Meet Mr. Basil....

Mr. Basil came into my life about 4 weeks ago.  He was a gorgeous little thing, full of beautiful green leaves.  I got Mr. B in my on and off resolve to be more kind to my environment and, not to mention my pocket.  The nobler cause for cultivating more plants would mean being more self sufficent, intoducing more greens and reducing commercial consumption.   Which in turn also means less spending at the supermarket.  There were also very encouraging visions of me and my family in the pink of health, being able to pluck herbs for cooking from our own garden, free of pesticides and chemicals.

I know nuts about gardening.  The only thing I have ever tried to grow myself were the bean sprouts I had to cultivate for a Biology experiment in school.  Mr. B had a small little pot when I brought him back.  I transplated him to a slightly bigger pot and added more soil.  I kept him in a very nicely shaded spot in the little garden area behind the kitchen and made sure I watered him twice a day. 

Mr. B when he first arrived....

However, in the following week, he started to turn a sickly yellow.  I knew I should have googled about how to plant basil even before getting him, but procrastination was always the Devil in my playground....Apparently, Mr. B was not originally from temperate climates like Europe or America (like what I thought), but instead came from hot humid places like India!  He needed lots of sunshine as well as rich, moist soil - not waterlogged, mind you, but moist.  But I also had to make sure I kept him sheltered from stong winds since Mr. B had really tender stems.  It was a real challenge looking for the perfect spot that meets all the criteria.  In the end, I had to rope in my Mum to help make sure that Mr. B is moved about in accordance to the weather!  Sheltered spot if heavy rains and wind, open spot on nice sunshiny days.  Mr. B started to prosper in all his green glory.  I was already planning to add more to the family....

Then it happened.  The savage attack on Mr. B.  In the middle of the night, something came and ate up part of Mr. B!!  I chanced upon the scene of the crime the next morning, horrified.  I suspected there were mice about, wreaking havoc on the nice fragrant leaves of Mr. B.  Since then, Mr. B's logistics arrangements included spending nights in my own bedroom!  Thinking that all would be well after this, I tended to Mr. B and checked on him daily.  Then it happened AGAIN!  This time, the crime was perpetrated in full daylight!  After moving Mr. B out from my bedroom to the garden one morning, I went about my own errands.  Upon my return, I discovered Mr. B, ravaged with broken stems and half chewed leaves.  What was the world coming to when even plants cannot be left alone to grow safely??!  I showed my Mum the evidence of the half chewed leaves as she initially didn't believe the first attack was due to mice.  Short of putting Mr. B in a fully covered electrical fence, I was running out of ideas.  Trapping the mice would have been another option, but these guys multiply as fast as rabbits....

My desperate attempt to ensure Mr. B's safety now includes moving him out to the front of the garden under the watchful eyes of my 12 year old German Shepherd, Roby.  At least while Roby isn't napping (which at his age is about 90% of the time), he can still help to keep the mice at bay.  All thoughts of getting other edible plants and herbs have been abandoned now till I get Mr. B healthy and strong.  Mr. B himself is bravely soldiering on, still sprouting new leaves and showing signs of recovery despite being attacked not once, but twice. 

It goes to show we should all thank our lucky stars for the power and resilience of Mother Nature, else we would all be starving by now!  By the way, any suggestion on how to keep Mr. B safe is most welcomed!

The Day the Dough Hooks Stood Still....

Gritting my teeth and flexing my arms, I held on tightly to the rumbling, groaning machine.  It was only a 250Watt mixer but I was determined to get it to knead my 500g of dough, no matter the consequences.  After all, I spent all of RM120 to get this machine.  It protested under the tremendous force of pushing and melding the flour, water and yeast mixture.  Jingling and jangling, it popped up from its stand a couple of times due to the extreme pressures.  But I pushed on.  I was relentless in my pursuit of well-developed gluten in my bread dough.  

Suddenly, there was a loud snap amidst the whirring of the motor.  I flicked the off switch quickly and stared in horror into the mixing bowl.  One of the dough hooks had shaken loose and got entangled in the other hook.  It had broken off clean into two.....There was a blinding flash of light.  I shut my eyes to shield myself from the glare.  A humming sound came to my ears and I slowly blinked away the spots of light floating across my vision.  A face came into focus...Hey, what was Keanu Reeves doing in my kitchen????  Did my hair look all right??? I hurriedly flicked my bangs into presentable chic-ness.  Standing besides Keanu, there was a giant Cylon - the kind that fought Apollo and Starbucks in Battlestar Galactica in the 1978 TV series

"My name is Kaayu" The Keanue Reeves lookalike droned. "This is my robot, myFART (Malaysian Foreign-workers Assembled Redundant Technology). I come from an alien race of bakers.  I am sent here to determine if you are deserving to be owner of this mixer.  If you are not, myFART will destroy your mixer and you will never bake again."

