Kiko's three tricks - sit, lie down and shake hand

Woof woof,

Daddy and mommy had taught me a few tricks over the past few months, and besides learning the tricks, I gained a few milligrams along the process. Hey, I need treats to learn better and faster, you know? ;-)

Daddy was training me last night, and mommy decided to record my "show" on her camera. So please enjoy my brief performance in the movie clip below.



I'm good, ain't I? You can also get a copy of it here.

Woof,
Kiko

Gardening: I'm going to start my own compost bin

I've always like gardening. It gives me a sense of achievement to see my plants grow taller each day or a new flower now and then. Of course, gardening also means the hard and dirty work of pruning out weeds and watering the plants etc.

I was reading sites on gardening few days ago and read about composting. This sounds interesting. You can create rich soil from your kitchen waste. And you can use that rich compost soil for your own garden. It's also environmentally friendly and it's a cheap gardening project.

It sounded simple, and with the minimum tools and some creativity, we can get composting started. There are many "how-tos" on the Internet, so just type in "how to make a compost bin" and you will get abundant information about it.

I particulary like this site, which inspires me with its plentiful ideas. It also has some videos which demonstrate the how-tos of gardening.

So I'm going to try out my own compost bin. Probably pop into the hardware store and see if I can get some tools to get started. And perhaps some wooden stakes/wires for my tomatoes plants too!

I may not be the best gardener, or have any green fingers, but you bet I'll be posting more on gardening stuff ;-)

First "family" outing to public park

Woof, woof,

Greetings...This is Kiko posting on mommy's blog again.

Daddy and mummy were eager to bring me to the park ever since they brought me home from the pets shop. After the first outing on the neighbourhood, daddy decided to bring us to this public park. This is my first "family" outing to a public park!.

I met another shih tzu dog named Momo there. She is a friendly dog, too friendly in fact. She walked up to me and started sniffing me up and down. I wasn't used to such "friendly gestures", and to daddy and mommy's much embarassment, I pee-ed on the spot. But daddy and mommy were so cool, they didn't reprimand me. Mommy was far-sighted to have brought some newspaper, so daddy used it to soak up my pee.

I love checking out the park. There were so many children and colourful objects. Some children were so attracted to me that they followed me. Some of them had the nerve of calling me "ee...kuching, kuching...". These kids don't know who they are calling a "cat". Me a cat?? Open your eyes big-big ok, I'm small but I'm mighty, and I'm definitely not a cat. I'm a chihuahua dog! I'll give you a piece of my mind if I'd longer legs to chase you kids.

I was so happy checking out the park, smelling the grass turfs and the tarmac paths. So much so I got distracted many times that daddy and mommy had to call me a few times to bring me back to track. I just love running alongside daddy & mommy.

Could we have another outing soon, please..? Oh, don't forget to check out some of our photos here.

Woof,
Kiko

It's all about dogs at Malaysia Dog's Day

We went to the Malaysia Dog Day. Oh my! There were so many dogs and puppies. Even when we parked our car, we could see the owners getting their dogs out of the car, and walking to the venue.

Once we were there, we proceed to register ourselves at the registration counter. Then we were busy checking out the stalls and other dogs, and snapping pictures of some cute dogs that we saw, or chatting with the owners about their dogs.

Kiko was too young to take part in any of the contests, so we just went to watch. We managed to catch the dogs' tails wagging contest, dog recalling contest, and the weaving the pole contest. It was fun to wactch how the dogs sprinted across to the finishing line, or trying to figure out their owners' wishes to weave through the poles.

Then there were dogs who barked at each other, or trying to sniff out each other asses (dog's way of getting to know each other), or even trying to bite and start a fight! We're quite lucky that Kiko was out of harm's way, staying safe in his dog bag. He didn't even bark or whimper abit. In fact, he looked kinda bored and sleepy because 11am onwards is usually his mid-day nap time.

There were some stalls selling dog accessories and some merchandise. We got Kiko 3 shirts for RM50, and we got a free soft toy for him! We didn't stay long to grab the goodies bag or the lucky draw results. We left before 1pm, but it was an eye opening day for me.

Check out my flickr page for the photos taken at the venue. Excuse for some bad shots, it is kinda hard taking photos of moving dogs! :P

Braised Chicken with Bittergourd

Today I felt like eating bittergourd. I used to hate eating bittergrourd when I was younger. I guess it is an acquired taste. Somehow I learned to like it when I grew older. And now it has come become one of my favourite vegetables (well, depending on how it is being cooked laa.. :P)

I've always just do plain stir-fry bittergourd with garlic or thin bittergourd slices egg omelette. But today N was longing for this braised chicken with bittergourd dish. Unfortunately I have not cooked this dish before and I've no inkling what to put to flavour the dish.

So again, it's MIL to the rescue! (and you thought it was my mom rite? If it was my mom, do you think I wouldn't have known how to cook after helping her in the kitchen all these years? :P) N called MIL and she helpfully described the cooking steps and recipe. Well, a fast learner like me can quickly pick up how the dish is being cooked without any visual aid ok? hahaha...

Here goes my first try...

Ingredients
Bitter gourd, cut to about 0.5 thick slices
Chicken pieces
Red chillies, cut to think strips
Garlic, chopped
Red onions, sliced
Yellow bean paste (Tau Cheong paste)
Sugar
Soya sauce
Cooking oil
Cornflour
Water


Steps
1. Heat some oil in the wok. Put in some onions and the bittergourd slices, and stir fry the ingredients for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add in the chicken pieces and chilli strips. Stir fry them with the bittergourd.
3. Add few teaspoons of bean paste (not too much, it's salty!) to the stir fry ingredients.
4. Mix some cornflour with water, and pour in to the stir fry ingredients.
5. Add more water if needed. (you need some water to braise the ingredients)
6. Add some sugar and soya sauce to taste (to counter the saltiness of the bean paste and the bitterness of the bittergourd).
7. Stir fry everything a 1-2 minutes, then put on the lid to braise the ingredients.
8. If the bittergourd's fresh green colours turns to darker green, and it it soft enough, then the dish is ready.
9. Dish out and serve.

Well, according to N, I did fairly well for a first-timer. Though he commented it was not salty enough. (aiyah...I say he has a salty tongue, he likes his food to be salty, while I prefer less salt)