Shhhhhh...Miya (and Mama) Busy Creating Masterpiece Ni

Yummy Recipe of Soy Goodness

Among my favourite food, most of them would be made out of soy. Truthfully, as a child, I really hate anything with soy, except for kicap. But as I grow older, my body have always craved for soy based food; Soymilk, tofu, miso soup, vege burger and many more.

Tapi bila dah lama duduk merantau ni, dah lama tak merasa air soya. Dulu boleh beli air soya segar tiap-tiap pagi on the way to work. Kat sini mana nak cari, daaa..Ada yang jual kat supermarket dah siap bottled tu la. Tak best, takde feel...

So I decided to try make some on my own.

Mula-mula, soak about half-kilo of soya bean overnight or for about 10-12 hours. Ada some people suggest to soak them up to the max of 18 hours, nak bagi betul-betul lembut and a quick tip here, make sure tukar air rendaman ni every 4 or 6 hours (depends on cuaca kita). Ini akan elak dari air tu mula berbau. Kalau air berbau, air soya ni takkan menjadi.

Then drain the beans and blend them with some water, mixture of 1 cup of bean to 3cups of drinking water.

Once its all done, we can start letting it simmer slowly to a boil. Sambil-sambil dia mula mengelegak tu, we scoop out all of the scum or foam yang terhasil.

After dah scoop all of the scum, it will look a bit like this.

Bila dah naik bau, boleh masukkan perisa (vanilla bean/daun pandan/ halia) dan gula (merah/kabung/raw sugar).

Matikan api bila the soymilk dah reach kepekatan yang kita suka.

Biarkan dia suam kejap, then tapis guna cheese cloth or muslin cloth.

Now your soymilk will look as yummy as this.

Okie now....what to do with hampas soya tu. Mat salleh panggil tu "okara". Some used them to make vege burger and for a larger scale, diorang bagi makan kat binatang ternakan. However, my MIL gave me an interesting suggestion, buat CEKODOK.

So I tried mixing it with sikit tepung (binding agent supaya dia tak brittle), egg, air, garam, ikan bilis and daun bawang. With all mixed until I reached the consistency of a vadeh punye mixture, I deep frying them.

Inilah hasilnya....Sedap oooo.. Crispy outer and soft inside. Memang macam kacukan vadeh+cekodok. Colek pulak dengan cili sos yang manis cam cili sos lingham or colek keropok kelatan. Peeeergh.....

The best part, tak rasa bersalah sangat makan deep fried food ni sebab dia penuh khasiat..Muahahhahhahahha.... Suka suki aje buat alasan nak makan evil food.. Hahhahaha....

Reminder: Stroller related accident.

I just read this news on "the Age":

MEGAN LEVY, May 26, 2010 - 12:46PM

A baby boy has survived after he was hit by a train in Melbourne’s south-east this morning.

The 15-month-old was in a pram that rolled off the platform at Tooronga railway station in Malvern about 11.15am.

The city-bound train hit the pram and pushed it along the train tracks, but remarkably the baby escaped with only minor grazing and bruising to his face.

Paramedics arrived to find the boy conscious, alert and crying. He has been taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital in a stable condition.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said the baby was with his grandmother and three-year-old brother at the time of the accident.

‘‘The grandmother didn’t see it. One minute the pram was on the platform, the next it wasn’t,’’ Mr Bentley said. ‘‘The child is incredible lucky.’’

Metro spokesman Chris Whitefield said the train involved was the 10.56am city-bound train from Glen Waverley.

He said it was travelling at a very low speed at the time.

The train was held at Tooronga station while a replacement driver was found, and delays of at least 50 minutes are expected on the Glen Waverley line.

"Obviously it’s shocking for all involved," Mr Whitefield said.

The boy is the second child to survive being hit by a train in Melbourne in less than a year.

-last year punye case pulak was a combo of baby, stroller tak put on brake & angin kuat.

- so apa lessonnya?

