Father's Day Inspiration

Father's Day is a day for people to show appreciation for fathers or father figures. 

Created to complement the celebration of Mother's Day, many countries celebrate it on the third Saturday in June.

Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji however celebrates Father's Day on the first Saturday in September.

There are many things that people do to show their appreciation for their father.

Special picnics or a day out, Father's Day breakfast/lunch and charity activities are common activities apart from gift giving.

Many would think that giving a present is a very simple gesture.

So simple that it shouldn't take a lot of your time to come up with one.

But what if you've done it so many times that you are running out of ideas on what to give to that special dad in your life?

Well a present does not have to be bought.

But what if you have made many handmade gifts over the years and you would like to buy one this year instead?

Do not worry. 

I won't make a list of things that you could buy.

No, I won't do that ;p

Instead I am going to show you the things that I've seen so far on items that could be a Father's Day gift inspiration.

First and foremost, I would like you to know that I am not paid in any way to promote these products.

If you have a butchy dad, maybe a motorcycle helmet, guitar or beer stein would be nice gifts 

For dads who enjoys barbecuing, maybe a new barbecue pit or related accessories would do the trick.

Gags or gadgets maybe?

For the sporty dads, sports attire or equipment?

Or camping gears for all the nature-loving dads out there.

Today I saw an ad on tv from a very well known chemist promoting their Father's Day sale. 

So you can also get perfumes, vitamins and weight loss products for your dad. 

Fibre supplements for the health conscious dads perhaps?

Before I end my post, I'll also post a couple of videos on various possible gifts for the special dad or father figures in your life.

Are you inspired yet?

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Reference

Father's Day. (2014, August 24). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07:53, August 25, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Father%27s_Day&oldid=620799636

Comfort Food - Egg Roll Biscuits

Growing up I loved eating egg roll biscuit.

Do you know what egg roll biscuit is?

It is usually very thin and crispy.

It is commonly rolled up or sometimes folded into a quarter shape.

My father's late aunt was very skilful in making egg roll biscuits.

In fact, her egg rolls were the best that I've ever eaten in my whole life, and I don't think there will ever be any other commercial brand that could ever surpasses hers.

During a trip to the asian grocery shop a couple of weeks back, I found a type of egg roll biscuits that looks just like the one that I'm familiar with.

The taste is almost the same but it is not as thin as I would like it to be.

Nevertheless, eating one after a very long time brings back many memories of my adolescence years.

Do you have any comfort food that you long for?

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BLOG-OLAN : Why Blog

{Image:Pixabay}

I have mentioned before that this blog isn't my first attempt at writing.

I could never maintain my previous blogs because I did not have a focus and reason to blog.

I am in a quest to find myself and to see the extent of my capabilities in terms of writing articles with good, meaningful content.

I grew up with not English as my first language. So to blog in a language that is never on the tip of my tongue is not easy.

I think in a different language, and I have to translate my thoughts into an entirely different language.

I do have an option to write in my own native language.

However that would not achieve my goal of reaching a wide spectrum of readers as possible as English language is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world.

By doing all these, I hope to be able to accomplish these goals:

1. improve my writing skills 
2. improve my English grammar
3. to be able to express my thoughts in an organised manner
4. to build a blog into a brand that I could be truly proud of
5. to use my long forgotten research skills into writing a good piece of article

So for the time being, if you see any typos, grammatical or contraction errors, please forgive yours truly.

I am a lifelong learner :)

{Image:Pixabay}

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Understanding Your Refrigerator

Do you understand your fridge?

Are you aware of what you should and should not put in your fridge?

Image source Pixabay

Let me just start with a list of things recommended to be put in the fridge.

• Dairy : things like cheese, eggs, butter, margarine, yoghurt, milk
• Juice
• Prepared foods
• Whole grains such as brown rice, whole-wheat flour, oatmeal 
• Salad dressings
• Mayo
• Bananas
• Oil

With bananas, it usually depends on how and when you want to eat them.

If you buy it when it is green and want to eat it much much later in the week, putting it in the fridge will delay ripening. When you want to eat it, just put it out to ripe for a couple of days.

If you already have a banana that is almost overripe, which is when the skin has turn black, putting it in the fridge will ensure the banana will stay sweet and won't go bad. Recommended usage will be for smoothies, or in my case yummy mashed banana fritters!

