Random Ramblings

i know that i haven't been updating my blog for sometime now..its simply because i'm not feeling very well...i'm still not 100% but that doesn't mean that i haven been cooking though its just that i did snap any photos of my creations =} (i'm sure you all prefer recipes with photos than just recipes right?) yeah we made lasagna, koftas, our family bbq + steamboat (more like korean bbq) with dips to die for....its a shame that i didn't get any pictures...plus my sister just got married and now we are getting ready for my brother wedding this July so bz bz...

and i just found out what they use for yong tau foo dips....its shocking!! you wouldn't believe it!!\
my children and i LOVE yong tau foo and there's no many great HALAL yong tau foo outlets for us the malay of yong tau foo vendors just don't have it...in case you're wondering i've tasted the what i considered Original yong tau foo made by yours truly a chinese muslim friend of mine who was kind enough to make some for me (its their food of course the chinese makes better yong tau foo than the malays just like chicken rice, dim sum etc )and was kind enough to reveal to me 'whats in the sauce' which got me a tad shock and guilty when dipping my assorted seafood balls.

well according to my friend the sauce is made out of black soy beans with loads of sugar (if you make your own you would probably use honey ) and of course theres many variation of this recipes but thats the basic ingredients...she said and i quote " you'd think that yong tau foo is healthy but you are absolutly wrong theres loads of sugar involve and not to mention msg in the soup... and you always say chinese chicken rice's soup (from the store) is tasty, its because of the msg in it! thats why when you try to duplicate their taste its almost impossible its because we didn't put as much msg in it..."

and i was like...REALLY?! 2 of my fave food is less than healthy? for a moment there i thought that my world just crumbled down...no wonder i couldn't exactly duplicate the taste of restaurant food i knew they use msg but i didn't know the extent of the usage was... ( no wonder my mom is allergic to most restaurant food)

i was greatly enlighten by these facts...although i am now hoping that dim sum is a more healthier option coz i love LOVE dim sum above all...and speaking of which i'll be making some today (hopefully) and i will do my best to put it in my next entry...the recipe is adopted from the afc 'saturday cooks' can't remember the chef's name but she's probably british chinese...

so dare i say stay tune?

Food Trivia: Are you REALLY a true foodie?

this is for fun and also facts about food we eat...so be enlighten...*wink*

-> Did you know that an oyster’s taste will depend on the water from where it came from. Briny, salty or nutty are some of the examples of its taste.

-> Guess what "alligator pear" is?...its AVOCADO alligator pear is its alias due to the texture of its skin and shape. and also avocado will not ripen until its being picked for the tree...

-> In the US, apple cider = apple juice. the term cider to refer to apple juice with no preservatives, and apple juice to juice that has been pasteurized. Unfermented apple juice is called 'apple juice' in most other countries, and the term 'cider' refers to 'hard cider', it has been fermented and is an alcoholic beverage....whooo thats is almost confusing...=p

-> Almonds are a tasty and nutritious addition to rice dishes, vegetable dishes, casseroles, stuffings, salads, baked goods and desserts; they also make an excellent substitute for bread crumbs as a topping for casseroles or in a breading for fish.

-> Science has proven that our taste buds have fine, distinct, and specific receptor tastes individually.

-> White beans are high in soluble fiber, which helps control blood pressure



thanx to Fun food trivia Wmn for the info...well i'll try to find more food related trivia in the future but for now this will do.

Clarified Butter

what is clarified butter:-



how to clarified butter:-





hope this video helps...

I-Flapp Technology

An interesting piece of technology that i came across, its very convenient to us so called tech savy people =p well at least to people who have and use PC. why i say its cool? is because this device enable us (PC /laptop users) to lighten the burden of PC having heavy applications which eventually make the PC slow etc, it lower the risk of having viruses and other PC related complications that may cause our PC to be infected with viruses or slowing it down or even crashing...we are able to install application into the device instead of the PC itself and in addition to that, with the device we may carry it anywhere and everywhere - portable and then use OTHER computer/laptop etc and make that computer as if its our own!

then after using it, it will save all your work and protect your PC by removing all traces of your activity from it. then when you wanted to use it again just plug it in and it will sync your mails and other application in just seconds. COOL huh?

