Landskap tumbuhan dapur

I found this article in Berita Harian a while ago and decided to post it here. There are some interesting tips if we want to have this "tumbuhan dapur" in our backyard. They not only work as kitchen landscape but very useful in the kitchen too.

Selain tanaman hiasan, anda sebenarnya boleh menghiasi halaman rumah (sama ada di hadapan atau belakang) dengan tumbuhan seperti sayur-sayuran dan ulam yang boleh dimakan. Jika orang lain memilih tumbuhan berbunga, tiada salahnya anda menimbulkan kelainan dengan menanam pelbagai jenis ‘tumbuhan bahan dapur'.

Tanaman itu bukan saja boleh menyuburkan tanah dan mencantikkan halaman, malah boleh dijadikan sumber makanan dan menjimatkan belanja pasar. Konsep menanam tumbuhan boleh makan dipanggil hiasan landskap boleh makan.Anda boleh membentuk kebun dapur anda sendiri, sama ada menanamnya di halaman depan atau belakang rumah. Kelebihan membuat kebun dapur ialah anda berpeluang mendapat sayur atau ulam yang lebih segar, bersih dan terjamin kerana anda menanamnya sendiri.Tidak perlu risau soal sisa racun serangga perosak kerana anda boleh menggunakan bahan semula jadi atau barang dapur untuk mengawal serangan serangga.Serangga perosak boleh dikawal dengan menyembur campuran air sabun dan bawang putih pada pokok yang diserang terutama kucai dan serai wangi daripada cacing nematoda, kutu daun dan semut.Cara itu lebih murah, senang dan tidak membahayakan. Lebih penting tanaman itu segar dan boleh dimakan segera.

Pastikan tanaman tidak ditanam terlalu dalam atau cetek. Padat dan ratakan tanah sekeliling pokok sebelum disiram.Kadar kekerapan siraman bergantung kepada jenis pokok. Pokok yang mengandungi banyak air seperti lidah buaya tidak memerlukan siraman kerap.Satu langkah memastikan kelembapan mencukupi adalah dengan memancang kayu pada tapak tanaman. Cabut kayu pemancang dan lihat pangkalnya. Jika tanah yang melekat itu lembap, ia bermakna tanaman cukup air dan tidak perlu disiram.Tumbuhan yang boleh dimakan atau untuk tujuan masakan seperti limau kasturi, cili, bayam, pandan, serai dan halia juga boleh ditanam dalam pasu besar. Ada pokok yang perlu dicantas dan ada yang perlu dicabut setelah satu musim terutama pokok bermusim seperti ulam raja.Pokok jenis herba naungan seperti selom dan kesum perlu dicantas supaya dapat mengeluarkan daun lebih sihat dan bercabang.Pokok herbasaka seperti kunyit, serai, halia, lengkuas dan temu seeloknya digali umbinya, dibelah dan ditanam semula setiap dua atau tiga tahun.Pokok jenis kayu seperti limau nipis, kasturi dan purut perlu dicantas apabila terlalu tinggi. Selain memudahkan, cantasan dapat mengekalkan bentuk, konsep dan kecantikan landskap dapur.

Nearly 2 weeks tak blooging..is it a matter of no idea or malas? Hmm idea tu ada ..so it must the laziness..lately am really not in the mood of writing. Lots of wonderful things happened this past few weeks…Our dearest friend Heizam a.k.a Cik Lat is officially Mrs Clark now. After 6 yrs of waiting, finally they got married on June 16, 2006. CL looked so happy and berseri-seri in her white dress. How I wish I could be there…opps forgot to mention that she got married in Boston. Arghh Boston…I had so many memorable thoughts about that special place..but..not going into details right now..tersasar kejab..because this entry is not about me..It’s about CL. Am wishing her the very best of luck and may happiness be with her always.

Last week was also my dear friend’s birthday. What a lovely date 20.06.2006. Amin gadis Comel..who could ever forget her. She’s the bubbliest and yet very sensitive. I’ve known her since my high school yr back in MRSM Beseri. But we were not that close back then..until we became roommate in Boston. We had our ups and downs but at the end of the day I still adore her and enjoy our friendships very much. Happy Birthday Minah…moga2 panjang umur dan dimurahkan rezeki selalu.

Forever Charmed

I watched the ever last episode of Charmed last nite and I would say it was a perfect ending. An ending that am sure everybody would be happy to see. After 8 years (could you believe it) of battling with the so-called-demons.., trying to have a normal life as mortals, losing one sister (though it actually because the cast could not stand her attitude so they had to “killed” her) they finally found their destiny. Piper, Phoebe and Paige, the 3 witches or should I say the Charmed one will always be our favourite witches. Although am not really their best fan... I do watch it (sort of keeping it up to date) whenever I …hmm let say when I feel like watching it... ( I do have other things to do too)..because sometimes the story line was too much.. mengarut n seksi sangat..the truth is...I missed Prue...yupp the sister that “died” played by Shannen Doherty. I started watching her in BH90210 as Brenda Walsh..(she only stayed till season 2 or 3? again..problems with other casts). At that time she was so young and fresh. She got a lot of talents but sad to say she has the kind of attitude that pissed out a lot of people. Too bad...sayang sekali...muka comei perangai tak comei..for me comei la walaupun hubby keeps telling me muka dia slightly herot ya ke?
Anyway, what am trying to say here, last nite in the final episode, I was a little bit “terkilan” when the scene where old Piper and old Leo walked up the hall of fame” stairs, there was no pictures of Prue. Despite all the bad things she had done, I think they should have her on the hall of fame since she was one of the sisters. However, when Piper’s granddaughter end it up by closing the door the way Prue used to do it.. I know everything is alrite. Perfecto! That’s it!

p.s: semalam tengok "ungu violet"..ala yg Dian Sastro from Indonesia tu berlakon ..aduss..sedih bangat...meleleh airmata..

