GLOOMY JANUARY

After the frenzy at the end of 2011, the beginning of 2012 seems to be sluggish for me. When Adik started schooling , I was overcome by a feeling of melancholy. After having her home constantly for  over a month, I felt the days stretched too long and I was wishing the school hours  that end at  2pm would end sooner. It somehow escaped my mind that the primary school she used to attend for 6 years ended at 4pm everyday except Thursday ! The weather doesnt help either...

Matter was made worse when my gym instructor, a sweet, friendly and  most helpful young girl, involved in a motor vehicle accident and died instantly. I was with her on Thursday and on Friday she was gone forever. I got the news at home and was very thankful that Abah was around as I needed a shoulder to cry on. Adik was attending the tamrin as a part of the school's orientation week program. When we picked her up later in the afternoon and conveyed the news to her, Adik too burst  into tears. Over the school holidays,Adik regularly accompanied me to the gym  and had  become close with the late Nik as she would  spent time while waiting for me, either on the net or chatting with the late Nik ( if nobody needed Nik's attention).

All of us, Adik and me, all my gym buddies and her co-workers are missing her a lot and we still talk about her from time to time. We kept reminiscing how she would go extra miles to make our sessions at the gym fun and beneficial for us. How she was always open to suggestion from us, the makciks. She was the only girl in her family and was engaged to be married soon. One could only imagine how hard the news affected her own family. I couldnt bear  going  near the building for more than two weeks.

Adik and me especially had a good long talk about her death and we mutually agreed that we should appreciate  everyone we know more, and be more forgiving to others even if they might have hurt us, as we never know when they or we are going to be called back to our Rabb.

In the following week, another young person that we have never actually met, but the family has a close relationship with us, also died tragically while fighting narcotic addiction. As the family related how hard the effort he made to change, and how the wardens actually witnessed him recited the shahadah before closing his eyes permanently, we gleaned another lesson here. We shouldnt be quick in judging others at all. And as we talked about it on the car later, I felt that I could relate to how addiction was so hard to fight. Even in our all sound faculties, its not easy for us to control, say, our  unhealthy eating habit,  let alone to fight something that has gotten grip of our whole being.

January progressed with more depressing news. A close friend of mine was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, another close associate faced another crisis in her life, a cousin trying to weather the storm that is brewing in her marriage and a shocking revelation from someone who confided in me how she is actually a hermaphrodite and asking for help...

These are all strong women who face the trial with redha and I learn priceless lessons from all of them.

Then, Abah got an attack of severe vertigo. He used to get it every few years, the first one while we were in the UK about 17 years ago. Initially,I was not alarmed as it usually last for a day and then he would get better and wont show up again for a few years. But this time, it recurred after two weeks. Abah was listening to the khutbah  Jumaat  when it hit again for the second time. (The first one was while he was waiting for iftar at home with me.) He managed to finish the prayer sitting down and vomited right after that. When Adik saw a car stopped and three people carrying a man into our house, she called me and said somebody's sick and came to see Abah. Then Adik got to see how sick Abah was...She was at the said tamrin when the first one occurred and was like 3 years old when the previous episode took place.

In this very last week , I finally gather enough strength to resume my normal activity. I have been to the gym and have been sprouting seeds for our edible garden. I bought the seeds from here. And teach myself Arabic. And started my class again at the shelter home (after a two-month hiatus as I need some respite). And read, a lot.Currently, I'm reading this.(InsyaAllah I'll be writing more about my salad growing and about the very beneficial book)

Adik is happier now. In the first two weeks, I have to deal with her mood swings as she was missing her friends from primary school. Most of them chose to be in full boarding school, so they couldnt even meet on weekends. She would cry for no reasons and all I can do is hug her....

There's some  uplifting news too, to be fair.

Ayah Long is a Dato' now, being knighted by the Agong and Ummi and Abi are grandparents as Achik produced a super cute baby girl.This technically made Abang and Adik, uncle and aunty as both of you suckled from Ummi, my most beloved oldest sister.

