More like 45 Minute Meal...

I watched an episode of Rachey Ray's 30 Minute Meals on the Food Network the other day, and it was an episode called Sea Note. She demonstrated how to make some Lemon Pasta, and also a Flounder Francese with Toasted Almonds, Lemon and Capers. It looked pretty simple and delicious, so I decided to try out the recipe. I had some sole instead of flounder, and I also forgot the almonds, oh well, it still tasted quite good. I like the lemony taste in both the pasta and the fish, very refreshing! Lemons from Choonping and Peisun's backyard :)

4YOS500 trouble

This morning I wanted to drive to lab, but my car won't start. The battery has gone flat! :( Anyway, the battery is pretty old, I got it back in 2001, when I was still in Florida. I had AAA came and change the battery for me. I can't believe I have used AAA services to tow my car twice in the past 2 years, and now, this. I definitely got all my AAA dues worth! :) All is good now, and I have my car back! Soon, I will get a new car when I graduate and have a job...

Chinese New Year again

This New year, despite didn't open invitation to any one, visitors keep pouring in ;)

Of course we are happy...

Here are some of them, mummy's ex-students. They are mostly in universities now.

And these are ah girl's gang.

They have been visiting us yearly, perhaps mummy's cookies keep sending them back ;)

I have also taken more photos of our house, to share with you what is the latest happening back home.

This main entrance has something we bought from Spain. Ah girl, can you see them? It's rather small in this picture.

The bougainvilleas on the porch are flowering wildly, once Pei Sun's favourite. Now?

And this part of the garden is neat and tidy ;) Thanks to Rasiah.

The patio garden's 2 "Fa Cai trees" grow very well. We put them on the garden table. The bigger tree has 8 strong shoots now. Sometimes we take it into the hall.

This new angle is the first time I shoot a garden photo. You can see Mindy in the background, wondering what was I doing ;)

In the hall, you will notice that I have installed a blue light for the aquarium. It's more catchy at night.

Notice that the trophies on top of the piano are gone. It looks neater now.

This part of the hall still remains pretty much the same:

After looking at so many photos, I am sure you are tired. So is Meeko zzzzzzzzzzz. Has she put on weight? She has no waist now ;(

Persia!

I miss Persia already! We have been dog-sitting Persia since Saturday. She's definitely one of the cutest dogs and has a very gentle temperament that I have met. I also really like how she always follow me around the house, sleep next to me, and will even wait outside the bathroom patiently when I shower.

Look at how adorable Persia is with the frisbee in her mouth. The frisbee is her favorite toy. Too bad she doesn't really bring it back after you throw the frisbee to her.



Bailey came over to visit Persia, and they got along really well playing with each other.




Matt is trying to make both dogs stay and not go for the treat until he says OK. Look how smart Persia is! She got Bailey’s food before getting her own. Nice strategy and unexpected move she played on poor Bailey!




They really like running up and down the hallway, but you can see they are very tired at the end.

CNY trip to Taiping

Traveling during CNY is always an unforgettable experience. =-S
We started our journey from Malacca as early as 7:30am on the eve of new year. Traffic along M'cca-KL highway was quite smooth. We managed to reach KL around 9am and decided to take the Duta Toll heading up north. Nightmare began at the toll. Cars were not moving at all.. it took us more than two hours to get out of Selangor. As usual, lotsa cars took the emergency lane to cut the queue. Of course, plenty of police cars awaiting along the way to get "ang pows" or issuing tickets. We stopped several times. All rest areas were packed! Look at the queues outside the ladies. Unbelievable! 10 mins wait. Even Marcus was getting impatient. =)
Haha.. we reached Ipoh around 5pm and had a late afternoon tea at a kopitiam-like cafe. Tomyam fried beehoon and Nasi Lemak.
In less than an hour, we should be able to arrive Taiping safely.. ^_^
Nice thought.. but it started to rain. Marcus gave us his CNY gift, precious "gold", in advance. While Mom and Karin were busy changing his diaper, he smiled all the way (innocent or evil act?!).. the smell was undescribable.. Aargh~ wind down the windows please. Look outside. We're almost there. I need greens and fresh air! Help~









