A Homemaker’s Diary

It’s for August client. I know I said that I feel like not taking any more new orders after my current deal is over in May, but hey, who can turn down a great client who happened to be a friend of my degree mate.

So the deposit was in into my bank account this afternoon and I already placed the order to my supplier for 400 pieces of the raw mengkuang materials. I always feel excited whenever I embark on new deal especially if I haven’t done the products in large quantity. Just to test how efficient my crafty hands will work this time..haha

For those of you who are not familiar with mengkuang, it is a part of pandanus family, I think this is how the real mengkuang plant looks like.

Years ago back in my late grandma kampung house in a remote area in Alor Setar, she used to plant this mengkuang by her telaga so that she would have ample supply of mengkuang leaves to weave her own mat.

I should have learned how to weave the mat, or even learn how the whole process to create the dried mengkuang takes place before we can weave them to become a mat.

But that was years ago when I was still a child and has not discovered the crafty side of my brain..hehe..

I’m not sure whether any of my aunts has learned the craft from her. She was a great cook, a loving grandma and like me she has a terrible way in cleaning and arranging her house. I think most of my personal traits I get from her.

I remembered when I was a teenager and I went to visit her during school holiday, she will cook traditional delicacy and will persuade me to learn the recipe, but at that time I never realized that an opportunity like that will pass if you let it go. I always say to her, there will be next time or other people will know how to cook her delicious kuih lompang.

It makes me realize that whatever knowledge or experience you have, you should teach others and let them inherit those wisdom from you, otherwise when your time in this world is over, you left no legacy behind.

It’s rainy season in Malaysia. I remembered the fact in Geography lesson during my high school year, April is the month in which Malaysia or to be specific states like KL, Selangor will get the most rain..huhuhu..

I know some people like when it rains. But for a stay home person like me, the outlook of cloudy sky does not help to brighten my day. The picture above was taken after a heavy pour one weekend morning before I decided to stop working on my PC and went down to the kitchen to cook.

I was blog hopping today and found one article about Seasonal Affective Disorder. I think I should be thankful that Malaysia does not have winter or else I might be the saddest person too..haha! I think I can try the tips she wrote to overcome the SAD.

I’m glad that my SOHO is on the second level of my double-storey house and instead of a basement like hers, it’s a guest bedroom which Hubby converted into home office. When I peep through the side window that’s what I saw (check the above picture). I dare not open the curtains all the time for fear that those guys staying at the back room at neighbor’s house will see me in less appropriate clothing.

Check out the article, I like tips no. 8 and 10!

Whenever I think about my student loan, I can’t help but to think how burdensome it is now to pay back.

I wish my parents took some kind of education loan policy when they first had me 28 years ago. If they have enrolled in such education scheme for their children education, I don’t need to borrow RM60,000++ from the government of Malaysia to pay for my undergraduate fees. But I think such scheme was not available in my country 20 years ago. Only recently I read in the news that our government came up with such education scheme.

It is not that I don’t want to pay back the student loans, but at the rate of income I have now, the monthly repayment amount was too high for me. I have sent appeal letter to the governing bodies requesting for lower repayment amount or longer repayment period but up till now, it makes no difference. The repayment bill still arrive in the mail box stating the same amount I should pay back to them, sigh!

When I read online about Washington student loan, I was upbeat about such prospect for student loan consolidation.

If you have more than one loan, you can consolidate them and pay just one amount with one interest rate. I know few friends during their degree years who have to take at least 2 different loans to finance their study. Now after completing their degree, they are bound to pay both type of loans from 2 different lenders, of course with different amount and interest rates.

If you took Arizona student loans, you also have the student loans consolidation options to consider. Why can’t my country has such options too?

I was trying to search for related blogs online that I can read on daily basis when I found one about cooking, specifically about all sorts of spices. I was browsing through the collection of writings when I read about nasi kerabu or nasi ulam some called. From the ingredient and method of cooking, it sounds like nasi ulam which usually found in the Northern states of Peninsular Malaysia. This is not the typical Kelantan nasi kerabu which you can buy at pasar malam and roadside stall in the morning.

Actually I think some people call it nasi kerabu since kerabu means a mix up of all kind of herbs. Usually when you make kerabu you will use non-meaty ingredient, like the herbs or normal vegetables, you dice and slice it thinly, mix with salt for tasting and some lime juice for sour taste. It’s like salad that Westerners serve as appertisers but Asians eat together with rice and other meat or fish dish.

I remembered my grandma used to cook this dish during Ramadhan months with asam pedas keladi and ikan masin as the condiment. If you go to Kedah during the Ramadhan month these days, perhaps you could still find a stall or two that sell this nasi ulam (kerabu) done in traditional ways.

The one that my grandma used to make was the one with local herbs or ulam (among them I remember pucuk gajus and putat) found around her house. I don’t think you can find such ulam at ease these days unless you go back to rural area, pick them up from the backyard of the kampung house area.

If you want to see the picture of the nasi ulam, kindly visit the blog I mentioned earlier. I dare not upload the picture here for fear of copyright violations. 🙂

I have typed what I would like to say about brown rice but in the middle of saving and continue editing, my server has problem. I feel like changing my hosting plan with some other local hosting company. I hate when it occurs especially when I’m in the middle of submitting paid posts.

Well, come back to this rice story, I have checked the packaging and it says nothing about brown rice. It says about hi-fibre rice, the brand is Somali and something like Cambodian rice plantation. So is it really brown rice or what? Anyone who has experience and knowledge about this Somali brand rice, please share.

My review for this rice, I don’t like the taste of it…haha! Hubby ate a bowl since he was starving for supper late that night while I was fast asleep. So when I woke up the following morning, I tried to gobble a plate but couldn’t take it. So I ended up driving to the nasi lemak stall by the roadside and bought a packet for breakfast.

There goes my attempt for healthy eating. Luckily I cooked a pot of normal rice that evening, or otherwise we had nothing to eat with my fish dish. So bye brown rice, hope the rice weevil will have good time eating you..haha!