Umrah Ziarah - Amazing Journey: Madinah Part II

 Masa kat Madinah kitaorang dibawa ziarah tempat-tempat bersejarah eg. Masjid Quba' , Masjid Qiblatain, Jabal Uhud dan ladang kurma. Kami tidak dibenarkan ke pasar kurma.

  Our first stop was Masjid Quba', masjid kesayangan Rasulullah SAWdan masjid pertama dibina oleh orang islam. Rasulullah SAW menziarahi Masjid Quba' pada tiap-tiap hari Sabtu. Alhamdulillah kami dapat ke sana pada hari Sabtu.Sabda Rasulullah SAW " Sesiapa yang bersuci (mengambil wuduk) di rumahnya kemudian pergi ke masjid Quba' lalu mendirikan sembahyang di dalamnya, ganjarannya samalah dengan pahala ibadat Umrah." 

Masjid Quba'

 Masjid Qiblatain ( Masjid 2 kiblat ), kami hanya lalu sahaja. Tidak sempat singgah untuk solat di situ. Disini diturunkan wahyu kepada Rasulullah SAW untuk memindahkan kiblat dari Masjidil Aqsa di Jurusalem ke arah Masjidil Haram di Mekah.

Nun jauh  Masjid Qiblatain

Jabal Uhud juga menjadi persinggahan kami. Kat sini banyak penjual-penjual cenderamata. Kami diingatkan tiada masa untuk shopping. Tapi..sempat la jugak beli tasbih..Murah je..Jabal Uhud ialah bukit kemerahan yang menjadi saksi gugurnya para Syuhada di Madinah. Berdekatan Jabal Uhud ada Bukit Pemanah @ Jabal Rumat. Ramai para jemaah memanjat bukit ini, tapi kumpulan kami tidak dibenarkan..Disini juga terdapat perkuburan para Syuhada yang di pagarkan dan ditutup dengan kepingan polycarbonate. Ini disebabkan banyak kes bidaah dilakukan oleh para jemaah. Tapi...ada la juga lubang kecil. Boleh la nak jenguk kat dalam perkuburan tu. Kat dalam perkuburan tiada sebarang tanda atau batu nisan.

Bukit Pemanah @ Jabal Rumat

Perkuburan Para Syuhada

Bukit Uhud

 Ladang Kurma menjadi persinggahan terakhir. Since visa dah chop muassasah, tak de la harapan nak ke pasar kurma. Kalau nak pegi pun kena pegi sendiri. Since masa sangat terhad di Madinah, tak sempat la ke pasar kurma sendiri. Beli je la kurma di ladang kurma ni yang of course lagi mahal. Masa ni kurma tak berbuah pun. Mutawif ada bagitau, kalau nak beli kurma yang afdal beli kurma ajwa dan barni kerana yang ni sunnah. Kurma ajwa original harga dalam SR110-120 per kg. Yang ni kami order kat mutawif je. Kawan dia ada ladang kurma kat madinah. Barni murah je. SR20 per kg. Chocolates & nuts baik beli kat luar je. Kat sini mahal. Chocolates SR40 per kg. Kat luar boleh dapat dalam SR20 je..

Ladang Kurma yang tak berbuah pun..:-)

Tea was served here

Borong Kurma..

Balik dari ziarah, sempat kami bersolat zohor di Masjid Nabawi. Since we all hanya 2 1/2 hari di Madinah, memang pulun la solat qadha selain solat fardhu untuk mencukupkan 40 waktu solat fardhu di Masjid Nabawi. Diriwayatkan hadith dari Anas bin Malik (r.a) hadith dari Nabi (s.a.w) "Barangsiapa bersolat 40 solat (yakni, solat fardu) di dalam masjidku tidak terputus solatnya ditulis baginya (pertama) terpelihara dari neraka dan (kedua) dijauhkan dari azab dan (ketiga) dipelihara dari sifat-sifat nifaq (atau, menjadi orang munafiq).

 Semasa kami di Madinah, cuaca nyaman je. Suhu dalam 26C. Seronok berada di bumi Madinah ni. Seperti di dengar, orang Madinah lebih berbudi bahasa dan lembut berbanding orang Mekah. Rindunya nak ke sini lagi.. 

 Madinah's landcsape..cantik..pokok kurma everywhere..

Happy Birthday Dear

Happy Birthday Sayang. May Allah gives you all the best things in life & thereafter.

Happy bufday papa..

Alysa's card

Ayra's card

 Hari ni malas le nak masak beriya for his birthday. Lagipun nak kena pack barang2 dapur cos dinding kat dapur dah nak kena pecah esok or lusa. Tadi K.Jun dah pack separuh je coz tak cukup kotak. Anyway, I did make a carrot cake before pegi kerja tadi. Buat separuh adunan je cos the princesses tak suka carrot cake. ( Well, Baby maybe ). Hubby lak cakap dia dah cemuih kat choc cakes. He requested something nutty. So, I used a carrot cake recipe yang masuk nuts.

