Saturday, February 27, 2010

Breakfast At Home During School Holiday

Breakfast At Home
During School Holiday (Non-Halal)


Written by Mrs. Money



This is a non-halal breakfast, if Malay friends like Chinese foods, they can always use beef (with some fat) to prepare foods at home to get as yummy results.


This is a good breadfast for kids with a grass of their favorite juice (don't chill) but a very fattening breakfast for over 40 years old folks, thus I advise older folks to eat this breakfast with hot herbal tea.





The best part of pork (its belly section). Marinated the pork with vinegar, wine, soy sauce and minced red onion. Fry the skin and meat first, while frying add prepared ginger (just a bit), garlic, red onion, sugar (optional), cute daikon (white raddish or white carrot), salt and black pepper with sesame oil, fry everything until brownish. When everything turn light brown, add hot water. Boil for 15 to 20 minute. Then add organic bean paste, soy sauce, vinegar and minced meat, cook for another 10 to 15 minutes but don't dry it up.

 
Use the ready sauce to prepare this kolo mee or kan pan mian, garnish with spring onion.


The minced meat and sliced meat can be used to make kong bian sandwich, some foo chow preferred it deep fried, but I think it's not healthy for over 40 years old folks!


Ground meat and slided meat on kong bian



This charcoal grilled kong piang from Bintagor with sesame topping got freezed since ages ago, defrozed it in microwave and then toast it.



Chinese and Western Herbs
Thriving Under Equatorial Harsh Weather




Written by Mrs. Money



I like herbs so much that whenever I got any chance to acquire a new kind, I would either sow the seed or plant the cuttings in one of the vegetables patches. Some were successfully propagated but some would perish as seedlings.


Seeds of western herbs came not easy and expensive, these days I tried to sow those precious seeds and care of those seedlings right under my careful watch, I decided to place them next to my laundry machine so that I could see them few times a day.

On my last trip to Singapore, I forgotten to bring back my gooseberry, I left it in my sister's refrigerator for almost two months and I only just got it during Chinese new year. At first I doubted if those seeds would be able to germinate, then I got so excited when I saw little sprouts finally emerged and now I watch them growing up daily.







Western Herb: Purple Basil, love gift seeds from my sister all the way from Auckland, I plan to make purple pesto soon! Purple basil thrives very well in Malaysia, I found out Cuban Oregano is a very good companion plant for basil.

Oriental Herb: Chili padi is one of the Malaysians' favorite herbs, it is one of the hottest chili, its size is smallest amongst chilies, the size is shown in the picture. I read from a Chinese Herbal magazine that a mom used to boil the roots of this chili padi plants as tea to supress her son's bad brain tumour to pea size.

Oriental Herb: Cilandro is popular for garnishing Sarawkiens' laksa or steamed fish. It is also a very popular herb for Thais, Vietamese and Koreans

Oriental and Western Herb: Peppermint all over the garden, sometimes I gave my friends to prepare alkaline herbal drink. A popular ingredients for Ray Chai

Oriental Herb: Garlic chives is popular for frying Penang Kueh Tiaw and making Wuo Tear

Western Herb: Sweet basils for preparing pesto or pasta sauce. From my reading of a latest Chinese Herbal Health Magazine, a man said that any kind of basils is 100% effective for teenager boys who got "sexual function health" problem that they will be too shy to tell their parents. Also he said if you go out for happy hours, bring some basil leaves to chew so you won't get drunk easily, and lastly he said the basil makes men very "strong"!


Ancient Herb: Aloe Vera. Someone just told me this recipe for hopeless cancer patients: Peel off the skin of the leaves, don't wash with water, steam the leaves for two hours with raw sugar. Eat it everyday until your tumour gone! I also read the latest Chinese herbal magazine, a salesman who got rid of his bad pigmentations within four months by drinking aloe vera-apple juice and apply aloe vera on face with mostuizer every night.

Oriental Herb: It smells like cilandro, good replacement if ones can't find cilandro in the market

Oriental Herb: This is the most interesting Chinese herb, when my IVF specialist brother-in-laws hinted Mr. Money that due to my old age I might not be able to deliver anymore baby, my mom used the roots of this herb, fried with red rice wine for 7 times, then prepared the yummy chicken soup. I enjoyed the soup, I didn't care if I was able to deliver baby or not, worst come to worst I didn't mind have a quick divorce!

