Old Table New Look!

The above is my husband's old study table. If my calculation is correct, the table is already 30 years old. Apparently my husband and his two brothers each own similar table back home at my MIL's place. I've always been impressed by its hard-wearing finishing.
Last weekend, when my husband went balik kampung to send his mother, I've asked him if it's alright for him to bring back his table. I'm so eager to embark on a DIY project, dah lama tak buat anything, anyway.
Despite my husband's grumbling as the table, although small, is quite heavy (and he has to haul it all by himself), the sturdy table successfully made its way to USJ17 that day.
After a quick trip to Ace Superstore to buy the necessary, the girls and I went to work. Our aim was to transform the table to become a new worktable in our living room.
We started off by sand paper the wood and removed the table top made of formica. Can you imagine that? Yes, the top was covered with formica! Very 60s. Then we painted it all white.
As expected Asma stayed on to help till the end, while Alia and Arissa dissapeared mid-way. And oh yes, the husband was never in the picture. He was surfing the Net dengan selambanya while the ladies of his life were covered with paint.
But I like the end result. Simple yet elegant.

Sotong Masak Nyonya

Sebenar cerita saya tak ingat dari mana resipi ini saya dapat. Most probably dari 703 kot. Apapun, memasaknya tidak sesusah mana dan hasilnya is like yummy! Apatah lagi kalau sotong memang kegemaran, like in my home. Oh ya... hari ni sukatan main agak2 aje ya.

Bahan-bahannya:
Sotong (dah tentuler kan?)
Bawang merah
Bawang putih
Cili merah
Cili sos
Sedikit sos tiram
Sedikit tepung jagung
Daun pudina
Garam dan gula ( mesti)
Sedikit sos ikan untuk bagi kick

Cara-caranya:
Kisar bawang merah, putih dan cili. Sampai hancur, kalau tak ... kisar lagi!
Tumiskan bahan-bahan ini sampai satu dapur dah berbau.
Masukkan cili sos dan sos tiram (ini ikut suka lah ya).
Masukkan sotong dan tambahkan sedikit air (oh ya! jangan lupa bersihkan sotong ni dulu ya. Janganler pulak masukkan sotong dengan dakwat2 dia sekali... menangis mak mertua nanti)
Bancuhkan tepung jagung (dalam dua sudu besar) dengan sedikit air dan masukkan ke dalamnya.
Akhir sekali masukkan sedikit daun pudina, garam, gula dan sos ikan.
Jangan masak terlalu lama. Ditakuti sotong akan liat.
Dah pun siap!

Farewell 2008

It's already 2009. And the school will reopen soon. It's back to normal routine for many of us.
It has been a bouncy 2008 for us at home. And I'm quite exhausted. Really. The school holiday has been one long and tiring 'break" for me. From the very first day of the holidays, about one and half month ago, streams of relatives came over to enjoy their year end break. And it has been a cooking marathon for me.. non stop. Not that I'm complaining.

I enjoy having my family over. Apart from the usual suspect like my sister's family, niece and nephews from Cheras and Lumut and my brother in law's family from Shah Alam, who came over memeriahkan suasana during Hari Raya Haji, we also played host to a few others. For instance two nights ago, Pak Halim (my mom's cousin) and family came over for dinner.

At the same time my husband's cousin Iza and family also came. Iza lives not very far from our place (like5 minutes away) but we hardly saw each other. In fact the last time we met was more than a year ago. We used to be very closed many years ago ... before we succumbed to busy routine of our own.

But the most "enjoyable" tetamu during this past month would be Ayah Anjang and his family (my husband's uncle who lives in Penang). They (which include Wan (the wife) and children, Anom (too bad husband Nasir could not make it), Meor (and wife Rina plus a handsome Adi), Yone and Cha) came over for lunch and stayed on until night time. We ate and chatted non stop.

Of all my husband's relatives, I'm particularly very close to them. In fact, my husband's cousins used to lepak at our place before they got married. Those good old days. Naturally they are especially very close to my daughters.

For their visit I decided to cook something special and the result was my very own Chicken Roasted Berempah.

Before roasting the chicken

Ingredient;
1 whole chicken
100 gm dried chillies (blended)
3 cloves of red onion (blended)
2 cloves garlic (blended)
Cumin powder (serbuk jintan manis)
Cardamon powder (serbuk buah pelaga)
Coriander leaves
Oregano
Olive Oil
Butter
Salt and sugar to taste

Method:
Marinate the chicken with the blended ingredients as well as the cardamon and cumin powders.(overnight)
Upon roasting, cover the chicken with butter and olive oil as well as salt and sugar.
You may roast the chicken together with potato and carrot.
Also sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and oregano beforehand.
Roast for 30-40 minutes at maximum temperature.

To serve, put the chicken onto a plate of salad, tomato and lemon. Then its makan time.

Anyways, I wish everybody Selamat Tahun Baru 1430H and 2009M. Enjoy!!