Of Heart and Mind

I've closed this door some years ago... and I thought I'd be closing it for good.  Even my last visit here was years ago.  Today I decided to open it up again.... and maybe I should start writing again.  So many things happened in the last few years, good and bad, happy and sad... now, I guess, is just the time to share some and to keep them here as memories. Welcome back to my space.

Yummy Giant Meatballs Pasta This is my all time favorite.  Whenever I need a simple meal (read = lazy to cook), this is my go-to-recipe.... simple, delicious, tasty - all in one meal. What you need for this recipe? Pasta - as usual, cook according to the directions on the box, drain and lightly coat with Virgin Olive Oil (about 1-2 tbsp).  I used fettuccine for this recipe. You can also use Angel Hair or Spaghetti or Penne. Recipe for Meatballs 300gm lean minced meat (you can mix with minced chicken too... totally up to you) 1 egg 1 cup breadcrumb 1/2 cup fresh milk Salt and pepper Chopped parsley (optional) Mix all of the ingredients with a spatula until well blended. Take about 1-2 tbsp and shape to form a ball - about the size of a golf ball. I used ice cream scoop to ensure consistency in terms of size of the meatballs... but yeah, that is not necessary unless you wanna make sure that the meatballs look pretty on your plate -_- Lightly coat the meatb...

hadirnya tak pernah diduga tidak juga diundang terus mancarik dan merobek koyak tak pernah sekali pun  dirawat dibiar bernanah sampai bila? sinar terik  yang bisa mencairkan  malam yang hitam pekat  yang bisa menyesatkan harus tidak mampu  menyuluh jalan pulang mungkinkah  ini telah dijanjikan seperti nukilan yang tiada penghujung seperti irama yang tiada noktah haruskah pasrah?

Please share and do not copy: You can share the recipes I have in my blog by citing the source and giving credit to the author (just provide the link to this blog http://mybake-n-more.blogspot.com/search/label/Recipes ). You cannot copy the content of this blog and paste it on your blog, wall, etc without citing the source. Enjoy my rants, raves and recipes... and let me know if you have tried them.

This is one of my fav.... you can just dump in anything that fancy, fruits, nuts, chocolates, oats... ANYTHING!  And the best part is... it'll take less than half an hour to prep, about an hour to soak and bake it for 45-60mins.  Voila... they're ready for you to dig in.   Warm Cheese Bread Pudding ... just the way I like it If you are expecting some guests and you don't have enough time to prepare anything to serve them... think of this bread pudding.  You can have it chilled before serving or you can serve it warm - it all depends on what you like.  Alternatively, you can call this WHAT-I-LIKE Bread Pudding.  It is best served with vanilla sauce... but having it without the sauce is just as good. So, are you ready?  Here goes... Spray your baking pan (I used a square 8"x 8" pan) with non-stick baking spray. Cut your preferred bread in cubes and arrange them in the baking pan - arrange or just throw them in.  Style and creativity is n...

Ramadhan always reminds me of my late father.. he left us exactly 10 years ago this month.  How fast time flies, I can still remember how I sat by his grave and wept like a lost child.  Sad, lost, sorry, regret.. all jumbled up inside me and I have no words to best describe how I felt that morning.  My dress was soaking wet with my tears and sweat as I sat there by his grave till noon. How I wish things were different then but I truly believe that these are all His plans for me.  After I graduated, our lives caused us to drift away from each other.  We were busy within our very own circles and I only saw him once or twice in a month.  When he was sick, he stayed with me and I looked after him for a few months before he left for KT in early 2015.  That morning before he left my house.. was the last time I saw him before he fell sick again... the last tine I saw him before he left us for real.  Being bad in saying good byes, I tried to look a...

I am yet to find someone or ‘A Friend’ whom I trust.  Someone who can listen without prejudice, offer advice without any hidden agenda / intents and provide a shoulder to cry on without expecting ‘payback’.   I used to have one but geographical location and distance has made it impossible for us to be like before.  We do keep tab on each other like always but to “sit down, sharing our stories over coffee”, is something that we can’t afford to do now, given our busy schedule as working moms and housewives. Friends are everywhere around you but having a buddy or a sister, in this case, is something so rare that sometimes you just give up trying to look for one.. or give up pretending ‘that’ someone is the one.  They judged you when you confide in them, their jealousy shows when you share your success stories and they silently cheer over your failure.  I learned the hard way, every time.  Even at this age, almost more than 20 years after adole...

I haven't been blogging since like forever.  I have so much to write about but as soon as I hit home everyday, I struggled for that 'extra' time to indulge myself...  dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc etc will always be there for me... day in day out.  Having a live in maid is a no-no for me..... though house chores can be very extremely tiring and challenging at times. But hey, no worries, I will be at home for 2 weeks so I will have a whole load of 'extra' time and I think I can spare some on updating my blog. Today, I want to share one of my favorite recipes ..  Aglio e Olio Pasta.  I've tried so many times to find the perfect recipe, but to no avail.  The one I am sharing today is the closest to 'goodness'.... hehehe.... not yet there, but yeah... edible :D  This is Nik's fav, btw... and it is one of those regular and/or 'must haves' meal in my home. There's always a secret or trick of the trade to a good recipe and I ha...

Sometimes you just have to let go... when things are no longer working out, when blocks start to fell apart and when humor & laughter are turned into sarcasm...  You can say the darnest thing in this whole wide world and still your friend thinks that you are the funniest person on this earth...  When the moment you start losing that 'magic', that's when you know you are also losing that friendship.  That special ship is sinking and you've exhausted all efforts to save it.   Let it go.

