PonyTales

Any events such as staff leaving or CNY 1st day of work, my company will like to get all the staff to go to "Lala Chong" for seafood. It is in fact the nearest seafood place from our office. A week plus ago, we had another seafood outing at the same place and this time they served the sweet and sour squid (sotong) and it was very yummy. I told hubby about it and he wanted to eat it too.

Sat early morning market in Bandar Puteri, I found the seafood stall selling really fresh squid - its skin is almost transparent and they are huge. It was selling for RM16 per Kg and I bought 4 squids, came up to about 600g (1 kati) at RM9. I remember 5xMom’s fool proof recipe on cooking seafood, using garlic, ginger, spring onion and chilli. I had all the ingredients at home and so I tried it out! This is how it looks like….tadaaa!

Seafood Monday!

Hubby said the squid is very yummy and wallop all of it. The amount I cooked was quite a lot for 2 person, but we finished it!!! It’s been a while since we tasted home cooked seafood, thats the reason for being greedy…tsk tsk tsk….

Since I bought the squid on Sat morning and only cooked on Monday nite, I washed, cut and soak the squid in some salt water, leave it in the meat compartment of my fridge. It stays fresh till Monday nite.

Ingredients
Squid (Sotong) - make sure you get the fresh ones
Garlic, ginger, chilli padi - all minced in the chopper
Tomato - sliced thick
Spring onion - cut small
Oil

Seasoning
Tomato sauce - 3 tbsp
Chilli sauce - 3tbsp
Apple cider vinegar - a few dash
sugar - 1 tbsp
salt - a few dash
pepper

Method

1. Stir fry the minced ingredients with some oil till fragrant.
2. Add in the washed and cut squid - stir fry for a while.
3. Add in the tomato - continue to stir fry.
4. Add in the seasoning and stir.
5. Once the squid is cooked (very fast), dish out and garnish with some spring onions.

I find that the sauce is already thick enough for this dish but if you like it thicker, can add in some cornflour mix with water.

Next time, I will want to try cooking crab with this method, just add in a beaten egg to make the sauce thicker for crab recipe - as recommended by Lilian. Need to find out how to clean and cut a crab first…hahaha….anyone have ideas?

Most of the time, I would try to avoid frying food. The reason is abvious as the kitchen and everywhere else gets oily and smell oily after that - especially when I am living in a small apartment. However, I really love fried chicken and would love it even more if its home cooked. I learned from 5xMom that we can grill tumeric chicken. I tried this recipe twice and both times are successful. The taste is good and my whole house smell so nice while the chicken is grilling in the oven. Really fantastic!

Taste much better than it looks!

I just have to marinade the chicken overnight with tumeric, cumin, fennel powder, pepper and salt. Next day after I returned back from work, pop the marinated chicken in the microwave for 5 mins and transfer to the oven to grill for another 20 mins. In the meantime, I cooked a vege dish and heat up the soup. Dinner is ready!

This way of grilling chicken is much healthier as you can see in the picture that the oil from the chicken is all over the foil, not in the chicken. I also do not need any oil to grill the chicken, unlike frying. The skin of the chicken is crunchy and very fragrant, without the oily effect from frying.

Zoe usually do not like to eat meat, especially those in her porridge. I gave her some of the chicken meat from this grill tumeric chicken and she loves it. I just took the inside part which is juicy and fragrant and she was asking for more. Even getting impatient while I tear the meat out for her…hahaha. I will definitely cook this for her again

I got a tag from Ann…hehehe

Hmm, my ex-boss used to tell me that common sense is not common to people. Is he trying to tell me off - dunno laa as I could not care much then. I knew I did my job to the best I could.

The rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you - Ann
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag someone

The non-sensical me consists of:

1. I am very vulnerable to sale, warehouse clearance and all sorts of sale. I have the urge to buy even when I don’t need the item (just yet!). I changed job from KLCC (shopping haven) to an area I believe have less influence, somewhere in PJ - little did I know that this place is surrounded by warehouse! Sigh, sale just could not leave me alone….
2. I got to have the toilet light turned ON when I take bath - even on broad daylight.
3. I love to go for spa and I paid like RM1xx to RM2xx for a session, without the need to think much. However, I need to think over a week or two when I want to buy a pair of comfy working shoe or a nice working blouse that costs RMxx or RMxxx - something which I need more than spa
4. I cannot watch horror movie alone. I better not watch any cause I will be freaking out so often after that - its disturbing my routine…..bleh!
5. I used to often day dream that I am a very talented performer - singing a great song while playing the guitar or dancing like I never danced before…geez!
6. I find that planning/dreaming for a holiday is more fun than being in the holiday itself - at least few of the times.

