Fish Head Art

When eating fish, most people would just eat the middle portion between the head and the tail. Some people, however, also like the head...especially the eyes. I have a friend who would even go to the extent of cracking open the fish skull to pick out the brains...!!

So let's say you buy some fish but you just want to cook fish fillet...now what can you do with the discarded fish heads?

Here are some ideas...

A friend emailed me these photos today...don't know whether to laugh at them or find them repulsive!

Occupational Hazard

WRESTLING MATCH IN KITCHEN


THE CONTENDERS:




my left hand


VERSUS


very sharp kitchen scissors



Guess which one lost.....












ouch!!!

Been rather careless with my cutting utensils...was cutting something in the kitchen when my scissors slipped and put a gash in my forefinger. Just thankful that I didn't slice my finger off!

Two From Galilee Musical

Went as a family to watch a musical Two From Galilee performed by the Canticle Singers at the Panggung Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur on Saturday night. Below is a short sypnosis:

TWO FROM GALILEE revolves around a young couple who are very much in love. Ensnared in family conflicts, a hostile world and by an awesome responsibility, they fight for their one true love and to fulfill their dreams. But trust is shaken and love questioned, revealing a family's shame and a husband's doubt until the couple realizes that it is not all about finding true love but about life's purpose and calling. The musical encompasses dramatic and comic elements and is backed by a lush musical score journeying through a variety of moods and emotions with rhythmic numbers, rousing choruses, contemplative themes and soaring refrains. The musical features a cast of 25 performers.

Basically, it's an interpretation of the love story of Mary and Joseph from the time of their courtship to the birth of baby Jesus. Miss PreTeen was quite astonished that the lead female singer could hit such very high notes. CoolTeen didn't say very much but at least he didn't fall asleep halfway through the performance! It was quite enjoyable with a little humour thrown in here and there. Most of the dialogue is sung rather than spoken and the singers did a wonderful job with their good voices and diction. Those who like opera would enjoy this play. Personally, I prefer a more contemporary style of music.

I have been to the Panggung Bandaraya only once before to watch a play. That was ages ago, before I was married. Now the place looks much better after some renovation works.

The entrance of the Panggung Bandaraya viewed from my car


The foyer


Inside the theatre


The ceiling with elaborate designs

Those who are interested can still catch the performance...

DATES:

Evening Performances - 8.30pm on Fri 30/10, Sat 31/10/2009 & Sun 1/11/2009

Matinee Performances - 3.00pm on Sat 31/10/2009

TICKETS:

RM58 and RM38 (inclusive of RM3 AXCESS fee) via the AXCESS HotlineTel. +60-3-7711-5000, www.axcess.com.my and authorised AXCESS outlets

Net proceeds of the production after deducting production costs and overheads go towards St Barnabas Home for Children in Klang and The Tondo Community Project in the Philippines.

Amazing Cakes

A friend emailed me photos of some very pretty amazing cakes created by Zhanna Bakery in St. Petersburg, Russia...every single thing on the cakes is edible...these people are really talented!

it looks so real, someone might accidentally put his feet into this cake!

now this is one cake you don't see very often!

Too pretty to be eaten, don't you think? See more pictures here.

Not So Simple After All

A friend's sister in Indonesia makes cupcakes with lovely decorations (http://www.cupcakesmoment.com/gallery.htm) and since I have the recipe for fondant, I thought I would try making little figurines to put on my cupcakes. I thought that it would just be like playing with playdough...now how difficult would that be?

Turns out that it's not so simple after all...

PreTeen and I played with the fondant, having fun making all kinds of shapes. I tried making a tiny teddy bear. I had watched it on YouTube and it seemed quite simple.

In the end my bear became a pig...! PreTeen tried making a little cupboard but turned it into a bed instead. At least I managed to make a flower...and we ate up the rest of the pieces that didn't turn out so well!



Looks like I should just stick to simple cupcake frosting, haha!

Yummy Cake Frosting

I love to bake and I love cakes with icing/frosting. I have tried lots of different recipes for cake frosting but somehow have not found the perfect one. Some turned out too runny and seeped into the cake once it was applied. Others were either too rich or too sweet.

I finally found a great recipe for yummy Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting which is usually used for carrot cakes, but can be used for other cakes as well. It was scribbled on a piece of paper in one of my full-to-the-brim drawers where I stash away all kinds of stuff - receipts, newspaper cuttings, interesting recipes, my favourite very sharp scissors, stickers for little kids, coins, etc, etc...and I can't remember where I copied the recipe from.

