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| Thursday, 22-Nov-2007 03:17 |
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING
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Every year it's a tradition for Dr. Cemal (my hubby's professor) to invite his students over for Thanksgiving dinner and this year we looked forward to spending another Thanksgiving with his family at his house in Medina. The first snowfall of the year that we had today made the scenery there picture perfect. As always, Dr. Cemal and his beautiful wife Carmen made lovely hosts and good turkey! Unfortunately, I did not have the picture of the turkey before it was carved because I forgot to take one! 
For dinner we had the turkey and its stuffing, mashed potatoes and the gravy, yam, corn bread, wild rice, vegetables and cranberry sauce.They were DELICIOUS!!! For dessert we had blackberry pie and ice-cream...YUMMY!!! Carmen had told me (when we were in the kitchen together) that she actually made everything from scratch and started cooking the night before, so hopefully I did not miss anything! If I did, please forgive me my dear Carmen.... Ohhh! I have to mention that Dr. Cemal and Carmen has a lovely daughter and she has the loooongest name on earth (I think) but we just call her Inti for short 
Thanks Dr. Cemal and Carmen for having us yet again and for the great time...We are going to miss this moment when we go home to Malaysia...
| Quote: | | Daalia ~ Thanks for visiting and selamat berkenalan. I will also miss Thanksgiving when we are home but I'm planning to continue the celebration. Wonder where I can get the turkey though.. |
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| Sunday, 18-Nov-2007 12:56 |
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BAKING TIME
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Last Friday night...I had a baking marathon... So inspired to try some recipes after looking through my cook book while packing my stuff. The first one I tried was Cranberry Muffins. Actually was planning to make rasberry/blueberry muffins but hubby couldn't find any fresh/frozen in the supermarket probably because they were out of season, so I gave him an OK to go ahead with cranberry which could be found easily at this time due to Thanksgiving. The Cranberry Muffins came out lovely...almost firm to the touch but had a light and spongy texture in the inside...and they were pretty fast to make.
The second one I tried was Banana and Nut Buns. Have always made banana and nut bread using a different recipe, so decided to make them buns this time from the recipe in my cook book. They came out perfectly! Springy when touched and the texture was velvety soft.
Had them both for breakfast the next day (Saturday). I particularly liked the cranberry muffins for breakfast because they were not as sweet and tasted great with butter too!
Here are the recipes if you are interested to try them!
CRANBERRY MUFFINS
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons sunflower oil (I used vegetable oil instead)
1 cup cranberries
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line 12 deep muffin pans with paper liners. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together. Ligtly beat the eggs with the milk and oil.
1. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and blend to make a smooth batter. Divide the mixture between the muffin pans and bake for 25 minutes, until risen and golden. Allow to cool in the pans for a few minutes and serve hot or cold.
BANANA AND NUT BUNS
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspooon baking powder
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chopped pecans/walnuts
1/3 cup milk
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease 12 muffin pans or use paper liners.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl. Set aside.
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and the sugar. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy. Mix in the bananans.
4. Add the pecans/walnuts. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center came out clean.
5. Allow to cool in the muffin pans for 10 minutes and move to wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes longer before serving.
| Quote: |
Kuzi ~ Bukan apa...relax sat! Kerja packing memacking ni mmg menguji kesabaran...
MamaFami ~ Boleh...nanti I poskan. Bak mai alamat...  |
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| Thursday, 15-Nov-2007 04:34 |
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HAVING A BAD DAY
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Nothing much happenned yesterday and today...except the same old story...cooking, cleaning, running after Adam, bla bla bla...Being a full-time mom, is one of the hardest jobs if not THE hardest job on earth. I've been one of them for the last five years and I know exactly how it feels like. What people don't realize is that it looks so easy but it's not. Staying home is a 24/7 job minus the pay and the perks! I feel like I'm struggling everyday to make sure the house is in order and to prepare food for the family and in my case, a toddler to look after on top of that! The next day you wake up, the same routine awaits you. It is a never ending story! I know... I sounded like complaining...huhuhu...but it can be stressful at times and more often than not it has caused me my sleep...speaking of which, I was able to sleep a little better last night and the night before after trying so hard to fall asleep that my eyes hurt so much...but I kept waking up and had trouble going back again. It's like my body wants to shut down but my brain doesn't...
