best wishes

we are going to leave 2010 in a few minutes. have you made a new resolution for the new year? or are you going to stick with the old one? whichever it is, i'm sure you wish for the best...and as for me, i pray that we all have a good, prosperous year ahead... ^_^ happy new year 2011 everyone!

the oranges

i never tire of citrus fruits. be it in any form, i'll always be drawn to the tangy fragrant of the fruit. it can be lemon, lime, orange, tangerine and so many more. and what is more appealing than waking up to the smell of orange filling your house in the morning? i'm sure it'll instantly perk you up and bustle about! can you guess what's for breakfast today? no? i'll tell you then. it's orange chocolate chip muffins!  this muffin is not overly sweet and perfectly balance with the addition of bittersweet chocolate chip.

what you'll need for the ultimate orange chocolate chip muffins: 

*this will make approximately 8 normal size muffin*

1/4 cup vegetable/corn oil

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 cup self-raising flour

1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

2 tsp zest of orange

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 plain yogurt

2 Tbsp orange juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

chopped almond *optional*

1. preheat oven 180 C.
2. combine all the wet ingredient in one medium bowl
3. mix all the dry ingredients in another bowl
4. slowly fold flour mixture into the liquid mixture making sure not to over beat
5. divide the batter evenly between 8 muffin cups, 3/4 full, sprinkle with chopped almond
6. bake for 20-25 minutes *i checked mine after 20 minutes and perfectly done* 

what's for dinner tonight?

this has been on my mind for quite some time. i only made this when we are not having rice for dinner. so tonight this is it.

Linguine bolognese:

1/2 packet linguine (cooked as directed in package)

1 medium size onion (diced)

3 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 cup shredded meat

1 medium tomato (diced)

2 tsp crushed black pepper

1 tsp cayenne powder

4 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cups chicken stock

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 bay leaf

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

for the gravy, starts with heating some olive oil in a pan. then put in onion and garlic, fry till fragrant. then, put in the meat, tomato, black pepper and cayenne powder. cook until tomato becomes tender, then add in tomato paste, chicken stock, chopped parsley, italian seasoning and bay leaf. let it cook under medium heat until thicken slightly.  add sugar and salt to taste. pour on top of already cooked linguine. serve hot, with some sliced tomato and grated cheddar or parmesan cheese on top.

it's a holi..holi..day!

courtesy of http://www.zuarxpdc.com/

ohohoho.... ^_^  tomorrow's a holiday for malaysia!!! yeay! 

we deserved the celebration obviously. after all the hard works put on by our players and supports from all malaysian, we indeed need the break. and i bet this elated feeling will last for a week! *including me obviously* anyway, congratulations malaysia team once again! *can't say it enough :-P*

sweet victory

winner at last...

i got headache watching the final second leg aff suzuki cup, so intense it was. the game start off with indonesia aggressively attacking malaysia's goal. and thanks to our superb goalie, and our defensive line, most of the attempts were blocked. it was during the second half of the game that brings about the desperation of both sides. more intensely aggressive moves were made while malaysia plays more on defensive. even that, safee sali manage to put in the first goal in the game! a very beautiful one at that! to tell the truth, i could hear people screaming excitedly from my apartment at the very moment...*i'm not complaining, mind you*.

but that was short lived after indonesia managed to kick in their first goal. and... the second one unintentionally by malaysia's player after his attempt to block the ball but it got through instead...that was a few minutes before the final whistle blew off. 

in the end, we managed to defend our goal from further attempt to goal and won the game by aggregate! hip hip hooray!! hip hip hooray!! thanks to our players for the good game they played and the focus they gave besides all the psychological attacks made on them. real professional!!! ;-)

one and two?! we win!!!!!

yes!yes!yes!

WE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!

^________^

go tigers!

it's so...nerve wrecking. '__' 

hopefully everything's going well and they will stay focus in the game tonight.

yes, i'm talking about the final game of aff suzuki cup at 8 pm tonight. hope they will give their best!!! 

malaysia boleh!

