2013 Finale

Tomorrow is new year eve so I guess this is the right time for everyone including me to recap and do a little bit of reflection on how this whole year has been. I believe it has been an exciting year for all of us although there might be some bump here & there.

It has been a bitter sweet year for me. A few milestone has been achieved and that indeed is a joyous occasion for me personally. One of the milestone is to finally received my PhD after been struggling with it for 3.5 years. Only God knows what shit I have to go through to get it. But ironically, the shit has nothing to do with the study/research but more to dealing with unstable human character, which unfortunately has a huge impact on the whole process. But I want to put that behind me now.  Finally on 2nd of July, after 45 minutes of presentation, the university declared that I have fulfilled the requirements and I have passed! Halleluyah! The 3.5 years of research and hardship only took 45 minutes to wrap it all up & I reached my target of wanting to be Dr. Angelina before I am 35 years old.

Another achievement is that I finally get to go to Laos! I have been reading & watching documentary on Laos and I have been wanting to go there ever since. So, the day after I passed my exam, me & my buddy packed our bag & off we go..to Laos! It just feel so surreal when we finally landed in Vientiane. We been planning for one whole year for the trip and we gone through so many obstacles before we finally arrived. We were there for 5 nights (a long unplanned stay) and we enjoyed every single day of it. Vietiane is a small city but with an amazing characters. It is both work & pleasure for both of us & I always enjoy our trip together.

This year also marked a very important event with our new purchase..no need to mention here. But it is indeed an important one because that will be for our future and retirement plan in my beloved hometown, which my better half learn to love. Starting next month, there will be a slow yet moving progress plan for it. Well, we have to slowly and carefully plan the build up as it has to be as close to PERFECTION as possible.

Last but not least, this year also marked an important date, which is my migration to the land of the viking. We have been married for almost 7 years but this move will be the first time in all those years of marriage that we will live together under the same roof. It is a very daunting experience for me, having to start all over again at this age, in a new country. The place might not be a total foreign for me but coming here for vacation and having to live & work here, is two total different scenario. But I will persevere and take this as another challenge in my adult life and with my headhunter spirit & determination, I believe I will make it work here...probably I will make it BIG here...I guess we will never know yeah. 

There you are, things that happen in 2013. I am so eager to see what 2014 will bring into my life especially, it will be the year of the HORSE. I am praying for continuing peace and harmony in my mother land, and probably a year full of good transformation for the nation. I am also praying for success coming my way this 2014, be it in my career or personal life. I am praying for strength, determination, strong will & perseverance to overcome challenges ahead for 2014. 

Okie dokie..it's time for me to prepare the menu for tomorrow feast...

A little of RESPECT is all I need

In life you will bound to meet up with people who openly, whether consciously or unconsciously, say things that are contradict to what they mentioned earlier. And I so happen to met this 'person' yesterday. 

You see, we were having this lunch & dinner session and they started to have some drinks..(when I mentioned drinks that will be referring to the alcohol). That was not our first meeting but we met previously, several of time in fact. And each time, I never failed to mention that I do not drink...not anymore...for a very long time. I am no saint but when I made a stand on something, I stick through it regardless what. And again..and again..this person never fail to persuade me to have a sip..ahh..it's Christmas anyway..(as if it is a good enough reason to drink).

Don't get me wrong ya...just because I do not drink anymore, I do not push my opinion on alcohol and drinking habit on others because I totally believe in individualism. I have stop to take alcohol because of personal reason that is very painful to share with just anyone. But regardless the reason, I believe I have the right to practice what I think is the right decision for me. And for someone who claim to be my friend & even have the nerve to say that he/she respect our friendship..that is very absurd!

When I know my friend do not drink, I won't even think of offering them, what more to force them to drink. That is RESPECT! That is very PLAIN, SIMPLE AND DIRECT! Is that so difficult to understand???? Some people including that person should learn the basic meaning of RESPECT before he/she can claim to be my friend.

It's Christmas!!!

First of all, Merry Christmas to all my family, relatives and friends wherever you are!

