli barang2 baru- ruang rumah di tukar2 dengan apa2 'stock' yang ada- bukak cabinet banyak jugak harta karun yang disimpan dari dulu:) Bila dah berkemas- situlah dua orang ni nak duduk dan buat main pondok2:)

 



 

Nak hantar sofa for upholstery - tapi tak sempat masa- so i keluarkan lah tapestry i bought from Cannes long time ago, punya susah bawak balik- so alaskan sofa buruk ni- cosy lah sikit:)

 

Problem with leather set, the look is very "cold' compared to fabric sofa, so kenalah mencari idea nak nampak warm. So far until the girls besar memang lah tak boleh beli sofa fabric lagi, sebab mata suka colour yang putih or cream- nanti buat menangis ajer. I added some colours with few new throw cushions- adalah lain sikit.

 

Kitchen is one place i love most- kena jugak diberi some fresh look- tukar tablecloth and i letak Laura Ashley tea towel pemberian Cik Muna under the glass top- suka the girls tengak cupcake everyday:)

 

 

 

Now masih dalam proses mencari harta karun di dalam cabinet- selalunya bila Heni tak ada memang masa tu lah i mengalih itu ini- last time dia balik, me and hb alih fridge dari dapur ke bilik study! he he;)

 

 

Last weekend i made another batch of Dahlia, since the first one is gone by the wind- dapatlah 2 balang;)

 

My father in law pulak bekalkan sebakul penuh mangga muda- ha ha macam cakap " suko manggo mudo..masaklah sampai habih poso tak habih lagi ni"..kih kih

 

Uwan dah ke rumah maklang ni..rindu jugak suasana petang2 macam ni- when dia duduk kat belakang borak2, tolong buang kaki taugeh.

 

Last week sebelum uwan ke rumah maklang buatkan bubur kacang hijau durian- sangat terbaik semua orang suka.

 

The girls pulak as usual prefer western dishes- so kena jugak sediakan.

 

Cuti panjang Nuzul Quran buat lah few cookies lagi,kalau tak memang tak sempat masa.

 

This time buat Coffee Choc Chips cookies- recipe online di olah ikut suka;)

 

Hikmahnya maid tak ada- sang suami rajin pulak membantu, balik ajer dari airport hantar heni balik, i heard he said to his girls " Let's go to the back and help mama" wahhh how happy saya;)

 

 

Hasilnya dapat menjeruk sebekas mangga.

 

Petang tak larat nak ke bazar, walaupun penat mengkukis buat lah lauk2 yang simple.

 

Since there's only 4 of us we breakfast in the kitchen only- easy for me to clean.

 

Sahur's view;)

 

Sunday we made another cookies- pun ciptaan sendiri, ada banyak Maple Syrup in the fridge- so i melt the butter and maple syrup in the pot, pour on cornflakes- scoop into paper cups and drizzle some sprinkles;)

 

The smell was really good- macam bau garret popcorn- the first two tray pun gone by the wind into the girls's tummy:)

 

Bila penat dan panas buat cookies, nothing is more appealing than this when it comes to break fast.

 

And this too- Mat Kool Asteroid- fuhhh sodap!

 

Malam tadi first time bukak puasa kat luar - the papa asked me to pick a nice place somewhere to celebrate birthday- but the baik wifey only booked a place at Secret Recipe, di Giant near our house- thinking tak nak jam memenatkan driver etc etc- yang penting his thought and being together,that is enough for me:) cewahhhh ye ke?? he he

 

But the papa did buy something for me- terharu sebab di kawasan office " padang pasir" dia tu dapat jugak mencari something di waktu petang- dah lambat sampai rumah, wifey dah lah sedikit monyok menunggu nak keluar berbuka:);) Lap lap you papa:):)

 

He bought a pair of sweet earrings- six bling bling tanda ingatan anak2 dah 6 tahun- he said when Tia Mia grow up boleh di turunkan pada dia orang- 2 in 1 rupanya papa-boleh lah dapat sebelah sorang earring he he...hugs and kisses for 2+1:);)

 

Dan paling sweet jugak Mia made me this super gorgeous picture frame kat school- kesian tak sabar2 tunggu i datang pick them- i sticked it on the fridge,nanti boleh letak our picture in the middle;)

 

Tia made me this gorgeous necklace, Teacher Claire said she cried few times bila beads tercabut..kih kih..love you all very very much girls- I dont need special gift from any of you as You,papa,uwanm families and friend are the greatest gift that i could have.

