If you were a faithful reader of my blog, you would have noticed by now that there has been a lack of food posts recently. Well, it isn't that I am not trying out new food and stuff but sometimes, I am simply too lazy to post it up. And I can't deny that I was away for some time over the Christmas, where to? To Los Angeles, in Torrance, will put up a post of my trip later on when I am feeling less lazy... *chuckles*
Beeeef rendang... I love it, the strong aroma and taste of this dish never fails to make me wolf down more rice than I usually would. And this time, I decided to make my own so I never have to go round to hunt for it when my craving hits. As one knows, the key to beef rendang lies in the paste, and with my limited knowledge of spices and its counterparts, I didn't have much choice but to use a pre-packed paste. But I added kerasik which is grated coconut that has been toasted till brown, it was really easy with the pre-made paste. All I had to do was toast the grated coconut till brown and its nutty aroma fills the kitchen, making me feel dreamy all of a sudden... hmmm. The beef (either shin or top side can be used) is lightly brown to seal in its juices before being added to the paste which has been lightly cooked in oil and garlic, kerasik and water is added at the same time. Leave it to simmer for an hour or two depending on the cut of the meat. When the beef is tender, remove the lit, use a bigger flame to reduce the liquid in the rendang, it is done when you can see a thin layer of oil on the top which by then, the gravy should have thickened and it is ready to be enjoyed.
Well, the end product is not bad but the beef was a little too tough for my liking, shall use the top side in the future and the taste was not strong enough. I will be sure to make it from scratch the next time!
It was only yesterday I was mumbling about the endless number of people who were tagged under 'engaged, getting married, pregnant...' and here I am today, receiving another piece of good news, from someone, but I shall not divulge her name here since it is her good news to share with others and I am sure she prefers to tell her friends personally than see me announce it on my blog although only a few close friends have access to this blog. Although things have happened between us, I would still like to think that she is a close friend, in fact, a buddy. I know it is shameless to claim that when everything is one-sided *lol*
But nevertheless, I am truly delighted and happy for her, I believe that she knows this person is perfect for her, that is why she gave him her thumbs up. Well, I think love has always played a major role in her life and marriage will too in the future, I daresay the groom is a lucky man to have found such a patient, loving and selfless woman to be his wife.
I wonder what happens after marriage, will everything go on hold, are children a must? How will life change? As I lay in bed, munching on my ginger snaps, thinking if I will ever find someone who can tolerate a woman munching on ginger snaps in bed and in the middle of the night! The very thought sent me right back to earth, it would take a special man to see pass that and still allows me to stay in bed... With that, I can't help but smile to myself.
I wonder if it's the festive season or it's just me. For these couple of months, I seemed to be constantly surrounded by women who are getting married, women who are planning for their weddings, men who are proposing, women who are pregnant and lotsa of children. I am... surrounded by happiness, not of my own but of others. Of course, I am awfully happy for friends who are getting married and delighted with news of pregnancies, but what do one do when the light of happiness seems to shine on everyone else except for yourself. Can you imagine standing on the stage, every other person has a white and bright spot light shining on them, and your very own spot light seems to be spoiled, denying you the beam that you so craved for, especially at this point of time, at a time of the year where happiness seems to be the only emotion that exist in the world.
I am happy, although not every hour of the day and every day of the year, but I am happy. The year of 2010 is nearing and looking back at the year of 2009, it was not a bad year. The year began on a good note with a trip to Phuket with my buddies - Daphne and Hui Ming, and followed by a snowboarding and backpacking trip with Hui Ming again. It was a great first quarter of the year with all the trips, second quarter came and went, third quarter was when I felt my buddy and I growing closer being emotionally there for one another, I felt closer to her than ever even though we weren't on the same island anymore. Fourth quarter was the worst, with all the emotions running haywire, and the break of friendships and all, but on a good note, I found others, I grew closer to my family, I became a tad closer to Daphne (I have not said it before but thank you for being there... =) ), a good friend of mine is pregnant, I am a little step closer to understanding 'Yee' (for now, he is 'Yee'), my mum is picking up a computer course (I am so proud of her!), I swallowed my pride and contacted a friend (not knowing if it was for the better or worse, our friendship really could go either way...we could go back to being best friends or just friends, I don't know... time will tell...) and my sis-in-law and brother bought me a set of mahjong, a black one with silver dust, just the way I like it!
Another 2 days to a new year, I hope that the year of 2009 will end on a good note and the year 2010 would bring much happiness, surprises and knowledge into the lives of everyone around me, and of course, most importantly, to me too!
