Swirls of Green Tea

Posted on January 19, 2009 by Mabel

Swirls of Green Tea
Ply | Two
Yardage | 348 metres
WPI | NA (Fingering)
Fibre | Superwash Merino-Tencel from Pigeonroof Studios
Tool | Serenity Wheel [5.5:1 ratio]

I started this project way before Christmas and was delayed by the usual holiday festivities not to mention a forced New Year resolution that I have still yet to complete. Yes, Nil made me swear to finish all my knitting WIPs before I can start news ones. Thankgoodness I have a couple of baby knits already underway!

Anyway, due to recent turn of events, I’ve decided to kickstart my spinning again in hopes of offering up some handspun yarn for sale over at the shop. It’s still very much a work in progress, but I’m definitely happy with the results so far.

I must reiterate – spinning is relaxing…not to mention my legs and arms get quite a work-out! That said, all the spinning craze of lately is excellent for my overwhelming stash of fibers which, thankfully, have come to a halt already. Acquisitions have stopped until further notice and so has the dyeing. I’ll put most of them up for sale except for a few…we’ll see how things go.

In the meantime, do keep an eye out for more handspun goodness to come because I’ll be experimenting with some art yarns to add to the traditional 3- and 2-ply handspun inventory! By the way, what the heck are Grohe faucets???

Well done?

Posted on January 19, 2009 by Mabel

Just earlier, I came across a harmless comment made from one woman to another about a bling bling, specifically a very lovely engagement band with an equally lovely (and large) rock topped off with more rocks on the band.

The comment read “It’s gorgeous! Well done!” and I know it’s harmless but I was a little baffled by the well-done part. Just humour me and read on…

At first I thought that she probably meant that the guy did a great job by picking out a sizeable rock. Then if that were the case, it would seem that we place a lot of stock in how material items can best show a person’s sincerity and affections.

The other school of thought is that she was congratulating her friend for nabbing and tying down a rich guy. If that were the case, it would seem that we are still not far off from the whole “Asian women are gold diggers if they are dating Westerners”.

I’d like to think that she meant the former but in good humour. Still, the “well done” seems out of place.

O’well, maybe it’s just me reading too much into stuff. That’s how I like to keep my brain working anyway. Don’t mind me. Just food for thought on a bleary Monday morning. I think I shall go prepare some lunch AND work on my spinning & assignments like coilovers. Geck.

Banana bread with almonds and raisins

Posted on January 18, 2009 by Mabel

While the original recipe called for the very tiny and sweet Pisang Rastali or Musa acuminata x balbisiana Colla (AAB Group), I used instead a larger variety known as the Cavendish banana – a widely exported variety in these parts of the world. Yes, the Rastali variety would have been a better choice given the difference of my bread and those commonly made with this variety.

The Cavendish variety gave me a very yellowy and clear texture compared to the typical dark and dotty texture of a banana bread. I can only conclude that my banana was not “ripe” enough for the cake even though on the outside, it looked as if it was going to start growing some penicillin. Either that or I pureed it instead of mashing it!

In terms of density, my bread is ultra dense because of some changes to the recipe – I used more bananas (which means more fluid) and I switched to teaspoons of baking powder instead of tablespoons of baking soda. Talk about being blind. Never attempt to bake when you’ve just gotten up from an afternoon nap! It turned out surprisingly nice – if you like very dense cakes (like Nil) – but still, this is an excuse to try this recipe out again!!!!

Taste-wise, I reduced the amount of sugar by 10 gms and came up with a bread that is just nice – my tastebuds have changed since I got pregnant (items that were once “just nice” on the sweet scale are not too sweet for my liking!). Add that with the crunch of almonds and the chewy melting natural goodness of raisins and you get a bread that is just divine for any time of the day, be it breakfast, lunch (!), or tea…even dessert, if you heat it up and serve it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. But I like mine just the way it is – on its own.

Now, excuse me while I go look at some small business opportunities!

