Banana bread (banana cake)

This is my husband (and my) favourite cake. Whenever he buys back bananas, he would give me this cheeky smile. It means, "Can we have banana bread, please?"




The credit of this recipe belongs to Rasa Malaysia, which had adapted it from Joy of Cooking. You can get the recipe <here>


SY

Sambal ikan bilis (Orang Asli version)

Our orang asli friends taught us how to make this. After trying this sambal at their house, my husband and I knew we need to have this at our home and it is so easy to make!


Recipe
100gm ikan bilis/anchovies
1 onion (chopped finely)
8-9 bird eyes chillies (cili padi) (or to your liking)
Dash of salt
Oil for deep-frying


1. Place the oil into a wok and turn it on high heat.
2. Once it is hot, lower it down to medium heat and fry the ikan bilis.
3. Once the ikan bilis is almost done (turned light brown), pour in the onion and give it a little stir.
4. Dish out once the ikan bilis has turned goldren brown (crunchy).
5. Placed the ikan bilis, onion and bird eye chillies into a mortar and give it some pounding.
6. Once it has become fine, placed it into a bowl and add salt.


SY

Soya sauce chicken

I tried it once but the taste was just not right. So this time, I asked my mom again and went through some online recipes. It turned out quite well!


Recipe (serves 2)
2 chicken thighs
2 star anise
3 cloves of garlic (lightly pounded)


Marinade:
Dash of salt and pepper
4 tbsp light soya sauce
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp Chinese wine


1. Marinade the chicken meat overnight.
2. Pour the sauce, the meat, star anise and garlic into a pot and bring it to boil.
3. Once it is boiling, lower it down to low heat and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes with the lid closed.
4. Flip the meat occassionally so that both sides are cooked evenly.
5. Serve hot.


Note:
1. To check whether the meat is cooked - use a knife and cut through the thigh. If it is still reddish, then let it cook for a little longer.


SY

Tom Kha Gai (milk version)

Tom Kha Gai is actually Thai Coconut Chicken Soup. There are 2 things missing from the original version:- Coconut milk and chicken.
I did not have chicken because, well, I was out of chicken meat. :P
I had some guests who tried the coconut milk version before and they were reluctant to finish the whole bowl of soup, fearing their cholestrol would shoot up.
So, this time around, I substituted coconut milk with fresh milk. My husband said it was SO GOOD!


Recipe (serves 2)
450ml fresh milk
50ml water
a handful of straw mushrooms
1 tomato (sliced)
1 onion (sliced)
3 lemongrass (slightly pounded)
1 small knob of galangal
10-12 bird eye chillies (cili padi)
5 tbsp fish sauce (or to your liking)
5-6 kaffir lime leaves
2-3 lime juice (or to your liking)




1. Place all the ingredients, except for kaffir lime leaves and lime juice, in a pot.
2. Bring the pot to boil on high heat
3. Once it is boiling, lower it down to medium heat and give it a little stir.
4. Place the lime leaves into the pot and stir.
5. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Before serving, pour in the lime juice.


Note:
1. You can add meat to the soup if you like.
2. If lime juice is left in the soup for too long, it will become bitter. Thus, it is not good to pour the lime too early into the pot while cooking.


SY

Beading Project : Earrings !

Hands up those who simply love earrings ?

I supposed you can then identify with me the feeling of seeing earrings, even at those night market selling at RM10 for 3.

I personally love earrings so much that I've decided to pick up some beading skills so i could DIY it myself. Cheaper and prettier! * winks* 

If you're like me and would love to DIY your own earrings too, here's some simple start-up ideas for you. I made all these within less than half an hour - hence, it's really quite an effortless job to be done. 

Here's basically what you need :- 

p/s: Thanks Agnes for the personalized handkerchief. I'm still using it for my beadings! ; ) 

Look at the following picture on steps to DIY an earring. I think the photos are pretty self-explanatory. 

If you need more help to start off your DIY project, you can refer to this site * click here *. It's pretty useful for beginners like us. 

Here are some of the DIY earrings I've made just a moment ago and you know what, it definitely does not cost more than RM3 per pair (what i mean to say is : definitely cheaper than RM10 for 3 pairs). Heh. 

