EAZY PEAZY

Learning Chinese Poetry in Songs

2010-12-25T00:53:00.000-08:00

明月幾時有？把酒問青天。不知天上宮闕⁵，今夕是何年？	Bright moon, when did you appear? Lifting my wine, I question the dark night sky. Tonight in the palaces and halls of heaven what year is it, I wonder?
我欲乘風歸去，唯恐瓊樓玉宇⁶，高處不勝寒。起舞弄清影⁷，何似在人間⁸！	I would like to ride the wind, make my home there, Only I hide in a jade room of a beautiful mansion, As I could not bear the cold of high altitudes. So I rise and dance and play in your pure beams, this human world — how can it compare with yours?
轉朱閣⁹，低綺戶¹⁰，照無眠¹¹。不應有恨，何事長向別時圓？	Circling red chambers, low in the curtained door, you shine on the sleepless. Surely you bear us no ill will — why then must you be so round at times when we humans are parted!
人有悲歡離合，月有陰晴圓缺，此事古難全。但願人長久，千里共嬋娟¹²。	People have their griefs and joys, their togetherness and separation, The moon has its dark and clear times, its waxings and wanings. Situations are never ideal since long ago. I only hope we two may have long long lives, So that we may share the moon's beauty even though we are a three hundred miles apart.

This is one of my favourite classic Chinese poems by Song dynasty's poet Su Shi titled Thinking of You (水調歌頭)..also sang by beloved Teresa Teng titled Wishing We Last Forever which was again made popular by lovely Faye Wong :)
The wordings are old Chinese style which has very deep meaning compared to the more contemporary ones and i will always cherish to find out more of its meaning thus my love for old Chinese poetry. Learning Mandarin also is a favourite pastime and i'm hoping to slowly build my vocabulary and reading simple characters albeit the old traditional ones are still my first choice :)

Below are translations and explanations from wikipedia..
明月幾時有？
把酒問青天。
不知天上宮闕⁵，
今夕是何年？
Bright moon, when did you appear?
Lifting my wine, I question the dark night sky.
Tonight in the palaces and halls of heaven
what year is it, I wonder?
我欲乘風歸去，
唯恐瓊樓玉宇⁶，
高處不勝寒。
起舞弄清影⁷，
何似在人間⁸！
I would like to ride the wind, make my home there,
Only I hide in a jade room of a beautiful mansion,
As I could not bear the cold of high altitudes.
So I rise and dance and play in your pure beams,
this human world — how can it compare with yours?
轉朱閣⁹，
低綺戶¹⁰，
照無眠¹¹。
不應有恨，
何事長向別時圓？
Circling red chambers,
low in the curtained door,
you shine on the sleepless.
Surely you bear us no ill will —
why then must you be so round at times when we humans are parted!
人有悲歡離合，
月有陰晴圓缺，
此事古難全。
但願人長久，
千里共嬋娟¹²。
People have their griefs and joys, their togetherness and separation,
The moon has its dark and clear times, its waxings and wanings.
Situations are never ideal since long ago.
I only hope we two may have long long lives,
So that we may share the moon's beauty even though we are a three hundred miles apart.

Shui diao ge tou (simplified Chinese: 水调歌头; traditional Chinese: 水調歌頭; pinyin: Shuǐ diào gē tóu) is the name of a traditional Chinese melody to which a poem in the cí style can be sung. Different poets have written different lyrics to the melody which are usually prefixed by the title "水調歌頭". The poem by Song dynasty poet Su Shi, also known as Su Dongpo, 水調歌頭·丙辰中秋 being the most famous. Cí(詞) is one of the literary genres that are unique to the Song dynasty, and can be sung to melody. Many ancient melodies are lost to history, but modern composers often compose new melodies for cí.

