the not-so-domestic-goddess nutella muffins

One of the children's favorite - Nutella Muffin. Nutella - who wouldn't fall for its chocolate-y, hazelnut-y taste? With exception of Tebby that is.

Made these yummy Nutella Muffin last week. Easy peasy. I don't have to panjat the cabinet (you see, I am under-tall, I stand at 152cm) and bring out my electric mixer. Just bowl, whisk, spatula and spoon. And I don't have to whisk like mad, just gently do it and I can still smile like Nigella does when she's in the kitchen. Opkos lah I am nowhere near being a domestic goddess. Nigella doesn't bake in baju kelawar with hair in a bun high atop her head, does she? 

 150 gm caster sugar (I used granulated sugar for the lack of caster)
100 ml fresh milk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

in a bowl, whisk these ingredients until well mixed

125 gm butter
Normally butter comes in a pack of 250 gm, just cut in half
Melt and set to cool a bit. You may want to do this first prior to everything else.
I melted mine in microwave for 2 minutes.
Then add to sugar + milk + egg mixture.

300 gm flour
2 tsp baking powder
Slowly add to mixture using a spatula until well mix but don't overdo it.

5-6 tbsp Nutella

Mix well into the mixture

By the time I am done mixing, I set the oven to 160d, fan assisted, both top and bottom heat. I know different oven needs different temperature setting. I finally conclude mine should be at 160d fan assisted and about 170d-180d without fan (after burnt cakes, muffins and whatnots and series of frustration..)

Spoon into paper cups until 1/2 or 3/4 full. Kakak helped me with the finishing. Chocolate coin and a heart on each. I might as well omit the heart next time. Those are heartless little beings. Not only they are hard, they are tasteless too..

Bake for about 12-15 minutes and here's the end product :)

Auww.. ai lebiu. This one specially for Tebby :-)

of being deprived..

Being deprived of gadget that is! No ipad, no smartfons, no computer. No net-surfing. No you-tube-ing. No computer/fon/ipad games. The kids are too absorbed, it scares us. Especially Iman. So puasa those things on weekdays. On Saturday and Sunday they are free to browse the net or play computer games.

This is an old ruling by the way. But very much lacking in reinforcement :D

This time I am determined to be firm on the matter. First two days, they complaint, they begged, they sulked, they had this longgg face he he. They even tried to trick me. On third day, pasrah already he he. 

The boys booked a board-box (Coincidently we just bought an IKEA's study table for Kakak. They wanted to keep the box) and, with help from Tebby, cut off two pairs of sword and shied from it. And rode happily in the remaining box. They played battle. And guess what? We're going to paint the swords and shields this coming weekend!

My boys. One is overweight, 38kg at 9yo. One is underweight, 15kg at 5yo.

Trying hard to strike a ganas post. Iman failed miserably he he.

Finally!

Some friends recommended this series. It's a fact-telling in fun, comical way. They boys can't be playing battle all the time right. I bought a copy from a convenience store at the office. When I came back from work today, they were telling us about those facts and story from the book. 

Eventhough they were a little mad at me for not knowing many things from the book, I am one happy mother.

... of my vege-tale-ble

Between sayur bandar and sayur kampung, I prefer sayur kampung. Kangkung, bayam, pucuk paku, kulat sisir, kulat tahun. Bunyi macam mold kan but they are not actually. Kulat sisir tu banyak prosedur nak masak but the taste, wallah.. worth the effort..  And ulam. I was brought up in remote kampung and our staple vegetables included pucuk mengkudu, jering, petai, kerdas, ulam raja, pegaga.. Paling bandar pun, kobis.. masak lemak putih letak bawang besar, cili sama ikan bilis je. Makan dengan nasi panas-panas, ikan goreng and a bit of sambal.. especially sambal jeruk belimbing besi tumbuk dengan cili dan ikan bilis. Menambah-nambah!