I actually bought 2 (we bought it in Singapore) so that both my husband and i can use and have the advantage of the technology. really cool and convenient especially when you have work presentations its handy.

As you can see i am very excited about this product, i love it! although i'm not sure if the product has reach Malaysia, but i know a person who can get the product. so if you are interested please leave me your email address and i'll be happy to forward you the person in charge.(i can't simply give out his number openly in the net hope you understand)

Benefits of i-Flapp technology:-
to individual user (like me)
1) Portable companion
2) Carrying your profile, mails and apps
3) Works with mobile phones / digital cameras!
4) Easy maintenance of PC
5) Eliminate conflicts of applications
6) Ability to be portable and mobile
7) Improved security
8) No permanent writing into the registry and
installation of unnecessary DLLs and system
files which corrupts and slows down the PC

Corporate / IT Directors

1) Better management of IT resources
2) OS Migration without need to reinstall legacy apps
3) Easy maintenance of IT resources
4) Easy support for mobile workforce
5) Fast software distribution for new/upgrading apps
6) Save on IT staff turnaround,
reduce support requests
7) Improved security as users will be able to have
access to their applications without the need
to install applications

Developers / ISVs

1) Eliminate risks and conflicts with other apps
2) No installation of software required
3) Eliminate software duplication
4) Reduce support costs as there is a reduction in
dependancies and installation needed.
5) No permanent modification to system registry.

i am really pleased with this device (saved me alot of PC troubles)...2 thumbs up for i-flapp

A hearty CONGEE / porridge

as promised...here's the recipe of cognee taught to me by my chinese friend whom was also a chef in one of the Hotel in KL ...(hint - near Sg.Wang so keep guessing!)

making this is actually easy its the 'accessories' are the less than easier. He told me that the key to making a good congee is to soak the rice over night. the longer the better he said...by soaking it the rice will absorb more water and making the rice when cooked be almost mushed which is the best texture for this porridge. although he also taught me some short cuts...hmmm~

anyway cooking the rice is easy just cook with lots of water and let it just cook in a med-low heat and remember to constantly stir the rice so that it won't burn...then flavoring it is another thing, although making it as simple as it possibly can, you can basically add what ever later on and it will contribute to the flavor of the congee. althought he does have one rule, is that if you wanted to add meat (any kind) you should first saute some ginger, garlic and shallots first then add the sauted ingredients into the congee then add in the meat and season as required.

i hope you get the basic idea on the how.

what you need:

1c rice soaked overnight
salt to taste
sugar to taste
spring onions for garnishing
lots of water

side dish:
salted egg
shredded poached chicken
light soy sauce
sesame oil
white pepper

i actually made beef balls and cook them with the congee making my congee taste delightfully beefy ^_^.


TIPS:

you can use leftover cooked rice to make congee too just recook them with lots of water and when you start to see that the rice swollen then take some of it and blend it away then put it back in the pot and continue to cook adding water and seasonings when necessary. you'll get the same result.

TIPS: how to separate eggs & beat egg whites

hope that these videos are helpful.

random ramblings.

today is random rambling day...

my son and i is not feeling 100%. we've been having asthma attack for quite sometime now. so last monday we went to see a lung specialist @ Damansara specialist hospital. As for my son he went to see pead but specialized in chest/lung. i can't say that the visit is all plasant, i was kinda...i mean we were kinda shocked by what my son's doctor told us...or rather lecture us on.

