3D Christmas Card

Christmas is just around the corner, I've been very slack this year. Previous year I already have most of my cards and present ready but this year I only manage to get most of the present ready but the cards are still waiting to be make. Got to tell myself, don't day dream anymore. Ganbatte yo Stevia, you can do it. Well, the 1st photo is how the card look like and the 2nd photo is when it is folded to be put in an envelope. No bad at all, right?

Nasi Lemak/辣死你媽

We had Malaysian classic breakfast, nasi lemak for dinner tonight. Nasi lemak literally mean oily rice but this one not cooked with oil but coconut milk with spicy condiments of sambal tumis (you can add seafood like peeled prawns, squids or cockles in it too), crispy fried white baits, fried peanuts, boiled egg and sliced cucumber. This is one of my family favourite food.

Steamed Sponge/雞蛋糕 aka Mushi-Pan 蒸しパン

This is one of my husband's favourite food and it's also my forte. I've being making this during my school days for my grandma kuih store in my hometown. At that time, the cost of a piece of this cake that are slightly bigger than the one in my photo was only 10 cents. Sometime I miss it too, and whenever I miss it, I'll make one. It brings back bitter sweet memories of my childhood days and also the days with my grandparents too.

Mushroom Wind Chime/香菇風鈴。

 Next Thursday, our community centre will hold an exhibition of all the art and handicrafts that are taught by all the available workshops. This is one of my pottery project, a mushroom wind chime. I'm a collector of wind chimes 'cos my aunty loves wind chimes and I used to follow her to shop for wind chimes from the provision shops in my hometown. I also like the sound of it when the wind blows but one of my friend doesn't like displaying my wind chimes. She once told me that, if the wind chime ever rings that means you've visitor, according to her the one that comes visiting is for the supernatural world or what my grandma used to called them 'The Yin People' (that is those who have already deceased). I think lots of people do believe in it but to me, I only like the sound of the wind chime. So, all are welcome to listen to the music it makes, be it yin or yang.

Last Batch Of Pottery For 2013

Last week we sent the last batch of our pottery to the kiln, and this is the last batch of pottery for our pottery workshop for 2013. Some of the pottery works were broken into pieces before they were fire due to the other workshop members who placed their wet umbrellas on top of our unfired work. It's a bit upsetting and the teacher said it was alright 'cos we can glue them back together if we still have  all the broken pieces. Next week will be the last lesson and also we will have Christmas morning tea gathering for all of us from the pottery, painting, sketching and weaving workshop fellow group participants. Each of us is asked to bring a plate, talking about bringing a plate. I've a friend who came over from Malaysia many years ago, he was invited to a gathering and was also asked to bring along a plate. He misunderstood the term 'bring a plate', so, he went to the supermarket and bought a stack of disposable plates and brought them along. When he arrived to the venue, then only he realized that he was suppose to bring a plate of food along. He was so embarrassed and I think he wouldn't forget the incident till the day he went to meet St. Peter. :)

Japanese Style Dan Dan Mian/日式擔擔麵

We had dan dan mian for dinner tonight, it's also know as Dragon noodle in a very famous Japanese ramen kan in Sydney called Menya.

Dan Dan Mian - Spicy Sichuan Noodles
Adapted from Ken Hom, A Taste of China

8 ounces (225 g) pork, minced
1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
6 oz peanut oil
3 Tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 Tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons Chinese sesame paste
1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 Tablespoon spicy dou ban jiang
1 Tablespoon miso
2 Tablespoons chili oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn, roasted and ground
2 teaspoons salt
8 ounces chicken stock
12 ounces (dry thin) Chinese noodles
Roasted sesame seeds for garnishing

Combine pork, soy sauce, and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Heat a wok or large skillet until hot. Add 4 ounces of the oil and stir-fry the pork,
stirring with a spatula to break it into small pieces. When the pork is lightly browned, about 3 minutes, remove and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. (This will be for the noodles.) While the water is heating, go to the next step.

Reheat the wok (add the remaining 2 ounces of oil if needed) and stir-fry the garlic, ginger, and onions until aromatic, about 1 minute. Then add the
spicy dou ban jiang, miso,  soy sauce, chilli oil, sesame oil, Sichuan pepper, Chinese sesame paste,salt, and chicken stock and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, when the pot of water has come to boil, toss in noodles and bring the water back to a boil and add a cup of cold water to the boiling noodle. Bring the water back to a boil again and drain the
noodles well. Divide into individual bowls or put them all into a large bowl for sharing. Ladle the sauce on top, top with pork and chopped peanuts,
and serve while hot.

Serves 4 to 6 as part of a multi-course meal, or 2 to 4 as a single dish

Gai Tan Chye/雞蛋仔。

Oh boy! Try out this gadget of mine today, got this from a friend years ago. If you've friends who live in Hong Kong or have been to Hong Kong before, they will be able to tell you what this is. To me, it's just appam balik cooked in a small egg shaped kuih bahalu mould. The people in Hong Kong called it 'gai tan chye/雞蛋仔。

Wrap With Love Christmas Morning Tea - 2013

Today is Wrap With Love's Christmas morning tea, we had a wonderful morning today. These are the lovely and delicious food brought by all the ladies knitters and crocheters who come to our group. The nice cheese cake was supply by Burwood council. Well, done ladies and give yourself a pat on your shoulder. Thank you for all your efforts and contribution.

Oyaki aka Lamb and Leeks Pasties/羊肉蒜盒

 This is what we have for breakfast today

My Pottery Gallery

                                                                        Bird Vase

My Beading Gallery

Mini Beaded Handbags

Steamed buns/大包。

Trying to revive my aunty's recipe and also testing my bao making skill. So I made some steamed buns aka bao for breakfast today. They are what the Cantonese called 'Sang Yuk Bao' meaning the meat is not cooked when it's wrap with the dough. In these bao of mine, each of them has minced meat with chopped water chestnuts, shredded dried shitake mushrooms, lup cheong aka Chinese sausage and quail egg. Like my son always use to say, "Ma, you still got it." Yes, they taste good too.