For Keepsakes

I decided to keep my food blog after all. It's a shame to let it go after spending much time creating and updating it in the first place.

Only trouble is cooking is such a feeling thing, if you know what I mean. You can cook but not feel anything about it. And then yet again you can cook and got so involved with your dishes. So I suppose I am involved again.

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So do come back to the passionate about food blog; I have a number of interesting dishes to share and am now trying to find time (and the right mood) to update that in the blog.

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The Odd Couple

When I brought the mugs home Iman said, is there one for me? I remembered the princess mug I saw. Later I went back to the store and got these two. But wondered who should I give the stud mug to. I cant give it to my sons - I mean, I wouldnt want to put ideas into their heads..

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The Lost World

I'm putting this up upon special request. I guess I am supposed to elaborate the attractions of my hometown and its vicinity.

We were at a lost end (pun intended, of course) actually whilst on a trip back to kampung the other day and decided to spend the morning at The Lost World. Was it last year? Cant remember exactly when. But the boys were all at college at the time and there were only Iman & Eirfan; and Luq joined us there from his matrics college.

Tambun turned out hot. I used to have a great aunt there whom my mum used to visit when I was small. And whose daughter is married to the guy who worked at Shah Alam and played the band at his children's wedding (those who understand this story would be laughing, I'd guess).

I like the location of The Lost World - it is at the end of a long and winding road at the foot of the limestone hills. The place has got some decent rides and the children actually enjoyed going round on the pelampung in the water cannal. It's a bit like Sunway Lagoon but on a more personalised scale - you can sort of get overwhelmed at Sunway I think. Unfortunately we didnt take that many photos that day (we were off-peak, so to say).

The boys enjoyed their morning immensely. Nevertheless I think Lake Town further up north is more fun than Tambun. At least, I enjoyed myself better there -maybe because my mum bungkuskan nasi lemak and make sure we are all prepared for the trip then.. macam picnic masa kat sekolah gitu..

But Tambun is a pretty decent place to while away a lazy morning, I'd think.

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Forever Would Be Great

I always wish that good things and good times would last forever.

Like being with good friends. And having nice bosses (hint, hint). And good health.

And of course it would be nice if the Aigner purse would also last forever. And the children's shoes (you cant believe how much are spent on those). And definitely the fridge where paint is already peeling off the doors. And the hob that is spouting out barely enough fire.

And definitely great moments with the family. Most definitely this. Insya'Allah Allah will grant me this one wish if not others.

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A Long Awaited Onion Soup

I finally made the onion soup like I've been wanting to since so long. Nevertheless as I have never ever tasted any onion soup I cant really tell if the one I've made turned out alright.

I knew I had to try it when I saw the soup looking fabulous with cheesy bread on top on tv some time ago. I found the recipe at Jaime's of course (where else?). And the yummy pic is courtesy of his site actually.

I'm thinking of going round town and start trying each and every onion soup I can find. I know Delifrance has it on its menu. My only wish is it will turn out better than the spring chicken ala French I had there some time ago (the girls would be laughing). Believe me, even on our non-cooking-moody-days, none of our dish will turn out like this spring chicken I had. So if you are eating at Delifrance, do not even go near that spring chicken (it will without doubt spring some surprises - unpleasant surprises that is, at you).

And, ugh.. I am thinking of temporarily decommissioning my Passion For Food blog for a while. It seem like it takes too much effort to juggle all the blogs and make them current at the same time (is somebody thinking mmm-hmm.. I told You So here?) I am thinking I really should..

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What A Pair!

Love these.. not that I am desperate; but he sure is grumpy.

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To Look Before You Leap

I was left disappointed actually..

I had actually felt guilty for leaving the office early last Fri. The boss might be calling. He might want to know about that and this and that problem ticket. And.. But ah well, the boss doesnt own me and the official office hours are over anyway, and it is a Fri evening after all.

I had signed up for this pocho-pocho class and since determined was I to sweat out a bit I committed myself to the session. But the instructor was late - really late (traffic jam, boleh ke?)

And he turned out to be a HE; a he - which left most of the participants scrambling for the tudungs. Cant the organisers at least inform beforehand that he is going to be a HE? (I'd think they could be a bit more sensitive on this part. I mean come on la, even the aerobics instructor is a female. Takde ke pompuan yang boleh mengajar pocho-pocho ni pun..?)