 His birthday present, I bought a few days ago, something that he needs. Memula ingat nak beli online je. Tapi last minute, seriau lak. So baik tgk sendiri benda tu before beli. Masa pegi megamall tu rupa2nya kedai tu bukak lambat on Tuesday. Jenuh I menunggu.

 This weekend nak celebrate a few birthdays kat Jitra i.e mak's, hubby's & sukor's ( my BIL ). This time mungkin wat sate. Ada orang tu offer diri nak marinade. Tukang kipas ada. Tukang cucuk pun ada.Selalunya wat BBQ. Kali ni tukar pulak..:-)

Carrot Cake
Source: Here

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar ( I used brown sugar + caster sugar )
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ( I only used a bit )
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans ( I used almond )

1/2 cup butter, softened
250gm cream cheese, softened
3 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

Busy week

 This week mmg busy. On monday, Hubby was warded at KPJ Specialist Hospital. Pagi tu dia siap boleh p kerja lg eventhough ada le symptoms. Masa tgh kerja, sakit le pulak. Diorang offered nak jab, dia pulak tanak. ( Takut jab actually..:-) ). So, telan je ubat. Tp of course le kureng berkesan. On the way balik kerja, he called me ajak terus ke hospital coz tgh sakit. I plk tgh sibuk kat tmpat kerja. So, kelam kabut le settlekan apa2 yang patut. Be4 pegi this hospital, dia dah survey which hospital he wanted to go. So, he called his friend ( also his namesake ) who's working there to inform the specialist that he was on the way.

 Sampai je terus ke A & E. Tak tunggu lama pun terus specialist datang wat scan. Later the specialist told he emphatised with Hubby coz he had the same experience before. So, tau le sakit camne..;-). Lepas tu kena warded. Dia cuma cakap the next day nak buat another scan. Tp the next day tu rupa2nya dia nak operate le pulak. Tp Hubby dah tak dibagitau, ambik breakfast. Kena le puasa lepas tu. The operation was done at 3pm under GA. Lepas dia masuk OT, I terus balik rumah nak amik the princesses. Sampai kat hospital after 5pm, Hubby baru je disorong masuk bilik. Kena pulak inj pethidine. Terus tertidur tengah2 cakap.. We waited for him to wake up before we went home at 8pm. He was discharged the next day on wednesday. The thing that they took out from him during the operation was sent to Melbourne for analysis.

 Meanwhile, Alysa & Ayra kena pegi kindy with K.Liza. When I told them they had to go to school with Amirul, our next door neighbour, Alysa dah nangis nak jugak Papa hantar. I had to explain to her that papa was hospitalised. But, she was worried Amirul's father would forget to waith for them that morning. Macam2 le bebudak ni..

 Until today we still had visitors coming to visit Hubby. Tapi orang yang 'sakit' tu dah berjalan merata2. Siap pegi shopping at 2 shopping complexes lg hari ni..:-)

@ the ward. Waiting for papa to wake up

Sehari di KL

 Last week mmg sibuk betul. Tak plan pun ke KL. Tetiba Hubby ajak temankan dia ke KL utk selesaikan kerja dia. Kalau I tak ikut dia, dia nak wat day trip je. Kesian lak & risau gak dia drive sorang2. So, we headed to KL on thursday morning at around 8am. Reached KL around 11.30am. Terus ke Dayabumi Complex. After pusing cari parking 3-4 kali, managed to get to the office before 12pm. Alhamdulillah kerja selesai before lunchtime. Cepat betul!
 Since it was still early, we decided to play tourists. We went to Masjid Negara ( yang dah berkurun I tak pegi..rasanya the last time I went there was when I was in primary school..) for zohor prayer. Cramped kaki panjat tangga masjid. Nampak sangat tak fit or may be I need more calcium supplements. Tapi this time nasib my feet tak bengkak due to the long distance travelling.
 Lepas zohor, we went to Central Market.( the last time I went there when I was in AUSMAT ). Nothing much changed. Kedai buku yang boleh trade-in tu is still there..Lama betul bisnes pak cik tu..Kitaorang siap beli barang lagi kat situ..& had tea there. Lepas habis ronda CM, it was still early, so, we decided to drop by at Midvalley. Tempat yang sepatutnya dekat je dah jadi jauh coz Hubby asyik termiss jalan masuk ke situ. Tapi sampai gak hajat nak ke situ ( eventhough Hubby dah nak give up dah masa tu ).
 By the time we finished shopping, it was a good time to head to my nephew's place. Tapi singgah jap rumah my cousin in Sri Petaling for dinner. Dia jemput..Sampai rumah Ismadi ( my nephew), Wahyu dah siapkan dinner gak. So, 2 x dinner.
 I made some muffins ( again..) for the princesses & bawak buah tangan ke Putrajaya. Resepi dari dapur K.Ummi.

