Something to think about...

Say, hubby has been outstation for the past three weeks and counting
Say, you get a bit bored and search for things to do with bub...
Say, you start dressing bub up in a funny tutu you made her a few weeks ago...

Say, you whip up the camera to give her a little photoshoot...

Say, you get carried away and even change venues and place her in the garden...

...you click, click, click, click...

And say, you see her eat grass. Click. Click.

Then you go Oh Sh*t! She's not suppose to eat grass.

You say...am I a bad mother? Or just a bit slow?

Lunar Feast

My mum cooked up a storm for Chinese New Year! Geeze, I've been missing this for years! Can you believe she whipped up a whole table of yumminess for 12 people?!

 Lou Sang- gimme lots of fresh salmon!

Her infamous Hakka Braised Yam & Pork 'Yu Tou Kou Rou'

Steamed Saltwater fish

Snow Crabs! Oysters!

Authentic Shark Fin soup. ..Sorry, think all the fins sank by the time I took the pic.

Lo Han Jai- lurve the mix up!

Vegetarian Noodles.

Every year, my dad will dictate a menu [basically of his favourite foods!] and mum would willingly oblige..and we ofcourse, willingly eat!

Gong Xi Gong Xi!

If only I'm as good as her...

Here Bunny Bunny!

Happy Bunny Year! I..ok, I'm a tad late but better than never! Can't believe another year just passed like that!

Last year, I just moved into my new house and got uber excited about making all the nic-nacks. This year, my hours seem to be gobbled up by Jellybean and even squeezing the odd two hours for baking is a luxury.

I do miss my house heaps though..I wish I still have my kitchen to mess with and my courtyard to stare into. I would of most probably dolled up a nursery for Jellybean by now and maybe, just maybe, bought a tonne of nursery furniture and scared the heck out of H with a amazing credit card statement!

So this year I only got up to three things- once again, the Cheese-Pineapple Agar Agar I made last year, lychee jelly..

..and a house favourite, Kueh Momo which I made with this recipe. I'm thinking of adding milk powder to it next time just to give it a extra oomph!

Now...let's feast for tomorrow- the 15th and last day of Chinese New Year!

Cot Set

A few months weeks ago I got started on a cot set for little jellybean. After several delays I've finally completed it-with matching critters!

 I did the owls and other chirpy birds along with plain circle trees. Used the same fabrics to make a cot bumper, pillow case and cot sheet. I told H the owls are suppose to represent me and him looking at jellybean. He thinks its funny. Hmph.

The birdies are similar in shape to the ones on the wall, just a different design.

I've run out of patience to do anymore and I'm just waiting for bub's arrival any time now. I've got just one problem- when I'm not nesting I'm totally bored. So maybe I should whip up something afterall.

Asian KFC

KFC should run a competition for being creative with their fried chicken- and I should win. It's true!


Being struck by the lazy bug- I decided to make Nasi Lemak- with KFC's chicken. I did my part- made the coconut rice, the sambal and anchovies- I just didnt fry the chicken. Instead I made my family drive out to get drive through chicken. Aren't I smart? 


H thought it was hilarious. But I told him it's food creativity to the maximum. 


If anyone is wondering, KFC's hot and spicy tastes better for this dish! Bon Apetite!

House: November 2010

H has superceeded my expectations of him. 


I've abandoned my house for nearly 2 months now and I miss it to bits! So on random occasions I ask H to take photos of what it looks like now and how everything is going. To my amazement- he's kept my our courtyard pretty spiffy! Once again, you have to excuse the poor phone quality pic- though I think you get the gist. 


My tower trees have grown so tall they are no longer in the frame, my crawlers are doing their thing and my reflexology path is still in order. No, its not a reflexology path- though it could be. 


So, nearly a year into moving, its finally looking a little more lived-in and less deserted. H sometimes wonders if I miss our house more than I miss him.


I'm proud of my man!- he's definitely doing quite well without me. Wait... is that a good or bad thing?

Teh-Tarik

I've been missing a bit of home- my other home. The one filled with hawkers delights and other carbohydrate drenched foods. So I've been trying to replicate it by making my own hawker style drinks.


Teh-Tarik- otherwise known as pulled-tea is well known throughout South-East Asia. It's basically white tea made with condensed milk that has been aired to create a smooth tea texture and bubble foam. A good teh-tarik will need good tea powder and the tea maker's 'pulling' skill.  'Pulling' simply means, the tea is interchanged from one cup in far distances to create air bubbles as shown in this video (posted by Rasa Malaysia)


I don't come close to the to the masters of tea pulling- I just pour as far as I can over a sink- so that the mess  is captured, then I wipe and wash quickly to pretend I can pull tea. Ahem.


