No-butter Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe. Kacang Je! Peanuts!!

Do you have the chocolate cake recipe that you can always, always make that instant ; the moments your little ones screaming for some good, yummy, chocolaty cake? Last night , Hafiz was a bit gloomy, ( he always have world-problems to solve) and Lutfil was not helping with his babbling that made Hafiz thinks that the world is really a NOT good place to live in . Hafiz wouldn't eat anything and you could see that he was really cross! I was thinking all day yesterday to make the butter-cream cheesecake for today's Halaqah.
Knowing that the moment I pull-out my magic mixer will get the kids excited, I resorted to make THEIR chocolate cake first. I knew THAT would make Hafiz happy. Oh boy! Happy he was. He was delighted.


He was so pleased that he eventually ate all 3 roti jala and kuah kari that everybody had left for him.!! My magic worked.


He finished his roti jala very quickly, and was already besides me in less than 5 minutes after that.
"Do you need help, Mommy?". "Yup, I sure do! Thanks Hafiz for being very helpful". He helped me pouring the oil, sugar into the mixer, throwing the egg shells into the trashcan,  and help me holding the sieve for me. We prepared the ingredients in less than 10 minutes or so, and after that is baking time which usually take around one hour @ 160 degC , using MY oven here. We have a bit problems with the oven here. It is never at the temperature as indicated, and I can never get the other knob to turn at the exact baking method I wanted it to be. The cake turn out good. Although it doesn't use butter and other fancy ingredients, it always produce the kind of chocolate cake I like. It doesn't require that powerful arm to rise the egg or sugar and butter, etc. A simple mixing and a light whisk will do. It is the simplest recipe I know for chocolate cake.


Oh, by the way, this recipe was given to me by Zira, a petite lady I knew in Block B, Riyadh. That's before we moved to the current complex. Zira left in February 2008.
Here's the recipe:


Zira's Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe.

Ingredients A : (mix and sieve)

2 Cups flour ( all-purpose)

1 Cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon soda bicarbonate

1 teaspoon baking powder

Ingredients B (stir to mix)

1 Cup oil ( corn, sunflower,whatever; I use cooking oil)

2 eggs

2 Cup sugar ( I always reduce to 1 1/2 Cups)

1 can of evaporated milk. ( I use full-cream milk, abt 400 - 450ml)

Method:

Ingredients A mixed and sieved in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir Ingredients B so they mix well.

Pour A into B. Stir to mix. No need to use that powerful mixer. The mixture is quite light and can be easily mixed with a big spoon or a hand whisk. Grease a 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking tray (or use baking sheet),

My oven needs a lot of monitoring and I need to bake more than 60 minutes for a good 150-160degC  . But that's MY oven! Normal oven can be set to 160-170degC fo 60-70 minutes. Or do the normal "inspection". Insert a knife/fork ( eh?!) or tooth-pick , it comes out clean if the cake is ready.

There goes my "kacang je" recipe. Peanuts!!

(If I can do it, YOU can do it!)

In remembrance of Dafullah...

This post is especially dedicated to Mr Dafullah, a man I knew for only 3 years , or so.

You see, if you have not known him, or you have never met him, that's it. You'll never meet him, you'll never get to know him. He's dead. He passed away last Thursday (10th Nov 2011). He fell off a building on which he was working on. It was a sad news, indeed.
I just got the news through our warden this morning, saying that Dafullah passed away ,and that the Welfare Committee would go to his house this Sunday. I cried really really hard reading the mesage. Called my DH and cried again. The images of him kept pouring in, and I could still see his smiling and his sense of relief, a great relief whenever he got his payment after he's done doing something for us. I knew he really needed that money, he had a family; a wife and 3 children. I remembered him telling me his wife delivered a baby last year. That baby must be around 1 year old by now. I feel sad for his family. For his wife. To hear that you husband died falling off a building, when he just said good-bye that morning; maybe with a kiss and a warm hug, promising to return that afternoon. I cried again when I tried to imagine how she'd reacted to the shocking news. How heavy and heartbreaking she must have felt when she looked into her childrens' eyes. How did she tell the children?

