Magical Skies on Saturday

Today I saw some of the prettiest skies. Never thought id see such colors in my neck of the woods. I was waiting for the MRT at Tanah Merah MRT station and saw some breathtaking sights. The moon was out shining ever so brightly and in the background the sky was colored pinks blues whites all in soft tones. Such a pretty sight that I couldn’t resist taking pictures of them and I was lucky I had my camera with me .*thanks her lucky stars*.

On the other side nearing the town area where the sun was setting another group of colors appeared – pearl golds, peaches, oranges hehee sound like a fruit orchard. So here I present more pictures of the things that make me smile. My collection of colorful magical skies ….

Festival Light Up

This year’s festival of Eid light up are at two locations – Kampong Glam which is in the city and the other at the heart of Geylang – the hub of the Muslim community. The light up at Geylang was officiated last night where as the one in the city the weekend just before the start of Ramadan. I haven’t seen the lights at Geyland though I did have a chance to go and see the lights at the city and snap my fingers. This year’s lights are really pretty and simple. Kampong Glam, Arab Street, Bussorah Street were lined with colorful decorations of every color. A place of history and culture comes alive this month.

Welcome to my slide show of raya @ the city. The first four pictures are pictures of the start of the lights from the city side. This year they have used fish net like lights and adorned them with Eid greetings from a few languages like Malay, Indonesian, Urdu, Turkish, English & Chinese. That really shows the diversity in the Islamic faith I would think.

Slide 5 has a picture of the ‘ketupat’ just in case any one was wondering what the checkered square thing was adorned on the fish net. ‘Ketupat’ are actually rice cakes – a must for the Eid festival here. It’s made from coconut leaves. The casing is meticulously weaved into a square casing and filled with rice – it’s then steamed till it’s done. This is something I have yet to try to do. Every year it’s my mom and aunt who does this.

On slides 6 & 7 you will see the ‘wau bulan’. Wau bulan as explained in Wikipedia is an intricately designed Malaysian moon-kite (normally with floral motifs) that is traditionally flown by men in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. The greeting on the same light fish net is Salam Aidil Fitri – one of the many greetings we use to wish our friends and our family that is of course in the Malay language.

On slide 8, you will see the Indonesian greeting of Eid – Salam Lebaran. And next to it the symbol of the moon & star. On slide 9 you will see a hat like thing which is called a tudung saji. It is weaved from coconut leaves and used to cover foods. This was popular back in the day though many people still use as it is a symbol of their tradition.

Slides 10 to 13 are the lights of Arab Street. Arab Street has a special place in my heart because this was where my family once had their business. My grandfather built his legacy right here on these streets. And while walking through the place, I am reminded of the many stories I was told.

Slides 14-15 are pictures of the food bazaars that sells a variety of food from local to western right down to the Mediterranean. I didn’t get a chance to sample any of the food because I went there after iftar (the breaking of fast) though there some stalls still open though most of them closed and there people who were just sitting around at the many restaurants there after enjoying a hearty meal.

I walked further right to the end of the street as you will see in slides 16 & 17. I did however make a turn to see snippets of Bussorah St (slides 18-20) from the other side. Slide 21 and 22 are pictures of Arab Street from the other side and as you can see there is a greeting in Chinese too – how cool is that. *smiles*. The remaining slides are pictures of the lights from the road heading to the ECP expressway.

With all its simplicity, I liked the light up this year its pretty and colorful though I am sure the light up at Geylang is on a grander scale. With lights, bazaars and the amount of money that people will be forking out for the celebrations, I can’t help but wonder about that lady with her little girl sitting outside Sultan Mosque begging for money, how the remaining Ramadan will be for them or how Eid will be. During Ramadan, that area is flocked by people who live in poverty. They know that during this month where people are striving to do good deeds, they will give money without any reservation. The people who ask for money here usually old folks – I wonder where their family are, some people on wheelchairs, others with a lot of children, some with their food amputated. It is a heart wrenching sight and at the same time, it makes you reflect – makes you thankful for what you have and in many ways make sure that you don’t go over board in preparation for the coming Eid.

No intention of ending this blog entry on that note, but that is the reality its something that you just cant deny or not think about even if you tried.

Anyways, hope the light up slide show gives the reader a glimpse into the Eid festival celebrations here in Singapore. You can get more information of the raya in the city here …

http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/new/new03a.asp?id=9043

http://hariraya-thecity.com.sg/

my greatest blessing - my Mother

Ever so often I am reminded of the strength and fighting spirit of the women in my family. The strength that they show is inspiring and I am often in awe just thinking about. With strength and a sense of independence along side a fighting spirit that puts this generation to shame is a heart so kind and compassion shining through.

