Alhamdulillah for a lovely lunch
We were given a lovely treat by br. Sharin Low at his fine dining restaurant today. It was a sort of thank you lunch to show his appreciation for the effort by the working committee.
Heavy lunch is often enough to last us till next morning. Today I had a fairly heavy lunch, though I managed to discipline myself to only one medium bowl of white rice. Its difficult to have a full Chinese meal without rice. Some dishes may be a little salty and its not suitable for consuming it by itself.
Light and Easy Supper
Its better to prepare some garlic butter just in case anyone gets a little hungry at night. We normally skip dinner if we had a heavy lunch or tea. How much can our bodies take, forcing our liver and kidneys to work even harder when we overeat. Just imagine the amount of abuse our bodies have to endure when we decided to have an extra meal - unnecessarily.
Its better to enjoy some fresh fruit juice or a blend of vegetable juice or yogurt shake. Some buttered garlic toast may be just right for hungry people who do not want to over eat at night. Light supper is better that heavy rice or noodles for me.
We can have plain toast with some leftover clear vegetable soup or just boil an egg and add a few dashes of light soya sauce and pepper. I welcome hot garlic toast using white sandwich bread, French baguette or homemade bread. Just prepare some garlic butter, keep it in the fridge for a couple of days for a snack.
How to do it
Garlic Butter
Half block of Softened salted butter
Finely chopped garlic - 2 tsp or more
Freshly ground black pepper
white pepper
Just mix everything and season to taste with a little sea, rock or mountain salt. So easy when we are in the mood for a quick snack.
Butter one side of the bread, no need to trim the crusts. Turn the bread over and spread butter generously . Pop it in the mini oven toaster or place several pieces on the oven tray and toast it in the oven.
Its ready when the surface starts to turn golden brown, Remove quickly before it burns as it will continue to toast after its left on the cooling rack. Serve with some salad or soup. Yum..
Another quick snack for lazy or busy folks :
Tomato and Cheese Sandwich
It can served as an open sandwich or sandwiched together in the sandwich toaster. Its really hot and juicy so be careful of the hot tomato and cheese when you try to bite into it.
Butter the bottom side of the bread. Place a slice of cheddar cheese on top and ad 1 thin slices of ripe red tomatoes, seeds removed. If you like, top it with another slice of cheese. Cover with another piece of buttered bread and place it in the oven or sandwich toaster. Buttering the top and bottom will give a nice crispy golden surface. Watch out for the steam!!!
No Cooking Ikan Bilis Sambal Toast
Actually I also used to prepare sambal sandwich with the leftover ikan bilis sambal from nasi lemak . Just sandwich and pop it into the sandwich toaster. I had a customer who ate this very regularly and obviously its her favourite.
Sardines and Toast
Everyone knows how to do this. Just add some sliced or minced fresh onions and red and green chillies. Chopped bits of pineapple can be tasty too. Serve with sliced cucumber, tomatoes and leafy greens.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Quick Cooking - prawn sambal!!!
Craving for prawn sambal
Had been thinking of prawn sambal for the past week. Some people stay away from squids and prawns as we know that fishermen sometimes do use too much preservatives to keep their catch in saleable condition. They have been known to add formaldehyde to the seafood. You probably know that this same ingredient is generally used to preserve dead corpses.
We also know that some people add msg to the dried prawns etc. I also decided to omit the belacan though it gives a nice touch.These days I too had tried to avoid prawns unless its once a blue moon.
Already shelled the prawns though they could be tastier with shell intact. Kept the tails for show. Its really quick when the prawns are ready. I freeze them immediately after shelling. Maybe they will be a little less toxic with shells removed.
This is how I make my instant prawn sambal
3 large red onions
7 or 8 cloves of garlic
4 to 5 tablespoons of olive oil
1+ 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of ground chili paste
1/2 to 1 tablespoon of molasses sugar
1 tsp salt or to taste
white pepper
some slices of ginger
1/4 to 1/2 cup of water
1/2 fresh lemon, juiced
(that's because I ran out of asam jawa/tamarind paste)
Optional : petai which I really like
finely sliced limau purut leaves
Method
Just blend the onions and garlic coarsely, I like the texture of softened sweet onions.
When nicely browned and fragrant, add the sliced or blended/grated ginger and chili paste.
Add the molasses sugar, salt to taste and some water to make some tasty gravy.
Make sure the mixture is bubbly hot when you add the prawns to ensure they get
thoroughly cooked. Once prawns are cooked squeeze some lemon juice over them and give a quick stir. Taste and dish out. It takes only 30 minutes to prepare and cook. Nice with hot rice and a salad.
