Kid-friendly Ayam Masak Merah

Pandai2lah sendiri censor ye..

Nothing substantial going on in my life.
Izani and I have been swapping cold germs back and forth. I get better, he gets sick, he gets better, I get sick.

So what does a domestic goddess do when there's nothing else to do?
Why, cook, of course. Everyones gots to eats.

Here's an Ayam Masak Merah (Chicken in Red Sauce) dish that my kids will eat, because it's not spicy. It's actually based on Cikgu Munah's (my mom in law) recipe, which is usually quite spicy. I modified it so that it is agreeable to my kids' (and their father's) sensitive palate (and their father's stomach).
You can adjust the spiciness by reducing/increasing the amount of chillies you use. Somehow omitting it altogether will make the dish lose it's kick, it's Masak-Merah-ness...

Kid-Friendly Ayam Masak Merah

Ground:
2 red chillies (dried or fresh)
1/2 medium onion
1 garlic pip

Slice thinly:
5 shallots
2 garlic pips
1/2 inch ginger

135grams tomato paste (it doesnt have to be exact, I used an entire small box)
1kg chicken (cut into manageable pieces, rubbed with a little salt)
1 cup chicken stock (or 2 chicken stock cubes dissolved in 1 cup water)
sugar, salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion (cut into rings)

Method:
In about 4 tablespoons of cooking oil, saute the thinly sliced ingredients till almost brown. Add the ground ingredients and fry till fragrant. Add in the tomato paste with a little bit of water, stir to mix. Let simmer covered, stirring ocassionally till the paste seperates from the oil. Pour in the chicken stock, stir to mix well.
Slide in the chicken pieces and add water just enough to cover the chicken. Let simmer till chicken is cooked. Add more water if you want more sauce. Season with sugar, salt and pepper to taste. The sugar should make the tomato less acidic, and would give the sauce a nice sheen.
Turn off the heat, add the onion rings and let wilt.

I think i used too much oil in mine...

I didn't garnish mine with anything, but you could, to make it look more professional, use chopped cilantro, fried crispy shallot slices, roasted cashews, raisins or even peas.
This dish goes well with white rice, or tomato rice (which I made to go with the dish, thanx to lollies' recipe over YM) or even briyani.
I also made Pajeri Nenas (Pineapples in thick spice sauce) to accompany this, so that it seems more 'kenduri kahwin'-like. But we'll save that recipe for tomorrow lah ye?

Note to non-Malaysians: Tomato Rice, Ayam Masak Merah and Pajeri Nenas are dishes normally served at Malay wedding receptions.

Easy Peasy Fried Meehon

Meehon: thin rice noodles.
Not the flat ones, which we call kuey teow. Not the fat ones, which we call laksa. Not glass noodles, which we call soo-hoon. And definitely, definitely not the mung bean ones.

I know what I just said.
Had an iftar gathering with the melayus yesterday. YMed G and asked her whether I should make cupcakes or fry meehoon. She suggested the latter.
Since I got to prepare this way much earlier than I would prepare my usual iftar meals, I had time to take a picture before it got packed up to the gathering.

The basic bumbu (errr.. sauce? gravy? flavouring?) for this fried meehon was discovered in Mesra.net. It's fairly simple and very tasty. After sauteing the bumbu, you can actually add almost anything you like.
You can use meats or seafood, or even make it vegetarion or leave it plain.
You can add soy sauce or tomato sauce or even just clear stock, depending on what color you want the result to be. (Dark Soy sauce results in brown/black meehon. Tomato gives it a reddish tint. Clear stock will result in white fried meehon, often referred to as 'Singapore Meehoon')
You can add as little or as much vegetables as you want. Thinly sliced carrots or cabbages usually works. Spinach or bakchoy also works. Some people prefer beansprouts.
Finally, you can garnish it with whatever you like. I had used thinly sliced omelletes. Some people would garnish with crispy fried shallots, chopped parsley, cilantro or spring onions.. up to your liking lah.

Easy Peasy Fried Meehoon

Pound or blend:
2-3 dried or fresh chillies (to your liking, can be totally omitted if you're making the singapore version)
5 shallots
2 garlic pips
a handful of dried shrimps or anchovies

5 shallots, 2 garlic pips thinly sliced
4-5 tablespoons tomato paste (or your sauce/stock of choice)
100grams chicken meat, cubed
1 carrot, sliced into thin strips
salt, pepper and sugar to taste

1 packet of meehon, softened by soaking in hot water for at least an hour.

