Brownsugarandhoney

Its an update!

2010-09-13T10:43:00.014+08:00

HALLLOOOOOOO

its been a some time, a long time, waaaay too long.

may 21! thats eons ago..to be exact, an entire summer ago. If only that were true in the sunny island of Singapore. In another part of the world, the weather would be cooling, people would be shopping off the fall/winter collection, but the weather here is still hot! humid! dry! still hot!

Its still summer (the weather that is) but its a different season in life, yet again. School is starting back up in a week's time and one last foray before I see the end of the education tunnel, in the system that is.

Summer has been more than more than awesome to me, and the list i made out has been crossed through and through. Not all, but a significant amount that I'm proud of(:

Right but I'm not very proud to say that the

'bake more and post more on the baking blog' point hasnt been struck off (for obvious reasons that I've not been posting here! )): sad

All of 4 months I think I've baked like, twice!

Yep thats right, 120 days and 2 baking sessions. I think its the fact that life just caught up with me in the way it knows best, whirl-windy and off-my-feet, and the other things just took a back seat.

Okay mini recap of summer in one paragraph, ready-set-go!

Yes it started off slow with all the lazing around for about 2 weeks, meeting friends, having catchup lunches, teas and dinners, then came church camp in malacca which was beyond words and the first church camp in a long long long time. After that, dove straight into a 2 month internship at an awesome bank, learnt so much, met fun people, had a blast basically. Of course while working, it wasnt all work no play. Weekdays and ends were filled with post-work enjoyment with visits to timbre, town for shopping, other places for good food. Speaking of which, the 'find-10-new-places-to-eat' list has morphed into 20 and counting and I really love that list(: Oh and of course, grudgingly making time to train for the half marathon that I was about to do come mid september. 4 times a week. But having that plan in mind made me do better things with the time I had free. And just like that 3 months literally flew me by.

Then post-internship was filled with hanging out with some uni friends, packing the wardrobe to make way for new clothes, cleaning up my space, and some lazing around apart from more half-marathon training. (and I am still very much a non-morning running person no matter how much I try)

12 sept, which was yesterday, I'm very proud to say I did it 21km in under 3 hours wheeee and now am nursing an entire body of aches. Like it hurts to go from a slouch to sitting up right..sigh. and I hurt where I never knew muscles existed. You win some you lose some yea? But to cross the finish line running is quite the experience, really(:

Yep that was summer, and I shall leave you with pictures of pictures of food I wish I had now, but am too achey and the weather is too darn hot to do anything, much less step out of the house.

And update this space with more events, backdated or not(:
Right, and all this food, is something I wish I had right now! esp the breakfast works. Because its post half-marathon day and I'm seriously aching like I've never ached before and am discovering places in which I never knew muscles existed. Quite very many of these yummy food pictures seeing my summer food escapades, so bear with them for awhile. I will resume making stuff again!
*These photos were from a family lunch back in may/june I think. At an awesome cafe, food for thought

Great, now I'm achey and hungry. Not ideal.

Almost eggs benedict & the lack of words

2010-05-20T23:49:00.010+08:00

Its oooooverrrrrrrrr!

5 papers, 3 pen refills, 2 weeks, 1 academic year.

Come to me summer, for I am queeen!!

Okay this is mildly odd but I have nothing substantial to say other than the fact that I'm embracing summer with open arms (until money runs out hahaa!) and enjoying the luxury of having no deadlines or randomly staring into spaces trying to remember the characteristics of so and so economic circumstance or the bidding and valuation formulas or subject my hands to the torture of writing non-stop for three hours -- until next academic year that is

Rwwight, heh sorry I'm quite into the whole adding random w's to normal words I don't know why it just happened so if you see weird words here and there and in possibly the next post, don't judge me, and, heh just pronounce it like I would(;

From here-on-in is the pictorial evidence of how eggs with runny yolks should be stabbed(;

#1 (still looking pretty with ham and cheesy friends)

I have random pictures of food.

Food randomly made and consumed in the days leading up and of the examinations. Some of which were completely random craving creations stemmed from browsing too many foodblogs, tastespotting included. Sometimes I hate that site.

#2. Closer. Doesn't that look like a normal egg white to you. so.very.normal.

And now, is one of the rare moments that I'm devoid of what to talk about.

Must wait till the arrival of summer properly sinks in, or the fact that I attain some of my social life back and funny happenings in the life of a summer bum. Haha ok promise not gonna bum that much, gonna make full and good use of my time.

#3. Stab one. ohmy from the stab wound runneth the yolk!

Learning how to poach my own eggs was one good use of time, though eating ever so slightly into ex-studying time. Whirling the boiling water around as fast and vigourously as I could before going owwwchh! the metal spoon is so hot! And coupling that with sliding the egg dexterously in with the left hand. Tell me that is not skill learnt and not a good use of time hehee.

And yes only because I refuse to use vinegar to poach eggs and sour my perfect breakfast.

Pancakes, I'll return to you soon!

#4. And aforementioned yolk was left to run to its erh, death. worthy sacrifice indeed. I was a very happy girl after that

Does'nt it look purrrrty!

Awwight! its,

1am, 2 hours before normal exam bedtime and I'm going to bed without anything on my mind!

Just because I can(:

And dream of some runny eggs and ham with cheese on an english muffin.

It's like my own eggs mcmuffin, only better(:

Lemon whoopie pies for Missions South Africa

2010-05-13T16:57:00.009+08:00

Doing something I love for a good cause? Yes please! Where do I sign up?

Here? You can sign up here too, just leave me a comment, simple(:

Plus if that something I love happen to be baking, then you and I should be very good friends indeed.

Well the extra enthusiasm was aided by the fact that I was feeling akin to a caged bird with the door to its cage unlatched temporarily.

Halfway through the papers and just a little less than half to go. I needed a day off to do absolutely anything I wanted.

Baking wasn't really on the top of my list, because that required planning, and I had quite enough of planning for awhile (revision notes included)

I just wanted to bum, sleep and watch some movies on the laptop. Just stepping out of the house was a slight chore in itself.

Yes hand written instructions in red, printed in red as well, because my black ran out eeeep. Plus I see eggs rolling around(; before the madness begins.

But then again the thought of having totally nothing to do, nowhere to be, nothing to think about and keep me occupied was a little un-nerving. Because that would leave me ample time to whirl back to the completed papers and gripe about them all over again as though re-doing them virtually in my head. When in fact there's nothing that I can do about them.

Yes I'm crazy and illogical and somewhat paranoid like that.

Well, okay a little about this mini fundraiser that I'm doing for a good friend(:

Also the same said friend that bugs me to update this space and go around eating weird food with me. BUT SAID FRIEND, HUEY IS GOING AWAY FOR SIX MONTHS!):!

Actually I should'nt help her fundraise, then she would be grounded for another +5weeks heehee. Trapped in this tiny, hot, humid, ridiculously boring place that fills you with wanderlust for the rest of the world. Yes, home.

Things sacrificed: +3 hours sleep, +1 good friend for 5 weeks (+++) up to and including 6 mths

But what can I say, the entire day was ultimately enjoyable, heightened by the fact that it was an incentive of sorts for myself for completing and surviving the 2 paper crazy day.

The sweet taste of (temporary) freedom, YUM!

Stars of the show

From ntuc shopping for baking essentials because I had a few things lacking to finding out that my favorite go-to place for baking stuff has closed down! (that wasnt so fun) to sweating like pigs eating kway chap despite the ultimately blazing hot day and of course, above all, the whole process of mixing flour butter eggs and sugar altogether in the pretty awesome madness which I love so much.

&the rest of the cast, used proportionately

There was the prior inability the night before to come to a decision of any sort as to what to bake for the fundraiser/bakesale. And being the very stubborn person that I am, I refuse to bake chocolate chip cookies.

#1. They are soooooo boring!

#2. People always bake chocolate chip cookies for fundraisers! So un-fun and un-original!

#3. They are still so boring!!

Yes I know cos its the easiest to generate profits because the only limiting factor is the price of chocolate chips, which are like $4.50 Hersheys? Pretty reasonable compared to say pecan nuts, macadamia nuts, cream cheese, white chocolate and the likes. But honestly, bake sale = chocolate chip cookies is so so predictable, and I'd go to subway for my CCC fix anyday, serious!

But no, because I'm stubborn and weird like that okay(:

Brown sugar for the win, always!(:

Plus I want to try new stuff and experiment in the hope of discovering something more awesome that chocolate chippies for bakesales. And yes the mandatory peruse of Joy the Baker's site was in order. Its my go to place to look for cool and yummy stuff to experiment with.

Don't blame me if you suddenly feel super hungry and crave the need for sweets and cookies after heh.

It came down to Lemon whoopie pies, Chocolate chip tea truffles and Cookie dough brownies.

Whoopie pies are a sort of combination between cookie and cake. And sandwiched in between is icing/filling of some sort, prefably creamy.

The chocolate chip tea truffles got thrown out later due to time constraint and the fact that we were quite very tired from all the baking, standing and running around the entire day.

There's always time for Round II yes((:

Cookie dough in the making, spectators need to be quiet(:

The entire process from laying out the ingredients, or basically dumping them on the table as do I, most of the time, this time, it involved a little more organisation and um, arrangement to allow for these photos. Normally I don't get to see process pictures, they just play out in my head when I look at the photos or read past posts. Its just too much of a chore to put down whatever you're doing at every stage (combining, mixing, whisking till light and fluffy!, more mixing, chilling, dropping batter, accidentally spilling sugar on the table, yes that's a legit step in the all baking endavours), washing your hands (MUST! flour in lens! nooo), picking up the camera and taking multiple shots, all because I have not attained 'one shot one frame' photo genius.

Then setting down the camera on a safe ledge (no not around my neck, that is not safe) and continuing with the next step, only to repeat about x10 in the course of say 1-3 hours depending on what was bakin'(:

Don't you feel tired just reading all that. Because I kinda do.

Straight up yummy, eat anymore and there really won't be enough for the brownieeees!

Now with extra help in the form of entertainment, company and someone who can make pancakes rubbery, but takes pretty awesome photos in exchange, things were definitely shaping up to look pretty interesting.

But of course extra help couldn't just be sitting there and taking pictures and laughing at me, after all baking is about joining in the fun and flouring each other at random non-descript places like elbows and stealing batter for 'taste-testing'.

Lemon cream cheese filling looking pretty good

Made the cookie dough and lemon creme filling she did. After reading the instructions x1000 times and measuring, pouring back, remeasuring sugar like its never been measured before. And finishing sentences every 5 minutes with claims of..

'Xin, It's Not Enough!!!!!!'

only to be met with rather calm albeit amused replies of 'I promise you, it is' and slowly evolved and shortened to snaps of 'It is!'

(& that continued throughout a large part of the entire baking proceedings, this I kid you not)

My table is messssy!

Made up the brownie batter without much trouble and it was mostly almost instinctive especially with normal cookie batter and brownie consistency. The lemon whoopie pies were more intriguing because well, of the cake cookie consistency. But those turned out more awesome that I expected, or ever expected from any cookie.

Didnt really eat one the night it baked because well, I have no idea!

Probably tired out from all the intense washing up I had to do. I realllllllyyyy dont like washing up all the buttered up pans, mixing bowls, spatulas and trays.

But they were freaking-fantastically awesome.

And we might or might not have spilt a pile of sugar, and then made sugar art. teehee

Personal opinion but lemon whoopie pies over cookie dough brownies ANYDAY!

They taste, well, both cakey and cookie-ish at the same time and with the lemon cream cheese filling. I don't usually go crazy on the praise for my own baking cos there're so many people out there better than yours truly, but these were honestly, ohmyquitedivineeee!!

Almost there now.

After that it was almost game over for me. Little sleep, much excitement, an entire day of standing, laughing, talking.

I need to sit down, thanks. Eat some (proper)food, and watch some tv,

continue washing part II later and get the kitchen and everything else in order before the parents get back and I get to hear about how I always mess up the house (again).

Baking, I can do, but washing, sigh, hello wrinkly fingers and mixing bowls that refuse to de-butter themselves. ):

Chillin' together on the cooling rack.

Packed up the brownies and lemon cookies and was very thankful I didnt have to wrap individually and sent them off to be bake-saled at church the next day.

Notice how there aren't any photos of the final cookie dough brownie? Well that's because my smart friend here forgot to take any. Just imagine the cookie dough you saw above, spread atop moist chocolately brownies. Pictured? Ok!

(Now insert that picture in the space here) heehee

And to all who ate either one or the other or are lucky enough to try both, I really hope it was yummmyy because we totally had a blast making them, and yes, show some love, donate some money, support OM missions (basically going out into the mission-field for the people of South africa to teach them basic english, build basic necessities for them that we currently often and always take for granted)

Send huey off to the land of lions, elephants and endless safari prairies for 5 weeks!

Raawwrrhh.
*photo credits to whoever for these 2, took them off the www(:

Bake sale part II coming up probably soon, when I officially end my papers, so yep eat some non-chocolate chip cookies for a good cause ya(: Because this is the non-chocolate chip cookie bakesale. Yay.

Now, what to bake for part II? That's a very good question. Hmm?

Cookie pileee

And yes, cheers to you too(;

Excuse the weird hand...

Another Lemon whoopie pie for you?(:

Munch.