Choc Chips Muffins

Bahan:

1 3/4 cawan tepung gandum
1/4 cawan serbuk koko
1 cawan gula kastor
1 sk baking powder
1 sk soda bikarbonat
1/2 sk garam
1 cawan fresh milk
1 biji telur - pukul sikit
1/3 cawan minyak
1 sk esen vanila
3/4 cawan choc chips
Kepingan badam, hiasan

Cara Membuat:

1.Campurkan tepung, gula, serbuk koko, soda bikarbonat, baking powder dan garam. Ayakkan dan ketepikan.
2.Dalam bekas lain, campurkan susu, telor, esen vanila dan minyak. Kacau rata.
3.Masukkan campuran tepung tadi. Kacau rata.
4.Masukkan choc chips.
5.Sudukan adunan ke dalam muffin cups 3/4 penuh . Taburkan kepingan badam dan bakar selama 15 minit /hingga masak.

Surat Cinta & Sambal Goreng Tempe

 Hari ni tak pasal2 dapat surat cinta from PDRM. Ni Hubby punya pasal lah...( Dia jugak yang kena..:D). Dia suruh I ke Post Office coz dia nak terus ke masjid. Dah dekat dengan Kompleks Dato' Kailan tu, I pun lajak le ke situ nak beli susu & fruits. So, I parking le depan kedai buah. Tak sedar le pulak bila diorang bagi surat cinta tu. May be masa I tgh beli susu kat accross the road kut. Masa drive balik tu baru perasan ada surat terselit kat wiper. Slalu tak de problem pun parking depan gerai buah tu. Bulan posa kut..Diorang cari duit raya. Tak pasal2 je..spent RM60, Kena denda RM 50! ( Ye ke? Or more?Kesalahan parking..) Huwaa...dah mahal jadinya susu & the fruits. Dah le now ni mmg harga buah2an tgh mahal..Tapikan..Tak pe. Ada orang tu dipaksa volunteer nak bayar saman tu..Haha..
 Esok nak ke KL. Ni temankan Hubby le. Nak kena settlekan 2 benda kat 2 tempat. Hopefully sempat. Tu pun terpaksa cancel ke 3rd place. On the way back tu nak singgah rumah BIL kat Sekinchan. Since dia tak balik kg raya nanti, blh le jumpa siap2.
 For Iftar tadi I nak menghabiskan stok dlm fridge, I wat le nasi daging, sambal goreng tempe & cucur jagung. Hubby pn beli pulak murtabak & cendol kat bazar ramadhan. First time buat sambal tempe tu. Dah ada orang jawa dlm rumah ni teringin nak makan tempe..:D Selalu I goreng je kat dia. Hehe..Dasar isteri pemalas! Tadi saje je nak buat sambal. Resepi campak je. Tapi boleh refer kat sini.

Sambal Goreng Tempe

Nasi Daging
Source: Here

Bahan-bahan ( 5 orang )

1 kilo beras Basmathi
1/2 kilo daging
1 bungkus rempah sup bunjut Adabi
1 sudu besar rempah kurma
1 inci halia
1 batang kulit kayu manis
2 biji buah pelaga
Sedikit mentega/ minyak sapi ( I guna olive oil )
1/2 cawan tomato soup
1 cawan susu cair
sedikit garam

Cara-cara
1.Rebus daging bersama rempah sup bunjut Adabi, rempah kurma dan sedikit garam.
2.Pastikan daging empuk. Simpan air rebusan daging untuk masak nasinya.
3.Basuh beras dan toskan.
4.Tumis halia, kulit kayu manis dan buah pelaga didalam periuk nasi hingga naik bau.
5.Masukkan beras dan kacau sekejap.
6.Masukkan air rebusan daging. Kalau beras (disukat) satu mangkuk pastikan air rebusan juga satu mangkuk.
7.Bila beras sudah agak kembang, masukkan tomato soup dan susu cair. Kacau dan biarkan nasi masak. 8.Hidangkan Nasi daging dengan air asam (tomato, bawang besar, hirisan cili merah, air asam pekat, perahan limau kasturi, sedikit belacan, garam dan gula sesedap rasa) dan daging yang telah direbus tadi.
 
Note: I masak dalam rice cooker je sekali dengan daging. Daging lagi empuk. Senang kerja.

