Stir Fried Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1. 500gm of spaghetti (boiled)
2. 1 medium sized chicken breast (without skin) cut into thin slices (seasoned with sea-salt)
3. 300gm of bean sprouts (washed and drained)
4. 1/2 bulb of garlic (sliced into thin slices)
5. Sunflower oil
6. Sea-salt

-------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Heat a wok.

2. Pour about 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil into the wok.

3. When the oil is hot, add the sliced garlic. Stir fry until slightly browned.

4. Add the chicken pieces and fry until 3/4 cooked.

5. Add the bean sprouts and fry until both chicken and sprouts are cooked.

6. Add the spaghetti and some sea-salt to taste. Mix everything thoroughly.

7. Scoop up onto serving bowl.

8. Serve while piping hot.

Bon appétit!

Water Rationing Till End April

The levels at the dams and catchment areas have not increased.

Click on Water Rationing to read more.

Multigrain Snack

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of organic oats
2. 1/2 cup of organic sunflower seeds
3. 1/4 cup of organic millet
4. 1/4 cup of organic quinoa
5. 2 large eggs (beaten)
6. 1/4 cup of organic sunflower oil
7. 3 tablespoons of organic soft brown sugar

----------------------------------------

1. Mix all ingredients above in a mixing bowl.

2. Once everything is combined well, scoop up mixture into mini cupcake liners and place them on a baking tray.

3. Preheat oven at 180C.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Allow to cool. You can store in airtight containers which can be kept in the fridge for about a month.

Bon appétit!

Carrot & Celery Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized carrot (outer layer peeled and sliced into thin strips)
2. 1 stalk of celery (with the leaves too) (peeled and diced)
3. 10 fresh chicken eggs (beaten)
4. Sea-salt
5. Sunflower oil

-------------------------------------------------------

1. Add 1/2 a teaspoon of sea-salt into the beaten eggs and mix throughly.

2. Heat a wok.

3. Add about 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil into heated wok.

4. Pour the beaten eggs.

5. Sprinkle the sliced carrots and diced celery into the beaten eggs.

6. Allow it to simmer and cook.

7. Once one side is browned, turn it over and cook the other side until browned.

8. Scoop up onto serving plate.

9. Serve with hot rice.

Bon appétit!

Some Respite

The weather suddenly changed and we've been having freak storms everyday to the point the road in front of me is a blur when I am driving.

The mother-of-all-storms!

Hot clear skies!

Before the storms!

Such clear skies after the storms! What a difference.

And then the wind blew the haze back.

So it's been a see-saw. Clear skies, hazy-and-smoggy skies. Clear skies, hazy skies. And most of the time, even though the skies are blue and clear, the acrid burning smell is still ever present in the air. The haze is caused by peat fire breaking out everywhere, rampant open burning and our own pollution. In other words, it is 'home-grown' pollution...

This morning's skies!

I had to seal/taped shut Joel's bathroom window as the acrid burning smell was just awful seeping into his bathroom and bedroom. It smelt like a smoker's room!

Water rationing is still on. And there hasn't been rain at the water dams or catchment areas. Do pray for rain at those areas. Pray till it fills up to the brim! Thank you!

Millet & Fish Congee

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of Bario rice (washed)
2. 1 cup of millet (washed)
3. 1 red snapper (baked and flesh torn into small pieces)
    * For recipe, click on LINK
4. Sea-salt
5. 1 large carrot (outer layer peeled and diced into small pieces)
6. 1 litre of filtered water

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Pour everything into a large pot.

2. Boil on high heat until it starts to bubble.

3. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes before turning to low heat.

4. Boil on low heat for 1 1/2 hours while stirring very frequently.

5. After 1 1/2 hours of cooking is done, allow to sit for 1/2 hour (with lid closed) before serving.

Bon appétit!

The Hazardous Hazard!

It is currently very shitty and stressful to be living in the Klang Valley at the moment. The weather has been so dry that the temperature soared to 40+C early this week. And some of the dams (especially the one that our water comes from) has reached a critical level of only 40% water. It hasn't rained at the dams for god-knows-how-long.

And the haze has been so bloody persistent, vicious, and has such a tenacious grip on our airspace that we are suffocating beyond words.

The two pictures below were taken by a friend of mine who lives not far away from my place:

This ain't the mist, it's the bloody haze!

This was taken by my parents. This was yesterday's situation.

This is today. 

You can see how we are suffering, what more with the water rationing and the heat.

Joel's school had shut-down today. So are some of other schools. I think the government should just shut everything down until this gets blown away. This is so detrimental to everyone's health.

Just take a look at the ash. It's everywhere, and everyday affair. And there's no water to wash this away. 

This was all over the porch, plants, car ... EVERYWHERE after a severe burning, acrid smell episode.

How I miss clear skies like this......

