Bad Relationships...

     After a night out with two of my girlfriends, I realized a significant thing. I'm always good friends with all my 3 exes family members but it's all awkward with my exes. Does that mean I'll make a good in-law but a bad wife?
     God knows what's wrong with me. It's either I don't seem to be good enough for men or I'm way too good for them. It frustrates me. Maybe I'm too demanding but the funny thing is that I don't yell or boss them around like I do others. Do I?
     I don't even complain if they don't call or text every night. My last two partners, it was a long distance thing. They hardly ever texted or called and I didn't know every single damn thing they did but did I go all bonkers on them?!?! NO!!!
  

Spaghetti and Meatballs reminds me of Lady and The Tramp...

I just watched Lady and The Tramp two weeks ago and decided to dig out this recipe and share with the world. Tastes so good... Should try it for my new beau... :*

Ingredients
200g spaghetti (boiled and tossed with olive oil)
500g minced chicken
1/2 cup corn flour
1 can button mushroom (sliced)
1 red bell pepper (cubed)
1 green bell pepper (cubed)
3 ripe tomatoes (cubed)
1 carrot (cubed)
1 Holland onion (diced)
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp ground oregano
2 tbsp maize or sunflower oil
125g Cheddar cheese
50g parsley (chopped finely)
salt

Method

1. Mix the minced meat with the corn flour. Shape them into meatballs. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and saute the onions till fragrant.
2. Add button mushrooms, tomatoes, carrot, tomato ketchup, ground oregano, ground black pepper and salt to your own taste. Mix well.
3. Add the meatballs and stir slowly till boils.
4. Add bell peppers and mix well.
5. Serve with boiled spaghetti. Spread the cheese on the top.
6. Garnish with parsley.

Roasted Chicken with Lemon Stuffing

I just had a long Skype chat with an aunt from Australia and my voice was so 'sexay' as i was having a slight sore throat, so she gave me this delicious recipe that can not only cure your throat but fill the tummy as well...

Ingredients

1.5-1.7 kg of chicken meat (boneless and cubed)
4 tbsp barbecue sauce
1 tbsp ground black pepper
2 pcs of garlic (pounded finely)
1 1/2 in ginger
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
1/2 carrot (cubed)
3 slices of capsicum
3 salad leaves

Method

1. Clean the chicken and dry with a kitchen towelette.
2. Mix all the ingredients except for the lemons, carrots, capsicum and salad leaves in a bowl with the chicken and let it sit for 2-3 hours  to marinate.
3. Slice the lemon into quarters and mix together.
4. Bake in a 200 degree Celsius oven for an hour.
5. Garnish with the vegetables and serve hot.

Of Chinese New Year and Kuih Ros

the iron mould 

kuih ros / kuih goyang / kuih loyang / beehive or honeycomb biscuit

 Chinese New Year was awesome and fun this Year of the Water Dragon, which explains my absence from blogging and for that I apologise beforehand. I was a little too occupied as a driver as we went house hopping from family, to friends and even school teachers' houses. As Malaysians, our presence was welcomed by all. We Malaysians are cool like that. Not too mention, 'ang pow' (red packet) collection this year was not too shabby, my sisters and I noted.



As we were enjoying, I observed several similarities between most of the household we visited.

1. the obvious red packet which is a symbolism of good luck.
2. chrysanthemum drinks, probably to cool down as the weather was unbearably hot
3. Mandarin Oranges, duh... CNY and all...
4. Kuih Ros

Entry number 4 was what that puzzled me the most. The sweet and crunchy kuih ros. I've seen during Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas and even Hari Raya. Where did the 'kuih ros' come from? I'm not sure if it is a Chinese, Indian, Malay or Eurasian delicacy, so i did some investigating.

A biscuit with many names. Some call it kuih loyang, kuih goyang, kuih rose, beehive or plain old honeycomb biscuit. This is a very popular cookie for Chinese New Year.

Rosettes or kuih ros are a traditional pastry in Turkey and Malaysia. A rosette is a thin, cookie-like deep-fried pastry of Scandinavian (Swedish and Norwegian) origin. Rosettes are traditionally made during Christmas time. They are made using intricately designed irons. The iron is heated to a very high temperature in oil, dipped into the batter, then re-immersed in the hot oil to create a crisp shell around the metal. The iron is immediately removed and the rosette is separated from the iron. Usually, the edges of the rosette are dipped into frosting or sugar. Rosette recipes are popular in the United States among families with Scandinavian ancestry.

These pastries are also made in Iran, where they are called "nan panjara", and Mexico where they're called "Buñuelos".

Never would I have imagined that our kuih ros originated from the European continent. Oh well, as I love this kuih very much, I'm going to include the recipe which I got from my mum who got it from her aunt before that. I'm pretty sure I'll pass the recipe down tho my next geneartion comes. So, here is the recipe. Please do try and let me know how it turns out.

