raya 2012

we celebrated first raya at seremban this year. our theme this year is grey/black.

 the customary first day raya photo

 full house this year

 second raya..in melaka..at my grandma place

 close up..hehehe

third raya off to kuala pilah...then back home, raya in shah alam one day then off to utara...this is one of the longest raya break i had since i started working, the reason being two cousins of mine is getting married the following weekend, one in penaga and one in sungai petani. so we use this break to travelled to penang as well...coming up in the next entry...

tioman trip

we went to tioman a week after school holidays. started the day at 4am and reached Mersing around 9 am. we were stuck at the jetty for quite some time and finally reached tioman at 2pm.

 sampai aje the kids sibuk tanya bila boleh mandi laut, so after eating our lunch packed from the stall near the  jetty, rest for awhile and straight to the beach.

 pure bliss...this photo was taken by DH and was featured in a camera magazine (not sure which one). 

the next morning, time to go snorkelling, waiting for our boat

 in our boat, getting ready, there are six of us in the boat, including a young couple

 dah sampai, ready to go

 at one of the stops, the kids favourite game at the beach

 another snorkeling place, irfan said, 'ehh, irfan nampak ikan pompuan!" Ikan pompuan? iyaa... mulut dia kaler pink...Hmmm ok, ni mesti penangan nemo ni. this is the first snorkelling experience for irfan and i'm glad that he enjoyed it.

where we stayed

balik time... during this time everybody was ok. one and a half hour after that all of us was feeling queasy. the sea was rough and there were 3 passengers vomitted in our level. by the time the 3rd passenger vomitted i practically have to plug my ears to lessen the urge to vomit. Alhamdulillah managed to control it walaupun kepala pening. we reached mersing at 6.00pm and by 6.30pm we were on our way back. Overall it was an enjoyable holiday.

bakes and cakes 9

I can't remember the last time i made florentine but I know it was more than 5 years back as this is the first time I baked this in my present home and I have been staying here for four and a half year this June. This is a very fragile cookie and if not because of its taste I wouldn't be bothered to make it after the first try. But I have made this many times, each time trying to modify the process so that it would look as good as it taste. I've tried scraping the sides into a rounded corner when it's still hot as suggested by the recipe book which is so time consuming, making it in a large square aluminium foil and cutting it after I've spread the chocolate (easier but still doesn't look good) but most of the time I just drop a large chunk of dough on the tray and pray that most of it will stay that way during baking.

Last week I bake the dough on my new silicone pad and sure enough the dough spread into one large thin layer cookie. We ended up eating the bits and pieces straight from the tray because I can't even hold the cookie to spread the chocolate layer.

The next day I decided to bake the cookies in a silicone cupcake cases, spread the chocolate when the cookie is cooled, put it in the fridge till the chocolate is set and then peeling the cupcake cases to get a perfectly rounded florentine. This is how I'm going to make florentine from now on and I think I'm going to bake this again soon. Yummy...

I've made macarons a few times but everytime the results will be different..I've got cracks, empty shells, no feet macs, different shape and sizes etcs. But this is the first time I got macs this even sizes with a weird looking feet.

 It is definitely easier to remove the macs using a silicone pad than a baking sheet.

 peanut butter cream and kaya butter filling

 I still can't find out why the feet turn out this way. The shell is also crispier than before..may be I overbake it.

 nevertheless, it's yummylicious!

child labour??

 cat/touch up dinding yang previously kena conteng by irfan himself...

 habis badan & rambut kena cat sekali

catching up with old friends

last weekend i went to a seminar in holiday villa. the thing with seminars so related to your profession is that you got to meet and catch up with old friends, some of which you have not met for more than 10 years.

with Sila and Gee, my classmates in UM, they still look the same after all these years.

with Zuraini, my friend during my housemanship years in biro, found out that she's actually working and staying so near to my area, but somehow have never cross path.

 my long long time friend, way back in secondary school in Form 1, Kamarun which to my eyes, never ages or look any different from school days. she did her pharmacy degree in UKM while i did mine in UM and we probably met once in 3-4 years, every time while attending a seminar/conference. i'm also grateful to my ex-students who pleasantly introduced themselves to me during the conference. i'm sorry i did not noticed you initially but having been on both sides (student & lecturer) i know it's easier for a student to remember a teacher/lecturer than the other way round.

bakes and cakes 8

apam bunga...made this many times using many other colour combination, but so far this is the most colourful.

 kek lumut...made this three times already, tasted almost similar to kek lapis sarawak, yang tak tahan sebab kena kukus for 2.5 hours. Irfan said 'sedap sangatlah kek ni mama...' and requested for it again and again. Memang lah sedap, pakai horlicks sampai 1 cawan, kaya and condensed milk.  recipe from fromintankitchen.blogspot.com

super fudgy brownies...the photo doesn't do justice to the taste..i think this is one of the time when i like brownies, most of the time it tasted dry. Recipe from bisousatoi.com.

happy birthday alia

happy birthday alia..you are eleven today, tak lama lagi nak sama tinggi dengan mama. mama will always love you dan akan sentiasa mendoakan kebahagiaan dan kejayaan alia dunia dan akhirat. i love you, my princess.