My Laptop LCD Screen Had A Black Out.....

Yesterday....the lcd screen on my more than two years old laptop...suddenly fail to open its window....it is fill with distorted lines that render me helpless with no way of putting myself connected....my IT smart son had gone to sleep....so when my son came back from work today...he check on it and told me the lcd screen is having problem and i might have to replace it...so my dear readers...i might be doing less blogging...when i sent my laptop for repairs this Monday....hopefully i can get it repair by next week....

If i can manage to get hold of son's computer....like what i'm doing now...i might get connected to all of you....

The Making Of Colourful Tapioca Cubes..........

The above is a slide show of the making of tapioca cubes.........i would like to share it with my fellow readers.........

To made these tapioca cubes.....you have to pour 120ml of hot boiling water into 180 g of tapioca flour in a bowl......mix it quickly with a metal spoon....then place it on a work surface to knead it while it is still warm....til soft and smooth...divide into 3 or 4 portions.....add colouring and mix well.....roll out into thin strips on a lightly floured surface....cut into diamond shaped cubes.....put into a pot of boiling water to cook til it rise to the surface.....scoop out with a perforated ladle and put them in a bowl of ice cold water to prevent it from sticking together.....drained and served it with bubur cha cha.............

Passion Fruit and Banana Soufflés.......

Reading the Star paper today....i come across an article on the secrets of making great ...soufflé...click here for some lovely soufflés recipes from Amy Beh.......and it also reminds me of sharing my son's passion fruit and banana soufflés recipe that he made on valentines day...........here it is......

Cream Base:

150ml milk

100ml thick cream

15g plain flour

10g cornflour

3 large egg yolks

50g castor sugar

Heat milk and cream in pan..til almost boiling...sift flour and cornflour tog....beat egg yolks and sugar tog in large bowl.....then mix in flour...add a splash of hot creamy milk and whisk well til mixture is smooth...then gradually mix in the rest of the milk...pour back into pan and whisk over medium low heat for 3 to 5 mins til thicken and smooth...transfer to a bowl..cover and cool to room temperature...stirring occasionally to prevent skin forming.

Soufflé:

4 ripe passion fruit

1 banana- 100g-peeled

squeeze of lemon juice

2 tbsp banana liqueur (optional)

20g melted butter for brushing

50g castor sugar,plus extra for dusting

2 large egg whites

icing sugar for decoration

Halve passion fruit...scoop out seeds and juice into a sieve set over a bowl...press to extract juice and pour into blender...break the banana into pieces and add into blender with the lemon juice...whiz til smooth...then add the mixture to cream base and set aside....

Heat oven to 190 degree C...brush 6 to 8 ramekin cups...with a generous layer of melted butter...coat the inside with castor sugar and chill to set.

use the upward stroke ...when brushing with a thin layer of butter...

ramekin coated with castor sugar.....to be chill before using....

When ready to serve...whisk the egg white in a clean bowl...to firm peaks...then gradually whisk in the castor sugar...a spoonful at a time...to make a firm glossy meringue...whisk a third of the meringue into the cream base...then very carefully fold in the rest...using a metal spoon.

Divide the soufflés mix among the ramekin cups...and tap on the table to level the mixture...smooth the top with a palette knife and run the knife around edge

to help it rise evenly....put ramekins on a wide baking tray and bake for 10 to 15 mins til well risen and lightly golden on top....dust with icing sugar and serve at once.

the nicely risen soufflés just right out of the oven........

Classic Steak with Bearnaise Sauce.........

Yesterday my son H cooked a bearnaise sauce to go with his steak and served it with oven baked potato chips and rockets salad with parmesan shavings.......

Bearnaise sauce is actually a sauce of butter and egg yolks that is flavoured with shallots...tarragon....chervil....cooked in white wine vinegar......it goes well with all grilled meat.....here r some pics i took while he cooks....

cooking the chopped shallot..(1 no )and chopped tarragon in 2 tabs of white wine vinegar and 2 tabs of white wine....reduce to 1/3 of its liquid........strained and leave aside to cool.....

add egg yolks....(3 nos)... to cooled vinegar mixture and whisk well with a balloon whisk......

melted and cooled butter.................... 125 gms

continue whisking the egg yolk mixture over a pan of simmering water while gradually pouring in the melted butter til the sauce thickens and smooth......

the cooked bearnaise sauce looks like this...............

seasoning the steaks with sea salt and black pepper before grilling it in a hot pan til medium rare or well done.......see the two portions ? one is for his lucky brother.........i do not really like steaks......i only eat the chips and salads.....

son preparing the potatoes.....by dipping it in peanut oil ....and placing it in baking pan.....sprinkle it with salt and pepper before going into a hot oven to bake til cook..............

the delicious homecook steak with bearnaise sauce ready to be served...............