The instructor couldnt be any older than any of my sons. Of course la he was late. The makcik participants over-ruled him. He got no control of the class. His pace was slow. And, and this could be the cinching factor for the disappoinment - he played dangdut tune on the CD! Alahai, takde ke lagu lain? The makciks gave a whoop over the chosen song and I was afraid at any moment they would insist on doing the gerudi-whatever!

It was my own fault for not investigating what pocho-pocho really is. I assumed it would be something akin to line-dancing; not dangdut! But according to my 'worldly' sis it could be pocho-pocho with no relations to dangdut at all; pasang la music lain.

About 20 mins later the aerobics instructor walked into the room signalling the start of her class. The pocho-pocho enthusiasts decided to continue learning their steps outside. I bade them adieu. I told Gigi, the aerobics instructor I would join her class for a little while. After all, I havent worked on that sweat yet.

I read a little on pocho-pocho later : http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/8/5/lifefocus/18447824&sec=lifefocus. Nevertheless I suppose my fate with the pocho-pocho was never meant to be..

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Putting Into Actions What The Doctor Prescribed

For the last week I did what I thought I couldnt (wouldnt?) do ie going on a diet. According to the othopaedic it is the carbo and the sugar that are actually the culprit.

So since the appointment with him on Thur till yesterday I had been very careful with the diet. There was no rice but lots of lauk, sayur, fruits, oats and high fiber bread. I skipped the white bread and kueh. There was no roti canai (it's capati for me) and lots of green tea and plain water. I just simply had to have coffee on a couple of occassions. But basically I was pleased with myself..

Until yesterday.

It was Eirfan's birthday and we had dinner at Secret Recipe. And cakes of course (what's a birthday without cakes?) Although I only ordered some mushroom soup for myself earlier I had some of the yummy cake.

And this morning I was darn hungry and the oats for breakfast didnt help. The fruits that I brought to the office cant tempt me away from the cafe. Fortunately I stayed away from the rice but cant help the temptation of teh ais. I was mollified (for now, that is).

But.

Later in the office someone kind brought over sebungkus nasi lemak (oh no..) I ate some. Come to think of it yesterday someone brought me a piece of cake saying bithday anak saya jadi saya buat kek ni. Tak sampai hati pulak to say no. I took a bite. I wont relate here the fate of the rest of the cake and the nasi lemak..

The thing is, I dont feel like I am depriving myself anything with the food I had the past week. So I wonder if the doctor's instruction regarding the diet would work. Of course he told me to exercise too but so far I had only done that once. Harrrumph..! That is the area I need to work on some more.

Let's hope the second week of this will not be too tough either (err.. but, what happens to no pain no gain..?) Wish me luck everyone.

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Finally Met My Match

It was a busy week.. but Thur looked easier than the rest of the days so took sometime to pay the orthopaedic a visit. Luckily enough the panel doctor consented to write a referral letter, the gl was quickly received and the specialist himself was free that day.

The orthopaedic knew his stuff alright; after all, he is a consultant surgeon/specialist. He declared my problem minor (not from where I'm standing, mind you). After all he himself said he had seen patients who cant even lift their arms or even grasp anything with their fingers. After the primary stuff done he got onto other contributing factors.

That was when he put me on the witness stand and cross-examined me on my diet. I supposed I failed his questions when he said, there is no magic formula to lose weight; we dont gain weight from the air that we breath or the sun.. (if a non-garang-orthopaedic tell me this I'd tell the guy to take a flying leap; and take his business elsewhere with him. After all, I am paying his fees - he should remember that!)

He drilled into me the difference between fat and carbo and the importance of exercise (like I dont know..) and told me that he expects me to lose a kg by the time I see him next; which is in a month.. I suppose you cant be a dato' specializing in orthopaedic if you were a sap - dato' politics boleh la kut..

He gave me a bakul of ubat. He gave me a scare too about losing weight (which could be a first. The doctor I always go to dah bebel berbuih mulut telling me to lose weight; but I never felt compelled like this) I feel like I must lose that kg in a month; kalau tak, nanti takut nak jumpa doctor.

