Crinkies in The Chocolat

It taste like a brownie that is wrapped by a coat of crunchy icing. Chocolate crinkles are well known for its outer crunchy layer and its moist brownie-like core. With the pure white icing as the crunchy layer, sweetness is guaranteed. Well, at first I stated out with cute little ones but they were a little tad too dry, so I decided to increase the size of the little drops, indeed, the second batch was more moist and I got greedy, made really huge ones with lotsa of icing and the icing did not managed to melt completely to form the crunchy layer but it is still edible. Moral of the story: Greediness will never be rewarded! =)

Used the crunchy cookies as a topping for my specially made vanilla ice-cream, I just had a huge cup of those goodies... Now, I am craving for more... =p

Lunch-Making

Scallops... it is hard to find nice and plump ones on this sunny island, so whenever I am in any Australian airport, I would keep a lookout for any shops that sells frozen abalones and scallops, to my delight, I did find some. Nice and plump ones, great for grilling!

Today, I decided to try my hand on a new dish - Grilled Scallops paired with a Refreshing Salad. The salad consist of diced mango, tomatoes and cucumber, mix with a little olive oil, lime juice, a pinch of salt and pepper. This salad goes well of most seafood,

in fact, it taste great by itself!

My mum loves it but my dad refuses to have anything to do with it, being his annoying and arrogant self as usual (we are still having our cold war...), he never fails to make me feel irritated and disappointed. Oh well, I have learnt never to take his attitude to heart, since he is really skillful at "dumping ice water on everyone"... drenching all the hopes and excitement, so I stayed cool and enjoyed my dish even more =)

Baci Di Ricotta

Finally thought of what to do with my ricotta cheese, Baci Di Ricotta which means Ricotta Kisses, awfully easy to make and it doesn't reek of the cheese smell that my mum fears.

The moment you lift it up from the oil, place it onto the kitchen towel to remove excess oil, sprinkle on some icing sugar and pop it into your mouth. That is the best moment to enjoy the kisses, the sugar icings melts on your tongue as you bite into the crispy crust into the soft inner core. The only con - to enjoy it at the very best, you have to stand near the stove as it cooks and that really causes some perspiration... but it is all for the greater good!

Here are the ingredients (taken from Nigella's websites):

200g ricotta

2 eggs

75g plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

vegetable oil for frying

2 teaspoons icing sugar

• Beat egg and ricotta till smooth mixture
• Add in dry ingredients and vanilla extract
• Beat mixture till it becomes a smooth batter
• Heat oil till it sizzles when a tiny blob of batter is dropped in
• Drop small spoonfuls of batter into the oil, 5 or 6 at a time, it turns brown really quickly
• Flip them over when one side is golden brown
• Place them on a kitchen towel to drain excess oil
• Pile them up and use a sieve to sprinkle icing sugar
• Enjoy while they are still hot!

Well, I did make some changes like using 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 caster sugar, healthier I guess (though frying doesn't really help). Added ground cinnamon to my icing sugar as my mum loves cinnamon. It was a great treat after all.

Please let me come up with some Recipes!

Having visited Australia so many times this month, my home fridge seems to be bursting at every corner. "Please do not buy anymore cheese!" my mum was shouting it to me when I left. Alas, I could not obey... I did not go for more cheese but some other kind of food. Let's see what I have stocked up in the fridge:

1) A tub of ricotta cheese

2) Feta cheese with herbs and oil

3) A piece of parmesan cheese

4) Big bag of big brown swiss mushroom

5) Small bag of small swiss mushroom

6) Small bag of white button mushroom

7) Prosciutto

8) Salami

9) Shaved ham

10) Rack of lamb

11) Beef ramp

I think that is all, I hope that is all.

Well, I haven't really thought of what to do with all the meat and cheese but I do know what kind of cake to bake for my mummy's birthday. It was a little tough thinking what to bake since she doesn't like stuff that is too creamy, so my favorite chocolate cake is out since it will loads of chocolate cream and stuff in it. It can't be too sweet or else my dad can't touch it!