With nothing much to do in Los Angeles and feeling a fever coming up, I decided to stay in and catch a movie on my laptop. After reading several synopsis of several movies, I decided to go with a Japanese movie titled - Koizora. At first, it was a little slow moving and I was starting to get bored, so I turned it off. But something was nagging at me, so I typed in the title name of the movie into the search bar and read the reviews, I was surprised by the raving reviews of the movie and decided to give it a second chance. Boy... was I glad that I did. As usual, being a crybaby, my tears were streaming non-stop.
Koizora also known as Sky of Love (恋空)is a love story between two teenagers - an innocent black-haired girl, Mika and a silver-haired punk, Hiro. It started out when Mika lost her cell phone and found it in the school library. The stranger who helped to retrieve her phone deleted all the phone numbers on her cell phone citing that if the these people are keen to find her, they would call her which I can't help but agree as I have the habit of clearing contacts stored in my phone too, keeping only those whom I know would call.
Unconsciously, Mika and the stranger contacts one another without fail every day, Mika grew curious of the identity of the caller at the other end. And it was decided that they would meet at the school swimming pool before the start of the new term. Upon seeing Hiro, Mika was surprised and reluctant to accept the fact that this silver-haired punk was the gentle caller whom she spoke to every single day but Hiro seems to win her over time after time in his own way and it was inevitable that they became one. Hiro's ex-girlfriend, Saki, was unable to accept the way things were going hired thugs which led to the rape of Mika. Hiro was distraught at his inability to protect his love and sought revenge. As gossips spread like wild fire in school, Hiro stood by Mika and carried her through.
One day, Mika surprised Hiro with the news of her pregnancy in a cafe, Hiro ran off without a word leaving Mika all alone. Mika waited but eventually decided to leave, as she was about to walk out of the cafe, a panting but happy Hiro rushed in with a gift congratulating and asking her to keep the baby. Rings were bought, they decided it was time to meet the parents, Hiro's parents were easy to persuade but Mika's were reluctant to accept Hiro. Hiro decided to quit school and find work which led to the appearance of Saki again, Saki demanded the reason behind Hiro quitting school from Mika which resulted in Mika falling off the stairs. The consequences of the fall came when Mika and Hiro were out on Christmas Eve, Mika doubled in pain and the baby was lost. Mika and Hiro decided that every Christmas Eve, they would visit the place where Hiro once planted the flowers intended for Mika, this place was to be the memory of their lost baby.
Out of the blue, Hiro decided to break up with Mika which left her puzzled, disappointed and hurt, promising herself never to fall in love again since separation would hurt so much. As time passes, Mika found love once again, a man who was gentle and loving, promising to always come back to her like the sea, unlike Hiro who was like the river, taking everything with him and always forward-moving. On the day of graduation, Mika went to the library, a place full of their memories and wrote on the chalkboard found inside:
"Were you ever happy?"
And her question was answered.
"I was once very happy."
But she had to say goodbye, she went to college and hoped that time will fade the memories and remembering it only once a year on Christmas Eve. On a new Christmas Eve, she found Hiro's friend coming in his stead and that was when she found out the Hiro had cancer, the reason behind him leaving her. Her boyfriend was reluctant to let her go but knew that her heart was never really his...
Mika found Hiro in the hospital and reunited, they were happy but it was not long-lasting as Hiro's condition deteriorated, Hiro cried as he wanted more time on earth, he still had so much to do. Hiro asked Mika what happens when a person dies, Mika believes that he/she goes to Heaven there after. Hiro tells Mika that he wants to be the sky so that he could watch over her all the time. Mika smiled and joked that he would be like a stalker. And there and then, she decided that whenever she looks at the sky, she would think of Hiro. On sunny days, it would mean that Hiro is smiling, on rainy days, Hiro is crying, during sunset, Hiro is embarrassed and when night comes, Hiro would be hugging her.
The day came when Mika went to collect the photos that Hiro asked her to develop when he went for his check-up. At the same moment, Hiro was facing death in the hospital, Hiro's sister informed Mika about the situation and she tried running as fast as her legs could carry her, but she fell and the photos covered the ground, she was in every single picture, Hiro had been taking her pictures all the time. She managed to talk to Hiro through a video call, begging him to be strong and to open his eyes; which he did and requested her to smile for him before he left peacefully but reluctantly.