In 1983, Liang Hong Zhi (梁弘誌) set Su's poem to new music as the song "Wishing We Last Forever" (但願人長久). This new setting was recorded by Teresa Teng in her album Light Exquisite Feeling (淡淡幽情), which also contained songs based on other poems from the Tang and Song dynasties. Later artists such as Faye Wong, Jacky Cheung and China Flowers (芳華十八) covered this song in albums and concerts.

you can find more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuǐ_diào_gē_tóu

Homemade Pizza Recipe

2010-06-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

I just love pizzas and pastas! When the cravings hit me, I usually would call Dominoes for delivery :) When not working or out for the weekends, then I most often than not would prepare pasta or pizza for a lazy meal in front of the telly.

The pizza dough recipe below is pretty close to the authentic Italian style pizza which is thin crust. I've tried many pizza dough recipes over the years and this one is a recent discovery after several trials and adjustments. Always when working with dough (and yeasts) so many factors will affect the outcome - quantity/quality of ingredients,weather, oven used, baker's mood and even location! This recipe is so far the best and tastiest-it's light, crispy and yet not too hard and does not have the yeasty smell...and of course the reason I post it here is because it's so so eazy to make - if you can boil a pot of water then you should really try this!

You can also freeze the dough after Step 3. When you want to bake your pizza, just thaw the dough in the bottom of the fridge, take it out and continue with Step 4.

Super Eazy Pizza Dough

5 Cups fine flour ( I use MFM superfine flour)

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Teaspoons salt

500ml hot water (not boiling!)

1. Mix all dry ingredients with a wooden spoon or your fingers. Add hot water.

2. Mix and knead the flour mixture with the water until the dough are well mixed. (about 10 mins)

3. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour. Punch the dough down and knead for like 5 minutes.

4. Let the dough rise again for another 1 hour.

5. Drizzle the pizza pan or any shallow baking pan with a little olive oil.

6. After the dough has risen, punch it down again and cut into 6-8 equal portions. Shape into balls.

7. Flatten the dough on the oiled pan using your fingertips making sure no broken spots or holes.

8. Spread pizza sauce over the dough. ( I use Prego thick spaghetti sauce from the can)

9. Voila! You can add any toppings as you like :)

10. Bake in preheated oven 240°C for 12-18 minutes depending on your toppings.

Beautiful doughs even after frozen and thawed

Right before going into the oven - salami with vegs

Seafood Alfredo with almonds and mozzarella

Favorite toppings:

Cheeses - mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar, pepper jack, goat cheese

Meats - Grilled chicken pieces, pepperoni, salami, sausages

Veggies and Fruits - green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, artichokes, olives, pineapple

You can also knead in dried herbs(onions/oregano/etc) and cheeses(parmesan) to the dough just before you flatten it on the pan :)

Also don't forget about grilled veggies(peppers/onions/eggplants) or even sundried tomatoes are excellent for toppings!

Bon Appétit!

Eazy Meals - Thai Red Chicken Curry with Bamboo Shoot and Beef Salad with Roasted Brinjals

2009-07-18T05:35:00.000-07:00

Red Chicken Curry with Bamboo Shoots - Gaeng Ped Gai Naw Mai

2 Chicken Breasts Sliced

2 Cups Bamboo Shoots Sliced

1 small packet low fat coconut milk

2 Tablespoon red curry paste

2 Tablespoon Fish Sauce- nampla

few lime leaves or lime zest

pinch of sea salt

sugar to taste

crushed chili flakes/powder for garnish

1. Heat some coconut milk to boiling and keep stirring. Add the red curry paste. Stir until well mixed.

2. Put in the chicken. Stir until the chicken turns white-half cooked.

3. Pour the rest of the coconut milk and bamboo shoots.

4. When chicken and bamboo shoots are cooked, add in the rest of the seasoning.

5. Serve hot with some sprinking of red chili flakes or powder.

Beef Salad with Roasted Brinjals - Pla Nuea Makreua Orn

1 Cup sliced beef

4 smalled sized Brinjals -sliced lengthwise and quartered

2 shallots sliced

2 Green Bird eye Chilies - cili padi sliced

2 Tablespoons Lime juice

1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce - Nampla

Sugar to taste

1. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and spread the brinjal. Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. Broil in the oven.

