Gallimaufry#12

Just a confused jumble of photos ...

Star of the monsoon

I was told that rain lilies are nature's weathercocks to forecast monsoon rains.

Skywatch from my balcony

MALAYSIAN STREET FOOD

Putu Piring

Putu piring — India-originated round, steamed rice cakes filled with molten palm sugar on a bed of freshly grated coconut. 

Made of ground rice flour, putu piring cakes are shaped by special moulds into circular mounds. The moulds are first filled with a layer of rice flour. Next is a layer of palm sugar followed by another layer of rice flour. The moulds are then covered with pieces of cloth and placed upside down into funnel-like steamers When cooked, the moulds are removed and the cloth packages are collected from the steamers and unwrapped. The cakes are topped with freshly grated coconut and  banana leaf squares before they are peeled from the cloths and turned over.

How putu piring is made 

Lipstick palm

Lunch —Taiwanese Pork Chops

Recipe here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT1fyJPdq7k

ONE FROM THE TRAVEL ARCHIVES

Stonehenge 2011

... more about our visit to the stones here ...

From our condo's community vegetable patch

Bird's eye chili aka Thai Pepper

Don't be deceived by its size! It may be small (about half the size of your pinkie) but it packs a punch, registering between 50,000 to 100,000 heat units on the Scoville Scale.

The Malay name for it is Cili Padi.  Interestingly, Cili Padi is an idiom for someone petite with a feisty attitude, particularly a female.

Kapok

I was at the park in my neck of the woods when I spotted patches of white fluff on the grass.

At first, I thought these were the sheddings of some white dog.

On closer inspection, I noticed a couple of weird red bugs on them. 

One even had a 'face' on its back!

A jogger at the park pointed to the tree above us and explained that the white fluff came from seed pods dangling from the tree.

I googled and look what I found!

Turned out, that huge tree was a kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra).

Fluffy fiber from the seed pod

Kapok is used as stuffing for pillows, mattresses, and upholstery, as insulation material, and as a substitute for absorbent cotton in surgery.

And the Hitler bug was actually a red cotton stainer.

Gallimaufry#11

Just a confused jumble of photos ...

Crepe ginger

Skywatch from my balcony

Malaysian street food — satay

Meat skewered and grilled over a charcoal fire

Served with a spicy dipping of peanut sauce, satay is perfect as a snack, starter or main course.

White carnation

Dinner

Suburban playground

ONE FROM THE SHOEBOX — PHOTOS THAT RARELY SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY

Yosemite National Park — Winter 1990

Batu Seremban/Fivestones

Growing up, we spent most of our weekends and holidays at Grandma's house where all the cousins would gather. Looking back, those times playing games with the cousins are my fondest memories of my childhood.

And one of our favourite games was Batu Seremban aka Fivestones, a traditional version of Knucklebones. Instead of bones or stones, we played the game with cloth bags filled with either rice, mung beans or sand. 

I used to think that the game was native to Malaysia until I discovered that it is found in various cultures worldwide.

The game has many variations in rules and names; for example, gonggi (Korea), otedama (Japan) and anjukal (India) ...

Have you played this game before?

What is it called in your corner of the world?

Pink

I love how the pink pops in these photos. No filter. No edit.

 The extreme brilliance of these carnations in the light of the mid-day sun was almost blinding. 

And in my flower-beds, I think,

Smile the carnation and the pink.

Rupert Brooke