Famous Liz Choc Chip Cookies

After the failure of my trifle, I decided to make myself feel better by baking my proven-no-failure chocolate chip cookies. I’ve baked these babies so many times, I bet I can make them with one eye closed! *chewah, berlagak*

Although they look like no Famous Amos, they are a hit in our household! It’s fun to pick one cookie out of a jar and flip it over to count how many chocolate chips are embedded in your pick. And it’s a good reason to stop by the dining table (where the cookie jars are) when you’re on your way up the stairs, or on your way to the kitchen. Definitely a diet buster. Aarrgghh!!

It was Bibik’s first time using the mixer and she was awed by the complexity of the machine. The way she was asking about the mixer, it looks like she wants to carry one home when her contract ends. Insyaallah, i’ll get her one. If she serves her term well. It is too early to tell, especially with the maid horror stories nowadays. Which is why we’re getting a few CCTV cameras fitted around the house in preparation for my grand return to work.

While the mixer was whirring noisily on the kitchen table, and as I was sifting the flour, I received a text message. Hah! When I read the text, I nearly dropped the cup of flour I was holding. Does my trainer have ESP or something???

Aidil, Trainer from Hell: Hi Reds. Today no tea time or hi tea ok Reds. Go for heavy dinner but early.

But I was already halfway through the recipe! I guess, if I consume these chocolate chip cookies, I would have to forego the delicious Tom Yam I was going to make for dinner. *sigh* My trainer is really dragging me through a guilt trip here.

Me: But i’m making choc chip cookies! I ‘rasuah’ you with it next week can? Hehe...
Aidil, Trainer from Hell: Aiyoo kakak! Ok ok don’t forget ha!

The delicious batter mixture of butter, brown sugar, castor sugar, eggs, flour and of course, chocolate chips. Nyummy!!

I bear no artistic skills in shaping cookies. Which is why they're no Famous Amos.


Hubby and Daddy's Partner-In-Crime, Aiden - Both working together to wreck Mummy's funny shaped cookies with Aiden's giant foot.

A jar full of sinful chocolate chip cookies. Oooppsss! There goes my diet out the window!

Ask Aiden about his Mummy's yummylicious cookies, and he'll tell you they're arm-sucking good!!!

Aiden's First Laugh

I was brushing my teeth with a scowl on my face, after grumbling grumbling grumbling at hubby for arriving home late after his futsal match. In return, hubby was trying to cool me down by offering to change Aiden's diaper. With his mouth whispering to Aiden "See, Mummy pok pek pok pek again"...

Suddenly, Aiden laughed. He literally laughed. I paused in front of the bathroom mirror, toothbrush in mouth, toothpaste foam dripping, listening intently. Aiden has done this sekali-gelak-sahaja laugh twice already, both while he was asleep.

And suddenly he laughed again!!! I rinsed my mouth, rushed out of the bathroom and hubby was squealing in delight. Buruk benar bila orang dewasa gelak mengekek ekek! Slowly I took my PDA and quietly turned the video on.

Aiden has this issue with cameras and phones. I can never get anything out of him when he sees my PDA recording him. He would just look at it with a blank stare. The minute the PDA disappears, he starts gurgling and cooing like nobody's business.

But this time he made a proper show. He laughed again and again. Mummy & Daddy were absolutely overjoyed. And Mummy's leteran went down the drain.

P.S: Don't forget to check out his dimple!

N.B: Was hunting high and low for my toothbrush this morning. Found it on the dresser beside Aiden's playpen. Must have brought the toothbrush along with me yesterday while scrambling to find my PDA. Haha

Of Weird Interpretations

I noticed recently that I have a knack for interpreting words differently than others.

For instance, that annoying (yet I still watch it cos the TV is forever on channel 103) drama, Datin Wan Abe? Well, hubby recently had a good laugh when I told him that I did not understand the title. Why Abe? As in Abe in Kelantanese meaning Abang (brother)? So why is it Datin Wan Abang?

Shows you how deep my Kelantanese roots are... Haha.

And a few days back, hubby was again rolling on the floor laughing, when I told him MY interpretation of the very very annoying Hai-O water purifier advert on TV. You know the end part where they tell you to join the sickeningly happy Hai-O family? If you notice at the very bottom, the word hai-omarketing is prominently displayed.

And I read it as Hai Omar Keting. Yes.. keting as in that part of your leg which I am having difficulty translating in English.

