10.10.10 - a gorgeous autumn day

a gorgeous Summer-like weather in Fall.

A trip to the best ice cream place in town with the cutest sight to see ~ a tiny car which fits only one person, a BMW Isetta and its lime green!:) A classic. the owner said that its more than 50 years old.

Definitely looks a lot like Mike Wozowski of Monster Inc character:) don't you think?:)

Bananarama II: Steamed Banana dessert - Pais Pisang/Lepat Pisang

Bananas for banana I am as you may have seen from my previous entry, 'BananaRama- I run for bananas!' During these past few weeks, the bananas I have bought have been ripened at a speedy rate, I cannot even keep a perfect ripe one longer than 2 days even though I bought them while they are still green! the temperature has been so high lately. Those oh so ripe bananas do not go to waste in my kitchen. Made them into fried banana dumpling (picture at bottom of page) and just now, steamed banana dessert that is wrapped in banana leaves. This brought me back to my Mom's kitchen.

Mmm..still steaming as I took that picture. For my friend, Haniz:) here's the very simple step you can follow.

Ingredients:

Banana leaves for wrapping ( cleaned and cut them into 6 inches wide, making sure to handle them ever so gently, as the leaf tears easily )

8-9 large ripe banana
1/2 cup of shredded Coconut (optional)*
1/4 cup sugar ( optional especially when the bananas are so ripe. it is sweet on its own)
pinch of salt
2 cups of All Purpose Flour (or more if you like it firmer)
[an option of replacing 1 cup of AP flour with 1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour]

* this ingredient reminds me of a lady whom we waited every morning at our college dormitory for my favorite version, lepat with coconut center.

Mix them altogether.

On one leaf, scoop about 3 tablespoon of the mixture, fold part of leaf as shown, then fold the other half to cover. Finally, fold the ends and tuck them at each end, like shown.

Get your steamer ready. As you can see, I am using a wok with a rack placed halfway with water enough for steaming. Make sure you have the water boiling and ready to steam. Put the ready wrapped banana mixture onto the rack. Cover and steam for about 15-20 minutes till it is firm to touch.

Makes about 18-20.

Voila! you have yourself, wrapped steamed banana for dessert. Enjoy!

Ah, I should not forget my all time favorite. Cekodok pisang. Fried Banana Dumpling. Cucur Jompot in my language.

'cekodok or jemput pisang' in Malay, more like a banana fried dumpling [cekodok - looks more like a toad, hence the name, a dark frog curling its body; jemput pisang is little drops of banana. ]

Coconut Chocolate Marble Tea Cake

I was working on some designs and my head was not where it was supposed to be. I kept thinking of what I have in my pantry and how much eggs in the fridge. It's baking, again. Remember the Coconut Tea Cake that I had here? I have been playing and tweaking the recipe. This time, I lessen the sugar and oil and added 3 more ingredients. Cocoa, Vanilla & Water which was absent in the first one. So here goes,

Coconut Chocolate Marble Tea Cake
- by yours  truly:) first made successfully on March 8th, 2010.
Rich & moist without too much guilt, I think:) eat at yr own risk:)

Heat your oven to 325ºF

Plain Batter:
Ingredient 1A:
2 eggs
1/2 can coconut milk ( 200 gm)
1/2 cups sugar ** ( see notes below)
1/4 cup canola oil ** ( see notes below)

Ingredient 1b:
1 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp of baking powder

Ingredient 1c:
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tblspn of water

Chocolate Batter:
Ingredient 2a:
2 eggs
1/2 can coconut milk (200 gm)
1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup canola oil

Ingredient 2b:
1 1/4 cups of flour
1/4 cup of cocoa
2 tsp of baking powder

Ingredient 2c:
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tblspn of water (**I find that cocoa seems to produce a bit of a dry cake so adding this would help)

Get ready two separate bowls,  one for the plain batter and the other for the chocolate. Both ingredients are pretty much the same. The only difference is the Cocoa, for chocolate batter.

Mix ingredient A well till nice and smooth but not over mixing in each bowl. Then, add in Ingredient B, then C.

