40 .. is this the beginning?

Ha... dah bersarang blog ni. Jenuh menyapu, mop bagai. Orang berblog, dia pun nak jugak. Akhirnya terbiar bersawang. An-nyways, I'm back to share my latest experiments (mostly).

Nice? Confirm buat hasil kerja tangan I. Belum sampai seru nak mencuba seni baking lagi walau dah lanjut usia. Bukan apa, I memang fail bab baking! Silalah tepuk tangan, sebab indeed, kenyataan macam bangga je.. Cakap pasal lanjut usia, the cake is or rather was choc moist with choc ganache. A gift from a dear friend for my recent birthday. Nice? Not only nice, it's great. Everyone of us love it.

Sotong Kangkung

I was a bit under the weather since yesterday. Demam Raya lah agaknya ye? I thought of utilising the day off I got yesterday to continue packing, malangnya tak larat. So, still a long way to go. Maklumlah, gerabak panjang... I definitely hate packing and unpacking. Sigh!

The festive mood is heightened these days, with Raya approaching in just a couple of days. We planned for iftar out with my parents. Malangnya the restaurant we wanted to go had started their Raya holidays. So, with the sellers at Pasar Ramadhan receding, there's no other choice but to go for home cooked meal. Just to share with you this is what I prepared among other dishes that my mum cooked - Sotong Kangkung.

Sempat gak snap..

Kangkung dan sotong dicelur and below is the recipe for the gravy, I'm actually repeating it from my previous entry Yong Tau Foo Lana Style. 

Kuah Yong Tau Foo
Bahan-bahannya:
10 tangkai cili kering
Gula melaka (Can use gula merah if you dont have gula melaka)
Bijan goreng
Gula (kalau kurang manis)
1 sudu kecil garam
3 cm belacan
300 ml air
1 sudu besar minyak (minyak bijan) - lagi wangi kuah ni nanti.
1 1/2 s.b tepung jagung dibancuh dgn 50 ml air
1 sudu besar otak udang (this one not from original recipe)  

Cara-caranya: 
1. Masukkan minyak dalam kuali. Goreng cili kering sehingga garing dengan api yang kecil.
2. Setelah garing, angkat dan blend cili kering dgn sedikit air.
3. Panaskan air bersama gula melaka. Masukkan cili yang telah dikisar tadi, otak udang dan juga belacan.
4. Setelah mendidih, masukkan bancuhan tepung jagung untuk memekatkan kuah.
5. Masukkan garam dan gula (jika gula melaka kurang manis).
6. Masukkan bijan goreng dan siap untuk dihidangkan. 

Senyap pulak..

Sibuklah tiba-tiba dengan kerja, plus Ramadhan lagi, lame excuse eh? Ok, yawn already.
Tapi serious, kedekut betul dengan masa these days. Buat segalanya macam rushing je. Tiba je 9.30pm, dah flat out. Cari bantal je. Silap-silap kids taknak tidur, mommy masuk bilik dulu. Bapak dia ikut ke tak, itu cerita lain eh? Bangun balik at 4.00am for sahur. Apsal awal sangat? So kids can rest or tidur balik while bibik kemas rumah. Plus, they can sleep longer, kalau tak payah nak kejut. Nanti habis satu taman bangun dek suara lunakku, diaorang sedap je berdengkur.

Rasanya my lack of sleep sekarang telah memburukkan lagi keadaan my dark circle yang dah sememangnya wujud since forever. Now, what do we do, what do we do? Raya dah nak dekat ni. Kulit kusam tak bermaya, mata dah macam panda, kalau cute macam panda okeylah jugak. Now that I lost sooo many kilos, dah macam mayat hidup pun ada rasanya. Tidak, bukanlah pasal Ramadhan that I lost so much weight. It started since March and for those who know me, memang tahu yang ini tidak bagus. But for now, the concern is more on the skin. Lepas Raya nanti kita try makan banyak-banyak balik kan? Kena rajin atur rumah terbukalah lepas ni kan? Rumah siapalah yang akan dibuka tu agaknya eh?

So, what to do? Current product yang I guna tak mungkin dapat membantu sebab dah suntuk ni. Kulit kering, kusam, dark circles.. scary eh? Tak yahlah bayangkan. Nak letak gambar pun segan. I stopped Cocoa Collagen Power Plus since the beginning of Ramadhan. It is proven good for me physically. Adalah perubahan yang dirasakan. I started taking since earlier this year. Kenapa stop? Sebab tak pergi beli. 