Rosette, a Scandinavian pastry

 Buñuelos, a Mexican pastry

Makes about 16 biscuits (mum gave small measurements as I just learnt how to make this for the first time)

Ingredients
1 small egg (45g with shell, 40g without)
35g sugar
100ml coconut milk
60g plain flour
25g rice flour
1 tsp water

Method
1. Mix all the ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved. Sieve if the batter is lumpy. Rest batter for at least ½ hour.

2. Heat your oil in a deepfryer or wok and place the mould in it to get it hot.

3. Remove mould from hot oil and stick it into the batter to get a coating. (Do not allow the top of the mould to come into contact with the batter.) You will hear a sizzle. Hold still for a second or two to give the batter a chance to adhere to the mould.

4. Place the mould back into the hot oil. Hold still for a second or two and then start jiggling the mould to get the biscuit to drop.

5. Deep fry until both side is golden brown. Remove and leave to cool.

6. Repeat step 3 until all the batter is finished.

7. Store in an airtight container.

Tip

1. I find the first biscuit will always stick to the mould and will need to be scrapped off. Once that is out of the way, the rest of the kuih will drop off the mould into the hot oil very easily.

2. The biscuit can be lightly dusted with icing sugar before storing.

XIN NIAN KUAI LE, WANG SHI RU YI

The truth about Malaysian Law.

Studying Pengajian Am makes you realize all the things you have turned a blind eye to, for instance, the enforcement and amendments of certain acts. My classmates were discussing the topic on reasons why air pollution is so difficult to curb when our teacher told us that the Akta Kualiti Alam Sekitar has not been revised since 1974. The penalty for open burning is just a meager RM 5000 or so and most of the time, cases of small open burning goes unreported due to corruption. It is true that at 1974, RM5000 means a lot to most people but as we step into 2012, that amount is no longer justified. A handful of foreigners for example Singaporeans who are used to strict law enforcement methods in their native land who comes to Malaysia, also will burn rubbish at their kampungs, litter and spit chewing gum wads almost anywhere just because the laws in Malaysia are not strict. The term 'Malaysia Boleh' which was coined with other intentions in mind has now become Malaysia Boleh...buang sampah merata-rata, or bakar sampah  or langgar lampu isyarat merah. This has got to change. As funny as it sounds, this is a serious issue that has to be looked into as soon as possible before it goes out of hand.
I apologize before hand if anyone got insulted by my remarks but I believe that we as Malaysians should rise up to the occasion and try to create an awareness among ourselves and educate our young ones regarding the few matters I have mentioned earlier.

Festival Hang Tuah 2011

I was given the opportunity last Friday to perform with the Kumpulan Kebudayaan Chetti Melaka at the Muzium Kesultanan Melaka. This event was held to enlighten the locals as well as foreign tourists on the rich history of Malacca's diplomatic consulate and warrior, Hang Tuah.
During this event, performers from multiple groups such as the Perguruan Silat, Briged Seni, Jabatan Kebudayaan, Tames Production, Asthana Arts as well as from Kumpulan Kebudayaan Nyonya Baba and Chetti Melaka worked together for a period of 5 days to make this event successful.
As most of us were already acquainted with each other from previous performances such as the UNESCO World Heritage City Commemoration and Merdeka Celebrations that are held every year, we were all at ease with each other and had the time of our life although practice schedule was tight and exhausting.
All in all, we put on a great if not amazing show and I sincerely hope that events as such will be organised in the near future to ensure that Malacca's rich history and culture be preserved and told in the following years to come.

My Mix Heritage

I come from a family with mix heritage. This means that gua boleh kecek a few bahasa. That line actually means that I can speak in a few language in Baba Nyonya dialect. On my mum's side, I have Chetti, Chinese Nyonya and a dash of British heritage. On my dad's side, I have Indian, Malayalam and Chinese blood. This means I am 75% of the total Malaysian ethnic. I can understand English, Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin Chinese, a bit of Tamil, Malayalam, Hokkien and Hindi. I can speak fluent English, Bahasa Melayu and basic Mandarin Chinese. This gives me a great advantage in life. Being a Malaysian, I'm pretty sure that most Malaysians are at least bilingual or trilingual people. All I'm saying is that languages are a great way to break the barrier. As my dad once told me, people in general are afraid of what they don't know or understand. I totally agree with that. Well, on the plus side, I'am a girl who love shopping and I literally have at least one traditional outfit from each ethnic in Malaysia. I have punjabi suits, sarees, cheongsams, baju kurung, kebaya Nyonya, kebaya labuh or known as kebaya Chetti and also a few Sarawakian etnic accesories. I have yet to purchase the Portuguese milkmaid outfit, Sarawak and sabah outfit and the Minangkabau outfit. I'm looking forward to increase my small collection. I'm very fortunate that I grew up with a 'rojak' background and I'll always be proud of my Mix Heritage... Lots of love... Till next time...