On the Road

Have you been in this situation before? It was raining cats and dogs and I was following this overloaded lorry. Phew..

Eating Out

Bitten by a promotion bug, my daughter kept on suggesting to us to have dinner at an outlet. Apparently, they're having a promo whereby, the meal inclusive of a drink costs RM10. So off we go to their Nilai outlet last night. We ordered 5 promo meals and a drink. The dinner was fine. I had the barbequed chicken with rice and salad, plus of course the ice lemon tea. When the bill was paid (it came up to about RM60), then only I remember my previous post on 'How much can you buy with RM60'? Geez... RM60 for a meal compared to RM60 for a few days food.

What Can you Buy with RM60?

Here's the list of food items that I bought with roughly RM60 at Nilai wet market and a sundry shop in Taman Semarak this morning.
1. 1 whole chicken (RM13)
2. 3 ikan selar (RM5.50)
3. 1 packet of mee kuning
4. 2 carrots (RM1)
5. 4/5 limes
6. 5 buns
7. 5kg of rice
8. 1 bottle of juice
9. 1 small refill packet of Milo.

Well, some of the items will be gone in 2-3 days (eg the buns and mee kuning). I still need to buy carrots since my vegie plot still could not sustain our daily consumption yet...or maybe, i need some variety to add to the dish.

It needs some deeper thought I think, when I read a byline in the NST (July 13,08) on Feed The Poor. Here goes: If you think skipping that one fancy meal is a sacrifice, imagine having to send your children to a shelter home because you can't afford to feed them.

Labour of Love

I read with interest an article in the NST on Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar, the Tunku Puan Pahang, having her own vegetable plot. But what makes me smile is the fact that she uses a toy tiger to ward off wild monkeys from invading her vegies. What an idea. I've seen these toy tigers being sold but never in my mind to have it as a 'guard' to my garden. That brings back to mind the use of 'orang-orang' in the padi fields. When I was younger, I used to live in the District of Kerian, the rice bowl in North Perak. Could see this orang-orang from afar in the bendang to fright off the birds. Toy tiger, orang-orang, now what else can we use to 'guard' our plants?

Raja Segala Ulam

Antara sayur-sayuran di 'kitchen garden' saya, yang paling subur ialah ulam raja (Catalogue 1)

(cosmos caudatus). Dah banyak kali dipetik. Agak cepat juga pertumbuhannya. Mula disemai dari bijinya dan kemudian naik merimbun.... Sekarang ni dalam seminggu, 1 atau 2 kali kami sekeluarga berulamlah. Bunganya berwarna keunguan/kuning,kecil.

Mengkudu (cat. 2) atau morinda citrifolia, daun yang muda pun dicelur dan dibuat ulam. Cuma rase pahit sikit. Pokok ini kami tanam dalam pasu (itu sebab buahnya agak kecil sahaja). Tak nak ianya terlalu merimbun sangat. Seingat saya, semasa dalam pantang, daun mengkudu pernah diguna untuk membalut besi tungku!

Kedua2 pokok ni nampaknya tak diserang serangga perosak...Senang nak jaga.

Jack of All Trade?

I'm no Amy Beh to cook up a storm in the kitchen. Neither am I coming close to those celebity chefs but hey, I'm the lady of the house, meaning I'm the cook to the whole family (though the other half do take over the duty when he's in the mood...).
With the recent increase in fuel price, there goes up the price for almost everything, food included. Creativity as opposed to frugality is the in-word now as to what to cook and how to save. And oh, it's becoming a great challenge to be a housewife in this too-dependent-on-fuel era. You've to be a Jack of all trade....

Nay, I'm not going to fight using these utensils.

1. The Jack that needs to come up with something from the leftovers in the fridge. Ideas anyone?
2. The Jack that needs to combat the garden pests that are trying to destroy my edible garden. (will share on my laman later)
3. The Jack that needs to come up with a recipe that evolves around things at home without having to go shopping for just one or two items.