Frugal Recipe

Simple 15 Mins One Pot Meal Recipe: Kimchi Jiggae with Ayam Brand’s Sardine in Olive Oil

May 28, 2017 No Comments

I’m a self proclaimed foodie. I absolutely love food. But of course, my love for food is not quite unconditional. I love food, yes, but I don’t always love cooking. I’m the sort of person who detest cooking, especially if the time to cook certain food takes longer the time I will spend to actually eat the dishes that I prepared. And the time I have to spend cleaning up? I hate that even more, and therefore, most of the things that I cook will always be a quickie meal or uncomplicated, easy to prepare one pot meals that can be done within 15 minutes.

Anyway, here’s sharing with you one of my all time favourite one pot meal dish that I usually will prepare for my husband and son on days I feel like playing the good wife and mum; Simple 15mins One Pot Meal: Kimchi Jiggae. This can be served all day long, including during iftar/sahur during Ramadan.

Kimchi-jjigae or kimchi stew is a stew-like Korean dish, made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as scallions, onions, diced tofu and and seafood. It is one of the most common dish in Korea.

Below is my version of Kimchi Jiggae:

photo 20170526_20504201_zpsqhxmjh8w.jpg

Ingredients:
200ml of water
2 tablespoon of Gochujang (Korean Chilli Paste)*

1 cup of kimchi, preferably cabbage kimchi*

1 pack of Shimeiji mushroom, cleaned and cut

1 onion, sliced

1 tube of soft tofu/Japanese egg tofu

1 can of Ayam Brand’s Sardine in Olive Oil

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Cooking method:

1. Pour 200ml of water into the pot.
2. Stir in 2 tablespoon of Gochujang and let it dissolve in the water.
3. Add in sliced onions, soft tofu/Japanese tofu, Shimeiji mushroom and 1 can of Ayam Brand’s Sardine in Olive Oil.
4. Bring to boil for 15 mins in the pot. I brought this Mini Steamer in Lazada. You may check this out HERE.
5. Serve with a bowl of piping hot rice and banchan (if any).

Kimchi Jiggae is usually prepared with meat/seafood/poultry, but here I opt for the convenience of the canned Ayam Brand’s Sardine in Olive Oil instead. Sardines immersed in fragrant extra virgin olive oil. This is classic Mediterranean ingredient for salads, bread and pasta, but taste great in stew as well. Ayam Brand’s Sardine fishes are cold water fish. They are rich in proteins which serve as the basis for most of the body’s cell and structures. They are also a natural source of calcium and Omega 3. No preservatives and no added MSG. And a bonus? It is certified Halal by JAKIM and contains extra virgin olive oil which is 100% natural, high vitamin A, D, K & E content, high in polyphenols (a powerful antioxidant) that help to lower blood pressure and rich in oleic acids a monounsaturated fat that reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering bad cholesterol.

The ingredients used in this Kimchi Jiggae recipe can easily be obtained from any major supermarket in Malaysia, but should you have any difficulties obtaining Kimchi and Gochujang, head over to AEON BIG, Lazada Groceries, Jaya Grocer, Cold Storage of any Korean Specialty Stores near you.

Enjoy my recipe and do give this a try.

Update: Lazada is having Marhaban Ya Ramadhan and Riang Ria Raya sale. You may check it out here: https://www.lazada.com.my/riang-ria-raya/. The sale will take place from May 19 to 30 June where you can find special discounts up to 90% on all sort of things, including kitchen appliances and groceries. So do check it out if you are looking for good deals.

Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

New Zealand Blogger Food Bag Challenge: Hot or Cold?

April 28, 2016 No Comments

Ramadan is fast approaching and I’m sure many of you are looking for some special dishes to treat your loved ones for ‘buka puasa’. I happened to acquire some fantastic raw ingredients from all the way from New Zealand during the New Zealand Trade Connection a couple of weeks ago and I thought the ingredients would be perfect for breaking fast dishes.

Mystery bag with some fresh produce all the way from New Zealand. And here’s sharing two recipes that might interest you. One is a dish to be served cold while another one is to be served hot; Tally’s Green Shelled Mussels Salad and Pure South Lamb Rendang

Tally’s Green Shelled Mussels Salad

Ingredients
Tally’s Green Shelled Mussels
Lemon
Assorted Salad leaves
Cherry tomatoes
Salt to taste

Method
Boil Tally’s Green Shelled Mussels for 15 minutes, squeeze in some lemons and add in salt. Put aside to cool in the fridge. Toss with assorted salad leaves with cherry tomatoes upon serving.