 

Seen above - my kind of menu. Top left is pucuk mengkudu. Rebus sampai lembut. Rasanya sedikit pahit tapi terangkat bila cicah dengan sambal ikan bilis+belimbing muda. I am drooling as I am typing this :D Masa dalam confinement, inilah menu sayur paling lazim (sans the sambal). Tabik kat Mok yang bersungguh-sungguh pegi ambik kat pokok. Fresh okay. Bila tanya kenapa mengkudu? Baik untuk orang perempuan katanya tapi tak ada ulasan lanjut tentang khasiat apa he he.

Last weekend rasa teringin nak makan pegaga. Beli kat Jusco, satu ikat yang tak sampai secekak tangan ai ni, RM3.50! Beli kangkung kat Aeon Big seikat pun baru 50sen.. nak makan punya pasal, beli lah jugak. I made sure pilih yang ada akar. Mok pesan kalau makan pegaga, makan semua dari batang sampai akar. But I had other plan in mind actually.

To grow my own pegaga that is! My latest OCD is - color-coordinating my pots! I bought new pot just for that and those sprouting pegaga please grow nicely. I ate all the leaves then trim off the layu ones so they'd look nice and tidy. Rendam dalam a bit of water for 4 days and then transferred them into the pot. I don't know if the 4 days of rendam is needed. I just had to wait until weekend to do all these :D While they are at that rendam phase, small new leaves sprouted.. much to my excitement he he.

I remember few years back I had this phase of drinking pegaga juice, freshly blended at home (tapi beli kat kedai aje pegaganya) every few days and it went on for months until I gave up sebab malas. If my green finger project is a success then perhaps I should start again. We'll just have to wait and see. Shall we?

Kek Nanas versi Kak Mon (Pineapple Cake)

Ingat ai punya '13 challenges?'  No?

I am supposed to make 13 things using the not-so-new-anymore Fotile oven. In March, my blog entry on that stopped at numero 6! I have been trial-and-error-ing for the past months with success and failure in arrays of muffins and cakes, beef and chicken and eventually concluded that my children like Nutella Muffin, Strawberry or Blueberry Baked Cheese Cake and Kek Nanas.

So today, my ramble will be on numero 7, Kek Nanas. An adaptation of Tropical Pineapple Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Frosting, from the recipe book Muffins and Bakes, by Parragon Books. I have reduced the recipe's fancy name into just a two-word! And lazy me make it a cake and not cupcakes and I also happily omit the frosting. The original recipes uses too much sugar to my liking and too little pineapple juice to suit our taste-bud.

Bahan pertama - loyang. It came with non-stick label but my cake got stuck nonetheless :( Please line at least the bottom with baking sheet. Here, I just lumur some marjerin at the bottom and on its sides.

- 270gm margarine

- 240gm white sugar
Beat these two ingredients until white and fluffy (I used stand mixer)

- 3 large eggs

Add one by one into sugar+margarine mixture. Beat for 1-2 minutes between eggs.

- 270 gm self raising flour

Fold into mixture using spatula, then continue to beat using mixer until well mixed.

- 1 can of pineapple (drained)

- 3/4 cup pineapple juice
Add pineapple juice into mixture and beat until mixed
Switch off mixer and fold drained pineapple into mixture

Pour into baking pan. I baked mine at 160d, fan assisted, api atas bawah for about 40 minutes.

My children love this Kek Nanas. I once tried putting blended pineapple (instead of cubes) and used brown sugar (instead of white).. much to their annoyance he he. That was the first and last time la I did in such way.

The recipe also says we can use butter instead of margarine.I prefer margarine, with its hint of saltiness against the sour and sweetness.

Recommended.

tabung...

