about my money

I have this image in my mind, of a time when I was very young. My father, holding a Singapore one dollar note, told me, "This is actually gold. It represents a certain amount of gold in the reserve (maybe he didn't actually use the word reserve lah.. but something to that effect). All our money is backed by gold. Meaning, at anytime, on demand, I can go to the bank with this, and ask for a specific amount of gold."

MasyaAllah - I don't know how come I have that specific memory. It must have been in the 70s. Yes, those good old days, when our local money, was really backed by gold or foreign assets. However, in 1982, convertibility of our local currency notes and coins into gold and other foreign currencies ON DEMAND, was revoked, by the government.

The government decided to go on fiat money. Fiat money means having a piece of metal or paper that is a 'legal tender', meaning it can be used to purchase goods or services, only because the government says it can. The real value of this legal tender is very dependent on the world's confidence towards the issuing government, and on how much of that money, the government decides to distribute/circulate in the market, compared to the availability of goods and services.

What it basically means is that, my money is only worth, what it is worth at this moment. 'Worth' meaning how much goods or services I can buy with the current amount I have now. It's worth, changes daily. Next year, it's definitely worth lesser. This is called inflation - and rises steadily with fiat money. Didn't you notice? 20 years ago, 50c can get me a bowl of mee siam. Now it's$2.50 and rising..

We need to re-think about what it means, to save money for future use. We need to change our perception of what we need. It's not simply money that we need, it's the ability, the power, to purchase goods and services that we would need in the future - that is what is required. So can saving your money just like that, ensure you that you have the same purchasing power, as you do now?

This is the basis of my thoughts, that lead me to agree on getting this current property, 2 years ago. I didn't want to let my CPF money, just sit there, losing it's value. I needed to use it for what it's worth now - to get REAL commodity. Only real commodities, maintain it's real value or appreciates over time, depending on it's availability. Another real commodity I'd invest in, is gold.

p.s. 'Apa hal dekni.. cakap cakap pasal kuih.. pastu suddenly talk about economy?!?!' Reading about the US financial turmoil, triggered these thoughts actually. I feel strongly against fiat money and the role of banks.

I strongly recommend that you read 'What has the government done to your money', by Murray N Rothbard. You can find the pdf format of this book online.. just google it.

Astaghfirullah. It's a world, so full of deceit and pretence. We have to be constantly on our guard, so as not to allow ourselves to get drifted onto the constant waves of deceit, pretence and ignorance that is all around us, everyday of our lives.

baked products

MasyaAllah and alhamdulillah, the kids and I, we managed to come up with the following:

choc chip cookies - Hanaa mixed and made it herself.


my first kuih makmur


Hadi made his pizza. 1/4 with tuna.. the rest plain. They like it plain or with crabmeat, which I don't like.


then after that buat cornflakes - ni simple aje. pernah buat.


And finally, kuih tart! Tapi ni express punya.. I bought the inti from dadha's aunt. Inti dia OKAY! :) The pastry recipe that I tried is also just nice, alhamdulillah. So we may make more, because inti kuih tart dia masih berlambak.


I'm happy.

Instructions for dummies - Roasting and shelling the peanuts.

I have ever asked my aunt before, a few years back, on how to make kuih tart. She said, "Alaaa.. senang aje! Tepung, telur, mentega.. masuk masuk kan semua.. gaul-gaul da jadi.. . " ("It's easy! Just put in everything and mix.. there.."). I only managed a 'ooooh waah. cam gitu eh?' Didn't manage to do it.

The recipe given by my aunt are for experts. And most recipies on the internet are for those who are quite well versed in the kitchen.

One of the ingredients in the recipe for kuih makmur, is 100 gm peanuts roasted and shelled. Then blended or crushed.

Apparently, that one line of ingredient is the MOST tedious of the lot - and it took me about 1.5 hours and a bit of cleaning up to prepare that.

This is the instructions for roasted and shelled peanuts for kitchen dummies like me, and I also had to do some research on the internet.. Yes, that one line is blown up into this full blog entry.

To roast peanuts you can either put them in the oven or you can fry them, in a frying pan, DRY, that is without any oil. I figured, if I fry it, I'll need to stand there, to move those nuts about. But putting it in the oven would be easier because u just practically shove it there and let it roast.

Well, okay, you don't really just shove it there lah. You set the oven to 180 deg Celcius, let it heat up for 5-10 mins. Spread the peanuts out on the oven tray, so that they become only a layer - in order that they'll roast evenly, THEN you shove it in that preheated oven and let it roast for about 10 - 12 mins.

Once those nuts are roasted, they'll look much more tanned, you take them out of the oven immediately. Don't leave it in there or it'll start to get burnt. Mine was.. a bit. I dilly dallied in taking them out. But alhamdulillah, I realised soon.

Now you let the peanuts cool first. Cause after that, you are going to shell it with your hands.

Shelling the peanuts.. this is the time consuming part Imagine having to shell every one of those peanuts! Of course you don't take one by one peanut, and take the shell off. You grab a whole bunch in each hand and sort of like try to crush them in your hands.. then you take the next bunch. The shells come off quite easily. When you're tired doing that, you can also rub the peanuts with both hands - like you're warming your hands. When you're tired doing that.. you can punch those nuts. Repeat until 95% of the peanuts look shelled. I think it took me about 30-45 mins.

