Salam Idul Fitri 2011



SELAMAT HARI RAYA.  MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN.

The first day of Hari Raya was a day well-spent.  There were many happy and delightful moments.  Met a lot of family members and there were so many things to talk about and not forgetting the good food! Am still a little tired from all the preparation and visiting.  The girls are also back to school today.  How was your first day of raya? 

Here are some pictures taken yesterday.  Didn't really take a lot as we were quite busy talking and eating..haha.... 

My Sambal Tumis Sotong and Sambal Goreng

Phew!..

I am tired but very happy.  This is indeed a very fun and valuable experience for me.  So many things learnt..what to do and what not to do..

Finally, today is the last day of baking for Hari Raya goodies.  The oven will be cleaned up, the mixers will be put aside (for now at least..), the weighing scale and measuring spoons kept, the baking tins cleaned and stacked back into the cabinets, no more trays & trays of eggs and cubes of butter!

Long ago, I remembered helping my Mum with her baking orders.  Used to hate doing it as it was so 'leceh', I thought.  What I thought was so troublesome then is no more now.  Haha..what my Mum used to do, I am doing it now, except on a much smaller scale.  I guess, when you put your all into something, and you really like what you are doing, things do not get so 'leceh'.  It can be a pleasure, or at times I feel that it is therapeutic!  You really learn to prioritize.  'Stress' will never be far when you are so busy, but you'll learn to manage it.

Next is to prepare the ingredients for the Hari Raya feast!  Ahaa...that's another somewhat major thing for me, what with all the beef rendang, kuah lodeh, sambal tumis sotong (my brother will smile..or smirk..when reading this!), fried chicken and sambal goreng.  It may be a simple or small feat for some, but for me it's HUGE!..hahaha... 

....Now, where's my apron.....hmmmm....

Cookies for Lebaran!

Last night I was in the mood to bake some cookies for Lebaran.  Decided to try the German Cookies recipe that I got from here.  It turned out wonderful and it just melts in your mouth.  The dough is a little sticky but overall, it's quite easy to make this cookie.  Love this and will surely make it again.  Thanks Rima for the recipe!

The next recipe is not new.  I have made these many times and it is well-liked by everyone at home.  This is another simple recipe which I got from this wonderful blog.  Maklang has a lot of good recipes to share with everyone.  Thanks a lot!  Oh yes, if I am not mistaken, the name of this lovely recipe is Chocolate Oats Cookies.  I didn't copy down the name of the recipe but only the ingredients and method...sigh....overly excited..

While I was trying to take pictures of this cookie, Nadyn was literally "buzzing" around me all the time.  She's like a bee attracted to honey!!!  She came back and forth to the cookie jar.  See her fingers dipping into the jar!!

Well, it's very late now and I have to get up early for Sahur.  Will catch some zzzz's now and start baking again later in the afternoon!  Exciting..exciting..exciting!

Iftar with family!

I simply love having iftar with the big family.  Really miss those days when we used to meet up at least once or twice a month.  Then, my Nyai, Uncle and Dad were still around.  I always looked forward to these gatherings as they were mostly filled with much love, fun and laughter.  The children were the ones who enjoyed the most.  They get to eat and then play with all the cousins!  Nowadays, everyone seems to be busy and it's really not easy for all of us to meet.  Everyone has their own commitments,  I understand....  And another thing I noticed, there aren't many children in our gatherings...  Well, children will always be children, right?  So, even in small numbers, they can still have lotsa fun and lotsa laughter and make lotsa noise..hahaha...I love that!

Food, yummy food, will always accompany a good gathering.  This time round I didn't try anything new.  Just made apple crumble with vanilla sauce and agar-agar gudir.  There was Mutton Bryani, Soto Ayam, Rujak Petis, Kuih-kuih talam, a variety of fruits, Kolak Pisang and so many more lah!

Somebody ordered these mini quiche and I was more than happy to fulfill the request.  Thank you!

Another gathering with family members.  Love..Love..Love..

It's gonna be busy days ahead for me and I am very sure there are lots of other people out there who are happily fulfilling cakes and biscuits orders from their friends and family.  Have fun and stay healthy ok!

A quiet week

It was Singapore's 46th birthday on 9 Aug and it was a public holiday well spent for us.  We spent the 2 days at home, catching up on things that had to be done.  The girls were kept busy too as they had to tidy up their study cum play room.  It was more "play-time" for them rather than cleaning up.  They took close to 2 hours! to clean up the room.  On any ordinary day, it would have taken me about an hour to get the job done...but we let them do it on their own so that they'll learn.

I haven't been baking much lately except for some small orders which I had to fulfill.  Everything seem to move at a slower pace for me during Ramadhan.  I am sure the momentum will and have to pick up during the 3rd and last week.  Am actually very excited and looking forward to that!

As usual, both Widya and Nadyn occupy most of my time.  Widya can do things on her own, it's Nadyn who needs me around her all the time!  It's always "Mummy this" and "Mummy that"...she's always chatting.  Both of them love to sing and dance and get into their make-believe world.  They can get very creative when they are play-acting, but most of the time, the room becomes very messy!!  Well, what can I say...children will always be children...full of their antics! 

Widya Iman and Nadyn Indah...intan & permata Mummy!  Love you both!

Salam Ramadhan!

Well, today is the first day of Ramadhan.  So far, so good, Alhamdulillah. 

Widya was not feeling too good, so I brought her to see the doctor.  Just a slight inflammation of the throat.  Nadyn on the other hand is fine but only managed to fast until about 4pm.  It is ok I guess since it is only the first day.  I encouraged her to fast till the end for tomorrow onwards.  She said "Ok Mummy.  I will try my best!".  Let's see tomorrow.

Made theese orange-black coconut blossoms on Saturday.  I have never used black before and it was not so easy to get the color.  Tried a few shops and they were all out of stock.  Finally, got it from a shop in Kallang.  So happy!  Anyway, thanks a lot Trisyal for the order.  Hope all of you had fun at the birthday gathering.

Was just talking to someone on the phone and we had quite an interesting conversation.  Simple, but interesting to me.  Hope I managed to enlighten her with some little things.  And I am sure I can learn some sewing tricks from her too!  It's going to be a good Ramadhan for me, InsyaAllah..