I awoke to the sound of screaming from the kitchen. Dang it! I woke up late again. Of course, it being a holiday, of course I'd be having private conversation with my blanket and pillows. Alas, I had to be woken up with an in-built alarm clock in the house. My granny.
The day started (after sahur, I slept again) with us having to rush to cook rendang. It was a frenzy, having two commanders. One was screaming for us to start frying the onions while another one asking to get the coconut milk in the freezer. There will be another adviser asking one of us to head to nearby shop to get cucumber. The thing was, when my brother called from the store, he was told to come back. We apparently do not need cucumber.
10 minutes before that, he was told to head to the wet market for cucumbers.
See? Confusion. An extremely common scene one day before hari raya. One wants the chicken to be fired just slightly while another voice wants it to be golden. At the end of the session, I delivered golden fried chicken while another batch was slightly paler. Win-win situation.
Our auntie turns into an entrepreneur during ramadhan. God knows how many thousands of kuih sampan she had to make. And today is no exception. In the midst of preparing rendang and ketupat, changing cushion covers and mopping the floor (on my knees. We'll get to that later) she managed to bake some more of the kuih sampan. Actually not some, more like a few thousand until night time.
So, we, about at least five people, scramble around the house trying to make the house look liveable. What with the cakes and kuihs and other stuff, it is easy to lose a baby in the house, discovering the baby a good two days after that. No, not really exaggerating.
The day progressed slowly, moving seamlessly from rendang to kuih sampan to twitter to break fast meal. There will be confusions (eh ini langsir bilik siapa?) and screaming (pegi kemas atas!) . Sometimes, there will be more extreme instructions (hoi! Sudah-sudahla mengadap komputer tu!). Tempers flare, of course, especially when someone alleged that I did not do anything to the hall. I proceeded to sweep the floor and attack the linoleum armed with wash cloth and soap, on my knees. That is to show that I can tackle this better than using a mop. And I really am happy with the end result. Nice apple smell in the hall.
By nearly 6pm, it is hard to keep a straight posture while sitting. It is easier to be sitting with the head rolling and saliva trickling from the corner of my mouth. But, at the mention of iced soya bean, energy returned to my body. Yes!
We thought the drama is over for the day. I mean, everything is set. The cake has been cut, plates have been scrubbed clean and dried, glasses set out, ready to be served. But nooooooooo. We are in for another surprise, which I fully expected anyway.
My granny wanted a cake. Last year, she hated my chocolate indulgence with a vengeance. So, it never occurred to me to get another cake.
Since she hinted that she wanted the cake pronto, we went for a cake hunt at 8pm. Of course, it never occurred that there is a cake shop near our house. Instead, we went to Bangsar. Getting lost in Jalan Telawi is not fun, I tell you, especially when I think of the kuah kacang and rendang at home.
As a reward, we got blended coffee. We need it dearly. The frenzy and drama is too much for us.
Ah, the comfort from coffee deprivation. I was smiling, feeling really elated.
Except that:
' kenapa beli kek hari jadi (Baker's Cottage)? Nenek nak kek gulung biasa je'
Argh!
No comments:
Post a Comment