Every cloud has a silver lining

This is how KL view looks like at night, dawn and afternoon from the balcony of my house.

The same thing might look so different as time changes.

The time could only be an hour, a minute or even a second.

At one time, life could be so dark, hopeless and wretched but if one keep going, there is always a turn in life.

Every little act of kindness, words of encouragement or a simple smile will go a long way...

Pao Sam Sou to reduce heat

New mothers really need this...

WHY?

Because we don't get enough of sleep and most of the nights, we have to wake up to feed the baby. This will cause the body to be 'heaty' and soon the three 'best friends' of sickness will join in - sore throat, flu and cough.
And being a mother, I definitely don't want to get any of those and then pass on to my son. So, taking care of my own health is as important as taking care of my son's.

Hence, if you could, get a pack of Pao Sam Sou (around RM5) from a Chinese medicine shop.

Put 4 bowls of water to it and boil for around 30 minutes.

Wait till the liquid cool off entirely before drinking. Drink it throughout the day and you will feel better.

I've tried taking honey at the same time and it helps tremendously.

Wish you well too...

Take a break

                                           
Portugese tart...hmmm....yummy!

No, I didn't bake it. I bought it from a nearby bakery shop. I am taking in what my mom says, "It's so much easier to buy one or two pieces of it to satisfy the taste buds than spending the whole day baking them."

I can't remember when was the last time I ate one of these but I've to say that it tastes good! So good you wanted to have more...

If you want more, than you better bake them! Ha...

I'm taking a break at the moment, too exhausted from the daily chores plus one new thing to do. I'm compiling some info, calling up bank after bank. Probably I will upload the info I've compiled later on. Who knows, you might need them!

Adios~ going to enjoy my tart!

Yam Cake

My friend, Hooi Thiam, likes to make Yam Cake for her family for breakfast. She thinks that it is much healthier than eating processed cereals.

Thanks to Hooi Thiam for this recipe.

Well, if you want to make this, then, you've gotta be very hardworking. It takes a lot of work to prepare this dish. Unless you have someone who appreciates the food, you might as well forget about making it.

My mom always says, buy a few pieces of it to satisfy the taste buds is so much easier than cooking it by yourself.

A good yam cake depends very much on the yam itself. And so, each time the taste of a yam cake that you bake might differ slightly due to the texture of the yam.

I have this honest vege seller, Rabbit Teeth Aunty. She will choose the best yam in her store for me. A good yam is 'powdery'. The knife will have white liquid on it as shown in picture no. 3.

Pictures showing process (top left to right)

The main ingredients are:
1) 1/2 yam
2) one large onion
3) 3 tablespoons dried shrimps
4) 250 gram of blended rice flour (1/2 packet)
5) 1 teaspoon salt
6) 1 teaspoon sugar
7) 125ml + 750ml of water (put separately)

My friend says that you can add in other ingredients such as sweet potatoes, lap cheong (preserved wax meat) or even minced pork. Trust me, I tried that and it's so delicious!

1) Cut the yam into cubes
2) Chop the dried shrimps coarsely
3) Slice the onion
4) Add the salt and sugar to the flour and mix well with 750ml of water. Strain the mixture.
5) Fry the onion till fragrant. Add in dried shrimps.
6) Add in yam. Then, add in 125ml of water. Keep frying till the yam absorb most of the water.
7) Add in the flour mixture in 3 stages. Pour in the mixture and fry till sticky. Don't panic here. It is meant to be dry and sticky. Add in more flour mixture and keep stirring.
8) Turn off the heat and scoop out the mixture into a big bowl.
9) Put to steam above boiling water for 30 minutes.
10) The cooked yam cake needs about 1 and a half hour to totally dry up. So don't get panic when you see the finished product which is quite wet the moment it comes out of the pot.

You can keep the unfinished yam cake in refrigerator and steam it again the next day before eating. The yam cake can be kept for 3 to 4 days before it turns mouldy.
My friend goes a distance for her yam cake - she blended her own rice to be made flour! So, her yam cake can only last for 1 to 2 days. The logic is that - the blended rice flour we bought from the market contained preservatives to keep it fresh. At the moment, I opted the easier way out, the ready blended rice flour! What about you?

Do enjoy the process!

Steamed Dong Guai with Chicken

Dong Guai (in Cantonese) is good for females, especially after menses or during confinement period. I remember having Dong Guai soup almost everyday during my confinement period.

Dong Guai is said to replenish and nourish blood. It is also quite heaty. So, one has to drink more water if one takes Dong Guai soup.

Mom says that Dong Guai must be stewed so that the taste can get throughly into the liquid. But if one have got not enough of time, one can opt to steam Dong Guai with Chicken and Kei Chee (Wolfberry).

Buy chicken drumsticks, preferably 'kampung chicken' (village chicken). 'Kampung chicken' is said to be healthier and the meat leaner. The chickens in the village are allowed to run around and exercise unlike those chickens rared in the city which are confined in the cage.

You can ask the chicken seller to remove the skin and bones if you don't like them. But I prefer to eat them just like that.

Put a few slices of Dong Guai and 1 tablespoon of Kei Chee (Wolfberry).

Put 1/2 cup of water to the ingredients. Then, put to steam with the rice or under boiling water for 30 minutes.

Dong Guai tastes a little bitter while Kei Chee tastes sweet. The combination brings out a delicious meal!

Commonly used ingredients for soup

Let us take a closer look at the four ingredients commonly used in soups.

Top left photo shows Wyai San (Chinese Yam). It is chalky.

Benefits:
1) Nourish the lung
2) Nourish the kidney
3) Strengthen the spleen
4) Stop diarrhea
5) Improve vitality

Top right photo shows Kei Chee (Wolfberry)

Benefits:
1) Improve eyesight
2) Strenghten immune system
3) Nourish liver
4) Nourish kidney
5) Activates blood circulation

Bottom right photo shows Yuk Chuk (Solomonseal Rhizome)

Benefits:
1) Nourish yin
2) Moistens internal dryness
3) Quench thirst
4) Heals cough
5) Clear internal heat

Bottom left photo shows Hong Chou (Red dates)

Benefits:
1) Nourish blood

Walnut & Corn soup

My uncle bought a pack of walnuts from Australia for us. I am not a fan of walnut but my mom was. She used to eat walnuts like snacks! But ever since she knew her blood is against nuts, she keeps to strict diet.

