Suasana Hari Raya Qurban di Kampung 2015

Since I got married in the last 25 years, this is my first Idh Adha celebration with my mother and siblings in my hometown as far as I can recall..... the reasons were because Idh Adha public holiday was only one day and always coincided with our peak work period in the past years while children had no school term break. Staying in the East Malaysia was just not possible to fly back with whole family for one day only.

In my hometown, Idh Adha is celebrated as bigger occasion than Idh Fitri. We had three days consecutively of family gathering with very busy activities and of course 'big makan-makan'. My mother is the planner and the leader in deciding what activities, the menu, the guests, etcs. Syukur at age of 75 she is still healthy to do most of the cooking with help of all of us. I will share some of my mother's delicious cooking in here. I will never able to beat my mother's cooking... really finger-licking good.

DAY 1: IDH ADHA MENU
1.a Emak's Best Ever Black Rendang

1.b Emak's Delicious Chicken Rendang Pedas Kunyit

1.c Emak's Nasi Minyak
- Made with 5kg of rice, enough to feed all the children, grandchildren and great-grand children

1.d Nothing-Better-Than Emak's Pineapple Pachrey

1.e Dalca Campur

1.f AlongRoz's Crispy Veg Acar

1.g Lemang

1.h Nasi Himpit
- to go with Sayur lodeh & Sambal Ikan Bilis; or with Peanut Sauce; or with Rendang.... choice is individual's

1.i Mak Lang's Every-Year-Must-Have Peanut Sauce

1.j Sayur Lodeh and Sambal Ikan Bilis

 

1.k AlongRoz's Agar-Agar Pandan

DAY2 MENU & ACTIVITIES:
 On Day 2 Idh Adha, we slaughtered three goats for distribution to neighbors and the needies. One goat was for our own consumption which was cooked in special Korma recipe by my AbangNdak. The Lamb Korma was super delicious as the meat was very fresh. We enjoyed it very much that I forgot to snap any photo on day two....

My niece cooked special Chicken Feet Noodle Soup to serve the hardworking men and women who did all the necessary activities like slaughtering, meat cutting, packing and delivering. This is her specialty with very tasty and nice spice aroma...

DAY3 MENU & ACTIVITIES:
 All the family members, some relatives and friends gathered at my mother's house right after Subuh. It was the big day of the Idh as two cows were about to be sacrificed. It was a very busy day from early morning.... preparing breakfast, setting up the slaughtering area in the next door empty land and getting the equipment ready. There were more than 70 of us with lots of noises but so much fun and good feeling of togetherness.

The empty land was well prepared with tents for various purposes.... me and my niece had our fun cooking corner with freshly prepared lattice crepe and Roti Puri in addition to other ready prepared food. Other tents were for eating and working areas.

Breakfast Menu:
1.a Fried Rice
1.b Spaghetti Bolognaise
1.c Bingka Kastad
1.d Lattice Crepe
1.e Roti Puri
1.f Chicken Curry

Lunch Menu:
2.a CikNor's Special Beef Rice
2.b Air Asam (Special sauce for the rice)
2.c Cik Mah's Young Jackfruit Green Curry
2.d Fried Turmeric Beef
2.e OpahYam's Lime Acar
2.f Oni's Beef Bone Soup
2.g AlongRoz's Peparu Goreng Berempah
2.h Lime Asamboi Juice

Overall we had loads of fun.... alhamdulillah siratulrahim yang erat sesama keluarga dan sahabat-handai.

Rendang Sekawah

  Some photos from the recent cooking event.... made a giant wok of Black Beef Rendang for a relative's wedding.

Kenangan memasak rendang kawah baru2 ni untuk khenduri kahwin sedara hubby. Along ni tak lah pandai sangat tapi atas permintaan sedara tu, Along tunaikan juga walau pun memasak sehingga pukul 3 pagi dan berangkat ke lapangan terbang beberapa jam selepas tu untuk bercuti ke Semenanjung. Alhamdulillah, lega dapat siapkan juadah tersebut. Along juga sediakan bahan2 untuk Kerabu Nenas pada malam nya dan mereka gaulkan sebelum di hidangkan. Along tak dapat hadir ke majlis tersebut sebab sedang di udara pulang ke Semenanjung. Hari ni baru Along berpeluang melawat mereka & alhamdulillah feedback dari tetamu kata sedap.

 Ramai pembantu2 yang tolong kacau.... tengoklah kuali kawah tu.... 3 orang yg besor tu pun leh dok dalam tu. Along rasa daging tu ada lah dalam 80kg kot.... seekor besar lembu yg di sembelih. Sepatut nya kerbau tapi kerbau yg nak di sembelih tu meronta & cabut lari... lalu di gantikan dgn lembu.