NOW, you need to separate those empty shells from the shelled peanuts. Luckily my MIL was still at home that morning, I asked her, how? She said, it's like 'orang dulu2 tuai padi'. She took two handful of those peanut mess, put them on a small tray and start flipping them gently. You will see the very light empty shells will sort of, stay at the top and the heavier shelled peanuts go below. I did the rest. It was a bit fun. It would be more fun if you can have that old..is it Sarimah?'s 'tuai padi' song playing. No?

After that you can sift the peanuts to get rid of more smaller shells.

After that, you sweep the floor.

So there you go.. roasted and shelled peanuts.


p.s. Pictures are at home pulak. Will upload later tonight, maybe.

limited edition

1. The other day, Hanaa baked some chocolate chip cookies at Cik Alin's. Now she wants to bake some at home for raya.
2. Then, last Thursday, Hadi, actually made us PIZZA from scratch. He made the pizza dough HIMSELF and produced quite an impressive, simple pizza. I was sick and didn't take any pics :( But he'll bake some more this saturday insyaAllah, I'll definitely try to shoot some photos - insyaAllah.
3. And Rus, who is currently back in her kampung to spend Ramadan and Eid with her family :) , also regularly makes epok2 and some other flour mixing food.
4. And I, as I have mentioned before, intend to bake some cookies or even cakes this raya.

I have justified like crazy here.....that it is therefore, worthwhile for me to get that kitchenaid mixer.

(Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted by the remembrance of that good sewing machine, and the trimming machine, sitting in the cupboard, collecting dust. I bought those when I had that sudden burning interest in sewing, many years ago. I wanted to sew my children's clothes.

And I did. Yes, I did.... for approximately a year. I made their baju kurung, and blouses and dresses with cute designs and all. I even made Hadi's cape, with a hood, so that he can pretend he is Darth Vader or something. I can make 3 sets of girls clothes all in a day. Yup... those days. Now..........uh, back to the mixer story. )

I wanted to get the metallic chrome colour, as that would go well with the fridge. But apparently, metallic chrome is a 'limited edition' colour.

What is a 'limited edition' anyway? It seems to me that it just means that they CHOOSE to produce or bring in, only a little of that colour, which they sure know, is popular - so that they can sell it at a ridiculously higher price. All the other colours available, and there are a variety, are currently selling at $779. While the 'limited edition' metallic chrome is selling at.... get this... $1299. That is $520 more for a colourless colour.

I called the company to check if there is anything special, anything at all, that makes this chrome colour better than others. Perhaps it's more durable? Is it like a precious metal? No, the girl told me, but it is a LIMITED EDITION colour.

So, I got the green apple colour instead.
If green apple is not a popular colour, mine would be like a limited edition too.



p.s. Oh, by the way guys.. if you want to get a present for your mum or wife - and she bakes, or wants to, you could get them this. They'll be so amazed if you do. :)

status : picking up trash in dresses

Sometimes I don't know why I do what I do. Like updating my online status with something that only I myself know what it means. Or perhaps some other close ones can guess. What is the purpose?

Oh, I know.. I think it is to remind myself of this state I'm in.. but if it is not such a good state, I shouldn't be reminding myself. Or perhaps, sometimes it just sounds so.... mysteriously nice. Yes, like making the state sound nicer.. and try to feel better about it. It's like putting flowers on mud or picking up trash in dresses. Picking up trash in dresses is taken from a song - A beautiful mess. Nice song.

I'm having PMS. currently.. the 'P' stands for perpetual. P which should stand for 'pre-', I had, a few days ago. Because it was kind of early, I wondered if it was depression. Then I found out. And I was sick. And so I was moody and sick and weak and all I wanted to do was to stay home and rot. Yup, I'm having PMS.

I was planning on making some kuihs. After that thing I wrote about 'I can cook, actually', I've err... inspired myself.. haha.. to actually cook or bake. So that day, the pie. And yup, now I am planning on making some kuih for raya.. even though my hubby cried 'alamak' when I told him that. You see, he is very particular about kuih tart. kuih tat. which is the correct spelling? kalau nak spell in malay, kuih tat lah eh? oh, whatever. Kuih tart dia, mesti perfect, inti lebih2. Anyway, I'm still getting some from cik alin, as back-up plan.

So, this saturday, I was am planning on making kuih makmur. One of my favourite old school kuih. I remember helping my late grandmother when I was very young. Allah bless her soul and forgive ALL her sins, Ameen. I want to feel that atmosphere again, or let my girls feel the atmosphere.. the aroma of a kitchen in which kuih raya is made.

So, anyhow, I was looking for the recipe for this kuih, online. And guess what... (..what?). There are so many different recipies for just kuih makmur. Every one I looked up is different. Ranging from the simple tepung, ghee, kacang - to the ones having more than 10 ingredients, including putih telur, vanilla essence and what not. I think I'll try the middle range, about 5-7 ingredients. Well, pray that I succeed.... or even start.

Yes, I'm still having pms.

Oh...why don't I post pictures. I have loads.

This is more or less like what I'm feeling now..



These are the roads I pass thru to pick Aida up.. she's my new neighbour and her workplace is on the way home. So I pick her up sometimes. And I like the roads.. this one I call the enchanted forest.


Then, these pics are from last week, when we iftar at Cik Nyah's place.



I like this.. it's banana in something very sweet... i forgot what it's called.. salak lepak? pisang lepak? or, the modern name we discussed, pisang spa.


shalin is cute. she must be very thirsty.



nibble, only Hadi and Eema tried. They say it's a bit ticklish at first, then it's quite nice.


Happy fasting and happy iftaring later.