Munch munch.

My favourite picture of the lot(:

Munch munch munch.

*All photo credits to huey!

A day with kaya toast and runny eggs

2010-05-12T00:14:00.004+08:00

I made breakfast today(:

Eggs, check.

After days and days of yoghurt messes, which were perfectly yummy and healthy and not to mention super fast to prepare plus no mess to clean up. Makes for quick exits from the house too because the sooner I get my butt isolated and devoid of entertainment, the faster I get to start proper work. I need change. Hello eggs!

You would think after 14 years of education (yep I just counted), studying would get a little easier, less painful.

NOPE!

People always tell you, or at least many people have told me, that the A levels is as hard as education gets, after that, university, ahh that's a piece of cake. Piece of 10-tiered-different-layered-fondant-covered-3D-wedding cake maybe!!!

It does not get easier. Maybe less of the fear-of-going-to-class-because-you-didnt-do-assigned-homework, because now even if you don't turn up it doesnt matter as long as you play catch up on your own.

Ah university. You give me a lot of headache and joy. Exams, well 100% headache, that I know for sure. But after that headache comes joy.

That I know too.

But this is Joy for sure(:

Yay breakfast! Also known as my favourite yet most neglected (during these times) meal of the day.

See IDF/blob whichever you want to identify yourself with, I made my own Yakun kaya toast with runny soft-boiled eggs!(: (add dark soy sauce yummm!)

Realised that I haven't had breakfast as such in quite awhile and what better way to start the day than to munch on super crunchy toast and copious amounts of butter and kaya squished together. Was quite tempted to make 4 pcs of bread but cutting the sides off was creating enough of a mess plus 4 pcs just sounds like a lot! Although in Yakun, its the standard serving. Hmmm.

Yes I tried to make it as authentic as I could, slicing off the edges.

But to start off with wholemeal bread instead of white...sigh. How authentic can I get?!

Don't throw the edges away though! See why later(:

I love that knife.

You can't see it here but in between is a very non-photogenic mess of melted butter and gooey kaya. Slurp.

Ideally, it should be 2 eggs, 2 toasts (ie: 4 pcs of bread), 1 cup or tea or coffee. And because I suffer from the fact that time is fast snowballing downhill away from me. But I have awesome coffee/tea waiting for me later and yes I can't make tea as good as 60cents tea/coffee the hawker uncle can.

I think I've reached my egg quota for the week.

Usually I like egg whites more than egg yolks. And I'm super picky about egg yolks. It either has to be totally hardboiled or totally runny and watery (like those in eggs benedict). Anything in the middle and it just tastes, weird. And I really don't like it.

But I don't know how long to boil them for to achieve total watery runny consistency.

So the eggs had little bits of solid parts in them.

Most of it was pretty watery awesome though(: Ohwell, still ate all of it haha.

Egg dipping breadsticks yay!

And this is pretty much how the rest of the day went.

A li'l intellectual stimuli while waiting for my tea. Euro down to 1.8!

I WANNA EURO TOUR!!!!!!

I know it says Starbie coffee but that is in fact a tea latte. Just because I was in a tea mood thanks to the Kaya toast and eggs.

Having the camera with me outside is pretty cool because anytime I'm approaching the 'ohnoooo mini panic attack! I can't do this/answer exam questions/solve anything' state of mind, I just reach for it, turn it on and look through the viewfinder. Or live view haha.

Listen to a few whirrs of the auto-focusing, finding some good light, taking some shots.

It distracts me momentarily, sufficiently.

And I get back to where I was 5 minutes ago.

My mess. & my music. Which I almost very very nearly proclaimed dead the night before. Refusing to charge when it was totally flat and starting up and shutting down automatically non-stop! Its been a good 4 years my pod friend. Please continue to be my friend!

I Heart You sooo much!

And indeed, presented by Changi airport Singapore.

Because yours truly finished the last exam pad prior to today and was without paper (the horrors) at 930am in the morning and out of the house. So I went to T3 to 'steal' some of this awesome A3 sized paper to make into an impromptu practice pad. Thankfully they had stacks and stacks of it for kiddy colouring activities. Its super good quality paper I might add!

Life saver.

This may or may not have happened: A hot fudge sundae became dinner at 18:37HRS

Fruity supper! Because ice-cream for dinner isn't cutting it.

Frozen mangoes? Yes please.

Yes I use powerpuff girls bowls heehee. + my abso-fabso-lutely favourite drink(:

&the battle continues tomorrow. (again)

I love my cameraaaaa!(:

Instant gratification

2010-05-09T23:53:00.012+08:00

And just like that the weekend is over and there definitely are moments where I felt I could have slept less and done more important things over the course of the day. Or talked less and listened more, laughed more and sulked less.

I would also very VERY much like to be a morning person. And if anyone can teach me how to do that I would be super grateful. really.

Is there any other way that sleeping early at 10pm? I need one of those highly irritating alarm clocks who runs away from you and hide somewhere so you need to get up and look for it.

I need it. I really do.

Ok so I actually went and googled 'most irritating alarm clock' and I was very amused to say the least, there are people out there like me. And we need help.
Top ten most annoying alarm clocks
I want the run-away-and-hide alarm clock! Also known as the #1 most annoying alarm clock.
Cool beans eh!

But maybe I can push these issues back about 10-12 more days and let myself focus on the last 2 papers I have to write for finals.

Yep I think I can do that.

Four months to mull over issues as such is more time that I could ever need. Though I can't guarantee I won't be on multiple sleepovers, multiple baking experiments, countless late nights and catching up session or just plain old chilling sessions with friends, shopping excursions, and good food of course.

Oh wait, not supposed to be thinking about that now am I.

Delayed gratification I would call them.

But sometimes I think I need instant gratification and what better way to yell instant than with instant noodles.

Instant noodles has always been an almost forbidden food for me, with the health conscious mother that I have. It has always been watered down to instant noodles not tasting or even looking like they should. Which is total waste of their potential in my opinion(;

You don't even wanna know.

They're supposed to be the cure for late night hunger pangs, or the lack of time to cook, or the sudden need for warm comfort food at any time of the day. They're supposed to be there for you at all times, stocked in your cupboards whenever you want them and able to satisfy you whenever. With good reason.

The pack of seasoning is supposed to be dumped in, in entirety, not rationed, or skimped on only to be dumped into the trash later. And the msg-fied soup is to be slurped up with noodles and not drained out or replaced.

(I add spice and chili to noodles cos I'm cool like that heh)

I know a million ways to make instant noodles NOT look like instant noodles or taste like them. But I shall not. Why spoil a good thing just because its a little unhealthy aye?
Well after a day of baking and feeling very unmotivated to go out and buy food or make some pasta, I decided to go with 5 minute dinners.
Even better than Rachael Ray and her 30 minute dinners. Mine is 5 minutes y'all!(; hahaha and you definitely do not need to be kitchen savvy - at all.

But pasta wasnt happening because my mum has frozen the pasta marinara sauce solid. She claims it keeps longer. Of course it does! no one ever eats it. The thawing time for the pasta sauce is long enough to deter you from starting on the dish.
Walking out to get some food..well not really in the mood for sweating like a pig considering how freakishly hot the weather is even at night. Ridiculously humid too I might add.
Plus baking = standing almost the entire day and I pretty much just want to sit down and eat some comfort food. (and think of all the washing you have to do ----- later)

Baking was ultimately fun and therapeutic and especially with a worthy cause. Shall do a post entirely dedicated to that soon. The results were rather yummy too if I may say so myself. Round 2 after the 2oth! yay

So it was noodles, luncheon meat (fried not toasted this time), some veggies thrown in and a little soup. Yumz
5 minute wonder meals I call this.

(soooo unhealthy but delicious? methinks so!)
If you're wondering why there's 3 here and only 2 in my plate, well thats because I have superbly amazingly lousy chopsticks skills and one escaped onto the floor leaving me not only 1 luncheon meat less ; which is kinda a good thing and an oily kitchen floor to clean. NOT a good thing):!
My life is full of awesomeness and smartness right. hmpf

And yes this is the second packet of noodles I'm eating. Noodles 2 days in a row.
Either I'm incredibly sad or incredibly blessed, to be able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I choose to be the latter.
Needless to say the noodles were incredibly yummeh. Salty, tasty, soupy and warm in all the right places. Hot springy noodles straight out of the pot, fry up some meat from dubious origins but totally remind you of childhood days, throw in some vegetables, contemplated an egg but decided to let the meat be the star of the show.
The best part is trying to slurp up the noodles when you know, clearly, its still too hot, and getting your lips and tongue burnt, but in a good way. A greedy way haha
Alternating between the veggies and the meat every mouthful and before you know it, its the last piece of meat that you've been saving till the end and the last mouthful of noodles.

(Older chinese folk will always tell you not to stick your chopsticks into the noodles like that. heh)

And its gone ):

For the next 10 minutes you sit there and feel the warmth of the noodles go down your throat and spread over your body and feel the sting of the extra chili powder you dashed in at the last minute. And there's the slight burn of the lips due to justified impatience. But its all worth it.

I doubt anyone has written about instant noodles like this.
Now I eat it with luncheon meat, maybe there will be a day I would pair it with abalone? Now a girl can dream aye?(;

10 more days to go.
For this I choose delayed gratification.

Exam talk

2010-05-06T20:29:00.012+08:00

*Because its all about finals and writing papers today, the food (or other weird things) should and would be classified under 'weird exam food'
-normal food will resume shortly(;
-and I am going to apologize for the crap photos the phone camera takes. I miss my phone cybershot. And I miss taking dslr picturess
(and yes Indian dessert falls under weird exam food, and rightly so)

Description of all indian desserts by indian dessert selling auntie: All sweet.
Ayeaye capt'n

I finally get to click the blue button! (to refresh my life..kidding) To write a new post.
Halfway, no, more than halfway through my papers as of today. 2 more to go, which are 2 weeks away. I really don't know to be happy or sad about that.
In the mean time, I'm all about being thankful about the papers done. Not that I am thankful about almost killing my index finger while trying to squeeze words out fast enough to fill about 10 pages worth of words. Masses of words.
I'm thankful that my quite freaking amazing God told me today in Matt 11:28- Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Don't even need to begin how appropiate that is seeing 3 hours sleep 6 hours concentration. That was so not me.

Ohgosh honey teddy grahams how I really really really miss you. Eating you out of the box, replenishing you at safeway mondays.

Aaand I am writing yet another essay here. Champs.
But this is easy, this is fun, smiley writing and that is tear your hair out, whiny and anal writing.
Today was a krahaaaazy day to say the least. I should be sleeping now. 830pm. But I am whimsical and silly like that. And I dont make the best decisions when it comes to enjoyment and hedonistic fun. Last night I went to bed when the sun almost rose. 5am.
Napped for 3 hours. Possibly less.
I'm totally paranoid about oversleeping and missing the start of exams.
(I set 3 alarms that scream at me to wake up and am greeted by tons WAKE UP NOW and YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE and LEAVE HOUSE NOW, kinda statements)

Woke up to weird weather, wished I had the camera right by me so I could take some shots but then again I had a million things to do before 10am (start of paper) plus the camera was downstairs): Well for starters it was blitheringly hot, sunny and all. But at the same time it was pouring rain. Big fat heavy rain droplets. Noisy enough to wake me up from my second turned-off-snooze of the morning.
Hot rain. Not a good weather to wake up to, much less trudge in on the way to the bus.
Thank God it let up.

Indian doughnut? Not so much. Its these little things that make me think of airport study hmpf.

Of course I took liberty in enjoying a rare sit down breakfast (I save these for special occassions when I feel like I want to dawdle as much and well 'savour' the day) of yumz cereal and yoghurt mess. Its my latest breakfast craze and I make mum buy 4 mini pots of yoghurt everyweek.
Yoghurt with cereal tastes even better than milk with cereal.
Personal opinion(:

just so you know I'm all about lovin' the 50% rack at coldstorage and got this yummy box at just over $3. Awesome or not! &I'm also currently obssessed with cereal

Macro was rather fun, in a totally sadistic way. 3hrs. nextttt.
Then in-between I had a measly 1.5 hour break which after much dawdling came to slightly less than an hour. Which I also found time to squeeze in a sad sad measly lunch/snack of a pb sandwich, rather squished up I must add. Plus it was cold no thanks to antartica-like weather in the hall. Then a very much needed can of coffee to give me whatever caffeine rush I could get.
Soci. +3hrs.

Okay funny story here. Not so funny when it happened but now, yeah.

So I was munching my way slowly through the 10-parter of a question.
Q1-10parts-50m
Then I came to my Globalisation question in section B. Essay-planned (sorta) and got writing. So like half way through the first paragraph, I suddenly felt like I was trying very hard (but failing to) recall the memorized fact and verbal diahorrea-ed facts.

omg. panic? essay without content = zilch. how!?

So the conversation with myself went something like this:

Left brain: omg what comes after transformationalist? who's the person I'm supposed to quote?
Right brain: ohmae! (person in soci) you silly brain.
LB: I knew that already. Who's the other one!
RB: other one..hmm...other what?
LB: other person! And what did he come up with!!