Method:
Saute thinly sliced shallots and garlic in a little bit of oil. Once it shows signs of browning, add in the pounded ingredients, fry till fragrant. Add the tomato paste with a little bit of water and let it simmer till the oil rises to the top. Add the meat. Once the meat is cooked, add some water so that it forms a little bit of sauce. Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste (personally, I like my fried meehoon slightly sweet). Add the softened meehoon bit by bit, making sure it soaks up and incorporates the sauce well. Add in the carrots.
Taste again and season if necessary.
Serve hot or cold, with your favourite garnish.

Gone in 60minutes

Jangan marah ya...

jeeeezus and the news

I dont really like to blog while I'm not thinking straight, but I've got to get this out of my head. So bear with my rambling.

I was watching scarb0rough country the other day and joe brought up a good topic. He mentioned that networks have double standard when it comes to religious figures. It's okay if South Park drew the likeness of Jesus and have him run around with a machine gun shooting people, but the network won't even allow them to show the likeness of the prophet Muhammad, for the fear of offending the muslims.
I was thinking, maybe it's the same case with americans being offended by ch@vez going to the UN and calling bush a devil, even though many americans have been calling dubya that for years now. It's a case of "I can beat up my own family, but you are not allowed to".
If christians (who own most of the english media , i am assuming) want to make fun of Jesus, than muslims won't protest. But if a Muslim makes fun of Jesus, I'm sure the christians would be equally angry.
Would Christians be rallying in the streets and burning muslim effigies? I don't know, coz I don't think that has ever happened before. But that is also a good question to ponder.
But what also bothers me is, Muslims believe in Jesus. We believe that Jesus is also a prophet, a messenger of God, just like Moses. So why aren't muslim's as offended when Jesus is made fun of? Isnt that a double standard?

In other news,
I can't do my laundry without thinking about those kids. Everytime I shove clothes into my washer or dryer, I think about how they were shoved into there.
That MsHall is definitely crazy, but I think she shouldnt be allowed to use the insanity plea. I think she should get life or death. She is sick sick sick.
It breaks my heart just thinking about it.

whats with the increase in the cases of missing babies lately? or have i been watching too much american news? i think i better cut down. it's making me depressed.

on a lighter note:
you wont find food pictures here coz usually they go straight from the stove to the table and into the mouths... i dont have the luxury nor opportunity to take pictures anymore.
but if it makes you feel better, yesterday i made chicken rice with roast chicken.
*grin*

i, k, aaaahhhh

There's just something about IKE@ that makes me feel at home.
It's not that I am crazy about the furniture.. it's just that the moment I stepped into the store, I forgot I was in S@udi.
It looked the same, it smelled the same.. even the workers are Banglas, just like the store in Mal@ysia.
For the entire moment I was there, I could've been magically transported to Damansara for all I know. The only indication that I was in an ar@b country was that instead of hotdogs and currypuffs, the snack bar sold shawarmas for one riyal, and the meatballs had a hint of cumin.
Perhaps the company I was with also helped in making me less like I was in a foreign country. After Zura was done looking at the furniture she intended to buy, we walked together browsing the downstairs marketplace, chit-chatting about this and that, in Malay. Our shrieks and giggles as we reminisced our schooldays among hung rag carpets and rattan baskets must have echoed throughout the store.

I went to IKE@ with only two things on my shopping list: a wooden dish rack to put my pot lids on, and a cork notice board for the kids' bedroom.
I came out with: 2 boxes of 6sets of 4 piece cutlery, the holey metal thingy that holds the cutleries, 2 decorative bowls, 3 cardboard boxes to put the kids' schoolwork in, a 25riyal non-stick wok, and Taufik couldnt resist getting 2 IVAR shelf units for our store room (I think he's addicted to the chemicals they spray on the pine .. coz I could see how the trolley that previously looked like it wasnt rolling fast enough through the 'other stuff', started to slow down and veer towards those metal shelves holding the stacked up pine).

