Dizzy Busy Butterfly

2009-02-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

Salmon or Trout

2009-02-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

Anyone who does not care for turkey.. this is another alternative. I will post the recipe soon. Just email me.. har har har har..

Mandalay Bay Hotel

2009-02-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Pictures taken outside Mandalay Bay Hotel. Both side of the entrance has this water fall. I didn't upload earlier as I was having problems with this site.

2009-02-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

Cruise Ship

2009-02-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

While we were there everyday it appeared a cruise ship. They let their passengers off to shore to do their shopping for the day. A bus will take the passengers to town for couple of hours and in the evening they take off again. Marcus in the background. This yellow ring is about 10-12 feet in diameter. It won't topple over.

On the way to Dunn's River Fall

2009-02-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

There were lots of hustlers around but they don't hurt you. All you have to say is "No thank you". They don't harm you but they sure know how to make a living....hustling in a nice way. My experience in Hong Kong was very pleasant. The shop keepers can be quite pushy, arrogant, and rude but in Jamaica eventhough there are hustlers, I was astonished to find they were extremely polite.

Kayaking

2009-02-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

We went kayaking.. all these were included in our all inclusive package.

Mini orange looking tarts

2009-02-18T12:24:00.000-08:00

I made these little oranges for Chinese New Year 2009. It was a lot of work.. 2 days! The first day I had to cook 3 pineapple for hours! The 2nd day then I processed and made these. Yum! :) It's good according to my book but others maybe not up to their standard. The pineapple tasted good too, not too sweet and has a bit tangy....I had quite a bit of pineapple jam left so I will continue.. making the rest but maybe this time an open face tart...

Catameran

2009-02-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is the catamera that took us to the fall 75 ft long. Picture taken from our hotel room balcony.

Exit of Dunn's River Fall

2009-02-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

You have to bend or crawl to exit out of the Fall.. look at the opening.. that's where everyone comes out upon reaching the top of the Fall....

Dunn's River Fall

2009-02-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

This is approaching the top of the fall looking down...

Dunn's River Fall

2009-02-18T11:58:00.000-08:00

The water is so refreshing! All tired out mid way we have decided to stop and break the formation of human chain.. and decided to take a dip in the water. Our tour guide told us not to bring our camera cause there is chance of getting it wet but we did anyhow cause we had a waterproof case. The guide took some video pic for some of the tourist for US$40.00 a piece. Our camera didn't get wet cause I had it hanging on my neck.

Dunn's River Fall

2009-02-18T11:48:00.000-08:00

Mid way up the Fall. It is all rocks.. and quite rough going up cause we had to form "human chain" going up 600 ft and I had my arms pulling someone over 300 pounds on my right hand and my left someone pulling me up. Boy, it was frightening.. your feet can get struck on those small opening between the rocks. Looking down makes me nervous.. I have this phobia of stream height. I had to say it was an adventurous hike.. the current coming down was quite strong but again I conquered my fear. Yipppeee for me!!!

Dunn's River Fall

2009-02-18T11:43:00.000-08:00

Bottom of Dunn's River Fall.. all tired out after hiking up 600 ft!!!

2009-02-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

Snorkelling..

2009-02-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

My heart was beating ready to explode! My knees were knocking so hard but I don't want to be left out. I had to slide my bum off the catameran steps instead of jump into the water. In the beginning I drank lots of salt water.. extremely salty!! My life jacket rotates me couple of times, so I was facing upward towards the sky but managed to snorkel after I use my flipper to rotate.. I swam quite a bit too.. har har har har.. I conquered this too. :) Hey, I saw a large star fish on some corals, numerous swam of colorful tropical fish, and also sting ray! Again when I saw it my heart rate was beating full steam ahead and my flippers were working extra hard flipping ...I was scared!