Pure South Lamb Rendang

Ingredients
500 grams of Pure South Lamb Rack, cut to bite sized pieces
2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves
2 large thumb size pieces of galangal or ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
5 fresh or dried kaffir lime leaves
1 medium chilli, sliced and seeds removed
A large thumb size piece of fresh turmeric root or ¾ tsp turmeric powder
1 stick lemongrass, lightly bashed and roughly chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp chilli powder
2 tsp palm sugar or dark brown sugar
400ml tin coconut milk

Method
Put the coriander seeds and cumin seeds in a small pan, gently dry fry over a medium heat until lightly toasted. Place the onion, galangal or ginger, garlic, lemongrass, fresh chilli in a blender and fresh turmeric
Heat a large wok or pan over a medium heat with 2 tbsp of oil. When hot add the cinnamon stick and kaffir lime leaves, Fry for half minutes then add the paste. Sautee for a few minutes, stirring frequently, before adding the ground powder mix. Add the lamb to the pan with a large pinch of salt, fry for a few minutes until the lamb is lightly browned. Pour in the coconut milk, bring to the boil, add the sugar then turn the heat right down, place a lid on top and allow too cook for 70 minutes – stir from time to time and serve with piping hot rice.

So what do you prefer? Hot or cold dish for buka puasa? Well, whatever your preference, I hope you will enjoy the recipe.

Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

Dining With Roses from Corelle

June 30, 2015 1 Comment

I wish I can tell you how magnificent my life is, but I’m sorry that I’ll have to disappoint you. I’m just a regular woman, struggling to be great but more often than not, I just ended up being ordinary. Professionally, I’m a writer, novelist, blogger and a family friendly tourism activist. But beneath all of those, I’m a wife, lover, mother, daughter, sister and a friend, albeit a not a very good one. I’m somewhat a people pleaser and I always try my best to make them feel happy whenever they are around me, but unfortunately for me, that does not always work. It upset me sometimes that people don’t appreciate what I do, but then again, I have come to learn to let things be, and stop pleasing people around me. I come to realize that you can’t please everyone and what matters most is how you see yourself and not how people around you see you.

I got married and had my son at a pretty young age. I was only about 19 years old then. For a moment, I decided to be a stay at home mother to take care of my son, but after a couple of years when my son started schooling, I decided that I’ve stayed at home enough and it’s time to take on the world, like I’ve always wanted to since I was a child.

As a result of my decision, my life is no longer like a few years back where I can relax daily. I used to have nothing to do at all every day, but life is so different now. My calender is always so full with social events and work. Yes it is hectic, but I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world. Not when my days are usually not exactly routine and my work consists of enjoying good food and going places.

Yes. My life is always busy, but I do get domesticated at times, though not as often as before. Balancing professional life and personal life can be quite a pain, but whenever I’m not too tired, I’ll try to give my all to my family, especially to my husband and son, whom I know missed the ‘stay at home mum’ me quite a lot. I used to just stay home and cook daily for my family. But these days, I only cook on occasions or upon request. Sounds awful? Don’t be so quick to judge. All of us have very tight schedule, and it suits us better to just eat out and enjoy the meal without having to cook or clean up afterwards.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a collection of kitchenware from Kitchen World, Corelle’s latest dinnerware collection, Rosabelle Dinnerware, but as I was busy traveling and going on media trips with my husband and son, I haven’t got the opportunity to actually use it to serve food.

Lovely isn’t it? These are part of the Rosabelle Dinnerware collection by Corelle. its name is inspired by French word, Rosa meaning Rose and Belle meaning beautiful. Corelle is a household name in the kitchenware industry worldwide and is definitely popular among Malaysian households. For those of you who are not in the scene, Corelle and Corningware are under the World Kitchen umbrella, an American kitchenware products maker and distributor. Corelle is their leading dishware while Corningware is their cookware line. Today, more than 140 different Corelle patterns are available in Malaysia, many specifically designed to meet the growing Asian taste and demands. As part of their 45th anniversary this year, Corelle celebrates its long lasting beauty and durability.