 

Alhamdulillah!

 

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Count your blessings.

There's no such thing as a perfect day or life:) But everyday is a special day if we count our blessings- so much that Allah Swt has given us. Look back and count, it is countless- that is enough to make us feel happy and peaceful inside:) In sha allah:)

 

 

Monday, i bought gulai from my office cafe; gulai pucuk paku and sambal udang- somehow balik rumah terasa nak makan the simplest, asam sardin with belimbing buluh and ciliapi hijau- It took a minute to prepare but truly satisfying until the last drop:)

 

Sahur View; this is one of the blessing- the presence of these two in our house brings so much happiness- the girls bangun2 sahur nampak ni terus senyum:) Manja these  two always gesel2 kaki- until my husband said " jangan lah gigit kaki papa" - ha ha he's "a papa" to Felly and Stevie;)

 

Stevie the Stripey;):)

 

Yesterday was thinking hard what to cook- sometimes same old nasi putih boring pulak.Since i took oneday off  yesterday to settle few things before Heni going back for raya this Saturday I decided to make Nasi Kerabu Biru. A friend asked this morning cara nak buat nasi kerabu- I am sharing it here- it is my way-simple aje-semua orang da cara dia sendiri,after belajar with MIL cara buat kuah sambal santan masak dulu, i adjusted here and there to my liking:) Dalam fridge ada lagi sebuku daging salai- i hiris nipis2,rebus hingga kering dan lembut dengan sedikit garam.Kalau tak rebus daging salai ni keras- dah rebus ni sangat sedap lembut sahaja di makan.

 

Kuah sambal santan masak ikut my cara- blend 2 labu bawang besar,5 bawang putih,serai dan lengkuas, masak santan dengan bahan2 blend tadi,sesudu cilikering kisar dan isi ikan bakar ( but i tak guna isi ikan bakar- i ringkaskan dengan guna 2 sudu besar penumis "Mee Udang" brand "Tean"- so dalam tu dah ada cili tak payah bubuh cili) masak sampai pecah santan- lama proses dia,dah tu tepercik-percik seluruh tangan- bubuh garam ikut rasa.Dah pecah santan angkat. Semalam i tak buat kelapa rendang kering,lupa nak beli kelapa- kalau nak complete boleh lah rendang kelapa tanpa minyak dengan isi ikan bakar hingga kuning dan wangi.

 

Selain daging bakar,lauknya ikan kembung putih kecik celup tepung- kalau tak rajin macam myself i just guna tepung goreng "Hollyfarm" basuh ikan toskan,gaul garam sikit, gaul kering dengan tepung,celup dalam air balik dan coat sekali lagi and goreng. Sangat sedap dan crunchy brand Hollyfarm ni - rasa original tanpa artifical flavour macam kebanyakan tepung goreng yang lain.

 

I fried some keropok since my hb loves it.

 

Ulam yang i guna semalam- timun, kacang panjang,daun kesum,daun selum,kacang botol,bunga kantan rendam dalam air garam (utk elak jadi hitam)- tapi lupa nak keluarkan taugeh dalam fridge plus kobis;);)

 

I buatkan juga sambal mentah untuk bagi umphh- cuma tumbuk cilipadi merah dengan garam dan perah asam limau/lemon.

 

Nasi biru pulak since tak ada bunga telang, i guna warna biru dari Star brand dalam koyak2 kan sehelai daun kunyit campur masa memasak untuk bau yang wangi- Memang sangat wangi- bukak ajer periuk asap bercampur bau daun kunyit menerpa hidung;) Dah lah siap hidangan- apa pun buatkan jugak uwan gulai telur itik asam belimbing semalam- dia kalau tak ada kuah tak "chi" bak kata orang N9:)

 

Hari ni nak berkongsi recipe "Potato Au Gratin" pada yang bertanya- ini pun my style jugak- ringkas dan cepat;)

 

 

This is the picture from google- looks yummy isn't it- it is the most easiet to cook but very yummy:) 

 

 

While this is my version- This version is without the salmon and i used "yellow potato/indian potato" instead of russet- yellow potato is hard - you have to bake long as it is use mostly in asian dishes like curry  etc- "white potato/russet " will be soft fast and very fluffy too- but i prefer the yellow potato;);)

 

This is the version i cooked last week- this one ada salmon and i boiled the potato half baked sebab hari dah petang and nak cepat- this version has cheddar cheese on top.