Banana bread with almonds and raisins

Ingredients
400 gms over-ripe bananas
240 gms castor sugar
3 eggs
100ml milk
1/4 tsp salt
100ml olive oil
350 gms flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
Two handfuls of chopped almonds
Two handfuls of raisins

Method

Sift and combine the flour and baking soda before placing aside. Mix the salt in with the milk and place aside as well.

Preheat the oven to 170 C and grease the sides and line the base of a pan before dusting lightly with flour.

In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add castor sugar and mix well until the sugar has dissolved.

Add eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Drip in the milk slowly and then stop the machine and scape the bowl. Drip in the olive oil and blend well.

Fold in the flour in batches and mix well to get a smooth batter. Do not overbeat though. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 160 C and bake for another further 60 minutes or until the bread is done when tested with a skewer.

Lighting your home

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Mabel

When you first rent or buy a unit be it a house or apartment here in Switzerland, you have to take note that lighting is never part of the deal. Yes, it comes completely bare – no bulbs, no fixtures and so forth. When you leave the place, you take all the fixtures with you, unless the next tenant wished to buy over the items.

It was no different for us. We bought over some track lightings from the previous tenant, similar to the ones you see here on ShopWiki’s site. Unlike traditional shopping sites which feature only stores that have paid to be part of the inventory, ShopWiki provides the shopper with over 200,000 stores that carry a certain product, for example, indoor light fixtures.

There are guides available to help you make better purchase options, such as FAQs and even product reviews. There are also video reviews made by shoppers featuring the details, reviews – good or bad – and other necessary information needed by other shoppers to make a good purchase decision.

One of the products available, Progress Lighting (the ones I have in the apartment) features at least 12 different stores with different specs, (naturally) different prices and information. They can both be used as feature or accent lighting and are fully adjustable. And mind you, looking at the info on the page, it has been enlightening!

So if you have been a fan of Wiki, trust me, you’ll be a fan of ShopWiki!

A prayer for us please.

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Mabel

If you hadn’t already guessed, the global economic downturn has affect us as well. Sometimes it irks me when close-minded people think that those of us living abroad are sitting on a perpetually working and self-sustaining gold mine. We aren’t and are just as vulnerable as the next Malaysian you sit next to on the LRT while you’re on your way to work.

Nil got retrenched yesterday because of the downturn. His company has not been doing well and they have a notorious history when it comes to retrenching people. Six people lost their jobs yesterday, and my husband was one of them.

We are taking the news as best as we can. A few saving graces like our thifty nature since the start of our marriage, lack of commitments & bills, savings in both France and Switzerland, plus retrenchment benefits have made the news easier to bear. Couple this with my part-time job and shop…well, we have enough to tide us in for now.

All we ask is for a prayer that things will work out alright soon. We’re doing it but like they say, strength in numbers.

In the meantime, know that we’re doing just fine…as fine as can be.

When life throws you lemons…

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Mabel

…make lemonade. Or whatever else you fancy!

Basically, you learn to make the best out of the bitter, sour and crappy turns that happens in life. And we’ve just hit a major one. What timing too…with a baby along the way and me being unable to find a job over the next few months. Honestly, do you know anyone who wouldn’t mind hiring a pregnant woman who will go on maternity leave soon?

But I’m optimistic – oddly. Maybe it’s because I keep telling myself that two heads are better than one and it’s not as if either one of us is lacking in one way or another. Plus we have few bills and a healthy bank account.

Yes, this is very me (at least it’s better than thinking about exercise equipment and how to go about them on this blog).

So yes, I like to think that we’ll do just fine…

Hawker stall delights!

Posted on January 12, 2009 by Mabel

Being able to cook AND pregnant is wonderful for my kitchen and Nil, of course. Remember how I was going through a huge bout of cravings around Christmas? Well, I was hankering for some hawker food and lo, thanks to the Internet, I found a couple of recipes and voila!!!!

Note, this post is awfully long…and just filled with recipes! Do drop a comment if you wish to know more!

On a completely different note, what do you think of an electric blanket during winter?

Keropok lekor (Fish sausages)

Ingredients
Canned mackerel in oil
Some water
Tapioca flour
Salt to taste

Method

Blend the mackerel with the oil until there are no more chunks.

