Reflections

There are some days your thoughts suddenly flash back to your past and memories that were buried under the surface come up quite unexpectedly. Late Christmas evening was one of those evenings. Watching my son running around, opening presents and messing around with the Christmas decorations on the tree made me think how fast the years fly by. Highschool, college all seems like a lifetime ago.

I had my first boyfriend at 14, got my heart broken many many times by people I thought cared about me. Managed to struggle through college, but looking back at my schooling years, I should have not listened to others who doubted me. But when you are in that situation, you cannot help but doubt yourself. Unfortunately, I was one of those people who was not considered as 'cool' as I could have been, and as a result, if I did anything 'cool', most people would have said, "How could you have done that, you are not cool enough". Honestly, who judges coolness... Most of those people have ended up worse off than me, and I am the stronger for it today.. I had very low self-confidence back then and I think, being a mum now and forcing myself to be stronger is helping me on the road to being a more developed (?) person..

Some say reflecting is a bad thing, we must look forward to the upcoming year. Reflecting is not necessarily bad, the things we did, the mistakes we made, along with the decisions we have done in the past all make up the person we are today. I know I have done some insane things in the past and now, looking back, its shaped me into the person I am now. For better or for worse.

Looking forward to the New Year comes inevitably the Resolutions - the promises you make to yourself, knowing you will break them by February. But it's always fun to challenge yourself and see where you end up with.

My Resolutions -
1. Somehow stick to my exercise classes, servants or no nanny... Since of late, I am nanny-less and completely 24/7 on Sonny boy.. Poor kid, he has to deal with me all day long. But he seems to enjoy it for some reason so that's great.. But its been my excuse not to go to classes.. which is NOT good..

2. Along with the exercise classes, I have to loose weight. My goal is 15kg by June next year, when my birthday rolls around. Easier said than done. Also, reduce amounts of sugar consumed, whether it is in tea/coffee or yummy cakes.. :-(

3. Be more pro-active in the shop and help my mum out more. I know I give her grief and God only knows how much grief I get from her, but I think it would be good for everyone.

4. Stop biting my nails, this is a horrible habit from childhood and it never seems to go away.

5. Get my hair relaxed - hehe it sounds so weird saying that. Not only is my mind not relaxed but I have to get my hair relaxed too...

6. Cook more, and get some more good cook books.. I love cooking, as anyone knows reading the blog but I should find some more healthy constructive ones and try out..

7. Somehow get to Toastmasters and learn how to give a proper speech without stammering or feeling like a total tool.. Does anyone know of a good class?

8. Stop making resolutions I cannot keep to :-)

So here's to all of you, have a Happy New Year! 2009 wasn't too good for anyone so lets hope 2010 will be better!!

Belated Christmas Greetings

It doesn't get any better than this :-) Merry Belated Christmas everyone.. hope everyone had a good Christmas, stuffed themselves silly, recieved and gave great presents and also paid attention to the more important things in life...

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Talent in the Bucketloads

These guys are two cousins living somewhere in the US. I just cannot get over how anyone can sing seperate layers of a song and put it together, let alone sing it acapella. Its amazing and wonderful.

Comfort Food

There are days, you are way too lazy to cook and you just want something yum to snuggle with and watch TV. For me, there are many days like that, and today was no exception. I decided to make my variation on a soup I had seen ages ago.

Again, I don't have proper quantities and it is really up to you and what you have available in your kitchen. My soup I made today had carrots, leeks, sausage, pasta and chicken broth.

First, you cook your pasta and get rid of the water. Then in the same saucepan (again, comfort and ease, not much washing!), cook the sausages. A tip - remove the skin from the sausages so it resembles meatballs. Cook them well and keep aside. Then add some garlic that is well ground up (this is optional but add a little, like a small clove per person). Add chicken stock and cook till boiled. Add the vegetables (you can add potatoes, carrots, leeks, cabbage, whatever you have at home). After its cooked, add the sausages and pasta. If you like, at this point, you can add some spinach leaves. That also adds a nice color to the soup.

It doesn't take long to cook, maximum 30 min and this is nutrious and yummy. For those living in cold climes, it is perfect to snuggle up to the couch and watch your favorite Christmas movies on TV.

Dinner ideas II (contd)

So, its morning and after a cup of coffee, I feel moderately able to write a post of a few recipes.

Shrimp with Broccoli
The usual simple recipes. Clean the prawns (I used without the skin because of the eeky intestinal bits) and mix them with broccoli (duh), soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and coriander leaves. Keep in the fridge to marinade. When you are ready to cook them, just put into a pan and cook! That's it really. You don't need to add salt as the soy sauce is salty enough.


Stuffed Peppers
I don't like couscous but in a bid to be healthy one afternoon, I bought some and I never used it again. I saw it in the pantry and was thinking, maybe I should just use this one day and try it out. This recipe is in 3 parts, but it is not complicated.

Stuffing
It is part couscous and part yummy stuffing. First heat up some chicken broth to boiling point. Put to the dried couscous and add some ground up cumin and a little tumeric. Leave to soak.

The other stuffing is you cook apple (yes, apple.. Any type is fine, I used Fuji), chopped onions, coriander leaves, mushrooms, and a little crushed cloves. You cook it in a pot, don't add oil. Just cook till its well done.

Mix it with the couscous and add some raisins and nuts (cashews, almonds, whatever). That's your stuffing :-)

The Peppers
You cut off the tops, and clean out the seeds. It should look like a pretty cup. Soak them in hot water to cook and then wash them out with cold, so they retain the shape and size. Add the couscous mixture and just when you are about to serve, put into the oven (180C/350F) for 15 min.


Sorry for the bad quality pictures, I took them in the evening before serving.

Dinner ideas II

After a very very long time, we decided to call some friends over for dinner. I am nanny-less these days (as the woman I had before decided to leave me for a wedding.. later on I realized she has busted most of my cooking equipment, hence the abrupt leaving situation - that's a topic for another posting), thus I haven't had the time or energy to exercise let alone cook. Roomservice.lk is my best friend these days at work, although it doesn't seem to be the healthiest of friends..

Moving on, dinner.. So I decided to make a nice western style dinner with Lankan fusion. Menu consisted of :-
* Shrimp with Broccoli
* White rice (now you don't need a picture of steamed rice, do you?)
* Potato Gratin
* Stuffed Peppers with Couscous
* Coleslaw
* Grilled chicken
So my table looked kinda like this :-


Yum!

Next posts I will give the recipes for each dish, right now its about 11pm, so bed time for me.. but the posts will come :-)

Retail Injury

Like most girls, I do like to go shopping. Unfortunately, UNlike most girls in Sri Lanka, I never seem to find my size. I am not HUGE persay, but I am not delicately proportioned either. I do happen to be 'voluptuous' if i am say so myself. I do have boobs (which most women's clothes in Sri Lanka do not seem to understand) and have a body which does look like I have given birth (which is the truth). So why is it so difficult to find any clothes here?

