For the love of food....and love itself..

I love family gatherings.  There are lots of fun, laughter, chatter and not forgetting, lots of FOOD!  Anyway, what is a gathering without food and drinks, right?

During my younger years, Mum and Dad always had family and friends over for makan sessions.  These sessions were not very elaborate, but rest assured, nobody left the gathering hungry.  Mum would be in the kitchen preparing all the goodies.  Dad would be in charge of tidying the house and getting all the cutlery ready.  My brother and I would be busy too....keeping our parents busy running after us....hahaha...  Thinking back now, it can get quite tedious and elaborate, actually!  As fun and joyous as the feeling you get on Hari Raya eve!  The house will be filled with the spicy aroma of Nasi Bryani, the sharp pungent smell of pacri and acar, the milky sweet bandung drink and not forgetting the colourful array of desserts.....mmmmm...brings back sweet and yummy memories......

I am not an expert like my Mum, but I try my best.  Prepared some sausage rolls, roasted chicken and apple crumble to bring to a potluck gathering on Saturday.  And they looked like so......

While I am busy in the kitchen, Nadyn will be the one who will accompany me in the kitchen.  She's always asking "How is this made?", "Why did you cut that up?" and the final one would most probably be "Can I help?"....  This help from her usually is more of a hindrance for me.  I let her stay for a while then explain to her that I have to finish up quickly before we can go and have fun with the rest of the family.  She'll then scatter out of the kitchen.  Barely 5-10 minutes later, she'll be back in the kitchen, smiling and cheerfully asking me more questions...... sigh...that's Nadyn...

The door of my fridge is like a personal art exhibition space for her to display her works of art.  Every little note she scribbles, she'll stick on the fridge.  There are times I have to gently tell her to keep some in a folder, and I'll change the "exhibits" every few days.  As for the elder sister Widya, she would most probably be sitting quietly in her room or curled up in a cosy corner somewhere reading her book.  She loves reading, loves watching the telly and loves singing and dancing.  They are 2 very diferent characters but they are My Love, My Angels.