Apabila rencah2 nya dah wangi, baru masukkan daging yg telah di perap.

Ini orang kuat Along.... lovely hubby yg banyak membantu

Rendang yg telah siap di masak di simpan dlm periuk besar supaya mudah di hidangkan nanti

Ole-ole from Brunei

Pulut Panggang Brunei di balut dgn daun kelupis dan bersaiz besar sepanjang 8"

 Sahabat FB yg datang ke Miri kelmarin bawa banyak ole-ole dari negara Brunei Darul Salam - makanan yg made in Brunei. Pertama kali juga Along & keluarga merasa, memang ada kelainan.

Ada inti pedas di dalam nya

 Asikrim ni home-made, sonok Liana mamam ni....

Home-made Aiskrim prisa keladi dan pandan

 Ada juga kuih kapit tapi keunikan nya berperisa keladi. Terima-kasih daun keladi ya Siti.... susah2 jer bawa buah tangan. Siti datang dgn 3 orang adik2 nya dan anak teruna kecil Haiqal. Along cuma masak ringkas2 jer - Laksa Sarawak, Puding Oreo, Durian Crepe (Along beli jer ni) & ada sikit balance kek lapis hari tu. Maaf lah ya kalau layanan tak sempurna.

 Siti Ameera, toke kek dari Brunei di datang hantar 10 biji kek yg di order oleh kekawan pejabat Along. Memula dulu Along order sebiji jer kasi they all rasa... rasa sekali nak lagi...! Sedap sangat kek Siti kaya dgn perisa sos istimewa.

Kek Coklat Maltesers

Kek siap untuk delivery ke rumah kekawan...

AlongRoz & Friends in Sep12 Aroma

I'm still in Hari Raya mood and just return to work today... There were many missing baking and cooking during Ramadhan & Shawal that I would like to share but didn't have opportunity to do so. Hopefully will be able to catch up back soon despite returning to busy routines again at home and office....

Sharing herewith my appearance in September'12 Aroma issue with 13 recipes of my own creation in it. One of the recipes was specially created for Aroma and not yet shared in this blog but will do so at later opportunity. For the readers who have been requesting for my hard copy recipes, here is your opportunity to get one (the publication is in Malay language).
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Salam sejahtera buat semua pembaca dan kenalan. Seronok nya berhari raya sehingga tiada kesempatan untuk Along ke udara.... Setelah dua minggu berhari raya di Taiping bersama sanak-saudara Along kembali bertugas seperti biasa pada hari ini. Masih keletihan dan teringat2 suasana kemeriahan di hari raya..... seronok nya tiada terhingga....hahaha. Bila Along ada kelapangan, Along akan tayangkan kek2 & biskut raya tahun ni ok... Nanti Along blogwalk kendian, tq kekawan & sud singgah & tinggalkan jejak.

Sebelum ini, ada pembaca yg mencadangkan Along mencetak resepi2 Along supaya mudah rujuk oleh mereka tetapi Along belum ada kesempatan utk berbuat demikian. Di sini Along ada berita baik untuk mereka kerana boleh lah dapatkan naskah majalah Aroma keluaran September'12 yg mana Along kongsikan 13 resepi istimewa. Salah satu drpd resipi2 tu belum Along kongsikan di blog ini sbb Along buat khas untuk Aroma. Ucapan terima-kasih pada majalah Aroma yg sudi menjemput & menyunting resepi2 daripada HomeKreation.

Kesemua resipi2 yang Along kongsikan di situ adalah sumber/ hasil kreativiti Along sendiri tanpa ada isu ciplak atau republication tanpa izin. Sebelum ni ada juga terjadi pada Along sendiri yg mana resepi yg di kongsikan di cetak semula di media tanpa izin sama sekali sebelum atau pun selepas cetakan. Along hanya dapat tahu apabila terjumpa di kedai buku tapi Along tak mahu perbesarkan hal tu, jadi Along diam sahaja lah. Di harap kekawan ambil prihati hal2 sebegini supaya tidak menyentuh perasaan kekawan yang telah ikhlas-hati berkongsi ilmu tetapi di ambil kesempatan begitu sahaja. Hakcipta adalah peraturan biasa di global ini dan bukan perkara baru - sila rujuk "Rules" yg Along letak di sebleah kanan tu kalau kurang faham ya. Harap tiada yg kecil hati dengan teguran ikhlas dari Along... luv u all.