Please pray for us. Pray for rain clouds to unleash all its fury at the dams and to wash away all this smog that is killing us slowly but surely...

Surviving Water Rationing

So Monday was the day our area was hit by water rationing.

I was washing and storing water like a guzzler. Every bathroom has a 100+ liters of huge container of water. And then there are pails everywhere. The kitchen has another three 100+ liters of huge containers. And MORE pails everywhere. Then there's the mineral water boxes. The house looks like a water container fiesta. There's water everywhere! But we have no choice. Certain areas did not have their water back after the 2-day mark. I can't take the risk. Not especially with this voiding dysfunction problem which I have.

So here are my ways in overcoming this difficult time:

1. Store water in every part of the house available. 

Every container that you've got, use it. Place them at places not far from where you need to use them. You would not want to be lugging these tens-of-kilograms-pails all over the house. Any spillage is a waste as every DROP counts!

2. Bottled water

I bought boxes and boxes AND boxes of water. Friends whose areas which have been having water rationing said that the water supply that was back after the rationing was yellow and muddy. It was DIRTY! We can't have drinking water like this! Thus store up on mineral water! Store! Store! Store!

3. Wet wipes

Wet ones/wipes are a must. If you can't wash your hands, you can at least wipe them with wet wipes. You can wipe your bum-bum. Or those smelly armpits. Or wipe things or stuff that become dirty.

4. Disposable plates/forks & spoons/cups.

You'll not have water to wash yourself what more plates and cutleries. At this point you'll just have to make do with disposable stuff.

5. Thinnest clothing

I think shorts and t-shirts are the best clothing to wear now. The smaller they are the less to wash. Pants and long skirts and long sleeve shirts to me are out! I  have to ration water to wash myself, what more big pieces of clothing!!!

6. Keep water in washing machine (If top loading)

7. Disposable undies/pads/panty shields.

Use disposable everything. If they had disposable clothing for sale, I would buy them!!!!

8. Reusing veggie water to water plants

9. Cook in bulk and keep in freezer.

And if you can tolerate canned food keep them.

10. Try not to move so much. 

Less sweat = less baths!

If you have any other pointers to share, feel free to do so!

5 Years!

March 2nd 2009.

Everyday used to be a milestone. In fact, at one point, it was every hour.

And now, 1/2 a 'century' has passed! I guess it's a miracle. And I'm looking forward to MORE miracles as I journey into another 1/2 of the 'century'.

The journey hasn't been easy at all. But it has moulded and made me into such a strong person. I never knew that I had such iron will. I mean, I know that I am stubborn, but this? This is more than being stubborn and determined. This is being focused to the point of tornados, cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons and tsunamis come crashing without blowing me off my journey. At times it feels like I'm on the road to perdition. At times I feel like I'm on a sugar high. Sometimes the view of the journey is as awesome and spectacular as a fjord. At times it feels like the book of Revelations, all doom and gloom.

But I have no regrets. I have no 'Why me God???' I have no 'I wish this didn't happen to me.' No. I am actually glad in a way that it happened as I now have learned so much. Gained so much. Grew so much. Gleaned so much. About life. About food. About myself.

Of course I would be lying if I said that where food is concerned it's a breeze. It's S.H.I.T.T.Y. Every single morsel of food has to be planned.  I think I can plan better than any CIA agency. Planning my food is 365 days a year and that's 3 main meals a day with some snacks in between. THAT can be a major headache as there are so many limitations. But now I'm wired to twist and turn forbidden food into YUMMY-TO-MY-TUMMY food. I can be a scientist now as I'm constantly experimenting. And I'll experiment till the last day of my life.

And I couldn't have done it without my family.

So to myself, I say, 'Evelyn, you have every Right To Be Alive!'


The Day I Met Death

The Stir-Fried 3-In-1 Baked Chicken Dish

Ingredients:

1. 2 baked drumsticks (meat torn into small pieces)
    * For recipe of baked drumsticks, click on LINK
2. 5 medium-sized old potatoes (outer layer removed and sliced into thin pieces)
3. 500gm of french beans (washed and cut into 2cm length)
4. Sea-salt
5. Sunflower oil

---------------------------------------------------

1. Pour about 2 teaspoons of sunflower oil in a heated up wok.

2. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until softened.

3. Add the french beans.

4. Cook until the french beans are softened.

5. Add the torn chicken meat and add a dash of sea-salt.

6. Mix all ingredients thoroughly for about approximately another 5 minutes.

7. Scoop up onto serving dish.

8. Serve hot with rice.

Bon appétit!

Haze Attack!

The picture above says it all! We desperately NEED rain!!!!!!!!

Bladder Orgasm...No More

Within 1 week after the 10-day course of Xatral XL, the bladder gradually went back into its old ways. It became jammed up and the excruciating pain returned.

So it's another 14 days of Xatral XL.