Enjoy girls!~ 

KG 

Watercress Soup

Please do excuse the picture above. I actually forgot to take the "after" picture!


Well, for most Chinese, this will be a familiar soup to you. In Cantonese, it is pronounced as "Sai Yeung Choi".


Here's the recipe:
Serves 9 - (I had many guests on that day! That's another reason why I forgot to take the "after" picture!)





3-3.5 litres of water
500-600gm of watercress
25 dried red dates (seeded)
A handful of wolfberry/ kei chi
400-500 gm of chicken bones/ pork ribs
Salt to taste


1. Use a smaller pot and boil some water. Once it is boiling, place the meat into the pot. Allow it to simmer about 2 minutes or until it turns opaque.
2. Drain the water. Fill the same small pot with room temperature water. Scrub the meat a little to remove any excess dirty remnants. Set the meat aside.
3. Fill a big pot with water and place watercress, red dates, wolfberry and the meat into the pot.
4. Boil the water on high heat.
5. Once it is boiling, set it on low heat and let it simmer for at least 4 hours. (One sign that it is done is when the red dates turn purple)
6. Add salt into the soup to your liking.
7. Serve while it's hot.


Note:
1. Red dates must be seeded(seeds removed) before cooking. The seeds are not nutritious, and apparently, they may affect health when taken in long-term.
2. You can put lesser red dates into the soup. I prefer more as they add sweetness to the soup.
3. It's my grandma's style that we need to separately boil the meat (chicken bones/pork ribs) first prior to placing them into the big pot. This is to remove the first layer of oil as well as dirty remnants that come out from the meat. It also helps enhances the sweetness of the soup.
4. Because you are simmering the soup for long hours, always remember to add more water than your usual measurement in boiling soup as the water will get evaporated.


SY 

Vege Omelet

Guest Blogger : Tan Su Chen

Vege Omelet 

VEGE OMELET(for 2 portions)

vege mix 
1 bombay onion, peeled, sliced and chopped to desired granularity
1 carrot, sliced and chopped
1 tomato, diced (not too small)

3 eggs, beaten
2 table spoons of mayonaise
pepper & salt to taste

Instructions
Melt a tablespoon of butter into pan
Stir in sliced onions (dash in pepper and salt) until onion softens and caramelizes (5 min)
Stir in carrots, lower fire and let it cook until soften (5 min)
Stir in tomatoes, cook until soften (5 min). Tomatoes should be soften, but not overcook (i.e. should not be squashy/melted)
Spread out vegetables across the pan, and pour in eggs. Make sure fire is low. Stop stirring the mixture 
On the surface of the egg & vege mixture, spread mayonnaise across evenly
After 2 minutes, flip the omelet over and and let it cook for another 2 minutes - both sides' surfaces should be slightly brown

(don't worry about the omelet not staying its shape (especially with the amount of vege, imagine the weight), on my first attempt it broke, but still tastes good! hehe.) 
 
per your taste preference, you may also want to consider adding chives/red chili/capsicum as part of your vege mix. Slurps, Bon apetite!


p/s : Thanks Suchen for the great recipe ! Yummmmmy!  We shall try it ! 

Loving Yourself

Days ago, I read in the news about J. Lo's marriage breakup. Her reason is she needs to love herself more now after being married for 7 years. (You can read it here)


KG and I shared the news with some of our friends and here's what they and we have to say about "Loving myself".


What do you think about this statement in a marriage? Share your comments with us. :)


Something I teach teenagers in schools, is about dating, love and marriage. The phrase I tell them comes to mind when read about JLo's decision to leave her marriage to love herself more is "Love is about giving the best of myself to another at my own expense". I also tell teenage girls and boys that, "Love is not about needing or wanting. It's about giving". It's not a theory that I have about love.... it is what LOVE is, the very nature of LOVE and the TRUTH about LOVE is that, it is not self-seeking, it is not about me, myself or I. Its how Jesus love... how He has loved us so much to give up His life for us. If Jesus loved himself a bit more than He loved us, we would all...... be doomed, dead, kaput, perish. That's how we are meant to love, and in a marriage - till death do us part!
- Su Chen


When I was younger, I had my ideal-guy requirement list! Tall, Dark & Handsome, haha I won’t even share my list, paiseh! I used to think that being in a relationship is about what I want, what I can get out of the relationship. It’s about getting a good guy so that I’ll be happy for the rest of my life. It’s about getting the best guy for myself. It's about me, just like J Lo.