- syukur each time ada case gini, budak tu tak teruk sgt injure. rasa cam ada guardian angel lak kan?

Boobfeed obsessed Baby?

Miya Busy Tau..

Orang suruh tolong buat laundry, dia ngelat pulok.

HOW TO MULTIPLY YOUR BABY’S INTELLIGENCE? (Part 6- Homeschooling by Professional Mother)

Things to dive in as a professional mother to start homeschooling your child:

1) Respect & trust your child in the learning process. Eventho kita cikgu, we hold no absolute power. It takes 2 to tango.

2) When in doubt, believe in you child. I know kita akan tertanye, “ye ke anak aku paham & belajar ni”. Percayalah, dia absorb apa kita teach.

3) Always tell your child the truth. Kalau anak tanya benda, answer it honestly, factually & penuh semangat. So kita kena bersedia berilmu la sebelum nak mengajar tu. Anak kita bijak, kalau kena klentong. Nanti dia takkan respect kita as the teacher.

4) Don’t hesitate nak express your opinion too. Example anak tanye kenapa kita kena solat or baca doa. Kita jawab ikut hukum, ikut apa yg fakta tentang solat and bg tau opinion kita napa penting kita solat & berdoa. In away anak akan faham akan kepentingan & applikasi. Same goes for reading & counting.

5) Kenal pasti when is the best time to teach. Tengok mood & see apa yg sesuai to teach according to that mood.

6) Set the best environment to learn too. Kalau nak belajar thru video, on video. Kalau nak read, off TV or jauhkan dr gangguan. Kalau nak do math or paint, its ok to put on some classical music. Kalau kluar shopping or run errand, ajar dia the process & steps, ala-ala class trip gitu.

7) Set proper learning duration. Kalau anak dah tunjuk gaya bosan or mula hilang attention, do something else or rehat.

8) Kena tahu cara mengajar kena ikut age and keep the “classroom” alive. Yang penting, kita kenali pace anak kita camne. Kalau dia senang catch up, boleh cram more things. But kalau kita sedar anak kita slow skit, ringankan subject tapi banyakkan repeat.

9) Learning material. Google & learn before you teach. Then never limit the media of learning. Do papers, video, physical activities & even PC games or Wii.

10) Organization & consistency. Ni mmg a bit susah for me coz I teach ikut mood Miya. But from my reading, janji daily tu ada a focus subject, kira ok dah tu. The more we apply, the better it can do to our kids.

11) Testing- Jangan buat exam. But soal semula somethings kita pernah ajar. Contoh, anak tanye kita why is the sky blue or the trees green and kita dah explain all about it. So kita test dia buat-buat cam tanya as if kita tak tau. See how far dia boleh jawab.

Overall kena ada KESABARAN in educating these eager spirits....kan?

-summary of what I read in Glenn Doman's book.

Some more cerita masak-masak..

This week I tried making.....

Nasi Dagang; beras ni my Mama bawa dulu.. kena try masak gak....

Since takde steamer, I pakai tapis besi letak atas periuk as my steamer. bijak tak..bijak...huhuu..

Quick tip here, beras nasi dagang ni kena rendam semalaman, kalo tak nnt berzaman la kena tunggu stim nak lembut. I think maybe dia catagory brown rice, like other brown rice, dia cam kering2 skit kan?

So nnt nasi ni di masak cam biasa la with fenugreek, onion, garlic, halia & santan. lg lemak lg best...huhuhuhu..jahat...evil...

As for the kuah, selama ni I masak takat level assistant chef kat kampung. Ikut aje arahan apa Mama suh buat. So ni 1st time buat sendiri-sendiri...Hantam saja.

Mula-mula, rebus ikan dengan gula melaka/kabung and asam keping for about 30mins. Then biarkan dia mesra semalaman.

Esoknye baru tumis the usual stuff (cili kering, garlic, onion, lengkuas, halia, jintan putih, jintan manis). Tumis til garing & masukkan ikan & air rebusan from semalam tu.