And funny news too. We discovered that the girl wedded to the famous TV3 presenter is actually one of the girls that showed us around Seoul when we were there.And we have photos of her sans hijab and Adik edited the photo here as she was asking for anyone who has photos of her on fb or blogs etc to please respect her new image...

So, that is a looong account of our  (mostly depressing) January. 

Anyway, we still have so much to be thankful of...

Here's hoping for a better month ahead...( and more cheerful entry!)

FAREWELL 2011, WELCOME 2012...

2012 is looming  and the auditor who keeps checking on this unworthy blog keeps harping on me to update...do you really have to? 

Its not that I dont want to update but December, as always, is a hectic month. To begin with, lots of walimahs  to attend, high on list was the one for both Mak Uda's daughters who got hitched on the same day and were feted in one big kenduri to save cost, hehe (as Mak Uda has so many children!!). Our beloved Kak Naheed and Kakchik Khadijah are now wives...Alhamdulillah. So, we were in KL for almost a week, then back to Kelantan for another round of walimahs of various friends and relatives. Then off to Penang to visit Abang of course. 

In between those times, we did nusrah for jamaats that came to our mosque. As it was raining almost everyday, we took the task of washing their clothes and the drier never stop spinning.

Then, came the preparation for Adik's new world in secondary school...Right after the UPSR result was announced, the application form for the much sought after school, namely Maahad Muhammadi (P) was promptly  filled up. Adik was then called up for an oral test followed by a written one. Alhamdulillah, with so much do'as from all of us, Adik got a place. There were 840 students competed  for 400 places allocated. A scramble for all spanking new school uniforms and fees to be deposited in school's account, amongst other things, followed. Then only could we relax a bit...

And to end 2011 on a good note, we went out for 3 days in Masturat Jamaat so that we could remind ourselves again and again on the importance of having constant worry on our imaan and amaal. Alhamdulillah, Adik picked up another good habit this time, which is reading 2 pages of the holy Qur'an upon finishing  every fardh solat. By Isya', she would have read 1 juz,MasyaAllah....May Allah gives Adik taufeeq to hold on to this good practice throughout her life...In the last khuruj she participated, Adik picked up the good habit of performing ablution before going to bed and it seems to stick, Alhamdulillah. May Allah choose all of us again and again to go out on the path of Allah to learn Deen , to correct ourselves, to restrain our nafs and to learn to live our lives according to the way of those who had been declared radhiallahu 'anhum .

So, in a few days time, we will have a change of our timetable. As Adik's new school is quite a distance away and a stay in school hostel  was ruled out,(for the house would be very lonely without you) we have to start early. No more dilly-dallying in the morning as you used to. It will take some times to get used to it and stronger willpower of course. For the whole 6 years of primary schooling, with the timing of a private school and the fact that the school is just in our vicinity,Adik could afford to iron her uniforms, finish up homeworks and even memorised few ayaahs from the holy book before setting off to school.No more of it ya Dik....

Its quite a task for Mama and Abah too... We have mapped out the shortest and least congested road though, with the help of google map no less haha!! InsyaAllah, we are quite sure you  could handle it well Adik...Abang was faced with harder challenge when he entered the madrasah and he adjusted really well and seems to flourish even more in stricter regime...

Lastly, we are praying that 2012 will be a better year for all of us...Abang aims to finish his hafadzan in 2012, Adik to learn more religious subjects in Arabic. It is actually the single most important reason why we choose MMP for Adik, not because it is arguably the best school in Kelantan or the fact that it has produced the best student who hold the record of 20As in SPM.

May Allah makes everything goes smoothly for both of you my beloved Abang and Adik.....

OUCH!! (part 2)

Just as everybody in this household is taking it for granted that I am all fit and healthy all year long, and they were all happily packing away to go for a short break, I decided to pull a quick one. Its a given anyway. I deserve extra attention once a year. And to get that, I must fell sick...(and err... I kind of promised myself to do this anyway)

I perched on the study table and stared and stared...halooo,look at me!!!! but they were so busy zipping and unzipping the bag again and again and didnt notice my staring at them with a crooked smile until the very last minute.

