Salam Aidilfitri - Happy Eid - Happy holidays

salam to all my Muslim readers...

i'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri...and i seek forgiveness from the bottom of my heart as sincerely as i possibly am on my probably and possibly rude wirtings, or ramblings or on any other stuff (consciously or not) that might have hurt your feelings etc etc...

To my foreign readers, Eid celebration is a Muslim Holiday that marks the end of Ramadan , the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to purify"; and so the holiday symbolizes the purification after completing the fasting month which is after the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, on the first day of Syawal.

This year for the 1st time we will be celebrating Eid in our hometown - Kelantan. while i was packing it struck me that Ramadan is actually coming to an end and i suddenly feels sad. why you might ask, its because Ramadan is a beautiful month filled with opportunity to 'purify' oneself towards Allah SAW. Ramadan is special because its the only month where everything (reward/pahala) is doubled and the 'arms of forgiveness and blessings' has widen. so as Muslims we should grab the opportunity to repent and seek for forgiveness and have blessings in life...

thinking about it and the fact that Ramadan is ending i feel so so lost? coz God knows that i have sinned...for i may have choose the wrong things in life, indulge more than i should and i may have made regretful mistakes...although for all the wrongs i've made and done i have regretted long since but the fact of the matter is that you don't know if your repent/forgiveness is ultimately forgiven...

the month of Ramadan have given me peace and time to reflect myself and i find myself lacking and incomplete...so to speak...which lead me to have this resolution to self betterment...

1. i want to be a better - the best daughter to my parents
2. i want to be a better - the best daughter in law
3. i want to be my very best as a wife
4. i want to be a more loving and compessionate mother
5. i want to be a better friend and relative
   
6. i want to be a better sister to my siblings
7. and most of all i want to be a better Muslim.

i don't know if i can achieve the above aim but i will try...because its not as easy for we are only human, human that may be tempted with greed, envy, comtemp etc...that will be the obsticle on achieving the above.

speaking of envy and i think most of us would probably feel the same...if i were to compare what i have with other people nothing seem enough, and nothing seem fair...i envy but abah and mama and hubby always tells me to count my blessing and be more greatful on what we actually have rather than what we don't have or can't have...and when ever i feel that way now i will start counting my blessings...because nobody is perfect, nobody has everything, and can have anything in life... NOBODY!.. when i start reflecting i truly am greatful and blessed even with all of the imperfections that i may have and it made me happy and have that inner peace. for that Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah to all the blessings in life...

Ramadan, i shall miss you hope to see you again next year insyaAllah.

Happy Eid-ul Fitri Everybody!

Fabulous Cat Cat Cookies: Cookies For Sale!

I would like to extend my invitation to my 'local' readers to view, and perhaps try (buy) our homemade cookies. it is made exclusively by me and my baby sister with finest and freshest ingredients. its a PREMIUM products with affordable price. ^_^

All of our cookies are made with heart & care. Our cookies are freshly made as it is made to order.

p/s: we caution you that these cookies are addictive! sharing is not an option. ^_^


Ultimate Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies
WARNING!- like its name, this chocolate chip cookie is the ultimate! baked with perfection, the taste of caramelized sugar combined with jammed packed chuncky bittersweet chocolate and toasted macadamia nuts - oh, 1 box is NOT enough coz you wouldn't want to share!

Jammy Melting Moments
Melting moments with a touch of gorgeous homemade strawberry jam is heavenly buttery with a hint of sweet and tartiness from the jam that melts in your mouth after you crunch on the crispiness.

black cocoa cookies
a concoction of luxurious dark chocolate, super healthy oats, jammed packed dark brown sugar and a touch of white chocolate button all mixed in one, the result = a sinfully healthy cookie!

Oatmeal cookies
A Light and Crunchy Oatmeal cookies topped with rainbow sprinkles.

Coffee Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal cookies infused with espresso, topped with real coffee bean

S3C (soft & chewy chocolate chip) cookies
Soft&Chewy Choc Chip Cookies if you like subway cookie, you'll like this one better!

PRICE for all cookies: RM25/box
(last order is on 31st Aug so HURRY!!!)