I was thoroughly disappointed with Odel - Kohuwela, Warehouse and Alexandra Place. Overpriced, and NOTHING available. Went to Cotton Collection, was almost blinded by the bright printed and casual wear. Dilly's - again, overpriced and catered to the boobless-skinny women which seem to dominate Sri Lankan mannequins. Tried the smaller stores in Thimbirigasyaya - again disappointing. The only shops that seem to have anything decent is Sista (but again, either too big or catering to the pregnant - which is not really the look I am looking for. I don't want to look pregnant if I can help it).

Why is it shameful to be a big bigger than everyone else? I mean, I don't think I am huge. But its so difficult to find flattering clothes in this country. I am sure there are people who are larger than the norm. Not everyone looks like they are suffering from malnutrition - well, considering the cost of living these days, it might be one idea why the sizes are so misaligned.

Everytime I see someone I haven't seen in a while, they say "Oh, you've put on" or the rare "You've lost weight!". Why do people in Sri Lanka have the need to tell you about how you look. Its not like we don't have mirrors, plus its not the best way to get someone to like you especially if you mention their size. How is that a conversation opener anyways? One day, someone said that to Hubby on one of his off-days, his response "Well, you've got uglier from the last time I met you" (this was to the statement - "You've put on from the last time we met").

Does anyone have any suggestions on where we can buy decent clothes at a decent price? I don't mind paying, as long as I don't have to squeeze myself into something unflattering or find something nice and that would fit me in a decent way. Please let me know in the comments. However, presents, bribes are always welcome :-)

Hot potatoes

Sorry for the delay in posting. In between trying to run my little store, working for my boss (who also happens to be my mum - never a good combination) and everything else going on in my chaotic life, my little baby boy gets sick... Its miserable, not just for him but for everyone around.

He had high fever, around 102F when we took him to the doc. He was not his normal cheerful self. No songs, no demands for music, no requests for Mickey Mouse, he didn't even have an appetite, the poor guy couldn't even make it to his school's Christmas party. But thank goodness, Santa managed to get his present to me, so one crisis is sorted.. One positive, the fever and his flu are NOT related... but if the fever continues, that means something more serious (eekk!).. so blood tests are in order.. just the thought of some strange nurse putting a needle into my little boy's arm is enough to give me nightmares..

UPDATE
Sonny's fever is almost completely gone after one night's medicine (yay!) so we should be ok.. although the cough is still persisting.. another bit of good news, appetite and the singing has come back!

Great Link

One of my best friends sent me this link and it is SO true... At least most of them, so I decided to repeat them here..

Random Thoughts From People Our Age

1. -I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
2. -More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
3. -Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
4. -I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?
5. -Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
6. -That’s enough, Nickelback.
7. -I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
8. -Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the “people you may know” feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
9. -Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.
10. -There is a great need for sarcasm font.
11. -Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
12. -I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.
13. -How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
14. -I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
15. - I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
16. -The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
17. - A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
18. - Was learning cursive really necessary?
19. - Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.
20. - I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
21. - Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
22. - My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.” Classy, bro.
23. - Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.
24. - How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?
25. - I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
26. - Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”
27. -What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
28. - While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.
29. - MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
30. - Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
31. - I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
32. -Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
33. - I would like to officially coin the phrase ‘catching the swine flu’ to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: “Dave caught the swine flu last night.”
34. -I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
35. - Bad decisions make good stories
36. -Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!
37. - Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
38. -If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
39. -Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….
40. -You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
41. -Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.
42. -There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
43. -I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
44. - “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.
45. -I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’
46. -I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
47. - I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
48. -When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
49. -I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
50. -Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…
51. - As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
52. -Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
53. -It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
54. -I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
55. -Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what to do with it.
56. -Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…
57. -My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the hell do I respond to that?
58. -It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
59. -I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
60. -I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
61. -I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Workout update

So, after a month slogging away at the workout (oops Shape Up) class, I was finally weighed and checked if I had lost weight in the appropriate places. Understandably, I felt like a cow ready for slaughter, taking off my shoes (pre-workout otherwise poor Clement may need an oxygen mask for his troubles) and getting onto the scale. Clement looked surprised, I thought happily, maybe I did reach his insane goal of loosing 5kg and he asked me to step on it again... In reality, I have GAINED a kilo... Considering I practically came to every class on the weekdays (missing a few - like 1 or 3 max), you can guess my immense disappointment. However, there is SOME good news...
* Apparently, I had lost weight on my arms - considering I am punching away, thinking of Heidi Klum and her sexy body post-baby (5 weeks later!), something must be happening...

* My fat percentage has reduced - how they can tell with that hand-held device, I will never understand. Is it through pressure i.e. if you are more fat or have 'fat' hands, you tend to squeeze less, thus higher fat content? Who knows..
* My tummy and hips are still the same maybe 1/2 inch less but who's counting..

Clement is back to telling me his usual lecture about chocolate (apparently, its the devil - who knew). According to him, a teeny-weeny piece is equivalent to 3 hours of continuous workout at the gym.. Man, after one hour of kick boxing I am wiped out, I hate to know what I will be like after 3! He is also back to his usual goal of 'encouraging' me to loose 5 kgs by end Jan. Hmmm its Christmas season and thus, the season to celebrate one's voluptuous self, by enjoying Christmas traditions such as stuffing your face with as much stuff as humanly possible. I guess I will be reducing that to just stuffing myself and weeping later. He also tells me its not just reducing sugar, but more importantly, reducing the other sweet things like chocolate (there's that chocolate again...)

Anyways, I think he is right... I really should start taking care of myself, which I am trying.. but its an uphill, bloody conquering Everest battle but I am sure I can make it through.. But I suppose I will need that chip in my brain to help me through

Bohemian Rhapsody Muppet-style

After Sesame Street, one of my favorite shows as a kid and even now, is the Muppet Show. A bunch of fun characters all trying to do a successful show and depending how you look at it, either succeeding fantastically or failing miserably..

This clip has been out for a while, but it's always fun to watch.



One of the lyrics is "Mama, I just killed a man.. I put a gun against his head, pulled the trigger and now he's dead".. Not very child-friendly.. and the Muppets manage to get over that completely, by Animal hunting for his Mama (everyone say awww)

Love it!

Random thoughts

I haven't posted in a while, different issues coming up and down and around and just my thoughts have been elsewhere.. Anyways, here's a small summary of the days before..

* Just two days ago, a classmate of mine (she was 29) has passed away. A few days ago, one of my friends was hospitalized for high blood pressure. What is going on...
Is it the foods we consume? Is it the pollution in the air we breathe? Is it just our lifestyles - fast life, fast foods, fast communication? Who knows...
We must make the most of every moment and when we can, see the people we love and tell them we love them because you never know...

