Pengat Pisang

MY THOUGHTS

To win a man's heart is through his stomach. Is this true? It works for me though. He loves it when I cook and groan whenever I pass the job to my maid.

What is so difficult about cooking especially if there is a maid to assist you in the kitchen?

THE RECIPE

This is my hubby's favourite

Coconut milk (almost half of the pot. I prefer using the Vision pot. You could simply put the pot on the table.)
Gula Melaka (one whole lot. Pound it a bit so that it would melt faster.)
Sagu (this will make it slightly thicker. My hubby prefers a thick sauce.)
Daun Pandan (one piece is enough.)
A pinch of salt (people say that you need to add in a bit of salt if you are making something sweet.)
Banana (slice the banana but not to small. Slightly bigger than one's mouth. Add this in when the Gula Melaka is hundred percent melted.)

**My hubby loves to have this dessert cool rather than hot.)

POINT TO PONDER

Sometimes we are really fussy. At times, we need to let go. However, I could not stop being meticulous as I need to make sure that whatever I spend is worth it. Most people do not like it - this includes the salesman. Should I be worry about it?

Soto Ayam

MY THOUGHTS

My second daughter requested for Soto Ayam, a dish which I don't quite like. Thus, to cook it is something which is not possible as I do not know how it should be tasted like. Still, remembering an Ustaz's advice, fulfilling someone's wish especially your own child is something the parent need to do while the child is healthy. Often, the Ustaz reminds that parents only try to fulfill the child's wish is when the child is really sick and then later, when the child is no longer around, the parents start to regret.


THE RECIPE 

Pot - medium sized metal pot.
Chicken (If you do not wish to boil the whole chicken, choose the part with a lot of flesh. Boil the chicken.
              Once the chicken is cooked, take it out and tear out the cooked flesh into small strips.)
Ginger (slightly bigger than my thumb. Peel off the skin and bruise it. Put it into the chicken broth.)
Lemon grass ( I used two. Clean and then have it bruised.)
To be pounded: (to be added into the chicken broth)
- Jintan manis (1/2 tablespoon)
- Jintan putih (1/2 tablespoon)
- Ketumbar (1 tablespoon)
- galangle (slightly smaller than my thumb. Preferably, it should be getting the same treatment as the ginger but as mine has been sliced and dried, I decided to pulverize it.)
Salt
Black Pepper (1 teaspoon - pounded)
White pepper (quite a lot of dashes)

The sauce:
Chilli Padi ( about ten)
Garlic (about 6 cloves. Blend the two items but instead of adding water, replace it with soya sauce. Then
           pour the blended items into a pot and have it boil.)

Begedil (an essential item when having Soto.)
MInce meat (one cereal bowl)
Potatoes (about 6 large ones. Cut them up like oranges and then fry them. Later, you mashed them up. This
                is followed by adding in the mince meat.)
Fried Onions (Put in about 2 1/2 tablespoon of it into the mixture(
2 eggs
White pepper
salt
Flour (1 ladle scoop of it)
**mix all the ingredients well. Then make balls out of the mixture and deep fry them. Make sure the oil is hot before putting them in.)

Serving:
The soup
Garnishes (stripped chicken, sliced spring onions, blenched beansprouts, compressed rice.)

POINT TO PONDER

As a muslim, are we expected to tolerate with every rubbish that people throw upon us? Ideally, I suppose so but, at times, you just cannot take the bull-shit (excuse the language). Just to please the boss, we simply put down a figure and hoping that our boss will be impressed.

           I could still remember SIGS late headmistress used to say 'If you wish to do something, do it well or else don't do it at all.' However, this is not the case nowadays. Figure first, the action comes later. If people remember, we do it. If our boss forget, we should forget.

Bee Hoon Berkuah

MY THOUGHTS

I do appear to bold and brave. Some  say I would be able to face anything. Some of my acquaintances who are holding the same positions often believe that I could solve any kind of horrible problems that they are facing. Little do they know that I am scared most of the time.

THE RECIPE

It has been quite some time since I could post the pictures of the food that I cooked. Ever since I took over my husband's handphone, such luxury is no longer for my pleasure.

Today is the forth day of fasting month and the first day too for me to cook for my children after so many ....

Bee Hoon (My maid made a mistake by soaking the whole packet. In actual fact, just two 'plank' would be
                  enough.)
Cooking oil (about six tablespoons)
Chilli Boh (once the oil is hot, put in five tablespoons. Stir it until you see the colour change.)
Peeled prawns (3/4 cereal bowl of it.))
3 tauhu (cut them into small pieces. FRY them first. Make sure they are light brown in colour.)
**Add in the Bee Hoon after the prawns are properly cooked and the fried tauhu is well coated with the chilli.
Beansprouts (pinch off the tail before cooking.)
Soya sauce (add in just enough. )
THE SAUCE:
Cooking oil (once it is hot, you start putting in other ingredients)
Garlic (about three cloves. It would be good if you could pound them finely together with the tauchu but do make sure that the garlic changes to yellow first. )
TAuchu (two big tablespoons.)
Water (Add in four mugs full)
**let it boil.

POINT TO PONDER

When we were having our dinner, my youngest announced his dislike towards bee hoon. I was shocked as this has never came to my attention.

Well, being a mother of five, it is surely not easy to please every individual. Every one seems to have their own taste.