HOW TO ORDER:-

A lead time minimum of 2 days prior pickup (pickup available at Bangi and Mutiara Damansara) or delivery (delivery in bangi radius or mutiara damansara radius is FREE however terms and condition apply) delivery charge will apply and advised later after confirmed order. A confirmed order is made with 50% deposite.

any question or orders please comment here or email me => anothercupofsugar@gmail.com or catcatcookies@yahoo.com

LAST ORDER IS ON the 31st AUG2010...HURRY!!!!!!

Rempah Ratus : Spice up your cooking!

Salam and hello,
first of all i would like to wish all my fellow muslim readers "happy fasting". this time around i'm having a rather challenging fasting days...*sighh~* because i now have no maid to help me with house chores and cooking...so as you might have guess thats the reason that you haven't seen me uploading my cooking/baking ever so often...well.. not that because i don't cook at all its just that i'm tired, i supposed too tired to find a nice light for the food and snap it (mm what a waste). to some people doing house chores is EASY and can be done in a blink, but to me with 2 hyper active children the chores seems to be never ending its a miracle that i could even have a 'ME' time or a nice nap in the afternoon....*long sighhhh~* between cooking and cleaning i have to crack my brain in designing headbands, sewing and crafting and then sell them...and also sewing some beads embroidery (although i only take a couple of request but i'm worried if i couldn't finish it in time for eid).

anyhow...in this entry i'd like to simply write about spices. i know some of you are wondering about some of the spices we asian use, so this entry is dedicated to those who is in ignorance of the splendour of spices.... =p

Coriander / ketumbar

we all know coriander leaves but some of us are unfamiliar with coriander seeds. above is a picture of the herb and its seeds. coriander seed is a common spice we used in curry, spiced fried chicken, grilled fish ox tail soups and chicken soups. the aroma is rather spicy hot, it gives body to a bland dish (esp, asian dish)

Fennel / Jintan

this is one aromatic spice shaped like paddy seeds. for us, there are 2 types of fennel; sweet fennel and white fennel. the above is probably the white fennel, white fennel is larger in size and it also have a stronger aroma than sweet fennel. mainly used in curry, kurma, rendang (asian spiced stew) and i personally like to use this aromatic spice on my roasted chicken.

Fenugreek / Halba

this spice is used in cooking rice eg. nasi dagang and sometime in nasi lemak, fish curry. i rarely use this spice so thats all i know (sorry)

Green Cardamon / Buah Pelaga

Apart from using in cooking the Arabs and Indian like to spice their tea or coffee with this.
this is one of the spice used in curry making.

Star Anise / Bunga Lawang
it is shapes like a star hence the name...and has a strong aroma, it'll spice kick your curry and have that aromatic umph.

Mustard Seeds / Biji Sawi

i think there's black and white mustard seeds but the most common one in Asia is the black mustard seed. this tiny seed is used in stir fried veges, fish curry, acar (pickeled vege), asam pedas...

Cinnamon / kayu Manis

Everybody knows cinnamon. i think its one of the most versatile spice, it can be used in savory dish, desserts (Apple pie, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns) and even drinks. it has a sweet and a hint of spicy aroma.

Tumeric / Kunyit

used in curry, gulai (curry made without curry powder), fried chicken and fish, stirfried seafood and beef.it has a peppery, warm and bitter flavor and a mild fragrance slightly reminiscent of orange and ginger. we also use its leaf for grilling fish also in gulai as it adds aroma to the dish.

Galangal / lengkuas / laos

Galangal is a root of a ginger family plant, it looks almost like ginger only it is harder and more fiberous, slicing it requires a sharp knife. the taste? oh its totaly nothing like ginger, it has a citrusy, piney, earthy aroma, with hints of cedar and soap (saponins) in the flavor; its flavor is a complement to its relative ginger, but galangal has little of the peppery heat that raw ginger has.

Kaffir Lime Leaf / Daun Limau Purut

A very aromatic citrus fragrant, distinctively shaped "double" leaves. used in Tom Yam soup, gulai, sambal, sayur asam...

Indonesian Bay leaf / Daun Salam

Used in Nusantara cookery. Especially great for meat, veges, soups, even rice.

I can't think of anymore spice for me to put here....hmmm....i hope that this is sufficient enough as reference. Also i'd like to informe that all pictures here are not mine, i've 'borrowed' it from several sites and i sincerely hope that the owners don't mind, as i'm using it as 'educational' purpose but if you are unhappy with it, i'll be happy to delete the pictures.

