Thursday, April 26, 2007

Stirfried Snake Beans with Shrimp

Due to our recent loss, I have been a little bit more introspective, thinking about life and such....

I spent quite a bit of time re-organising some papers and stuffs at home..... In addition, I finally sent 2 pairs of Ferragamos and a pair of Escada shoes (been sitting in my car trunk for ages) to get them fixed and polished. Came back near new and I have no excuse to buy new shoes for the rest of the year. Will see....

Work is still as busy as ever but I put off all traveling for whole month of April. Strangely, despite that, it has been a very fruitful month at work (May is set to look good too!) for which I am thankful. It is definitely blessing from above.

My sleep and eating pattern have somewhat changed too....

I couldn't seem to fall asleep nor sleep deep enough, thus having to wake up once in the middle of the night. Probably because Barry is away (Barry is coming back this weekend, after almost a month since he left for home. Yay!)... and I don't like the sound of howling wind and thunder at night when it rains... and man, it has been pouring quite a lot! And I had tonsillitis last Thursday (first time ever!!). It seemed like sore throat but this time the pain was really unbearable. It was nipped at the bud though and recovery was almost instantaneous for I wasn't being my usual stubborn self and went to see doctor immediately. I don't usually get sick but I guess the interrupted rest does mean that my immune system wasn't in tip-top condition.

I have been boiling pots after pots of snow fungus, loquat, dried longan, barley, dried apples combo soup sweetened with organic honey since then. And drank lots of water too! Hope that was the first and last time I got tonsillitis....

On food, I have been eating at home thoughout the month nearly every day even on weekends except for lunch. The exception was Tony Roma's with my niece one of the days when she came for a sleepover. My daily fare had been porridge + 2 dishes - like watercress soup with pork ribs (a pain to wash though), stirfried okra with ikan bilis, yong tow foo, stirfried ampalaya (with eggs) or cucumber or broccoli (with shrimps) or snow pea tendrils with dried shrimps, kailan with salted fish etc... I had lots of greens....I really wasn't in the mood for meats...

And I discovered that pasar malam stalls at Subang Sect 13 are opened by 3pm (could be earlier???)

Here is a pic of stirfried snake beans and shrimps :

It's very easy to make.

Just need some snake beans, chopped garlic, shelled shrimps, Maggi seasoning, some cooking oil.
I like to fry the beans first at high heat for awhile and then cut them into 1.5 inch lengths when slightly cooled. Set aside. Pour away some oil from the pan and fry chopped garlic till fragrant but not browned over medium heat. Stir in the shrimps. Season with Maggi seasoning and stir till shrimps are cooked. Turn off heat and stir in beans. Done.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Jerry


I haven't been writing for awhile...we are having a sad time at home. Barry's dad passed away on 4th April....

The last I saw Jerry was six months ago in October. And it seemed like only yesterday that I heard his voice while he was at the hospital barely a week before he left us. He held on long enough for Barry to be there to say goodbye.

Barry will definitely miss talking with him early morning before he goes to work or at night before he retires for the day..... We do miss him.