Hiro left Mika a diary, a distraught Mika tried to kill herself by jumping over the bridge but was prevented by the sudden appearance of two white pigeons as she was about to climb over the bridge. The diary which dropped to the ground was flipped by the wind to a page showing a hand-drawn family portrait of three, as Mika picked up the diary and flipped through, every sentence started with her name, every detail was about her, Hiro watched over her till the very end, and now, he would be watching over her forever, from the sky...
It
never occur to me that one day I would be accuse of being discriminating, it
came from the mouth of a rude and unreasonable man. Knowing that this man has
such a character does not lighten the disappointment I felt after putting so
much effort to make sure things go right for him. How can one sprout such
irresponsible comments so easily, does he/she not know that such comments would
hurt the other party or maybe he/she does not have the decency to care? I must
admit that I was deeply hurt and certainly depressed for a while.
But
I was glad that my supervisor was an understanding and encouraging man, it
takes a lot for me to respect someone other than the usual 'respect' that
everyone is entitled to as a human being. He is the first supervisor that I was
willing to trust and for that, I told him how I felt about the whole situation
and now, I could certainly rest better and hopefully, stop the growth of the
white hairs that had seeded from the dramatic woo-ha!
I woke up as usual, around 10 in the morning, still regretting over my stupidity of not letting someone send me home last night. There are no signs of any romantic cells in me after all! What was I thinking?!
Am going to meet a good friend of mine, I haven't seen her for quite awhile and was kinda of missing her, and I kept wondering why hasn't she been going to work. I tried to bake a fresh batch of cookies as fast as I could but being a usual "sotong", I forgot all about the eggs when I went to the store to get some unsalted butter and dark chocolate. Usually, I have these baking ingredients stocked up in my refrigerator but my last attempt at the log cake had depleted my supply thanks to my carelessness of overheating the chocolate, which was pretty much useless since overheated chocolate can't be used anywhere else, but I do use it in my brownies sometimes *ssshh*. So I had to run down to get it again when I was waiting for the butter and sugars to get creamed.
At last, I managed to rush out a batch of fresh cookies, get dressed and took the train to my destination instead of wasting money on cab again. The amount I spent on cab every month is simply ridiculous!
As we met and chatted, I showed her the polaroid picture that I took while wearing the 3D specs while watching the movie, Avatar, she told me she had something to show me too, and out she took an ultrasound picture of her baby, I stared at the picture and realization hit me, she was pregnant. I gasped and hugged her tight, I was practically close to tears, I was aware of what she went through the last few months, the operations, the road to recovery, the disappointment but she never gave up. I was so happy for her, this child was a miracle since the doctor told her that her chance of conceiving was near to zero.
All I want for Christmas this year is for her and her baby to be healthy and strong, for her to have a safe delivery, for both the mother and baby to be safe, sound and healthy when the time comes. The joy of hearing the news is simply too great and I was to be delighted the second time today! Another friend of mine is getting married, in February next year!
Spending Thanksgiving in New York was one of happiest moment in my life, Macy's has a yearly tradition of parading down the streets of New York consisting of many colorful big balloons, bands, cheerleaders, celebrities and many many more. Each time a big balloon comes passing by, I find myself straining my neck to catch a glimpse of the surprise before the others and every single time, it puts a smile on my face, I would excitedly tell my friends what was coming next, I was a child again. And you would know why after looking at the pictures below:
Can't help snapping a shot of the pretty little lady in red, reminds me of the simple joy of traveling and of being a child. New York, New York...
Almost every single time I take a cab ride, the taxi driver would ask me:
"So you have travelled throughout the world!"
I would smile to myself and reply:
"The world is so big, and I have only travelled to many cities, there are so many places yet to be discovered."
I was speaking to a friend yesterday and realized that all the places he mentioned were the places I wanted to backpack to. And I wondered, why haven't we discover that when we were younger, befriending him since I was 20, it seems that there were so many things I didn't know about this friend of mine, his family, his histories, his childhood, his aspirations, his dreams, his plans, his goals, his likes, his dislikes, his hobbies, his students, his love, his secrets and so much more. I wonder if time will deny me a second chance of knowing him once again, to understand him a little more. Even though I have knew him for at least 7 years, at times, I still feel nervous and sometimes jittery whenever I spoke to him. Conversations never ceases whenever I am with him, maybe I was too talkative or maybe I was the one hogging the conversation all the time... *turns red* At times when we had to stop our conversations due to the start of dinner, movie or musical, for that moment, I wished that we were in a park, lying under the clear blue sky, conversing about anything and everything. And when he mentioned he was never really keen in visiting the big cities, it occurred to me that I said the same thing when I was first trained to travel on the ultra-long range flight which travels only to the States and was disappointed since I love the rustic feel of the small villages which usually houses only in Europe. But whatever no matter how much we think alike, there was one big major difference, he told me that it was great being single and not being tied down, free to do as one wishes. Although I very much enjoy my freedom and independence, but I beg to differ, being with someone does not mean you have to lose all your freedom, but of course, mutual understanding from both parties are required and I believe there will be someone out there who is just the way I am.
