Upclose & Personal With Dikny

Last night my hubby said that I had still not cooked for him Lontong ever since he mentioned about it few months ago...yes, you read that correctly....few months ago... So, I decided to cook Lontong for the sixth day of Ramadhan. Luckily I had all the ingredients in the fridge, therefore, I did not have to waste much time looking for things to accommodate the recipe. I started off with making Nasi Impit in the afternoon. Then, I prepared the 'rempah' for the gravy and thawed the coconut milk. At the same time, I prepared another of my first attempts in making kuih which was Kuih Lopes, also a request from dear hubby. After all the 'rempah' were ready, I started cooking the Lontong complete with its condiments like Sambal Tumis and Serunding Kelapa. When Lontong was safely put aside, I made Kuih Lopes slowly and steadily because there was still so much time to spare before the time to break fast. Since I managed to make quite a few pieces of Kuih Lopes, I asked Danish to...

For the fifth day of Ramadhan I cooked Chicken Soup+potatoes+carrots and Telur Bistik. I also made Pulut Serunding as requested by my hubby. It's my first attempt making Pulut Serunding but Alhamdulillah, it was not bad at all. Easy to cook and good to eat.... So far, we hadn't bought any food from the Bazaar yet...everything was homemade till this very day. Hopefully, I would have enough energy, time and ideas on what to serve and feed the family throughout the rest of this holy month, insyaAllah.

Today is the fourth day of Ramadhan. For break fast, I cooked Sambal Cencaru and Goreng Kobis+Carrot+Tomato. For dessert I made Ondeh-Ondeh or also known as Kuih Buah Melaka or in my hometown, Kuih Kolopong. Danish and I made Fresh Orange Juice where we used four oranges, a spoonful of sugar and three cups of cold water, blended everything in the mixer and it's ready to be consumed by Danish...heheh After eating, Danish had his other portion of 'Lengkong' and he finished it in just a few seconds. You really fancy such simple 'Lengkong', huh, Danish? It's ok, Mama would make more next week for you...

The menu for the third day of Ramadhan was very simple. I only cooked Ikan Bawal Sos Tiram (this is my own recipe, I created the recipe few years back) and Bayam Rebus. For dessert, I made 'Lengkong' or better known as Agar-Agar Merah which was Danish's favourite since small. For half of a packet of Agar-Agar Strip, I managed to make 10 small cups of 'Lengkong', not bad...enough for a few days' portion of dessert for Danish, Darwisy and Daim. At around 11pm, my hubby complained that he felt a little bit hungry. So, since at that time, I was quite busy with my own work, I requested for him to make Roti Gulung Sausage. Although he looked a bit reluctant to do it, he went on cooking the simple bread and voila! the bread looked appetizing enough and he looked rather happy at the end coz his tummy had been filled up adequately..hihi... For sahur, we had the same menu as Buka Puasa but I added Telur Dadar and I made hot drinks for each of us.

Second day of Ramadhan, I went to my parents' place in the morning to help my mom cook some dishes for my sis in-law, my nephew and my niece who just got back home from Abu Dhabi. We cooked Rendang Daging with Pucuk Ubi, Sambal Prawn, Masak Lemak Cili Api Chicken and Corn Pudding. That's quite a lot but it's been almost two years since my mom last cooked for them, I guess I had to give credits to my mom.... So, before going back to my own house, of course I packed everything and when I reached home, I would only need to cook rice...and relax...

The first day of Ramadhan went well for my family, Alhamdulillah. Danish was fasting too and he's determined to fast the whole month, insyaAllah. Since it's the first day, so I decided to cook special dishes (at least special for me la...hihi). I made 'karipap sardin', masak lemak cili api chicken with potatoes, fried kangkong and keropok ikan kering Sabah goreng. The chicken was Danish's favourite, therefore, without wasting much time, upon azan, he grabbed his drumstick and poured the gravy till 'banjir'..hihi...it's such an interesting sight watching him breaking fast wholeheartedly. For sahur, we had the same dish plus hot drinks for each of us.

A conversation between my youngest son, Daim, who is only 34 month-old and me just about 15 minutes after we had our dinner: Daim: Mama, aku lapar la...(he calls himself 'aku' and sometimes 'saya'). Mama: Ha? Daim: Mama, perut aku lapar la...(bending over to me while pressing his tummy with a frown) Mama: We just had our dinner kan? Daim makan 3 pinggan kan? Daim: Mama, aku lapar sikit jer....boleh la Mama...(with a very deep frown) Mama: (speechless)

Tart Nenas Mangkuk Istimewa Tart Nenas Gulung Power Chocolate Crunch Sedap Giler To my dear readers out there, I have actually started my Hari Raya biscuits business back in 2007. Ever since my first embarkment in the business, I have not looked back and it has been one of the things that I love doing. To tell the truth, I only sell three (3) types of Hari Raya biscuits namely Chocolate Crunch which I renamed it as Chocolate Crunch Sedap Giler, Tart Nenas Gulung which I renamed as Tart Nenas Gulung Power and Tart Nenas Mangkuk which I called Tart Nenas Mangkuk Istimewa. Chocolate Crunch Sedap Giler has been a big hit since it made its first appearance in 2007. People actually re-ordered many times after they have tasted the first bottle that they bought. I was truly glad and thankful for the great feedback not only for Chocolate Crunch Sedap Giler but from buyers of the other two biscuits as well. Indeed they were satisfied and craving for more....hihi So, come this Hari Raya which is ...