Making the Marble.

Pour the plain batter one layer, and pour the chocolate batter next and repeat. It will spread flat so don't worry if it looks a bit messy.
I am using 2 loaf pans but you can use 8x8 pan.
Pour in a greased and floured or lined with parchment/grease proof paper.

Bake in 325ºF for about 1 hr or till skewer comes clean.

**NOTE: I have reduced the sugar from the original recipe from  a total of 2 cups to 1 cup. I prefer it less sweet and with the cocoa being 1 cup, it will taste more like dark chocolate. Feel free to add sugar if you like. The same goes to the Canola Oil. Reduced from 1 to half cup. I found it is still moist because of the coconut milk.

*Conversion:
1 all-purpose flour - Cup US = 125 gram - g
1 cup oil = 8 fluid ounces( fl oz)

Happy Baking, Bakers!:) these are really good with plain unsweetened hot tea or coffee.

Chicken with Tomatoes. Recipe by Ramona Ariffin

My tummy was rumbling and I was out of ideas of what to make for dinner today. I suddenly remembered the recipe given to me by a dear friend from back home while chatting. Here's to you Ramona, I have made this today and it is superb! Simple yet so tasty! My kind of recipe:) Thank you.

This recipe is given to Ramona by her sister-in-law. Just by its little and fresh ingredients, I know I have to try it! You can try them too and tell us what you think of it.

Chicken with Tomatoes. Recipe given by Ramona Ariffin.

Ingredients
Half a chicken ( cut to small pieces)
1lb or half a kilo of tomato, diced or thinly sliced
Sliced red/green Chilie peppers - to your own heat level
1 large Red Onion OR 3 to 4 small yellow onions
2-3 tablespoon of Oil [I prefer olive, for sauteing]
Salt to taste

Saute onions till caramelized, add in the diced or thinly sliced tomatoes. Once tomatoes are softened and well mixed, add in chicken, salt to taste.

Notes:
**~to add more flavor to the the dish, Cloves, Anise Seed, Cinnamon can be added while sauteing the onion. Add fresh ground pepper towards the end.
**~ if you like it to have curry taste to it, then you can add Curry powder to the ingredient

Recipe was passed to Ramona by her Sister-in-law.

Thanks Ramona, for sharing!!:)

I tested it today and it came out amazing! Just as I thought it would. Image seen here is from sauteed Onions, caramelized, add Cinnamon, Star Anise, Cardamom, Cloves & a quarter of teaspoon of Chili flakes (replacing fresh sliced chili.) Add sliced Carrots, then diced Tomatoes. Once tomatoes have softened, add in Chicken, simmer till chicken is cooked and tender. Salt and freshly cracked Pepper to taste. Serve. Enjoy!:)

Another friend, Musdi, posted his picture (above) of what he had made from the same recipe. We'll see how many will be trying this recipe.

Tart Nenas : Pineapple Tart

I was craving again last night, for my all time favorite, the Pineapple Tart. A very good friend, Sherry, sent me a tray together with chocolate chips cookies, all the way from home and I cannot get enough of it! Bless your heart & Thank you Sherry!

These are a must have, almost in every household during religious festivals back home, in Malaysia. May it be Chinese New Year, the Eid and other religious holidays or festivals, you will find them. It is delicious almost crumbly yet buttery on the outside; sweet, tart and almost chewy in its filling. Super delicious! Like Rugelach as my all time favorite in the States, these are the Ultimate Cookie back home, well next to Kuih Makmur [Mexican wedding cake in States] of course.

So, I went to my computer for recipe search and its among the top listed searches for 'Tart Nenas.' Of course everyone have their favorite ones. I got a few. After so many days of searching for the best ingredients, I came out with my own which came from a combination of so many recipes. I want my crust to be buttery, not too crumbly yet with a little crunch, enough to hold the pineapple jam that I made. This will be my 3rd recipe that I dare to come up with, according to what my taste bud likes.  I am making this tart without any rolling pin but just roll and press them with my fingers to make it into its shape. It may not be as pretty, like what I have seen online, but I think I got the taste to be just perfect. Just the way my FreezerNinja taste bud likes:) I would say, it taste like having thick almost chewy fruit jam on a shortbread. Something like that. Oh, and the cloves, made a world of difference in taste, that is if you like cloves:)

I first made them on Oct 14th with successful alteration last night, Oct 17th, 2009. So here goes, my avid reader.