What time do you think we arrived our destination-Ah Hoon's house? hehe.. 6pm. Not too bad huh? Yeah right, 7:30am ~ 6pm. You bet. Worn out. Zzzzz... reunion dinner at 8pm. Ah mah waited for us.. oops! =-p

First day of CNY, "kiong hee huat zai" to all.. Morning at Ah Mah's place- Ah mah, berbie, 1st aunt, ah tiong gor2 + family, ah lip gor2 + family, ah tan sis + sekampung (approx 12 ppl).. phew! Later in the afternoon, visited ah pek + family.. steamboat for late lunch and dinner. Of course, we also had traditional CNY cookies like love letters, pineapple tarts, bak guah, peanut cookies, kuih bangkit, and etc.


2nd day, after late breakfast, time to head back south-M'cca. Before we started another long ride, a group photo with ah mah, gor gor and kids. We thought of buying heau pneah and other local delicacies, but lotsa shops were closed. =-/ somehow, we managed to buy some fruits at Tapah rest area.
Journey, 12pm - 8pm. This is a lot better! =) lunch in Ipoh with 5 gu+family and a stopover in KL - One Utama, shopping! Heehee...

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Hi, a few more pics on Chinese New Year . As usual, many plants flower under this hot weather back home. This orchid under the porch is just one of the many :

These little fishes have grown much bigger. When I bought them, they were just the size of their present head :)

Fruits preparation to welcome the new pig year. I scaled down the quantity tremendously as there are only 3 of us back home now. Imagine those days when I bought grapes, and asked ah girl to glue around every one of them :) She cried.....

Some close relatives visiting us today.

Ah Mah says: Gong Xi Fa Cai to all..........

Happy New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai

Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Year of the Boar.

Gong Xi, Gong Xi.

Cookies too :)

After seeing all those US made CNY goodies, we should also boast mummy's home baked cookies :)

Surely look familiar eh.

This is my top favourite "Almond Crisps"

This is also my top favourite. However mummy hasn't made for a number of years. This year she is in good mood, so I get to taste it again ;) This shot is taken from the top of the bottle. They are known as "cornflake cookies":

The third one is "Nescafe Biscuit". I love it because it 'melts' in the mouth. However, this year's is not as fragrant. Mummy says it's because the expensive 'Nescafe Gold' is not so suitable for this biscuit. She will keep to the normal Nescafe Classic next year ;) Again, this is shot from the top of the bottle. Mummy says my photography makes her biscuits look like worms :p

This is what PeiSun made. You get to eat it in US this year. It's called "Almond Biscuit"

Also, this is the famous "Ribbon Biscuit", ah girl's favourite. This year's taste rather good!

I think it's not fair just to show what mummy baked. Thus this is what I made, "Chinese Steam turnip cake" hehe ;) The other tray is without the toppings, as it's meant for frying. Remember, we used to take this on CNY mornings ;) Ah Kong's favourite.

Gong Xi Fa CAi ;)

Yum yum

What is Toro looking at??



Pei Sun making almond cookie from mommy's recipe. Stayed up late last night to complete the task. Have to come to the Chinese New Year cookie party to try it. Except some lucky ones get try them before hand.

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tor tau pneah

Chinese new year is approaching, and of course, I would like some of my favorite tor tau pneah (groundnut cookies). Too bad no one is coming from Penang this year to bring us some traditional chinese new year goodies. I think this is the first time since I came to the US that we don't get an Eaton container packed with many different types of treats. But anyway, it's not too bad, since Lynn and PeiSun are organizing a Kuih Kapek and pineapple jam tart making party next Sunday. :) I am looking forward to that. Still, I had to satisty my tor tau pneah cravings, so I made some today using Aunty Michelle's recipe that is the best tor tau pneah recipe ever. It just melts in your mouth... :) Matt says he can't talk after he eat this cookie since it sucks all the saliva out of his mouth. Just imagine eating kuih bangkit! It's even drier!