Which is so ridiculous.. I never let people whom I pay money intimidate me; it has always been the other way round. After all, I am the customer and was told often enough that I am always right. Right?

.. so, chick-pea-and-leek-soup and pocho-pocho anyone..?

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Ramblings Of A Mum

My bachelor asked me if he could do a weekend in Kemaman. He recently came back from Perhentian then followed us to Pulau Kapas and then eager to go to Kemaman. That would be like three trips to Ganu in two weeks. Unbelievable (but of course he expects me to ok this trip).

Questions like what's the occassion - how are you going - who's driving - who's going - where are you staying - ..... - and of course ada budak pompuan tak pergi - blah.. blah.. - all popped out from me. Of course. And he didnt expect anything less either.

All answers meet my standards except that they will be staying with a family whose daughter is a friend of his friend and blah.. blah.. I sighed and thought about it and mulled over it and thrashed the issue inside out.

Then I said, I wish yang that I am just an orang kampung who lives in a modest kampung house. And that I am not liberated and neither are my children liberated nor are they 'worldly' (by my standards, that is). I would wear kain batik and an old and stretched tshirt (through many washes) and sit on the tangga of my kampung house. Maybe kais pagi makan pagi and if there is any left over rezeki from the day we'll have dinner otherwise maybe not. (By that I'm thinking that maybe I wont have 'complicated' issues like this).

Eirfan butted my ramblings and said dont forget ma, you cant be reading the magazines that you read (he's so right - and I'd miss that). And Luqman said, maybe you can kunyah sirih on the tangga and then spit it over the railings.. they are imaginative, what can I say?

Nevertheless, Ilyas is on his Kemaman trip as at this moment. I find that as a mother I need to make a lot of doa..

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A Long Weekend On The Beach

The trip to Ganu was a pleasure. The beach was as compelling as ever and we never seem to tire of the white sands and clear waters.

Pulau Kapas is a beauty but I suppose we'll appreciate it even more if we had not seen Redang. We took long walks on the (even longer) beaches and the children spent hours in the water. Masjid Kristal and all that it entails was alright I guess - for RM250 mil.

I have some photos here - click on the collage to have a larger view (again, Delinn - you are my man.. err.. girl).

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The One And Only Masjid Kristal

First of all thanks to Delinn for giving the idea to create this collage.. I love the one that she has on her blog of course.

So yeah, we did agree - finally - to visit Ganu all over again the last labor day weekend despite last minute plan change etc etc. KT turned out to be hotter than summer at anywhere else as far as I know (which is an exaggeration as usual, of course). We made a point to visit Masjid Kristal although never do think that we hail to Islam Hadhari..

The masjid itself isnt as commanding as other masjids I've seen. Personally I think even the masjid in Marang is quite breathtaking. But masjid kristal is different with its multi-faceted glass (crystal?) domes and finishes. It isnt as big as I expected it to be; in fact maybe the surau in my place is bigger than this masjid.

I was deceived by the Pulau Wan Man name; I thought we had to get a boat to get there. And of course I tried to re-enact the so-called 'monster' appearing on the glass dome; which I couldnt.. Nevertheless I love the location of the masjid itself by the peaceful river cove.

I do wonder though that whether the masjid was built purely for show as there dont seem to be any houses nearby; except across the river. So other than the visitors who perform the solat there, I guess the masjid would be empty at other times. Reminds me of the masjid-masjid yang dibina di akhir zaman..

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Falling In Love (All Over Again)

By accident I found out that Jamie actually has a new season show. It is still called Jaime At Home maybe that's why I hadnt noticed it before.

He was cooking squash last night, which he got from his very own vegetable patch. And squash and pumpkins or whatever else you call it always remind me of fall because of its orangey-russet color. And fall has always been my fave season (apart from spring, of course. I mean who could resist spring?) with its fallen leaves and almost barren trees and wonderful colors.

And it was Jaime back-to-back last night. The next show was of him on his last cooking spree in his Italian adventure. His old van broke down and the food he cooked turned out all wrong so there were a lot of beeps on the show to camouflage his colorful language. It was quite hilarious.

So I am falling in love all over again with cooking and my own vegetable patch and with Jaime of course.

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