lydia winter, ahoy!

yeay. arini dapat lagi satu birthday present. bestnye, tahun ni mcm mengumpul birthday present je kejenye. satu, satu kumpul tapi birthday nye tak sampai-sampai lagi. hihi.

dulu mase pes time tgk lydia, dlm hati penah terdetik, adui. hodoh gile rupe kasut tu. ade ker orang nak beli??

and then, came along lydia winter. woho. yang ni, mmg pwincess jatuh hati at first sight. oh my love! hehe. memang rambang mata. tgk kat crocs. com, rasa mcm nak beli all colours. i am that kind of a person...kalau dah suke tu, leh je haku beli sama pattern, tapi len2 kaler. akekeke. aritu g crocs subang parade, cume tinggal kaler plum sepasang aje and size 8. kaler ni pun teramatlah memukau jiwa ..aduiiii!! tapi memandangkan promoter tu takde nak promote langsung, tgk gaya pun mcm tanak menjual ...so pwincess tak jd nak beli on the spot.

arini, prince bawak pwincess g crocs ikano. aaa...promoter dia sangat best! sopan santun, jujur dan budi pekerti tinggi budaknye ...haha ...mana taknye, dia panggil pwincess dgn panggilan miss. bagus tul.

"miss, saya rasa yang ni sesuaaaaiii sangat dgn miss. kalau kaler plum, tak berapa sesuai dan susah nak match kaler."

baiklah, miss. angkut satu pasang. oops. bukan satu tapi dua. haaa tgk penangannya kalau kita bersopan santun. hihi.. lagi satu pasang tu, prince punye. barulah kita jadi pasangan crocs bergaya, wakakaa~

pwincess tak sesabau tul nak jenjalan dgn crocky nih ... thanks a lot, mon!

More and more apple piessss

Remember my earlier post about Nigella Lawson's apple pie recipe ? Though there were some flaws with the recipe (or perhaps my culinary skills,keke tak sedor diri) , never did I guessed that it brought happiness to my parents' hearts. They sliced the pie in small, small pieces so that they can eat many times...kiutnye..

"takut habis cepat," kata mama..


This flashed back memories when I was small, when my papa used to buy apple pies or chicken and mushroom pies from a bakery in PKNS as treats once in a while. When he brought back the treats, I still remember my siblings and I would jump around with joy, even my mama was delighted. sometimes, mama did not even have to cook dinner and we all had our fair share of the pies. senang cenggitu beb, perut budak kecik mana besor .. takyah susah2 nk masak2 lauk extra..hehe ...

anyway, their love for apple pies do not deteriorate even a bit, that when they came back from a recent trip to new zealand, they even brought back apples that they bought there so that I can make more apple pies for them!

Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS

For the pastry-

2 cups (220 grams) all-purpose (plain) flour

Good pinch salt

5 ounces, or 10 tablespoons (145 grams) unsalted butter

Ice water

For the filling-

5 apples, any eating variety you like (e.g. 2 Macintosh, 2 Cameos, 1 Gala)

1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour

1/2 cup (115 grams) superfine sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) packed light brown sugar

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup (60ml) water

Ground cinnamon, to taste

For the glaze-

Milk

Superfine sugar

Serving Size : Serves 6-8

METHOD

1.	Heat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C, gas stove mark 7).
2.	Make the pastry... cut the butter into small squares, and refrigerate. Measure the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter, and using a pastry cutter, blend in the butter until it resembles wet sand. Bring together, using a few tablespoons of ice water at a time, until almost totally cohesive, then work it for a bit to make it a nice dough. Cut in half, and form each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap (clingfilm) and refrigerate till needed.
3.	Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Then cut each apple quarter in half lengthways, then each of those pieces in half horizontally (to give you 16 chunks per apple). You don't have to be this precise... this is just how I find it easy to do... Cover the apples directly with plastic wrap (clingfilm) to prevent browning. Place in the fridge.
4.	Melt butter in a 2-quart (about 2 litre) sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add sugar, brown sugar, salt, and water; bring to a bubbly simmer. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring a lot.
5.	Meanwhile, roll out your pastry and place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Sprinkle over your desired amount of cinnamon (I like a lot). When the sauce is done, slowly and evenly pour it over the apples. Place the top crust on, seal edges (I put a little water between the two crusts, to help them adhere), roll the excess under, and flute edges. Cut four steam slits in the top to look like + but don't connect at the middle. Paint the crust with the milk, and generously sprinkle over the sugar.
6.	Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C, gas stove mark 7). Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C, gas stove mark 4), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.
7.	Enjoy!

source : Nigella Lawson

The way to a woman's heart is through her stomach

The old adage goes like, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach", but i'd like to tweak the old saying to be : "The way to a woman's heart is through her stomach".

This morning after Subuh prayer, dear hubby tucked me back in comforter saying that I lack of sleep lately, and hence I should qada' back the beauty sleeps that I had missed out. Later, when he woke me up, he uttered "chomby .... jom bangun, mon dah masakkan breakfast ....". hearing this, dari ngantuk terus jadi segar.

When I entered the kitchen, there was already a plate of fried rice and a mug of nessie served before me, and he had this 'I-made-this-for-you' proud smile on his face. When I sat down, he said sheepishly,"Mon tatau sdap ke tak ni, mon masak nasi goreng seafood..."

oloh ... terharunye!