Dunn's River Fall - Ochio Rio

2009-02-18T11:03:00.001-08:00

On a catameran to go snorkeling ...it took us quite a distance away from the shore. We paid US$70 each and water shoes another US $5.00 and if you want them to take your picture using their camera. They will charge you a whooping US$10.00 per picture! The underwater camera is another US$25! which one can get it off the street for $9-12.

Waterslide.. yippeee!!

2009-02-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

Height is not one of the things I like best.. but I have to face my fear.. so i went up on this water slide and came down almost drown in the process.. lucky for me my husband fished me out from the shallow water of 3 feet deep! Upon landing I could not find my exist and I went under trying to feel the ground with my hands.. what a bummer.. everyone else were laughing so hard just watching.. how silly I can be but I faced my fear and survived. Hooray!!!

Jamaica Sunset Grande Resort & Spa

2009-02-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

We went to to Jamaica on January 20, 2009 and stayed at "Jamaica Sunset Grande Resort & Spa" at Ochio Rio which is about 11/2 hours by bus away from Montego Bay. The weather is kinda of unpredictable as it was cloudy, rain a bit, then sunshine throughout the day. The resort itself is clean well kept but the food wasn't much to write home about. I dare say their menu constantly consist of chicken, boiled vegetables, pasta, and not local fruits to be found here!!! I was told it wasn't the season for local produce.

Venetian Hotel

2008-12-25T22:35:00.000-08:00

$12.50 per person if my memory serves me well. Downstair is the theatre for Phatom of the Opera which we attended on our 2nd night there. We went on a queue next to M & M shop and bought our ticket there for $69 plus $5.00 each and on the night of the show we were directed to the 6th row from the stage. Boy the show was superb! It is about 1 1/2 hour show.

Monte Carlo Hotel

2008-12-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

This is the hotel in the middle of the Strip where we stayed for 4 nights. The inside of the hotel is clean and well kept. MGM Hotel is just across the street. All the hotel on the strip is within walking distance or bus is accessible. You can take the Tram from Mandalay Bay Hotel (South of the Strip) to Excalibur. There is no charge it is free! Another store which is beautiful in the interior is Forum Shop but quite expensive. I have to mention this it is for the rich or super rich! Affordable is Premium Outlet and Fashion Show Mall. Las Vegas Outlet close to the airport is more for older women or outdated stuff especially in women's attires.

Venetial Hotel

2008-12-25T21:51:00.000-08:00

We have been to quite a few hotels but overall this is one of the nicest. Premium Outlet is accessible by bus from the strip. We took a bus from M & M across Monte Carlo Hotel and transfer to 108 which took us right to the Outlet. It costed $5.00 for the whole day bus transfer ticket which is good for 24 hours.

2008-12-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

Venetian Hotel Outside on the strip

2008-12-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

2008-12-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas here I come.. Yippee!

2008-12-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

Photo taken in front to Luxor Hotel.

Busy Bee

2008-07-16T20:56:00.001-07:00

I didn't know whatelse to talk to you about except that I was stunned by the pictures I saw on the telly today on BBC news. Solideris going to work for the country but their families had to put up with terrible living quarters which is health hazard in most cases. What is fair these days? Human decency and compassion is next to nothing. What is this workd heading? Disaster!

Korean movies

2008-04-20T01:25:00.000-07:00

Not much to write except that I have been busy with my day to day activities one of which working full time and watching my korean movies. I know I have not written anything constructive lately but hey, this girl needs a rest :P I promise to be good and try to update this site. My camera has been collecting dust and I think it is about time I put it to work again. Let's hope we get some nice weather soon and maybe get the spring fever bug will do it.

Sugar cookies

2007-11-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

Frangipane Buns

2007-11-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Recipe Source: Canadian Living Magazine

Frangipane is a sweet almond paste and the dough is sweet yeast dough

Sweet Yeast Dough

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 package active dry yeast or 21/4 tsp or 11 ml

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups all purpose flour (approx)

In a large bowl, stir 2 tsp of the sugar with 1/4 cup warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, heat milk, remaining sugar, butter and salt until butter is melted; let cool to lukewarm. Stir into yeast mixture along with eggs.