Pineapple Tart. ~by FreezerNinja.

Pineapple Jam
1 Large Pineapple (ripe)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoon of cornflour

Peel, get rid of the core and grate or put them in your food processor.
Put the grated pineapple into a pot with sugar, salt, cloves and cinnamon and mixing them well, bring them to boil. Cook them till it gets thick, no more juice and add in the cornflour. Mix well, simmer and let it cook till further thickens, making sure to stir them from time to time.  This process took me about half an hour or so. I divided this to 4. The Tart dough below uses only a quarter of this Jam recipe.

Tart dough (makes 25 tart or cookie)

4 oz of butter
2 tbsp confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
3 tbsp cornflour
1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour

Beat butter till creamy.
Add in confectioners sugar and salt.  Mix well.
Add in egg. Mix well.
Add in flour and cornflour.

Mix well till the dough forms into a ball and do not stick to the bowl.

Heat your oven to 350ºF. My recipe will use only a quarter of the jam that has been produced from one large pineapple. So you know what to do if you want to finish the jam:)

Divide the dough into 25 small portions.
Roll them in an oval shape, about 1/8" thick.
Put about 1/2 of a teaspoon pineapple jam in the middle of the dough and roll.
Put them about and inch apart on a parchment paper lined baking tray.

NOTE: If you like to add egg wash on the tart, this is the time to do it, just beat 1 egg and brush them before you put them into the oven.

Some of the tart/cookie, I stick one clove in, just because I love the taste of clove in my pineapple tart. I have a bit of a weird taste buds. This is optional.

Bake them about 30 mins or until the tart has turned a bit golden.

Happy Baking! Enjoy.

Bahasa Sarawak Mensia : Bahasa Sarawak Lama - Sarawak Classic Malay V

Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5  | Part 6
(roll over image below for its description)

Beautiful souvenirs from Sarawak.

I have been on a break doing these word translations and more had come from those who are very interested in this work, may it be from this blog readers' comments or from facebook friends, I thank you. So, here is another continuation of my previous part 5 page. There might be some word repetitions and at times I might find new meanings to each word. I will be repeating all credits and important info if you just got to this page. Above are links to more:) It might be a dry read but it may also give you some information. Enjoy.

I will be doing it in 3 languages, Bahasa Sarawak, Bahasa Malaysia and English ** it is not yet refined in any terms or category nor arranged in an alphabetical order as it is a work in progress

**make known that there are many words that are spelled with 'k' at the end and any word with the " ' " is with a silent 'k' in pronunciation, with an abrupt stop to the word. Any word without  the " ' " please emphasize on the "k" sound.
Also referred to as a glottal stop. A very important info given to me by Suhaila Saee:) thanks Su:)
Below are samples of why the glottal stop is important to each word spelled and used correctly.

sa' ja' (sak jak) : walaupun - even though
sak ati : sakit ati - annoyed

the word 'sak' here is spelled the same but with a different pronounciation and meaning. the use of " ' " is very important to denote that each is different.

-----------------------------
before I begin, tips with pronunciation in Sarawak Malay:
a = ä as in Father
e = e as in Term
é = é as in Let
i = ee as in Bee
o = o as in No , Toe
u = u as in Took, Put
ei,ey, ay = as in Day, Pay,

ng = word begins with 'ng' as in thing
ny = word begins with 'ny' as in banyak [banyak means more in English]

reference for ny from: Retroflex nasal  / rujukan untuk ny dari: Sengauan lelangit