So, I have to do something with the walnuts...

Today, I boil walnut with corn soup. To be honest, I find the taste weird. Probably I am not used to the taste of walnuts. Nevertheless, it is worth a try since walnuts are good for the brain and I definitely need that!

Ingredients
1 handful of walnuts
2 corns
1/2 handful of Kei Chee (Wolfberry)
1/2 handful of Hong Chou (Red date)
1/2 handful of Yuk Chuk (Solomonseal Rhizome)
4 to 5 sticks of Wyai San (Chinese Yam)

1) Flatten Hong Chou (Red date) and peel off the cores.

2) Rinse all the ingredients before putting to boil

3) Boil under HIGH heat for 15 mins before turning to LOW heat and let it simmer for another 1 to 2 hours.

4) If you have chicken bones or pork ribs, add in after 1 hour and let it boil under HIGH heat for 15 to 20 minutes before turning off the gas.

The concept of soup boiling is rather easy. It is the preparation of the ingredients which one might find difficult. But you can always purchase more at one go and keep them in the refrigerator.

The first photo (top left) shows the main four ingredients commonly used for Chinese soups. Buy those in packets. You will find most of the recipes for soups are using those.

Wholesome Breakfast

After I went through a detox program, my friend suggested that I take multi-grain porridge as breakfast rather than bread. She explained that multi-grain contained a lot more nutrients than bread. She has a friend who took only bread continuously for breakfast for a prolong time and was diagnosed with depression.

So, this friend of mine opines that food and depression are interrelated. And to take bread, which contains only empty carbo does not help my fatigue problem at all. Instead, if I take multi-grain, probably my fatigue can be kept at bay.

To me, there is no harm making a change as long as it is a good one.

Cooking multi-grain porridge is so easy.

For 1 cup of rice, add in 6 bowls of water. Cook it in the slow cooker.

Set your timer to start cooking at 3am and stop at 7am. If you need to go to work early, then, set the cooking time to be earlier. The porridge needs 3 to 4 hours to be ready under HIGH heat.

So, by the time my husband takes his breakfast at 8.15am, the porridge is still warm yet not boiling hot. It is just nice and delicious.

Surprisingly, my baby likes this too!

You can add a little of Marmite to the porridge for a start.

To be honest, I don't really like the look of the porridge at the first sight. In addition to that, I felt the porridge is tasteless...So, I added a little of Marmite to it. But now I am used to the taste and even like it better without Marmite!

Steamed Egg with minced pork

This dish is extremely easy to cook. I remember having this at least once a week throughout my Secondary school years.

Ingredients
RM4 minced pork (request for lean meat if you don't like fats)
1 egg
half bowl of water
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
one round of soy sauce

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

1) Put a pot of water to boil.

2) Add salt, sugar and soy sauce to the minced pork. Mix well.

3) Beat 1 egg. Then, mix well with the minced pork.

4) Add half bowl of water to the minced pork. Mix well.

5) Put to steam under boiling water for 30 minutes.

There might be some water on top of the cooked dish. You may use a chopstick and poke a few holes into the pork cake.

If you are cooking rice at the same time, put the dish to steam on the rice cooker like the picture shown in "Food for the day" post. Then, you can have steamed egg with pork and rice.

Let us use water wisely

Water reaches us conveniently in the comfort of our homes. But how many of us, the residents of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, realise that we might be facing a threat of water supply shortage by 2014?

It is reported that the Federal Government foresees water supply shortage by 2014. If so, the government should take imperative move to ensure that the project of Treatment Plant goes smoothly. Otherwise, the residents of the abovementioned three states will be the victims of politics.

Besides government, it is also our responsibility as consumer to ensure that the water supply is sufficient.

Each individual plays an important role in conserving water and it should start from home as the saying goes, ‘Charity starts from home.’

For example, the water I used to bath my baby will be used to flush the toilet, wash the bathroom or mop the floor. Other than this, I also use the water I used to soak the vegetables to rinse the dishes after our meals. There are so many ways to conserve water. Besides being a responsible individual, one will also feel contented seeing a decrease in water bills.

The crux of the matter is to educate the public. We should go hand in hand in conserving water and making sure that we have sufficient water to go on comfortably. Pipes leakage should be reported immediately. Children should be taught in school and at home on how to use water wisely.

It is also crucial to educate the public on proper waste disposal. Rivers should be preserved because it is a source of water supply too.

A little effort from each individual will make a big difference. The next time when you ignore  a leaking pipe or water wastage, think of a child dying every 20 seconds due to water-related disease.

Edited and published in The Star newspaper:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/22/focus/8318191&sec=focus

Stir-fry pork with mushrooms and carrot

 This dish is simple yet delicious.

Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients
1 carrot
2 small onions / 1 big onion
5 mushrooms
RM4 pork (sliced)
Organic black bean sauce
1/2 bowl of water

Soak the mushrooms for 30 minutes or until the mushrooms become soft.

1) Cut the mushrooms, carrot and onions into small slices

2) Heat up a wok. Add some oil.
Count to 10 and pour in the onions. You will hear "pssttt!!" sound...

3) Fry till fragrant. Then, add in mushroom slices. Fry for a while before adding the pork slices. Fry till the pork slices are cooked.

4) Add in carrot. Fry for a while. Then pour in 1/2 bowl of water. Wait till the water boils.

5) Pour in three rounds of organic black beans sauce.

6) Stir-fry till the sauce boils.

Dish up and it's time for dinner!

Note: I am quite particular with sauces. But this black bean sauce was bought from an organic shop and the ingredients say: black bean and sea salt only. There is no colouring, artificial flavouring, preservatives, etc... Hence, I believe it is good. If you think otherwise, kindly advise...

And you can be creative with the dish - if you don't like pork, you can choose chicken! You can add in other types of vege as well - eg. celery, pea, etc.

Like I said, cooking is fun!

Tauhoo with tomato and seaweed

This is one of my mom's favourites.