I remember my mom once said to me that as we we get older, we tend to have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. But I don't think that I am that old old...or am I? Maybe this is a sign to remind me that I am in fact getting old!! At least my hair does...hahaha...So, is it age or is it what's been bothering you? Ermmm...
Since I'm not in my best mood and behavior today  .. I made grilled cheese sandwich and soup for the kids and Maggie Goreng for my hubby...so easy, even the caveman can do it! Uhmmm... it's from the Geico (insurance) commercial on TV... .
OK, got to go. Good night and sleep tight...
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| Tuesday, 13-Nov-2007 16:26 |
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INDIAN CUISINE DAY AND GOING FOR A STROLL
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GROGGY...that's how I would describe myself today. You know I'm into this photopage lately, right? And I must admit I get a kick out of doing this thing although I know it is soooo five years ago . So, last night I was trying to fix something in my fp but the connection was too slow  that I gave up and went to bed early. Well...it wasn't exactly early because I glanced at the clock and the time was almost 11:30 p.m.. Thought the afternoon's climbing down and up the stairs to do my laundries and the "Mee Rebus" making would send me to the dreamland in no time, but my insomnia came back when I desperately needed some sleep! Tried to count the sheeps but didn't work...so, this morning felt like I had not been sleeping at all...Nevertheless, I managed to marinate some chicken to make tandoori early this morning, then fried some potatoes (I had some leftover from yesterday) and made Chholay (these two dishes I learned from my ex-Indian neighbor) and also put some squash, zuccini and colored peppers in the oven for a simple salad. When Adam took his morning nap I tried to get some sleep as well but the harder I tried the dizzier I got...so, forget it!  Despite the grogginess I couldn't resist the temptation of going out for a stroll with Adam because the weather was soooo gorgeous today...sunny and highest in the 50's, not bad for November in Buffalo actually. They said enjoy the weather while it lasts, so I dressed Adam in his new jacket that we had bought for him over the weekend and walked around the apartment complex. We ended up doing two good rounds and Adam seemed to enjoy his ride on the stroller after not being out for some time. Well...guess it was not a bad day at all for a groggy start huh?
CHHOLAY
Ingredients:
1- 14oz can chick peas (already cooked)
1 small onion chopped
1 inch ginger pounded
2 clove garlic pounded
1 tbsp tomato sauce
3 tsp garam masala
Oil to fry
Chopped cilantro
Chopped cucumber
Method:
1. Heat oil and saute onion until fragrance.
2. Add in ginger and garlic and fry again for 1 - 2 minutes.
3. Stir in garam masala followed by tomato sauce.
4. Pour in the chick peas and some water and stir again.
5. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until the gravy thickens.
6. Garnish with chopped cilantro and cucumber.
 
| Quote: | MamaFami ~ Salam perkenalan mama...Azza sangat berbesar hati mama sudi berkunjung ke fp kiter yang suam-suam kuku nih! Ada gi mama nyer fp bebaru nih...rasa teruja tengok cookies dan masakan mama yang mengancam tapi takleh nak post komen on the last few entries tuh...Hopefully mama nyer offloading projek berjalan lancar...Tandoori tuh pakai store bought masala jer...pas tuh ikut instruction on the bottle...beres!!! Pasal tayar tuh mama nak ganti ngan tayar aper ek? Tayar treler pun kiter bole gantikan...jadi keta lembu tuh bole jalan laju sket! Hahahaha...sorry ye mama... 
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| Monday, 12-Nov-2007 20:51 |
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MONDAY BLUES
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It's Veterans Day....
I woke up this morning and wondered what on earth am I going to cook today. I think the LAZY syndrome has hit me...
I finally decided to make Mee Rebus since I have not made it for some time and the kids love it too. It took me almost two hours to make the gravy and to prepare the condiments....Phew!!
By the time I finished cooking, Adam was really tired and sleepy from playing the whole morning with Farah. He also refused to take his nap earlier on! So, I gave him his milk and he dozed off almost immediately.
