Wednesday 22 May 2013

MAMA'S CHOCOLATE MARBLE CUP CAKES



Before you know it...we're going to the second week of Rejab...next will be Syaaban...& followed by the holy month of Ramadhan.

And i still havent ganti all my puasa...sigh!

Anyway...i'm fasting... today.
Trying to cover back what had been left....

So...making something sweet for my breakfasting & something to serve for tea.

And since my mum in law is around...i think she'll love that for sure!

What i had made... a recipe of my Mama.
Actually it's a plain cake but i turn it into cup cakes to make it interesting!
Ya...i know...it's always cakes....hehehe!

Being orang lama...all her recipes are not in grams or litres.
She measures them in cups n she has this notion of measuring ikut rasa aje... n walla... the end result of her cooking is surprisingly superb!

But this cup cake is really very simple...

I'll try to post some of her wonderful traditional cooking sometime in the near future.










































The r.e.c.i.p.e.

Mama's chocolate marble cup cakes

3 cups self raising flour
1 1/2 cup castor sugar
1 1/2 cup butter
5 eggs ( 2 whole eggs & 3 egg yolks)
1 1/2 tsp essence of vanilla
1 cup evaporated milk
3 tlbs cocoa powder
grated 1 orange zest

Method
1.Beat butter & sugar until it turned to 
  almost pale.
2.Put in the eggs one by one.
3.Add in the flour, vanilla essence, milk & 
  orange zest.
4.When the mixture is thoroughly mix,divide 
  the mixture. Add cocoa powder to one 
  of it.
5.Spoon the two mixture alternately into the 
  paper cups.
6.Bake @ 170-180c till the dough will not 
  stick to the tooth pick when inserted.
7.Cool the cup cakes on the wire rack.




Soft to the touch delicious to be eaten....



Leeza

********


Thursday 16 May 2013

MY GARDEN


It's been awhile since i've been with my plants n flowers.

Been very busy lately with the beading that had taken so much of my time...
Phew!....it's killing my eyes...

However to be out in the garden will always make me feel so fresh n...alive!!

Gardening is one of my hobbies....it helps me to sweat out n makes me see some lovely colours around me!

And it's a good way to be away from the needles and...the computer...

I always dream of having trees like in the movie 'Mamamia'.

The part where the young couples are suppose to be married and the wedding reception was done under some fully decorated shady trees with blooming flowers....

Though i know it's not even close to it but well it could have the slight resemblance....(in my dreams).











I have just trimmed the bougainville...hoping that it will grow even bigger n....many more flowers to bloom.








Another species of lily....

I love lilies....they have this sweet n pleasant fragrance.
















 



My lovely hydrangeas are forever flowering...
Sangat selesa dgn keadaan sekeliling agaknya...








Some of my orchids....i'm not so good at remembering their names unlike my sis teh...she seem to know each n everyone!























I wanted so much a water feature in my garden....but ahh!...a smaller version of an ornamental water feature will do just fine!





I have a few species of green fern...
Love them...it's cooling to the eyes.
Looks like some of them sudah tua.... n need to be changed.




Some of my begonias or assam batu...




Adding some red soils n fertiliser to my rose corner...hoping it will bear more flowers.





My hubby's favourite...palm trees.
They have grown so much for the past six years!







Just cant wait for my kemboja to grow to a bigger tree where i can put a chair or two under it....sipping a cup of tea n enjoying a piece of my heavenly chocolate cake....huhu!


I love to display plants in the house...
N...ivy is one of my favourite.



At one corner behind the house...a home grown bunga kantan...pandan leaves...daun limau purut...sour sop...promeganate n herbs like rosemary n basil.































I'll always feel calm n at peace each time i look at the matured casuarinas.

Initially my hubby was against on planting the trees due to the roots....but....
Look!...they are just so perfect!

Though we have this unbearable heat most time in the year....we have to think of how n what to plant n make the best out of it!

What makes my garden...the work of my own bare hands n...of course with the little help from my ever willing maid sri.




Leeza

********


Sunday 12 May 2013

TERIMA KASIH.....









Terima Kasih...is a simple word but it means alot to me...

I should be saying it everyday but on this special occasion i luv to say it again 
that i LOVE you Ma...

Terima kasih Mama...for bringing me into this world.

Though i know how hard it was to cope with six children n a sick mother in law...but you had remained strong.

And showered me with luv n taught me the spices of life.

Being the last child in the family...i always get away with almost anything...
And i'm sorry if i had in any way make you unhappy.

You are a part of me & i feel so comfortable to share with you the sweet & bitterness of life....

I will treasure some of your dos & donts;
Buat baik berpada-pada buat jahat jangan sekali.

And terima kasih Ma..once again for being there when i needed a helping hand.




Mama...you are the queen of my heart


And to my mum in law...terima kasih Mak...for being such a great mum to me....

I will treasure this legacy to my children and their children for the word terima kasih has so much to offer....

Not only to our families n friends but to our past & present leaders as well...for their policies had made us proud of our country!

Betapa besarnya peranan ibu dalam mendidik anak2 agar menjadi satu bangsa yang berjaya...
yang berhemah tinggi...
bangsa yang mengenang budi
bukan pemberontak jalanan....

The hands that rock the cradle rules the world.

Ya Allah!...lindungi lah bangsa ku...
Bersatu kita teguh bercerai kita roboh!

We have reaped peace n harmony....so dont spoil it.
Love our country & never let it be destroyed...


So have a joyous weekends with your loved ones...

& HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!




Leeza


*******


Tuesday 7 May 2013

MATURE WAY OF DISAGREEING



Well...at long last...the GE13 is done with!...& the results are either to be happy or the other way around.

Whatever they are....everyone should respect them and enough of politic talks n start to work.

There're blessings to every happenings....

After all...this is what the people want!

I had been reading an article by this author of smart parenting...Zaid Mohamad on mature way of disagreeing n what he had wrote is something very interesting n a reminder to us.

Since everyone had their prefered choice of parties n candidates...we will try to convince each other why our choices are better. Emotions can run high at times n many chose to see only what they want to see.

We should know that in any argument, nobody actually wins.
Arguments can drive friends n families apart.

It is not uncommon to find house full of different ideologies.
Dont allow ourselves to be carried away.
Relationships may be affected n we will lose focus on other priorities too.

This also applies to friends. There'll be friends who may disagree with us n no matter how different our political beliefs are...they  are still our friends!

Friends n families are our greatest assets. They are the pillars of our strength n a major source of our happiness. Nothing can change that n certainly not politics!

Though there had been winners n losers...i'm sure it had been done in a transparent way.
Learn to accept it...
OR... it is a WAKE UP call!

Do not show our frustrations in a manner that we may regret later.

I strongly against those... taking it to the streets to demonstrate their frustrations.
Dragging the young people to reach their goals....exposing n teaching these young people to take law into their own hands N be VIOLENT

We should instead groom a well discipline...
n respectable younger generation.

And not ini kalilah....or even lain kalilah!


Say NO to violence!!



Leeza

*********


Thursday 2 May 2013

UNDILAH!



The variety colours of different flags that have become part of our country landscape lately....




















My... they're such lovely colours!

There should be a competition among these flags....

And they're great for tourist attractions!

And even nice songs of UNDILAhhh....are in the air!

So let's do our part as well.....

Moh kite undi!

Come what may.....
Peace & Stability are what we need!

So come on... let's vote

And......

HAPPY VOTING!




PEACE

Leeza