10th Ramadhan 1431

 Dah 1/3 way kita menjalani ibadah puasa. Bulan puasa ni macam malas je nak update blog. The first week of puasa sibuk balik kg. Now, masak pn ngam2 je time berbuka. Yelah, dah 6.30pm br nak masuk dapur. Kalau mak, 3pm dah masuk dapur. She spent 6x more time in the kitcken than I did..:-) Tu le yang dia masak org pn berselera nak makan.  I masak, utk hubby & the princesses tu kiranya habis le jugak.
 Yesterday, masak lebih sikit coz Hubby baru pegi top- up our bahan basah kat market. Nak pulak, masa ke masjid dia lupa bwk wallet. So, tak boleh le nak beli kuih- muih kat bazaar ramadhan depan masjid tu. So, ended up I siap buat kuih & starfruit juice lagi. Starfruit tu berlambak kat pokok sampai terbuang2. Nak dekat berbuka Syukur dtg hantar lauk pulak. Ila bagi lauk & dessert . Dia ikut resepi TTM kut. Siap bagi dragon fruit dari pokok diorang lagi. Mmg penuh meja la. Yang makan beriya Hubby & I le. The princesses makan nasi & sup sotong + keli goreng je.
 For kuih, I buat karipap roti sardin. Dapat idea from Harian Metro. Mmg simple & kena le dgn tekak I yg suka savoury kuih. 10 min dah siap. Ala-ala sardin roll. Tp Chef tu bagi nama karipap, I ikut dia je la..hehe..Kalau makan panas2 , crunchy sikit.

Karipap Roti Sardin

Bahan:
4-8 keping roti
1 tin kecil sardin, buang sos & hancurkan
1 bawang besar ; potong dadu
1 sb mayonaise, optional
sedikit garam
perahan limau nipis secukup rasa
minyak masak
1 sb tepung + 2 sb air ( Dibuat pes )

Cara:
1. Inti sardin: Tumis bwg besar dlm 1 sb minyak. Masukkan sardin, mayo, garam & perahan limau. Boleh juga masukkan potongan cili. Ketepikan.
2. Canai roti hingga leper. Trim kerak di kiri & kanan. Masukkan 1-2 sb inti sardin. Gulung & gam dengan pes tepung di hujung, kiri & kanan gulungan. Tekan kiri & kanan dengan garfu.
3. Ulang langkah 2 hingga habis inti. Goreng dalam minyak panas.

P/S: Yesterday hubby ada incident memalukan & funny kat bank. Kena tegur by a female bank officer " Doc, ada lipstick kat pipi" Hehe..Dah le kena tegur dpn staff len yang semuanya kenal dia. Tu la pompuan ni observant sikit. Yang officer lelaki yg dia jumpa tu tak perasan pun...Nasib kena tegur kat staff area! So, moral of the story, next time keluar rumah, belek2 le muka depan cermin tu ye...

Nasi Lemuni

 A few days ago Hubby buat projek tebang pokok lemuni kat our backyard. Punya le besar pokok ni, batang dia pun dah besar peha & tinggi pun dah lebih tinggi dari our house. I think this is the biggest lemuni tree that I've ever seen..:-) My mak pun cakap pokok ni besar. Pokok lemuni kat rumah arwah tok pun cekeding je. Kat rumah mak ( where we got the benih ) pun tak le besar mana pun.Ada sedara2 yang siap booked dahan dia if kitaorang nak tebang. Hari tu dah buat major trimming & pak teh dah ambik dahan yang besar lengan Hubby tu ( mmg besar le..hehe).
 Hubby ni kalau dia tanam pokok memang menjadi. Pokok yang tak de bunga pun boleh berbunga eg our pokok serai wangi ,aloe vera & inai (wangi betul bunga inai ni ). Tapi pokok buah tak menjadi lak..Pokok mangga ( chokanan ) yang dia tanam dia dah tebang coz tak berbuah..hehe..tension le tu.. Pokok mata kucing ( benih from MARDI, supposenya isi tebal..) pun dia nak tebang gak coz tanak berbuah. Tp I tak bagi. Tapi belimbing madu mmg berbuah tak putus2. Rambutan pun menjadi le jugak buah. Melalut pulak I.
 Back to Lemuni. Pokok lemuni ni banyak khasiat. Salah satu awet muda. Orang2 dulu ambik batang pokok lemuni buat senduk kacau nasi. So khasiat kat senduk tu masuk dalam nasi kut..:-) Orang berpantang memang elok makan nasi lemuni ni. My mak mesti akan buat at least once kat I every time I berpantang. There are 2 types of lemuni; hitam & hijau. Yang kitaorang tanam ni hitam. Pucuk dia purple. According to my mak, lemuni hitam ni lagi sedap & banyak khasiat. Ada jugak orang buat ulam. So, lemuni hitam ni bila buat nasi lemuni, akan jadi kehitaman sikit depends on how much you put. Lagi banyak bubuh lagi hitam le.
 Lepas Hubby tebang je pokok tu, I kutip pucuk lemuni tu & simpan dalam fridge. Tadi baru sempat nak masak nasi lemuni. Normally orang makan for breakfast cos ala-ala nasi lemak. Tapi we ate for lunch. Lauk to accompany nasi lemuni ni sama dengan lauk nasi lemak. Since I tak makan timun, I ganti dengan tomato. I buat sambal telur & ikan kembung goreng. Lagi sedap makan dengan ikan goreng dari makan dengan ikan bilis & kacang.. Hubby makan siap bertambah.Resepi ni resepi my mak.