Have since grew out of my self-centeredness, conditioned by God. From 'What's In the Relationship for ME', I moved on to 'What's In the Relationship for US'. I saw that it's about what I do can best for 'us', for the relationship. Getting it right so that we both benefit from the relationship. It even meant being selfless or having to 'sacrifice' a little, just so that the relationship blossoms.

I'm beginning to get a newer perspective now. It's moving to 'What's In the Relationship for GOD'. It's about fulfilling God's purpose in the relationship. What does God want? Of course, easier said than done, because what God wants may not translate to what I or WE want :p Some days I forget and get carried away. But it's a journey, learning to trust God and let Him do whatever He wants with this marriage, however way He leads. Reflecting back, instead of taking things into our own feeble hands, it's probably easier to just surrender our all to God.

Ps: I still think I have the best guy, the best hubby…my best friend.
- Jane'nette


This morning SY sent me the link to this news.

SY said “This is totally different from what I’ve said on our blog”.
I’m sure glad that IT is different, for SY that is, but not so for J.Lo.
As reputable and popular as she is, her idea on marriage is totally wrong. Christ clearly said in Matthew 10:39, “whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it”. SY and i believe that in marriage, it is never about us. It’s about the glory of God. How is God being glorified in this separation?
Our culture today made it so casual and absolutely ok that “if we can’t get along, we will go on our separate ways so i can go on loving myself”. God, however, says clearly in the Bible: “For I hate divorce and him who covers his garment with wrong, “say the Lord of hosts", so take heed to not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:16).
When a woman has chosen the high calling of being a wife, her submission to her husband is “as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5: 22).
Is this submission a blind submission even if it means submitting to the wrong doings of husbands? We will discuss further on this topic in our next articles. Also, SY and I will gradually bring in articles/write ups to explore the real meaning of being a wife in God’s eyes.

Coming back to J.Lo, it is funny how she ended her interview saying this: “It’s still my biggest dream. I am positive — determined to move forward with my life, bring up my babies, and do the best job I can as a mother, entertainer, and person. I now look forward to new challenges. I feel strong." Seriously, would she, an entertainer, be able to cope with 2 babies while having to have “a life as a person” – which i presume would be her self-indulging activities? Would she really be able to raise these children with so many other roles to presume? (and oh, without a husband or a daddy)

Yea, she can raise them up to be someone as “successful” as her in the eyes of the world and impart values like “if you like a girl, marry her but if one day you realise you do not love her anymore, just walk off like mommy did. This is the way we love yourself, alright? No big deal. We have our future out there, like earning big bucks. Family? Who cares about family! Mommy loves you, alright?”
-KG


To me, marriage is designed by God and for the glory of God. No doubt, we all love ourselves - we would not hurt or slash our own bodies. Even the Bible says in Ephesians 5:28-29 " Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it.."

But love demonstrated by Christ is beyond loving Himself as He had laid down His life for us (John 15:13).

God asked husbands to love their wives as Christ had loved the church (Ephesians 5:25), that is by laying his life for his wife too. God also asked wives to submit to their husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:22), which also means beyond loving myself.
Unconditional love is shown by one person regardless of how the other party treats you.

Yes, it is difficult to have unconditional love, especially when the husband is abusing you in some ways. That's why only God can help us!
-SY

The Glory of God in Marriage

For those who had read my portion of the story in "About Us" in Blooming Wives (it's the reason why KG and I started this blog), you would know that I owe you this story.

This is the story on what God taught me about the meaning of marriage, which defies tradition, culture and human thinking. And I'm still learning about it day by day!