* Is it so difficult for people to get along? As usual, I am having issues at my store. Its not like its a difficult operation, I have a lady who helps me in sales (she's trustworthy and quite a nice woman, but she finds it tough to get on with certain customers and the security officer here). I have a LSO (lady security officer) who is quite ok but she is set in her ways and can be a pain sometimes. I also have a guy who helps with organizing and arranging the place. Why can't these 3 people get along? Every day there is some issue, and now the sales lady doesn't talk to the LSO nor the guy. I have other work, people! I cannot be spending ALL day here babysitting..

* So tired... I used to be a person who could party all night, now I can barely survive after 1030pm. I guess that's part of being a mum and totally unfit. However, I have been going for my classes regularly (will post the results of the measuring session over the weekend) and we shall see what the results are... getting back the the partying - I love being social but this is too taxing. The main issue is Sonny boy wakes up so early.. love him to bits though, he sings now for his milk.. Total love infatuation..

Mothers Part II

Is it just me, or do mothers really not get on with their daughters? Sometimes I think I should go to a shrink (anyone can recommend someone?) just to see what's going on..

Case in point - today, while Sonny boy was eating his breakfast, Mother drops by to see us before heading into work. This is the normal procedure, which is nice and allows the grandson to indulge in healthy conversation with Acha. Anyway, we got talking about his appetite or lack of.. But I was proud of him, he was actually eating avocado which had taken me an age to get him to eat. I think the idea of green mushy fruit didn't really appeal to his palate. Anyway, Mother went on saying, "Don't feed him too much, he'll get sick of it.." Now for those who know my mum, she can be a slight bit pushy at times... anyways, in a joking way, I just said "Mum, its either i don't feed him enough and he's getting thin or i am feeding him TOO much." And she got mad at me, saying i am totally jumpy and snapping at her.. I wasn't snapping, I haven't had much sleep last night (the temperatures were too cold suddenly, then too warm).. I was not trying to be rude, but my mum is like that.. One time, she will critize me for not doing things properly, bringing up my kid wrong, feeding him junk, not making him fatter, etc. then she tries and impose her rules and conditions on me, like I am a small kid. But I am trying to do what's right for myself, my family and my child. Why does it always feel like I am doing something wrong..

Mood is very very sad now. I hope someone can comment on this..

Hubby love

They say, the way to a person's heart is through their stomachs. I say, person because I assume that men and women have the same weaknesses. I am no exception.. The other day, I was truly wiped out after another marathon aerobic session and I was in no mood to cook dinner. In fact, I was moaning about it to myself on the way back home. However, I was in for a pleasant surprise.. I was greeted by the pleasant smell of cooking coming from the kitchen. I peep in, and witness my Hubby sweating and slogging away. Hearing the door, he turned around and with his goofy smile, he chased me out saying not to worry about dinner. So, I decided to slouch and rest my sorry body till food was ready. An hour later, Hubby comes upstairs very smugly and with Nanny in tow. What did he make - homemade pizza! It was so yummy and truly a delight to eat. Not only because I was tired, and dying to eat some cheese but pizza, come on! Its always good stuff.. and homemade dough.. Considering he cannot eat tomatoes, he made the base out of grated peppers and added mushrooms, cheese, and even marinated and roasted some chicken bits too.. very cool.. Needless to say, I was feeling very loved.. and if that's not love, I don't know what is..

Sex and the City

I was never into the whole "Sex and the City" thing... I never had a bunch of girlfriends who would regularly hang out.. Ok, sure when the few girlfriends I had did happen to meet up, we would have the whole conversation about men and how much they sucked.. and what our current boyfriends were like, and all the kinky secrets we would have... In Uni, where I was supposed to have grown up, I had a best friend, who was my Miranda/Carrie/Charlotte all in one and I hope I was that for her... Later on, I remember seeing clips of the show and I would think, "Huh.. seems interesting.. but was it that groundbreaking?"

Hubby and I just started watching the entire series. For most men, this would be sheer torture, left to the female species to get all worked up over and exert the estrogen feuds on their libidos later.. But for Hubby, strangely enough, I think he enjoys it.. Not in the same way women do, of course, but I guess it helps him understand my weirdness and makes him realize what a wonderful catch I am.

If I had to compare myself with one of those women, I would certainly not be Samantha - I do not have that sexual confidence she does, plus I am way more discrete :) Charlotte is very naive and so sweet - very unlike me.. The closest I would be is probably a mix of cynical Miranda and a complicated Carrie. Unlike Carrie though, I don't think so much into relationships.. I mean, what's the point of drama.. Its way too much effort to keep track and plus it takes up too much mental energy and time.. Miranda - she's more practical but she really needs to be a nicer person..

Anyways, we are on the second season so we have a while to go..

In the meantime, good old YouTube and I found this goody from the TV Land awards some time back, featuring one of the great comediennes Bea Arthur (from Golden Girls - a wonderful sweet sitcom which brings joy to my mum and me - that is for another post!). It shows our lovely foursome in the not-so-distant future.. always fun!

Chocolate Brownies

This is the please the blog readers...Keep posting what you would like me attempt next, ok :-)

This recipe is from one of my childhood cooking books. It makes all your favorites made very simple. I made this to half-quantities, just to please my chocolate urge and my keeping-healthy-food-in-my-diet urge..

Preheat your oven to 210C or 350C and grease your baking dish with butter. Melt 1 Anchor butter (227g) on a pan on low heat as it can burn.

In a bowl, mix 1 cup (190g) of sugar with 50g of cocoa powder. Stir in the melted butter with a wooden spoon. Add 2 eggs and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Then add 87g of flour and mix till smooth. You can add some nuts if you like..

Then put into your greased dish and bake for 40-50min.

Now, as the books says, the hardest bit - let it cool before cutting :-)

Vegetable Lasagna

Finally, after a very long time, I have attempted to cook again. On FB, people have been suggesting chocolatey things but this seems like more fun! I found this recipe, because Hubby is allergic to tomatoes and it seemed like a challenge to make a nice tasty lasagna withOUT tomatoes.

When making lasagna, there are 3 different toppings - the vegetable topping, the white sauce and the cheese filling. So I will seperate each of them to make things easier.

Firstly, cook the lasagna sheets. I made the mistake of making this once RAW.. the toppings were yum but the sheets was so-so :)

White Sauce
First heat up 50g of butter in a pan. To that you add 50g of flour. When it is bubbling, add 720ml (or 3 cups) of milk. When it boils, it should thicken. Set it aside.