Nasi Lemuni

Bahan
3 pot/ cawan beras
3 genggam pucuk lemuni hitam
1 genggam daun inai ( optional. Inai ni panas sikit )
3 cawan santan
1 1/2 cawan air
1/4 sudu teh halba
1/4 sudu teh lada hitam
2 ulas bawang merah, dihiris
1 ulas bawang putih, dihiris
1 inci halia, di hiris
garam & gula secukup rasa

Cara
1. Kisar pucuk lemuni & daun inai dengan 1 1/2 cawan air. Tapis pati & buang hampas.
2. Basuh beras & masukkan dalam rice coooker.
3. Masukkan pati campuran lemuni, santan, bawang merah, bawang putih, halia, halba & lada hitam. Kacau rata.
4. Tambah garam & gula secukup rasa. Tambah secukup air/ santan jika perlu.
5. Masak dalam rice cooker.
6. Hidangkan bersama sambal telur / daging masak wira ( my mak's recipe ), ikan goreng/ bilis goreng & timun.

Note: pucuk lemuni digunakan instead of daun lemuni coz daun lemuni lebih pahit. Tapi nasi lemuni kalau dah masak tak pahit pun.

Good Bye KP, Hello SC

 This week has been a busy week, with the preparation for the expo & the hand-over of Hubby's biz. Actually, I want this entry to commemorate the efforts that we have put to make his clinic a successful one & when the princesses are old enough to read, they would know the history of the clinic.

 We received inquiries from patients & sales reps on why we sold the clinic. Actually only family & selected friends knew about this before. Somehow, patients got to know about this through other sources. Ada yang tercari2 dia. So, I guess it's a known fact now..:-). The reasons.. we'll only tell those who asked personally. Not that he's going to resign from that profession, but now it's only on part time basis somewhere else. Hopefully, he'd have more time with the family after this. I guess,when you reached a certain age, you'd prioritise stuff in your life. So, good bye KP officially on 1st June 2010. It's been great years building you up. Hopefully, the person who took over, would bring you to higher levels. Emo la pulak..:D Yelah..considering it's part of our lives for nearly 10 years, I do feel in a way sad ( about letting go KP ) but happy too that now Hubby got more time to do stuff that he'd like to do. As for me, I got plenty of time since I only work 3 hrs a day..:-). Welcome too to SC, his new company. Hope this would grow into something that we'd be proud of as we were of KP. ( P/S: Hubby wouldn't know about my ramblings cos I think he never read my blog considering his time constraint, even his friends perli " ko bukak FB setahun sekali ke?" & his email inbox was flooded with over 3000 msgs!  Melalut le pulak I..) 

 For the next 10 days starting tomorrow, we'll be busy with Ekspo Usahawan @ Tapak Ekspo Seberang Jaya. Sesape kat utara ni jemputlah visit our booth kat A5. Yang bertema biru tu..Tapi bukan I pun yang busy kat situ..tapi my staff le..:-) Tapi I akan jenguk2 le gak..

Good Bye KP

Cuti-Cuti Langkawi

Last weekend we went to Langkawi. The first visit for the princesses. They were thrilled at boarding a ferry. We took a ferry at Kuala Perlis which took about 45 min.

Waiting to board a ferry

 Actually, our plans went awry..all because of a problem with car rental. We booked a car thru an agent in Kuala Perlis. Bila sampai Langkawi, tup2, kereta tak de. Petang baru sampai. So, we told them to sent the car to our hotel the next day. Masa diaorang picked us up to go to their office to fill up the forms, tiba2 minyak habis tgh jln. Then, mcm2 problems that we ended up cancelling the booking. Geram gak.But we made do with taxis.

Kat Jetty

 Nasib we stayed at Bayview hotel, which is in the middle of pekan Kuah. So, senang le nak jalan & shopping. Bayview mmg selesa untuk family. The room  & bathroom are spacious. But, next time it'd be nice to stay at Pantai Cenang. Nice Chalets. The last time we went, we stayed at Holiday Villa.

Views from our room

Chocs yang murah kat Langkawi..