The times when my mom was sick in august with her mini stroke and eventual double fall, it was a period of déjà vu for all of us because grandma started out that way when age start showing itself and health starts to deteriorate. But in spite of the pain and having people to care for them hand and foot they fought they fought hard and so did mom and in spite of her being sick she thought of others – showed her love and compassion and giving nature.

With the coming of Ramadan her worry was her inability to fast – she managed the first day but had to skip for about 3 days to fully get herself better and by the 5^th day of the fast she fasted again and have been doing so till now. Her want and he perseverance is truly an inspiration to me. Even though she is not fully recovered, not being able to sit for long hours and has to be hauled around on a wheelchair, she still fights. Just a few days ago she helped in preparing food for the old folks and orphans the Arab association here was hosting for iftar or the breaking of fast.

Ramadan is a time of giving and also a time of reflection and realization. My mom may not be as fit as she was last Ramadan but that fighting spirit still lives in her as does her giving nature. I am writing this because I know I will come to this blog when I feel overwhelmed with responsibilities and the curve balls that life throws at me and I am reminded of this wonderful woman I call mom. I have seen her fall and get back up again – not giving up.

When she was sick those few weeks in August she remembered her promise to my grand aunt who is suffering from cancer in Kuala Lumpur. She promised to visit her but alas my moms own medical condition prevented her from doing so. It bothered her that she couldn’t make the trip; she was upset thinking that my grandaunt would be upset. She felt really bad but got better when she called my grand aunt and explained her own situation – the look of relieve on her face really explained her feelings the few days before.

My mother is a lot like grandma when it comes to fighting and giving. She thinks of others and often puts others ahead of her. She never shows her the hardships she often has to endure – she puts on a happy face and as far back as I can remember she has always been this way.

My mother is the aunt loved by all. They love having her around and often go to her for advice and comfort. She never forgets people’s niceness to her and she makes sure she returns the favor two fold – you could call it paying it forward. This Ramadan she made a list of my cousins and aunties name because she wanted to give them spicy peanut gravy so they have them for either their morning meals or the breaking of fast. She bought little hand towels from Indonesia because she wanted to give them to my cousins – it’s a simple enough gesture but it means a lot because it shows me the wonderful person she is – my love for her has no bounds and it just warms my heart to see do these things for others.

The inspiration for this blog came from a phone call my mom had last night from her own cousin who is deaf and lives alone with her maid. Her cousin called to do the whole Ramadan formalities and then asked for cakes. She said mom made the best ‘kuih lapis’ a spicy layered caked she wanted to order one for Eid so my mom said ok. She also wanted some cookies but this year however mom isn’t making any for sale. So feeling sorry for her cousin mom made some calls this morning to find cookies for her. Her enthusiasm is amazing. Making calls and getting things ready – my mom the lady with a heart of gold. It’s always the little things that she does for others which leaves me speechless and make me want to be a lot like her.

Even though were not always agreeing (due to the generation gaps), we do have out ups and downs (who doesn’t). As I get older I begin to see even more just how beautiful her heart truly is – it shows in all the little things that she does. In not so many words, I learnt so much from her and everyday it seems I learn more. Her compassionate, strength, courage, love for others and her fighting spirit are just some of the traits I truly admire. I know I am truly blessed to have a woman like her in my life to call Ummi – which means mother.

Love What You're Doing

I can really relate to this write up from Daily Inspirations. It’s about loving what you do even when there are setbacks in your life. There are two things that I love doing baking & writing and I have noticed when life seems to be too overwhelming I tend to stop – loose motivation. I can’t afford for this to happen in my love for baking because it will be my source of income someday.

I remembered a few months ago when someone I know promised me a big cake order, they came over for a cake tasting and consultation. They choose a cake and the favors and only to come back later and tell me someone else was sponsoring their wedding cake & favors so they had to cancel the order. That almost killed my passion for ever wanting to venture into the cake business but mom who has been running the business for over 50 years comforted me and really thinking back this was a woman who has been doing what she loves which is baking & cake decorating for over 50 years and still loving it in spite of the loss of a husband and the illnesses that came her way. That was motivation enough for me to want to continue to do this. Apart from it being a legacy it’s something I love doing so thanks Ummi for being the cake wonder that you are …..

Having cancelled orders is probably a small price to pay compared to having physical challenges or health challenges. I think a bad back is not something to hold one back from baking – nothing a good massage wont fix.

I am very inspired by this write up and I hope it inspires who ever reads this in not giving up your passions and the thing you love to do in spite of the setbacks.

Love What You’re Doing …

You've got to love what you're doing. If you love it, you can
overcome any handicap or the soreness or all the aches and pains,
and continue to play for a long, long time." ~ Gordie Howe

Hockey legend Gordie Howe (1928-), born in Floral, Saskatchewan,
played for 32 years, spanning five decades (1946-1980), more than
any professional athlete in any team sport.