Western Herb: Cuban Oregano my cousin gave

Western Herb: Dill Officinalis thriving very well in my garden, but this herb wouldn't thrive under soaking soil. This is good for grilling fish, preparing cucumber cum tomatoes salad and making gherkin dill pickles.

Oriental Herb: Thai Basils with purple stems, besides for Ton Yang, it is one of the ingredients in preparing Ray Chai

Oriental Herb: Parsley, good replacement for celery. Sarawakien Chinese love to use it to garnish their Tofu soup

Oriental Herb: My visiting cousin chew the leaves to get rid of her uncomfortable stomach


Oriental Herb: Cat whiskets, good for supressing diabetic combined with basil

Oriental Herb: "Black face general", good for supressing swollen lumps

Oriental Wild Herb: According to a Chinese herbal magazine that this herb is slightly poison, shouldn't take it continously. Good for eyes, depression and for certain sexual disfuntion.

Oriental Herb: Good for diabetic wounds recovering

Oriental Herb: Curry leaves

Western Herb: Lemon basil

Western Herb: Thyme

Western Herb: Oregano

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

HOMEMADE BODY CREAM


Prepared and Written by Mrs. Money



I went to departmental stores searching for body lotions or body creams, but most of those cheaper creams and lotion are heavily scented with perfumed and contained inferior ingredients. A good bottle of lotion or cream could easily cost more than RM50, thus often I returned home empty handed dissapointed and sad that I am not rich enough to efford expensive things.

After I saw one of my passion tree, its flowers kept dropping before developed into fruits, so I decided to use its blossoms to prepare scented oil. I leave the scented oil in the refrigerator, I will prepare it anytime when I am in right mood.

The scented oil should be mixed and heated up with beeswax, then stir in distilled water. The process is quicker than baking a cake or cooking a dish, I think this is perfect for a person who hated shopping, if I go to a store to get a bottle of lotion or cream, it will take more time than myself making one at home!



Always prepared this scented oil and leave it in the refrigerator, I would recommend grapeseeds oil as it is safe for sensitive skin

Ingredients: Grapeseeds oil, rose buds, sweet basil leaves, blossoms of passion, chili, lime, basil, dill and tomatoes (contained pollens)



Beeswax is so expensive, (200GM cost me NZ$20++) luckily I just needed it sparingly, based on two tablespoons mixed with half a cup of scented oil.


With 1/4 cup of oil and a tablespoon of beeswax, I produced around 300 gram, good enough for a whole month for me and two kids. It just cost RM15 (not counting blossoms and herbs from money tai tai's garden); if anyone interested I can offer you 250g with RM30!!!


Colourants-free, non-toxic and no bad scent but very thick cream with light beeswax and flower scents! Just need to apply sparingly on normal skin and cracked heels

MY SON IS STUPID OR THE ONES
WHO SET THOSE CONFUSING QUESTIONS?
Our education …. How up-to-date, substantial and flexible?




Written by Mrs. Money




30 years ago, my mom returned home told me a primary school teacher set a question to his students in this way:

Question:
Can a bird sing?

Answer: (A)
Yes ...................
(B) No


According to my mom, she said those students who gave wrong answer of “Yes” argued with their teacher heatedly.

30 later, I bought my kids first time to visit Singapore National Bird Park, my kids and I were so amazed of those birds which could sing so many tunes, most surprising to me because those birds stayed on pitch better than some of our human voices!


"SINGAPURA
…. SINGAPURA…..”

“KERR RENG DAO, KERR RENG DAO, MA MA BU ZAI JIA…”



Recently, I told myself that I wouldn’t mind my son gets the last in his class or even no number in his class is even better if all his teachers gave unreasonable confusing questions here and there after I gone through one of his wrongly answered question.

Question: An elephant needs:

Answer: (A) Bees and water
............(B) Fruit and bread
..............(C) leaves and water


My son gave the wrong answer of (B) fruit and bread, because that’s what he saw people throwing bread to the elephant when he visited the zoo.