I’m weird in that way, I know.

Of Trifle and Custard Galore

A colleague of mine left a comment on my Facebook, on how I am becoming quite domesticated these days. All because I told the world that I made Chicken Rendang for dinner (which turned out to be surprisingly quite good!).

Actually, I am quite domesticated. There you go. Confessions of a Desperate Housewife. Haha. Well actually, domesticated only comes to mind whenever I am a housewife. Therefore, when I was serving my 2 year term in Sakhalin, hubby would be absolutely thrilled whenever I am rotation holiday. (I used to be on a one month on Sakhalin Island, one month off in Malaysia rotation.) Rotation holidays would mean shiny mopped floors, freshly laundered clothes, ironed working attires, squeaky clean toilets and most importantly, hot delicious dishes for dinner. Furthermore, due to the time difference (Sakhalin is 2 hours ahead of KL) and jet lag, during the first week home I would be up by 530am, doing house chores and bidding hubby goodbye at the door when he heads off for work.

Memories of rotation holidays have faded since I moved back to sunny ol’ KL on a regular 5 day week work routine. However, Aiden came into the picture and maternity leave kicked in. And I find myself wandering around the house finding things to do to keep me occupied. I enjoy being a lady of leisure, yet I grumble to hubby on being bored at home. Since Bibik has covered the housework, therefore I create things to do – such as placing my wedding pictures in albums (yes, laugh all you want, but I never found the time during the past 3 years), organize all important mail into separate colour coded folders, create a database of Aiden’s clothes, try out new recipes from the internet, post entries on my blog, and the list goes on and on.

The trifle was yet another of my domesticated attempt, recipe courtesy of the internet of course. Well, I was going through a few flogs (food blogs) and hubby suddenly exclaimed “Yang! Sedapnyer yang tuh... you try buat lah...” while pointing at a picture of a trifle on the laptop screen. So the next day, I got to work. First and foremost, a text message to my most reliable and expert baker in the whole wide world, who also happens to be my maid-of-honour, sister-for-life. (If you happen to live in Dublin and would like a taste of her to-die-for brownies, click here.)

Me: Gurl, where can I get fresh cream to make trifle? Tesco, Giant tuh semua ada ke? Dia tulis apa, fresh cream? In box? In can?
Yay: Yup, fresh cream and it’s in a bottle. Slalu band Avonmore kaler biru. And they should be at the fridge area near susu tak silap I.
Me: Do I have to ‘putar’ it until kembang like this recipe suruh, or can just use straight away?
Yay: Kena ‘putar’ la. Mana ada jual dah siap putar.

So after a trip to Tesco plus a frantic call to Dublin due to the fact that Tesco did not carry that brand of fresh cream, I piled all my newly bought goodies and read the recipe again. I measured all the ingredients for the custard, and got Bibik to stand guard by the saucepan, stirring slowly until the custard thickens. Hunted for my mixer in the kitchen cabinet and started to 'putar' the fresh cream. The cream turned all white and fluffy. Unfortunately, my ingenious fingers seemed to have a life of its own and refused to stop the mixer. Plus my mind was miles away thinking about the gulai ayam rebung I was going to cook for dinner. Suddenly the cream......... curdled, disintegrated and became all watery!!!!!!

Another call to Dublin. Man my Maxis bill is going to go rocket sky high this month!

Me: Yay! The cream has curdled! I think I dah terlebih putar!
Yay: What is curdled?
Me: Alahhhh... yang macam if you have a mixture of cake batter, and you put eggs into it - that mixture looks like it has curdled!
Yay: Huh??? *confused* Kalau you ada webcam kan senang, tunjuk kat I jer!

I did not have a spare pack of fresh cream, so I had to make do with what I had. Drained the watery stuff from the cream, and putar again. In the meantime, the custard thickened, but unfortunately it was a tad too much and a tad too sweet. Thank god this trifle is for home consumption only!

So this is a picture of the trifle (first layer):

On top of that comes the horrible looking cream 'putar' plus the overdose of custard. *fail habis!*

I hereby solemnly swear that I shall not pour this much custard and shaving, oopppsss whipping cream on to any trifle I make ever again!

Trying to hide the apparent failure with lots of grapes and strawberries:

The end result, served with Gulai Ayam Rebung:

After dinner, me and hubby plopped ourselves in front of the TV and had a bite of the chilled trifle with some strawberry milk.