GOOD morning!

feels really good today, aren't we? ;-) 

with a cup of hot latte and a big smile on your face, it sure is a perfect way to kick-start your day. it certainly did for me... last night game was really outstanding, showing off malaysia's players improvement of their skills. i can still felt the excitement, the sensation, the heart stopping anticipation...^___^

man...seriously, i'm sooooo proud of them! makes me feel like i want to send them some cookies just because they were so great on the field last night! >_< *hehehe...ok, i'm just kidding. i wouldn't even dare...* 

why not make it better by having some more cute, heart-fluttering handsomeness from our shin-kun!

three and zero

oh.my. what an exciting game! 

seriously world class play from malaysia. though at first half, both sides didn't manage to get any goal. the game picked up the pace at second half with more aggressive moves from malaysia towards indonesia's goal. and it works!

three goals during second half totally awesome!!! 2 goals by safee sali and another by ashaari shamsuddin. good job guys... ;-)

together we stand

i'm so excited! can't barely sit still. yes, it's about tonights match. hope for the best.

*why am i talking like this?* O_o 

by the way, you can also watch the aff suzuki cup final 1st leg online here. 

gotta go now! ;-P

update @ 7.35 pm:
only 25 minutes left before the game start!
i'm starting a countdown of my own... ^_^ 

final 1st leg aff suzuki cup

reminder :

tomorrow match at bukit jalil, 8 pm.

i. can't. hardly. wait.

wear yellow.

drink lots of water.

be super-supportive.

^_^ yeay!

playing with colors

these cupcakes reminds me of the colors of paddle pop ice cream. i love them since a child and still love them! =P i said i want to practice frosting before, so here i was playing with butter cream and food coloring, trying to create a rosette...took a lot of concentration! the result was not exceptionally pleasant, but i think i made some improvement. *pat myself on the back* ^_^ 

since i've been working hard on them, i might as well showing them off. hehehe...here we go!

announcer : it's show time! the beauties are ready for the runway now, so hold your breath...and music, start!

okay, these aren't rosette but they are cute i just have to put them on the line too!

that's all folks! till the next runway show! ;-)

what in the world...?!

surprise...surprise...that younger sister i was talking about a few posts ago suddenly here! said she's gonna be home tomorrow, but apparently she doesn't has any classes today and decided to jump on the bus and be home. 

and of course she's already ask me to prepare something for her to bring along when she's going back to college later. whatever, i'll do it because i'm a good sister... ^__^ she better be thankful. heheh! =P

once upon a time

these are some of the cakes *yeap, all chocolates. i noticed that* that we made before but never had a chance to be here. so give them some applause...thank you. O_o 

mind you that i am still practicing my piping skill, so forgive the not-so-tasty looking frosting you see here. i'm sure after like thousand of practicing, i'll be able to frost like a pro! ^_^

before that, of course i had to err a little bit here and there... it makes the whole process worth something. okay, lets stop the talk before i'm not sure what i'm talking about anymore.

pizza for breakfast?!

good morning, good morning, good morning!! such a lovely day... the sun shines so brightly that i felt exceptionally bright today. we had bruschetta pizza for breakfast this morning. very quick and easy to prepare as long as you had all the ingredients on hand. in no time, your house will smell heavenly! ;-)

okay, to make this crunchy bruschetta pizza you'll need:

• slices of crusty bread or french bread
• spaghetti sauce
• sharp cheddar cheese or any other cheese you've had on
• salt 
• pepper

preheat your oven to 250 C degrees. spread about a tablespoon of sauce on top of each bread slices.  sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and top with grated cheddar cheese. place them on baking pan, and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cheese melted and bubbling.

p/s: you can omit the salt if you don't want the bruschetta to be too salty. 

when thunder strikes

it was shocking when you heard terrible things that happened all around us. i understand that all things did happen for a reason, but sometimes it can be avoided. you know what i'm saying? like the accident of a double-decker bus at comeron highland yesterday. it was a very gruesome accident. the worst they said. o_o 

the thing that bug me is, how come they can even think of allowing people boarding a double-decker bus *for god sake* mounting the cameron highland much less getting down? with all the curvy corners and turns? a very risky route for most vehicles, more so for a bus! but the operating word here is highland people. shouldn't they opted for more grounded vehicle instead? just think about it.

more or less, things should have not stay this way. they ought to do something about it. just feeling sorry won't make a difference.

reason to smile

confession. i'm not content with just looking. i 've got to have it too. yeap, that's right. i'm talking 'bout that comfort food yesterday. right after looking through all those scrumptious looking pictures, i pushed my lazy self to the kitchen and got to work. oh yeah...it was worth the effort alright. now, i already have a container of chicken soup in fridge ready if i ever got the noodle crave anytime soon *maybe right after this? ;-)* 

through it all, i also managed to come up with a big crusty loaf of bread. great company with the soup! what an evening i must say. sunny shied day + one hot bowl of chicken noodle soup = very satisfied me...^__^

come out and play sunshine!