Dafullah was nobody special. He's just a general worker, a position that nobody really care if it hadn't existed in our residence complex. You would just need him to do all the 'general' thing. You know, helped carry the tables, chairs, help with all the not-so-important stuffs around the complex. His position and the things he did didn't need any special skills or certification. Maybe that's why he lost his job. The company who hired him needed to cut cost, and Dafullah and several others were simply terminated. They didn't need him anymore. I knew about him losing his job after I came back from my summer vacation in July 2011.
I bumped into him, and he said that he's been terminated, meaning he's no longer working in our complex. He told me that he's looking for a job,and that if I ever needed him to do work around the house, I could still call him. I knew that he was desperately needed some money to support his family. I was thinking of what chores around the house that I could offer him to do. Unfortunately, we were quite mobile this time around  and I didn't really have time to sort out things. Although DH kept telling me to call Dafullah to help sort the stuffs we have in the store, I didn't manage to call him. I procrastinated. I bumped into him several time in Khartoum though. Once, I was in the van coming back from school at noon, and the driver said that he wanted to stop to say 'Hi' to 2 friends he saw on the street. When the van stopped I saw the 2 guys, and one of them was Dafullah. He was looking for a job. He must have found a job in a construction site somewhere. Yeah, it would be easier to get a job there. They don't need qualification. They just need your gut and your willingness. And Dafullah needed money. Desperately..


You see, Dafullah always gave his brightest smile when he sees you. I also think that's he's brilliant. He could speak a little bit Bahasa Malaysia, and he kept learning new words day by day. That's cool for someone who hadn't had a formal education ,not even in his own language. I remembered asking him to help with our store, rearranging the bottle, cans and what nots, washed carpets. I knew of other madams who asked him to hang the curtains, deliver food to the office, bring in the chairs and tables for the bazaar, etc. He'd do anything you asked him to. Besides money, I used to give him clothes, cutleries, diapers, all the dry food/canned food. Also electrical appliances;-). He accepted them generously. You know, with a wide smile, and a very happy look. The next day, he would tell you that his wife was overjoyed with all the gifts. To know that you are a part of someone's happiness, is a joy, too.


Now, Allahyarham Dafullah, may Allah has mercy on your soul. May Allah rewards you for all the good things you have done for us. Semoga Allah merahmati kamu. Semoga Allah melimpahkan rahmatNya ke atas keluarga kamu,dan melindungi mereka. Semoga Allah melimpahkan belas dan meringankan bebanan yang ditanggung oleh mereka. Amin.


Selamat jalan Dafullah, semoga kita ketemu lagi..

It's been almost 4 years now..

Pejam celik pejam celik, rupa-rupanya dah hampir 4 tahun kami berada di bumi Khartoum, Sudan ni. Kecuali DH yg mula menjejak kaki di sini awal Feb 2007, kami berempat (saya, Umar, Hafiz dan Lutfil), sampai pada 3 Nov 2007. Maknanya 3 Nov 2011ni, genap 4 tahun anak-anak membesar dan menghirup
udara di bumi bertuah ini. Yang tak tahannya tu, ibunya ni yang membesar sekali! Penangan selera yg sangat adventureous dan perangai sekali-mencuba-berkali-jatuh-cinta-nak-order-lagi memang membawak beban ( in kilos!). Haiyaaa...

Masa mula sampai, Umar 4.5 tahun, Hafiz 2.5 tahun dan Lutfil 1.5 tahun. Umar masuk KG1 (or Pre-Reception) di Little Fr1ends. Sekolah swasta ni kepunyaan 2 orang adik beradik perempuan dari keluarga berpengaruh di Khartoum ni. Kalau sebut nama keluarga ni, kiranya mahsyur dan tersohor. Masakan tidak, emak diaorang tu dulu pun dah jadi pengetua kat Un1ty High Int'al School, dulu satu satunya sekolah antarabangsa kat bandar ni. Mesti hebat sesangat kalau tahun 70'an dulu dah jadi pengetua sebuah sekolah antarabangsa kan, kan? betul tak? for a lady pulak tu? Sekali tu, ada pulak poster bekas Puan Pengetua ni terpampang kat dinding sekolah yang anak-anak dia usahakan tu. Masa tu sebelum ada acara perasmian besar-besaran sekolah tu tahun lepas. Dalam gambar tu, emak diaorang ni pakai sari. Namanya pulak Avinash. Agaknya emak diaorang ni asal dari India kot. Patut muka dua beradik tu pun ada campuran sikit, bukanlah muka asli tempatan. Nama pun sorang S0nia, sorang lagi Mona. Bagus jugak Umar masuk sini dulu.Sistem dia lebih kurang macam di Malaysia, jadi faham-faham ajelah kan. Bab-bab membaca , mengira , menulis tu semua mesti dah kena master sebelum masuk Year 1.