2. Stir fry the beef in a little oil until cooked but not too dry.

3. Mix cooled brinjal and beef with the rest of the seasoning.

4. Can be served at room temperature or hot (just heat it in a pan). Eat as a meal with rice and other dishes or wrapped in lettuce leaves as appetizer.

Eazy Meals - Healthy Lamb Chop

2009-07-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

1. Marinate any cuts of lamb slices-rib, loin or t-bone in your favourite marinade or just get the one already marinated from good supermarkets.

2. Broil in the oven (using the top heating element only) and the meat should not be less than 4 inches from the heat source. Remember to line the bottom rack with aluminum foil to catch any drips from the cooking lamb. Turn over when the top is done to your liking with a pair of tongs.

3. While the lamb is broiling, line a square baking pan or the metal oven tray with aluminum foil.

4. Spread washed and dried vegetables on the pan or tray. Asparagus, capsicums, broccoli, onions and garlic are some of my favourites. Be adventurous with other vegs too!

5. Drizzle the vegs with extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt.

6. Chuck them below the broiling lamb chops.

7. After the lamb chops are done, put the vegs near the broiler and wait a minute or two when its done and serve with mint sauce! Yumm

This is hubby's favourite western food. He says he could eat these everyday :)

Watching local TV concerts-Mentor

2009-07-18T03:23:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Jeremy and I went to Shah Alam to watch the Mentor final concert. We got free tickets courtesy of Ujang, our dear friend who is a talented guitarist..we always look forward to catch him on tv for live shows in TV3, RTm and the other channels and watching him on the telly makes hubby and me appreciate more of these local shows...I happened to catch this show called Mentor where a few well known artists auditioned and selected their proteges from thousands of hopefuls, and the journey began from there for a few talented and lucky people..Thanks to Fara and Ujang we got the good seats and best of all we were in the middle of Black's group of fans..i've been rooting for him since I first saw him on the show and I am glad he won in the end..he was the hardest working protege from day 1 and shown the most improvement too...now i just hope his shining star won't end at the final concert but he'll continue to rock the local music scene..

If you've never been to these local shows before, do give them a support..most of the concerts are free and listening to live music is just awesome plus we get to mingle with other Msians...one Malaysia?? its eazier than u think if u only start with yourself :)

Visiting Friends...Day Trip to Muar, Johor

2009-03-19T07:48:00.001-07:00

As we did not arranged for a long vacation this CNY, we managed to do a couple of day trips..one was to Muar with a friend, to visit another ex-colleague who had been inviting us to visit her hometown there.

The three of us worked together before with a property developer but in different departments and we left the company one by one for almost two years now...but it's so great that each of us still do try to keep in touch with one another...the eaziest way of course is using the phone and we do sms occasionally too..but having a long week ahead and squeezing one day to travel to a distant town knowing someone is there waiting for you and would be bringing you around was so terribly eazy I thought... esp more so when my sweet Muar friend's hubby is a professional tourist guide! just need to get the direction over the phone, filled up the gas tank and off we went!

Muar town is about 2 hours away from KL city. We left the city sometime before noon meaning to reach Muar for lunch. We reached Muar in good time and proceeded to meet my friend at her family house which is located in the heart of the quaint town. It is a 3 storey tall shophouse and her family has been living there for generations. Now the ground floor is rented to a local cafe chain but the family still gathered at the top floor of the house during the holidays. Even one of the floor is already so huge! I can only imagine the house in its most glorious form...when the ground floor was a shop where rubber was traded and the family lived in the upper floors.

The building with my friend's family name...amazing history behind it..the exterior now are painted yellow as there's some kind of law where different streets have their own colour coding...interesting concept!

The ground floor is a now a modern kopitiam or cafe

After some historical lessons on Muar and the Chiew family, we headed out somewhere 30mins away to the beach for lunch. It's a fisherman village and we could see the jetty where they docked their wooden boats

Lunch was a simple affair as everyone needed a break from all those days of pigging at home and relatives houses! A must have is the Muar Otak-otak or grilled fish paste..here it came in a big slab, fried and cut in pieces..but it's still as fresh, with lots of chunky fish meats and off course fragrantly yummy as what they're most famed for!