*starts to panic* 25marks and I'm only one paragraph in and no more content

RB: (gets sidetracked) hmm now what should I do after the paper
LB: omgomgomg howww 4.10pm already
RB: chicken nuggets! instant noodles! hmm is my stomach growling?
LB: maybe I should skip to the next point?
RB: actually I know what you need to do
LB: NO CHICKEN NUGGETS you crazy weirdo. (ok what do I need to do?)
RB: you need to peeeeeee really badly

(comes to realization)

LB: omg I do! crap i'm in the middle of the gigantic hall.
*before reply could be generated I'm half running to the loo. figures.

(after peeing)
(comes back and immediately remembers all the facts again)

Both Brains: omg I'm suddenly smart again. *writes frantically

DSSHH.
I'm sorry you have to hear about pee here but it is quite hilarious now, looking back.
Not so funny then.
On hindsight it was probably the coffee that I gulped down prior to the paper. Coffees are diuretics, they make you pee. Fact.

Not the coffee I drank but I prefer starbie anyday. McCafe's fine but Starbie's always dabomb.

530pm. Overr! I survived 6 hours of intensive thinking on 3 hours of sleep. Something I thought I would be incredibly painful to endure. I did it yay(:

And then on the way home instant noodles and luncheon meat crept back into my head. Slowly but surely.
I really have no idea why I have such weirddddd cravings all of a sudden. Started last night. I wanted to have instant noodles + luncheon meat + chicken nuggets all in one meal. How weird is that pls, not to mention totally unhealthy and disgusting. So I toyed with the idea of walking to simpang to get the said above but at the same time mum texted me and asked me if I wanted dinner from 85. Which is always an awesome alternative, but I decided to push my luck a little more and ask her to buy the said above.

If you know my dear mother, she's a big fan of the healthy eating lifestyle and instant noodles, I dont even have that at home, much less canned luncheon meat. Yes I know its super disgustingly unhealthy and who knows what is in that meat in the can, plus drop all your hair instant noodles. Okay mum will never buy that for me.

But she did. It must have been the exam stress magic. Yes of course she tried to buy the 'made in singapore' one instead of the famous malin one and instant noodles, well that she cant do much. And of course she tried her hardest to make it healthy. hahaha (want to know how..)

1. dont use all the seasoning (too bad dumped it all in)
2. drain the soup from the noodles and use fish soup okok! (noooo! runs away with my soup)
3. use the toaster oven to cook the meat, dont fry (finefineeeee ok)
4. you want some vegetables (oh awwwright)

champs. yes?
But it was still disgustingly unhealthy or maybe its quite normal and I'm just not very used to it.
Oh-so-yummy nonetheless.

I wanted to take a picture. But the camera didnt have its memory card. Its ok I'll do it tomorrow. I know the brother will sure want some of that unhealthy-ness. Its almost a guaranteed.
And right now, while I can still feel the sting of hot noodles slurping down my throat and the saltiness of the luncheon meat, I'm feeling pretty fuzzy warm inside, full and very craving-satiated.
Its such a good feeling.
I dont even feel like looking at a nugget right now. Should I stay in, watch about 5 hours of backlogged tv, read some blogs, msn and PACK MY ROOM or should I chill somewhere outside.
Or sleep till tomorrow morning.
Decisions decisions. I feel as though I dont have anymore papers to sit for.
STOP DREAMING!!

Milky goodness, guess the drink?

hiatus from work for at least 24 hours.
yay me.
oh and I shall do a birthday (sorta) post tomorrow (:
toodlespoodles
really random pictures, all of studying sessions.
Will do yummy baking post in a few days!

Finally an update, eating Indian food and drinking coffee

2010-04-22T23:56:00.005+08:00

I WILL WRITE A POST TODAY!!!
Hahaa it has come to such exclaimation and forcing contract on my part to make myself sit down and type out a post. Actually I have much to say, mostly in-between whines and fears and a few gripes.
It's exam season friends!
An entire year of academics have come down to this. Do or die.
DO. There is no room for error. Now that its put that way, its like baking a cake or an order of cupcakes for birthday parties, you can't have a restart. Somehow that just feels different although it's somewhat along the same do or die lane.
Now let me summarize my day, this should be quite easy, because it's so routinely boring.
But kinda necessary. And slightly self-informing as well (more on that later)
(First some of Mickey D's latest temptation, Cinnamon Melts)

(Now I have this crazy urge which I will suppress, to go bake up a batch of pioneer woman's legendary cinnamon rolls)

;but that has to wait):

(heh it looks like mold growing but I assure you its 100% cinnamon-ny goodness)
Mad loveeeee!

I face the hardest part of the day first - Waking up.
After I pry myself from the evil grasps of my blanket or torture myself by not drawing the curtains and letting the 'too-bright-for-sleeping-in' sun wake me up, I make some breakfast and dont enjoy the liberty of watching silly morning tv (for the fear of never getting out of the house; it happens). These days I dont even conjure up yummy breakfasts, its just a pb sandwich or a chicken, cheese and ham wrap when mum makes chicken spreads for me.
Mostly pb sandwiches.
I'm a pb girl, through and through. Now if only I had the super cool kind of nut butters people in the States have. Safeway, walmart, walgreens COME TO ME!
Sometimes I cheat on pb with nutella. Somethings can't be helped. Teehee.

Then I get my ass to the airport not because I'm flying off anywhere but because its 20 minutes away, wifi-equipped, food-equipped, and awesome place to study. No day and no night if you sit in the right places.
Starbucks used to be my haven. Then other people decided it was theirs too. buggers!
Plus I love their coffees, but that's already a given.
Then I took it one level down to, sad to say, mcdonald's. Buy a cuppa (plus they have buy 3 drinks get 1 free) and park myself there for a good part of the day (and night) and have my revision notes, a ton of practice papers and a roomful of strangers for company.

I like studying alone, sometimes. I get (more) things done.
And somedays I need my friends. People keep me sane. Like I said, self-discovery, I think the best way to torture me would be to not give me anyone to talk to. I need people. I need to talk, laugh, poke, disturb, people.
Without those, I think a part of me dies inside. serious.
Yeah technology helps a little, staying connected with people virtually but I need tangible human contact. I guess everyone needs it someway or another. I just need it more.
Even the yummiest of food doesnt replace the lack of human presence and good old plain friendship.
Friends > Food anyday!
But Friends + Food, that's a whole different level of awesome(:

(And this is what friends do when they get bored and get hold of cameras, they swirl them around)

(And toss them around! nooooooooooooooooo! hahahaa)

So recently I've had a few awesome eats all revolving around levels 1 and 2 of T2 of the airport, cos that's where I hide out haha.
And ever since a certain fateful day in Little India I have been going around maniacally trying Indian Naan at every indian joint I see, and getting disappointed more often than not thanks to too high expectations fed off the first naan fest. lol.

I usually don't like Indian food.
Wrinkle my nose at my brother's favourite Masala Thosai. Seriously, what's so nice about soured dough thinly pressed and filled with beans and meat!
That was uptill I found this place called Ananda Bhavan. And there's an outlet right above starbucks at T2. I think its been there since forever but I was just ignorant about its existence until Little India educated me otherwise.

(#1 and #2 of Indian desserts. Half-eaten whoops heehee. Left: Jangiri. Right: no idea, lost the receipt lol)

Usually the naan is awesome to the max especially cheese naan! And the plain thosai, to perfection. Well, there was just this once....
My educated guess was he was hitting up my naan order while trying to tie up another guy's order, using everybody's favourite household equipment.
*drumrolls*

(Spot the abnormality(;)

The Red Rubberband.
Well the look on the guy's face was quite awesome when he realised (in horror) what he put into our naan. Now I've a new indian friend who's especially nice to me when I eat there, forever offering me free drinks and being of awesome service. Heh.
Plus, I've officially become a fan of indian food, and indian dessert.
The ananda bhavan kind.
Although I really have no idea what I'm pointing to or about to order, or even the name (until I look at the receipt after I've ordered), the success and yumminess of the first ever dessert tried have prompted me to give all the others a chance to prove themselves yummy or otherwise.

Lets just say the second and the third didnt disappoint either. But my indian dessert friend would like to testify otherwise. I promise it tastes like milk chocolate, with a little taste of milk powder-ish kinda feel. You have to love milk and all things dairy and SWEET to love this.
And I think all things white are made up of the same milky-powdery taste.

(Check out my mega thosai, it was sooo big!)

Indian dessert, I will conquer you! hahahaa okay maybe not all but this is definitely not the last you'll be seeing of indian food.
Dinner was a one-person affair in which I had some temporal company in the form of the indian waiter to talk to and I think we would be good friends by the end of my airport studying stint. Heh wait and see. He still keeps offering me free drinks for the rubberband mishap hahah!
I had Gova Laddu(below) for dessert and one giant plain thosai. Awesomeness.
Think I will never eat thosai anywhere else ever.
Its quite chill to sit there, eating thosai with my hands, examining the dessert and hoping its nice cos theres no one to force to eat it if it disgusts me. And just not thinking about school and papers and essays and formulas.

(Coconutty interior)

Dont be fooled by its tiny ball size, even a sweet tooth like me felt the need to down my starbucks tumbler of water after that. And of course after that comes the unescapable sugar-high which I channelled straight into a 4km run. Best run in a long time wheeeeeeeeeee!(:
Oh and as if the outer-shell milk chocolatey coating isnt sweet enough, inside is coconut!
Not the orangey chinese coconut that you see in peanut pancakes but this was grey-ish. I didnt even know what it was until I bit into it. Or rather cut it rather pathetically with the plastic spoon that threatened to break on me anytime.
But I kinda appreciated the sugar-rush(: Put me in a pretty good mood until the adrenaline-endorphin rush took over.
What can I say, I'm a junkie hahaha, in the most natural and healthy way ok!

Eeeep after the promise to blog twice a week and then the uncalled for hiatus, I think nobody wants to read this anymore): ):
I'll be better, baby steps, baby steps.
20 May please come quick, but please let me finish revision to the best of my ability and capability first! What an oxymoronic life I lead.

(hard at work okay!)

*This post is dedicated to my Indian dessert friend, otherwise which this entry would not be penned today and further procrastinated, but now I'm glad I did it. yay

Omg 5 days till I turn 21 and nose deep in papers, ink and clear folders.
INSERT SAD FACE HERE.

Mocha cookies for green boys in a parade

2010-04-08T23:18:00.011+08:00

Today, I am going to use a sentence that all kids between the ages of 6 to 8 (myself included when I was that age) love to end their essays/composition writing with.
'... and we went home feeling tired but happy.' The end.

(I used to love writing The End at the end of my essays, it made me feel accomplished for some kiddy reason but my teachers told me that real essays don't end like that and all the cool kids didnt have that at the end, so 'the end' became a thing of the past)

But that statement so accurately describes my exact feeling now. I could possibly make it a little more grown up by adding 'and satisfied' and scratching 'the end' but just let me go back to being 6 years old again for awhile? Being an almost-adult is hard. Decisions, responsibilities, obligations and challenges. But we shall save that for another time yes?
Today is all about tired and happy(:
(but I still am up doing this big pictorial post, figures. hahaha)
I'm liking this space more and more!
*check out the cute red pepper kitchen timer wheee

6 hours of sleep last night + early morning wake up alarm would normally bring the inner grumpy dwarf out of me but today held purpose and the incentive of breaking the daily routine.
I was going to see my silly little brother graduate from basic military training. For the life of me I cannot imagine or even begin to picture how that silly little boy who used to irritate me to no end could don the smart 4, operate a rifle, do a 24km route march and pull off a parade.

Decided to brave the boat ride (I tend to get seasick!), the heat, and impending smellyness that just wafts all around you, I cannot even begin to describe the smell of boys in uniform after 24 click. Please imagine.

And being the good student, yes I brought notes along. Tragic or dedication? You tell me.
We had to be seated by 2.30pm and the parade was only going to start at 3.45pm.
1hr 15min of sitting and sweating. Its like watching the National Day Parade (minus the fireworks)

I brought cookies!
(:

But they werent for me. Decided to bake them for the graduating little kid since I didnt have time to do them last week. Chocolate and coffee. I have no idea why he likes coffee so much since he doesnt have anything to be done pertaining to the need of caffeine but yeah I did make those mocha chocolate babies. Did the pre-chilled dough yesterday at 1.30am, which came together in less than 20 min. After much cookie making, I have concurred that the ideal cookie making time is at night. So the dough can be chilled and ready for the next day to be popped into the oven. Easy peasy. Throw away the cling wrap and heyy! no washing! haha(:

Had some quality time with my notes and it was time to take out the camera to have some fun!
But first, mum had go all law abiding on us and filling out the survey form. Who even does that! With super long comments on the section of 'Additional comments'
She suggested that they provide refreshments. Welldone mum, welldone.
I was amused to say the least. I think she was bored. But I know she meant the refreshments bit. Really.
Look at her go. She had fun.

Had a game of 'find the little green son/brother' and a slew of photos ensued. Some, not by choice but by insistent orders of a very excited mother 'take this!', 'look there!', 'take, take, take'.
Okaaay I'll just keep clicking then..

FOUND! hahah(:

Some formation and drill thingy

Ooh look, no hair! haha

Then came the 'putting on the cap for the son' bit which we had to brave the smell. Oh gosh. I wanted very much to be a dolphin/seal for 10 minutes so that I could hold my breath. Hahaha ok I kid, dolphins are smelly too!