1 piece of tauhoo
2 tomatoes
1 piece of seaweed

1) Soak the seaweed in the water.
2) Cut the tauhoo and tomatoes into small cubes.
3) Bring to boil one bowl of water
4) Put in the tauhoo and wait till it boils again
5) Add in the seaweed and wait till it boils again
6) Add in tomatoes
7) Add in soy sauce

If you like noodles, cook the noodles before everything else.

Juicing

Juicing is not something new. There are tonnes of books on juicing and how it cures sicknesses.

Now, I am talking about pure fruit and vege juices and not something you order from restaurants, which have been added with water and lots of sugar.

It is said that our body is able to absorb 90% of the nutrients from juices while if we eat them, we can only absorb 30% of the nutrients. Another book I read said that juices go straight into our blood stream, cleansing it and balancing our body pH level. I am not sure how true it is but it's worth a try. After all, there is no harm in taking more fruits and vege.

Juicing is quite simple. Just wash and cut the fruits and vege and put them in the machine.

The juice is ready within minutes and you have to drink them within 15 minutes to prevent it from being oxidised.

And an important thing to remember, while you are drinking a glass of juice, you have to chew the liquid. I know it sounds funny but books on juicing said that when we chew or the motion of chewing produces saliva and at the same time causes the production of enzyme or so. Hence, making the juice we drink to have greater positive effect in our body.

For the beginners, you will find yourself going to the toilet more often to poo. You will feel so much lighter and healthier.

Juicing is easy. The most difficult part I find is washing the machine!

A clean toothbrush is recommended for the purpose of washing the blender.

Oh yea, at the moment I take apple, carrot and celery juice in the morning, empty stomach.

2 apples
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery.

Let's stay healthy!

Simple Steamed Fish

We like fish. Steaming a fish is easy and it is good for the health.

Ask the fishmonger to chop off all the fins and sharp edges. Otherwise, you might hurt yourself when washing the fish.

Though the fishmonger has scaled off the fish, you still need to double check on it. Take a small knife and scrap off the scales that the fishmonger missed. Then, scrap off the blood clot that sticks to the spinal of the fish.

Slit the fish, front and back so that the fish will be cooked easily.

Flatten a few cloves of garlic and minced them. Put on the fish.

Add 1 or 2 tomatoes (remove the seeds).

Put the fish with the garlic and tomatoes to steam under boiling water for 20 minutes.

Add in soy sauce when ready.

Here are what we have for dinner:
1 steamed fish
1 plate of broccoli
1 plate of lettuce
1 big bowl of lotus root soup

And we eat mixed grains - brown, red and black rice.

Preparation and cooking time for the vege and fish is around 1 hour.

Simple yet delicious! And most of all, you don't have to worry about oily kitchen after cooking.

Lotus Root Soup

I know of a very honest vege seller. She is known as Rabbit Teeth Aunty. She would go a distance for her loyal customers.

When I asked her which lotus root was better, she took the lotus roots and cut away a little of the ends. Magic happened here!

When the ends were sliced off, watch the colour of the lotus root. If it is pinkish, then it is a good one for soup. Otherwise, don't bother to make a lotus root soup at all.

A good lotus root will make the soup 'powdery' and thick.

It depends on what else you want to add into the soup.

As for me, I put in:
1/2 handful of Kei Chee (Wolfberry)
1/2  handful of Hong Chou (Red dates)
1 Mat Chou (Honey Date)

Flatten the Hong Chou (Red Dates) with a knife. Then, remove the cores.

Bring a pot of water to boil and put in all the ingredients.

High heat - 15 minutes.

Turn to low heat and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours.

If you like to add meat, then, put in the meat and turn to high heat. Cook for another 15 minutes. Meat boiled for too long will become hard. So, to keep the meat tender, don't boil for too long.

Boiling lotus root soup is quite easy. The toughest part is cutting the lotus roots into very thin slices. It takes patience and some "kung fu". My right arm ached after finishing the task.

Kon Lo Pan Mee (Dry Pan Mee)

If you've come across my previous post on my Mom, you'll know that my mom is allergy to rice. Hence, she eats food made of flour most of the days now.

The making of Pan Mee is actually the same as Mee Hoon Kueh.

The only difference is that one needs to fold the flattened dough and cut into strips for Pan Mee. The width of the strips depends on how thick you want your noodles to be.

Cook the noodles in boiling water. Dish out and add in a few spoons of fried onion oil.
Mix well. You can add in soy sauce and dark soy sauce to taste. My mom likes it simple, so she didn't add the dark soy sauce, saying it just darken the noodles, which she doesn't like.

For me, I would go for chilli sauce too! And probably stir-fry some minced pork and pour over the noodles. But since my mom is a vegetarian (at this moment), she opted for Mok Yee (Wood Ear).

Add in vege, preferably Choy Sam (Sayur Sawi) and it's ready to be eaten!

Phlegm Dissolver

I had a very exhausting weekend.

My son had a serious nose block due to flu in the evening of Saturday. He woke up throughout the night and needed to be carried. Being a mother, this is one of the sacrifices I have to make...

On Sunday's evening, around 10.30pm, he woke with a cry again. We knew we had to send him to the hospital. He has history of difficulty in breathing due to thick phlegm. Once, doctor even said that he might collapse due to suffocation if we had not send him earlier. It really worried me.

We sent our son to Hospital Selayang, reaching there at 11.30pm. Blood test done and doctor checked on him and gave him Ionised Seawater Nebuliser. We were back home at around 4am. Thank God, the baby slept through the night.

My husband took leave on Monday so that he could have enough of sleep. I asked him to buy some pears.

He called back so many times asking whether it is: crystal pear, yellow pear, green pear, Korean pear or China pear.

I didn't know there are so many types of pears in the market...Each time I would just go and grab the things I wanted, pay for them and leave.

Just get the cheapest pear. Cut it and discard the core.

Go to Chinese medicine shop to get Lam Hang (Sweet Almonds) - 100grams, Chun Pui 40grams, and one Mat Chou (Honey Date). Pei Pa is optional. The amount of water is between 1.2 to 1.5 litre (serves 3 to 4).

Put everything to a slowcooker and let the soup be cooked for 3 to 4 hours.

I let my baby drank for two days and I see improvement in him. He has lesser phlegm. Though he still has flu, he can sleep through the night.

My mom saw this recipe in TV, said to dissolve phlegm and cure cough. It worths a try before taking antibiotics!