Cheese Filling
Hand whip 2 cups of ricotta cheese or cottage cheese. To that, you add 2 eggs, 35g parmesan cheese, 1 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano and if you like, a pinch of pepper. Set aside.

Vegetables
You just heat up some olive oil, and cook the following - 240g mushrooms, 2 cups carrots, 1 cup bell peppers. There is no hard-and-fast rule with this, you can add more or less vegetables as you like. These were the amounts I used.

Now the fun bit!

Line your pan with lasagna sheets. First put some cheese filling and some grated mozzarella cheese. On top of this, put some more lasagna sheets. Then add your vegetables and put some of the white sauce on top. Again, put the lasagna sheets on top. Then put the remainder of your cheese filling and the white sauce. And add some more mozzarella cheese. That's it!

Bake at 350F or 190C for 45 min. And Voila~! you have Vegetable Lasagna!

Happiness is....

Sometimes, all it takes is a simple video to take you back to your youth... Sesame Street is now 40 years young and still going strong. I was a HUGE fan back in the day, and still catch the occasional rare clip on television. For the new generation who practically live on Anime and Ben 10, or whatever else kids watch nowadays, nothing beats a few celebrities and monsters singing along in harmony..



One of my favorite clips is of Ernie and his little rubber duckie having a harmless bath together and singing.. I used to sing this song all the time as a kid, when having a shower and it still sounds good today :-) Although, listening to it as a grownup can be a bit disturbing ("you're the one. You make bath time lots of fun... When I squeak you, you make noise") But i am willing to overlook that just for the sheer joy of reviving my youth...



One of my new favorite actors is Neil Patrick Harris.. Not only was he on one of my favorite shows as a kid, "Doogie Howser M.D" but he is always willing to have fun with his image (aka "Harold and Kumar") but he plays the best superhero of them all - the SHOE FAIRY!! What girl doesn't enjoy that ;-)



This song always moves me and I continue to sing it to my son. I think more than the lullabies, this is one of the songs I think which soothed him the most. And he's in good company... The song is more than a lovely melody, Kermit sings of a connection between people and how we can find a meaning in all the chaos around us. PS this song was nominated for an Academy Award in 1979..



I am still in shock that Sesame Street is 40 years old. I am only 27, but where did the time go? You watch kids nowadays running from tuition classes, to rushing home to quickly eat their meals, no time to spend with their families or friends.. Back in the day, we could play games with our friends out in the park, eat dinner with your parents, and watch these shows... My mum and I would bond watching this show, discussing the lessons and just overall having a good time..

So I guess this is an appropriate way to end my post by saying, "I don't want to live on the moon"...

Books Vs. Tv

So, I just finished reading the first 3 books of the Sookie Stackhouse series aka True Blood and the first 3 books of the Dexter series which the series is based on... Its interesting, once you watch the shows first, you have this immediate impression of what the characters should sound like, look like.. And its interesting how far the directors deviate or emulate these characters.

TRUE BLOOD
Argueably one of the best shows I have seen in a while (and yes, it does help that the characters are very sexy).. But thanks to my good friend Judy, I got introduced to the books. Charlaine Harris, the author of the Southern Vampire series, where the characters are introduced and the show is based on is very visual in her style of writing, you get a definite sense of what the characters look and sound like. Anna Paquin who plays Sookie is very similar to her character in the books. The other supporting 'human' cast Jason Stackhouse, Granny Stackhouse and Lafayette are very well represented by their human conterparts. Lafayette is also a delight and I am very glad *spoiler* he continues to live in the tv show, he died to early in the books *end spoiler*

The vampires... That's what all the online fans seem to have a gripe with. Personally, I didn't like Bill Compton in the books, he seemed very arrogant, very uptight and generally very possessive. In the tv show, he seems a little of all those characteristics but they don't dominate him like in the books. In terms of the look, Steven Moyer is a very handsome guy and no doubt does 'look' like Bill Compton. Everyone's favorite Norseman is a different matter. Eric Northman is from Scandinavia like the actor playing him, Alexander Skarsgaard. However, that's where the similarity ends. In the books, he is supposed to be a tall, broad Viking, whereas Skarsgaard is a bit slimmer and more brooding. I don't think that's a failure in casting because as mentioned for Compton's character, Skarsgaard plays him quiet and brooding which adds another dimension to Eric Northman not seen in the books.

What I enjoyed about the tv show is that it strayed a lot from the books. I am sure I will get a lot of grief about this but it's a good thing. Although I enjoyed Harris's books, I truly enjoyed the tv show a lot more. It gave the characters more to play around with and plus, you don't want the same things repeated on screen! You want to see depth and character growth. An example that is sighted quite often is Tara's character. Tara in the books is not seen much, she is an acquaintance of Sookie's and owns a clothing store. In the show, she is one of Sookie's best friends and shags everyone! :) While Harris loyalists claim this is dishonoring the books, I think it's a good thing. Sookie in her lonely journey needs a friend. I think that's what's missing in the books. She is facing all these problems alone, whether it is fighting off werewolves or maenads or trying to sort out her feelings about Bill, she is always alone in the books. On screen, it would seem quite lonely and it would make her a more reclusive person. Also, in the books, she is much like a petulant child, constantly loosing her temper and acting very childish, but in the show, she shows a maturity which shows her attractive to Bill, who is much older and wiser. In reading the books, I did not understand why Bill would be around her.


DEXTER
Again, an enjoyable read. I love the tv show, and I surprisingly liked the books too. The creators of Dexter must have felt that way as well, because they closely follow the books in their approach to the show. The first book, "Darkly Devoted Dexter" is in fact the first season of the show. The show did the book justice as the episodic format enhances the story. As the books are written in Dexter's perspective, the show helps to expand the views of points of view of the characters especially Debra which greatly improves the story. By doing this, it allows TV Dexter to remain accessible and sympathetic even while his brutal extracurricular activities are made even more graphic by the medium of television.

In terms of casting, the creators did a marvelous job. Micheal C. Hall deserves every acolade he can recieve for his performance. He is a wonderful actor but he doesn't detach us from Dexter, in fact, he makes him very likable and accessable. All the supporting cast, including Jennifer Carpenter, Julie Benz among many others just add to the story and make the writing truly come to life.
***

Power...

One of the advantages, one would think living in an apartment would bring, is convinence and your electronic equipment would be safe from lightning storms and the like. Wrong!

On Saturday, we had a heavy rainstorm. For those not living in Colombo, or Sri Lanka for that matter, it was not raining cats and dogs - more like the entire petstore. It was crazy, and yours truly was driving around, praying that the car engine wouldn't get wet and eventually stall. Branches were scattered all over the ground, flooding was rampant thanks to the excellent drainage we have in our fair city. Along with the rain, we have our thunder and lightning. When we came home, Hubby immediately ran around, unplugging everything in sight, from computers, to the television. However, one computer wasn't unplugged and all the USBs were, in Hubby's words "completely fried".. And not happy at all. And when Hubby is not happy, run for cover...