Bring it to boil & masukkan santan. Then kalau nak pedas ikut cita rasa, masukan cili padi sebijik2, jgn pecah/potong.

Now just simmer til sampai kepekatan yg kita suka. Sebelum matikan api add salt.

Ni cara my mom & grandma buat. But truthfully, time I buat ni, warna & kepekatan dia tak best, so I tambah 2 sudu serbuk kurma. :D terus menjadi..hahahahha...

Strawberry & Cheese Tart; Pretty simple, but my crust tak sedap sgt. I think terlebih air..so kurang crispy. But the lemakness of the cheese compensate for whatever is lacking..Jahat......Evil...HUHUHUHU..

Meatball Sandwich; first buat meatball (mincebeef+tuscan seasoning+chopped onions+splash of lime juice) & then masak dlm italian tomato sos (ala2 sos spageti tu la). Let it simmer til kuah jd pekat.

Then susun atas roti, topped with cheese & masuk dlm oven kejap til cheese cair & roti garing.

Nikmat.................

Ni la yang I dah cuba this week..Malam ni cam nak try masak korean meal lak....

HOW TO MULTIPLY YOUR BABY’S INTELLIGENCE? (Part 5- Early Education Will Make the Kid Bored Attending Primary School?

Over years, there has been a myth about "Early Education Will Make the Kid Bored Attending Primary School". How far is this true?

Some mothers ask "If I teach my child to read/write/count before he goes to school, won't he be bored when he goes to school?" or a familiar phrase we commonly hear among malay moms “Kecik-kecik ni pegi sekolah, nanti bila masuk darjah satu dia dah takmo pegi sekolah sebab bosan”.

This question is easy to answer....school is boring.

Tak kisah la subject apa yang anak akan belajar dari darjah satu sampai tingkatan lima, if the teaching method is too text book and got no indication of it’s application to daily life, ANAK SURELY AKAN BOSAN.

Unless....... she goes to an extraordinarily fine and very unusual school (sekolah yang tak guna common learning method or syllabus outlined by the ministry of education), you can bet your butts she'll be bored in school.

If she's very bright, she will be bored in school. If she's average, she will be bored in school. If she's not very bright, she'll be bored in school.

Generally,memang sekolah ni membosankan for kids. Even I as adult masih teringat betapa bosannya sekolah ni. Mendengar cikgu mengajar, cuba make sense apa cikgu cuba mengajar ni, mencuba latihan yang cikgu berikan, and then mengeluh bila cikgu bagi homework.....hmm....

So the question here is not "Will they be bored?" Diorang memang akan bosan punya lah.

Sepatutnya kita tanye, "How can one deal with boredom?" or “Apa kita bleh bantu untuk pastikan anak kita tak bosan belajar di sekolah?”.

Actually children deal brilliantly with boredom, and the brighter they are, the better they deal with it. From what I understand from buku Glenn Doman, he said that kalau anak kita bijak berfikir, dia akan bijak mencari cara untuk hilangkan kebosanan dia. Dia akan cari solution instead of just complaining about it.

This is also part of the stuff I mention in my previous post, where anak yang bijak akan ada kurang attitude problem, sebabnya dia bijak berfikir akan solution or cause and action. Dia tahu, takde maknanya kalau dia put up attitude because it will not bring solution, malah akan mendatangkan more problem.

Dengan cara ni, walau sebosan mana anak dlm kelas, dia akan cuba sedaya upaya untuk approach the study in another way to keep her interested.

Yang pentingnya, now we must be a help to them in dealing with boredom. Jangan biarkan dia bosan and stress seorang diri.