Mee Hoon Kueh & Fried Vegetarian Dumplings

My mom's blood test shows that she is allergy to grains.

For the last two weeks, she has been eating multi-bean soup, corns and sweet potatoes. She was sad that she was not able to eat anything that make her feel full.

She missed rice. So, I suggested that she make her very own staple food - her favourite Mee Hoon Kueh.

It was quite a tedious task. One has to mix the flour, water and oil together until they become a dough. The dough cannot be too dry or wet.

It was a trial and error thing for us to make the right dough. An estimated 100gram of white flour (organic unbleached preferred), with 3 tablespoon of filtered water and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. It is advisable to use a mixer. Otherwise, you will have to dirty your hands with the sticky mixture. I remembered how I juggled between making bread and taking care of my crying son. I was not able to carry him because my hands were so sticky and it made me feel guilty.

The mixer I bought was less than RM100 and I have no regret buying it. It is really a good companion in making bread, cookies, cakes or even now, our Mee Hoon Kueh.

After mixing the ingredients with a mixer, a dough will be formed. If it doesn't, use your hands to make it. It is just like making a ball with clay.

Pull out a small piece from the dough and start rolling out. My mom likes thin texture Mee Hoon Kueh. So, she flattened the dough till it is really, really thin yet not torn. If you like the chewy thick texture, then don't roll out too much.

Bring a pot of water with Kei Chee (Wolfberry) and Hong Chou (Red dates) to boil. Sprinkle some salt in the water.

Tear the flattened dough into small pieces. (sizes depend on your liking). When the Mee Hoon Kueh is almost cooked, put in Kao Kei vege into the pot and let it boil for a moment.

Besides making Mee Hoon Kueh, the extra dough can be used to make dumplings. Roll out the dough and flatten it. This must be really thin yet not torn. Cut into square or round pieces. Fill them up with mix vege (diced carrots, corns and peas). My mom bought hers from Jusco - frozen department.

Fry the dumplings and viola - you have Mee Hoon Kueh with fried vegetarian dumplings...

Chinese Spinach (Po Choy)

Cooking to me is extremely easy. Firstly, I eat simple food which need no extravagant time to prepare or cook. Secondly, I've a very simple mom who cooks simple dishes. Hence, I've inherited that.

Although my husband is choosy on his food, he finds it OK to eat the vege cooked through boiling. How about you?

Put a pot of water to boil.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Add some oil. "Some" here means as you like. I am quite a 'cin-cai' person when it comes to cooking. I want things to be done fast, fast enough to be eaten so that I can spare the time for something else.

And while you wait for the water to boil, you can do something else.

When the water is boiling, put in the Po Choy and wait till they turn dark green (which means they are cooked). If you don't know how to differentiate, then, wait till the water boils again and scoop out the vege.

Add in soy sauce to taste.

Note: I like Po Choy because they are easy to prepare...
Cut the roots away. Then, use scissors to cut the vege into three-inch length and soak for some time before cooking.

The Art of Life

I received a call from a stranger yesterday. We chatted for almost an hour.

The call made me realise that I've long forgotten my hobby - drawing.

I like drawing. My parents sent me to drawing classes when I was in year 2 and the classes continued until I was in my Form 5.

Although I tried my very best, I did not get any compliments from my mother. I was sent to piano classes as well. But that did not last long.

I was soon exhausted from school work and all the practises.

I needed compliments, especially from my dear mom.

I never really know about LOVE until I met someone special... Jesus Christ. He gave me hope again. If it were not because of Him, I would not pick up the pen and write again. If it were not because of Him, I might not be here anyway.

To Nurul, thanks for your call. What I can say is that, it is not only about the classes that you are going to send your children to, but the environment, the teachers, the children themselves and you, as a parent.

Children need supportive parents, teachers and friends. They need to know that there are people who care even though they might not do well in what they are doing.

Everyone is born unique and each of us has different gift. One may draw well while the other sing well.  As parents, what we can do is to pay some attention to our children. Get to know the gifts of the children and then, sharpen their skills.

I once read that, "Life is like a white canvas. It depends on what colours you want to fill it with."

I hope ours will be filled with the colours of the rainbow.

Thanks Nurul. You have add a stroke of colour into my life.

Broccoli

Who say children don't like vege? My toddler son likes broccoli. If he comes to the kitchen and see me cutting broccoli, he would go out to play and come in again in minutes to check out whether the broccoli is ready to be eaten.

Once when I sent my son to visit the doctor, I chatted with the nurse. She told me that taking care of children and housechores aren't an easy tasks. She was a full time housewife too but started working again lately. She told me that cooking was one of the major tasks. But I told her that vege need not be fried. They can be cooked with boiling water. She squinted her eyes and gave me a "Yuk!" look. Then, she explained that she had never tasted anything good which are steamed or seethed. She likes all food to be fried, either stir-fry or deep-fried.

I understand that every individual has different taste but I recommend that you try this before saying no.

Cutting broccoli may take quite some time. But you'll find yourself enjoying it later on...I put some chitosan powder into the water to soak the cut broccoli - just as a measure to clean out the chemical used during plantation.

The skin of the broccoli needs to be shredded off because it is hard. I feed my son with the cut stem of the broccoli as I heard a lot about the chemical getting into the flower part of the broccoli. Whatever it is, the choice is yours.
Put a pot of water to boil. Add in some oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar into the water.

When the water is boiling, put the clean cut broccoli into the water. Wait till the water boils again. Scoop out the broccoli. Add some soy sauce to taste and the food is ready.

Trust me, it tastes good!

Steamed Pork Ribs

While I was in my confinement period after giving birth, I was overstressed thinking about myself not able to take care of my infant son. I cried day and night when I thought of how demanding my baby was.

Fortunately, I had a very caring and clever confinement lady. She comforted me by saying that cooking can be easy and she taught me some simple dishes.

When my confinement lady left, I was so stressed up because I had to feed my baby every three hours and at the same time, cook and do all the house chores which include mopping the floor and clearing the laundry. While my baby uses cloth nappy, I have so many nappies to wash, dry and fold. There is no stopping of that.

Nevertheless, overtime, I got use to the routine.

Here is a simple dish, any busy mother can cook without worrying about low or high heat or the time of cooking.