And Adik shrieked!!! Huh,at last I got your attention!.....Yes, my lower canine tooth was falling out okay...it was juuust hanging on and kind of pointing out to one side already, causing the crooked smile as I couldnt close my mouth properly by then. And Mama shrieked even louder when she saw it. They fussed and fussed about me and I loved every minute of it!! 

The BIG questions were, was I in pain? Should they go ahead and try to pull it out? Was any of them brave enough to do that?

No answer to any of those...

They wanted to consult Abah  who had  flown a day earlier to do some work, but decided against it as it was very late already. Abah must have gone to sleep. Mama then went online in search of advice and instructed Adik to look for signs of:

• Red, irritated appearance of the gums
• Bad breath
• Rotten appearance of teeth  

Alhamdulillah, none of it....From the net, Mama deduced that if a cat has teeth that are falling out, it can either be a completely normal process or one indicating that an underlying health condition exists.

They decided to deal with it tomorrow, kissed me goodnight and allowed me to sleep with them. YES!!!

I slept soundly but I know Mama didnt, because she had learned so much from the net just then and she was feeling guilty!!! The vet did check my teeth when we go for our yearly booster but he never said a thing about brushing teeth and Mama, ignorance in many things as she is, never seen anyone brushes cats' teeth in her life!!

Morning came and it was very chaotic. They had to catch their flight around noon but I was the priority here!! Matter was made worse when Abang called early in the morning asking Mama could she please send him a towel! He said he has been borrowing a friend's towel for the last few days...Mama was beyond shock!! ( biasa la mama kan, drama queen sokmo!) How could he leave towels behind? Personal hygiene ranks very high in Mama's list, so she didnt take it very well when Abang said to just bring the towel when they come to visit .(Abang said that after Mama exploded)

Well, in my opinion, Abang shouldnt be blamed. It was frantic the day he left. On the first day of  Eid-al-Adha we slaughtered 2 cows on our backyard , shared mostly with Abah and Mama's siblings. So, you can imagine the full house with cousins ( an occasion very much enjoyed by Abang and Adik of course) and the works that followed after. Abang helped out a lot. Yes, it was a yearly affair and Abang is quite adept at it by now but still, his room was a mess as it was used for male cousins to lepak, change and pray. He had tried to gather all his things but still...And his flight back to Penang was very early the next morning. 

So, Mama became very stressful and snapped at Adik at every single mistake she made...kesian adik. 

The vet was closed and so were the courier companies as it was the birthday of our beloved Sultan. Many calls were made and to cut the long story short, a back-door transaction(shhhh!) was finally made with a courier agent. A visit to the famous pet shop of Kubang Kerian and a chat with the ever friendly and knowledgeable owner saw Mama heaving a relief sigh . He calmly assured Mama that it is an entirely normal aging process.

Just before noon, I was  left with the neighbour who is as crazy about me as my own family with loads of premium wet food together with a  what-to-do/ watch-out  list.

They barely had time to catch the flight...and off the went to KUCHING, of all the places!!

I am very satisfied to know that they didnt really enjoy their time there as there were too many reminders of me...heheheh. Mama even updated her fb status with: In Kuching and missing our kucing!!

none of them is as cute as me tho...

Ok folks,I need my beauty sleep now...so long!!

Dr. M. Grey

COME HOME NOW!!!

Friday Evening

I'm writing this sitting in the car waiting for Abah praying the Maghrib prayer at Masjid Muhammadi. Its so serene here, the sight, the sound. We arrived 5 minutes before the azan was called out, and within that few minutes, cars lined up and filled both sides of the road shoulders. Family with children, youngsters, old men and women and all sort of people thronged the majestic building. Really evoke the grateful feeling of being a Kelantanese and  actually living here in me. Not 15 minutes ago I was horrified at the crowd at  KB Mall. Truth is, we very rarely go to the mall on weekends. So, what is normal to others was frowned upon by us. When we were coming out, there was still a long queue of cars waiting to get in and I was horrified that people were still coming in to the mall when Maghrib is so near. Well, there is a small surau in the mall anyway...

