A funny thing happened last Friday and Saturday... I was suddenly possessed by the ghost of Nigella (mana2 lagila chef pompuan kat dunia ni) and being the domesticated goddess for the weekend, I decided to cook.... get this.... Nasi minyak, ayam masala, dhalcha and pudding jagung for iftar malam tujuh likur (malam 27). Meanwhile yesterday, I cooked my famous brownie (i have baked quite a few times now and is always a hit with everyone)... But there's good and bad news to it.. So here's the story....
For those of u who know me, I'm sure you guys know that I am definitely not one who is always busy in the kitchen... I seldom cook (self confess to the whole world) but eversince I got married (or maybe after having kids and will be moving to Perth) it suddenly hit me. I have to try and cook something. Hence my latest obsession with cooking... So what Im' trying to say is, for those of u who do not know how to cook at all (i was/still am in the club), it's really not that hard.. The hardest part is to 'pekakkan telinga kalau kena kutuk' and never, ever give up. Cakap senangla kan? There are times where I felt like giving up (sebab kena kutuk 'baik punya') and these are the two stories that I wish to share..
First Story: ayam masala, etc
I got the recipe from Mamiyah. Never in my life have I imagined being able to cook NASI MINYAK tuh... haha.. jadi ok?? it wasn't that hard, really. The ayam masala was super easy too. Pudding tak payah cakapla..kan? I've been making them pre-marriage lagi...
Anyways, after finish cooking and before serving for Iftar, my mom tasted my ayam masala and literally went through the roof! "PEDAS BERDESING"... that was it.. and the critisizing session begins...Sampai I tak tahan I told her nicely but with an underlying sarcasm, "Takpelah mak, tak payah makanla masala ni... ayam MASALAH! hehe.. Buang je la, mak masak la benda lain" and with that, I walked away, trying my best to keep my cool. I felt like crying, because it was the main dish for Iftar and I tried really hard to make the nicest buka puasa dinner ever for my family.... After a minute or so, and regaining my composure, I went down again and put the dish inside the plate together with all the other dishes... At that very moment, I silently promised myself that IF the dishes doesn't taste nice, I will not cook again (crazy kan??), well at least not in Malaysia...I guess I can't take criticism well...
Imagine this, when it was time for Iftar, I was too scared to even eat my own dish.. haha.. Along (my elder bro) who usually despise my brownies or whatever things that i cook.. LOVED it!! So did Hafiz (but he eats anything, so I wasn't really impressed) and abah and my kid bro, chik. Everyone loved it and they didn't think that it was too spicy or whatnot. Cool, huh? Nasib baikla, if not i wouldn't cook for them anymore.. Even I thought it was nice.. so yeay to me for cooking a full course meal with great success. For those of u who are great cooks, u would probably think that this story of mine is not a big deal, but please try to understand that i am undomesticated, ok? I seldom cook. I am better known for my brains and not my culinary skills, so gimme a break will ya? I only cook when I'm in the mood, which is, again, seldom. So, yes, to me, undomesticated Sheri, it's really a big deal. It goes to show that cooking isn't that hard kot. And so I thought.....
my nasi minyak......... hafiz took the pic..yummy!!
the dhalcha
my ayam masala - colour is supposed to be redder but maklumlah, pakai camera phone jer.
pudding jagung - a significant contributor to my chubby childhood ;p
Second Story: my konon famous brownies
It was a potluck Iftar at Makyah's (hafiz's aunt) so I didn't dare bring stuff which I'm not good at. So, the only thing that I am super confident would be delicious is my konon famous brownies la. It's super easy to make and I really, really love it..! I remembered Hafiz asking me when we went shopping at Subang Parade for baju raya if the ingredients for the brownies were enough.. and I confidently answered.."Mestilah". Guess being too overconfident is not good.
That evening, as I started to prepare the ingredients, I realised that my baking cocoa powder was only half of what is needed.. Alamak! what's a girl to do? I have already told my mom in law that i would be making brownies... So, belasah la letak cooking chocolate instead to cover the 1/2 cocoa powder yang takde... Oh well, if I was a chef, bolehlah belasah.. but alas, I wasn't...