Sementara anak kita belum masuk sekolah lagi ni, kita try all kinds of method yang boleh keep our kid interested in learning. Kalau anak kita attention span kurang time kita homeschool dia, cuba pikir macam-macam cara to keep them interested. Contoh; while we teach them counting with object, dia mula tunjuk bosan, tukar method to something else. Try ajak main kejar-kejar or panjat tangga while counting tambah tolak. Or maybe we can ask them to draw 5 apples and 2 banana, then ask what is the total numbers of fruits dia dah lukis. Janji kita dapat attention anak untuk belajar mengira in 1full hour.

Care to share what you're doing to teach your kid on how to deal with boredom?

I have mixed feeling about stopping breastfeeding Miya, but..

I love breastfeeding Miya. All I know its a free milk which is the best that the world can offer.

However, I'm worried about families & friends being judgemental over this matter.

I know ikut Islam, it takes 2 years to complete the child's breastfeeding needs...but nothing says it's a sin to continue breastfeeding a kids above 2years old.

Then I came across this article by Dr Sears. http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Feeding/Ask-Dr-Sears-Extended-Breastfeeding----Handling-the-Criticism

Very comforting, but will it help me to fight off those "judgements"?

What say you?

Cerita Masakan Lagi

Bagus gak dok overseas ni kan, nak tak nak I kena gak masak. So in a way bleh la improve skill sikit. Kalo kat Msia tu, teringin aje masih bleh jalan-jalan cari makan.

Best part, anak dara I ni fussy eater, kalau bila Mama dia masak lain dari lain, higher change untuk dia makan banyak sikit dari biasa.

So apa new stuff yang Mama try masak?

Pasta Campak-campak...Mula-mula serve to Miya dia punye expression cam "eee apa ni..banyak vege..eeee". Tapi lepas sesuap, licin satu pinggan dia bedal.

Hottie in Puffy, Sausage Tomato Basil Wrapped in Puff Pasry (ALDI brand, guna tanpa was was). Very simple to make coz everything is frozen, I just have to wrap it & bakar.

My 1st attempt in making Rojak Singapore. Papa Miya teringin, maybe rindu kampung halaman la tu. Never tot senang aje nak masak kuah dia. Rebus keledek til empuk & then blend. Then 1/4 cup water+ 1-3 sudu kecil serbuk cili, bring to boil. Masukkan blended keledek tadi. Masukkan kacang yang dah di tumbuk. For tasting, pour in lots of sugar & a bit of salt. Kalau ada bijan, just toss in a bit. I didnt have any, so tak letak. So just let it boil til reach kepekatan di sukai hati. Dah siap...

Rojak for Baby Bear

Rojak for Big Bear

Sup Kambing!!! Great dish for winter times.

I tried cooking Mee rebus, but using rencah instant my mom bawa from Malaysia. Kinda nice. I rebus beef ribs till empuk. Take out the daging & gunting kecil. Masukkan rencah dalam air rebusan, masuk daging & potato. Then continue simmer until potato hancur & kuah jadi pekat.

Mee rebus for baby bear. Tak pedas, so selambe Miya bedal licin.

Mee rebus for Big bear, kena letak cili kicap la..kalo tak, tak terangkat....

Lasagne Yang Jahat - Lasagne sheet dia sikit, yang banyak tu daging, bechamel sause & cheeeeeeese... Tu yang takde rupa hemsem lasagne, rupa evil food.

Evil Indulge: Choc Cuppy with peanut butter & 100's 1000's.

Steak Dinner? I just learned on how to cooked a perfect steak. For a 1inch thick steak, on high heat, sizzle each side for around 6-8mins.

Yummy steak for Papa Bear

Yummy Steak for Mama Bear

A lil something for Baby Bear

Pulut ni favorite Miya & Papa Miya. Mama Miya tak reti masak ni, slalu masak tak menjadi. Ni la 1st time masak agak perfect.

Pulut Baby Bear

Pulut Papa Bear

Ni Frankie in Blankie, very simple recipe & takes 10mins untuk bancuh + 10mins to cook.

This is a snack I enjoy di zaman sekolah rendah dolu-dolu. Fish cake thinly sliced, cucuk on a stick & letak sambal on it. Superb!!