One thing for sure is that I absolutely adored The Women's Weekly (Malaysian version) for its sweet and downright easy-to-cook recipes. Roast chicken is a whizz to create, be it for a fast dish to accompany rice or a western cuisine with sauteed potatoes of herbs and butter graced with steamed vegetables of your choice. Choose the perfect wine and Voila! - the perfect meal for a special occasion.

DURIAN LUNCH

It is one of those humid evenings that hub sent home a large gunnysack full of thorns and drove Henry into a excited, frenzy fit (no, he's not the dog but our 5 year old charming). So insistent is he to devour the custard-like contents that he dragged that heavy sack from the front of the living room all the way into the kitchen !
Confronted by his dare devil action of throwing one small fruit out which rolled to one corner of the kitchen, garnered by incessant whines and and begging, I knew this is one task I would have to carry out without his dad now. Although this is not my first time ripping open the King of fruits, I've never fully assured myself of absolute confidence at the trial. Almost mission impossible.

However it is not as trying as it seems to be. All it takes is sharp assesment and strong hands. ( Don't forget that rag unless, of course you're Ben 10 Four Arms)

TOOLS OF THE TRADE


1) A sharp knife. I prefer a cleaver although one my friend claimed she can do it effortlessly with a screwdriver. I wonder.....

2) A piece of rag

3) Newspapers to line the surface ( sharp thorns can scratch your precious wooden or marble floorings. Also to prevent the sticky flesh from messing the floor/table)

TECHNIQUE

1) Turn the fruit to the bottom area to spot faint, brownish lines of a 5-pointed star. These are the sutures of the fruit or the lines that separate the different segments of the durian. Follow these lines for a stress-free durian spliting session !


2) As the picture above, carefully place the knife in the middle of the 'star'. In the event where you have an irregular fruit or the lines are not visible , try and area where it is most likely the center of the fruit ( all the best in figuring it out).

3) Hold the durian with one hand using the rag/cloth as a buffer to protect your hand from the thorns. Position the knife above the center and sink it in. When the knife has penetrated about 2 inches, twist it left and right until the segments open up.

4) When you see the gap, pry the segments apart. If you can't stand the pricks, continue to use the cloth to prevent any nasty scratches.

One piece of good advice : It was a sentence written 'as a matter of factly' by a blogger on 'Opening Durian' that I found rather amusing but after having seived through the truth , this can be a life saver, just in case you're not from this part of the world and has never eaten one before.

JUST EAT THE FLESH OF THE DURIAN AND DISCARD THE SEEDS.


Henry ate up his share like a puppy with sausages. See the big gunny sack (right)filled with durians that he lugged into the kitchen.

Hub always make us drink cold water from the cavity of the segments. It is an old wives tale that the drink can cool the 'heatiness' from the consuming the fruit. What diagnosis is 'heatiness' ? The Chinese would say it's anything ranging from sore throat to indigestion. Ironic. Perhaps it could be the enzymes from the inner frame of the hull that can supposedly work some magic.


The Aftermath

After the satisfying episode, everybody retired to bed for a very lazy, afternoon nap. Everybody that is, except mua, who worked as a 'hull collecter' till the floor is declared safe from any last piece of thorn that could potentially send any child screaming like there's no tomorrow...

Ref :

http://southeastasianfood.about.com/od/malaysianfruits/ss/ChooseOpDurian.htm
This is a must read. I've gone through a few blogs and websites before deciding that this Asian one is realiable and its step by step pictorial guides are well written with associated topics ranging from Choosing a Durian to Common Imperfections of the Durian.

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/ingredients-fruit/how-to-open-a-durian-fruit-044038
This was top on the googled list so I curiously clicked on it. Written by a Mat Salleh (white), it quoted what one of them wrote the durian to be : ' its odour being best described as pig-shit, turpentine, onions and garnished with a gym sock.'

Probably the odour that matured, European cheese is to Asians.
One man's delight is another man's poison. Again the step by step pictorial is a most wonderful guide.

However 'chopping' the durian like he did is not what most wise,skilled opener of durians would do...