I would think that it is much better for a book writer or a teacher to set answer clearly in this way for those very young kids

Question:
An elephant needs:


Answer: (A)Bees and oil
..........................(B)Toys and insecticides
......................(C) Leaves and water


If such a writer or teacher wants their students to involve in critical thinking, I would suggest he sets his question and answer in this way

Question: A healthy elephant needs:

Answer: (A) Coca-cola and biscuits
...(B) Beer and pizza
......(C) leaves and water


Lastly I think it is always to get kids to involve in lateral thinking, this is a very popular question:

Question:
When Polly saw two brown bags one with diamond and the other with bones, why she ran off happily with the bag that got bones?

Do you know the answer?

How long does it take you to figure out the answer?

This was the question given by Mr. Money’s specialist brother to test his two engineer brothers and his new sister-in-law.

So after I gave several barking someone still couldn’t give a correct answer! Then I only realised many profesionals lateral brains are inactive! May be those exposures I spent in two world class instituations did help me to develop my lateral thinking!


I remember when I was a teenager, my dad’s rich friend kept advising my poor dad not to send us to study in overseas but he sent all his kids, nieces and nephews to study in overseas!

Those elite rich and powerful families sent their kids since childhood years to study in overseas only in the best and most elite academies and they would speak perfect English (or Mandarin), to ensure their throne being succeeded one generation after another generation upon their returning to our country.

I think Darwin’s theory has exercised on in our educational system too, “survival of fittess!”



LOVE IN THE EYES OF A BEHOLDER!



Written by Mrs. Money




One day I gave a brainstorming session to my friend’s daughter about “love in the eyes of a beholder.”


She told me her friends were all crazy about marching band, even those boys in the marching band also had become dream boys to young girls. And those students who involved in the marching band were very proud of themselves too, she didn’t like their proud and arrogant altitudes.


I asked her, “Why you get bothered?” I tried to broaden her lateral side of mind, so I gave her an example. I told her that when I was studying in American universities, football players were the dream-men for college girls. Girls normally would scream hysterically when they saw football stars approaching them.


I told her I didn’t know anything about football and I didn’t like sport, so even if there was a most famous football star went after me, I wouldn’t even entertain him. Worst still if he was a proud man, I would even dare to give him my longest finger if he continuously bothered me. I didn’t fancy him, he would be a nobody to me, his arrogant ness, his bad altitude or fame would be nothing to my general concern and slight interest.


But I like smart men, so if there was an IQ 200 pursuing after me, I could be quite flattered!


Similarly there are many girls like rock-stars, I don’t like them, so they should look out for girls and fames that would adore and admire them.

Monday, February 22, 2010

A Piece of Advice for Parents


Who send their girls to Chinese primary schools
Watch out for Scoliosis, unnecessary fate of crooked spine fallen on your kids!


Written by Mrs. Money


I am neither a doctor nor a counselor, but way before I got married I was an “acting Catholic father” for many playboys to confess and my profession also placed me as a “safe deposit box” for many youngsters to reveal their secrets to me.

In our Chinese society we only like to broadcast something that is good but hidden something that is bad; there are many reasons for such victims to act such a quiet way to protect themselves and also their families.

When I was able to keep somebody’s secret I would listen and kept quiet but in some cases I would rather bring such victims for shopping or having an afternoon tea, in certain cases I would ask those girls to talk to their moms of their top secrets. My reason was: That’s the price you paid for maturity after you did something wrong or when unfortunate things fallen on you that you wonder should blame your own ignorant, your mom or your God! To show that you are a mature person; so safe keep your own secrets, as there are many irresponsible persons and friends (actually your secret enemies or rivals) who might treat your top secrets as rubbish to dispose as they wished the minute you left them. Sometimes your tragic has actually become a stumbling stone that jeopardized you in searching a future partner or a good career, or it simply ended up as a laughing stock for your rivals to exaggerate.