However, not much changes for my skin. I read about Shaklee's Collagen Powder and reading the testimonials had gotten me all excited . Knowing that it's a good brand, I terus called the distributor and she delivered. Tapi sabar, I baru start semalam je, jadi no testimonial from me yet ye? Tungguuu...

Read about Shaklee Collagen Powder here.

But you're welcome to share your feedback or other products that you think are better.

Didnt I tell ya ?

Bila cakap tak dengar, sekali dah kena, rasalah sendiri, kan? Kan Abang, kan?

Apa kes? Inilah kesnya. This morning I received a call from his warden. This is the first time I received his call. So, I was a bit panicky and straight away asked him, what's wrong? Malas nak cerita panjang, rupanya he called to let me know that they're cutting the boy's hair. How nice. Biasanya warden ni redah je and I dont quite mind. Siap dengan courtesy to call tu.

Dah tu, Mommy punya cakap tak nak dengar, kan? Rasalah ambik. Kejap lagi kita tengok eh, apa jadi dengan his hair. Jangan kena shave sampai botak sudahlah..

Memang terbaek

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold."

Indeed. Do you have the kind of friends that you dont have to be around them all the time to know or feel that you are  close? Or do you have someone who is dear to you but you dont necessarily have to be calling most of time? Well, text them or whatsapp or bbm once in a while, the sort. To say the least, close at heart but not so close in distance? 

Well, I dont exactly know where this is heading to, but I'm here telling you that I love my friends. Contohnya, see how sweet and thoughtful these two friends of mine were. They went back to JB last week and look what they brought back for us. Sweet? Thoughtful? So what's not to love, kan? All the trouble they went through, they flew back, tau! Selamba bearing these for us...

2 bottles of air kathira Abu Bakar. Memang kegilaan hubby during Ramadhan. They bought and froze these drinks and God knows how they managed to slip pass the customs. Tapi, local flight senang kot. Plus, they're properly packed. But hey, talk about blissfulness!!

Tapi gambar ni I pinjam, sebab we finished the first bottle, tak sempat snap pic while the 2nd bottle is resting cool and nice in the fridge.

And yes, this!! Pun I pinjam gambar orang lain. Tak sempat nak snap pic dah, terus ngap je bila tiba waktu berbuka. 

Nampak tak betapa tebal dan besarnya murtabak tu? Murtabak Kg Melayu Majidee ni. Sahih kenyang gila kalau bantai sorang-sorang. Kalau I lah.. 

See, how sweet my friends are? 

Here and there

Last Friday I took off early from work. We're supposed to have an iftar pot luck do with 3 other families. Girls from the school I went to, twenty plus years ago. I had planned to cook Nasi Daging so I took half day leave. That'd give me ample time to complete everything including prepping the kids. However, it was cancelled. N texted me at 2am telling that her grandma had passed away. Innalillah. We quickly cancelled and hoping to reschedule. 

Still, I carried on with my leave. My eldest is back from hostel and Saturday we have to send him back. Kedah sekolah hari Ahad. So, we figured it's the best day to shop for the kids Raya stuff. Not detailing what we bought or the damage that was done, but we definitely had fun except for Adly because we couldnt find him the right shoes. 

When it's almost time for iftar, we moved to Pearl View Hotel. See below happy faces, including Adly's. Bliss!


Ini budak sudah selesai makan her favourite popiah goreng. Not bad, for a small eater, she ate quote a lot that night. Aisya memang best!

The boys insist on me capturing what they took. Ini first round for Zickry. Right after  coming down from solat, he quickly emptied the plates. Seriously. And he had few other rounds after.

Isi kandungan pinggan Azhad on his first round. Nasi bukhari with bbq chicken, some salad (not quite seen), spicy fried chicken and yes, popiah. He too, made several rounds, going backwards from dessert, then cendul, ice-cream to mee goreng, to sup kambing. Boleh tahan seleranya!

Adly's plate. Simple, and yup, he ate just that but downed glasses and glasses of juice. He enjoyed the cendol, ice-cream and desserts too. That made him forget about the shoes he didnt get. Bukan apa, the salesgirl was too arrogant, so we walked off from the store. Mana tau, other stores didnt have the Adidas pair he so wanted! Luckily he found one he heart right after iftar! His happiness was indeed contagious!

See, Adly patiently waiting for the time. By this time, dah tak monyok sebab the shoes issue. Asyik tanya, dah boleh berbuka ke belum?

Okay, ini budak tak puasa. Obviously as she's munching happily.