After the light lunch, we walked around the jetty a bit and then drove around for some sightseeing around the beach and the park next to it. It was a sweltering hot day! We saw a huge government officer's house..can't remember what his position was but it's a govt house located just next to the beach. What a great place to call home! The barricade at the foreground is just feets away from the sea..it's to prevent motorists from entering the beach...

Somehow, part of the beaches and the govt house reminded me of Tanjung Aru Beach, where I grew up in Sabah... and especially when I saw the park adjacent to it..it doesn't look too similar but Tanjung Aru Beach has a park next to it too..Back then when I was still in trainer bras I used to walk to the park and beach nearly every evening for a jog and sometimes for rollerskating as it used to have an open air skating ring too.

Can you count how many monkeys there are in the picture below? It's pretty difficult for animals to live at the beaches..unless you're a crab or cockroach I guess...I don't think there's many fruit trees or any good sources of food for that matter but thankfully this beach always have some kind people visiting to unwind alone or with their families. I saw a few of them stopped to feed the monkeys some peanuts and breads. As it was still CNY holiday week, saw a lot of kuaci (roasted sunflower seeds) skins on the ground too..

After enjoying watching the antics of the adult monkeys and trying to count all the baby monkeys that we could see from the safety of our car, we adjourned to the next beach where we could see the other side of Johor...

This is the ferry cruise that brings tourists along the straits...

Later we went back to Muar town to buy some goodies to bring home..bought a lot of local biscuits, candies, crackers and even its famous local coffee mix...we had a jolly good rest at the spacious top floor of the house, someone even managed to catch a wink or two! and then we had dinner at a popular food court to have more yummy local dishes before we headed back to KL.

It was a very relaxing and carefree trip, no rushing around..it was like we were just regular Muar townfolks coming home to visit our hometown kind of feel...nothing touristy done..well except that shopping for local goodies but when we were there, there were more local people compared to tourists! My friend even got to met her old hometown friends buying stuff at the same store! They now live in KL so they were stocking up on their favourite snacks!

It was a very productive trip-we get to keep up with each other's news and at the same time created new memories to talk about at our next meet up!

The girls...looking so fresh and happy...and we all agreed this is due to having left a particular terrible place with lots of horrible people you won't believe exist in this world hahaha...

The hubbies-guess which one is Muar's very own homebred warmest and best tourist guide you could find in Johor and some say even in KL?

Proudly showing off the heirloom hand carved calligraphy of the family business name..it used to be hung on top of the front door of the olden day shop..really heavy and solid wood..they don't come like that in this time and age anymore..it's also been restored using 24k gold leaf!

The two vertical boards are beautiful poetry that incorporated the characters in the family name and has a flowery way to describe the business and give good wishes..this is believed to bring good feng shui for the family and business. If you see the first character on the horizontal board is used on the first vertical board on the left and the second character is the first character on the right board! How I wished I could read the Chinese characters and understand the subtle yet powerful meaning!

Thank you Alan and Jennifer for a most delightful way to spend our day in a new town. It's so eazy when you have caring and loving friends around you! May the Most Gracious God bless the Chiew and Kok families for many many more years to come!

CNY Annual Gathering with the In Laws

2009-03-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

Gosh, it's already been over 2 months! but I felt like it's only 2 weeks ago! So let me pick up from where I stopped...

On the first day of CNY, it's tradition in DH's mother's side of the family to meet at her mother's house. They usually started coming in after their breakfast and just hung around the house catching up with everyone and playing some 'family' games such as mahjong til late nite. Usually DH and I would come over somewer around 2 to 4 when most of the family members were already there and in good time to start the bbq fire. My day would actually started much earlier at home where I would make lots of lychee konnyaku jellies and two pairs of gold fish jellies to bring over. Just realised I never took pictures of these! It's always a hectic mad dashing day I would say, that's why but I do hope next year I'll remember to take some shots!