Soup: Fish ball

Point to Ponder

Good things should be our habit. At initial stage, it would definitely be difficult. For instance, having to pray 5 times a day. With your deadlines and responsibilities, at times, praying is difficult. However, you should always force yourself to do it. Make it as a habit. If you do it too often, not doing it will make you feel uncomfortable.

The Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic (Slice them thinly)
Olive oil (You just need a bit only. Once it is hot, put in the garlic. When you could smell the garlic, pour in water.)
Water (the amount is up to you. How much soup do you need? That is the question you need to ask yourself.)
Chicken (about two portion of meaty chicken. Cut them into bite sized. Add it into the pot)
Carrot (cut it as thick as your finger but should not be as long. Try to have it bite sized as well))
Potato (about two. Cut them into bite sized as well)
SAlt
White Pepper

Leave it to boil. When you serve it, garnish it with fried onion and daun sup.

My Opinion

I love to serve my children with all kinds of soup. As they are used to it, they love having soup especially on hot days.

Macaroni: Baked

Point to Ponder

Sometimes you wonder what is important in your life - your career or your children. I was confused initially or perhaps so much influenced by colleagues at work. Many of them believe that one should work hard so that one can be promoted very fast or have the highest qualification for recognition purposes. 

Before this, that was what I wanted - to be DH 54 with PhD before I retire. However, after a while - especially after a number of incidents, I realise that my priority should be my children. They should come first. I should make sure that they are prepared for adulthood. They are prepared to join the working life.

I believe that if Phd is mine, I will get it. If DH 54 is mine, I will get it.

The Ingredients

Macaroni (I used Sem Remo. You should boil the whole packet. Once it is ready, drain out the water and leave it in the pot.)
2 medium-sized carrots (cut the carrots into cubes. Reasonably small ones.)
2 medium-sized onions (cut them into cubes as well.)
lamb (slightly more than half a kilo. Cut it into small pieces.)
A man-thumb-sized ginger, 5 cloves of garlic, one onion (blend them)
Cummin /Jintan Kasar (blend this dry or pound this)
Cheedar chesee (make sure it has been cut to small pieces. You should have slightly half of the cereal bowl. )
Cream crackers (pound them but it should not be so fine)
White pepper
Salt
Evaporated milk (only half of the tin)
Chilli Boh (2 tablespoons)
2 eggs (beat them well)
How to do this?? Very easy. Put the lamb, macaroni, carrots, onions together. Then add in cummin, the blended ginger, onion and garlic. Do not forget the salt and white pepper. These two, you should add them to your liking. Mix everything well. Once done, add in the evaporated milk and and half of the cheese. Put in a little bit of the cream crackers as well. . Once the mixture is mixed well, pour it into the Pyrex square casing. A big sized one. Press the top part a bit making sure all the spaces are covered with macaroni. then sprinkle the rest of the cream crackers and cheese on top of the mixture. Pour the beaten eggs nicely on top. Then put it into the oven. Leave it for about 40 minutes with 190.

Reminder - The oven must be preheated for 20 minutes. Preheated means you have the temperature in full at 20 minutes. This will help to clean the oven.

My Opinion

My hubby likes it. As for my second daughter, it goes without saying. As she was about to put in her second spoonful of macaroni, she murmured "sedapnya" Hearing that I was happy.

I made the Baked Macaroni because I was pretty lazy to be in kitchen. It took me only a few minutes to prepare.

Tummy Upset Remedy

MY THOUGHTS
I finally managed to complete a one and half page long article. It was quite a struggle.The first attempt, my husband found the article appalling.  So, I had to study it again and rewrite everything. The second version, he was more agreeable.

THE REMEDY
 This is gathered from my hubby's friend and wife.
If you have a tummy upset, go and buy the red guava canned drink. Drink as much as you can. The result, you will vomit and, according to them, after that you will be okay.

COUGHING REMEDY

COUGHING REMEDY

MY THOUGHTS
Today I found out how naughty my boys have been - especially the twins. Both, being 13, think that they could get away with anything under the sun. They have forgotten the fact that their mother was young at one time and, I have to admit, I was as challenging as they were too. 
Sorry boys but I had to whack you up. I really do not want you to have any regrets in your lives especially when you are so immature and unable to make good decisions. Believe me, whacking you up really hurt me but I have to do it. Judging with the way other parents let go of their children - the freedom they bestow upon their children - I could not do the same as these children keep on making mistakes and laugh about it without realising that they are heading no where near the light. 

THE REMEDY
My younger sister taught me this. 
Fresh milk - Pour a mug full of fresh milk into the pot and add a teaspoon of powdered turmeric. 
                   Boil the mixture but do not forget to keep on stirring. 
Honey -      Once the mixture is boiled, pour it back into the mug. Add a tablespoon of honey and stir. 
Drink it while it is hot. 

According to my sister in which she got the remedy from her doctor, the mixture helps with the phlegm. My experience was, after drinking it twice - we had it before we went to sleep - I vomited.     

POINTS TO PONDER

 One of the Ustazs in my department explains that honey does wonders to one's health. However, it should not be taken on its own. If you wish to have it, you must mix it with plain water. 

Another Ustaz states that mixing the water with honey has its own method. If you wish to take the honey for health purposes, then the honey should be added into the mug before pouring the water. However, if it is for coughing, then the honey should be added after the water.