Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat eggs lightly while adding in melted butter.
2. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

A Trip to Penang

Hmmm, it's about 10 hours away, by bus, from Singapore. I love their Malay accent, the sea, but,... nothing much really. I stayed in Gurney Hotel, and it's not a 5 stars hotel like what they claim. The kitchen cabinet has cockroaches. It's a horrible hotel but they have a great view of the sea. And yeah, they have Coffee Beans and Tea Leaves and Indian restaurant like 3 minutes walk from the hotel.

Best Ever Muffins

Source

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, beat egg with a fork. Stir in milk and oil. Pour all at once into the well in the flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moistened, but do not beat. The batter will be lumpy. Pour the batter into paper lined muffin pan cups. Reduce heat to 205 degree C and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.
3. Variations: Blueberry Muffins: Add 1 cup fresh blueberries. Raisin Muffins: Add 1 cup finely chopped raisins. Date Muffins: Add 1 cup finely chopped dates. Cheese Muffins: Fold in 1 cup grated sharp yellow cheese.

Soft Butter Cake

227 gm butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
6 eggs
80 gm icing sugar
120 gm castor sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp ovalette/super sponge
210 gm self raising flour
1 tbsp evaporated milk

1. Separate eggs. Beat in egg whites with icing sugar until it forms meringue. Beat egg yolks with caster sugar, vanilla, milk and ovalette for 5 minutes.
2. Cream butter for 3 minutes. Add in egg yolk mixture. Beat for a minute.
3. Fold in alternately with flour and meringue.
4. Bake it in 160 degree C for 1 hour.

Note: When using ovalette/super sponge, never let the cake cools in the baking container.

Chocolate Almond Cookies

250 g butter
180 g icing sugar
1 egg
400 g flour - sift
1/4 tsp baking powder
30 g cocoa powder
2 tsp chocolate emulco
½ tbsp instant coffee granules
150 g almond chip

1. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until all well mix. Note: Over mixing ingredients will result in hard cookies.
4. Roll up dough like logs, refrigerate overnight to harden it, cut and bake at 180 degree C for 15 minutes.

My Pre-Birthday Party

My birthday is on the 18th of February and it falls on Wednesday. Everyone is working so and i will most likely fast on that day (inshaAllah) And that explains the pre-birthday party. We had pizza and a cake from Awfully Chocolate. It wasn't that bad but i wish i had ordered from the Secret Recipe instead. :(

Penang Hokkien Mee

Source

500 g shrimp heads and shells
15 cups of water (reduced to about 12-13 cups of water after hours of boiling and simmering)
1.5 lbs of beef/mutton
2 tablespoons of meat curry powder
Salt to taste
MSG

30 dried chilies (deseeded and soaked to soften)
10 shallots (peeled)
5 cloves garlic (peeled)
2 tablespoons of water
6 tablespoons of cooking oil

1 pound of yellow noodles (scalded)
1 pack of rice vermicelli (scalded)
Some kangkong or water convolvulus (scalded)
Some bean sprouts (scalded)

Garnishing:
1/2 pound of mutton/beef (boiled and sliced thinly)
1/2 pound shrimp (shelled and deveined)
6 hard-boiled eggs (shelled and quartered)
Some fried shallot crisps (store-bought)

1. Add 15 cups of water into a pot and bring it to bowl. Add in all the shrimp heads and shell and simmer on low heat for about 2 hours or longer until the stock becomes cloudy and tastes really prawny. Strain the stock through sieve and transfer the stock into another pot. Discard the prawn heads and shells. Scoop up and discard the orange "foam" forming at the top of the stock. 2. Bring the stock to boil again and add in half of the chili paste and curry powder. You can add more chili paste if you like it spicier.
3. Add in the mutton/beef and continue to boil in low heat for another 1-1.5 hour until the meat are thoroughly cooked. Add MSG and salt/fish sauce to taste.
4. Blend the chili paste ingredients with a mini food processor until finely ground and well blended. Heat up the wok and add cooking oil. Stir fry the chili paste for 5 minutes. Add in prawns, sliced meats and a little chili paste, sugar, and salt.
5. Add in the stock to the work and bring it to boil.