Okay, I want to know what non-sensical stuff these people have - Simon, WY and CityGal

I have been experimenting with different dishes for our dinner lately. I remembered the stir fry pork that my MIL cooked for us last Chinese New Year. It was very yummy and I have never tasted pork slices cooked that way. She uses garlic, onion, lemongrass and lime juice to cook. I tried out the recipe myself and it turned out almost the same, tasted the same but my fried lemongrass turned slightly soggy too fast….hahaha

Sweet & sour stir fry pork with lemongrass and lady’s finger with oyster sauce

The pork slices are cut as thin as possible. So, the trick is to cut the pork while it is frozen - so much easier to slice. Of course, the hand wil go slightly numb after that due to holding the icy cold chunk of pork. I used pork shoulder here with a little fat.

Ingredients
Pork shoulder - slice thin and marinade with some pepper
Lemongrass - slice thin
Large onion - slice thin
Garlic - Chopped
Chilli/cili padi - slice
Lime - squeeze out the juice (1 lime will do if you have a big one)
Oil, light & dark soya sauce and sugar

Method

1. Add some oil and fry the lemongrass till fragrant and crispy. Set aside the fried lemongrass.
2. Using the same oil, stir fry the garlic and onions till fragrant.
3. Add the pork slices and stir fry for a short while.
4. Add light soya sauce and dark soya sauce - continue to stir fry.
5. Throw in the chilli and add some sugar to taste and keep stirring.
6. Finally, add the lime juice and stir fry for a while.
7. Dish out and sprinkle the fried lemongrass on top of the dish.

To balance the meal, I boiled some lady’s fingers till cook, add some oyster sauce and fried garlic and serve with rice.

I am not 100% sure that the method above is exactly the way my MIL cook it, but since the taste turns out the same…phew! was I glad!
I was just merely standing beside her while she cook during CNY - and tried popping a few questions here and there to "thau see" (steal some tips from the teacher). As usual, my MIL responds would be "agak-agak lor" (roughly estimate). So, I think this is the best I could come up with since its my first try. I guess practice makes perfect and this would be one of the dish that will be repeated…hehe

You can try it and let me know if you found a better or faster way to cook

We headed to Avillion Admiral Cove in Port Dickson last weekend for our annual cell group retreat, taking advantage of the long weekend.

Check out what Simon, WY and Ann got to say about this trip  It was really fun-filled and like Ann said, the Straits Studio suite was….wowowweee…modern, new, clean, spacious and simply luxurious

Like others in our happening cell group, I would also like to share some pics here…

Yummy food!

More Yummylicious food…mmm…mmmm….

Nice hotel and happening Teluk Kemang beach - reminds me of Pattaya

The awesome suite, super king bed. I love the toiletteries given - aromatherapy range called Avi spa (Avi probably stands for Avillion)

Room with a View!

Zoe’s various sleeping position…the bed is that comfy!

Hotel Reception and Marina Club House - Cool and Neat!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Our Pride and Joys…

Our Precious Child from God

Nowadays, this must be the most frequently asked questions I get from friends, colleagues and relatives, especially those who are already a parent.

"So…planning for no. 2 now?!"

"Don’t let the gap get too wide, u know!…u need to re-start all over and as u get older, its tiring!"

"Its about time…u know…"

"Zoe needs siblings…"

…even a confession from this young gorgeous lady in my office

"I am an only child…its very lonely! Please dun stop at 1…"

Seriously, I am not that ready to face another pregnancy. I can only wish and pray and hope that my pregnancy will be smooth. I have this phobia because my last pregnancy took a great toll on my body, my mind and its scary. I can still remember how it felt like to be pregnant (for me) and no, the child birth pain and joy did not took the memory away from me. I can remember quite well how it was like to be pregnant - with hyperemesis…
I remember asking God - why me!? (Its that bad!)
What’s my chances for a healthy pregnancy? If only God can tell me…
(Science and gynae could not tell or give me any assurance…)

I don’t know about others, but whenever I get a question of no.2 or I think about it - it relates directly to pregnancy sickness…very negative…I know…can’t help it!

Other factors to be considered:

Financial - just work harder…it’ll come or simply get by with what we have…

Child care - another tough part, good babysitter is hard to come by. Harder even when you are trying your utmost best to find a good one. Resign and stay at home, not really a wise move with the current economy and super inflation going on…

Night feeds - not that scary as compared to pregnancy…serious!

and some other factors…

A note to remind myself not to go into hyperdrive thinking about the above…

A child is a gift from God. What God has planned, He will see it thru and deliver as planned…so, let it be and let it come naturally. It’s not what you or others wanted or expected that counts. It’s a call for duty with unconditional love. If God sees it fit that you can be 2,3,4 x Mommy…you will be given the strength to go thru it…Amen!

Bless this mess!

Zoe has been feeding herself dinner at home. We let her do it althou it gets really messy at times. She really wanted to try, so we let her since the motivation is there naturally. I hope she will be able to feed herself properly soon.

Now that I cook dinner daily, I guess its ok to let her eat dinner with us. She seems to love rice and soups with some vege/meat (shredded or cut small) more than her porridge now.

Here is a video of her eating dinner with us at home.

p/s - The video is shaky as Daddy was trying to eat dinner and took her video at the same time…tsk tsk tsk!!!