Satisfaction is....

Baking our own Raya cookies at home....












or seeing the look on Bea2's face as she admires the cookies that she got involved in the making, it did not really matter if Bea1 decided to decorate them as some rabbits!




Actually I'd love to write more about my new toy. The weekend before Eid was spent 'testing' it. We managed to bake around 300 almond london (with colourful hearts on top, not almond nips that got completely burnt while being toasted in the old oven...it felt neglected, maybe;)), 150 pieces in one shot, they are from 250g buttter and about 400 g flour, and 300 choc chips cookies (also in two batches).


I figured out the heat distribution already. The good thing to 'test' the first time with cookies like almond london is because the uneven colour won't be visible after they are coated with chocolate;). I could also estimate the temperature which I think a bit off.


Well, I don't know if all ovens would have certain behaviour (that's what I read) or maybe mine is just worse than the others as I consider it as 'rejected' item.




Anyway, cookies turned out great except for a batch of choc chips. That is due to some stupid recipe;). Too much brown sugar made them denser and harder..grrr, how come I never thought about that!


It was really time to pack for balik kampung and despite the clues from hubby that I should just stop it, I could not wait to see how it would perform on a cake. I whipped a mixture of a butter cake recipe. Alhamdulillah, it turned out good too except for it's a little brown at the top. Next time, I must place it at a lower shelf.



My Kak Long who is a great cook (like mom) commented on how good the cake was *kembang* but reminded me that I could use a little milk to moist it a bit more. Anyway I had forgotten the take the pic.


Now, I can't wait to roast a whole chicken with it, or to have cupcakes in two trays in one go, or to try grilling with the door ajar (it is mentioned in the manual;)), and I must make scones too.


With all that said, I finally wish that it won't be a white elephant...certainly not!


Enough of the oven for now...I'm sharing some Raya pics. We were at my kampung on the first day, arrived hubby's kampung at 1.30 pm the second day, and due to some reasons returned to mine on the 4th. and reached KL Monday 4 am. Both our kampungs are 8 hours drive away, so that's kind of crazy but we did around 6000 km in the UK recently, so that's nothing much really. Two of the kids got fever but they recovered fast.



My girls on pagi raya.




Adel Rayyan refused to have anything on his head.





"Bila nak dapat duit raya ni?"

Bea2 with a very shy cousin "Did you just pick your nose, sayang?"



Another round of almond london for Bea3.








At a relative's house, Adel's in his best behaviour;), and giving me a peaceful time to dig in.



A combination of ketupat pulut, lemang, rendang (no longer there) and tapai...heavenly!

I missed my parents as they were in Makkah doing umrah, but knowing that's what they loved most made me feel better. I wept a little with I read the Yassin at my sister's grave and that reminded me of late brother-in-law too but I could only pray, and that made me cherish the ones who are still around me more.

Alhamdulillah, we had a great Eid and I wish everybody had one too.