Simple Fried Rice

Surprisingly, a simple throw-in-the-wok action can give great results that end with clear serving dishes and plates.


Yesterday, we made a day visit to my parents place, just in time to prepare lunch. Mak already planned to have fried chicken, serve with the black beef Sarawak style. She had rice left over from the night before that I turned into simple fried rice. One that I eventually called; Nasi Goreng Planta (Planta Fried Rice).


Ingredients? Simple really, just some garlic, number is according to your preference. I like my garlic, so LOTS. Throw crushed garlic into hot oil in the pan... let it brown a little... Then, pour in the rice. Stir. Dashes of salt. And a spoonful of margerine, I used PLANTA soft. Stir, stir, stir. 


Serve with ayam goreng, it's yummeh bebeh!!

More Food in Ramadhan

Yesterday, armed with two recipes from WaterLily’s blog again, I prepared Buttered Prawn and Agar2 Buih (Bubble Jelly). I learned to make the jelly long, long time ago, when I was still in school from the neighbour next door. The aunty always made this jelly and send some to our house. Most of the time, she sent satu talam! So, it was one of the desserts that our family love. Just so happened yesterday, I found the same jelly recipe in WaterLily’s blog. (I don’t know who she is, just stumbled first time when I was looking for the Portuguese Grill recipe… Thanks babe!!)

My egg floss did not really make it to flossy because I used less oil. But, it served its purposes… He he he….

You can go to her blog to get the recipes.

Making these two dishes on the same day is actually very beneficial. Why you may ask? Because, the jelly only uses egg white and the prawns only use egg yolk. So, you don’t have any leftovers! Wonderful, isn’t it?

The next dish that I made was mixed vegetables in oyster sauce. The vege that I chose yesterday was greenpea, brocolli, carrot, yellow bell pepper (capsicum) and some mixed beans. Very simply, fry crushed garlic in a tablespoon of cooking oil. Some oyster sauce, soy sauce, a little salt and a little water. Throw the vege in and stir. Cover for a minute. Then add some corn flour to thicken the gravy. Stir, stir, stir. And your mixed vege is ready!

Some pictures…

Bubble Jelly

Mixed Vege in Oyster Sauce

Buttered Prawn    

On the fourth of Ramadhan

Today, for second day in the row, I made my newly found recipe of Chinese Fried Rice. Seriously, I never knew it could be so simple. Just make sure the cooked rice is fried individually before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients. As usual, lots of garlic; crushed, and one big onion; sliced. Scramble a couple of eggs and set it aside. Slice some spring onion and set it aside. Some cili padi, as much as you like, slice thinly. You can change to normal chili if you prefer.

Fry the garlic. Add the sliced onion. Let them brown. Add the cili padi. Add salt; I like it to be slightly salty, oyster sauce and dark (sweet) soy sauce. Pour in the rice and scrambled eggs and mix thoroughly. Lastly let the spring onion join the mix. I actually like to be still fresh and crispy, so don’t leave it too long on the fire. I add them just before I turn the stove off.

And today, we breakfasted at my parents’. I saw Mak had two Black Phomprets (Ikan Bawal) so I asked her if she’s up to a Portuguese Grill dish. Mak jumped to the suggestion, and armed with the recipe of Chef Wan’s from WaterLily’s blog, I prepared the ingredients. I will just copy the recipe and put it here.

Bahan - Bahan : (per the original recipe)

1 ekor (600 gram) ikan bawal, di bersih kan
1/4 cawan minyak masak
Air perahan dari 1/2 limau nipis (I used limau kasturi)
1/2 sudu besar kicap pekat
Garam
Gula

Daun pisang

Bahan Di Kisar Halus:

4 tangkai cili merah
4 biji buah keras (did not have this, so according to Mak, it tastes “lemak” so I added a little coconut milk)
8 ulas bawang merah, di kupas 
1 batang serai ( dihiris halus)
1/2 sudu teh belacan
1 sudu besar cili serbuk (I used dried chili paste)
2 helai daun limau purut (did not have this, so instead I sliced the limau kasturi’s skin)

As any other recipe, you need to fry the blended ingredients. Add in the lime juice, salt, sugar and soy sauce. Once done, marinate the fish with the fried ingredient. Wrap the fish in banana leaves. Grill, or as I did, into the oven it went!