Stir in 31/4 cups of the flour, about 1 cup at a time, to form shaggy dough.

Turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding enough of the remaing flour as necessary.

Transfer to large greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bluk, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes 2 lb (1 kg)

Frangipane:

1 cup whole unblanched almonds

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tb all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

3/4 tsp almond extract

Topping:

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 tb icing sugar

Line 13 x 9 inch metal cake pan with double thickness parchment paper set aside.

In a food processor, finely chop almonds. Add sugr and flour; pulse to combine. Add butter, egg and almond extract; pulse until smooth paste, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl. (Make ahead cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours if you like)

Punch down dough. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough into 18 x 14 inch rectangle.

Leaving 1 inch border, spread frangipane evenly over dough, mounding slightly on 1 long side. Starting with mounded side, tightly ropp up; pinch seam to seal.

With serrated knife, cut roll into 12 slices. Place, cut side up, in prepared pan. Cover slices and let rise in warm draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Topping: Brush with egg; sprinkle with almonds. Bake in centre of 375F oven until golden and rolls sound hollow when tapped on bottoms, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool completely. Sprinkle with icing sugar if you wish.

Cereal Prawns

2007-11-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-09-15T01:53:00.001-07:00

Kolachys

2007-09-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

These traditional Eastern European cookies are made with cream cheese and pureed prunes. I found this recipe here Essential-Baker. The dough is definitely a challenge I had problems rolling it out to 12 inches wide. I ended up rolling the dough into cylinderical shape, put it back into the fridge to harden a bit then cut it up into rings and then rolled out a bit and filled it. I also noticed I had to bake the cookies a little longer than what was stated in the book. Initially when I took the dough out of the fridge after chilling for 12 hours the dough was quite hard. Once taken out from the refrigerator it doesn't take long to soften and dough can be quite sticky and difficult to handle. The end result the cookies are great! Hubby loves it and so do I.

Martini Chicken with Ginger

2007-09-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

I think we are getting the cold weather again soon. I can feel my bones are a bit sore. The wind outside has started to pick up and more leaves are falling on the ground. I think I have to take my thick woollies out soon and my mitts!!! One of my home remedy is to warm up a pot of nice Martini Chicken with Ginger. This will definitely getting my bones warm up and put me to sleep too :) Very funny, ya. My family doesn't care for this soup so I have to slowly finish it up or maybe one of my sister will come and finish it up for me. Ingredients: Some sesame oil, a bowl of ginger which I smashed it up into bites with a mortal and pestle, 1 whole chicken washed and cut up to bite pieces, 2 - 3 Tbs dried black fungus soaked, washed, and drained, half a bottle of Martini Rossi, 1/4 bottle of home-made glutinuous rice wine, some salt and sugar to taste. (Sugar is optional)

Ma'amoul (Middle Eastern Cookies)

2007-09-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

Another cookie recipe to try out. This time Middle Eastern Cookies (Pistachio with dates) exterior is coated with semolina and flour. I didn't use the ghee or butter instead I used what I have in the fridge, margarine. Since I have a big tube of margarine why not try it out. My mistake was I placed the dough in a warm oven and as a result the margarine became too runny. Overall the cookies turned out great except I didn't make it as puffy on the bottom as I would like it to be like the picture I saw here nandyala.

Silver Noodle with Choy Sum

2007-09-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

Somedays I just ran out of ideas what to cook for my family. I wanted something fast and easy and ended up with this. My family likes it and do so I. At times I'm just pressed for time and since I had been out all day and cooking was the last thing I had in my mind. When I felt I am in a crunch I just dreamt up one within seconds. So for those interested here it is.

