Hami Melon sweet soup.

I normally post things for sale but last weekend, I attempted a Chinese sweet dessert soup and reckon I have to post it somewhere so that I won't forget the recipe/how-to.  And then I remember this blog, which was also meant to share with you guys some really 'kick-ass' homemade stuff.  Because stuff made at home is stuff made with love :)

I actually got the recipe from a book but I did a slightly different variation which I think turned out all right.

What you need is:

• 3/4 Hami melon cut into bigger pieces (palm size is good, by the way I have a small palm, so you judge) because once you cook it, it will shrink and melt into the soup.  I cut it into slightly bigger than bite size and kinda regretted because the longer you simmer the soup, the more the melon will melt away.  
• White fungus which you need to strip to smaller pieces and cut away the yellow hard stems.  You need to cook this a lot longer if you like it soft.  Note: A handful will do!  I was greedy and chucked in two handfuls and boy, do they grow when you soak em' in water! :Pp
• Lotus seeds - now this is the tricky one.  I threw a handful into a bowl of water to be soaked and was able to use only half of what's left.  After soaking, I decided to blanch them for 10 minutes, and it really helps getting all the dirt and skin and impurities out.  Now, the icky part is... you've got to be careful because inside these seeds, there are a lot of bugs :S So even after you de-seed it (the green colour core is bitter), you have to remove the bugs painstakingly one by one.  This is the most time consuming part of the cooking.  If you chuck em' all in without picking carefully, your loved ones will get extra nutrients in their soup ;) nice Halloween trick tho'.
• Lily bulbs - soak a handful in water to remove the impurities.  Lily bulbs are very hard when they are dry but when they get cooked, they become really delicate.  So it's really important for you to put it last before the melon, otherwise they'll disintegrate and make your soup really chalky and cloudy.
• Yellow cane sugar

What you need to do is:

• Cut melon and set aside
• Soak all the other ingredients but blanch the lotus seeds, de-seed and worm out all bugs (eeyuck!) and set aside
• Bowl water in the pot - how much is really up to you - my rough gauge was the ingredients should take up about 1/3 space of the pot.
• Once the water is boiling, throw in the white fungus and yellow cane sugar.  I only used one 5cm diameter size cane rock sugar because I wanted the ingredients to absorb some sweetness but not have the entire pot to taste diabetic.  
• Boil for half hour then add in the lotus seeds and continue on medium heat for another 40 minutes.
• Then add in the lily bulb for 10 minutes and then add in the Hami melon and bring to simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat.  Avoid stirring so that the melon doesn't disintegrate.  At this point, you can add in more cane sugar, depending on how sweet you want it to be.  The Hami melon which I got was really sweet and yummy so I kept it light.
• Then tada!  Good to go!  Personally I think this makes a really light and refreshing cold drink even though you can have it hot.  It's up to you :)

What health benefits you get?

• Hami melon: Vitamin A and C
• White fungus: Improve blood circulation, and strengthen respiratory system. It is also said to have cancer fighting and anti-aging properties.
• Lotus seeds: Good source of protein, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus with cooling properties with calming effect and reduce blood pressure.
• Lily bulbs: It can soothe a dry throat, relieve a cough and aid with heart palpitations. Good for dispelling body heat. Awesome for someone who's recovering from a cold :)

That's all folks!  Make it and make it with love :) x

Strawberry Jam Monday.

Because everyone complains about the blues on the first day of the week, I've decided to combat it with something cheerful and sweet.  So here goes:

First you need some strawberries, a lemon, some gelatine and sugar.  I wish I bought 'riper' sort of strawberries which are also more reddish than these ones.  Cause it really does give a better colour to your jam.  If your strawberries look like these, your jam will turn out to be more pinkish than red.  And in case if you don't already know, red (or the same family) is the colour that makes all food look more delicious (hence, most food brand logos have some kind of red).  So, ya try to find 'redder' strawberries if you know what I mean :)

And then you squeeze a lemon into a bowl.  You probably only need to use 1 or 2 tablespoons of lemon, depending on your personal taste.  I used 2 tablespoons to a mountainful bowl of sliced strawberries, but I would have taken it a notch down still.  Maybe 1 and half would have been sufficient.  Don't forget that strawberries have their natural sweetness and sourness too!