 Formal nya ada panggilan "Puan" lak....hehe, panggil Along jer lebih mesra gitu.... TQ Emak, hubby and my family for the support they have given me in my blogging activities. Tak lupa juga kesemua pembaca dan rakan2 blogger yang amat Along sayangi.... tq atas sokongan dan persahabatan.

p/s Pembetulan: Along anak ke6 drpd 11 org beradik bukan anak sulong seperti tertera dalam profile di atas. Along anak perempuan yg sulong selepas 5 anak lelaki. Buat pengetahuan pembaca, nama timangan "Along" adalah dari sebelah suami (anak sulong 8 beradik). Along ada mengajar memasak kepada orang2 kampung nya bila ada kesempatan sewaktu khenduri-khendara dan "Along" adalah panggilan mesra oleh adik2 ipar dan juga orang2 kampung nya.

 Kek Lapis Kacang Merah ni Along belum kongsi kat sini lagi.... nanti senang2 Along update kendian k...

Ini antara resepi2 Along yg popular kat alam blogging so far.....

Rakan2 yg mengiringi.... Ryo, Juwita dan juga Izzah turut sama memeriahkan Aroma pada bulan ini.... Nak tau resepi apa yg mereka kongsikan, cepat dapatkan naskah Aroma..... koleksi berharga daripada blogger/kekawan kesayangan semua kan.

HomeKreation Kitchen Corner in FoodPorn

 

Have you heard about FoodPorn terminology? The name may sound sexual and provocative for some who have not been into the latest world development of food presentation and media. Let me share the description from wikipedia:

"Food porn is a glamourised spectacular visual presentation of cooking or eating in advertisements. infomercials, cooking shows or other visual media, foods boasting a high fat and calorie content, exotic dishes that arouse a desire to eat or the glorification of food as a substitute for sex. Food porn often takes the form of food photography and styling that presents food provocatively, in a similar way to glamour photography or pornographic photography."

One day, the team of FoodPorn website wrote to me inviting my Grilled Salmon with Butter Sauce to join their website publication. I just couldn't believe that such a humble photo of mine would qualify but nevertheless submitted as requested. At the same time I felt quite embarrass to compare to many other photos which are far more superior in quality and wittiness of the participating blogs. My photos were often just a candid shot with not much preparation and planning due to my limited time in preparing dinner after office hours. I also felt that I do not babble enough perhaps and usually just put few sentences accrossed - it all I can afford to do in limited time of my daily life that I have and to balance with other priorities in life....

Blogging makes me happy and relief much stress.... the joy of sharing and able to contribute to other happiness.... the joy of extending network beyond my physical contacts..... the joy of receiving appreciation and friendship..... and so on. I am so delighted that been accepted to join the rest of the world in such a high profile food website..... thank-you so much to Ms Nina for the invite and appreciation of my humble site.

Here is the link to FoodPorn: http://www.foodporn.net/
Go and surf thousand of drool-worthy photos and recipes!! I can assure you will be impressed.

Here is my humble entry.....glad that I was given the first chance... I should learn  to do better next time....
http://www.foodporn.net/photo/grilled-salmon-with-lemon-butter-sauce/

Jom Picnic at Miri Beach

The sea was quite rough this morning

 Let's not talk about food today... come over to Miri beach to enjoy the sun shine & sea breeze..... Since we decided to just stay put in Miri during the Gawai holiday, I thought having a family picnic at the beach will be a nice family get together - more over AlongRiz is around for his summer break so we have a complete count.

 It is not just the beach, we enjoyed the cool & clean green too..... lying down under the trees with the soft sea breeze was really a relaxing moment after had a good packed food from home. There were some bbq sets ready to be used in the park but I decided to bring all ready cooked from home (packed in thermo so that remain warm) - we had Nasi Lemak, Black Pepper Roasted Chicken, Curry Puffs, special jelly (will share tomorrow), hot Teh Tarik and snacks.

 Liana had good fun building sand castle with help from many of us....

Daddy had his expertise since small in catching crabs out of its hole....

Everyone had good time today.... I had a whole week good break and ready to crack my head again in the office by the new week...!

Selamat Hari Gawai Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai 

TQ Ros Jintan Manis - Free e-Book

Buat kawan2 semua, dapatkan e-book percuma daripada Ros Jintan Manis kat sini, masa terhad tau, so cepat2 gi download ya. TQ Ros, Along pun dah download juga sebagai cendera-hati - Along simpan buat kenangan - kalau ada masa boleh juga cuba resepi Ros tu ya.

AlongRiz in New York

AlongRiz is having fun in New York...... Now his vacation is over and back in his own university for his new semester, time to study hard again. For those who miss AlongRiz, enjoy his video.