Baking cakes is my passion.... Somehow, my passion for bread-making is something that I discovered along the way, out of nowhere. My first 'bread-making' experience was when my husband asked me to make Cinnamon Rolls because he loves eating them with cream cheese. I've been keeping the Cinnamon Rolls recipe for God knows how long.... Since I used hate kneading dough so much, it took me quite a while to try it out.  Was so afraid of failing to make the dough rise, but when I actually made the rolls, the outcome did wonders to me... and so the rest was history. I continue to search for good bread recipes ever since.... and last nite I found one.  This is more of a 'sweet rolls' recipe because it uses honey, but I love it anyway.  Thanks to Allrecipes for this wonderful dinner rolls recipe, but I also made some minor changes to suit my taste buds. Just try it out and let me know what you think... 2.5 tsp active dry yeast, soak for 15 minutes with 1 cup of ...

Lately, i feel so huge and ugly that I can hardly see ME on the mirror..... Exactly how I feel....   HELP!!!!

without me realizing, my last post was in November 2013.  and today is March 6, 2014. OMG! 2013 was like.. came and went so fast and it's already 2014 now.  what ever happened to Jan-Dec 2013??? last year was a very challenging year for me... my skills & my patience of being a mom for more than 16 years were put to test.  i have always thought that raising a daughter will be hard, but what happened proved me wrong.  and so i've learned my lesson, though the hard way.  but as my friends always put it to me, He will never test you beyond what you can bear.  for all it's worth, we all learned from each other's mistake and become better persons, Alhamdulillah.   Naqeeb is in Year 8 now and Nasreen is taking her SPM this year... and Mama fells like walking on thin air.  there will be more crazy, suspense-filled moments this year, i can bet my  fav-bundt-pan  bottom dollar on that! .... any takers, yo? as for me, 2014 started wonde...

My husband had been asking me to bake this ever since like..... foreva!  Because I was afraid of yeast, I used to ignore his request... hahaha! Until I bumped into this at  Allrecipe  .. all I can say is.... it's worth a try.. definitely!  I made this 3 times already and they turned out good every time.  So... LET's! I added some variations to the original recipe... check out the notes below. For cinnamon dough: 2 packs yeast (11g each pack) 1/4 cup warm water (not too hot or you will kill the yeast!) 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I used plain yogurt) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 4 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda Filling: 100 gm butter, melted 1 1/4 cup brown sugar 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon Topping: 250gm cream cheese  1/2 to 1 cup icing sugar, sifted  1 tsp vanilla essence (Beat all ingredients on high speed until smooth and creamy) Preparing the rolls: Dissolve yeast in warm water until foamy - leave for about ...

Home made doughnut has always been my fav kuih... I can say no to Dunkin' Donut or JCO and the likes ..... but soft, home made doughnut covered with castor sugar will melt me anytime. Since i am now sooo in the mood to make kuih that uses yeast - partly because i love to see the foam when you add warm water to the yeast.. and also to see the dough rises - i thought why not I try this one out.  After I did some research (ha! ha!), I finally found one recipe from Azie Kitchen  sometime ago and I have been keeping it like forever... I have never tried it because yeast and knead used to scare the hell out of me! Anyway, I was so bored today and since it was tea time.... I decided to make some doughnut!  I ran through the list of ingredients to make sure I have them all... yes, you don't want to be soakin the yeast only to find out that you don't have enough flour... ak-ahh! OK, all checked. So.. LET's! 11gm (1 packet) of yeast Soak with 200ml warm water (not too ho...

i feel so pooped! I need my afternoon nap!

It was raining cats n dogs today and by the time i reached home it was already 8pm! Sigh!  I really  hate it when it rains in KL... like it's a guaranteed sign that you will be stuck on the road with feet going numb, tummy starting to growl and all you have is the DJ on the radio to keep you entertained.  If you are lucky, you'll get to listen to your favorite songs. There's so much going on in the office and they sucked out all my mood this week.  So today as soon as I got home, I reached out for my loyal friend in the kitchen.... my cake mixer... hee hee hee I've been saving this recipe for so long and it was time to give it a GO.  I never fancy sugee cake but I just love trying new recipes... it gives me a good feeling once the aroma of the baked cake fills the air... and the feeling when you take a bite of the hot-and-fresh-from-the-oven-cake.... priceless! So here goes... SUGEE CAKE  250 gm butter 230gm – 250 gm castor sugar (I used 230 g...

Colorful cupcakes , a photo by Naz - Mad About Cakes on Flickr.

life has its ups and downs.   there's no such thing as perfect lives...  some days , you just have to create your own sunshine and smile while you're at it. take a chance, go where the wind will take you, dance to your music and live your dreams. for life is meant be lived, not grieved, enjoyed, not endured. it takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow... so slow down, take a deep breathe and enjoy every single minute of your life.  

Of late, i find myself wanting to bake something that I have the least interest in, not until these last few months ... like baking traditional kuih or cooking dishes that are not even on my cooking list.  I guess age is catching up on me that I am starting to cook what my mom used to cook ... :0 Last nite I was so bored that I started flipping my 'Saved Recipes - Not Tested' folder.    These are collections from so many sources ...  my friends, cousins, food blogs, magazines, etc.  Then I came across this recipe and I thought the steps are quite simple.. in a dash, I was already in my lil' office preparing the ingredients.  I like this kuih and this is my second time trying.  The first one was not at all successful :(   Anyway, you will need the following ingredients to make this nice Kuih Bakar Pandan: A 10-15 pcs of pandan leaves  2 cups water Blend these two ingredients and sift to get the pandan juice.  Take 1 1/2 cups of p...

they say i live life to the fullest but... they don't know what i went through to be here