Anyways.. so we had a good time. Thanx to Sunflora who showed us the way.
Traffic was a killer though. That was the other thing that made me feel like I was back in KL.

p/s Happy fasting everyone!!
p/p/s Happy Belated Birthday Tengku Aliya Tengku Saiffuddin!!!

travelling plans

Okay, here's what I have to look forward to in the future, near and far:

Near future:
Travel to riyadh to meet my long lost friend and a new found friend.
Go to IKEA!!!! yayayyyyy!!
Come back and prepare for Ramadhan.
(I feel the need to note that I am no longer pregnant therefore supposedly will not suffer any more cravings, therefore I shouldnt torture you with pictures and recipes this year.... but I can't guarantee that. )

Far future (like end of the year):
A trip back home. To Alor Setar, laze around the dusun (read: watch my husband mencangkul) and visit that side of the family.
Hanging out with my mom.
eat eat eat eat and more eating.
A girl's day out (MUSTI!).
blogger's gathering? ada ker?
a pot luck gathering with Taufik's school friends at my house.
and the thing I'm most excited about .... a trip to JAKARTA!!!! yay yay yayyyyy!!


ok.. erm.. that's it.
no mood to write lah today. i just cooked a huge pot of sambal udang kering (shimp floss) , just spent some time searching for and money on airline tickets, now i have izani on my lap.
have to prepare for the trip to riyadh summore.
till nx week!

okay, go

I was flipping through the TV channels yesterday, when a music video caught my eye.
4 guys on threadmills.
Dancing.
They look like backstreet boys meets electrical appliance salesmen, gone wrong.
The tune is not bad, actually.
and even the dancing is not bad. I was quite mesmerised..
This morning I was checking to see if one of my favourite shows *cough*antm*cough* is on, when they showed them again in 'double shot' and this time I caught another video of them, dancing in the backyard.
bizzare, yet, again, very mesmerizing.

They are called OK GO.

See them for yourself:

"Here It Goes Again" by OK Go




So, were you as mesmerised as me?

By the way, has anyone bought the latest offering from Audioslave? buy or not buy? That Original Fire song is really driving me nuts.

Easy Peasy No-bake Cheesecake

Firstly, let me explain myself:
I like cheesecakes that are not too sweet, nor too cheesy. For me, the perfect cheesecake has just a tinge of cheesiness to it, with a more creamy flavour. I also prefer the soft and fluffy cheesecake, as opposed to the dense kind. My cheesecake has to have a crunchy crust, instead of a cake base (more often than not, cake based cheesecakes are half-cake and only half cheese, which turns me off). To me, a good cheesecake need not have a topping, but I do not mind them. Toppings on a plain cheesecake do make it look prettier and more delectable.
Thus my preference for no-bake cheesecakes as opposed to baked ones, which are usually dense and cheesy.

I have extensively searched for no-bake cheesecake recipes, and believe me, there are a lot out there. Most often than not, the recipe requires the use of gelatine. I had found one that did not use gelatine, but it employs condensed milk and lots of it, which led to my fear that it might be too sweet. So I braved myself and started experimenting with gelatine and came up with this recipe. I’m sure you will find recipes similar to mine in the tripledoubleyou. Mine is the very basic, and later on I will give suggestions on how to make different types of cheesecakes by varying the ingredients.

Easy Peasy No-Bake Cheesecake

Crust:
15 pieces McVite’s Digestives cookies
2 or 3 tablespoons of softened butter
Filling:
250ml whipping cream
200grams Philly cream cheese
3 tablespoons icing sugar*
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
enough gelatine to set 250ml of water, dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons water.

Method:
Crust - Put waxed paper (or aluminum foil) at the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan (this makes the removal of the cheesecake easier later on). Finely crush the cookies and mix well with the softened butter till it forms a crumble like consistency (add more butter if necessary). Press into the springform pan, going up the sides for about 1.5 inches. Store in freezer for at least 10 minutes.
Cheese filling – Soften cream cheese to room temperature, dredge with fork to separate (this makes it mix with cream faster). Prepare gelatine**, let cool to room temperature. Whip the cream till soft peaks form. Add in the cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla essence and gelatine and whip till thoroughly mixed (You don’t see lumps of cheese anymore). Pour into prepared crust. Chill in your fridge for at least 3 hours, but overnight is best.
Once the cheese is set, you can take it out of the springform pan and put on your preferred topping, if you like.

The result is a light, fluffy, creamy yet not wobbly cheesecake with a buttery, crunchy crust. I had put peaches on mine, but it was good even without any kind of topping.