So here's a quick glimpse of what we would normally do every year at PoPo's house...

Play mah jong and other 'family' games...

Toss the loh sang...

Eat a lot..we usually have a bbq with prawns, chicken wings and lamb chops...this year we also had grilled hotdogs and mushrooms..

Loads of drinking...some had started in the morning..

Last but not least, collecting ang pows and taking family pictures!

This year's gathering we had a new addition to the family...he had already started contributing to the craziness...well actually he was a really nice baby n didn't cry that much n sleep a lot too...looking forward to see more of him awake next year :)

that's me with the loh sang.. this year we actually used the whole round table to be a giant 'plate' for the loh sang! covered the whole table top with layers of aluminium foil and arranged 4 sets of store bought loh sang on it...had a feeling this will be a new tradition for years to come!

The next day is reserved for visiting the other side of my in laws..usually around lunch time after a short prayer at a Chinese temple nearby. Ah Ma , DH's paternal grandmother, usually will have a fiesta of a lunch prepared for us...and always the same menu too hehehe..lots of roasted pork, duck, fish ball soup, stir fried veggies, steam chicken, more pork and duck dishes and always a can of 100plus! Did not take much pics coz something wrong with my SLR camera which need to be sent for service soon...I think something to do with the zoom lens...altho I still have the 50mm lens but it had already spoiled my mood to take any more pictures after that...just managed to take some portraits of the elders in the families for keepsakes.

Taking Candid Pictures at a Wedding

2009-02-05T10:25:00.001-08:00

With all the commotion that comes with a big event such as a wedding, it's not difficult to keep snapping away without the crowd noticing, especially when they are busy posing for the official photographer...

but once in a while you might just get that precious shot when one of them do notice and look your way...especially when that person is the reason why you were there in the first place :)

The Candid Shots

And the posing posing ones...had to put these in here as I'm too lazy to upload to FB (too slow!) and I just had to show off my pretty friends here :) Thanks Sherine for warmly putting up with me the whole day! Had a blast! More pics of the bride

Chinese New Year Eaziest Dinner

2009-02-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

Gong Xi Fatt Chai! We still have 5 more days of festivities for the Chinese New Year Celebrations until Chap Goh Mei which is the last day of celebrating. So another 5 more days to eat like prosperous pigs!

Well, you must be wondering what is that colourful platter on top...no no that is not food for the ox...I've been preparing platters of this yummylicious stuff to entertain people at home for the CNY. First was for the in-laws for the CNY eve dinner or reunion dinner, then twice more for separate group of close friends..

Being lazy as I am nowadays, plus also lack of time to prepare anything else, I resorted to this menu which I think I should submit to Guinness Book of World Records as the world's easiest 3 course menu for home entertaining (that involved cooking la!)

So, what what was the menu like?

Starter was this dish called Yee Sang except there's no Yee (fish) which is considered a good dish to have for CNY. Its a mixture of several kinds of dried and pickled vegetables with freshly grated carrot or radish, topped with crunchy fried crisps or wanton skins, peanuts and sesame seeds, while seasoned with plum sauce, a bit of pepper and five spice powder. Well that is the original version, the one I had here came in a nice plastic bucket, with all the ingredients cleverly put in little plastic containers, that I bought from the supermarket. All you need to do is get a big nice plate and put everything on it. As you can see the store bought kind do not have the fresh carrots and radish but they still taste good anyhow...

Most importantly is to have this dish so everyone can stick their chopsticks in it, pick up the bits as high as they could while loudly saying all the good wishes for the new year. After a minute or so, it will probably end up looking like a pile of mess but that's what we want..all mixed up and ready to eat! Loh sang! yumm...

This Yee Sang plate fed 5 adults and 3 children!