Me: Yang, after eating the trifle, even the strawberry milk tastes less sweet. I think I need plain water to drown this sweetness away...

Hahaha... so that is the story of my failed attempt with the trifle. Yay, come back quick! I need to berguru with you on how to 'putar' cream!

Grumpy Aiden

Hubby's family stopped by our cosy home, on their way to Kuantan. They were going to Kuantan as hubby's grandmother (Aiden's great grandmother!) decided that she has had enough of Subang Jaya and wanted to return to her home sweet home in Kuantan.

Aiden's makciks enjoy bullying him. Once, while I was asleep, they tortured Aiden by placing ice cubes and cucumber slices on his face. Poor helpless Aiden. And Aiden is very selective on who he chooses to flash his precious toothless smile to. To everyone else, he adopts this grumpy "i-don't-care-who-you-are-so-bugger-off" look. Despite this grumpy look, Aiden still looks cute with his chubby cheeks, so instead of putting off bullying attacks, it further attracts them!

Mummy, quick dress me up! No more pictures please!!!

Even my grandma is joining in the fun of poking my chubby cheeks! *geram*

Oh, they're heading home. That's my great grandma kissing me goodbye. Notice my "i-don't-care" face?

Now I shall sodok my head in revenge for that ice cube incident. What? We both have dimples? Who cares??!!

Another bully kissing me goodbye. Please go home.

Oh, this one I like. This is my granddaddy. He is always telling my auntys off for bullying me. And he tells them to shadap whenever I am asleep. Bising jer!

Mummy, are they really going home already? Because I can see a finger coming to poke my chubby cheeks again. Aarrgghhh...

Yeay, they're finally going home! Come again another day, another day when i'm old enough to bite your fingers when you try to squeeze my supple cheeks!

Bye! See my face? Bye!

Daddy! Why are YOU bullying me now! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..... (Mummy's note: Aiden's merely yawning...)

Health Challenge: Week 1

Yesterday was mind blowing. The sweat, the grime, the stickyness melekit lekit - it was all very satisfying. First day of training for Health Challenge...

I chose my attire carefully. Dress to win. I desperately wanted to wear my ultra shocking pink tracksuit. The one with the word BeBe in sequins on the butt. It used to be cool when I bought it two years ago. Unfortunately, as a Mummy, I can no longer be seen displaying words on my butt. I don’t think Aiden would be tickled pink with the image of his Mummy running around the KLCC park, butt fat jiggling the word BeBe. Therefore, I rummaged through my closet for a long baby-T.

I arrived in KLCC an hour earlier than training time. I wanted to “warm up” at the Marks & Spencer sale. Mothercare was having a sale as well. I didn’t want to get Aiden anymore clothes, as I had splurged on him a few days back while getting a present for Widya’s new baby girl, Suri.

Oh ya, congratulations Widya & Rizal. Zara would be so pleased to have a baby sister, especially one with such a glamorous name. Suri. Wow. Suri Rizal. Wow.

As I was queuing up to pay for a hanging mobile for Aiden’s stroller in Mothercare, the guy in front of me was paying for an Avent sterilizer. He didn’t have a Mothercare VIP card, which would give him an extra 10% off the discounted price. I offered him my card, but the darn cashier wouldn’t allow it! Uurrgghh... I felt like telling her off “you think by doing this to save RM35 for Mothercare Malaysia, they would put it in your next pay cheque??” I mean, what is wrong with trying to help someone out using your VIP card? Not everyone can spend RM800 in 3 months in Mothercare to qualify for your bloody VIP card! I once helped a lady out using my Isetan card, for her to get a discount. I once gave a person an extra 20% off her pair of sandals using my Padini card. Never rejected! Bugger!

I was determined to burn off my frustration by running faster during my training. Haha, yeah right. That did not materialise. By the time I walked to the designated assembly area in front of Exxon Mobil, I was already feeling tired. Out of the 6 participants from the Red Team, only 4 of us turned up. And boy oh boy, did Aidil the personal trainer grill us to the ground! We started by running around the KLCC park (no shortcuts allowed – even after I explained my warm up shopping in KLCC). Three quarters of the way, I cheated and started to walk very slowly. I picked up speed as soon as I could see Aidil – must not let him down! Then he told us to try short distance sprinting. Back and forth, back and forth we went, until we could do no more. He did not even give us a breather, because after that he forced us through a series of lunges, squats, sit ups, push ups and dead lifts. Not one set, not two sets, but three sets. Unfortunately, by the second set, I felt dizzy, felt like vomiting, so I had to sit out for ten minutes! *very malu*

As Sanjeev said, “we finally saw light at the end of the tunnel”. After an hour of gruelling exercise, Aidil finally ended our misery. My arms and thighs were sore! But I walked back to KLCC, jiggling fat and all, satisfied and contented.

