Monday, June 13, 2011

Old person is a pot of GOLD

I believe in the Chinese saying , “A family with an old person has a living treasure of gold”, do you? How many of you have either your mother or your mother in law taking care of your kids and your household? Don’t you feel you have peace of mind while at work knowing that they are in safe hands instead of leaving them alone with a foreign maid? 

A smart and good maid is hard to find. Most maids we get in our country are ignorant and dumb. It is sad but true. The smart ones usually go to countries like Singapore and Hong Kong. So you must not take anything for granted. If you want her to use a vacuum cleaner, you must give her the instructions from A to Z.  That is not enough,  you must demonstrate to her how to use it. Don’t forget to tell her that it is not like a mop and she can’t bang the head into things like a mop. Oh if you didn’t tell her that she has to change the bag after each use, don’t get mad with her, it is not her fault, it is yours! 

Most maids have not even seen a stove with an oven, so she has never used one. What is Teflon covered pots and pan??  DUH!!! She will most likely use a scouring pad to clean them if you didn’t tell her not to do. Even if you told her not to, she will probably use one if she can’t find the sponge.

My friend told me she had given up teaching her maid how to open the car door. One day she left her in the car but with all the window glass wound down and told her that she can sit there till she learn how to open the door. After one hour, her maid walked into the house. She was so happy that her maid finally did it but was dumb founded to learn later that she got out of the car through the window. So, she is not that dumb after all. I laughed so hard that my stomach hurts. I know I should not but this is too hilarious.

My hubby and I always believe in treating our maids fairly and with respect but can you still respect people who is down right dishonest and lie through their teeth?  I am not saying all maids are dishonest but unfortunately both our maids were even we treated them like a member of our family.  I am sure some are worse, like telling their boyfriends what you have in your house and when you are not going to be there, they steal all your valuables and run away.  So, can I say we were lucky that both our maids did not do that?  Ya,ya, lucky! lucky! 

When you find a smart and honest maid, be very grateful.  In my house now, we have three GOOD MAIDS, not one. There are two old females (Quay Po & her mum) and a part time old male (Quay Lo)!!  Very hard-working and extremely honest. I would say, they are three pots of gold too.

To reward them in taking pride in their work, I gave them a day off.  I set up the table at the patio and served them light and fluffy butter cup cakes together with a pot of premium coffee. What do you think? Am I a good boss or not?

Butter cup cake with lemon curd frosting
(FOODBUZZ TOP 9 - 14 June 2011)






Ingredients:
250gm butter
220gm  castor sugar
4 eggs
150gm self raising flour
35gm plain flour
120gm sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Beat butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg one at a time and add vanilla extract. Fold in shifted flour and sour cream. Pour mixture into cake pan.  Bake at 180 degrees C or 375 degrees F for about 30 mins or till you poke a skewer into the center of the cup cake and come out clean. 


After the cup cakes are cool, decorate them with your favorite frosting. I decorated mine with lemon curd and a dollop of strawberry jam in the center. 

Please click on the picture to get the lemon curd recipe


24 comments:

  1. Veron, another great post! I think lots of ppl facing the same problems with their maids. But it's still not the right act to abuse them. If they can't give you the work as you request for... please just change another maid instead of beating them. Btw, your friend's maid is just so hilarious! haha... I just can't believe what she did either. My god!
    I'm lucky I don't have such problem. The only maid at home is ME....but I don't climb out of the car window!!!! hahaha...
    Have a great day ahead, dear. :o)
    Kristy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Veronica thanks for sharing this hilarious story! makes my monday morning brighter! I agree with you good and trust-able maids are hard to find. My mum can't takes it when she doesn't wash the clothes properly resulting in stinko odor. the cuppies looks so good! have a lovely week!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, I do remember you sharing with us your maid stories.
    My hubby is still eager about getting one now, but I'm not so.
    Unless it's a local one that will leave the house daily when the chores are done.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a lovely post! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. haha this is such a funny post! When I read to the teflon part, a hilarious scene popped up in my head - you walk home to see your maid sprawling on the floor looking very very tired holding a ball of steel wool in one hand and a badly scratched teflon saucepan in the other telling you, "Mum, I see the pan so black black so I clean. I scrub and scrub but the pan still no clean! I scrub and scrubd and the pan still black black! Now I very tired Mum"

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my gosh, I totally agree with you about having peace of mind while I leave my kids with my parents or mother in-law. Mainly why I put my career on hold to stay home to take care of my babies. I just don't trust anybody. When I need to drop them off if I have an appointment, I know I don't have to worry that they will be abused or not treated properly.

    We don't use maids much here unless you're quite wealthy. Even if we were wealthy, I just don't know if I could trust my kids and house alone to a total stranger. By the way, too funny about the car story.