The main course is Steamboat! also known as Chinese Hot Pot..basically just prepare any fresh vegetables, thinly sliced meats or seafood, mushrooms, assorted types of fish balls or meatballs, toofoo, or whatever you think would taste good in a clear soup. The soup base I made from a cube of chicken stock, some dried scallops and dried mushroom.

You also need a hot pot or an electric pot to heat up the stock in the middle of the dining table and once it got to a rolling boil just add in the goodies..of course start with those that needs longer time to cook first and the last one should be the seafood like prawns and fish as well as the leafy veggies. Cover the pot and wait til it boils again to be sure everything is cooked. Just put in a few things first and continue this several times as the meal progresses.

Before even finishing this platter off, everyone was already begging for mercy to get out of the dining table..not that I chain my guests to their chair but this dish is very addictive as even when you're stuffed to high heaven, one can't seem to stop fishing out those steaming hot morsels out from the pot to their plate... so watch out!

With a succesful main dish like that, there's no sweeter dish to complete the meal other than this classic Chinese dessert! hehehe its one of my favourites and it's a wink to prepare too! Double points for Cold Almond Jelly with Lychee! I'm not shy to say that this also came from the supermarket...well in a box, premix so I just boil some water and add the mix. Although I tend to use a lot of pre-packaged mix nowadays I like to give my personal touch to it too...so the secret in this almond jelly is to substitute some of the water required with fresh milk or just add one or two tablespoon of dry creamer. Once it's set, just pour a can of lychees and stick the whole bowl in the fridge until ready to serve. Voila..

Making CNY Lantern From Ang Pao Packets

2009-01-21T07:06:00.000-08:00

I first saw these handmade lanterns at a Chinese temple near KLCC, where they serve great vegetarian food. My ex-colleagues and I used to go there for lunch as it was near the show-office we were stationed back then. These lanterns were just simply made without any decorations but they really caught my mind coz it looked simple but also appeared to be intricate at the same time..

So i took some mental notes and once im back home with some supplies of ang pao packets went to figure out how to make it..it ended up looking like a deflated soccer ball hehehe nothing at all like what you see here..so i tried a few more times and it got better..

The last two years I have been making these lanterns..at the office with my ex-colleagues -who did not have anything better to do hehehe.. and this year I had barely time to make any but forced myself to make a least a few so I can give one to my new colleague..and she got me a jar of homemade peanut cookies and pineapple tarts! woohoo..

This is so easy but require some finger works. Something good to get the whole family to do together after the massive reunion dinner...hehehe..what you need..

30 Ang Pao packets of the same size
A stapler
String or satin cord to hang the lantern
Hanging deco if you want to make your lantern nicer

Got everything? Here's how you do it..

1. Fold the 4 corners

2. Take two ang paos and put side to side and staple the two together at the crease...one at each end as shown in the middle pic..

3. Continue this until you have 5 ang paos together. At this point it will look like a hat or flower with 5 petals...

4. Then, in between the 'petals' add one ang pao in horizontal..keep on doing this and adding the corners to become 5 pieces of ang paos as in Step 3.

5. When you finish all 30 packets of ang paos, it will look like this..make sure the pointy sides have 5 piece of ang paos and the 'flatter' side has only 3..

6. At this point, it's considered done! But to make it look more festive, you can further staple the corners together..

7. Add the string and a hanging deco with a glue gun or strong adhesive and then find a nice place to hang it!

Hunting Down A Mezze Dinner

2009-01-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

I've been craving Lebanese food recently but had been too busy to find a reputable place to dine. Just so happened this afternoon I told DH that I'm really dying to eat my healthy dose of greens and he remembered that he has a Middle Eastern client who had opened at the Bukit Bintang area-near where I work. We had gone to another one of this guy's restaurant somewhere in Jalan Ampang and it was quite good so we decided to go to this new place for dinner tonite! Yippee...I could not stop salivating since that hour...