Preparation time: Roughly 15 minutes.
Cooking time: 45 minutes (depending on how long your rice cooker cooks)

Pictures (clockwise) showing the process of preparation.

1) Wash the garlic cloves and flatten them with a big knife.
2) Chop the garlic
3) Wash the pork ribs
4) Add in the marinate - some sugar, salt, 1 tbspn soy sauce, 2 tbspn Hsiao Xing wine and the chopped garlic
5) Mix well
6) Put the pork ribs to steam on the rice cooker

When the rice is cooked, so are the pork ribs.

And you have a meal of pork ribs rice for lunch!

My Writing

I have been quite active in writing of late.

All of a sudden, I remembered what a local author said. She advised people interested in writing to write to the Opinion column in newspaper publication. It struck me that that probably was the only way for me to improve my English without having to pay a single cent.

Below are a few links to my writings which are published in The Star newspaper.


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/25/focus/8137531&sec=focus
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/28/focus/8151636&sec=focus
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/8/focus/8206963&sec=focus

Pray that I will work harder and able to work harder...

New Posts Coming Soon...

Lately, I've been thinking of writing on food...again...

Well, it was not the first time that I wanted to write about food. This time will be different, I won't be writing about the food that others cook but all about food that I cooked and am going to cook. 

To be frank, I never really cooked before I gave birth to my son. But for the sake of the family's health and also mine, I decided to cook.

Cooking doesn't need to be tough. It could be FUN.

Last time, when I thought of cooking, the only thing I thought of was the oil bouncing up and down and onto my dear skin. Now, it excites me to wait till the wok is hot and throw in all the vege with the sound "CHARRR!!" 

Wow! The joy of looking at the cooked food and thinking of my clean blood test give me pure contentment. Yea, speaking of clean blood test. I was diagnosed with fatty liver, which could lead to liver cancer if not taken care of. And because my dad actually died of liver cancer, I knew I had to do something about the food I take. 

People say we inherit some part of our health through genetics. Yea, I believe in it. I believe more in FAMILY eating habit. Because Dad ate fried food almost everyday, the whole family ate that way too. And so, my dad, my brother and I also have fatty liver. 

After two years of eating home cooked food (6 days a week), my fatty liver marker got lower. It was at the borderline. Thank God, I feel so much healthier. 

Hence, I am going to include simple recipes...Yes, simple as ABC for working mothers or busy full time mothers who wanted to have healthy food for the family. 

HEALTH is in your hands. You decide what you want!

Sponge Cake

This is how my first successful sponge cake looks like!

Well, one can say that baking sponge cake is not as tough as it is but come on, can you make a sponge cake without using baking soda, baking powder or rising flour?

That's the toughest part.

My friend, also a full time mother, has been engaging herself in baking HEALTHY bread and cakes for the sake of her family. Since she has three children, she wanted the best food for them. Best doesn't need to be expensive. Best is something we start from the ingredients.

Nowadays, most people like fast food. Everyone seems to be in a rush and to be fast, food comes in packet and with boiling water, they are cooked in minutes! In fact, some other food might not need to be cooked at all!

OK. Enough of health theory. Back to baking, please...

This friend of mine, has recipe of baking sponge cake without all those powder powder thingy...We are using all the basic ingredients: Plain flour, sugar, water, oil, and egg.

The toughest part is to whisk the egg white with the sugar till the whole thing become fluffy. I know "fluffy" doesn't mean anything to people who have never seen what is "fluffy". Even after seeing "fluffy" for so many times, yet I can't really make a good sponge cake. That was how tough it was!

Anyway, like my friend said, whether the cake rise up or not, let's not be so pressure up. Just celebrate and EAT! It is meant for the family. Who cares about the appearance as long as it is healthy....Right? Most importantly, my son likes it. =)

Multibeans soup as dessert

This is what I had for my supper - a multibeans soup!

Well, it was actually my mom's dinner. She went for a food compatibility test and found that she was allergic to all kinds of grains and bread! So, it ended up that she has to take beans as her main meal.

So, while preparing her dinner, I thought why not I make more of it so that I can eat them too.

There are red, green and black beans. Actually, black beans need to be soaked in the water for at least 30 minutes before cooking them but I was a little lack of time this evening and poured everything into the pot straightaway.

After the water boiled, I turned to low heat to simmer the soup for another 2 hours.

My mom can't take sugar and I had to scoop out her portion before adding 1 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar into the rest of the soup.

My mom complained of the hard texture of the black beans but I like them! They are crunchy and that gave my teeth some good bites. Although I am not teething, I find biting on something crunchy quite engaging.

To make this soup:
1) 1/2 cup of green beans, 1/2 cup of red beans and 1 cup of black beans
2) 1.5 litre of filtered water (or if you like more water, add in more water)
3) wash all beans and pour into the pot with water
4) cook under high heat till the soup boils
5) turn to low heat & boil for another 2 hours
6) Add in 2 to 3 tablespoons of brown sugar (or to your taste)

Viola! You have something for supper!

New Year Reunion

I went to Johor for the Chinese New Year with my husband and son, just like the previous years. My husband's mother is still living in Johor and unlike his father (Papa), his mother (Mama) still prefer very much to live in Johor. Mama is still very alert and strong at the age of 70 and working very hard in a restaurant handed down by her mother. 

For the previous years, I felt an extreme pressure for meeting the in-laws, especially my sister-in-law, who was found to be very money-minded. This year, though, I left everything to God, praying daily for a better relationship with the in-laws. 

Viola! God opened the path for me. I had a great time with my in-laws after all these years of marriage! It was great talking and learning from my sis-in-law and her husband about money sense. Yes, no doubt, my sis-in-law is a money minded person, but as we stayed together in the same house for the past 5 days, she did not keep to herself on successful child raising nor avoiding my little toddler who went to her now and then. 

I learned that as long as we are willing to be opened, there are just things to learn from everyone...Yes, God created us different so that we can learn from each other and because of the differences, we are suppose to COMPLEMENT and COMPLETE each other and not COMPETE with each other. 

This world is a mean one, going to be a meaner one with the economy down and the gap getting larger ...So, it is time to learn to appreciate each other's existence.

