Recipe For Sator Beans Chillies Sauce With Anchovies

Yesterday, was our third anniversary. I decided to cook something special for my dearest husband's lunch, yet I didn't have any idea what would that be. With limited stuffs in fridge, (we haven't got time to restock everything). I found two bags of frozen sator beans (petai) in the freezer. I decided to cook something out of the sator beans, with some fried fish with chillies, macaroni soup, and mixed vegetable. Yet again, I have no idea how to make something tasty with the beans, so I decided to google some recipes. I found some at myrecipe.com, and some from other's blog. but then again, with limited stuffs in my kitchen, I decided to improvise a bit..

Upon requests from friends, here I shared the improvised recipe.

Sator Beans In Chillies Sauce With Anchovies (Sambal Petai Dengan Ikan Bilis)

Ingredients:
- A handful of cleaned and sliced anchovies
- 2 spoonful chilli paste (cili boh)
- 1/4 cup coconut milk + 1/4 cup water (I used instant coconut milk from carton)
- 5 bunches of chillies, red or green (I used green chillies)
- 1 Onion and 2 garlics - thinly sliced
- 2 pcs tomatoes - cut into 4 pcs (I used 4 cherry tomatoes)
- Sator Beans, Petai (I used a handful of these, but that depends on one's preference)
- salt, sugar and flavours.

How To:
1. Slice the Onion and garlics thinly.
2. Peel open the Sator beans, and make sure the bean is well-clean. Some people prefers to boil the beans for few minutes, but I prefer not to.
3. Using a dry blender, blend the green chillies for a while, and then blend together with the anchovies, make sure the mixture are not too smooth, leaving the anchovies blended roughly. I prefered to use lesung batu as it gives a better appearance.
3. Place the saucepan on a medium heat and allow it to warm through. Add a little oil, sliced onion and garlics, give it a little mix and let the oil heat up, stirring occasionally.
3. Add in the roughly blended mix of green chillies and anchovies, and give it a stir. Then, add in the chilli paste, and stir everything together.
4. Add in the mixture of coconut milk and water, and let it sit for a while before adding in the sator beans and the tomatoes. Don't forget to put in the salt, sugar and some flavours if desired such as ajinomoto. Be cautious when adding in the salt, as the anchovies is already salty, and upon cooked the saltiness of the anchovies will come up.
5. Stir occasionally and make sure the beans are well-cooked before serving..
6. Voila! Ready to eat with rice as side dishes..

Well, happy cooking!

p/s I was so glad my husband loves this cooking, though this was my first attempt of cooking sator beans, normally he'll eat the beans as ulam with some 'belacan paste' but yesterday I decided to cook it. And I am still very satisfied with the result. Might as well try the recipe, but instead of using anchovies, maybe I'll try to use prawns..

3 years review - Part I (2008)

2008 Review

January,
- hard to swallow the truth, lost a 3-months baby after quite-a-long-awaited-pregnancy.. cried all night, busied self with works, spending night-time in husband's arm.. menses a bit disturbed, well, what to expect? still remembering the last joy and the shattered hope, and still wishing life would be better again..

Februari,
- getting in control, but deep down the pain still bled. enjoying new workplace activities, kids sports day.. hmm, everybody was so kind..

March,
- excited, when again missed menstruation for about 2 weeks, finding self rushed to Guardian, bought UPT a few.. and Voila! Positive.. tears welled.. and husband super excited, and freaked! (i've just had a miscarriage.. so quick!) went to HPJ for confirmation, was told to come again for next check-up when the baby is 12 weeks..

April,
- went for first check-up.. super happy to witness the first scan, seeing the little heart beating, so thankful! ALHAMDULILLAH.. thankful to Allah.. for the Bless.. no figure-worrying anymore, will protect the baby so he shall manage that journey.. eat everything, tried to slow down at work, putting less stress.. blocked other pressures that requiring putting job first, everything for my baby..

May,
- hubby left for a short-course at Korea.. huhu.. 'I'm a big girl now!' was my new phrase of encouragement.. I knew I am capable, I can manage everything, going to work, handle myself.. when husband is away for about 2 weeks..

June,
- dutifully went for monthly check-up.. and super excited watching the baby growing inside my womb.. my first thought "it's a he.." and that became our best bedtime stories ever.. guessing the gender of the baby..

July,
- felt the little kicking from the womb.. here and there.. everytime, baby loved the sound of shower, moved so excitedly when am showering.. every morning, will woke mummy.. workplace was just getting busy, our department was selected to contest in Bilik Sumber Anti Dadah representing Sepang and Selangor.. whoa..

