My Cookery Stuff

Samples Pictures Of Renovation

2007-04-06T13:33:00.000+08:00

Here are some of my collection of sample house reno. photos :-

Overall House Renovation Budget Planning

2007-04-05T09:23:00.000+08:00

Here's our budget planning for our home renovation (for my future reference :>):-

Kitchen Extension
Bathroom Moving & Reno.
Kitchen Table Top
Full Tiling for Bathroom & Kitchen
Kitchen Floor Tiling

Total Cost : RM 28,000

Renovation Plan Submission : RM 1,000

Exterior & Interior Painting : RM 4,000

Power Points Installation : RM 1,000

Plastering : RM 2,000

Kitchen Cabinet : RM 4,000

Kitchen Appliances:-
Hob
Oven
Hood

Total Cost : RM 3,800

Bath Room Accessories:-
Basin
Tab
Mirror
Tower Hanger

Bi-Folding Doors (X2) RM 700
Total Cost : RM 1,700

Living Room Furniture:-
Coffee Table
TV Bench
Sofa Set
Light

Total Cost : RM 4,500

Dining Room Furniture:-
Dining Set : RM 1,000

Master Room Furniture:-
Wardrobe
Bed Frame
Side Tables

Total Cost : RM 4,000

Accessories & Lights : RM 1,000

Accond. RM 4,500

Total Estimated Cost : RM 60,000

Wardrobe Placing Problem...

2007-04-05T09:02:00.000+08:00

Finally we have decided on which contractor to engaged for our house renovation. The kitchen renovation plan has been drawn out carefully and lots of thoughts has been put in. We will have a 'L' shape kitchen desktop and with some cabinets on the bottom part of the desktop. And a ceiling high cabinet will be installed to place the oven and others.

When it comes to where to place our wardrobe in the master room, it's really a headache for us. Our master room is not so big but just nice the size. It's 13 X 20 feet in dimension, but the bathroom has took up 13 X 5 feet of space in total.

Initially we plan to have a 8 feet width wardrobe but looks like we really run out of space due to the room dimension. So we have decided to buy a 6 feet width wardrobe with higher storage space. Hope it is enough for us to keep our clothing, luggage suitcase and others.

When looking for wardrobe supplier, we have 2 options :-

1) Ready Made (Not sure about the quality)
2) Build In/Custom Made Wardrobe (better sliding mechanism)

I have few supplier in mind :

Maxima
KianClassic
Hayer System

Our budget is around RM 1500 - RM 2300. Hope can find what we want during HomeDec 07 at KLCC.

Tags: Wardrobe Build In Wardrobe Bedroom Bathroom Furniture
House Renovation Malaysia House
Malayasia
Malaysia Built-In Wardrobe

New House Renovation

2007-03-29T12:05:00.000+08:00

Finally we are going to have our very own new house - 20 x 70 doubel storey ! And privacy is back ! I am waiting for this for so long !

So many things need to plan for our new house renovation yet I am getting more and more excited on it. My boy, Justin also looking forward to move in.

Imagine I can have my own living room, decorated with my own color scheme & favourite decorative items, a small garden in front of the house for gardening, an ample kitchen for me to spend my cooking & baking time. Lots of good things that I am looking forward to.

But 1st before all of these can be realized, we have to work out the renovation plan first.

Kitchen Extension
Washroom Relocation
Tiling
Painting....

Hmm...sems not much but me and my hubby have lots of arguments on these renovation ideas. Each one of us wants different things & design. Well, either one of us has to step aside in order to make sure things can go smoothly and plan out fine.

So at the end, we have settled on which reno guy to appoint for the renovation work. We will not do any renovation on the car porch area since out of budget. The estimated time need is 4-5 weeks.

Next....
Once the main piling work & wall construction is completed, we have to go and choose which tile design that we like for kitchen table top, walls, washroom walls and kitchen floor. I am looking for those color with 'zen' & more natural tone.

Next....
We have to choose paint colors for our interior & exterior walls. Interiors includes living room walls, dining room walls, master room walls and stairs + upstair living room. I prefer those not so strong but light, close to white color scheme.

Next....
My favourite part is furnitures shooping since I got chances to shop around some of the furniture shops/malls and see those nice furniture set and choose my favourite one.

Sofa Set, TV Cabinet, Coffee Table
Dining Set
Wardrobe, Bedframe
Lights
Decorative Items...

