Salam New Year 2010

Hellooooo????? Hellooo.... helllooo... helllooo.....
Echo... echhooo.... echo.....

Is it too late for a new year wish??? Wow, I almost forgot I had a blog, until someone asked about it today.... Need I make an excuse? Well, I have a few.... first of all, there's this addiction I got, called "Facebook"... Hehehehehe..... Secondly, I have been through quite a tough time from mid year last year until end of the year, so, wouldn't want to blog about that. Besides, who wants to hear about my emotional depressions anyway? Then thirdly, I've been extremely 'busy' with a lot of things- work, study, family matters, financial matters, emotional matters n spiritual matters... you name it, ffuuuhhh.... Then there were other things... err... I think my last posting was a few days before I sent my maid back. So there goes my blogging time I suppose.... and then all my cameras got stolen (yes, the whole camera bag!!) so it's kind of killing my mood to blog about my santai2 places when I can't capture the scenes! I managed to capture some on my iPhone though... Let's see... hmmm... perhaps I will make a summary/preview of my santai2 last year, which i missed to blog about... here goes... Oh, by the way, I will make a separate entry for AROCKV events ;) they're quite a handfull too...

So, after Isyraf's birthday, my sis Imi got engaged on 31st May. As usual, this big sister is the event manager and hantaran maker... nothing much, just simple and neat....


Early June, a relative requested some fondant icing cake and cupcakes for a wedding hantaran. This gave me an idea for an option to add to my retirement plans...

End of June, we visited a private getaway belonging to a friend. A place to relax, eat durians...

and learn to fly!

7th July, a new nephew arrived! Izwan. Congrats to his Umi (my sis G)!

End November, Farah graduated primary education at Sri Ayesha. Alhamdulillah 5A's for her UPSR. She has no plans to step into boarding school yet and loves her current school so much, so we let her to continue at the same school for her secondary education.

And finally... the biggest event for the year... where my time is mostly spent on as well, again, as event manager a.k.a. wedding planner cum hantaran maker.... Imi's wedding 12 December in Bangi... Kak Ngah was so excited to be the flower girl...

again, hantaran is simple and sweet, soft, pastel, roses.... (and another option added to retirement plans...)

then 18 December in Kelate... congrats to Imi & Kai. May Allah bless you two with happiness, now & hereafter. So, I have another brother...


Well, that's about it. I look forward to a better year this year..... please du'a for us ok...
Ya Allah, we are thankful for what You have provided us. Please guide us to the right path & forgive us for our wrongdoings. May we always remember You in whatever we do or decide, and may You provide us better for what we have lost. Amiinn...

Happy Birthday!!

My nephew, Isyraf, turned 4, so this generous aunt of his made him a Ben10 cake and cupcakes!

Mothers Day at Kids School

Happy Mothers Day! Sorry, a little late posting this. Made a cake & some cupcakes for the kids' school mothers day celebration. The best part, the mum got loads of presents. Thank you children, you are my love, my life...

AROCKV Charity Drive

This year, AROCKV's charity drive is to Rumah Amal Baitul Fitrah in Bandar Countryhomes Rawang. About 15 Alfas participated in the visit on Sunday morning (yesterday), enough to make the trip fun and successful. Alhamdulillah we manage to gather quite a number of items for donation- plenty of cash, rice, flour and other dry foods. Thanks to members (and friends) who contributed, may Allah provide you His blessings, InsyaAllah. Jazakallah Khairan Kasiran.

Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake....

Ok, I admit. I've been baking! Yup, quite a plenty... another excuse for not having time for blogging. But this, I must share. Feel free to comment. My first time making a whole fruit cake, plus fondant icing. All these while, I've only tried muffins, cupcakes with butter icing, buns, pizza.... thought of venturing into fondant icing now. So, my weekend santai mission was to make a cake for my niece's engagement, to be a part of 'hantaran'...

The Sounds of Silence....

Assalamualaikum wrt wbt...

Wow! Didn't realize I've been away such a long time (from this blogspace)!! Almost half a year!! Need I explain myself? Well, a LOT happened, but not much of SANTAI2. Mostly work, work, work... I suppose that's why I felt there's nothing much to tell here, coz I'm not going to talk about work here, definitely not!

No santai for December... huhuhu.... Kak Long is sitting for UPSR this year and her tuition classes already started by December. Pity her siblings, but Alhamdulillah, they understood. It so happened, weekends for that December were filled with 'kenduri kahwin'- every week, without fail!! Same as the March school holidays!! Oouu.... by the way, 21st March, got myself this really cool gadget. So I guess my time was also spent having fun with this gadget, downloading apps, bla bla bla.... happy, happy....

Sorry didn't even have time to wish Happy New Year & Maal Hijrah... a little late for that, but I do hope everybody had a good start this year! As for us, it's been a pretty busy year. Alhamdulillah, I can say that this year brings more prosperity, more 'rezki', but at the same time, there have been some 'ujian' from Allah, which Alhamdulillah too, we accept with redho, and coping well at the moment. Like some say, good things don't come easily, huh? Hence, the sounds of silence....

