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 and decided to use it as my title for this story😂.
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 HDB but now, they are using trolleys to transport those unwanted items from each floor to their lorry. In UK, they shouted, " Rango! Rango " something like that, while in Malaysia, around my garden home area, you can hear the lorry driver shouting," Besi buruk! Besi buruk"! meaning old metal. They will drive around hunting for unwanted or useful discarded items for recycle purpose.
Anyway my topic here is actually a DIY outdoor stove. To make one, I just need to buy Styrofoam and a utensil stand. The rest of the ingredients are available as leftover items from my previous project. I decided to use a steamer rack as the fire place(where woods or charcoal are placed)
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 if there is a change of location for cooking.
Among all the DIY stove in the YouTube, I like this☝
So on the 3rd Nov, 2021, I started my stove making experiment using the above model as a guideline to create an outdoor stove.😂
Items required
Steamer rack ( I have a few so I can afford to use one of them😁 )
Wire mesh which I cut a piece from my previous chicken coop
Then cut the wire mesh into this shape, as shown in the Video shown earlier. This wire mesh will be buried together with the cement mixture.
Styrofoam
I bought it for less than Rm20 and then cut it into 4 round pieces and then stick them together with the satay bamboo stick. The purpose of this shape 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.
This only cost Rm11.50 from the shop
Empty drinking bottle
Instead of throwing away the bottles, it can be used as a mold to create my outdoor stove,
Cut the top part of the bottle as shown
Mix cement and sand. Ratio 1:1
Method:
I put some sand at the bottom of this bottle to make the base level even.
Mixed sand and cement with water, bit by bit
Put in the Styrofoam on top of the sand as shown
Filled in the space with cement mixture, leaving the big square or the middle visible or untouched.
Place in the steamer rack tightly against the cement mixture
Getting ready to create the tunnel/chimney with the prepared Styrofoam
like this☝
Surround the Styrofoam with wire mesh as shown
Fill up the space with cement
Place the stove stand on top and apply a bit of pressure to turn round slightly to form a mold, then remove
That's all for now
Leave aside and let it dry overnight 😜
I was so excited that I was thinking about it all night.
Morning comes.....
What do you think? 😅
It's ugly but serves the purpose, i.e. a stove made by me! 😁.
If this stove lasts, there is a chance my stove story will be passed on to my younger generations when I rest in peace 😇. "Grandma or Great Grandma'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. It reminds me of those days how our grand parents and parents used to cook soup like this. Actually the taste is 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 those soup before, is a privilege.😍
My 1st trial with my of my self made stove began by starting the fire using twigs and trash papers.
Making French Toastwith my camping pan😂 This is how my mom did it . very simply. Those who wants a proper recipe can click 👉 here.
A simple French Toast which my late mom used to do when we were kids- Eggs, sugar, bread. Nowadays, it's easy to find any recipe you like in google and U-tube.
A simple French Toast with a cup of tea for breakfast
I copied this recipe from Allrecipes. Those who loves chocolate can give it a try.
Steam boat for lunch
Since children and grandkids came for lunch, I decided a Steam boat menu. Easy peasy, put everything inside the pot and they could dish out what they like to eat with rice or noodles.
My aluminum old fashioned, charcoal steam pot.
Have anyone seen this before in your life? If you are in the same era as me, then you sure have.😆
I bought this pot in 1982 about 4 decades away when it was on offer price of 50% discount in a supermarket called Cash and Carry in Segama which doesn't exist any more.
I had tried and compared the 2 pots - a stainless steel and my "ancient" aluminum one.
As expected the stainless steel one, cooks faster but the soup in the aluminum one, taste better. What is your opinion? The aluminum type cooked like the slow cooker we had in this modern days. The meat is so soft and tear easily.
That's my short story trials😂😁For this work I gave myself 6/7 out of 10.
What do you think?
Before I end my story, I would like to share some more of those trash to my treasure experiences. 🤭😅
Discarded garden stand
One of my former schoolmates wanted to throw away this broken garden stand but I suggested to give to me for my experimental creative works
I picked the unbroken pieces and recreated it into a single flower stand.
Then painted it with the leftover white paint. The stand looks strong enough to hold a 10 to 12 inches diameter pot.
And it looks so pretty and neat with a pot of plant on it☺️.
Discarded Rattan Basket
After I chopped down my overgrown blue peas flower plants, I replanted it's baby plant into this discarded basket so I could keep it's prolific growth under control😊.
While in another basket, I planted Bok Choi in it.
Rustic style planting!😂
The black fence with letters
My best friend, Sharifah, found these discarded
letters from an abandoned place and gave them to me for my garden.
I attached those alphabet letters to my DIY black fence at my garden home.
The black DIY (do it yourself)fence were discarded roof sheets from a demolished house at my son's land. I took 4 pieces of those roof sheets to make a fence along the boundary next to my neighbour's land and painted them in black. The black paint ( donated by one of my Ex schoolmate months ago) which I had no plans in using it until those discarded roof came to my mind.
An Artificial Water Fall made from leftover PVC pipes:
After I created a tiny fish pond in my garden, I suddenly thought of making an artificial water fall using my leftover PVC pipes.
My DIY artificial water fall for my tiny fish pond 😁
With the use of a solar water pump, my DIY Artificial Water fall came to life!😂
A Wind Chime from unwanted keys
Unwanted old keys since 2004
Grandson helping out with wind chime project😅
Funny faces drawn by grandson. One of a kind😅
Our DIY wind chime for the garden using old keys and unwanted kid's basket stand holder😁
So, again another FOC (free of charge)project from " waste to treasure "🤩
Thanks to all the trash that eventually became my treasure for my garden 😁🙏
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.🙏😘😊😉
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😅
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