By the way, the recipe calls for one piece of fish. Since I had two, I doubled all the ingredient items. And remember, daun limau is used for the aroma, so you can be creative and substitute. Limau Kasturi’s skin gives the same effect and it’s nice to chew too!

Fried rice was a hit. The fish was a hit. Praise be to Allah SWT. Everyone is happy and full. He he he… So goddesses, try it out the next time you want a simple dish to grace your dining table. ;-)

Mashed Potato with Black Pepper Beef

I decided to cook yesterday evening. I wanted to savour spices, but I did not want to eat rice, so I decided to make mashed potato.  


Mashed Potato
Boil one potato with one carrot (chopped).
Once tender, mash together.
Season with salt and pepper.


Black Pepper Beef
I purchase the pre-packed beef sliced for stir fry.
Prep beef with grounded black pepper, salt, sweet soy sauce, ginger slices. 
Stir fry garlic and onion in hot oil. 
Add the beef mixture, and cook to your liking. I like the meat soft, so I don't fry them too long. 
Add just a little water, because the meat will release its own liquid. Yummy!

You can also prep the beef together with the garlic and onion. And dump everything into hot oil.


Serve
Place the mashed potato in the middle of the plate.
Top with the black pepper beef and it's gravy. Generously.
Garnish with grilled capsicum, tomato and asparagus on top. A la 5-star serving.


So, that's it. No picture, sorry about that. You just have to use your imagination. He He He...

The Project is Finally Started!

I am feeling a little better today. I did not receive any suggestion that could be put to use or things that I have not done before. BUT I did something yesterday that put a smile on my face. Before I explained what I did, let me just reiterate the events that trailed towards the activity.

I left the office earlier than usual because I needed to make payment to AmIslamic Bank. Funny enough, we could not still deposit money to AmIslamic Bank accounts using the cash deposit machine. Relatively, if you cannot use the machine to bank-in the money, you could not use fund transfer option via internet banking to do the same. This is all the computer stuff behind it where the mapping is not there yet. As such, I needed to go to the counter to perform the transaction.

When I reached the branch office, I was told that the system was down and they do not know yet when it will be up again. But the officer at the counter was helpful where she suggested to do a manual deposit and she will key it in the system when it comes back up. I agreed and not ten seconds later was told that the system is back up! Wonderful.

Why do I insist on telling this piece of event? I used to be AmBank employer until eight years ago. :-) And I was there when the whole merging thing was done. I remembered how it affected my paycheck and bonus. Ha ha ha... That's another story, for another day. I just hope they get to mapping the AmIslamic account soon for the transfer. I mean, once you're able to the transaction at the counter, it should just be the next logical step to bring it to the deposit machine AND internet banking, right?

So, after that, I just headed straight to Giant and bought some baking items! Yes people, I finally get to use my breadmaker!! I posted a blog post not "too" long ago about it. And yesterday, I made bread! Well, I threw all the ingredients in and the machine did the rest. after about 3 hours (which was filled up with Melinda and Jim) the bread was ready. For starters, I used the Basic Bread Program 1. Very easy; just dump in the items one by one as it's listed in the recipe book, choose the size and crust, press "Start" and let the machine do its thing.

In the process

The end product!

The Kenwood BM450 has a delay timer. Which means, the next time I can set it up at midnight, and wake up in the morning with freshly baked bread! Isn't that just wonderful? Having hot bread as if you were in the hotel! He he he... very, very interesting. I just hope that I will continue making use of the machine! Don't want it to be a white elephant. He he he...

The machine can also make dough; for pizza and pastries, as well as cooking jam! It's like a whole bakery in one machine! Now, if I could just get the contractor to fix the power socket at the wet kitchen, I will be a happily-domesticated-homely-corporate-climber. How's that sound?

In the box, the breadmaker comes with its own measuring tumbler and measuring spoon. So, you don't have to go and buy those items separately. All-in-one, remember? The touch buttons are so intuitive, you don't have to put pressure on it at all. Just touch your finger on it as if applying your eye cream. Seriously, I kid you not. Another thing I love most about this machine is its slick design. It looks so modern and simple and elegant. The platinum colour goes well with any type of kitchen even the most traditional one!

So, my next project? I think I'll try to make the ginger bread or maybe banana bread-cake. And maybe a jar of jam? Who knows? Anything is possible!