The rose patterns looks very lifelike due to its reflective pinkish petal.

If you look closely there is an orange coloured rose, based on the real-life flower, Apricot rose. Rosabelle prides itself on being break and chip resistant but I think what is surprising about Corelle’s dinner plates is that although it weighs so light, it is strong and durable. The secret to this I learnt is Vitrelle®, a remarkable three-layer sandwich of thermally laminated glass. This is how Corelle’s plates are made and what makes its plates long lasting and durable without it being heavy. Also, a result of this process, Corelle has the versatility of being suitable for reheating or even used in conventional, convection or microwave ovens. You can also check out that video here to understand more about the brand.

The design is really pretty and gives a feel of Victorian times. Among the pieces in the Rosabelle collection, I loved the teacup the most. It makes me feel like a princess from Victorian era whenever I use it.

I thought of cooking up a storm for my husband and son, but we haven’t been home much and we have been eating out and feasting on lavish food during our food reviews sessions that all we wanted was very basic and homey dish for dinner the very moment we got home last weekend. And so, to cut the long story short, I ended up cooking up only these, upon request by the boys.

Fried eggs drizzled with soya sauce.

Fried chicken ham slices

And last but not least, some longbeans cooked in spicy sambal belacan. All of the dishes were served with piping hot steamed white rice.

These dishes may seems ordinary and boring to you, and it only looks good and presentable only because I used the Rosabelle collection to serve it, but I should like to think that the food I cooked tasted fabulous as my boys polished everything off and by the time we finished our meals, not even a grain of rice was left on the plate.

Having witnessed how my boys devoured the humble homecook dishes with much more enthusiasm in comparison to when we are eating out makes me me feel a tad guilty. I used to cook a lot for them and somehow makes me miss such gratification of seeing them enjoy my cooking. I guess it’s time to start cooking at a more frequent rate, no? I may not be able to cook as often as I used to for them, but I guess I can start doing that again. I’m not much of a cook but at least now, with Rosabelle, they would at least look presentable and inviting upon serving. :p

I guess you can look forward to more homecook stuff from me from this moment onward, so keep reading and stay tune for more. I’ll be sharing some of my homecook recipes with all of you soon. You may follow me on instagram too if you wanna have a quick updates on my culinary adventure with Rosabelle by Corelle. 😉

If you are planning to get Rosabelle as a gift for yourselves of your loved ones, you can visit leading departmental stores like AEON to get one. It is available nationwide. For more information on this lovely dinnerware, LIKE this Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/worldkitchenAP?fref=ts

Or alternatively, look up on the hashtag
#CorelleMalaysia #Rosabelle on social media to scout on infos on the products. 😉

Event coverage, Frugal Recipe, Product review

The Legend of Nessie, Curry-fied Version

May 10, 2015 1 Comment

I intend to post this up earlier, but hey, things have been rather hectic and I could scarcely breathe. Here’s sharing with you my submission for the New Zealand Food Connection Chef Challenge; The Legend of Nessie, The Curry-fied Version.

Why the weird name for my dish? Well, let’s say it is a three generation’s masterpiece and somehow my son had a hand in plating the dish.

Not quite my own recipe, but it is something that I learned from my mother, so here’s sharing with you how to make The Legend of Nessie, The Curry-fied Version.

Ingredients:

1 rack of Pure South Lamb Ribs, cut
2 potatoes, peeled and cut
Curry paste of your choice
3 tablespoon of Anchor Pure New Zealand butter
Garlic, ginger, shallots, pounded
Curry leaves
Tomatoes
3 cups of water
Salt to taste

The main ingredient is this, Pure South Lamb Ribs.

No trimming of fat is needed in this recipe.

It is common to add in coconut milk or yoghurt into curries but this time I omitted those and used Anchor Pure New Zealand butter for the milky and rich taste instead.

Melt 3 tablespoon of Anchor Pure New Zealand butter and sautee the mixture of pounded ginger, shallots and garlic as well as the curry leaves before adding in the curry paste. Simmer til fragrant.

Add in Pure South Lamb Ribs and potatoes and salt to taste. Simmer about 20 minutes under slow fire til cooked.

