Things that go bump

I sometimes wonder if there are ghosts or bunians or mysterious creatures that live in my house..

Sebab there’s a few times (well, a lot actually) when I say to the girls and the Other Half…

“Switch off the lights. Who left them on?”

“Who left the remote lying everywhere?”

“Who left the toilet paper roll on the floor again?”

“Who’s cups are this? How come there’s so many dirty cups everywhere when there’s only four of us in this house?”

“who took my stuff and didn’t put it back where you got it from?”

And their answers will almost always be…

“Not me. I didn’t do it.”

So, kalau you, rasa musykil tak?

Since it is obviously not me (sebab I yang bertanya sambil berleter), not either of the girls nor The Other half since takde sape yang mengaku…

So, sudah semestinya lah benda2 tu dilakukan and digunakan oleh makhluk2 halus yang bermaharajalela kat rumah ni kan!

Tapi, yang buat I lagi musykil…

Bila I sorang2 kat rumah, takde pulak makhluk2 halus tu bermaharajalela menggunakan all the cups and switching on all the lights.

Bila budak2 and bapak budak tu ada kat rumah, tetiba aje makhluk2 tu pandai2 buat benda2 yang buat kan I berleter…

Hikhikhikhikhik….

Kat rumah you all ada tak makhluk2 ni?

Pastu, bila ada sesape yang menjawab, “not me. I didn’t do it” and buat derk aje instead of quickly doing the things I asked them to do…

Terus makhluk yang paling ganas iaitu Dragon Mother muncul!

Baru lah makhluk2 lain tu kelam kabut sebab Dragon Mother dah muncul, muahahahahaha…….

Alah, Dragon Mother kalau muncul pun, dinner will still be served on time…

(sambil mengomel keluar asap, sambil masak dinner. Dragon Mother yg multitasking kan, heeeee…).

Malam ni Masak something that I created from leftovers jugak.

I had leftover roast lamb in the freezer since April hari tu, tak terguna2.

(All my leftovers in the freezer I letak date and name on the plastic containers/ ziplock bags so I know what they are and how long they’ve been in the freezer for).

So, tadi I made sweet potato, veges and lamb filling to use with the filo pastry I have left from the other day,

Bila tengok kat Taste website ni, nampak cantik pulak dia buat macam ni so I pun tiru lah but the filling I buat ikut recipe sendiri with what I have in the fridge.

Spiral filo pastry with lamb, sweet potato and vegetable filling.

tak lah susah mana nak membuatnya but you have to be quick so the filo pastry doesnt crack when you try to shape it into coils. I punya ada gak yg crack but tak jadi hal sbb rasa tetap marvellous, hehehe.

We had it with chips and tomato and cucumber salad.

The inside of the pastry.

Miss 8 said to me, “the filling tastes a bit strange to me. It is nice but the chicken tastes different.”

I said to her, “I used lamb not chicken, maybe that’s why it tastes a bit different?”

Then she said, “Riiiighhhttt… is that why my chicken didn’t taste like chicken. Now I know it is lamb, it suddenly tastes so much better.”

D’oh!

I need to have my ears checked

The Other Half burst out laughing when he read my blog post last night.

He then said, “I love you very much but you are such a silly girl sometimes. We didn’t say discount, discount, discount. We said disc gun, disc gun, disc gun!”

Muahahahahaha….

Patutlah I pun pening last night when I heard the shoot, shoot, shoot and then discount, discount, discount.

I knew they were playing some sort of shooting game but bila masa pulak diaorang ada masa nak pergi beli barang online yg tengah ada discount tu, hikhikhik…..

Isk, isk, isk…..nampak noh yg Mum n wife kat rumah ni tak prihatin with the latest game .

And now they are playing Mario kart on Wii which I know takde shooting nor discount, hehehe.

But at least I know I’m not silly (well, most of the time anyway) in the kitchen cooking dinner tadi.

dah lama we all tak makan nasi putih so malam ni I masak nasi putih with 3 different lauk.

I masak green chicken curry for The Other Half sebab I know he loves it.

I masak chicken and vege tomyam for myself sebab I feel like having it.

And I masak chicken and vege sweet sour for the girls because diaorang tak makan pedas, hehehe.

But it didn’t take long to cook them sebab I cooked them all at the same time and I used ready-made pastes for the tomyam and green curry so memang lah senang kan .

the green chicken curry made easy with ready-made paste.

the tomyam whish was also made easy with ready-made paste.

Bila ada kemudahan, baik lah kita gunakan ye tak especially when the ready made paste cost only 90 cents/ packet aje, hikhikhik…

Our truly asian meal tonight.

Something different…

Occasionally it is nice to try something different for dinner.

Especially nowadays when it is so easy to get halal meat anywhere even in the supermarket.

I found a new product from Steggles at Coles today.