I baked some carrot cupcakes and thought I would try out this recipe since I had some cream cheese in the fridge...better use it up before the expiry date! When I tasted it I was on cloud nine! It was REALLY good. I made a batch, iced the cupcakes, then made some more of the frosting...it was THAT good! It remains soft and spreadable even when kept in the fridge. I kept a tub of it in the fridge...perfect for times when I just want to indulge in a little extra topping for any plain slice of cake without having to put frosting on the entire cake itself. (enjoy first...will worry about the extra kilos later!)

Really simple to make:

30g softened butter/margarine
80g cream cheese
1 ½ cups icing sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Sift icing sugar. Mix all the ingredients together until smooth.

Fake Crocs or Original?

Some of my friends have bought very nice pairs of Crocs, and a few got them rather cheap from the morning market while others have bought them from warehouse sales at a discounted price...but I notice that they all seem to ask the same question, "How do I tell the fake from the original?"

So hubby and I did some research...

And we now know that the pairs of Crocs we bought at the market a few weeks ago are fakes, even though the seller kept insisting that they were genuine! So for people who have never actually worn an original pair of Crocs before (like us!), here are some pointers:

One of hubby's colleagues taught him to look at the underside of a pair of Crocs...


On fake Crocs, the word 'crocs' on the website address is spelled as 'croos'


On the other side, the words are mis-spelled again... should be boulder,colorado
Of course there are other things to look for, but these 2 are the most obvious ones. If you would like to read more, here are some articles in The Star newspaper -

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/9/7/lifeliving/4603134&sec=lifeliving

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/9/7/lifeliving/4640755&sec=lifeliving

How To Make Fruit Enzyme Drink

Quite a number of my friends have asked me how to make the fruit enzyme drink and even though I explain it to them step by step, some of them still find it difficult to visualize what I tell them, and there are not many videos on YouTube which demonstrates how to make this enzyme drink...so I thought I would put up some photos with a step by step explanation of the process.

What you would need:

lemons
pineapple (or any other fruit)
brown rock sugar
a dry,clean jar



1) Wash lemons and pat dry. Remove the lemon skin and as much of the white part as possible (leave the skin on if you like a tangy, bitter taste to the enzyme drink). Slice and remove the seeds.

2) Wash pineapple, pat dry and remove skin. Slice into bite-size pieces (not shown in the photos, but it shouldn't be too difficult)

3) Arrange the pineapple pieces at the bottom of the bottle.

4) Add the lemon slices in a thin layer.

5) Add 1 or 2 pieces of rock sugar (1 piece if large, 2 pieces if smaller)

6) Repeat the process - one layer of pineapple, followed by a thin layer of lemon slices, then 1 or 2 pieces of rock sugar.

7) Repeat the layering process until the whole bottle is filled to the brim.

8) Close the cover, making sure that it is airtight, and label the bottle 3 weeks from the day you make the enzyme...that will be the date when you can open your bottle and enjoy your enzyme fruit drink.

9) Keep the bottle in a cool dry place for 3 weeks.

Things to note:

1) Your hands must be absolutely dry when handling the fruits. After washing, pat dry the fruits with paper towels...or they will turn mouldy during the fermentation process.

2) Tip the bottle every 2-3 days to make sure all the fruits are moist during the 3-week fermentation process.

10) After 3 weeks, open the bottle, strain the liquid and store your enzyme drink in the fridge. It tastes better when chilled.

11) Drink 30ml a day. Dilute with a little water if the drink is too sweet. By the way, this drink is an alcoholic beverage...don't drink too much!

Enjoy.....

My Ladies Can Dance!

It's been almost 1 ½ years since I started a beginners' line dance class in church and I have 7 ladies (ages ranging from 50 to 80 years) who have been coming very regularly for our weekly class on Tuesday nights. I am very proud to say that my ladies can now dance quite well and they even took up the challenge to perform on stage in church last Sunday.

This is one of their favourite dances - Tong Nian ( I was told it means childhood)


The lady in the front row wearing yellow, 2nd from the left, is turning 80 soon...I wonder if I can still dance when I turn 80! (will probably be holding a tongkat!)

Little Kids On Stage

Our church celebrated her 21st anniversary on Sunday, and according to tradition, we always have a presentation on stage. When I first mentioned to hubby my plans to put the little children aged 2 - 5 from the Nursery Class on stage, he gave me that "Are you sure?" kind of look because it was less than a month away from the day of the church anniversary.

But after only 3 practices we were really glad that they were able to remember the actions and lyrics to the Sunday School song "Who Is The King Of The Jungle".

Watch and enjoy...really adorable.

I have a better quality version of this video but I just couldn't upload it to YouTube, so I had to downsize the file drastically :(