Hafiz dengan Lutfil pulak masa tu belum schooling age. Aduhai, jadinya ke mana pun pergi, bawak la 2 handbags ni, mengekor lah ke sana ke mari dengan ibu terchenta ni..;p. Ke halaqah (usrah ke...eleeh..macam la pergi every week pun, ponteng je memanjang..;p), get-together aka coffee mornings ke, shopping ke, school meetings ke, Umar's Parent-Teacher Conference ke, muka Hafiz dan Lutfil pasti ada di mana-mana. Kekadang penat jugak heret diaorang ni. Diaorang pun memang penat sebenarnya asyik kena heret ke sana ke mari. Ye lah, bayangkan lah. Tempat kat sini, bukannya macam Suria KLCC ke boleh lepak kat food court ke kalau penat, boleh pi fast food ke, bukan ada air-conditioned room. Kalau tengah summer yang panas membahang, alamat terbakar le kulit kena panahan mentari. Walaupun pergi souq yang ada shed/roof, masih jugak ku terasa bahangnya... Panas dia lain macam .'Macam' dia lain sikit.Susah mau explain itu macam la.. hehe.
Tapi, apa-apa pun, nasib baik budak 2 orang tu jenis yang dengar kata lah jugak. Bukanlah jenis yang tak makan saman. Setakat merengek nak balik, merengek panas, merengek nak duduk, nak dukung, tu biasala kan. Adat budak lah kan. Ibunya je lah yang kena sabar lebih sikit. Ini tak....( tarik telinga sendiri..:(  )
Susah payah itu ku harungi jua, dan lihatlah donia..dengan 2 handbags itu merata jugak ku merayau, banyak jugak souq2 yang diterjah, banyak jugak lah investment yang dah ditabur di bumi Sudan ni. Kiranya Hafiz dan Lutfil bukanlah faktor penghalang kepada kesungguhan saya untuk membantu menyuburkan ekonomi import eksport negara ini pada tahun 2007 dan 2008.

Sekarang ni Umar dah pun in Year 3, Hafiz in Grade 1, Lutfil in KG2. Umar di sekolah antarabangsa komuniti khartoum, Hafiz dan Lutfil di sekolah Amerika Khartoum. Umar chose the school that he's in now, and I chose the school for the other 2 boys. That explains the 2 different schools for my childrens. Not enough explaination? maybe later, in next year's entry. remind me, will you? ;p

Nampaknya sempat jugak kami membesar bersama-sama ( ibu dan 3 anak-anak lelakinya sahaja, tidak termasuk suaminya..) selama 4 tahun. Boleh tahan lama tu.
Bila budak-budak dah besar dan semua dah bersekolah ni ( yeayy!!), ibu dia memanngggg lagi panjangg lah langkahnya. Eh, tapi takdelah panjang mana pun. Saya ni jenis baik jugaklah ! Ahaks! Masuk bakul nampakkk.. heheh. masih ingat rumah , dan banyak jugak melepak di rumah walaupun dah free sikit nak ke mana-mana. Nak ke mana-mana tu, kena tengoklah dulu tempatnya, apa yang nak dibeli, kesesuaian (guano eh eja ..) jadual supaya tak clash dengan aktiviti lain. Sini namanya je duk Sudan, tapi aktiviti kat sini kalah aktiviti masa zaman kerja duk KL dulu. Kalau bukan aktiviti Petronita, aktiviti sekolah. Kalau bukan aktiviti sekolah, aktiviti emak-amak di kompleks ni. Kalau emak-emak di kompleks ni tak buat aktiviti, kita join emak-emak luar kompleks punya aktiviti pulak. Tu lah pasal, takde aktiviti cari aktiviti.. . Kalau tak terasa jugak hambar duduk di sini, jadi kita isi masa yang ada dengan pengisian rohani dan jasmani..huhuhu..;p. Tapi adakah saya perlu berterus etrang dan mengaku bahawa selama ini, mulutlah yang banyak sekali diisi? Dengan kata lain, mulut paling banyak aktiviti..Ke , memang semua dah sedia maklum? isk, isk, sheeshh..weh, dengan makanan lah, apa lagi?? So,why am i complaining about the weight gain again? I am not complaining. Actually, being a woman , I am just WHINING!