A Tag Of Red.................

This is the first tag of year 2008......i got from the pretty mom in red.....of babyshern........this tag requires you to post a pic of yourself in red....the colour red is an auspicious colour to the chinese......it represents good luck and is a colour you see on happy occasions like weddings.....birthdays....and chinese new year.........so off i go searching for birthdays pics of me in red.....coz i have not been wearing anything red for ages......here is a pic i found in one of my backup disk.....a pic of me in red celebrating the birthday of my niece iris.....back in 2005.......

START COPY HERE
Here are the rules:

1. Post YOUR photo wearing red, may it be a red top, bottom, the least would be red accessories if you hate wearing red… If you can’t find one, you still have an option…. Either post your Significant Other’s photo or your child’s photo, if you have one. Of course, they should be wearing red.

2. Let us know the reason why you were wearing red that particular day. Was it your birthday? Is red your fave color or was it the shirt that you first saw in your closet that day?

3. Tag 3 people close to your heart. By the way, they have to be in your blogroll. No cheating heart pleaseeeeeeee!

4. Once you’re tagged, could we please keep it going - just for this month?

END HERE.

Now i pass this tag to the 3 buddies close to my heart:
1. bokjae..........2. healthfreakmommy....... and......3.dora

Bubur Cha Cha......for Chap Goh Meh....

my bowl of yummy bubur cha cha........................

Yesterday was 'Chap Goh Meh'... in hokkien means the 15th day/night of the new lunar year.............In Penang....the chinese celebrated this day that marked the end of the chinese new year celebration by.....having fireworks....worshiping their gods and ancestors....and not to be missed.....the throwing of oranges into rivers or sea by the maidens......wishing for a good husband.......

Me of course with no oranges to throw......ended this new year celebration by cooking a pot of sweet dessert called ' bubur cha cha' to enjoy............here is how i cook it.......

Ingredients:

300 gms sweet potato - the orange variety

300 gms yam

100 gms pearl sago

1 can of ready cooked red beans

500 gms of grated coconuts

sugar syrups

2 to 3 pandan leaves

Method:

First...washed and cubed the sweet potato and yam....steamed seperately til cooked....about 10 mins.....keep aside to cool.....

then add 1/4 cup of water to the grated coconut and squeeze out some thick milk in a muslin cloth.....add a pinch of salt to the thick milk and keep aside in fridge......then add 6 to 8 cups water to the the squeezed grated coconut....mix well and squeeze out the diluted milk in a muslin cloth or fine strainer ......put the milk in a big pot.......together with the knotted pandan leaves and sugar syrup to boiled for about 5 mins......( if you do not have sugar syrup....just add in some sugar )........cook the sago by washing it in running water in a fine sieve before putting it in a pot of boiling water to cook til transparent........strained and wash under running cold water again ....to prevent it sticking together before adding it to the pot of boiling coconut milk......together with the cooked potatoes..yam....and red beans ....( i boiled some colourful tapioca slices which i bought ready made fr. wet market).......lastly add in the thick coconut milk....stir evenly .....under gentle heat........at the first sign of boiling.....removed from heat immediately to prevent the thick coconut from curdling.......served hot or cold...

steamed sweet potatoes and yam...........

the diluted coconut milk boiling in pot with knotted pandan leaves.....

my favourite ....colourful tapioca slices bought from market at rm 2 per packet....i used to make my own by pouring hot boiling water into tapioca flour to make into a soft dough.....add some coloring and cut up into diamond shapes...boiled it in boiling water til transparent... strained and wash under running cold water before using.....spend rm 2 and save you all those backbreaking work.

colourful tapioca slices boiling in a pot.....................

Sunway Pyramid Makeover...............