I do not claim to be a technical sort of gal, I can install programs, use Microsoft programs, and thanks to Hubby, can make my way around Linux Mint, Ubuntu (a few years ago, I wouldn't have even known the existence of them!) and so on. I don't claim to know how things "fry" unless it's in a pan. Like I said above, I really thought (in retrospect very naive of me, especially being a native SLan) when the resident technician told me things were 'grounded' here, I truly believed him. Plus, things were connected to the UPS. But apparently, these problems can come through the television antennae. Who would have thought?

Anyway, the computer is still fried and yesterday and today, I could hear the continous moping of my dear darling Hubby, the usual stuff from "I pay for everything..." to "I am always fixing things.. I have no time for anything".. So hopefully, this will be a one-time thing, as we have to disconnect everything after he finishes fixing this thing.

Thus, brings me to my lack of posting. Things are quite quiet over here, other than the rumbles of an annoyed Hubby.. Sonny boy is constantly coming up with new sentences and amazing way of analyzing things. But nothing terribly significant.

Will post soon though...

If anyone has any suggestions on what they would like to read about - whether it is a new cooking recipe (I swear I will make something this weekend, its a toss between Lasange or Chocolate Brownies..) or a new movie review.. Let me know.. Also, I just finished reading the Dexter books, so I am planning a review on that coming up soon!

Mothers...

It really bothers me that mothers can truly get under their daughter's skin. Case in point - my mother claims I am a horrible daughter just because I didn't send her kendha leaves (they are used to make a concoction which is helpful to reduce her cholestrol), and that I didn't finish a letter she wanted. Firstly, I admit I did forget about the kendhe but at the same time, she doesn't have a servant at home to make it for her and when she comes home, she can get it from our place. Regarding the letter, the corrections were minimum (adding a comma, changing literally ONE word) - which I completed before picking up my son in school. She made me cry... which is not a pretty sight.. She made it sound like I did something very horrendously bad to her, which I didn't do intentionally..

I wrote an article some time back about Mothers and Daughters, I will repeat it here...
***

Mothers and Daughters – Can They Ever Be Friends?

The relationship between mothers and daughters are usually quite strained. When we are younger, our mothers seem the all-knowing ever-present caring women who we look up to and admire. We daughters smear our faces with their lipsticks, borrow their big shoes and try and emulate our mommies. Then as we reach our teenage years, “mommy” becomes “oh mother” as she suddenly becomes the most ignorant, out-of-touch creature on the planet. As we get continue to get older, we seem to earn their disapproval at every nook and cranny. We never seem good enough, thin enough, exercise enough, I could go on. Hopefully, when we reach our mid-30s and beyond, if we are lucky, according to psychologists, we become best friends with our mothers again. What causes this unusual bond?

No relationship is quite as primal as the one between a mother and her daughter. "It's the original relationship, and it's also a relationship that has been sentimentalized but not honoured," says Lee Sharkey, Ph.D., who directs the Women's Studies program at the University of Maine at Farmington, where she teaches a popular course in mother-daughter relationships. "Women grow up and our energy is largely turned toward men, but the original love relationship is with a mother. If we as daughters don't acknowledge that, we're closing ourselves off from a great source of power and fulfilment and understanding of ourselves."

But mothers and daughters aren't always best friends. Storm clouds in the adult mother-daughter relationship most often arise over one very basic question, says Laura Tracy, Ph.D., a family therapist who specializes in counselling mother-daughter pairs and has written books on the relationships between women. "Will the mother accept the daughter as an adult? That means, when she's visiting you, does she let you run your house? Does she trust you to be independent on small issues as well as large — who are you with, what's your sexuality, where do you work, how do you spend your money? Letting the daughter be her own woman is a universal issue," she explains.

Mothers often find it hard to let go of their children, especially their daughters. They have seen them growing up, changed their diapers, kissed away tears and listened to stories of teenage love and romance. They cannot picture their daughters as fully-functional adults. In their eyes, they are still their little baby who scraped her knee and wailed for her mother.

Mothers and daughters who struggle with their relationships as adults often repeat the old patterns of control and rebellion from childhood, says Dr. Tracy. "They can't hear each other. The daughter will hear the mother say something and she'll think, 'She wants to control me.' And the mother is saying something that absolutely is controlling, but is not meant to be." Meanwhile, when the daughter speaks, the mother hears nothing but anger — in a comment that does indeed convey anger but also "I love you, and can't we do this differently?"

As daughters, we seem to very rarely if not never gain our mother’s approval. No matter how successful, or thin, we are, we are still not good enough. There is always someone better, thinner, who exercises more than us.

However, believe it or not, most mothers are supportive of their daughters, even though they may not show it to them. “[They] want to be supportive of their daughters, and feel very confused by them," says Juanita Johnson, a New York-based therapist and storyteller who does presentations on the mother-daughter relationship with her own 27-year-old daughter. "One of the things that I observe quite frequently is that the mother knows so very little about her own self that she's placing way too much emphasis on how her daughter turns out rather than, 'What do I know about myself and how do I feel about myself?' I think daughters can model a great deal from a mother who is self-aware herself."

The irony is, most women fear of growing up to be like one's mother. It has long been so common among Western women that it has a name — matrophobia. It is quite common and usually after a while, we daughters do realize that mother was right after all (about certain things, of course!!).

The best gift a mother can give a daughter — and, as she becomes an adult, that a daughter can give her mother — is permission to be herself, says Juanita Johnson. "The daughter can be who she wants to be because the mother is who she wants to be, and I think increasingly mothers understand that," she says. "If daughters have trouble navigating being an adolescent, it's often because they don't know who they are. They're sacrificing themselves to fit in. All that spunkiness they had as a little girl goes out the window and they lose touch with what I call their internal compass."

Anna takes pride in her daughters' strength. "I think they're all independent and strong-willed women, which is good, but they're also kind. It's important to be your own woman, but also to have some compassion and understanding of other people, otherwise I think your life is too narrow," she observes. "Women are told now that they must be strong and assertive, and that's fine, but you need another component also to have a satisfying life. That's how I see them, and I hope that's something that I've given them."
***

Honestly, I doubt mothers and daughters EVER being friends.. Its not like they compete with each other, I think they are on different frequencies.. I adore my mum, but honestly, sometimes she can be a pain..

Dexter

This is why I love this show so much!

Gossip

If you know me well, you know I love to read about the lives of the rich and famous. Its not that I am a complete loser (please don't answer that) but it's just fascinating to me.. from ordinary people, these celebrities become complete eccentric weird caricatures of themselves i.e. Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears among others.. Whereas some are just interesting to look at i.e. Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, some are just scary..