Hmmm.... suddenly thought of Simon & Garfunkel's
Hello darkness, my old friend,
Ive come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence....

Hubby's Movie Treat La Pulok!

Hmmm... Kak E was quiet again.... Well, a lot has been going on for the past 2 weeks- rather a hectic & busy week...

Nevertheless, there's a slot for hubby's birthday!! Kids decided to give their ayah a movie treat. So off we went that Friday night to see Madagascar 2! What a great good laugh we had!! Hillarious!! A must-see for all stressed out people! (ooo..... k emy....)....

Owh, earlier in evening, Kak E made mee bandung & choc cake with choc buttercream icing.... yumyumm... (but this was all that's left during the 'photoshoot'....)

Kids' Movie Treat

Kak E's kids' been longing to watch High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Since they were having their year-end exams last week, the movie was postponed till yesterday. Kak Long invited 4 of her friends. Treated them pizza. Popcorn too! So there was Kak E, with 7 children at the movie... P/s... actually Kak e wanted to watch the movie too, as much as they do! Been getting flashbacks of schooldays lately....

To Eat, or Not to Eat, That is the Question...

Again, the openhouse story. Something Kak E worries about every year when it comes to attending open houses: How much can your tummy take in a day?.... Do you eat 'till you get sick?
The thing is, you have so many invitations of which you just can't refuse (so as not to hurt anyone's feelings), and when you are at each of these houses, you have to taste at least a bit of something (again, so as not to hurt anyone's feelings), no matter how full you were!! Worse still, when you go to the first house with a hungry tummy and the host served quite a variety, your tummy suddenly insisted you try a bit of everything....
Last week, Kak E's hubby got sick. All due to a variety mixture of ketupat palas & rendang, barbeque chicken & beef, potato salad, pasta, carbonated drinks, triffles, cakes, fruits, noodles, nasi beriyani and "satay kambing".... All consumed in one day, from 4 houses, in one tummy!!!...
The next day, he seemed to be better, so off we went to another 4 invitations. Well, lessons learned, we adopt these principles:
1. Only eat one type of main meal at one house.
2. If it was lunch, take as much as you usually eat for lunch.
3. If it was tea time, do not consume heavy food, eat light snacks or desserts or fruits.
Followed the lessons well yesterday, so, Alhamdulillah, nobody got sick.
But today, Kak E can't resist her temptations, and broke the rules: mihun goreng, nasi dagang, soto, mee goreng, apple flan, mee goreng again, fruits, mihun sup, mee hailam, rice & sup tulang... all in one day, from 5 places, in ONE tummy.... As I write, it's a whirlpool in this tummy... uurrrgghhh......

Old Friends and Common Interests

Ever since Kak E met her old school friends again, there were a lot of catching up to do. The 20-years gap has lead us to separate paths in career, the only thing we have left in common were memories of the good-ol-days and of course our passion in cooking and baking! To all my ex-TI friends out there, i dedicate this new blog to you, and will compile all our recipes that we shared through emails before. As for others, feel free to try these recipes, some original, some modified, and some extracted from other resources, known and unknown.

Openhouse?

Seems like a tradition most Malaysians HAVE to do an open-house during ALL raya celebrations... When klang valley folks started coming back from their kampungs, friends will ask "When's your open-house?", and we'll be busy having our raya feasts for the whole month! There's invitations every weekends for the whole of Syawal... Back in the kampungs though, celebrations fade after 1 week of raya, isn't that so?....
Kak E invited friends every year, for a JAMUAN RAYA. Don't really fancy calling it OPEN-HOUSE as we don't usually OPEN our house, but instead, prefer to invite smaller groups of friends. No tents were put up, no furniture moved against the walls, the house is as is (this very small house). No buffet involved, guests take turn to eat at dining table.


While waiting, one of us will entertain them in the living room, let them have a taste of our raya cookies (ehemm... home-made this year!). Though we often had to do it for 3 days (meaning 3 times preparing, cooking and cleaning up), it's worth the hassle. Food are cooked in smaller portions. Alhamdulillah, so far, no wastage. Most importantly, we have more time to chat with friends who came. We used to have one of those big one-day-open-house-event, but I end up not knowing who came and who did not. Some just came to eat in the tent area and left without seeing the host.... of which we only found out after being informed by another guest!

Back Home...

We arrived nearly midnight on Saturday. From Terengganu, took the Ajil-Jerangau-Jabor route. Not much traffic, except for one long queue before the Ajil junction, where many cars pull over to do some last-minute shopping along the street stalls. From there on, the road was quite clear. The heavy downpour however, did slow us down a bit, with frequent stops (4 times!) to release our bladders... The usual 6-hour drive became 8 hours! But Alhamdulillah, we are safely home.
Next story:
1. 1st thing's first, laundry: 5 persons x 5 days + 4 nights worth of clothing. Sent 3 pairs for dry cleaning.
2. Hello, in-laws' place, remember.... that was the whole of Sunday.
3. Today, kids go to school, hubby go to work. Kak E is still home, making a list of things to buy & arranging cookies in containers...
4. Grocery shopping in a while... about time to refill the fridge & freezer!