2 packets Fresh Silver Noodles, pour hot boiling water and drain immediately

Some fresh ground pork meat (minced pork) or you may use char siew slice into thin strips

1 - 2 Tbs Tang chai (preserved turnip shreds)

1 garlic smashed and chopped to pieces

1 shallot sliced

Less then a pinch of salt

Some dark soya sauce & oyster sauce adjust according to your taste

Vegetable - whatever veggies you prefer shredded cabbage or Choy Sum or Kai Lan if you wish

Heat pan, sautee shallot, garlic, and tang chai until fragrant and add ground pork. Stir it until the meat is partially cook and add in your seasonings, vegetables, and noodle last. Do not over cook your vegetables. Bon Appettito!

2007-09-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

Red Bean Mooncake

2007-09-06T11:10:00.001-07:00

Mooncakes are out at the downtown oriental stores. My sister gave me two Red Bean Paste with 1 Yolk Mooncakes. I think they all taste quite similar except for different fillings. The ones I found downtown were Lotus, Pandan Paste, Durian Essence, Red Bean Paste, and Pineapple. I had the pineapple mooncake and my conclusion is it tasted like pineapple tart. T & T have some reduced sugar mooncakes. BTW the pineapple mooncake was about 4 cm (approx. 1 1/2" square) and there were 10 pieces for CA$16.99

"Golden Dragon" on the tag

2007-08-29T00:57:00.000-07:00

She caught me by surprise as I wasn't expecting her to bloom for me. I took her outside in the garden this summer and left her inside the gazebo for couple of weeks. I didn't know what to expect as I have never seen her provide me any blossom. Her petal has a darker yellow stripes on it and her leaves are at least 2 feet long. When I bought her about 2 or 3 years ago from Holes Green house she was only small and the lady, Stephanie told me it will take several years before she blooms. Stunning she started with one bud and gradually the rest opened up too.

Amaretti Cookies

2007-08-29T00:37:00.000-07:00

The first time we tried these cookies were at my Italian neighbor Veronica's 91st birthday. Boy, towards the end of the night they were distributing all their bake goods that were served throughout the night. One of which were these cookies. Believe it or not I add every bit of it and left none. Most of it is made out of ground almond. According to the recipe instructions they suggested to roll it into round balls and bake but I baked it for the first few minutes, and saw nothing happened and decided to use the back of my spoon and decided to press it down. The final results were they have cracked around the edges of the cookies. It has the taste of almond extract and the texture were chewy. Note: Italian served these cookies on special occasions like wedding, christmas, christening etc.

French Madeleine

2007-08-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

I understand in France they call these tea cakes. I saw many times while I was surfing the internet and thought it looked good but had never come close to one. My curiousity made me bake up a storm. My taste buds tells me it is more or less similar to pound cake.

Since it was my first time using a madeleline tray it was quite a challenge I had several questions do I grease the pan, how much batter do I fill etc. so towards the end I had more batter and more larger pieces.

Steamed Haw Flake Cake

2007-08-17T00:35:00.001-07:00

I have tried postponing making this cake like forever! I was a little skeptical in the beginning about the final product. There weren't any cream crackers so I had to drive downtown to purchase some for this cake. I put the whole cream crackers into my kitchen aid food processor and grind it until it it more or less like bread crumbs. For future reference reduce the sugar to 80g and I will divide the batter into four parts so each layer will be even rather than counting each ladel as I added in each layer. Since I followed the recipe as directed I discovered that if I didn't steam the second layer long enough that is why the center of my cake caved in! This is due to lack of experience on my part but next time I will do a much better job. Frankly it is good enough for my tummy and definitely a keeper. My hubby likes it so do I! :)

Recipe source from Jode's site.

Indian Rope Hoya

2007-08-17T00:29:00.000-07:00

This year in the summer I have decided to take her for an excursion holiday outside under our pear tree. She was growing really well with occasional rain showers on her throughout the summer months. I was excited to see her bloom for the first time since I bought her about 2 yers ago. Frankly until a few days ago she rewarded me with beautiful breathtaking blooms!!!

