Cendawan Portobello Sumbat Daging

Star Q

i.  Bengkel Kajisemula 2015

ii.  Sliced Peach Cake

iii.  Parents Hazy About Responsibilities

There's something so alluring about these meaty brown mushrooms that whenever I go to supermarkets and I see that they are available, I will purchase them without fail.  My friends always ask me what I do with this huge cup-shaped mushroom, and I literally them to stuff it!

Not Homemade

Star Q

i.  SISC As I See It

ii.  Trust School- SMK Semenchu

iii.  La Sopresa

Okay!  I'm guilty!  We're only just into the second week of Eid, but there are days when I simply cannot get myself to get up early to prepare food to fill my lunch box.  Sometimes I find it difficult to wake up early simply because I had to sleep late the night before and also because sometimes I feel to too lazy to take out the frying pan in the morning and prepare food from scratch.

Simple Beef Stew

Star Q

i.  A Place for Everything

ii.  Complete Lesson Plan

iii.  Sambutan Hari Guru Pra-U

This is another dish that uses whatever ingredients that have been lying in the fridge because there were too many of them.  This usually happens when I buy in bulk due to the cheaper prices of the ingredients or sometimes I buy them because I just fancy how they look; usually due to their freshness or their sudden availability in the market after a long absence.  Well, like local fruits, vegetables have their own seasons too.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Star Q

i.  Perkhemahan Pengawas

ii.  Writing Using Tree Branches

iii.  Children Are Affected...

I remember having my first ever jacket potatoes when I was with some friends at Leeds Market way back when.  The autumn weather was quite cold (to us at least!)  and even though we had already had our breakfast before visiting the market, we were already feeling very hungry.  The sight of heavy steam coming from the stalls selling food seemed as if they were beckoning for us to come near.

Nasi Daging / Beef Rice

Star Q

i.  Therapeutic Gardening

ii.  Perkemahan Perdana di Kem Asahan

A teacher's work is never done.  Sometimes I think to myself if it is really worth all the hard work, sacrificing your weekends that you can spend with your family, just so that you can be with your students!  I mean, isn't spending more than eight hours a day for five days a week with the students more than enough?  In reality, on those working days, once you come home, you are drained out of your energy to entertain your family.  So, that is why I really look forward to the weekends.

Pomelo Salad with Tripe/Kerabu Limau Bali & Babat

Star Q

i.  Kuswadinata : The Passing of a Star

ii.  Stay Safe, Kids

Chinese New Year sees a lot of fruits that we normally do not get all year round.  Unlike apples and oranges for example, Pomelos usually appear when it gets closer to celebrating the Luna New Year and slowly makes it exit almost after the fifteenth.  There are two main types of pomelos; the pink-fleshed ones and the white-fleshed ones.

Turmeric Flower Kerabu/Kerabu Bunga Kunyit

Star Q

i.  Salam Buatmu, Saudara Baru

ii.  Making Sense of Education Expenses

It's been a busy first week of school this new year and it's not surprising that this is only my second entry for January 2013.  Too much focus on work (which is not a bad thing, I guess) has taken up most of my time.  Even when I am at home, I am already too tired to do anything else, but to lie down and relax my aching muscles and mind!

Beef Rendang Sendayan

Star Q

i.  CPT - Keeping Us in the Dark

ii.  Penyerahan Slip Keputusan

Today is Idul Adha, and unlike Idul Fitri celebrated two months back, we are celebrating it here in our own home.  I guess it is a different feeling to celebrate Raya in your own home, especially being the elder in the family, you wait for your children to come home, to celebrate the festivity with you and your better half.

Spaghetti Carbonara Ala Malaysiana

Star Q

i.  Mind Your Manners

ii.  Ceramah Teknik Menjawab

The preparation of this dish has been long overdue and my better half has been sulking due to the delay.  She has, in fact, been asking me to prepare it since way back, ever since she had the less than satisfactory verstion of this Spaghetti Carbonara at one of the so-called famous Pizza outlet! In fact, after one mouthful, she shoved the plate to me, and I, in turn, shoved it to one corner of the table; forgetting about it forever!

Lunch Box #2 : Streaky Beef Wrap

Star Q

i.  Walk The Talk Or Just Walk Away

ii.  Satu Lagi Kes

I have completed the six-day non-obligatory fasting during the month of Syawal.  So, this morning it was back to thinking of what to bring (tapow!) for brunch at school.  It's a good thing we just came back from Seremban yesterday and had stopped by Jusco 2 (now AEON) and Seremban 2 Tesco, where I managed to get some of my favorite things!