As for me & hubby, this year Christmas is a modest even, with only both of us and of course, my in laws. We had our Christmas Eve's dinner last night (the Danes always have their Christmas dinner on the eve of Christmas) so today, we practically do nothing! Hahaha...I for sure is planning to write something on this blog of mine with a movie watching interval in between. I decided to watch some horror story from back home today. Hubby as usual is busy at his workshop, doing 'pimp my ride' version of his American truck (that is what he means with spending his Christmas vacation with me...hmmmm)

Anyway, last night my stomach was full to the brim although, now when I think about it, I don't really stuff myself that night. We have roasted duck, roasted pork, Christmas cabbage, cucumber pickles, red cabbage, small brown potatoes, boil potatoes and carrots (kira cam nasi dia org la ni), cream porridge as dessert (eaten with sour cherry sauce), cookies & cake for coffee. And YES...all the foods were prepared by me & hubby. Then there was the gift unwrapping 'event' where I got myself quite a number of gift and mostly are Christmas items, which I am a collector (Georg Jensen & TripTrap...you guys can google what is that. One thing for sure, it's a Danish design and I have been an avid collector since few years back & I intend to keep on collecting until I have all the design especially the old one). And I do get some kitchen stuffs as well, I guess they do know I love being in the kitchen so giving me these utensils is very practical.

All of us are happy with the guy and the foods so I guess...everyone is satisfied last night. After my in laws left, I start cleaning the dishes, vacuuming the floor and mopping it. Keeping the leftover foods inside the containers and store it in the fridge (that will be eaten for the next 3days)..hahaha...jangan harap aku nak masak lepas ni yerr). The whole of yesterday is a very tiring event (except for the eating part) and I was literally sweating after all those cleaning so that today I can be a lazy BUM!  

So, I guess it is time for shower before we start 'going to the movie arena'..hahah..you guys enjoy your holiday, Christmas and time with your love one. I miss everyone and everything back home & looking forward for 2015 when I will finally go home for Christmas!!!

Ho Ho Ho...Bless you all!

Finally..I did it. My very own creme brulee

I bought a set of ramekin together with the hand burner somewhere this year (I do have problem remembering what I have in the kitchen, which sometimes give hubby an impression that I have too much stuff!). When I bought the set, of course I was thinking of making my very own creme brulee. First time I ate this dessert was years..and I mean years back, and I fall in love with it. Those were the day when I treat my house like a hotel and when clubbing is the only exercise I like to do. :)

So, months after I bought the set, there is still no creme brulee. Hahah.. so yesterday, I open up my fridge and scrutinized what have I got in there..hmm...there's egg, cream..then obviously I have vanilla pod & very fine sugar. YES! I am making creme brulee. Actually it is a very simple recipe because you only need heavy cream, fine sugar, vanilla pod and egg yolks. 

First thing you do is to pour the heavy cream into a pan or a sauce pot and heated it up over a small fire. Then add up one vanilla pod (split the vanilla pod into two then scrap the vanilla bean from top to bottom using a small knife, then just mix the vanilla bean with the cream)...For those who do not have vanilla pod, I guess you can use vanilla extract yang you can get kat kedai tu..hehehe

Remove the vanilla cream mixture from the heat as soon as it start simmering...NOT BOILING! While you heated the cream just now, placed the egg yolks in a bowl..

Add the sugar and mix it bebehh...

 Until the mixture look pale..

Lepas tu put the mixture aside while you stir the cream that you tengah heated tadi..

Remove from the heat and strain the cream using a very fine strainer so that the vanilla bean tak masuk dalam your creme brulee. Nanti nampak pulak tompok2 hitam bean tu (part ni I tak dapat nak ambik picture because my in law tetiba pulak muncul, nak hantar itik. So, I tak nak la ambik gambar nanti dia org ingat I ni dah tak betul pulak....hahaha)

Anyway, slowly pour the warm cream mixture into the egg mixture and mix it together. First you add a small amount of cream..slow2 la kan. Jangan main letak smua ...because the egg mixture tu sejuk, the cream mixture tu panas...so kena slowly seimbangkan suhu campuran tersebut. Bila dah add a few warm cream, bila egg mixture dah warm up, baru boleh pour all the cream mixture. When you keep on stirring it/mixing both the mixture, you can see a little bit of foams. So using a spoon, scoop the foam as much you can.

I have my ramekin set ready on the tray..

 Using a measuring cup I pour the custard mixture into the ramekins...before you place it inside the oven, fill the tray with water at least sampai 3/4 of the ramekin. Make sure no water going inside the custard mixture yeah...

30 minutes inside a 175C temperature...my creme brulee is READY! HAAH...ada extra ramekin kat situ pasal sayang nak buang the remaining custard mixture tu..

Let it cool down for 1-2hrs tapi kalau nak tunggu 30min pun ok jer. But I placed mine inside the fridge overnight because I just realized my hand burner has no gas!!! Dang....But today, got the burner fill with gas & yess...finally I get to enjoy my very own creme brulee...

