Month: June 2009

Organic Farming

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Over the weekend, my husband and I checked out an organic farm in JB.  It was actually really close about 30minutes from the causeway.  While it isn’t Banyan Tree, it had a rustic charm about it, enough to know that there’s some place close I can go to for my farming fix 🙂

That’s the farm house we stayed in.  Bunk beds and shared bathrooms isn’t for everyone but I loved the fact that it was clean, very clean.  The thing I love about farms is how your prespective on grocery changes.

Do you know it takes 9months to grow 1 pineapple and each plant only bares 1 fruit?!?!?!  I can’t imagine the Dole pineapple orchard.  From left to right, it’s a dragonfruit flower, which will give way to the fruit eventually.  The said pineapple that takes 9months to grow and organic lady’s finger, a personal favourite of mine.  The thing about fresh lady’s finger, it’s sweet and no slime.  The slime starts to build up once you pluck it off the plant.  What’s a farm without animals, right?

The cows are reared to eat the grass and have their poop use for fertilizer!!  How’s that for being sustainable?  The ducks were so cute, it seemed like they were all connected by the same soul.  They all turned in the same direction at the same time.  The other natural grass cutters were the goats who are so domesticated that they actually walked up to us for pats.

Here’s a sunset of the lovely weekend where I was reminded what quiet truly is 🙂

Revenge Of The Fallen

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So yah, the story wasn’t great and yah, Megan Fox looks a little different but the visual effects was truly truly stunning.  So much so you believed that there ARE robots in disguise.  I left the cinema very tempted to check under my car for the Autobot logo >_<

Yes, I have a crush on Optimus Prime :p  I still have a soft spot for Bumblebee but Optimus is sexy … if you can say that about a robot.  I would love to meet the key animator/s for Optimus one day.  Meanwhile, I may even catch this on the big screen another time so that I can relish the effects again … and I can’t wait for the DVD so I can analyse the sequences frame by frame.  It was really that good.  I can’t quite seem to gush enough about it.  I dare say, I prefer it to the first one.  The scene where Bumblebee first appeared gave my goose bumps.  The fight between Optimus and Megatron … action porn at it’s very best.  It was all about the robots.

If you’re looking for a story line, no this movie isn’t quite for you … seriously though, talking robots, do you really need a story line? Some people may say yes and I guess, that’s why all the reviewers are dumping on the movie.  I say, get real, it’s robots in action, let’s not take it too seriously and enjoy the hard work of about 300 visual artists.

Anyone needs company to catch Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen?

Pasta in Tomato Sauce

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I never thought tomato sauce could taste so amazing but after 16 days of NO tomatoes.  The first  pasta with tomato sauce was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

My first bite was an explosion of tastes.  So much so I wasn’t quite sure what hit me and before I knew it, I had finished the whole plate.  As I sat back in my chair, I started thinking about how absence makes the heart grow fonder and it couldn’t be more true with this diet.  That got me thinking, how easy it is to take the very simple things in life for granted.  Like tomatoes, how your other half wakes up first so you get to sleep in an extra 15minutes, how your sibling bought your favourite dessert without asking, how your parents paid your latest phone bill because they were on the way to pay theirs, how your friend picks up the tab because you saving for a new home, how your colleague covered a meeting because your boss is overloading you … the very simplest often goes unnoticed.

A life’s lesson from a plate of pasta and tomato sauce.

I’ll have to remember to say thank you for the simple miracles in my day … even if it’s just in my head 🙂

Haircut for 2009

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I wanted a bob.  Sure, it’s a little boring and I’ve done it before but I really wanted to lop off my already long hair for a bit of a change.  So I was all ready to take it off but let’s just say my stylist wasn’t.  She never wants to cut my hair, she’s pretty sure that it wouldn’t work for me … even though, I’ve done it and know that it somewhat works.  I let her convince me to perm it 🙂  Yes, I basically wanted a change and thought, what the heck?  And for only the second time in my life, I got a perm.

I forgot to mention, I have straight hair genes.  The first time I did it, it was pretty much straight a week later.  This time, I did it in the evening and watched a movie, I swear it was straighter after.  So I’m only hopeful the curls will hold.  Meantime, I’m learning to deal with them … as shown from the picture, I truly don’t know what to do.  Advice?

State of Play

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These are the days of rapid action sequences and special effects so it’s easy to see why a film like State of Play can be easily forgotten.  I enjoyed it though.  It’s one of those conspiracy type storyline that makes me wish I was in the military or home affairs so I can actually get involved in some cloak and dagger thing.

Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck plays a journalist and a congressman who share a history of sleeping with the same woman and sharing a room in college.  Friends who now have to rely or make use of each other to save their respective careers or the American people.  My head just couldn’t get around how Russell Crowe looks more like Ben Affleck’s college professor than roomate.