Now, where have all the years gone? Why didn't i pen anything about what I have experienced all these 4 years, all the ups and downs, all the excitements, all the growings and all the tumblings, all the moments that I (hopefully) have wisely spent together as a family here? I couldn't answer that one. Really. As much as i wanted that every event that we have gone through as the 'next' entry, I never managed to actually sit down and write that entry. The same thing goes to photography. I was an avid photographer , I even owned an SLR years ago (this was before DSLR where everybody i think has one, if not two). Now that I have my own family, I found myself staring at them, at their faces, and I do stare at my DH , too . I refuse to do this through the viewfinder. I'd rather indulge in that moment, and I don't care about my camera anymore. We have a Nikon D80 and I rarely carry it with me. I know that there are moments that needs to be captured , especially that the boys are growing and we (the parents) are, too (growing old). I will try to make the effort to snap more pictures. I will try to REMEMBER to BRING my camera. Then, I will try to remember to snap some pictures!

If I could tell you one thing about being here with my family, it is this: I absolutely loving it. I love it being here with my darling hubby and with my 3 anak lelaki. I have learned so much, and i am still learning, every moment, every day. I learn how to grow/age,( betul kawan-kawan), how to cook, how to take care of myself and how to take care of my family. I learn what is really really important to me, I learn ( am learning) about what is important to my DH, and what is important to my children. I am still learning. I learn form the young and the old madams here, from the kakaks and the adiks I have met all the years I live in Sudan.

I also learn, that given the opportunities, I, you, we , anybody, could do things that we never thought possible before. Well, at least I have done quite a few things that I have never thought I could do in the past. Having said that, going back, InsyaAllah, I will become someone ..err a little better ( if not much better), who has learned a lillte bit more of herself, of what she wants in her life, of what she wants for her family and and how she wants its done. InsyaAllah..

old home VS new home

The first picture was of our apartment in Riyadh area, Khartoum. Our house was on the ground floor. There were 9 families in that building, and we had 4 vans ferrying us (schoolchildrens, madams to the souq, childrens to extra-classes, madams to shopping, etc). It was not grand, but it was nice. DOn't be tricked by what you see from the outside. I'd like to think that the inside of our homes were comfortable enough, good enough, and catered to all of our needs.

The second picture, is of course, the new P3tronas Sudan Complx. It houses the office buildings and also the apartments for the staffs and their families. Alaaa..macam kuarters polis la tu..

The inside is a bit modern (note the "bit"), makes you feel like you are in Malaysia.

It has 2 blocks (for the apartments), A & B. Block B was completed first, and we moved in on 26th July 2008. The unit is smaller than our old house, but then, it feels spacious enough for our family. Apart from the book shelves that we brought from Malaysia, everything else was provided.(wardrobes, mattresses, dining table, 2+1 sofas, fridge, plasma TV,etc).

The complex also has a playground (can be seen from our living room), and a field. Things were a bit clumsy at first, but Alhamdulillah, after a few weeks, things havebecome more organized, and we have started calling this new place "our homes"..

at last..

Salam..

at last, I i'm writing something in my blog! The internet connection is not very good lately, and any changes ai wanted to make a; olour, fonts, etc ..all do not seem to work..huhuhu..

sedihnya..



So, do i like where I am now? YES! Definitely!

From time to time, when I encounter a new friend, the question they usually ask: "So, how do you like it here? Okay duk sini? best tak Khart0um?" I'll give them my biggest smile, and say: "Best, I suka." No regret? NO!



