Iftar with Fizah & Family

Salam Ramadhan to my Muslim readers!
We have passed the half way mark and I hope everyone has managed to fulfill their obligations the best way you could. Don't forget to pay your zakat & fitrah, ya?

Anyways, Fizah asked Jhon and I out to break fast together at Marina Bay Square over the weekend. (What is this? Not a basi blogpost? wow!) We had planned to meet at 6pm but Jhon and I decided to start the day early. Plus, I heard there was a baby fair at Suntec City. Granted, it was on it's last day and we sometimes dread going to any form of expo/ fairs but no harm taking a peek.

It was the first time for us to be at Suntec since it's renovation (I know, it was quite sometime ago) and I almost forgot how much walking was needed! We did managed to reach the Suntec Convention Centre and the crowd was actually okay. We managed to buy a cheap baby tub, breast pads and other smaller items.





We checked out MotherCare, KiddyPalace upstairs where I brought a few more items. Fizah also got several cute outfits for Matin. Speaking of which, that boy is crazily cute. He minds his own business and I could stare at him the whole day.



We only spent several hours together and most of them was spent baby shopping. lol It's hard to have that good old besties' chat days. Perhaps when Fizah and Min have their own house then I shamelessly hang out at their place lah. haha



I hope Fizah and family had a good time with us even though it was a simple one and sorry Fizah for my yet-again awkward hugs. (We bumped our heads hard while trying to side hug) lolol I know you love me a lot but you know I am so horrible at physical affection. haha

   

Ramadhan with My Husband

Salam Ramadhan, fellow readers!

As you are reading this, it should be the 3rd day of Ramadhan. I hope every intention of fasting, solat, zakat, to read more of the Quran will be achieved for you and me.

This ramadhan is the first ramadhan for Jhon and I as a husband and wife. Not only that, the first ramadhan Jhon actually wakes up for Sahur. All these years, when he attempts to fast, he doesn't wake up for sahur because he can't wake up early. I don't even know how can he even achieve to fast full days like that. Of course, he also mentions about acid reflux.

Since I am around, I can physically wake him up and prepare proper food for sahur.

Our first sahur together was funny and chaotic which make life interesting, I guess. haha

So you know, I am a morning person. As soon as an alarm rings, zup! I wake up with no problem. When I lived at my other house, I was always the first one to wake up.

This time, it was different.
All I knew was Abg Jamil called me through my handphone asking if we were waking up for sahur. I confidently said yes, thinking it was 4:30am. To my surprise, it was already 5am!

Kalang-kabut lah! We have only 30 minutes to cook and eat.
Thank God for microwaves, I managed to cook chicken drumlets. I also scurried frying eggs as Abg Jamil looked on with glee while Jhon was standing in the middle of the kitchen dazed. Imagine that scene!

We rushed but Alhamdulillah, we managed to have our proper meal and milo. Since Jhon had sahur, he also didn't complain of stomach aches or gastric only sleepiness which we all know, it's normal even with decades of experience. hehe

So that's our first Ramadhan together. I just want to logged in here for memories sake. hehe

   

Iftar With My Bestie

Eh? Dah Hari Raya, baru nak blog pasal Iftar. Yeah, just like every Muslim everywhere I was also busy with the preparations and I also kinda lost track of the timeline to blog. Nonetheless, here it is!

I was chit chatting with Fizah in WhatsApp and we came to a topic that it's been a while since we Iftar together because we would always do it at least once a year. Our friendship is like those rarely meet and seldom talk but our relationship is always solid as a mountain.

So we made effort lah, just a few days before Hari Raya, we double dated at East Point Mall for Pizza because I had been craving for it. lol Orang lain pregnant, orang lain yang craving.

Speaking of which, I completely forget to take a photo of her baby bump. It's so weird but wonderful. Weird because although Fizah's body type is slightly big, she NEVER has a tummy so when I see her boncit, it's weird lah. But of course wonderful because she is growing a baby of her own!

I must make a mental note, when I visit her for Hari Raya, I should take a picture of her baby bump. hehe

It was a great catch up. Sharing stories of recent events of our lives.

After pizza, we moved to McCafe for coffee and continued with our chit chat. It was then I didn't realize how much I miss Fizah's company. We so need to have a one on one quality bestie time together one day.

   

Picnic, Iftar, Pre-NDP Airshow & Fireworks

Now try to say the title 5 times but faster. hehe

So one of the previous weekends, Jhon and I decided to bring the family for our annual picnic and fireworks viewing and since it fell on the month of Ramadhan, we also broke our fast together.

We try to catch pre-NDP shows as a couple ever since we got together and sometimes we would bring Mak along, this time, with my Bro's family, it was more fun than ever. Kids can just bring out the fun in everything. There are a good source of entertainment. hehe

Shibly and Syihab were obsessed with rocks, sticks and finding "diamonds and iron" just because of Minecraft.

I brought a couple of toys to ensure the kids won't get bored while waiting. First was the old school Styrofoam planes which of course didn't last long (it eventually broke) but it was fun while it lasted.