Kes Ciplak Yg Paling Teruk...!

Blog Penciplak...

 Please help me to stop copyright infringement and unethical behaviours.....

Asyik2 cerita kes ciplak, nak tulis pun dah jemu tapi kalau berdiam diri akan timbul lagi ramai kat luar tu... nak tak nak terpaksa lah siarkan juga, tambahan dah kena batang hidung sendiri dan kes ni bukan satu atau dua entri yang di ciplak, tapi teruk sangat kes ni... itu lah sebab Along bising2 ni... Raya2 ni tak baik bising2 kan, tapi dah terpaksa ni....

Mula2 tu Along saja2 google nak tengok keluar ke tak entry Along, tengok2 mak ai... memang keluar tapi nama blog orang lain punya lak. Si polan ni memang 'hebat' betul... bukan setakat ciplak gambar ke resipi ke, tapi siap ciplak entri peribadi dan cerita-ceriti... nampak seolah-olah blog tu Along pulak yang punya, siap muka Along pun kena ciplak. Tapi bukan semua yang di ciplak dari blog Along, orang lain punya pun ada. Lagi pandai, dia siap buat dua blog dgn URL & nama timangan yang berlainan tapi sama isi...

Nampak macam dah tak aktif beberapa bulan tapi blog ni masih di pasaran Google....

Jom tolong Along kasi nasihat kat dia kat blog sini (nama dia kat sini Ify) & blog satu lagi kat sini (nama dia Lucky).

Tengok komen Along kat blog dia kat sini dan sini.

Ini antara bahan2 yang Along punya yg di ciplak kat blog yang satu ni (satu lagi blog tu tengok sendiri lah ya, sama jer & malas nak list (Below are the links of mycopyright):

Baked Sugee Kuih (Bingka Suji)
Fried Cencaluk
Black Bottom Banana Cake
Published Apology Over Ciplak Case (... yang ni pun dia nak ciplak.. nak get free publisiti lah kot....)
Pumpkin & Pumpkin Leaves Dish (Again)
Nasi Dagang Kinabalu II
Liver Serunding (Serunding Hati)
Oat Porridge (Bubur Oat)
Baked Wrapped Fish (Ikan Pais)
Custard Teacake
Pineapple Pachrey II (Pacri Nenas)
Crabs & Pineapple in Cili Padi Coconut Broth (Keta...
Tapioca Rings coated with Black Sugar (Keria Ubika...
Tempe & Kobis Masak Lemak (Fermented Soy Bean & Ca...
Mini Vegetable Omelets
Awards from Jasmine Sweetylicious (berlagak dapat award lak tapi ni pun ciplak Along punya)
Ciplak in The Borneo Post - Can We Do Something?
Speaking in International Women's Day 2011 (wah, siap muka kita pun kena ciplak, memang sah2 menyamar...isyk)
Kampung Style Chicken Curry
Kelupis
Cencaluk Chicken (Ayam Cencaluk)
Chocolate Banana Muffins


KALAU ANDA AMBIL BERAT HAL CIPLAK SEBAGAI BLOGGER ATAU PUN SEBAGAI PEMBACA YG MENGHARGAI SUMBANGAN DARI KAMI, TOLONG HENTIKAN PERBUATAN MEREKA INI. SALAH SATU CARA IALAH TINGGALKAN NASIHAT ANDA DI BLOG PENCIPLAK TERSEBUT...

Europe Day 5 & 6 in Netherland

 We left Germany on day 4 at 11pm (delayed by 30 min) by bus and reached Amsterdam at about 6am in the morning. It was not a comfortable night sleep - the bus stopped several times during the journey and it was not driven fast unlike buses in Malaysia, so I can give it a compliment for its good safety precaution. We planned to take a train to Voorschoten at 6.30am but unfortunately the ticket counter was closed. We were stucked there for more than an hour waiting for the ticket counter to open and furthermore the ticket machines only accept coins and local bank cards. Unbelievable system, who will carry so much coins..... we needed €17! Quarter past 7am, the counter was still not open so we checked for taxi and it asked for more than €100....? I have to come up with another solution and approached a stranger to help us buying the tickets using his local bank card and reimbursed him cash for it. This is one of the many challenging stories we faced in the Europe tour....

We finally safely arrived at Cik Ja's house in Voorschoten in that morning. After shower, we had breakfast (murtabak, popiah, etc) and then took a nap until noon. I was so happy we had rice & curry (missed rice so much) for lunch...hehe. The first place we visited in Netherland was Keukonhof. My mouth was one meter wide opened admiring hundreds of species of gorgeous tulips and some other flower varieties. Here I share few of them.....