Dinner@Venezia

A lot of friends are moving from blog to Notes@FB. Hmm...

We finally had the overdue birthday dinner last night. Love it! It's a small Italian joint in Cheras (near Leisure Mall). The food... HEAVENLY. We forgot to take pictures of the food. And when we remembered, we were half way through...

We started with Mushroom Soup, Clam Soup and Mushroom Bruschetta. And then we moved to the main course; I had Salmon Pasta and CapalPerak chose the Salmon Steak. Obviously these food has Italian names, but I don't remember. Later, the waitress came and asked if we're celebrating anything. CapalPerak told her that it was my birthday and five minutes later, Tiramisu on the house! I like!

All the food was very, very tasty. Maybe we'll have meal there again soon. And the next time, hopefully I'll remember to snap the pictures. And let me quote CapalPerak, "Food is good, place is nice with Italian deco, but it's not pretentious." Simply because, food is Italian, price is very much Malaysian.

Owhh.. the food is Halal. And it closes on Fridays. Maybe the next time I'll interview the owner. He he he...

From My Mobile

This was dinner last night. Prawns with lots of garlic and red chilies. Served with sauteed zucchini and tomato. It was supposed to be my BodyBalance night at the gym, but I got side-tracked because of the mission for the week; to find a nice comforter set. Ha ha ha... boleh ke camtu?

Anyway, since mission was accomplished and I kinda like what I bought, it doesn't matter that I did not sweat myself right? Besides, I ate a very light, very healthy dinner right? Well... not counting the chips that I munched a little after that... :-p

Yesterday also was the last day of training for the users. Let me tell you this, spending a week, teaching a group of people who has the idea that they are above other people (well, most of them feel this way if not all), actually taught you a LOT. If you do not have control of the situation you might just, well, blow up. So, you have to be even sterner than them. And that's how you get their cooperation and maybe, respect.

As with other organisations, this particular one also has cliques. And during training sessions like this, is apparently the time for them to vent out. I'm not saying it's wrong, in fact, maybe this is the only time they can get someone to actually listen. Whether or not the someone do anything about it, is another matter. As long as the voices are heard, right?

The only consolation that I could give to them, is that it happens everywhere. And the characters that they describe, are everywhere. Well, life's like that, kan?

From My Mobile - Baked Begedil

This was my dinner yesterday. Baked Begedil. It's chicken begedil actually. And instead of frying it, I baked it inside the oven toaster. Made a mistake of not coating the paste with egg; I thought of having a low fat dish. Ha ha ha.. So they turned out very soft and delicate.

Then I made the sauce. Hot chili sauce mixed with tomato sauce. Crush two garlic and throw it in. Add water. A dash of salt and sugar. Stir on the stove until it bubbles. Serve hot. Yummy!

Yes, I ate 'em all!

Iftar with the Itik Jawa Clan

...without the mascot.

Last night was a blast. Cik Far and I went for grocery shoppin in the afternoon to prepare for the night's event. I managed to get the right size of a baking pan to bake the bread pudding and we decided to go for chicken pasta instead of seafood.

The bread pudding turned out to be a little dry and a little less sweet than I wanted it to be. But lesson learned, next, I'll add extra milk and sugar. :-) When the two family came, we had enough food to feed more than the six adults present. Five kids running around gave a different aura to the crib since before this we never had little humans in the house. He he he. Seriously, it was fun.

The moms and the two aunties finally gathered around the dining table for talks and laugh and more laugh. We remenisced on NKOTB (hahaha), the names we created for people (that don't even know we exist!), the friends we had and urrmmm.. lost; those were the days. We later found out that the two fathers we watching a Malay drama on RTM1, which we were informed is the first. Ahahaha... I guess they were so bored with the women that a drama on RTM was more fun! Either way, that doesn't sound quite right. He he he...

We also had pizza, courtesy of Teh and Abg Sham. Ina and Am brought drinks and more kuih-muih. We ended the night around 10:30pm. But the kids were still active!

Actually this is the first time we have guests over the apartment; not counting our parents visiting. The first time we had such number in the house. It's fun feeding people. And my humble bread pudding was a hit as was the chicken pasta and teh tarik (yes, I prepare quite good teh tarik).


