The Wonderful Plastic. Be careful!

Many things happened in the past week.....

I fell down my new office stairs. Yes I wore 1 inch heels , I always did. I fell because its a new flight of steps in my life, and not because of anything else.
Thanks for your concern. Nothing serious .I stumble on my steps and somersaulted and landed on my feet. I sprain an ankle and bruise a knee . Kekekeke!

Worse of the week, was ....I lost my credit card..... and somebody had a shopping spree with it!
@#@%%&#*@!

When ? Where? How? No idea!

I lost it, if I know when, where or how ........... then I wouldn't say I lost it!

How I found out? Well the XXX Bank Fraud Department called me.

'Hello MS Tan , did you spend your card yesterday in XXXXX, YYY , GGG and TTT???'

No, No, No and NO... to all the 8 transactions in the 4 hours that night! I guess they got suspicious and decided to call me!

But why only after all the spendings!??

I immediately call my Credit Card Center on the toll free number to confirm that the call was from them ( now adays many fraud) I report the LOSS and cancel my card.

I was both GLAD and SAD.

GLAD that I was informed but SAD too. Isn't it a little too late!?? Couldn't they have call me yesterday evening to confirm my transactions on the spot, since the spendings were so suspicious ?

Just to show how suspicious looking the transactions were. They were all done within 4 hours.

1. ABC mart ( Pekan PQR) 99.35

2. ABC mart (Pekan PQR) 111.60

3. ABC mart (PekanPQR) 236.45

4. XYZ Store (Pekan PQR) 546.20

5. Shell Petrol Station 137.02

6. Caltex Petrol Station 60.00

7. Petronas Petrol Station 70.75

8. Petronas Petrol Station 200.00

So I call the FRAUD Department to make an appeal to dispute all those .

REASON FOR DISPUTE: I did not sign for the transactions.

A week later the fraud department called, ask me to make a police report so that they could investigate my case. And so I did.
I thought it will be an easy report like you make for loss of identity card or your wallet. But no....
the inspector had to take my statement. He kept me in his office for 3 hours. Interrogating me, wanted to make sure that I or any of my close family really did not spend the thousand over ringgit with that card.
Luckily the inspector was good looking and friendly . Hahahaha! I had a good time. That 3 hours didn't really felt that long. He talked as though he was on my side all the time. He is a cash person and never believe in holding a credit card. He told me he does not believe that the credit card will do any investigation for me.
After taking my statement, the young inspector promised me that he will investigate the case for me. Lets wait and see what will happen.

Black Vinegar Trotter.

Last Wednesday was Karen's 14th day in confinement .I was yearning for my own cooking of 'Black Vinegar Trotter', so I decided to take the opportunity to cook some for her and remove the guilt of eating trotter. Slurppp!

I learn how to cook this from my confinement lady way back in 1986 .That was the first time I tasted Black Vinegar Trotter too. I am Hokkien and this confinement lady was Hakka. Black Vinegar Trotter is a Hakka dish.

She told me that the trotter is supposed to make post-natal mom lactate more and true enough, I did experience an increase in milk production. Black Vinegar purifies blood and cleanses the arteries of stale blood while Old ginger drives out the wind in the body.

I admit I did not like the strong vinegar taste the first time I had it, but because it was good for me I consumed it.......and was missing it the second time I had it!
Recipe :

Black Vinegar Trotter

Ingredients:
1 pig trotter
1 bottle sweeten black vinegar
1 bottle unsweetened black vinegar
400g ginger - baked over open fire , remove skin and wash
2-3 tablespoons sesame oil


Method:
1. Clean & remove hair from the pig's trotters. Cut into serving pieces and blench in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Remove and drain
2. Heat Sesame Seed Oil. Fry ginger until fragrant and put in the blenched pig trotters and stir-fried well for 5 minutes.
3. Add vinegar, about 1/2 bottle of each sweeten and unsweetened black vinegar. More of the sweeten if you like a sweeter taste. Make sure the black vinegar just cover the pig's trotter as they will shrink when cooked. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for about 1 -2 hours or until pig trotters become soft and tender.

Not a very difficult dish to make and the taste is very much a matter of individual. Some like it sour , some like it sweet , some like it with strong gingery aroma. Some like the trotter soft and tender, some like them tender but firm. But in which ever way you choose to prepare it, I am sure it will turn out great !

