Goodies For Sale

Rummaging thru my ocean of stuff, I discovered that I do have quite a number of hardly used items like handbags, shoes and clothings. To make space for more new stuff, am thinking of doing a mini blog sale. Would you guys be interested? Yay? Nay?

- Jabberholic babbles from her iPhone

One Chic Mama

When I first heard about Growns Ups, the thing that drove me to watch it recently was the fact that it's starred by the comedy heroes like Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Kevin James. Half an hour into the movie, I could see that it was very "Adam Sandler'ish". (Well, he's the producer anyway!) But what made me glued to the screen was this one ravishing Latina mama, Salma Hayek. Am not a big fan of hers but in this movie, playing as a fashion designer, she definitely brought the chic factor onto the screen. And she's half the size of what I used to see her in 30 Rock and Ugly Betty! Check these pics (googled) from the movie as well as from the cover of June 2010 InStyle Mag. Hotness, ay?

p/s : I read that her beauty secrets include juice cleansing diet and eating insects ( e.g. ants (!??!!) dipped in guacamole (!!)

Note to self : Stick her photos onto the fridge door, so that you won't open it ever again (!!) Haha!

Lemang Raya

Raya was a blast this year. Saw more people (that meant gave out more duit raya, huh? ), ate more stuff (oh no!), went back to hometown with the whole Brady bunch from KL (this time nieces tagged along too for the very first time!) baked more goodies (and received a lot of compliments for it too, yeay!) etc.

Out of all that, one thing that I was a bit jakun to discover during Raya was lemang jagung. Have you guys tried it? Was so fascinated by it that I didn't waste time to snap the pic before it disappeared from the plate. The taste was 'jagung'ish of course. Something different indeed! As we were in Perak at that time, the lemang was eaten with the ever famous rendang tok! Yumms! Oh no, I could feel it went straight to the thighs!!

Eid Mubarak

Eid Mubarak from Jabberholic and family!

Youtubing With The Kids

One of the things I do when babysitting my nieces is to show them cute videos on youtube. This is normally after they are bored with their disney videos, ABC books and just wanna lepak with their Mummy Long (that's what they call me) while gulping down their milk. We came across this seriously cute video yesterday and I just can't resist sharing it with you guys. The nieces loved it and played it over and over and over again. Here it is, The Elephant Song by Eric Herman ;) Hope Salma Aida & Adam, Dina, Acha & Qayyum, Aryyana, Allysha & Aryya, Kyra, Hasya, Harris & Heidi, Nayli, Zarif & Zaim, Nuha, Nabil & Zara and all cutie pies out there will enjoy it too ;)

P/S: Sorry if Aunty J missed out names or got the spelling wrong ya!

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..

Summer Sale

Browsed through this site http://www.bicestervillagegirl.com/page2.htm and saw the discounts offered. And am seriously wishing to go to Bicester Village now. Imagine things which are already discounted, put on sale? Tidakkah membara nafsu shopping itu? Haha..The last time I went to Bicester Village was on Christmas Eve last year and didn't get many loots as whatever nice stuff was already taken by those who were in a rush to do their last minute Christmas shopping. Hmm..Summer sale in UK sampai bila ya?

The iPhone Wears Prada

I'd like to write about iPhone today, in particular, iPhone cases. We can see now that fashion designers are out there making their marks into the tech world by designing high end fashion accessories for phones like iPhone and Blackberry. This is obviously to satisfy the wants of fashionistas who own iPhones along with their Prada, Hermes, Chanel, LV and Gucci bags. Nahh, I don't own any designer case for my iPhone but I certainly think it wouldn't be that bad owning one, ay? Not all are nice though. Have a look at what I've found. Pics googled. I kinda like that Prada and Hermes cases ;) What do you think?

Catch of The Day

Nahhh...didn't get myself a handbag yet but ended up with these books while shopping today. Will last me for a week or two. Anyone read any of these books yet? Bought The Last Symbol because yours truly is a really big fan of Dan Brown. Read all of his earlier books and I would say it was love at first read with Da Vinci Code. Bought Eat, Pray, Love after seeing the movie's trailer on YouTube and with Julia Roberts as the main star, I'm sold, baby! Soccernomics? Saw the review on South Africa's tv earlier and it would be fun to learn more about football from an economic angle. If you've read Freakonomics, bet you'll love this one. No, it's not gonna be boring ( I hope!) Flipped through to see how it's written, and yeah, it's gonna be easy to understand. Plus, it'll be good to throw some info from the book on the table the next time I'm in Mr Hubs and his friends' company ay? Perhaps I'll throw a question or two and see whether these soccer fans are true fans indeed huh? Do they know which country loves football the most? England? Nahh, it's Norway :) Oooh, Mr Hubs is so gonna be proud of me ;) Hahahaha..

Mengidam...