August,
- was shocked, still remember how baby kicked from the womb, and woke his father..

September,
- almost cried, when my beloved husband almost forgotten my birthday! naughty him.. i wept silently the midnight of my birthday, as he didn't wish me anything.. thought he'll be the first, but? then came a very pleasant surprise, when I woke up in the morning, and just after showered, while putting clothes on for work, I saw it! just inside my closet, A BIG RED HEART pillow! with a simple and adorable love letters.. just what I need! THANK YOU DEAREST! then.... I received my birthday kisses and hugs.. and baby also received his kisses through mommy's tummy!

October,
- was surprised, admitted to Hosp. Putrajaya, the doctor suspected premature contractions.. (?) huh? but then, things turn to normal again.

November,
- earlier, my husband was signed to assist the PM's visit at Uzbekistan.. and I was about counting the day the baby will see the world.. still remember my husband exact words, "baby, wait till daddy return home, ya? daddy really love you! can't wait to be the first to hold you..". during the moment, I stayed with my parents-in-law, and was already registered to deliver at Hospital Besar Melaka. Then my husband returned, he brought me back to Putrajaya, to accompany him while he need to settle few matters. 3 days after, I admitted to Hospital Putrajaya again. This time, the contraction was real.. I still remember I asked for permission to have breakfast before admitted for good that morning... and my husband and I, we ate at Precint 8..

25.11.08
7.00 am - was getting a morning shower, when blood-like sticky mucus appeared 'down there'. kind of panic for a while, but still remember calming myself, and tried to register, if there's any pain.. no.. I felt no pain, but I do knew that's one of the sign. I remember the 'weak contraction without pain'. Then took shower slowly and dressed carefully..

8.00 am - husband was surprised when told, and he quickly washed himself, and 8.30 am, rushed to Hospital Putrajaya.

8.30 am - after short discussion, the nurse in charge agreed I should be admitted, but I was hungry, told the hospital I need to get some breakfast, and was advised to return as soon as possible..

9.00 am - breakfast at Presint 8, with husband.. remember ate Nasi Goreng Cina and Milo..

9.30 am - admitted to the ward.. and all the waiting game started..

11.00 am - waiting game with husband.. he went back home at 1pm, and pack the things i need..

2.00 pm - still felt the contraction, but no pain..

6.00 pm - kak iza and en rosli came and visit me, and I remember ana and imran drop in to say hi, and now the contraction was more intense, and I felt the pain on and off.

8.00 pm - the contraction was more intense this time, yet husband was asked to leave, to have some rest, and come back again tomorrow morning.

11.00 pm - my bedmate already delivered her daughter.. congrates! I remember the painful feeling I have, and the 'arghh..' and 'urgghh..' I've made, and I feared if I disturbed her and her new baby.

26.11.08

1.00 am - I was so sleepy, but the pain was so intense. I tried my best to keep calm, but to no avail, that was too hard. I was restless at my bed, tossing and turning around, keeping my voice down.

2.00 am - tired and sleepy, and so in great pain, I rang the nurse I couldn't hold it any more. After checking, the 'door' was opened about 3 cm. they decided to 'break the water' to help easing the labour process. Advised me to walk around, to help 'opening the door'.

4.00 am - am sooo tired, soo sleepy, soo despair in pain, can't really hold it anymore, I was taken to the labour waiting room, and was told the door was already 5cm wide. husband was called, and I remember he looked so tired, and sleepy, but kept looking steady to be by my sides.

8.00 am - doctor on duty came, and checked the 'door', I remember he said, 'it's only 3 cm, who said it was already 5 cm?' I remember being soo dizzy, soo sleepy, soo tired, soo painful.. Oh God..

10.00 am - the midwife and the head nurse and the doctor arrived, discussed with my husband, that that was prolonged, and they said if continue with normal delivery, mother may have no energy to push the baby, and the fact that the 'water' has been ruptured earlier could be dangerous to baby if waited a bit longer. I remember the worry of getting a C-sect, but that's the option at the moment.

10.30 am - was pushed to the OT, and was asked to signed few forms. I remember being asked what is my name, my IC number, my husband's name, while I was in great pain. I tried my best to keep my voice down, and I remember one of the nurse somewhat yelling, 'jangan bising-bising la.. sakit sikit je tu' ahh.. how I wished to speak back at that moment, thankfully I was so in pain I couldn't comprehend any words.