Then I thought of taking a break for a while... but suddenly I remembered I have yet to do the laundries! Grrr...I hate Monday!!! 
SIMPLE MEE REBUS
Ingredients:
1 onion
1 inch ginger
2 clove garlic
A handful dried shrimp
A handful ground beef
4 medium-sized potato boiled and blended
1 tbsp (heap) curry powder
4 tbsp sugar
salt to taste
Oil to fry
Some water
Angel hair boiled as per packet instruction
Beansprout cut, cleaned and blanched
4 eggs boiled
2 lime cut into wedges
4 green chillis sliced
Crispy "keropok"
Sweet soy sauce
Method:
1. Blend onion, ginger, garlic and dried shrimp.
2. Heat oil in a medium pot and saute above ingredients until fragrance.
3. Add in curry powder, followed by ground beef and stir for a few more minutes.
4. Pour in blended potato and some water.
5. Put in sugar and salt.
6. Simmer until desired consistency.
7. Serve with anger hair, lime, boiled egg, chillis, beansprout, crispy "keropok" and sweet soy sauce.
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| Friday, 9-Nov-2007 03:32 |
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LAST VISIT
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Yesterday Adam had his first MMR and last Hepatitis B shots. With that, he is up-to-date with all his shots until we leave in December (hopefully...I'm still waiting for my tickets from Malaysia...). His next shot is not due until he is seventeen months old (in February 08). Basically, this was Adam's last visit to his pediatrician here. So, we said goodbye to his doctor, Dr. Elaine who has been attending him since he was born, the nurses and the staff of Sheridan Pediatrics. As we said our last goodbye I could feel the time is getting closer and closer... 
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| Monday, 5-Nov-2007 16:07 |
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A SPECIAL THANK YOU
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I feel like recalling this past Eid as it was THE best Eid I've had in two years. Last year's Eid is not memorable at all to say the least. The most vivid memory I have of Eid (other than my mom was here) has actually nothing to do with Eid at all...it is the October 2006 surprised storm that hit us just a week and a half prior to Eid (we were without power for four days and I was in week three of my confinement...it was really awful). The impact of the storm was so devastating and depressing that I didn't feel like celebrating at all...  We did go to the mosque though and after prayer my hubby had to go back to school (my hubby is currently in his final year of his PhD program), so my mom, Adam and I celebrated Eid at home while waiting for the girls to come back from school. My dad finally joined my mom one week after Eid and after all that had happenned, meeting my dad was like THE best Eid present ever!
Eid 2007, day 1:
This year, Eid was celebrated on Saturday although in some parts of Buffalo, Eid was celebrated a day earlier. So, the kids were out of school and were very excited to go to the mosque for Eid prayer. As usual the mosque was a full house (except last year) and this year the crowd was even more. By the way, Adam wasn't well with suffy nose and very cranky but he was so well-behaved the entire time we were there! After prayer, we headed to Isna's and Akmar's for a small Malaysian students gathering (Isna is a Chemical Engineering senior student at UB while Akmar is doing her bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering).
Isna and the gang made rice cake, chicken rendang (a dish made from chicken, coconut milk and some spices), serunding daging (shredded beef cooked with spices) and instant lemang (made from glutinous rice, traditionally cooked in bamboo sticks). Ummi, Ili and some friends who were also at the gathering brought ayam masak merah (chicken cooked in tomato puree) and Juliana came with her daging masak hitam (beef cooked in soy sauce and spices) and Malaysian cookies that her parents had sent her. I brought agar-agar telur (a dessert made from jelly, sugar, coconut and egg) for the occassion. Thought of making one more dessert but Adam just wouldn't let me go.
Other than those that I've mentioned above, Azhar, Laili, Nik, Ita, Yus, Naim, Naveen and his sister, Juliana (Johan), Fazi and Rozana were also there. They are all busy with school and we hardly see each other. So, meeting them was so much fun and we took the chance to catch-up on so many things. All in all it was a day well spent and the food was great! Thank you to Isna and the gang for taking all the trouble despite the fact that you guys have to crack the books most of the time.
p/s : Unfortunately, I don't have the pictures for this gathering...because we forgot to bring our camera!  Still waiting for some pictures from Juliana and Naim...