So, I have settled for a lemon and orange cake which I hope will turn out well, I guess a small one will do. Now, the search for the cake tin, one of a perfect size!

D.O.G

i was watching a show on the chinese movie channel, it is called 再见小雪, known as hearty paws in english, a touching movie about how a dog followed and protected its owner till the very end even when he abandoned him after his sister's death. i cried a ton, especially when the poor dog was subjected to cruelty (at times, i had to flick channels to avoid seeing the cruelty lashed upon the poor dog). one thing i simply cannot stand in the whole wide world is animal cruelty...

I lurve my dog! and this post is dedicated to him, for:

blessing our family with your birth and puppy-hood;

loving us unconditionally;

enduring all my hard huggings (haha);

sleeping by my side;

listening to mother's naggings and cursings (oops);

barking when it rains, reminding us to close all the windows;

being such a lovely and quiet dog most of all the time (except when the ice-cream man comes);

welcoming me home with giant leaps every single time i returned from work;

enduring all the times we left you home alone when we were out;

jumping up for joy whenever brother and sis-in-law comes home;

bringing us your toy balls to play with even when we ignore you from time to time;

there is too many things that you have given us, so much joy and laughter...

thank you is never enough... =)

PAVLOVA

Pavlova is a meringue dessert named after a Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. It is a cake of meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner. The photo above shows a chocolate pavlova with cream and strawberries that I have baked today. It is awfully simple to make yet delicious and of course... sinful like all desserts.

All you need are egg whites beaten to silky peaks, add in the sugar by spoonfuls and beaten till white soft peaks appear. This is followed by adding sifted cocoa powder to prevent lumps, a little vinegar and chocolate shaves. I use chocolate chips, saves me the trouble of chopping up the chocolate block. Bake the mixture, it is fine to see cracks, it is supposed to appear this way as the center of the mixture has sunken in. Removing it from the oven, you should be able to see the gooey mixture among the cracks. The crust is awfully crispy yet the inner is soft and chewy, the chocolate shaves melts in your mouth with every bite. Wait for the pavlova to cool before piling the cream on it, add any kind of fruits that you love.

Personally, I feel summer fruits goes the best with it especially strawberries or raspberries, the tinge of sourness with the cool cream match perfectly with the bittersweet pavlova.

the GREAT ESCAPE game!

hey, i found this online game which is absolutely fun and you guys have to try it!

goal: to find a way out of different areas of a house

way: by finding different objects which will aid you in your escape

fun: it's both funny and amazing how the objects aid you in different ways (*giggles*)

help: it may puzzling in the beginning, but dun give up! for the very first area, if you simply can't make out what is happening, use the walk-through and you will be hooked!

the walk-through of the attic

here's the link

THE ATTIC - http://armorgames.com/play/3424/the-great-attic-escape

THE LIVING ROOM - http://armorgames.com/play/1311/the-great-living-room-escape

THE BATHROOM - http://armorgames.com/play/1996/the-great-bathroom-escape

THE BASEMENT - http://armorgames.com/play/2558/the-great-basement-escape

THE BEDROOM - http://armorgames.com/play/2902/the-great-bedroom-escape

THE HOUSE - http://www.thegreatescapegames.com/07.html

the walk-through for all areas if you stuck (try not to see it unless you are desperate!) http://armorgames.com/guide/Great-Escape-Video-Walk-Throughs

the day it was sunny in adelaide

adelaide, an australian city that i have only come to know this year, and i am sure we will soon be good friends with the constant visits. what i love about adelaide is the central market park right outside the hotel. a 5 minutes walk is all it takes before i could munch on the freshest fruits and vegetables.

although i visit australia almost every week now, i still love to purchase fresh meat like beef and lamb to bring it back home. fruits and vegetables are a must, especially mushrooms! just walking through the vibrant central market perks me up and looking at the photos below, you will know why. all right, less words and more pictures!

there are definitely loads of healthy options in the central market, but who can resist the sinful treats... i can't... =)

Home-Made Food

There is nothing I missed more than home-cooked food when I am abroad. I do love eating abroad, the many different ways how food is being prepared and presented. But end of the day, nothing is better than food that brings back memories of your childhood.