Bah Kut Teh

Last Sunday, while talking with a friend of mine, we thought of writing about food and recipes in dual languages; English and Mandarin, so more people can benefit from our sites. Long story cut short, it all ended up that English is still the preferred language for our blogs. hmm....

Anyway, that very Sunday, my husband and I went to my husband's favourite Bah Kut Teh restaurant. It was the Grandpa Restaurant in Selayang. Here I have to stress that my husband :

1) is picky with food.
2) eats only LEAN MEAT.
3) is health conscious.
4) does not eat Bah Kut Teh.

Now, you might be wondering why would a health conscious person eats at a Bah Kut Teh restaurant? The reason is simple - we ordered only LEAN MEAT and my husband's all time favourite in that shop is not Bah Kut Teh but their stewed pork. You know, those pork cooked for a long time in black sauce. Unfortunately, that day we were late and the stewed pork had finished. We were left with no other choices except fish head curry and Bah Kut Teh. So we ended up ordering Bah Kut Teh for two (lean meat ONLY, please) and a plate of vege (small size) with two glasses of warm water.

When the food arrived, I fed my son first with the white rice and Bah Kut Teh soup. Voila! My son finished his meal in about 10 minutes and you can tell that he liked the soup very much because after that he kept asking for more. Well, when I get my hand on the vege, it was already quite cold. Nevertheless, the oyster sauce on the vege, which melted in my mouth, was enough to top up whatever deducted points. I'll give the vege 6/10. As for the soup, it's temperature was just right and I liked the sweetness of it. I wondered what they put in, but my husband and I just couldn't get our hands off the soup. We finished it to the last drop and asked for more TWICE. I've to give the soup 8/10 though I am not sure whether they put any "special" spices in it. Anyway, I later found that when I reached home I kept getting thirsty. 

The restaurant's workers were friendly and the restaurant was clean from what we saw. And the whole meal cost RM25.90 with an additional bowl of rice. Three thumbs up for the restaurant.

p/s: Though I find that the price was quite expensive, but we have to understand that pork prices have been going up. 

The comments are all based on individual taste and have no intention of causing any damages to the restaurant or whatsoever.

Bliss in Disguise

It has been quite some time since my last post. HUH!

My baby has another cold now. It is the 8th day. Thank God, he starts to have appetite for fruits again. He rejected fruits, I forgot since when, and I was so depressed that he even started to reject his meal.

Today, however, he ate banana, apple and papaya!!! How happy was I!

What does a mother want? I just want a healthy and cheerful growing baby...and of course, an obedient, responsible, gentle,... (and the list goes on)...

It may only take months for pregnancy and hours to give birth but it takes a LIFE TIME to care for one child...
But I'm happy to do it...for he is my child...my son...the best gift from God...

What are you waiting for?

This afternoon, while I was humming a song and patting my son to sleep, a sister in Christ, around my age, was in the emergency ward, fighting for life.

When I received the first SMS to pray for her when she was in the emergency ward, I felt sad for her. She has a son, which is not even one year old. She has so many things she wanted to do with her son, but...

When I received the second SMS informing me that she has passed away, I can't control  myself but cried. I am a bit emotional. Though we were not that close, but the fact that she passed away was drastic. How would her son accept the fact? He would then have to grow up without his mother.

These few days I have been thinking a lot . A lot of friends around fell sick and depressed. It slows me down to think and finished two books -"Have A Little Faith" by Mitch Albom and "Fish! for Life" by Stephen, Christensen and Paul.

 

What is the goal in life? I've been questioning myself. What have I achieved so far?

I think it is not what we HAVE but what we HAVE BEEN will be remembered. When we leave, we take nothing with us. We leave memories for others to cherish.

I remembered that when I was pregnant, I always drown myself in the sea of self-pity. I don't have pretty maternity clothes to wear. I don't eat much of those expensive bird nests. I don't have a mother or mother-in-law to cook me delicious soups. Nevertheless, God did a very touching thing. He sent his angel through sisters in Christ to care for me. Some even sent me soup! A sister once told me, "I get this love and I wanted to share it with the people I know." 

Are we passing around the LOVE we get? Are we too busy to notice the people who care for us? Are we making the day for others? 

We will never know whether others will remember us for life but who knows, our slightest move will cheer up a life on earth.

Jesus loves me. He loves you too...Do pass the love around. I am sure the love has been passed on to you and all you need to do is to give a little effort to make the day for someone else.

Second Course of Antibiotics

It is nearing a month from the first day that my son fell sick. His fever came and gone, came and gone, then cough and flu and recently, fever again. I just did not know what went wrong. Yesterday, we brought him to the fourth doctor. 

Doctor said that his tonsils are swollen and have white dots all over it. It is the sign of throat infection and the reason for the prolong fever. And he should be given antibiotics. I hesitated at first for giving him antibiotics. Frankly, if possible, I would avoid anything to do with antibiotics. And with recent reports from the newspaper that antibiotics will mess up the stomach and so on, it proves that antibiotics will do more harm to the body than good. We would prefer probiotics if possible, but not this time. Doctor said there is no other choice than antibiotics. 

When I reached home, I opened the box and read the instructions. I do not like the "Side Effects" part. Reading it made me shiver and refuse to let my son have the antibiotics. Nevertheless, long story cut short, I gave him at last. When I was thinking how much of harm the antibiotics would do to him, I was also thinking  on how much harm the throat infection would do to him. The infection could be worse than the antibiotics itself. 

Now, my son is going through the second course of antibiotics...at this age, not even one year old...

I really wish that he can have his healthy body again by the age of one, which is coming soon, on October 18. Keeping the fingers crossed...May God bless Isaac. 

Puppy Friendship

My son's fever relapsed on Wednesday. I was so exhausted from the last week routine of to and fro to the hospital and yet, when I thought I could finally have good nights sleep, his fever came again. This time doubled up with cough. 

On my side, my breastmilk on the right breast somehow got clogged up and caused stoned-like lump. It has been painful for quite a few days but I was too busy with my son that I didn't bother to do anything with it. So, the lump somehow caused me to have fever too. 

It was tiring enough to take care of my sick baby and then, I've to take care of my fever. Went to visit my breastfeed consultant and was advised that I am diagnosed with mastitis and should be taking antibiotics. If the case deteriorate, I may need to go through a minor surgery to have my breast cut open to get that lump out. Minor or major surgery, I definitely do not want my breast to be cut opened. It's horrible. Now, I don't understand why my breastmilk got clogged up. Never mind. Too tired to think about it.