After last night, I have a feeling I will entertain more people after this. I found it fulfilling having close friends around. And feeding them. Ha ha ha...

Anyway Wanie, we really missed having you around. Otherwise, the clan would have been complete. No worries about that, as we will definitely gather again.

From My Mobile - Prawn & Mushroom Risotto

Aha... This was iftar and sahur yesterday. Most probably will be my iftar and sahur again today! Sebab ada banyak left over. Hmm.. unless... Anyway.

Here's what you need to make this Prawn & Mushroom Risotto ala Jade

Prawn (obviously - I used medium size and cut them to half)
Oyster mushroom (washed and drained)
Capsicum or bell pepper (red and yellow)
Rice (I just use Jasmine rice, some recipe will recommend specific risotto rice, but I couldn't care less)
Ground black pepper (very important for the zing)
Cheese (I used cheddar cheese sauce, you can also grate cheese kalau extra rajin)
Coriander leaves (sedap! and also healthy)
Dash of salt
Garlic and shallots
Lemon vinegar (I suddenly like throwing this in everytime I cook now) - optional
Water
A little Ghee (he he he) - actual recipe is butter

Firstly, I sauteed the prawn, mushroom and capsicums with crushed garlic in butter. And I put them aside.

Next, blend shallots and more garlic together, and throw them into the pan with already heated olive oil. Salt to taste. Dashes of black pepper. Let the scent fill the air.Then, dump the rice (note: beras, okay, bukan nasi). About two tablespoon of lemon vinegar. Slowly stir, because you want the flavour to be absorbed into the rice. Pour water in. In most risotto recipe, they will use chicken stock or beef stock or whatever other stock in place of water. But since I don't have that, water it is.

When the mix starts to dry, add more water until the rice is almost cooked. Then pour in the sauteed mixture that has been prepared earlier. Stir and stir. Put a lid on the pan and let it simmer. A dollop of ghee (replace with butter if you prefer) and two to three tablespoons of cheese sauce as well as sliced coriander leaves after that. Stir and stir. And you're done.

Serve hot. If you need more zing, remember tabasco sauce. Otherwise, hot chili sauce or more black pepper. Owh... if you can make garlic bread pun okay jugak.

Actually, kalu ada left over and you are the rajin sort, boleh la jadikan baked risotto puler. Just fill up a bowl with the rice. Shred some cheezy cheese on top to cover it. Then, pop it into the oven and bake.

p/s: excuse the poor quality of the food pictures. I was lazy to get the camera and just snapped with my humble V9.

More about food

Yesterday, I managed to prepare a quick pasta dish for iftar. I simply sauteed chicken breast, chopped into cubes, with garlic and green chili in olive oil. A dash of salt and a table spoon of lemon vinegar. Threw in some cherry tomato. And then in goes the angel hair spaghetti. It's actually ala olio, only the red chili flakes are swapped with green chili. It was very quick although, next time I'll put more green chili in, because it lacked the zing. Maybe I should crushed some cili api along with it! He he he...

Today, I decided to make seafood risotto. Will let you know how it turns out. I already went for the items during lunch hour. I could not find any Romano cheese, so I purchased a tube of cheddar cheese sauce.

Aha... it's already five minutes past five. I should be getting ready to go home. Yeay!

From My Mobile - Kacang Pol

This was my menu for iftar last night. And sahur this morning. The name of this dish is Kacang Pol.

I learnt this from Mak who got the recipe from Mak Long. I had my first Kacang Pol dish when we went to Bedok to visit Pak Long and family. Oh ya, both Pak Long and Mak Long were going away for Hajj. The year was 1991.

The ingredients:

Kacang Parang (I used Kimball)
Minced Beef
Shallots and garlic
Ginger
Rempah briyani and rempah kari
Dash of black pepper
Minyak Sapi Ghee

Preparing it: Very easy as usual. Heat up the Ghee. Lagi banyak lagi la sedap. Dry blend shallots, ginger and garlic then campak masuk dalam ghee yang panas ittew. Agak-agak dah wangi, scoop in one table spoon of curry powder and one table spoon of briyani powder. If you want more zing add more curry powder and dashes of black pepper. Kasi garing. After, dump the minced beef and stir. Oh ya, blend the Kacang Parang, tak payah halus sangat pun tak per. After the beef has set, dump the Kacang Parang paste into the mix. Stir and stir. Add water a little to avoid kehangusan.

