Lost in the 80s.....

You took myself, you took my self-control

I'm living in a parish of my dream

......or so I thot the lyrics was...:-)

Self Control by Laura Branigan which was on the air ( which radio station? I am not sure, one lady and one guy talking about Cameron Highlands, where they have this segment, Back in the 80s )when I started the engine of my car this morning and I was transported back to 1984 ( according to the DJ , the song was famous in that year ) and immediately the images of the place, the people came flashing.

Another famous song in that year which was also my favourite was "when Doves Cry" by Prince.

"don't you just love Prince", Julia Robert in a scene in the bathtub where she was staying with Richard Gere in Pretty Woman.
"Don't you knock?"
"Vivian, I have a proposition for you"
Would you like to be my backup call and I will pay you to be my backup for a week.
You can't afford me
try me
......
holy &*#@

and she dived into the tub filled with foam

is that a yes?


..okay okay, enough...I could go on and on. I remembered most of the scripts in this movie by heart. This was in the 90s or was it late 80s? this movie had a feel good effect on me, not so much the story line but the songs, the leading casts, it made you came out smiling walking out of the theatre...

Back to When Doves Cry, my roommate, always turned this song on almost everyday, it sounded rather weird at first, if you notice, the intro of this song was rather wierd and unique but after awhile I grew to like it and so it began my like , not love, for Prince with his Purple Rain, Kiss, etc etc.... later on Diamonds and Pearl, the sexy video, Cream, and so on...

Hello Zue! your 'sempoii oblong' carrot cake is still unfinished, your Upin and Ipin cuppies still waiting, the three heart shaped chocolate and vanila cakes are waiting for their turn, not forgetting the Oreo chocolate cheesecake for a 14 year old birthday boy, so get yourself down and start decorating!

gotta go! for those dropping by this morning," Have a beautiful day ahead of you" as I hope mine would, would be engrossed in my deco and oblivious to the world once I have started.

tata, titi, tutu.....

just engaged....

"kalau hati sudah suka" was her first choice and later it was to be combined with the "pink and white ayu set" , minus the lovebirds but with butterflies instead and this is the result.

just engaged for Syafeeqah and Zaidy

May this new chapter in your life be as sweet and as pink as your cupcakes and will be the beginnning of more beautiful and meaningful life ahead. congratulation Syafeeqah and thank you.Thank you Sofea for recommending your cousin.......bila nak mai jalan2 sini?...

Love Bites

Venue: Wembley Arena


Year: 1988


Def Leppard Concert






Venue: Wembley Arena


Year: 1987


Whitesnake Concert




Venue: Taman Stadium,


Year: 2010


blueberry cheesetart, 9 inches and more than 1 kg in weight.





What's the significant between the two rock group concert tickets and blueberry cheesecake?


nothing , just something i did before and something i am doing now:-)
BTW, the title Love Bites has nothing to do with the entry, just filling up the empty 'Title' column :-)

Joe Elliot from Def Leppard singing "Love Bites", layan the old Def Leppard songs on Youtube while packing these cheesecakes.Love most of their songs from Hysteria to Pour SOme Sugar On Me, Photograph, Animal, Armageddon, and many many more. They are known for their one arm drummer and their concert was superb!

In the Still of the night,Fool For Your Loving, Here i go Again, Is This Love, love most of Whitesnake songs, David Coverdale has such sexy voice , that was my opinion then, is he still sexy now, I don't know. Those were the days, young blood, you like everything that moves and sounds sexy...blame it on the hormone...just kidding..

oreo chocolate cheesecake 9 inches in size and about 1.3 to 1.4 kg.

Thanx Ina for trying out these two cheesecakes.

Simple deco choc cuppies

First the chcolate chip cookies, then the extra blueberry cheestarts and next she wanted to try the chocolate cupcakes, so when I was making the chocolate cupcakes for an engagement set, I made extra for her too. there wasn't really any theme or any ccasion so I just made this simple deco for her. she came to collect these cuppies together with the jar of choc chip cookies which she ordered earlier.

her testimonial via sms:
"sedap la kak zu .deco kak zu tu cantik la nak mkn pun sayang. cupcakes qasa dia memang ok sebab qasa pahit2 coklat dan creamer tak berapa manis.memang ok lah...."


tank you nana for the positive comment and for your willingness to try out my cakes and cupcakes.

blueberry cheesetarts

When I first started making these blueberry cheesetarts, I didn't even know what they tasted like and i didn't know whether my methods were correct or not, all I knew was that they looked good and the comments from the readers in this person's fotopage were very positive and encouraging and so I thought I'd give it a try

Alhamdulillah, they turned out fine, looked not so good ( it made me wonder whether was my oven temperature correct, did I mix the dough as it should be and whether the filling was beaten adequately or was it overmixed, ) but all that didn't matter because they tasted as I think what blueberry cheesetarts would taste like, with the crumbly tart shell and creamy fillings and the sourness of the blueberries fillings, what a perfect combination. One bite was never enough. The comments and feedbacks that I received from my friends were positive. they all liked it. Orders started coming, for those who had tasted it, would make repeat orders and so the story goes.