Add strawberries, lemon juice and sugar (I used half a small bowl - which is already too sweet for me!) into a pot or saucepan and cook em' strawberries, mash em' strawberries, stir em' strawberries till they are mushy and gooey like the picture below.  Keep stirring cause you don't want it to burn.  Best result using non-stick pot/pan otherwise good luck in your aftermath.  While you have one hand stirring the pot, you need to use the other hand to prepare the gelatin mixture.  Pour 1 tablespoon of gelatin into a bowl, add cold water, mix em' and let stand still for about 1 minute before adding into the pot, stirring constantly.  Oh yea, pretty much like a kitchen circus - two hands motion.  Reminds me of Karate Kid - wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off.  Hehe.

When everything is well-mixed, bring to boil and turn off the gas.  Let the jam sit for about 5 minutes and scoop away the foam on the top.  Once it's cooled down a little, you can fill em' into little jars :)

MMM MMM MMM :)~

See, I bet if I used riper or more reddish fruits, it'd look even more enticing.

My jars didn't have a cover.  So what I did was to wrap once with cling wrap and secure with a rubber band.  Then used some pretty origami paper (cut to perfect size) as a cover.  If it's homemade, it cannot not have a cottony sort of ribbon right?  

TADA!  できたよ！

Once the jars cooled down, you can then put them in your fridge and the gelatin will harden and you'll have a jelly texture!  If you prefer compote sort, then forget about the gelatin.

I tried.  It tastes like... strawberry jam.  Hehe.  Sweet and sourish.  It's my first time so, to be honest, I don't know how well I fared.  I made peach jam before when I lived in Japan and that was absolutely yummy!  Well, I only have two jars, so if you want one just let me know.

The entire procedure took me 2 hours which trust me, I spent MORE time decorating the jars than really cooking it.  So be encouraged, it's really not that difficult and can actually be really fun.  And nothing beats the satisfaction of looking at your end product :)

Though I have to say, a jar of jam outside costs less than 5 bucks and I think I spent 30 plus on the ingredients.  Economically speaking, it may not be the best viable option if you treat strawberry jam as a commodity.  But for your family to eat healthier (no preservatives) *ting*, to enjoy creating something out of love *ting*, to de-stress yourself from work (or any other stress inducing situation) *ting* and to be able to share this with others *ting* - now that's definitely worth more than RM5 ;)

Have fun boys and girls, have a jammy one!  x

Homemade 'chunky cashewnut butter with honey' ♥

Homemade stuff is really a joy - both the process and the outcome.  Finally got the chance to work on #thepeanutbutterproject and here's to share with you :)

First you start by making sure you have all the right ingredients.  Roasted cashews (you can use peanuts, or whatever nuts you prefer), some salt, butter and honey.

 First, blend some cashews into small chunks and then set them aside.  I later added them back into the blend to keep em' chunky :)

Then blend the rest of the cashews.

Till fine.

Add butter, honey and a tiny pinch of salt (cause roasted nuts usually are salted already).  I won't say how much but I just kept adding, and tasting, and checking the consistency of the texture.  And keep blending.

Till you get like a paste like this and it's about done!  Add back the chunky bits and hit the processor one more time.

Then spread it on~ nyams.  It's a little dry because I didn't add any oil.  I thought it'll make the whole paste oily instead of smooth like Skippy.

And last but not least... TADA! できた！

Homemade is good.  While the texture and flavour might not be something familiar (like Skippy) but imagine minus-ing all those unnecessary additives from your daily diet, one small step at a time?  Spend some quality time this weekend with quality produce :)  Enjoy your own cashewnut butter today! ♥

Recycle your reed diffuser.