Best apa duduk sini. Banyak lah yg kurangnya, but I always tell myself that I if I want to have all that I 've had backhome, then don't come here. So, instead of complaining and mengeluhkesah pasal kurang tu dan kurang ni, I happily accept them as 'differences'.



Some of the people I have met here, either hate this place, yet stay because the hubby's here, or hate, leave and go back. It's up to you, really. But things are much much better now. What with the new modern complex, yang jadi kebanggaan sepelusuk rakyat kh4rtoum ni, sebab tu sainag dan malam depa duduk lepak depan complex, memuji archictecture bangunan yang tersergam ini..agaknya lah !:D hehe.

Now, more and more families are here, and I do feel like I am in malaysia. Hey, we have monthly bazaar- harga sudan eh, bazaar ramadhan, cooking class- belum adalah lagi madam ajar masak sudanese recipes, biasanya mesti malaysian recipes- a bless jugak pasal DH kan makan malay food! Malay food pun tak pas ada hati nak belajar international food. Eh, roasted chicken pakai rosemary ngan olive oil kira international apa?! heh..

we have Kelas KAFA, kelas Tutuion maths, Bahasa Melayu ( tusyen kan dikira trademark pelajar malaysia). Ada school children yang tak pergi tusyen tak? haa..ni ponteng la ni :P

Apa lagi ye malaysian feel kat sini? Oh ya, 'mangkuk tingkat' servis pun ada kat sini. kalau ada yang datang agak-agak malas nak masak, order je dari madam-madam yang berkenaan. Kiranya kalau makan dengan Mr X yg ada wife kat sini, tapi bawak bekal nasi + ikan goreng aje, memang Mr X tu akan malu gilerr la. mangkuk tingkat ni macam macam ada, masak lemak cili api, masak sambal udng, sup sayur, etc. I pun kalau DH bagi peluang, nak je order mangkuk tingkat untuk seluruh keluarga, lunch and dinner ,7x seminggu. Breakfast no problem, kitorang makan roti canai pun ok hahaha..

So, i rasa kalau ada orang hesitate nak datang sini, buanglah ketepi perasaan cuak itu. Tak payah tapi-tapi lagi, datang je! Trust me and you'll see !

..and come the news..

ladies selling kissra

Thanks to grouchiosa for this article. Should we now be proud that we are about to move to one of the expensive cities in the world? Nope! (Are you kidding!)
I am nervous. I have browsed in the intenet, looking for some info for Sudan and surprisingly, one of the issues the expats are concerned about are the expensive prices of the groceries. Imagine a minimum of RM20 for chicken and RM4 for a kilo of onions (it doesn't help that i use a lot of onions, and garlic in my cooking- konon rasa lebih sedap). Luckily, we have not started our kids with fast food ( yet!). If not, the husband will have to spend RM 76 on a KFC single plate (one piece of chicken, fries and soft drink).

Morine, kalau u duduk sana and Angel is her usual self yang go for fancy restaurants every now and then, habis la you...

With US sanction, and EU , too, soon? It's not helping, at all.
Okay, I'll do this. I will definitely have to go to the internet, look for some local main ingredients that are used in local dishes, look for the recipes, and make sure I know how to prepare them. At least tak lah bengong sangat sampai sana. Plus, with the very s l o w connection we'll have there, ....just hope it won't discourage me frm blogging! :-)

This reminds me of someone was given some flax seed from Sudan, and both the guy and his wife do not know what to do with it. After asking around, he was informed that in Sudan or over Africa, they just spread the seed on their bread or rice*

*me: i thought flax seed are also great for bread making? just like what we have in the hi-fibre gardenia bread yang ada raisins, peaches, apricots etc tu , ye tak?

BTW, DH told me that, over there, only the rich eat rice. ..( sedih la dengar..)

Over and over again, to show how expensive things are there, DH will relate how he bought a Conetto ice-cream for RM11 ! okay, now I'm convinced! Looks like Umar and his siblings will stay inside the house all the time! Only tour to the local dry market ( where they have goats, camels, goat's milk, camel's milk, etc) are allowed, no shopping malls for them! hehehe..