To serve, place a portion of yellow noodles, rice vermicelli, water convolvulus and bean sprouts in a bowl. Ladle hot stock over. Top with meat slices, sliced shrimp, egg quarters, and sprinkle with shallot crisps.

Dr Mahathir reply to those who against boycotting American/Israel products.

Dear Hanan,

1. I agree entirely with you that building a great nation doesn't only take brains, but as you said it sure does help.

2. However brains alone without a heart (feelings) can produce a monster.

3. Israel is undoubtedly a great nation, becoming great through the brains and the numerous achievements you have listed. Yes I have used Israeli originated products like Microsoft Windows and Pentium chips (made in Malaysia) by Intel, an American company.

4. In fact I owe my life ultimately to Israel because there must be something invented by Israelis in the numerous instruments used in heart surgery. However most of the products used were invented and produced by Japanese.

5. I am amazed at the number of Nobel Laureates Israel has produced. I admit we have not produced even one.

6. But when the brain is without a heart it does not care for the misery resulting from the products of the brain.

7. The atom bombs which killed 100,000 men, women, children and babies are the product of Israeli (Jewish) brain. Most of the diabolical weapons now being used to kill millions of people are also the creation of Israelis on Zionist Jews. The depleted uranium and phosphorous shells being used in Gaza are also the product of Israeli brains.

8. The current financial crisis which is destroying the economies of the U.S. Britain and in fact all the countries of the world is due to manipulations of banks, financial institutions and the monetary system by Jewish supporters of Israel.

9. The negation of the freedom of speech when it comes to the alleged killings of Jews in World War II are also inspired by Zionist Jews.

10. But worse of all is the seizure of Palestinian land to create the state of Israel. Not content with the area given to the Jews by the United Nations you have seized more Palestinian land, built settlements on many parts of Palestine, disallowed the use of roads built on Palestinian land to the Palestinians, erected your own check points at the borders of Palestine with Jordan and built your version of the Berlin Wall through Palestinian villages on land that is not part of Israel.

11. Before the creation of Israel, the Jews and Arabs in Palestine lived in peace. Historically Jews had always sought refuge in Muslim countries when the Europeans conducted pogroms against them. This only stopped after the U.S. offered asylum.

12. All the terrorism that we see today, whether state initiated or by irregulars, started after the U.S. backed Israel against Arab attempts to regain their land through conventional wars. Because they were outclassed in terms of weapons by the U.S, / Israel, alliance, then only did the Arabs resort to what is called terrorism. The Israeli response have always been with greater terrorism as is seen in Gaza.

13. I have asked an American what he would do if Texas was given to the Jews to create the state of Israel. He did not answer. But I believe he would fight to get back Texas, employing all the weapons at its disposal.

14. Yet had the United States been willing to create the nation of Israel in the lands under U.S. control or in the U.S. itself, there would be no terrorism in Palestine or in the Middle East. There would be no terrorism in America either because Israel would be wiped out by the U.S. forces. The world would remain peaceful.

15. The brutality committed by your forces in Gaza is out of all proportion to the puny rocket attacks by Hamas. That attack was the result of Israel and the U.S. failing to accept the results of a properly conducted election.

16. Hamas could only establish their Government in Gaza. But you blockaded Gaza, denying them food, medicine, power, fuel etc. If you had not done that I doubt that Hamas would fire rockets at you.

17. Malaysia is well aware that total boycott of Israel is not possible. We are in fact boycotting American products which is an even more impossible task. We would not be able to bring America or Israel down.

18. But what we aim to do is to demonstrate the disgust and the anger that we feel over the inhumanity of the brainy but primitive peoples of Israel and America.

19. You can collect Nobel prizes and other prizes but the world will look down upon you as very primitive people who robbed land through terror against perfidious British and subsequently used your control over the world's greatest military power to oppress the people whom you had robbed.

20. You have nothing to be proud of, unless of course you take pride in being heartless, in being primitive brutes.

21. The only mitigating factor is the presence among Israelis of a small number who are ashamed of what you have done to the people of Gaza.

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I miss him...