My youngest, Syirah, received the call-up for National Service. She is now stationed at Kem Sentosa in Chenderiang, Perak. Too bad that she didn't have enough time after the SPM for driving lessons. But she did have ample opportunity for picking up some culinary skills.
Beginning with peeling and slicing onions of course, then chopping or slicing meat as required by the recipe, also cutting and washing vegetables, then sauteing and frying, and finally making the actual dishes themselves.
So now she's able to confidently whip up scrambled eggs and daging masak taucho on her own, as well as making pancakes and brownies.... from Pilsbury ready-mixes hahaha. Other dishes still require supervision.
Last dish learnt before she left was Cream of Mushroom Soup, of which some of the action was caught on camera:
First roughly chop up some mushrooms, and slice some shallots and garlic.
Saute the shallots and garlic in butter until fragrant.
Add in the mushrooms, saute till mushrooms are soft.
Add in some chicken or prawn stock, and bring to the boil.
Place in a blender, add in some skimmed milk.
Blend.
Place the puree back into the saucepan.
Heat and stir; just when it begins to boil, add in the cream.
Add salt to your liking. Thicken with a little corn-flour dissolved in water. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Another way of thickening the soup which I feel makes it much tastier but is definitely more fattening, is by making a roux. Completely melt some butter in a pan and gradually add wheat-flour while stirring the mixture to prevent clumping and burn. The consistency of the finished roux should be like goreng pisang dough i.e slightly runny but not wet, and the colour a light golden brown.
We transferred it to a vacuum pot to take with us to pot-luck night.
So it's back to mess chow for Syirah for the next two months.
Bye-bye, stay sharp, stay focused, stay safe and enjoy yourself at camp.
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18 comments:
I'm sure she'll have a great time :)
Looking forward to hear her take on the whole episode.
Take care, Zen...jangan main violin malam malam teringatkan anak ;p
Zendra & RA,
,,,well done to both of you too, for a better 1nation, our children and the future generation.
,,,very healthy faces too. Very good.
,,,in my days, we had to survive the brutal training and go fighting against the CTs immediately after it. Many of my buddies never came back alive and i was in the midst of it day in day out, choppering them around and got shot at too. BUT it made a man out of me ! hahaha..never tasted boyhood yaa..so now its my time. hehehe !!.
I think after the hill climb that day, she'll probably be one of the best PLKN ever!
And of course darah mak yang adventurous yang mengalir kuat dalamnya helps a lot! hehehe
zen..
anak you gerenti gembira di sana....
macam macam aktiviti sampai tak da masa nak call kita...
so you better dont cry..hahahaha
lagi pun chenderiang tu bukan nya jauh sangat pun...boleh jenguk sekali sekala..
Zee, this NS camp, how many days must she be there for? Do they actually teach u shooting with firearms? Got excess to internet in camp or not?
I supposed she'll have to do with Campbells or Heinz Cream of Mushroom soup (Tin Food) instead of the homemade version...hahaha.
Wishing her well. And I quite sure that Mummy & Daddy will be quite / quietly please with the extra privacy no doubt for that duration.
Cheers,
Tommy
P/S - Hey Capt; common get over the commies thingy. They'd become more capitalist than u & I, in their E.Zegna & Bentleys nowadays lah....hahaha
Naz, she was at sekolah asrama penuh for 5 years so both she and us are used to separation already hehe. She'll make new friends I'm sure and have a great experience.
Hey thanks Capt, we do our small bit for our nation.
Delayed boyhood dah pulak - now you can play with your son and teach him the ropes. Mmmmm dah baligh ke belum? HAHAHAHAA!
mamasita, that climb is exactly what I hope she remembers. Actually she's more adventurous than me, more like anak bapak lah...
Ezza. Insya Allah we'll be OK. This weekend dah rancang nak gi jenguk. Ada air terjun dekat2 situ tau! Yahoo! boleh piknik hahhaha
Tommy, NS is only for 2 months AND they get to handle fire-arms at the firing range if they so wish. Don't know about internet, hope not. There's always the phone. Canned soup no can do lah. And privacy, it's a luxury we enjoy now ;)
Zen & RA on honeymooning trip all over again hahaha ....u can be the little kid inside all over again !!..have fun.
Untung budak2 sekarang ni mcm2 je aktiviti after SPM. When I was waiting for my result, I worked at pump station at day, and melepak kat simpang kpg everynight sampai pagi =))
Its good anyway to have this kind of NS, at least our kids tak le boring while waiting for the result of their life. SPM it is. I bet when she's back, she will no longer your baby daughter, she will be tougher =))at least like her mum.
Salams Zendra,
I feel you, we just can't help but have that worrying bit in us. InshaAllah, yr daughter will be fine. My boy went for PLKN some years back and he was sent to a camp in Miri!! First time away from home. Anak tak de apa-apa, Mommy yg kecoh lebih :) I'm sure Syirah will have fond memories of her PLKN days.
Cook Before You Shoot...Aunty Zendra, you have a way with words indeed. The mushroom soup looks yummy....may I have some? purrr....meow!
Capt, not a honeymoon when one party has to go back to work!
Yo Fleece Master, yes hopefully she'll toughen up for what comes after SPM. No pumping petrol for her but pumping perut hehe
Hi Kay, Miri must have had been far enough from his doting mother for him, but for us a 2-hour drive is still not near enough. Yes I know she'll enjoy herself and bring home a good attitude for life when it's over. Thanks.
Cat, sure you can lick the saucepan clean .... meow
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