Grouper Slices + Bitter Gourd Soup

For the time being, this will be the last post for the home grown white bitter gourds because we have removed all the old vines from the garden. As the plants age, the fruits become smaller and smaller.

We used to get big bitter gourds, much bigger than the one above. As the vines get older, the gourds become smaller.

We have been sharing our bitter gourds with friends and neighbours. I have used bitter gourds for different ways of cooking so that we don't get bored.

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Soup for dinner.

I even used bitter gourd to cook soup with grouper slices instead of using pork or chicken meat for a change.

Ingredients used: Bitter gourd slices, carrot slices, grouper slices, old ginger slices, chicken stock, home made glutinous rice wine and salt to taste.

And sambal belacan with some lime juice as dipping sauce for the fish slices.

White bitter gourd vines before they were removed a few days ago.

Plants are like humans. As we grow older, we have many problems. Don't know what caused the gourds to have the rusty colour spots and patches, or probably fruit rot. For a change, we are now looking forward to plant other edibles and white bitter gourd will have to wait its turn.

If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil

and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death;

but if he plants the good things of the Spirit,

he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him.

(Galatians 6:8, The Living Bible-TLB)

White Bitter Gourd Stuffed With Fish Paste + Minced Meat

It was a gloomy day. The sunrise was blocked by an overcast sky.

Started out on our morning walk at about 6:45am.

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After morning walk, we stopped at a nearby coffee shop for breakfast. We shared the following items.

A plate of Hong Kong chee cheong fun which is steamed rice flour noodle with bbq pork and prawn filling. It was served with sambal on the side.

A cup of unsweetened coffee with evaporated milk (kopi C kosong).

2 sets of egg on toast for sharing.

We like to add sprinkling of soy sauce and dashes of white pepper powder to the eggs.

A plate of fried rice vermicelli with egg, prawns and beansprout.

Morning sky at 7:55am.

Morning sky at about 8am.

White bitter gourd is right for harvest.

I was not sure how I want to cook the bitter gourd. I looked into the freezer and checked what I can find. Then I took out a packet of fish paste and a packet of minced pork.

I ended up making stuffed white bitter gourd with the fish and minced meat paste.

I don't have chili sauce, so I used roasted sesame dressing as dipping sauce.

Plain blanched green veggie (baby choy fah).

This was a 2 dish dinner. No rice, no noodle.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday & My Corner of the World.

So, my fellow believers, long to be prophets

so that you can preach God's message plainly;

and never say it is wrong to "speak in tongues";

however, be sure that everything is done properly

in a good and orderly way.

(1 Corinthians 14:39-40, The Living Bible-TLB)

Mee Jawa, Fried Noodle, Fish Slices + Bitter Gourd Soup With Mee Sua

We started our morning walk at about 6:45am. 

Sunrise at 6:46am.

Above us, the moon was still bright at that time.

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Our breakfast at Restoran Tet Shin, Ipoh.

Mee Jawa and unsweetened coffee for me.

This is our favourite mee jawa, Indonesian style.

Unsweetened coffee and fried noodle for hubby.

Fried rice vermicelli with prawns, egg and beansprount.

I harvested this white bitter gourd from my garden and will be cooking it for dinner.

I cooked fish slices with white bitter gourd slices soup. I didn't have carrots but found 2 tomatoes in the fridge. I cut the tomatoes in wedges, put in some goji berries, ginger slices, and some wine.

I prepared 2 bowls of mee sua (given by a Sitiawan friend) and some sambal belacan.

It was a delicious and satisfying dinner.

A painting of a rooster on a tree trunk at the Gunung Lang Recreational Park. I hope this can be considered as a mural on a tree trunk.

Linking to Monday Mural.

There are three things that are stately in their stride,

four that move with stately bearing:

a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing;

a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king secure against revolt.

(Proverbs 30"29-31, New International Version-NIV)

Beef With White Bitter Gourd

On this particular morning, we had breakfast at one of the nearby coffee shop after our morning walk.

I noticed that the Hong Kong chee cheong fun stall is being managed by new people. We were told that the previous one has passed the business to one of their relatives. I ordered a plate to try and it was good.

Hubby ordered fried koay teow with prawns, egg and beansprouts.

Midday sky at 12:40pm.

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I had some beef in the freezer that I bought from the wet market. I took it out to thaw and cut into slices, and marinate in the fridge. I divided the beef slices into 2 portion for 2 dinners.

1st dinner - 1 dish with steamed brown rice.

Beef slices with home grown white bitter gourd using ginger slices, chopped garlic, preserved black beans and chili bean sauce (toban djian).

Peace Lilies from my garden.

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2nd dinner - Beef with white bitter gourd noodle.

Beef slices, home grown white bitter gourd slices, eggs, ginger slices, and wine broth.

Cooked instant dried noodle.

I served the noodle with the beef and white bitter gourd broth.

We ate the beef noodles with sambal belacan + lime juice.

Some days, our morning walk will take us this way and there is this old abandoned Volkswagon parked by the roadside.

We also get to see another Volkswagon which is much loved and well maintained. The owner drives this car around and is one of the regular patron of our regular coffee shop.

Linking to Tuesday's Treasures, Image-in-ing & Happy Tuesday.

Now all praise to God for his wonderful kindness to us

and his favor that he has poured out upon us

because we belong to his dearly loved Son.

(Ephesians 1:6, The Living Bible-TLB)

Fried beef noodle, porridge, chicken prawn noodle & millet dumplings

There was one morning when we were looking forward to try the fried noodle at this coffee shop at the junction where Jalan Pasir Pinji and Jalan Prince meet. 

As I approached the stall to place my order, I saw that they also serve fried beef noodle. I ordered a plate of fried rice vermicelli with beef slices with egg. While we were eating the noodle, the cook came to ask our review of his fried noodle. Hubby's feedback was that it was nice but a bit salty for his taste. So next time, we will request for less salty because other customers may not have any complain.

A bowl of our favourite shredded chicken and prawn flat rice noodle (kai si hor fun).

We also ordered a small bowl of rice porridge with roasted pork bones for sharing.

This place serves good coffee at RM2.20.

Overall, we enjoyed our breakfast that morning.

This is the name of the coffee shop in Chinese.

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Our simple lunch.

A friend blessed us with 2 frozen millet dumpling (bak chang with millet), vacuum packed.

They were slow steamed over medium low heat.

Millet dumpling with leaves wrapping removed.

Millet dumpling with its filling consisting of pork belly, salted egg yolk, & etc.

Thanks to our friend for these tasty dumplings.

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Home cooked dinner.

Home grown white bitter gourds from our old bitter gourd vines. The vines have been producing both big and small bitter gourds.

I used all the above bitter gourds to boil soup with pork rib, carrot, goji berries, and red dates.

Omelette with home grown Chinese chives (kuchai).

Chili oil as condiment.

The above was our "no rice" dinner.

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A dear friend sent me the following photo.

Emerald moth

Photo credited to Marie.

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done,

so none of us can take any credit for it.

(Ephesians 2:9, The Living Bible-TLB)