Lazy, lazy me..

The mind is a wanderer....always thinking and wandering of all the goodies that I can make or bake, places I can go, things that I can buy and people that I can meet.... 

In reality, the body stays put and that's that.  I have been soooo lazy lately, especially after the long weekend.......hmmmm...sighhhhhh....

On one of the many "lazing around" days, I made some Banana Fritters or Pisang Goreng.  They are oh so simple to make...even I was not that lazy to fry them...

It needs a hot cup of black coffee to make it just perfect!  These are some of the simple joys in my mundane life!

"Mind The Gap"

Mind the gap.....


*My nephew, Matin Luthfi, showing off his gap..hahaha...



Labour of LOVE

The Layer Cake or Kek Lapis, is something I never thought I'd be baking.  When I saw my Mum making it many, many years ago, I thought to  myself "So troublesome, so time consuming, so not making it next time!".  She would be standing near the oven, opening and shutting the oven door every 4-6 minutes, each time the timer went "Rriiiinnnnggg!  Scooping the lapis batter into the cake tin, layer by layer........  Sigh.....very tiring, you know....

Lo and behold, I now love baking the Kek Lapis!  It is a must have in my household each Hari Raya.  I have not tried making any of those fanciful Kek Lapis Sarawak.  Maybe one day.  As for now, I am happy just making the simple kek lapis.

Lapis Rempah

Lapis Tiga Rasa

Attack of the cookie monster!

Yesterday was the day I decided to make the pineapple tarts for all at home.  I only made one portion eventhough I knew that it's not enough.  Was still a little hesitant to make them as I could not get into the "mood" fully........aaaahhhh  this is just my laziness rearing it's head... 

Since both girls were still in school, it was easier for me to bake.  Not many interruptions.  Got all the ingredients together, measured them accordingly, put all in the mixing bowl and "click" went the button on the mixer.  Once done, I took out the dough and went on to cut out the tart shells.  Managed to get about 75 pieces.  Looked at the clock on the wall, and it was time for me to clean up a bit and go fetch Nadyn from school.  

Empty tart shells waiting for their pineapple filling!

Dark clouds interlaced with lightning were looming outside.  It rained cats and dogs the minute I left the house.  While waiting for Nadyn, Widya called to say that her brolly was at home!  Sigh, and I only had 1 with me.  Not enough to shade all 3 of us in the heavy rain!  To cut the long story short, we managed to get home safe but a little drenched.  Got the girls to change and I continued with my tarts. 

 

After all the fuss,  I actually got the mood to make some choc chip cookies too!  So it was a day well spent for me after all.

Colorful Blossoms!

Made them this afternoon as Widya had requested for them for a while already.  I was just too lazy to make them.  Don't know why, as they are quite easy and fun to make actually.  Finally, the mood came when I checked and saw that I had all the required ingredients.  In between making these, I had to send and fetch Nadyn from school.  I guess when you are really in the mood to do something, it does not matter that your schedule is quite tight.  You'll find ways and means to do it!

 Got the recipe from a friend many years back, but I changed it a little to suit my tastebud.  I usually make them during fasting month as it's one of the easiest, nicest and prettiest things to bring to a relative's house for breaking of fast.

The weather was a little warm and humid earlier this afternoon and so I got a little carried away when making them colorful blossoms!  Just take a look at them.......

 

Was trying to be a bit artistic but in reality  it's 'creativity gone wild'!  I went berserk with my designs! .......  Well, as long as the family liked eating them, I'm ok with that.  My daughter went "WOW!" when she picked up one of those designs.  Either the "Wow" was good or she was in a state of shock when she saw it! LOL!  .....  Next special request that I have to fulfill will be Pineapple Tarts.  My husband and the 2 girls love them.  They finish up the tarts quite fast.  I feel that I have not even got the time to recuperate, then it is time to make another batch of tarts! Hmmmm.......Let's just see when I'll be 'in the mood' to make them tarts..... 

Dinner time!

Dinner was fun today.  My Mum, brother and family came for dinner.  It was a simple affair with simple food but the company was shiok!  Besides preparing dinner, the main attraction for me was ................................Ta Daa.........my little brown ball.......my niece.......Maya Lashira......

Whenever we wanted to eat this particular dish called "Asam Pedas Ikan Keli",  my Mum would be the one who had to prepare and cook it.  We would just need to go and get all the required ingredients, then mum would be busy cooking away.  But before all that, the still much "live and kicking" ikan keli had to be gutted and cleaned.  That's not one easy task as the fish is so fresh and very slippery.  I've cleaned fish before, but not Keli.  Finally, after many years of only "looking and helping" Mum prepare this dish, I took up enough courage (hahaha!) to do it all by myself.  Now that I've tried cleaning the live Keli, it's not that difficult actually....action seh...sombong pulak dah.....   The first time I made the dish, my husband said "nice...dah pass.."  But I have to get feedback from the Master herself in order to know where I stand.  So, when Mum came for dinner and tried my Asam Pedas Ikan Keli, she said "Dah boleh ni.  I can pass the baton to you now.  Tak payah I masak lagi".  I was thrilled!  Thank you Mum for giving me all these valuable lessons.  You are the best!

The simple menu was made up of stir-fried kailan with beef, fried soft tofu (eaten with sambal belacan mixed with a little sweet sauce) and the asam pedas.  I made some Konnyaku jelly and Bread & Butter pudding for dessert.  All so simple.

 

The family members. 

I hope they enjoyed dinner as much as I did!



Sambal tumis oh sambal tumis

Sambal tumis is a favorite dish in my house.  It is my husband's staple dish.  He can literally have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  There's always dried chilies in my kitchen, cannot live without it.  I have made sambal tumis udang, ikan bilis, telur, daging, sotong, kerang, paru, ikan, daging and ayam.

This sambal tumis ikan bilis and telur was made 2 days ago.

And today, I made this..... sambal ikan bilis and kacang...  Made this for the first time and it turned out ok, according to my standards.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me.  Let's see....will there be another sambal recipe in store???  Tungguuuu....

Beezy lil' bee.....bzzzz bzzz

Today is Saturday and I am excited as there's something interesting to do.  Wanted to do it right after I got out of bed but Mummy said no.  Must bathe, brush my teeth, have breakfast then only I can start doing anything else. 

I am bored.  I want to quickly finish breakfast...

Kakak, let's play a breakfast game...

You feed me, and I'll feed you..hehehe..

Haa....finally the long awaited time has come.  I am a little busy packing these goody bags to bring to school on Monday.  I have been pestering Mummy to pack these many days ago.  Happy happy little bee!

 

......Now I can't wait to see all my friends on Monday......fun fun fun!