I sent my whole pot of love to Karen and her in-laws ....... saved a small bowl for myself. I loved it!! And am thinking of it now . No feed back from there! Wonder if it was to their liking.

Anyway, will make a new pot soon ! This time for ...........anyone ???......MYSELF!

Sunset in Teluk Bahang

All my pictures are taken with my P1i Sony Ericsson handphone....

Waiting is a thirsty job.

See there grandpa! Shoot la!

Not bad la ! For pictures coming from a handphone.

Sunday At Home

This is Jay Cheng . Very well adapted now. Walks freely in and out of my house.

Making friends with the neighbour , Heimen.

Come shake hands!

Doesn't speak a word but can call ah mah, ...that's me!

By the way he is 15 months and going to be promoted very soon.

He loves to go for car ride!

Sunday evening , planted some house plants with HYDRO JELLY.

From left : blue, green , yellow and white hydro-jelly in teapot and arrow-head yam plant,
pink, crystal pink and clear crystal hydro-jelly and pink colour yam plant,
water and money plant.



This is how the hydro-jelly looks after soaking he crystals in water for 20minutes. Looks good enough to eat!!!!

and the blue, green , yellow and white hydro-jelly.....before putting into the teapot with plants.

Kombucha Tea Health Beverage.

Homemade Kombucha health drink!

Have you heard of Kombucha Tea?

Just hit 'Kombucha tea' on google search and you will get hundreds of sites telling you about the wonders of kombucha tea.

The Kombucha Culture, sometimes mistakenly referred to as a mushroom, is a symbiotic, probiotic colony of yeast and bacteria (the friendly type). Kombucha Tea is made by combining the culture, with a mixture of black tea and sugar or green tea and brown sugar. The ingredients are allowed to "ferment", usually from 7-10 days. The resulting beverage contains dozens of elements, many of which are known to promote healing for a variety of conditions.

Kombucha tea is suppose to cure everything and it isn't something you can buy in a bottle or a bag. You need to brew up a batch of kombucha starter culture and grow your own.

I found it rather fun growing this fungus in my tea!

Kombucha Culture on 5th day! Notice the formation of the new culture on top layer.

1. kombucha 'mother' 2. Large glass container 3. brown rock sugar n rose buds
4. stainless steel pot 5 . boiling the rose buds and brown sugar 6. greentea bags 7. Adding the teabags 8. adding the culture into cool sugared tea 9. closing the top with cloth. 10. The culture on next day.

What you need to make your own Kombucha tea?

A stainless steel pot for boiling 2.5 litre water .

some brown rock sugar

5 green tea bags

15 rose buds

Holick glass jar

Kombucha culture
How to make your own Kombucha Tea.

There are many version of making Kombucha Tea, I learnt mine from my sister Pat. I noticed that her recipe include rose buds. I think the rose buds are for the fragrance of the tea. By the way, I got my Kombucha mother culture is from her.

First step is to bring to boil 2.5 litres water in a stainless steel pot. Add 3 pcs brown rock sugar and 15 rose buds. Turn off heat when the sugar has dissolved and put in the 5 green tea bags .Let it steep for at least 15 minutes then remove the teabags. It's necessary to make a strong sugared tea in order for the culture to grow.
Let your tea cool down to room temperature. A hot liquid will kill your starter culture. Pour the tea into a large glass container. Add the culture.
Cover the jar with a fine-mesh cloth or paper towel, to keep out fruit flies but to still allow air in. Secure it with a rubber band.
Keep your culture in a warm place, with no direct sunlight. A relatively dark place is best. Do not move the jar while it is fermenting. Let the fermentation process go on for 7-9 days. You'll likely have to experiment a bit to get the timing right for your own tastes. Longer period gives you a more tangy taste. Warmer temperatures will speed up the process. You will notice a new layer of culture developing on the 3rd or 4th day . That's the daughter culture on top and the mother culture right below.
While your kombucha tea is fermenting, the sugar will be broken down by the yeast in the starter, and CO2 will be formed. Your tea will start to bubble and develop a sharper, tart flavour.
At this point, you'll need to create a new, fresh batch of tea for your new culture (see the first steps). Remove the cultures from your completed tea, now you have 2 pieces of cultures, mother and daughter kekeke!.

Rinse them off lightly with lukewarm water, and place one in the new container of tea. Keep the other piece in the fridge or give it away to your relative or a friend who wants to try fermanting some of their own Kombucha tea.

