Aidilfitri 2015

our aidilfitri preparation began early this year. even though i was completely knackered towards the end of Ramadhan, i pushed myself to get the boys into the raya mood with some cookie making. they started their raya break about 2 days before Ramadhan ended and i kept them occupied, making 2 (very easy) cookies - cornflakes and peanut butter. peanut butter cookies are a favourite of asyraf's and he's been bugging me to make it since last year. because of that i doubled the recipe and made 4 batches. both cookies turned out yummy and the boys stuffed themselves with them once the call for maghrib prayers was heard.

the day before was filled with hubby running around getting the wet groceries and then running around to send some parcels and then running around to cut and prepare the wet items for cooking, with me cooking for hours and with the boys helping (sans asyraf who never helps) to clean the house.

it was a hot day and we opened all the windows and sliding doors and aired the whole house. the boys were being extremely helpful, maybe a bit too helpful, probably since the last day of the fasting month. the cleaned the outside of the house in the morning and the inside of the house later in the afternoon.

hubby went out to the hypermarket to get chicken and beef and veggies (and some stuff for the cats) in the morning and went out to send some parcels during lunchtime. he came back to cut the meat and veggies for me to start cooking once he came home.

i was in the kitchen almost the second half of the day. think i had cankles the size of a globe by the end of the day. i started with making beef rendang and pulut kuning. that was to be our iftar meal so i had to get that out of the way first. once those were done, i had to start on the aidilfitri meal.

we had a quiet and quick iftar. hubby even bought lemang to accompany what i had prepared earlier. once the meal was over, i went back to the kitchen to start on my nasi tomato and dalca. i had another dish, ayam masak merah, but that i kept till the morning.

the boys were treated to an hour of fireworks and sparkles. we didn't take them out during the fasting month. i know some had started on them earlier on but we were pretty knocked out after iftar everyday and fireworks and sparkles with the boys need a lot (and i mean a lot!) of energy. it was nice though, being in the kitchen and hearing them scream and shout with laughter and running around with the sparkles. of course, an hour is more than enough, they were starting to get on our nerves. we quickly got them to take a shower and change into the pajamas and go to bed as we had a full day ahead of us.

the morning started with me getting up very early to finish the meal for the day. i had the rendang and pulut from the day before on the table for hubby, amir and asyraf to have before going for their prayers. in the kitchen i was busy finishing up the beef dalca and the chicken. rice was cooked the night before, so one thing's out of the way.

while the three were at the mosque, i woke ariff and akmal up and gave them a light breakfast. once we were all at home, came the customary aidilfitri morning picture taking. how was this so easy years ago? why is it so difficult now?

we had our meal after that. i didn't know i can make something so delicious!

and then we made our way to damansara to visit my parents.

we were there till after asar and came home to clean up the house and heat up the food as my brother and sisters would be over for dinner. good thing they came as they helped finish most of the food and after a month of a fridge full of food, i wanted to finally see a clear fridge.

on that note, selamat hari raya, maaf zahir batin from the 6 of us to anyone out there reading my posts, if there are any.

Ramadhan 2015 - Part Two

we're getting to a stage where, while the fasting and time management is getting smoother and easier, the food planning gets more difficult. rice is taken off the list, for sahur and for iftar. we just could not look at rice anymore, particularly white rice. except for asyraf of course, who can't go by a day without rice.

sahur is just simple cereal or toast with any type of spread. hubby has his boiled sweet potatoes. chocolates would accompany our sahur as we had a big delivery recently.

iftar day 19 - mee kari. the boys actually love this but i have to tone down on the spiciness of the curry.

iftar day 20 - grilled lamb, roasted potatoes, salad and spaghetti. lamb looks pretty ugly though.

iftar day 21 - ayam panggang. excellent. had this with veggies and fries.

iftar day 23 - taco french bread pizza, potato salad and snickers shake. this is what happens when you browse through the fb of cooking moms. and bread pudding for later and the day after because i thought the main meal was too light, it wasn't actually.

iftar day 24 - the mihun soup that requires strength of mind to prepare.

iftar day 25 - shepherd's pie, salad and fruits, this time its grapes and mangoes.

iftar day 26 - oven-baked chicken (a family favorite), salad, hash brown, sautéed mushroom and fruits.

sahur day 27 - starting the process of clearing the fridge. leftover chicken soup from the mihun soup, sambal fish and stir fried long beans with some paru that hubby bought.

iftar day 27 - the third time we had iftar outside. the first was at chilis, the second was buffet at klcc and we had our iftar this time at a restaurant in taman tun. ok lah. laksa johor was good. i didn't eat anything else apart from that, i'm not such a buffet person anymore. no pictures of the laksa though, only of us in the cab ride to taman tun.

sahur day 28 - fried fish, petola masak lemak and ayam cili from god knows when.

iftar day 28 - second full meal bought from the pasar ramadhan. the first was a disappointment, asyraf's chicken was not properly cooked, i had loads of sambal on the rice i bought, akmal's mihun was too hot, amir & hubby's nasi kerabu wasn't nice. this time, it was better. roti john, satay, nasi lemak for asyraf and a better nasi kerabu for amir & hubby.

iftar day 29 - after closing the kitchen for a few days, i reopened it by spending hours in it. the final result - beef rendang and pulut kuning which hubby complemented with lemang he bought. lovely meal for the eve of aidilfitri, alhamdulillah.

Week 24 - Complications Arising

this time i was on time. i left in the morning and prepared myself to spend a few hours at the clinic. it turned out to be only a 2-hour wait, which isn't so bad. i took asyraf and ariff off agama school today to follow me to the clinic.

not sure if its the right decision though, as my gynae was not too happy with my BP reading during the check up. she asked me to calm down and not pay attention to the boys - who were busy running around the clinic and playing with the chairs. after about 5 minutes, she finally got a reading she was happy with. wow…they really do give me high blood pressure, thought i was joking everytime i said that.

not only was the BP reading a concern, my gynae was also not happy with the location of the placenta. she said it was too low, too near the cervix. that could lead to bed rest, if it doesn't move up in the next couple of months, and the possibility of admission and c-sect. she said no traveling, especially during the aidilfitri period. which was ok since i only celebrate in damansara.

she told me to get plenty of rest and to take it easy the next few weeks. yeay…i'm taking myself off kitchen duty for a while. because of the concerns, we forgot to check the gender this time around. oh well…saja je kan.

on a side note, i lost a kg during fasting month. and i managed to fast (so far) the whole of Ramadhan. alhamdulillah. may my fasts be accepted, insyaAllah.