Oops.. straying from my traveling. Oh yes, I knew of the places I want to go though not in specifics:
England, Scotland and Wales... after I caught the movie, Pride and Prejudice, the castles and vast piece of grasslands have always been part of my plans.
To travel to outskirts and small villages where bustling city streets cannot be found, where tourists have yet to discover the secrets and beauty of such places has always been the reason behind my love for travel.
Greece was once or still the place where I would love to honeymoon. After my first visit to Santorini, I recall myself thinking that I have stepped into a storybook, a place that exist only in fairy tales, the urge to return to discover the rest of the small islands along Greece has never cease. After watching the show, My Greek Kitchen, my interest in Cyprus grew and I longed to visit the the island itself.
But before all the long travel, I should really get to know Asia first, recalling my earlier post, I was deciding whether to visit Japan again, island-hopped Korea or travel the whole of Taiwan? Well, I made a resolution for next year that whenever I have 4 or more days of break, I shall backpack to one of the nearer Asian countries and definitely to Vietnam and hopefully one day, to Bhutan!
When a friend invited me to watch the musical, Broadway Beng, I didn't know what to expect except for the fact that his hair dresser mentioned that it was hilarious!
I myself have never been a great speaker of dialects although I was exposed to quite a number of Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese-speaking adults since young. Watching the musical brought back memories of my childhood, where my grandparents tried to ask me something in Teochew or Cantonese, I would try my very best to reply in the same language, but in broken phases which would make the rest of the adults roar with laughters.
The musical was definitely a hit with the Hokkien songs and continuous rattling of funny jokes, usually due to the mispronunciation of the language itself. I was pleasantly surprised by the singing talents of the cast and of the main character himself.
Now like my friend, I might get interested in some "Hokkien gua" myself! =)
It's almost 12 midnight in Manchester, I can still hear the sounds of laughter and chit-chatting from the bar downstairs, as expected on a friday night. I am struggling to fall asleep, been doing that 4 hours ago and still doing the same thing, tossing around, flipping the quilt away and around me every 5 minutes. The room was simply too stuffy, the air-conditioning was switched to heater-mode, like the rest of the european countries which do have the cold season yearly, there were no windows to open to allow fresh air to enter. I have been facing the same problem too many a times these few months, it wasn't that bad in some other hotels which had windows. Imagine your room, with an air-conditioning but in heater-mode, no matter what temperature you key in, the only thing that comes out of it is hot air. If you switch it off, there is no air circulating the room at all, a room with no windows...
Well, I was left with the last option... to call the reception which I usually dislike doing so, for many reasons. So I called... boy... I am glad I did, I was thrilled to find out that the guy at the reception could switch the air-conditioning back to its normal mode without having to come up to my room at all.
The night was not that bad after all... all I had to do was ask.
An apple that never sleep? Well, I am referring to the city of New York, a place where the lights are always bright, where the streets are always filled with people, where the roads are always covered with endless cars and where the clubs never seem to close. I love being in New York, and being there simply lift up my spirit once again.
It has been ages since I had so much time to spare in New York and I was glad that I did make use of my time there to shop, eat and visit all the places that I have always wanted to. The weather in New York was quite enjoyable but chilly and sometimes, there was a tiny amount of raining.
My very first destination was the Central Park and it was a glorious day to out in the park and I managed to find the ice-skating ring which reside in the middle of the park, and it was a fun sight to see all the kids and parents skating around with their colorful outfits. The park was surrounded by trees of many colors - green, red, yellow... etc. It was a wonderful sight to behold.
An american breakfast that I never miss whenever I am in the States.
Can you spot the squirrel? They run about the park freely, coming so close to the humans, to the point that we could almost touch them.
Loving the nature.
Ice-skating ring visited by families and shown in countless movies. Wanted to head down myself too, but my group didn't seem keen. *sigh*
Moment of laughter, candid shot.
Colors of the park.