Shopping Malls in KL had been sprouting .....and some had added in new wings or extended and remodified to compete with other malls in terms of comfort...spaciousness....and of course better washrooms.......Sunway Pyramid is one of them......they had added a new wing with many high end shops to cater for the classy customers.......here r some pics taken during my recent visit.......

the new wing side with beautiful lightings and decor..................

the pretty house with chinese lanterns and hibiscus lightings..........

the shops in the old wing had turn into an egyptian town with olive trees lining the centre path instead of small stalls in the past...................

the statues around the centre column were brightly lit up in orangy lighting...

My J. Co Doughnuts Got Switched.......

Since i was in KL Sunway Pyramid after my doctor's appointment.....i decided to try out the highly popular doughnut joint.....which had doughnut lovers willing to queue up for it no matter how long the queue.....i had to queue up too but for only less than 10 mins.....coz it was a Monday evening and it was dinner time already.........

Since it was my first time at J.Co.....i decided to buy different varieties of each doughnuts to try out.......so i choose all together 12 doughnuts of different flavours to be put into two boxes....that means 1/2 a dozen in each box........so what an unpleasant suprise when i open my box of doughnuts when i reached home........my favourites.....greentea....strawberry.....were nowhere to be seen...!!

The inefficient staff must have switch mine with somebody else........and i had to eat those anyway........learnt another lesson again.....next time make sure you open up the box of doughnuts to check and see whether you got the ones you had chosen before you leave or payup.....!

My mix up boxes of doughnuts....the ones on the right were not mine to choose......see the similar ones on the left .......i miss out my greentea and stawberry doughnuts.....wish they had a joint in Penang.....

4 Jabs In A Day.............!!!!

As i had mention earlier .....my left elbow joints was swollen and painful.....coz i had stopped my rheumatoid medication for about 3 months......it did not get well but instead it gets so stiff and painful til i totally cannot use my left hand...so off i went on a long journey to KL ....to see my rheumatologist....Dr.Chow Sook Kuan in Sunway Medical Centre....on Monday...the minute she saw my elbow.....she said i needed an injection of steroids ......to relief my swelling and pain.....i got 2 jabs right into the joints....after the jabs....i was told to resume taking my medication and this time to avoid the side effects of nausea caused by the medication in the form of pills......i had the option of consuming it in the form of injections.....that has a lighter or no side effect.......so i had another lesson from a nurse on how to inject myself with the medication....luckily it is only once a week jab......after this 3rd jab.....i had to go to get my blood test......so another syringe was push into my right arm to slowly pull out a syringe full of my precious blood.........but the young good looking lab assistance was very gentle and careful...so there was no pain at all......what a relief......after all these jabs.....i was back to my normal self again......and all my days of sufferings with a painful elbow was gone.....thanks to my doctor.

Chai Boey...aka...Leftover Food........

my big wok of 'chai boey'.........which i cooked on the 2nd day of CNY.

i do not know whether anyone of you had eaten leftover food from any big festival dishes which is being recycle into another wonderful dish.......this is what i had done with my leftover nine course reunion dinner dishes which nobody wants to eat after it has been lying in the fridge overnight.....so instead of all these food cluttering my not so big fridge space i turn it into 'chai boey'...........here is how i prepare my 'chai boey'.............

Buy 2 big stalks of 'kua chai' or mustard greens...washed and cut or tear into big pieces of about 4 inches length....blanched in a wok of hot water for a minute or two.... drained and keep aside.....blanched a few pieces of 'kiam chai' (salted mustard green)soaked and cleaned beforehand.........drained......fry it in the wok with the 'kua chai 'and a few pieces of soaked dried chillies(seeded)....fry until fragrant and dry......then add in all the left over food to simmer slowly in wok for about 45 mins.....add some tomato sauce and chilli sauce to season it according to taste before simmering........add some water if the leftover food is too dry.....stir occasionally......and then enjoy it with hot rice when ready........

This dish taste heavenly if you had braised or roasted pig's trotter , duck and chicken meat in it......it had a sweet..sour.... and spicy taste with all the flavours of all the leftover food combine into something unique.........

The Nice Matters Award.......

wow...another award from my blogging buddy of little corner of mine.......thank you dear friend..... for honoring me with this very very nice award....really melts my heart for appreciating me as being a nice person with a nice blog and having a nice friend like you.......