Since time slowed down a little, I tried to pay more attention to the little things that make living a little more creative :)

It came like the above but I made it mine like the bottom:

That was to replace the long-gone-smell reed diffuser that I have.  I got the 'Edgar Allan Poe' replacement from Sundays that smells absolutely sweet and lovely :) I recycled the one that I have, removing the out-dated stickies and glue-y stuff (you can get a bottle of Glue Remover from Homefix), and renewed its look with dainty lace.  Just add fragrance and a few reeds and viola!  Good as new :)

I'm on leave today.  That's why.  Ahuh ;)

Have an awesome Labour Day tomorrow! x

Inner garments.

A lot of people have been asking me of late, how to recycle this, how to recycle that and the best part is... no one knows.  Except for paper, bottles (plastic and glass) and aluminium cans.  Even these three items, we're not sure how they are recycled (or processed) but we definitely know how to get rid of them.

So how do you get rid of stuff?

Well... I'll try to find out as much as possible on how to get rid of your general stuff by first avoiding the landfill. Unless absolutely needed, we will not recommend you to bin it (which as you guess, will end up in one of the many bursting landfills in Malaysia).

So, today we will share on what's the best way to recycle your inner garments.

1) Underwear both male and female, adult and kids - because of hygiene purpose, most unfortunately you don't have a choice but to throw them away.  Unless, you have a better suggestion?  (That does not include flipping them over your head and rob the neighbour :Pp)

2) Bras for female - we've contacted a couple of notable lingerie brands and only three came back to us (Xixili, Sloggi and Triumph - we suspect the latter two are connected so the answer is pretty much the same).  They'd recommend you to call a recycle association to check instead but if it's still wearable, drop it at Xixili's boutique (however, they did not mention if it's only exclusive to Xixili brands only - still awaiting their response, so check this space for more information).  As for Sloggi and Triumph, both answers are the same - if they are still wearable, donate them to charity or Salvation Army.  If you google 'recycle bras', you'll also realize how creative some people can get, but... you know what?  Let's keep arts and craft to arts and craft :)

3) Inner thermal wear (or Long Johns) - definitely definitely definitely, people need this in cold countries.  Unfortunately, we really have no answer right now as to which is the best organisation to donate them to, other than Salvation Army.  My suggestion would be... the next time you're travelling to a cold country, bring them along and drop them for charity there instead.  The good thing is, you'll magically create extra space in your luggage for souvenirs :)

Well... hope the above helps.  Next time, we dispose something else :) responsibly

How to reduce paper towel usage for greasy stuff?

Caught this from Lifehacker :) Happy greasing! :D

Clean Grease With Newspaper (and Stop Wasting Paper Towels)

After reading this tip about saving paper towels, reader tdub97 shares another great tip for keeping your consumption down:

Another great way to stop wasting paper towels is instead of using layers of them to absorb grease after cooking fried foods, take a few pages of newspaper and top that with one paper towel. Then put the bacon, or whatever you want to degrease, on top of the paper towel. The towel absorbs the grease, which is then sucked down and absorbed by the underlying newspaper. This not only conserves paper towels (newspapers are a lot cheaper), but it's also is a great way to repurpose old newspaper…Eat bacon, Save a Tree!

What to do with used 'ang pows'?

If you're an avid traveller, then this is the perfect idea for you.  I usually keep all my notes and coins in the same pouch.  Albeit organised, but still cumbersome when I have to pick out the right currency when I'm beckoned to travel.  I keep the Japanese Yen in a separate wallet altogether to save trouble, but the rest was just... :S urgh, especially when it's difficult to differentiate between Cambodian and Thai coins :P

So, here you go.  I'm reusing the 'ang pow' packets from last Chinese New Year to categorise them into countries.  The packets are deep enough to also keep coins, so there you go :) No more picking the wrong notes and getting stranded in a foreign land!

*tada*