My rant however, is when did 'reality show' people become the new IT celebrities? It hasn't been that long but Jon and Kate only came on the scene recently, soon after the annoying girls from The Hills, and Laguna Beach... Why, oh why... I don't want to read about the many divorce battles, the terrible fashion lines these people get.. They are famous for being infamous and complete idiots.. and why do they get paid more than me, and any other hard working celeb, I have no idea.. Sometimes, I don't know what's more pathetic, me reading these stupid stories, reading the comments by other idiots reading these stories, or just the writers who have nothing else to write about..

Give me proper celebrity gossip!

Baby talk Part 3

Seriously, kids say the darnest things... Cases in point :-
* When Hubby's uncle was drinking his usual vitamin syrup, the smart one asks "Thithay-de (is it sour)".. Uncle's reply, "Chut-tak (a little)".. What does my son respond, "Thithe keeyanna epa, gunai (don't say its sour, its good for you)"
* He suddenly tells me last night, "I want to take a shower, I want to brush my teeth, I want to wear pijamas and I want to sleep" - that's the longest sentence EVER coming from him
* "I like you Mummy..."

Happy Halloween

I know Halloween isn't really a day we celebrate in the Paradise Isle but it's a fun holiday. From the dressing up to recieving candy, what's not to love about it... But I read recently, there are definitely rules that cannot be broken on this day. Such as
* Make sure you check your candy (in case some not-very-nice person puts razors or something inside your candy)
* Never smash a jack-o-lantern
* Never blow out the candle

Since we are on the subject, does anyone have
a) good costume they once wore to a Halloween party
b) any spooky true stories they have experienced

My costumes ranged from Little Red Riding Hood (when I was small) to a sexy/slutty witch :)

My ghost story is a bit strange, like most of the stories here.. When i was 10, i had a best friend, we were friends since we were 2 1/2 years old. One night, i was counting flowers on the wallpaper to sleep and suddenly i saw 'people dancing' on the wall next to my bed. It was so strange, i recall not even being able to talk. Then one figure 'came out' of the wall and started talking to me.. i asked who are you, and she replied, cant you recognize me, i am your friend.. and i didnt believe it because she looked so different.. much older and much skinnier.. and she just said, i am now 16 and i will get very sick, please promise to take care of me.. and of course, i swore i would..

a few months later, her mum and dad moved abroad.. time passed and eventually she and i lost touch and i was 16. One random day, i got a letter from her mother telling me that my friend had anorexia and she is in hospital unconscious. But she keeps saying she told me, she would get sick and for me to come to see her and take care of her. Her mum was asking me how come i knew about this and never told anyone..

i know i didnt know, i didnt know she would get anorexia and when my friend's mum sent some pictures, i swear she looked just like the image i saw before..

Please send me yours, it will be fun to compare and read!

Happy endings

Yesterday I went to my cousin's wedding.. Nothing terribly unusual in that, but my cousin is in his mid or late 40s, considered quite over-the-hill for most grooms.. The bride, I think she was in her mid 30s, late 30s, I don't like to comment on women's ages.. The ceremony was beautiful, the bride looked lovely and of course the groom looked dashing (yes, I am biased, I like to think I am entitled to that)...

It almost made me cry watching them on the poruwa. One thing was, it reminded me of when Hubby and myself got married. This cousin was the man instrumental in introducing me and Hubby and as Hubby's father said, "It was the merit ("Ping" in Sinhalese) of putting you two together that caused him to meet his love".. I don't like to take the credit but I felt like a mother letting go of her favorite son. I am truly happy for him, he deserves to be happy and finally he has met the person who can do that for him...

He is such a wonderful man, and quite frankly, we had given up hope that he would ever settle down. He was not a playboy, quite the contrary but just couldn't be bothered settling down. Maybe he saw the marriage mirror cracked from watching his brothers' and sisters' matrimonies and thought this is not his cup of tea.

His mother looked so lovely and relieved that her one remaining son is finally settling down and she was glowing last night. Her husband, my mother's brother had passed away many years ago but I am sure he was proud of his youngest to finally tie the knot. All the siblings, cousins just looked on proudly..

It is lovely when two people meet each other and realize that this is meant to be.. I am not a romantic as such, but it is always nice to have a happy ending.

Simple fish pie

This recipe is the quickest thing ever, and the easiest especially if you cannot figure out what to make and if everything is a mess and you just cannot be asked to make anything at all. This recipe is for 1 serving...

First chop up some fish - white is better like cod, mullet. Cut into cubes and wash well with lime to get rid of the "fishy" smell. Set aside.

Boil an egg and about 2 large potatoes. Chop up the egg and sprinkle over the raw fish.

Heat up some butter and add some flour and when it is bubbling, add some milk to make a white sauce. Don't let it get lumpy, keep stirring till it boils. Then if you like, add some grated cheese (any type will do). Pour this mixture on top of the fish/egg mixture.

Mash up the potatoes, add some milk if you like and some grated cheese and mash to whatever consistency you like. Put on top of the fish/egg/cheese sauce. Add some grated cheese and bake in the oven at 200C for 15-20 min.

That's all..

I was having a very tired day (see previous post - Shape up) and I just cannot be cooking for anyone let alone myself. This was simple and easy and of course nutritious. I was also too tired to take a picture too so you can imagine what the dish looks like :)

Shape up.. Or die Trying...

My quest for finding the right exercise to torture myself continues... My usual exercise routine used to go something like this :-

And yes, I finally realized that that wasn't really going to do me any good. I have tried working out at the gym (too boring), working with an aerobics instructor (it was ok - I had friends coming there but not challenging enough) so I decided on a new torture... I finally signed up for this new place called "Shape Up" recommended to me by the hair salon I go to.. The owner claims its the best thing since sliced bread (I will ignore the fact that sliced bread is quite fatty)...

I walked in there, and sure enough, the totally fit and black-wearing trainers were all lined up having a chat. The owner of the exercise place came up to me and we chatted and soon, I signed up. He was quite the marketer, explained what exercises they do - they have routines from Kick Boxing (which I experienced - more below) to Salsasize (basically Salsa moves set to a workout tempo) to normal aerobics to Ab Attacks (yes, its THAT painful).. So I thought, what the heck.. Plus, the marketer told me, within 3 months (my over-ambitious goal) I can get somewhat of a shape back (I rather have an hourglass than the current apple).. So I signed up - 9000/= doesn't seem that bad considering I will have a good figure... right?? WRONG!

So I joined and enthusiastically ran into the class. How naive I was, in retrospect.. Billy Blanks, you have nothing on Trainer Clement! Oh, my arms, waist, tummy, butt, name it, its on fire... Forget fire, its going to explode with pain and aches..