As the readers of my humble blog would notice, I always write in English. But this time around, I would like to write in my mother tongue which is Bahasa Malaysia. Why? The reason is because I think what I'll be expressing later on would sound better in BM (just like Myra, arwah Shera's sis-in-law..hihihi). Ok here goes... Kalau seorang pompuan tu perut dia buncit, dia mmg kena tgh pregnant ker? Asal perut buncit jer, pregnant la tuh....ada ke camtu? I was quite 'bengang' bila orang yang agak dah lama tak jumpa aku, mesti dia akan tanya whether aku ni pregnant ker. Aku tau la perut aku buncit, but does that mean aku pregnant memanjang? Orang tu tau tak yg kalau pompuan dah dekat nak datang bulan, perut dia akan bloated? Or orang tu tau tak kalau pompuan yang dah beranak tiga mmg perut dia akan nampak agak tak kempis lagi? Or orang tu tau tak kalau pompuan tu perut buncit ada kemungkinan dia tgh menderita ketumbuhan fibroid kat dlm rahim dia tuh? Aku mmg sensitif betul k...

At last, the night that we had been waiting for had finally arrived. The night when we would be the first amongst the Malaysians to watch 'Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen'. Like I mentioned in my previous entry, hubby and I were keeping this a secret from Danish. So, when I was dropping him off at his school in the afternoon, I told him to straight away wait for me at the guardhouse after school, no stopping at the canteen or at the ice-cream man. Obviously, he was curious. I told him that we were going somewhere later. So, as expected, I saw Danish straight away headed towards the guardhouse after the bell rang. I quickly ushered him to the car and asked him to take a shower and get dressed once we reached home. Then, at 8pm, we hurried off to the cinema in Ampang because our show was scheduled at 8.30pm. In the car, Danish kept on asking where were we heading to. I kept quiet and it's up to hubby to answer. Well, I guess, my hubby himself couldn't contain the susp...

Two days after watching 'Drag Me To Hell', we went to watch 'Angels & Demons'. Quite a heavy drama but not bad at all. I've never missed Tom Hanks's movies so far. I like his cool acting and this movie proves that Tom Hanks can still act. Well, the ending is quite unpredictable too. If you were to watch this movie, watch it with open minds because there are some sensitive dialogues (in my opinion, at least) that might offend some people, that much I can say... How come we have so much time watching movies at times when other people are busy working at their workplace? Hahaha...that's the beauty of working on our own, self-employed, where you manage your own time and job and still become successful at the same time...InsyaAllah and Alhamdulillah... Oh yes, I almost forgot! While buying the movie tickets, hubby noticed that there would be a sneak screening of 'Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen' a day before the daily shows....yup, hubby didn'...

Last two weeks, my hubby and I went to watch 'Drag Me To Hell'. We went to our favourite cinema in Ampang, just the two of us. We left the twins at the babysitter's and Danish was safely in school. Hubby really wanted to watch this movie and I, for one, was not too keen in watching horror movies because I would normally have nightmares afterwards (seriously!!!). But, for the sake of 'dating', I braved it through. Well, frankly, I was indeed scared and couldn't sit still. At the same time, I was munching the creamy popcorn and closing my eyes with my hands on and off....I was practically peeping through my fingers...hihi...Once, I was so terrified that I literally jumped out of my seat with my popcorn thrown away all over the place....hahahaha....that shows, huh? Overall, it's not a bad movie, kind of unpredictable towards the end...I like the ending..and Alhamdullillah, I didn't have nightmares that night, too old for that already, I guess?

Yes, I've been waiting for this for nearly over a year now. I'm sure many of you out there have tasted the goodness of this healthy rice. It is indeed healthy compared to other types of rice because I could feel the difference between them (in my humble opinion, at least...) Before consuming Herba Ponni Taj Mahal, we had the normal Super Tempatan rice for our daily meals. Not to say that Super Tempatan rice is not good, it is good as well but Herba Ponni Taj Mahal makes you feel healthier and slimmer (heheh). During the time when the price of rice went uphill, this special rice seemed to disappear from the market. I was told that because of its high price, the production was too expensive to endure for the time being. My family and I had been eating the rice for years by then. So, when the healthy rice was not being sold anymore, we had to go back to the Super Tempatan rice. Everytime I did my marketing, I would often look out for Herba Ponni. I also wished that it would be bac...

Since I've been catching up with my readings lately, there are things that I've noticed happening around me. My sons are also into reading now. For example, my eldest son, Danish, would start taking out his BEN 10 comic series (he has 6 BEN 10 series) and reading them whenever he sees me taking out and reading my own book. My second son, Darwisy, would do the same thing. He would be busy looking for his own pictorial book whenever he sees his Mama and Big Bro reading. And my youngest son, Daim, would start looking flustered because he normally puts his book at 'out-of-this-world' place. While the rest of us are starting to sit down comfortably to read, he would hassle us to help him find his book first....and once found, he would lie down flat on his tummy and read out loud (of course, in his own version...). I always carry with me a book or two while going out. And now, all my sons would also carry their books with them in their own bags. And when I start to read in th...