For grazing, slice green chili and some shallots (or red onion). Fry a chicken egg, bulls eye. Separa masak, kalu cair2 sket lagi sedap. Aha... limau kasturi, jangan lupa perah. Serve with French Baguette.

Actually, I planned to try with tortilla wrap. Pastu masuk dalam oven toast for a minute. Tapi tak jumpa plak the tortilla bread kat supermarket. Maybe next time. You can toast the French Baguette if you want. Put a little butter on it to taste. Sukahati ko la labuuuu...

NOTA KAKI: THIS IS HIGHLY FATTENING, SINFULICIOUS DISH. EAT SPARRINGLY

(tapi minggu lepas aku baru je belasah the same thing....)

Bahmi with Sambal Udang Geragau

Sambal Udang Geragau

100gm Udang Geragau (tiny dried shrimps) - wash thoroughly
3 cloves garlic; crushed
4 shallots; crushed
chili paste (I ran out of chili paste, so I add the spicy chili sauce; not the thai sauce, ya)
cooking oil

Simply dump the crushed garlic and shallots into the pan with heated oil. Sauté for a while. Dump the chili paste in. After a while, dump the shrimps in. Stir and stir. You don't need to add salt because the shrimps are already salty.

Sautéed Veges

Half of red bell pepper/capsicum
Half of yellow capsicum
Some chinese cabbage
Garlic
A dollop of butter
A dash of salt

Dice the bell peppers and cabbage. Crushed the garlic. Heat butter in pan and throw the garlic in. I like to let the butter melt while getting the garlic golden. Dump the veges into the pan. Stir a while and take it out from the pan while the cabbage are still crunchy and green.
===========================================

Prepare 2 packets of Indomie as normal. This time I did not do anything extra like frying them in the pan with garlic and maybe some red pepper. Just stir the sauce and spices provided.

Serve with the sambal, sautéed veges and garnish with boiled egg. Ready to eat. All was prepared under 20 minutes.

I Know What We Did on Labour's Day

On Wednesday I received a call from Bonda terchenta that she's not yet feeling better and Abah's car is acting up again. She asked me to come home that evening. Not wanting to sound hypocrite, I did feel a bit frustrated because I had already make plans for Thursday. But upon hanging up the phone, my decision was made, and I started to shut down the PC. Went to see the boss and told him that I need to go back because my mom is not feeling well. "Ok... Ok.. It's very important... Family is important..." the boss said few times. So I thanked him and hurried to the LRT.

Why is it that when you're in hurry, the universe seems to go against you. The stupid man at the LRT door did not want to move aside so that you can get out. The drivers on the road that hog the right lane. Haih. Make my blood go upstairs! Had to go back to PH first to get my things, I don't like to do things twice. Called Bonda from the LRT and told her that I'm getting the lunch for them. On the way back, stopped at Nasi Lemak Ulik Mayang to get their Nasi Kerabu (Sorry Kak Sheila, I dunno where else to find the dish).

I know how my parents are tired of packed food so that evening I improvise the left overs and made new meal. Habis! Licin tako (kata orang Melaka)!

On Labour's Day morning, I made nasi goreng ikan bilis. I guess it was sedap because my mom and my brother had two serving of it. My youngest brother, upon finishing breakfast "told" us that we're going out that day. And yes, my mom already felt much better that morning. And was excited to go out. He he he...

So yesterday afternoon, we had lunch at Marche in The Curve. I introduced Rosti to my parents and they liked it so much that I think I'll make that this weekend. He he he... My father said the serving was just nice, not to filling and not too heavy. I told my mum, we should eat potato everyday anyway since beras dah mahal.

We then went to IKEA because my youngest brother wants to get ideas on building his walk-in closet.

An outing with the family is never dull actually. My parents are very family oriented people. They love going out with their kids no matter that we're now adults. I guess, they feel a little down now that the kids have their own plans and they cannot see us as much as before. So, we, the kids, always do our best to spend quality time with them whenever we can.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that however busy we are, we should go out of our way to please our parents. If we can do it for our friends and spouses/partners, we can do it for these two people who brought us into this world. Kan?

To end today's post, I share two Rosti recipes that I got from Cooks.com. I shall combine these two...