It made me realize something - I am doing so much just to loose this fat.. is it really worth eating that piece of cake or that piece of chocolate? SO much pain just for a little bitty piece.. Its honestly not worth it, might as well avoid it.. At least I am learning this lesson sooner than later..

However, I won't be able to go for the next couple of days, Wed - cousin's wedding, Thursday - meeting at work.. so hopefully will have some time to recuperate :)

But I did sign up for 3 months, so we will see the progress I make..

State of Affairs

One of the writers I enjoy reading is Malinda Seneviratne.. His mother Indrani was a teacher of mine, and one of the people who encouraged me to keep writing and keep doing what I believed in. She also helped me when it came to my college applications, constantly pouring over my numerous essays and fine-tuning them to suit each university. One of my favorite memories of her and me is watching Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet".. It was such a novel idea to her, to take such an age-old love story and modernize it in such a revolutionary way.. But I digress...

Today's article is about how the undergraduates in Sri Lankan universities are protesting something or the other at their Universities... When you really think about it, we have way too many people in kinds of government and local offices, from ministers, to deputy ministers, provincial counciliors to so many people in between, too many people leads to efficiency as anyone in the private sector will tell you. How can this country run when you have a minister for Minister of Water Supply and Drainage and a Minister for Water Management?? What is the difference.. and when you ask one person, they claim they are not responsible, then you ask the other, and you get the same response.. so stupid!

It is so sad that this country will never develop when we have inefficiency like this. I guess it wouldn't matter if the ministries and resulting deputies were working for the people, but instead we have a bunch of ignorant people working for the money rather than the country.

I went to an international school and people constantly give me grief about it, saying by going to school that caters to many foreigners, one doesn't develop a love for the country. Quite ironic, considering most of the people working in these government institutions are from very local schools... I ask you, if you loved someone, would you intentionally try and hurt them? Make them feel like they are not worth the very ground they stand on... Honestly, I don't think they love anything or anyone except their paysheet and the extra 'perks' of the job..

My mother always says, "Too much power in the hands of small-minded people is a dangerous thing" - it is so true for this little country.

Boom De Ya Da

I am sure you've seen this advertisment on Discovery Channel.. but it still makes me smile.. and in a cheesy way, it does remind you there is a whole lot of world out there to learn and explore... and respect

2AM Wake-Up Call...

Waking up at 2am is not exactly what I call a pleasant weekend, but I will make exceptions. Tomorrow, I am off to St. Jude's in Gampaha. It is their annual Feast, and every year, my mum and I along with a bunch of family friends go up there and help the church by selling candles.

St. Jude's was not Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus. Rather, he was a great man with lots of faith. He is often pictured with a club, because ironically he was beaten to death by one.

Why do I go there? I am not Catholic but I do have a lot of faith. Some say, by going to different places of worship, you even out your chances of getting your wishes to come true but for me, this is not it. I go to the temple, I go to the Tamil Kovil, I go to church, not for anything else but spiritual fulfillment. Its honestly quite relaxing and it helps me clear out my mind.

St. Jude's in particular has helped me in a number of occasions. Once I bought some medals from there and kept them on me. This was during the time, I had my infamous fall down a 12 foot ceiling and landed in a store room, where there were many tables and chairs.. However, I happened to fall into the one little spot where thankfully nothing was there, hence sparing my nose, my face not to mention my LIFE~!

Next mini-miracle.. I was going through a bad patch and trying to decide between a 'good' decision (in my mind, but it was truly a bad choice in retrospect) and a actually good decision.. and at the same time, I was praying and lighting candles. I swear to you, everytime I asked for the 'bad' decision to come through, the candle would not light, even if I held it next to another flame. But if I asked for the 'good' decision, it lit up at once..

Coincidence?? I think not...

I am not the only one who seemed to have miracles happen to them there. I have met so many ladies who have either got cured of cancer, or any other diseases after going regularly. Maybe faith heals, or maybe its a miracle, who knows..

Anyway, its always nice to get out and do something for someone else. Its quite fun.. Good food, catch up with good gossip and have a fun time.. that's always a blast..

If you do happen to come, do come see me at the candle stand...

Fettuccine Alfredo

Another favorite in our house is Fettuccine Alfredo. Its nice and creamy and you add lots of stuff to it to make it healthy or unhealthy :)

First, fry a finely chopped garlic clove in a little butter. Then as it bubbles, add some flour and make a paste. To this, add milk - you can add non-fat or normal milk, it tastes the same. Then as the milk boils, add some cream cheese and make sure it melts without lumps. Then add some grated cheddar or gouda or whatever cheese you have and mix well. Add the cooked pasta and Voila~! Fettucinne Alfredo!

To this, you can the following to jazz it up -
* Cooked Shrimp
* Broocoli
* Mushrooms - cook them first in the pan and then make the alfredo sauce in the same pan to add more flavor
* Chicken - Fry some chicken tenders (slices of chicken meat) and make the alfredo sauce
* Minced meat
* Sausages

The possibilities are endless :-)

P.S
As you may have noticed, I hardly add salt/pepper in my dishes. Its purely because I enjoy the natural flavors from the foods... Also, it is a matter of choice, some people like more salt, some like less, so it's upto you to decide

The humble coleslaw

One of the easiest and simplest salads is Coleslaw. Basically, its chopped up carrots and cabbage at its base and you add a creamy dressing. I personally enjoy a bit of apple and raw onions added but hey, that's just me.

When it comes to the dressing, you can either buy store-brand, add mayo or as I like to do, make your own. As usual, this is quite simple.

My dressing is as follows :-
1 part mayo and 3 parts sweet yogurt (you can use non-fat or regular... but it should be the plain one, not the fancy fruit flavors.. its unnecessary fats/sugars)
1 tsp mustard
1 finely chopped onion
juice of 1 lemon/lime
some tomato ketchup or steak sauce (optional)
Mix well with a fork - keep tasting to see if its bitter/sweet.. remember the vegetables add flavor so don't make it TOO sweet.

When you are done, add some paprika and mix again and add to the vegetables. Garnish with some dried fruit - raisins, plums, currants, whatever you have.

This sauce can also be used as an accompaniment to your fried fish like homemade tartar sauce (for this, you should add the tomato/steak sauce too).

Honey glazed pork ribs

One of the foods I used to be obsessed about was the honey pork ribs you get in Singapore. I think in one of the food courts, maybe Tangs, they used to have this amazing pork ribs, so juicy and chunky and of course sweet too. It was delicious... I used to come home and experiment with different honeys - from bee's honey to our traditional kitul honey to jaggery, and it never came out quite right. However, this time, I think I got it and of course, I must share it with you :-)

I bought 2 racks of ribs and the marinade (remember, add as much/little as you like - but the sugar/honey amount is important... too much, and its too sweet, too little and you get a weird porky smell) is :-
2 tsp brown sugar (i added about 3)
2 tsp honey
3 tsp lemon juice
I splashed olive oil in the mix, enough to make the ribs juice and not stick to the pan
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp paprika
2 large garlic cloves mashed/ground up
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dry mustard paste

Marinade well and keep in the fridge for a few hours... Ideally, make the mixture in the morning and you can have it for dinner.