Azhad ni tak sudah-sudah dengan poppadomnya.

Dua orang budak ceria. This is very hard to come by, trust me. These two are usually like anjing and kucing.

What I had for starter. Sup kambing and yong tau foo. The rest is history... as if!!

The happiness continued on Saturday. There were still items to be bought, therefore, we went out again. This time, we started off quite early. Mall bukak je terus serang. Senang, energy level still bagus and early morning tak ramai sangat orang. We went across the Penang Bridge this time. We got what we needed and wanted (almost!) and by twelve noon we're on our way home. 

So, kids were made happy yesterday. Now, it's mommy's turn. We started our Sunday early as it's a school day except for Aisya who skipped knowing that I had planned for another shopping trip. Yup, another trip. Okay, I dont this often, folks. 3 days in a row. But time is of the essence. Need to plan wisely. And what better day to go get my stuff without having the gerabak with me other than Sundays, kan? So, Aisya and me ditched the boys and off we went for our girlie outing . Fun! Double fun sebab I got almost what I wanted. Ngeee...

Asam Pedas Ayam

Puasa-puasa ni macam-macam nak makan, kan? This simple and tasty dish, kena dengan nasi panas... hmmm... 

Apa-apa pun, below recipe is my version. Gambar je dari web, I took sebab samalah rupa asam pedas saya macam ni.

Bahan-bahan

• 1/2 ekor ayam (di potong-potong)
• 1 sudu besar asam jawa, di bancuh dgn 1/2 cawan air
• segenggam daun kesum
• 2 kuntum bunga kantan (dibelah 2)
• 3 sudu besar cili kering (yg sudah dikisar)
• minyak untuk menumis
• 1 sudu gula
• garam secukup rasa
• 2 keping asam keping yang sederhana besar
• 5 ulas bawang kecil
• 2 cawan air

Bahan tumbuk

• 1 inci kunyit hidup
• 1 inci belacan
• 1 inci halia
• 5 ulas bawang putih
• 1 labu bawang besar
• 7-8 biji lada hitam
• 2 biji buah keras

Cara Memasak :

1. Hiris bawang kecil dan tumis hingga hampir garing. Tumis bahan yang telah dikisar. Campurkan sekali cili kering yg dikisar. Masukkan gula dan garam. Biarkan sehingga pecah minyak.
2. Kemudian masukkan air dan juga campuran air asam jawa, asam keping dan biarkan mendidih.
3. Masukkan ayam, daun kesum dan bunga kantan. Biarkan mendidih hingga kuah agak pekat. Boleh juga ditambah tomato, jika suka.

Madah Pagi Hari ..

...Biar orang tak hargai kita tapi kita masih punya harga diri dari kita hilang harga diri demi untuk dihargai... Taken from Pen Dan Kertas

Apa kes? Entahlah labu...

Yong Tau Foo Lana Style

(pics are not mine)

Suka Yong Tau Foo? My kids do, a bit too much, I guess. Theirs is the soup kind. Clear soup, that is. My style is very simple (My cooking is always simple, sebab.. sebenarnya I dont really know how to cook. Hehe) 


Here's how;


Soup
Raw chicken bones - 1/4 bird (medium size)
Water - 1 1/2 liter or depends on how much soup you want
Garlic - 2 (Ketuk je)
Ginger - 1 inch (Ketuk juga)
Sup bunjut adabi


Some fish balls, prawn cakes or balls, crabstiks (I bought mine in Giant, banyak choice).


Sos
Dried cili - 10
Garlic - 1
Sesame oil - 1 table spoon
Water - just a bit
Salt to taste


Blend the above ingredients together. 


Boil water, add in chicken, garlic, ginger, sup bunjut adabi. Let it boil for a bit then remove everything else in the pot, leaving just the clear soup. 
I'd dip in all the fish, prawn balls or cakes in the pot of soup for a while, then scoop them into serving bowls and pour the soup together. Siap dah.. The sos is just to add flavour.


My parents love Yong Tau Foo too but with the actual gravy. Here's the recipe I tried using one I found here Resipi Kuah Yong Tau Foo. 


Kuah Yong Tau Foo

Bahan-bahannya

10 tangkai cili kering

Gula melaka (Can use gula merah if you dont have gula melaka)

Bijan goreng

Gula (kalau kurang manis)

1 sudu kecil garam

3 cm belacan

300 ml air

1 sudu besar minyak (minyak bijan) - lagi wangi kuah ni nanti.