When Mr. Hockey retired on this day in 1980, he held nearly every
NHL scoring record, including most goals (801), most assists
(1,049), and most games played (1,767).

"If you've lost a game and learned nothing, then you've truly lost,"
he once observed.

Howe's passion for hockey began when he was six. Growing up, he used
newspapers for shin pads and old tennis balls for pucks. At 18, he
played for the Detroit Red Wings, then three years later survived a
near fatal head injury on the ice, crashing head-first into the
boards.

That was the first of many injuries for the resilient hero.
According to The Sporting News, Howe in hockey took more than 400
stitches and broke his nose and his ribs. "Gordie's gone through so
much in his career," reflected his wife Colleen. "You name it, he's
had it."

Following reconstructive surgery on both knees, Howe was diagnosed
with skin cancer on his left shin in November 1999. With an
excellent prognosis, the tough legend keeps going. "You find that
you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and
rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you
gave -- win or lose."

Wayne Gretsky said of Howe, "They always tell you when you meet your
heroes and idols, you walk away saying, 'Well, they're not that
nice, or just OK.' But Gordie, he was bigger and better than I ever
imagined."

~~You've got to love what you're doing

source:dailyinspiration.com

All teary over onions

Onions are a must in our cooking as it is in the foods the world over. In our cooking we use the red onions and the Spanish onion also known as Bombay onions. We also use shallots because of its slight sweet taste. I feel what makes our use of onions diffrent would be because of the fried onions or as we call it ‘bawang goreng’ in Malay. Bawang means onion and goreng means fry. Fried onions are not the result of the usual browning or sautéing of onions and putting it aside for use – its actually deep fried to a crisp, drained and then kept for future consumption in an air tight container.

We use both the red onion and shallots to make our fried onions. The fried shallots are usually used for garnishing and to add a little extra flavor to the dish whereas the fried red onions are used in cooking in foods like briyani, syam and sometimes even potato cakes.

The shallots equals little fried onions below..

And the beautiful red onions equals these delicious fried onions below ..

The process of making these fried onions are easy enough if you’re willing to cry along the way. The skins are removed and the shallots and onions are sliced thinly ( it does sound pain staking) doesn’t it .. They are then deep fried until crispy. After which the excess oil is drained and the finished product stored in an air tight container.

These fried onions can actually be store bought but nothing beats home made right?. I have never made this but I have watched the domestic helpers at my auntie’s make them. My mom would buy the onions and have these ladies make it for her. I salute them for having to bear so much.. Maybe they are use to it .

If anyone’s curious about the taste of these fried onions, you should really consider making them. All you need are onions, oil for deep frying. When you are frying the onions make sure the flame is at medium. After it’s done, cool it and store in air tight containers. You can even store in the fridge after to prolong its shelf life.

So if you try don’t cry ;) because the end result is worth …

Risking Syam...

Today I took a risk – not the kind of risks that are life changing or anything just a risk in cooking a dish that I dread – I have cooked it a few times and it didn’t come out the way mom did it – which left me helpless. I love the way she makes it and hers and my late grandma’s version are the only versions I eat – yeah I can be a fussy eater sometimes *grin*..

So anyways the dish in question is simply called ‘masak syam’. To translate it directly it would mean ‘cooking syam’ though it really means a dish from Syam . Back in the say Syria was known as Syam at least that’s my understanding and till this day the older folks in my family refers to Syria as Syam.

Masak Syam or Syam Stew as I like to call it in English, is a simple and delicious dish. Its an easy dish to put together when you have the correct recipe – I obviously didn’t (shame on me heheee). My mom wanted to have that for the morning meal – and I had the daunting task of cooking it. To be on the safe side I asked that she gave me the recipe again and yes I did mess up the first few times probably because I missed certain steps – what was I thinking then………

I have to admit I wasn’t really confident in making it this time round but as I went along and saw that it started to look a lot like how mom & grandma made it I was a happy camper. I didn’t taste it yet so I don’t know how it turned out really it looks the same now it all comes down to the taste.- I am waiting for mom to have it and see what she says., ill update later ..

Masak Syam is something we grew up on. Its part of a long list of family recipes which bring back memories and are worth keeping. It’s like curry but minus the heat. You can even call it a stew. The choice of meat can be either beef mutton or chicken. And it can be eaten with rice or a variety of breads like pita bread, French loaf or whatever bread you have at hand. Masak Syam is tomato base as many of the dishes that originate from the Mediterranean.