Suggestions for Variations:
. Instead of Digestives, use any other kind of cookies, like graham crackers or maybe even Cream Crackers ( if you like your crust to be not so sweet and sinful).
. Use cereal, half crushed and half not, as the crust.
. I had made a crust using them chocolate balls cereal plus crushed almonds before and it turned out yummeh..!
. Vary the portion of cream and cheese to get a creamier or cheesier filling. Add more sugar if you like it sweeter.
. Add lemon zest or essence to get that lemony flavour. (me no likey)
. Add cocoa powder + sugar to make a chocolate cheesecake. Add more cocoa for darker chocolate. Fold in chopped chocolates to give it some bite.
. Add pureed fruits (strawberries, raspberries, etc) to make a fruity cheesecake.
. Divide the filling into three, add cocoa in one, add vanilla in the other and add pureed strawberries (or red coloring) in the last. Chill each filling in layers (30 minutes each) and you’d get a neopolitan (sp?) cheesecake!
. Fold in crushed oreos to make oreo cheesecake (adjust amount of sugar accordingly). Use finely crushed oreos as the crust.

The possibilities are endless, and it’s all up to you to make it delicious!

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* I used icing sugar because it incorporates into the cream+cheese mixture more easily.
** How to prepare gelatine:
Read the instructions on the packet to determine how much you need to set 250ml water. Mix that amount with 2 or 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl, let sit for a few minutes to soften. Warm a pan of water over medium heat, sit the small bowl of gelatine in it and stir to thoroughly dissolve all the gelatine. Once it is thoroughly dissolved, set aside to cool.



No oven required!! Happy Trying! :D

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The L0st C0lony

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, (Ladies and Gentlemen)

The fifth book in the artem1s f0wl series is out!!
It had been released in Uk for over a month now, but I only knew about it when my kids brought home a Baker Books Book Club magazine from school.
It is listed at 10pounds in the magazine, but in the pupil order form, it is listed as 90 s@udi riyals!!
dayummmmm
I think I'll wait for the paperback , and buy it in MPH when I go back home. The most it'll set me back is RM30.

ooohhh can't wait can't wait....
but since I am cheap, I have to practice patience.

.


hm.. "Eoin Taufik" doesnt sound so bad, eh?


------------------

all mixed up

Updated on Izani's progress

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I understood what the p0pe was trying to get to in his speech, but I really did not get why he had to use that particular quote. A quote that came not from a muslim perspective about the muslim concept of holy war. Surely he could've researched for a better quote. With all the resources that he has, surely he could have found that the concept of reason is as much an islamic idea as it is greek.
If he had really wanted to promote inter-religious discussion and understanding, wouldn't it be prudent to use a quote that would do just that?
I am saddened that he had decided to use something that could so easily be misconstrued as malicious and insulting, but then again I am not going to go around screaming bloody murder and burning effigies and flags because of it.
Damn.. some people need to go through anger management course, en masse.
The p0pe, is, afterall, human, and are allowed to make mistakes and be forgiven for it.
Can't people just chill... ?

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Happy Birthday TDB a.k.a. The one who Does not Blog a.k.a. "mega-babe" a.k.a mommy arif!
I tried calling home and it was engaged, I called her handphone and I got the voicemail (which has a greeting that is so slow and drawn out that I decided not to leave a message).
Anyways, hope you had a good birthday celebration.

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Did i tell you that my kids have started swimming lessons?
At first we signed up all three of them. But then Anis kept complaining to the instructor during lessons. "It's too cold", "I want to go to the toilet", "Come closer, don't go so far", "I am scared.."
So taufik took her out of the class and will try to teach her himself.
Ilham can now swim halfway through the width of the adult's pool.
Ihsan.. keeps gulping water. But he's getting braver.

---

.

Coming up in a few days... no bake cheesecake recipe!


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the silver lining

This morning Taufik received an SMS on his handphone.
"Taufik, my name is Axxxx. I am looking for Elisa's number. I just arrived in riy@dh 5 days ago, would like to contact her please"
When Taufik showed it to me, my first thoughts were "Axxxx?? Which Axxxx??".

So I gave her a call and tried to figure out her face by listening to her voice.
No idea which one, but she sounded very very very friendly, as if she had known me for a long time.
Then I asked her where she got my number, and she explained how she called Baber before she left, and Baber gave her Buck's number and Buck gave her Taufik's number.
In my head I went "oh. my. god!!! Axxxx Yusuf!!!!"
We chatted for only a bit coz she was in the middle of registering her children for school, but she promised to call me back later in the afternoon.
After putting down the phone, I was reeling with excitement and shock!!