Eat it with some fresh vegetables
Today I steam cooked some cauliflower. Too busy to go marketing. I like to raid the fridge and clean it up before I buy some more. Wasted too much in the past.
Fresh cucumber and pineapple and tomato salad would be great too. A quick scrambled egg with sliced onions fried in olive oil made it extra nice.
Simple meal
Its a simple meal that can be put together very quickly. Also steam boiled some Jasmine extra long basmati rice. Any leftovers can be frozen or used as fried rice the next day.
We enjoyed it as it had been raining and the cool air that breezed in was chilly, as the house is facing the mountain. Alhamdulillah!
Had been thinking of prawn sambal for the past week. Some people stay away from squids and prawns as we know that fishermen sometimes do use too much preservatives to keep their catch in saleable condition. They have been known to add formaldehyde to the seafood. You probably know that this same ingredient is generally used to preserve dead corpses.
We also know that some people add msg to the dried prawns etc. I also decided to omit the belacan though it gives a nice touch.These days I too had tried to avoid prawns unless its once a blue moon.
Already shelled the prawns though they could be tastier with shell intact. Kept the tails for show. Its really quick when the prawns are ready. I freeze them immediately after shelling. Maybe they will be a little less toxic with shells removed.
This is how I make my instant prawn sambal
3 large red onions
7 or 8 cloves of garlic
4 to 5 tablespoons of olive oil
1+ 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of ground chili paste
1/2 to 1 tablespoon of molasses sugar
1 tsp salt or to taste
white pepper
some slices of ginger
1/4 to 1/2 cup of water
1/2 fresh lemon, juiced
(that's because I ran out of asam jawa/tamarind paste)
Optional : petai which I really like
finely sliced limau purut leaves
Method
Just blend the onions and garlic coarsely, I like the texture of softened sweet onions.
When nicely browned and fragrant, add the sliced or blended/grated ginger and chili paste.
Add the molasses sugar, salt to taste and some water to make some tasty gravy.
Make sure the mixture is bubbly hot when you add the prawns to ensure they get
thoroughly cooked. Once prawns are cooked squeeze some lemon juice over them and give a quick stir. Taste and dish out. It takes only 30 minutes to prepare and cook. Nice with hot rice and a salad.
Eat it with some fresh vegetables
Today I steam cooked some cauliflower. Too busy to go marketing. I like to raid the fridge and clean it up before I buy some more. Wasted too much in the past.
Fresh cucumber and pineapple and tomato salad would be great too. A quick scrambled egg with sliced onions fried in olive oil made it extra nice.
Simple meal
Its a simple meal that can be put together very quickly. Also steam boiled some Jasmine extra long basmati rice. Any leftovers can be frozen or used as fried rice the next day.
We enjoyed it as it had been raining and the cool air that breezed in was chilly, as the house is facing the mountain. Alhamdulillah!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
TV 9 Safiyah interview of 'the Beauty of Covering Up'
TV 9 Interview
The past few days I had been receiving reminders and questions about my expected appearance on TV3 today, 2nd October. Even just before the airing I kept getting reminders and calls. I appreciate the caring and support of my dear sisters and FB friends. I also made some new friends through these interviews. Alhamdulillah.
Surreal Feeling
It felt very unreal - most of the interviews I had were always direct telecast. I did not really have the chance to watch how I conducted the interviews. My command of Bahasa Malaysia was only average and I was concerned I would not be able to express my thoughts adequately After all making dawah in just a few minutes is not always easy.
Today was no different because though I had enough notice, I was at a meeting to discuss ibadah and dawah fisabilillaah. I had to decide between watching the program comfortably at home or to sacrifice that moment. Of course I hope to be able to obtain a copy of the airing. Just for records purposes as the pretty young lady had sportingly modelled some of my Oriental cheongsam jubahs for me.
Islam is for everyone
I wanted to remind people that they do not have to dress like a Malay or any particular nationality to practise Islam. So long we dress modestly following the requirements found in Al Quran and the hadiths, it is good enough. So Chinese reverts can continue wearing Oriental cheongsams and samfoos so long they are adapted to Islamic requirements. So Simple!
I was a little curious but not too keen to see my self on tv. There is nothing much to see , keeping a low and modest profile and learning to age gracefully. Given up makeup many years ago. It was not an easy decision as some of us love to look well groomed and beautiful, even if no one is watching. Just for own pleasure and satisfaction. For our own self esteem.