Eid 2007 day 2:
We ended up in Kent Ohio although initially we thought of staying put in Buffalo because of Adam's condition. But then, a couple days before Eid, Mokhtar (who lives in West Virginia with wife Kuzi and their kids Hureen, Faris and Hanna) called to ask if we wanted to go to Kent for an Eid gathering. Our friend Melati (who is doing her PhD), husband Rashid and their four kids, Hakim, Nadia, Aiman and Aizat live there. By the way, Mokhtar and Kuzi are also doing their PhDs. We decided in the end to join the gang because it may well be the last time we're able to see each other (I'm planning to leave by end of the year). The weather was quite chilly that morning (it's Buffalo OK? ) so we decided to wear pants/jeans, tops and jackets. Thought of leaving at 8:30 a.m. because the gathering was supposed to start at noon and it takes three hours to get there but we only managed to leave at 9:30 a.m. after so much hassle (with Adam and all). Thank god he was fast asleep after 30 minutes we left. The whole journey felt so much like "balik kampung" (going back to our hometown) to us. Fast forward, three hours later we were in Kent Ohio....
When we arrived, Melati, Kuzi, Hanni, Shima and their respective families, Nazrina and Meen were all waiting for us to go to Kak Izan's house (where the gathering was to be held). We had an embarrasing encounter for a moment after we got out of the car because everyone dressed up in colorful baju kurung, kebaya and baju melayu (our traditional clothes) and here we were in our plain clothes! So, we apologized for not dressing up for the occassion. After a group photo, we drove to Kak Izan's house which is located like 5 minutes from Melati's. It was actually my first time to Kak Izan's and I was excited to meet her. We were greeted by Kak Izan and her husband Shah Hullon (he's related to Harjit Singh Hullon (the famous newscaster back home) I was told) when we reached her huge house. Kak Izan has two beautiful daughters Qistina and Sabrina. Ohh..I forgot to mention it was also my first time meeting Hanni and family (Hanni is from Athens and is doing her PhD in Communication), Shima and kids (Shima is new in Kent and is doing her PhD in Computer Science. Her husband and her three other kids will be joining her at the end of the year) and Meen, who is curently doing her Masters.
After a little chat and getting to know each other a little bit more, we were asked to gather in the living room for the recital of du'a (call upon God). The beautiful ceremony was performed by Rashid and soon after, the most awaited event of the day (the feast) began! There were sooooo many food to eat and I'm not kidding! I actually got confused just by looking at them   . Let me see...there were chicken rice, pilaf rice, penang laksa (a dish made with fish and rice noodle), beef curry, chicken curry, chicken kurma (chicken made with Malaysian spices and coconut milk), chicken kuzi (another dish cooked with Malaysian spices), chicken tandoori, rice cakes, peanut sauce, soto (chicken soup with vercimilli rice and hot sauce), lemang, rendang, fried noodle, dalca (vegetable cooked with chana daal and spices) and the list goes on.... and not to mention there were also delicious Malaysian cookies like pineapple tart, "makmur" cookies and many others that I forgot! Wish I could try all of them but with my small stomach I quit eating after trying some of the dishes  . Nevertheless, they satisfied my cravings for Malaysian food.
At the gathering I also had the opportunity to meet Aisha and other Malaysians who have migrated here like Kak Timah, who came with her husband, Kak Tim and Zak who came much later with his two lovely kids. Zak's wife and her eldest daughter didn't join us. Earlier, Zak had to send her to the hospital due to her asthma, so his wife stayed home to look after their daughter. By the way, did I mention that Adam was such a good boy that day? He was even complimented for that...You made Mom so proud, buddy!
The afternoon went by so quickly when we're having so much fun talking, laughing and eating that we didn't realize it was almost time to go (we had to leave that night because the kids have school the next day). Before leaving, Kak Izan was kind enough to ask everyone to pack some food home because there were so many leftover! Again, it was a really fun day, the food was superb and worth the three-hour-drive. Before leaving for Buffalo, we stopped by at Melati's for a while and finally headed home around 8:30ish. We arrived almost midnight and everyone slept like a log that night after a tiring three-hour-journey back home! A special thank you to Kak Izan for having us and "salam perkenalan" to the rest! I hope to see all of you again sometime...