Sarawak Serikaya Cake

2007-08-17T00:17:00.001-07:00

Thank you Boon Kien for this lovely recipe. This is quite a moist cake even after 3 days and it wasn't extremely sweet. I think I could taste more horlick in this cake. Even though I don't have the exact browning sauce (gulai hitam) I did it anyway. I didn't know for sure if 11/2 hour of steaming was good enough or not but I went ahead and steam a little longer and i wrapped up my steamer's cover with kitchen towel so the evaporated steam will not drip and wet my cake. So far it turned out really well and I am pleased with the result and the taste of the cake. So this will be definitely another keeper! :)

Grandson

2007-07-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

Latest pictures of my grandson

2007-07-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Wabamun Lake

2007-07-08T00:08:00.000-07:00

Marcus is covering Yasmin with sand after they had a good swim.

Bak Chang #2

2007-06-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Bak Chang Day

2007-06-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Bak Chang day so i decided to make some. I made about 40 pieces and distributed to family members in the evening and today. It seemed like I had bak chang coming out of my ears after eating it for two days.

Slow Roast Pork Shoulder Blade/Butt

2007-06-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

Slow Roast Pork Shoulder Blade/Butt.
Note I use cheap pork leg deboned or tough piece of pork meat and slice the pork leg into 5 long stripes like BBQ Pork pieces

2 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme

1 bottle Heineke beer
1/3 cup pineapple juice

Mix all the rub ingredients in a bowl.

Use some of the rub mix to rub your pork pieces and the rest you can save it for another day or another time. I also use 1/3 cup pineapple juice from the can.

Put the pork in a large zip log bag and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator. The next day take it out from the bag and pour it into a rectangular pyrex dish and add some Buffalo BBQ sauce of your liking. I also add 1 bottle of Heineken beer. Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 325 for 21/2 hours. Remove the foil towards the last few minutes and let the juice dry up a little in the oven. Use a fork to shred the pork pieces into shreds. Best serve with toasted bun and fresh lettuce. Yum.

Easy Lunch

2007-06-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

I tied these wraps so it doesn't unravel in the bag. This is easy and healthy lunch for kids.

Pan Fried Salty Prawns (Choo Yim Har)

2007-06-06T02:13:00.000-07:00

Stuffed Red Peppers

2007-06-06T02:06:00.000-07:00

Marcus and Yasmin

2007-06-06T01:57:00.000-07:00

We went to Alberta Beach on the weekend. My son Marcus and my niece Yasmin were in the water swimming and collecting snails. Frankly they were like ducks in the water.

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish

2007-06-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Sausage Bun with Cheese Topping

2007-05-29T03:33:00.000-07:00

it seems that everybody has an attempt on this so why not try it out myself. Marcus has given his stamp of approval that this is definitely a keeper. It is easy to do if you know how, right. Basically all you need is sweet bread dough and roll it up and cut it 3/4 through and manipulate a little. You can spice it up with whatever you want and bake it at 375 for 12 minutes or so. Viola ready to serve and I like it pipping hot right from the oven.

My big boss

2007-05-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

Kaya's Party

2007-05-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Kaya's 1 month party

2007-05-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

We were invited to my nephew's daughter one month party. There were a varieties of food being served. Siamese chicken, chicken and beef satay, prawns salad, beef kichap, roast beef rolls, dips and more.

Mee Goreng

2007-05-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

Why not cook mee goreng for tonight. I bought two packets of fresh shanghai noodles at the noodle factory couple of days ago. I didn't add bean sprouts or any type of vegetable on it except some spring onions. Sometimes I like to add some Choy Sum (green mustard veggies) or Kai Lan.

Cream Corn Agar Agar

2007-05-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

I found the recipe for this one from the internet. I didn't like it much cause it didn't meet my expection.

