Weekend Snapshot # 7..Yuen Garden Dim Sum.

Last Sunday, uncle JK took us to this dim sum shop in Puchong, for breakfast and it took us quite sometime to wait for a table. Seems the rising cost of fuel has not taken its toil on this shop. Business was good and the shop was packed with customers from the ground floor to the upstairs space.

My First Encounter With RA... ( Rheumatoid Arthritis )

It has been nearly a year since I had written a couple of post on this painful and incurable disease of which I am one of the sufferers. A recent phonecall from Ding Mee Hong, Chairperson of Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group (RASG) to remind me of a public forum on RA to be held in Penang this coming weekend on 6th July in conjunction with the launching of the National RA Day, brings back memories of my first encounter with RA.

I could still remember vividly the day I woke up not able to get up from my bed without yelling out in pain. It was a morning in the late 90's. My whole body was very stiff from the neck down to the ankles. I had swollen knees, ankles, wrist, elbows, finger joints and I needed help even to sit up on the bed. As I had no idea of RA at that time, I went to my local doctor for a check up. After some blood test I found that I had quite a serious attack of RA. The doctor prescribed some steroids and painkillers for me to bring down the inflamation. From that day onwards life was a living hell. I had to retire abruptly on my career as a piano teacher. I needed help in going to the washroom, using a straw to drink from my cup, could not brush my teeth, comb my hair, undressing, bathe, feed myself and so on not to count on the sharp pain of every movement. I was walking like a zombie because of the stiffness. I even look like a walking skeleton after much sufferings with swollen joints and shrinking muscles.

From a lively career woman I had turn overnight into an invalid and useless person. I refuse to accept my painful condition as incurable and as an ignorant person living in a small town with no internet connection to the outside world I seek help through word of mouth to find the best possible cure through different channels possible. The many doctors I went to were also not of much help either and instead they try to give me different medications which gives me a lot of side effects making me feel worse than ever.


As a person in desperation to find a relief to my pain I then resorted to all sorts of unimaginable and silly 'cures' to my condition. Thinking back I could just laugh and cry at myself for my wasted time and money spend on all these non sensible cures except looking out for a rheumatologist which even at that time I had not heard of one before. I was just following like what you call the blind leading the blind jumping at every opportunity whenever somebody told me they know of a so and so who can cure me. But nobody and even the doctors themselves mention the word 'rheumatologist' to me.

My first 'adventure' in seeking a cure was a long journey of nearly 8 hours trip from my hometown in Perak to Johore with poor hubby driving all the way with my two young boys in tow and only stops when nature calls and when he was too sleepy to drive he reluctantly stopped by a rest area with the windows winding down only an inch wide fearing of any robbery in the wee hours of the morning. My trip there was to seek a chinese sinseh who was well known for his traditional cures. On reaching Johore Bahru I had to wait for hours to see him and when I finally saw him he told me my RA is difficult to cure as it is quite serious seeing my ankles were already swollen. I did not go back there after the long and tiring trip.

My second 'adventure' was a very painful one that I will never ever forget. A friend had recommended me to this place where a lady healer who comes once a week to this place in Sitiawan from Sungai Dua in Kedah to treat many people who are sick. So in desperation again I went for it. This lady used a small plastic hammer to hit my most swollen joint til it was blue black in colour. Imagine the pain and the tears flowing down my cheeks as I withstand the pain believing it would cure me in the long run. I went every week to be hammered at different parts of my swollen joints as each trip I will only be hammer at the most at 2 places. As I can remember each joint that got hit will cost me 50 ringgit and each cream to be apply on the bruised joint will cost another 50 ringgit. Looking back I can just imagine how silly and gullible a desperate person in pain can become.

I have many more adventures seeking the right cure which I will not want to continue here. My life came back to normal more than 2 years ago when another RA patient of my present rheumatologist ask me to seek out Dr. Chow Sook Kuan in Kuala Lumpur after seeing me with 2 stiff elbows which could not be straighten in a friend's wedding dinner. Being skeptical after so many years of treatment from different doctors and methods, hubby dreaded to travel down to KL. But after much pestering from me he relented. I can still recall on that day 2 years ago when I first saw Dr. Chow, she asked me to lift up both my arms and on seeing my bended and stiff elbows she told me that I might be too late in seeking treatment to my stiff and damaged elbows. After much checking I was told to have 2 damaged ankles and a deformed middle finger. Those joints that are already damaged are irreversible.