Balik Kampung

Today is the last day we'll be here, at home. Tomorrow is 'balik kampung' day. This year, my kampung first. Well, parents' kampung actually. They are staying here in Klang Valley, so we are going back together. Kelantan first two raya, then Terengganu next two days. Saturday will be back, and off we go to hubby's kampung in Klang.

Yesterday, after distributing home baked cookies to my mum, my sis & my mother in law, there were only a few jars left for our own raya! Oh, not forgetting the kids had munched some! So, Kak E made a final visit to the baking supply store, and made 4 more jars yesterday! Here's biskut batik, revised edition. More yummy...



After terawikh, Kak E packed the cookies nicely, to give as gifts for all my mokcik & pokcik at kampung... The first 4 rows of cookies (from below) were the ones made yesterday. Choc chips, nestum crunch, biskut batik & coffee crunch. The top row was peanut cornflakes made last week. Waa.... am getting better at this....




Hmmm... sudenly have plans for early retirement....


For those yg balik kampung, hati2 di jalan raya. take care all.

Pizza & Selamat Hari Raya

Well, well, well... a proud mum bakes again... Err... did i bake because my kids said they loved the food? or did they say they loved the food because they want me to bake more? Hmmm....


Anyway, a few nights ago, a 'square-pan' thick crust pizza came out of my oven! To make it, took more than an hour. To swallow it, within minutes!





Yesterday was the last batch of raya cookies i made. Wouldnt want to have too much variety. Expecting exchange of cookies with Opah, Umi, etc.... So, here are mine (with additional 3 types, on top of previous posting):









SELAMAT HARI RAYA. MAAF ZAHIR BATIN to all from Kak E & Family.

It's Baking Time!

Santai at home this weekend! The festive mood is in the air! Got myself a new electric breadmaker oven! So, to prove that this new equipment is worth buying, Kak E & kids began to utilise it on Saturday. The first trial was chocolate chips cookies. Owh, the smell of vanilla....

Perfecto! Nice crunchy choc chips cookies. Very2 nice... Made 2 containers, and guess what? One container gone by last night! Want to try? Recipe here, in my other blog. I have modified the original recipe a little. See under 'comments' in that posting.

While waiting for the cookies being baked, we made other treats as well, which do not require baking & easy to make. This is the Honey Cornflakes. It turned out too sweet, so if you were to follow the recipe here, reduce the sugar to half its suggested amount! And add a little more honey to it... Also commented my own recipe....

Another non-baked cookie is the Biskut Batik. Something a bit like brownies... Very easy to make as well. Just mix cocoa powder, milo, condensed milk & butter over low heat in a pot, then add 'biskut marie'. Recipe here. Again, I amended my own recipe...

The most challenging task for the day is: make my own white loaf bread, for the first time ever! And it did turned white! You see, the breadmaker function is quite a straight forward function in the oven, but Kak E decided to play around a bit with the recipe, and some oven functions (a.k.a. trying to be smart!)... so, the loaf was finely cooked, only that it didn't brown enough, perhaps due to the low temperature used. Anyway, the texture was just nice, if not perfect, and most importantly, it was edible, and unlike the white loaf we used to buy, this was gone in less than 48 hours! Tasty, puffy, dense white loaf, "so good, you can eat it on its own.. " hmmm... where did I here that before?

Great cookies, (not so) great bread, seems like Kak E is motivated to do her own Raya Cookies this year, unlike other years, it was all 'biskut tunjuk'. Going to try a few other recipes today. After all, practice makes perfect!

Ramadhan Al Mubarak

Today is 1st Ramadhan. This year, my 7 year old kak ngah is trying to fast for the 2nd attempt. She made it thru 10 days last year! Ever so excited to fast, she woke us all up at 4am for 'sahur' though my alarm was due 15 minutes later. After sahur, she slept again and woke up at about half nine this morning. She then came downstairs and asked me, "What's for breakfast, Ma?" She totally forgot she is fasting today, but Alhamdulillah, she's still hanging on there and will try to fast til maghrib....

'Selamat berpuasa' to all Muslims. May this Ramadhan brings you His rahmah and baraqah.

MAHA2008 with AROCKV (unofficial TT)

Yesterday, we went to MAHA again, on its closing day. This time, we offered some AROCKV members to join us. Despite the heavy rain, the turn up was quite good, though it's not an AROCKV official TT (teh tarik) event.

Unlike any other expo's and fairs in Malaysia, I will have to say that MAHA is the largest (that I have attended to so far). But the problems observed here is quite similar to others- litter!! I can't figure how organizers who manage to hold big events, can't even manage litters.... hmmm...

More pictures here.