1 1/2 s.b tepung jagung dibancuh dgn 50 ml air

1 sudu besar otak udang (this one not from original recipe)

  

Cara-caranya 

1. Masukkan minyak dalam kuali. Goreng cili kering sehingga garing dengan api yang kecil.

2. Setelah garing, angkat dan blend cili kering dgn sedikit air.

3. Panaskan air bersama gula melaka. Masukkan cili yang telah dikisar tadi, otak udang dan juga belacan.

4. Setelah mendidih, masukkan bancuhan tepung jagung untuk memekatkan kuah.

5. Masukkan garam dan gula (jika gula melaka kurang manis).

6. Masukkan bijan goreng dan siap untuk dihidangkan.


For those yang tak suka pedas, sila kurangkan cili keringnya?


Selamat mencuba and do let me know the outcome, ya?

Laksa Johor

I received a text asking for this recipe from a junior of mine. 
Kesiannya, nak buatkan tak sempat. Dia pulak mengidam. 
So, what better place to share other than here kan? 


Silakanlah mencuba kepada yang sudi...


My very own version of Laksa Johor based on original one by a renown royal cook.


(Pic from http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/4/19/sundaymetro/3700377&sec=sundaymetro)

Bahan Kisar A
Ikan parang/tenggiri yang direbus - 1/2 ekor


Bahan Kisar B
Udang kering - 200g


Bahan Kisar C
Ketumbar - 10 sudu besar
Jintan putih - 2 sudu besar
Jintan manis - 3 sudu besar
Lada putih - 1 sudu besar
Serai - 6 btg
Halia - 1 1/2 ibu jari tangan (pandai-pandai le agak, mine is of small size)
Lengkuas - 1 1/2 ibu jari kaki (tergelak I bila first read the original recipe, ada gak org benchmark ibujari.. belasah je la)
Bawang merah - 10 ulas
Bawang putih - 1/2 labu
Cili kering - 10-15 tangkai


Lain-Lain Bahan
Serbuk kari ikan - 1 bungkus
Asam Keping - 4-5 keping
Santan - 1 kilo (Yg siap diperah, i dont guarantee the results if you use instant ones)
Air - 1 liter
Kerisik - 100g
Garam secukup rasa
Minyak untuk menumis - 2 cawan
Spaghetti


1. Tumis bahan kisar C. Then slowly masukkan serbuk kari.
2. Masukkan bahan kisar B
3. Masukkan bahan kisar A
4. Masukkan santan dan air
5. Masukkan asam keping
6. Masukkan garam
7. Masukkan kerisik


Notes**
1. The gravy mesti pekat and in order to have kuah yg kaw, masak for at least 45mins to 1 hour, api sederhana. Kacau selalu, ok. In the meantime, rebuslah spaghetti. This much gravy boleh serve ramai jugak. Up to 3 bungkus spaghetti - not sure pulak for how many pax. I selalu buat banyak, kuah leftover tu boleh frozen up. 'Rajin' kan? Bila nak guna lagi, reheatlah kuah frozen tu, campurkan dengan santan.


2. Laksa Johor ni umph kalau makan dengan tangan. Sebab, ada sambal belacan. So, prepare the sambal belacan. Tumbuk the followings;


Cili merah
Cili padi (tak suka tak yah letak, tapi kalau rumah ni mesti kena pedas berapi)
Belacan (ikut selera)
Garam


3. Dah ada sambal belacan, mesti ada ulam kan? Contoh-contoh ulam-ulaman ;


Daun Selasih - potong halus
Daun Kesum - potong halus
Timun - potong bulat nipis keliling timun tu, then potong halus. 
Taugeh
Limau Nipis (Perah on sambal belacan, right before makan)

Hello!

Hi, hello.. Is the tone ok? Macam kurang excited. Or should I be shouting  and screaming big H-E-L-L-Os? After all it's been soooo long since I last blogged. And now, what? I'm suddenly short of what to say, err write to be exact. Which is very unlike me, those who know me would agree. Okay, so nod already!


So, okay, let's do this properly. Again. Second take.


Hello! What's up you all? (Hope this is cheerful enough). I'm back! Yes, Lana's back! Excited ni because I'm finally writing my blog again. Although it's not the same blog but hey, I'm writing! I'm all excited because I'm here writing not just blogging in my head. I know some of you have that habit too. Kan? Kan?


Okay, love to write more but I have some tweakings to do plus we're running out of daylight time.


By the way, selamat berbuka puasa although I didnt have the chance to wish you all Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan. Maklumlah, baru start blogging harini je pun, kan? Til then, later guys!