28062016 Papaya gone bad

Well, what do you know. Papayas are very sensitive to being left alone.

All I did was just left it alone inside a cupboard as normal. Really. And a few days later, when I decided to take a peek to see how it was doing, I must say, it was not doing very well as it's skin was full of fungal sores...

And sometimes, people complain I never leave them alone....

So, this means, whenever its inside the cupboard, I need to make sure it not wet with trapped moisture, water or anything.

Full of sadness, it must have been crying itself out in the plastic bag and so, got some fungi to keep it company. Fungi = Fun guy, get it?

And so, I had to cut away a lot of the meat since it was going soft and rotting. So much so, in the end, I only salvaged about 60% after the cuts.

20062016 What's yours is mine, Sucker!

I have your cake and I can eat it too

A topic just came up today and it really was a shocker. OK, so this has been happening since God knows when, or well, China.

Let's say, I came up with a very nice artwork for a decal and a decal manufacturer is willing to get it printed for me. So, off the file goes and into their hands. Halfway through the run, they told me that they wanted get in on the action too or else they bump my MOQ to a serious number.
 
So, that, left a very bad taste in the mouth. At least, they were very 'honest' about their intentions. But don't fret, this did not happen to me but to a friend of mine. The worry now is that his latest design is in their hand and to be honest, there is nothing he can do about it. (Hint: We're in Malaysia and they're International)

These are the options open to him:
1. Make the deal Printer as the Distributor of the decals. Printer wins, friend loses
2. Make the files Public Domain and make sure everyone knows it through Forums and FB. Printer loses, friend loses
3. Cut his losses, go to another printer. Printer still wins as the files are still with them, friend still loses.

Whatever the choice, I left it to him to decide as I can only do so much.

People can get away with things when no one's looking

Think about it. When we are entrusted to do a Job, there will be a time where we will betray that trust. The problem is not why but when. Afterall, we are only human. And when we realise that NO ONE is there watch over us or, are too far away to do anything, we become bolder. One step at a time and pretty soon, its business as usual, without  even batting an eyelid.

So, what is stopping the photo-etch guy, the resin casting guy, the curcuit board guy, the decal guy, the manufaturing guy and so on from not taking a few of your designs and hock it off? What is stopping them or their staff from playing with your rejects or giving them to their friends or relatives?

Yeah, nothing. And if you're lucky, you won't even know about it.

Don't tell me about trust and ethics, either.

At the end of the day, this is what everyone wants it does not matter to some how it was gotten

12062016 RedHot Curry

Time to make curry again but this time, I'll be using a different curry mix. The previous ones were good but this is slightly different. Then again, if you ask me about them, they're all the same to me.

Anyway, the difference this time, apart from the new pre-mix is that I have been authorised to add in three full chillies. Full as in WITH the seeds.

This curry marinated onion/chicken was int he freezer since April...

The pre-mix stuff I had and some left by my Wife on her last visit. Actually the two on the upper left does not count. I am going to use the RedHot brand on the right.

The usual procedure begins, which is to ignore the instructions on the package, followed by the frying of garlic, (yes), onions and then the curry marinated onions/chicken. Yeah, the pre-mix look like those sambal chili which you add on your curry mee or what nots.

At this time, I am wishing I had some petai to go with them. It looked red hot (but not the taste)

Finally, I added in three stir-fried medium anorexic brinjals into the mix.

And with my Wife's blessings, I am allowed  to add three  chilies WITH  their seeds into the mix

Simmer and boy it does not taste hot at all

More simmering while I take a shower

Finally, add some milk when mot of the liquid has been boiled off. Yeah, the long simmering made the sauce thicker, and with the help of the potatoes, of course.

Finally, 8 large boxes (with meat) and four round ones (with brinjals) ready for the freezer.

Update (30 minutes later): Still doesn't taste hot and could have done better if I used santan (coconut milk) but that would spoil the curry very fast. Maybe I should have  let it cool overnight for everything to flavour in as well instead of straight to the freezer (I was sleepy already)

12062016 Advanced Salad Preparation

Salads has to be fresh and eating those that are weeks old are not adviseable. And depending on the sauce you used, its all soggy and brown in the end. When you see  it, you know you're playing with the diarrhea roulette.

The salads tends to juice out after a day or so and its not a good thing. So, this time, I am going  to try another method; dice all the fresh stuff but  don't mix them yet and store them all in the fridge. Only when I really need to make the actual salad, I'll boil the eggs, potatoes and add in the sauce/mayo.

Red Pepper Grenadine. Tasted more normal

I am starting to get the hang of removing the turnip's skin.

And so, there you have it. The diced cucumbers, carrots, turnips, onions and chillies, ready to go into  the fridge.

This is the other half of the Roasted Chicken which my Wife bought for me from Giant. Since it  was in the fridge, the cold had literally frozen everything which made it easier for me to remove the flesh (or dismantle it)

Yep, I'd say they qualify for the salads or a new one. But in the meantime, into the fridge they go.

This would be my weekly fruits. Wife aid to leave the skin on so that they last longer. I think I'm going to slice/cube some and add them to the ice-cream...

Apple juice and cubed kiwis. Horrible

So, technically, for the next 10 days or so, I will have fresh salad.

12062016 My IKEA Linnmon Table (aka The WORKS Table)

I'm not as limber as I thought and so, if I need to sit down and do some 'work' for more than 10 minutes, I need to do it on a proper table. The place where I stayed has one which suited my needs but its a common table downstairs for everyone to have their meals. And so, with the new housemate who arrived last week, this is now no longer an option.