They say, the ideal ratio in using up your salary is 50:30:20 of needs:wants:saving respectively. Other suggestion is 70:30:10 of spending:saving:sedekah respectively. IMHO, only you can determine your ideal ratio. As long as not 50:50 of wants:needs! I am also struggling in this aspect so ask me not for advice :P

I know some people hardly make ends meet and may Allah Bless them with abundant of rezeki. They have my respect in raising up family despite the hardship. A cleaner once came to my table where we were having lunch and asked about a Transformers figurine on the table. I have to admit, we splurged a bit on that. There was a hopefulness feeling I saw in his eyes when he said he was going to save some money to get that for his son.

And if he was saving from his meager salary, why can't us? I am reminding myself more than anyone else here :D

Anyway.

I got my boys tabung minions about a couple of months back. My boys are better spender than Kakak despite the perceived strong co-relation between female and shopping. Kakak spends her pocket money wisely, mostly on things she needs and occasionally on things she wants and she keeps the rest. Iman, on the other hand, spends almost all of his daily pocket money almost all the time. He has this splitting look from me and perhaps that spending habit comes from me as well :D

Seen above, the boys posed with their tabung minions. In minutes they filled them up 1/4 full (with coins they took from a box that I use to keep small change) Easy job ha boys?

Today masuk dalam akaun along with their duit raya. I made it a point to open up a Tabung Haji account for each child few months after their birth and do monthly salary deduction for them. Not much really. But, sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit kan. Now even easier because we can do Tabung Haji transactions over the counters and ATM at Bank Islam (Bank Rakyat and Maybank as well - check it out here) And we T* staff are lucky lots coz there's a Bank Islam's branch down there at LG level.

Having done the transactions, I got a warning from Bank Islam not to mix up with non-malaysian currencies (coins) as these coins tersangkut-sangkut in their machine. Warning duly noted....

post UPSR 2013

Kakak with close friends on last day of UPSR

It's been awhile huh? In between my last entry and now, there were moving office, Raya do office-version, UPSR and a short getaway to One World.

Let me bore you with UPSR.

I am a first time mom with child sitting for UPSR. I didn't know I was able to be ever so worried! While the calon slept peacefully in her room, I woke up at 3:00 am tossing and turning not being able to sleep! No wonder I got offended at a friend's remark 'ala, rileks la.. UPSR je pun'. Fine. Your eldest is attending kindy right? And your youngest is still in diaper if I am not mistaken. Yeah sure everyone is entitled to his/her opinion but to convey such remark the night before UPSR, it was so uncalled for. 

I told Kakak to do (and pray) her best. That was her first big exam (she reminded me that I told her the same thing when she sat for her UPKK last year :P) Nevertheless, I made it known to her, she still has a very long road ahead of her. A good start doesn't always guarantee a good ending. And a bad start doesn't always mean a bad ending too. Most importantly to always try to be better. Once we stop doing that, that's when failure comes in. Perhaps that was a tad too serious for a 12 year old but I told her exactly that anyway. And to always remember whatever result she gets, that would be the best that Allah Bestows upon her. Something I need to keep on reminding myself at the back of my mind as well :D

And apparently she has something to tell and remind us too. Her decision and point of view. Whatever result she gets, she's staying home and will be schooling at the nearest secondary school. She feels that would be the best for her.

Having been sent to a fully boarding school when I was 12, I totally agree with her. I feel that would be the best for us.

nukilan 31.08.2013

terima kasih Tuhan
atas limpah rezekiMu
kami menyambut ulangtahun perkahwinan ke-13

terima kasih Sayang
sudi menjadi suami
walau diri jauh dari sempurna
moga kasih membawa ke syurga

terima kasih Tuhan
ku bernafas di bumi genap 39 tahun sudah
ampunkan salah silap ku
terimalah amal ibadat ku
berkatilah apa jua baki umur ku

terima kasih Ayah dan Bonda
melahir dan membesarkan sehingga ku mampu berdiri sendiri
jasa tak terbalas dengan apa jua pun

terima kasih saudara dan teman
atas ingatan dan doa kalian

nukilan - 31.08.2013