Bakso Nasi Impit

Star Q

i.  Mobiles In School?  Not Yet Okay!

ii.  Pre-U Raya Open House

There comes a time when you come to a mental block and you simply cannot think of anything to cook.  With picky eaters (like one of my kids), cooking is always a challenge to the point that you give up thinking about what to cook.  So, when all else fail, the missus and I would usually resort to something simple.  Sometimes simple works best!

Beef Dendeng

Star Q

i.  A Matter Of Time Management

ii.  Pre-U Raya Open House

This year's Raya celebrations has been a busy one with guests coming over almost every day (Thank God, they came in small groups!)  It was not much of a challenge trying to think of dishes to prepare for our guests.  In fact, I enjoyed thinking of and preparing menus for them.  I can't say the same for the missus because she is the one who spends most of the time in the kitchen!

Chicken Curry Pilaf

Star Q

i.  Dizzy Driver

ii.  Eid Mubarak

It's the first day back from 'balik kampung' after Eid Mubarak and the missus had tons of things to do; from cleaning the house to washing loads of dirty clothes, to taking out the good china to preparing the cookies.  However preparing lunch was not one of them, and so, I was left to my own resources to prepare lunch.  This I know because she was quiet direct in telling that she won't be preparing lunch!

Beef Stew

Star Q

i.  To Pray Or To Play?

ii.  Serah Tugas!

Stews have been a long-time favorite of mine ever since I can remember.  It certainly beats the ordinary soup that we Malays are so often used to; the ones with the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and other spice mix.  We are so used to the type of soup where we dunk the beef into, either cold stock or one where the aromatics have been sauteed.  

Egg Noodle Soup ala Vietnamese

Star Q

i.  The Best Present For A Teacher

ii.  Another Form 6 Cook Off

One off my favourite cooking programme on telly is Taste Takes Off on Channel 703.  It is more of a documentary programme which takes the viewers to specific places, mainly in Australia, and introducing certain dishes from those places.  

Beef Ribs with Jackfruit

Entries in My Other Blogs :

i.  Voluntary Displays of Vandalism

ii.  Painting the New History Galleria

There are some food that I try to avoid but my family seem to love them.  Take beef ribs for example.  I have long made a huge attempt to avoid eating ribs at all cost even though I was the one who prepared the dish.  And the dish can turn out to be so delicious that everybody in the house would be smacking their lips in agreement; but I would remain steadfast in my resolution that I shall not eat beef ribs.

Beef Bolognese Roll

Entries in My Other Blogs :

i.  Smoking During Lessons in School

ii.  Perjumpaan 3 Penjuru

I remember, once upon a time, many moons ago, my late mum making her rolled up curry puffs; not the semi-circular ones where you crimp the edges.  Hers was rolled up and then twisted into a bun, almost like a chignon, then cut into sizable portions and baked.

I have always wanted to try making her rolled curry puff which she called 'Karipap Sanggul Mak Inang'; a beautiful name and one that is so apt, considering the shape of the roll is just like a lady's hair bun!  But I have always been afraid that what I might come up with, will not do her or the dish justice.  

Curry Burger with Avocado

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I only have oats every day (maybe minus the odd Saturdays and Sundays!)  Even though, it may seem light, having oats does take me through the day, at least until 11.00 or 11.30 when it is just right for brunch.  That is the time I will have something a bit heavier that will satisfy me until I have my main meal at 4.00 in the evening.

Fun Frikandels

One of the things that all my kids love to eat is frikandel (or 'bergedil' in Malay)  Frikandel, which were initially made to accompany our Soto Nasi Himpit as part of the garnish has now evolved into a food on it's own, a side dish and some times (more often than not!) as my kids' snack!

So it is no wonder that my wife (with my help) prepared a large batch of frikandel to take to Seremban where our daughter is working part-time while waiting for her SPM examination results.  I find preparing this dish a bit tedious due to the many steps taken.  Thankfully, eating it is such a pleasure and quite addictive.  As with many popular dishes which have many variations, this is my version!

Kacang Foul Kak Mar

I woke up this morning thinking about my duty as master of ceremony for a farewell event that will take place in school on 3rd February come next Friday.  The poignant event will be to bid adieu to a very dear friend whom I now regard as an elder sister, who will be retiring after having been in the teaching profession for more than thirty years.  

I feel saddened by her departure but I will always remember the many things that she has taught me for all the sixteen years that I have known her.  She has told me to be humble to colleagues no matter how high I rise in rank (Insya Allah, if God permits!) and not to do unto others (bad things) what have been done unto you.  I will also remember many things through her actions, like going to class right on the dot and always reciting 'Bismillah' as she gets up to leave her table in the staff room.