We prefer simple and nice kind of design. Not too complicated. Last weekend we managed to visit a Hong kong style furniture shop in Klang. Red Apple is the shop name, it sounds sweet to me. The furniture style all looks very simple and small and cute too ! All with very sharp curve and nice color tones. But we think that the furniture is more suiable for those staying in apartment/condo couples/family. And the price not cheap also...so we just have short browse and look at the design. The guys that met us is quite nice, one with american slang and the other one trying his best to chat with us in mandarin...haha....

I am not sure about the quality of local-made furniture compare to imported one...

Tags: Renovation New House Garden Property Paint Color
Privacy

We Love Sushi So Much !

2006-10-09T11:36:00.000+08:00

Me, my son and my hubby likes to eat sushi so much ! We have bring him to Japanese restaurant since he was 1 year old. So he quite familiar with the taste of Japanese food and he likes to eat seaweed as well. I know some kids don't like the fishy smell of it. Last time we have sushi meal almost twice a month. We love Genki Sushi a lot too ! But it's quite expensive if eat in this kind of restaurant. Last Saturday we decided to make some sushi for ourselves. My hubby have bought some seaweed/wakame, sushi vinegar and soya sauce from Japan. So I just need to buy Japanese Rice, bamboo mat.

The Japanese rice is very different from our local rice in terms of shape, colour and size. The size of Japanes rice is smaller and more in a round shape, compare with the rice we eat daily. And it looks more transparent also. I have planned to make a Futomaki /Norimaki, type of thick rolled sushi and uses different type of ingredients for filling; Nigiri Sushi, sushi with vinegar rice top with raw fish or vegetables. There are the ingredients I used :

Asparagus
Short Bean
Carrot
Cucumber
Eggs (Nigiri)
Prawns (Nigiri)
Tuna Fish wit Mayonese (We like it so much !)

This is first time I cook with Japanese rice. So I was not sure how much water needed. (Anyone have good experience welcome to share !).

So I just cooked the rice as usual. But outcome is the rice is abit too wet and soft. I have put too much of water I think. So I realized that cooking Japanese rice no need to put so much water. I let the rice cooker lead opened for a while after cooked and the rice managed to get harder and drier.

Next I waited til the rice cooled first before I added in the Sushi Vinegar. What I like about this vinegar is the smell is sweet and soft, not so strong compare to other types of vinegar. Maybe this is due to its sugar content.

When you make Nigiri sushi, remember to wet your hand with water first because the rice can be very sticky and difficult to handle.

Here are some of mouth watering sushi that I have made. Hope you like it ! haha ...you can try to make some because it's quite easy to make, economical compare to Genki Sushi and the taste I can tell you is YUMMY ! My son and my hubby love it !

Related Articles : Sushi History Types of Sushi All About Sushi

Tags: Japanese Food Sushi Seaweed Home Made Nigiri Sushi
Futomaki Sushi Wakame Japan Health Snack Japanese Rice Sushi

Looking For A Whole Grains Snack For Your Kids ?

2006-10-06T17:02:00.000+08:00

Here is another yummy recipes for your kids after my posting of Hawaiian Nut Cookie Recipe.
This recipe uses 'Popcorn' as main ingredient. I am sure your kids will love it !

Popcorn is a whole grain food which makes it a high-quality carbohydrate source that is not only low in calories, but a good source of fiber. This means it takes longer to chew and makes you feel full longer. Compared to many snack foods, popcorn is low in calories. Air-popped popcorn provides only 30 calories per cup. When oil-popped, it contains only 55 calories. Even drizzled lightly with butter, it's only 90 to 120 calories per cup.

Crunchy Popcorn Trail Mix

5 cups popped popcorn
3 cups whole grain oat cereal
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup peanuts (or other nuts)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
6 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon light corn syrup

* Stir together popcorn, cereal, raisins and nuts in large microwavable bowl; set aside.

* Combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in small saucepan. Heat until boiling; cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour over popcorn mixture, stirring to coat evenly.

* Microwave 3-4 minutes, stirring and scraping bowl after each minute. Spread onto greased cookie sheet; cool. Break into pieces and store in airtight container.