How long can i take it?

Weekend was alrite. Went to my swimming class as usual. Am learning the free style swimming right now. And it's been almost 4 lessons and yet i still can't do it. Am at the phase of giving up already. So frustrated. Why is it so easy for those kids ( age around 9-11) to do it..it only took them 1-2 lessons and they will be swimming like pros. And moi? Still terkial2 nak buat breathing. Moan it to hubby about it and as usual he keeps on encouraging me. It's a learning process he said n bla bla bla. The kids obviously just being kids. They are known as fast learners. Hmmm i just hope he is right because i don't know how long can i take it.



Back at home, am having such a problem or more like annoyed with the next door bibik. I know that am only renting and did not really use my backyard specifically the fence.but it doesnt give her the right to hang her washing there. Seriously..if we shared the fence then am ok with that but we don't and it's bugging me...Whenever i open the kitchen window (which i do most of the time) i can see such a beautiful view..yupp the washing...bibik tu plak dengan selambanya senyum..tumpang sidai rumah mak aqeelah ya.. My God! sabag ajalah kalau lawa tak pe jugak..;-p.. Hubby said just hang in there..we'll be moving soon..hmmm again..hope he is right..hope we will be moving soon coz..i don't know how long can i take it.

ps: the pic got nothing to do with my ventings..just that i feel calm when i look at it... sejuk mata memandang. Does it mean am opening my soft spots for cats? Still NO!

the first attempt

I found out yesterday that i had to sit for the Mtest ( Malaysian Teacher Selection Test) today - i was so unaware of the date, lucky me my dear friend Ida called. Anyway..i thought it was just another test..therefore i dont really bother to prepare or more like donno what to study. The test consist of 5 components which are: Quantitative ( Maths), Engish, Verbal (BM), Analytical and INSAK ( inventori sahsiah keguruan)...There were 25-30 question for each components except INSAK (135 yes-no answers) and 30 mins to answer for each components...wowie..it was hard...especially the maths and bm part..yupp you hear me correctly..BM..susah bangat..except the kefahaman. Maths pulak after so many years ...the skills makin berkarat. dah la tu ..no calculator allowed...I just dont understand why we have to go thru all this test. I mean, really, if you give this test to other teachers, i bet some, not all, will struggle to answer all questions correctly in given times. Hubby said..this is one of the way to narrow down the numbers of candidates ( must be more than 20,000 appllications - 1 pusat ada dlm 150-200 calon imagine kalau ada 100 pusat all over malaysia..)..and more over hubby said..this is one of the way to make sure they have the very best among the best teacher candidates. And hopefully with better teacher we will have better education plan..hmmm ya la tu.. anyway..I have done my best and hopefully my first attempt to Mtest will not be a bummer



Again talking about the first attempt, yesterday i made "puding caramel". Back in Boston, if am not mistaken, Minah was the one who promised us her puding caramel..and i think she still owes me that...betul tak minah? And whenever i attend birthday parties,ceremonies or even during ramadan..puding caramel is among the popular dessert. I always want to try it at home since people keep saying that it is an easy peasy pud but never had the chance or keberanian until yesterday. My verdict, for a first-timer, the pud was ok. Not that bad. I think i burnt the caramel a little bit..heheh..there's room for improvement! Most of it i enjoyed it very much and next time am sure the pud will be much-much better...until then..

Secret of Decorating

A truly elegant home is not a copy of something seen elsewhere. It has an individual feel, effortlessly combining everyday objects with treasured items. The key to establishing your own style is to make the most of the things you love. Here are some tricks for you to try out at home.

1. Try to arrange furniture so that it’s conducive to conversation. Hubby said, it is a must to have the telly at the living room in order to avoid awkward moments like when suddenly nobody is talking or whenever you run out of words. Although for me..having telly surrounded with soft and comfortable sofa mean tendency to become “couch potatoes” are most likely very high..contoh paling bagus…myself..ayaks..bagai di pam-pam, again blaming the sofa n the telly..

2. Item displayed on their own can be lost. For greater impact, cluster them together. For example: different shapes of picture frames or fragrant candles – I love candles. Don’t really use it for the fragrance but very handy during blackout. Nowadays it comes with cute shapes and colour.

3. I love colour co-ordination. But watch out! Do not co-ordinate too much – it loses contrived. Aim for a healthy balance between matching and contrasting colours. Again dear hubby likes it all white/magnolia… but I think splash of red will add some spice to a plain magnolia. I also like a pinch of green..more like hijau pucuk pisang or I always refer it as hijau Ziana Zain because she wore this colour on her wedding day. It is refreshing and make the items stand out.

4. Use light to soothe, stimulate and even decorate – not just illuminate. There are lots of trendy lights in the market.

5. Display something beautiful in front of a window to draw the eye to the view. However, before you do that, make sure that the view is something you want to show it to your guest, in other word, nice to look at. You definitely do not want to draw people attention to your washing lines or to a messy backyard. It does not have to be fancy just simple and again.. sedap mata memandang!

6. Display objects with emotional significance where they can be touched and appreciated. Photos albums are great entertainment. It brings back all the memories and a good laugh too!But remember to keep your most personal things, including letters and most importantly your BILLs, tucked away, not left out on view. You can always take them out in quiet moments.

7. Plain walls aren’t boring – they provide the perfect backdrop. You can add some picture frames on the wall. Try to be as creative as you can when you arrange the pictures. It does not have to be in a straight order. Be adventureous! Just do not go overboard! Too much of it will make the wall overcrowded.