No worries! Umar will love looking at live animals at the market, than he will at the malls!

how do you like africa, maam?

I hope that when i am asked this question in the future, i'll be positively answering it with : "O' I love it very much, can't wait to go back there!". Before I can answer that question, I guess, I have to be there, live there?! Yup! You are right, my friends! In a few months time, I will have a world map poster on the wall, and the tag "YOU ARE HERE"" will be pointing right on Khartoum, Sudan .

I am in between, can't really decide whether I'm excited ( to be able to be with DH ) , nervous and worries after warnings, after warnings, after warnings from everybody ( well, almost!). But, thanks to a few friends who have given me some very sound advices about raising children in such condition, I am,.. well, a bit calm..

* my busy brain is asking these questions: how do i pack my things, what to pack ( DH said, bring almost everything?, huh?, how to buy milk powder that will last for one year? where to get it? where to get it at a cheaper price? diaper supplies? if current maid cannot follow, so how?, is it easy to get a maid there?, stocks of medicine for the children?, what dried food to bring? how about our current house?, what will I do there? will I be okay? will the boys be okay? will I be okay if the boys are not okay?, will DH be okay if I'm not okay?, should I be bringing all my books, take with me as many books as I can, any book shops there?, if I order online, how sure it will reach me? UKS will send to sudan tak? , hehe.. what, what, what...*

since the last goodbye..

Emak isn't so pleased that I have to cancel my trip to the US. Apart from the fact that
the tickets for myself and Lutfil have been bought, and it's not refundable, (fixed tickets, bought during Matta Fair late last year), maybe she feels more confortable having me to take care of her. Well, my first brother (Abang Pa) and his wife are also going there, but it's not the same as having your own daughter with you, I guess. I just assured her everything will be okay, and having just Abang Pa and wife with her wouldn't be so bad. I don't want her to cancel her trip just because of me not going, do I?

My SIL (Yang Gemma) suffers from stroke and breast cancer (late stage). We first came to know about the stroke, 2 days after Aidilfitri 2003. Yang (my brother, his name is Rosli) was sobbing on the phone, and he related how Yang gemma collapsed at their home and was found by a neighbour. (Yang runs an oriental grocery store in Carbondale, Illinois) was not home, while their only daughter, Monah was at school. She was at first could not move, her speech blurred, and now Alhamdulillah is recovering, and when I last talked to her on the phone, she sounds okay. In 2005, whe was diagnosed with breast cancer, and only Allah knows, how painful it was just to hear the news. She had to go through so much, and Yang too, I know is also suffering.
And what we, the so-called relatives/siblings do? Nothing much!

I have to confess that I wasn’t a good sister when she needed me most, though. No wonder she was (and still is )so upset with me. Thus came the plan to go and see her and make up for the lost time. I owed her so much, you see. She played a big part in my growing up years, not the toddler-junior-school years, but from my teenage (after SPM) years till I became a young woman. (now 33 yrs old, dah veteran..)
But it seems that all the plans that I made and all the nervousness and enthusiasm to come face-to-face with her just dissapreared as DH wouldn’t be able to come home from Khartoum on the weeks that I was supposed to go on the trip. I cannot imagie leaving both Umar and Lutfil just with Bibik, eventhough they can stay at one of my brothers’ houses. So, it’s better not go this time, again, despite all the expenses that have been spent. Mungkin ada hikmah disebaliknya, who knows we could go some other time? Rezeki durian runtuh ke?
To Yang Gemma, maybe you thought that I have forgoten all about you, but, I actually think of you all the time and just wish that I could go and see you. I am not good at words, but you know I love you dearly..

i'm feeling blue

Tonight, after much posponing and delays, DH will finally fly to Khartoum. He 's been waiting for the order to go there, much awaited task , I guess. Me ( and the children, too, I'm sure) are happy that he's get to be on a big project, newly challenging exposure and the good things about it. We know very well that whatever he does, he does it for our best.
We'll be missing him a lot, in fact I have already missed him.
Can't wait for him to come back in next month, which he has to, because myself, baby Lutfil and emak will be going to the USA this coming March. Sigh..even the 4 days of CNY holidays can't take away the blues..