The zoo in New York wasn't big but it did bring back many happy memories, and brought me much joy to be around the animals. Too bad, the polar bears and snow leopard were asleep when we were there, so I didn't managed to get a good shot of any of them. I was surprised to see the snow monkeys, and there was a tinge of sadness seeing them in the zoo since I have visited the wild ones when I was a Nagano early this year. I was sad to see the animals caged up, especially the polar bears and sea lions. Deep down, I knew that it wasn't fair for the humans to do this to the animals who belong to the wild but without the zoos, our children will never learn or be able to see certain animals and in the future, protect these animals from harm. I choose to believe that bringing human the knowledge and truth about the animals would help us in protecting them from extinction in the future. But I cannot deny that humans have harm the animals in more than one way... So please be kind to the nature and to the animals.
We were really excited like little children and showing off our tickets.
Black and white ruffed lemurs, really agile animals which you can observe when it swings freely from one tree to the next.
Birds of all kinds were allowed to roam freely in an enclosed area, and we were allow to walk freely among them, even the peacocks were striding next to us, showing off its beautiful fan of feathers.
Another picture of a squirrel, this time I managed to catch it on photo when it was munching on its nut.
Gentoo Penguins in a man-made home.
The cute Red Panda among its food (which are the tree leaves).
Next, I visited the museum of New York, the one where Night at The Museum was filmed, one day was barely enough to cover the whole place. There was so much to read and to see, it would take you days if you were to read every small details of every article or item. There were histories of different races, galleries of tribal groups, statues of marine and land animals, real meteorites and so much more. It is indeed a place where both adults and children could learn facts and enjoy absorbing the immense knowledge through the surroundings.
There are so much to do in New York and I can't wait to return to this city that never sleeps, hopefully, the next time with a companion. =)
new york, i have been here for six days, and i watched bride wars twice, the show is running now as i type. bride wars is definitely a chick flick, it emphasize on the friendship of two little girls. two little girls who share the same dream of having the perfect wedding of their lives. they grew up, as close as ever and as the big day arrives, their friendship crumbles to the strain of having their weddings booked on the same day at the same place. each went their separate ways, planned their weddings without each other, did all they could to jeopardize the other's plans but at the end of the day, they couldn't help missing one another, missing their friendship...
as i watched the show, i cried, always at the parts where they finally realized that they felt lonely without the other, the part where the song - dream is being played in the background and the part where they see each other in their wedding gowns through the mirrors. it reminds me of someone, someone i once cared for. it reminded me of the great times, times we laugh at one another, times we cried together and now, all these memories seem so far away, as if they were just a dream.
I dislike durians... very very much. I have absolutely no idea why since my family loves them so much especially my brother, to such an extent that he was once nicknamed as the 'durian king'. Since young, I have always shun away from all kind of strong-smelling fruits and durians have to be on the top my list. You have no idea how much agony I would be in whenever my family brings back some durians, I would be locked up in my air-conditioned room and reusing to breathe in any of the 'polluted' air till it clears up.
So you could imagine my horror when my mum and sis-in-law suggested that I use a durian filling for my cream puffs. They must be kidding, I would be crazy to do that! Indeed... I am... I have no idea how I was persuaded by my mom to agree to that and that was the start of my nightmare.
It was a saturday morning, I was supposed to bake some cream puffs for my niece birthday party and my mum told me that she bought a couple of durians the night before and I could use the pulp as the filling later when I was done with the chocolate ones. Durians in the fridge... something tells me that the whole fridge would be reeking of the horrible smell. My mum saw the look on my face.
"Don't worry, I sealed the plastic container with a cling wrap, there would be no smell at all!"
I looked at her with untrusting eyes of mine and told her that we are not going anywhere near the durians till the very end, only when we have depleted the chocolate filling. She laughed and nodded her head.
Everything went well for the afternoon, many mini chocolate cream puffs were made, many... but I got a feeling that they still weren't enough for the party itself and I have to admit that quite a number were devoured by my mum and I before they had the chance to make it into the box! *giggled*
At last it was time for the durian filling, I opened the fridge and held the plastic container at an arm's length. Trust me, if I had an oxygen tank right at home, I would use it the very moment the cling wrap left the container. It was pungent... awww. But it was now or never, so I was determined to whip up the durian filling in a record time. The durian pulp was mixed with a little honey and cream till it was partially smooth but not losing all its texture. Double cream was gently whipped till soft peaks appeared and combined with the durian pulp. All went well since I was getting used to the smell till an old habit of mine almost killed me...