For dinner today, I had steamed egg topped with shallots and shrimps that have been deep-fried till crispy, fresh greens stir-fry in garlic and honey-roasted ribs (the improved version). Everything was simple but yummy.

I love everything made by my mum and sometimes... my dad (I use sometimes because we are still having a cold war), dishes like:

Slow-Cooked Bitter Gourd with Pork Belly in Bean Sauce

Bitter Gourd Soup (the very best in the world)

Winter Melon with Salted Egg Soup

Sweet and Sour Pork

Mixed Rice (chinese sausage, dried black mushroom, bits of chicken, dried scallops mixed in the rice with a sauce, nobody but my dad makes it right)

Laksa (my family version)

Popiah (my family version too, loads of all ingredients! *giggles*)

Green and Red Bean Soup

Teriyaki Chicken Wing (my mum deserve a pat on the back, no one can resist the WINGS)

Chicken Wings with Ginger

Luncheon Meat with Potato

Fried Rice (diced chinese sausages, dried scallops and green asparagus)

Steamed Sago with Coconut

Melon and Sago in Coconut Milk

There are simply too many dishes made by my family that I love and enjoy. I love food and my family plays a big part in me being able to enjoy and love food. I can't wait for the next home-cooked meal!

Tata =)

missed again

*shucks*

Jasmine is leaving for the U.S. today... I think...

Ahhh, I keep missing the details of my friends' lives, important details... change of jobs, leaving the country, with boyfriends, no boyfriends, breakups, weddings, children's birthdays and so on...

Messaging Jasmine this morning made me feel a pang of regret. Since her return from Melbourne, we hardly even met up twice and she is gone again before I could pass her any overdued Christmas or birthday gifts.

Because of my job, or the fact that I am so reeled up about what I should do about my future that I let some important friends of my life slip away from me, and now, I wonder if it is possible to reel back the strings of lost friendships.

For the past three years, I have been a hectic fool, I know I have been a friend who is never there to listen or chat (unless we are willing to pay the price of international calls), to drink and be drunk with, to shop and sob over girly movies, to cook and chill over each other's places...

But I will try... this month, next month, next year. Can I have you guys back in my life, please?

Jasmine: I promise to visit you in Houston or have a vacation in Belgium, let's keep in touch with regular emails, yeah?

éclairs

éclairs are one of my favorite chocolate pastry, whenever i bite into the first layer of glaze, followed by the creamy filling inside, the world is a better place. so i decided to try my hand at it and oh boy, it wasn't that easy, there was the pastry shell, the filling, the sauce and the glaze.

in my mind, i started to plan the sequence. first, the sauce for the glaze, the cream filling, followed by the choux pastry, last but not least, the glaze. the sauce was easy, just weighing and mixing of all ingredients. pastry cream needed a little arm strength when stirring but all went well. choux pastry had me sighing in relief every time each batch came out well and puffy. the glaze was the hardest, first attempt, the chocolate mixture 'split' and i had to redo everything since there was nothing i could do to salvage the glaze. definitely glad that i had not add the chocolate sauce to it yet. second attempt, barely made it but luck was on my side and the glaze came out quite well.

the end product - happily savoured!

a girl's best friends are not diamonds, but friends who last a lifetime...

Today, I got home feeling sore and tired as usual, what made it worse was an email. An email that made me feel like slapping the person who sent it or whoever was in charge of it. Next month was going to be a bad month, and this person has made it ten times worse, I replied back with an email full of anger and exclamation marks.

But after an hour or so, I forgot the fact that I was wasting my time and spirit being angry over such issues and people who are selfish. I believe in KARMA, what goes around comes around.