                                   

Dataran Lang

Pantai Cenang

Splashing..

For this anniversary, Hubby gave something that I actually need. Since, modem & wifi kat office gelong after kilat hari tu, it was difficult to access my emails at work. This gift is handy. Thanks dear. Actually, I ni techno-phobia..:-) The funny thing was, masa I bukak wrapping paper & nampak logo apple tu, I still blur lagi apa hadiah tu..:D . My previous hp sumenye Nokia. I only used it for making calls & sms. Lain2 tu tak explore pun..Tapi with this new phone, kena le explore. I'm still trying to..Now, I have to carry around 3 phones..Leceh betul..Nak kena get rid 1. His gift I suruh pilih sendiri..hehe..tak romantic betul ..Beli kat langkawi..

Ni le hadiah anniversary I courtesy from Mr google..malas nak ambik gambar sendiri..:-)

All Girls Weekend

 Actually tersangatlah jarangnye we all kena tinggal anak-beranak je..:-) But, last weekend, Hubby had to atttend a half- day course in KL, then, since dah a few hours drive je to Batu Pahat, he decided to drive to BP. Yelah kan..dah lama tak jumpa mommy..hehe..Since mother's day dah lepas, & we still haven't given MIL the souvenir from Beijing, that was a good time for him to balik kampung.
 Not that I tak suka balik BP..:-),  tapi at the moment, I'm not allowed to travel long distance.( With the exception of Langkawi la.. we're going there soon..). Kalau tak, confirm I ikut dia. Boleh gak ronda2 KL & visit some friends who had threatened to not come over to our house anymore, since kitaorang tak pernah ke rumah they all..hehe..Padahal diaorang dah datang rumah we all a few times. Yelah, nak wat camne, dah kebetulan diaorang datang Penang. Time we all ke KL, diorang lak tak de kat KL, balik kg lah..
 So, last weekend tinggal me & the princesses je la. Since on Saturday I had to run some errands, the princessses were left home with Cik Jun. Masak pun very sempoi. Since Alysa & Adik had been requesting for pasta, I made fried macaroni for everybody. Senang keja mama. For dessert, I made brownies.
Then on Sunday ( normally our outing day..), Alysa ajak keluar. I told her tak boleh le since Papa was not around. Sape nak kepong diorang. Alysa said ' Okay la Mama..all girls je..'. Hish, tak kuase I. Buatnye Baby throw tantrum kat Shopping complex, camne I nak handle? Kuat merajuk betul dia now ni. So, we spent the day washing Hubby's car which I never did. Yelah dia dah bawak my car, tinggal je la keta dia utk dicuci..Then ptg bawak diorang ke playground. I was expecting Hubby would be home by the earliest 8pm since dia bertolak from BP at 2pm. Tup2 7.30 dah call cakap nak sampai dah & ajak keluar dinner. Since Baby tido la pulak, so tak jadi keluar..

Our All Girls Dinner - Fried Macaroni

Our dessert  yang tak cantik but chewy on the outside but gooey on the inside.

Quick & Easy Brownies
Source: here

Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnut halves

Directions:
1.Melt the butter or margarine and mix all ingredients in the order given.
2.Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes in a 9 x 13 inch greased pan.

Happy Birthday

 Today is Hubby's birthday. But I was soo not in the mood to cook beriya-iya. Lagipun, not much in the fridge to create an appetizing meal. Since weekend ni ada kenduri & nak balik kampung, lagi le malas nak wat grocery shopping.
 I started baking a choc cake after 4.30pm. Trying out a new recipe. Tapi miscalculate the baking time & temp pulak! It took ages for the cake to cook. While I was preparing the ganache, Hubby called to say he'd be late coz he needed to collect the computer that he sent for repair ( rosak masa kilat hari tu..). Phew..So, I managed to decorate sikit2 the cake just in a nick of time! Masa Hubby balik tu, I was putting the finishing touch..not that the cake was cun..:-) . Tapi sempat le jugak godek2 ice-cream as a dessert..Dinner pulak, spagheti goreng jek..punya le malas..hehe..Tapi kira okay le tu coz I could still cook eventhough my tummy was feeling weird. Dah phase alah le ni..The cake turned out to be nice & moist.
 To Hubby, Happy Birthday dear. You're the best hubby & papa whom we could ever wish for. We love u..May Allah bless u always.

Best Moist Chocolate Cake
Source: here

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups Hershey's cocoa ( I used other brand )
2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt.
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mazola / vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Preheat ovem to 300F (150C ). Grease a baking dish. ( I used 10" baking pan )
2. Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl.
3. Mix at medium or high speed until all ingredients are blended & smooth.
4. Pour into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool before putting ganache.

Note: For homemade buttermilk; mix 1 tbs of white vinegar or lemon juice with up to 1 cup milk. Allow to stand for 5min to 15 min.