This order was from the same lady who ordered plain bake cheesecake just the week before. Thank you Aisha and Mizi, hope you and the kids like these blueberry cheesetarts.

I had a few extras from this set and another lady who wanted me to keep her informed if there were any extras from my order because she and her daughter both loves cakes and so she took some. This was the sms that I received from her:
"Sedap la kak zu blueberry tart tu "

Thank you Nana for the 'berry' sweet compliment.
Nana ordered my choc chip cookies just last week and she also ordered another jar of the chocolate chip cookies because her hubby likes it so much.

Someone said to me, " I am sure you are very happy knowing that people like what you did, they appreciate what you are doing".

Yes, she couldn't be more right, I am happy , glad, pleased, knowing that someone out there is enjoying my chocolate chip cookies ( one bite after another, hands reaching into the jar while still biting on the first one ) while watching TV or watching the FIFA world Cup, or they are indulging in my creamy oreo chocolate cheesecake with their family and friends, or they may be blowing birthday candles on my chocolate cake or brownies, or they may be admiring and praising my teddy bear, dinasour, or birds cupcakes with flowers, birds and bees, or cutting into the two or three tiered wedding cakes, or putting or arranging the nicely decorated cakes and cupcakes on the ' hantaran' trays , all these just give me the greatest satisfaction. this feeling is far greater than getting a thank you for a report done and presented in a management meeting.

I guess , this is ( part of ) what makes me happy,and thank you, thank you again for those who have made me very happy for I can never thank them enough.Merci beaucoup.

Spaghetti ala dome with meatballs

Can you hear that? total silence....................................................., except for the buzzing of the standing fan behind me and the sound coming from the chiller in front of me and the water dripping from the loose tap in the kitchen ( oopps...nomore, it has been fixed:-) ) and the occasional meowing from the cat outside. Hubby is outstation and the kids are all at school, the two weeks school break is over and I am back with the old routine of sending and fetching the kids from school plus the usual stuff.just had nasi dagang which I bought from the market, made a quick stop at the wet market after sending my youngest to school and bought some chicken, squid and veggies.still searching for what to cook for lunch.Since my eldest will be having extra classes , thot of sending lunch over for her.
This spaghetti was for dinner last night. Didn't know what to cook either when my son suggested that I made this "spaghetti ala dome" .That could be arranged except that I didn't have enough ingredients for it, so I made do with what's in the freezer instead

I created this recipe after tasted the goodness of this version at the Dome when we went for a holiday in Penang a couple of years back. Just pure luck, after my first trial and error I managed to get almost the same taste. Yippee! just thot I'd share it here for those who'd like to try my version of that spaghetti.( perhaps it tasted somewhat like 'Olio')

SPAGHETTI ALA DOME:

spaghetti- boil first

First, heat olive oil,

fry some ( I prefer , a lot ) of crushed garlic,

add in chicken, prawns, squids, fish fillet ( but since last night I only had prawns, and I substituted with meatballs to make up for the other missing ingredients)mind you my son wouldn't mind a bit because he loved meatballs.

then, add in salt and a bit of sugar to taste.

when they are cooked,

add in coarse black pepper,

parsley ( I used dried parsley in a bottle ),

chilli flakes ( just like the one you get from Domino Pizza)
mix everything well,

throw in some veggies, if you like, I used diced carrots, and if you like, some green pepper, red chillies for colour( sliced all the veggies )

finally, throw in the spaghetti, mix well

and

BON APETIT!

these cards were made by my two dotters for their Abah on Fathers Day

where's Mama's? abah asked.

mmmmmmm........

To my kids' father, to my Abah and to all the Abahs and daddys and Walids, and Bapa and Papas all over the world, wherever they are, they might be driving right now, in a meeting, playing golf, in South Africa watching the World Cup Live , in the paddy field, in the mines, teaching, debating in courts, mengajar Al-Quran to the kids in the kampung, whatever it is that they are doing, they are being dads, responsible and dedicated fathers,:- Happy Fathers Day, Selamat Hari Bapa. I know that my wish is later than it should be but I guess the date didn't really matter much, everyday should be Fathers day just like everyday should be mothers day.They should be cared for, remembered and treated very special , every day, every hour and every second of their breathing lives. Treat them well, care for them, make them happy, when they are still around.If they are not with you, not by your side, not in the same house with you, pray for them, pray for their safety, pray for their health and happiness, pray for their wellbeings. Love you Abah!