Teh-Tarik


*3 Tablespoons Ceylon Tea Powder
1 1/2 cups Boiling Water
*1/2 Tablespoon Condensed Milk
**Dash of Evaporated Milk


*Ingredients vary according to taste. This one was made according to my liking to strong tea and as little sweetness as possible. For a normal hawker style teh-tarik, I'd say they'd use more condensed milk and slightly less tea powder.


** I used fresh milk in attempt to be healthier. However, evaporated milk is more fragrant.


1. Place tea powder into a tea stocking, over a large mug/stainless steel cup.
2. Pour boiled water into the stocking and seep for approximately five minutes.
3. Remove tea stocking and combine tea with condensed and evaporated milk.
4. Pour the mixture into another mug/stainless steel cup by gradually lengthening the distance. Do this for a couple of times until foam appears on top of tea. And if you're anything like me, do it over the kitchen sink!


Wont this be nice served with a buttery slab of kaya toast and soft boiled eggs?! Nom Nom!

Professional Homemaker

I take my new profession of being a homemaker very seriously. Being on home duties means I have to be very alert of any sales and promotions and apply it within my daily life.

For example, a good homemaker will see a 1200 thread count cotton bed sheet discounted in a reputable store by about 38% and decide to buy it. At the same time, she will decide to join as a shop member which entitles her to more discounts and spend more. She then gets sucked in and also buys natural detergents which keep her whites whiter and colours brighter. After all of the above, she manages to tell and convince her husband it was a good buy.


*The above statements may be misleading- please do not try this at home. If you do however try this, please do not make me responsible.


** Based on a true life story.

Semi-Retired

I figured that's the word I'll use for now! 


Seriously, telling people I'm currently unemployed just doesn't strike my chord. It's like saying I'm a useless blob right now. Not fun. I also figured another term which sounds slighty better- Home Engineer, but then the bank asked for my company name and I went blank. Genius.


So after all the moving and technicalities, I've now got a.l.o.t. of spare time on my hands. I mean ..A.L.O.T. What do semi-retired people do? Ok, what do unemployed people do? I feel so lost and .. weird. It's like my life has gone haywire. 


Guess what I've filled my days with?

I started a puzzle. Went from nothing to this..

..then this in two days. It was my job. I felt so satisfied.

Oh... then I decided I missed my house and made my husband take random pictures of what it looks like now, checking if H was up to his manly duties. I think the lawn looks randomly green enough don't you? Oh H, you're the best!! On a separate note, H and I are currently planets apart. Boo. Unfortunately it will be like this for a while. 

And after all that, I do what really smart unemployed people go and do- spend more money and buy funny stuff. In my defense, it's for the bun. It's a necessity. 


Ahh... what next?

7am Calls

I've learnt that when you get early morning calls or late midnight calls, its usually not a good thing. It normally spells 'emergency' without even answering. 

So yesterday's 7am call was when a truck ransacked into my parents home. Literally. It knocked off a traffic light and crashed through the fence. Luckily no one was injured but guess who made headlines today in the local newspaper? 

My dad got some donated wood chips I suppose...

Ps. Life has been a whirlwind lately- but when I can, I promise I'll blog more. Meanwhile, please miss me. Thank you.

Leftovers

What do you do with leftover curry- the curry meant for the truckload of people and didn't get finished?

Exhibit A- Get some nice warm bread and dunk it into the rich curry gravy

Exhibit B- Feed the dogs. Real dogs silly. Do dogs eat curry?


Exhibit C- Make curry puffs? Which I didn't make because I was plain lazy.

Exhibit D- Forget about it and go eat ice cream?


Or..you can choose all of the above.

El Cheapo Deco

My entrance foyer looked a little bit bare. 


..And I presume I had my thinking cap on this particular weekend. So with these 4 things, I spruced it up a little.

I stapled all the corners into the foam and within thirty minutes, my 'art work' was done.

I don't know how long I'd like them..but its so easy to change/redo- just take the fabric off, put another fabric on and arrange in a different manner. OR..I was thinking when I get sick of them, they can be pin-up boards in my home-office:). 


If you need some el-cheapo sprucing up heres what I used:


Approx 2.5cm thick Foam (cut to your preferred size) 
Scissors 
Stapler
Fabric to your liking


Just cut the fabric to size, making sure it can wrap around the foam. Staple around the edges on the back, making sure corners are tucked in. Ta-daa! If you want something more permanent..maybe you'd use some glue too..but I haven't tried that.


I also adhered them to the wall with 3m mounting tape..the type you can pull off without damaging your walls. They work really well.