They have increased their turkey range, instead of just the normal turkey breast or or turkey thigh roll in the frozen section.

I found some turkey shanks, marinated turkey thigh cutlets and minced turkey burgers.

Teringin pulak nak rasa their marinated turkey thigh cutlets tadi.

2 pieces of the cutlet was 1kg already, hikhikhik…..

Memang besar betul lah turkey ni kan .

So, that’s what we had for dinner tadi, oven roasted turkey thighs with vegetable medley gratin and bread rolls.

On the pack it says that it needs 9 minutes to cook 100g of the turkey.

Nasib baik I noticed it at 4.45 so cepat2 lah I turn the oven on and shove it in the oven or else tak dapat lah we all dinner at 6.30 tadi, hehehe….

it wasn’t that bad actually but i think we like the turkey thigh roll that we normally buy better.

I used cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and sweet potato in the vegetale gratin.

And then after dinner while I melepak2 depan pc, the rest of the gang bergelak ketawa main pc game anak beranak.

I have no idea what they were playing but all I could hear was, “shoot, shoot, discount, discount, I hate the ghosts, aggggghhhhhhhhhhh” followed by peals of laughter.

Recycling in the kitchen

You know how I made that easy peasy chicken curry in the oven the other day.

There was plenty of leftovers from that big chicken.

I do not like seeing so many containers filled with leftovers in my fridge.

I suka my fridge empty of leftovers, baru lah tak rasa guilty sangat sebab selalu masak terlebih2, hehehe.

So, what I did today was shred the flesh off the bones and ‘converted’ the chicken flesh into filling for pies.

Macam filling nak buat karipap but I added diced carrots, diced cauliflowers and peas.

Enough to make 7 giant pies so it definitely was a BIG chicken, hahahaha….

But was it a karipap or a pie? .

I made the pastry using the same recipe from Emak I untuk buat kulit karipap but instead of making small karipaps, I made giant ones.

And I baked them in the oven instead of frying them so tu yang the girls kata ada rupa both pie and karipap at the same time, hikhikhik.

Makan 1 pun dah kenyang sangat2.

We had it with giant croutons and mandarin salad.

No one would be any wiser that they are eating leftovers unless you tell them lah kan.

They would think you are such a clever Mum/ wife/ sister/ aunt for creating this masterpiece kaaannnnnn, hikhikhikhik…….

Dari terbuang masuk cik Tong sebab takde sape2 nak makan, might as well change it into something else. Kan Mulan kan? hahahaha…..

And to continue the mandarin theme (masa Winter ni lah musim mandarin, tu yg berlambak2 buah mandarins ni kat kedai tengah murah2) tonight, I made dessert using mandarin as well.

I made mandarin almond cake using this recipe. But I forgot to put cinnamon in the syrup and I used plain flour instead of cornflour in the cake and I also reduce the amount of sugar to 1 1/2 cups only.

And the taste was just amazing!

You can certainly taste the citrusy richness without the bitterness.

Makan pulak dengan the cream which I think helps reduce the richness of the cake.

Swimming in Winter

Hari ni sekolah Miss 8 starts their swimming session for 2 weeks.

Every public school kat WA ni will be allocated 2 weeks per year to do their swimming session.

Parents only have to pay $40 for 10 half-hour lessons because the lessons are subsidised by the government.

But they randomly allocate when to do the sessions for all the schools.

Dah 2 tahun, Miss 8’s school got allocated the session during Winter time.

The students don’t mind at all because they get to swim in heated pools so everything is hunky dory for them.

But for parents yang kena basuh the swimming gear every afternoon tu yang tak larat especially when it’s raining all the time.

I’m not sure if you can use the dryer to dry the swimming clothes so kenalah make sure they have 2 sets and dry the washed ones infront of the heater, hehehe.

Pastu, tiap2 kali balik sekolah I kena basuh rambut Miss 8 sebab penuh dengan swimming pool chlorine.

Dah lah rambut dia curly so memang kena lah jaga extra lebih sikit.

(Nasib baik rambut dia dah kena potong pendek hari tu kan so senanglah sikit nak jaga).

Makin banyak lah kerja I for the next 2 weeks ni, heeeee…..

So, disebabkan konon2nya nak kerja lebih for the next 2 weeks, I pun makan macam nak lari marathon aje kekdah nya, hehehe…

 

I made beef parmigiana with fries, guacamole and green salad.

But the fries are oven baked and 1/3 of the plate penuh dengan salad so tak lah rasa macam fattening sangat kan .

However, the beef schnitzel was pan fried and smothered with mozzarella so fattening lah jugak akhirnya, hahaha…..

Silent Sunday

Sometimes when I’m feeling slightly more rajin, I will make mac n cheese that is filled with colourful things.

All the colours of the traffic lights will be added to it. Diced broccoli for the green bit, diced yellow capsicum for the amber bit and sliced tomatoes for the red bit.