and on behalf of my kids, we all love you very much dear, thank you for being the greatest , the bestest, the everything to us, Abah...muah muahhhh......

sweet 21 Momo brownies with walnut

she would be the last person I would see f I go to this place

she would always be smiling and polite and courteous

After having to cancel her previous order because of her grandpa's illness, she finally made this order for her friend's engagement. Sweet deco for the sweet person who ordered this brownies and hope the birthday gal will like it too as much as Ema did. thank you Ema and everytime i go for my supply of sugar, flour butter , cream cheese or anything baking related, I would see for she works there but maybe not for long because she has a dream. It's good to dream, it keeps us motivated and inspired. May all your dreams come true dear.

pink and white for ayu

wishing Ayu and Shidi, "Selamat Bertunang"

She came to me in March, with her sister and gave me a sample of the deco that she wanted

and I am so glad that she finds her cuppies better than what she had hoped it would be.

thank you Ayu.

simple simple only meh.....

"Aunty, I want that cheesecake. It's for my friend's birthday".

same like the one she had ordered before. hmmmm.....Aunty meh?uuuhhhh..... feel soo old....hey I am old! but young at heart:).....susah betullah bila ditimpa perasaan ni......:-)

"just make a simple simple deco only.I'll sms to you her name"

okay dear and thank you dear Gladys. "Wishing Happy 25th birthday to Daphne Goh!"

3Bs, butterfly, bugs and bunga:-)

Syuhada's gift for her friend's engagement. It is nice to have someone loving enough, caring enough to share your beautiful moments and fatin is a lucky gal to have such a friend

She wanted these colourful garden cuppies. thank you Syuhada

Choc chip cookies and banana muffin

4 jars of cookies, one for each child
first this lady ,who is Datin's ( the kids' grandmother ) friend, called me up.

"Zue, her grandchildren loved your cookies and is it possible to order 4 jars for them. how soon can you make them. they would be going to Langkawi for a couple of days and perhaps you can drop these cookies at her house (just leave them with the maid )before they come back from their vacation",
this is what she said to me and added:

"It feels nice , isn't it, knowing that people like what you are making"

yup! the feeling is great

later, it's the kids' mum calling me to order these 4 jars , making sure that I got the order, just in case her mum had forgotten to make the order because they would be leaving for KL after returning from Langkawi and wanted to bring these cookies back with them.

since I had some bananas , thot I'd try out another version of banana muffin from this book. It turned out beautiful, not too sweet, just nice, taste even nicer with cream cheese frosting.

gave this set to Datin together with the four jars of choc chip cookies. thank you .

for makan2........anything with banana is fine with me, banana fritters, especially gorengn pisang nangka or pisang rasa, pisang nangka sira, cokodok pisang ( jemput2 pisang), banana cake, banana cake with walnut, banana muffin, apa2lah, ada pisang, mesti sedap punya....

endless Summer Nights

Summer came and left without a warning,

All at once I looked and you were gone,
And now you are looking back at me,

searching for a way that we can be

like we were before.......

Richard Marx

Why am I writing this song, cos I used to like this song and its singer, and because this lady who ordered this brownies would be in a place where I found my true &*$%@.........., when I am writing this,










She ordered this brownies with walnut on the day my son went over to her house, to do some 'film' project with her son and her other son's friend who was also my son's friend. the three of them, the boys, went to the same primary school but now they go to three different secondary schools, but with internet, facebook and mobile phones, they remain connected.

After a couple of days, while I was updating my blog, and reading messages on facebook, I recieved an online message from her, saying that " dah habis dah"... the brownies' gone..... tinggal bekas je......

so she ordered this at 10 am , on the day she was going to pick up her son who was having a sleepover at my house. This time, the three boys were shooting their 'film' over at my house. tak tahulah filem apa yang budak2 ni buat.....just want them to have some fun this school holidays. she was supposed to pick this brownies up at 2 pm but she showed up at 12 noon, and fortunately it was ready, still a bit warm from the oven though. The second order was for her relative who would be looking after her son while she would be away , accompanying her husband on a business trip. hope she would be having a great time there......

.teringin nya nak pergi ke sana semula, miss that place so much, its fish and chips, its Kohi Noor beriani, its strawberries and cherries plucked fresh from the tree , its beautiful flowers and parks in Spring, long hot Summer ( don't miss this much ), dried yellow leaves falling in Autumn, white snow and icy cold weather with cardigans, scarves and gloves in winter.......the underground tube, "Mind the gap", the double decker red bus, the fresh wet market in Romford,the theatres in the West End, friendly pigeons in Trafalgar Square, the beautiful rows of shops and boutiques along St. Christophers Place, Sloane Square, Covent Garden, Harrods, Selfridges, Sainsbury's, 44, Bryanston Square, Bond Street, Oxford Street, sweet memories still lingering fresh in my mind .......................

pour some sugar on me

in the name of love,

i'm hot, stick and sweet,

from my head to my feet, yeah......

