Monday, August 18, 2014

DIY : HOW TO SAVE A MIRROR

Assalamualaikum & hi,

Got to have some therapy for my mind. So i need to 'exercise' my brain by doing some handy work at home.

Found few pieces of glass mirror in my house while clearing some old stuff to either recycle or throw away. i was thinking how to save one piece which was quite damaged. bought myself a pretty looking glass cutter and got some second hand item to go along with it :)

WHAT YOU NEED :- 
glass cutter
scrap rubber tape (i got it from an old aluminium door frame)
rope (any kind). this is for decoration so its optional
HOW TO DO IT :-
 wipe it clean and draw the line where you want to cut
focus and relax. take a deep breath and press the cutter like drawing a circle. dont hesitate.
(p/s my first trial ever! thanks youtubers for sharing the tips how to cut glass) 
hehe...crooked :p 
cut the rubber tape like above
using a hot glue gun, apply some glue on the rubber tape
stick it at the ugly cut and sharp edge. 
from the back
apply some glue (using the hot glue gun as well) and stick the rope around the edge.
you can make it look thicker by making few rounds of rope and stick them well.
WALLA! an output from an amateur glass cutting work
Although it is not the best round mirror in Malaysia, but i can guarantee the safety of when holding the piece. the sharp edges are all well covered and your kids fingers wont be injured while handling it if they want to put it on their table.

good luck if you want to try it at home. please dont forget to wear rubber gloves (any kind) and safety goggle. 

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

HOW TO MAKE 7 SEEDS BREAD

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh and hi to all,



i don't really remember when was the last time i opened this blog and read the posts that i've written.. it has been a very long time i suppose. anyways, this post is about a nutritious bread and how to bake it.

before that i would like to share with you my valued readers, that i just learned how to make bread few months ago. my dear daughter has made hundreds of breads for ages and i have to admit i took it for granted and enjoyed being treated like a queen who orders around and get what she wants - a loaf of homemade bread. i read many articles on the benefits to consume seeds and would like some changes in my diet...so i got to bake one for myself :)

i went to my friend's clinic today just to 'boast' about my homemade bread and we discussed about the goodness of buckwheat. she then asked me to bake one for her at a price. well, i never have sold any bread before, so giving a quotation is going to be a hard task for me :p


THINGS TO PREPARE/THE INGREDIENTS

i didnt use the normal table spoon. i used a bigger size of table spoon.
i name it as  'conference table spoon' due to its size ;)
i used IKEA glass. half glass of organic unbleached wholemeal flour (this is about 110-120 gram)
2 glasses of organic unbleached plain/bread flour (this is about 400gram)
you can choose to use normal pure honey or honey with 'habbatussauda'. they are from Egypt :)
(i used approximately 2 conference table spoon of honey with habbatussauda
half glass of lukewarm water (filtered please)
half glass of fresh milk (i reduced the amount after taking this photo)
1 table spoon dry yeast (or like in the picture its 3/4 conference table spoon)
half conference table spoon of himalayan rock salt (about 3/4 table spoon)
3/4 conference table spoon of pure milk butter
organic seeds. brown sesame seed (3 table spoon), basil seed (1 table spoon), chia seed (2 table spoon),
buckwheat (5 table spoon), black sesame seed (2 table spoon), blue poppy seed (1 table spoon) and flaxseed (1 table spoon)


NEXT STEP

mix 2 or more (as you wish) conference table spoon of honey with the lukewarm water. stir

then, (same glass above) mix with the dry yeast and stir. wait for a minute or 2 (in my case about 3 minutes)

my shoulder is slightly injured and kneading needs more strength.
this k-mix machine works fine for me. mix all the seeds, salt and flour.
then pour in the yeast like the picture above

(that is milk and butter after been heated in the oven. the reason was to melt the butter and heat up the milk which was taken from the fridge. this process can be omitted if the butter was soft and the milk was at room temperature)
then, let the machine knead for 5-7 minutes at a medium speed

if it doesnt form a ball, dont panic. there is no strict law on baking bread.
the sticky result like above picture is normal. 

let it rest for half to 1 hour. you can cover it with cling film or towel.

the size doubled.

take it out from the bowl and hold it like the picture above. let the gravity helps to get rid of big bubbles.
you can squeeze it as well. 2nd kneading is not necessary after this process


then make a simple folding like above.

grease the baking pan evenly with butter

shape it nicely and tuck it in the baking pan

let it risen for the 2nd time. it will take also from 30-60 minutes.
the dough will behave how it should be (God willing!)

bake it for 40-45 minutes, 180-200 deg celcius

baked. take out from oven and take the bread out of the pan

turn it up side down and pat the bottom.
if you hear the hollow sound, your bread is cooked perfectly!

WALLA! BISMILLAH! BON APPETIT!
in my opinion, every one can bake bread at home. its simple and so easy. i remember someone says, if you can boil the water in the kettle, you can bake bread!