Then comes ceremonial cap throwing.
So my kid brother has survived 9 weeks of the army. He looks quite happy with the cookie you think! Yay. Now he needs a bath.

Quite worth the late night and early morning wake up to make these cookies to see people eating them like this. The cookies were pretty yum if I may say so myself. If the chocolate + coffee combination doesnt float your boat or give you an instant boost I dont know what would.
End of parade! Spot the difference. Before and after.

O for Orion. Which my dear mother thought stood for O for Onion.
Does look pretty alike but a whole world of difference. Needless to say I got a good laugh out of it.
'Hi, I'm from Onion company' joke much!!

And then it was 6pm! So we spent 5 hours waiting around for the 45min parade. eeeesh
He needed a bath, so home it was. Then dinner at Everything With Fries. Awesome.
I was super hungry by then. 1 pc bread + 2 oreos the entire day. Ravenous now! Stuck my head out of the car to try and snap the pretty sky outside the ferry terminal. Very unlike usual Singapore scenery.

Tried to get mum to take a decent photo of us and the pretty sky. This is what I got. Total fail. Mum's are awesome and all but behind a camera, yep this is as good as it gets. hahaaa. WHAT IS THIS!

And then onto dinner!

This time I got to try all the different fries cos I made them order different flavours heh.

And after that 4 of us demolished 1 nutella tart in about.....1 minute, literally.
Please excuse the blurry picture, people were impatient. Quite understandable if you're sitting in front of this.

It was so fast if you blinked three times slowly I promise you, you would only get a bite. But sharing desserts is (: A little sweet end to a meal which I love but not too much till you dont want it anymore.

Came home, decided to go for an impromptu run which turned out to be sprint intervals and hill climbs. Legs totally game over after that but the feeling of conquering hills and sprints is pretty cool. 5.6km worth of that, now I just want to sit and never get up.

See, 'tired and happy' pretty aptly describes the day aye! And if you need an instant perk-me-up. Please make those cookies, they would make anyone happy. Even grumpy the dwarf(:
I got the recipe from Kim@Lovintheoven and yes if you love coffee like I do my starbucks, please add all 3 tablespoons of instant coffee. No regrets there(:

School tomorrow. I can almost smell the weekend.

The End(;

A salad and some incentives

2010-04-06T21:58:00.005+08:00

I think I'm a bad blogger. Food or otherwise, still bad. I tell people a story, oh wait, half a story and I traipse off somewhere and return only when I feel like it.
My html does not allow me to reply comments, I dont link people (I should! I will get that up soon) I dont organise the sidebar. And I dont post enough food. Bad person. badbadbad! hahaha but you have to understand, its exam season and I might have exam fever and am going a little crazy.
But today I come with healthy(ier) food. Does that make me a little better heh(;
(see! veggies!)

With an entry, comes a story, and these days I just dont have stories to tell now. Everyday is the same, no, almost. With the slight unimportant exception of what I am currently revising, the coffee/tea I drink, the time I daydream from my books, the time I get up to pee, what I eat for dinner (because that's not up to my control but whats cooking in the kitchen)
That might sound like a lot is different, but trust me it is not.
I need excitement in my life, but that has to wait. Waiting is hard. I dont like waiting.
But waiting makes me a better person. I think..

About 7 weeks.

It will come really fast, I just know it, yet time crawls by ever so slowly. How oxymoronic can I sound. You have no idea. Sometimes I wish the world could work my way. It would go something like this. When you're doing something boring but necessary, time stands still, stopping. So as to allow you to do what you have to get done. When its all done and ready, time ticks on again, leaving you the entire rest of the day to enjoy and laugh and play and eat.

Hedonistic much!?

That said, I think the world would not be a very good place, because I dont make very good plans. Ohwell a girl can try to plan.
Only with hard work and completion to some extent, be it a small to-do list or an entire project or just going outside for a run when I reaaaaaaaaaaaaaallly don't want to, can one enjoy the rewards later (chilling, movie, fooooood, friends, going out, resting, the high you get from running). If there's no hard work, even if you do skip straight to the rewards, it doesnt taste as sweet.
Like how coke (the drink ok not drugs!) tastes pretty darn good after 3.6km as opposed to a drinking it say, in a movie?

What can I say, I work well with incentives. So I have mini incentives to get myself through school weeks. Be it baking something super cool or catching movies or chilling with awesome friends, going suntanning by the pool or even buying the next cookbook, cookie book on the list hahaa.
One week at a time yea? So this is also a small (somewhat healthy) incentive to come home to and assemble after some furious revision note writing and countless angsty tutorial fighting sessions. See its not breakfast! hahaha but I can forsee more breakfast-y foods to come.
Riight, and I've gotten my sleep cycle almost ideal which is another step in the right direction yay(:

Oh by the way, see what did I tell you about being a bad blogger, I forget to impart recipes too.
This is super easy like 5 minute easy (or less) but you have to first have quite an awesome mother who makes chicken mayonnaise spreads and puts them in the fridge upon request. An entire bowl for me for the week. happy maxxxx!

So here goes: caesar salad! (my way)

1. Wash romaine lettuce (cut into bite size pieces)
2. Toast bread until very crunchy, cut into breadcrumbs, drizzle olive oil, throw those in
3. Scoop as much chicken as you want(:
4. Mix all together, add ground black pepper
5. Add cherry tomatoes if you have (even more awesome and pretty)
6. Grab whichever cheese you like and add to the pile

EAT.
YUM!

7 weeks!

icandothis
icandothis
icandothis

The only place left to go is up

2010-04-02T23:25:00.003+08:00

I really have to say, the last 24 hours have been nothing short of amazing.
It might be the magic of Good Friday or it might be just the fact that I've a pretty awesome God who put awesome people and things and food into my life.

Here's why:
My week was not looking to be a good one seeing that we're entering April already zomg! And a mini manic panic attack was well on its way while I cordoned myself from the rest of the world for a little while to do what needs getting done - quality time with some econs and mathsy equations and all that jazz (or the lack of hm).
Somedays I would feel more accomplished than others but I have to admit, there is only a certain level of satisfaction one can feel coming from daily academics, apart from attaining the finishing line. That would be a different story.
But one thing that makes me really satisfied is the approximately 45 minutes of me-time I make myself get post-studying-pre-dinner-ish (if that makes sense)

Its just me, running shoes, fbts, fringe away from forehead and some darned hills to climb that make me look like a gaping fish out of water trying to run up. But as of today I learnt that hills do have plus points about them ; as do everything in life, however crappy and boring things can get. I don't do hills by choice, its just the ideal route around my estate and everyone does them in one way or another. More on running later.

So Thursday I decided to somewhat reward myself for sitting an entire afternoon with only a cup of tea for company, I went to cold storage.
I have a thing for supermarkets. I don't even know how it started or when for that matter but I love just walking down aisle by aisle. From dairy and milk to pasta to frozen to baking! to cereal, I could go on but you get the drift.
T2 basement, isnt the most bustling place ever and cold storage was freezing but I still went from aisle to aisle anyway. Chanced upon ritter sport chocolate and decided to buy it for a friend.

Decided to run early(ier) before going out.
Going for short runs like these sorta keep me sane and happy and unirritable thanks to post-run-high for a good part of the evening, but with company I had, well, I didnt really need the run(:
Had a pretty awesome mini dinner cos I was quite the hungry monster after sweating bucketloads. Sadly I dont have awesome temperate weather and if I get wind and shade at 6pm that's kinda lucky already(;

Bathed, ate, watched some news and hopped into a cab..
(edit) the evening/night was filled with a lot of chill time, icecream, more icecream much laughter and more talk, food! car rides, chilling in non-descript places and just liking the fact that I dont have to try to be anything. Just me me me. aye (:

Oh and I shall leave this at that with an awesome pint of something yummy (that was consumed in entirety)
strawbie-cheesecake-macadamia-nut

yumdumdumdeedum

And that, is how a crappy week is salvaged (:

Conversation with a snickerdoodle

2010-03-31T21:28:00.006+08:00

I really want to blog more here. Really really.
I will aim to write here however long or short at least 2 times a week. Because writing here makes me happy! (and hungry) very hungry to be exact. Because, together with writing a post comes selecting and uploading pictures, and time in between trying to not let firefox die on me, doing what else, browsing all my favourite food bloggers(:
And after looking at all the awesome food photography and descriptive writings, or sometimes just about their lives, I feel even more hungry. And its always that time of the night where dinner has just sort of digested and raiding the fridge is just a bad bad bad idea.

Heh and I have no self control to choose fruit over biscuit / cookie when its 11.30pm and I'm standing in front of an open fridge door. If you have that self control please impart some skills to me. very much appreciated(;

True story.

So I deny my stomach the joys it could find in the fridge and conveniently try to apply the concept of 'out of sight out of mind' to doing the pictures for this site and looking up and bookmarking even more recipes from a list that I am pretttty sure I will never exhaust.
But I still keep saving them anyway teehee.
Plus it nullifies the run that I just did today. No cookies for me):

But I will ! write at least 2 times here a week. It makes me happy to see new entries plus I get to cook and bake stuff, and write about it(:
And its a good routine to keep (i think!) aside from schoolwork and uninteresting things like that. Plus I need somewhere to channel brain juices of the creative side of the brain, to let it be smothered by the analytical, numerical, logical side would just be sad. Sadder than having no cookies hee.

So much talk about cookies, here are some. Don't these looks cute pre-oven! If you have not already started googling snickerdoodles if you don't know what they are or feel the sudden need to go out and buy some to eat.
Don't! They are evil. They are so nice they make you want to eat and eat and eat and eat eat eat eat.

Me: (opens fridge) Hmm what should I have for breakfast. Bread with pb/nutella/jam/cheese?
Snickerdoodle: How about a cookie! I taste even better after a day in the fridge! (its true)
Me: Cookies for breakfast! No I need something filling and yummy to start the day on a good note

Snickerdoodle: Just eat me! And about 4 of my friends. Yummy AND filling.
Me: But thats not very healthy right.

Snickerdoodle: Its only morning! You have the rest of the day to eat healthily. Plus no-one knows!
Me: True.

Snickerdoodle: Aye just try one first, small one
Me: Okay maybe a small one

Snickerdoodle: See, its so awesome right but you're not full right, another one?
Me: omg these are good. (proceeds to grab about 3 more)
Snickerdoodle: heh heh

And the next morning the same battle is fought again. I shant tell you the ending, do you want to guess?

I thought I was a chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin girl. Love those two, I could eat them every day but I wont make them just yet because I have no self control. Oh waaait, you already know that.
But I might cheat on them a little with these babies. No mix-ins. Just pure cinnamonny, sugary and buttery goodness.
Make them and you might end up like me, or worse.
I'm just sayin'

OR!

You could make them and not tell anybody and eat them. Nobody knows the calories don't count.
Right!? (:
Well here's the awesome recipe. Once you throw in the cinnamon there's no looking back!

Best snickerdoodles ever

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For rolling:

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with
an electric mixer on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and
beat until smooth.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and
cream of tartar.

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for
30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator. (I let mine rest overnight)

5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the
topping.

6. Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a
ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press it
onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining cookies.

7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes and no more. The cookies
may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are
removed from the oven. When the cookies have cooled they should be
soft and chewy in the middle.

Makes about 20 cookies.

(ps: chilling the dough is very very VERY important if you want super awesome cookies. I do that in every cookie I make even if the recipe doesnt say so. It really makes a difference. But if you're impatient (like I sometimes am especially when it comes to cookies) you can always make a few and pop them into the oven and eat immediately and bake the rest the next day. And appreciate the difference chilled dough makes. Trust me(:)

Snickerdoodle: Now how bout another one. Last one. Promise.
Me: STOP TALKING TO MEEEEEEEEE! LEAVE ME ALONEEEEEE
(proceeds to run out of the house, almost forgetting to lock the door behind myself)

they ARE evil.
Don't say I didn't warn you(;
Alternate serving suggestion - clasp 2 cookies in between vanilla icecream and tadaa icecream cookie sandwiches. Now, its a good thing I don't have vanilla icecream at home.
Am I the only one that yummy food speaks too. Please tell me that there are more of you out there that have noisy and irritating yummy food in the fridge.

Lightning storm and some eggs

2010-03-20T18:48:00.004+08:00

I'm not a morning person.
I would very much with every ounce of my being, like to be one
But I am not.
So the other day I was thinking (while trying to solve some accounting grub) how to make myself transform into one. Imagine waking up early, say 730AM, just because I can and have in fact gotten enough sleep and woken up willingly. Opening the window and breathing in the fresh morning air, swinging legs off the bed and getting about the day, happily and not in fact grouching about the fact that it is in fact, early in the morning.
That is such ideal life.

Now that classes have slowed to a halt and revision classes have yet to begin full swing, its prime revision time. To consolidate, revise, practice, revise somemore, print papers, do time practices and of course drink coffee(;
And I need discipline. To wake up at do work. And not potentially waste the day thinking that I'm going to start that tutorial half an hour from now and never do in the end.
So I came to the conclusion that I need to sleep earlier to wake up earlier. Sounds simple enough? Apparently not.

