Your waste, my treasure

I was chatting with a friend about my outdoor stove and told her I was going to write a short story about it. I jokingly created a few funny titles and then she suddenly said "Your waste, my treasure". Wow, I like that title! 😂 So I asked her if she doesn't mind, I will use that title, she said that's fine😂. 

In Singapore, there are people going round looking for items you want to throw or bin, they will shout "karang guni !karang guni ! meaning gunny sack which the men would haul the heavy sacks on their backs to do the collections from door to door at the housing flat, now they have trolley to do the job 😂. In UK, they shouted, " Rango! Rango " something like that.  And here, Malaysia, around my garden home area, a lorry will drive round shouting, Besi buruk! Besi buruk! meaning old metal, to collect unwanted metal or anything they can find useful to recycle into something else.

Anyway my topic here is actually a DIY outdoor stove. Because I have created something using most of the stuff/items I considered as extras or "waste".  To make this DIY outdoor stove, I only had to buy the Styrofoam and a stove stand, that's all. The rest of the ingredients used are left overs from my previous works, such as cement and sand, even the wire mesh was from my previous chicken coop. I decided to use a steamer rack as the fire place(where woods or charcoal are placed) since I have a few from my kitchen. It saved time and the hassle of measuring and cutting metal rods. 

On 23th July 2019, I had written an almost similar story about an outdoor stove using bricks, calling it "Rocket stove". Comparing to these two different stoves, I prefer this current one, because it's easier to move around with it. As for the rocket stove, you need to dismantle the whole stove for a change of location in cooking.

Among all the DIY stove in the YouTube, I liked to watched this👆and used the method with some modifications.  

So on the 3rd Nov, 2021, I began my "experiment" using the above model as a guideline to create my DIY outdoor stove.😂

Items required

Steamer rack ( I have a few so I could afford to use one of them😁 )

Wire mesh - I cut a piece from my previous chicken coop

Then further cut into this shape, as shown in YouTube which will be buried with the cement mixture.

Styrofoam - I bought it for less than Rm20 and then cut it into 4 round pieces and stuck them together with the bamboo stick. This is to create a tunnel/ chimney in the stove.

Stove/pot stand to allow the pot or wok to stand securely on top of the stove. Bought it for Rm11.50

Empty drinking bottle- instead of throwing away the bottles, I used it as a mold for my outdoor stove,

Cut the upper part of the bottle as shown

Cement and sand . I used ratio 1:1

Method:

I put some sand at the bottom of this bottle because the base was not even.

I mixed sand and cement with water, bit by bit

Put the prepared Styrofoam on top of the sand as shown

I filled the space with cement mixture, leaving the middle untouched.

If possible , don't cover the Styrofoam like mine. I put too much😅, but no worries, can remove easily later.

Place in the steamer rack tightly against the cement mixture

Get ready to create the tunnel/chimney with the prepared Styrofoam

like this

surround the wire mesh as seen

Fill up the space with cement

place the stove stand on top and turn round slightly to form a mold, then remove

That's all for now, I let it dry overnight 😜

I was so excited when I woke up in the morning because I wanted to see how it turned out.

 Morning comes.....

What do you think? 😅 It's ugly but serves the purpose, i.e. a stove made by me 😁. If this stove lasts, at least there is a story to tell to my younger generations when I leave 😇. "Grandma or Great Grand ma's silly ideas!😅😂

Fire place for charcoal or firewood or twigs to start the fire😂

Before letting it out to sun and dry further,  I did a bit of touch up to complete the work.

short video - Bottom view of stove

Short Video - Top view of the stove 

 Firewood is mainly for stir frying or boiling water but with charcoal as fuel, it's like a slow cooker to cook soup in a  clay pot. Reminds me of those days when our grand parents and parents did the same. Actually the taste is still better than the slow cooker we have nowadays. The outcome of the soup with this kind of stove was so delicious that words cannot describe. Those who had tasted such soup before, is a privilege.😍

1st trial of my outdoor stove began......😬

Open ceremony with my DIY stove by starting the 1st fire. 

French Toast - bread, sugar and egg. This is how my mom did it . very simply. Those who wants a proper recipe can follow here.

French Toast for breakfast 

Waffles for tea

 I found the above recipe at inspiredtaste.net  Do give a try. It really work and it's crispy👍

Chocolate waffle with Neopolitan ice cream - Mmm....Yummy

I copied this recipe from Allrecipes. Those who crazy for chocolate can give it a try.

Steam boat

Steam boat for lunch 

Children and grand children came for a visit, so steam boat is ideal. 

My aluminum old fashioned, charcoal steam pot. Have anyone seen this before in your life?

Bought it around 1982. It was on offer 50% discount price in a supermarket about 4 decades away😄

I tried and compared the 2 pots - a stainless steel and my "ancient" aluminum pot. As expected the stainless steel one cooks faster but the soup in the aluminum one taste better. What is your opinion? The aluminum type cook like the slow cooker we had in our modern day. The meat is so soft , can melt in your mouth. Is that how people describe it? 

That's my short story trials😂😁

For this work I gave myself 6/7 out of 10. What do you think? 🤔

Reference

Karang guni

Outdoor stove

Rocket Stove

Chocolate Waffles

Waffles

French Toast

Chok Anan Mangoes

Chok Annan is one of the popular mangoes in Malaysia. It's the sweetest mango I ever tasted among the local Sabah, Manila and Australian mangoes. This is only my point of view. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

In my review, this mango tasted like honey. The skin is thick thus fruit flies don't easily destroy the fruits even when they ripen. This variety of mangoes are able to bear fruits throughout the year, meaning to say the tree doesn't need any season but will bear fruits whenever it suits them.