When it came out of the oven, it doesn't look like the brownies that I usually make. Alamak, my first debut to bring cooked food for hafiz's side punya Iftar and it looks like as if it will be a disaster.. My mom (not fasting) tried it and said it was fine (maybe to her liking, u know brownie taste can be very subjective, right?). Anyways, I cut it up, put it in the corningware and away we go.. After Iftar, as the relatives were tasting the cakes (my sis in law made her apple cake la pulak,although I never saw her baked before, so it was stiff competition) and people compared hers to mine. Guess what? It was a disaster lah. The only person who liked it was Makyah... she said it was nice. The rest of the aunt and even mom in law didn't quite agree on her and so the critic session begins. All of a sudden, everyone seems to be brownie expert.. sob..sobb.. the only thing that i thought i am reaaly good at (consistent) was criticised. Sedih sangat..I went home that night with the feeling of never, ever wanting to cook/bake ever again (cepat betul semangat patah, kan?).. But when I got home, my brothers who usually hate my brownies loved it! And so did my my mom...Pulakkan?? Dekat rumah punya macam nak habis, they were enjoying it. Although my adik pun melantik diri jadi brownie expert and told me to add itulah, xcukup inilah... so i asked him,"have u ever baked brownies before?" the answer was obvious so he went quiet.. Garang jugak I ni kan?? Hehe...Name me a person who adores criticism?? I rest my case.
Personally I prefer my usual brownie but I guess, like what I said earlier on, brownies are subjective... some people wants it to be very chocolatey (like me!) while others like my bro who doesn't like chocs, prefer otherwise. Hafiz? Semua pun suka, hehe. But I still feel sad and decided not to make anymore.
What I learn today:
But I woke up today and decided that I will not let something small like this (people criticising) hamper my new cooking obsession.. I will practice, practice and practice even more and I am determined to one day be a good cook, not for anyone else, but for my hubby (he's the easy one) and kids.. InsyaAllah. I don't care what other people say, what doesn't kill u only makes u stronger, kan? So, today, I plan to make cakes and cookies for Raya (hopefully sempat lah). I pray that it will all taste nice, but hey, I'm new in this thingy, so gimme a break will ya? Not break me with ur harsh words.... InsyaAllah I will improve myself, and one day, when I'm good, I'm gonna make the best brownie ever (that's the spirit!!) and this time they won't criticise me anymore... As for it, I have been cooking everyday (I 've resigned, remember?) for Adam and so far he's not complaining and finishes what he eats (he seldom does that) so I guess it's a good sign, right??
So, everyone, please excuse me while I go bake my choc chip cookies ;p...
Take care
For those of u who know me, I'm sure you guys know that I am definitely not one who is always busy in the kitchen... I seldom cook (self confess to the whole world) but eversince I got married (or maybe after having kids and will be moving to Perth) it suddenly hit me. I have to try and cook something. Hence my latest obsession with cooking... So what Im' trying to say is, for those of u who do not know how to cook at all (i was/still am in the club), it's really not that hard.. The hardest part is to 'pekakkan telinga kalau kena kutuk' and never, ever give up. Cakap senangla kan? There are times where I felt like giving up (sebab kena kutuk 'baik punya') and these are the two stories that I wish to share..
First Story: ayam masala, etc
I got the recipe from Mamiyah. Never in my life have I imagined being able to cook NASI MINYAK tuh... haha.. jadi ok?? it wasn't that hard, really. The ayam masala was super easy too. Pudding tak payah cakapla..kan? I've been making them pre-marriage lagi...
Anyways, after finish cooking and before serving for Iftar, my mom tasted my ayam masala and literally went through the roof! "PEDAS BERDESING"... that was it.. and the critisizing session begins...Sampai I tak tahan I told her nicely but with an underlying sarcasm, "Takpelah mak, tak payah makanla masala ni... ayam MASALAH! hehe.. Buang je la, mak masak la benda lain" and with that, I walked away, trying my best to keep my cool. I felt like crying, because it was the main dish for Iftar and I tried really hard to make the nicest buka puasa dinner ever for my family.... After a minute or so, and regaining my composure, I went down again and put the dish inside the plate together with all the other dishes... At that very moment, I silently promised myself that IF the dishes doesn't taste nice, I will not cook again (crazy kan??), well at least not in Malaysia...I guess I can't take criticism well...