Pour your completed kombucha tea into bottles. You can strain it if you like, as there will be a little bit of yeast sediment at the bottom. Stopper the bottles tightly.
Let it sit for 3-4 days, to finish maturing. Store in a cool place.

Your kombucha tea will keep for several months.

Enjoy.

Kombucha tea is reputed to help with many health problems such as: excema and other skin problems, hair loss, hypertension, digestive and intestinal disorders, arthritis, high cholesterol and more.

I'm not sure how much of this has been scientifically proven, as it seems to cure almost everything. All I can say is, give it a try.
Drop me a line if you want a kombucha culture. I am happy to give you one if you are in the neighbourhood.

Wild Peanut Flower

I have Wild Peanut Flower in my garden.

Actually I dunno what you call them. They look like the peanut plant but they do not have peanuts under the ground.
See the picture of them flourishing in a front patch of my garden.
They look best growing under a shade of a tree.

Don't you think they are pretty!! Makes you wanna lay on them......

Anyone interested to have some can drop me a line. I can send some to you by post. Don't laugh its a very hardy plant and you can keep it in your cupboard for a week then plant them and it will still survive. Ha ha ha ha ah !!

Cheng Beng Festival.

That's Coco on guard......

The Cheng Beng Festival is an opportunity for Chinese to remember and honour our ancestors at grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, (joss) paper accessories, to the ancestors. The rites are very important to most Chinese, it is during this time Chinese visits the grave.
Some dialects do not allow their daughters who are already married to visit the grave in fear that the daughters will take away some of the 'good fortune' meant for the sons!
However, people nowadays are less concern .
No pictures of grave sweeping. We did not visit the grave.......instead we ( my unmarried sister and I) curi curi invited my late mom and dad for a treat outside our gates. Hopefully , they received what we 'sembah' and we got blessings in return.

The table all laid for the ancestors.

And the delivery of incense and accesories by burning.

Trip to Kuantan.

I found this fruit while walking along the beach in Kuantan! Dunno what it's call. Look like some kind of nipah fruit.

Kekekeke! Don't laugh!

Found these beautiful wild orchid in Audrey's mom's garden!

Specially like this one! Hope Audrey did not forget to bring one 'anak' back for me.

Thank you Audrey for the hospitality and Zul's Satay! Slurrppp!

If I say "I have been busy....." it's just a lame excuse.

First it was the virus, then it was the line , then the modem.....then my apple was robbed!!!
And it has been 3 months since ........how time flies!

The spiders have been making cobwebs in my blog!


The pictures above is not a spider.......I call it 'Starfish'.
Yes ,its a plant, one of my favourite. See the closeup picture of the beautiful plant ........ notice the tiny white flowers in the center.
I donno the real name for this plant , but I think it is a relative of the 'lidah buaya' plant.

My love........

This is 'daun kemangin' plant aka basil leaf. It's fragrant leaf is eaten as ulam with sambal belachan .It can also be pounded with garlic and cillipadi to make a sauce ( add in lime juice sugar and a little salt )for dipping duck meat or chicken. Some use them in cooking the small 'lala' (seafood) and frying brinjal ( to bring out the 'wind ' in the vegetable)

This is the Orka or 'lady's finger' plant . I have 4 of these in my backyard and my daily harvest is 8 a day. Enough for my making 1 serving curry . My hubby likes them uncooked as 'ulam' with sambal belachan.

This is the long beans or 'kacang panjang' . I get 4-5 a day . So every 2 days I get 1 serving Fried Long Bean with Shrimp. I like them uncooked as ulam.

This is 'kucai' . Looks like grass ...but tastes good fried with battered eggs! Of course can be used in fried beehoon or koay teow

The 'kacang kelisa' dunno what they call it in english, but I am sure you heard of 'kerabu kerang kacang kelisa' . It is another favourite ulam.

THESE ARE SOME OF THE VEGETABLES IN MY BACKYARD. I ALSO HAVE CILLIPADI, BUNGA KANTAN (LAKSA FLOWER) , PUDINA (MINT) LEAF, PUCUK UBI , DAUN KADUK.....

AND OTHER GARDEN PLANTS OF COURSE........

Canna Lily

White Anturium

Mickey Mouse??

Bunga Kantan or Laksa flower

Daun Pegaga........

and so on.....to be continued...................

At last .................. !

At last I found them at JUSCO in 1U ,Bandar Utama !

Santa in the tub!

Santa Shung taking a bath after a hard days work!!!
Ho Ho Ho!