Because I can't sleep.
I think I live in a different time zone, about 3 hours ahead of others. My clock is warped.
So the other day, I decided to turn off all electrical devices (because technology is sucha monster sometimes) and lights at 12mn and just lay in bed. Relatively cooling night and ideal for sleep. Tried squeezing my eyes shut and flipped and flopped so many times till I lost count on the bed. The feeling: highly frustrating.
So I flopped onto one side yet again (hopefully for the last time) and I was looking at a potential lighting storm.
I LOVE lightning storms. They just seem dangerous and cool and yet I know I'm perfectly safe in my room and watching the sky turn purple, red, orange and blue is so so surreal. Yet without rain, the lightning just thundered for a good 5-10minutes. Then it occurred to me to pick up the camera to try and catch some lightning in action right! And get some camera practice with slow shutter. Sigh I'm always too slow for things like that. So I found the camera in the dark, adjusted it, propped it on my knee and window ledge because the tripod is somewhere I dunno where,

And waited for the next flash of lightning.

And waited, and waited

(my legs are cramping right about now)

One reluctant rumble, and another
I got about five reluctant rumbles and disgruntled flashes and a ton of black, no lightning blurry photos. Story of my life.
Well I did manage one with some semblance of lightning in it but sigh it was so unlike all the previous vivid flashes I'd seen earlier.

yep this is all I got:(
After the lightning misadventure, at least I was somewhat tired with all that anticipation and misfortune and cramped legs. Turned off the camera, remembered to put on the lens cap even, and sunk into the pillow again.
And well hello there, the lightning show began again.
I just smiled a little at the irony of it all and continued with the show until I couldnt remember anymore.

And the next morning I edited the shot somewhat to the best of my ability and saw that it was 3.03AM when I took the shot. So much for sleeping early.
Consoled myself for abit and made some Eggs-in-a-hole for breakfast and enjoyed that for abit with leftover chicken mayonnaise before going about the day with accounting, economics and starbucks friends.

Buttermilk pancakes brunch

2010-03-18T20:34:00.004+08:00

It's a Thursday.

Thursday's are not good days until Friday comes. Yes no doubt its 3 days away from Monday and its past the overrated midweek but its not the weekend yet.
Actually I don't even know why I hype my weekends up so, or attempt to, because weekends are not any different from weekdays.
Its still filled with accounting tutorials and economic talk. And the random mini panic attack that I cannot get everything done in time.

See, weekends are not all that awesome. I think its just a frame of mind.
Like a sugar pill for the placebo effect, to get me thinking its always better if its the weekend.
Sometimes I lie to myself like that. Boo.
Plus weekends are crowded and noisy. But weekends are an excuse for brunch.
Brunch on weekdays feels, wrong. Like its illegal or something, to be enjoying a weekend treat on a weekday and while everyone else is working or in school.
But then again I dont wake up in time for brunch on weekends. :x

Doing accounting at coffee joints like starbucks is, well to sum in one word: Lonely.
but necessary.
I talk to people and I dont do work, that's why I need to be holed up somewhere alone to do proper work. le sigh

I want May to come really fast but at the same time I want it to drag its feet.
Reading this people probably think I dont know what I want.
Which is true. I know what I want maybe about 20% of the time, other times I'm just a blur.
I write out lists. (for many things)
And I carry out some of them, and wish very hard the others carry themselves out.
I'm such a bad finisher, and that has to change.

But first let me eat some pancakes for some midweek brunch-ing and wish Thursday away.
Why does it take 3 weeks t form a habit but just one day to break it.
Ok I need to go fight some battles with my accounting tutorials and print some past year papers.

Browned butter apple crumble muffins

2010-03-03T12:25:00.003+08:00

Leftover apples from apple crisps? Yep check! Make some muffins for breakfast. With crumble topping of course. Everything is better with crumble. Exam period is making me exceedingly upset-table and somedays I feel everything is fine and that is subject to change every 2 seconds. And the everything is not fine anymore. Fickle pickle.

Making breakfast helps me not think about anything, just concentrating on getting the oven timer right and creaming muffin batter.

That said, this week is crap boring. Everyday is routined and the only proper decision I have to make is where to park myself for the day, yes like a car. pft.
Ideally it would be starbucks, because I'm currently quite obssessed with their new english breakfast tea. Although people would pass it off as expensive $4 tehbing but I still like it so there, i dont careeee. Add alot of milk and some sugar syrup and I'm a happy camper.

Shant talk much about the papers because mainly, its over hah! And I can forsee myself talking nonstop about it come the next 2 months when May draws real close.
Lets talk muffins. Because these are long overdue(:

This was originally a blueberry muffin recipe but I adapted it and made it apples. Because as much as I do love blueberries theyre expensive and relatively not in season and hard to find now): Besides I'd rather eat them fresh with vanilla iccream than burst them in muffins. Ohwell): Apples it is. But they did turn out pretty yum(;

Browned butter apple crumble muffins
(makes 12)

Ingredients:

100g butter
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Apple filling preparation:
2 apples (I used 1 red 1 green) chopped into 1 inch by 1 inch pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar

For the topping:
50g butter
1/2 all purpose flour
3 1/2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F or 185degC. Line muffin trays with liners

Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. Keep eye on the butter, melt and cook down the butter until a little brown bits appear in the pan. The crackling will subside and the butter will begin to brown pretty quickly from there. Keep a close eye on the butter and remove from heat.

Whisk milk, egg and vanilla till combined. Add browned butter and stir to combine

Whisk together flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add milk and butter mixture all at once and stir gently to combine.

Combine the chopped and diced apple pieces with the sugar and the cinnamon. Toss well

Add apple to the flour mixture and fold in gently.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and spread evenly.

To make the topping combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with fingertips until crumbly, Sprinkle over batter in the muffin tins

Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes
Cool on rack for 15 minutes then remove from rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Eat with vanilla icecream for even yummier results(:

Munch.

Munch. Munch

Apple crisp to save the day, sort of

2010-02-24T18:19:00.002+08:00

I really should not be in the kitchen.
Really really.

I should be up and about, nose deep in books, prepping for the upcoming week that's about to go down. Its crazy this feeling, one moment I feel like I am king of my own mountain, I can do anything, and the next I think I am going to go on a mini panic attack, I can't do anything and I am going to crash and burn. And the best part, its not even the real exam. There's a reason its called the preliminaries.

Maybe they want us to get like this, this crazy, or maybe its just me. Thinking its okay to skip a few classes here and there, and it really is. To enter university and not skip a single class, that's just going to go down as 'not a proper university experience'

But that is not the point now, the point is I have papers to sit for on monday, tuesday, thursday and saturday. Yes saturday and I'm scared. Like 'first day of school' scared. I know that it doesnt count, but I hate being unprepared, going in uncertain, stepping into the deep end and not knowing how to swim. I could run, but I'm not going to.

I will get through this. And I will be so ready come May. And after that I will have the most, (okay, I will settle for second best) if not second most awesome summer ever. But I'm still figuring a way to top last summer's adventure of a lifetime.
Now's not the time to think about it. Now is about coffee, the lack of internet connection, which will be a good thing, figuring out weird numbers, and figures and signs, and phrasing essays and getting fingers not to freeze up and hurt from writing too much and too hard. And sleeping right.

Hence these apple related foods are very out of place here, but they do provide a kind of comfort only breakfast foods can. Add in a scoop of vanilla icecream and maybe the day won't be as bad as I think it will be.
I need to pack my table (again) and my room following that. Somehow I transform into this semi-ocd person when I'm facing some sort of deadline related trauma, should I say, and everything has to be perfect, clean and well, perfect. And I really cannot get anything done in my room, this is absolutely tragic.
This week will be over soon. It just has to be.
Or else, I wont be able to enjoy the coming weekend, or the next week, and I really really want to. So help me.

Meanwhile, have some breakfast, or dessert.
And I'll be back, soon.

Apple crisp
recipe from Ann of Fidget via Joythebaker

(Bake in an 8×8 baking dish or double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 dish)
*I halved the recipe and got enough for 3 servings

Filling:

5 to 6 medium-size apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices. (About 7.5 cups)
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1.5 tsp cinnamon

Topping:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, well-softened
2/3 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
1/3 cup quick oats

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease an 8×8 baking pan with butter.

Place a layer of apple slices in the bottom of the pan and dust with sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Continue layering apples and dusting with cinnamon/sugar until done.

Toss the apple mixture until evenly coated in cinnamon sugar.

The apples should be just about to the top of the pan (they will cook down).

For the topping, place the flour, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon and oats in a large bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon.

Work the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until evenly distributed.

Take one full handful of the topping and toss it into the sugared apple mixture.

Spread the rest of the topping evenly over the apples. (I usually end up with a dough-like topping that I just lay on top of the apples).

Bake the crisp in the dish on a baking sheet on the center oven rack until the topping is crunchy and the apples are bubbling, 55-60 minutes.

Serve hot; it’s excellent with vanilla ice cream.

Vanilla rice pudding for some respite

2010-02-21T22:42:00.004+08:00

Know those moments in life where you just need to be alone, not talking, not thinking. Momentary respite. Well, sometimes those need to drag on just a little longer. Me time, I believe its called. There are also periods in the year, where these little spots of needing me-time seem to pop up more often than not. And that period is impending, I just know.

Then again, some days you just want to disappear into the world. To be alone in a crowded room. It's scary, but also draws out the inquisitive nature to know how it feels. Being invisible. Will people miss you? Will they call? Or will life just sweep over you like the next wave and the previously left footprints, evened out.

People are funny beings. At least I know I am one. And not in the hilarious way, in the 'I know what I want but yet I'm totally clueless at the same time' way. Funnily clueless I should say.
Do I make sense?
I want people to call
I don't want them to.
I want people to miss me
I don't want them to remember.

When the phone rings, there is this internal struggle, pick up? Leave it be. Contemplating takes as though a lifetime, you stare at the rapid blinking lights till there blink themselves out and it phone goes still. 'I should have answered'
You feel guilty, I will pick it the next time it rings. And you don't, even though it goes off, again.
Before you know it, it has been 5 rounds of staring at blinking lights.
It finally ends, then you get texts.

Easy: Reply the texts after 5 hours with some response indicating you're still alive, thankfully.
Hard: Telling the truth

Yet above all, after all, I still don't know what I want.

Hopefully a little comfort food, will temporarily push these little muddlyfuddly things out of my mind and I will concentrate on little things, but important things, like not turning rice to gooey porridge. Being totally paranoid that I will disgrace my Asian ethnicity by not being able to cook rice successfully, plumping raisins and slowly cooking milk down, very patiently, to the right creamy texture.
And thereafter, I will sit on my favourite spot on the bed, propped up by two pillows, feet curled up, and watch the latest episodes of Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother 6 and eat chilled rice pudding.
Although it is the first time I've eaten rice pudding ever, the smell and taste felt comforting, friendly and right. And I concurred that even if I did not get anything right today, at least I did get this.
That itself, is enough to bring me to a new dawn.

I love what I do.

Vanilla rice pudding
from The Gourmet Cookbook
(serves 4 to 6)

2 cups water
1cup long grain rice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split open (I used 1+1/4 tbsp vanilla extract)
1 cup raisins

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Stir in lemon zest, salt and long grain rice and return to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer the rice, covered, until all of the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Once rice is cooked, place it in a bowl and rise out pan. Add 4 cups of milk, sugar and vanilla bean to the pan. Bring to a low boil, stirring often so the milk doesn’t burn. Add the cooked rice and raisins to the hot milk. Stir often, until the milk cooks down and the rice is creamy, about 20 minutes. Place in a large bowl or serving dishes to cool. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Oatmeal chocolate chip pancakes

2010-02-20T22:54:00.002+08:00

You would think I'm going a little crazy when I spend time staying up till like 3am in the morning thinking of ways to motivate myself to wake up in the morning, not the usual snoozing the alarm till 11am and reluctantly rolling out of bed because the sun is too hot kind of waking up.

hot, sticky, icky and unmotivated. ew

I really want the open your eyes and thank God its a new day kind of morning. The kind where you feel and know for sure it's going to be a good day and everything is going to be just fine. And I go to bed feeling somewhat hopeful and positive the latter will come true but the former is always realised.

Then again staying up to think of ways how to make myself rise and shine early isn't probably the best way to do things, yeayea the best way is to just sleep at 11pm and rise and shine will come naturally
I am not most people and I cannot do it. I just can't so I need motivation. And that is to have food, that is only deemed acceptable at breakfast, like pancakes. Although I can probably out-argue myself on this one I am not going to.

Pancakes=Breakfast, for now.

And you will not believe the amount of time I spent contemplating between banana pancakes with chocolate chips and oatmeal raisin pancakes. Upon checking that I didnt have bananas ruled out the former. But being me, since I can't have the best of both, I shall have the best of both worlds in ONE. hah.
Oatmeal chocolate chip pancakes it is.

Plus i really have to get myself a bottle of maple syrup but I really really cannot walk 10 minutes in this crazydrought-like weather here. look at all the parched grass): so fruit it is.
Besides its healthier anyway(yes I console myself, let me be)

Weekend breakfast 1 : Lazybumness: 0

scratch to-do lists, eat some pancakes first(:

SCORE.