And to my handful of nice buddies....please accept this nice award from me:

Dora........L'abeille .........erina law........shernsmom......new kid on the blog.......

Happy Valentine ....

I would like to wish all my buddies and readers a Happy Valentine's Day.....

Oouch....a swollen elbow.......!

After two long years of the right medication.....my joint pains and swelling caused by rheumatoid arthritis has subsided....and on the advice of my rhematologist...i had stop my medication since November last year.....and less than four weeks ago....i had my normal blood test and check up....the results were good...but two weeks ago ...i started having pain and swelling in some of my joints.....and yesterday my left elbow was so stiff and swollen that i could not even bend it or straighten it to tie up my hair.....seems i have to make another long journey to KL Sunway Medical Centre to see my doctor......and i dreaded to go coz..taking the medication again ....will bring back the nausea which i hated most...will wait a few more days.....

A Show Of True Love.........

Valentine Day is just a few hours away.....and every loving couple is busy looking forward to this big day where their love ones will shower them with flowers and gifts or an expensive dinner to show their love.....and affection. Here is an example of true love........forwarded to me by my friend tenny......

The man had fought for the US in the War against IRAQ and after returning, he had got married with the girl he was in Love with… Real true Love indeed… Hats off… She is one of the great women in the world as far as I can see.

Wonder how many women would have the courage to go this far....true love indeed.

More Food At Sis. House......

After we had our early reunion dinner at around 4.00pm.... my sister.. nancy invited us over for another round of food at her home....with a stomach overloaded with still some undigested food we went over to her place at 9.00 pm....to continue our reunion....here are some pics i took while at her lovely bungalow.....

steamboat fare......we manage to eat something after some hours...of fun in the garden terrace.....one of her friends..Tai Yuk....give us a show of kungfu moves..see video clip...the garden was not brightly lit....so the clip comes out dark......





a glass of red wine.......to go with the food..........

After the late dinner.....sister nancy...a super duper cook.... present us more of these goodies to be taken home.....which she made all by herself... little cupcakes...kuih bahulu...mah lai koh...butter cakes....and so on... (wonder how she managed to made so many goodies.......eventhough she has Parkinson for a few years now....)

little colourful cupcakes..................

kuih bahulu..........................................

her favourite 'mah lai koh'.......................................

crispy ribbon biscuits and butter cake................................

rempeyek...made with groundnuts ... ikan bilis......and rice flour

a green tea cake with red beans....and green tea custard...made by her daughter...... ming

orange cheesecake.......by ming.

could not resist taking a pic of the cute moving ..." god of prosperity".....

Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner........

It is the chinese tradition to have a reunion dinner on chinese new year's eve.....it is on this day that all members of the family will gather together to feast on loads and loads of food....some family members who stays far away will on this day get to see their parents or family members.....so it is always a joyous occasion for everyone......

A reunion dinner will either be many dishes of homecook food or a steamboat...but recently you can see many restaurant catering lovely new year reunion dishes .....a convenient fare for busy people and for those who want to spent more time with family members instead of in the kitchen.....i am one of them......i ordered a nine course meal from hometown ......a 'take-away ' full course chinese meal....to Penang at a real cheap price of rm 280......coz son R is working here.....here are some photos of the reunion dishes.....

the cold plate.....of a few varieties..............

the expensive sweet and sour fish maw soup.........

the sinful and delicious 'too kar'...pork leg....braised in mushroom..

the 'hock chiew' fish ball soup.....with meatballs........the fishball has mince meat fillings.........
this is steamed pork ribs with preserved spicy vege and yam in sweet and sour sauce...another typical hock chiew dish.......the meat was very soft, tender and juicy after many hours of steaming......

braised chicken....that nobody seems to touch after so much food......

sweet and sour prawns......this is only half portion....the other half was kept for son R......who was still at work......

this is a sweet chinese dessert.....steamed glutinous rice with sweet yam ...dried longan....peanuts... and raisins.

There is another dish of sharkfin soup....which was miss out by my photographer...... iris...but can be seen in the top picture......what a heavy meal for the 8 of us......there were leftovers ...which i cook into another special dish on the second day of cny........ in addition to these food i cook a big pot of 'too thor thn'g'...that is pork tripe soup.....will be shown in my later post....