Second training on Wednesday, 5pm. Go, Red Team, Go!

N.B: I had grilled lamb chops and salad for dinner. No rice! But I think the mushroom sauce kinda spoiled the diet. Haha.

Primordialisme

Yesterday, I was still Laskar Pelangi-less. I went to my tailor in Pertama Complex to alter (read: besarkan, increase size) my baju kebayas for Raya 2009 and vowed to stop by the Melayu bookstore on the ground floor to find the book.

Hummpphh... not only did I NOT manage to alter my baju kebayas (tailor: “ey.. ini mana boleh alter, 5,6 inci mana boleh? You kurus dulu baru you datang balik. Baju kebaya ini you tinggal sini la, bawa balik rumah pun you tarak boleh pakai!”), the Melayu bookstore owner did NOT have the book as well (bookstore owner: “Laskar Pelangi? Waahh itu sold out la, susah carik woo!”).

But today, I am the proud owner of my first Indonesian book. *kembang semangkuk*

Started the day by giving Aiden his morning, erm... mid noon bath. After giving Aiden his meal, I got ready for another shopping spree. This time, it is the Metrojaya VIP sale! Unfortunately, I was not the only one anxious for retail therapy – proven by my failure to secure a parking spot in MidValley, and I was too lazy to tawaf the whole building to find the Gardens parking entrance. And I did not want to waste precious shopping time, thus I gave the car to the Gardens valet. Hah! *mengada*

Had lunch with a friend of mine at Italianese. He was on his way to my house to visit Aiden but because I already had a date with Metrojaya, he decided to pass Aiden’s gift to me by joining me for lunch. Malek has been my friend since I was shipped off to the Pipeline camp (subsequently to the Onshore Processing Facility) in Sakhalin by the Dutch oil company. Back in 2006, it was minus 7degC when I arrived in subzero Sakhalin as a graduate engineer, all bright eyed and raring to go. Malek was my first Malaysian friend. Okay, second Malaysian friend, but forget about the first – because the first was more interested in making me his third wife. Haha. Despite the 17 years of difference in age, we ‘clicked’. And amazingly, we can still talk about anything and everything. And as he is the last Malaysian to leave the Sakhalin II project, there shall be no more gossips about the latest Sakhalin hick-up, the bimbo secretaries and the harsh winter. Damn, after spending 2 years in Sakhalin, I never thought I would actually say this, but I miss Sakhalin!

After passing Aiden’s present and the oh-so-adorable Matryoshka Russian Doll blankie that Malek got for me, to the valet for safe keeping (and because I wanted my hands free for Metrojaya) *very mengada*, I walked over to MidValley. Decided to stop by MPH to look for the elusive Laskar Pelangi. Was very disappointed when the MPH guy checked his computer and told me that the book wasn’t available. Dejected, I walked slowly towards the exit. Then suddenly, I saw it! Stacks and stacks of Laskar Pelangi on a shelf near the exit! Now very disappointed with MPH workers. Hummpphh!

I shall spare you the gory details of my shopping spree: the wait for fitting rooms, the displeasure of finding out that I am now one size bigger - thanks to Aiden, the aching legs, the slow nak mampus cashier, the thin wallet, my pestering Aunty on the phone who was making me feel very guilty for leaving Aiden at home, the Datuk who tried to chat me up while waiting for the valet to deliver our cars, the traffic jam, and the bugger with the besi tong biskut car who tried to sodok masuk my lane. Oh, I just gave you the summary of the gory details. Haha.

I am now at page 3 of Laskar Pelangi. Why page 3? Because my Aunty was making me laugh my head off when she tried to read it as well, and couldn’t understand the word meneduhi. And she claims that keringat is an Indonesian word. My oh my, how much the Bahasa Melayu/Malaysia/Melayu has evolved since she left school 40 years back!

Wish me luck! Because I am having trouble with the word primordialisme. Aacckk!!

N.B: Remember to keep your book receipts for tax deduction purposes!