This morning on the way down from my son’s third storey staircase, I saw a young 7 years old skinny girl carried a heavy school bag alone without any of her parent’s help, as she was almost reaching the top I wouldn’t be able to give her a hand, “Hey, you shouldn’t carry this heavy bag, it simply easily topple over you! Tomorrow ask your mom to come helping you to carry your heavy school bag up to this third floor! Do you know if you have weak bones, this is not good for your back bone?” She looked at me in doubt why this aunty got so angry and so concerned of she carried her heavy school bag.

Chinese primary schools got the heaviest school bags in the whole world versus to size of their owners. I heard there is a very famous oil town Chinese primary school near a river, the school got the strictest discipline and one of the best academic results in our state, yet beginning of last year there was such an excerpt of news got released statewide that the school students would get locked outside the gate if they didn’t come on time under such early morning was under the heavy rain. Another thing needed to mention of such Chinese primary school was their primary 1 classes would be placed on the top floor, and parents were not allowed to help their children to carry their heavy school bags up to their respective 3rd floor classrooms.

Children with good healthy strong bones might not be a victim to scoliosis, a crooked spine but if you slightly got brain, you can tell what had happened to those skinny weak and fragile bones young students, years after years, now imagine those young girls' favorite pose, if they carried their cheap school bags (school bag with roller wheels can cost a fortune) limped to a particular right side while waiting near the road side for their parents (imagine just 20 minutes waiting and accumulated for each school days); most of the time they only found out the crooked spine problem when they reached secondary school. The western educated doctors would never directly make a remark by saying and blaming such patient’s problem was caused by prolonged carrying school bags on an inappropriate position to cause such handicapped back if without solid evident from researches.

The bravest act was a past year Malaysian beauty queen who revealed her problem and gave up her title due to her scoliosis problem, of course I don’t know how she got such problem from initially, but most of the time victims’ and their parents kept such secret at bay, they are afraid people looking at them with “colored” eyes. Imagine put my foot on the same shoe, if my daughter is a victim, I would have so many considerations if I should reveal to even a good friend or even own relatives, how about if I tell my good friend, my good friend also got her good friend, so at the end it unfortunately would become an open secret, yet those well protect unrevealed secrets would always be well-kept secrets! Many Chinese well to do family choose their in-laws like choosing a goat, if it got a good set of teeth even would be a consideration for them to ensure their good genes being inherited instead of saturated with defected chromosomes!

If you are not brave enough to reveal your secrets to help others, then better be a brave mommy to be dared enough to fight for your rights for your daughter’s well-beings, if your daughter school principal didn’t allow you help her carrying school bag to her 3rd floor classroom, you got to bride some newspapers reporters to do some researches to reveal some untold sad stories. If you are waiting for medical researchers to proof something, then only after many victims dared enough to reveal what had happened to them, may be by then the research can be done successfully and being proven!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Good and Bad Eat-Out Experience


Complimentary Brownies from Miri Marriot about 4 years ago


Written by Mrs. Money



Few nights ago, I invited a lawyer friend from an oil town and her “long time no see” children to eat in a supposedly to be one of the most popular Chinese restaurant in Kuching city. I worried in midst of Chinese New Year bliss most restaurants would be busy, thus I made a reservation before I left my house.

When I reached the restaurant, I realized I made a mistake that I didn’t ask which exact storey of my booked table. What I did with my guests and kids was we went to second floor first and then first floor but in their booking list I found no money tai tai’s name, eventually they told us to go down the Thai and they told us we couldn’t order pork there. (I wonder why they didn’t tell me the time when I booked the table)

The foods served were good, but we left so many dishes for tabao. A waitress gave us two packages and I looked at her with doubts but I kept quiet, “That’s all?” I thought those waitresses just put everything together.

On the next morning, when I took out the two doggie bags for breakfast, I found out the remaining half of a kilogram golden pomfret and the Thai appetizer (only a piece was eaten) were missing, but only those sparingly remained tofu and noodle were given to me.

My temper elevated immediately, “Hell, those heaven bliss restaurant folks thought that I was a rich tai tai? They thought that I would dump those doggie bags to my maid upon reaching home and wouldn’t take a second glance after that?”

I pressed a complaint, soon a manager returned her call; I was so surprised that she could exactly describe what were those left over things. She said, “I will replace you when you come again!”