But when I can’t be bothered to chop up the veges, my mac n cheese is definitely bland-looking, like tonight.

And then when they want to eat it, they’ll pour either BBQ sauce or tomato sauce to enhance the flavour a bit and make it more colourful .

This is the kind of mac n cheese that The Other Half and the girls like, pure mac n cheese without any addition of vegetables, hehehe.

But I did add chopped up sausages to liven things up a bit.

Nampak sangat I malas malam ni sebab I didn’t even bother to steam any veges.

Takpe, once in a while takde balanced diet, tak jadi hal .

Santai Saturday

I made whole chicken cashew masala in the oven today.

I used 1 whole chicken and a jar of ready-made cashew masala paste.

Just rub the paste on the outside and inside of the chicken and put the chicken in an ovenproof dish.

Shove it in the oven at 120C and a few hours later, your chicken curry is ready.

Punyalah senang kan! Definitely my kind of food, heeeee….

I don’t have to worry about anything,Alangkah indahnya dunia, hahahahaha .

But I terlupa nak take the lid off the last hour of the cooking period so banyak lah jus/kuah/gravy yang bertakung dalam periuk biru itu.

I wanted it to be a slightly dryer curry actually….

Oh well, rasa dia sedap jugak, hehehe.

And then makan dengan a very simple vegetable briyani, acar mentah and poppadum.

Since banyak lagi leftovers kuah kari and ayam, I might make roti jala one day, hehehehe…..

It is cold….

It was -2°C at Perth Airport at 6 o’clock this morning when The Other half left for work riding his bike.

What was his isteri mithali doing?

Still under the doona where it was really warm and comfy, hehehe…

Just savouring the last few extra minutes lying in the warmth before I had to wake up…

And when we went to school this morning at 8, it was still 3°C…

I nearly had frostbites on my nose and ears and fingers when I was hanging the laundry out on the lines at 7.30 pagi tadi.

It was freaking cold!!!!!!!

We moved to Perth sebab the weather was supposed to be Mediterranean where it was always mild and beautiful, hehehehe….

So, for us people yang dah terbiasa dengan the beautiful Mediterranean climate here in Perth, bila the temperature drops to around 1°C, itu dah kira sejuk gilersssss lah.

But the sun did shine during the day bringing the temperature back up to gorgeous 17°C in the afternoon.

Pagi all wrapped up tightly in thick clothings, tengah hari dah boleh sunbathing in the backyard pakai bikini, kahkahkahkah……

But bila sunset aje, terus sejuk balik.

I am typing this entry with the heater switched on facing me, my fingerless gloves on, a scarf around my neck and multiple layers of clothing.

(I love Winter but I tak tahan sejuk, hehehe).

But the girls obviously tak rasa sejuk kot because Miss 8 and Miss 13 were only in their pyjamas and socks.

Miss 8 I can understand sebab dia banyak extra lemak in her body but Miss 13 tu kurus kering so macam manalah boleh tak sejuk kan….

Bila sejuk2 ni, tentulah asik nak makan something warming aje kan.

But we all kat rumah tak suka makan soup (except chicken soup) so the next best thing is hot mashed potatoes with plenty of gravy, hehehe.

I made mashed potatoes with sauteed leeks and mustard. Eaten with sausages and onion gravy. Then nak balance the creaminess, we had steamed broccoli and carrot sticks as side.

Sangat heaven when the warm mashed potatoes and gravy slid down the throats into our hungry tummies……

The nicer salad

I love to make fruit salad during Summer time because of the abundance of stone fruits and mangoes.

But the stone fruits don’t keep that well. They go soft very quickly so either kena makan cepat2 or kena simpan dalam fridge.

And bila dah disimpan dalam fridge instead of in the fruit bowl, alamatnya memang selalu ter overlooked untuk dimakan and they will end up being thrown into the compost bin or into the worm farm jugak akhirnya sebab dah ‘belenyek’ (mari belajar bahasa Jawa ye, hikhikhikhik).

But then nowadays when I am on a mission to control Miss 8’s food intake and try to make her eat healthily especially during school time, kenalah I vary her fruits hari2.

Selalunya I just bagi dia 1 fruit depending on what’s available in the fruit bowl. And sebab Mum dia malas nak potong2, hehehe.

But I want her to start eating more fruits at school so dia akan kenyang makan fruits and she won’t need a big lunch or some other snacks in her lunch box kan.

And since she loves fruit salads, I pun buatkan lah fruit salads for her tiap2 pagi.

And Miss 13 pun dapat lah tempias sama, she gets fruit salad in her lunch box too which she really likes as well sebab dia kata senang nak makan.

And you know what, Winter fruit salad is I think much nicer than the Summer fruit salad, hehehe.

This was her  recess and lunch pack on Tuesday. I made her poloni sandwich on 4-seeds bread with cheese and grated carrots.

