Good Food, Great Company

The arrival of Mak Yang "Wiz" aka Ija, Mak Da "Wid" aka Ida and family memang sudah lama dinantikan and when they finally confirmed their "Amazing Race Tour" spanning across 4 countries, we were ecstatic indeed. Kesudian Fasha, our cyber friend and her son, Noah yang tersangat comel itu travelling all the way up from Stuttgart to Hannover added to the joyous atmosphere. Siapa sangka perkenalan yang bermula dengan kiriman daun kesum dari Fasha and the occasional hi over the blog grew into a solid friendship, InsyaAllah especially since Fasha is also a friend of Ija. Kalau dulu cuma cyber friend, bila jumpa in person memang seronok especially since we immediately bonded very well.

The few days that they were in Hannover were days full of laughter and yang paling seronok was when we watched "Mamma Mia"...drooling over the guys dalam cerita tu with feet tapping and singing along the evergreen tunes. Dah tengok a few times pun masih lagi excited. Apart from that of course la we stayed up doing the gossips and giggles round. The weather was awful, asyik hujan ajer so they didn't manage to go sighseeing sangat except for a short walking tour of the town of Hannover, Schloss Marienburg (castle) and Pied Piper's town of Hameln.

On our way down to Swiss we stopped by Fasha's house in Stuttgart for breakfast. We had lovely, lovely mee goreng....seriously sedap such that Iman had 5 helpings of the mee. The sambal ikan bilis was also a winner, Syirah couldn't stop eating that sampai Mama buat muka tak malu minta tapau lagi. And the pièce de résistance is of course Fasha's dalcha/ kari ayam, made on the spot. Sungguh sedap and boleh makan tanpa guilt sebab this dish tak pakai santan. Colek dengan roti Arab...yummmm...Mama cannot stop eating this and tambah berkali-kali on the pretext of nak suap Hakeem...hee...hee.... Bila Fasha bekalkan some to take along with us on our Swiss trip, sengih from ear-to-ear.

The Swiss trip was out of this world. We were looking for a "Heidi" experience and what we got was more than what we bargained for. I remember when I first searched for accomodation and discussed it with Ija, she said.."Kak Yong...the older the hut the better". So when we arrived and discovered there was no indoor plumbing - no sink to wash dishes, no modern toilet (we had "jamban" ala2x the one yang dalam cerita Slumdog Millionaire tu....euwwwww....), terkedu jugak la sekejap. Dalam berkira2x macam mana nak tahan wee-wee and poo-poo for the next 2 days, we discovered we can use the shower and toilet dekat rumah the owner, some 200 meters away up the hill....phewwww....Alhamdulillah, at least boleh juga "buat bisnes" in peace without worrying whether our b*nt*t will be bitten by bugs crawling from the hole in the ground although nak sprint up the hill to get to the modern toilet ada risk akan dikokak dek anjing owner tu.

To sum up the Swiss outing, it was one of the best trip ever for us walaupun back to basics kind of atmosphere. Memasak guna kayu api but with Master Chef Wiz around nothing is impossible. She whipped up cheese-topped scones and caramelised banana pizza drizzled with melted Daim chocolate bars for our breakfast...sangat sedap. The scones tasted better than the normal modern oven-baked ones! The first night we had Fasha's dalca and sambal ikan bilis cicah with roti plus garlic bread with fresh mushroom soup. The next night pulak we had roast chicken with jacket potatoes. Semuanya sedap...what more can I say? Good food, great company...rasa tak nak balik. Ija's laling, Azam was so smitten by the life there that he actually offered to work as a farm hand for a year there much to the chagrin of Ija who said that garden yang sekangkang kera kat rumah kat Malaysia tu pun tak terjaga ni kan pulak nak jaga lembu, ayam bagai! Azam kata "Ni Swiss farm mahhhh... fresh air, great scenery, no hal punya!"