I know there is oil in this list of things recommended to be put in the fridge. The type of oils are olive, canola and sesame. From my readings, this is because they oxidise when exposed to heat and sunlight.

Chilled oils may become cloudy, but they'll clarify when put at room temperature.

Personally, I don't and will never put oils in the fridge. It just seems unnatural.

Let us now go to the recommended-not-to-put-things-in-the-fridge list.

• Tomatoes : refrigeration will damage the fruit by breaking down their cell structure. Will also cause loss of flavour
• Basil and any other herbs : will wilt faster, likely to absorb the smell of the surrounding food in the fridge
• Potatoes : Refrigeration will turn its starch into sugar more quickly. You'll get sweeter potato but it will also make it gritty
• Avocados : won't ripe 
• Garlic : it will start to sprout apart from getting rubbery and mouldy
• Bread : it will dry out in the fridge. Better to be put in the freezer for long term storage, then thaw out thoroughly before consumption
• Coffee : will loose flavour
• Honey : refrigeration may cause crystallisation which turns honey into almost dough-like form, making it very hard to scoop out
• Onions : moisture will turn them soft and mouldy

There is another take on the onions. It can be put in the fridge before cutting it to avoid teary eyes. 

When onion is cut, you break the cells that separates the enzymes and acids which will create the eye-watering gas.

So to avoid crying while cutting onions, chilling them beforehand is a good practise as the low temperature will render the enzyme inactive.

But to be honest, I've never tried putting onions in the fridge.

I never cry when I cut onions.

No, I don't have superhuman eyes.

I wear contact lenses and somehow it blocks my tear ducts.

Is it a known fact? 

I don't know actually. I've only known another contact lenses wearing friend who does not cry while cutting onions as well.

So people, it is very important to know how to store our food, more so in this very modern world.

We think that with all the modern equipment in our daily life, our efforts can be cut short in the food storage and organisation department.

But with an estimated 1.2 - 2 billion tonnes of food produced never reaching human stomachs, it is important to understand food storage and best practices to cut down on waste.

My mum used to say, think of all those children in Africa who does not have food to eat before you waste that rice on your plate.

Maybe we should start with 'am I going to eat that before it expires' question before we spend our money on groceries next time.

How I want my pantry to look like :)

Image source Pixabay

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References

Stock a Healthy Refrigerator. In Real Simple Solution Seekers. Retrieved 17:00, August 8, 2014, from http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/stock-a-healthy-refrigerator-10000000678812/index.html

10 foods you should never put in the fridge. In News.com.au. Retrieved 17:30, August 8, 2014, from http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/foods-you-should-never-put-in-the-fridge/story-fneuz8zj-1226911945712

Foods that you should keep in the fridge – and some you definitely shouldn’t. In Yahoo Lifestyle UK. Retrieved 16:40, August 8, 2014, from https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/blogs/jo-romero/foods-keep-fridge-definitely-shouldn-t-103125461.html

How to Arrange Refrigerator Shelves. In wikiHow. Retrieved 19:00, August 8, 2014, from http://www.wikihow.com/Arrange-Refrigerator-Shelves

12 Foods You Should Not Put In The Fridge. In Lifehack. Retrieved 19:15, August 8, 2014, from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/12-foods-you-should-not-put-the-fridge.html

Global Food : Waste Not Want Not. In Institution Of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved 16:44, August 8, 2014, from http://www.imeche.org/knowledge/themes/environment/global-food

Soulful Melody : Tahu by Fynn Jamal

I came across a Malay song that I find to be very soulful recently.

Tahu by Fynn Jamal 

dan kau tanya dalam diam
dengan mata kau biar pejam
bagaimana mampu wujud sunyi
di riuh engkau berdiri

satu persatu hilang ertinya
berdikit dikit menyesak dada
mahu kau lari dan bersembunyi
tapi mana engkau harus pergi

haus tak terpuas lautan
lapar tak terkenyangkan
kau tahu namun tak kau akukan

kau selongkar bumi langit petala
sedang jawabnya lama engkau ada
maka perlu apa engkau bongkar gali
kalau cuma diletak tepi

sayu tak terjelas fikiran
rebah tak tersambutkan
kau tahu
namun tak kau akukan

apa kau cari
yang sebetul betulnya
lama mana begini
bertelanjang jiwanya

apa kau nanti
yang sesungguh sunguhnya
malam siang berganti
jawabnya tetap sama

sayu tak terjelas fikiran
rebah tak tersambutkan
kau tahu
kau sayu
kau rindu
sama tuhan

I like songs that has meaningful lyrics, and in this song each and every word is pronounced clearly. 