It all started when Darren and I became friends and after that, we developed a liking for each other. When we decided to be romantically involved, we made a commitment to one another by submitting our relationship to God in prayer. On that day itself, we made it clear to each other, and to God, that we had marriage as our end goal. Darren was my first boyfriend and so was I his first.

Before we even held hands, I needed him to seek permission from my father first. Darren agreed and said he had planned to do that all along.

I told my father about this the next day and I asked if he understood what I was saying. He answered, "You are getting married, right?" I laughed and said, "No lah, abah. He is going to come and ask your permission whether he can be my boyfriend or not". My father was surprised because he had never heard of such a thing before. But Darren had gained his respect. My father approved of us being together without any question when Darren came a week after.

(Honestly and prayerfully, I hope my daughter and her future husband would honour us as parents by doing the same thing.)

Before Darren proposed, I began to search the meaning of marriage and what are the roles of a husband and a wife.

Real life examples are plenty. My parents, older folks, friends who are married, books, TV dramas and culture.
In this modern day when women are climbing the corporate ladder and pursuing their own ambition, is there really such a thing called "equality" in a marriage? What does that word mean, anyway? And if there is, is that more of a human way or God's way?

Why not go to the Source, right? Since I call God my Father in Heaven and I believe He is my creator, He would be the best counselor there is.

So one day, while I was driving to work, I casually asked God, "God, what is marriage?"
The reply was so instant that I nearly stopped my car.
"Marriage is not about your happiness. It is about My glory".

I was very sure I did not come up with that answer with my simple mind. And it left me dumbfounded. FOR DAYS!

It was very difficult for me to accept, especially after growing up watching love movies and reading romantic novels. So, I could not SEEK MY OWN ever after, after all??

That complaint made me realised how selfish I was. I believe if it were without God's guidance, I would have stepped into marriage with the expectation of Darren meeting my expectations, my fantasies and my needs. That is not sacrificial love. It is just plain self-centeredness.

I prayerfully asked God to teach me further because I really wanted to love Darren genuinely and honour God wholeheartedly.

God then impressed upon me again with a verse from the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13.

"Love is patient".

Christians would know this scripture. The whole paragraph talks about what love is. (If you want to know more, you can find it here)

What God showed me in my mind was this, "If your husband cheats on you with another woman or if he treats you unkind, you will be patient".

Like I said before, this totally defies our logical thinking and it might make some of you angry and feel this is utterly ridiculous!

But my stand, from the start, is this: I had wanted a man who loves God more than me and I wanted to honour God more than anything else in the world because I love Him more than anything else in the world.

I wanted to learn what love is and God had it clear in His Word on what it is. He even gave me an example!

I wanted to learn what marriage is and He told me it is for His glory.

With such a revelation, I actually realised that marriage is seeking after my own happiness after all. If I could honour God by following His advice in having a right marriage, then I would make my God happy. Well, if He's happy, then...I'm happy.

KG and I are learning day by day on our roles as a wife. Even as we dwell upon the Word of God and talk to other women, we began to develop a deeper sense of wanting to seek after God's glory in this. And we both love and adore our own husbands dearly!

On what our findings are as wives? We will tell you another time. :)

SY

Sweet Sour Pork

Sweet Sour Pork

Ingredients :
500ml oil for deep-frying
300 g pork (with fat)
corn flour for coating pork
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 red capsicum, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 tin canned of pineapple cubes


Marinade : 
1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp osyter sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 egg, 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 3 tbsp water


Sauce: 
1 tbsp plum sauce, 3 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp chili sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp white rice vingar, 100 ml water


Method:
1. Cut pork into 1/2" thich and pound with the back of knife till tender. Then cut into cubes. Marinade for 30 minutes (the longer the better)

2. Coat pork cubes with corn flour (my own experiment : with tapioca flour - super crunchy and yummy!) and deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish and drain.

3. Leave 1 tbsp oil in wok, stir fry capsicum, onion and pineapple until fragrant. Pour in sauce and bring to cook until thick. Add in the deep-fried pork and mix well.

4. Dish up and serve hot! 

Note: If you think it's a hassle to prepare the sauce, buy the sweet sour sauce readily available in supermarkets.