Happy Happy Birthday Papa!

Dad is 61 today and at that age I guess his words are starting to hold some ‘weight’. So maybe it is time to share some of his words of wisdom that he instilled in us kids. He has a unique way of imparting words of advice but the message is clear nonetheless. These are some that I remember fondly and try to follow (some without much success yet)!

Wisdom #1: Your great great grandfather Mr Chee Swee Cheng turn 1 cent to 10 cents, and you Kelly Chee turn 10 cents back to 1 cent. (10 second pause for effect) So how much money do you want? RM5 where got enough stupid...here take RM10
Lesson to self: Persevere ... and you shall be rewarded

Wisdom #2: Go and do it yourself. Don’t everything Mary Mary Mary! Next time sapu pantat call Mary ah?
Lesson to self: Be independent

Wisdom #3: If I give someone durian, I make sure I give them more than enough so that when they shit, their tahi also smell of durian
Lesson to self: Generosity (and diarrhoea) is always remembered long past the act of giving

Wisdom #4: Make sure you eat your kacang panjang. If not wait katet like Geok!
Lesson to self: Do not mock others. It can backfire (note: see Ida (height) for explanation)

Wisdom #5: Be nice to others, otherwise when you die, they come and kencing at your grave!
Lesson to self: Either be nice or request for cremation

Wisdom #6: Time and tide wait for no man
What he is really trying to say: Cepat kahwin, I want cucu!
Lesson to self: Buy ear plugs

Happy birthday Papa!!
xoxo

Been a while...

Life has been too busy recently and this blog has been neglected - don't worry the garden is doing fine but we have carrots and potatoes to harvest and they just have to wait. Just back from Paris for work, and now on holiday mode as we are off to Portugal tomorrow for a week of skin sizzling sun!!! Then back to work and off to China straight away (business class baby!! ain't right to complaint!) and after that Paris and Germany again the following week. In hindsight, should have gone for 100 pages passport vs being a cheapie and getting the 30 pages passport. It won't last 5 years at this rate.

I will be back with more pictures after Portugal. Meanwhile, check out my birthday flowers :)

Can you see what I see?

all together now...skip skip skip on the spot while flapping you arms up and down in joy!!!

Oh another thing...I lied about the green jewels of my garden - no not intentionally. I seriously thought it was gooseberries until the lil buggers turn colour on me! So....its no longer 'gooseberries'...but ta-dah! red currents! RUBIES OF MY GARDEN!!
Even prettier!

Sunday rubies

we harvested 2 radishes today....not my favourite veg but such pretty colours. Only reason it made it into my veggie garden. Shallow me?

Visiting Rule No.1

My mummy always says never visit someone empty handed
I think Uncle Tam and Aunty Vee Mon like their veg bouquet from my garden



pak chois, rosemary, bay leaves

Bane of my life

This is one of those blog post that needs some swearing to justify the picture - ok here goes....f£$% f£$% f£$% stupid snails!!!!

Check out how many snails there are from 3 days of hunting around the garden. The most obvious way to look for them is to look out for slimy trails they leave behind after they had their dinner. Another is of course looking for any green baby shoots / leaves that was there yesterday but not anymore today! 3 baby kale shoots and one courgette plant have results in nil produce as the f£$%er ate everything!

So question is...how should I make them suffer? Pour boiling water over them (quick death) or salt (slow death)?

Banana Bread

What is a girlfriend to do when the boyfriend is engrossed with the World Cup?

1) Internet shop but budget is a little limiting this month
2) Look around the flat - a little dusty yes but can I be bothered to clean it? No
3) Watch the game - that takes up 5 minutes
4) Pull funny faces at him - "stop that you're so annoying!" (that also takes 5 minutes)
5) Hunt snails - more of that later
6) Saw 2 sad brown banana that will end up in the compost bin then "light bulb moment" banana bread!

I love this recipe - so easy and always turn out perfect. Done this 4 times and it hasn't disappoint. Must try as guaranteed success :)

This recipe is obviously not mine - something I nicked off Waitrose recipe online.

Ingredients
1 Large egg (I have used medium egg - it still turns out fine)
75ml Vegetable oil
125g Caster sugar
3 Bananas, or 2 bananas and a handful dried banana chips
30g Rolled oats (any oats will do really - my favourite is those 2 min microwave golden syrup oats Scott has for brekkie. ok - maybe favourite is a bit of a stretch, it's a favourite because that's all I have)
150g Plain flour
½ tsp Baking powder
½ tsp Bicarbonate soda
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
40g Dark chocolate, finely chopped (always run out of choc so I replace it with a handful of raisins - turns out fine)


Method
1) Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Line a 1 litre (15cm x 7.5cm) loaf tin with buttered, non-stick baking parchment or silicone paper. Whisk the egg, oil and sugar together until thick. Slice 2 bananas finely and whisk into the mixture. Set aside 1 tbsp of the oats; fold in the remaining ingredients until the mixture is smooth.

2) Pour the batter into the prepared tin and sprinkle the surface with the reserved oats.

3) Slice the remaining banana and arrange the pieces on top, or use the dried chips.

4) Bake for 40–50 minutes or until golden.

5) The cake is done when a metal skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow the tea bread to cool in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5

Happy...



not 1...



not 2...



not 3...



not 4...



but 5 anniversaries!!!

Taste of Summer

We picked our first strawberries yesterday!!! 11 perfectly formed strawberries - they smell and taste of summer
I was worried the first batch would be sour but OMG - so so sweet. It was amazing!



one perfectly formed, one not quite
but both are yummy - who cares!



as big as my cheeks!

Weekend in Pictures

Recent addition to the flat - vintage jam jar and enamel pink jug. Love love them!



fresh salad - everthing from the garden. ok...i will stop rubbing it in now



raspberries popping out of the bud - they are turning colour now!



BBQ with the Chees





grilled banana with chocolate - yum...