Love it...love it...love it...yummiess!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup of fine sugar
• 1 vanilla pod (1tsp of vanilla extract)
• few tbsp of fine sugar for the finishing touch..:))

ENJOY YOUR CREME BRULEE PEEPS!!

A trip to Legoland Malaysia

Yes..Malaysia Legoland has finally open. So, I was excited to pay it a visit because I been to the original Legoland in Billund, Denmark a few years back and I am eager to see how this one look like. When my sister asked whether I will be in KL on that particular date..I apa lagi, ON!

We left KL on Friday after lunch so we arrived in JB around 530PM. Luckily it was not that difficult to find the hotel where we stayed and nasib baik, the place also very nice. Siap ader breakfast and dekat dengan banyak tempat makan and a mall. So, I have nothing to complaint. We went to Legoland on Sunday as we decided to go to Singapore & spend the whole day there, just jalan2 and do some shopping.

It took around 45minute drive to Legoland from where we stay. Tengok jer the sign, my niece already very excited. We arrived just 10 minute before the opening time. We got our ticket (RM110 for children w/o water park & RM140 for adult, w/o water park). Very expensive if you ask me. 

 It was a Sunday so mmg assume akan banyak org. Tapi since we came very early, the crowd was not so bad.

 Tempat ticket pun masih kosong.

I guess ni memang singature pintu gerbang Legoland because the one in Billund also look like this. As you enter the gate, you will pass the gift/Lego shop and then you will see the miniature city. Kat bawah ni...err..apa entah building ni, x ingat plak.

 Then there this mosque in Terengganu (also I x ingat exact name)..sorry yer..kena la you all google.

 And Putrajaya pun ader

 Ni tasik kat Putrajaya tu..where normally people go for the boat cruise

 Shop lots near Petaling Street

 This one is the only KTM station (train station)

 Of course, must have..The Twin Tower

 This is Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad (the court house yang lama)

 KL Tower

 This is KL SEntral and banyak lagi. The miniature city (Mini City) also ader some of the major attraction from various Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmmar, Singapore and Vietnam.

Since we were there very early, the crowd is just OK..so we decided to go for the rides before orang memenuhi the place. We go from one ride to another and we were so happy that the queue ...almost takder. Heheheh...so since some ride x boleh bawa camera, I can't displayed it here ya. Sorry..I guess you kena pergi sane to see it. Heehh...yang I x naik I can post here though...

 First ride I think is this...again, I forgot what it is called but it is a dragon roller coaster. My nephew love it so much that he requested that we went for a second round. Well, since there are not much of people, why not...hehe

 Then we're off to Imagination (different area have different name it seem)..Nothing much here (at least for me)..but we did naik the replica of the Taming Sari rotating ride (kat Melaka) just because we wanted some ac!! Hahah..walaupun awal pagi, it is still very humid! Can't imagine bila dah tengahari..I'll be roasted!

 All smiling because of the ac..hehe

 Lepas tu we did went for a few other ride and I think we went to this part of the park bila dah nak balik. This ride I knew I do not want to be a part off because I went to similar ride in Sunway Lagoon with a friend and we end up soaking wet! So, no more ....this time, I jadi photographer jer.

 Tengok cam ok jer kan..

 Masa naik slow giler..

 Bila turun laju and then...BASAH!!! Hahaha...

 Then we stop by a few ride for kiddy and I think lps tu we went here. Adventure of the Pharaoh..something cam tu la. Kira cam main laser tag. Syiok juga main ni..heheh

 Ni bagi yang malas nak stay jauh you can stay here tapi mlm2 bosan giler la because this place it totally out of no where! Hahah..tempat makan pun xder.

So, that conclude our trip to Legoland. I know my blog don't tell so much about the whole theme park but I hope it will manage to give a glimpse of the place. Kalau nak tau detail, siler2 la google the website or best lagi, go there! But I must say, for a small part, this is a very expensive one. I mean, we were there literally for 1 hour and that show ...Legoland Malaysia is not so big.

Christmas Sugar Cookie

Yes...I will update again yet another cookie. Hehe...since ada free time ni so better I update. Every year I will bake sugar cookie for Christmas (bila I kat sini la) because hubby like it very much. Ingat tak nak buat this year tapi dah dia request so I pun buat la. Tapi this year I berazam nak deco lebih cantik and detail.

As usual, you need butter, sugar & egg (but you only need the yolk). Mix it together in a bowl..

Then you add cream cheese. Yes...you heard me right. CREAM CHEESE! I came across one recipe that use it so I thought, why not. This is a different twist from the normal sugar cookie I ever made. Curious pulak nak tau cam maner rasa nyer so I add la cream cheese. Hehhehe..and don't forget the vanilla essence ya..