After 3 months of medication, my bended and bow-shaped elbows suprisingly could be straightened after almost 2 years in that condition. Few more months into the treatment seeing me made great improvement and my usual dose of steriods and painkillers which I had been taking for years was stopped. All the swelling of the finger joints began to disappear and I began to walk without the help of a walker which I needed most of the time when I get up from a chair. After 1 year, I bought myself a small car and begun to drive myself around giving my hubby much anxieties after seeing me on my own without him as my driver after nearly 8 years.

I consider myself back to my normal self these 2 years except for a few flares up which I could manage quite well after a decade of illness. Now I try to live my life as best as I can with a positive attitude and a strong will despite my disability.

I am writing this in the hope that those who are suffering from RA will seek out the proper channel in their treatment. As RA itself is non curable it can be treated with the right medication to prevent the joints from further damage therefore making the sufferer live a normal life with less pain.

To know more about RA and arthritis please check out this site here at Arthritis Foundation Malaysia. or you can attend a public forum at Evergreen Laurel Hotel, Penang on 6th July at 8.30 am. For more information you can also read up a recent article in the Star here.

A Medley Of Flavours In Ratatouille.

Ratatouille is a name for a humble vegetable stew which originated from Southern France. It used to be called a poor man's dish as it only contains very simple vegetables that could be easily obtained or planted by the people of the mediterranean region. The vegetables like carrots, onions, peppers, aubergines, tomatoes, and cucumbers, are cut up into pieces and stewed with mixed herbs to bring out a flavourful dish.

Recently I cook a pot of ratatouille to be eaten as an accompaniment to rice and a salmon dish. It can also be tossed with pasta for a quick healthy meal. So for those who are keen on cooking this poor man's food packed with vitamins, here is a recipe to share.........

Ingredients:

2 red peppers or any colour, deseeded and quartered - skinned

2 tbsp vegetable stock

1 onion - thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves -crushed

2 aubergines (eggplant)- diced

2 cucumbers or zucchini - sliced

400 g canned chopped or stewed tomatoes

a few sprigs of thymes,majoram or oregano-or dry mixed herbs

a dash of ground black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

Method:

To skin red peppers, place pepper under a hot grill and grill skin side up, til the skin begins to char. Pop into plastic bag and leave to cool slightly then remove the skin and diced.

Heat olive oil in pan and gently cook the onions and garlic until translucent. Add aubergines and zucchini and continue to cook for 3 mins. Mix in red peppers and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for another minute. Add tomatoes and snip in fresh herbs. Season with a dash of freshly ground pepper and vegetables stock. Covered and simmer for about 20 to 30 mins til the vegetables are soft and tender.

A Bento of Honey-Glazed Salmon & Ratatouille.

These days it seems everybody is grumbling about the rising cost of every single thing including food. But we cannot just go without food and the best option is to eat at home. But sometimes our fussy eaters are unwilling to eat at home if the food is just the same old thing day in and out. So mums like us have to be creative in our dishes and cook up something new. Here is a recent bento meals for my fussy boys. (Even though they are quite grown up the bento is just to attract them to the food).......Try it out if you have no idea what to cook anymore. Besides, it is quite healthy, delicious and easy to cook too. Here is the recipe to share.........

Honey-Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

300 g Salmon fillets

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Marinade:

1 clove garlic - crushed

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sesame oil

Salmon fillets............

Method:

Mix together the marinade ingredients. Pour the marinade over the salmon fillets and turn over to be well coated with the sauce. Leave aside in fridge to marinade for at least 1 hour.

Marinade sauce mixture..........