ROSTI 1

1 lb. potatoes
2 oz. butter
2 dashes salt

Cook potatoes; wait until they are cold. cut them into slices; fry them in butter. Push together to a cake. Put salt and wait until you have a crust; turn over. Bake on the other side until crusty. Serve.

ROSTI 2

6-8 potatoes
1 lg. onion
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. butter
1 1/4 c. grated Cheddar

Peel potatoes and onion. Finely chop onion, finely shred potatoes. Combine potatoes, onion and salt.

Heat 2 skillets. Divide butter between them. Heat butter until slightly brown. Add 1/2 of potato mixture to each skillet and cook for 8 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Add grated cheese and firmly press mixture. Cook covered for 5 minutes until bottom is crispy. Turn cakes over and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve immediately.

I Dated Myself Last Night

You read the title correctly the first time. I went on a date with myself last night. My initial engagement was postponed, so since I was already pimping myself, I decided to go ahead and date myself. He he he...


I went to Bakerzin to have a plate of nice pasta. It's beef and turkey in pink sauce. Very mouthful and delicious. Just look at the slices of meat and the al dente penne. Lovely and yummy.


I also ordered the Vienna Cafe which I also considered as the dessert for the night. Just look at the creamy whipped cream and lovely layers of brown and chocolate. It was sinful, take my word.


You know, sometimes, it feels really nice to dress up and put on some make up. Reason being, people tend to smile at you more and treat you nicely. I kid you not. It's also good for ego boost. Whenever I feel down, I will choose something from my limited wardrobe that I rarely wear and spend more time to paint my face. The effect would simply elevate my endorphine level.

Owhh.. after the pasta dinner, I went for grocery shopping. He he he... Surely I was a little over-dressed for doing some grocery. And people would think that I was just making appearence since I only bought a box of cereal and some eggs. But really, those were the only thing I was really looking for. I wanted to buy bread, but the expiry date was in two days time, so it hardly worth it. I wasn't planning to cook anything, so I need not buy any poultry or seafood. So.

Anyway, I had a great night. When I came back home, Witchblade was about to start. So I quickly changed into my baju tido, washed my face, and proceed with my nightly routine in front of the TV.

He is sitting for his exam this morning. Wishing him the best of lucks! And B, you've done what you can, you've work hard for it and if it's meant to be, you'll get it, ok?

Feeling Blah

I think PMS hit me really bad this month. I practically bite people's head whenever I'm annoyed! It doesn't help that I'm overwhelmed with guilt everytime after I snap. And believe me, counting the sheeps do not help either.

I woke up very late today. And since I was already very late, I decided to have lunch first before going to the office. I went to Bakerzin at Bangsar Village. I used to frequent the joint, as you might recall me talking about it, the salmon pasta and strawberry juice, as well as the sinfullicious desserts. Today, as I browsed through the menu, there was no creame sauce salmon pasta. There is aglio olio with option to add salmon for another RM6 and there is mushroom pasta with sauce.

I had to explain to the waiter twice of what I wanted because the first time he said they do not server such dish. After the second time asking his supervisor, he told me they are going to make the dish for me. He he he... When the pasta came, the first bite was heavenly as was the first sip of the strawberry juice. Although the juice is a bit more on the sour side this time around, it complements the creamy sauce that sauteed my tounge and palate.

Upon receiving the bill, I was surprised to see the total. I paid anyway. When the waiter came back with the balance I offhandedly asked about the price and told him I used to pay much less, and briefly explained that everytime I come over I would ask the same pasta and the same drink. I also said that there was no mushroom in my pasta when he was charging me a RM23 pasta with mushroom cream sauce with additional RM6 for salmon add-on. He asked me to wait and he'll check with the kitchen. While waiting I sipped the plain water provided, lazily. He came back and told me that I was right and he'll return me the difference. As he put the folder in front of me, he thanked me profusely. :-p

And Jade is a happy, satisfied cat. And the cat is sooo ready for lurve... :-p

p/s: To a certain someone who has been the receiving end for the past couple of days, I am sooooooooo sorry. *muah muah*

Aglio Olio ala Jade

He he he... Suka2 jer bagi nama eh...? Anyway, this is how I prepared my Aglio Olio...