In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and ground nutmeg.

 Mix both contents of the bowl together and mix until it form a dough yang x sticky. Then wrap the dough using a string wrap and masuk dlm fridge for few hrs or until dough is easy to work with.

Then rolled the dough to approx 1/8 inc thickness or if you are like me..rolled smp you rasa cukup tebal..hahaha..then cut using shape cutter. I always ader pelbagai cookie cutter & Xmas shape harus ada! Heehhe...Lepas tu bake for 8-10minutes in a 175C temp. Jangan over 10minutes pasal cookie anda nescaya hangus!! Hahha...coz sugar cookie ni very delicate. Cool of the cookie then you can start being CREATIVE!!

 Tadaa...ni jer hasil nyer. I memang x nak buat banyak because nak buat the cookie x susah. Bila part nak deco tu yang take soooo long time.

 Since I am a baker, I always ada stock food coloring & any kind of multi-color decors in my pantry. Sangat berguna di saat memerlukan seperti masa ini. Hehhee..

Sayang nak makan as what my fellow friends mentioned tapi kena makan juga akhirnya. Heehhe..Nak cuba, ok..ni recipe nyer..

• 1 cup butter
• 1 pack of cream cheese (ard 200-250gm la tu kan)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 21/2 cups of flour
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp of baking soda
• 1/8 tsp of ground nutmeg

As for the frosting, I use icing sugar, some food coloring & multi color sugar decors. This recipe suppose to yield around 48 pieces of cookie but if your cookie cutter is big like mine, maybe you get half of it.

Merry Christmas & Happy Baking..

Pinwheels cookie

It has been a while since I last updated my blog. I have been busy with things especially Christmas is just around the corner. Not that I will have any much of celebration this year because there will only be the two of us. And plus, the Danes do not have the 'open house' tradition like we Malaysian do. We only held 'close house'... only for the invited guests. But nevertheless,  my in laws will be joining us for Christmas Eve dinner where we will host it at our home. And to lighten up my OWN Christmas mood, I baked some cookies. Originally I wanted to bake 6 types but decided on 3 the very last minute.

Here I would like to share my recipe on how to bake pinwheel cookie. It is called a pinwheel because as you can see from the picture, it look like a pinwheel. Although I am using red color, you can always use any kind of color that you feel like using. It is not so hard to make and it taste very buttery. 

As usual, you need butter ( I prefer to use Lurpak. Yes, it is a bit pricey but from all the experience I used Lurpak, that true buttery taste is MARVELOUS!), flour, castor sugar (white because you won't want your cookie to look like it is hangus), baking powder, salt, vanilla essence, food coloring ( I'm using red) and multi -color nonpareil decors. If you want the color dough to have some flavor, you can use rose essence but mine no have ok. Heheh....

  First, you make the dough. Blend butter & sugar together in one bowl then add vanilla essence. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Yes, this cookie do not use any egg. Then mix the flour into the butter mixture. Mix well until it form a ball like dough. Separate the dough into two ball..

 One you mix with the rose essence (if you intended to use add some flavor to your dough) and the red food coloring.

 Another dough, just a plain one.

Then for each dough (separately), you 'sandwich' it with a wax paper or baking paper. You alas bawah dgn baking paper and cover atas juga la. Cam kat bawah ni..

Then you need to rolled it into a rectangular shape. Kalau nak very particular, you boleh la sukat the measurement (lebih kurang 11x81/2 inches) and ketebalan dlm 1/8 inch. Tapi kalau you macam I, I main agak2 jer. Bukan kata dah expert tapi memandangkan I bukan nak join competition, so if I tengok ketebalan ok..lebar ok..panjang ok..SET! Then you place both of the dough in the fridge, between 3 hrs to few days ( approx. 3days). Since I am not in a hurry, I left it overnight. 

The next day, you take the rolled dough out from the fridge and kasi lembut sket. maybe biar for few minute. Then with the plain dough on the bottom, take off the wax paper on top of the dough and brush some egg white on top. Ini kira function as a glue to stick the two dough together. Lepas tu, take the red dough (tanggalkan wax paper kat bawah dough merah tu and place the red dough on top of the plain dough. Press it carefully so that it will stick together..