Preheat a grill to high or you can pan fried it like I do to save cost of electricity bills. Brush the top of fish with marinade and grill for about 6 minutes turning over half way til the fish is just cook. Place any remaining marinade in pan and heat up for 1 to 2 mins, then pour over the cooked salmon. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds before serving.

My ratatouille recipe will be up in my next posting.

Note: All oily fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines and trout are good for health. They contained omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to help our body in the prevention of heart diseases, reduce the risk of stroke and helps to improve inflammatory conditions like arthritis. (I do try to take at least one portion of oily fish due to my arthritis condition)

New 3 Column Image.......

Today I just took some time to add another column to my 2 column blog to make it into a 3 column one for a more flexible space . When it comes to html tags, I used to freak out hoping I would not mess things up. So, thanks to Kess' Mama for blogging about these wonderful tips for new bloggers or old but non IT smart bloggers like me of this site here. The tips given are so clear and easy to follow. So if any of you who would like to do some makeover to your blog you can still look up for tips in this site here.

An Excellent Award........

Here comes another award to add to my collections. This time it is an "Excellent Award" from my interesting blogging buddy...Kess & Mama for my excellent recipes. Thank you, Kess, for this lovely award and loving my cooking and recipes. And you too deserve this award for being an excellent friend. More pats and hugs for you. Now to pass this award to my other excellent friends here for their excellent blogs........

Little Corner of Mine.

eastcoastlife.

U.Lee.

Home Sweet Home.

Cruising In 4 Wheel Luxury.......

If you love to cruise in a sporty car and yet wants to look smart and proper for your important appointment or dates, just in case it rains, then this latest model of Volkswagen Eos is yours to choose. This newest model has just been on the road since April.

I took some pics of this lovely convertible when the vivacious head of PR and marketing of Volkswagen Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd... Karen Cheng (hub's cousin) gave me some demo while I was in KL recently. Here are some photo shoots to share...

The dashing car with a sunroof that can be open up......

Side view..............

The front view...........

The rear view.........


The Roof can be retracted to transform into a topless sleek sporty look......reminds me of my son's transformer toy.......


The red leatherette seats that spells comfort and style.....

Weekend Snapshot # 6..Of Candlelights,White Roses, Wine & Fine Dining.

Sweet Jasmine among the roses......

Bouquet of white roses and candlelights on each table.....


A free flow of wines.................


Our table spread............


Banquet hall of a hundred tables.........


My Ciabatta bread...........


Roast beef & asparagus rolls, semi dried tomatoes, feta cheese salad, pesto dressing..........


Porcini mushroom cappucino..........


Mango sorbet with passion fruit coulis.........


Our main course of parmesan crusted cod fish, sauteed potatoes, bell peppers, wilted spinach, tomato nage.........


Warm flourless chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream & raspberry coulis.........


Ok....I am finally back after a great weekend of fine dining at the big city. So here are some photo shoots discreetly taken with my small portable camera which I manage to smuggle snugly in my evening bag. The pics were not too good because of the dim lightings and my 4 years old 2 gb camera.

The wedding dinner was a grand affair with about 100 tables decorated with fresh white roses and candlelights. Among the hundreds of guest were our DPM's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Toh Puan Ena Ling, Group Chief Editor of The Star...Wong Chun Wai and many others. Our DPM came late when everybody was leaving because he had another wedding function elsewhere. The dinner party ended around midnight after much drinking and boogieing by the bride and bridegroom and their parents.

Dressed To Kill......

While still at logger heads over my condo makeover, looking for the right colours for my kitchen cabinets and walls, I have been busy the last few days with another part of my makeover. That is to find the right formal evening wear for a wedding dinner this weekend.

As this wedding dinner is quite special because it is right in the heart of the capital city in a 5 star hotel, I do not want to look like a drappy old lady in front of the city socialites or even worse put my host to shame if I do not do justice to the word " Formal Attire" as printed in the invitation card. So off I went looking for the right evening wear and the right shoes and evening bag to match..........

And I have been dreaming to look like this........

or something like this........

As I cannot wear high heels I had to shorten my gown to this...

so I might look something like this.............

With shoes that suits me like these..................


And an evening bag like this...............