Whenever any chocolate filling got onto my finger, I would lick it (all right I know that is disgusting...) but I can't resist tasting it... and guess what happen when the durian filling got onto my finger, I licked it too! And the very moment I did that, I gagged, air was knocked out of me, it has been ages since I have ate anything with durian in it. With the high concentration of durian pulp in the filling, it was as if I was eating the actual thing. Cups of water and soft drinks followed through but the taste was still lingering in my taste buds... will I ever be the same again?
Although it was a nightmare, but I was satisfied seeing how much my mum enjoyed the durian puffs, the little wrinkles that tweak at the sides of her eyes when she ate it with a smile.
Should I bake a cake, make some cookies, try my luck on the macaroons again, or maybe I should try something easy... Something which doesn't require baking. With such a condition laid, only two items popped into my mind - cheesecake or mousse. Without blinking, the list of ingredients in my store room and refrigerator started checking themselves against the two competitors. I wasn't surprised when competitor mousse won the nomination since I lacked the most basic ingredient needed for a cheesecake - cheese!
When I went through the blogs and food recipes, I was extremely delighted to find a Gordon Ramsay mousse recipe which needed mascarpone as the base ingredient. With at least 3 tubs of mascarpone stored in my refrigerator, not that I am complaining since I enjoy the fluffy and light texture of mascarpone very much myself. But I had to use them somewhere before the expiry date or they would end up in the 'big mouth' (My personal nick-name for the dustbin).
It was a fuss-free recipe and within half an hour, everything was whipped up, combined, cupped and set in the fridge. All I had to do was wait... which was really tough on me since I was really excited how the mousse would turn out using mascarpone as the base and the new addition of expresso into it. After several hours, there it was...
It was dense and creamy, heavy on the palate but surprising very smooth. Each spoonful was devoured with the aromatic scent of coffee. In a short matter of time, my cup of mousse was empty and I wonder why... =)
Chocolate Mocha Mousse Cups (From Gordon Ramsay)
Makes 4
100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
125g mascarpone
2 tbsp icing sugar
4 tbsp strong expresso, cooled (I used coffee, it turned out well too)
150ml double cream
1. Melt dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Leave to cool.
2. Whisk mascarpone and icing sugar together until smooth, add in expresso and chocolate to combine. Leave aside.
3. Whip double cream till soft peaks form and fold it into the mascarpone mixture, make sure they are well-combined.
4. Spoon mixture into small cups and chill for a few hours or overnight.
5. Serve with whipped cream or crushed amaretti.
Well, I found out that amaretti biscuits wasn't to my liking, so it's a no no for me...
2012, a film about the year 2012 where a date is significant to many cultures, religions, scientists and governments. Global cataclysm which would bring much devastation to human race and one's humanity is being tested in times of adversity.
There were many moments where heartstrings were being pulled especially when goodbyes seem to come too late or they were never enough. The selfishness of human beings are portrayed clearly when their lives in danger. Indeed, in such times, but who can boldly proclaim that he/she is a saint who would stay behind and help others in need. When a human is in a tight situation, many changes and abilities are being revealed. True bravery and loyalty will pull many through such times.
This show reminds me of places and destinations I have yet to explore and the reason why I am still loving my job. Most importantly, life is short and you never know when it will come to an end so every day, every minute, every second should be spend doing the things you enjoy and the ones you love, leaving no regrets.
Christmas... the season of joy is here again! How fast a year went, time really waits for no man. It is the time for resolutions again, as if I can remember what were mine last year. * giggles*
Sadly, it seems that I might be away for Christmas, tentatively in Los Angeles but if I am given a choice, I would like to spend it with my family. This year has been a year of 'realization', many things 'hit' me in a way like never before. For example, how important my family members (including my shetland sheepdog - Tiger) are to me, the things I rather give up to spend more time with them, my interests in cooking and baking, the ups and downs of friendships, the different way everyone prioritize things or people in their lives, whether it's family, friends, love, career and so on. I have found the 'Maslow Theory' of my life, the essential people and things that keeps me going.
The simplicity of living, the happiness that I have been seeking for has always been right in front of me, but 7 years ago, I let it go. Now, it seems to be beyond my grasp, the only thing I have in control are my feelings and thoughts. I wish I had held on tight in the past to what I yearn for now but all is too late. All I can hope is for him to turn back and realize I am still here, hoping we are still seeking for the same fate.
I believe in fate, but I create my own destiny....
My niece's birthday is approaching, I have not seen her since her first month's anniversary which is almost... 11 months! I am embarrassed by that fact since she will be the very first little cutie who would address me as 'auntie'. Kinda of looking forward to that but not the part which I have to acknowledge that I have aged... Enough about all these depressing details, back to what I am supposed to do for her birthday party. Sadly, I have to miss seeing her again as I would be on a flight to New York. Although I won't be there, but my gifts will be!
