First of Ramadhan

Due to PMR, AI & AH were both home for the first day of puasa.... which is a blessing bcoz its definitely easier on just about anyone to be at home right now. AF's also back earlier than usual on a 'menyambut ramadhan' break so its full house for us this week. i love it when everyone's home :) kalau tak, makan pun kekadang tercekik teringatkan yang tak ada, especially when i'm eating something they happen to like.

Now, i love ramadhan for all the obvious reasons and much more.. but theres one thing about it that really weighs heavy on my mind; the dilemma that haunts most wives/moms - what to cook !!!!!!!! in just under a week that question becomes the soalan cepu emas.

I've stopped trying to please everyone simultaneously a long time ago (we'd just end up with a mejafull of unfinished lauk, kids who mysteriously turn into bloated ular sawas and rendered immobile, and later a long and ardous battle to complete tarawih). they now take turns and i rotate each of their choices accordingly... which should settle my 'what to cook' problem. unfortunately, it doesnt take long for them to start running out of choices and its back to moi to get creative. sigh - its tough bcoz i also have to think about sahur choices. Abe who is otherwise very flexible, is extremely picky about his food during ramadhan, especially for sahur. not only must it be different from that of berbuka, it must also be something he fancies. otherwise, he'll just make himself a bowl of oats which he will then doggedly finish and all the while eyeing me with those accusing eyes of his!!!! alahai, geram ada, kesian pun ada especially when he'll melepek giler the next day *double sigh*

I hate the fact that food has become such an important factor in ramadhan - its about fasting, abstaining & making sacrifices, so shouldn't it be the least of our considerations? but the fact remains that Abe looks forward to having a good breaking of fast & sahur, so who am i to say otherwise? all that one can do is to try create some sort of balance and avoid going overboard, but its not that simple when theres food, food and more food everywhere you turn during ramadhan.... pasar ramadhan, korner ramadhan, pesta ramadhan, macam2 ramadhan.

So back to the soalan cepu emas - what to churn out of the wok next?!! probably the best way to deal with all this brain clutter is to unload my cooking blues here - dah masak apa, boleh masak apa, nak masak apa. hmmm, after all this is a place for me to rant n rave lol so... what if i had my own Food R (rave) & R (rant) corner for ramadhan ;)

Food R&R

Okey dokey. About early morning sahur - we had lotsa telur masin, some fried cocktail sausages, hot & sour soup with fresh cendawan and leftover fried beef from dinner.

Next, today's berbuka. its been my practise to cook as well as buy ready made food for berbuka so that even with the limited time afforded to me as a working woman, there'd still be variety. and to make sure i didnt go wrong this first day, i made a family favourite - grilled chicken wings with garlic, chilli api, soy sauce and a touch of honey. also kangkung goreng belacan with those big prawns peeking through lol.

From hatinie, i had earlier bought some akok (Abe's favourite kueh and a must throughout ramadhan), sweet sago in santan and tapai pulut. since the queue for the lauk was horendously long there, i moved on to another restaurant where i bought a little of siput sedut, terung berchilli and kerabu mangga each, just enough to tantalize the tastebuds. but turned out tak sedap pun so that means i wont be returning for a second time.

Abe arrived home just in time for berbuka in a black mood. seems the poor guy left his office around 4 and was stuck in the jam forever (an accident). also unfortunate that his diabetic meds were wrecking havoc with his digestive system and had him purging right after. which also meant we couldnt make it to the masjid for tarawih... instead Abe led the maghrib, isya' & tarawih prayers in jemaah at home.

Ooh to be able to hang on to the very soul & spirit of ramadhan would be such a blessing indeed !!!!