For my friends observing the fast you might like to try this recipe – I guarantee it’s yummy. I have included the recipe with this blog entry,,

The measurements are how I make it , because when I was taught this recipe a few years ago I was not given accurate measurements it was a pinch of this or two pieces of this – it seems back in the day cooking was done playing by ear. But this is the closest I can get to accuracy and I hope it turns out just as well ..

Here is my version followed the recipe …

Masak Syam or Syam Stew

Ingredients

300gm beef sirloin thinly sliced about ½ inch thick.

(any choice of meat is fine and any cut)

2 potatoes cut in circles

3 tomatoes (coarsely chopped)

One handful fried onions*

2 cloves

2 cardamoms

½ inch cinnamon stick

½ tbsp cumin power

¼ tbsp black pepper powder

½ tbsp ginger & garlic paste.

(you can adjust the spices to suit your tastebuds)

Ghee (clarified butter)

(olive oil can be used for a healthier alternative)

Salt to taste

Method

1. Slice meat then boil meat in water until tender.
2. Once the meat is tender, throw in the whole spices and fry the meat with ghee for about 5 mins.
3. Mix the cumin power, black pepper powder & ginger garlic paste with a little water to form a paste.
4. add the spices to the meat and fry for another 3 minutes or until the flavors are infused
5. Add the tomatoes and a cup of water and cook until the tomatoes are mashed – half way through add the potatoes.
6. After the potatoes are mashed add the fried onions and about a ½ cup of water and salt. Simmer for about 10mins or until the potatoes are tender or you reached the consistency that you like.

If you like it thick or with a little more gravy you can add in more tomatoes. The tomatoes will give out a golden brownish tone when combined with the fried onions. If you’re wondering what fried onions are, the explanation is on my next blog.

I hope someone tries this, trust me its worth the effort .....

Happy Cooking ....

Evening Sky @ Straits View

Evening Sky in Johore on Saturday 6th September. Spent the weekend with family & manage to take a picture of the evening sky from the wet wet kicthen while waiting for the call to pray to mark the end of the fasting day.

Food Unites!

Pictured are the extras for our family's favorite dish 'Bubur Cina' or Chinese Porridge. Its also known as congee and its delish! & thats my mom enjoying a bowl of poriddge hehee..

I want to create a food/cooking blog because I think it would be nice to share recipes with people from all over the world and if there was one thing that could unite the world FOOD would be it … And in recent years I have taken pictures of a whole of food that I have made and those made by others in the family and then there are those which are store bought. I have collected tons of pictures and looking through my Picasa2 (yes folks I have discovered FINALLY the wonderful world of Picasa2 by Google and learning to use it everyday) I find that it would be fun to create a blog specifically for food. It would definitely be a visual feast. (Don’t forget the drool bucket I tell myself)…

Another reason I wanted to do this was so I can have recipes from my current blogs imported to the food blogs for easy retrieval. Trust me sometimes the new recipes that I try I just blog about them and throw the piece of paper away which obviously causes me a lot of hassle when I want to try the recipe again and sometimes it takes forever to look for it on my blog seeing I cover a wide spectrum of topics in my blogs.

So I hope to start a blog soon and it will all be about food – recipes, pictures and not just mine – from friends , recipe books and the many searches I have done and recipes I have collected from the various sites online. Once ive done this goal ill post the link if anyone’s curious what kind of foods satisfies the pallets of the groovy island girl and her fellow islanders ….

See more progress on: start a food blog.

Thinking This Through

Ive been looking at this for a while and it seems like i have to give up on this goal rather put it on hold for a while in light of the events that have taken place in my life these past few weeks. If anything, its changed a lot of my set goals. I am still trying to get a handle on a lot of the changes though deep down i know i do want to eventually get a degree in early childhood education. Right now i could probably go for short courses on subjects , pertaining to his like speech & drama, phonics, creative writing all which i know can help in the teaching process and in the creative & social development of the pre schoolers.

Saving this for later isnt so bad, if anything i have to look on the brightside because what i have decided to undertake fully is just as rewarding.

Now my focus is with my current job and of course the cake business though i hope in the near future i can realize this dream but for now this goes into my for later box ..

See more progress on: Go back to school for my degree in early childhood education

Blue Skies in JB

I took these pictures while i was away at my uncles place in Johore Malaysia.. As you can see it was a beautiful day out and while the wind brought the smell of the sea to us, i snapped this picture to give me the full experience of being on an island when i was actually in town though having the coast right at your door step isnt too bad ..

Anyways the skies looked so beautiful that day .. I love the sky- the fluffy clouds, the calm blue sky .. its just so peaceful and the green just add more drama to the day ....

Occasionally some seagulls will fly by most of the time its the little sparrows who hang around waiting for food to be thrown at them ...

Just something i thought id share ..... :) Little things that make me smile ... Hope it brings a smile to anyone reading this too ..