Kitchen Appliances

i've always wanted a fully functional kitchen equipped with all types of appliances. my old kitchen was excellent, i had a huge island which i used for practically everything, from unloading groceries to cutting and chopping to feeding the boys to doing arts & crafts to even getting them to take their naps on it. it was the centre of action but i didn't have time to fully utilize it, especially for cooking.

so when we moved, i tried to transform the dream into reality, have a kitchen that i would use regularly…on a daily basis. and in order to do that, the lazy me needs a lot, and i mean a lot!, of kitchen appliances. my list is probably as long as the list of furniture for the whole house. of course, not everything can be ticked off due to budget constraints, of course.

for now, i've gotten these items. and they're very helpful. i definitely want more and the space begs to be filled but for now, i'm happy with what i have.

juicer
i wanted this for so, so long. i love fruits and juices. i'm not adventurous and don't eat a lot of types of fruits but what i like, i eat in massive quantities. i'm a very basic fruit eater - apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, grapefruits, mangoes the like. i hardly venture out of my comfort zone. the juicer i bought is being utilized for just general juices but is being utilized regardless.

i was recommended a breville juicer but i couldn't find it when i went shopping. i got myself a philips instead. its easy to use, very fast, easy to clean and assemble (except for one part) and is very clean.

toaster
my eyes lit up when i saw this 4-slice toaster. morphy richards have a range of bright and attractive coloured toasters but the 4-slice was the deciding factor. we are bread-eaters and my boys are impatient. to be able to toast 4 slices of bread at one is wonderful.

kettle
this kettle came as a matching set to the toaster. nothing significant on why i bought this other than ariff wanted red appliances for the whole kitchen.

blender
i ordered this online when i saw it was from the same range as the toaster & the kettle. i'm still waiting for it to arrive, soon, hopefully.

mixer
i was torn between the stand mixer and hand mixer. to own a kitchen aid stand mixer would be totally wow but a hand mixer would be more practical as i hardly bake or need a mixer regularly. i would love to have one to complete the toaster-kettle-blender set but they don't sell it over here. so i opted for the k-mix orange.

airfyer
10 years ago i really, really wanted a deep fryer. times changed and recently i really, really wanted an airfryer. its easy to use, good to prepare quick food for the boys, doesn't use oil, clean to use and relatively easy to clean. ok maybe the grill-net thingy isn't the easiest to clean, may become sticky but its not such a big deal when the food actually come out wonderful. fries are crispy and light and not soggy. nuggets perfectly browned (amir says they taste like mcd nuggets). fried chicken evenly cooked and comes off the bone just nice (if you use low temperature first followed with high temperature to cook the outer part).

i haven't tried it for anything else, apparently you can even bake muffins and cook curries but my main reason of buying the airfryer was to use less of the frying pan and oil and that's what i'm doing for now.

rice cooker
so this is lame. the fact that i never paid attention to rice cookers before. i got quite a few as wedding gifts and have been using them. those simple ones with silver-ish covers. kinda make me feel like i can't cook rice because there were times when they come out too watery. very malu okay, not knowing how to cook rice properly. then i decided to splurge a bit for a new rice cooker. kinda ex for a rice cooker but so far, its been lovely to use. if only it came in red. ok…still lame.

there's more on my list that i would like to get - coffee maker, food processor, new set of pots and pans, new sets of plates and bowls (are those considered kitchen appliances?).

DP#23 (05/12/2013)

the last room in DP is finally settled. yeah, there's the guest/gym to be looked at but for now, that can stay as it is as it has yet to be officiated. so i would consider the wet kitchen as the last room. and this week its finally settled.

i got the electrical items i needed - blender, hand mixer and rice cooker. i also stocked up the dry goods from the supermarket and containers for the dry goods. once all three have been ticked off, the kitchen was up and running. i do feel its kinda plain with just black and white. i need some colours to go up. my cath kidston apron and tea towel are providing that at the moment.

oh excuse me for being a wee bit too organised...

DP#22 (07/10/2013)

final touches to the house is finally underway. there's still a bit of furniture i'm looking to get, some electrical items & kitchenware on my list and quite a number of wall decorations left.

but this bit...isn't one of my interests, its more of hubby's. i'm not one for outdoor activities, not much a fan of the hot weather and anything kotor-kotor. so all the best to him.

he's gotten some trees for the back & front. flowers to brighten up the deck and the entrance. he bought flowers, thinking to put them at the planter's box upstairs but decided against it later. so he put the flowers at the front corner of the house.

the back will mainly be used for the boys' football kickabout so its pretty bare. i think my mom's sending over mango & dragon fruit trees. so maybe there'll go there. the front needs trees but not too overwhelming. i want to look for garden tables and chairs with a big umbrella. that will be a place for us to chill in the evening (yeah...when i get over this need to be inside all the time).

Makan-makan at DP

we've had a couple of makan-makan at DP. the first was for the family. once i informed them that we've got our dining tables situation sorted (we were eating on the floor for weeks!), they issued out the invitation. the came over one monday night for dinner and brought over kfc and dominos.

the night before the kenduri doa selamat i invited over a few neighbours. we were supposed to have hi-tea way earlier but it was postponed. we had grilled chicken, potatoes & onion, side salad, pasta and yummy desserts.

of course the boys loved the attention and loved showing their rooms and playroom. and they put their ipods to good use by taking pictures of both dinners.

DP#21 (28/09/2013) Majlis Doa Selamat

alhamdulillah, six weeks after our move to DP, we had our majlis doa selamat. it was late, yes, but we moved in immediately after hari raya aidilfitri, weekends in syawal was packed. we arranged for the earliest saturday after syawal with the imam of the nearby mosque. we only invited a few people over, my parents, the neighbors on the same street and a few of hubby's friends. we called on the students from the tahfiz school at the old mosque to make it a more memorable event.

in the morning we cleared the furniture in the living room, waited for the caterer, hubby prepared some angpau for the tahfiz students and arranged for a bus to pick them up from the mosque and send them back after. it didnt rain, even though it had been raining for a few days before that. food was excellent and we had no wastage.

the majlis was short and sweet and went very well, alhamdulillah.

i ordered specially printed surah yassin, which coincidently matched the canopy the caterer prepared.

we're planning a housewarming for family and friends in a couple of weeks, insyaAllah.