Axxxx was my roomate in high school when I was 14 or 15 (or was it 14 *and* 15, i can't remember). She's a very chatty person and we shared a lot of stories between us. I also found her to be a really funny. She never fails to make me laugh. The last time I saw her was when I left high school in 1988, so that means I have not met her for 18 years!

So anyways..
She called me back in the evening and we chatted some more, gave each other updates on our lives.
Then i told her that yesterday (after I wrote travelling twarthed), Taufik told me that the embassy informed him that Izani's passport has arrived , so we can go and pick it up anytime. Before I could tell her that Taufik wanted to drive to Riy@dh alone, she said "ehhhhhhh datang duduk lah rumah I!!!!" (come stay at my house!!). It just so happens that she is living in the Diplomatic Quarters, only a few minutes drive to the embassy!
I couldnt believe my luck!
We might be going to Riy@dh next weekend afterall, and I'm going to be able to meet an old friend!
This deserves a huge "YAY!!!!!!" :D

All we need to do now is ask the embassy whether we can pick up the passport over the weekend (at the officer's house or something), then plan for the trip.

so Kim, you were right ... there *is* a blessing hidden in what was initially seen as bad luck!! If I had gotten the passport earlier, i would have had no excuse to go see my friend!
tee hee... !

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YAY for luk@s r0ssi!!!!
i hope he learns how to properly enunciate the lyrics though.

Travelled Thwarthed

dammit
:@

Taufik called Putr@jaya and found out that Izani's passport is ready, it's just waiting to travel with the diplomatic docket.
There should be a "yay" somewhere here right?

[ whine ]
It's not here yet. When it does arrive here, we'd get a call from the embassy in Riy@dh, and we'd have to drive there to pick it up.
It doesnt stop there.
When we get the passport, we have to submit it to the immigration department here so that Izani can be included into Taufik's visa and we need to get a multiple entry visa for him before we can travel anywhere. I think that takes about a week?
On top of that, we just found out that currently, our car does not have permission to travel to other countries besides Bahr@in. We need to make another application to be able to travel to other countries.

So my plan to go to Qat@r next weekend has basically, fallen through into a big gaping sh*t hole.
arrrggghhhhhhh
[ /whine ]

So maybe next weekend we'd make a trip to Riy@dh instead. Or maybe not. Maybe Taufik will drive alone, just for the day. We havent decided.
Taufik is working to get the permission for our car to travel anywhere in the Gulf countries (GCC). Hopefully we get it before Syawal, so that we can still keep our plan for a roadtrip to Om@n.

.

So lollies, maybe we'll see you in October, eh?
It'd be cooler then, so maybe that is the blessing.. :)

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mama's got new shoes

City Plaza Summer Clearance Sale.
With a SR25 gift voucher, got it at a bargain.

.

I think dory, shoe shopper extraordinaire, would approve.


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Easy Peasy Fish Sandwich

For a site that has a toaster on its logo, I don't post many sandwich recipes, do I?
Well, today's your lucky day, coz I made a sandwich for lunch, and it looked good enough to .. post, then eat.

It's not even a real recipe, coz I just used stuff bought at the frozen section of the grocery store, fried them up and put them together.
The only real 'recipe' is probably for the coleslaw.

Easy Peasy Fish Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 pieces of bread, toasted to your liking
a few pieces of frozen fish filet, fried per instructions
a slice of cheese (any type you like)
Shredded lettuce
finely sliced carrots
mayonaise or your favourite salad dressing (I used a mixture of mayo and ranch)
salt n pepper to taste

Method:
In a bowl, mix together the lettuce, carrots and mayo/salad dressing with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.
Construct the sandwich by putting cheese and then the fried fish fillet on a piece of toast. Top everything with the coleslaw, cover with another piece of toast.
Serve with a side of fries.

Preparation time: 20 minutes, tops! (long enough for izani to take a nap)

heh heh..
I think even nutty a person who claims they can't cook can pull this off!

I had this with a mug of milo+oats, while watching re-runs of the Crocodile Hunter.

.

yummy yummy yummy i've got a fish in my tummy...

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Easy Peasy Banana Chocolate Pavlova

Since I can’t expect anyone to bake a cake for my birthday, I had baked my own. Staying true to my current obsession, I decided to make a pavlova. And since I am me, it HAD to be chocolate, of course.