My son's fever got better today. Mine too. Just need to keep monitoring the water intake.  During  these exhausted days, I tried to find comfort in friends. However, they disappointed me. 

When my son had red dots coming out from his body last week, I called my 'best buddy'. I thought she might know anything about dengue and the red dots since she has been working in the hospital for quite a few years already. But she didn't. It's fine. I don't mind that she didn't know anything about it. Maybe my expectations were too high, I wish that, when I needed comfort the most, she would call back or at least SMS me to ask about my son's condition. Alas! Never! I've became just like a stranger to her...

She was my best buddy since Secondary 1. We talked and shared about almost everything and because I have no sister, I treated her like one. Though through the years, we have not contacted much, I still keep her in my mind. Forgetting about birthdays, I admit I was not a proactive person who would go an extra mile to meet up with old friends. Nevertheless, I did sent out SMS occasionally reminding them of my EXISTENCE. 

I yearned for the long friendship - 17 years of friendship with this buddy. However, no matter what I did, she has no reactions towards me. I was so heartache. This buddy, a friend, whom I've always thought as my BEST of friends, ignored me and left me out just like that. She was my bride's maid in my wedding. She was my secret keeper. My uni mate said, "Friends come and go, family stays." Is that true?

Maybe I should not hold on to the past. Maybe I was too naive to believe that friendship could last. Maybe it's just a puppy friendship, like a relationship, it just lasted for a few years and that's it. 

Yes, I will move on...to someone who really cares...and not waste anymore time on someone, who will never care for me anymore.

Creepy Fever

My son  had a creepy fever last week. The reason I named it Creepy is because the fever crept into my son in the middle of the night. Thank God, He woke me up at 4am to check on my son's temperature and found that it hit 39.4 degree Celcius. I quickly opened a pack of Koolfever and stuck it on my baby's forehead, in hope that it would lower his temperature and let it be. 

The next morning, when we were awoke, I checked my baby's temperature again and only to find that it was still at 39 Celcius. I quickly informed my husband and we sent him to the Klinik Kesihatan. After taking 2 doses of medicine, my baby's temperature dropped to 37. 6. Nevertheless, at around 8.50pm, his temperature rose up to 40.1. We rushed him to the nearest clinic and the doctor inserted a suppository paracetamol into his rectum. His fever gone down but at 2am, I was awaken to check on his temperature and it hit 39 again. I inserted another dose of paracetamol into his rectum and prayed that he would be able to sleep through the night without any fever. 

Early the next morning, we quickly sent him to Hospital Selayang and medical officer took his blood sample to check. The result showed that his blood platelet is at the borderline, which is 156, while the healthy platelet count is at 150. The doctor advised us to let our son have another blood test the next day. To our shock, my baby's platelet dropped to 122 the next day and it worried me so much. Though he was not admitted, I was constantly praying and wishing that he did not need to be admitted. It would be painful to see him be put on drip and have his blood taken every day. 

The doctor advised the same: to go and have another blood test the next day until my baby's platelet stop dropping and reach back the minimum count. Though the doctor did not confirm whether it was dengue, we tried our best to put our son on the "FIGHTING DENGUE COURSE". I double-boiled "tin kai" (Cantonese) with baby bittergourd and forced down the liquid into my son's throat every 30 minutes.We knew it tasted bitter but he had to have it in order to "cool" his blood. When the liquid finished, we forced barley down him.

The next day, his platelet dropped to 113.  We went to the organic shop and asked for a kind of plant which was believed to be able to cure dengue. Nevertheless, the shop did not sell that. The owner, however, recommmended us, Beetroot juice and said that it can purify the 'dirty' blood and increase the platelet count. My husband bought it. We forced down the liquid into my baby's throat again thrice. At other time, I gave 5ml of Miki Prune juice. 

The following day, baby's platelet went up to 115. It was a relieve. Nevertheless, we were asked to have another blood test for the baby the next day because the rise on the platelet count was too little to determine whether he was going to be OK. We did the same regime - this time giving him 10ml  of water every 30 minutes to one hour. 

Thank God, my baby's platelet shot up to 168 the next day. He was freed, free from being held up to draw out his precious blood to test. And finally, I can really have a good sleep, without having to worry about his temperature.

Other Perspectives

As my husband and I came out from the clinic after bringing our son, Isaac, to check on his fever, we saw policemen at the other side of the road and a crowd of people.

“It must be robbery,” I said, assuming it because the crowd was in front of Public Bank.

I took the opportunity to ask around when my husband went to buy bread. I went to the steamboat restaurant and to the owner who was sitting there with her sister and friends.

I stood near their table and pretended to look to the other side of the road. Then, at some point, I asked, “Is it robbery?”

The owner replied that it was a burglary. The burglar was very young, only at his thirties. When he was found, he quickly jumped from the second floor of the apartment. Then, he ran to the other side of the road. Nevertheless, luck was not on his side. It must be his broken leg(s) that had stopped him from running and he was caught.
 

The owner said with a sad face and sighed. “It’s such a pity. He is such a young man.”

I smiled. My husband was coming my way. I bid farewell to the restaurant owner and left. 

 

As we were walking home, I told my husband the whole incident. My husband also listened with a heave of sigh.

 

Is there something wrong for pitying a burglar? From our point of view, we were thinking of all other possibilities that he chose to steal and not the fact that he STOLE. Maybe he has a family member that needed money urgently. Maybe he was too depressed and could find no way to solve his financial problem. But does that mean he can steal?
 

While I can choose to be a stay-at-home mother and housewife, men have to work. They have to bear the family’s burden. A friend of mine said that sleep is something that scare him for after a sleep, he has to face TOMORROW with more to pay. He once said, “Even if I don’t eat, I’ll still need money to pay for the car, the house and bills. I’m so scare, so scare to fall asleep.”
 

Another friend who is working in Singapore also said almost the same thing. “I am so scare. So scare that even when I have slept, I will be awaken by the fear that we have no food tomorrow.” This friend has a wife and son and they live in Johor but the husband works in Singapore and travels to and fro every day. The truth is, he has been working there almost 20 years and the clock is ticking away. Will he be a factory worker all his life and I doubt the factory will want a 50 year-old man to do the job when they can hire a 20 year-old lad who is more efficient. 