So around 8pm, we walked over to the restaurant, which is located opposite of KL Plaza. A quick call to the owner revealed the name of the restaurant.. Tagine.. mmm that doesn't sound Lebanese and I was getting a little bit alarmed..isn't that a Morroccan dish not Lebanese...I thought to myself... anyway we're just steps away... we looked up at the sign board to make sure we're at the right stop and gave a quick look inside... and I was quite impressed... I like the settings and the lights.. Yes it does look quite Morroccan yet with a modern touch with the orangy gold and green upholstery plus with the mosaic design on the hanging light fixtures..

Giving an even quicker look at the menu, I was so relieved to find out that they do serve the dishes I've been craving for..can't stop grinning from ear to ear hehehe...I ordered those rascals that've been haunting me for days - tabbouleh, fatoush and mutabal (can't be too greedy so I chose this over the hummus) and DH ordered the lamb tangine...

I must've been very hungry or too excited that I forgot to take pics of those babies! Oh well, we'll probably come by again so maybe next time...the food were satisfactory...my salads were alright although they could be better slightly chilled..the tabbouleh, which is chopped parsley salad, used curly parsley instead of the tradional flat leave type..not too bad although it's a tad too sour for DH's liking so I have the whole plate for myself! hehehe..the fatoush, another type of salad with fresh crunchy cucumber, tomatoes and fried pita pieces, had slices of white radish in it..a new twist to the old fashion salad.. the lamb was awesome, very tender and well seasoned...

Right now I can't stop kicking myself.. I should've remembered to take the pics!! Anyway, I did some elbow greasing and lucky enough found some pictures of Lebanese food from my previous trip to Dubai. What I want to feature is the Tabbouleh....interesting name..sound like 'Tak Boleh' in Malay hehehe but it's really a healthy dish plus it's a snap to prepare!

Tabbouleh is part of the Arabian meal of Mezze or appetiser...it can consists of few types of salads, some dips made of garbanzo beans or eggplant, pickled olives, cheeses and a full basket of breads...something similar to what the Spanish called tapas...

The Arabians can really eat..the first time I had an authentic Middle Eastern meal, I was already full just eating the Mezze dishes and then the main courses came! I could say that it was then I started my love affair with Mezze..and I could just eat them without ordering the main courses...much to the chagrin of my gracious Arabian hosts! Don't get me wrong, the main dishes would be even more elaborate and wonderful-grilled meats or seafood, kebabs of all kinds and many more that they deserve a blog of their own, but the mezze'd just bowled me over and I am satisfied to have it alone as my dinner. period... oh well, I could always dig into somebody's kebab if I needed to..hehehe

For a quick and easy recipe, just refer to the below and more info on this fantastic salad if you click on the title..

Tabbouleh Recipe

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup bulgur wheat
8 tomatoes
6 shallots
5 bunches Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
2 bunches fresh mint
Juice of 6 lemons
12 tbsp olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS
Soak the bulgur wheat for 15 minutes in some warm water with 1 tsp lemon juice. Drain well and dry in a dish towel (yes, that’s right, a dish towel). Peel and finely dice the tomatoes, and chop the shallots, parsley, and mint very finely. Combine all these ingredients with the bulgur wheat in the serving dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice, season to taste, and leave to stand for at least 2 hours. Before serving, adjust the seasoning and stir gently, adding more lemon juice and/or olive oil if necessary.

The Mezze dishes (clockwise l-r) Tabbouleh, Hummus, Kebabs with fries and bread, Kebbeh-minced meat patties, an awesome homemade chili paste I can't remember the name, and Magdoush-pickled brinjals with pine nuts and the same unnamed chili paste, which by the way used chilies from Lebanon. The drink on the right is Fresh Pomegranate Juice-just so heavenly that I ordered it for every meal!

Another version of tabbouleh...

Want to see the whole meal? Remember, this is just the Mezze dishes...

Clockwise (l-r) Fatoush-cucumber salad with fried bread, some kind of dip-probably made from brinjals, freshly fried Spring Rolls, part of the Tabbouleh, Breads, fresh veggies and lastly the Hummus!

I'm going to sleep with a smile tonite!