Plus a black crochet shrug like this...........

With a glittering belt that cost me a fortune like this......

I am all ready dressed to kill or is it to please everyone including myself or do I look like a millionairess among the crowd.......

A Dose of Crème Brûlée ......

Son H Crème Brûlée ...............

"The origins of crème brûlée (pronounced krehm broo-LAY) are very much in contention, with the English, Spanish, and French all staking claim. The Spanish have taken credit for this sensuous custard as "crema catalana" since the eighteenth century, while the English claim it originated in seventeenth-century Britain, where it was known as "burnt cream" and the English school boys at Cambridge demanded it. It apparently wasn't until the end of the nineteenth century that common usage of the French translation came into vogue, putting it on the map from Paris to Le Cirque in New York City. Its wide recognition today seems to have given the French credit for inventing crème brûlée. "....Debbie Puente.

Crème brûlée (French for "burnt cream"; pronounced /ˌkrɛm bruːˈleɪ/ in English, IPA: [kʁɛm bʁyˈle] in French) is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill, or with a blowtorch or other intense heat source. It is usually served cold in individual ramekins.
The custard base is normally flavoured with just vanilla, but it can be enhanced with chocolate, a liqueur, fruit, etc. Sometimes the hardened sugar on top will be given a Maillard reaction, or caramelization, by igniting a thin layer of liqueur sprinkled over the top.... Wikipedia.

On Sunday son H made some crème brûlée and here I wanted to share the recipe with my readers.......

Ingredients:

300 milk

100 ml whipping cream

50 g castor sugar

4 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

4 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

In a saucepan combine whipping cream, milk and sugar and slowly bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs and add to cream mixture together with vanilla essence. Mix well til blended and strained.

Pour the custard into ramekins. Then place ramekins into baking tray. Pour enough boiling water to baking tray enough to come half way up the sides of ramekins.

Place baking tray in a preheated oven and baked at 180 degrees Celcius for 30 mins til custard is set.

Remove from oven and leave to cool and refrigerate til ready to serve.

To serve, sprinkle a layer of brown sugar on top of crème brûlée and grill under a broiler or use blow torch to burn til caramelize.

Crème brûlée baking in oven.............

Weekend Snapshot # 5..BBQ Ribs..

To celebrate Father's Day, my sons treat their meat lover Dad this Sunday to Ribs..... a restaurant with hugh lovely barbecued ribs served with some side dishes of sweet corn, coleslaw, mash potato or bake beans.

BBQ ribs with lamb chops............


Delicious BBQ babyback ribs........

Side dishes of sweet corn , coleslaw and BBQ sauce...


More BBQ babyback ..............

Sides dishes of coleslaw and bake beans with BBQ sauce.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Daily Blogger Award.....

How wonderful to get an award from a dear blogging friend of Little Corner of Mine. This award is given to blogs that have at least 3 post per week. I must be a hardcore blogger now as I am a daily blogger.Hope I can keep up with this pace and deserve to be call a daily blogger. Now is my turn to pass this award to my friends who I assume are daily bloggers too......

1. Healthfreakmommy ....2. Dora....3. Home Sweet Home....4. Kess & Mama. 5. Bokjae.

Manhattan Fish Market......

Baked fish with herbs rice............

Grilled seafood platter.................

Seafood spaghetti...............

These days with the rising cost of everything, it is indeed no surprise that most restaurants are changing their menu for a new pricing in their food. One of them is Manhattan Fish Market which has a new print of menu since last week. Most dishes has a price increase of a few ringgit. Anyway for consolation there is still a 10 percent discount for Jusco membership cards................

My Dreamz Have Come True.....

9. http://mohlee56.blogspot.com/2008/05/fulfilling-my-dreamz.html

I have recently found out that I have won a double pass in my first ever contest I took part in this blog last month. I am sure most of the bloggers out there will also be as lucky as I am. If you haven't heard about this, please hurry out to check at this site here and try your luck. Just register as member of AMBP (All Malaysian Bloggers Project) and you will have the chance to take part. AMBP are giving out 80 Normal Season PS1 Dreamz double passes (worth RM260 each, and valid until Aug 31) to give away to AMBP members.