Profiteroles... and... Maybe I should make some mini-cupcakes too so I tested a couple of recipes. Chocolate cupcakes with bittersweet ganache and chocolate mint cupcakes with white chocolate frosting. As my dad can't take sweet stuff, I usually reduce the recipe portion to half or a quarter since only my mum and I would be the one eating them and I hate seeing the baked items going to waste.
They taste good but I had to think of a way to make the frosting and ganache more stable at room-temperature, guess there are still more thinking and work to be done. Till then. Ciaossu!
Through the door of my room, I could hear the voices of my parents as they got ready to leave. They were heading to the doctor's first for my dad's check up and to the office where my mum had to go for a briefing for the upcoming new surveys. It was still early in the morning, around seven, I was still sleeping quite soundly in bed, wondering how I should spend my day today. Should I try to finish my book today or should I cook or bake something?
As I laze in bed thinking, time seems to run past me and it was almost 9 when I got up. I messaged my mum asking her to keep me updated of my dad's results. And within a minute, i got beeped, she told me no change. No change in the dad's blood glucose level, I thought it was good but my mum replied saying that my dad was disappointed as he was so sure that his blood glucose level would decrease but it seems that his new diet needed some time before the results can be seen.
I knew how disappointing it can be when you thought that something was bound to happen in a certain way but turn out the other way instead. So I messaged telling him not to be disappointed and continue working on his new diet, one day, we will see the difference. And I thought it would be a good idea to come up with something he enjoys eating since he has been curbing his appetite, something to encourage him before he goes back to his diet.
Hmmmm, my dad is definitely a fussy eater (now you know why I am one too), it would be tough to make something he really enjoys... oh! Curry Puffs!!! He loves them and I could make use of the puff pastry in my freezer.
Well, as we most Asians know, curry puffs are snacks made of pastry puffs containing thicken curry chicken, potatoes and sometimes eggs. So I made a list of ingredients I needed to buy and ran to the market just opposite my block.
Chicken drumsticks... check, coconut milk... check, potatoes... check... onions and shallots... check, why am I checking my list so carefully? That is because it irritates me to stop what I am doing just to get the missing ingredient and I have done that a few time and it is not fun every single time.
Peel and dice the potatoes, that is easy. De-bone the drumsticks and cut the meat into small pieces, I could have made things easier by getting breast meat instead but I have no love for breast meat since it dries too easily. De-boning can't be that tough I though... it wasn't tough but it took quite awhile before I managed to have my little pieces of chicken meat since I did remove all the skin and fats as well... healthy living... hah.
Brown the onions and shallots, add the curry powder and chili paste, before I could react, my hands poured the uncooked potatoes into the mixture. Oh no... I was supposed to boil them first... now it would take me ages to cook them with the paste... After nearly 45 minutes of simmering which means I had to keep adding water and watch over the fire to prevent the mixture from drying up, I finally had potatoes that was soft enough to be digested. In goes the chicken, 5 minutes later, the coconut milk too. Smells good!
I though the puff pastry would be able to hold its shape when the curry mixture was being place in it but I was so wrong. It tore and went out of shape horribly, so I had to make my puff into a pie... a curry pie.
Although its not a puff, but the pie was good too. The puff pastry did not taste as good as I would like it to be but the curry mixture was heavenly, the tender chicken and soft potatoes were coated perfectly by the curry giving a creamy and moist texture, every mouthful had a tinge of spiciness and wonderful aroma of the coconut milk. It was a good pie, good enough as a source of encouragement =)
The raspberry delight was a great hit and I decided to take the suggestion from my sis-in-law and use a biscuit base instead of a sponge cake base. But there was no sight of any digestive biscuits in my store anywhere except for those coated with milk and dark chocolate which feels kinda of wrong... I had to use my oreo biscuits which I think would make a gorgeous trio color combi with the mousse.
This time, I made raspberry and blackberry mousses coupled with yoghurt mousse. The base was the same a cheesecake base, battered biscuit crumbs cramped together with melted butter. This is how it looks:
One important tip on the gelatin, do not use more than recommended or the mousse might coagulate too fast and the texture may taste weird. It would present a gel like feel instead of the smooth and creamy texture.