 

I understand how they feel. Though I was not them, I understood. My father was one. He played around and enjoyed his life. He depended his life, and even our lives on his mother, my grandmother. When my grandmother passed away, the whole world collapsed. My father had to grow up – he can’t be mommy’s boy anymore. He had to work and work hard enough for the family of four. When I was faced with critics and condemnations from my superior while working at a local bank, I cried most of the time and wanted to quit. My father would always tell me that I should not. “It is not worth quitting for such a high paying job”. Then he would start to tell me his proud story on how he stood against his superior and still worked in the same company. “No one can fire me as long as I don’t fire myself.”

Those days…

Not many are as thick faces as my father. He can face his enemy everyday without fear. While my husband didn’t need to face with a difficult superior, he needs to face with difficult clients from the condos or offices he manages. I can still remember when I was pregnant with Isaac, my husband was called at near midnight because there was no water supply in a condo that he manages. He had to stay in the condo’s hall for the whole midnight and several other midnights when the same thing happened again until the water supply was sufficient for the residents. Well, he didn’t mind working but the fact that after giving the best and yet, the unappreciative residents shouted in the phone for the incidents made me sad. At that moment, I realised…I realised that though it may be difficult to work, yet, MEN have to WORK for the family. They’ll learn to THICKEN their face in order for the family to survive.


Now, to me, FACE THICKENING COURSE only applies for those with SPM level or lower. As I can see from the trend, those with degrees or higher certifications cannot take much scoldings. To them, “if ‘bo song’ (Hokkien), I’ll leave.”


Is that so?


Why some people have to steal?
Why some people have to endure the condemnations, scolding and thicken their faces to face it?
Why some people can just leave their high paying job for the sake of ‘face’?

Why some people with higher education have lesser toleration towards office politics?
Why some people have a lot and yet wanted more?
 

Coincidentally, I find that the verses that I read yesterday in my Bible give me some light.

 

Matthew 6:26-27



Matthew 7:12
Do for others what you want them to do for you.

May you find real peace...

IRRESPONSIBLE DOCTOR

Ask any mother and she'll be able to tell you that a baby's fever comes in the evening. How ignorant was I! I didn't know it...When my son was infected with a certain virus, he had mild fever in the evenings ONLY. I took that to heart and told the Dr. A. But I was taken lightly. I changed to Dr.B and she told me that my son could have UTI (urinary tract infection) which one of the symptoms is evening mild fever. Then, I thought, now someone really listened to me. Urine sample was taken and without given the chance to check on the report, my husband was told that our son had UTI and he had to take 5 days of antibiotic. I gave the medicine to my son diligently. And soon after 5 days, I was relieved. 

When I brought my son for vaccination, I told Dr. A that my son had UTI previously. She asked to get the report and take the child for ultrasound scan. I did as told and when I returned to Dr. B's clinic to get the report - ALAS! Only to find that my son DID NOT have UTI. In fact, the urine test showed everything was NEGATIVE. I was really shocked and regretted to having fed my son the antibiotics for 5 full days! How much of damage could it have done to his body. Now, while Dr. B was not around, Dr. C let  me see the report for myself. Then, he explained that if my son was infected with UTI, he should have a more specific symptom such as:

1) urine difficulty - crying before or during each urination
2) blood in his urine
3) loss of appetite
4) constant fever

Lesson learnt: DO NOT believe everything a doctor said...CHECK THE REPORT yourself. and CHECK again with other doctors.

First Time Mother

Being a first time mother wasn't easy. After 10 months of learning and drilling, thank God, I'm still up and alive! Though I am taking Chinese medications all this while, it made no difference. I have to be a mother, a GOOD mother to my baby.

When he fell, he cried, and I cried too. Always almost immediately I'll put the blame of him falling on myself. "If only I would be more careful...If only I was there...," I thought. The train of thoughts would continue until the worms of guilt started to nibble into my life...How stupid could I be? I've lost just a moment with my son and he fell. If I continue to live in guilt, I am going to miss more.

When my son reached his six-month old, and was beginning to start his solid food, I was ecstatic. I wanted to feed him and make sure he listens and sits quietly until he finishes his meal. Yes, I don't like those parents who allow their children to graze on their food. Firstly, it is unhealthy for the child. Secondly, the child would not have table manners. But when time comes for me, I was faced with a huge challenge...not that my son was not willing to sit still but it was the cooking that I dread.

I burned the porridge a few times and my mother screaming at the top of her lungs for blackening her pots and cookware. I asked around and found that a few of my friends did not BOIL porridge. They DOUBLE-BOIL it instead. So, the porridge would NEVER EVER get burnt. How smart.

Thanks to Hooi Thiam for giving me the tips on cooking good porridge.

1. Lay a towel flat into a slow cooker.
2. Pour some water into the slow cooker ( get the towel wet).
3. Get a small china ware bowl or clay pot which could fit into the slow cooker.
4. Put the amount of rice to be cooked into the bowl/clay pot. (Make sure the rice is washed)
5. Add in other ingredients to be cooked eg. potato, carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, onion, etc.
6. With each tablespoon of rice, pour in half a bowl or 80ml of water. (if 2 tbspn, 160ml water).
7. Cover up the bowl or clay pot and let the slow cooker cook for 3 hours.

Make sure to mash the potato, carrot, sweet potato, etc. and mix them evenly with the porridge. The porridge is just fine - with not too much or too less of water - just right for my baby.

My baby likes pumpkin, onion and anchovy soup porridge. But as my Chinese doctor advised, it is best to have a different menu each day for the baby. You don't like to eat the same thing everyday and neither do the baby. Though pumpkin is good, is not advisable to eat it everyday. Hence, the menu I have for my baby varies by the different combinations from the same ingredients.

Eg. Day 1 - anchovy, carrot, pumpkin
Day 2 - orange flesh sweet potato only (orange flesh is softer than yellow flesh ones)
Day 3 - fish porridge
Day 4 - spinach, anchovy, pumpkin
Day 5 - potato, carrot, onion
Day 6 - onion, pumpkin
Day 7 - carrot, anchovy