I came to realise that it has been a long while since Abah and me got to spend time alone together. In fact, I think  this is the very first time both of you, Abang and Adik, are not with us at night time....Adik went off to join her school program, camping on some beaches, around 3 this afternoon. Soon after, Abah and me decided to go out as Abah needed to find something for his never-ending DIY home and garden projects . And I wanted to find a gadget to transplant the seedlings that I saw on this new-found information -laden gardening blog. Sadly though, I couldnt find it...must try other garden stores soon. I have had enough  frustrating moments trying to transplant without injuring the seedlings...

So, there we were. Walking hand in hand, looking at things and ended up buying a micro fiber carpet for our bedroom. We were sold on the fact that they are super absorbent,stain resistant, do not shed, bla,bla,bla...the salesman claimed that it was made in Belgium but I doubted it. (Upon checking it on the net just now, true enough, I found that they  actually came from Taiwan!!) Then, we  got the tools Abah was looking for. Soon after,we passed the lingerie section and I was attracted to sports bra on sales. After a few minutes looking and discussing them with Abah, it suddenly hit me that Abah might be embarrassed to be there and and apologised to him. Abah was surprised and said no, he's not embarrassed at all, automatically reminding me of how around ten years ago, it was a  normal thing for us to do, browsing all departments together as I could never shop or even walk alone. But Adik, since you arrived and especially after you reached certain age, I think 9 was it, you have become my best shopping companion and I thoroughly enjoy your company that I have forgotten I used to do it with Abah!! You are always my best critic, honest as you are...(though sometimes I wish you are more subtle, like Abang....) 

When you turn 11 and and  we shared the same shoe sizes, you become more enthusiastic. Thank God, by this year your feet has grown even more and my shoes are safe!! Recently though, whenever both of us are wearing black abaya and walking/standing side by side, people have been commenting that we are of the same size. Something like," Eh, dah sama besar Mama ngan Adik"...Adik beams whenever anyone says this as it means she's taller, which is true....and errm, Mama beams too as she thinks (read: perasan) she looks smaller now, which she hopes is true!! And yes, we wear the same S size abayas.

Okay, Abah's here. He's finished the prayer....

Now we are having dinner at Hayaki Kopitiam at Jalan Kebun Sultan as I've been reading good  reviews by some bloggers here. Our verdict,the food's not bad at all.

And now we stopped again for Isya' and here I am again waiting in the car as I am on 'leave'.

Saturday Morning.

We just came back from tosai breakfast..

I thanked Abah upon realising that we were out till late last night so as to avoid from me having to be at home alone if Abah was to go to mosque from Maghrib to Isya' as usual...how thoughtful of him.

I have ran out of things to write.

Adik, please come home soon!!!!!

And, hooray!!! the day after tomorrow, Abang will be home too for Eid al-Adha, InsyaAllah...He'll be home for one week and all of us must brace ourselves for another surge in weight-gaining haha!!

SYAWAL 1432H

Abang's coming home for Raya this year was uneventful, Alhamdulillah. He arrived around 11a.m, thus having ample time to drop at  Tok Ayah Wahab's on the way home from the airport. Next destination was to the mosque where Abah confined himself for i'tikaaf as he had been sending numerous text messages   reminding me to bring Abang to see him before going home. 

And with Abang home, as expected, all carefully planned healthy meals disappeared!! We were back on rice on that day itself as Abang said he dreamt of Mama's Nasi Lemak with Ayam Goreng Berempah the night before! And the dream happened to has a continuation with the list of food items  getting longer and longer. Adik, ever the cheeky one, tried to capitalize on it by asking Abang to think/dream of several other types of food not included in Abang's list!!