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| Saturday, 3-Nov-2007 22:45 |
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GEGETAS
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I made gegetas today since it is dessert day in my household. Growing up my mom used to make them for tea and my kids love them because of their sweet delicacy. They are actually pretty easy to make. The recipe I used is as follows:
Ingredients:
For the dough:
1 1/4 cup flour
225 gm glutinous rice flour
125 gm grated coconut
warm water
some salt
oil for frying
For sugar coating:
3/8 cup sugar
1/16 cup water
1 tsp flour
a little salt
Method:
1. Mix flour, glutinous rice flour and coconut until they form like bread crumbs.
2. Put some salt in warm water to taste.
3. Add the water to the flour and coconut mixture until a soft dough is formed.
4. Take about the size of a fishball and shape dough into a flat oval.
5. Fry the shaped dough in deep oil until golden brown and drain.
6. To make the sugar coating, add water, sugar and just a little salt and cook until sugar becomes really sticky when touched. (Be careful with your finger because it's HOT!)
7. Put the fried dough in the melted sugar and mix well.
8. While mixing, sieve some flour in and mix again until well coated and sugar becomes dry.
9. Let them cool and enjoy with your favorite tea!
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| Wednesday, 31-Oct-2007 17:43 |
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IT'S HALLOWEEN...
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Mom's favorite candy
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Mom's favorite uhmm...rabbit?
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Well.... a little mishap took place when Nina was in her gym class today. She was hit hard by a soccer ball right in her left eye! She said it was burning and water started streaming out from her eye when she got hit and everyone was like "are you ok? and stuff..." You know how concern these kids were when a situation like this happenned. Luckily it was not a baseball, or it could have been a lot worse. So, to make the story short, she went to see the school nurse, called her dad and was allowed to come home early today. It's starting to bruise up a little under the eye as of now but I hope it won't be that bad....plus her friends have invited her to go trick or treating this evening and I don't want her to go with a black eye...or perhaps she could dress up as a hockey player, on second thought! .
Happy Halloween!
| Quote: | | Erin ~ That's right...better late than never is my motto...and also... Mommy Boleh!!! Wakakaka |
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| Saturday, 27-Oct-2007 16:18 |
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MY MOM'S "KUIH LOPES"
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"Kuih Lopes" in the making
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Ready to eat
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Bon Appetit!
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I've been craving for my mom's delicious Kuih Lopes for the past two days, so I decided to make them over the weekend. Actually, it was more like an 'escape' plan for me from Adam so I could have a little 'space'.... . I had also asked my hubby to get some banana leaves from An Chau (the asian store on Bailey and LaSalle) yesterday because I was running out of them totally. Needless to say, the process of making the Kuih Lopes was quite tedious but the end result was worth it. Here's how I made them.
Ingredients:
1/2 kg of glutinous rice
some salt
grated coconut (mix with some salt)
syrup (brown sugar, water, pandan leaves and some corn flour to thicken the syrup)
string/ribbon
Method :
1. Rinse the glutinous rice and soak them in water and Abuchang for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
2. Meantime cut banana leaves to about the size of your five fingers.
3. Slowly move the leaves over a small fire to soften them.
4. Throw the water out from the glutinous rice and mix in some salt.
5. Take about 2 tablespoons of glutinous rice and fold them in the banana leaf just as you would when making samosa. Make sure you secure all edges.
6. Tuck in the end of the leaf. Don't worry if you can't tuck it in because some leaves are 'shorter' than the other. Just keep folding until the end.
7. Take four of the folded leaves and tie them together using the string/ribbon. This is to ensure the glutinous rice won't come out when cooked.
8. Lastly, put them in boiling water and some salt and cook for three hours.
9. Once cooked, let them cool completely before removing the leaves.
10. Serve them with grated coconut and syrup.
| Quote: | Tina ~ Hey, thanks for visiting...I'm not much of a cook actually! Just whateva my mama has taught me (in order to survive here) hahaha...Please come again 
Hua ~ Thanks for the compliment and for visiting...
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