Time sure flies when you're having fun! The day that they left us for Birmingham was much dreaded. Entah bila pulak la nak these cousins of the Bedah clan can sleep-over and have a great time macam the Assam Kumbang days when we were young without any worries. Now dah ada treler kat belakang and most of the time at get-togethers you can hear our anxious shouts (Bedah ladies ni ada common trait....paranoid!) to the kids amidst the giggles that we still indulge in. Must, must organise Family Day soon bila balik Malaysia nanti!

Fasha and cute little Noah yang dah lepas bed time tapi still lawan mata tak nak tidur sebab the other kids masih lagi melompat sana sini.

Welcome dinner. We had nasi tomato, daging hitam, kari udang, jelatah and Fasha's sambal tempe.

Apple pie, custard sauce and vanilla ice-cream for dessert.

The stuff that Ija and Ida brought for us dari Malaysia. Sungguh guilty sebab they had to drag the very heavy bag for more than 1 km due to the strike in London, tengok la acu kueh cara pun ada and oatmeal??? They asked me...."Kak Yong, kat Germany tak der oats ke?". Adaaa..tapi sini punya tak sedap.

Wiz and Fasha depan the Schloss Marienburg, some 30 km from Hannover. The castle is closed for winter, so bergambar kat luar jer.

Noah and Adnin seronok main Wii. Paling seronok tengok Noah main boxing. Siap kaki pun naik.Dah boring main Wii, main kereta Hot Wheels masuk dalam vuvuzela pulak.

In front of Fasha's apartment in Stuttgart. Botnang is a really nice area to live in, so peaceful and cantik.

Tucking into our breakfast. Licin semua, thanks to the wonderful host.

Yummy cake filled with cream cheese and berries made by Ija. Low fat too so boleh makan without guilt. Nanti kita mintak resipi kat Ija and post it here yer, isnyaAllah.

Fasha's dalca. This is really scrumptious. Fasha expert, dia main campak2x jer ingredients and garam tak bersukat pun but the result...superb! Makan dengan roti Arab, roti canai, nasi minyak semua boleh. Very healthy too packed with protein and vege sans santan.

Noah and his elder brother Danial.

The ladies' farewell photo session.

Bergambar di belakang apartment Fasha dengan labu yang comei2x.

The 3 cousins. Mama's cousins perempuan are really like sisters to her. We had the time of our life.

As Ija said it...ballerina wannabes of yesteryears.

Tak der sink nak basuh pinggan kat dalam rumah so kenalah basuh kat piped up natural spring water kat luar. Beku tangan sebab the water sangat, sangat icy cold. Kena boil water dulu to get rid of all oily residue, kalau tidak minyak2x tu semua beku bila come into contact with the cold water. Mama tolong lap pinggan while plonking herself on the road. Since dekat Swiss, lap pinggan pun kena ada gaya.

Abah has this craze for loceng lembu.

The sleeping area dekat attic. So cosy and warm walaupun heating is via kayu api only.

Surprisingly ada lagi buah raspberries walaupun dah well into autumn.

Kandang lembu dia very well organised and walaupun busuk it was bearable sebab sejuk kut so wap tu tak naik. Lembu2x dia semua besar bagak with bells around their neck. Comeiiiii......Malam2x dengar kling-klong, kling-klong bells tu bunyi. We bought fresh milk from the farmer and it was so fresh, sweet and milky. We made hot chocolate with it, just hot milk and cocoa powder...yummm...

Nak cari kayu...nak cari kayu....our very own tukang kayu.

Tukang kayu malas nak cari kayu jauh2x dan telah mengelat mengambil kayu yang tak cukup kering lagi sampai susut stok kayu tu. Esoknya kena reprimand dengan the owner.

This is how we cooked, pakai kayu api and the black-bottomed pan masuk dalam lubang tu.

This was supposed to be ayam for nasi ayam but since balik dari Luzern dah penat and ingatkan nak try buat barbeque kat luar (tapi fail sebab we couldn't get the fire to start...tukang kayu fail la...), ayam itu selamat di panggang di dalam rumah. Makan dengan baked potatoes yang dicampak dalam api beserta nachos and cheese/salsa , sungguhlah sedap. Masa bakar tu asap berkepul2x keluar melalui tingkap and pintu rumah sampai owner tu turun dari rumah dia and tanya we all "Problem???". Kelat jer muka dia bila tengok we all berbarbeque di dalam rumah.