Nutritional Information (based on 1 serving)
Total Calories 230; Total Fat 13g; Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 180mg; Carbohydrate 27g; Fiber 3g; Sugars 13g; Protein 4g

Tags: Snacks Whole Grain Kids Recipes Popcorn Snack Homemade
Healthy Food High Fiber Low Calories Cooking Dining Carbohydrate Quick Snacks Cookies

Temptation Of Chocolate !

2006-10-05T11:19:00.000+08:00

I went to bookshop yesterday and manage to find myself a good recipe book : Temptation Of Chocolate. When I flipped through the book, those yummy chocolates pastries, cakes and desserts really melt my heart and make me want to try to make one myself ! So I just bought it !

I started to dig into the net to find all information about chocolate form history, how it is made to different types or categories of chocolate.

I never know there are so many different types of chocholate out there. Chocolate is made from roasted Cocoa Beans and it is originated from South America. I believe no one can resist the temptation of chocolate with its creamy and silky taste !

History

The cacao tree apparently originated in the foothills of the Andes in the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America. It was introduced into Central America by the ancient Mayas, and cultivated in Mexico by the Toltecs and later by the Aztecs.

Cocoa trees will grow in a very limited geographical zone, of approximately 10 degrees to the North and South of the Equator. Nearly 70% of the world crop is grown in West Africa.

Cocoa was an important commodity in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Spanish chroniclers of the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés relate that when Moctezuma II, emperor of the Aztecs, dined he took no other beverage than chocolate, served in a golden goblet and eaten with a golden spoon. Flavored with vanilla and spices, his chocolate was whipped into a froth that dissolved in the mouth. No less than 50 pitchers of it were prepared for the emperor each day, and 2000 more for nobles of his court.

Chocolate was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards and became a popular beverage by 1700. They also introduced the cacao tree into the West Indies and the Philippines. It was used in alchemical processes, where it was known as Black Bean.

The cacao plant was first given its name by Swedish natural scientist Carl von Linné (1707-1778), who called it "Theobroma cacao" or "food of the gods".

Quiz :

Who is the leading country for cocoa processing ? Netherlands
Which country has the highest cocoa consumtion per kapita ? Belgium [5.5 kg]

Do you know that chocolate is the most popular ice cream flavor, after vanilla ? Chocolate also recognized as The Food Of Love.

Types of Chocolate :

Chocolate Couverture

Couverture is a term used to define high quality chocolate coating that contains a high percentage of cocoa butter. Chocolate couverture contains at least 32% cocoa butter and for good quality courverture at much as 39%. This high percentage of cocoa butter give couverture a shiny appearance, thin consistency when melted and excellent flavour. Usually chocolate couverture also contains a high chocolate liquor content which strengthens the flavour.

Chocolate courverture is used by professional to coat, mould, bake or dip and garnish. Courverture must be tempered before use to stabilize the cocoa butter, giving it a glossy finish and a hard crisp consistency. If it is not tempered before use it will look a poor streaky colour and may look unappetising.

Generally on the packaging of couverture chocolate you will find a formula giving you the percentage of cocoa solids, sugar and cocoa butter or fat content.

It melts and spread easily. It is very sensitive to heat and you should not melt it with a temperature higher than 42 Celsius.

Health Benefits of Chocolate :

Cocoa has about twice as many antioxidants as does red wine, and up to three times more than green tea. Antioxidants are thought to be healthful compounds. Several chocolate manufacturers are beginning to offer chocolate products with guaranteed levels of these antioxidants, called polyphenols.

Tags: Chocolate Cocoa Bean Recipes Pastries Couverture
Quality Chocolate Antioxidants Red Wine Cooking Dining Food Cakes

Here Is A Recipe Worth RM 250 (USD68.00) From Famous Amo Cafe

2006-09-20T11:38:00.000+08:00

Someone I know, definitely not me have bought this recipe from Famous Amos Cafe with RM 250.00/USD68.00. I think you can get this kind of recipes from Internet without spending even a cent or free.

Here is the recipe to share. Try it and I am sure you will love the taste. I have not try on the recipe but someday will.

Hawaiian Nut Cookie Recipe

2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal &
blend in blender
to a fine powder)
24 oz. chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt
18 oz. Cadbury bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and
vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt,
baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips,
Cadbury bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place
two inches apart on a cookie sheet.. bake for 10
minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 122 cookies..

Tags: Cookies Recipes Cooking Hawaiian Nut Famous Amos

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