Royals, Doctor, Cleaner, Movie,

Being a royalist at heart, I was very upset to see Prince Charles had tested positive for Covid 19.  Apparently he hasn't seen the Queen for a while, nearly two weeks ago, so hopefully she is safe at 93 and therefore Prince Philip who is 98. My fingers are crossed.

I was concerned to know if my heart attack had in any way compromised my immune system so I faxed my doc and got a phone reply this afternoon. He had my file in front of him and said no, heart attack shouldn't affect it but my pre-diabetes condition and my age would. Knew about the age of course, but not the pre-diabetes. I cracked a comment that I had read loss of smell was an indication therefore I must have had the disease for 20 or more years. He assured me that loss of smell was misinformation.

We had something of a nasty blow today, our cleaner came this morning and did her usual excellent job. She said she was losing clients and was going to suffer financially She seemed happy and cheerful and not particularly concerned.. She was going to apply for some assistance she had heard of. I then suggested she should come in tomorrow and help me clean the silver as well as bring up the shopping. Thought it would help. In the afternoon I phoned her to change the arrangements somewhat and she immediately told me she was not coming again. Just like that, she has got her financial assistance, $2,000 a month for 4 months, so she said she was so scared of the virus she quit. She didn't seem to care that I was now in something of a bind. I guess I made a mistake thinking we were friends. I was somewhat upset. However, our friend's son and daughter-in-law agreed to come in after all although I felt guilty at messing them around so much.

Talk about coincidence. I found a movie on TV tonight called Outbreak which was about a virus that the government had designed and which had escaped. The whole thing was so apposite for what is going on right now. Excellent movie, Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding and son on and so on. A real list of stars. I really enjoyed it although under current conditions it kind of gave me the willies. Donald Sutherland made a pretty good baddie. Of course Dustin Hoffman was the doctor who saved the day. I have always enjoyed Dustin Hoffman's movies whether it be a thriller like this one or a comedy like Tootsie. I never did see The Graduate. Maybe I should try and get hold of it one of these days.


I thought this looked an interesting recipe.

Soto Ayam

Soto Ayam is a chicken soup popular in Malaysia and Indonesia. Easy, authentic and the best soto

ayam recipe. Serve with rice noodles or rice cakes!

1/2 pack rice noodles (8 oz)
2 Tbs cooking oil
1 skinless and boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3 strips
1 can coconut milk, 13.5 fl oz (400 ml)
1 can chicken broth, 14.05 oz (411 g)
1 cup water
Salt, to taste
Spice Paste:
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 shallots, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 piece turmeric (2-inch), peeled or 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 piece galangal, peeled and sliced (2-inch)
1 piece ginger, peeled and sliced (2-inch)
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
Toppings:
2 cups bean sprouts
2 cups sliced cabbages, optional
2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into wedges
1 stalk spring onion, cut into rounds
2 limes, cut into wedges
Fried shallot crisps

1. Soak the rice noodles in warm water to soften them. Set aside.

2. Blend the Spice Paste in a food processor. Add some water if needed.

3. Add the oil in a pot on medium-high heat. Add in the Spice Paste and stir with spatula back and forth until aromatic.

4. Add in the chicken broth, coconut milk, lemongrass and water. Bring it to a boil. Add in the chicken breast cubes. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Add salt to taste.

5. Blanch the rice noodles, bean sprouts, cabbages (if using) in another pot of boiling water. Transfer them to a bowl once they are cooked. Add the Toppings of hard-boiled eggs, spring onions and add the hot chicken broth into the bowl. Serve hot with lime wedges and shallot crisps on top of the noodles.

Servings: 4

Author: Bee
Source: Rasa Malaysia

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