silly gal

swollen eyes

crimson nose
teary cheeks
sobbing soul

w a k e u p
to the truth
no one cares
no one loves

Simple Pavlova

Pavlova

Simple Pavlova with Lychee, Pineapple & Red Currant

 Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract / beans from one vanilla pod
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 500ml heavy cream
• 6 kiwi, peeled and sliced / 500gm strawberry/ any tart fruit you like.
• extra vanilla beans for the cream (optional)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually add in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy. Overbeaten egg whites lose volume and deflate when folded into other ingredients. Be absolutely sure not a particle of grease or egg yolk gets into the whites. Gently fold in vanilla extract, lemon juice and cornstarch.
3. Spoon mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper. Working from the center, spread mixture toward the outside edge, building edge slightly. This should leave a slight depression in the center.
4. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.
5. In a small bowl beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form, fold in vanilla beans if using any; set aside. Remove the paper, and place meringue on a flat serving plate. Fill the center of the meringue with whipped cream, sweetened if desired. Top whipped cream with fruits

cat and canary

c.a.t - haiku

the cat that ate the
canary, lust for much more
i told her enough

layers of him

getting to know him

is like peeling an onion
layer by layer
you learn, you study,
you envy, you idolize, you cry

levels of intricacy
the deeper i go
the darker it gets
reaching the core
i soon realize
he was weeping too

breath

i woke up feeling lost

with this choking emotion
gripping through my soul
it was your voice that
i have been missing
the o2 i have been breathing

reset

can we go back to time before

when you are my tormentor
and I am your muse
when everything is simple
no gray, no heartache
just you and me
two kids on the playground
frolicking in the depth of life

guiltrips

as my head touches the floor

laying prostrate upon the all mighty
tears rolled down my cheeks
sobs wrecking through my soul
is it not right to search for happiness
wrong to live your dreams?
then why guilt is the only thing
i am not feeling right now.

soulmade

this hunger I have

the craving of the mind
it began in the soul
fusing with the sensual wants
feeding my consciousness, my essence
i am now almost perfect
was it a soul mate?
nah, those are just for the delusional.

w.r.i.t.t.i.n.g f.r.o.m t.h.e h.e.a.r.t

I have been inspired to write again recently, To properly write, from the heart, from the depth of my soul.

For the past week I've been doing a bit of it, just a few lines here and there but they are too private to share, too personal.

I'll try to get the juice flowing & maybe someday someone will be able to share them with me.

Here's to those who inspire me, you know who you are.

BBQ Recipe

Athene’s BBQ Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

1000 ml tomato ketchup - one of those in packet should fine

1 cup store bought bbq sauce* - preferably something with smoky in it’s name (optional)

1 cup chili sauce – time to clear all those not too tasty one

1 kg of onion – diced coarsely

10 cloves of garlic - smashed

3 green apple – skinned + coarsely grated

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup brown  sugar – packed

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. mustard powder

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. herb of choice – I use rosemary if it’s for lamb, otherwise thyme/oregano or Italian mix is ok

1 cup of cola

2 cups of h2O

Salt to taste

Oil for sautéing

Steps

Heat oil. Sauté onion + garlic until translucent, add the grated green apple. Stir until apple is soft. Add bay leaves + all the dried herbs. Cook until aromatic, making sure they don’t stick to the pot.

Pour in the ketchup + sauce if you are using. Add vinegar + brown sugar. Mix well. Add water & salt. Cook until it boils.

Turn down the heat to a simmer, add cola. Gently simmer until the sauce thickens + does not taste very acidic anymore, occasionally stirring to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pot, scraping the sides as you go. This usually takes about 1 ½ hours.

Correct the taste, adding more salt if required.

Remove from heat. You may want to remove excess oil at this point. Cool sauce.

Freeze for long time storage up to 3 months since that is a lot of sauce!

*if you happen to have liquid smoke in your ladder, lucky you, use it!