11.00 am - injected with epidural, then I remember the miraculous feeling, I felt no pain at all.. I couldn't really watched as they put this large screen in front of me, but I remember the feeling of dull pinching, dull pulling, as if someone massaging my tummy. Then I remember feeling something taken out from me, and then a cry... I remember I was shown my baby, the gender, but I hope they were letting he hold my baby, I haven't got the chance to hold me just after the operation, they just took my baby, and the last thing I remember, after the stitches, I was pushed to this recovery room, and they asked me to get some sleep, while they cleaned my baby.

2.00 pm - I was pushed back to my room, where my husband's waiting, my in laws, Kak Iza and En. Rosli, and I remember I can't feel half down of my body, I longed to see my son. My husband reassured me they'll take him just in a while.

2.30 pm - Finally Umair Iskandar arrived, in his crib, everybody was so eager to watch and admire him. I remember some of my husband's friends visiting, Musyiri and Farah, and the husband of my new roomate. He told us his wife is in the delivery room, and haven't come out yet.

8.00 pm - My mother in law stayed a night to accompany me at the hospital. She helped me when baby cried for milk, as I still can't get up, and was in great pain at the incision.

And lots of other experiences I couldn't really put into details..

December,

- life's so beautiful, with new baby arrived. stayed at Melaka with my in-laws, my mother-in-laws took a week off to care for me, and then my mom came over to look after me a week after. Husband was away 10 days after delivery for BTN's courses. Upon his return, there was rumour that he's due for posting in just a while. was so grateful for kak iza's and en. rosli's kindness to buy me fresh 'ikan haruan', and my mother-in-law cooked it for me to feed myself. am really touched, my father-in-law bought me a 'pati gamat' from Langkawi to help me during this 44-days period of recovery.

......... to be continued ...........

Between French Class And Walk-Tutoring

A few more hours, then I have to go for another French class, at CLL, near Quick Restaurant.. about 15minutes walk from home. I am thinking about my little one, who has trying to master his walk, the walk that I have lost the count. Being a walk-tutor to him is such a joy, I can never forget the way he took the step, his hand held his balls, and walking around the house, taking his corner.. so cute! and it always torn my heart apart, since he's a bit clingy nowadays, refuse to lose me from his sight. maybe because his daddy is not around, my husband has to manage some Malaysian's delegate. He have to accompany them from morning to evening, until they rest at night. Poor Umair, I'm sure he misses his daddy, as every evening, exactly around 6 to 7 pm, he'll say 'deh deh' quite a lot, and I know he misses his daddy. He sort of expecting his daddy coming through the door, and I can do nothing but telling him, "Daddy kerja, sayang". And he'll reply, 'deh deh, jah'.

Right now my little one is taking his precious nap. looking at him, so serene, I can never imagine how some cold-blooded people punished their children for no reason. I mean, torture a kid. They're so innocent, and with an angelic face, one can never being so demon to them. I swear to myself, I wont let anyone or anybody hurt my child. And I will protect him as long as I am alive. He's my flesh and my blood.

About the French class? I love it so much. It's really an opportunity for me to educate myself, being in a 'jobless' state right now, that class should do much for me. Well, nobody will understand, the dilemma of a mother...

And you?

Mummy's Toblerone's Very Moist Chocolate Cake

Actually, this post is dedicated to what happened last week.. Umair's birthday is just around the corner, so just planning to bake a special chocolate cake for him!

Ingredients? So easy to get, and lots of them are available from the nearest grocery. I was inspired by a friend, she put her status in Facebook, "teringin makan Ikea Daim Cake". POP! A question emerged, does it reaaaallllyy delicious? Then finally decided to do some reserches, about the IKEA Daim's Cake, when finally I knocked-up this website (ops, forgot the address, sorry!).

That recipe is using exact measurement, but I don't have any kitchen scale to help. My trick? I swapped every 150g to A CUP, and I used it for every ingredient, such as flour, sugar, butter, milk.. etc. And I swapped 15g as ONE TABLESPOON. Normally, my resecipe will use less sugar, say, if in the recipe it need 200g, I will only use 2/3 cup of sugar. Why? I have baby! He loves cake, but I can't control the amount of sugar if I feed him with cakes from bakery's. So, the best for him is I bake for him his cake, and of course the sugar will be less.

This is my new, enhanced recipe, already tried, and amazingly sooo delicious! and so moist! Even after a week stored in covered container in refrigerator, the moist is still there.

I name it 'TOBLERONE'S CAKE' because I use Toblerone as the topping..


Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda bicarbonat
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cups cocoa powder (i used van houten's)
1 cup melted margerine
1/2 cup cheese cream (melted in room's temp)
2 eggs
1 cup hot (boiled) water
optional - 1/2 cup dried fried + choc.chips

Toppings
5 blocks Toblerone
1/4 cup water
1 tsp margerine

Methods.