DIY: Planting Your Herbs...

for today post, i thought of writing about planting your own herb ...i've got a reader who is keen on planting her very own herb garden but can't seem to get it grow.

so here's some tips (esp. for those living in Malaysia) on planting your herbs. this tips mostly works on all types of plants/herbs

i got mine a baby rosemarry plant initially bought at coldstorage for i think a mere RM5.90 if i'm not mistaken.i also bought my parsely and basil there..you could probably find some in a nursary, as most of them have at least 5-8 types of herbs that you can purchase.

i suppose buying a baby plant makes things easier (long wait for a bud growing from the seeds can be a bit depressing for me). the tricky part is when you transfer from its original pot.

the tip is that you should be careful not to break its original soil when you try to get it out from the pot. so be gentle.

then wet the rosmarry soil gently keeping in mind not to break the soil. then prepare the bigger pot, fill in the soil half way then wet the soil. make a hole or a space for the plant/rosemarry with its original soil to put in then cover it with soil up to the brim then wet the soil again.

plant like Rosemarry, dill, mint can grow from its stem (batang) so you can cut and plant it again. alot simpler than from its seeds. ;)

for successfully growing rosemary are: Sun, Good Drainage and Good Air Circulation. (well for most plants too excep for thyme, thyme loves cool places)

water it once or twice a day depending on the heat of that day.


For Successful planting:

YOU NEED:

a GOOD pot thats - have large surface and deep, not shallow. plant like mint loves a large surface area for it to grow.

Check your SOIL once in 2 weeks - making sure that the plant's root is not cluttering, meaning that the plant's root should have room to grow if not you need a new pot - bigger and deeper ones.

after a month or two, if your plant seem to be NOT growing, unhappy, again check its roots, if its cluttering, then time to change the pot. and you could trim off the excessive roots with a SHARP knife or scissors.

organic fertelizers works wonders for herbs.

Choosing SOIL - use the mixed partly fertalized soil. it works best for me. plus you don't have to worry about fertalizer for a month.


ahhh~ tip for basil,

this is how basil flower looks like

when it grows, it'll have flowers, and lots of it! you would need to pay more attention to it. the flowers tend to cause the flowered part of the branch to die so you would need to snip it out before it completely matures (turn brown). plus its making the leaves less aromatic and flavorful...somehow...so you don't want that.

Thyme:

this is a fussy plant for us in Malaysia as it loves cool place with a little sunlight. it also loves water. the roots grows very fast and you'll need to check on it frequently.

hmmm...anything else i've missed out?...*paused & pondering* nvm i'll get back when i remember something ^_^

so cilantro hope this will help you start your garden. Thank you for reading.

Crab with salted egg./ ketam masak telur masin

this is a dish that i recently tried and love...i've always love sweet & sour crab and blackpepper crab but crab with salted egg has just made its way to my list of fave food. this dish is also very fragrant due to the curry leaves...although i must say that the style of cooking is almost the same with buttered prawns.

only that this recipe is my tried and error based on my memory of the taste from what i had in a restaurant...but i can safely say that its close enough, my family seem to love it too so...^_^
FRIED CRAB WITH SALTED EGG.

1kg crabs (cleaned and cut into half each)
a couple sprigs of curry leaves
a handfull of peri peri chillies / bird eye chillies - well this is subjective if you don't like it HOT like i do you may just reduce the amount.
2tbsp butter
2 clove chopped garlic.
2-3tsp of sugar
20ml of evaporated milk - plus minus
a pinch of blackpepper
5 salted eggs - (hard boiled)
some corn flour
some cooking oil for deep frying the crabs

first peeled the shell of the salted eggs, then mash it into a breadcrumb consistency and set a side.
coat the crabs with corn flour and then deep fried the crabs. set a side.
then heat butter and fry butter, curry leaves, and chillies until fragrant (carefull so it won't burnt). then add in the salted eggs. stir fry it for a while then add in the evaporated milk, sugar black pepper. stir it and it'll thicken abit then add in the crabs, mix well so that the crabs are well coated with the salted egg sauce. then ready to serve.

NOTE:

notice that i didn't actually add any additional salt? yes its because the salted eggs has already given the savory taste to it but, REMEMBER TO TASTE YOUR FOOD WHEN COOKING! IF ITS BLAND FEEL FREE TO ADD SOME SALT TO TASTE.... its subjective really, i personally don't take much salt in my food (well at least i tried =p ).

above is the buttered prawns. this is no easy dish, the egg yolk is one that make it hard one to make. i rarely get this one right! but that way my lucky day plus i had to use a mighty lots of yolks to get that hair like effect! and i think having high pressured stove helps too...

