Ovaltine Cookies

Don't expect the cookies to retain their original shapes. This 'turn out' is consider a miracle! Usually, cookies just spread all over the pan with no shape AT ALL!!!

One of the MUST HAVE kuih raya in our house is Biskut Ovaltine. It has been handed down in the family, maybe from my grandmother. Everyone that came to our house during raya will ask for these biscuits. And the cookies will usually finished even before raya since the niblings love to munch them while watching TV. And we had to make a new batch again for raya. But, since we couldn't celebrate raya together this year because of the MCO, I actually posted the biscuits to all of my siblings! That means, I have to make five cookies batch! I included the recipe as well so they could make them themselves. Here are the recipe by the way;

INGREDIENTS

• 250 gm butter
• 1 cup condensed milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups corn starch
• 2 cups tapioca starch
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 4 cups Ovaltine

PREPARATION

1. Mixed butter, condensed milk and brown sugar together (electronic mixer)
2. Add all the flours little by little.
3. Add Ovaltine last (if the dough wasn't 'chocolate' enough, just keep on adding Ovaltine until it looks like picture above)
4. Bake for 20 minutes (180 C top bottom)

So, I send the jars of Ovaltine via ordinary domestic post service, not Poslaju. If I used Poslaju, I need to pay RM15++ for one jar. With the ordinary post service, I just need to pay RM7/jar. And it took almost two weeks (roughly) to reach the destination.

Welcoming Ramadan 2020/1441H with New Normal

This Ramadan will be different from previous Ramadans. We are allowed to perform tarawih prayer together at surau or mosque because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, we perform it by ourselves at our own home. There is no Ramadan bazaar where we could buy dishes to break our fast. Luckily enough, I'm living with my parents so my mom does all the cooking. Don't get me wrong though, I would love to cook for my parents but like I've mentioned before, their taste buds are so unfamiliar with my cooking and that would left the dishes untouched. So, it's better to leave the cooking to my mom, haha..

Recipes I've Tried During MCO

Steamed Chocolate Caramel Cake

Verdict: 60% success rate! I failed the two top layers! 😂 Maybe I used the wrong size pan. So, I couldn't distribute the caramel layer evenly all over the surface. The second layer didn't stick to the chocolate cake layer. It just slide and had to be eaten separately. The chocolate cake layer is the only layer that happened accordingly.

Batik Indulgence Cake

Verdict: 80% success rate. I only failed at the cream cheese layer. Well, not exactly fail, only in the sense of thickness. Again because I'm using the wrong size pan. The taste is marvelous.

Japanese Cheesecake

Verdict: 65% success rate. Since I've some leftover cream cheese from the Batik Indulgence Cake, I made this cake. In terms of baking, I failed miserably. According to the video, I only need to bake it for 20 minutes. But in my case, I had to add 40 minutes more for the cake to be totally baked. And, I didn't even bother using the water technique. I just baked it normally after the first 20 minutes failure. The taste is acceptable. The cake was supposed to be light, jiggly and airy but mine was dense (maybe because I didn't follow the water bath technique). Surprisingly, my mom loved it!

Easy Custard Corn Pudding

Verdict: 100% success rate!!! Finally, this recipe restore my confidence in my baking skill! 😆 The executions were perfect and so is the taste! WELL DONE, ME!! Haha..

Dalgona Coffee

Verdict: 100% success rate after the third attempt! The first two attempts weren't unsuccessful because I didn't follow the exact recipe. First try, too much water so it didn't thickened. Second try, too much coffee, eventhough it thickened, it sank!

No Bake Oreo Cheesecake

Verdict: 95% success rateThe balance 5% just because of the shape, mine is square (see picture below) instead of round. The execution and the taste are perfect. I finished the whole cake myself within a couple of days, huhu...

Surah Al-Hadid 57:22 - 23

22. No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allah, is easy -

23. In order that you not despair over what has eluded you and not exult [in pride] over what He has given you. And Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful -

I stumbled upon these verses in Quran today. Maybe I've mentioned before that I'll try my best to recite at least two pages of Quran with the translations daily. And if I felt that I'm drawn to the verses, I would highlight them. Today, I actually reciting Surah Al-Imran. After finishing, I composed a question in my mind. The question is actually regarding whether I would find my jodoh in this life. And then, I want to randomly opened the Quran and it opened to the page containing these verses (which are already highlighted from my previous recitation).