Selalunya yang tinggal cuma bread crust aje sebab dia tak suka the crust.

The fruit salad pulak consisted of persimmon, kiwi fruit, banana, apple and pear.

And ini pulak her lunch pack today. I made her chicken sandwich on multigrain bread with cheese and grated carrots. And dried apricots if she’s still hungry after the sandwich, hehehe.

The fruit salad pulak consisted of strawberry, banana, kiwi, persimmon and apple.

Masa Winter ni aje lah we can eat persimmons.

And the strawberries have started coming in as well which is good.

But sekolah tinggal 2 minggu aje lagi pun so hopefully I can keep up my enthusiasm to make her fruit salad every morning for the next 2 weeks, hikhikhik….

Wednesday Laksa

Last night makan sate, tonight makan seafood laksa kari nyonya.

My Asian tastebuds tengah rule my appetite at the moment, hehehe…

But the girls makan chicken burger and chips (anak Mat Saleh kan so mana boleh makan pedas2 ni, hahaha).

I love loads of coriander leaves on my laksa.

Ada macam2 in the seafood mix. Ada salmon fillet, some white fish fillet, mussels, calamari rings, prawns so memang sedaplah bila dibuat laksa.

I can’t story mory panjang2 malam ni sebab I nak pergi mengurut kaki Miss 8 sebelum dia masuk tidur.

Kesian dia… Tadi dia ada cross country and kena lari/jog for 1.5kms which is quite far jugak lah kan.

Kaki chubby dia tu penat lah… .

Dapat nombor 22 out of I don’t know how many girls in her Year 4 tu, hikhikhik….(diaorang asing2 kan, boys lain, girls lain, each year lain2).

Tapi definitely bukan yg corot lah, hahahaha….

The cost of some food here

Once a month at the masjid, ada gerai jual kuih muih and lauk pauk and a few nasi lemak and mee.

And ada jugak jual sate.

I jarang beli sebab bila tengok harga the kuih muih and the lauk pauk, terus tak jadi nak beli.

Sebab most of the things yang dijual, I can make them myself so rasa macam buang duit aje beli, hehehe.

But occasionally I will buy karipap sardine sbb I malas nak buat karipap sardine .

You bayangkan lah ye, the kuih muih yang diaorang jual…

4 keping kuih lapis yang besarnya biasa2 tu aje, dia jual $4 for 4 keping!

Kuih lapis ok yang cuma guna santan, tepung, gula and colouring tu aje.

I tau lah nak melapis tu makan masa but sangat lah tak munasabah I rasa harga dia tu….

4 keping kuih tepung gomak is also $4.

4 biji apam indon-type thing yang pakai ovalette and kalerful tu pun dia jual $4.

Rojak 1 disposable container saiz kecik tu was $6, mee rebus pun $6, nasi lemak satu bungkus $3.50.

Karipap $1 each…

Last Sunday, Miss 8 tengok orang jual sate and dia kata nampak macam sedap aje and bila I tanya the harga, she said it was $1.20/cucuk.

Let’s just say, they were not giant sate ok to justify being sold at $1.20.

I do buy kuih muih if I think the price is justified but kalau I boleh buat sendiri, baiklah I buat sendiri…

So, I bisik2 dengan dia telling her that I will make her loads of sate this week.

So, pagi tadi I marinate 1kg chicken thigh fillets and petang tadi I jalankan operasi menyucuk, hehehe…

Dapat lah 37 cucuk sate which were definitely bigger than the masjid’s ones, heeeee….

And I told them to melantak sate puas2 for dinner tadi.

Miss 8 makan 5 cucuk, Miss 13 makan 4 cucuk, I makan 5 cucuk and The Other Half makan 7-8 cucuk sate, hahahaha….

And esok for their lunches, they’ll be having sate again!

Baru betul makan sampai muak namanya kan, kahkahkahkah…

My plate, 5 cucuk sate with nasi impit segera, timun and kuah kacang campuran.

The others had their sate with nasi goreng sebab diaorang tak minat sangat nasi impit ni.

I grilled the sate in the oven sebab malas nak kotorkan the stove top. I ingat nak guna the BBQ to cook the sate tapi malas pulak nak keluar gelap2 tu, hehehe. Tu sebab nya sate I rupa dia takde hitam2 macam sate yang dibakar atas api. But tak kisah lah kan asalkan rasa dia tetap sedap .

I guna recipe Tulip tapi I tak goreng, I rajin menyucuk sebab nak bagi nampak rupa sate kan, heeee…

The kuah kacang using walnuts, cashew nuts and almonds. But tak merah sangat kaler dia sebab I tak guna banyak cili sebab nak bagi Miss 8 sekali so tak boleh buat pedas2 sangat.

Memang kenyang and puas hati sungguh we all makan sate tadi, hahahaha….