Take out from the pot and plate it. Best served piping hot with steamed rice, but if you wanna go all Western, just have it the way you’d do a lambchop. 😛 Food is subjective anyway. 😉

Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

Baked Chicken and Wild Rice Recipe

August 12, 2014 1 Comment

Festive season can be rather unkind to the tummy. All those open houses surely have tempted you into over indulge. I know. I’ve succumbed to such temptations… And more often than not, I suffer acid influx as a consequence of stuffing my face during festive seasons.

I was looking for a remedy for acid influx when I found this recipe provided by Gaviscon

There are many low-fat versions of chicken and rice, but this is a perfect meal for those with acid reflux, but it is also great for family meals and small gatherings. Check it out.
Nasi Ayam Bakar

Ingredients

1 pound white chicken breast meat cut into
1/2 to 1 inch pieces
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups sodium free chicken broth
3/4 cup uncooked white rice
3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon (or dried)
1 teaspoon organic chopped ginger (or ground)

Directions

1. Pour 1 cup of chicken broth into a large nonstick pot. Add the chicken, mushrooms, celery and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 8 minutes or until chicken and veggies are tender.
2. Let the mixture cool
3. Pour the rice into a baking dish and add the vinegar and remaining chicken broth. Let it soak for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
5. Add the chicken and vegetable mixture to the baking dish and stir well.
6. Bake for 60 minutes, checking at 45 minutes to make sure the rice is not getting dry, and if it looks dry, add more chicken broth.

Nutritional information

Calories 330, total fat 3 g, saturated fat 1 g, sodium 180 g

Baked Chicken and Wild Rice Recipe

Click on the pic for better view

This recipe is acid influx friendly. You might wanna consider trying this out if you are suffering from nasty tummy ache too.

If you suffer from heartburn or indigestion take Gaviscon to your rescue!

Gaviscon Double Action Liquid Sachet Provides complete relief from heartburn and indigestion in a convenient sachet format.

Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

Mission: Breakfast Love with F&N Seasons Nutrisoy

April 18, 2014 2 Comments

Remember not long ago I posted up about waking up early and attending the F&N Nutrisoy Breakfast Love cooking demo where it was emphasized on how important it is to kick start the day with breakfast? Well…after that I was a tad repentant that all these while I have been depriving my family from all the goodness one can benefit from breakfast, so I made a point to make breakfast every now and then these days.

Usually it would be something simple like half boil eggs served with buttered toasts or scrambled eggs, but today I decided to make something much heavier after perusing all of my family member’s calender. Husband would be busy with work and meeting, kiddo’s schedule is inclusive of art class and sports training while my schedule is packed with reviews and events.

Hectic schedule calls for breakfast that’s packed with carbohydrates, protein and iron, and what would better provide energy in the most delicious way than a wholesome breakfast pizzas served with F&N Seasons NutriSoy? 🙂

Pizzas are well known for being unhealthy, but I beg to differ. It doesn’t necessarily be unhealthy when it’s homemade and you get to control the ingredients. Mine are loaded up with iron through the spinach in it. 😛

Here’s sharing with you the recipe for my special Breakfast pizza. Please don’t be intimidated. It’s pretty simple and I promise you that this is a quickie recipe that even the busiest mums could spend time to make.

Breakfast Naan Pizza Recipe

What you’ll need to make Naan Breakfast Pizzas:

Ingredients

Pizza base:

1 piece of naan ( you can easily obtain them from your neighbourhood Mamak restaurants)

Pizza toppings:

Spinach, finely chopped
Chopped garlic
2 pieces of chicken sausages
1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese or 3 slices of cheddar cheese
Ready made pasta sauce of any brand

What you need to do:

Method:

Spread the ready made pasta sauce onto your naan, then mix up some chopped spinach with chopped garlic lightly before spreading them up onto the naan evenly. Slice up the chicken sausages or frankfurters of your choice before finishing it up with a topping of sliced Cheddar or mozzarella. You may use any sort of cheese that you like, but I used cheddar, mainly because it’s economical and melt like a dream in the oven, cutting the baking time in the oven. I used two types of Cheddar Cheese. One is the aged ones, while the other is newly processed for extra rich distinctive flavour.