Another Version of Banana Prawns Spring Roll

2007-05-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

All it requires are semi ripe pisang rebus, fresh shrimp washed, deveined and marinated with salt and black pepper, and some spring roll skin. Deep fried and ready to serve!

Prawn Fritters

2007-05-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

When I was younger we couldn't afford much but this one makes me reminisce about my younger years. We made this pancake with dried prawns instead of prawns/shrimp but today I used fresh shrimp with a little pounded dried shrimp as well. It is a savory pancake and can be eaten in the morning or as an afternoon snack.

Bird House #2

2007-05-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

The picture on this one is a little blurred due to the fact that I took it from upstairs my bedroom window. Last year we had quite a few bird's eggs hatched from this one. Both male and female birds were attending to their young. Cheeko was waiting on the bottom of the bird house for them for a feathery feast

Bird House #1

2007-05-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

In the attempt to have birds in our garden I bought this bird house from Home Sense. I had it sat on a pole of about a metre tall for don't remember how long. One day I saw my cat jumping at the bird house and lord and behold there they were chipping! Earlier I noticed the bottom seam swelled a little. I don't think it was probably constructed due to the material being used; the particle board started to decay, however this bird doesn't mind it. Hooray for me, will have little birds chipping again soon.

Bird House #3

2007-05-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

An updated picture on this. I have finished spray painting and my husband cut up a base for me to put a pole on it. Two days ago I saw a bird sat by the window. She jumped in and investigated the main floor and jumped out through the other window. Honestly I think this has too many windows and I doubt it if the birds are going to make a home out of this one. The rain might be able to come in. So far no nest yet. Besides the ugly magpie might be able to get the little babies when they are hatched. We might have to improvised it and closed some windows with pieces of wood. Let wait and see what happen.

Niagara Fall at night

2007-05-18T18:12:00.000-07:00

It was quite a long drive from Mississauga to Niagara Fall. By the time we arrived at Niagara Fall it was already 6:00 pm . The night was cold out and dark and couldn't see much of the water fall. Junior made a last minute decision to take us to the Falll. From the left my hubby Costy, Junior (my grandson's dad and daughter's fiance), my daughter Alicia, and lastly my dear son Marcus.

New Addition

2007-05-17T23:14:00.001-07:00

My hubby bought this Amitabha for our garden. I don't know much about Amitabha or Buddha and I hope someone will clue me in. My guess his hand gesture represents blessing or meditation. All the same I am clueless but I just adore it. The color is perfect and it stands about a metre tall.

Sugar Pea and Prawns

2007-05-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day

2007-05-17T22:56:00.001-07:00

When I saw this bouquet of flowers I couldn't resist. It was the day before Mother's Day I went with my two sisters to Costco. Since I love flowers and yellow and brown are one of my favourite colors. This one seems to call my name when I walked by it. Hmm..I just love it! Why not indulge and spoil myself. I have to love myself too right? :)

Corn Beef Fritters

2007-05-17T22:54:00.001-07:00

Asam Pedas Pomdano

2007-05-17T22:33:00.001-07:00

Not a perfect pic cause my hands were shaking too much from overworking in the kitchen and prior to that working in the garden. I love spicy food and couldn't wait to eat it as usual. My mouth was watering and my stomach was growling at me. See what i did all days I peeled all the ingredients and grind them all up. I made all together 2 large nescafe bottles of Asam Pedas paste for later use. I fried them in oil so I can store them in the fridge for a longer period. You can freeze them too. It is so versatile.. you can add some pounded dried prawns and make it into sambal for frying with long beans, or egg plants, or put it on your fish wrap with aluminium foil, add some tamarind juice or lemon juice and grill it on your BBQ. The list is endless of course just use your imagination.