BBQ Ribs

Ribs should be at least 3 bone sized. Place ribs in a pot, fill with water until it’s barely covering the rib. Add ¼ cup of bbq sauce to every kg of ribs. Cook on high heat. Once boiling, turn to a simmer. Cover pot, cook until tender, depending on how much you are cooking, this can take anything from 2 hours to 4 hours. Remove meat from liquid, reserving some to add to the bbq sauce used for basting.

BBQ Chicken

Place cleaned chicken in a pot, barely cover with water. Add ¼ cup of bbq sauce to every kg of chicken. Cook on high heat. Once it reaches boiling stage, let it boil for about 3, then remove pot from heat. Leave chicken to cool down in the liquid, this way the meat won’t dry out + remain juicy.

To BBQ

Reheat bbq sauce. Add some stock left over from the boiled meat. Simmer until thick again.

Setup your grill. When the coal turns to ember, put on the meat, grilling until it sizzles + golden. Turn once. Baste with sauce. Repeat as many time you wish, I triple-baste.

Serve hot. Bon appetit.

So what's your internet history, how has it touch your life?

15 years ago next month, I got my 1st email & internet account with Jaring. The 1st person I emailed was Redza at  Columbia Uni, NYC.

So much has happened since then, I learned email, websurfing, IRC. Met someone there, dated my soulmate & got hitched to him within 7 week. It's been wonderful & I enjoy every second of it & am looking forward to what else the net has to offer. What triggered all this trip down memory lane you may ask? I just found my old Celine Dion- Falling Into You CD & it's playing on the stereo now. That CD & Radio Music was my constant companion during all those late nite chatting.

*the top part was supposed to be a status update, but as usual I got carried away, so here's a note*

I wonder what ever happened to my old Undernet #warung, #mamak, #penang pals now, the few I'm in touch with has done very well for themselves - jpg & onedge. So where's diZz, joelabi, scopenk, ennie, drag, landlord, itik, che, soon, tab, tabdad + those Cardiff kids that used to troll Malaysian #channels to release exam tension (a million apologies for banning Cardiff IP that few times :Þ) And then there was Tening who sent me a postcard from every city in Europe she traveled to during summer despite having chatted in #mamak only a few times - mananged to finally hook up with her on FB in '10. My search to re-connect with Ennie @ Anita Salleh from Singapore has come to nil, the many emails I sent to all the Anita Sallehs of SG I could find thru google has come to nought. Would really love to get in touch with her, she was like a sister to me during that few 'tumultuous' months post ID4 ;)

I was a self-proclaimed internet addict, finally weaned myself by going net-free at home for a year back in 97' while settling down to married life! Missed a few net fads, some much regretted, other gladly.

1998-2001 was the newsgroups years, met many wonderful intellects in soc.cul.malaysia that really broaden youthful my mind. Ahmad Sayuthi, a big fan of Pink Floyd and who's just tied the knot with his soulmate , here a big hiho to you.

'Refomasi' years came & went, it triggered my interest in local politic in ways never imagined by people around me. Then on to blogging where I got to 'know' and became followers of Pokku & his children, Kak Teh, Mak Andeh, PakPayne, Atenah, Elly, Awang Goneng, Rocky Brew, Kickdefella, MGG Pillai, SakMongkolAK47, Marlinda & Thea, Mamasita-Mamamia, MM's Ranting plus many more - ah... the list is endless.


Didn't bother much with social networkings, Yahoo group was just for high school group, a hit& miss with Friendster. Then Facebook got me end of 07'! It rekindled numerous friendships from RRGS (1), MRSMBP, college days, IRC, newsgroup & I found many long lost relatives. I made friends with so many more and got to know my idols from blogs personally.

I now blog occasionally, sometimes tweet, Facebook almost *uhuk* daily, do internet banking & shopping, have an online business, using Streamyx at home. Use my mobile wifi/3G for emails, surfing and ermm... the tiniest amount of Facebook *wink* when on the road.

It's been 15 years for me, and YES I'm still an addict, and NO I will not give it up again, EVER!

So what's your internet history, how has it touch your life?