Basically, your Naan Breakfast Pizza will look like this before going into the oven. Now that the pizza is ready, you can either bake it in the oven immediately or wrap it up with cling wrap and leave it overnight in the fridge and bake it the next day for breakfast.
Temperature for baking:

If you used Mozzarella cheese as toppings: 160’celcius for 15 minutes

If you used any kind of Cheddar as topping: 150’celcius for 8 minutes

How my pizza looks like after 8 minutes in the oven. 😀

I served my breakfast pizza with F&N Seasons NutriSoy and it’s polished up within minutes upon servings. (sorry, no pictures of us gobbling up the breakfast, we were rushing and too hungry to remember to take pictures. )

😀 Preparing breakfast that is nutritious and packed with energy is easy as 1, 2, 3 with F&N Seasons NutriSoy. Apart from the Naan Breakfast Pizza above, you can also pair the F&N Seasons NutriSoy with various local breakfast favourites like roti canai, mee goreng, half boil eggs and toasts, nasi lemak and many more. I’ve tried pairing the F&N Seasons NutriSoy with these local breakfast favourites and I can say that it is definitely a better and a healthier choice than having the meals with the regular the tarik or kopi ais. F&N Seasons NutriSoy pairs perfectly with American breakfast and waffles too, so the next time you serve your American breakfast for your loved ones, it doesn’t have to be with some strong black coffee or breakfast tea. You can replace it with F&N Seasons NutriSoy instead.

Apart from the Naan Breakfast Pizza, here’s a few breakfast recipe in my blog that you can pair the F&N Seasons NutriSoy with too, so check out the links below:

Toad in A Hole Recipe: https://cleff.bia.garf.us/?p=3356

Simple Wheatbread Tuna Casserole: https://cleff.bia.garf.us/?p=11080

Quickie Spinach Frittata : https://cleff.bia.garf.us/?p=9263

Toad Fritters: https://cleff.bia.garf.us/?p=1661

Corn Fritters: https://cleff.bia.garf.us/?p=2614

Easy-Peasy Spinach Tofu Soup: https://cleff.bia.garf.us/?p=9260

Cheesy Potato Croquette: https://cleff.bia.garf.us/?p=5533

Check out the recipes, folks. I insist. No more excuse on not having ideas on what to cook for your family for breakfast. Remember, a good day starts with a good breakfast.

Again, I’d like to emphasize that these F&N Seasons NutriSoy are not dairy based and it is something that my family and I can stomach. I’m definitely serving up F&N Seasons NutriSoy with the breakfasts I prepared in the future as it is not only packed with energy but contains loads of essential vitamins and protein as well. It’s a bonus that F&N Seasons NutriSoy are low fat, cholesterol free and contains no added preservatives, flavourings or colourings.

I’m not always health conscious, but I know that these drinks are great for the health conscious and they’re practically guilt-free and definitely suitable for those who are lactose intolerant and strict vegetarians who needs protein sources in their diet plan. Pairing breakfast with F&N Seasons NutriSoy is simple, and it helps busy mothers like myself to provide wholesome breakfast with full of love for my family. You might wanna try it too…you know, pairing your breakfast or any other meals with F&N Seasons NutriSoy. You’d be surprised with the energy levels that it provides you and your loved ones. No more complains of hunger before lunchtime, I assure you.

Wanna know more about F&N NutriSoy and all it’s benefit? Well, LIKE their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/NutriSoy.MY. And please feel free to try the breakfast pizza recipe, and do post up and share your rendition of breakfast pizza with me when you’ve done it 😀

Cleffairy: I suppose I can safely say that my Mission Breakfast Love is accomplished. 😀 I’ve managed to prepare breakfast for my family for 7 days consecutively and none of them suffered food poisoning so far. 😛

Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

Simple Wheatbread Tuna Casserole Recipe

March 8, 2014 2 Comments

I’ve been feeling quite under the weather these days and been rather moody. Not quite in the mood for anything, but I still need to keep my tummy from growling at me. Did not really feel like wanna make anything complicated, I thought some comfort food that can be eaten whole day through would be a good idea.

Not feeling like making a trip to the wet market for groceries, I just use what’s left in the kitchen. Spotted some nearly stale wheatbread and canned food from last year’s rainy season and I thought it’s time to get rid of em.

Here’s sharing with you my very own Wheatbread Casserole recipe.