Amsterdam canal visit on day 6

Day 6, Cik Ja took us to SH's house, Delf, Amsterdam flea market, Red Street and Louis Vuitton.

My lunch: Tagliatelle in Creamy Musroom Sauce (very very delicious... thinking to try to make this one day)

Cik Liz had a simple tomato & cheese pizza but the bread texture & aroma is superb.

Cik Ja had Pineapple Pancake - tastes unusually delicious - something I want to try to make also....hehe

We left Amsterdam the next day afternoon and reached Malaysia a day after. So altogether it was a nine day trip. I had very adventurous experience for the whole week and happy to be able to catch up with some friends too. Can't thanks enough all of them for very caring hospitality especially to Helge, Cik Ja and families. Many thanks to SH and Fathirah too. Hope we will meet again one day. The trip was definitely a great break from my daily life and now am glad to be back  home and works. Liana, brothers and hubby were so happy to have me home again. We missed each other terribly.....

Europe Day 3 & 4 in Germany

 Koln Cathedral

We were in Thalys train early morning on the third day from Brussels to Koln (Cologne), Germany. The journey took 1 hour 45mins and we had breakfast which is served in the first class carriage. Once we reached Koln station, we deposited our luggage in automated storage machine (costs €5 for 24 hrs) so that we could look out for something to do before catching up a plane to Hamburg at 4pm.

Looking out from the train station there was a magnificent cathedral - the most well-known architectural monument in Germany mounting to 157metres high. We went around it and saw a double-decker tour bus just besides it and decided to get a ride around the city. The tour took one & half hours and we enjoyed it very much getting to know the place.

By the time we returned back to Koln station, we were terribly hungry as it passed 3pm and at the same time my right leg was terribly throbbing. I was struggling and limping to walk from the bus stop to the train station while going round to look for lunch. We bought fish & chips for lunch but before we could even eat half of it, we realised that we may be out of time to get to the airport. Forgetting about my painful leg, we both running to get the luggages, buying train tickets to the airport & drag the bags up the escalator to the train platform. We both were very panic once we reached the platform because so many trains passing the platform with different destinations and there was no nearby information counter. At the end, we decided to take on the one with a plane symbol flashed in the dashboard. Once we were in the train and after passing several stations, I somehow felt uneasy because I wasn't sure that we were on the right train. I decided to approach some other passengers for help and the girl I spoke to confirmed that we were heading to the wrong airport (Düsseldorf instead of Cologne Bonn). My blood drained down and we knew that we definitely will miss the flight....! We stopped at the next station and get a taxi to drive us to the Koln Bonn airport. The worst news was not just we missed the flight, we gotta buy a new ticket that costed us 4 times more expensive. After negotiation, I manage to get some deduction but still costed me 3 times of the original price that we paid. We had no choice but to proceed and lucky enough to catch a flight scheduled 2 hours later. I was just looking forward and tried not to think so much about the unfortunate event.....

 Mölln view from the hill - this same view was published in Mölln 2011 calendar.

We finally reached Hamburg and my good friend Helge waited for us patiently despite having to wait much longer than anticipated. From Hamburg airport we drove to his village in Molln, about an hour drive. It was such a peaceful village and nice views of historic buildings. We were most welcome by Helge's wife Tina and the night was a good catch up with Helge after he left Miri less than a year ago.

 The famous statue of Molln trickster, Till Eulenspiegel.

The next morning (4th day in Europe), we spent time going round in Molln......

 Beautiful lake in Mölln

 Botanical Garden in Hamburg

After going round in Molln in the morning, Helge drove us to Hamburg for tour before sending us off to bus station. We had city tour by foot, lunch in one of the prestige shopping store in Hamburg (forgot to ask the name), drove around the city, visited Hamburg botanical garden, Hamburg harbour and finally dinner at Hamburg port at 9pm.

 Hamburg city view with Cik Liz in the scene

 My lunch (Helge's treat): Fried fillet, a piece of rye bread, saute mushroom, asparagus (below) and carrot juice (kuat nya makan.....hehehe)

Helge also gave us a treat for dinner and on Helge's recommendation, I tried marinated fish served with sour cream - which is actually uncooked Herrings. It was nice and no fishy smell at all. This dish is popular in Germany and Netherland.

So our trip to Germany ended here and we were on a bus to Amsterdam, departed at 10.30pm. Cannot thank Helge & Tina enough for the marvelous hospitality during our visit and hope we will meet again one day. Watch out for my next update in Amsterdam.