Taking Pictures of Fireworks Outside My Bedroom Window

2009-01-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

This was the New Year fireworks display at Merdeka Square. Taken from my bedroom window- about 3 km away.

They're poorly taken because firstly, I did not use a tripod and secondly, the setting was for sure was wrong. Furthermore, I was too excited to keep still in order to take better shots hehehe...

Actually, I was planning to just watch the fireworks with my DH, and making all sorts of exclamations each time a new firework design blows up against the black sky. I knew if I am stuck behind the camera I won't get to really enjoy them...not without my timely ooohhsss and aaahhhsss...but then after about 3 minutes into the year 2009, I realised that this may be the last New Year's or even ANY fireworks that I would be able to see from my window again as there's a new condo being built right in front of my amazing view now...so I quickly looked for my camera and started snapping away.

Going Through 2008 Photos

2009-01-08T02:06:00.000-08:00

I could spend many hours looking at paintings. Especially those by the grand masters...I am no art expert or closet art aficionado...since my younger days I just simply enjoyed staring and appreciate the fine works...the little details...the feelings a painting invokes when I see the colours, lines and shapes which then made some sense in my thoughts and slowly warmed my soul...the imagination that comes with it...the inspirations...

And my most favourite painter of all? Well, it's none other than our Al-Mighty Creator, who is the greatest artist of all. The painter who untirelessly gives us all we need to be inspired, in all the littlest smallest things...not too difficult things...like the view of a sunset, the morning mist shrouding a hill, the scent of a patch of lavenders, the sound of a waterfall, ..all this anyone, more so even a lazy person like me can enjoy...easily!

So right now, I'm going to reminisce over my vacation pictures in Borobudur(CNY08) and recall the soul-lifting experience watching the sunrise from the top of the ancient temple.

As Eazy As Peaz

2009-01-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

Yoo Hoo..

2008 has just passed in a whizz and its now 2009! I wish this year we can all work towards more tolerance and peace with each other! I hope to have more patience and more time to do the things I love!

I just love creating and doing simple things...I love to eat so naturally I like to cook and bake and mostly decorating cupcakes! I tremendously enjoy what nature has to offer and I try to go out and immerse myself in it, though that seems like a distant memory somewhat...I like the simple pleasures in life- growing something in a pot, sewing someone's initials on a blanket, creaming the butter, painting someone's face, braiding hair, smelling the musty smell of old trees in the jungle...

My resolution this year is to try my best to make more time for all these little things once again! So anytime I've done something easy, simple or just whatever, I will try to post it here. This way, around the same time next year, I will see how much I have kept my resolution. As Eazy as Peaz! I hope...

This year the Chinese New Year comes early. It'll be here in about 2 weeks time! So there's no time to lose..must clean up the house and do some CNY decorating! I'll probably make some Ang Pao Lanterns to decorate the nest and to give away. I used to make them to decorate my previous work place. Here are some samples I found through Google..they look amazing! Well, the ones I made were just simple ball-shaped lanterns. Look out for the tutorials in a few days!

Get more inspirations at http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/alabama/179/clantern.htm

Joke of the Day!

Note: I have been known in my circle of dear friends to be somewhat forgetful especially when it comes to figures and numbers such as dates! To them, a million thanks for being patient with this flaw of mine. This is something to humor you guys..and probably serves as an early warning too! Hehehe...

An elderly couple had been experiencing declining memories, so they decided to take a power memory class where one is taught to remember things by association.

A few days after the class, the old man was outside talking with his neighbor about how much the class helped him.

"What was the name of the Instructor?" asked the neighbor.

"Oh, ummmm, let's see," the old man pondered. "You know that flower, you know, the one that smells really nice but has those prickly thorns, what's that flower's name?"

"A rose?" asked the neighbor. "Yes, that's it," replied the old man.

He then turned toward his house and shouted, "Hey, Rose, what's the name of the Instructor we took the memory class from?"

Get tickled at http://www.coolfunnyjokes.com/Funny-Jokes/Relationship-Jokes/Memory-Class.html