Scones in the making

Cheese-topped scones, sauteed mushrooms, sausages.

Scrambled eggs, scones and caramelised banana pizza drizzeled with melted Daim chocolate bar.

Good food, great company, perfect weather, breath-taking scenery, superb combination for an unforgettable holiday.

This is the hut that we stayed in. The scenery was awesome and the weather was perfect with lots on sunshine.

The cute chicken coop is sandwiched between out hut and the much bigger kandang lembu.

We wanted to take the old-fashioned cog-wheel train up Mount Pilatus to let the kids play with some snow but upon learning that tak ada snow kat atas tu, tak jadi naik. Ticket pun mahal at 64 Swiss Francs per person.

At the foot of Mount Titlis in front of the cable car station which was supposed to take us up. Unfortunately it was closed for maintenance. If not, it would have been perfect as the clear skies would ensure spectacular view and the kids could have played with snow at the snow park 10,000 metres up.

Selepas frust tak dapat naik Mount Titlis we made our way to Luzern to get some souvenirs.

Sungguh cantik the sceneries...picture perfect!

Dekat tepi lake near our house in Hannover

So sedey....jumpa lagi...till we meet again....Auf Wiedersehen...... Au revoir....

Simple Menu

This is the first time since we're here that we have keli masak sambal. Ingatkan tak ada kat sini rupa-rupanya ada jual in frozen form in one of the Asian shops. Kalau kat Malaysia Bibik will cook this at least twice a week sebab ramai yang minat. Happy to note that the humble Cik Keli has loads of omega-3 fatty acids like its more glamorous cousin Cik Puan Salmon.

Simple spicy chicken soup ala-ala Tom Yam. Just tumis bawang-bawang putih-halia blend, few spoons of cili bo sampai naik minyak, add in chicken, vege, water, asam keping, daun limau purut, daun ketumbar, garam sikit and few spoons of low-fat yoghurt. Supposed to be Mama's diet all-in-one dish tapi just look at the minyak swimming around, so Syirah said...diet haper kebende Mama?

This is Hakeem's (with choc chips added) and Abah's (plain) favourite. Been using this recipe which yields a very moist banana cake. Here's the recipe :-

Banana Cake V (recipe from allrecipes.com)

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter (I used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup vegetable oil)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sour cream (I used 1/4 cup Greek yoghurt as that's what I have in my fridge)
1 cup mashed banana
1 1/2 cups cake flour (I used normal tepung gandum)
1 tsp vanilla extract
(I added 1/2 tsp salt)

Direction:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs and beat well.
3. Dissolve soda in the sour cream and add it to the butter mixture. Beat well.
4. Add mash bananas and mix in.
5. Add cake flour (with salt added) and mix well.

6. (I divided batter into 2 portions - 1 plain and the other added a handfull of choc chips as requested by Hakeem)
7. Pour batter into a 9x9 inch pan and bake at 350F (175C) for 45 minutes or until done. (I baked mine exactly 45 minutes)

Baking Weekend

This weekend paksa Syirah belajar masak laksa, her first attempt with Mama's guidance. Abah, the laksa connoisseur kata sedap. Next time Mama can just holler....Syirah...buat laksa! Mama can goyang kaki tengok TV. Gambar laksa tak sempat nak post here sebab sedap sangat Syirah masak, habis licin.

Meantime, I also tried 2 new recipes. The recipe for Congo Bars is from Kitchen Guardian's blog (thanks KG!). I don't know her personally, merely through her blog. Her recipes are tried, tested and absolutely yummy. I've been making her version of Devil Chocolate Cake too. Anyway, back to them Congo bars, they're so very sedap. Imagine Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice-cream in a baked version and a cross between brownies and choc chip cookies. I bet my darling Jaja will love this as she likes soft choc chip cookies. Will definitely make loads of this the next time she's here.

