Baked Macaroni

This is my girl's favourite. She could finish half of the dish everytime I made this. For a petit girl, it's amazing that she could eat that much. I wonder where the fat has gone to? The recipe was taken from the Nestle advertisement in SAJI magazine years ago. Can't remember the date... Why worry. I'll share the recipe with all of you.

Ingredients:

250 gm macaroni

300 gm minced meat

1 can Nestle evaporated milk

1 cup water

3 eggs

200 gm coarsely grated cheese (it can be either cheddar or mozarella - but I used both of them)

Oil

Salt

Sugar

Sautéed ingredients:

2 yellow onions (diced)

2 tablespoons meat curry powder (I used Adabi)

1. Boil the macaroni till al dente. Strain.
2. Heat oil, saute onion till the aroma fumes.
3. Add the curry powder and saute till you can smell the curry whiff.
4. Add minced meat, sautee till cook .
5. Pour milk, and add salt and sugar. Mix well.
6. Add macaroni, water and stir until it boils.
7. Remove the macaroni into a greased baking dish.
8. Beat the eggs and pour on top of the macaroni, then sprinkle the cheese.
9. Bake at180˚C for 45 minutes.

7 DON'Ts After Meal

This 7 Don'ts After Meal article was emailed to me by my friend Khairul Aini. Thanks K. Khairul for the sharing it with me. I'm posting it here for all of us to ponder. Pray that we take a good care of ourselves.

1. Experiment from expert prove that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarette (chances of cancer higher)

2. *Don't eat fruit immediately -
    Immediately eating fruit after meal will cause stomach to be bloated with air. Therefore take fruit 1-2 hr after meal or 1hr before meal.

3. *Don't drink tea -
    This substance will cause the Protein content in the food we consume to be harden thus difficult to digest.

4. *Don't loosen your belt -
    Loosening belt after meal will easily cause the intestine to be twisted & blocked.

5. *Don't bath -
    Bathing will cause the increase of blood flow to the hands, legs & body. Thus, the amount of blood  around the stomach will therefore decrease. This will weaken the digestive system in our stomach.

6. *Don't walk about -
    People always say that after meal walk a hundred step will live till 99. In actual fact this is not true.  Walking will cause the digestive system unable to absorb the nutrition from the food we intake.

7. *Don't sleep immediately -
    The food we intake will be unable to digest properly. This will lead to gastric & infection in our intestine

**I don't agree to number 6 because there is a Hadith saying that the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said that it is good to walkabout 50 steps after meal... so that we will not feel tired and sleep immediately after meal. What is your view on this?

Orange Choc. Rice Muffin

 

On the left is the first edition and on the right is the 2010 edition.


  





Orang Chocolate Rice Muffins

  Made some muffins yesterday. I used the basic muffin recipe but added 1 teaspoon of orange emulco and 50 grams of chocolate rice for a difference. The recipe is taken from The Joy of Baking published by Bake With Yen (KL) Sdn. Bhd. I love the book for all the delicacies will surely turn out perfect. The recipes had been tested by the chef and taught in the cooking classes held by the company. I bought the book in 2000 and it was reprinted in 2010.

  Chocolate Rice Orange Muffin

125 grams butter

120 grams fine granulated sugar

3 eggs (size C)

250 grams all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

125 ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon orange emulco

50 grams chocolate rice

(make 12 muffins)

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla essence and orange emulco.
3. Add eggs gradually.
4. Fold in sifted flour and baking powder. Pour in milk and mix gently.
5. Fold in the chocolate rice.
6. Pipe one third full of the mixture into paper cups placed in muffin moulds.
7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 200˚C.

Seri Muka

   It has been so long since my first disastrous attempt to make this sweet course. Read this one from NanaSham at myresipi.com . It turned out wonderful and the top layer was not as sweet as the ones sold at coffeshops or foodstalls. I am very proud of myself for being able to make this kuih seri muka. Thanks to NanaSham for sharing this recipe...

Seri Muka Use 22cm / 3''  pan

Bottom layer: 

500gm glutinous rice

400ml coconut milk

1 tspn salt

2 tblspns oil

Top layer: 

120gm flour

3 tblspns corn starch 

140gm sugar

3 eggs

450ml thick coconut milk

1/2 tspn salt

300ml water + 10 pandan leaves blend together to get the pandan juice (OR 1 tspn pandan paste)

Bottom layer: 

1. Wash and soak glutinous rice for 10-20 minutes.

2. Prepare the steamer.

3. Drain the glutinous rice and mix it with the coconut milk, salt and oil.

4. Steam on high heat for 20-30 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the steamer, press the glutinous rice mixture to level the surface. Prepare the top 

    layer.