"WHAT???" I screamed, all thoughts of hooking up with Kaayu flew out of my head.
"We aliens go around the universe poking into other bakers' business and making judgements.  Today, you have been deemed unworthy." intoned Kaayu in his monotone voice, his deadpan eyes looking straight at me.  myFART hummed menacingly as his Cylon eye beam swung furiously from left to right.
"But I AM worthy!!!" I whined. "Look at all the stuff I made before!"

"Can't you feel the love?? It hurt me more than it hurt my mixer when the dough hooks broke.  I deserve a second chance!" I whined further.

Kaayu bent his handsome head down and consulted with myFART in a few hurried whispers.  Finally, he turned to me.  "You have only 3 days to do redeem yourself.  There's a Kenwood promotion where you can trade in your old mixer AND get a new one at a discounted price.  Do this, and myFART may not explode in your face...."

I was reeling....Give up my old mixer?? My trusty Faber which has seen me through all my successes as well as failures?  My 250W machine who has unflinchingly attacked all dough at the flick of the switch, even though it was way beyond it's capacity?  And a new Kenwood mixer?  That is going to blow a major hole in my pocket - even with a discount...I did a hurried calculation...it was going to cost me a whopping RM1800!!

"You have 3 days..." Kaayu repeated.  myFART emitted one last menacing hum and they both disappeared in a ball of light.  It was a heart-wrenching decision.  On D-Day, I packed up the Faber, my heart heavy with reluctance. 

Before making my way to the store for THE exchange, I had to get it off my chest and decided to get moral support from Ultraman.  With his usual cunning, Ultraman casually suggested "Aiya, don't bring your old mixer in.  Just go in and pay for the Kenwood.  Chances are, they may not even ask for your old mixer".  "Really? Can that happen??" My heart lightened with the possibility.  I walked into the store, glancing around to make sure Kaayu was not there to mess things up.  My adrenaline pumping with anxiety, the salesman went through the procedures of checking through the Kenwood package, and making sure everything is in order with the warranty.  I handed over my credit card...and the salesman turned to me and smiled......

There was a blinding flash of light and the incessant humming from myFART's cylon eye filled the air of my kitchen.  I blinked and Kaayu's wooden face came into focus.

"Did you get the Kenwood?" Kaayu intoned. I hesitated.

"Do not forget what will happen with myFART...." Kaayu warned.  myFART started huffing and puffing, building up momentum for the imminent explosion... An explosion that would put an end to my baking days...."

"Stop! Stop! I got the Kenwood mixer!!" I shouted.  I stepped aside to show them the proof.

"And you know what?  I didn't have to trade in my old mixer.  Faber is still with me!  Now, I'm going to have two mixers and there's not a thing you can about it!  So, there's going to more breads, more cakes, more pastries for everyone!" I continued defiantly.

"And here's what I think of your robot!" My sambal petai dinner rose to the occasion as I clenched my muscles and let out a giant explosion of my own.  Kaayu and myFART staggered about, gagging and choking..."myFART, we gotta get out of here!!" Kaayu screamed.  There was another loud flash....and suddenly, I was alone in my kitchen.  I turned to my mixers and lovingly traced the gleaming metal hooks.  The future is looking bright.....

THE END

Footnote : A loose adaptation of the remake for "The Day the Earth Stood Still".  Movie rights still up for grabs....

Keeping the Flame Alive.....Happy 2011

I've been neglecting this blog.  Shame on me.  When I started this way back in January of 2010, I told myself however busy I got, I would still find time to write and not let it fizzle out by year end.  Fizzling out is something I am frequently guilty of....

When I was much much younger, I had a foray into ballet - before you can say "Tu Tu", my swan lake ended before it even began.  It signalled the beginning of many unfinished ventures.  Piano died at Grade 6.  In my own defense, I did sort of get tricked into it.  My sister and brother started taking lessons and silly old me got lured by the tinkling of the ivory keys...No one said anything about the torturous exams I had to take!  Theory exams came with migraines and oral exams nearly induced heart-attacks.  Practicing scales was excruciating and my confused mind could only remember "Andante" and "Allegro" - don't ask me anything else....please.

Life after secondary school was filled with fleeting "romances" of the same kind.....Tai Chi?  Yup - swooping crane and all... Yoga?  Check! No one could surpass the perfection of my Corpse pose.... Latin dancing?  Even managed to complete 3 exams, but there just weren't enough tall, dark handsome Latino partners to keep the enthusiasm up.  My paper crafting hobby burned brightly for a while, and then died a natural death.  Determined to learn Mandarin, I invested in a huge dictionary and several children's workbooks, only to have them sit in my bookshelf gathering dust....the list goes on but I guess you get the picture by now.

This analysis of my pitiful history has made me renew my determination - especially to work at the original goals of my quest to find purpose, passion and pleasure.  So I'm going keep at it - this blog, my baking and cooking, my erhu, my fitness, my reading, my time with family and friends... anything and everything that will keep me optimistic and happy for my future.  And here's wishing you would be able to keep your flame alive too - it's a little late into the year, but have a amazing 2011 everyone!