Imagine eating this warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream......mana la love handles tu nak menghilangkan diri!

Congo Bars (with many thanks to Yani of kitchenguardian.blogspot.com)

2 3/4 cup plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter
8 oz (1 1/2 cup) light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (optional)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
Stir brown sugar into softened butter (room temp) in another large bowl until butter dissapears.
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg.
Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well.
Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.
Bake in a 13/9 inch pan at 170C for about 30 minutes until top is golden brown.
Make sure you don't overbake.

RED VELVET BEETROOT CAKE

I have been wanting to bake Red Velvet cake for a long time. This recipe from allrecipes.co.uk was given to me by my SIL (thanks Ani!). This original version using beet root as part of the ingredients is also a keeper. The outcome is a very moist, flavourful cake with wonderful reddish brownish colour.

Ingredients :
2 tsp lemon juice
135 gm beetroot, boiled and grated (I used bottled ones)
310 gm plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate soda
400 gm caster sugar
50 gm unsweetened cocoa powder
285 gm unsalted butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbs honey
125 ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
(I added a tsp of red colouring for the extra colour)

Icing :
3 tbs cream
75 gm cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
450 gm icing sugar

Method :

1.Grease one 23x33 cm or similar sized baking dish. Preheat oven to 180 C/ Gas 4. Sprinkle lemon juice over beetroot, set aside.

2.Combine flour, 1 tsp salt, bicarbonate soda, caster sugar, cocoa, melted butter, eggs, honey, milk, 2 tsp vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Stir in beetroot.

3.Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed of mixer. pour into prepared dish.

4.Bake at 180C/ Gas 4 for about 40 minutes. Cool and frost.

To make frosting, combine cream and cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla and pinch of salt. Add icing sugar, beat until fluffy. Spread on cake. Add nuts if desired.

Walking down a lane called Memory

This was our unit at the students' apartments

The best fish & chips at the Quayside Sunday Market, tambah2x it's been ages since I had the authentic English ones complete with soggy chips and mushy peas...this definitely adds to my existing love-handles and muffin tops!

Tak tentu hala dibuatnya tengok second-hand English novels going at 3 for 5 pounds at the Quayside Sunday Market. Managed to hangkut 6 of them thick ones. Wished I could buy more than that tapi takut overweight bag, dah la naik Ryan Air. Dekat Hannover susah nak dapat English story books.

Hakeem rubbing salt into Angah's wound.

Since we put up a night at Premier Inn Manchester Trafford Centre which is very near to Old Trafford, singgah sekejap just to snap some pictures. We didn't go for the stadium tour sebab dah pernah masuk dulu2x. Hakeem sajer nak bagi Angah jealous coz Angah yang teringin sangat nak pergi.

We had this as dessert at the ice-cream shop Moonlight opposite the beriani place. This one is called faluda... vanilla ice-cream topped with rose syrup and pink cendol. A bit too rich for my liking but since it came highly recommended we had a go at it, share 3 orang. The various ice-cream flavours are good though, Hakeem loved his mint-choc chip flavour until he saw the bubble gum ones.

This truly is the best nasi beriani ever, way...way lagi sedap dari those served at the restaurants in Malaysia. The rice is so flavourful that makan sajer pun sedap. Having it with close friends like Hj Khairy and Rose and their family makes it more memorable. Restaurant dia Al Jazeera di Manchester kecik jer and very unassuming.

Abah habis hati catching up with his Surau and golf buddy Hj Khairy dari Subang Jaya and Mama with his wife, Hjh Rose.

Prices for seconds at these 2 factory outlet stores (Wedgewood/ Portmeirion) are amazingly cheap. If you have an eye for mixing and matching discontinued items/ slightly imperfect items you'll get a full tea/ dinner set at a steal. A Wedgewood soup tureen by Vera Wang that cost 150 pounds are priced at only 18 pounds but then you have to look for other pieces from a different design to complete the set. Rose and her daughter Hani memang pandai look for bargains and artfully mix-and-matched them.