Was cleaning and arranging the wardrobe yesterday when my gaze fell onto the LV Damier Canvas Neverfull hidden in a corner. Told myself "That is sooo 2009!" Barulah yours truly realised that she has not bought any handbag in 2010 lagi ;)

Reading LadyLOVESLeisure with her camelia accordian bag, LadyVerde with her 16th acquisition, Yummy Mummy with her Mahina Solar, membuatkan daku mengidam (or is it more like gatal tangan?) to hold a new bag. The feel and smell of new soft leather sangatlah mengujakan right? With all the things going on right now, wonder if and when I can steal time to go for a week of shopping somewhere? What do you say Mr Hubs? *wink! wink!*

When East Meets West

I was supposed to start IVF in June but it got postponed to this month as dear Doctor got called to Europe for a conference. And now that he’s back, Mr Hubs and I had a long heart-to-heart talk with him recently and we’re postponing it again,perhaps after Raya. This is mainly because the procedure’s gonna be demanding and will stretch into the fasting month. Call me selfish, but frankly speaking, I would like to spend my fasting month beramal ibadat sebanyak mungkin. Call me pessimistic, but with the knowledge I’ve gained about IVF procedure, I could imagine missing a whole lot of fasting days, missing Terawikhs etc. if I were to start now. If I could wait for 6 years, apalah sangat few months kan?

When Doc dropped the bomb to us that IVF is our only chance to conceive, I’ve started reading about the procedure in my spare time. Bought the book Making Babies by Dr Sami David and Jill Blakeway, a reproductive endocrinologist and a Chinese medicine practitioner respectively. The book is all about the revolutionary approach of combining Eastern and Western medicine in assisting people to get pregnant. As much as possible, I’ve incorporated good practices recommended by the authors. Healthy eating, exercise, gulping supplements. But one thing I’ve been meaning to try and haven’t found time to do is acupuncture. After reading Celine Dion now pregnant (with twins!) with the combination of IVF and acupuncture, I am more than determined to try. Cewwah, nak ikut Celine Dion ;) I asked around, not realising that help was just within reach! Call it rezeki, I bumped into an acupressure practitioner who has helped to restore my uncle’s heart’s condition which was drastically failing few months back. Of course, with Allah’s blessing that is. From being confined in his room in IJN, uncle is now able to walk, drive and even travel overseas for his business now. And since the last 1 week, acupressure practitioner’s home is where I’ve been heading to during lunchtime with Mr Hubs. The practitioner, whom I call Sifu, was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer over 20 years ago and Doc told him that he had no hope. Even the top Sensei in town at that time told him to just wait for the Angel of Death to come. Not willing to give up, he studied how he was decapitated by such ailment, he studied cells, he studied human bodies and picked up acupressure. Within a year, he restored his health and is cancer-free since then.

Acupressure, a blend of acupuncture and pressure is an alternative to acupuncture i.e. the alternative to sticking your nerves with needles and using pressure instead. So, during treatment, Sifu puts physical pressure using thumb, elbow and rolling pen onto the acupoints (points on the body related to the organs, systems etc). The general idea of acupressure is to identify what’s the problem, be it the organ, the endocrine system, the nerves, the drainage system etc throughout your whole body. And true enuff, the reproductive organs and systems of mine memang ada masalah sikit, just as diagnosed by the doctor. How do I know if they’re problematic? I feel some sensation and sakit lah when pressure is put on the acupoints. The objective of this treatment for me is to reduce whatever swelling of the reproductive organ, unblock the blocked tube, smoothen the drainage system and generate healthier and new cells so everything functions as what they should be. And later, when I undergo IVF, everything is cleansed and hopefully success rate is increased and it’ll work the first time. InsyaAllah, Aminnnn…I see this as some sorta blessing in disguise for postponing the IVF procedure. If I were to start IVF now, I wouldn’t have tried acupressure and wouldn’t experience the alternative method to not only correct whatever problem I currently have, but to regenerate health overall kan?

And thanks to one of my dear blog reader, Sue, she’s also shared a link for all mothers-to-be..You guys may wanna check this out http://www.pregnancymiracle.com.

Have a fab weekend, gorgeous readers!

It's All About Football..

To have the opportunity to watch World Cup football match in South Africa was definitely priceless.. Am not a big football fan to start with but Mr Hubs had to a certain extent converted me into a person who now understands the game..After years of marriage, I now finally understand what an off-side is!! Haha..

We went to the game where Netherlands played against Denmark in Soccer City, Johannesburg. Upon arrival at the stadium, I could feel the overwhelming ambience. Everyone was happy. Everyone was "dressed to kill". I was really fascinated with all the effort put in by the fans - face painting, the interesting accessories, the cheers etc. Wasting no time, I put on my paparazzi hat and began snapping away..Well, enjoy the colourful pics...Selamat menjamu mata ;)

Crowd management at the stadium was excellent. Within minutes you can see all rubbish around the stadium collected and stadium was closed within half an hour after the match ended. It was definitely a great experience. And to the next World Cup host-Brazil, see you in 2014 ;)