Bahan2 A
========
Chicken or prawns as much as you want
Red chili flakes (if you normally ordered Dominos Pizza.. you'd have some chili flakes with you already; that is if you haven't eaten them all...)
Garlic (lots of 'em... about 8-10 cloves, depending on the size of your chicken/prawns) - crushed
Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Italian herbs (I bought this in a bottle from the supermarket. It already has a combination of basil, dill and thyme)

Bahan2 B
========
Angel Hair Pasta (boiled and dried)
Garlic 4-5 cloves - crushed
Olive Oil
Fresh Basil Leave (boleh potong atau biar sekeping2 macam tuh, asal boleh kunyah...)
Italian herbs (same as above)
Parsley (get the one in bottle too)
Crushed pepper
Salt to taste

As you've guessed it I supposed, I cheated with the bottled herbs. Fresh herbs are preferred, but well. I'm sure the Italians can forgive me for it. Or not? He he he...

1. First, combine all A ingredients in a bowl. Mix and mix. Stir and stir.
2. Heat the pan. Put everything in the bowl into the pan. Half them if your pan is small (like mine) and the mixture is huge. If you're using prawns, fry until they are salmon-coloured. If it's chicken, then until it's white. Don't over fry (is there such term by the way?) because then they will lose the juiciness. Once done, take them out and put it aside.
3. Using the same pan, heat the oil, throw in garlic, low fire, you don't want them to turn black... Golden is just nice although half cooked is preferred.
4. Put in the herbs, and pepper and salt. Do not leave it too long before you put some water in. Remember, this is a halal recipe, so use water or if you're diligent enough to run around for white wine substitute, please do so. Put just enough so that the pasta will be covered nicely.
5. Put the pasta in. Followed by the fresh basil. Mix and stir gently. Wooden spatula is preferred as opposed to metal. One, because you won't crush your pasta and two, well... it's au natural, eh...
6. Essentially, you're done. Serve the pasta with grated cheese on top and the Bahan2 A mixture at the side/top. OR... you can do what I did, mix the whole lot together in the pan if serving many people. Put in a large serving dish. Grate a truck load of cheese. Cut some fresh cherry tomatoes and pour on top of the serving.
   
   But if you're cooking for two or four then maybe you would want to get a little more creative on the presentation, eh?
   

Now, you can be adventurous and add other ingredients to Bahan2 B. Like capsicum for example. Remember, cooking is not just about the taste, it's also about presentation. So mix different colours of capsicum; red, green and yellow.

Also, aglio olio is a simple dish. What it needs most is olive oil, garlic, salt and some herbs. Be adventurous, but don't lose the originality of the dish.

You can also prepare a simple salad as a side dish. I made a "cherry tomato with onion" salad. A little olive oil and salt. Mix together. And you can toast (or not) crusty bread. Here again, either plain or with garlic spread (from the supermarket again...). The bread is for you to wipe the plate clean off the oil and gravy. Just yummy!!

Pictures@PotLuck

We had satay, and look at the beautiful brownies!! Ooohhh... bottom left is my tomato salad...

KFC, doughnuts, whipped potato and some kuih muih

My Aglio Olio. Spicy prawn and chicken; although it was not as pedas as I wanted it to be. Maybe next time I should put cili api, eh..?

Kak Teh's birthday cake. Chocolate Indulgence. We definitely indulged ourselves too much!

The celebrity. Aper yang you tunjuk tu Kak Teh? And note that plates were empty...

The Happy Over-indulged People!

We definitely had fun that day. Food was ample and finger licking good (pun intended!). Company was excellence. Topics were hot and juicy. Ambiance was warm, cozy and inviting. There were positive vibes all around. Some had to go back to work after the makan-makan. Some went back to sleep. Some hoped they won't fall asleep while driving!

May we have more gatherings and happy times together. May we always enjoy each other and laugh together.

Luck in a Pot!

It was a lively potluck. Sowie... Pictures will be posted soon. My xD card is not compatible with the MMC card reader on the laptop. And I forgot to bring my USB cable. My MING USB cable is not compatiblw with Olympus. Heh! I knew I should've just taken the pictures with MING.

Kak Teh's birthday was celebrated again for the umpteen time. According to her that is. Let me just start from the beginning...