It is a dwarf variety, therefore ideal to grow them in containers as ornaments in the garden. Some researchers believe that the 1st fruit batch is the sweetest, but to me, it makes no difference. Maybe my taste is not sensitive enough.😂

 

7/10/2018

First Photo of my Chok Annan plant, the day I bought it from the Market for Rm18 and transplanted it directly to soil. I used potting soil. When I was searching for dwarf mango variety, the salesman recommended this type. I was told it was a grafted plant so it will start to bear fruits in a year or two.

A few weeks after transplanting

18th April 2019 -

Flowers began to appear for the 1st time (6 months after transplanting) 

 But the fruits took time to develop thus was harvested only in August

1/5/2019

  Little buds were noticeable- birth of little mangoes! I was so excited! 

July 2019

August 2019- big mangoes!! 

But only 3 of them reached matured age, the rest just dropped off to the grounds

22nd Aug 2019- Harvested the 1st mango on the tree.. It was my 1st time tasting my Chok Annan mango from the tree. It was so deliciously sweet and the texture so firm and chewy. Even the smell of this ripen mango is so aromatic. Compared to Manila mangoes, they are sweet and aromatic too but manila mango are not as chewy and the texture too soft. My conclusion to this mango is : I still prefer this Chok Annan.

 Last mango left on the tree

31st August 2019 - harvested the last mango....

 Honestly speaking, after tasting chok anan, I don't think I will go for another variety. 

As much as I love mangoes, I must remember that all mangoes are heated food like the durians so it's advisable to eat only in moderation.

Ever since I tasted this type of mango, I was not keen to try others any more.

I gave some to my daughter to try.

 Instead of eating it as fruits, she made it into a mango tarts.😂 

At the same time, a friend of mine from Singapore posted a few pictures of her Chok Anan tree which she planted in a pot on the 14th floor of her penthouse.

Chok Anan tree on the 14th floor in Singapore! Amazing, isn't it? 
Nothing is impossible if you put your mind seriously to start something. 😁

July 2020 -  fruiting started again

This time , the mangoes did not dropped off easily like the 1st time. So there were more mangoes on the tree, about 10 of them.

9th May 2021 - My tree began to bloom again for the 3rd time👍

10/7/2021

This time only 5 beautiful mangoes. I have not fertilized my soil yet since I transplanted this tree but will do so soon. Waiting for my 5 mangoes to ripe.😋

 18/8/2021

 Oh No!😱☹️My 5 mangoes went missing on 18th Aug 2021! Someone must have pinched them, without leaving even one for me! How cruel! 😭The mangoes were hanging near the chain linked fence so most probably someone passing by the fence, couldn't resist and took them away even though they were not ripe yet.😤

Arrgg... Maybe it's not meant to be. Maybe it's God's wish to let others have it. Anyway, I believe God will bless the tree and give more fruits for the next season.🙏😘😊😉

French beans with express aromatic Chicken Briyani rice

 It was a hot humid Sunday afternoon. I was feeling so lazy. No mood to do anything, but I was hungry yet too lazy to cook anything or going out for lunch and can't figure out what to eat. A friend suggested to order "Food delivery"but nothing in the menu attracted my eyes. 

 I ended up going out to my regular coffee shop to have fish noodle soup. 

After filling my belly, I went to the supermarket which was next to the food court to look for inspiration and motivation for something to cook for dinner.  After browsing some time at the Supermarket, I bought a packet of Maggi Briyani spices to cook chicken Briyani rice. I had never tried this recipe before, so it would be a good attempt for me😅. 

At the same time, I harvested some French Beans from my garden to add them to the Briyani rice👍.

A very easy recipe to follow. Instructions on the packet were simple and to the point. Then switch on the rice cooker and that's it!😁Easy peasy and get ready of dinner!

And an apple crumble to end the meal of the day (click to link to this in my blog).

Early Nov 2020, I planted French Beans.  

By 17th November, the plants had reached the top of my fence. After reading from Google, I started to pluck off the top of the plant because it was believed that it will force the side of the plant to produce more leaves.

Appearances of these beautiful yellowish white flowers means French beans will be born soon😂.

About 1 week after flowering, french beans appeared

10.12.2020 - My first harvest.

After the 1st harvest which was only a handful, more beans begin to appear 😂

So I decided to add into the Briyani Chicken Rice.

Ingredients Needed :

A packet of Maggi Briyani spices

2 cups of washed Basmathi rice

chopped onions, tomatoes, french beans, star anise and cinamon stick

Chicken breast chopped into small pieces 

50 gms Butter

70 gms raisins

700 mls cold water

Method:

Heat butter in the pan on medium heat.

Add in sliced onions. Fry until aromatic and lightly brown.

Add chicken pieces and fry on high heat for 2-3 mins

Add in the veges

Add in the Briyani spices

Add in the rice

Stir for a min or 2

Transfer into the rice cooker

Pour in 700mls cold water

Add in the star anise and cinnamon stick

cover and switch on the rice cooker.

perfectly done Chicken Byriyani Rice 

When the rice cooker click from "cook" to "Warm", loosen the rice with a rice spoon and add in the raisins. Mix well and cover again for 1 min before serving😋😋

It was tasty and hope you like it too. Please let me know what you think😅