And oh, I must stated here  too,for the records ,that the last Ramadhan was the first Ramadhan I prayed Taraweeh with Abang as imam. Awesome!! ( a bit funny too as Abang didnt memorise the taraweeh du'a yet and he kept asking to make du'a and he and Adik amin-ed it)

With your presence too,Abang, the festive mood started to creep in. Before that, Adik was bent on studying for her UPSR, but now that you're home, all revisions considered done!!  All you two did were talking, playing, giggling, talking again...all day long! Okay,okay,  so you did help  vacuuming, dusting  and  wrapping the eid gifts for uncles and aunties, which Adik enjoyed so much. She wrote cute eid wishes and drew silly pictures and stuck them on the packages.Abang laughed and thought that his sister is the cleverest and funniest girl in the whole wide world!

We got many gifts too and the one that I like best is this;

This Nut Tray came all the way from Tehran...Thanks so much Kak Ni. Definitely the best gift for a nutcracker like me!!

On the eve of Eid, we gathered at Tok Ayah Mustafa's and recited the whole Qur'an as a gift to Mama's late grandfather. Tok Ayah Pa has more than 10 sons + grandchildren whom are huffaz but not all were present on that day. So, we divided the parts amongst us and Abang alone recited 3 juzuks ...Alhamdulillah. I hope this practise of giving will continue in our home forever, InsyaAllah.

We didnt hold our customary 3rd Syawal open house this year as all the clan of Hj Mustafa headed to Kuala Trengganu  on that day to celebrate your cousin's, Kak S, wedding.
This is one wedding I would like to remember and refer to when the time come for your turn. ( Adik naturally, screaming when I mused aloud about it...she went,'"Mama! but I'm only 12!" . And I went, "Its not wrong to plan early la Dik"!)

Ayah Yie and  Cik Ninie went to great length to ensure  that the nikah and walimah , which is a form of ibaadah, stay true to its meaning and serve the purpose, that is to close the door of those shayateen.

An 'aliim once said in his lecture, instead of closing the door to those doomed creatures, most people actually invite them to join their feast. How? By indulging in extravagance that lead to wastage, thus joining them together in a brotherhood ties... By mixing of non-mehrams during the feasts, by blaring music and by all those traditional practices so rampant in our society that has no basis whatsoever in Qur'an and Sunnah.Not to mention the exposure of auraah and being made-up by transvetite make-up artists.

They began with a simple invitation card printed on regular papers. Stick To Sunnah  was the theme, so it was keep-it- simple and no-waste all the way. I especially like the way they printed the card:

 Ayah Yie kept out his daughter's name as she is a strict niqaabi who started observing the niqaab as soon as she reached puberty.  Everything about her is considered a 'secret',so well-hidden, yet jodoh found her at the age of 18. An 'alimaah, she is an exemplary young muslimah both in ibaadah and akhlaaq. I always pointed it out to Adik that, she's the one to look up to, to imitate and to admire.

The banquet area was totally separated for male and female with no male attendant at all in female area. (What always happen everywhere are, the area may be separated but there's always male attendant refilling the dish, collecting the plates and glasses etc.) As many of the brides friends and students are strict niqaabis, they were able to eat and talked freely. Well, it might not be a big deal for most people, but it is for me...

They spent very little on dresses and made no fuss on hantaran thingy. Yet the bride shone...and nobody were too interested to look at those gifts (because no emphasise were put on those) or asking questions  as per usual in weddings everywhere.Alhamdulillah...lots of du'a for newlyweds were heard that day...I  now thought of it as a successful walimah and making azam to emulate it when the time comes....

Let us pray again for their good life together showered with mawaddat and rahmat from The Almighty,Amiin....