New Bird House

2007-05-17T22:24:00.001-07:00

I bought it and decided to paint it. Ha ha I cheated. You want to know how I did it? Cheeky as usual I was scouting around and bought 2 cans of oil base paint; a white and a brown. I heard oil base is better for out door projects. I couldn't get anyone to help me at Rona until after waiting for about 15 minutes someone gave me a hand telling me the pros and cons. I sprayed it and it is surely a piece of cake. Ha ha I did it! You have to wait for my updated pic. Hey know what I saw a bird went into my new bird house inspecting the main floor and out the other window. Boy that is beautiful! I like to use a binocular to watch birds too if you must know eventhough I do feel a little dizzy after looking through the lens. Enough of my rambling for today so let get to see what I have to cook.

Red Tulip

2007-05-17T22:19:00.001-07:00

I thought I got rid of these tulip but they came back. I didn't realized how beautiful they are when nothing else is blooming around now.

Nothing special tonight

2007-05-08T23:27:00.000-07:00

You will be surprise how much kids love sausages especially our family. Chicken wings are okay to eat provided you don't go overboard. Rojak is one of our local favourite. There are quite a few types of rojak. Some just like vegetable rojak, others fruits, and another with prawn fritters and deep fried tofu. The list goes on depending on what you fancy. Cooking is so easy just add whatever you like and take out what you don't care for. Viola you have your own creation to be proud of. There is no set rules except for baking.

Japanese Cheesecake

2007-05-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

I have never tasted a cake so soft. It felt like cotton puff!

Savory Salmon Muffin

2007-05-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

Let's Introduce Our Family

2007-05-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

A new addition to our forever expanding family. My daughter Alicia and our darling grandson Ojay

Blue Girl

2007-05-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

She is one of my favourite tender rose that grew in my garden year after after, although we have a harsh winter of -30 C. We have her growing close to the back wall of our house and there wasn't any winter covering as long as you have the roses buried least 11/2 to 2 feet deep.

Soon Kuih or Bangkuang Kuih

2007-05-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite kuih kuih. I sauteed slightly minced chicken breast, chinese mushroom, shredded sour mustard (kiam chai), minced garlic, and season with salt and sugar to taste. I tried to avoid msg whenever I can get away with it. I also tried another version I fried some pounded dried shrimp, minced garlic and spring onion. I prefer the sour mustard Soon Kuih. Chili - I added some lemon juice and sugar to sambal olek.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

2007-05-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

Dorie Greenspan Chocolate Cookies. It requires Whopper Chocolate Balls, Cocoa Powder, Bitter Semi Sweet Chocolate, and 1 cup of Ovaltine which I substitute it with Milo.

Malay Agar Agar

2007-05-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

Poko this is for you. I reduced the sugar by 11/2 cup and added a pinch of salt.

Cinnamon Bun

2007-05-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

I was a little in doubt when my friend gave me this recipe over the telephone. Anyhow they turned out beautifully. I made them in a 9" square pan for exactly 9 buns. I didn't apply the cream cheese frosting when the picture was taken. I use a convectional oven to bake them so the baking time is reduced by at least 10 to 15 minutes depending on your oven. On my personal observation the following day the buns were still nice and soft. It's a keeper!

Tom's Orange & Poppy Seed Cake

2007-04-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

I adjusted the recipe a little by adding a pinch of salt to lemon curd and a little more lemon juice. I didn't cut the cake into three parts instead into two parts. Note: For future reference add less sugar to syrup. This one use a lot of ground almond. Don't forget to add more lemon curd in between the two parts. Recipe Orgin: bbcgoodfood

English Scotch Eggs

2007-04-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

Quail eggs are much more suited for this recipe. Recipe origin: Michael Roux

Pretzel

2007-04-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Sweet and Sour Pork with Lychee

2007-04-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

Sunny boy requested for sweet and sour pork and I prepared an unsual mix. It turns out beautifully.

