About the Cook of Pickles and Spices Website

Hi, I am Nazlina. Here is a bit of story about me. I have several main interests in my life.

Nazlina the chef From a young age, I was exposed to basic skills in the kitchen by my mother. At secondary school, I discovered that I became the top student in Home Economics class. It was not because I was very clever, it was because the art of cooking interested me very much.

As my mother did not think becoming a professional cook was a rewarding career, I set out to get a degree in Electronics Engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in England.

Even while studying, I experimented a lot in cooking different kinds of food. Mostly adapting the ingredients not readily available in England into my Malay dishes.

I learned Italian, Spanish, Indian and Middle Eastern dishes from cookbooks, women's magazines, the television, parents of my fellow course mates and also from my friends.

Other students used their grant money to buy hi-fi systems but I bought top of the line food processor, a microwave complete with convection oven and a bicycle!

I entertained my friends with my cooking. I became creative in making fusion dishes as well. I also cycled a lot around the city of Manchester. It was one of the most pleasant periods of my life.

After I completed my degree, I returned to Malaysia. I did not have to cook much because hawkers food were readily available at every corner and they were many types and also cheap. Working as an engineer also limited my free time.

Once I had my two beautiful children, the urge to cook came back. The kids are happy to help me in the kitchen, baking cookies and simple dishes. My ten year old could already make an omelet by himself by the time he was eight years old. My six year old simply loves the opportunity to get dirty with the leftover of the mixing bowls, even since she was a little baby!

Teaching in the Tropical Spice Garden

One of our favorite tea time treats is Scottish Shortbread. If you want an authentic recipe for this yummy cookie, check out May's Authentic Scottish Food Recipes. It is such an easy recipe to make and also uses relatively cheap ingredients.

During our free time, we go cycling together. Another one of my lifelong passion. Cycling in Manchester was definitely different from cycling in Penang or anywhere else in Malaysia. You can read about me cycling in Pangkor and also my own son, Johan's 250km cycling experience. An impressive journey, since he was only 8 years old at that time.

We also went for a nice holiday on the Pangkor island. You can read about it on the links above. I wrote the story about cycling and vacation with kids myself while the Johan's journey was done by my friend Peter, who is the owner of pulau-pangkor.com

That eventually led me to become Peter's travel agent, sourcing out hotel rooms and services for his clients. And, later, Michael from www.malaysiavacationguide.com, when he heard about the success of my deals, hired me too! Now we have quite a few contacts, including a day trip diving to Pulau Payar from Langkawi.

Since I live in Penang, why not write about Penang Heritage City, a topic that not many people are familiar with? Thus, the web site of www.penangheritagecity.com was born.

Another thing about me is also I love reading. A wide range of subjects interest me. Mostly on sports, history, anthropology, adventure, mysteries of the world and last but not least on cooking! Here is my list of favorite books.

My ideas on this web site came about after doing an intensive brainstorming session using SBI! If you have always dreamed of owning a web site that PAYS you back, check out the video below.

It would be one the most rewarding things you could ever do for yourself. Learn from those who have succeeded and now be their own bosses, escaping from the rat race.

Aha, if you think it is too late to learn anything new once you are over 35, think again. After over a year tinkering with SBI! I was hired to become a web master for an architectural firm! Neat, huh?

Therefore, if you need more reasons, motivation and persuasion, do click on my spicy secret. All the best to you!

Best regards,
Nazlina

You can also contact me directly if you wish.

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