Our dessert

First Raya Cookies

I finally made my first raya cookies last nite. Memang liat nak start buat... But considering I'm going back to Jitra today, kenalah buat jugak coz nak bagi kat mak. The rest i'll pass thru ila next week. Kalau tak, by 2nd or 3rd raya barulah mak dapat my kuih-muih..:-) The princesses tak sempat menyebuk masa i tgh bake coz they were instructed to pick up their toys. Teruk betullah diorang. Time nak menyepah cepat je.. Time nak suruh kemas berjam2 baru siap.. They started to clean up their room from 6pm. By 10pm baru siap! Banyak lak acara selingan in between. Sampai tergolek2 dalam bilik.. Anak2 dara ni kena ajar mengemas dari awal.. kalau tak nanti mama yang teruk kena kemas..haha.. Diorang tension kat Baby coz Baby bukan tolong kemas, tapi tolong sepahkan apa yang diorang dah kemas..:-)

Last nite I decided to make cornflakes cookies. A recipe from k.ummi. A bit modification from kuali.com. It turned out nice & crunchy. I buat 2 adunan. Dapatlah around 150 biji. Cukuplah utk 3 rumah... ours, mak's & MIL's. I ni memang malas nak buat cookies esp masa baking. Preparation time kejap je..but baking took hours! That's why i'd rather make muffins or cakes.

K.Ummi, I C & P je ye yr recipe..

Cornflakes cookies

Bahan:- (anggaran 70 biji)
1/2 cawan butter
1/2 cawan gula kastor
1 biji telor
2/3 cawan kismis hitam (jenama Lego elok halus sikit)
1 cawan tepung naik sendiri (diayak)
2 - 3 cawan cornflakes (ramas2 hancurkan sikit)

Cara Membuat:-
Pukul mentega dan gula hingga kembang. Masukkan telor dan pukul lagi. Dalam bekas lain, campurkan tepung dengan kismis. Kemudian masukkan dalam adunan dan gaul rata. Gunakan sudu teh, cedok adunan jadi ketul dan jatuhkan ke dalam bekas yang berisi cornflakes ramas tadi, golek-golekkan rata. Letak dalam paper cup (cawan kertas). Bakar pada suhu 180 C selama 12 - 15 minit/hingga kuning keemasan. Biarkan sejuk baru disimpan dalam bekas kedap udara.

Note: I 1 tsp tambah esen vanilla & 1 tbs corn flour ikut kuali.com. I simpan doh dlm fridge for 1/2 hour untuk bagi keras sikit.

Hari tu Toh, ila's SIL requested i masukkan gambar2 baju yg i beli masa pegi shopping dengan ila masa sale. Tapi ada satu tak sempat ambik gambar coz ada kat k.Jun for alteration. It was a Garfield & Ode's pants for Alysa. Cantik..siap ada labuci2 lagi..hehe..Ni kira oklah untuk pakai kat rumah. Actually, nak pakai utk jalan2 pun ok gak.. Tak beli banyak sangat coz kitaorang dah shopping baju2 the princesses the previous day.

The dresses yang I beli dengan hubby, tak boleh tayang lagi..:-). Nanti dah tak berseri diaorang nak pakai raya hehe..Tapi cantik & sweet sesangat dimata I & Hubby.

Talking about shopping, Hubby finally got his wish! We finally bought the lcd tv that he wanted to buy the other day. Tapi bukan kat kedai tu, but next door. Tu la i kata kat dia, next time survey dulu.. I think we got a good deal eventhough it was more expensive than the one he wanted to buy earlier. This one has better specs. Luckily ( for whom? ), we found a knowledgeble salesman. I hope we made the right choice in buying that brand. Oh, we also got a new tv stand..:-) I noticed, since previous years, kitaorang masa bulan puasa banyak pulak shopping eventhough tak raya kat rumah pun. 2nd week raya baru ada kat rumah..

Raya Shopping

The past 2 days were spent shopping for raya. I like...:-) On Saturday, Hubby & I went to Pacific Megamall. ( We didn't bring the princesses, but I took their measurements earlier). We managed to buy some gowns for the princesses. I bought a few stuff for myself. Surprisingly, Hubby only bought a t-shirt for himself! I think that was because of the time constrain. We had to get back before 4pm as Hubby had to go to work. So, we only shopped for less than 2 hours. Mana cukup!hehe..Tu pun by the time we got home, Hubby had to rush to the clinic coz patients were already waiting for him.