Whether to ask for that half kilogram pomfret and desert back is another consideration and up to my siew chea's temper to dispose. I like their tom yang, but definitely I have to wait after my siew chea temper gone before thinking to step in the heavenly bliss restaurant again, it’s heaven bliss the time to eat but the “after shock” was not that pleasing, when the restaurant was busy, the inconsistent services in booking and tabao both ended in such messes.

Another bad eat-out experience that we might encounter is: Often we went to a restaurant, we paid so much yet the foods ended were not as fresh, especially the shashimi served in some hotel restaurants in this city ward me off quite some times already. It's hard to please my experienced taste buds in fresh shashimi, so ended up I went the wholesaler carried home the air-flown salmon. Sometimes I doubted the chef's treatment and storage of fresh fish, normally a fresh salmon should be frozen for a few days before served to kill if any of those harmful worms, their eggs or bacteria ..... many people probably have forgotten Malaysia is a very warm country and they like to defroze the frozen fish (or chicken) just out there in the warm room temperature for the whole morning or whole afternoon, I used to see my maternal side aunts soaked the meat and fish in hot water and recently I saw my mother-in-law left the frozen chicken under the sun but I didn't dare to voice out. I would like to advise ones to defroze the meat or fish in cold refrigerator (or defroze it quickly by microwave oven) and leave those fresh meats or fish in the cold refrigerator ONLY temporary.

I always remember many years ago, there was a very outstanding F & B manager in Miri Marriot, I remember his name is called Steve, he could speak perfect American English and good Mandarin too. I ate there often all because of him, under his management, the waiters and waitresses were so polite and thoughtful. I noticed that the busier they became, but their services never got tangled or in a chaos. Steve was looking like a happy host, “gracing” table to table greeting and talking to his guests, he treated the busy situation at ease as it a happy blissful special occasion of many guests coming to his family party.

When I mentioned to him when I was in Texas, the Marriot’s Brownies was always my favorite especially after concerts, few minutes later he came to me with a piece of Marriot brownies. Any guest would be delighted with such a special surprising treat, you think I would spend my money anymore from that onwards in other in town hotels’ restaurant?

Very soon Steve’s shadow disappeared from the restaurant then I asked one of the waiters and he told me Steve got posted to Singapore. I then saw the obvious mood changed to the restaurant, the Marriot’s Brownies also became a history there and I didn’t see any trace of it being served during buffet.

The picture of Steve’s restaurant management spirit, skills, hospitality and thoughtfulness always would emerge on my mind whenever I encountered either pleasant or unpleasant eat-out experience.





Buffet served in Miri Marriot, 2007




Friday, February 19, 2010

A NEW RECIPE FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR




Created and Written by Mrs. Money




Chinese New Year, everyone ate too much meat, BBQ pork, roasted duck and dried meat all in danger to your heart. Something like this tomatoes fried with lots of onion and sweet basils could give you a change to your taste buds... something red yet not that attracting but once you started to give a bite, it was not as sour due to added onion and salt, you would love this dish.


Fried Tomatoes

10 tomatoes cut into pieces; handful of chopped sweet basils, one big onion, garlic, salt, olive oil and pepper. Fry salt, onion and garlic with olive oil until brownish, add basils to fry a while, finally add in tomatoes and pepper, give a quick fry under hot fire. Serve immediately

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Rainny season tomatoes

Tomatoes Grown Under Rainny Season
Written by Mrs. Money

Under the rain, tomatoes still grow and got harvested, but the lower part of the plant leaves turn into brownish soon.

I would advice plant tomatoes inside a pot and place under a shade during rainny season. You won't be able to share your harvest to friends in this case due to limited harvest!







School Canteen Got Junk Foods?