1 day, that is all I have in Zurich. Cold and rainy, not the best weather for getting out of bed. Although I was quite determined to get some macaroons from Sprüngli and Ladurée when I found out I was due for a trip to Zurich. Clean and comfy in my pyjamas, I knew it would be a fruitless attempt at persuading myself to change and head out. Every time I attempt to crawl out of bed, I sinked further into the warmth of the comforter. I was destined to lose the battle against the comforter. I sulked at the though of missing the chance to taste some great macaroons.
But I was pleasantly surprised when I found a Sprüngli counter somewhere near my boarding gate, nothing was going to stop me from buying the macaroons this time. Without a though, I bought the largest box of macaroons I found find, a hefty 33 swiss francs for 36 small macaroons but I knew it was going to be worth it. The moment I got home, I shamelessly indulge in the macaroons, oblivious to the happenings around me except for the decision of picking the next macaroon to savour.
10th November 2009, 1 A.M. in the morning, flying over the land between Pakistan and New Delhi. After 4 hours in the aircraft, 1 movie, 1 lunch, 1 Baileys on the rock, 1...
I needed something, something to distract me for the next 8 hours... As I scroll through the movie titles, Julia & Julie! How could I have forgotten!? It was my kind of movie, all about food, cooking, recipes and happiness. What am I waiting for?
My finger hit the 'PLAY' button and I was transported into both their worlds. The SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY BOOKSTORE in the movie looks so familiar... I gasped, I was there... in Paris... in the bookstore itself! It was a dear little bookstore, one that looked as if it has walked out of a blog page with its yellow heading and green frames. Memories... =)
Butter.... I love butter... Absolutely love butter.... Just like the way Julie describes it.
"Is there anything better than butter? Think it over, any time you taste something that's delicious beyond imagining and you say 'What is in this?' The answer is always going to be butter!"
"YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH BUTTER."
So true! I once blurt out that butter is the best invention in the world and that somebody was so amused, he never imagine that any person would think that butter was so... important... and so satisfying... Well, that's me. What can I say? =)
I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Julia Child's cookbook!!
This sweetie was based on a great recipe by Lushlee, it is a great raspberry and vanilla yoghurt dessert known as raspberry delight. It was a great timing for raspberry dessert since I bought a few packets of it from the United States and it was awfully cheap there compared to the ones sold here!
It actually taste like ice-cream but a tad bit creamier. The cold and creamy mousse melts in your mouth, giving a burst of tanginess, refreshing your whole being. I am excited to try this recipe with some other fruits!
Here's the recipe for Raspberry Delight (From Lushlee)
Makes 12-2"x 2" ring molds (I used bigger molds)
Raspberry Sponge
90 grams egg whites
45 grams sugar
75 grams almond flour
30 grams powdered sugar
15 grams flour
20 grams raspberry puree, strained
Sift the almond flour, powdered sugar and flour. Combine and set aside.
Whip the egg whites till foamy, slowly sprinkle in the sugar and fully whip.
Fold in the sifted dry ingredients gently. Add the raspberry puree and mix gently.
Line a 12"x7.5" sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread batter evenly over the sheet pan.
Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes or until top is lightly golden. Let it cool completely.
Raspberry Mousse
250 grams raspberry puree, strained
25 grams sugar
2 sheet of gelatin
250 ml heavy cream
Whip the cream to soft peaks and set aside.
Soften the gelatin in ice water for 5 minutes, do not leave gelatin in the water for too long as it will disintegrate.
Warm the raspberry puree with the sugar until sugar dissolves. Squeeze out excess water from softened gelatin and add it to the warm puree. Mix thoroughly and let it cool slightly.
Fold in the whipped cream when puree is cool. Place the mousse in a pastry bag and pipe into the ring molds on top of the sponge disk. Fill half way. Place in refrigerator or freezer until mousse hardens.
Yogurt Mousse
250 ml heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
50 grams sugar
2 sheet of gelatin
160 grams vanilla yogurt
Place the gelatin in ice water for 5 minutes to soften.
Whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla seeds until soft peaks form. Take 2 Tbs of the whipped cream and mix it with the softened gelatin (make sure to squeeze out excess water from the gelatin). Melt the gelatin with the cream in the microwave for about 10-12 seconds.
Add the gelatin mixture to the soft peak whipped cream and mix quickly to incorporate it and to avoid the gelatin from setting too fast. Fold in the yogurt.
Place the yogurt mousse in a pastry bag and pipe into ring molds. Level out the tops with a spatula.
At this point, you can either refrigerate or freeze the mousses. If they are frozen, they are easier to unmold.
Thaw out in refrigerator and top with fresh raspberries.