Like this...nampak kan the plain dough kat bawah. Sebelum you start rolling it cam nak buat swiss roll, you spread the multi-color decors in a tray. Then slowly roll the dough (tp make sure the dough x lembut sangat & tak keras sgt. If too soft, susah nak roll tp kalau too hard, it tends to break). As you begin to roll, gently curl the edge with your finger tips in order to avoid air pocket when you rolled the dough into a log. Lepas tu, place the 'log' dough in the tray that is full of the multi color decors. Keep rolling until the 'log' is completely cover by the decors. Lepas tu I believe the log dah lembut so masukkan dlm fridge dulu. Jangan potong when the 'log' lembut because it will be out of shape. Lepas few hrs, take out the log and cut it approx. 1/4inch thickness (oh ya, bila you dah roll jadi log tadi, trim the edge so nampak kemas sket).

As you can see, the shape tak round sangat kan. Xper..heheh...the look masih nampak ada pinwheel. Bake the cookie in a 175C temp. oven for 15-17 minutes. 

The taste...very buttery and it is soft yet crunchy. Best untuk minum kopi or tea. Slamat mencuba uols!!

The recipe ( make between 24-36 cookies):

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup of castor sugar
• 21/2 sticks butter (1stick of butter is approx. 122gm)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 tsp strawberry/rose flavor (if you decide to add flavor to the red dough)
• 1/2 tsp red food coloring
• 11/2 cups of multi color decors (more if you want)

So, smua dah diterangkan. Siler la mencuba. Maybe your shape is better than mine...coz mine a bit out..x cukup round. Hehhe..

Pork Chop For Dinner

I have been abandoning my blog for quite a while now. Been busy constructing an essay for a job application. All I have to do is write a one page essay on what motivate me to join the program and wow..that took me a week to construct and reconstruct. Even now I haven't come out with a concrete essay. Luckily I have until February to submit. 

Anyway, I had a request yesterday to cook pork chop for dinner so I thought of sharing my very own recipe of pork chop. Now, this is not a healthy recipe yeah..that I have to let you know. That is also the reason why I only cook this few times a year. But I can assure you that it taste good! Unhealthy food always taste good don't it? Hehhe..ok for those who can't eat pork, you can simply replace it with other kind of meat. 

So, for this you need..obviously pork meat, butter, milk/cream, flour, paprika, salt & some vegetables (button mushroom, carrot & capsicum).

First, mix some flour with salt and paprika (this is an option yeah. You can replace it with other herb/spices. I like to use either chillies flake or paprika). Mix in a plate.

 And coated the meat one by one with the flour mixture.

So, roughly all your meat will be coated with the flour mixture and it look like this..

You see the orange/brownish color, that why I like to use paprika. Then you need to melt a few tbsp butter on a hot pan.

I told you that this is not a healthy dish. Heheh...the buttery taste is very yummyy! Then pan fry the coated meat in the melted butter. 

Not sampai masak ya, just bagi dia brownish color..make sure you pan fry both side..

Lepas tu, place all the meat dalam bekas untuk masukkan dalam oven. 

When you do the pan frying, you can prepare the vegetables and here I used button mushroom, capsicum and carrot. You can also add potatoes or tomatoes. Really...any vegetable will do but please jangan la letak bayam ke..kangkung ke..tu melampau la kan..

Slice the button mushroom. Please don't use the canned button mushroom. It has to be the 'real' one. 

Then continue slicing the capsicum & carrot. Bila smua dah ready, again, take few tbsp butter & melted it on a hot pan. Recycle jer pan tadi..hehehe

Bila butter dah melted, add the sliced button mushroom. Don't be alarm. It may look like too many but once the water is squeeze out from it, you be surprised how little mushroom you have. 

You will end up with a lot of water in the pan so take out some of the water and then add the rest of the sliced vegetable. 

Then when all is mixed, add some milk or cream. Not too much. Just to give it a little watery. See..sikit jer air dia..

Then add flour..

Continue on stirring until the gravy is thicken. If tak cukup pekat, add sikit flour. Bila dah pekat, pour all the vegetable on top of the meat tadi..

The water from the vegetable will make sure the meat won't get very dry when it is cooking inside the oven. The dish will have a little bit of gravy too. It is not suppose to be dry. Kalau nak avoid sayur & meat very dry cepat, cover dish dgn aluminum sheet. Cook for 30-45 min in a 190C.

Tada..dah masak. Ni baru kluar oven. X nampak the meat pasal kat bawah tu. You can serve the meat with pasta..boil potato or simply nasi (typical Asian nyer style la kan). Hehehe..

Try la if ada masa. Pasti sedap. Tapi jangan masak slalu tau. If you gain weight jangan salahkan saya ok. Hehehhe...