I later dished out skipping rope which was hilarious to see them figure out to play. No pictures but I got it on video. Vlog will be at the end of this post.

Bro and Shibly had a sprinting competition. Tak padan orang puasa.

Family portrait.

After a while, the airshow began starting with the helicopters with the Singapore flag.

I posted this because I love my hair here. lol Long, thick and the curls was on point.

Weeeee!

Me and the boys.

After the airshow, we had ample time to sit down, prepare the food and broke our fast. Mak and I cooked one of my favorite picnic food which was Bee Hoon Putih with prawns, beef and vegetables. Paired with packet drinks, that was all we had but it was more than enough because we cooked a lot.

After 1+hr waiting time, the finale of our picnic began. Since it was just a Pre-NDP show, I didn't expect very spectacular show but it was rather nice and amazing.

I am so glad we did it with my family. Next year ajak again lah! hehe

Here's my 2nd attempt at vlogging. I am generally happy with it except for the poor quality of the fireworks. I need an upgrade.

   

Kueh Putu Kacang

It's been more than 10 years since I ate one of my favorite Hari Raya Kueh which is the Kueh Putu Kacang.

I reminisced helping my mom as a tween. I remember watching her roast green beans in a big wok, watched her sieve the grinded green beans in awe, accompanied her to a nearby small mill at Bedok Reservoir, mix finely grinded green beans & sugar and together, we would pack the mixture into their respective moulds.

In my mind, it was just like playing sandcastle and as an adult, I still do.

Unfortunately, a visit to a mill was no longer convenient which was why we stopped making kueh putu kacang all these years. Until I mentioned it again to Mak that she could try asking the small shops at Mustafa that mills spices. She did but it seems the person who does the grinding only available on weekdays.  Luckily, she knew of 1 mill which is at Ulu Pandan. It was so far away but she had someone to take her so yey!

She had to wait 1 hour and paid $6.60 for requesting to mill 4kg worth of green beans and sugar.

For those who don't know what and how kueh putu kacang is made,
it is basically made of equals parts of finely grinded of roasted green beans and sugar (1kg of green beans + 1kg of sugar)

Preparing and making it is a tedious process but the end result. Oohlala... the kueh just melts in your mouth in sugary sweetness.

First step is to roast green beans in a wok, lightly grind them with a mortar & pestle to separate it's skin, sieve it by tossing and send it to the mill to grind it finely; I mean REALLY finely.

After the the green bean has turn into powder, it has to go through another sieving process to make sure there it is free of the dark particles of the skin. Spray a little of water to it to prepare it to mix with the equally powdery sugar.

The fun but almost thumb breaking part.
(The trick is to push with your shoulders, not your thumb)

We still have our old kueh putu kacang moulds; wooden and plastic. Plastic is easier to handle because the it's easier for the kueh to pop out but the wooden ones we have more traditional designs.

Teamed up with corn flour wrapped in a handkerchief to be be lightly dusted on the moulds, we worked. Packing was fun but can be tough because you need to make sure it's tightly packed or the dainty designs won't stay. We had a few imperfections but we just kept it. Nobody is going to really stare and inspect so closely anyways.

We spent about 2+hours for 3 days in the morning because the best way to 'set' the kueh is to dry it in the sun; the hotter, the better. You can dry using the oven but it will have that 'oven' smell and taste which is not desirable.

Drying it in the sun to solidify it can be tedious too. As if not so constant weather conditions wasn't bad enough, in our past experiences, sometimes we find spit in our kueh!! Not that is was intentional, it was just inconsiderate people spitting out of their corridors and it would hit our kueh.

So far, we only got hit by a couple of drops of water from neighbors watering their plants other than that, everything is good.

Here's our set up.

We temporarily set up bamboo holders just to dry these bad boys. After the front is dried, we flip them to dry the base. We didn't have the opportunity to dry them the entire day because we just don't want to take the risk of random water droplets from unidentified places so it took us about 3 days for every new batch. That is about 9 hours under the blasting noon sun. 

End result.

Personally, I like the cuter and smaller ones because I just like to pop 1 in and let it melt in my mouth. 1 kueh down!

   

Salam Ramadhan 2015

1 more day to Ramadhan 1436!

[http://www.ehiyo.com]

So I would like to wish all Muslim readers Ramadhan Mubarak.
I am never good at greetings for any occasion (even birthdays) so I hope you don't mind I copied this.

"As the holy occasion of Ramadan is here,
Love, peace and joy fills the atmosphere
May Allah enable us to reap Ramadan benefits, Ameen
Wish You and your family a blessed Ramadan Kareem"
[http://islam.about.com]

For Muslim reverts or soon-to-be reverts, all the best in trying to fast. It's tough. In fact, there are some born Muslims who still have trouble so don't be so tough on yourself.
Take it 1 day at a time.

Next Ramadhan, I would be a married woman. The only difference is waking up for sahur in a different home and waking up different people. As for iftar, since we will be living 10 minutes away, we are probably going to dine together with my family at my current home. Not that much difference, really.

Next year is going to be interesting with a new life chapter.