So, on Sunday we continued the unfinished shopping spree. This time at Jusco. Initially we wanted to leave the princesses with K.Jun but Alysa would rather stay with Tok & Tok Ayah. In the end, we decided to bring her. Ha padan muka nak ikut sangat! Sampai tak terlarat nak jalan. She begged us to please stop for a while. She wanted to just sit down..haha.. This time we bought shoes for the princesses. It was sooo difficult to find shoes for Alysa as she has chubby feet. Most designs for her age were for dainty feet..:D . Finally we bought white & pink sandals for Alysa & Ayra. I got a few stuff for myself too. But, it was weird that Hubby only got a few stuff for himself ( What? still no pants & clothes for u sayang? ) But..But... After zohor prayer we stopped by at an electrical outlet....Guess what? Hubby wanted to buy an LCD tv after surveying those on display. What! Buying a few thousands worth item without surveying other outlets? So, I stepped in. Telling him NO. May be next time after we surveyed a few outlets for different models. Nanti dah beli model tu terberkenan kat model lain nyesal lak! Bukannya nak beli selalu.. I told u he's an impulsive shopper! Oh by the way, while passing by an outlet on the way to the surau , we noticed this nice comforter set( sempat lagi..). Terus sambar satu after solat. We wanted to buy for mak as well but leceh nak bawak. So, we decided to buy for her later. We spent 5 hours at Jusco. No wonder Alysa dah tak larat jalan hikhik.. By the time we finished, it was nearly 5pm. Kelam kabut balik nak masak.

Last nite I temankan mak ke ekspo kat belakang rumah je.. Penat giler shopping yesterday! We found a nice comforter set kat ekspo tu. So, I bought 1 for mak. Tak payah dah ke Jusco to buy 1 for her..She also bought a tikar. I jugak kena bawak tikar tu. Nasib rumah dekat je.. Banyak betul tudung2 with latest trend. Rambang mata.. But I didn't buy 1 yet. I'll go later. Tak pe rumah dekat je..

The past 2 days since mak & ayah ada kat rumah, kena la masak beriya sikit. Ila & family had iftar at my house on Saturday. Masak la apa2 yang patut. But lauk on Sunday lagi meriah. Ada lauk kenduri yang taman I buat untuk berbuka kat masjid. So, every home got the nasi tomato & lauk2. Mak pulak beriya masak kerabu pelam & perut, masak lemak lidah, goreng limpa ( I made this coz mak said I prepared it so nice & soft hehe..). Counting the dishes..memang penuh meja la. But there were only 3 of us for iftar. Hubby berbuka kat dewan komuniti together with the rest of the helpers for kenduri berbuka. Banyak lauk tak habis! But knowing mak, she'd know what to do with them ( May be it'd be the chickens' menu :-) ). Dia angkut bawak balik Jitra today.

Since I forgot to take all the nice& yummy dishes, layan jelah photo the princesses & mini murtabak I made for iftar at ila's house on Friday.

A surprise from Papa

Last week, after watching one of those tv programs, Alysa had been begging for a fish. I told her to go ask from papa...which she did. I thought Hubby had completely forgotten about it. Then last Sunday, he came home from servicing our car, bringing a surprise for the princesses. It's in the form of RM250 aquarium set. Hmm.. with that amount of money spent, it'd be nice if he got me a perfume?? handbag?? or shoes??..hehe..

He was on the way home from doing an errand for me in Kulim after servicing the car, where he saw the fish shop. Terus singgah & beli..( I told u he's an impulsive shopper!) The princesses were so excited seing the fish. Alysa named the goldfish ' Goldie, Dibo, Sasquash, & Oso' after her favourite cartoon characters. The other 2 cleaner fish, we named 'Blackie & Klinnie'. Hentam sajalah...

Actually, this is the first pet that they ever have. Considering how scared they are of animals, fish ni kira oklah coz tak perlu pegang. Kalau nampak cats, diorang dah lari sebatu.. They are even afraid of ants & mossies. I had to tell them that they're bigger than ants & mossies. So, they can swat any ant or mossie that came near them! Now dah oklah dengan ants..

Excited with their new pet. Masa ni Adik tengah tido.. The one at the bottom of the aquarium is not toad but a blowie. Rupa macam toad je..

Petang tu I was still not in the mood to cook. So, prepare la food ala2 orang malas. Lagipun tak de appetite sangat. Hubby pun memang tak cerewet. Whatever I prepared, dia makan je... But after terawih Mak kirimkan food thru Ila ada le 6-7 jenis complete with dessert. Ada masak lemak belimbing buluh & ikan tongkol ( my favourite), kerabu perut (another favourite!), gulai rebung, sayur rebung, sambal udang & bengkang roti.. We ate kerabu perut with bubur lambuk coz kerabu tu dah tak sesuai simpan for sahur..

I made karipap. Alysa suka betul. She managed to eat 6-7 pieces! Sambil makan mulut tu dok ngomel ' so good... delicious!' :-) Pandai betul amik hati mama..