it's really...really...really...cold today. even the sun's still hiding behind the cloudy blanket. in this kind of weather, i'm always feeling a lil bit melancholic. maybe its just me, maybe others feel the same way. but you know what, at this kind of moment people *as in me* will always crave for something warm and flavorful. 

as for me right now, i imagine myself having one hot bowl of chicken noodle soup plus a cup of hot black coffee...hmmm...okay, that makes my tummy growl. but i'm not done yet. let say, a plate of just-out-of-oven mac and cheese will do the trick too. with sides of salsa and crispy oven-potato chips...yum yum!

why am i typing this when i could make any one of those? if you must know, i'm sooo in this LAZY mode *with capital letters for that* that i think going into the kitchen and making them take a little too much effort from me. so i just have to satisfy myself with the web's drooling-worthy pictures...even if my tummy not so much agreeing it! 

zero and zero : final

o yeah...o yeah...^__^  0 : 0!! 

we're going to the final! though malaysia didn't get any goal tonight, but we already had 2 goals back then. yippee...*rolling on the floor* tonights game was like watching a thriller movie. 

since my younger brother went out, i kind of like taking his place! i can't stop screaming every time vietnam's player tried for a goal. we were constantly attacked, but thank god! our goalie is superb!! 

nice job man... ;-) 

just because

i'm excited!!!
tonight, 7.30 pm. definitely watching it! ;-)

and of course, fish curry serves with hot rice will add to the excitement!!

been a long time ago since i made fish curry to be exact. i'm not very fond of thick almost stew like curry. my version of curry usually will not be as thick as indian-styled curry. i used 4 : 1 ratio for water and coconut milk and also add in a few dashes of cayenne pepper powder along with curry powder paste. a little bit hotness for attitude... ='P 

extra cheese please

i'm in the middle of watching Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull. i've never known indiana jones could be quite funny...all this time, i thought the storyline was heavy and boring so i've never watch one. well, that's not the reason i'm posting. i've been meaning to make this for so long. and i made it today! yippee!!! you want to know what's that it? drum roll please...ehem, ok. here you go ^_^

if you are tired of sweet muffins, now is the right time to try some savory muffins. reduce the sugar, add some spices, herbs, peppers, sausages and cheese...can you picture that? i bet you can even taste it now. ;-) perfect  for breakfast or evening tea.

sometimes, a little change is needed to make things more interesting. the next time i made these, i'll be putting extra of the spices, herbs, pepper and cheese since i felt that the end product lack of something or... everything. so i'm going to make this again with a few changes. 

nonetheless, this is a good basis for muffins and can easily be improvised to suit your taste. i do believe that try and error will always make you a better cook! here is the recipe. 

ethereal

mr. bolts knock on my door this morning and he had a saxophone with him. i was wondering how in the world could he appearing on my doorstep when he asked me this: 

 i just shrugged, so he...

starts playing that saxophone of his. hmm...quite melodic in my opinion. i bet he just wondering around playing for strangers randomly. it could be your house next time! >__<

little ones

i had some leftover cookie dough stashed in the fridge. good thing is my dad craved for some so i just made them into mini sized cookies. he likes it better small, as for the rest of us didn't mind the size as long as it's chocolate chip cookies. crispy outside, slightly soft and chewy inside. yeap, he likes this one best! ^_^

unemotional facade

one might wonder what this is all about. let me explain. my pet shin-kun can be categorized as a handsome or macho fella. in my opinion, his face is manly. but  it lacks on emotional display except when he pissed off. at any other time, he will keep this straight-face which looks like he don't even care whats goes on around him. see and judge it yourself.

two and zero

hip hip! hooray! hip hip! hooray! malaysia win over vietnam 2-0 during soccer match just now. both my dad and my little brother were ecstatic over it and he screams like crazy during both goals! i don't fault him for that but surely some damage was done to my hearing! truthfully, i can't comment much on the techniques or how well they played for i'm not that well verse in soccer.

all i can say is, that there were enough attacking and defending from both sides of the teams that keep game in action-packed mode. so it's not boring to watch. *how weird is that?! is that even a review???@_@*

oh well, this is the score here in malaysia. how well will they play in vietnam on the coming match? that my friends, will be another story...  