I seriously did not mind if the rice was tasteless or if it was too spicy, but his effort really touched my heart. Although he always insists on helping me whenever I was doing my baking project in the kitchen, but this is really something. It's one of the many sweetest things he has ever done!

p/s:sedap nasi goreng seafood tu, mon. lenkali leh masakkan utk chom lagik~

Earth Hour 2010

yup .... that's right. it's that moment again, rasa mcm baru lepak-lepak kat old town white kopi plaza masalam, makan dalam keromantikan cahaya lilin ijau yang dibeli kat ikea oleh lyana ... snapped pose-pose gediks oleh dslr fara ... dah setahun dah berlalu ... ewahh...

so, in conjunction with Earth Hour 2010, my organization supports the global pledge by encouraging all departments untuk menutup sume non essential lights from 12.30-2.30pm.

ha....pwincess hepi la dengan usulan ini. dengan menutup lampu tu...buleh laaa pwincess zzZZZzzz dengan lenanya ... yeay, alhamdulillah...tapi. ade je tapinye kan. pwincess mule2 tunggu line clear, bagi orang-orang lelaki sejati sume kua smayang jumaat .. bile line dah clear .. alih-alih ... ader la sorang makcik ni. makcik ni memang la anti-climax tui. makcik ni nak guna lampu. tp pwincess tgk dia bukannye buat keje pun...tapi bergayut. huhuhu...member kamceng pwincess pun komplen gak tentang makcik ni, di mana, tidur lena member di surau waktu pagi2 b4 masuk ofis pun dah terganggu dengan kehadiran makcik ni dalam surau lebih kurang pada waktu yang sama....dia akan bukak lampu ... then dia buat la stretching la ape la. huhu...

so kesimpulannye, department pwincess tak berjaya support global pledge yang disarankan tu lah.

but on a lighter note, the Official Earth Hour celebration will take place from 8.30-9.30 pm (local time) on Saturday 27th March 2010. Landmarks worldwide will turn off their lights to commemorate Earth Hour, including the KLCC Twin Tower, Bintang Walk's Lot 10, JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Empire State Building (New York), the Sydney Opera House (Australia) and the Forbidden City (Beijing)... ting tong!

Weight Management Workshop - Kevin Zahri

last saturday, my company organized such workshop, and the talk was given by Kevin Zahri.

truthfully, pwincess penah dgr nama dia but tak ikut sangat gossips about him. adakah pwincess yang di dalam tempurung atau ada juga orang-orang lain di luar sana yang mcm pwincess ? i wonder. workshop was good, the first half was more of talking and discussing any uncertainties on lose/gain weight, myths and so forth. second half was more of demo and a bit of latihan amali (hik hik). Kevin showed us some of the steps of doing the weight training, using the exercise ball, etc.

Tayar Beguk

yesterday while driving after work, i heard a loud BANG on the left side of BooBoo(my car) and that gave me a real shock! it happened just minutes away from my office, and if u know that area, jalan memang a bit sempit. i stopped my car at the nearest jalan lebar that i managed to find, iaitu depan wisma tani. after a thorough inspection, god, was i shocked to find my tire bengkak...sangat gelembung and if u look at it closely, u can see the thread dah terurai sedikit.

the nearest petrol station that i could think of is shell after the toll duta, since it is around 5.45pm, kalau nak pergi jalan beringin nye shell, memang congested. so i slowly drive to jalan duta, only to find disappointment. boleh imagine tak, damsel in distress (ceh..) and no hero to come and rescue her? dont get me wrong, prince H berada jauh at another state, yang tanak tolong nih ialah orang2 shell tu lah. boleh depa kata tanak tolong pasal kalau tak, sapa nak buatkan keje they all? adui. tht is the lamest excuse. ever. so much for 'rakyat malaysia peramah dan suka membantu'.

so nway. terpaksa la bwk kete as slow as possible to the next nearest petrol station that i could find, which is in KD. lebih kurang la kes. at last, dapat help utk tukarkan ke tayar spare. comel je kecik tayar tuh.sayang tul tayar tu baru je tukar tau, jadik mcm nih pulak .. huhuhu

Apple Pie Nigella Lawson

semalam pwincess teringin yang amat nak makan apple pie. apple pie yang diidam bukan sebarangan apple pie, tapi apple pie yang dibuat sendirik. mule-mule nak guna shortcut, g beli ready made puff pastry. tapi prince kata, betul ke pastry yang ni, lagi pun, kita tak sure mama ade tolong belikan ke tak pie mould yang pwincess kirim. (note: ade satu kedai kat kampung yang mama selalu singgah kalau nak beli brassware or acuan or etc, pasal murah sket)

so last-last tak beli pun puff pastry tu. tapi bile mama dah balik dari kampung, baru dia inform yang dia ada acuan untuk pie kalau kita nak try guna. lenkali kalau dia balik kampung baru dia belikan acuan yang pwincess kirim tuh. so semalam pwincess pun mulakan la projek apple pie from scratch. i used nigella lawson's recipe.

result dia?

rasa superb. tapi resipi dia mcm tak betul sket tang shortcrust pastry tuh. masa menguli pun dah ada rasa mcm tak betul je sukatan yang diberi, tapi comments yang diberikan oleh readers for her recipe tuh memang lah sangat mengujakan. tapi however, menjadi jugaklah apple pie tuh. so all in all, maybe in the future, leh refer to nigella's apple pie filling recipe, but for the shortcrust recipe, i think i'll pass.