Happy Birthday, Papa!

Today would have been your 76th birthday, Papa but you were taken from us all too soon.  We miss you and want to share with you moments of joy and excitement in our daily lives but it was not meant to be.  So much has happened since you left this earth and I think of you often; in my heart, I know you are looking down on us and keeping watch over us.

S1 is nearing the end of her uni days and looking forward to working while S2 is in college now, hard to believe I know.  The best thing is both are studying engineering, something which you did when you were at uni, and something which you never had the chance to complete.  I guess the grandchildren will carry on your dreams and your legacy of a mathematical mind.  S2 just passed his driving test - second time round as he had failed his road test due to over-steering - hard to imagine him driving around but they all grow up too fast, too soon.

Before long, he will leave the nest leaving an empty, hollow space in our hearts as he moves on to make a life for himself, just like his sister.  He dreams of going to where his sister is, something we want for him too. 

We miss you and hope you are enjoying yourself up there, Papa!

Much love from us.

Polished Painted Nails

What is it about a self manicure that calms the soul? Don't get me wrong, it can be stressful, especially when you've smudged a nail accidentally or when you need to scratch your nose. But the sight of pretty painted nails is a sight for sore eyes indeed. Think polish, think elegant, think style! Painted nails can give a girl or woman a boost in the self-esteem department.

I usually never bothered with painting my nails but when I went for a professional manicure just before Christmas, it changed my mind for good. Now it is the works for me - the base coat, two layers of nail varnish and finally, the top coat. Then a bit of waiting and waving to dry the nails and, voila, they are done.

Love my new nails now... a very pretty dusky pink!

Chinese New Year 2012

Today is the 15th Day of the Chinese New Year, or better known as Chap Goh Meh.  So what have I done over the CNY?  Nothing much but eat and make merry.  Baked a pineapple cake for my brother's get=together on the first day of the New Year.  It was my second attempt at this cake, but using a different recipe which I found online.  It was a great hit among the family.  Ah, the caramelised pineapple was yummy!

My pineapple cake

Prawns to symbolise laughter!!! Har Har Har!!!

Daughter's fav dish

My mum's crabmeat balls

Wibble wobble!

Yam and pork

Yee Sang

Assam steamed fish

Blueberry Cheesecake

 The food at my brother's place was quite awesome, some traditional goodies mixed with the modern to tempt everyone's tastebuds.

It has been a good start to the new year - good atmosphere at home despite the worries about jobs and colleges.  I am hopeful that the Year of the Dragon will bless the family and bring us much peace and joy.

There is so much to look forward to - a tragedy that befell a friend's family made me see how important it is that we live our lives with no regrets, no bitterness and most of all, no wishing for what might have been.  Live each day as fully as you can and go to bed content at the end of fulfilling day.

May the new year bless us all!

Happy 2012

The beginning of a brand new year dawns upon us - for once, we all stayed up to usher in the new year last night.  The son was at a party, a barbecue, and the only one to have something planned.  The three of us vegetated at home curled up watching movies and had a fairly great evening despite my upset tummy.  It  must have been the sambal which I had for lunch at New Paris SS2.  Sigh!  But recovered enough to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Went out for dinner at a new place in Kota Damansara, Big Brother, which hubby had discovered.  While I couldn't really enjoy the food there this time round, hubby and daughter did their platters proud.

So not looking forward to going back to work - but I had a nice break from all the stress.  Managed to do so many things and read a few good books too.  Yay for Nora Roberts and JD Robb - she rocks!

Keeping my fingers crossed that the new year will not be as stressful as the last year!

One Cup Quiche - simple awesome possum

1 cup grated cheese - usually add a little more for more gooey goodness

1 cup diced bacon - simply yummy when baked

1 cup milk

1 cup self-raising flour

1 small onion, diced

5 eggs

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tomato, finely sliced

Combine the cheese, bacon, milk, flour, onion and eggs in a large bowl.

Mix until all ingredients are well combined, then season with salt and pepper.  I like to sprinkle some basil in it at this point.