**In Sarawak dialect, the way you pronounces words with 'R' are also different. Emphasis on the 'R' are as if there are 2 'r's with an 'h' = 'rrh' , not rolling end of your tongue but using the back of your throat. Guttural Sound.
-----------------------------

lepar: liar/berkeliaran - go wild
gelebat : bentung, betung, pembentung, pembetung - culvert
ngerébéh(ngerebeh) : berat dengan perhiasan - (word best to describe a person) heavy with accessories
tekébab-kébab (tekebab-kebab): bergerak dengan rakus apabila memakai baju yang besar - movement effected by wearing an oversized attire
behéléh (beheleh) : mengantuk - falling asleep
bejurei / berjuré (berjuray) : berjurai - as in chains, accessories in layers, jellyfish tentacles
bejuntei-juntei / bejunté-junté (berjuntay-juntay) : berjuntai - dangling, pendulous
kelang-kelus : keluar masuk (pergerakan seseorang/beramai-ramai) - a person or a group going in and out
suma' (sumak): cuma/cumanya - the only thing is
kecor : kecur - mouth-watering
sa'al : tak betul akal - not in the right state of mind
kerikap : ? - ?
kerang : kerang - cockle
lokan : ? - clams
isim/isém (isem) : gila, hilang akal - lost one's mind/ insane
serongan : orang yang dirasuk - A person who is in trance, out of body experience, believed to produce another personality [maybe almost in an insane mode]

serongan ya kedak urang isim ... urang kenak rasuk bila nya nyeru makhluk alus nulong nya masa ngubat urang ... sort of lah. lol Or it can be that the person has lost his senile state of mind ... macam pleading insanity in the court of law ... nya sik sedar dah ... urang latah mudah datang serongan juak ~ Nazaruddin Hj Hamit

meruyan : meroyan - postpartum depression
bejit : ?/ gelaran untuk budak nakal - Genie / a name for a mischievous person

berjuntun-juntun : berjalan dalam garisan- Walking in lines
berduru' / berduru'-duru' (berduruk / berduruk-duruk) : bergerak bergegas-gegas (dalam kumpulan) - moving in a rushing/ hastily manner (in groups)
pengepok : pemukul telor - egg beater
kelido: sudu kayu untuk memasak - wooden spoon
nyerunggu' (nyerungguk): bercangkung - sitting in a total squat position
nyerarat: berdengking  - squeal [I have been trying to define the exact definition of this word and this is the closest I have found]
peléngos (pelengos): tidak bertanggungjawab - irresponsible
pényék (penyek): leper  - flattened
melatah: latah  - hyperstartling
jeluak: muak  - nauseated
teriki' (terikik): dengan bersungguh-sungguh  - trying with all might
kaléng (kaleng): bekas makanan yang bertingkat  - food container or lunch box which are stacked, also known as 'dabbas' or 'tiffin'
dikeruéi/keruwéi/keruwé (keruei/keruwei/keruwe): dikacau(senyap-senyap)/digaul  - quietly working on something;mixing
ngipa'(ngipak): mengendap  - waiting to ambush
nilit : menilik  - peeps
pitan : sakit mata  - conjunctivitis
pelempong : pelampung  - a float
ngeriji'(ngerijik): menggeletar  - shivers
ngeruit: pergerakkan kecil  - little movement
ngerebat: gerakkan badan yang mengejut (seolah-olah geli atau terkejut)  - body moving spastically (upon being startled or squeamish)
ngunjam: proses bembinaan rumah (bahagian rangka rumah)  - Building house process (more to skeleton phase)
tuyu' (tuyuk)/bebal: lembab ( dari segi penerimaan pembelajaran) - slow ( in a form of learning)
bako' (bakok): bodoh  - dumb
dango: dangau ; mainan  - small temporary hut (in rice-field or orchard) ; toy
pungas/empungas: bilas/membilas (untuk muka)  - rinse (word applied for face only)
aro/ngaro: mengamuk   - ran amok
terkurit-kurit: dalam keadaan senyap dan memberi penumpuan yang penuh   - sitting doodling/working in a quiet & focus sitting position
jungo: bibir atas - upper lip
ngerétés (ngeretes): bergerak dengan pantas - moving in a fast manner/efficient
datang bungkas: timbul kemarahan   - thowing a fit/raising ones anger
berbalat: meninggalkan kesan dari pukulan  - a mark left by hitting
kalan/pengkalan: pengkalan  - jetty
daun neruju: daun jeruju  - Acanthus ebracteatus
air bah/air pasang: air pasang  - high tide
malu' / palu'(maluk / paluk): palu  - hit
milus: amat kecil  - small, tiny
ngepong/kepong: kejar  - chase