Listen to this song. You may like it :)

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BLOG-OLAN : The Name

I spent a coupe of months thinking of what kind of blog I was going to build.

Image source Pixabay

Having spent countless hours reading blogs of others, I was still unsure of the name or the direction that I wanted to take.

I could just pick a topic and write on that throughout the life of the blog. But that would mean limiting stories that I could tell. You get to be more focus in your writing though. 

In the end, I decided to write about stuff that brings about the feelings of positivity, pleasantness and at times peculiar. These are also the things that I look for in other blogs that I read.

So here at ThreePV, expect positive, pleasant and sometimes peculiar stuff being churned out by yours truly. 

Hope you'll enjoy reading them as much as it excites me just thinking about all the things that I want to write about in the future!

Image source Pixabay

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EXPERIMENTAL KITCHEN: Kuih Lapis

One of the many Malaysian desserts that I like to eat is Kuih Lapis.

It is sweet and somewhat sticky.

You could find it in many interesting colours as well.

I'm going to share the recipe that I've used before and I think the taste of the end product is just superb!

Kuih Lapis (by Seasaltwithfood)

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KUIH LAPIS

160g castor sugar

600ml water

3 pandan leaves

200g rice flour

60g tapioca flour

1 can/400ml coconut milk

1/8 tsp sea salt

Red food colouring

1. Bring sugar, water, pandan to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer ~ 8-10 minutes. Let cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, mix rice flour, tapioca flour, coconut milk, sea salt and sugar syrup. Stir until well blended and let mixture rest for an hour. Strain mixture and divide into 2 portions. Set aside one uncoloured and ~ 4 to 5 drops of food colouring to the other portion.

3. Put steamer on. Start with coloured mixture, pour ½ cup into pan, set timer for 6 minutes and wipe cover after every layer is done. Stir batter every time before pouring the next layer.

4. Continue alternating colours. Add a few extra drops of red colouring for the 9^th layer, stir well and pour it over the steamed layer and steam for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove from steamer and let cool completely, about 5 hours, cut into desired shapes

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My Take:

I couldn't find pandan leaves so I used vanilla essence instead.

Instead of sea salt, I used normal table salt.

Why I used vanilla essence? Because the smell reminds me of pandan :)

That is the sugar, water and vanilla essence in the pot.

The bowl with the coloured mixture

The bowl with the uncoloured mixture

I didn't have a normal looking steamer pot. So I used a regular bamboo steamer, lined with aluminium foil. 

To make sure the kuih does not stick to the aluminium foil making it hard to remove later, I also sprayed vegetable oil on the foil.

The next couple of photos will show you how I did Step #3.

After the last step, the steamed kuih looks like this.

 Top view after the aluminium foil has been taken off

Side view

With this sticky kuih I didn't use a knife to cut it into desired shapes.

Instead, I used a thread because it is easy to dispose off due to lack of interest in washing a sticky knife :)

You could use any other stuff you can find in your house that will make it easy for you during clean up,provided it is clean and sanitary of course!

 Almost clean cut

And the end product...

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I hope you've enjoyed reading my way of making this delicious treat.

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Experimental Kitchen

I was never a good cook.

I could cook dishes that I like to eat but I couldn't be bothered with anything else.

Having to cook or bake from scratch has thought me many new skills and knowledge.

As I could only cook with whatever ingredients that I could source out locally, I may omit or replace certain ingredients in my course of cooking or baking. 

Sometimes I just do it because I want to experiment on the taste if I use different ingredients.

Hence the name Experimental Kitchen.

So join me in my foray into turning my kitchen upside down and inside out. 

Hopefully we will all learn a thing or two of what to do (or not to do) in our quest for good food to fill our bellies.

Image source Pixabay

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