Place a 24 cm ovenproof pie dish on an oven tray, or directly on to a rack if you don't fill the dish right to the top.  Pour mixture into the dish and decorate top with tomato slices.

Bake at 180C for about 50 minutes or until top is golden, and mixture is set in the centre.

Cut quiche into wedges and serve with salad.

Can be eaten cold from the fridge too.  Pretty amazing considering how simple this is to make.  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from bestrecipes.com.au

A good weekend with Pak Yaw Chee Yoke to end it all.

Weekends are meant for relaxing and catching up with household chores at the same time - this has been a very good weekend for me.  Due in part to the extra public holiday we had on Friday - creating a long weekend.  We had lunch with my in-laws at New Paris in SS2 to celebrate my father-in-law's 71st birthday, and it was good to catch up with my cheery sister-in-law who fears nothing and no one.  This is one lady whom you should never cross but who is an absolute doll when it comes to helping others.

As for the lunch at New Paris, it was only so-so. I had expected better since it has a good reputation for serving great Chinese food.  But it could have been the dishes we ordered that did not seem to gel or it could have been the fact that my palate had been affected by my recovering tastebuds from the cold I had.  Oh well, lunch was nothing to shout about anyway.  Despite what my hubby thought.

Did some grocery shopping this morning and  have decided to make some braised pork now for dinner.  This pork dish is a favourite of the clan - the matriarch of the clan, who passed away a few months ago, had shared with me her simple recipe of 'Pak Yaw Chee Yoke'.  But don't dismiss it as it is great with white rice.  Add chinese mushrooms and even hard-boiled eggs if you wish to bulk it up even more.  For me, the simplicity of the dish speaks for itself.

Pak Yaw Chee Yoke (Tau Yeu Bak)

                                            At the beginning ... (note the garlic)

                                      After an hour of simmering... (garlic is now soft, nearly mushy)

                                           After nearly two hours of simmering...

                                            The finished dish - fit for a good family meal!

Ingredients:
Streaky pork (Sam chaang) - 3 long strips cut into bite sized pieces
Garlic - one chinese rice bowl of peeled garlic - don't chop/mince
water - enough to cover the pork in the pot
Soya sauce - about half a chinese bowl
a few drops of dark soya sauce, to taste
Half a teaspoon of sugar - add after an hour of simmering


Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce flame to simmer.
Stir occasionally.
Add sugar after an hour.
The garlic will add to the flavour of the gravy as it dissolves and thickens it.
Once a layer of oil forms on the surface and the pork is tender, turn off flame.
Voila! That's it - no frying and splattering of oil everywhere in the kitchen.
Enjoy!

My Oreo Butter Cake

This was my first attempt at an Oreo Butter Cake.  I got this recipe from the internet and it was just as good as it sounded.  So for those who love oreos, this is the cake for you.  It is very easy peasy to make - just my kind of cake - as I have absolutely no patience in fiddly recipes.  Below is the baked cake, just out of the oven.

So here's the recipe from Angie's My kitchen, My laboratory -

Oreo Butter Cake

225g cake flour (or Top Flour)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
85g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
170g sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup(240ml) nonfat unsweetened yogurt
1 tsp vanilla essence
80g Oreo cookies, roughly crushed (I use mini Oreos)

Whole Oreo cookies for decorating

1) Preheat oven to 180C and grease or line a 8-inch round tin.
2) Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3) Cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Dribble in eggs slowly, about 1 tbsp at a time, beating constantly for about 2 mins.
4) On LOW speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture until just combined. Beat in ½ of the yogurt. Then beat in 1/2 of the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining yogurt, and vanilla extract. Finally beat in the remaining flour mixture.
5) Lastly, fold in the crushed cookies.
6) Pour into prepared tin, arrange whole Oreos on top and bake for about 40 - 50 mins till skewer inserted comes out clean.
7) Cool in pan for 5 mins. Unmould and cool completely.

Note:
I use a stand mixer for this, which can ‘fold in’ the flour and yogurt gently on its lowest speed. If you cream the butter manually or with a hand-held mixer, after the eggs have been incorporated, use a spatula to gently fold in the flour and yogurt.