Domestic Goddess? ...I think not!

I have been maidless for nearly a year now and domestic goddess I am not. I love cooking and baking but cleaning up afterwards and doing laundry is not my favourite past time. I don't mind loading up the washing machine and hanging out the laundry but ironing and folding is not what I call fun. I force myself, literally to do it when things seems to get out of hand, especially today when I look at the spare bed in my daughter's room starting to look like Mount Clean Laundry. Razman is forced to iron his own shirt to work, not that he complains but I am sure some MCP out there are dying to stake me up and tear me limb to limb.

But then I may able to avert such action by offering the said MCs (I am not referring to any specific boys' fartenity...opps I meant fraternity;-) here ) this lovely extra moist chocolate cake I tried for Nigella Lawson's " How to be a Domestic Goddess":

It's a very easy cake that requires very little handling. The only weird part was that it uses boiling water (not 'boiled' water, mind you there is a difference). I was a bit apprehensive about that part, worrying that I will end up with a puddle of oily scrambled eggs. Much to my relief, no such thing happened. The batter was quite liquid and when its time in the oven was up, it didn't really look 'done' like other cakes. I followed directions to the 't' and happy to report that it came out exactly and described.

It was not Super chocolaty, due to the fact that there is only 1 chocolate ( and I used the best quality I could lay my hands on) element in it and only 100g of it but Super moist it is. Important thing to remember is to wait till it is cool to remove from the pan, otherwise you end up with hot mush. As claimed, I had a piece today of what's left of it after three days, it certainly does improve with age.

There goes my thighs....

Fried Noodles

From top left: Bean sprouts, fried tofu, fresh tomatoes (cut into eight) , sliced beef, pepper, oyster sauce, tomato ketchup, sweet soy sauce, fresh noodles, mustard leaves and sliced shallots.

Heat wok and add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil. Saute shallots till golden and add chili paste if you want the noodles to be hot. Saute till fragrant.

Add beef and continue sauteing.

Add all the vegetables except beansprouts ( beansprouts are added last after cooking is nearly done). Stir and season with oyster sauce, pepper, soy sauce, tomato ketchup. Taste and add salt if needed. Stir fry till vegetables are slightly wilted and add the noodles. If too dry add a little stock or water. Then add the noodles and continue stirring. Finally just before you take it off the heat add the beansprouts and fried sliced tofu.

Viola! Ready to be eaten in less than 30 minutes! You can add or exchange the vegetables to something else like cabbage and such, but remember to cut so that able to cook quickly.

Tin/Aluminium....

Yes, it is that time of year again...we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this Friday 11th April 2008. 10 years ago, I was up to my neck with wedding preparation. I made all the bunga telur and hantaran myself with some help from my mother and sister. Unfortunately, this year's celeberation has to be postponed to a later date as my other half is on his way to JB till Sunday.

10 years may have passed but I am still as 'cute' as ever and him even 'cuter' still. There is a major reason why the photo is cropped as such... :-). No more moustache and lots of gray hair. Of course he will claim that is due to the fact of being married to me. Hahaha!

My question of "How and why did I ever marry you?", which I have asked him numerous occasions have been answered by his card to me.

Till next year....

Breakfast last Sunday.

Eat your heart out! ;-) Orang Malaysia tak heranlah....