Oatmeal raisin drop cookies

2010-02-16T22:31:00.002+08:00

What can I say, I love the combination of oatmeal + raisin in anything. Anything except cooked rolled oats and raisins added in. Those are gross.

Cooked oats, like the kind you would eat for breakfast is icky.

So when making the previously mentioned oatmeal walnut cookie balls, rolling the cookies in oats left me with 1/2 a cup thereabouts of oats.

Throw or keep? Obviously the mother didnt fancy the former and suggested she made cooked oats for breakfast the next day.

Hello! EW!

So I would like to think I saved these oats from become breakfast, instead took the liberty of making my favourite cookies.

I love how my house has all the basic stuff that I need for baking cookies on a whim. And I love how the trusty oven hasnt let me down in the past 8 years! Quite amazing if you ask me.

This has got to be the fastest I've thrown together a cookie recipe. <30 class="media" id="fullSizedImage" style="WIDTH: 559px; HEIGHT: 381px" alt="oatmealraisin4.jpg picture by classifiedramblings" src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/classifiedramblings/oatmealraisin4.jpg?t=1266903867" galleryimg="no">

Ok, now let me talk a little about these cookies. I used the same recipe, but they're different.

Well, its my fault but they still turned out great, if not better than the normal ones that I always make. Its just that I know this recipe almost by heart and I just routinely took out all the ingredients I needed and went with the flow.

But, theres a but!

I forgot to add the egg!

(I normally read and re-read the recipe over and over again and am pretty good with following recipe instructions! but I think I was either day dreaming or sunk so deep into routine mixing that when I realised, it was too late, must be the pre-school blues rawr)

eggs! are essential in making the texture right and the batter creamier! and thanks to flour that has already been sifted in, my cookies are now going to turn out, eggless.

So I sifted in the flour and saw the silly brown egg sitting there. I even took it out beforehand and I knew it was in the ingredient list but remembered it a little too late, sigh!

But judging from the consistency of the dough I figured that the dough would still come together pretty nicely although it is a little stiffer than cookie doughs that I've put together.

Oh well! A little experimenting wont hurt right, anyway its a small batch plus I love anything oatmeal and raisin so its gonna be alright!(:

Turns out I kinda love this recipe that I accidentally created, not the usual chewy cookie that I usually get, more of the crispy kind you get with a cup of coffee at restaurants and cafes. And the fact that I made it mini sized, really made it look like it could go very nicely with a cup of hot coffee. Loves!

But I'm still gonna make some adjustments to this recipe though, like soaking the raisins beforehand in water or milk to make them fat and juicy:D Never done that before though, so I'm one step closer to finding that perfect oatmeal raisin cookie, I hope!

(how everything looks when its all over)

Yay for rolled oats and raisins(:

Oatmeal raisin drop cookies
(makes 30-40 mini cookies)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (100g)
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2-3/4 raisins (depending on your taste)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180deg c)

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins (& nuts if using them); mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

My CNY'10

2010-02-14T13:52:00.001+08:00

It's Chinese New Year, and I don't really think I need to know the exact date on the lunar calendar to be all ready for this celebration/occasion/festival. Yes the date changes every year without fail thanks to the 30 day lunar calendar but also without fail, right after the christmas decorations come down from shops, malls and homes, the bright red ones go up with immediate effect. Silent night and Joy to the world morph into cny songs that have been pretty much ingrained into us since.

Its kinda impossible to ignore.
Most years, I dont really like cny. All the visiting, continuous eating and watching bad tv, starting off with reunion dinner and ending with this big dinner on the second day. Two consecutive days of relative visiting all over the island, which otherwise would not happen any other day of the year. I know its tradition and part of customary actions that we visit and shake hands, wish them well, but the fact is I hardly know them, if at all. I might as well be shaking the hands of a stranger and wishing them happy new year.
I wonder how different it would be when we become adults, who would we visit?

But this year I had a chance to leave the country! Albeit only a 40min plane ride (half the time I take to get to school btw, ridiculous), it was still away from all the routined habits here and of course I'm in!
And it feels really really good to leave SG, even if it were for less than 40 hours.
Woke up way too early by any standards for a first day of a year. Landed in KL before 9am, had mc's breakfast (hah, its nt brunch, its breakfast ok!). Pretty awesome.
45min drive to PJ and it was the start of the non-stop eating. Grandma seems to take much delight in insisting that we're hungry even though I was still holding the sausage mc muffin in my hand, half eaten.

(Udang is prawn in malay, another so so so yummy snack, only in m'sia sigh, but grandma forced us to cart 2 bags home, nice)

Singapore has its traditions, but when we go up to malaysia, we have traditions too, sigh, we are indeed creatures of habit, either that or we're just slumped into familiarity and comfort with routine knowing it wont disappoint. I'm talking about food here(:
Going up to the same roti canai place, ordering the same thing, talking about the same things, griping about the same things.
Roti canai with egg and teh tarik. mmmm
I guess some things never do change.
Well I dont have any photos from M'sia for one because the mother's paranoid about malaysia being dangerous and we'll get mugged carrying a dslr around. Shouldve brought the digi cam. Thinking about it, despite visiting m'sia so so often, I dont have pictures of the trips, ever. Should really take some the next time.

(ahhhh!(:)

Following that was tv show after tv show on cable in the new home theatre room that the cousins got, complete with funky sofas and a 42inch. Life is good.
Plus for whoever who doesnt know, kl is pretty much a ghost town like you wouldnt believe during cny, cos everyone goes out of state (to penang, malacca, all the small towns) to visit parents and relatives. So everything is closed, literally everything, and the roads are all jam-free.
Upon which we pretty much watched tv, played dvds, and watched more tv the entire day. Peppered with small conversations throughout.
Dinner was a simple affair unlike the usual a-lot-of-fuss-and-too-much-food cny dinners.
Curry chicken with oyster saucs vegs. (:

(note to self, should probably 'steal' and keep some of these to make pistachio icecream!(:)

Grandma was also looking pretty good herself, so cute, she kinda thought chu yi was actually chu xi and how she hurriedly changed into new clothes upon realisation. Quite funny.
And from the amount of talking and encouragements to eat more, I think she was feeling pretty happy that day too.

Now if only there were her arrowhead chips and seaweed chips to eat. omg those are like my ultimate favourite cny snacks. Wins pineapple tarts, hae bee hiam, bak kwa, or melting moments anytime, hands down. I can like go through half a bottle of that at a go. And the worse thing is its so light that you dont think you've eaten that much of it and before you know it you're staring at half an empty bottle of chips. Very Bad.

And I like how cute shes being by trying to impart her recipes to me but not realising she doesnt use any units of formal measurements. Old people are funny that way(:
(ok this is obviously not my photo, got it off google but since I dont want to launch into describing my favourite cny snack and feeling sad all over again cos I have no way of getting these awesome babies any time soon) but here, arrowhead chips. Just like potato chips, but totally different, and better.

Ah yes, movies movies and more movies. Watched a grand total of 6 movies in <40hours. I think part of it was mum and her brother trying to relive their childhood (because during new years, they would go to the theatre and watch as many movies as they could in a day, because they didnt have a tv set at home). But I do love movies, and good ones at that, so I'm really not complaining. Plus with their extensive collection of dvds, we could watch all the good ones.
Awesomeness.

Total damage: CJ7, Up!, Pride and prejudice, stranger than fiction, sherlock holmes, and taken
movies ftw(:

The second day involved brunch at one of the usual coffee shops that had basically everything yumz and hawker food-ish that I love. Not exactly the cleanest of places haha but they always say, the ickiest places gives the yummiest food. I agree.
And for 3 people,we had chee cheong fun, yong taufoo, penang laksa (which I cant eat but its ok!), wanton mee, popiah! and of course, teh tarik. omg So Full! if I had a second stomach, I would have gone for dim sum but too bad):
Back home to continue with the tv mooching. Totally never visit any of the malls and spent 90% of the time at home but it was all gd. No technology, no internet, no facebook, no phones. Tiny, awesome respite.

Crunched down half a bottle of arrowhead chips between mum and myself. And it was bad, but so good at the same time. sigh.
Having cny snacks <1m away from you and arms reach while whiling time away in front of the tv is so not a good thing.
6pm came too fast and retreat was over.
It was another 45min ride to klia and back home, by which we would all concur that we were returning back to the best airport in the world - somehow whenever I leave the country I always return with the same conclusion. whether its msia or usa, the conclusions dont differ. Is it the familarity and comfort of repetition or just that I'm missing home but don't really care to admit sometimes.

Well, I dont really know myself(;

Oatmeal walnut cookie balls

2010-02-13T00:32:00.002+08:00

mmm tastes like butter cookies, oh wait, not butter cookies, more like butter cookies with nuts, Actually you know what, tastes almost like cereal prawns, especially of the crunchy crispy bits of cereal often strewned abundantly over the prawns or squid or whatever seafood there is.
Wait, how can the taste of butter cookies evolveto cereal prawns within the span of 4-5 chews.
dont ask me, ask the cookies. dont look at me, its not my fault! its theirs!
*conveniently shifts all blame to the cookie for being difficult.

Aha cny brings about the mother going on a massive cookie spree. much like me during christmas time and aftermajor exams. I guess the apple doesnt fall that far from the tree in relation to this(; Its a good thing though, so no complains here. Cookies, big or small are pretty much good friends with mix-ins of any sort, most commonly being chocolate chips but that in itself brings about numerous variety for those who care to look.
dark, white, milk, semi-sweet,bittersweet, mint chocolate. ah chocolate.
BUT, onto that another day.

That said, we mustn't forget nuts. Although here in singapore the most commonly found and well, readily available nut (in non exorbitant prices) are almonds.
A trip to redman or phoonhuat can bring you face to face with an entire shelf or shelves of almonds.
Almonds done in every way possible. chopped, diced, silvered, whole, blanched, unblanched, powdered (ooh almond powder = macarons!), sliced, salted, unsalted. You get the idea. And its relatively affordable as well. Second to that is probably walnuts. Peanuts dont count here, those are for teasing your perfectly manicured fingernails with during cny or coupled with beer and pizza on a saturday night. or in my parents case, snacks to go with red wine..hmm no judging here.

But we're not here to talk about peanuts or almonds, its walnuts! hello! About $16/kg give or take. Sigh no farmers markets here to go to for pecans, macademia!, walnuts, brazil nuts and all other forms of nutty delights. Hence the obvious lack of nuts in my food endavours.but well, since these cookies have nuts as a key ingredient and I didnt have to fund these myself, hah walnuts it is!
200g of walnuts can make a whole lot of very-walnutty cookies. and very awesome i might add. so thats more than half a kg of walnuts for me to play around with in the near future. double yay.

The chopping up of the nuts could well be done by a food processor - yet again. But chopping them by hand (something not done by me) is definitely the easier way to quality control the size of the nut chunks. so it is recommended, by me(: Besides, food processing does ruin the fun, whizzing everything up into a food blur, plus the washing! haha.

Walnuts + oatmeal + cookie. i think this is my new favourite cny cookie. Still cant hold a candle, though, to my favourite cny snack(s) which grandma has perfected through years and years of making them. More on that sometime in the next post. I think this is what a cross between cereal prawns and a butter cookie would taste like.

Ah chinese new year, I really dont know whether to love or hate you.

Cornflake crunchies

2010-02-12T00:18:00.004+08:00

My favourite way of eating cornflakes aren’t in a bowl of milk nor are they straight out of the package, they’re in these little balls of crunchies. Cereal in anything is always, always good, and any kind of cereal too I must add. I love cereal.

Honey stars, captain crunch, honey bunches, koko krunch!, weet bix (for the healthy days), REESES PUFFS (although we don’t have them hereL) and I could go on forever but you get the point. But I have to say the very first cereal I’ve ever eaten was in day-care during pre-schooling years. Plain old cornflakes in those tiny boxes that comes in packs of 6 that I would bug mum to buy for me to bring to school to eat. Because in those days, small boxes of cereal were cool like that. Then other kinds of cereal started to evolve, and now we have pretty much aisles of cereal in supermarkets.

Awesomeness.

But these days I don’t really have the luxury of sitting down in the morning, read the papers or something or try to wake up properly and eat a bowl or cereal with cold milk. Yep, because I’m not a morning person and I’M ALWAYS LATE IN THE MORNINGS. Bah.

Don’t really know how I did it all through primary , secondary and jc days but now its like almost impossible for me to get to an 0830 class on time. Yes I know its terrible but I think I can live with that for now and I’m thankful the academic year is almost over for me. Right, less school talk, more about these crunchy things.

Part two of the Chinese new year snacks are golden, crunchy and quite very yummy. And I really do believe sometimes, the simplest recipes are the most delicious. Cereal in a cookie or more specifically, cornflakes in a cookie, this could be the substitute for on-the-go cereal breakfast, good for lets see, all of...................one day. Only during CNY calories don’t count. Sigh!

We started off in the late morning, (because I can’t get up early and very well don’t want to), creaming, folding, mixing, crushing, preheating. All adjectives which I love quite a lot(: its seldom that we ever need to use the very old tool of the mortar and pestle but for this, it seemed pretty handy. Getting out the food processor for this is just a little much work. Plus how easy are cornflakes to crush! And I didn’t want to over crush them otherwise they just wouldn’t ‘stick’ right on the cookies later.