The original recipe is from nigella.com, I had modified it a bit to make it smaller and less sweet.
Furthermore, my husband bought a regular milk chocolate bar instead of the dark chocolate bar I asked him to.
The original recipe also used raspberries, which I don’t have in abundance, so I used what I had, which were bananas.

When my husband got home from work, I discovered that he had stopped by the grocery store on his way home and picked up a chocolate cake for me...
How sweet of him... but I now have 2 desserts to eat!!! (Luckily, I will be fasting for the next few days, which I hope, will help burn those extra calories..)

Banana Chocolate Pavlova

meringue:
4 egg whites
a pinch of salt
150grams castor sugar
1 teaspoon of white vinegar
1 heaped tablespoon of cocoa powder, sieved
47 gram chocolate bar chopped
topping:
300ml of thick cream or 250ml whipping cream, whipped till stiff
2 bananas, sliced into discs.

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 400deg Farenhite. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spray with non stick cooking spray.
In a big bowl, whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt till satiny peaks form. Add sugar bit by bit and finally vinegar, whipping in between, till stiff peaks form. Sprinkle cocoa powder and chocolate chunks, gently fold till cocoa is thoroughly incorporated.
Pile the meringue mixture in the middle of the lined cookie sheet in a circle, smoothing the sides.
Place into the middle of the oven. Reduce temperature to 250deg Farenhite immediately. Bake undisturbed for one and a half hours. Turn off oven, leave door ajar and let meringue cool completely.

Turn meringue upside down onto a plate, top with cream and sliced bananas.

I had used thick cream instead of whipped cream, and I just slapped it on straight from the box instead of whipping it up a bit, because I'm lazy. I think using whipped cream would've definitely made it look prettier. The next time I make this, I will make a smaller circle and pile the meringue on higher so that I get a thicker meringue. The original recipe also required you to sprinkle shaved chocolate on top, but heh, i'm not that sophisticated.

Verdict:
This was YUMMEH!! :D
The chopped chocolates gave the pavlova heavenly bits of gooey goodness, and the bananas went really well with the chocolate.
This version was definitely less sweet than the original pavlova, perhaps due to the addition of the cocoa powder. And even with less sugar, the crust was still crunchy!
I think you would definitely prefer this, PB.

A little note:
Make sure you gently fold the cocoa in to retain the volume of the whipped egg whites. The first time I made this, I used my mixer to mix the cocoa powder in and it made the meringue fall flat. The meringue didnt stand when piled on the cookie sheet, it just spread out like a pancake! It's not a total disaster though, coz I went ahead and baked it as instructed, and what came out of the oven was something like a brownie, without flour. Very interesting. :laugh:


.


Long Live Chocolate Makers and Cocoa Growers all over the world!


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Today, the 5th day of the 9th Month of the year

Taken from wikipedia.

September 5 is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years). There are 117 days remaining.