I, sometimes do this thing. Asking random questions and opening the Quran to get answers. There is a saying that when you want to talk to Allah, you should perform solah  and recite dua and when you want Allah to talk to you, you should read the Quran. Amazingly, each times I did this, I always get the sentences that relevant to my questions. I know that I should not simply made conclusions based solely on my interpretations on them without the basic and knowledge of Quran's translation. It is even dangerous and sinful if I interpreted them wrongly. So, I usually compared them to scholarly detailed explanations and interpretations.

Okay, back to these verses from Surah Al-Hadid. Hadid means Iron. Reading the translations, I couldn't help to relate them with the pandemic we are currently facing, COVID-19. Allah says in Verse 22, 'No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allah, is easy -' In Quran, Allah sometimes refer to Himself as We. We know that Allah is the ONLY ONE and TRUE GOD. So, why WE (plural)? This is a style of Arabic speech. It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronoun nahnu (we) for respect or glorification. He may also use the word ana (I), indicating one person, or the third person huwa (he). All three styles are used in the Quran, where Allah addresses the Arabs in their own tongue.

During the revelation this Surah, Muslims were facing attacks from the enemy, battles in quick succession, a state of constant siege, hardships caused by economic boycott by the disbelievers, persecution of the converts to Islam everywhere in Arabia. The disbelievers looked upon these as a proof of the Muslims having been forsaken and rejected, and the hypocrites took these as a confirmation of their own suspicions and doubts. As for the sincere Muslims, they were facing these bravely and resolutely, yet the excess of hardship and suffering would sometimes become trying even for them. So, the Muslims are being consoled by Verse 22. Whatever they are experiencing is according to the pre-ordained scheme of Allah and already recorded in the writ of destiny.

Right now, we are also in a stressful and trouble situation. Evethough, things seem tough and bleak, we must never lose hope. Everything happened for a reason. Allah knows best! For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease (Quran 94: 5 -6) May us face this difficult time together with patiently and strongly. Allah is always there with us. Never forget to pray to Allah. And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided (Quran 2:186)

REFERENCES:

1. The Noble Quran
2. Towards Understanding The Quran
3. Islam Question & Answer

[SONG] AIMYON - On This Day We Say Goodbye

Doromamire no kako ga

Matsuwari tsuku hibi da

Nibuku natta ashi de

Go-ru no nai yama o noboru

Everyday I wake up to see

a muddy past clinging tightly onto me

Weary legs are all I can afford

As I climb up this mountain aimlessly

Koikogareta koto

Yume ni okite mata yumemita koto

Kore made o kiritoru yōni

Atama no naka o meguru

Swimming round and round in my dreams

In my dreams of a time when I was so in love

Now I just wish to erase all these feelings

And awaken from this endless misery

Ashita ga kuru koto wa wakaru

Kinō ga modoranai no mo shitteru

Dekireba yarinaoshitai keredo

I know tomorrow will always arrive

And I know yesterday will never return

Even if I can redo all that has come before...

Kirisuteta nani ka de

ima ga aru nara mōichido" da nante

Sonna wagamama iwanaideoku kedo na

Soredemo doko ka de ima mo

motometeiru mono ga aru

Fumetsu no rokku suta-

Eien no kingu wa

Ashita o dō ikita darou ka

If who I am now can only be due, to all that I have given up

"I want to have another go"

What a wilful hope, I must abstain from these forbidden words

There are still answers I'm looking for, I wonder if I'll get any kind of reply

Immortal rock stars

And eternal kings

I wonder how they lived their tomorrows

Kizudarake no sora ga

Yakeni shimiteiku kyō

Nibuku natta ashi de

Kasenshiki o nazori aruku

Every inch of the sky today

is covered in deep burning scars

Weary legs are all I can afford

As I walk along the arid riverbed

Namida ga deru koto wa wakaru

Kimochi ga modoranai no mo shitteru

Sorenara yameteshimaitai keredo

I know my tears will continue to fall

And I know my feelings will never return

Even if I only feel like wanting to give in

Nokosareta nani ka de ima ga kawaru nara

" mōichido" da nante

Sonna nasake wa iwanaideoku kedo na

Soredemo doko ka de ima mo nozondeiru koto ga aru

Densetsu no puro bokusa-

Nazo ni michita aitsu wa

Ashita o dō norikoeta ka na

If all that has changed can only be due, to all that I have sacrificed

"I want to have another go"

Such embarrassing thoughts, I must abstain from these forbidden words

There are still desires I've yet to fulfil, somewhere out there that I have to get through

Legendary pro-boxers

Men of mystery

How did they overcome their tomorrows?