And just incase you're wondering...my vases are Ikea lamps that didn't work out for my kitchen..so I flipped them around and now they're vases...or maybe I'll make them into some sort of light installation later. hehe.

Planting Trees

It's been a busy week- planting trees, doing gardening and landscaping. 


Not the real- hands on type..the design and draw type. The AutoCad and Photoshop-ping type. I think it's just as tedious as planting real trees. Well, nearly- just that I don't need to dig holes or fertilize it and I get instant trees.


The only physical garden thing I did was pull out some weeds and sprayed some 'Weed n Feed' on my own lawn.


But I reckon it falls into the same genre.

Post-Lunar New Year

I have a valid excuse to be missing this time- Chinese New Year got me all worked up. 


New Year + New house = not exactly a good combination when Chinese people love house visits and I'm a spotless kinda girl. Nevertheless, a big wave to those that popped over! Thank you so much for visiting and sorry the house was still a tad messy. [ ok, maybe more than a tad].


I promised H, I would make his favourite cookies and adorn the table with all sorts of snacks and nibbles ...Well, I didn't quite manage to make all the things I wanted..but ah well- life goes on.

This is what Chinese New Year looked like for us this year- yes Tupperware. Full on Tupperware. Colourful Tupperware. Nearly a Tupperware party I'd say- one that promotes my new level of being a domestic aunty. But you know what? I love them. They're reliable. So there.

And cakes...ooh how I love cakes. Some done by me, some by my mother in law and some by a great cake baking friend.

H and I lurve Cornflake cookies- they literally spell New Year for us..and after numerous times of trying, I think I finally have one up my sleeve! 

Chocolate crispies...making full use of my leftover cornflakes.

Pineapple tarts- took me forever..and they're still ugly. Someone help me. But atleast they taste ok. Maybe I just shouldn't cook my own jam next time.

Kueh momo! Three words- soft, soft and Soft!!

I'm not quite sure what you call this. H told me something he ate before..his exact words were 'Longan with this milky jelly thing'- and I was suppose to know?! Thank goodness I got it right.

Here's my love. Cheese-Pineapple Agar Agar..my mum use to make these when I was tiny. So this year I introduced it to H ..and he hearts it too. Hurray! I love the mix of salty cheese, tang of pineapple and sweetness of agar-agar- it all goes together, I promise.


I also did some cheesecake cupcakes..or shall I call them cheesecups? Ah..I don't know...but they were finished in a jiffy and I forgot all about them until now.


I do apologise for the blurred photos..guess my hands weren't up to snaps that day.

And..flowers..a girl's gotta have some sort of flowers for a Valentines new year...ahhhh... but then I realised I left the kitchen strainer sitting on bench and my glass walls reflected it. bleh..

..thats better.


Happy Tiger year!

Complete Housewife & The Accidental Tree

I'm doomed.

I'm Liya and I'm a Domesticalic.

Now that I do have a little shack I'm totally devoted to it. From what I buy to what I make..its all for this darn little shack. Do you think I have some sort of domestic-alic disorder? Like a alcoholic, but I'm just obsessed with my house? You think? And you think I could get cured? Or maybe I could just be optimistic and say I'm all for Martha Stewart. Its undecided. Yet.

Well..besides being busy with contractors still fixing up things here and there..yes...still!...I love my time in the kitchen. I love preparing dinners and all the snacks I've been preparing for Chinese New Year. Ohhh..and I love the lighting too..it's way better for photos wont you agree?

So this was last night's dinner...Fish noodle soup..I had planned to blog a recipe some time down the track..but guess who got super hungry and didn't take the 'after' shots? Another time.

Ok...and here's the tree I have a love/hate relationship with. [Kindly excuse my poor dieing arrangement of pandan leaves and messy living room..thank you..I know I should of Photoshopped...or cleaned up atleast..and did you notice my clock? look at the time!!...Yes..it's midnight...and why am I still up?? Contractors!!..Urgh...!!...Contractors were still at my house at midnight!!.. Urgh...But I will stay composed...I will...I will..]

You see..I got some wall decals some time ago..thinking it would be just perfect against my purple-grey feature wall. I thought it was white. Wrong. I thought it would adhere nicely. Wrong. I thought it was reuseable. Wrong. [All false marketing I swear!] So I hated it..I decided I would tear it down and get it painted over. There's nothing wrong with a bare wall afterall. So I ripped all the decals out..and I got this...

I loved the texture..I loved the white that shows through..I loved it...until this contractor came up to me and said it looks like a unfinished paint job. Hmph. Can't you see its a tree?...So now I'm not sure. ..And being a Domesticalic...the question haunts me. Great.