Imagine this, when it was time for Iftar, I was too scared to even eat my own dish.. haha.. Along (my elder bro) who usually despise my brownies or whatever things that i cook.. LOVED it!! So did Hafiz (but he eats anything, so I wasn't really impressed) and abah and my kid bro, chik. Everyone loved it and they didn't think that it was too spicy or whatnot. Cool, huh? Nasib baikla, if not i wouldn't cook for them anymore.. Even I thought it was nice.. so yeay to me for cooking a full course meal with great success. For those of u who are great cooks, u would probably think that this story of mine is not a big deal, but please try to understand that i am undomesticated, ok? I seldom cook. I am better known for my brains and not my culinary skills, so gimme a break will ya? I only cook when I'm in the mood, which is, again, seldom. So, yes, to me, undomesticated Sheri, it's really a big deal. It goes to show that cooking isn't that hard kot. And so I thought.....
my nasi minyak......... hafiz took the pic..yummy!!
the dhalcha
my ayam masala - colour is supposed to be redder but maklumlah, pakai camera phone jer.
pudding jagung - a significant contributor to my chubby childhood ;pSecond Story: my konon famous brownies
It was a potluck Iftar at Makyah's (hafiz's aunt) so I didn't dare bring stuff which I'm not good at. So, the only thing that I am super confident would be delicious is my konon famous brownies la. It's super easy to make and I really, really love it..! I remembered Hafiz asking me when we went shopping at Subang Parade for baju raya if the ingredients for the brownies were enough.. and I confidently answered.."Mestilah". Guess being too overconfident is not good.
That evening, as I started to prepare the ingredients, I realised that my baking cocoa powder was only half of what is needed.. Alamak! what's a girl to do? I have already told my mom in law that i would be making brownies... So, belasah la letak cooking chocolate instead to cover the 1/2 cocoa powder yang takde... Oh well, if I was a chef, bolehlah belasah.. but alas, I wasn't...
When it came out of the oven, it doesn't look like the brownies that I usually make. Alamak, my first debut to bring cooked food for hafiz's side punya Iftar and it looks like as if it will be a disaster.. My mom (not fasting) tried it and said it was fine (maybe to her liking, u know brownie taste can be very subjective, right?). Anyways, I cut it up, put it in the corningware and away we go.. After Iftar, as the relatives were tasting the cakes (my sis in law made her apple cake la pulak,although I never saw her baked before, so it was stiff competition) and people compared hers to mine. Guess what? It was a disaster lah. The only person who liked it was Makyah... she said it was nice. The rest of the aunt and even mom in law didn't quite agree on her and so the critic session begins. All of a sudden, everyone seems to be brownie expert.. sob..sobb.. the only thing that i thought i am reaaly good at (consistent) was criticised. Sedih sangat..I went home that night with the feeling of never, ever wanting to cook/bake ever again (cepat betul semangat patah, kan?).. But when I got home, my brothers who usually hate my brownies loved it! And so did my my mom...Pulakkan?? Dekat rumah punya macam nak habis, they were enjoying it. Although my adik pun melantik diri jadi brownie expert and told me to add itulah, xcukup inilah... so i asked him,"have u ever baked brownies before?" the answer was obvious so he went quiet.. Garang jugak I ni kan?? Hehe...Name me a person who adores criticism?? I rest my case.
Personally I prefer my usual brownie but I guess, like what I said earlier on, brownies are subjective... some people wants it to be very chocolatey (like me!) while others like my bro who doesn't like chocs, prefer otherwise. Hafiz? Semua pun suka, hehe. But I still feel sad and decided not to make anymore.
What I learn today:
But I woke up today and decided that I will not let something small like this (people criticising) hamper my new cooking obsession.. I will practice, practice and practice even more and I am determined to one day be a good cook, not for anyone else, but for my hubby (he's the easy one) and kids.. InsyaAllah. I don't care what other people say, what doesn't kill u only makes u stronger, kan? So, today, I plan to make cakes and cookies for Raya (hopefully sempat lah). I pray that it will all taste nice, but hey, I'm new in this thingy, so gimme a break will ya? Not break me with ur harsh words.... InsyaAllah I will improve myself, and one day, when I'm good, I'm gonna make the best brownie ever (that's the spirit!!) and this time they won't criticise me anymore... As for it, I have been cooking everyday (I 've resigned, remember?) for Adam and so far he's not complaining and finishes what he eats (he seldom does that) so I guess it's a good sign, right??
So, everyone, please excuse me while I go bake my choc chip cookies ;p...
Take care