Authentic Pandan chicken

Pandan Chicken is one of the popular Thai dish aside from the classic 'tom yam' or the 'green curry' infact i think its the most ordered dish in a Thai restaurant. this dish will get our tummy grumbling even when you are still frying it! its tasty and presentable and its sooooo fragrant that it'll arouse your palate.

Although i think that this dish has so many version to it as if as long as its wrapped in a 'pandan leaf' then it'll called pandan chicken. is that so?hmmm...i've seen ones with pandan juice in the marinade, ones that actually use soy sauce and many more variations....but i prefer the more authentic version of it.

ok this recipe was given to me by my Thai friend during my Uni days. I can't remember her full name ( i can't pernounce it either) but we called her Mai. So i'm sharing her family recipe here and she don't mind as long as i 'mention' her heheheh~

ok then...here's what you need

AUTHENTIC PANDAN CHICKEN

some chicken meat (boneless)

blended marinade:

1" of galangal / laos (lengkuas)
1/2" ginger
1/4" tumeric
2clove garlic
2-3 lemon grass
1 tsp coriander seeds/powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/powder
salt to taste
sugar to taste (don't use too much though)

and some pandan leaves and tooth picks for wrapping

cut chicken into strips for easy folding and wrapping.
then mix all ingredients together and let it sit just for a while say about 20 minutes. you don't need to marinade for so long because the spice is rather strong so a mere 20 minutes or less would do.
then you can start wrapping the chicken into a nice little parcels then deep fry them in a med fire until done. you know when its done when you see that the pandan leaf turned almost golden and some caramelized (due to the sugar) chicken bits. then ready to serve as appertizers with thai cili dip or serve it with rice.

NOTE:
Chicken Meat: i personally think that using thigh or drumstic meat is more tasty or you can actually combine both breast and thigh meat together for that soft and hard texture. with this dish, its all about the spice. the Thais love to cook their dish with galangal/laos (lengkuas) its basically their 'must have' ingredient so you know that its one of the most important ingredient then its the lemon grass and coriander seeds with out these ingredients it would taste ......hmmm how shall i put it?...authentic? the amonunt of ingredients is on estimation but the portion of each is about that.

For you whos never tried pandan chicken, the taste is wonderfully spiced savory yet with a hint of sweetness in it due to the sugar and the pandan leafs wraps that had drawn out it essence into the chicken...thinking about this dish already makes me hungry...

homemade chicken nuggets FOR KIDS

i'm actually quite lazy today but i'm expecting my son to come home today (he's been sent away @ grandma's house due to my daughter's "suspected chicken pox" well at least according to the doctor although i'm not sure if it really is) so i have to cook. lately i don't really feel like eating rice (we asian can't live without rice so this is a BIG deal =p ) i wonder why...

anyway...even with my lazy bug, i manage to make a delightfully delicious chicken nuggets, grilled fish (althought its not my choice of fish but its all i have in the fridge sooo lazy to go to the wet market) and chicken soup. but for the purpose of this entry i'll post the nugget recipe and i shall post another for the fish recipe alright?

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NUGGETS FOR KIDS

what you need

2 large chicken breast meat - chopped finely 1 med onion - blended or use pastle & motar a dash of blackpepper (not too much coz kids usually don't like it...well at least mine doesn't) 2 clove of garlic - blended or use pastle & motar 2tbsp breadcrumbs 1/4 sprig of celery - blended or use pastle & motar salt to taste 1tsp olive oil some parmesan cheese

just mix all the ingredients together except for parmesan cheese. mix well. then mold it into any shape you like eg. round, oval, etc... then drizzle/sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and back of the nuggets we don't want to cover everything with it or it'll be too salty so just the front and back. let it rest and chill in the freezer so that it'll be eazier to handle. fry as you would with nuggets. enjoy!

NOTE:
you'd want to chop the chicken meat the old fasion way aka with your trusty knife rather than blend it. reason is so that you have some chicken texture in the nugget.

i blend the seasonings (onion, garlic,celery etc) is so that kid can enjoy without worrying about veges. its subjective you can simply finely chop them if you like.

you may add chopped carrots or some corn for variations.