Top layer:

1. Beat sugar and eggs.

2. Add in the coconut milk and salt mixture, followed by the pandan juice. Whisk.

3. Add in sifted flour and corn starch and combine till well mixed. 

4. Strain the mixture and pour it on top of the pressed glutinous rice.

5.  Stem on medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

6. Remove from the steamer and wait for it to cool before cutting it.

Orange Pound Cake Cupcakes

I bought a recipe book entitled 'Cupcake Designs' priced at RM 12.00 from Bake With Yen in Bangi recently. There are 6 types of cupcake recipes. I tried the Pound Cake Cupcake recipe and it turned out very nice. I did some alteration to the actual recipe where I added 1 teaspoon of orang emulco to get the orange flavour.

The newly baked Orange Pound cake cupcakes

 I made this for my hubby's cousin's engagement gift.

Cupcakes for Jaizah's engagement

 Orange Pound Cake Cupcakes

A. 250 gms butter (I used Anchor since I didn't have Golden Churn in stock)
     250 gms fine granulated sugar
     200 gms eggs
     1 teaspoon vanilla essence
     1 teaspoon orange emulco ( I added this for the slight tint of orange in the flavour)


B. 250 gms cake flour       )
    1½ tsp baking powder ) sift together


C. 80 ml milk ( I used Dutch Lady fresh milk)


1. Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
2. One at a time beat in the eggs, then beat in the vanilla essence.
3. Alternately, add the sifted flour mixture and milk, starting and finishing with the flour 
    mixture.
4. Scoop batter in baking sups until 2/3 full.
5. Bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes.


**Cool cupcakes before frosting with any favourite recipe. ( I used the American buttercream frosting). 

Source: 2009. Cupcake Designs. Bake With Yen (KL) Sdn Bhd (274391-D).

Blueberry Cheese Tarts

I baked some blueberry cheese tarts for my daughter and my hubby's grandmother yesterday. My girl can finish 10 pieces of the tarts in one go. Luckily she's a skinny type. However, I still worry for it has a high content of fat - the cheese... That is why I haven't been baking this for quite sometime . Another reson is because I don't fancy the idea of having to prepare the baked tart shells beforehand. Thanks to K. Rabaah who was willing to bake me the tart shells.

The newly baked Blueberry Cheese Tarts

Since there was a 'kenduri' at one of the aunts house in Malacca and knowing that the grandmother whom we address as Puan would be there, I brought the whole batch there for everybody to savour. Within seconds, the tarts disappeared...


Tart Shells: Sweet Pastry


250 gm butter
130 gm icing sugar
2 egg yolks
500 gm Red Rose flour (Medium Protein flour)
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vaniila essence
1 tsp lemon yellow colour (optional)


1. Cream buter, sugar, vanilla essence and yellow colour (not too creamy).
2. Add in egg yolks and water. Continue creamimg for 1-2 minutes.
3. Fold in flour.
4. Press pastry in the tart moulds. Prick the pastry shells with fork.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C.


Blueberry Cheese Filling


250 gm Cream Cheese (I prefer Philadelphia cream cheese)
20 gm butter
60 gm castor sugar
1 egg
15 gm corn flour
Blueberry fruit filling


1. Cream cream cheese, butter and sugar together till creamy and fluffy.
2. Add in egg and beat together till well blend.
3. Add in corn flour.
4. Pipe cheese mixture onto the baked tart shells.
5. Pipe blueberry fruit filling into the cheese mixture and swirl it to get a marbling effect.
6. Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes using top fire.

I could get 50 pieces of 5cm in diameter tart shells using this cheese filling.

Source: Cynthia from Yummie Bakery. I attended one of her tarts baking classes years ago (sounds like ages ago.. ancient recipe? He! He!).

Sponge Cake with Ganache

Nani's, Aina's and Aiman's birthday.

Buttercake With Buttercream Icing

Aqmal's and Arisya's birthday.

Cupcake with Buttercream Icing

Pn. Normah's order.

Pn. Kamsiah's daughter's engagement.

Pn. Normah's nephew's engagement.

Fondant Butter Cake

2-tiered fondant cake

Chocolate Cake with Butercream Icing

Abon's engagement.

Alia's 6th Birthday

Pn. Normah's son's birthday.

Ayu's brother-in-laws' wedding.

Akmar's nephew's wedding .

Blueberry Cake

Azalea's 17th Birthday.

Helmi's birthday.

Cake for Raja Zaida.