    I think you're a very kind boss, Veronica ;). Those butter cup cakes look so cute, not to mention, yummy as well! Talk about rewarding your maids ;). I know I'd definitely be a very hard working maid if you offered me those.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Haha...I laugh so hard to hear that the maid climbed out of the window!!!! Love the cakes...mmmm. Hope you have a great day! MaryMoh at http://www.keeplearningkeepsmiling.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the way you decorate your cup cakes, look so sweet :) I'm having problems with my maid also, she just doesn't know how to clean the non-stick pan although I taught her so many time. Maybe I need more patience :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. So many horror maid stories. We encounter quite a few of them throughout the years of having them. Having phobia using electrical appliances, rack up the phone bills, bf coming to our house at night, stealing etc.. just to name a few. But we get some good ones too. One being with us for over 8 years. I guess it is all luck to get a good one.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love my mom. And I love having her close enough to visit on a regular basis, but I definitely value that she's not in the same house.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks so delicious! Having a help sounds nice when I have to do everything by myself, but I do understand the frustration. I guess either way we'll still have to work things out. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I would come clean your house if you would feed me those tasty little cakes!! working in kitchens all of my life I do understand what your saying about telling someone exactly what you want, even then your liable to get what they want!
    Cheers
    Dennis

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fabulous post and fantastic buttery cup cakes. Can taste that lemon curd frosting so much it's making my mouth water. Well done on Top9! Fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your cupcake look so refreshing and delicious..nice color combination..
    Congrats on top 9!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Those cupcakes could make me want to work in your house, too! ;) Family is the best help of all. It is wonderful that you three have each other. blessings ~ tanna

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great post! And of course, great recipe. Thanks for sharing! Also, congrats on Top 9!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Jet, Sandra, Jill, yummychunklet : Thanks, I appreciate your support.

    Tanna: Yes, I feel blessed. Thanks for your encouraging words on the cup cakes.

    Chef Dennis: Many thanks for taking time off your busy schedule to drop by and leave your comment. It means a lot to me.

    Nami: Thanks and I agree that thing have to work both ways if not, one party will be unhappy.

    That Girl: I am sure you love your mum and it is so nice to have her living near your so that you guys can visit often.

    ICook4fun: That's right, luck is what we call it when we get one that is honest and loyal.

    Min: We do need to be patient dealing with the maids. Sometimes, you have to conduct refresh course weekly, if not, they will forget what they have learned.

    Mary: My laughing club member! So good to see you here!

    LeQuan: I don't think I would want you to be my maid. One, you are too clever, two, you told me you eat a lot so it not economical for me! hahaha...

    Alan: I laughed so hard reading your comment! hahaha, too hilarious!!

    Wendy: You are doing the right thing.

    Jess: I am sure my mum and yours can be very good friends.

    Kristy: You are so funny! Of course you will not climb out of the window, you are too clever for that.

    ReplyDelete
  18. hi veron, i was just so excited to see your cupcakes in foodbuzz top ten this morning and i cant wait to drop a comment here this morning but unfortunately the internet line was kind of slow so i'm coming back now. Pretty pretty cupcakes! sunflower cupcakes dancing in the kitchen!! malaysia boleh! quay po boleh!! Reading your post title "old is gold" tends to remind me of my grandparents. Old people are like the old treasures in the family and some are also the pillar of the family. They are most of the time the reason their children or siblings come back to the house to get together..

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lena: Many thanks for your love and support. Yes, most siblings "balik kampung" (return to hometown) because their old folks are there.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Veron, I agree with everything in your post except one. Smart maids go to SIN & HK? Not true. Hahaha!

    I'd 4 live-in maids altogether, one after another. Agents claimed they can cook etc but when they arrived, they can only make soup & veg. And they're fantastic when handling things. I'd changed about 5 rice cookers, 2 electric kettle & 1 iron. LOL!

    Sadly, I don't have luck with maids. No matter how well I'd treated them, to the extent of teaching them swimming, cross-stitching & crocheting so they can have a hobby etc, they end up stealing things etc :< I've already given up. Now, I'm the maid in the house! Hahaha!

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a lovely post; it spoke to my soul; I am almost 71. I have a chinese daughter in law and I know they do revere their elders. Thank you for sharing.
    Rita

    ReplyDelete
  22. @Shirley
    Oh really? Now I don't feel so bad. hehe It is not that you don't have luck with maid..maids don't know how to appreciate a good ma'am like you.

    @Rita
    I am sure your daughter in law know how blessed she is to have a mother in law like you.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Juz tried this recipe... It is really yummy...I forgotten to put in 35g plain flour... But it still turned out very soft.... Wonderful recipe....thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  24. @baby girl diary
    You are most welcome. Happy to share. Many thanks for informing me about trying out this recipe and liked it. I am so glad your cake still come out soft with out the plain flour. That is good to know.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you. Your comments mean a lot to me. Thanks!