 

Whatever version, below is the easiet way of baking potato gratin as it has 3 or 4 ingredients only:)

 

 

Apart from potato you need fresh milk.

 

Cooking cream- i used Emborg brand.

 

Mc cormick seasoning Garlic&herb.

 

Method: Peel your potato, slice thinly, if you want to add salmon, you can dice your salmon into small pieces. In a separate bowl mix  1 cup of milk (depends berapa banyak you guna potato) or more, add 2 big spoon of the Mc cormick garlic and herb, can add a teaspoon of black pepper if you like and pinch of salt. In a baking dish,grease the base with a lot of butter, line the cut potato,add the salmon (if you are using salmon and pour few spoon of the milk&cream mixed, repeat proses until potato and mixed finish- you can add cheddar cheese on top if you like- without the cheese it will be just nice as it is already creamy.Cover your baking dish with aluminium foil and bake in 170 - 190 degree heated oven until the top turns into nice brown.

 

But if you can find this "Partner" in either Village Grocer,Cold Storage ( so far i can only find it in Sunway Giza VG but now most of the time it is out of stock)- your work will be easier..well not really actually as you still have to add milk and cooking cream to it:);)

 

So, selamat mencuba ye:)

 

What to cook for buka puasa today? I already i have things in my mind- dah siap suruh Heni rebuskan tulang fresh di rumah- balik nanti tambah bahan2 sup ajer di dalamnya dan sambal cilipadi kicap, i bought terung panjang yang gemuk2 dan cantik tadi nak buat "Lawa terung", orang N9 panggil macam ni- tempat lain rasanya "terung bakar bersantan"- kalau kena gaya sangat lah sedap- guarantee! tambah goreng garing ikan bilis dengan petai- dah cukup lah 'partner2" bagi lauk tu- pemanis pulak dah beli pisang buat pengat pisang, ada mangga muda, sengkuang,nenas dan jambu boleh lah buat rojak buah jugak:)

 

Happy Cooking and Tarawikh all!

 

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Penat yang gembira:)

Salam!

It was a super fast week- monday was like a bit long and dragging  but once you reach Wednesday, Friday is already around a corner.Friday is the most gembira day!- knowing that ada masa for bergolek-golek sikit after subuh,membetulkan tulang yang selisih,meluruskan urat yang bersimpul.

No matter how penat memasak and the statement that come after it is always " aduhh penatnyerrrrr esok beli ajer lah!" then i found myself masak lagi the next day:) That's the power of love and tummy! kih kih;)

I made another kueh raya last weekend- a friend Ruhil Shafinaz( she's married with 1 girl)  kakak penyanyi Ruhil Amani- left a message at my fb, she said " I want to be like you when I grow up! but you set a high standard before i could respond to your first posting of cooking there will be another one,another one and another one" Ha ha - my reply was " I grew up with so much love from the kitchen I just want to give back to the old and share with the young"- That is so true when i was small my mom spread her love through her kitchen- it was like a school- i belajar cerita2 agama while she kukur kelapa, belajar kisah teladan while she potong ikan. Bila menjelang puasa bau yang enak sentiasa keluar dari dapur,dah berpuluh tahun permandangan dan keindahan pengalaman tu masih terlekat kuat di hati dan fikiran. My mom cannot cook or bake now but she can see herself in me while i cook the same dishes and kueh- my girls cannot see my beautiful kampung life but i can give them new experience  as much as i could now:):)

Let see what's cooking for the rest of last week until weekend.

 

Last week i went to Ayamas oulet and i found that for a busy working housewives there's so many thing that you can buy from there.You boleh pilih ayam segar and ask them to season the falovour you like, bawak balik boleh campak ajer dalam oven- kalau beli yang dah masak tu keras sikit. They jual frozen popiah, i goreng sangat sedap rasanya lagi sedap dari yang bazaar ramadhan,ada jual bakso meatballs yang boleh buat bakso atau celup telur dan nestum sedap di goreng. Cocktails fruit pun ada jual- so a good iftar dishes can be prepared dari membeli di satu kedai.

