MCO 4.0 - Day 44

 14 July 2021     Day 44 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        As the black font shows, Malaysia's Covid-19 cases have clinched another record. Unfortunately, this new record of 11,618 cases is nothing to brag about. On the contrary, it is extremely alarming, especially since the World Health Organisation has warned of impending "devastating outbreaks" caused by the Delta variant, which is sweeping across the globe at a "scorching pace".

        Black seemed to be the colour of the day. We had Black Pepper Pork Slices for dinner, complemented by the good old ABC Soup.

I had not planned to cook this dish when I went to the market last Saturday, so I didn't have the foresight to buy green capsicum to be cooked with these Black Pepper Pork Slices.

ABC Soup - easy to make, yet it's nutritious

Corn, taken out from the soup, for nibbling

MCO 4.0 - Day 43

 13 July 2021     Day 43 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        When hubby came home during lunch time, he happily informed me that his presentation went well and we would be celebrating with a Japanese dinner from Uncle Autumn later. However, taking one look at today's whopping high 11,079 new Covid-19 cases and the torrential rain that was lashing down in the evening, we changed our minds. 

        Fortunately, I had a portion of chicken that had been defrosted earlier. So I could jump into action and in my haste, I didn't don the plastic gloves. Hence, my hands, fingers and nails are now all brightly painted in yellow! Yes, I handled turmeric as I cooked Braised Turmeric Chicken for dinner and an easy-peasy Salted Vegetables Soup.

        As I cooked, I took a look at the evening sky. By then, it was only a drizzle, and everything looked so peaceful after the storm. And I wondered about the "storm" that our country is going through now. Our Director General of Health has acknowledged that Malaysia is now in "very critical condition". Will life ever be normal again?

MCO 4.0 - Day 42

 12 July 2021     Day 42 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Despite living in football-crazy England for two years, I've never been big on the game. I do understand the game and have followed some of the matches; how could I not when I lived with a Manchester United enthusiast for a year? He tried to turn me into a fan too and used to sing "Glory glory Man United" to annoy me. And when I travelled to Liverpool to visit a friend, he shook his head in disgust and asked why I would want to visit "that horrible city". That's Alec, my host dad, who loved to bug me to agree that he's a "handsome English gentleman"!

With my English family...see that "handsome English gentleman"!

        I can feel his heartache, which I'm sure he's moaning over now, after England's heart-rending loss to Italy at yesterday's European Championship Finals. Winning 3-2 on penalties, Italy claimed the Euro 2020 crown at Wembley Stadium...England's home ground! Arghh!

        So tonight, Alec, I cooked an Italian dinner. No, I was not being disloyal to England. I remember your exceptionally delicious spaghetti bolognese and how you taught me to literally lick my plate clean! We used to drive Pat crazy with our barbaric acts. 10,673 km may separate us now but I share your heartbreak, Alec.

It was a fusion meal, to be exact : Meatballs Marinara Spaghettini with Sweet Corn Egg Drop Soup

Meatballs Marinara without too much herbs (just the way we like it)

Hubby enjoyed his Meatballs Marinara Spaghettini

        Oh, I dearly miss my host family in England, Alec, Pat and Grandma Ball! And Tynan the dog, who's returned to doggie heaven. When this Covid-19 pandemic ends, I would love to return to England and pay you a long overdue visit.

MCO 4.0 - Day 41

 11 July 2021     Day 41 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Seeing his wifey quite tied up with lesson preparation yesterday, Derrick offered to take charge of the cooking today. The smart man dropped by at Ipoh Garden South after getting our brunch and packed home roast chicken and char siew so that he would only have to fry the asparagus later at night! 😆

        As he had bought half a roast chicken, it really was a huge portion for the two of us. So I told him the char siew can be kept for another meal, or perhaps for my brunch tomorrow. His Stir-fried Asparagus with Prawns was delicious, as usual.

MCO 4.0 - Day 40

 10 July 2021     Day 40 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Another black font post. Another record high of 9353 new Covid-19 cases today. And more worrying is Perak now has the 2nd highest infectivity rate in the country (1.17), after Putrajaya's 1.19! 

        There was a downpour in the evening, which would have been really enjoyable weather for doing yoga or exercising on the cross trainer. Unfortunately, I was too bogged down by lesson preparation, followed by cooking, so I had to forego exercising.

        It did cross my mind not to cook but to order dinner from somewhere. But I'm glad I didn't do that in the end, as a homecooked dinner is always enjoyed by hubby. We had Braised Pork Belly in Soya Sauce (or what hubby calls Tau Yew Bak) and Stir-fried Leek with Prawns.

MCO 4.0 - Day 39

 9 July 2021     Day 39 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Alarming. Bleak. Crestfallen. Distressing. Enraged. Foreboding. Grim. Hopeless. Infuriated. Jittery. Kicked in the gut. Lethargic. Miserable. Numbed. Ominous. Perturbed. Quite at wit's end. Resigned. Shook up. Threatened. Unnerved. Vexed. Wretched. Xtremely low-spirited. Yearning for freedom. Zonked.

        Seeing escalating Covid-19 figures despite the frontliners' unyielding sacrifices and our own conscious efforts to toe the line really makes me think there is no light at the end of the tunnel. All those feelings above do describe how I feel. At times, it's terrifying. At other times, I feel too tired to worry. Sometimes it angers me to see the struggle for power at times like these. And there are occasions when I just shut off any news on politics.

        Today's record high figure of new 9180 Covid-19 cases is indeed disheartening. How much longer can we hold on to the thread?

        Despite today being a Friday, which means the weekend's here to take a breather, I did not have a song in my heart as I cooked. Fortunately, it was an easy-peasy meal to cook and turned out to be tasty. I often cook this for my brunch on weekdays while working from home as it's super quick to whip up. When I shared the picture of my brunch with hubby last week, he asked me to cook it for him. And so we had it for dinner today.

Minced Pork and Shredded Mushrooms La Mian with Fishballs Soup

Hubby's huge portion

MCO 4.0 - Day 38

 8 July 2021        Day 38 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        This was almost another black font post. Malaysia's Covid-19 figures skyrocketed to 8,868 cases today, making it the 2nd highest in the country's history, just 152 cases less than 29 May's 9020 cases. And today we had 135 fatalities, the highest single day death toll ever! 

        Amidst the gloom, we managed to enjoy a rather tasty dinner. Of course when one of Marion Grasby's recipes is put to use, the dish is a sure winner! Her Thai Three-flavoured Fish (I used trout today) tantalises the tastebuds with the three flavours : sweet, sour and spicy. After the trout pieces were lightly coated with flour and fried, it was time to make the alluring sauce. Garlic and red chillies that had earlier been pounded in the mortar were fried, tamarind juice was added, brown sugar was generously scooped in and some fish sauce was swirled in. When the sauce had thickened considerably, the trout pieces were returned to the wok and given a good toss so that the sauce would cling lovingly to the fish. Finally, some spring onion were sprinkled onto the dish.

Thai Three-flavoured Trout

Delightful Prawn Wantons

Lotus Root, Pork Ribs and Peanuts Soup