I started preparing the dish at around eleven in the morning. Contrary to the initial plan, Kak Mas could not come earlier; something about her Streamyx connection at home and waiting for the support people to come... So, I started without her. Halfway through I realised the chicken that I prep for the pasta will not be enough. So, I cooked half of the pasta with chicken.

I then smsed Kak Mas to get some prawns on her way over to my place. When she arrived pot and prawns, looking a bit harassed as a result from the failed attempt by the Streamyx support team, I quickly get to preparing the second half of the pasta with prawns. The garlic for the pasta was a little overdone; hanguih la...

The kitchen was a mess! And I couldn't just leave it like that, so I cleaned up and mopped the floor, wiped the stove and wash all the utensils. I took about half an hour to prep yours truly to a presentable state of being. We arrived in Bangi around 2:30pm. A call made confirmed that we were not as late as we thought.

Section 3 in Bangi, is really a huge maze. We made a lot of turns before we finally arrived to where Kak Teh was hiding. Seriously, if you need to run away from anyone, try secluding yourself in Section 3. Or maybe, I have just left Bangi for so long (can't remember when was the last time I was in the vicinity before today).

30 minutes settling in we were chatting and laughing, tremendously enjoying each others' presence. The meetup was initiated by Kak Aisah from Rantauan. I became involved through Kak Mas. Amongst the attendees were a couple who recently got married (one year), who met in Rantauan itself. Lovely, isn't it?

There were ample food. Besides the mediocre aglio olio pasta attempt by yours truly, here were KFC, Dunkin' Doughnuts, my all time favourite satay, some kuih muih, and sets of beautiful brownies. Not to forget the birthday cake from Secret Recipe. Chocolate Indulgence. By 5:30pm, everyone could not move, I was doing my best to regulate my breathing, trying to get more oxygen in, the other were torn between over-feeding and sleepiness.

The couch was very comfortable, the air was cool, a great recipe for napping. As everyone doing their best to fight the lethargy, we exchanged news and stories about absolutely everything. From the weather to celebrities, from politicians to bloggers.

As usual, no meetup is ever complete without group photos. As we said our goodbyes, trying hard not to sound so sad, we hugged each other, promising that we will meet again. Maybe the next one will be in London, when we can fly there for only 99 sen via Air Asia...

Kak Teh is a vibrant lady. At her age, advanced in numbers, but never in spirits, what more in her looks, I really, absolutely admire her. She said she never had any real holidays, being in the field she is in. Even coming back to KL for a so-called short break, she traveled down South, and scurrying here and there for events and what nots. Including hot self-intro to a certain Teuku who claimed women bloggers are slackers and liars. Woohooo!! To which he replied, "No problem...". Heh!

Anyway, the rest of the attendees this evening were no less impressive. I could sit there and just listen to them all day. He he he...

I will post the food pictures as soon as I get my hands on the cable. And yes, I will also include the recipe for my Aglio Olio.

Yummy Aglio Olio

Spicy Shrimp and Spaghetti Aglio Olio

I've decided to cook for the potluck tomorrow. It'll be spicy aglio olio with chicken. Personally, I wouldn't mind going vegetarian with olio, but since catering to the mass, I guess, we'll go carnivore.

A replied SMS from Kak Mas confimed we're going to be carnivore tomorrow. So, I went to the supermarket last night and shop for the items. Kak Mas is coming over tomorrow morning to help while watching B&B at Channel 70. he he he... To quote her, "I'm a sucker for American soaps".

A dish of Aglio Olio is the simplest, quickest, easiest and tastiest pasta dish that you could ever make; like this Spaghetti Aglio e Olio here. A basic plain Olio will only need olive oil, salt, garlic and spaghetti. And walla, you have a plate of Olio. You can add black pepper and chili flakes to spice up. And throw in basil leaves or other herbs to kick the Italian touch in. Just awesome.


As a side note, I'm thinking of having my own herb garden. Not exactly like what Jamie Oliver does. He would just pluck the greens and chop them and throw it into his cooking. Although, I'd be more clean, where I'll wash them first. And my hands too! He can be soooo nasty while cooking.

I shall post my version of Aglio Olio as soon as I can. With pictures too!

Now, you can help me by telling how do I make a superb white sauce so that next time I can come out with my own Carbonara. Yes, I love Italian food. And most probably Italian men too. Muahahaha...

ps: this has got to be the Post with Most Web Links!!