Ye fair married dames, who so often deplore,
That a lover once blessed is a lover no more;
Attend to my counsel, nor blush to be taught,
That prudence must cherish what beauty has caught.

The bloom of your cheek, and the glance of your eye,
Your roses and lilies may make the men sigh;
But roses and lilies and sighs pass away,
And passion will die as your beauty decay.

Use the man that you wed, like your favourite guitar,
Though music's in both, they are both apt to jar;
How tuneful and soft from a delicate touch,
Not handled too roughly, nor played on too much.

The sparrow and linnet will feed from your hand,
Grow tame by your kindness and come at command;
Exert with your husband the same happy skill;
For hearts, like your birds, may be tamed to your will.

Be gay and good-humoured, complying and kind;
Turn the chief of your care, from your face to your mind;
'Tis there that a wife may her conquest improve,
And Hymen shall rivet the feters of love.

David Garrick (1717-1779)
Quoted from A Treasury of Love Poems (Chartwell Books)

The English poet , David Garret was commended as " an excellent husband, a kind master, and a matchless companion ".
Is Garret giving sound advice for wives to 'improve her conquest' of her husband's heart or merely penning his observations of his pleasureful, pleasing wife?

How witty it is to have likened the husband to 'a favourite guitar' , and how well said it was to remind dear wives to be ' gay and good-humoured, complying and kind. And not to allow the anxious cares to cloud our expressions but to merely drown them in the corner of our minds. At least momentarily...perhaps it's to tell us wives to stop that nagging attitude. Wives were expected to be temperate , demure and obedient in Garrick's times of old. While we , modern revolutionised ones can be drowning in our modern trappings most of the time. Where has the romance gone to? Has the respect (mutual) and submission to our lovers of ' till death doth us part' been lost to deceived demand of equality and pride?
A thought for all wives.

You are who you are today in large part due to the impact your parents had ( and still have ) on your life.

So many of your behaviours, as a parent and otherwise, can be traced back to your growing-up years, when you lived with your parents. Actively deal with it and don't parent with blinders on.

So how about you? Are you parenting on autopilot?

Dr. Phil Family First

'Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor itself bath any care,
But for another gives its ewe,
And builds a heaven in hell's despair.'

So sung a little clod of clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet,
But the pebble of the brook,
Warbled out this metres meet :

'Love seeketh only self to please,
To bind another to to its delight,
Joys in another loss of ease,
And builds a hell in heaven's despite.'

William Blake
(1757-1827)

My favourite of William Blake's. Would you rather be the Clod or the Pebble ?

When a girl is quiet, millions of thing are running in her mind.
When a girl is not arguing.. she is thinking deeply.
When a girl looks at you with eyes full of question.. she is wondering how long you will be around.
When a girl answer ' I'm fine ' after a few seconds... she is not at all fine.
When a girl stares at you, she is wondering why you are lying.
When a girl lay at your chest.. she is wishing you to be her forever.
When a girl wants to see you everyday... she wants to be pampered.
When a girl say 'I love you..' she means it.
When a girl says 'I miss you..' no one in this world can miss you more than that.
Life only come around once make sure you spend it with the right person...
Find a man...who calls you beautiful instead of hot.
Who calls you back when you hang up on him.
Who will stay awake just to watch you sleep.
Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead.
Who wants to show you off to the world when you when you are in your sweats.
Who holds your hand in front of his friends.
Who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky is he to have you.
Who turns to his friends and says ' That's her ! '

I have reasons to believe the wordings came from a song ( and Lee Choo's bag of secrets ) but why I put it up is because of certain simple truth every girl and woman can trust from the write up. I wish every man would read this and reaffirmed his love by those actions that would reassured her fear of a man's fake pretences and insincerities. And it is every mother's hope and dream that the man her daughter chose would love her like there is no tomorrow. And I would not forget to secretly , in a private moment to remind him to label my daughter 'beautiful' (not hot for she is not asam laksa) ; calls her back when she hangs up on him and be bold to show her off to the world. Anything less than that would not make him worth my daughter's time. God bless her.