Danish's dialogue: Nenek: Danish, Mama masak apa hari ni? Danish: Lamb, Nek. Nenek: Kambing? Dapat kat mana? Danish: Tadi pergi C4, beli kambing sekor, pastu suruh org C4 tu sembelih, pastu Mama amik la satu keping jer masak kat rumah. Nenek: hahahahahahahahahahahahhaahaaaaa....... Darwisy's dialogue: Mama: Good nite, Darwisy. Darwisy: Good nite, Mama. I love you too, Mama. Mama: I love you, Darwisy. (feeling confused, scratching her head and asking herself: Who said 'I Love You' first? He or me?......) Daim's dialogue: Daim: Mama, listen.....Aku jadi Upin Ipin...(Daim calls himself 'aku'...heheh) Mama: Ok, now sing... Daim(in almost Upin Ipin's voice): Hi kawan, saya Upin, ini adik saya Ipin. Ini kisah kami berdua. Hi!!!!....Episod 3: BEN 10 Mama: haahahahahahhaaaaaa......(mmg hard-core BEN 10 fan anak bongsu aku ni...)

Wow, it has been quite some time since I last wrote....sampai ada yang komplen blog ni tak update...hihihihi.... There are so many reasons as to why I haven't been updating this precious blog of mine... One of it is that my notebook went kaput....all my documents have gone with the wind, important documents, photos and even documents which are a matter of life and death have also disappeared.....sob..sob...If I need to surf the net, facebooking or blogging, I'll have to use my hubby's notebook now and frankly, I don't get that much opportunity..heheh...so, that's one concrete reason for not updating this blog so much... Alright, I would like to remind my readers out there to watch Tom Tom Bak on Astro Ceria every Sunday starting from this Sunday - 31 May 2009 at 12 pm.....As I have mentioned before, Danish is one of the talents for Jom Borak segment with Aznil in this programme. However, I do not know which episode would Danish be in, so we'll have to watch ever...

I've been a follower of some reality shows on our local tv channels. To me, some of these shows are indeed entertaining and somehow they can be a real eye-opener. Watching the contestants being challenged and commented all the time makes me wonder if they could actually endure such stressful and tensed moments. Their mental power must be strong to swallow everything calmly and peacefully. But only God knows what's been playing in their mind at that time and how their hearts must have been broken upon hearing such nasty and cruel comments....oh well, that's the part and parcel of being a reality tv show participant...i guess they just have to go through everything until the end...they have no choice, haven't they? Just now, I watched One In A Million Season 3. I've been a follower not from the beginning but since I watched Tomok sang 'Ingin Bersamamu' a few weeks ago. He really swept me off my seat watching him rendering the song smoothly in his own unique st...

It's been almost one month since I last blogged. Indeed I was busy like anything, so many things to do and so many missions to be accomplished.... There are many things and issues that I would like to blog about. Well, let's see...hmmm....why don't I start with my reading issue? Okay, if you have been following my blog, you'd know that I have an issue with reading. Reading is my hobby since young.....but with three heroes around, I found it extremely difficult to make the time to read anything at all..... However, now, I am proud to say that for the past two and a half months (I started on 26th January 2009), I have managed to read five novels and I am currently reading my sixth!!!! Is that an achievement or what? I, myself, was shocked to discover that I have read five books within three months....How did I manage to do that? Actually, it took my whole willpower to start on a book and somehow I couldn't stop since then. I could still remember clearly what Arwah She...

It's school holidays and it's also shooting days for Haiwan Teladan Season 2. The readers of my blog would surely understand what Haiwan Teladan was all about. Yes, my eldest, Danish, was one of the actors in this particular kids' show of TV3. After the success of Season 1, Danish was chosen again to act in Haiwan Teladan Season 2. When I first got the schedule, I was a little bit taken aback because the shooting would take place the whole week of school holidays including the weekends. And the time would be from 9 in the morning until around 7 in the evening. Wow, such a tight schedule for Danish but I was sure he could cope. Come rehearsal day which was yesterday, we went to the location as early as 8 as we were told to be on time. When the rehearsal started, I noticed that Danish was not as noisy and active as he used to be in the previous season. Even the producer and the compere noticed this. They came and asked me about Danish's 'unusual' behaviour. Well, ...

Yup, it's our 8th anniversary. So glad that we've made it this far....there have been ups and downs no doubt. Last year was the most challenging and yet, we've braved through it successfully, Alhamdulillah... Everything that happened had happened for a reason, I was sure of that. I've become more tolerant and more understanding now. I wish to be tougher and stronger in facing the many more years to come with my better half, there would definitely be more challenging encounters in the months and years ahead. But, heck, I'm going to face it all no matter what, InsyaAllah. To my hubby, Congratulations darling, we've come a long way and I love you. To my little heroes, Papa and Mama would always be together for you and be there whenever you need us. Love you all.