Add some tapioca gradually until the fish paste resembles a dough. Add some water if it is too dry.

Once well mixed and smooth, shape into tiny sausages. Drop them into a pot of boiling water and scoop up when the sausages float. Place aside to cool. At this stage, you can freeze the sausages to keep for further use.

Once cool (or from the freezer), deep fry until golden brown. Serve hot with some sweet chilli sauce.

Onde onde

Ingredients

(A) Dough
250 gms glutinous rice flour
2 tbsp tapioca flour
Pandan juice/flavouring
Water
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

(B) Filling
100 gms palm sugar or brown sugar

(C) Coating
Dessicated coconut OR freshly grated coconut
Some salt

Method

Prepare the dough by mixing up (A) until the dough is smooth but not too sticky. Roll up into small round balls and press a hole in the middle with your thumb. Fill up with (B), taking care to close up any holes.

Boil in hot water immediately (do not leave out to dry as this will result in cracks causing the palm sugar to ooze out) and scoop out the balls when they float.

Toss around in (C) and coat well. Serve immediately as leaving it out for a few hours will result in hard balls of onde onde.

Mee hoon kueh

Ingredients

(A) Noodles
150gms all purpose flour
1 egg
Some water
Salt to taste

(B) Soup
A handful of ikan bilis (anchovies)
Meat
Vegetable
Shitake mushrooms
Anything else you wish to add, eg fish balls, etc

Method

Mix (A) well using a food processor or by hand and leave to rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the soup by first frying the ikan bilis in some oil. Once cooked (crispy), immediately add in enough water according to the number of people this dish is to be served to. Boil for around 30 to 45 minutes.

Slice up the meat, vegetables and mushrooms. When the soup is ready, pinch a small portion of the dough and flatten out using your fingers. The thinner the dough, the better it’ll taste. Drop into the soup to cook and dish out when they float.

Wait for the soup to boil again and this time, add in the meat, vegetable and mushrooms. The soup is ready when the meat is cooked. Serve hot with some sliced chilli or as is.

Cucur udang (Prawn fritters)

Posted on January 9, 2009 by Mabel

While hunting around a few familiar food blogs for my nasi lemak recipe, I came across one for cucur udang and was instantly captivated. Now, in case you think that I have a habit of downing down deep fried dishes like there was no tomorrow, let me reassure you that it is not the case – the last time I had any deep fried home-made dishes was when I made some home-styled meatballs. That was over six months ago.

Prawn fritters were a favourite of mine when I was still in Malaysia – they come in a variety of forms, depending on who is making them. The guy who sells rojak likes them perfectly and fat together with the crispy thin, nearly burnt pieces. The Malay lady who sells my favourite nasi lemak likes them in bite-sized balls and the Chinese guy at the local night market likes them in perfect circles of 1 cm thickness with a piece of shrimp in the middle. Yes, everyone has their own way of making this yummy dish.

And the best part about cucur is that you can find them with all sorts of things – bananas, anchovies (ikan bilis), or just with onions and red chilli.

Yes, as you can guess, being pregnant in a foreign country is hard for someone like me. I still have Malaysian tastebuds even though I do enjoy other types of cuisine. So I settled for some very nice cucur with a few adjustments here and there! Since I’m not a big fan of corn, I left that out and just made it with heaps of onions, chives and red chillis…simply delish, I tell you!!!! And this will last me for the next eight or so months. Yes, deep frying items have a way of turning me off the method for a while.

Cucur udang (Prawn fritters)

Ingredients
Flour
Water
Prawns
Chives
Red chilli
Onions
Salt to taste
A pinch of baking powder
A pinch of chilli paste

Method

Shell and chop up prawns into small chunks. Omit this step if you’re using small prawns or shrimp.

Finely slice the chilli and chives lengthwise into 2cm long slices before dicing up the onions.

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, water and chilli paste together until the batter is thick but not watery before adding in the prawns, chives, red chilli and onions.

Deep fry until golden brown on high to medium high heat and serve fresh with a healthy helping of sweet chilli sauce.