Sawan Masak

I have always loved to cook. A few years back in 2006, a long long time ago now it feels, I lobbied my husband to get me my first oven - a Zanussi ZOE535 Electric Oven/ Grill. Then on, I tried experimenting with recipes especially from the trusted Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson cook books. My family and close friends can vouch for our tried and tested Roast Chicken and how successful that dish is. I have even imparted my knowledge to the rest of the family. Khadra can cook it and just last week, Azrul cooked three birds for my birthday dinner celebrations with the nucleus family. 

Just recently, I had a reason to expand my culinary repertoire. It came in the form of a Kitchen Aid freestanding mixer. I is love. It was on an irresistible promotion, buy the KA mixer at retail price and get the KA heavy duty 4-slice toaster for free. How can one resist?

With that came more experiment. With the help of more Mr. Google, cook books (Nigella lawson's Domestic Goddess is an example) and a lot of tags and recipe hunting on instagram I am proud to share with you some of my success stories. Featured here are the Victoria Sponge cake, Mixed berry pavlova (you better believe it, girlfriend!), Blueberry yogurt cake and Banana pecan muffin (and loaf). Yummers...

 

Instant gratification. Baking is not as hard as it seems, really. I have a lot to share in this respect too. All fueled up by the instant feedback that I get from posting it on Instagram and also looking at my timeline. hihihihihi. Hoping that this won't end up to be one of my HHTA (Hangat-Hangat-Tahi-Ayam) projects though. 

-dillz blogging out-  

Look What the Cat Brought In

Cashed in my nuffnang earnings a month back after about one-year joining the web-advert community. When I got home from work last Friday, this baby was waiting for me. :)

Seronoknya. Alhamdulillah. :)

The next envelope was this letter from the Cawangan Trafik.


Ala.... Nasib baik ada duit nuffnang.

*doing the myeg dance till fade*

-dillz blogging out-

TIme for the World

Managed to catch up a little on the worldly news re #FreedomFloatilla. First it made me sad. Then mad. Very, very mad! Grrrrrr!!

Don't be ignorant, guys. To catch up, please read on:

• A Mere Whimper of A Prayer (he also has a list of must reads in this post)
  
• Guardian: Gaza: From blockade to bloodshed

Here's their version of the story:

• HAARETZ.com : Israeli navy COmmandos Gaza floatilla activists tried to lynch us
• CNN: Israeli military gives version of floatilla incident
  

Did you expect them to serve you tea at midnight instead? Freaking Unbelievable!

-dillz blogging out-

Exercising the Rights of Free Speech

Just got to know that yesterday, 20th May 2010 was the Everyone Draw Mohammed day. Apparently, there's a facebook fan page encouraging everyone to draw the face of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) as well as blogs dedicated to this cause. From my readings, the event transpired in protest of the death threats by Islamic extremists to the several people such as Salman Rushdie, Matt Stone, Trey Parker and the Danish cartoonists. If one could pin it down, it is bacisally the fight of freedom of speech vs. Islamic fundamentalist. The logic goes, if death threats were issued to those who publish images of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), there is no way they (referring to the extremists) can kill everyone if everyone draws a picture of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), is there? Hence, proving a point.

Pakistan, as a nation, has blocked facebook and youtube altogether - read here and here - over 'sacrilegious content'.

I tend to agree with what Ahmed Rehab, the Executive Director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, Chicago, has to say in his piece regarding the matter;

Just because one has a right to do it, it does not make it the right thing to do.

In another article, Zeenat Rahman, the Director of Strategic Partnerships of Interfaith Youth Core wrote:

... interfaith engagement is not only up to rabbis, imams, and priests--we all have a responsibility to know one other. Yes, we can draw pictures that we know will offend others, but should we? Is that progress?

In the end, it is all about tolerance, innit? It's just sad that some (a lot, actually) people have to go to this extent to proof a point.

As for myself. I am exercising my own rights of free will - tak nak masuk facebooklah dalam seminggu ni. Merajuk.

-dillz blogging out-