Events
1666 - Great Fire of London ends: A large fire in London burns out after three days. 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral are destroyed, but only 16 people are known to have died.
1698 - In an effort to move his people away from archaic customs, Tsar Peter I of Russia imposes a tax on beards; All men, except priests and peasants, are required to pay the tax of one hundred rubles a year for those above the lowest class, one kopek each for commoners.
1774 - First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1793 - In France, the French National Convention votes to implement terror measures to enforce the principles of the French Revolution, initiating the Reign of Terror.
1836 - Sam Houston is elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas.
1862 - American Civil War: In the Confederacy's first invasion of the North, General Robert E. Lee leads 55,000 men of the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River at White's Ford near Leesburg, Virginia, into Maryland.
1877 - Indian Wars: Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse is bayoneted by a United States soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson in Nebraska.
1882 - The first United States Labor Day parade is held in New York City.
1901 - The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (later renamed Minor League Baseball), is formed in Chicago, Illinois.
1905 - Russo-Japanese War: In New Hampshire, USA, the Treaty of Portsmouth, a treaty mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt, is signed by victor Japan and defeated party Russia.
1906 - Brandbury Robinson throws the first legal forward pass in an American football game.
1914 - World War I: First Battle of the Marne begins. Northeast of Paris, the French attack and defeat German forces who are advancing on the capital.
1937 - Spanish Civil War: The fall of Llanes.
1939 - World War II: The United States declares its neutrality in the war.
1943 - World War II: The 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment under U.S. General Douglas MacArthur lands and occupies Nazdab in Papua New Guinea.
1945 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino, a Japanese-American suspected of being wartime radio propagandist Tokyo Rose, is arrested in Yokohama.
1948 - Robert Schuman becomes Prime Minister of France.
1949 - A former sharpshooter in World War II, Howard Unruh kills 13 neighbors in Camden, New Jersey, with a souvenir Luger to become the first U.S. single-episode mass murderer.
1960 - Cassius Clay wins the gold medal in boxing at the Rome Olympic Games.
1969 - My Lai Massacre: U.S. Army Lt. William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder for the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai.
1970 - Vietnam War: Operation Jefferson Glenn begins: the United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thua Thien province.
1972 - Munich Massacre: A Palestinian terrorist group called "Black September" attack Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games.
1975 - In Sacramento, California, a follower of incarcerated cult leader Charles Manson named Lynette Fromme attempts to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is thwarted by a Secret Service agent.
1977 - Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay.
1977 - Hanns Martin Schleyer, President of the Employers Association, is kidnapped in Cologne, West Germany. Kidnappers kill three escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demand release of Red Army Faction prisoners
1978 - Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace process at Camp David, Maryland.
1980 - The St. Gotthard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.224 km) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.
1983 - Tom Brokaw becomes lead anchor for NBC Nightly News
1984 - STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery lands after its maiden voyage.
1984 - Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment.
1986 - Pan Am Flight 73 with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport.
1988 - With US$2 billion in federal aid, the Robert M. Bass Group agrees to buy the United States's largest bankrupt thrift, American Savings and Loan Association.
1997 - At least 87 people killed in the Beni-Messous massacre
2000 - Tuvalu joins the United Nations.
2001 - Peru's attorney general files homicide charges against ex-President Alberto Fujimori.
2001 - Young Left formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
2002 - A car bomb kills 30 people in Kabul, Afghanistan, in an apparent assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
2002 - The Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, United States, which burned 499,570 acres (2,020 km²), is finally contained.
2004 - Tropical Storm Ivan becomes Hurricane Ivan in the Atlantic Ocean.
2004 - Hurricane Frances makes landfall at 1 a.m. in Sewell's Point, Florida.

Births
1187 - King Louis VIII of France (d. 1226)
1494 - Hans Sachs, German Meistersinger (d. 1576)
1568 - Tommaso Campanella, Italian theologian, philosopher, and poet (d. 1639)
1638 - Louis XIV of France (d. 1715)
1667 - Giovanni Gerolamo Saccheri, Italian mathematician (d. 1733)
1695 - Carl Gustaf Tessin, Swedish politician (d. 1770)
1722 - Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony (d. 1763)
1725 - Jean-Étienne Montucla, French mathematician (d. 1799)
1735 - Johann Christian Bach, German composer (d. 1782)
1750 - Robert Fergusson, Scottish poet (d. 1774)
1771 - Archduke Charles of Austria, Austrian general (d. 1847)
1774 - Caspar David Friedrich, German artist (d. 1840)
1787 - François Sulpice Beudant, French mineralogist and geologist (d. 1850)
1791 - Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (d. 1864)
1806 - Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière, French general (d. 1865)
1807 - Richard Chenevix Trench, Irish Anglican clergyman and philologist (d. 1886)
1827 - Goffredo Mameli, Italian poet and writer
1847 - Jesse James, American outlaw (d. 1882)
1857 - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian rocket scientist and inventor (d. 1935)
1867 - Amy Beach, American composer and pianist (d. 1944)
1874 - Nap Lajoie, baseball player (d. 1959)
1876 - Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (d. 1956)
1888 - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, second President of India (d. 1975)
1892 - Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (d. 1973)
1902 - Darryl F. Zanuck, American film producer and executive (d. 1979)
1905 - Arthur Koestler, Hungarian writer (d. 1983)
1912 - John Cage, American composer (d. 1992)
1912 - Kristina Söderbaum, German actress and photographer (d. 2001)
1913 - Frank Thomas, American animator (d. 2004)
1916 - Frank Yerby, American novelist (d. 1991)
1921 - Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive
1927 - Paul Volcker, American banker
1929 - Bob Newhart, American actor and comedian
1929 - Andrian Nikolayev, cosmonaut
1934 - Carol Lawrence, American actress and singer
1936 - Bill Mazeroski, baseball player
1937 - Antonio Valentin Angelillo, Argentinian football player
1939 - William Devane, American actor
1939 - George Lazenby, Australian actor
1940 - Raquel Welch, American actress
1942 - Werner Herzog, German film director
1945 - Al Stewart, Scottish singer and songwriter
1946 - Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born singer Queen (d. 1991)
1946 - Buddy Miles, American musician
1946 - Loudon Wainwright III, American singer and composer
1948 - Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian diplomat and politician
1950 - Cathy Guisewite, American cartoonist
1950 - Paul William Roberts, Canadian writer
1956 - Roine Stolt, Swedish guitarist (The Flower Kings)
1961 - Marc-André Hamelin, French Canadian classical pianist
1962 - Peter Wingfield, Welsh actor
1963 - Juan Alderete, American bassist (Racer X)
1963 - Jeff Brantley, Baseball player
1967 - Jane Sixsmith, English field hockey player
1969 - Dweezil Zappa, American musician
1969 - Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo, Brazilian football player
1971 - Tengku Elisa Bustaman, Malaysian Domestic Goddess, raiser of future leaders of the world.
1973 - Rose McGowan, Italian-born actress
1974 - Derek Neikirk, American professional wrestler
1975 - Rod Barajas, baseball player
1976 - Tatyana Gutsu, Ukrainian gymnast
1978 - Chris Jack, New Zealand rugby union player
1979 - George O'Callaghan, Irish professional football player
1979 - John Carew, Norwegian football player
1991 - Skandar Keynes, English actor

