Pre-Christmas dish

Hubby and I had a romantic pre-Christmas meal together. We had baked pork casserole with potatoes and  Greek salad. The meal was all oven-baked and we bought the food pre-packed. All we had to do was put the food in the oven and wait for an hour. And presto, ready to serve and dine!

The potatoes.

A meal for two people - just right portions. Or...if otherwise, maybe we are eating too much!

 The pork slices after being cut.

The Greek salad.

Post-Christmas dish

In the comfort of our penthouse, hubby improvised and made a tasty dish out of frozen spinach cubes and chicken fillet. 

The end result was creamy spinach with lemon chicken. We enjoyed it a lot. I for one, always wondered what to do with frozen spinach but now I know!

Christmas Collage

Christmas was a time of merry-making and coziness for us. I shall make a photo collage as the photos speak better than my own descriptions of it. 

 On the second day of Christmas, after lunch, we went out for a stroll in the neighbourhood of Heerhugowaard. We walked past channels and a man-made lake as seen below. It was along this stroll that I attempted to race my 13 year old nephew without success. I've learnt something two days later after getting sore thighs from running my maximum speed - Never race a 13 year old teenager with long legs! If you do want to run, warm up first. You are no spring chicken compared to a teenager.

 Moss-like coated chocolate - at first sight, they did not seem appetizing. Yet after a mouthful, I found that they were really tasty despite the greenish colour.

 On the first day of Christmas, after dinner we had this tasty cake for dessert. The cake is a butter cake surrounded by cherries.

 Our family played the Wii-Fit video game. As you can see on the screen, most of our Mii characters appear to be sleeping away. This is because it has been some time since we played it, and the Wii-Fit is supposed to be an exercise programme motivating you to exercise.

 The family cat - Tigertje is an old dame of 19 years old. In cat years, she is seven times older. She is a cat to be reckoned with; full of character. If you get off your seat, she will immediately prance at the seat, taking your place.

 For the second day dinner, we had fish salad and normal salad with bread.

 Christmas decoration hung on the Christmas tree which also can be eaten! It's delicious milk chocolate.

 Preparations for the starter for the first day of Christmas. My sister-in-law meticulously prepared this exquisite starter.

 She cut the smoked chicken into pieces.

 The end result - smoked chicken in orange peel garnished with herbs.

 About to start our Christmas dinner with the smoked chicken in orange peel.

 The gourmetten in progress.

 Christmas village decoration done by my husband's family.

 The cozy fireplace.

 Two paintings which I like a lot in the house. Has a Zen-feel to it.

 Dessert on the second day of Christmas.

Christmas brunch.

Our Winter Solstice & Xmas Eve Dinner

Hubby is a traditionalist whom takes extra efforts to celebrate the Winter Solstice where "tang yuan" is served and eaten together with family members to symbolise wholesomeness in a family and that every individual is said to be a year older as well after this day. This year, hubby invited my family over for dinner despite it was a working Thursday and he whipped up a simple meal for all. Hubby even intended to make the glutinous rice ball a.k.a "tang yuan" served in sweet ginger soup from scratch but i stopped him as it involves too much work. Later on, i regretted for not allowing hubby to prepare the dessert as i craved for it for days! ;-p

Pictures of the red sauce pasta hubby cooked for my family of nine. It was a very heart-warming celebration and i feel truly blessed to have my parents, sisters, nieces and hubby to enjoy this dish together.

Next on are pictures on our Christmas eve dinner we had at my parents place with my aunts whom came to visit. We had a wonderful dinner and i enjoyed every single dish that night .Again, i feel very loved and blessed to be surrounded by my loved ones and all the good food.

 -Curry puffs from IKEA-

- Mom made these delicious cucur udang with yam-

 -One whole roast duck-

 -Fried rice balls with red bean, lotus paste and peanut fillings coated with sesame seeds + fried yu tiou to go with the red bean dessert soup (picture as below)-

 -Soya bean with cincau-

- Tuna sandwich with cheese-

 -Mom's signature Fried rice-

-Super juicy & sweet watermelon-

After dinner, my nieces opened their presents and look at their happy smiles. From right, that's my eldest sis daughter, Jojo (7 yrs old), 2nd sis daugther, Zi Yan (5 yo) & 3rd sis baby, Cheryl (3 yo).

Hubby & I gave each of them a gingerman cookie to munch and a sand art to play with as wrapped up above.

My nieces with their completed art work. They did a good job don't they?

I hope everyone had a happy and blessed Christmas too!

Love, Mic

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Hubby and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone whom we hold dear to a very Merry Christmas of 2011. 

Both of us are happy and blessed. We hope that you would be too. May this Christmas be one of receiving, loving and forgiving. Peace at heart; and one for all, and all for one!


PS : Thanks to my friend Karin for the second Gingerbread woman Christmas present. It complements the lone Gingerbread man on our Christmas tree. 

Dad’s Birthday Dinner

Our dad celebrated his birthday today. Hubby baked a cake for his dad. It was a Milo (Malaysian chocolate drink) almond butter cake. It was extremely delicious. This is the first time that hubby has ever baked since I knew him. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that he would bake more stuff instead of playing computer games!

We went to a pancake restaurant in Schoorl for dinner. The food was tasty and very filling. Dessert was also delicious.

 Dinner at the pancake restaurant in Schoorl.

 Dessert of three ice-cream scoops in a uniquely shaped wavy plate.

 Cake which hubby baked.

 Whipped cream to complement the Milo almond butter cake.

 Onion soup topped with bread.

 Hearty pancake of ham and tomatoes.

Mushroom starter dish which I ate as my main meal. 

We take this opportunity to wish our dad a very happy 68^th birthday with lots of fun and wishes which come true! At least we got the age right here on this blog…last year we thought it was 68, and this year we thought it was 67. Two times in a row. Third time will be lucky and we will hit bull’s eye. So dad, next year, we will definitely be getting it right! From your ever affectionate son and daughter-in-law.