Ingredients:

6 slices of stale wheatbread
3 eggs
1can of tuna flakes
1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup
Butter/margerine

Here’s what you need to do:

Spread some butter on the bread and line them on the baking dish, buttered side up. Remove the crust if you want but I left it intact.

Spread tuna flakes on the bread slices as evenly as you could.

Pour the cream of chicken soup on evenly.

Whisk 3 eggs in a bowl and pour it evenly over the mixture of the bread, tuna flakes and chicken soup. Top with mozzarella or Parmesan cheese if you wish, but I omit cheese from my casserole this time around.

Bake in the oven til golden brown at 160’c for 45 minutes. Serve piping hot with a side of salad any time throughout the day.

Cleffairy: Hot and bothered. 🙁

Down The Memory Lane, Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

Kampung Days Experience at Banghuris Homestay, Sepang

December 17, 2013 4 Comments

Like I mentioned in my previous post, my family and I were given an opportunity to join Sahabat Media CC1M media trip under our respective blogs: https://garfield.in and https://blogging-circle.com

It was pretty much a last minute media trip, but who is complaining? I’m extremely happy that there is another short but memorable getaway for me and my loved ones this school holiday. 😀

After attending the press conference in Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort, us media were brought to Banghuris Homestay, Sepang. We were welcomed by a bunch of kompang players who played the traditional welcoming music with the kompangs.

There’s kenduri (Malay word for traditional feast)-like atmosphere

Fresh coconut juice beckons us.

The young coconuts were very refreshing. I took 4 of these to keep the heat at bay 🙂

Upon arrival, our host insist that we get sonething to eat first. Mee soup was served for late lunch/ tea. It was really yummy and not having eaten much earlier in Avani, I took two helpings of these, and so did my husband and son.

Fried Tempe; soya bean paste coated in light flour batter and deep deep fried. Good on it’s own or taken as a condiment with the mee soup. My boy loves this on it’s owb and dipped it with chillisauce as he enjoyed it.

A huge surprise to durian lovers. 🙂 Our host made sure that we enjoy our kampung visit to the fullest by throwing us a durian feast.

Will you just take a look at thar? Fat, creamy durian kampung for us to enjoy. My husband is a huge fan of durian. Please don’t ask how many durians he has taken though. 😛 It’s not going to look very good in his diet record and the docs are probably winching at his calory intake. Yes. The durians are VERY GOOD!

Our blogger friend Emily posing with a piece durian before gobbling it up. Like my husband, she too helped herself to loads of durians. 🙂

My blogger friend and BFF Wendy with her durian

Sipping coconut juice is a must when you are eating durians. Wendy kept drinking em up, just like me.

After satisfying ourselves with the durians and awesome food that our generous host has prepares for us, we went and checked out the fishing pond. Yes. Fishing is part of the activities provided by the Banghuris Homestay.

Our media friend showing us how to fish like a pro by just using bamboo fishing rod.

The fishes that we got. Not bad huh?

After fishing for a lil bit, we walked around the homestay and spotted lime trees. Here’s my boy checking out the fruits.

The trees was abundant with fruits. We plucked some and popped em into our mouth…but it was so sour. Definitely tastes better as a localized lemonade/ iced lemon tea.

Walked further and ended up in a bamboo forrest. It is so beautiful. The place makes a fabulous photography and shooting spot.

Kiddo examining the bamboo trees and look for bamboo shoots so that we can pluck it and cook masak lemak cili api with it. 🙂

Finally managed to get some honeyed bamboo shoots. Kiddo was so happy to see this.

Took this pic as a memory

Group photo at the bamboo forrest

Next stop is the mock rubber plantation for the rubber tapping activities. Yup. Rubber tapping is another activity provided by Banghuris Homestay. A must try for you city folks. Coming here reminds me of my childhood days where I followed my maternal grandmother to her rubber plantation. Ah! Those were the good old days where fun means fooling around out in nature’s embrace. Kids these days are missing alot, I must say.

My boy was truly excited and fascinated with nature, and I can’t be more grateful for that. Not all children are comfortable with activities like this. I know some would wail and whine to death. So glad my boy doesn’t behave like a spoiled brat.

Here’s hubby and kiddo, hunting for rubber seeds to bring home as souvenirs.