Fuku kaze ni makase

Me o tojite odore

Amai kakuterushoku no sora o aoge

Sonna koe ga kikoeru

Let the wind be your guide

As you close your eyes and dance

While gazing up at that sweet cocktail tinted sky

You can hear just such a voice

Kirisuteta nani ka o hiroi atsumete mo

Mō nidoto modoru koto wa nai to

Wakatteiru noni na

Even if I could slowly collect, everything I have sacrificed

They will never go back to the way that things used to be

I really should know better than this

Kirisuteta nani ka de ima ga aru nara

" mōichido" da nante

Sonna wagamama iwanaideoku kedo na

Soredemo doko ka de ima mo motometeiru mono ga aru

Fumetsu no rokku suta-

Eien no kingu wa

Ashita o dō ikita darou ka

If who I am now can only be due, to all that I have given up

"I want to have another go"

What a wilful hope, I must abstain from these forbidden words

There are still answers I'm looking for, I wonder if I'll get any kind of reply

Immortal rock stars

And eternal kings

I wonder how they lived their tomorrows

Densetsu no puro bokusa-

Nazo ni michita aitsu wa

Ashita o dō norikoeta ka na

Legendary professional boxers

Men of mystery

How did they overcome their tomorrows?

Lyrics from LyricsTranslate

Movement Control Order (18 Mac 2020 - 14 April 2020)

Source: KKM Twitter

Well, the world is currently facing a pandemic, COVID-19. It affects the whole world (here's the link for the live update). The government had issued MCO to all Malaysians to break the COVID-19 chain. In my opinion, the situation here in Malaysia is still under control. Big kudos to all the frontliners and government for taking a swift action. What I've been doing during this MCO? Mostly, I've binge watching and reading my TBR piles. I just finished books that I bought in 2011 and 2014:

1. Kiss Me at Midnight (Eloisa James)
2. When Beauty Tamed The Beast (Eloisa James)
3. The Duke is Mine (Eloisa James)
4. The Lady Most Likely... (Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway)
5. The Lady Most Willing... (Julia Quinn, Eloissa James, Connie Brockway)

I also read two Malays books I bought recently, Haura by Ramlee Awang Murshid and Cinta Yang Tertangguh by Zaza Qry. Funny thing is the main plot of the two books is the same. It is about couples that forgot their marriage due to amnesia (accident). Now, here a list of what I've been watching. To be fair, I've started watching some of the series before MCO:

1. Restaurant on The Edge (Netflix)
2. Love Is Blind (Netflix)
3. Detective Conan Movie 20: The Darkest Nightmare
4. Detective Conan Movie 21: Deep Red Love Letter
5. Detective Conan Movie 22: Zero's Executioner
6. Detective Conan Movie 23: The Fist of Blue Sapphire

Ooo, I've been reading manga online as well;

1. Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R (Seimaru Amagi, Fumiya Satou)
2. Kindaichi 37-sai No Jikenbo (Seimaru Amagi)
3. Detective Conan/Case Closed (Gosho Aoyama)
4. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (Masashi Kishimoto)
5. My Amazing Wechat (iCiyuan)

Other than that, i finally finished making the Taj Mahal nanoblocks (birthday gift from Kak Sya), did some colouring, online shopping (I've been buying telekung lately, I bought three new sets, huhu..) and the most two important activities are eating and sleeping. Beside #StayAtHome, I'm more to #StayInBed really during this MCO. And I find that making my bed every morning is a waste of time since I'm going to get into bed again soon. Still, I made my bed, huhu...

Ooo, I've tried a few new recipes as well; steamed chocolate moist cake and indulgence batik cake which I ate all by myself since my parents don't really dig cakes. I gave some to my aunties but they didn't quite like them because the smell/taste of the eggs (hanyir telur). It seems that as we get older, our sense of smell heightened and we couldn't accept smelly food. So, I'm scared to step on the weight scale after consuming all those cakes and my mom's cooking as well, haha.. I went to work once during this MCO, to prepare the passport statistics. I think that's all for now. Maybe, there will be quite a lot of new entries because of the MCO, maybe... Hopefully...

ps: I had to cancel our trip to Jeju. Already received the tour refund and still waiting for refund from AirAsia