Murtabak Maggi

On the days that he gets to leave early from work, Mr Hubs will try his best to drop by the TTDI Ramadhan Bazaar for his favourite popia basah. A few days back, he received an sms from SIL for an order for Murtabak Maggi from the bazaar. So, he made his round, however to no avail. Later, we found out that there's no such thing sold at the TTDI bazaar but in Bangsar instead. Going to Bangsar from work and back to TTDI on fasting month is a bit taxing during Ramadhan, considering the jam and all.

So, being a good SIL (hehe!), I googled and looked up for the recipe. Right after terawikh last nite, at MIL's, I rolled up my sleeves and had a go with the recipe. And this was what I came up with. Believe me, it may look just like an omelette, but taste-wise, it's pretty good.


A word of caution though, it's not that healthy to have this on regular basis ya ;) But then again, well, minus the instant noodles, I'd say you'll have your protein and vege servings from the egg, meat, onion, chilli. Not all bad, ay? Haha..Here's the recipe, taken from Mesra.net Resepi.

Ingredients:
2 packet of instant noodle
3 eggs
1 onion
1 red chili
Slices of beef/chicken
Oil to fry
Salt to taste

How?
1. Boil the instant noodle until cooked and remove the noodle from the water. Fry the meat with chilli and onion.
2. Beat the eggs until fluffy and add in a pinch of salt (skip the salt if you find the noodle flavouring is already salty).
3. Add in all the ingredients into the beaten egg (the noodle, meat, onion and chili and the instant noodle flavour packet). Mix well.
4. Heat up the pan and cook the instant noodle mixture with little bit of oil. Fry each side until golden colour.
5. Serve with chili sauce.

Thank You

I don't think I've thanked you enough, Ya Rabb
Forgive me when I whine
I am indeed truly blessed by You
Alhamdulillah, all praises to You



Do enjoy the song my dear friends (downloaded from youtube)
A truly beautiful one, sung by a Lebanese-born Swedish, Maher Zain
Have a blessed remaining Ramadhan!

Euro Bound

Just learnt that I'll be flying to London and Barcelona after Raya. Two separate trips! Yippee! I know I should start learning Spanish now but I ended up updating my shopping list instead! So, no Raya bag this year. That will have to wait, will go and get it over there. Ooohhh, I'm so excited. The last time I was in Barcelona was like over 10 years ago. Zaman kanak-kanak riang backpacking with uni mates. Anyone care to share on the to-do's in Barcelona? Hmm..where's that shopping list again?

Pics googled

Fusion Iftar Menu

When you're not in the mood for the kuihs from the Ramadhan Bazaar or rice and lauk, why don't you try what I would call this fusion pasta menu. Tomyam and cream! Inspired from Pasta Al Salmone, I made the sauce using these ingredients instead :

• 150 gm light thickened/double cream
• 3-4 tbs of tomyam paste
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Olive oil
  
• 1 can of tuna (take the one in water)
• 250gm of prawn meat
• Chinese parsley

After the garlic turns brown, throw the cream, tomyam paste, tuna and prawn in the pan. Once the sauce is ready, serve it with your pasta and garnish it with parsley. And walla, you're all done. Selamat berbuka puasa gorgeous readers!

An Apple A Day..

Now that it's fasting month, I find myself gulping down all my daily supplements in one go. And when I lined all the bottles in a row, I realised that "Heck, I am taking quite a lot!" Here's the list:

1. Blue algae extract for repair and regeneration of depleting cells and tissues of the body
2. Folic acid for my pregnancy preparation
3. Apple cider vinegar, a folks remedy for overall health. For me, I take it for better digestion, to avoid acid reflux and cure for allergies. I either take a tablespoon of it raw or a mix 2 tablespoons of the cider with a bit of honey and make it into a glass of drink
4. Lingzhi @ Reishi mushroom. Just started taking it since I started going for acupressure, as recommended by Sifu. Benefits include lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar level, balanced hormones, youthfulness, anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti inflammatory and the list goes on
5. Vitamin C
6. Udo's Organic 3,6,9 Oil Blend. Organic omega 3,6 and 9 essential fats for better cardiovascular health, better immune system, faster recovery and healing of the internal and external organs and tissues
7. Multivitamins

What are your supplement intake like? Are yours much much more? Or memang I ni sah ada phobia of becoming ill? Nosemaphobia?

Lebovitz Sunday

A friend left a message on my facebook that she's craving for something sweet and requested me to bake her a cake. Married for slightly over a month, I was wondering mengidam ke budak ni? Malasnya nak bake, time2 busy ni, but then I remembered what Mum once said to me, "Jangan let down harapan orang, you don't know when you would be asking them for favours.."

With that, I flipped through my recipe book and began searching for something nice but pretty easy to make. So, I settled for David Lebovitz's Cheesecake Brownies. The recipe's uploaded on his website too - http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/10/cheesecake_brownies.html. Do check it out. Easy peasy but the end result is super yummy! Worth every calorie ;) I ended baking 2 pans last Sunday. Sis brought some to her office and came home with order for 6 pans. Seriously? Wahh! This is fun! Guess I should start trying out Rachel Allen's recipes pulak ;)

Happy baking and Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan everyone!

Cheesecake Brownies by David Lebovitz (from www.davidlebovitz.com)

One 9-inch (23cm) square pan

6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (70g) flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips

8 ounces (200g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
5 tablespoons (75g) sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line a 9-inch (23cm) square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180C).

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs.

4. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

5. In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

6. Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.

7. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set.

Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares.

Storage: These will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days. They also freeze well, too.

Blood, Sweat and Takeaways

Ever looked at the food that you're eating and wondered how they landed on your table? Who were the people involved in harvesting the raw material? Who reared the chickens? Who planted the rice? Who fished and gutted the tuna?

After watching the reality TV show on AFC - Blood, Sweat and Takeways, I now developed a habit of thinking and visualising about the processes and efforts involved in obtaining the end products that I eat. This certainly to an extent makes me appreciate my food more now ;) The show is about a group of so-called spoiled food junkies from Britan sent to this part of the world (Indonesia & Thailand) to discover the truth about their fast food faves. They had to live in dismayed condition, worked for long hours and earned cheap rates, just like the real local workers. They were tasked to work at every stage of the production process and learned how to grow, rear, harvest, process the food. Watching the pain that they went through and realising that each person only earned approximately RM10 each day really served as an eye opener to how hard and difficult all the farmers in kampung halaman had to membanting tulang under the hot sun.

I think they're showing the season finale next week. In my humble opinion, the show is really a breath of fresh air after all the E! productions ;) Do try to watch it ;) You'll be moved..