1- mix all the dry ingredients.
2- pour in melted margerine and cheese cream
3- whip in beated eggs in the batter, mix well.
4- pour in hot, boiling water, and mix well.
5- mix dried fuits and choc chip.
6-grease cake pan with margerine, bake at 170deg, 30-40mins. put a bowl of water inside the oven.
7-for toppings, whisk the ingredients in saucepan over very low heat until becomes smooth and shiny.
8. once the cake done, let it cool a while, then pour in the toppings.
9. put into refrigerator overnight, then serve......



this is a very simple recipe, and you might need only an hour to mix everything, and until it perfectly bake. I only use hand whisk, the one use for egg-beater. you can always use another brand of choc for the topping, say, Daim Choc, Nutella Choc. Spread, Cadburys..

Well, the cake is totally something! I managed some slices for the embassy's staff, and thanks to them, I AM SO GLAD they loved it!

My love Umair, be patience, I'll bake the special one for you. That was a trial, a practise for mummy.. I want to make up the best cake for your first birthday.. And I'll decorate it as pretty as I can.. just to show all the people, you're my love!

Si Kecil Yang Sudah Pandai Berdiri

Senyum seketika, melihat lena si kecil.. entah apa yang bermain dalam fikirannya, entah apa mimpi yang sedang dialaminya.. ingin juga diri ini kalau dapat menjengah minda muda yang masih lagi suci dari noda.. sayangkah dia pada diri ini? cintakah dia pada diri ini.. lucu.. bila si ibu tertanya-tanya adakah sayang si kecil menggunung tinggi seperti sayang si ibu.

Umair sudah pandai belajar berjalan! Sejak usianya enam bulan, Umair baru belajar berdiri, dan sejak sembilan bulan, Umair sudah mula bertatih-tatih. Alangkah sukanya hati melihat si kecil bertatih-tatih, dari selangkah, bertambah tiga langkah, kemudian tujuh langkah.. kemudian enambelas langkah.. dan semalam, baru malam tadi, dua puluh tiga langkah! Kalau dulu mummy asyik menghitung berapa lama si kecil bertahan berdiri sendiri, kini menanti saat si kecil berlari. Betapa bahagia menjadi seorang ibu, keseronokan yang sukar digubah dengan kata-kata.

Lagi 3 minggu, genaplah usia Umair setahun. Cepat sungguh masa berlalu. Namun tidur masih lagi mahu dalam pelukan mummy.. Manjanya sayang mummy ni.. Masih lagi mahukan susu ibu, masih lagi mahu didukung.. Manjalah sayang, manjalah.. mummy tetap sayangkan Umair.. Mummy berdoa, kuat-kuat mummy doa, semoga Umair membesar menjadi anak yang soleh, anak yang baik, bijak, mendengar kata. Amin. Mummy ada surprise untuk Umair, tunggu lah tak lama lagi ye sayang..

Daddy Umair kerja sungguh-sungguh untuk sara kita sekeluarga. Hidup di perantauan memang banyak dugaan, dan kena bijak berkelana. Mummy sayang Umair, Daddy pun sayang Umair.. Walaupun mummy sedih sebab mummy tinggalkan kerja mummy di Malaysia, mummy tetap bersyukur sebab punya ruang untuk melihat Umair membesar di depan mata mummy, mummy jaga makan minum Umair.. mummy sayang sangat dekat Umair..

Tak lama lagi datuk, nenek dengan pakcu umair nak datang melawat kita dekat sini, seronoklah Umair nanti, ada ramai orang nak kelek nak dukung umair. Masa tu mesti umair dah pandai berjalan, dah pandai berlari.. yang indahnya, beberapa hari lepas tu Hari Lahir daddy.. dan ketika itu, musim bunga.. Masa tu, mummy akan buat something special untuk baby dan daddy.. Umair pun boleh tolong mummy sama!

Umair sayang, mummy ingin sayang tahu, dengan bangga mummy beritahu semua orang, "I AM PROUD OF YOU" dan mummy sayangkan Umair, buah hati mummy.

Hidup Di Perantauan

Kadang-kadang terasa lucu bila mengenangkan saat-saat masa duduk di Malaysia.. macamana lah kalau dapat hidup di negara orang, let's say, melancong ke.. tiba-tiba peluang besar macam ni datang dalam hidup, tinggal di negara orang, tambah pulak, negara empat musim. syukur alhamdulillah, si kecik pun selesa tinggal di sini, semakin hari semakin manja dengan mummy dan daddy.

