Birthdays

Iman turns 13 on 17th march recently. Did not manage to post this entry in time.
Her best friend who is studying in kelantan, spends the day with her at our home.
She requested for a marble sponge cake, and since ibu haven't learned the technique of cake decorating yet ( will attend class soon..) so, the cake is a bit sloppy but edible..and the kids love the whipped cream frosting I made, which is not so sweet compared to buttercream.

Egyptian Jalabiyas

I found this on the internet at Al Jilbab while searching for some jalabiyas designs. Simple and beautiful.

This is an authentic Bedouin jilbab made by Sinai Bedouin women , decorated by hand cross stitch on bodice front and sleeves. Would love to get something like this from Egypt. Wonder how much will it cost in Egypt? At this site Al Jilbab, both costs US$16++.

Cooking

This is a phrase which I copied from Chef Wan's column in the STAR paper recently.

" There is a lot to think about and a lot to get done, but to be efficient does not mean to be hurried, and to be unhurried does not mean to sit in lawn chair. Take the time to give each task its due. It comes out in the food, a generosity of spirit.
Call it rejoicing, tenderness, graciousness, or simple attention to detail.
The quality of caring is an ingredient everyone can taste." 

Birthday cake

Alhamdulillah, managed to bake this classic cheesecake recently for my beloved birthdays. The oldest and the youngest in the family birthdays falls on the first week of february, just 3 days in between them. Modern cheesecakes normally uses blended biscuits as the pastry case.





Blueberry cheesecake

Ingredients

675g/ 3 cups of cream cheese
4 eggs, separated
150g/ 2/3 cup caster sugar
45ml/ 3tbsp cornflour
150ml/ 2/3 cup sour cream
finely grated rind & juice of 1/2 lemon
5 ml/ 1tsp vanilla essence

For the pastry:
225g/2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
115g/ 1/2 cup butter, diced
15ml/ 1 tbsp caster sugar
finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1 egg, beaten

Topping:
blueberry filling
grapes, halves
whipped cream

Method:

1. For the pastry:
Sift the flour & rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in sugar & lemon rind, then add beaten egg & mix to a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap & chill for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out the pastry & use to line a 10 in loose-based flan tin (quiche pan). Chill for 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 200'C. Prick the base of the chilled pastry case all over with a fork, fill it with crumpled foil & bake for 5 minutes. Remove foil & bake again for another 5 minutes.
Remove pastry case from oven & lower the oven temperature to 180'C.
4. Mix cheese, egg yolks & caster sugar together.
5. Blend the cornflour separately with a little of the sour cream, then add to the cheese mixture along with the remaining sour cream, lemon rind & juice, & vanilla.
Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
6. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, the fold into cheese mixture, one-third at a time. Pour the filling into the pastry case & bake for 1-1 1/4 hours or till golden & firm.
Switch of fthe oven & leave the door slightly ajar. Let the cheesecake cool down in the oven, the remove & chill for 2 hours.
7.Spread the blueberry filling on top of the cake and garnish with grapes & whip cream.

These are made with some leftover tartlet & mini shells which I had prepared earlier recently. My daughter wants to bring back to school after the chinese new year holidays but she ate a lot and managed to bring back some...

Colorful Homemade popcorn

Found this simple recipe on the internet. The kids love them. I used edible food gel which i used for my cupcakes, simply fabulous.

Popcorn kernels.

Original recipe from Simply Recipes


Perfect Popcorn Recipe (Makes 2 quarts)

Ingredients

3 tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
2 tbsp or more butter ( to taste)
salt

Method

1. Heat the oil in a 3 qt saucepan on medium heat.
2. Put 3 or 4 popcorn kernels into the oil & cover the pan.
3. When the kernels pop, add the rest of the kernels in an even layer. Cover, remove from heat & count 30 seconds.
4. Return the pan to the heat. The popcorn should begin popping soon, and all at once. Once the popping starts in earnest( you can hear the loud noise of popping corns), gently shake the pan by moving it back & forth over the burner. Try to keep the lid slightly ajar to let the steam from the popcorn release . Once the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid & dump the popcorn immediately into a wide bowl.

I mixed a bit of salt,food colorings,butter & golden syrup to the popped corns. Then bake in a shallow dish for about 5-10 minutes in the oven at 150C for a crispy sweet popcorn.

Ingatan bagi pelupa

I came upon this article in the local newspaper yesterday, which I would like to share.
Exactly my sentiments...specially dedicated to all my children.

Latih otak terus befikir, tambah ilmu.
Untuk menjaga kesihatan jiwa, biasakan berfikir setiap hari walau fikiran yang kecil sekalipun kerana apabila otak dibiarkan menganggur, boleh ditimpa sakit malah menjadi bingung. Tiap-tiap hari otak mesti dilatih. Jika otak malas berfikir, kita menjadi dungu.

Kebanyakan mereka yang bodoh kerana malas berfikir. Itulah mati di dalam hidup. Haruslah diajar kekuatan berfikir sejak kecil kerana orang yang kuat berfikir akan dapat menghasilkan hikmat. Jika besar kelak dia akan menjadi garam, yang tanpanya sambal masyarakat tiada rasa.

Berfikir hampir dengan pengalaman. Seorang pemikir berpengalaman, boleh mengambil natijah (kesimpulan) suatu perkara dengan segera, sedang orang lain memandang perkara itu besar dan sulit.

Laksana seorang yang ada keris pusaka yang tajam, sentiasa diasah dan digosok. Jika keris itu disimpan saja, tidak diasah, digosok, akan berkarat. Begitu juga fikiran manusia, seorang ahli ilmu akan sentiasa ingin menambah ilmunya kerana ilmu laksana lautan.

Manusia umpamakan rahsia dan keajaiban alam ini dengan lautan besar. Ombaknya yang memecah, membawakan mutiara yang tersimpan didasar lautan masih banyak, hingga dunia kiamat, perbendaharaan laut itu tidak akan habis.

Berkata Hasan Basri: "Pimpin dan kendalikan jiwa dengan baik, kerana amat liarnya, dan beri ingatlah, kerana dia lekas lupa." Berita Harian, 23 Jan 2010

Blooms in my garden

My flowers are flooming! Enjoy the pics.














Ini pokok mulberry, selepas habis berbuah, dicantas, akan berbuah dengan banyak lagi.