RAMADHAN 1432H

So, 20 blessed days of Ramadhan has passed by...leaving us another 10 more greater days for us to strive even harder to gain as much blessings  as possible. In keeping with the sunnah of our beloved Prophet, Abah will start his customary last 10 days i'tikaf tonight, InsyaAllah. May Allah accepts the effort and give Abah strength to do as much devotion as possible . Goes for us at home too. Adik has promised to do khidmat on whatever needs Abah might ask for during this i'tikaf...and now Mama, Adik and Grey are eagerly waiting for Abang who  will come home on the 28th by Firefly, InsyaAllah.  I cant thank Firefly enough for re-introducing  PEN - KB route. One big headache gone, Alhamdulillah.

This year marks a meaningful Ramadhan for both of you as this is the first Ramadhan that you go through as fully responsible adults according to syari'at. Alhamdulillah, I can vouch for Adik as I'm seeing a vast difference from last years effort. More discipline in tilawatil Qur'an, taraweeh prayers and generally more agreeable in all aspects. I am sure Abang is doing as good or even better as he is constantly in a more a'maal conducive environtment. As UPSR is looming, right after eid that is, Adik seems to be more attentive on her study too. As for Grey, she's doing not too bad at all...having her meals as we are having our suhoor and iftaar, sits and listens to our Qur'an recitations. You should see how she sits most respectfully with her two front legs put together, head cocks up and ears straining. She really is an amazing cat!!

In the 2nd week of Ramadhan, Tok Ayah Pa was warded for a few days for acute coronary syndrome . He has just got home a few days before Ramadhan after spending 40 days on the path of Allah with Alang. He has taken ill during the khuruj too. Alhamdulillah, Alang was with him and did lots of khidmat to Tok Ayah. Since last year, whenever Tok Ayah went on a khuruj fisabilillah, one of his sons or grandsons or nephews will go along with him. I wish one day Abang will also be able to accompany Tok Ayah on one of his journeys, InsyaAllah. I'm sure Tok Ayah will like it very much...

And oh, I must record here too how we try to do a rice-free diet starting a couple of weeks before Ramadhan. We were well into our 20 odd days of no rice when Mak Tok came to stay with us during Tok Ayah's hospitalisation. Mak Tok was horrified that we didnt eat rice during iftar. So, rice meals made a comeback to our table....Now that only Adik and me at home, we have pledged to go sans rice again...only to be broken when Abang arrives I guess. I must say that not eating rice-based meals proved to be easier on us. Upon iftar, there's no heavy feeling, thus make for more enthusiastic taraweeh...and of course made my life easier in the kitchen. We go for single-dish meals most of the time...I made a large batch of something that all three of us like ,eg lamb stew, and eat it with nan one day, freeze the rest in single portions and eat them again with wheat bran boule, couscous, baguette etc. And we eat lots of salads...

organic sprouts

pecal with veges from mama's garden

wholemeal organic spaghetti aglio e olio

grilled salmon

chick-pea salad

couscous with lamb stew

mashed sweet potato with grilled lamb

These are not meant to entice anybody ya...just for the records...and to appreciate Adik's effort on photographing every single dish I prepared!

As for raya cookies, I have no intention to make any as I have placed orders with your aunty Cik Ni and cousin Kak Intan. These two enterprising ladies produce awesome melt-in-the mouth cookies ( and all sort of cakes) using the best ingredients and we can rest assured of the  hallalan toyyiban status of their offerings. I may bake some cakes...(please notice the word 'may'...). Gotta rush now...Till then.

PRETTY BISCOTTI....not!!

Failing to find anything healthy to munch on ( and munch must I because I am a natural muncher...and you guys know how crazy I am over anything that goes c-r-u-n-c-h!), I decided to make myself some.

So, as the posting trend of late on this blog is just posting whatever is handy for the current month,( for the lack of ideas and to keep up with the promise to you two, if you cannot tell already) here is the account of what I have gotten myself into last week. 

On hindsight, this is really not a bad idea at all as this recipe is  definitely for keep if you wish to continue eating healthily throughout your life.(I surely hope you do!)

Maybe one day, when I'm long gone, you could take a peek here whenever you crave for something healthy Mama used to make.