Kalau dulu terpandang-pandang dalam tv, mesti best duduk luar negara.. rupanya bila dah lama duduk, Malaysia tetap di hati. Mula-mula sampai, memang hati berbisik, "mesti seronok..." bila dah rasa.. "sejuk...." kalau dekat Malaysia, sarung selipar pakai baju selapis dah boleh keluar rumah. Sekarang, bila nak keluar saja, kena siapkan macam-macam, kena bawa baju tebal, takut-takut suhu tiba-tiba drop. Kena pakai kasut, tak nak angin masuk. Umair kena siapkan baju tebal, kena bawa dalam beg, baju tukar, kena bawa stokin extra, kena bawa gloves, bawa vaselin. (agak banyak prosedur..) tapi yelah, hidup di negara orang, kenalah ikut budaya setempat. takkan pakai baju kurung.. menggigil satu badan.

Belgium, top famous must-have-before-leaving-for-malaysia is CHOCOLATE! yumm, sedapnya coklat belgium.. bagi yang sedang cuba berdiet, (seperti diriku), memang satu dugaan, apatah lagi kedai coklat pelbagai rasa banyak di sekitar kota mahupun dalam pekan kecil. yang pelik majoriti golongan orang belgium ni badan sederhana, dan ramai juga yang mempunyai potongan badan mungil bak model. Dalam hati, "ahh! cemburunya!" tiba=tiba datang semangat untuk berdiet. Walau apapun, diri ini masih mampu tersenyum bila daddy Umair usik.. "mummy ni makin hari makin cute! daddy sayang tau!".. lepastu akan merajuk balik, bila daddy umair bisik, "mummy kalau dapat pakai baju kahwin tu mesti mummy cun gilerr.." huh, cakap berlapik-lapik! cakap jelah nak mummy kurus balik.

Haaah.. dugaan, memang azam di sini salah satunya selain daripada mendidik Umair dengan penuh kasih sayang, ialah mengecilkan badan dengan sepenuh hati. mungkinkah?

Dinner Mummy dan Si Kecil

Dinner... bila dah selalu sangat masak, dah tak sure nak masak menu apa untuk dinner. lauk ayam, lauk daging, lauk ikan, lauk seafood... masak halia ke, masak sambal, masak black pepper, masak halia, masak sweet sour, masak sos, masak kicap, masak kurma, masak kari madras, goreng ajer... kukus, sup... dah macam-macam rasa semua main 'campak-campak' je dalam kuali...

Kali ni dengan rasa cukup bertuah suami kesayangan hamba telah menyediakan santapan istimewa beliau... 'lamb steak' perap dengan halia... 'medium cooked', tak terlalu masak sangat masih 'juicy', tak mentah sangat, tak kering cukup lembut untuk dimakan ala-ala 'hotel style'... siap guna 'knife and fork' gitu... terkenang saat-saat berdua denganmu di Colmar Tropicale... dinner berdua... actually we were having a special candlelight dinner.... at that French-theme park... cuma satu je kurang... lilin takde... huhuhu....

Kalau dulu selalu berdua... sekarang dah bertiga... seronok mendengar suara anak kecil di rumah... bermain bergelak ketawa... anakku yang comel sedang dalam proses belajar merangkak... rasa kelakar pula bila dia dah pandai angkat badan, tapi bergoyang-goyang belum lagi maju ke depan. si kecil pun baru sudah dinner... makanan pejal bayi yang mudah dibeli di pasaraya, campuran nasi, sayur lobak merah, tomato dan ikan salmon.... sedap yang amat tak sabar-sabar jejaka kecil ibu nak merasa makanan perasa baru. biasa mummy bagi makan pisang lenyek campur epal, kadang-kadang bubur nasi, cereal nestle beras dengan sayuran... tapi bila bagi minum air dengan botol susu, tak nak pulak... yelah minum susu badan tak minum susu botol tu sebab tak berapa suka dengan botol susu kot... nak minum air dengan cawan biru kecil dia jugak... lepas tu satu baju dah basah dengan air sebab dia nak main sembur-sembur... takpelah sayang... sekejap lagi mummy bawa sayang mandi yee... kesian pagi tadi tak sempat mandi... sejuk sangat la cuaca di Belgium ni.

Daddy pegi ofis lepas makan malam tadi... kesian daddy sibuk sangat dengan kerja. cuti-cuti pun dia pergi pejabat jugak. dekat sini hari masih terang. walaupun jam dah pukul 8.30 malam, tapi seperti masih pukul 4 petang waktu di Malaysia. takpe daddy mummy faham... mummy dengan baby sayang daddy...