Ice Cream! Ice Cream!

Yes, that is my latest gadget I bought online. MY ICE CREAM MAKER! It’s from Cook’s Essential by QVC. It’s quite cheap (even after conversion to RM!), at £30 including delivery. It came the next day after I ordered it online, so off I went to buy some ingredients for this.

The first batch I made Blueberry, Lime and Coconut ice cream, it turned out well! I mixed all the ingredients beforehand, let it cool, and throw it into this Ice Cream maker, and after 20 minutes, I can either scoop it out straight away, or put it in a container and let it freeze in the freezer. I must say, you can’t really compare with the supermarket (why compare?!!) in terms of the softness, but you can compare the flavor and the healthiness, because you get to control what you put in it. Since there’s no preservative, and coloring, makes it even better! If you are conscious about your diet, instead of double cream, you can use yogurt instead, though I have not tried it yet. Hmmm….I must give it a go and see how it taste like!

After the first batch, I got very excited. 2 days after my first batch, I decided to make classic Chocolate Ice Cream! I’m not here to boast, but it was really really really good!!! Of course I found the recipe online, but didn’t expect it to be that rich! Amazing!!! I will definitely make another batch!

There are so many flavor to try, except the savory ones like bacon (yes Wai Siong, I’m not gonna do that!) or I don’t know…weird combination! Any suggestion? Please feel free to add under the comments!

 

 

Ice Cream! Anyone?

 

 

 

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Growing….

There’s my little Thyme growing by the window. I planted them as seeds, and it has grown to few centimeters. Gosh, as a planter, it’s a pain and joy to watch those little leaves comes out from the soil. You want them to grow fast, and give you fruit (well, Thyme doesn’t produce fruit, but would love to have leaves!). But you got to be patient, and take time to nurture the plants. I have planted some strawberries too from scratch. Time will tell whether it has been successful.

We also need to grow. Whether it’s about our skills, knowledge, or even our relationship with other people. Me? It’s been a slow and painful one. Ever since I came over to London, things are not as easy as it seem. Looking for a job has not been very successful. With the current economy, finding a job is even tougher. There has been time when I doubted myself. What am I doing here?

Well, it’s not all gloomy (like London weather 🙂 ), as much as I miss the comfort back home, I believe God has sent me here for a reason. To challenge myself for greater things. There were so many things back at home that were provided for me without much effort, like Youth, church, family, work etc. I miss Youth Aflame, the times we spent on planning, mentoring. Over here, I need to start all over again. It’s part of growing process.

For a start, Shern and I manage to do devotion together! Not easy though…But we enjoyed it very much. Since time is my good friend now, I could sharpen my cooking skills 😛 look out for possible course to study in the summer, and maybe picking up new skills to learn. Not many people has the same luxury as I have, and I would remind myself not to waste it away.

For now, I learn to be patient, to nurture myself, and to make sure I grow. Like plants, we all need to grow whether it’s painful or a joy.

 

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Valentine’s day special

Happy Valentine’s day!!! I know, it has passed already. Well, showing your love to your either parents, husband/wife, gf/bf, friends etc does not fall on just Feb 14th. Hehe….Well, talking about Valentine’s day, this is our 2nd Valentine in 9 years, most of the time were spent apart, so thus it was exciting and new?

We wanted to go the new Jamie Oliver’s restaurant but when we went to enquire, the first available table is after 9:45pm! That’s just crazy! So instead of giving business to the restaurant, might as well buy some food from the supermarket. Bought some steaks, potatoes, carrots etc and went back to cook.

I must say I’m really happy how it turns out. The rump steak only cost £2.50, so overall the cost of this dish is only below £5! I made potato mash with peas. I’m not a peas lover myself, so I thought why not mash it up! Turns out well! The gravy? Just throw in some shallots, garlic, mushroom and of course the beef juice!

Shern manage to buy some red roses for me too! What is Valentine without roses! mohohoho….

