Getting into the Spirit of Things

Long title, short post.

Yuletide approaches, and you can bet that BooBoo and family are all for it!!

Well, it's mostly me, actually :) BooBoo is just the reluctant cutie I get to hang the Santa hat on.




Unfortunately BooBoo will be spending XMas at the Angel Vetenerians. As much I would really love to I can't afford to bring my baby home with me :(

But we'll make sure he gets Turkey and Ham Friskies and a present (a Mushroom House, perhaps, is under serious consideration).


Counting down!!

KK Snaps

We took this trip in August, a really nice mini-getaway.

Kota Kinabalu is the capital of Sabah, which is unofficially probably the most beautiful of all the states in Malaysia.

This is the only big city where the coastlines are devoid of rubbish (think Penang and JB), the waters are clear right up to the fronts of the hotels lining the street.

Thanks to Starwood points, we stayed for free at the Le Meridian. We took a day boat ride out to Manukan and Sapi islands. It is totally worth the Rm200 we paid, which included a jetski rental for half an hour. I totally recommend the jetskiiing in the middle of the ocean, where the waves are bigger and you can thrown off as your ski takes on a life of its own bouncing over the waves like the Captain Hook in the Peter Pan cartoon.


Lobster Mornay, the real thing.


Big FAT Ginger Clams, so-so only. I personally prefer the smaller species, and fried in sambal.

Fishes (so many!) at the jetty on Manukan island.

We also bought dried scallops - two large packs (almost a kilo in all) for eighty bucks - total bargainl; a basket for magazines, and shopped at One Borneo, which is like the Mid Valley of, well, Borneo.
Swimming+snorkeling, (jet)skiing, shopping, seafood - really, one does not ask of more from a three-day getaway.
Definitely looking forward to the next mini trip.

Home Anew

FINALLY

It took us an entire month, but now we have finally moved the last of our stuff from the big old ugly house.

The complaint I have (I have accepted it, though) is that the kitchen is no longer big and bright and airy as it once was.

But the whole point of moving was because I was sick of taking care of a big, crumbling old house of which we only used 40% of. So, this is small and cosy and, basically, enough.


I mentioned before that I bought some artwork from Penang - nothing fancy or really exquisite, just some things that I fell in love with.

They're still in their plastic wrap, which is partly why the photos here don't do them justice.

Etchings on recycled paper:

Mother and Child

Washing Hair

And inks depicting the Streets of Penang:

Campbell Street Shophouse

Cheah Kongsi

I haven't found the perfect frames for them yet, nor have I decided where to place them. They have booked a place in my permanent home, whatever it is, whenever, wherever.

The BEST Burgers EVER

Let me start by saying that the above quote is not by yours truly. It is by my food experiments guinea pig, AK, who gamely swallows what I conjure up and tries his best to give constructive criticism whilst I hover over him, eyes narrowed, demanding feedback as payment to my feeding him.

The burgers were made with stewing beef cubes, minced using my hand and a knife (when I told AK I hand-minced the meat he literally had a mental image of me karate-ing it into submission).

Then, onions are sliced and softened slightly in a few tablespoonfuls of bacon fat, then cooled and added to the meat.

Flavouring the patties are French Sea Salt, Maggie Seasoning, freshly ground black pepper AND some coriander seeds, freshly ground in a pestle and mortar and then sifted over to remove any larger bits.

To bind, an egg, and the bread I froze from a few months back and whizzed in the processor, as well as some organic oatmeal.

With the meat, the onions and all the bacon fat (the bacon fat is key, so the more the merrier), the egg (use only as much as it takes to bind, with the liquid fat it might take less than one egg), crumbs and seasonings, then left to rest and meld in the fridge whilst I take a break to watch Nigella Lawson on TV.

After a few hours in the fride, shape into patties about an inch thick (how wide they are is really a matter of choice). Leave to rest and get to a warmer temperature before cooking them.

Then, a wide and thick- bottomed nonstick pan on high heat (I suppose griddle would be good too, but I don't have one). Preheating of the oven to 200 degC. Prep a baking tray by covering it with foil and a spritz of oil (any oil).

A little bit of fat in the pan, then on go the burgers, just a single layer, no crowding and they're not supposed to touch each other in the pan. Make sure they get nice and dark, dark brown (that's flavour and the sealing of the juices). Flip/turn them and get the other side seared. Repeat as necessary.

Place the burgers in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until they are cooked through.

I like mine inRamlee-burger fashion, wrapped in a liberally peppered omelette with no cheese (except maybe a really mild, gooey one like mozarella, but no cheddar please), on a lightly sweet toasted potato bun. AK likes his with the works - a sunny side up with the yolk still running, and molten cheddar cheese. With this one, I wouldn't want a chilli sauce or ketchup to muddle up the deeply savoury taste.

Tommorrow We MOVE

So tommorrow we will MOVE!!

Hope BooBoo's up to it, my fat little baby.

I've arranged for the movers and the lorry, the electrician to come and move our aircon and astro dish (VERY important). I also ordered a new aircond and a TV console.

Here's hoping that AK's coming for real today. We've had two false hopes already, I think a third one will have the poor guys jumping of the Endeavour and swimming for shore!

The World's Naughtiest Cat

This fat little fella has both traumatized me and stole my heart.

Today I'm too traumatized to relive the tale, but just to remind myself why I have him, I've posted up these funny pics.