Written by Mrs. Money



Last year, one of the morning I received a phone call from my son's school teacher to inform me that my son nose got severe bleeding. When I saw my son, first thing I asked him what food he bought from canteen, then he told me, "Koropok!"
So I went to the canteen told the takau-neon there not to let him buy anymore "koropok" but bread or noddles.
Then one morning around 10+ when I passed by my son's school I saw there were so many cars parking outside the school, I called one of my son's classmate mom to ask her curiously, she told me those cars belonged to parents that brought foods to their kids during recess.
"What? Really got so many of those '24 siew' mothers?"
So recently I was in doubt if I was a good mother and especially my son's school result was bad, I worried if I show enough concern to my son's school life, so one morning I dropped in the school during recess time. I came slightly 2 minutes late, with a can of juice and a bag of "kolo mee" but hidden in my big handbag instead like the rest of the "24 siew" moms and even "24 siew" dads who openly carried foods and drinks in their hands.
I couldn 't find my son after I raised myself to the second floor, and then I went to the canteen, I still couldn't find him, so I raised again to his second floor classroom, I finally caught him munching a piece of Malaysian "Hot Dog". I snapped the remaining one and the half piece of hot dog from him, "Don't ever eat this junk food anymore, got it? ^%$**^$#..." after blasting those nagging words that all children hate, I gave him the warm noddle and his favorite juice,
"Wow, yummy!" I could tell he was happy of what I brought to him.
When I descended the staircase, I doubted again if I was a good mom, should I bring him warm foods everyday during recess or just let him eat cold foods or canteen foods? I went directly to the canteen takau-neon.
"Takau-neon, please don't give my son hot dog, those perserved fried foods. I would appreciate if you give him noodles and bread."
"No problem but how about he rejects?"
"Just tell him that his fierce mommy said NO!"
"Sure, sure, I love to see your ang mo gian-look boy!" I don't want to act like a nasty and fussy mom, with my smiley face luckily the takau-neon likes me and my ang mo kian-look son.
So I called Mr. Money to fuss, "Hey, your son bought hot dog to eat during recess time!"
"Oh, that's very good! It's very nutricious!"
"Oh yeah, delicious but nutricious 'your head'! Do you know how many chemicals used to make hot dog? Do you know it's the different between Malaysian hot dog than the American hot dog you ate in America?
"Isn't all hot dogs are the same?"
"Price is different, Malaysian hot dog cost Rm1/piece but American hot dog cost RM5/piece. You want to know more? Malaysian hot dog is smaller and shorter but American hot dog is bigger and longer, enough details?"
Mr. Money is very positive that school canteen carries good healthy foods! What do you think? My friend told me, the canteen in one of the Kuching international schools still use banned Polystyrene food containers to hold hot foods and I also saw the banned Polystyrene food containers used to hold breakfast in my son's school canteen, how hot were those foods when they dumped into those cancer causing containers before serving, I really don't know!

Kembayau (Dacryodes rostrata f. cuspidata)


Kembayau under the smoke in frying pan


Written by Mrs. Money



Few days ago, Caleb of NLC General Pest Control Sdn. Bhd.passed me a bag of Kembayau which was from his colleaque. What happened was few months ago they came to my house for fumigation, I gave them both some Mr. Money's dabai, Caleb likes dabai very much but his colleague was not that keen because he prefers kembayau, I didn't know what is kembayau, until Caleb passed the dabai-look kembayau to me.

So what's the different? I think dabai is less oblong, thicker meat and got unique tastier meat. I think foreigner and those young folks who hate dabai taste would prefer kembayau flowery fragrant taste than dabai.

Seeds? If you crack dabai seeds, inside there got nice nut good enough to turn into commercial dabai nut chocolate. When I curiously gave a bite on kembayau seed, my tongue got such terrible acerb taste. Kembayau seed is bigger than dabai seed.

So I fried the kembayau and stored in the freezor, if any oversea returning friends or relative pop in my house, I will fry kembayau rice for them.




Kembayau looks almost like dabai but slightly longer, found in Borneo jungle, Kembayau is more popular for natives staying in northern Sarawak state and Dabai is popular for older folks staying along Rejang river. A Kuching hawker told me that not many Kuching local folks appreciate dabai and I found out not many Sarawakien youngsters like to eat dabai, especially oxidized dabai.



After frying, differences immediately emerged, Kembayau seed is bigger than dabai seed. Kembayau seed got terrible acerb taste when I curiously gave a bite.




Yellowish white Kembayau seed is softer than hard and light brownish dabai seed.