I think Valentine is over hyped! But nevertheless, it gives business to the restaurants and florist. Here are some of the ways how other countries celebrate this special day:

1. Japan- Women are supposed to give chocolates to Men! I find this interesting! Men are expected to return gifts that are at least two or three times more valuable than the gifts received in Valentine’s Day. (Not bad!) Not returning the gift is perceived as the man placing himself in a position of superiority, even if excuses are given. Returning a present of equal value is considered as a way to say that you are cutting the relationship.

2. In Finland -Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä which translates into “Friend’s day”. As the name indicates, this day is more about remembering all your friends, not only your loved ones.  ( I guess this is where the ‘friends’ day come from)

3. In Malaysia -Islamic officials warned Muslims against celebrating Valentine’s Day, linking it with vice activities. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the celebration of romantic love was “not suitable” for Muslims. Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz, head of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which oversees the country’s Islamic policies said a fatwa (ruling) issued by the country’s top clerics in 2005 noted the day ‘is associated with elements of Christianity,’ and ‘we just cannot get involved with other religion’s worshipping rituals.’ Jakim officials plan to carry out a nationwide campaign called “Awas Jerat Valentine’s Day”(“Mind the Valentine’s Day Trap”), aimed at preventing Muslims from celebrating the day on 14 February 2011. Activities include conducting raids in hotels to stop young couples from having unlawful sex and distributing leaflets to Muslim University students warning them against the day.

-Extracted from Wikipedia

Very interesting! At the end of the day, it depends on how you look at it. Everyday could be a Valentine’s day, just like Christmas. For some other people, it’s just an extra special day to show your feelings, your emotions to your love ones. If it does you no harm, join in the fun and take time out to cherish your love ones (that includes your parents, your siblings, your….you know what I mean!) What do you think?

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Chinese New Year, family visit.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!! Kinda weird to be away from Malaysia where we were so used to hear all the fire crackers during the eve of CNY and throughout CNY too. It was definitely a quiet and peaceful in London. It was quite an eventful week for us too.

My mother in law and Ann came over to London on January 28th. Shern and I went over to Terminal 4 and waited for them to arrive. Wait…wait…wait…finally after 1 hour they appeared! We managed to book a taxi the night before, and went back home after 1 and a half hours. Man, the amount of traffic lights along the way, I can go crazy!!! There goes my hope of driving in London! It’s pure craziness!

Reached home, open luggage, and wahla! Full of CNY food. Biscuits, lap cheong, bak gua, pistachio nuts etc. It is certainly weight more than 20kg! Jolly good! Our CNY in London is not that depressing anymore! hehehe….

Jan 29th, we booked a train to go up to Nottingham to see the Koh Family. Sue gave birth to a cute little boy, Ethan, early January. The baby was just so cute! Manage to carry him and cuddle him. Just so small, reminds me of Gianna when she was a month old. We also went to visit the Robin Hood castle, and around evening we went back home.

On Chinese New Year eve, my mother in law cooked alot of food! Duck, chicken, lap cheong, pork rib, and we even had Lou Sang!!!! Bought some veg and made it our own English style Lou Sang! For the sauce, it was easy. Add plum sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, and some lime juice.  Very healthy! We were so full at the end of the dinner. Then on the first day of CNY, the hakka tradition was to eat vegetarian. So my mother in law cooked tong fun with black fungus, and made some sweet drinks. Throughout the week, they walked around to visit some of the unis and do some shopping too. My mother in law manage to buy us a book shelve, tea pot, and a soft toy pig too!

On the night before they fly off, Jian decided to cook dinner for all of us. I was a sous chef that night. We cooked steam fish, stew chicken with rice wine, stew duck with taucheo, stir fry broccoli, soup and Ann cooked some mushrooms. It was really really deliiiiciiioouuusss! We should do more of this! hhahah….

Overall, I was grateful to have family around during Chinese New Year. I definitely miss celebrating with my family back at home. But it was something different this year to celebrate with my in laws. I must say I really had fun having them around in our small apartment. Have a safe journey back mum and Ann! See you guys soon!

To the rest of you, Happy Chinese NEw YEar!!!!

p/s: if you wan angpau, you have to fly to UK and get it from us! mohohooh….

 

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