Weeks ago, I wanted a stable RM212.90 Melltorp with rectangular legs but when I came back from my Holidays, it has been reserved. So, the RM169.90 Linnmon which was 2 feet shorter, was the best I could do for my back. I could pay another RM25 for a 6 feet version but its stability was more of a concern since the table itself is not made from actual wood.

I needed a table, not only to work but also to continue on my Piscean Works stuff. Without a car or the Family here, most evenings can be really boring to the point you just want to stare at the dropping paint flakes on the ceiling or meet Mr. Sandman earlier. I could also enjoy myself with some movies downloaded for me through my friends but I do not want to watch it the whole night/morning I am doing this to make sure I do not fall into other temptations which I do not want to be a part of.

How IKEA stuff came to Kuching, I don't really know. There is no IKEA Centre here either but then again, it beats going around second-hand shops and depending on taxis all day. This alone would have more than doubled the price of the table.

Luckily the Van still does its marketing round the next day (Sunday) and I was able to get the problem sorted out. All I had to do was to talk nicely to them, showed them the receipt to prove that the purchase was still withing the two day warranty period (but no refunds, though) and it was settled with smiles all round.

Carrying the table was not a problem since it was lightweight. The anorexic Van driver could even carry it. It's just... cumbersome. So, on a nice Sunday mid-morning, I am enjoying myself with some brief DIY and ignoring a cup of RTFM at the same time...

Then the problem started. I forgot to check the parts yesterday as I was too excited, convincing myself that the Van was waiting for me. So, understandably, when I came back in the rainy evening for a nice screwing about, only to be foiled my a missing part.

The only consolation was that the staff told me that had the last set of black legs for the table instead of the usual blue which I gladly accepted. And so, today, by hook or by crook, if there's any exchange, I really want  to keep the black ones.

Let's set the timer and throw away the instructions...

The table is Linnmon because the sticker said so.

And the legs are called Adils (not Adelle...)

A quick glance at the labels and its all in Chinese, Korean, Thai, Taiwanese and non-English. It hasn't hit me yet.

Hmm... there  is something wrong with this part. They gave me five screws yet I could only get in four. Even the instructions said so... weird

All the other three metal plates have five holes, which is a relief.

Looking back at the packaging again with languages designed to defeat a Banana, I think they got these stuff from places other than Malaysia...

Finally, after 20 minutes of screwing around and getting a strategic blister in the middle finger, the Works Table is set up!

Boy, the amount of plastic and pulp waste for just a table

In the end, its more or less, goodbye to sore backaches and a more enjoying session with the table.

Oh, yeah, what a difference 2 inches can do to your back in 15 minutes. But this would mean one less person sitting for dinner... (OK, until I get my own chair, that is)

08062016 BBQ Salad

Guess what I did with the chicken I dismantled the night before?

Yep, its going to be a new salad. At first, I was thinking of starting afresh with new onions, potatoes, chilies, red peppers and even some dates. But then my Wife made me realise that I have already made some potato salad which will last me for two weeks.

Not only that, this new salad will cost me money. So, might as well use the ones I have already made...

After work I got one green pepper and some chili. I could not get the red pepper at they costs more.

I need to remove the seeds from both green peppers and the chilis. Trust me on this, for every step you do, please wash your hands thoroughly and no rubbing your eyes or picking your nose.

Thank goodness both the pepper and chilis were fresh and they're crunchy even when being cut. It was such a nice experience. And the taste was quite meh since I only added about 4 tablespoons of the Heinz  BBQ sauce. Also, for this salad, the  mayo was a little less too.

For the biscuit test, it tastes great and not too hot either, thanks to me for removing the chili seeds. Maybe I should retain the pepper seeds next time or crush a teaspoonful of chili seeds and add them back in. You know just for fun..

I did not add the dates into the salad but this is ok for me.

07062016 Heinz's Honey & Garlic BBQ sauce

Ah, from the Love of my Wife. She insisted on getting me a whole roasted chicken for my flight to Kuching. For a whole Family, this does not mean a lot as it will be gone after one meal. But for me, it means a lot as I can use this as a source of chicken meat for my culinary (mis)adventures. I can get chicken meat from any place here but for a whole cooked one, that's slightly more difficult unless I'm prepared to walk for hours or wait until Saturday where, hopefully, Kenny Rogers would have some before 10AM. But this is too expensive.

Anyway, that's another story for another day.

Tonight, I am going to dismantle the chicken. I can't find the right words for it but this is a literal Cantonese translation I picked up from my friends when I was studying in Scotland long ago. The process is just to remove all the cooked meat and then turn them into smaller bits. Once its done, I think I'll either add them to my salad or create another new salad.

15 minutes later, I'm tired and only managed to get half the chicken done. Its easy since the chicken was in the fridge which literally froze everything and so, the meat came off easily. Although I can use my fingers to pinch the meat to separate them, I ran the bowl with a few passes of the scissors to make it even finer. I need to get a proper kitchen scissors for real meat later on.

I have bought a very expensive BBQ sauce because its.. Heinz. Boy, on the biscuit test, it just tasted like the HP Sauce but slightly sweeter. Damn it.

I mixed it with some mayonnaise and it tasted slightly better. The mayo sort of removed the tangy edge. Right now, I am thinking of adding some onion slices, potatoes, fresh chili or red pepper and even some raw papayas.I am tempted to get roasted cashew nuts but they're quite expensive and could become soggy when left in the salad for days. It could turn out to be a more expensive salad due to the price of the BBQ sauce.