Cookies Weekend

Last Sunday Mama and Syirah had a jolly good time baking cookies at Mama's colleague's house. Beate was welcoming the start of the Advent Sundays with the baking of Christmas cookies and lighting up the first of the four Advent candles and invited us to join her in dishing up delectable gems to be eaten during this period. It was a cosy affair which ended with a German board game while sipping hot tea and munching cookies fresh from the oven. Bliss...

The first candle was lit.

Various shapes of cookie cutters which the girls enjoyed experimenting with.

Beate's daughter, Robin and Syirah were entrusted to make Spitzbuben all by themselves from start to finish but they didn't quite finish it.

Nasib baik Beate ada 2 mixing bowls, so just queue up for the mixer to do its magic.

Hasil kerja tangan Robin & Syirah. They were happily rolling and cutting their first batch of cookies dan seperti yang dijangkakan, lepas tu both of them vanished to the garden playing with snow and trying to save some fish in the small pool in the garden by moving them to the deeper section. So the mumsies had to finish their job including the other cookies below.

Kokosmakronen aka Coconut Macaroons (kind of like a meringue cookie made by beating egg white, sugar and mixing in loads of dessicated coconuts)

Spitzbuben fresh from the oven waiting to be dusted with icing sugar.

Vanille Kipferl ready to be "ngap-ed". Rasa macam biskut Ma'amor kita but crunchier.

While the mumsies berminyak-minyak muka busy cleaning up, the two girls were clowning around below.

We had fun playing this. Can't remember the name of the game but it's about building up your collection of old cards by going to the auction house to buy them using a cheque or by using your thief to steal them..ho..ho..ho... but be careful ada detective engaged by your opponents who can catch your thief and put him in jail! Robin won this game, Mama got 2nd placing.

2 tins of cookies for us to take home. I must say we like both the Vanilla Kipferl and Spitzbuben...crunchy and nutty without being too sweet. The Coconut Macaroons were a letdown. I suppose it's unfair competition considering that we are not a great fan of coconuts.

Christmas cookies dia sedap jugak. Nothing fancy schmancy stuff like biskut Raya kita but can be very addictive especially the Vanilla Kipferl and Spitzbuben. Easy peasy nak buat, just dump everything dalam mixer until a soft dough is formed. Then shape as one pleases. Hakeem finished almost all the cookies except for the Kokosmakronen that Beate bekalkan for us in one sitting when we got back to the house. Dia suruh buat lagi, so next weekend we'll make more and Hakeem will get to join in playing around cutting the cookies into shapes and eating loads of cookie dough which he loves doing. Mana la budak tu tak chubby! Ini recipe kalau anybody nak try buat.

Vanille Kipferl

140 gm butter
50 gm icing sugar
70 gm ground hazelnuts
210 gm plain flour
2 tsp vanilla essence/powder
some vanilla sugar and icing sugar for dusting

1.Mix all the ingrediensts together except for the sugar for dusting until soft dough is formed.
2.Using hands, shape dough into crescents.
3.Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown.
4.Remove from oven and dust with lots of vanilla and icing sugar while still hot.

Spitzbuben

375 gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 gm sugar
1 pack vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla essence
120 gm ground hazelnuts
250 gm butter
1 egg white
150 gm jam or gelee of any flavour
icing sugar for dusting

1.Mix everything except for the jam and icing sugar for dusting until dough is formed.

2.Rest in refrigerator for 1 hour.

3.Roll out and cut into shapes using cookie cutters.
4.Bake at 180 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden brown.
5.Remove from oven.
6.Put dollops of jam/gelee between cut out cookies, press them down together and dust with icing sugar.

Cake balls anyone?

Had a tub of buttermilk about to expire the next day so cari-cari recipe yang gunakan buttermilk. Found a chocolate cake recipe that needed just that, so dapat pulak cake yang teramat besar sizenya. Then had an abundance of chocolate cake pulak...what do we do with it? Easy peasy cake balls....kinda like truffles.

The very sememeh and messy-looking balls, dolled-up with the couverture and sprinkles

Alamak.....these had jerawat batu, lopak2x and freckles. Don't be fooled by their apperance though, cuba ngap satu dalam mulut...yumminess! Yang plain ones ni are for Mama's colleague and German teacher.

Red Velvet Cake Balls (source : bakerella.com)

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake) (I substituted with leftover chocolate cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.) (I made normal cream cheese frosting for carrot cake)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate) (I used couverture but any brand cooking choc will do)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

Note : one can also add some leftover ganache to the crumbled cake mixture instead of the cream cheese frosting. This version is aptly named "Death by Chocolate Balls".

The variations are endless...plonk them on sticks they becomes Cake Pops. Coat them with couvertures of different colours, sprinkles and what nots and let your imaginations run wild!

Hakeem is eight

Hakeem had his 8th birthday recently. How time flies. When he was born he weighed a mere 1.7 kg being a premature baby, his skin was all crinkled and dark. His cousin who came visiting said that he looked like a dark malnourished Sudanese baby...kecik hati Mak Long tau....but look at him now! He's the fairest amongst his siblings and he's grown tall and fat...alamak! Makan and mengunyap junk non-stop sampai Mak Yang Wiz pun terkejut. Must really put him on a diet. Kecik2x ni cute la with the baby fat all but takut nanti dia dah terbiasa and develop into obesity tambah-tambah he doesn't indulge in outdoor games sangat, asyik mengadap internet games and gelak mengelekek tengok si Annoying Orange tu! What little physical exercise yang dia buat is his school indoor football and weekly karate session. Here's wishing Hakeem menjadi anak yang soleh dan beroleh kejayaan dunia dan akhirat.

Hakeem decorated this cupcake himself

This lot was brought to school to be shared with his classmates along with party packs. He's been asking for a home party tapi Mama malas la.

Hakeem couldn't decide between a Wii and a Nintendo DSi so Mama made the decision for him. Wii it is sebab boleh orang lain pun main termasuk Mama yang heboh kata nak exercise tapi sampai hari ni tak buat-buat jugak.

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....