Other than that, I completely enjoyed Helen Mirren’s take of the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Russell’s character works for.  I love it when she swears :p  So if you want something to catch before Transformers 2, catch this.

Post 16Day Diet

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It’s official.  I’m happy, very happy thinking that Pete’s in parasite heaven enjoying all the things he’s been missing out in the last 16days.  It was good while it lasted … actually, no it wasn’t, I’m so happy that a virus can go around the office and I won’t have to succumb to it.

So day 17, my dear friends in the office enjoyed a celebratory lunch with me.  We went to Da Paolo at Cluny Court where I had not 1 slice but 2 slices of pizza!!  Yummmmmm … tomatoes … mmmmmm

After lunch, I had an orange and pineapple juice.  It was simply D.I.V.I.N.E. Needless to say I was happy happy happy 🙂

So happy that I was all excited to make dinner.  That’s because the last 16 days I was dreaming of making a two bean salad but didn’t since the recipe calls for lemons and tomatoes.  So I made it, then I was craving balsamic vinegar and made a simple leafy salad too.

Yumm again.  I’m sure Pete is as happy as I am 🙂

Revenge of the Fallen

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Maybe because I know how hard it is to make it all look so believable … that’s why despite the reviews of a shoddy storyline, I’m still excited about Transformers 2.

I’m especially excited about the increased close up shots of the robots’ faces ‘acting’.  That’s what I love about the craft of animation, how seemingly lifeless images are given life through nothing else but the sheer imagination of the animator.

Who needs a gripping story and plot when you’ve got giant robots fighting?

Day 16 of 16

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It’s the end of the parasite!!!  At least, I’m hoping it is.  My doctor’s appointment isn’t until Thursday and if it’s still in me, I’ll be christening it Pete :p  So for my last day of the diet, I had brown rice puffs for breakfast.  I’m still enjoying it and will probably have it a lot still.  Lunch was rice and steamed veggies (eggplant and zucchini).

I was really unmotivated for dinner … that and all I could think about was noodles or bread … so I just threw some rice into left over soup stock for a surprisingly good porridge 🙂

Coriander and chili padi always gives anything bland the kick it needs.  Can’t wait to make this with soy sauce.  Just one more sleep 🙂

Day 15 of 16

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I don’t eat tough stuff … except for nuts maybe and I haven’t that for the last 15 days so when I woke up with a chipped molar … I realised the grinding in my sleep is slowly but surely wearing down my teeth :p  So breakfast was over soaked rice puffs, which made me realise the cold rice milk affected my tooth more than the chewing of it :p  Lunch was my successful bee hoon, veggie adapt from my Gran.  Still thinking about it with ketchup.

When I came home, I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner … didn’t have any particular craving except toast, tomatoes and noodles … of course not in that specific combination, I asked my husband what he felt like eating and guess what?  He wants curry again 🙂  He hardly ever requests any of my cooking :p  So curry it was again 🙂  Especially for Kiapkiap, here’s the recipe:-

Ingredients:-
Garlic, about 5 cloves
Ginger, about the size of my thumb (that’s a pretty average size thumb)
Small onions, about 4
2 tablespoon of curry power
Coconut milk, about half a cup … this is pretty much to personal preference
Salt, to taste
1 eggplant
1 carrot
1 cauliflower and in Kiapkiap’s case 1 broccoli
About 8 lady’s fingers
About 2 cups of water

Direction:-

  • Chop up the garlic, onion and ginger, you might like to blend it all together too
  • Heat about a teaspoon of oil
  • Fry the garlic, onion and ginger once your whole kitchen smells all yummy fry in the curry powder
  • Add in the chopped veggies
  • Add some water
  • Bring to boil to cook the veggies then simmer till preferred level of cooked veggies i.e. depends on how much you like your veggies to be cooked
  • On simmer, add the coconut milk
  • Once everything is all mixed in, it’s all ready to be served

And two nights in a row, we had yummy curry for dinner … now I want to find a good veggie green curry recipe.  Tomorrow is the last day!!!!

Day 14 of 16

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I can actually see the finishing line … and am actually thinking about what to eat on day 17 :p A sandwich for sure, I’ve never craved so much for bread!!  For today, I actually had my failed bee hoon for breakfast … don’t waste 🙂  It’s not so bad though I wouldn’t make it again.

For lunch, I made pasta salad … I can’t wait to make a tomato based sauce :p  So yes, I’m trying to deal with the recurring dishes that when dinner came around, I was determined to make something with a kick.  That only means CURRY!!!

This was my BEST curry yet.  I finally figured out the right mix and understand my Grannies and my Mummy when they say cooking is all about FEELING.  It was so yummilicious, my husband finished it all!!  Just as a point of reference, he hardly ever does that with my curries, just my Mummy’s curries 🙂  So day 14 came to a lovely end.  I’ll be making this again for sure, think it’s even good enough for my friends!!!