My Best Pizza

2007-04-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Early this morning I woke up and decided to bake a pizza. The authentic Itally Pizza from Cucina. During weekday I prepared breakfast for my sunny boy and myself. Hubby has his breakfast at work at about 9:45 am. On the weekend when hubby is home I try to prepare something different. It was so good that he requested me to bake another but I didn't have much mozarella left. So I ended up baking Marmalade Banana Puff. It turned out Yummy and not overly sweet although I thought initially it might be a disaster. The bananas skin had freckles on it :)

Banana Fritters with Shrimp

2007-04-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite afternoon tea kuih. It is kinda of savoury and goes well with a cup of tea. You can give me any day, any time of day, and I can really eat and eat until there is none left. Yum!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cakelettes

2007-04-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Top with chocolate lemon drops since I didn't have the tip for it I ended up using a star tip. This cakelette is about 11/2" in diameter and it is not that chocolatey. Note: perfect size for canapes. Recipe orgin: Death by Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers.

Samosa

2007-04-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

Initially I wanted to make curry puff but since I didn't have the skin for it so I thought why not the frozen samosa skin which i bought from Superstore. They come out very uniform in size and perfect. When thawing the dough make sure they are not thawed and left to dry up or else you will have a horrible time keeping the fillings intact.

Edith Woldrof

2007-04-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

A difficult plant to keep due to our Zone 3 area. I have purchased mature plants for the last two years and they flowered the same year but the next year they didn't come back. I went ahead and ordered 8 different rhizomes from BC's nursery and started them inside the house over the winter months. From my observation this particular one just grew about 2" while the others grew about a foot tall and have quite a few new growth. I am puzzled what is going on with this particular plant???

Missy

2007-04-16T00:38:00.000-07:00

She likes to hide around my tall plants in the garden. Sometimes you can't find her cause she sat very quietly even when she was sick. One of a kind and does not like to eat a mouse, or bird but she likes insects.

Butter cake with Zebra design

2007-04-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

First attempt and hubby mentioned that it is a bit dry. I thought it tasted more like butter cake since it required half a pound of butter. Since i bought the food color from Safeway and it is kind of diluted. The color green didn't stand out much but will add more and try to use concentrated green icing colors instead.

French Chocolate Macaroon

2007-04-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

I have never tasted these macarons before and decided to try baking them myself in order to taste it myself and give my final verdict. They turned out to be about 11/2" in diameter and were quite sweet for my teeth. For future reference I will reduce the confectioners' sugar. I understood that this is the original French Chocolate Macaroon from the renown "Picasso of Pastry" Pierre Herme!

Recipe orgin: "Chocolate Desserts" Pierre Herme written by Dorie Greenspan

Fondant Flower

2007-04-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

I made these flowers in advance for my cake this sunday. Carnation flowers are not my favourite so I think i might just use the fantasy flowers instead. Don't know what the cake will turn out I guess we will just have to wait and see this sunday.

Hungarian Langos

2007-04-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

Some part of Eastern Europe this is known as Krumplislangos or for short "langos". Last year we went to Hawrelak Park for Heritage Day and found them there. They were huge like the size of your dinner plate! Boy, it was good after a long walk around the ground. I made them smaller and let it cool and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Seafood Salad & Pork Chop

2007-04-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

We had this for breakfast during the week end. Boy it was good change then the normal continental breakfast.

Cheeko

2007-04-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Curious as usual the master and most demanding creature. He is always very loving but constantly demanding for food. I took him to the vet and he requested that we watched his diet but with his constantly begging there is no way I can shut him up.

Apricot Jam Cookies

2007-04-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

One of the many recipes from Carole Walker's book. I noted that drizzle confectioner sugar while rolling is not a good idea as it starts melting so I dusted my table top with plain flour instead. I found out that while baking some of my cookies split open 'cause I didn't bring both ends together and pleat but I just folded one on top of the other. I tried gluing it with egg but this does not work either. It tasted more or less like cream cracker different from the plain sugar cookie.