For those who had enter this contest please check out here to see whether you are one of the lucky 35 winners.

Rainbows Is One Year Old Today...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

To

RAINBOWS

My blog Rainbows is a year
old today and I am

very happy it is still here
among the thousands

of blogs in this blogsphere.
My blog would not

come this far without the
support of all my

readers and new found
blogging friends whom I

would like to thank from
the bottom of my

heart. I appreciate all your
frequent visits and

your comments making it a great year to

remember. Hoping for more good things to

come from me to all of you out there.

From:

Sweet Jasmine........

Note: My second 'baby' was born recently over here at http://bloggerbin56.blogspot.com/

Traditional Curry Puffs... Malaysian Style.

In my last post I made some curry puffs with puff pastry and I find that most of my Malaysian readers are more familiar with the traditional ones which are deep fried in oil. It can be easily made at home or can be bought from the pasar malam (night markets), Indian and Malay food stalls here. There are several types of pastry which uses different combination of the simple wheat flour with other flours to make these pastry shells. I have made one version here which has an addition of some rice flour and tapioca flour to make the pastry more crispy.

Ingredients for pastry skin: (makes about 20 pieces)

250 g plain flour

50 g rice flour

50 g tapioca flour

100 g butter or shortening

120 ml ice cold water (just add 2 pieces of ice )

The dough ready for rolling out.......

Cut into 4 inches rounds..........

Put in fillings and wrap up half moon shape........


Pinch the edges with forefinger and thumb using thumb to fold in the edges into pleats......


Deep frying the puffs....................

Drained on kitchen towel..............

Method:

Mix together all the 3 flours in a bowl. Rub in butter or shortening with the flour to a fine bread crumbs liked texture til well mixed. Slowly add in water and knead into a dough. Remember not to over knead the pastry. Over kneading will make the curry puffs tough and chewy. Roll out dough into 3 mm thick and cut into 4" round shape. ( I used a cookie container which has 4" diameter). Put fillings in centre and wrap up with pleated edges...which needs some skills and practice or else just press the edges together and flute it with a fork.

Heat oil in pot or deep fryer til hot about 190 degrees Celcius and deep fry the curry puffs for about 6 to 7mins or til golden brown.

Weekend Snapshot #4..Curry Puffs.

This weekend I made for my boys their favorite snacks...that is curry puffs. This lovely puffs with a little spicy taste of curry powder will never fail to whet anyone's appetite and it will disappear as fast as soon as it is out of the oven........

p.s. I have a recipe on how to make this easy puffs here. Can be improvise with sardines or tuna instead of meat.........

Pay More For Gas..........

Two days ago, the price of petrol was without any prelude or signs .... the usual sudden waves of our government implementations that comes like a silent tsunami......was raised from RM 1.92 to RM 2.70. Every Malaysian now has to fork out more of their already tight budget due to rising food prices to pay an arm and a leg for their gas.

The government said that they will help the poor by giving rebates of RM625 per year for cars below 2,000 cc. That is RM 52.08 per month.

But how much does it helps.......Do I consider myself poor because I own a 1,000 cc car..? And would the rebates give much consolations to the poor...? Just check this calculations here......

Rebate/ year..................................Rm 625

Rebate/month...............................Rm 52.08

Your one month usage in the past......Rm 128.2 (66.8 lit pumped)

Your one month average NEW price..Rm 180.28 (66.8 lit pumped)

Difference.....................Rm 52.08

1 month different.................Rm 52.08

1 month rebate.................... Rm 52.08

1 month you spend extra (Rm)..0

1 year...............................Rm 624.96

1 year rebate....................Rm 625

1 year you spend extra (Rm).. -0.04

So if your average consumption of fuel is more than Rm 128.2 per month, you will be paying more with the rebate or Rm 625 per year. And this calculation only works for those driving vehicles below 2.000 cc like me.

Those paying less are these gas producing countries..........

HELP ! 8 Million Clicks Needed.....