1stly he ask all sorts of question on what he eats "does he eat anchovies? crackers?chocolate? instant noodles?soy sauce? bla bla bla" then he explained that for most reason his patients illness are caused by allergy of food. he even showed me the chemicals breakdowns of preservatives or what not which i was not exactly paying much attention as i was still kindda in a stunt. its not that i don't know that nowadays our food is becoming poisonous to our body...mmmm how should i explain its the way that the doctor 'explained' to me is what got me a little bit agitated you know...its like he is implying that i purposely feed poison to my children and it is i that caused the illness for being ignorant about the commercialization of food or what not that eventually is taking a toll to our body.

he was like "if you love your family feed them with love care of what you feed them with its not just about HALAL but the best of HALAL food (makanan halal yang terbaik)" i just froze there...its an insult for one although that he is right but he can say it in a more civilized way you know what i mean? then he went on saying that my son/children should avoid eating :
- colored food and drinks
- canned food
-canned drinks
-colored chocolate
- yellow noodle (due to the high boric acid content)
- anchovies / ikan bilis
- belacan
- cencaru
- msg
- instant noodles
- instant food and drinks
- all sorts of soy sauce
- fast food
- vitegen
- yakult
- chickens
and the list went on and on...when he said that my son can't eat chocolate my son's eyes watered instantly then he went on saying that no vitegen or yakult too instantly my son was crying his heart out coz that was all his ultimate favorite food. the doctor say all the above have high preservative and additives which caused all sorts of allergies.

he highly recommend us to go ORGANIC or as ORGANIC as we can be. and that somehow pisses me off... i know that he's right i do but for the whole thing he didn't know me or my family to be accusing me not feeding my family with LOVE...he didn't do that we do try to be as organic as we possibly can but that is just impossible to live 100% organic because we tend to want or have to or eventually eat some of the above...

ok lets face it ORGANIC stuff is EXPENSIVE...and for us thats not within our monthly budget. and for the record we only drink ALKALINE or MINERAL water (we have the machine for this), NEVER drink R.O because its acidic in nature. we try to avoid drinking carbonated drinks whenever we can...we i mean I don't use MSG/ajinomoto in my cooking for more than 4 years now ...you can see all my recipes have NO MSG included. and just lately i have my very own herb garden i even grow my own water spinach! we do try to eat as healthy as we possibly can but it seems not enough...

and no soy sauce???? how is that???? most of our cooking revolves around soy sauce one way or another...its just crazy to just avoid everything...like this you might as well starve coz almost everything have additives and preservatives. and why is ORGANIC is even expensive you don't use pesticides (no cost there), feed the chicken with normal chicken food (supposedly be easier to find and cheaper) no antibiotic shots for the chicken (no cost here)...

*screams out loud* as a cook, this is a challenge...crazy challenge...the truth is that i can't live with out SOY SAUCE full stop. is there such thing as organic soy sauce??? argh....*bangs head on the table* and 'natural chocolate' what is that? what does it mean? never heard of it...

luckily my doctor (not my son's) is a more gentlemen and told me that just try my best to avoid those things and that he knows that is almost impossible to avoid everything. and what i've been doing is already in the right track. that had actually put a smile back in my face. although he gave me the bad news that my asthma is getting serious and that i must pay extra attention to it. i need alot of rest and take my medication regularly.

mmm...i know that my asthma is getting fierce lately coz i haven't been able to sleep, i have that short of breath accompanied with that chesty cough argh its horrible. and with all of that i feel more and more tired even during the day i just feel like sleeping in you know?...and i am not those person who sleeps a lot or take a lot of naps. sometimes i feel like my body is falling apart i can no longer second guest my body...i am a person who can just feel what my body wants and need when i just listen to it (am i making any sense?)..i have some kind of 6th sense about my body health...for example; i know that i'm pregnant even before i check that i'm pregnant, and if its just a regular cold i can just self heal with some home remedies just by listening to my body. and now i can't...and its scares me.

i sound like a lunatic i know but thats just me, i'm special that way. am i really falling apart? or even worse am i dying?...thats a scary thought...honestly that's what i've been feeling...dying...probably due to the shortness of breath feels like dying..i don't know may be i'm lacking or Oxygen in my brain *lol*

nvm about that i've got stronger medication now and it does helps a little but still having the wheezing and fatigue but not as crazy as before. follow up check ups in 2 weeks it should be OK.

sorry that no recipe in this entry i just feel like rambling away today, plus i don't have any mood to do anything fancy with all the restrictions... but for tonight i do plan to make seafood broth. i shall post it in a future entry.after my hearty pick me up porridge/congee entry which i will post soon...or which ever come first...