Gallimaufry#13

Just a gallimaufry of photos ....

Round bottle brush

 

Skywatch from my balcony

Gobi Pakora — Cauliflower fritters

Recipe here — http://chefinyou.com/2012/02/cauliflower-bhajji-pakora

I was walking with my friend, Mei, when we stumbled upon this curious papaya tree with a gaping hole in its trunk. Mei explained that it was probably a male papaya tree that had been staked to change it into female so that it would bear fruits.  A transsexual tree?!!  I thought Mei was pulling my leg but when I googled, I learned that driving a nail/stake into the base of the trunk of a male papaya tree does indeed give it trauma and tricks it into thinking that it would die. So the tree changes its sex to procreate before it meets its demise!

Mexican creeper

ONE FROM THE TRAVEL ARCHIVES

Louvre Museum 2019

It is said that the Louvre Museum is haunted and spooky tales of 2 ghosts keep cropping up — an Egyptian mummy called Belphegor  and a butcher!

The butcher, Jean l’Ecorcheur , was an assassin who acted at the behest of Catherine de Medici . He was strangled on the order of the French Queen because he knew too many unsavoury secrets about the royal family.

Tourists have reportedly seen him at the museum and the adjacent Tuileries Garden. Since he is dressed in red, he is also known as the ‘Red Man of the Tuileries.’

MALAYSIAN STREET FOOD

Apam Balik

Apam Balik in Malay translates as turnover pancake. 

Flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk, and water are used to make the batter. To prevent the batter from sticking to the pan, it is cooked in a generous amount of margarine. Traditionally, coarsely ground peanuts, sugar granules and sweetcorn kernels straight out of the can are sprinkled as filling before the pancake is folded over, hence the name. Modern innovations such as grated coconut, banana, chocolate sprinkles, nutella, marshmallow, ham and cheddar cheese are also available.

Perfect Timing

I can hear and see the *LRT train in the distance from my balcony and kitchen window as it rumbles along the track on its scheduled runs. 

 *Light Rail Transit

At around dinner time, I listen for the sound of the train and I know that my son is riding in one on his way home from the office.

And by the time he arrives home, the table is set and a warm meal awaits him.

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