Cornish pasty

I experimented these tonight after watching 'Jamie's Great Britain' cooking show. The Brits called it Cornish pasty, the Malays called it Karipap, and my son called it Dinosaur curry puff.

I used Martha Stewart's pie crust recipe. For the filling, I used carrot, pumpkin, onions, beef and chicken (separate batch) and salt, pepper to taste. My daughter had fun as well making star shaped cookies.

The pasty was a little bit dry and too biscuit-y to my liking. My husband suggested that I reduced the baking time. The pumpkin worked extremely well with the pasties. Next time I may add a little gravy to the mix. All in all not bad for a first try. My son, as usual appreciated my effort the most and encouraged me to watch more cooking shows. Ouch!

I made 14 of these dino puffs. I liked that they looked rustic. Those with green dots are beef filling.

Had them with left over alfalfa sprouts and cherry tomatoes.

Sunday dinner

We made these for dinner today....

Selection of sandwiches:

Garden herb dinner buns with tuna and alfafa sprout filling

Whole wheat bread with philadelphia cheese and cucumber

........

Romaine lettuce salad with olive oil and mustard vinaigrette

.........

Peach and banana trifle

.........

Watermelon and celery slush

A simple, satisfying dinner after all those exercises (squash, swimming and gym) earlier in the day... 

Random post

A Daughter Like You

You're my daughter, 

and I'd just like to say, 

You bring me joy, 

each and every day. 

Whenever I think, 

or look at you, 

I know I'm blessed, 

that's wonderfully true. 

You're very special, 

thoughtfully care, 

A helping hand, 

always willing to share. 

You're always determined, 

to achieve what's in your mind, 

Thinking of others, 

you're actions are kind. 

I shall admit, 

we're a wonderful team, 

To have a daughter like you, 

was my ultimate dream. 

by anitapoems.com

Decorating my son's bedroom

Another old and simple project I did for my son's room. 

Bought wooden letters from craft shop. They were like 2 to 4 ringgit each.

Lined them up on newspaper. Spray-painted them.

Stick them on the wall. Done!

I added the wall stickers as well (need to be changed soon as the boy has grown up). The bedside table was left by the previous house owner. It was originally boring brown. The wood is solid, heavy and good. I gave it a matte black paint and stenciled the numbers. The bed came from the lady who gave us the cupboard and other stuff. It is metal with wheels, like hospital beds. We have two, one in my daughter's room which I painted white. I'm planning to sew bedding for him. The fabrics are patiently waiting in the sewing room. Ralph Lauren's bedding will be the inspiration.

Tale of a cupboard

It's been a while since I blogged. 

I've been wanting to post this old project which I finished almost 2 years ago. A friend of my mother-in-law gave this away to us (along with other old furniture in the house!). To cover my embarrassment, I gave her a little money for their junk but my treasures. 

Cutting the story short, this is how the cupboard looked before. This is a typical cupboard Malaysians used to store food in those days before many could afford a fridge. My mom had one as well, with green mesh door. I remember checking for food every time after coming back from school. Sadly, the cupboard perished with nature.   

It was left untouched for a few months as I was contemplating whether to paint or keep the colour. It had seasoned brown varnish. Very retro. Very nice. A part of me said that I should keep it that way, it was a vintage piece.  Another me thought that it would make the house dark.

Me and I finally reached a decision. Maintain the original colour in the inside, but enhance the external with white paint. I replaced the original mesh doors with glass. We are both satisfied with the finished product - light and airy.

I fixed Laura Ashley's crystal door knobs which I bought in England (couldn't find ones in Malaysia). It now stores my pretty Wedgewood china collection (which I (will) never use).

Here are more recent shots. I have added more decorative stuff.

By the way, we call it 'gobok' here in Johor, Malaysia.
What are you 'diy'ing this weekend?

More polka dots..

Can't get enough of spots? Here's more pictures. They are so cute.. it is a pity to keep the pictures to myself.

My favorite

This fabric is more expensive
- RM9/metre. I bought it since the
cheap version doesn't come
in yellow. 

My hub's favorite. The colors remind
me of an old skool, kampung
snack I used to have as a kid.
Can't remember what it was. 

Aisya's favorite. 

So which one is your favorite?

Polka Dot Birthday

My baby turns 7 today. She requested for a birthday party at school. I planned for a low key one - just a cake and party bags. For the theme, I chose polka dots. It was a coincidental decision since I happen to have lots of polka dot fabrics - thanks to my fabric obsession. Last two years was polka dot craze at Nagoya store. It was cheap - RM4/metre, so bought a metre of every color available.

I made party sacks from the fabric. It was a last minute decision - 2 days before the party. Aisya was worried when I said I was going to make, instead of buying them. I told her not to worry, it is easy peasy and promised to show her a sample. Such a client she was.

So here's the before picture. The mess was a lot worse than this.

Ta dah!!!!... cute aren't they? Each fabric was cut 18 x 9 inches. Fold the fabric in half and sew the inside out L shape. The top is cut using pinking shears to avoid fraying and also for the look. I sewed ribbons on the sides. The fabric is quite stiff making it uncomfortable for clothes but perfect for crafts like this.  

Here's a peek of the contents.

So after a few hours, this is the result. A basket of jolly good fun. Thank God there's only 22 kids in her class.

Her classmates singing the birthday song at the school canteen. The girl in light blue should have got an award for singing with the most emotion. Fyi, she did ask for a second serving afterwards.. haha..

Aisya playing Santa giving away the party sacks in her class.

Her present at home waiting for her to come back from school.

Her grin when seeing what's inside after ripping off the wrapper like crazy....

Yessss.... a doll house! A weekend project for us to do together. It can be decorated with paints, furniture, curtains, etc... endless creative opportunities to keep daughter (and mommy) occupied.

 Happy birthday Aisya... may you have a blessed life...