Cameron Highlands 13 Dec 09

My daughter went to Camaron Hignlands for a vacation when the year end school holidays started. She has got some photoes taken up there and I would like to share with you .................. hope you like them ha ha ha...........

Cooling Drink 28 Nov 09

Cleaned chrysanthemum flower,"kam ngan fah" & "kam chou"
The built in filter of the kettle
Boiling the flower tea

The flower tea is ready. Just pour directly from the kettle to serve

Raining season is over now. Weather is getting from warm to hot. One may feel heaty and needs something to cool down the body. Chinese believe chrysanthemum flower is effective for cooling body heat. In addition, "kam ngan fah" and "kam chou" also have the same function. It is easy to prepare the flower tea ,wash the dust or sand of the dried flower, when cleaned put in some water and bring to boil in a kettle. If you like it sweet you may add in some rock sugar to boil. I'm always looking for easy way to prepare food or drink. To boil the flower tea, instead of a pot, I used a kettle which has a built in filter in it, just as shown in the photo - the 7 little holes. When the tea is ready I just pour directly from the kettle without using any tea filter or ladle. Easy right! Ha ha.......

I remember my mum told me before that if you want the flower tea to have better cooling effect, you need not boil it, just brew it with hot boiling water, let the flower and hot water mixture stand for about one hour and the flower tea is ready to serve. She said that the cooling level of those boiled one is not the same as those brewed one, those boiled one is more towards soothing effect instead of cooling effect. Believe it or not it is all up to you! After all it is just some believe of my mum!!!!

2nd Posting 6/11/09

When it comes to breakfast, lunch, dinner or any makan time, do you have the problem of "What to eat hah?"

I went to the market this morning, as usual I need to prepare lunch for my daughter and myself only. It is only during dinner that our whole family - four of us eat together.

Today's lunch is a very healty meal with little oil and no red meat but only fish.

Teowchew porridge with fresh fish. It is very easy to prepare. Wash about 2 handful of rice, put in a pot and add 2.5 bowl of water, turn on the fire and start cooking. When the porridge starts to boil, turn to dim fire and keep boiling for 2 minutes and then turn off the fire and let it rest for 15 minutes. Bring to boil again and put in the fish and vegetable, turn off the fire when the porridge boils again after putting the fish and vegetable. Rest for another 15 minutes, the porridge is ready to serve. To avoid the vegetable turning yellowish during the resting process, you can take out the vegetable and put back while serving.

The purpose of resting the porridge is to let the rice gains expand thus the porridge is watery with fluffy and expanded soft rice. This is the texture of Teowchew porridge which is different from the Cantonese "Chuok" where the porridge is thick and not watery cos' the rice grains are all broken down during the long continuous boiling process of preparing the Cantonese porridge.

I started blogging today ! 28th Oct 2009

I'm a working woman at her late forties.

During my free time I read blogs. By reading the blogs have prompted me to start one of mine too.

At this moment, I'm still learning on how to create or organise my post. I mean to get the format that I want. To be frank, I'm not well verse in computer or IT, so I can foreseen I'll take some time to get thing right.

Anybody out there who happen to read this blog, please give me your advise on starting a blog.

I will surely appreciate very very very...........much!