 

I bought one chicken from AM and asked them to season it with percik rempah, balik tutup dengan daun kunyit dan masuk dalam oven:)

 

My hb bought the yummy Cameron's corn- emmang tak boleh berhenti bila menggigit:)

 

On evening Uwan was asking me about bubur lambuk- dia teringat kot- tiba2 ting tong bunyi jiran hantar bubur lambuk- Alhamdulillah sedap rasanya.

 

Masak lemak cilipadi memang lah sentiasa ada kalau tak kesian pulak kat uwan.

 

Kadang2 tambah lah beli di cafe office- tapi bila bawak balik tak lah bermakan.

 

Masa awal puasa uwan menyebut "buah sepang kukus' kueh kegemaran orang N9- few days ago berpeluang menunaikan hajatnya- leceh jugak nak membuatnya- ekna buat inti kelapa yang lembut2 sikit isinya- guna gula melaka yang di masak dengan pandan.

 

Tak mudah jugak nak membentuknya- unlike karipap sebab tepungnya kena lembut2 baru sedap.

 

Dah siap disusun dalam talam pengukus- buatkan kuah santan yang pekat dengan sesudu tepung pulut dan sedikit garam- curah atas semua kueh hingga tenggelam- dan kukus lah hingga lembut.

 

Memang sedap sampai tak sempat nak ambik gambar;)

 

The next day ada inti lagi buatlah project kueh koci pulak.

 

This time appointed one apprentince under the close monitoring of a meastro:);)

 

Ada orang yang tolong bungkus koci boleh lah buat macam2 lauk sikit- i masak gulai udang with pucuk pegaga dan terung pipit.

 

Ni paling sodappppp! My friend bagi daging pekasam- tak pernah makan selalunya ikan ajer- ni dari kedah- sangat membuka selera;)

 

I jumpa buah binjai/lanjut dari satu kedai dan buah lah kuah asam- sangat perghhh:)

 

For the girls i made super crunchy sotong celup tepung.

 

Saturday baru beli Dora punya cooking book and set-sibuklah nak membaking.

 

Ajarlah dia orang buat super moist chocolate cuppies.

 

Cantik jugak hasilnya;)

 

Ada cream lebih buat cake dari dulu dalam fridge i pun tolong lah decorate sikit.

 

They got 8 cuppies tapi dalam gambar 2 dah hilang;);)

 

Rezeki di bulan ramadhan especuially for uwan ada saja yang menghantar maacm2- di office dapat murtabak singapore dalam uncang yang cantik ni dari kawan;)

 

Mengaji bulan puasa ada orang garang sikit- ishh ishhh adik banyak bawak sabar okay:):)

 

 Yang sentiasa good mood adalah yang ni!

 

macam2 makan bulan puasa yerr:):)

 

Ahad jemur tepung janji nak buat bahulu untuk uwan.

 

Tengahari ada lah rezeki lagi bila ada yang datang menghantar daging salai dan belimbing di depan rumah- Alhamdulillah menggulai daging salai lah kita:)

 

 

Tahun ni tak order satu jenis biskut raya pun- cita2 nak buat semua sendiri tapi bila buat jer sure dalam 2,3 hari habis dek TiaMia;);) tak apa kita buat lagi.

 

Di Giant tak lah ada brand2 yang biasa di beli- kena pergi baking shop rasanya.

 

And i want to  make all vintage raya cookies- so i bought this bling2 .

 

Alhamdulillah siaplah bahulu- rasa pun sedap dan bau pun wangi- tapi my bahulu guna acuan muffin tak lah ada bunga:);)

 

Malam tadi daging salai sangat sedap.

 

I made grilled honey chicken wings for the girls.

 

And potato gratin with salmon .

 

Dapat jugak menyambar beberapa kuntum bunga baru untuk menambah jambangan lama.

 

Finally khas untuk Tia Mia mama merekodkan pencapaian baik cousin dan 2nd cousin sebagai penaik semangat.

 

Kak Ayan doing very well at the petroleum company- Congrats!

 

Abang Hafiz is the only one from local U being chosen to do fellowship program at PM's office. Congrats too!

 

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