...continued in part 6 >>

Bahasa Lamak Serawak tok dikumpul dari :
Bahasa Lama Sarawak ini adalah koleksi dari :
These Sarawak Classic are a collection of words are form:

Hazel Hazelina, Ariffin Kifle aka aPayne, Amla Kamal, Hj.Suhaili b. Hj Wahed Embai & Hjh Niah bt. Seman, Ayahanda Hj Bolhassan Rais & Bonda Hjh Fauziah Umar, Rashidah, Ranimah, Noraisah Hj Bolhassan; Suhaila, Bokhari & Juaini Saee; Muriyadi Basri, Hj Saee b. Adon. & Hadiah Abg Zainuddin, Haffiz Abdul Latip, Lita McPherson, Sonny Kushairi, Surie & Sarbini Hussein, Maria Shamit, Afique & Azzah Muriyadi, Dayangku Noorfazidah Awang Sh'ri, Reza Mohamad, Nurul Izzati Aveiro, Rudzaimeir Roza Malek, Zurwina Sharkawi, Alynawaty Hajmi, Dr Kamil Salem, Tina Marikan, Filzah Affendi, Susana Salleh-Weekes, Leez Rahman, Haniz Wilson, Faridah Abdul Hamid, Rafeedah Morshidi, Dayang Norazan Zain, Irma Osman, Yasmin Mae, Hamidah Ahmad, Sharifah Wahani Syed Johan, Danish Nadzmi, Sepuk (forgive me if I do not know your real name,) Mazillurza (or Azrullizam,) Amizain Al-Edrus, Roslan Misa, Zakiah Ahmat, Ramona Ariffin, N Azura Szly, Rohana Kiprawi, Hafizul Hakim, Encik Dzul, Ithnani Apandi, Habibah Norden Harvey, Abg Moasili a.k.a. Moss, Nazaruddin Hj Hamit a.k.a. Naza, Azlina Nur, Melanie Merikan...

OnineOnineOnine:) & my fresh garden Pizza

o9o9o9 - a date that most think as lucky and for some, because of how it sounds in a certain language, means otherwise. To me, below is what is interesting about this number 9.

"In base 10 a number is evenly divisible by nine if and only if its digital root is 9. That is, if you multiply nine by any natural number, and repeatedly add the digits of the answer until it is just one digit, you will end up with nine" - wikipedia

I am not going to talk about numbers in this entry but just sharing a little knowledge I got from the web.

I will be talking about my summer obsession with my little garden. Little pots of flowers, herbs, peppers, tomatoes and zucchini.


Recently, I had harvested and made my very own garden produced vegetables into a quick pizza using pita bread that I bought fresh from a Mediterranean Market nearby, also topped with Spanish cheese. I have always wanted to try Spanish cheese when Rachel Ray used it in her sandwiches one time.

Firstly, I had sauteed onion, bought; bell pepper from my garden and sliced thinly beef in a pan for my meat portion of the pizza, then I sliced the cheese thinly, arranged so it almost covered the pita, topped with sliced tomatoes and zucchini from my garden. Since i did not have any basil, I chopped some cilantro then top it off with the sauteed beef. Everything were just eye-balled into each piece of pita that I have. Drizzle, extra virgin olive oil on top of the pita and put them in a 35o deg F oven for about 20 minutes or till the cheese melts.

Thinly crusted beef pizza. No sauce, just sliced cheese, tomato and zucchini and cilantro with a drizzle of extra Virgin Olive Oil. Voila!