The rubber tree

Us media get to try to do some rubber tapping. Here’s hubby doing some rubber tapping while kiddo continued hunting for rubber seeds in the background

Not too shabby. He managed to make the tree bleed.

Next stop is the rubber processing station

That’s kiddo, trying to process the rubber by using the machine.

Flattened rubber by kiddo.

All things rubbers, still raw and not fully processed.

I regret to report that the day ended too soon and it is time to go back home.

One for the album 🙂 Because time limitation during this trip, we only managed to try a fraction of activities in Banghuris Homestay. If you feel that going rubber tapping and fishing is not your cuppa tea, there is plenty more activities in Banghuris Homestay that you can try. There’s batik painting, traditional games, communal cooking, learn to dance traditional dance, small industry factory visits and many more.

Right now Banghuris Homestay is offering RM250 for a 3days 2 night package that is inclusive of meals and planned activities. Great for kids during school holidays and for those who wants to experience a kampung life. I highly recommend a stay here. Expensive holidays can’t even compare to what my family and I experienced here in Banghuris Homestay. The experience is priceless.

Info on Banghuris Home stay, should you interested in staying there:

Banghuris Homestay

Jalan Tailong
Kg. Hulu Chuchoh
43950 SG.Pelek
Sepang Selangor

Phone: 03-31421019

Email: banghuris_homestay@yahoo.com

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Down The Memory Lane, Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

Mission Impossible 3: Judgement Night Out 2013

July 26, 2013 20 Comments

I was really nervous about the potluck gathering I told you guys about in my previous post and had forgotten to bring along my camera to the gathering. So pictures during the gathering are not mine. They are courtesy of my darling Haru who have so kindly snapped some photos and emailed them to me. 😀

We had plenty of food that night. Most are typical gathering/potluck food like chicken wings, salads, etc. To refresh your memories, here’s my contributions:

Mixta Ensalada as appetizer

Mixta Paella as the main dish. And guess what? The paella was a big hit and as for the simple ensalada? Not a slice of cucumber was left.

A picture of our beloved friend, digging into the last bit of the drumstick from the paella with fervour.

Err…I don’t think that’a the right cutlery to dig into the paella with, but she’s beyond caring. LoL.

A tad too hot to handle for her it seems, but all is good, and I heard nothing but praises about the quickie mixed paella that night. Perhaps that’s because despite of the lack traditional paella ingredients, I usedÂ Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice. It’s well known to not only to be able to absorb flavourings well, but the light texture of the rice is positively addictive as well, making you feel like scooping one scoop after another without having the ‘too full’ feeling plaguing you too soon.

I’m glad that I chose Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice for my paella. It’s a lifesaver where cooking a paella with limited ingredients is concerned. The paella turned out very flavourful and rather addictive, and could even tempt even the fussiest eater like my son to eat rice, which is a very good thing as I mentioned before that my son is autistic and have sensory disorder where the mere taste of rice puts him off. 😀 I suppose I can consider making rice dishes out of Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice more often as to tempt my family members to eat more rice.

A pack of Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice (2kg) costs RM26.99 per pack. Quite pricey, but I assure you that it’s worth every penny. So if you wanna try out my recipe in the earlier post, be sure to use Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice.

The potluck gathering went well and apart from my paella, dessert was a hit too. This melted Orange Mushroom monster cake ( one of the low level monster from the Maplestory game) won the hearts of many. It tastes so sweet and divine despite of being disfigured badly and was definitely everyone’s favourite dessert that night.

One for the album. The members of Judgement guild and members of the alliance.

Happy faces and crazy, wacky poses after stuffing ourselves with the paella and whatnot from the potluck. 😀 It was indeed a night to remember.

Cleffairy: I’ll be doing a lucky draw for all my Mission Impossible posts and get my son to pick a winner.Â Everyone who commented on this post or any other Mission Impossible posts will be entitled for the lucky draw. 1 comment= 1 lucky draw entry. So the more you comment, the higher chance you will win. Lucky commenter will received a pack of Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice (2kg). 😀 Giveaway is open for those living in Malaysia only.

Down The Memory Lane, Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

Mission Impossible 2: Limited Edition Cooking

July 25, 2013 20 Comments

Remember my little dilemma where my online game friends are coming and I’ve completely forgotten that I’m supposed to cook something for our potluck gathering and my mad dash to the morning market only rewarded me with these?

Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, chicken, fish filament, shrimps and Bombay onions.

And only these Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice (2kg pack) to spare in the kitchen.

I was completely at loss on what to cook for the gathering since my trip to the morning market did not yield much stuff for me to cook. And so I asked for some suggestion from my readers and Facebook friends. Famous dishes that’s suggested to me are a few separate dishes like; prawns cooked with sliced cucumber, tomato chicken, blanched veggies with soya sauce.

Some even suggested one pot meals like soup, curry and even Tomyam dishes. These suggestions would have been all right if it’s a sit down dinner meal at home and would have cooked as suggested in a heartbeat if that was the case, but since I’m going for a potluck, I need to make things not only plentiful, but convenient to pack up and will not spoil fast as well.

After putting my head together, I recalled reading a Harlequin romance line of book. The hero in that book was somewhat in a situation similar to mine. He was supposed to impress his lady love with his cooking with limited time and ingredients. I thought that if he can do it, so can I! The dashing Spanish hero cooked some mean paella and fixed some ensalada for his ladylove, and so I thought I’d borrow the idea and cook up my own to impress my friends.

Paella is an internationally-known rice dish from Spain. It originated in the fields of a region called Valencia on the eastern coast of Spain. Basically, paella is made from any kind of ingredient that goes well with rice. There are as many versions of paella as there are cooks. It may contain chicken,shellfish, fish, eel, squid, beans, peas, artichokes or peppers. Saffron, the spice that also turns the rice a wonderful golden color is an essential part of the dish, but I’ll omit that considering that I don’t have them in my kitchen.

The history of paella is quite an interesting one, I must say. It is said that Moorish kingsâ€™ servants created rice dishes by mixing the left-overs from royal banquets in large pots to take home. It is said by some that that word paella originates from the Arab word â€œbaqiyahâ€ meaning left-overs. However, linguists believe that the word paella comes from the name of the pan it is made in – the Latin term patella, a flat plate on which offerings were made to the Gods.

I thought that theÂ Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice would be perfect for my version of paella.

The rice grains are extra long.

The Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice would be able absorb spices and flavourings well within short period of cooking time, definitely.

So here’s my version of the paella and the accompanying ensalada.

Quickie Mixed Meat Paella

Ingredients
Chicken drumsticks/chicken fillet

Fish filament

Shrimps,

Chopped Bombay onions or garlic

Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice

A mixture of paprika powder, chicken stock granule and salt to taste

Method:

Marinade the chicken with some paprika powder and salt for 15 minutes.

Add in the filament sticks and fry em up a lil bit before taking them out and putting them aside.

Fry up the chicken that has been thoroughly marinated with paprika powder and salt til it’s half cooked and put aside.

Mix the spices mixture with 4 1/2 water and add in 2 cups of Pusagold Jasmine rice that has been washed into the pan and simmer til cooked.

When the rice is halfway cooked, top it with the sauteed shrimps and filament stick along with the half cooked fried chicken and continue to cook over the pan with slow fire til everything is fully cooked. The Jasmine Pusa Gold 1121 Basmathi Import Rice will be able to absorb the flavourings from the shrimps, filament sticks and chicken pieces well if you use slow fire to cook, so you must have patience while cooking the paella. Watch the fire and be careful not to burn the rice, ya?

Here’s my Mixta Paella, ready to be served.

Cooking paella can take quite some time, so while you’re waiting for the paella to be cooked, you can prepare some accompanying side dishes. Below is my quickie recipe for Mixta Ensalada to go with the paella during the potluck gathering.

Mixta Ensalada

Ingredients:

Sliced cucumber
Fresh tomatoes
Lime juice/extra virgin olive oil
Method

Slice up the cucumbers and tomatoes. Squeeze some lemon juice and drizzle with some olive oil. Add in some sliced boiled eggs if you wish, but that’s optional.

Final result of the paella.

Hmm…not too shabby for a ‘limited edition ingredients’, eh?Â Wonder what my guildmates thinks about my cooking. Hopefully it will be all right.

Will be posting about the gathering soon and let you folks know whether or not I’ve turned myself into an overnight Spanish cook sensation or a historical disaster.

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