Hey hey today is freddy mercury's birthday!! :D

p/s Thankyou for all the good wishes!

a little bit of this, a little bit of that...

now what was the name of that song?

Here's a picture of Anis in her school dress, all pooped out on the carpet at my front door when she got home from school.

It's still really hot nowadays, so by the time i pick her up from the school gate, and we walk to the bus, and we wait for the other kids, and then wait for the bus to move, she'd be asleep in her seat. When we wake her up when we reach home, she'd be all cranky.. that's why she has that no-mood expression on her.

But now we have a new excuse to cheer her up:



We bought her a bicycle!!!
Prior to this, only Ilham and Ihsan have bicycles. So, every time the kids go out and play, the boys would be riding their bikes and poor anis has to jog after them.
So we decided to get her a bicycle so that she can keep up with her brothers. Saturday was her first day on the bike. I told Ilham to look out for her, so he made her ride in front of him so that he could follow her.
Ilham came home complaining that she pedals too slow. Anis came home complaining that she still gets left behind.
So yesterday we made her practice pedalling in front of our house while the boys play football.
We'll see how things go this afternoon.

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in other news...

Did you hear that Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, died?
He got stung by a stingray while filming an underwater scene for a show.
wow. I didnt know you could die from a ray's sting.

Another oz-related thingy,
I am currently reading Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky. It's about Tiffany, a young girl who goes away from home to study witchcraft.
Somehow reading it made me think of nutty.
Not that Tiffany is waking up late and missing classes as well (heh heh jangan marah ya dik... ), it's that she's far away from home, pursuing her dream, meeting all sorts of people that she does/doesn't like. Her feelings, her perception, the way she handles herself.. just reminds me of our young friend in down-undah.
But then Tifanny is currently being possesed by a parasite mind controlling thingy that turns her into a foul mood.. i hope that doesnt happen to nutty (who happens to be in a dodgy mood lately too *hugs*).

A non oz-related thingy,
I received extremely good news this week.
There was a friend who have been missing for months. I was worried sick of what could've happened to him. I dug out my email inbox and found an email he wrote me about a year ago and decided to give it a shot and ask him if he was okay. I psyched myself up to face a bounced "user does not exist" email.
Alhamdulillah, my email didn't bounce. He replied, telling me he's okay.
He's just not blogging for a while due to personal reasons. I respect his decision. I wish him well, but I really really miss reading his writings.

On a personal note,
I am fasting this week and the whole of next week. Ramadhan is looming and I still haven't completed replacing the fasting days I missed last year.
I've never fasted while breastfeeding before, so it's kinda tough. I make sure I have a good sahur (the pre-dawn meal): rice with the works, a mug of chocolate milk with oats, at least one kurma (date) and I take all my vitamins. But still, towards the evening, Izani would get really cranky on me, like he's not getting enough. I tried giving him the bottle, but he'd only take it if his dad gives it to him. He knows what he's supposed to get when he's with me I guess. I am trying my best.


.


have a good week, everyone..

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