Interlude :

• August
• 20

Just for verification. Would edit later.

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

Durian

• July
• 30

Yes, tonight we ate durian.

I think the last time I ate durian was few months back, at home in Kedah. During that time, my parents visited us, and my Bapak (he is my step-father) just so happen to buy some durian before visiting, and so they bought it over.

Me and my Mom made some pulut to be eaten with santan and durian, and also some kuah durian, eaten with lacy crepes (roti jala). I had never eaten crepes with kuah durian, but it was so yummy.

Did I mention that I had not eaten durian prior to last durian season? Yes. I had not eaten durian since I was pregnant with Pumpkin. That meant that I could not eat durian nor could I even smell it for I would start to puke. I am not kidding, and it was not funny. The drought passed, and now I am one happy durian-eating camper! *lol*

These photos were taken sometimes last year, not the durian that we ate tonight. Tonight we ate really fresh durian kampong, it was quite delicious and frangrant. I would usually would prefer durian from Balik Pulau, durian kunyit or they are also called durian ganja (for the very thin seed inside the pulpy flesh, akin to rambutan ganja.). Those durian kunyit are so delicious, creamy and slightly bitter, which I really like. Very fragrant, too, that you have to air your car afterwards for the aroma lingers.

I am not familiar with durian products, but I know that people made these durian into dodol. I don’t really favor dodol, durian flavored or not, so I am not sure how it would taste like. Dodol durian is this concoction, made from cooking durian and some other food items for a long while, until it turned stiff and quite chewy. It is quite sweet, too. But like I said, I don’t even eat the regular dodol, I doubt I would buy the durian dodol, you know? Nothing wrong with them, just a personal preference, you see.

Below are couple of items that are made from durian, durian chips and durian candies. I have encountered these couple of items when I shop at the oriental stores, but I was not curious enough to buy them. So I could not vouch whether they are good, of if the aroma would start to waft up when you opened up the package. The packaging is interesting, though, don’t you think?

Manual Beef Grinder & Coconut Scraper

• July
• 29

Do any of you readers out there happen to have these two items? The first one on the left is something that I am familiar with, though I had never been inclined to get one. I am not sure why, but I never bother looking for it at the stores or online when I was in the UK or the US. Probably because I could get my ground beef/chicken whenever I felt like wanting some.

Not that I am saying that it would be hard finding ground beef here. But try finding ground beef over at the local butcher at the pasar malam, or at Chow Kit. We tried, and we could not find any. What would be available was the meatballs made for soup, which was heavily laced with flour that I don’t feel like feeding my daughter that.

The appeal of the manual meat grinder is that I don’t need to have it plugged into any electrical outlet. Easier to clean and use, from my point of view, too. I used to use this electrical meat grinder when I lived with Miss AL, cleaning it was not easy and it was very bulky because it was one of those ancient grinder that she had been using like forever.

Now that I want one of those, I am not sure where I could find it. Especially since I had never actually searched for it, anyway. To make it easier (on me), I figure I could put it up here, so if anyone knew, give me a holler, ya?

Though I am familiar with the first item, I had only found out about the second item on the right quite recently. Yes, I am quite the country bumpkin. I found out that the coconut scraper is used widely in India and Sri Lanka and the surrounding areas. I feel that I want to have it in my kitchen. *grins*

Again, I would appeal to any readers who would have a clue of its availability in Malaysia. Like the manual meat grinder, I have never actually searched for it in stores, ditto my not knowing whether they are widely sold in stores here.

Why would I need a meat grinder? Easy peasy. Pumpkin would not eat chicken in its natural state. If I were to ground it and make it into patties or round balls, and then throw it into any soup or curry, she would eat it. I have grown quite tired of having to chop the chicken breasts to make patties for her, really.  But I doubt that she would eat ground beet no matter what.

And, I just want to have the coconut scraper, since I feel that it is a novelty item. I doubt that I would start making more local kuihs just because I own this apparatus, you get what I am saying? But it would be nice to have one whenever I felt like making that onde-onde, you feel me?

So like I mentioned before, if anyone knew where to get these two items, please do give me a holler, ya?

Banner-less

• July
• 24

For the time being, I am going banner-less! Oh I know, it makes my journal looks so bare. I have yet to find the right photo to put up, and I don’t think that I do have the right photo to put up.

What I needed to do, probably, is stitch up few photos together, and then put it there. I have to figure out how to do that since I sucks at Photoshop.

And yes. I know that I had left this journal unattended to for most of the times. Don’t I cook? Yes, I do. In fact, I have been trying out few new dishes for me and Pumpkin. But I did not document it, nor photographed it. I mean them. Those dishes, that is. Actually, I have not been taking photo for a long while now. More than a month had gone by since I last took any photos! That is so not me.

I just so don’t feel like it. I am trying to psych myself up to do more documenting for this journal, and for the other one that I am doing at the time being. So here’s to me. Hopefully I (manage) would get the ball rolling soon.

I so want this raspberry pavlova right now…