These are as simple as melting moments really, except these rise a little in the oven when cooked because of the baking powder so a little space on the trays is necessary.

So after about 2 hours of balling cookie dough, rolling them in crushed cornflakes and alternating trays to go into the oven, and a washing up a few huge mixing bowls and many spoons and a spatula, the cookies were all decked out for CNY. Two down one more to go! Hello my golden army of cookies! Approximately 250 cookies can constitute an army you think? Just too bad this army’s gonna get chewed up within the week by bored and bingey people during the customary visiting and exchanging of new year related foodstuffs between relatives and friends.

CORNFLAKE CRUNCHIES
(makes approx 240 small cookies or 7 bottles )

Ingredients

- 2 blocks butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs (60g)
- 4 cups self raising flour
- ¾ box of cornflakes (or as much needed for rolling)
*use 1 tsp baking powder for every cup of plain flour if self-raising flour not available

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy
2. Beat in eggs
3. Sift in dry ingredients and mix well
4. Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture in lightly crushed cornflakes
5. Preheat oven to 350 degF or 180degC
6. Place on greased cookie sheets and bake cookies for 12-15 minutes
7. Let cool completely before packing into bottles

EAT.

Melting moments

2010-02-10T22:39:00.002+08:00

We all live for moments that melt our hearts and cloud our vision (in a good way) and make us question our senses.
Those come once in a blue moon, but these right here, melt in your mouth, every single time(:

My special love for things to do with the oven ultimately started with this tiny little ball of butter and sugar. And the many stories behind this little ball, is what makes out a good part of my childhood. Some things in between the growing years of primary school just get lost amidst growing up but other things like this, never gets erased. Every year, whenever Chinese New Year rolls around, whenever it was (because as a kid, I never understood why CNY falls on different days every year until maybe about upper primary I would think), blocks of butter, bags of sugar will always find its way into our fridge and mum would go on these baking sprees, making bottles and bottles of new year goodies. And this is always the first of the many batches to come.

She would roll these tiny balls of all equal size very meticulously and lay them out on baking trays and every 20 minutes the house would be filled with the buttery aroma and people would try to steal the tiny things off the hot trays for ‘tasting’ purposes. I used to always be asked to ‘stand far away, hot tray coming through’ or ‘don’t touch the tray, VERY hot!’ now I get to roll the balls of dough, bury them in sugar, press the cherries on top and even take the tray out of the 180 degree Celsius oven. Does this mean I’ve grown up? I think so!(:

This cookie has been through many many alterations and trial and errors. It used to be x amount of flour to butter and Y amount of vanilla extract and Z amount of baking time at Q temperature. But over the many new years, the recipe has been seemingly perfected to create the consistency of this cookie that literally, melts in your mouth, hence the name. And after eating one, it’s so small that you just want to put another and another and another into your mouth. And after 2 hours of American Idol on tv, cookie damage: half a bottle (or possibly more if you don’t realise and gape in horror somewhere about the third commercial break).
If I had to link a cookie back to my kiddy days, this would be it, along with the memories it brings. And the fact that I would always roll cookies of uneven (ball) sizes and mum being a mum would casually sneak the one I rolled (uneven sized) and re-roll it again and place in the army of other cookies that can’t really be differentiated from. There-in not hurting my feelings of my cookies being re-rolled. Mothers are pretty great that way, aren’t they.

And I guess this would be one of those recipes people (and now I) would call, my mother’s recipes.

Bottled and ready to go!
ps: the recipe makes 6 of these bottles

Melting moments
(makes about 6 bottles of cookies or about 480, diameter 2cm cookies)

Ingredients:

- 2 blocks of butter at room temperature (500g or 4 sticks)
- 24 oz AP Flour (12 oz for every 2 sticks of butter)
- 2 tbsp vanilla essence/extract (1 tbsp for every 2 sticks of butter)
- Diced preserved cherries (for garnish)
- Castor sugar for rolling

Directions:

1. Cream butter till pale, light and fluffy
2. Add in vanilla essence and mix till incorporated
3. Sift in flour and fold in flour 1/3 at a time so as to incorporate flour evenly
4. Continue till all the flour is folded in
5. Pinch a small amount of dough (the size you want your cookie, these won’t rise in the oven) and roll into a ball
6. Place a single diced preserved cherry on the top for garnish (be sure to press it in halfway or it might drop off
7. Place in preheated oven of 170degC or 340degF for 17-20min or until bottom is slightly browned. The top will remain relatively pale. Cut open a cookie to see if its baked through and remove from oven.
8. Leave to semi-cool before rolling in castor sugar to coat cookies
9. Let cool completely after that before packing

When you find lemons in your fridge, make lemon cupcakes!

2010-02-09T21:32:00.002+08:00

Nobody in my family particularly uses lemons in any cooking dish or drink for that matter. Apart from me having this tiny thing for lemons which comes in waves, my family just don’t really have much affinity with sour things and what nots. But somehow we always seem to have lemons in the veggie compartment. So whenever I see them (lemons) sitting in the fridge, being tossed around in the midst of people looking for other more sought after fruit or vegetable, and (literally) being left on the shelf, I kinda feel a little sad for them. Not fulfilling its fullest lemony, zesty potential.

Finally one day when we find lone lemons, pale, shrivelled, and squashed under the more popular oranges and apples and even the odd grapefruit, we just throw the lemon out.

So when I eyed five lemons in the veggie compartment, I decided to keep tabs on them, one day passed, two days, then five, lemons still untouched! Okay that’s it, its time lemons came out to play. Plus I was supposed to make another birthday order as a present midweek but really didn’t have the time, so maybe this would do. (Anyway, it ended up being breakfast some days and in the brother’s and cousins stomachs)

After the past cupcake success recently, was pretty psyched to try out new piping tips and cupcake flavours, so lemon cupcakes it is! Initially wanted to go with lemon cream cheese frosting but decided it was time I learnt how to make successful, non-droopy, good old buttercream frosting. Lemon flavoured of course.

I don’t love lemon as a fruit but I do love it so in all other forms, juice, cookies, cakes, tarts, frosting! (aw, who doesn’t love frosting!). But one thing I really don’t like about recipes with lemon is that it almost always calls for its zest. Lemon juice AND zest. Yep I get it that it doesn’t waste the lemon but zesting! is a rather scary thing for me.

I used to use this tiny palm size grater that had teeth (grate) down the middle and I get that lemons don’t really like to get zested cos they squirm in your hand and try to squirt juice all over you while trying to ooze out that 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice that the recipe calls for.

So you see, tiny palm grater + squirmy lemon doesn’t exactly equate a nice zesting experience and it also almost always end in me getting a certain part of my finger zested. And always on the left side of my right index finger nail. Always. The. Same. Spot. Granted that I don’t have a very sharp zester, and maybe my thick skin, eep! I don’t draw blood but its like a paper cut, icky and annoying.

Sigh, lemon zest, I don’t really like you much!

Oh and getting a bigger zester like I did didn’t help much either, bigger zester = more places to zest your hand! yikes.

But I have to say the rest of the recipe came together pretty easily and the cupcakes turned out just perfect! Just the right consistency, not too sour, sweet, and perfectly cupcake-ey(: And as for the frosting, it was just okay-ish. Not the firmest of frostings to pipe, nor could it last as long as cream cheese ones. But still pretty darn awesome if you ask me in terms of taste.

Last but definitely not least, garnish, I read the recipe for the last time and Lemon Zest! Again! Of course I should have anticipated that initially but I was too excited in getting the zest into the cupcake mix that I forgot to leave to garnish. Not going to ruin another lemon and make it look ugly so I decided to use yellow gummy bears. They looked rather happy atop lemon cupcakes, you think?(:

ps: trust mothers to come up with solutions to all their children’s problems. I might’ve found the solution to my zesting pains.

Me: I don’t like zesting lemons! I always nick my finger!
Mum: Oh just stick a fork way into the lemon and zest it, no contact of fingers to zester.
Me: ohhh. Ahhhhh. *picks up fork and stabs lemon. Zest you sour little thing, zest.

And for now, I’m going to have my cupcake and eat it too(:

Lemon Cupcakes Ingredients
(recipe from www.chocolateandwhine.com)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt *
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (1 cup whole milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice= 1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons lemon extract (I used lemon juice)

*can just use normal salt but because I used salted butter, I just omit the salt needed.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in one bowl. In another, combine the buttermilk and lemon extract. Set aside.

3. Combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest in large mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and much lighter in color. (Beat well, at least 5-10 minutes.)

4. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate the first egg before adding the second.

5. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk in the following order: add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, 1/2 of the wet, another third of the dry, the rest of the wet, and the rest of the dry.

6. Mix until just combined and finish with a spatula. (If you overmix after the dry ingredients are added, the cupcakes will not rise properly and the texture will be chewy and dense.)

7. Bake in the top third of the oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.Let cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
6 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

1. Beat butter until creamy.

2. Add 3 cups of the sugar and the rest of the ingredients. Beat at high speed for 5 minutes.

3. Gradually add the rest of the sugar, adding 1 cup at a time and beating for 5 minutes after each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, continue beating at high speed till the mixture is extremely pale, light, and very fluffy. Use immediately or cover tightly and refrigerate.

Oreo cookie cookies

2010-02-07T23:18:00.000+08:00

I bought a cookie jar

I’ve always wanted to own an old school, cookie monster-like cookie jar. Today I went out and got it. Limited myself to only buy two things at Ikea, if not, I probably would’ve walked out with armfuls of accessories. Bad.

I got the cookie jar, and cookie cutters. And made myself very happy.
Now, who likes an empty cookie jar, not me, and especially not cookie monster. So I baked cookies (yep, just for the cookie jar). It’s been sometime since I had cookies around in the house anyway, although they tend not to last very long sitting around.

The usual chocolate chip cookie, oatmeal raisin (although I love these very much!) wasn’t exactly calling out to me, I needed to try something different but was sure to guarantee awesome results. So I turned to oreos. How to mess up a cookie that contains another cookie right?(: Oreo cookie cookies, the name alone kinda already sounds yum.

Now this cookie isn’t easy to make, for me. But..there’s always a but, the hard part wasn’t in executing the recipe, following the steps or getting the dough to come together. The hard part was tearing the bright blue packets, laying out the oreos in all their black and white glory and not eating them before they go into the cookie.

But I’m very proud to say that I didn’t munch on a single one before it got out of the oven. After they come out, well that’s a whole different story...

Well, I got one pretty sweet looking batch of oreo cookie cookies (heh I like how the name sounds) from this recipe and that’s a great thing. But the not so great thing is that before I got to put my cookies-made-just-for-the-cookie-jar, INTO the cookie jar, they were all swiped. Ended up giving a good part of the batch to my very nice next door neighbour who came over for abit to deliver some CNY goodies (which include her crazy delicious pineapple tarts amongst some other goodies). Oreo cookies in exchange for pineapple tarts, okay! Although mum will probably make some of her own cny specialities later in the week to do a proper swap.

SO! The cookie jar still remains empty after all that. Crap.
But I promise, it will be filled! Cookie jars need cookies. I don’t, but the jar does. At least that’s what I tell myself anyway(;

Oreo cookie cookies
Recipe - Makes 20 - 30 cookies*
Adapted from AllRecipes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup salted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
20 oreos, crushed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.

Add in the crushed oreos. Beat on low speed for just a few seconds to break up the oreos in the dough.

Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

* I halved the entire recipe and got about 15, 2 inch cookies

ps: twist, lick, dunk still works for this recipe(;
I'll post a photo when the jar is filled, empty jars just dont like to be shown-off):

Strawberry shortbread & a departure

2010-02-07T23:06:00.001+08:00

Seems to me I’ve been going to the airport pretty often. With people going for exchange, going off to study, sending them off at the airport seemed like the natural thing to do. Going to the airport to study doesn’t really count, technically but it sure feels like I’ve been visiting the airport a lot these days.

Robyn’s flying (or by this time, flown) to Brisbane to study and Basic Life is -1 member): Had sort of farewell lunch on Sunday at carl’s jnr @ ecp and hanging out with basic life is always and will always be fun. Plenty of laughs, pokes and combining ‘forces’ to disturb people, ahh cell lunch is seldom a boring affair.

Initially the carls junior plan was supposed to be a ecp picnic but it kinda is a blessing that there wasnt any picnic after all. The sun was impossibly hot and I think we would all turn rosy pink if the picnic plan went ahead. Heat aside, there were also logistics like food to handle and Sunday is typically about chilling and not running around in the morning (before 0830 service) trying to assemble sandwiches. Not a very good idea.

But since I’d already pre-frozen the shortbread dough to make cut out cookies for the picnic, I decided that they shall not go to waste or sit for another week in the freezer, I decided to use the cute festive cutters that I got from trusty Ikea (they ran out of stock during christmas luh!): so I had to wait till now to get them). And I didnt even know they had a snail cutter amongst all the christmas animals (like moose, squirrel etc). Who even makes snail cutters! But haha I know robyn really dislikes 2 things snails and chocolates. So I decided to make her last few snacks in sg a little more, uh, fun(: I made snail cut-out strawberry shortbread cookies.