So here goes....

PUMPKIN SEED, OAT AND CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

200g egg whites

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

150g caster sugar

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla extract( I still fail to find this, so I use the usual cheap vanilla flavour)(edited later: yeay! Abah brought back pure vanilla crystals from Turkey for me!!!)

grated zest of 1 lemon

zesting the lemon was easy-peasy lemon squeezy using this zester (hehe..sorry, cant resist it!)

Flour Mixture

300g plain flour,sifted ( I used Red Rose flour, being low-gluten, it helps produce a tender and light biscotti compared to normal flour)

2 tsp baking powder,sifted

1 tbsp ground cardamom,sifted ( I have never seen one but I have ground cinnamon of course, so, in it goes..)

100g rolled oats

150g dried cranberry

60g sweetened shredded Hawaiian coconut (I underestimated our local bakery supplier and asked for regular dessicated coconut and was pleasantly surprised to find the exact ingredients asked for sitting pretty on the shelf)

200g pumpkin seeds.(The original recipe uses pistachio instead of pumpkin seed. I have pistachios as my gym buddy who is married to an Iranian keeps kindly supplying me with plump pistachios,walnuts,almonds and raisins from Iran. But I love eating pistachios on their own too much...so I used pumpkin seeds as they have the same green hues....Whattodo, I'm greedy when it comes to nuts!!)

I tried to use as much organic product as I could....

Step 1: Preparing the dough

Whisk egg whites with salt until foamy. Gradually beat in sugar till glossy and stiff peak forms. Look something like this;

Beat in yolk until combined. Add vanilla and lemon zest. Fold in flour mixture in three batches and mix well with a spatula to form a sticky dough.

Step 2: Shaping

You can shape the dough as desired but as I was pushed for time ( as I always am...), I opted for the easiest one lah...the logs!

urghh..they look so ugly!! (next time, must make it flatter)

Do take note that you need to oil the plastic sheet otherwise the dough will stick. (I am so lucky to still have this Tupperware rolling sheet that I got in the UK almost 14 years ago. It is still in excellent condition after serving me well in my experimenting years of baking pies after pies and piling pounds after pounds on myself and Abah,huhu...Adik, when the time comes and I pass this to you, take good care of it okay. Even if the Tupperware claims that they give it a lifetime guarantee, they just dont make this anymore...With all those measurement printed on it, it really made things a lot more easier and less wastage .)

Step 3: First Baking

Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with a non-stick parchment. Brush the top with egg whites for glossy effect. Bake @ 160C for 20 to 25 min.

I have used this magic carpet over and over again for  so many years.....

Step 4: Slicing

Cool the logs before you slice it and use serrated knife. It is a MUST!!

Step 5: Second Baking

Arrange the slices in single layer and bake @ 150C for 25 min, turning half way through baking.

(That is what the instruction in the magazine said...

But, a glance at the clock told me that I only have 15 minutes before I have to rush out to get Adik at school....)

So, I made up my own timing.

And ended up with.....

not so pretty biscotti......

This recipe is taken from Malaysia's premier food and lifestyle magazine,Flavours, which I subscribed to. It promised a colourful mosaic of green, red and white fine textured biscuit riddled with tiny bubbles , and offers a crisp , firm bite with with cardamom spiciness.

Well, I got green and white from pumpkin seeds and oats  alright but the red of the cranberries was nowhere to be seen after I decided to turn on the the temperature to speed up the baking time....they turned dark brown!!

BUT, rest assured, they ARE good and filling and satisfying. Totally recommended. I baked it on Sunday and on Monday Adik fasted and ate a piece of it for sahoor with a mug of hot chocolate and came back from school at 4 PM saying, "Mama, please make more for Ramadhan. I'm going to eat them for sahoor everyday...".

p/s; I gave a few pieces to my good friend cum business partner, the famous Kak Chik, and she gave her thumbs-up with caution, "not for denture wearers", haha!!