Apple And Cranberry Cookies

I am not a fan of cookies but when I saw this recipe in one of the chinese cookbook , I knew I had to try it out :)  It turned out delicious.  Was suppose to post this up a few months back :p but due to my tennis elbow, I totally forgotten about these cookies .  Good stuff are supposed to be shared and this is one good cookies that will have you wanting more :)  Great with a cup of hot coffee ...especially Ipoh White Coffee :)

Melodica

The other day , my Piggies's music teacher rang up to say hello . We have not been seeing each other for months now.  We were talking about her students and she told me about one of her student is also taking up lessons on how to play the Melodica.  I really do not know what is a Melodica , being illiterate in music instruments but I pretended to know LOL!  I quickly googled for it and now I know that it is a small hand held reed organ.  Invented by the German company Hohner in the 1950s and is popular in schools  and one can order a melodica from musicians friend online .  I must really widen my horizon on musical instruments

Dried Longan And Aloe Vera Tong Sui

The weather is hot and having been eating spicy food the past few weeks, I boiled some sweet dessert soup/tong sui with aloe vera to counter the heat in our body.  A friend gave me some aloe vera that she planted in her own garden.  Chilled them before serving and this is  the best cooling agent for our body.  I can have two bowls of this delectable sweet dessert at one go :)   The ingredients for this sweet dessert are

1 large blade of aloe vera - cut into cubes

2  screwpine leaves - tie into a knot

2 pieces of white fungus ( suet yee) - soaked for 5 mins, cleaned and squeeze dry

1 cup of dried longan

1 piece of gula melaka

1 litre of water

5 pieces of red dates

Method:

Pour 1 litre of water into a soup pot , add in the screwpines and red dates and boil till fragrant, add in the gula melaka and dried longans and cooked till the longans are  puffed out and the gula melaka has dissolved.  Add in the white fungus and and continue to boil for another 10 mins. Off the heat and add in the aloe vera cubes.   When the sweet soup has cooled down, chilled them in the fridge before serving.

Happy Mother's Day to Mommies  :)

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Happy Mother's Day

Budgeting For Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is approaching fast, but that doesn’t mean it’s late for you to create a budget for Mother’s Day gift. If you start putting aside some amount even starting from today, you’ll be able to forgo debt and buy something for your mom that fills her with holiday cheer.

Occasions like Mother’s Day, Christmas and so on can lead you to financial stress as you may have to spend a large sum in an instance, but if you plan in advance, you can enjoy the day with your mom and avoid financial burdens as well. Occasions are not an emergency; they don’t come all of a sudden.

You need to plan some guidelines to follow and also research on how you can save more at the time of purchase. Here are some tips to help you out:

1. Create a list of options

There are several options you’ll have for presents to give on Mother’s Day. You can create a list of possible things that you can buy, and this will also prevent you from getting carried away when the time comes. You can also search for deals, discounts, promos and coupons in advance. For example, you can save through Proflowers promo codes and coupons from other flower delivery companies if you plan to get her fresh flowers.

There are coupons for other gift items available as well such as  Milne Jewelry coupons and codes from other gift retailers. Look for Mother’s Day coupons in newspapers, magazines as well as on the internet.

2. Be realistic

Be realistic when making the budget for the present to give to your mother. After having determined the amount available to spend, consider the possible options that you made a list of before. Can you buy 2-3 things in the set amount? Or a 1 more expensive present would do? This is something you need to figure out.

You don’t need to scratch your head though, as it’s easy to find out and stay on track. Ask your mom’s friend or your dad on the type of present she would like, so you can get an idea of her interest and consider whether multiple or a single, more expensive item would do justice.

3. Maintain a separate account

After you’ve decided the budget that you have to save for the gift, you can place the money in an envelope or a savings account. You can even consider a separate savings account exclusively for special occasions like this one, and place all savings for gifts in that account.

When making your purchases, use only checks, cash or debit card. This will help you to keep the money in the savings account safe for its actual purpose and also prevent you from overspending.

4. Ask your siblings for help

If you have siblings, ask your brother or sister to contribute if you want to give your mom something extra special.

They may be ready to help you out when you are trying to make her feel special, even if you plan to go individual with the present rather than combined.

These tips will help you in the Mother’s Day gift budget, and even if you do end up overspending before, you can always modify your budget; a good budget is the one that is flexible and evolves.

Steamed Pumpkin Muffins

I  prefer steamed pumpkin muffins to baked ones :) I mean after eating these soft and fluffy ones I have to admit that these are truly delicious.  A keeper no doubt and the whole preparation took just 30 minutes .  I steamed the pumpkin the night before and prepare the pumpkin batter in the early morning in time to take to office for my colleagues .   They gave a thumbs up for these steamed pumpkin muffins.  I used the japanese pumpkin instead of the local ones , not that it taste better but because it is not as sweet as the local.  I find the local ones are overly sweet for my taste  LOL!   I took  the recipe from  Food4Tots .  She has many healthy recipes on her blog which I truly love and shall try some of her recipes in the near future.  Read on for the recipe..........

Mator USA - Safety Knives

Our Sunday school supervisor Bro Shum has ordered some crafts materials and safety cutters for our weekly lessons preparation.  We , the Sunday school teachers were very happy that he thinks of our safety when he ordered online  Martor USA - safety cutters which is specially designed with accident preventation features.  We need to prepare a lot of craft work for the kids and with these safety cutters, the risk of injuring our hands will be nil. We really have to thank our Bro. Shum for these caring thoughts.

Coffee Meringue Cookies

Coffee Meringue Cookies !!!  Melts in the mouth and it is so addictive :) I keep popping them into my mouth the moment the cooled down.  These coffee meringue cookies are fat free , low calorie and flourless. It is best to make meringue cookies when the humidity is low or they will not crisp properly.  I am not good at making these yet...thus that answered you why they are out of shape...more like dancing meringue cookies :p  Read on for the recipe :)

Brown Christmas Lights For Our Tree :)

We have been searching around for brown christmas lights for the past one year and yesterday Wild Boar's friend showed him the ones he bought online.  Wild Boar is so happy that he found what we had been looking for the past one year and he is delighted with the wide selection they have on their website. He can pick the clear brown cord wire set or the clear light set brown wire or white LED Christmas Lights with brown wire.  All seems to fit in well with our tree. Heehee I know WB can't wait for Christmas to come :)  He can be like a child sometimes :p