Snail cutters aren’t all that easy to use, actually. And to find the right consistency of dough to work with cookie cutters is still work in progress for me. When I was cutting the dough, I had to put them back into the freezer about 23193819264173812 times to make the dough cold and hard enough to use cutters on. And the snail horns kept getting left in the cutter, effectively be-heading the shortbread snails): Plus to make 1 snail I had to do 1 base and 1 cut out, so that meant 2 snail cuts for 1 cookie. Rawrh. So actually I gave up after making 4, 2 sided snails. Cut the rest into hearts which were so much easier, and faster too. But its a good experience working with cookie cutters.

I seem to buy cutters a lot just cos they’re too cute to pass up in the store, but never seem to have the occasion to use it. I shall aim to find the ultimate sugar cookie/shortbread recipe to press cut-out cookies from. And maybe learn to work with royal icing soon. So many things I seem to not know, hmpf.

Anyhow, the shortbread cookies turned out pretty yummy and pretty looking too with the strawberry jam (or whatever jam you prefer actually) in the middle.
Bye robyn, have fun down under! See you in 4 months, no more snails next time, promise!(:

Not as pretty lighting as natural light but ohwell! these are the smalled cut-out hearts I was talking about. Sandwich jam in between and one-bite! its gone(:

Shortbreads with Strawberry
recipe from Joyofbaking
(I halved the recipe and got about 4 snails and 6-7 hearts + the smaller cut out hearts)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 cup strawberry preserves (jam)

In a bowl cream butter with a mixer for about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat until smooth for about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Gently fold in flour until incorporated. Flatten into a disk, wrap with cling wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degreesF or 180 degreesC. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch heart shaped cookie cutter cut out the cookies.

Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Using a smaller cutter (3/4-1 inch) cut out the centers of half of the cookies.

Place the unbaked cookies on the sheet in the refridgerator for about 15 minutes. This will firm up the dough so the cookies can maintain the shape when baked.

Bake for 10 mins or until the cookies are lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

Heat preserves in microwave for 15 seconds. Dust the cut-out cookies with confectioner sugar. Spread about 1/4 tsp of jam on the bottom surface of the full cookie.

Place cut-out cookie on top of and gently sandwich together. With a spoon fill the cut out with a little more jam. Yum!

Red velvet cupcakes & a celebration

2010-02-06T16:02:00.005+08:00

This is the year, the year we all go from the awkward teen years to the in-between twenty year olds and now being grand ol' adults at 21. Okay, not very old actually seeing that with each passing year the numbers will only keep creeping upwards.
The year also brings about parties, get-togethers and more parties. Parties of different themes, settings and ambience. And the fact that all these parties bring people together. Friends of friends, old friends, new friends, aquaintances that now become friends. Six degrees of separation indeed especially within our tiny island. Someone is bound to know somebody else who knows you. Good or bad thing, well I dont know, but at birthday parties I know one thing for sure, the birthday boy/girl, Girl in this case is the happiest of 'em all(:

My dear friend of 6 years and counting now, princess sally, turns 21 and ever so aptly, the theme for the day was Pink&Bling. And she was definitely the princess of the day, complete with the tiara, sash and ladies in waiting(;
It was fun to see an entire room filled with pink(s), from baby pink to princess pink to hot pink to pink and glittery.
From the start I knew I wanted to bake her pink cupcakes. Seeing that my dress was definitely bling but definitely not pink. To be exact it was dark blue and I tragically don't own anything pink. How that is possible I still don't quite know, and hot pink nails wasn't going to cut it on the pink scale I guessed.

So I hoped the pink&bling cupcakes would make up for it nicely. Funny how the cupcakes were more dressed to the theme than I was but its okay! I had a great time there and best of all my bestie is 21! and oh so very happy.

Pink cupcakes means pink icing but that doesnt particularly seem very appetizing and strawberry frosting wont exactly hold well for long hours of not being in the fridge. So pink cream cheese it was, with my new found favourite red velvet cake. Plus, since the theme was bling, I get a chance to use the silver dragees (the small silver ball thingies used to decorate) and are fully edible by the way. The taste, well, its just really hard and has no particular taste, I guess it serves only its decorating purpose.

Haha I found this while on facebook saving the above pic. Awesome times we had:D
ps: this, above is how you know you will end up with a pink party, even as of 2008(:
Happy 21st princess sally! , here's to many more years of friendship to come:D

Although I had to wake up early on sleep-in saturday, it was well worth it and I had quite a bit of fun myself making redvelvet, dyeing white cream cheese pink and frosting rose-tip frosting, and dressing silver dragees. And the cream cheese frosting recipe is indeed one of the better ones that I've used, nice, firm and stiff.

Had another of my dear friends hueyy! come over to take pretty photos of the cupcakes! All the shots taken by her anyway, except the last one which I took with the phone where I realised I didnt have a shot of the finished product hence the pinkish lighting at the party. The film ones were pretty awesome(: Like this,

All in all, it was a great day. cupcakes, friends, playing with film, birthdayparty, great company. I'm indeed very blessed.
And here's a cupcake for you!(:

My Favorite Red Velvet Cupcakes from Joythebaker
recipe from Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
makes one dozen cupcakes, double recipe to make 2 9-inch layer cakes

4 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tablespoons red food coloring (I using a dash less)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar (I subbed with lemon juice)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Turn mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl mix together cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter, mixing thoroughly until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar (lemon). Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.

Spoon batter into a paper lined cupcake baking pan (fill to 2/3 full) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.
Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then place them of a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting (for 2 dozen cupcakes) from milkandhoneycafe
adapted
from Hummingbird Bakery Recipe, as well as from lucyinaz

1/2 cup (1
stick) salted butter, room temp
5 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
8 oz Philly's Cream Cheese, cold

1. In a mixing bowl, beat butter,
confectioner's sugar, salt and vanilla until combined. At this point, the mix is
going to look really dry and crumbly, but be patient and it will come together,
about 4 minutes.

2. Add cream cheese and mix until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. DON'T
OVERBEAT. Frost as desired

Bagels for breakfast and homemade lox

2010-02-02T23:53:00.001+08:00

Hanging out in the kitchen with the mixer and spatula is especially common when certain seasons roll around, or birthdays, or gatherings, or celebrations, okaaay, I just give myself excuses to get to the flour. Hey that’s not a bad thing right? (: The baked goods usually get whopped up by family, friends and more friends, and then its totally gone. I wanted something that I could consume the batch in its entirety and not feel guilty for munching on half a block of butter. Or 1 stick if you will. The mental image of that is just not very pretty, Oh wait, throw in about ½ cup of sugar and some flour and more mix-ins like chocolate chips and nuts.

And I don’t want to look at the bright and all-inviting starbucks pastry display and go aww! I really want the bagel but wait, aren’t bagels unhealthy? +cream cheese (which is totally divine with bagels by the way). Plus with the fortune I already surrender to the starbucks coffee company but is money well worth it and well spent, I don’t think I will be having any of those all-inviting looking bagels, or cheesecakes for that matter):

Then I visit my favourite baking sites and find out what actually goes into bagels. Hey-o its not that bad actually! Homemade ones that is. But it’s weird though comparing bagel recipes from different sites. (This is the problem when you browse or have feeds to too many yummy food sites) I found some recipes that were so simple! And some others that took 2-3 pages, with even more complicated steps! How? But with regards to the healthy or not thing, I think they’re pretty ok considering that I didn’t use any butter for the entire recipe.

I wanted authentic yummy bagels but will those short recipes do? Or the longer the recipe the better? Finally settled on one with many process pictures and positive affirmation from the baker on her site that the recipe indeed yields chewy yummy bagels. Plus, the recipe was simple enough and looked pretty straight-forward. I can’t do with complicated bread recipes because this for one is the first time I’m making bread from scratch.

This is in retrospect of the entire bagel making process, and I was right about the ‘can’t-do-complicated’ thing because little did I know, the very enthusiastic, and impatient me, messed up the very first step. Waay to go.

The recipe is below but step #1 says to dissolve yeast and sugar in a small bowl with warm water. That’s right, I used hot water straight out of the kettle, and killed the yeast instantly. Steps thereafter were technically void because everyone knows to make bread you need yeast to make it rise.

This seemingly perfect stiff and firm dough would make any first time bread maker happy. But it was filled with dead yeast (ha that just sounds gross)
Usually I would just be rather upset with the un-rising dough and eventually dump it and not continue with my bagel quest, but since the recipe is too easy, I decided to try again and rise it did! I was checking on the ‘progress’ every 15min because the recipe instructs to leave in a moist and warm environment till the dough doubles in size. This is so reminiscent of secondary/JC biology where we learn about enzymes! And their need for warmth and moisture to have ideal reactions, but we shan’t go into that here aight(:

But I didn’t really have a warm (ie: 37-40deg Celsius) environment like that of the microwave. Preheating and maintaining the oven temperature would be too much trouble difficult to handle so I just popped the dough in the blazing noon sun and hope the heat does the trick and that 5degc is not going to make the difference(: This is one time I am thankful for the heat and humidity Singapore has to offer. Cover with damp cloth and watch the rising dough! Wheee

Followed the recipe pretty much to the T because like I said, I don’t have the experience like I do with cookies. And I have to say, great recipe! I really got 8 normal bagel sized (if its too big it wouldn’t be an authentic bagel right? Although it still tastes the same) mounds of golden bread that do indeed taste of the bagels I had in the USA.

I am so happy! Bagel success!(: And if you’ve never baked bread at home, please do ! It gives you the I-never-want-to-eat-another-commercially-made-bread feeling which is pretty awesome, or maybe it’s just the satisfaction of the whole process. But then again, quite few smells can beat the smell of freshly baked bread (bagels in this case) and I have bagels for the entire week so, yay:D
And I can eat the entire batch without feeling guilty! Double yay:D

But of course, if you slather it with cream cheese, it’s a different story(; Use a little cream cheese and some homemade lox (cured salmon) and it’s good to go!
I had doubts myself about making cured salmon because it IS technically – raw! And still raw! And the only raw salmon I trust to eat is sashimi (and that’s pretty much the highest grade salmon) But this recipe says raw salmon (+dill+salt+sugar+ground pepper) left overnight under weights can produce cured salmon similar tasting to smoked salmon.

I decided to go with it for the love of salmon and oh well what’s to lose? The most I would be throwing away icky failed fish the next day right?

Now I’m pretty glad I stuck to it because I got successful homemade lox (and a ton of it! from 1 salmon fillet for $5), cream cheese and fresh out of the oven bagels.

Citing reasons that bakers do need to try out their finished products, and I can’t possibly take a bite out of a bagel and put it back, I decided to have a bagel for dinner! All-day breakfasts work for me pretty well. Took the ugliest bagel (it’s instinctive, really to eat the ugliest one, because I always bake with the intention of giving away and anyone would like to give the pretty ones away so by default I always end up with the ugly ones), spread bit of cream cheese, on goes the lox, and ohmygosh, YUM!
(check out the ugly bagel above haha:D)

Ok can’t talk now, bagel time.

Basic Bagels
From Ultimate Bread
Makes 8 bagels

2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) warm water
3 1/2 cups (500 g) unbleached flour, plus extra for kneading
1 1/2 tsp salt

Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into 1/2 cup of the water in a small bowl. Leave for 5 minutes and then stir to dissolve. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Form a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast.

Pour half of the remaining water into the well. Mix in the flour and stir in the reserved water as needed, forming a firm and moist dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Gradually work in as much additional flour as possible while comfortably kneading to form a stiff and firm dough.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch down and let the dough rest 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball – cup between your hands and press the bottoms together between your palms. Press down to get rid of air bubbles and roll the dough between your palm and the work surface to form a smooth ball. Coat a finger in flour and press it through each ball to form a ring.

Work the rest of your fingers into the hole, stretching the ring and widening the hole to about 1/3 of the bagel’s diameter. Place the bagels on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 10 minutes and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. (220degC)

Bring a large pan of water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Use a perforated skimmer to lower the bagels into the water in batches of 2-3. Boil, uncovered, until they rise to the surface, about 1 minute. Turn them over once. Then remove from the pan, letting the water drain, and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, until golden, and cool on a wire rack.

Homemade Lox
Recipe adapted from 17andbaking

250g salmon fillet (make sure to remove bones)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup salt (use kosher if available)
1/2 tbsp dried dill
1 tsp finely ground black pepper

Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on a tray. Sprinkle half the cure over the wrap and place the fish in it. Sprinkle the top of the fish with the remaining cure, and wrap tightly. Compress heavily.(eg: I used a heavy tray filled with fruit which I took from the fridge) Refrigerate. Cures in about 24 hours, depending on the thickness of the fish. (1/2 inch thickness takes about 24 hours)

Drain the drip tray and rinse the fish. Pat dry with a paper towel and slice thinly on a bias. Keep refrigerated.

writing&baking

2010-02-02T23:11:00.000+08:00

Hiiiiii(:
Finally, after a ton of procrastinating and whining, I’ve finally done up a site for myself. I’ve no idea whether this is sustainable in the long run but I shall take it a day at a time. And hopefully share the love I have for floury goodness, chocolate chips, frosting, cupcakes, sugar, spice and all things nice, with everybody.

Okay one last thing to say: I’m really excited ! (:
And really happy too.
C’mon, be happy with me tooo! Oh and tell me what you think(: I promise you cookies, cupcakes, brownies and maybe even a pie or two.

Loves,
xin