Those were the days :)
There had been a time when I enjoyed dressing up a bit more glamorously. I loved beautiful clothes and had my own boutique but I had chosen to leave those days behind.
Not because I am getting on in years - actually when people grow older, only their physical selves show visible signs of aging. Every elderly woman would feel just as young at heart as the young lady sitting next to us. But we do need to look in the mirror to see the gradual change in us.
Gentle Reminder to Get Real
A gentle reminder that its time to move on to more important things, like preparing for our final journey.... to make sure we end up in the best destination, insha Allah.
We too were young once
We used to be that young lady sitting next to us. We can still remember all the things we did when we were younger. But Allah's laws cannot be reversed -- time passes and people age, only their hearts remain young. Perhaps that is really a good thing. To have maturity and wisdom of experience and yet the attitute of perpetual youth, still with a zest for life. Alhamdulillah! Allah knows best.
One day all too will lose their physical beauty
The physical body has to age. Weakness and ill health that may follow is to prepare us to accept the inevitable - our promised return to our Creator. Just imagine if we do not age physically, we will just go on living and enjoying like there is no tomorrow. We will not be preparing ourselves for our final journey until the Angel of Death stands in front of us.
Allah knows Best
So everything that may seem bad or negative can also be seen as something that is positive. After all, Allah always does what is best for us, though often we beg to differ. He knows what we do not know yet we sometimes oppose His guidance and reject even what is stated in Al Quran.
May Allah guide us and forgive our daily sins and mistakes. Ameen
The past few days I had been receiving reminders and questions about my expected appearance on TV3 today, 2nd October. Even just before the airing I kept getting reminders and calls. I appreciate the caring and support of my dear sisters and FB friends. I also made some new friends through these interviews. Alhamdulillah.
Surreal Feeling
It felt very unreal - most of the interviews I had were always direct telecast. I did not really have the chance to watch how I conducted the interviews. My command of Bahasa Malaysia was only average and I was concerned I would not be able to express my thoughts adequately After all making dawah in just a few minutes is not always easy.
Today was no different because though I had enough notice, I was at a meeting to discuss ibadah and dawah fisabilillaah. I had to decide between watching the program comfortably at home or to sacrifice that moment. Of course I hope to be able to obtain a copy of the airing. Just for records purposes as the pretty young lady had sportingly modelled some of my Oriental cheongsam jubahs for me.
Islam is for everyone
I wanted to remind people that they do not have to dress like a Malay or any particular nationality to practise Islam. So long we dress modestly following the requirements found in Al Quran and the hadiths, it is good enough. So Chinese reverts can continue wearing Oriental cheongsams and samfoos so long they are adapted to Islamic requirements. So Simple!
I was a little curious but not too keen to see my self on tv. There is nothing much to see , keeping a low and modest profile and learning to age gracefully. Given up makeup many years ago. It was not an easy decision as some of us love to look well groomed and beautiful, even if no one is watching. Just for own pleasure and satisfaction. For our own self esteem.
Those were the days :)
There had been a time when I enjoyed dressing up a bit more glamorously. I loved beautiful clothes and had my own boutique but I had chosen to leave those days behind.
Not because I am getting on in years - actually when people grow older, only their physical selves show visible signs of aging. Every elderly woman would feel just as young at heart as the young lady sitting next to us. But we do need to look in the mirror to see the gradual change in us.
Gentle Reminder to Get Real
A gentle reminder that its time to move on to more important things, like preparing for our final journey.... to make sure we end up in the best destination, insha Allah.
We too were young once
We used to be that young lady sitting next to us. We can still remember all the things we did when we were younger. But Allah's laws cannot be reversed -- time passes and people age, only their hearts remain young. Perhaps that is really a good thing. To have maturity and wisdom of experience and yet the attitute of perpetual youth, still with a zest for life. Alhamdulillah! Allah knows best.
One day all too will lose their physical beauty
The physical body has to age. Weakness and ill health that may follow is to prepare us to accept the inevitable - our promised return to our Creator. Just imagine if we do not age physically, we will just go on living and enjoying like there is no tomorrow. We will not be preparing ourselves for our final journey until the Angel of Death stands in front of us.
Allah knows Best
So everything that may seem bad or negative can also be seen as something that is positive. After all, Allah always does what is best for us, though often we beg to differ. He knows what we do not know yet we sometimes oppose His guidance and reject even what is stated in Al Quran.
May Allah guide us and forgive our daily sins and mistakes. Ameen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)