relax and chill for a while

what will you do when you had a craving for curry and bread? i supposed you would say, have a curry bread!

as in japan, they have kare pan a.k.a curry bread. well, i haven't taste any of it yet. i'll keep that in my future project. 

but no, i'm not making curry bread which usually will be bake. i want something softer, without the crusty, crispy crust. and guess what? it's time for pau kari a.k.a steamed curry bun!!! huhuhu...it's soft, it's fluffy and it's a little bit spicy thanks to the spices in it.

and let me tell you something, i have three of these right after it's out from the steamer. darn delicious... ^__^  i'm so full afterward i even skipped dinner. no complaint. have it with black coffee, you cannot say anything else except to close your eyes with bliss... ;-) 

life on the highway

i woke up a bit early today. i've to prepare for my sister's lunch-to-go since today she'll be registering at a college in johor for a special intensive course. so she wouldn't be around the house for at least four months starting today. 

i hope she'll be doing okay since she's already armed with two jars of made-with-love cookies. ^_^ it will be a little bit quite around the house for a while as the bickering between her and my little brother will have to be put on halt. and i am sure to enjoy the quietness of the house for now!

as i'm typing this, they probably already half way on the highway to her will-be college.*i like the rhyme! ^__^* i pray that everything went well today and that they will arrive and get back home safely. so dear little sister, if you miss home cooked meal, don't worry...i'll be posting online! ;-) here's a few snapshot before the sunrise.

It Takes Two

You've already known my obsession of bread. now, it's another revelation. I'm a huge cookie monster. Whenever there's a good home baked cookies stashed somewhere in the cupboard, it's hard not to get more of it whilst I have already downed like three pieces of it. mind you, it is NOT mini size cookies. And I'm not the only cookie monster at home. While it's already hard to get my hands from diving into the cookie jar, defending it from my little brother and sisters are even harder. 

Just look, how can we resist the temptation of chocolate chip cookies loaded with of course chocolate chips and nuts? And how can we stay away from chewy oatmeal cookies studded with lots of chocolate and raisins? Even saying the names can cause a craving! much more when you know it's tucked nice and pretty somewhere in the house.@_@ It is mind boggling...

See the difference between the two cookies? As i typed this, my mind already process the texture, the taste...And ahhh, the smell people! Heavens... I.Want.One.Right.Now.

When you can't refrain yourself of these sugary treats, it is mandatory to work off all the excess calories by exercise regularly. Good thing is we all love sweating ourselves, walking in the morning together... It's our family routine. Enjoying the cool morning walk, soothing morning breeze and of course the scenery! ;-)

uhh...sugar!

i can't sleep. should have known too much sugar before bed is totally no-no. so here i am trying to sleep off the excess energy by telling you a story of this talented girlfriends of mine. they are wacky, they have lots of fun and they bake wonderful goodies. as a matter of fact, they brought me a box of cream puffs and i can't stop munching on their chocolate cream puffs *cuz i'm a chocolate person?* so yummy.... >_<

they came over my house... and we had lunch together at the 'workshop', catchup on the 'latest gossip' going around...totally making the place our own!hehehe... it was a fun day out and it will be a lot more fun if ms. i-think-i-had-an-egg-allergy was here too. so missing u!! T_T

ohh...this remind me of the good old days...^_^

broaden your mind

i always have a soft spot for books. so, today i'll introduce a new website called Read Print that i StumbleUpon. it has a vast library of classic literature from short stories, essays, fictions, poems, and even plays. i went a little ga-ga for a bit because they have on so many title that i can't believe i just found it. and i love it, i love it, i love it!

let the books boggle your mind... ^_^

one big, yellow thing

i have to post these mouth-watering pictures of lemon chocolate chip poppyseed muffin. even the name itself is mouthful. ;-) i made this for breakfast long time ago and totally forgot about it. and i believe its a crime on my part not to post the pictures of this really, really, really delicious tangy muffin. 

just imagine the blend of flavors inside your mouth. at your first bite, you'll hear the crunch of poppyseed topping. and as you swallow, the strong, tangy lemon flavor will hit your taste bud. just as quickly, the bitterness of chocolate chips will wash away the strong taste leaving you with subtle taste of everything and makes you want to reach for another...

^__^ hows that? okay, wipe away da drool and enjoy the rest... ^wink^