KKSA members' birthday.

K. Norjah's birthday.

PPISMP TESL 2.10 farewell.

KKSA members' birthday.

Chocolate Cake with Ganache

Hidayah's engagement cake.



Mr. Rostam's birthday cake.



Choc. cake for family gathering.



Hidayah's engagement cake.



Syifa's birthday cake.

Eisya's birthday cake.

Mak Su's birthday cake.

Cake for family gathering.

Ila's birthday cake.

Hadi's aqiqah ceremony.

Life




Picture courtesy of dontwannahearit.com

 

My student cum friend emailed this sayings to me recently. I'm so thankful for the wordings had humbled me as a human being and reminded me to be thankful to Allah for every second of my life on this earth. So, I'm sharing this with all of you out there. Allah bless us. Amen. 

Life Is a Gift

Today
before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.

Before
you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone
who has nothing to eat.

Before
you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone
who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

Today
before you complain about life - Think of someone who died
too early on this earth.

Before
you complain about your children - Think of someone who
desires children but they're barren...

Before
you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or
sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.

Before
whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who
walks the same distance with their feet.

And when
you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the
unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your
job.

But
before you think of pointing the finger or condemning
another - Remember that not one of us is without sin.

And when
depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on
your face and think: you're alive and still
around.

Chocolate Moist Cake

I baked this one for Hidayah's engagement on 01.01.2011. I got this recipe from my husband's aunt who stays in Malacca. Mak Long, as we address her, taught for KEMAS before retiring more than 15 years ago. This has been a favourite in my family since I first started baking it.

The cake recipe:

170 gm butter

340 gm castor sugar

225 gm flour

40 gm cocoa

4 eggs

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon salt (optional and if unsalted butter is used)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

¾ cups of water

1 teaspoon chocolate emulco (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 150˚ F
2. Mix at medium or medium high speed castor sugar, butter, vanilla essence and salt until all ingredients are blended and smooth.
3. Add in eggs one by one.
4. Fold in the sifted ingredients (flour, baking powder, bicarb. of soda, cocoa powder) into the creamed mixture alternately with water, starting and ending with flour.
5. Bake at 150˚ F till cook (according to the temperature of the oven used) or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
6. Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely before decorating it.
   

Choc. Ganache Topping

125 ml whipping cream/fresh cream

250 gm cooking chocolate

1. Break cooking chocolate into pieces in a bowl.
2. Heat milk until it comes to a boil. Pour over chocolate and stir until smooth.
3. Allow mixture to cool before pouring over cake.

Source: Mak Long

Smile

Smiley picture courtesy of homepagedaily.com

A friend emailed this story to me years ago. I can't remember the date but the story really touched my heart. I saved it on my computer. Today, I attended a workshop at Nottingham University in Semenyih. The facillitator's way of handling the workshop and rapport with the course participants were commendable. He showed us ways to solve our academic problems by thinking out of the box. And tonight, after pondering on what I'd learned back at the workshop, I remembered this story.

I'm posting this story because it's such a heart-warming, inspirational story which makes me cry everytime I read it.

A Return is requested...You'll see why.
Breakfast at McDonald's.

 

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called, 'Smile.' The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.

We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... An overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.

As I turned around I smelled a horrible 'dirty body' smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was 'smiling'. His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.

He said, “Good day” as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.

The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, “Coffee is all Miss”, because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand.

He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you.” I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, “I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope.”

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, “That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope.”  We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. We are not church goers, but we are believers. That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand. I turned in 'my project' and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, “Can I share this?'”

I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.

She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my son, the instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn:

UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to

LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS -
NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

There are sayings:

Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

To handle yourself, use your head.
To handle others, use your heart.

 

**How I wish everybody in this world to react this way. This world would be a peaceful place to live in with all the loving hearts around. There'd be no war, no hatred, no all the negative actions and feelings that we could think of. World Peace!

Health News



Picture courtesy of healthrelatedinfos.com


Dear friends,

I read this article from  a blog of a well-known writer which link is provided below. Reading this article really helps in choosing the food for my family's and my daily diet. Hope that this information will be very helpful to all of us. Thank you Pn. Norzailina for sharing this with us.

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins :
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer..

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to
cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine Green tea is a better alternative e and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14.. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave..

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat.. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.

This article is taken from Norzailina Nordin's Ponderings blog where you can be connected here.

A little prayer...

Oh! I say a little prayer...

A new blog for a new year. Hoping to turn a new leaf and start writing. But I don't know whether this will be to share my experience or it's going to be a journey of my life. We'll just have to see......