Put into the oven, temperature is 190C for 1 1/2 hours. The main thing here is, don't let the meat dry out. So every 15 min or so, get your handy brush and baste (basically 'paint' the meat) with the drippings from the dish.

Unfortunately, there is not much flesh on the ribs here. I am going to try this recipe out on a pork chop and see how it comes out. If anyone tries on any other meat, please let me know :)

Chocolate/Vanilla Marble Cake

Another fun resource is Rachel Allan's show "Bake!" which airs on Discovery Travel and Living here. I got a few recipes from her and the good thing is, most of them can be made with ingredients found here. This is a really simple cake, combining both of my favorite things into one.

First grease your cake dish and line with oil paper/grease proof paper. I didn't have any, so I just really slathered the pan with lots of butter. Heat up the oven to 180C.

Then take one stick of butter (227g) and mix with 225g of sugar. Cream it well.

Then in a separate bowl, mix 4 eggs with 2 tsps vanilla. Add this to your butter/sugar mixture gradually. Then add 225g of flour with 2 tsp baking powder. Fold the flour in and add 50ml of milk.

Seperate this mixture into two bowl. Into one, add 50g of cocoa powder and mix.

Here's the fun bit, now in your cake dish, put 1 tbsp of cocoa mix and 1 tbsp of vanilla mix and alternate. Then with a toothpick, just 'draw' around the mixture, don't mix too much otherwise no marble effect.

Put into the oven for 35-40 min or until a toothpick comes up clean, and Voila~! Your cake is done

Easy low fat banana bread

I am not a HUGE fan of over-ripe bananas. They gather flies and bugs and not to mention, that sweet smell.. eww.. But as you can see, I do enjoy making stuff with bananas. So today's fun recipe is Banana Bread - the recipe is from joyofbaking.com - one of my new favorite sites.

Heat the oven to 180C and grease a loaf tin i.e. slather it with butter. Find yourself 3 mixing bowls and do the following:-

First bowl - mix 2 mashed large bananas with 1 tsp of baking powder and 1 little cup of yogurt (120g).

Second Bowl - Mix 60ml of oil (i used olive oil in keeping with healthy eating), 175g of sugar, 1 egg and 1 tsp of vanilla.

Third bowl - sieve 190g of flour with a pinch of baking powder (you don't need much as you added the baking powder in the first bowl) with 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

Mix bowl 1 and 2 first then later fold in the ingredients from the 3rd bowl.

Put into the pan and smooth the top - bake for 45-55min - check with a toothpick.

Leave on a wire rack to cool and later enjoy! :)

From the creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comes an interesting look at human interaction. "Dollhouse" is about a group of people or "dolls" or an "active" who receives different personalities in order to accomplish engagements for very wealthy clients. This can be anything from being a sex partner programmed to be the perfect person in love with the client, to being imprinted with the persona of a deceased woman who wishes to solve her own murder. All dolls are given codenames. Our main character is given the name "Echo".

We don't just see the fantasy world these "dolls" live in; but also the different situations they are put into. We also see the relationship they form with others - their handlers, clients, other "dolls" and others.

The "Dollhouse" is considered an urban legend, but of course, there is a determined FBI agent who is trying to pull the entire operation down.

I first heard about this show a year or so ago, and thought it was an interesting idea. A bunch of people who can live out any fantasy, without much effort (since they are programmed to do practically anything) for a price. But like most things, there is a cost to pay. Through Echo, we see she doesn't 'wipe' (her memory being erased) completely i.e. she is not a blank slate. As she is 'wiped', certain pieces of her previous persona remains creating a mosiac of memories, seemingly intertwined.

The show does have its issues, Eliza Dushku who plays Echo isn't the strongest of actors, except when she kicks butt but she does a decent job, considering she has to be completely blank some of the time. But there is a good supporting cast, from Harry Lennix to Tahmoh Penikett (from one of my favorite series Battlestar Gallactica), to add some weight to the show.

Dinner ideas

Ok, I am trying something new.. I made a dinner menu - this is what I did last night and as usual, it is very simple. As the old TV show went "Yan can cook.. so can you!"

Anyway, the basic menu was :-
* Pub styled fresh fish
* Olive oil mushrooms
* Broccoli and Cheese Casserole (recipe is in the blog)
* Oven roast potatoes

All, as mentioned before, really easy. Lets start with the fish.

Take any white fish fillet - I used Mullet because that's the only thing available here. Cod is also great for this. Wash the fish with lime/lemon so you can avoid a funny smell. You mix equal quantities of beer (yes, beer) with flour - I used 100g of flour with 100 ml of beer. Add a pinch of baking soda, a pinch of salt, a pinch of paprika and 1 egg. Soak the fish in this mixture and fry!

I also attempted to make a nice sauce to go with the fried fish. I love tartar sauce but that has way too many calories so this is my basic substitute.

Mix 1 small yogurt cup with 2 tbsp of mayo. Then add about 1 tbsp of steak/tomato/chili sauce - for the dinner, I used steak sauce. Then add 1 tsp of mustard paste. Add the juice of 1 lemon. Chop up 1 small onion, and add. Mix very well, the mustard can be lumpy so avoid that. That's it :) To garnish, I just sprinkled some paprika.

Voila~!


Now, the potatoes. That is equally simple. Chop up the potatoes and boil them. You can use a pressure cooker too - just make sure they are cooked well. By cutting them up early, you avoid broken potatoes and they cook much faster. After you are done, spread them in your serving dish (it helps if it is oven safe) - and add some butter. Then sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and grate some lemon peel on top (don't add too much lemon, then its a weird taste). Mix well - try to avoid mushing the potatoes though. Put into the oven - temperature can be 160C so you can do your Broccoli Casserole at the same time. Occasionally take it out and mix the potatoes. When it has become the consistency you like, take it out and add some chopped mint (fresh or dried, doesn't really matter) and serve warm. You don't even need a dressing!



The mushrooms is truly the easiest thing - you can do it in your sleep. Simply cut up some button mushrooms - I cut mine into quarters. Then add some olive oil into a pan and fry some chopped garlic. Add the mushrooms and brown them. You do not have to add any salt/pepper. I just serve mine plain then you can enjoy the actual taste of the mushrooms. THAT'S IT!



This is a long post, so forgive me if I can't update for a while.. :)