12th April 1988, Wembley Arena, Def Leppard concert ........rock on.......:-)

.................

has any of you ever run out of anything in the middle of making yor cakes or cookies?

I did, as a matter of fact, I just did, as I am writing this, I am waiting for my other half and kids, to come back with them. I wouldn't normally be running out of this item because, this is used in almost all the recipes, but I had used the last two for my banana muffins this morning and since we planned ( plan but not confirmed yet ......sigh.....) on going somewhere this weekend, I wasn't thinking of repleneshing them for the moment.

however, a phone call this morning requesting for a cheesecake for a friend's birthday for this coming friday which I couldn't refuse but I did ask her to pick it up one day earlier and I continued doing what I was doing then, decorating the engagement cuppies, rolling out fondant for cut out flowers, making a couple of ladybirds, some rolled roses, etc, etc and I had completely forgotten about 'it' until just now, when I was washing the mixing bowl and was going to start making the cheesecake when I realised that I had no eggs!!!!!!

OMG! before this, last week I think, I was in the middle of making the CCC- choc chip cookies when I had run out of the most important ingredients for that cookies, yup...the chocolate chips!Could this be a sign of something? something which relates to certain white hair on you head, certain extra lines under the eyes, or the sudden pain in the knee......okay, okay, out with it, just say the word.....sign of aging!

we are all going there eventually, some do it with grace and style, i know of a lady who is still golfing at the age of 70. My customer's MIL, who celebrated her 70th bday last week and I found that out from her DIL who ordered the oreo chocolate cheesecake from me. Would I still be decorating cakes and cupcakes at that age? would anyone? I don't know......wallahualam......

I guess I'll continue decorating the cuppies first while waiting for the ggs......just sharing some thoughts...wait a minute, /i heard the door, and they are back! gotta go!

CCC, BWW, MCB, OCC......by CMZ (CekMekZue)...

CCC - chocolate chip cookies ( with walnut) Thank you Nana

BWW- Brownies with walnut ( with icing sugar on top) Thank you cikgu Azura

MCB - Marble cheese brownies - a wedding gift for a friend's wedding

CCC - a humble cookie gift for an aunt

MCB - it was not meant to be, made for someone else but ended up with someone else. Thank yu KAk Bahiyah.

OCC - Oreo chocolate cheesecake

thank you Jay,

BWW- another order from Cikgu Azura. Terima kasih cikgu........

Kalau hati sudah suka.....

kalau hati sudah suka,
semua indah saja,
itulah tanda kasih akan bermula, di dalam jiwa.....
( Hail Amir and Uji Rahid)

So sweet, so soft, so feminine, just as sweet, as soft and as feminine as the person who has everything to do with these cuppies and cake and cookies too.....

berdebar-debar rasa hati,
menantikan saatnya,
hari yang dijanjikan,
waktu kitakan di satu....


I first got to know her thru email, when she requested me to make chocolate cuppies for her mum's birthday, red, black and white cuppies. and to deliver them at her mum's office.
She then asked if I could make her engagement cake and goodies, and I said, sure why not, insyaAllah..... and as Allah wills it, today I had completed her order when she came to collect them this afternoon.
Not only that I made for engagement do, but I also did for her sister's 'invitation card'wedding cake and pink and white hantaran mini cakes as well.

She wanted birds , butterflies and flowers, with pink and white theme.

the pink and white ribbon with pink bow to match the ribbon on the cookies set.

chocolate chip cookies with walnut inside a heart shaped case with matching pink and white ribbon and pink flower plus a pair of white and yes, pink small butterflies

chooclate moist cake with buttercream roses, again pink and white with silver dregees scattered on the border plus a heart shaped fondant cut out with fondant pink and white roses and blossoms and the wordings SELAMAT BERTUNANG" on the white blossoms.

'

with a little help from Batrisyia, I managed to complete this set. she didn't do much , just stayed up with me, kept me awake when I almost dozed off while making the buttercream roses:-)

yet another pair of pink butterflies di taman bunga2an pink and white.

As much I had enjoyed making this set, I hope Yana is happy with them too,Wishing Yana and Akhmal, Selamat Bertunang.....jangan lama2, darah tu manisssss sangat...

Happy bday mummy oreo chocolate cheesecake

Thank you Mrs Sarab and wishing your MIL, a Happy 70th birthday!