This is an urgent tag I recieved from a blogging friend of Home Sweet Home. It is an ongoing campaign in The Breast Cancer Site to get as many clicks as possible by end of June to reach their target of 8 million clicks in order for their sponsors to donate $10,000 more for free mammograms.
We can do our part by just clicking at the pink button as many times as you can. Remember each click you gave will give hope to a poor woman in getting free mammogram. I would like my buddies here to help out by spreading word about this campaign and link it to The Breast Cancer Site:

Kok....kess & mama....Hazel....Dora....Little Corner of Mine....Bokjae.

p.s. Lindsey had requested me to put a link up here at servenation. com. It is another newly launch site where they are selling gift cards to help in the funding of mammograms. Please check out here to help.

Sweet Choco Delights.............

Help yourselves with these.................

Make yourselves with these..............

Ingredients for cake:

180 g butter - room temperature

175 g light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
200 g self raising flour
30 g cocoa powder

125 g dark chocolate
5 tbsp boiling water


Fillings:

90 g butter - room temperature
150 g icing sugar - sifted
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp hot water


Choco Icing:

180 g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
150 ml whipping cream


Method:


Break chocolate into a bowl, add boiling water and leave to melt.
Cream butter and sugar together til light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Mix vanilla essence with melted chocolate into a smooth paste, then stir into butter mixture. Fold in sifted flour and cocoa.
Pour mixture into a 20 cm square cake tin lined with greased proof paper. Bake at 180 degrees C for about 35 to 40 mins til firm and springy. Leave to cool on rack. When cooled sliced cake into half horizontally.


Method for fillings:

Cream butter and icing sugar. Place 1/3 of the mixture into a small bowl. Beat in cocoa powder with 1 tbsp of hot water. Then blend with remaining butter and sugar mixture. Sandwich cakes together with these fillings.


Method for chocolate icing:


Melt chocolate and cream in a bowl over simmering water. Stir til chocolate melts. Let mixture cool and thicken a little, then pour over cake, spreading with a palette knife to cover the cake. Leave to set and then decorate as desired.

Chocolate Fudge Cake With Chocolate Cream........

Two days ago or rather two nights ago, my full of surprises son H, whose inspiration to cook something up always at an untimely hour is at it again. This time when I was getting ready to go to bed, he told me he wanted to bake a chocolate fudge cake. Oh, dear son...can't you wait to do this in the morning? Okay...mummy do not want to dampen yr cooking spirit...so do as you like. (He was feeling bored with so many days of cancelled class in college...the lecturers must be having paid holidays). So I told him I had not make any cakes for years so use what you can find in the kitchen. The last time he bake was some lovely brownies for my sister Karen's Christmas party. Here are some pics I took of him at work while losing some of my precious sleep.......


The cake mixture in cake tin ready to go inside oven when mummy decided to come out from hiding...


While the cake was baking in oven, he prepare his chocolate cream filling....creaming butter with icing sugar.


Adding in cocoa mixture to butter cream to be well mix.


Melting chocolate in a bowl over simmering water.


150 ml whipping cream to be added to melted chocolate.


Mixing the cream with the melted chocolate.


The baked chocolate cake to be cut into 2 halves .


Son H spreading chocolate cream fillings on cake.


The cake sandwich together with a layer of chocolate cream.


Son H making some decorations for his cake from melted chocolate. He was quite disappointed as it did not turn out quite like what he wanted blaming it on the poor quality of chocolate and lack of proper utensils.....

Spreading chocolate icing over the cake..

After decoration with strawberries the cake was chilled in the fridge to be eaten as dessert the next day.....the recipe and our indulgence will be up in the next posting.

Weekend Snapshot # 3...Dinner @ White Beach.

White Beach Seafood restaurant............

Butter Fried chicken....

Snow fish in honey sauce.............

Taufu in hot plate..........

Tau Kan with straw mushroom and veges.....

This is our regular place for a nice family dinner. The food served is good and the pricing reasonable. This weekend we had butter fried chicken, crsipy snow fish in honey sauce, tau fu in hotplate, and our favorite dried bean curd with straw mushroom and veges.......