Well, at least, there was something to be happy about today. I read my bestie blog. Here is what I would say to her:

Ming, I am glad you took a step forward and that step will somehow lead you to somewhere and someone more beautiful. Not only being happy for you but very proud of you too. You must have used up most of your courage in doing so but you have lost none but gain more. And I can't wait to see you again, and that is because I miss my friend who is worth more than diamonds to me... =)

*HUGS*

A Rainy Day in Zurich

I was so excited about going to Zurich again, it was ages since I went there. To tell the truth, I have been there more than five times in my life yet never really ever took a stroll around the city area or the old town of Zurich. I love the old town of Zurich, walking along the streets of the old town, you can find vintage shops selling all kind of goodies, and for someone like me who enjoys food tremendously, it was a great place to be. There were small shops selling aged balsamic vinegar, homemade pasta, bitter chocolate and much more.

My spirits was dampened with the weather forecast that it was going to be rainy and cold. Still, I was quite determined to make my way out. That was the idea till I got to Zurich, the weather was definitely not good, and considering the clothing I have brought with me, it would be suicide since I have barely recovered from my flu.

After much deliberation, Coop was my choice of supermarket shopping. I dressed as warm as I could by layering t-shirts over t-shirts, definitely wasn't very pretty, but who was looking at such early hours of the morning. Coop was merely ten to fifteen minutes away from the hotel I was staying in. Supermarket shopping is the area which I spent most of my money on. And when I take my time to snoop around, my wallet is definitely going to be much lighter at the end of the day.

Well, I did spend a couple of hours there. Buying food that I missed and would be great as snacks for the mini-break waiting for me when I returned. shopping bag: Barilla's fettuccine and lasagne sheets, I swear by Barilla's pastas. Handmade tortellini

(Prosciutto Crudo e Formaggio), handmade gnocchi with tomato and mozzarella stuffings, two balls of mozzarella, two packets of prosciutto (love this dry-cured ham!), three packets of instant rosti and a bottle of Italian Chardonnay.

Passing a confectionary on the way back to the hotel, I decided that a

pastry would cheer up my dampened spirits, I choose a chocolate mousse cake. With that, I hummed my way back.

The Traditional Vs. The Modern

If you read my blog, you would know that I was awake for the whole night. Rather than wasting time trying to convince my messed-up brain nerves that it was time to sleep, it would better using that time to do something else, like... cleaning my room, taking all the stuff out of my old cargo bag that was last used more than six months ago (I hope that is no food in there!), paying my bills, learning french, packing my bag for the trip tonight...etc. But all I did was blog again =)

Breakfast part 1: Yoghurt with strawberries and blackberries, typical breakfast for a modern gal, definitely healthy and good for my system. Just as I was patting myself on the back for having self-control and not indulging in any local food. My mum returned from the market. "What are you eating? I bought chui kueh back."

I started at her with the spoon of yoghurt still in my mouth.

"You did?"

I knew it, this was a battle that I can't win. It was the good, old, traditional chui kueh vs. the healthy, modern yoghurt. Chui kueh is a kind of rice cake, topped with pickled radish that is at once salty, sweet and piquant. The unique flavor is intensified by stir-frying it in oil till a little crisp and golden-brown. One word - D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.

It's should be kinda of obvious that I fell for the sinful chui kueh. I am glad I did, it was worth every bite!

Flowers of JAPAN

Let me SNORE

Another sleepless night... I wonder if it is due to the jet lag or simply because I am just not used to sleeping at night. Haven't had a good sleep for days, and recently, I was shocked to discover a couple of white hairs appearing. It may be usual for some people, but never for me. I never had a single strand of white hair till now. What is causing the stress and worries? Is it due to my jaw pain? Insomnia? Decisions of the future?

I hate hate hate lying on bed and not falling asleep. Oh God... Please grant me some sleep!

C.H.O.C.O.L.A.T.E

Chocolate cake... delicious, warm and moist chocolate cake. I woke up from my nap and decided to bake something with loads of chocolate in it. Definitely too lazy to head out for any ingredients since I just returned this morning and have to head out again tomorrow night. Decided on a simple chocolate cake, something like 'Gateau au Chocolat', nothing fancy but it will do its job as a dessert. I am quite sure my sis-in-law and bro will enjoy that.

It's really simple, to get it going, I melted butter with dark chocolate using the bain-marie technique. Mix the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla extract. What I like about this cake - it contains minimal flour and sugar, you get most of the sweetness from the dark chocolate itself. Fold in the smooth chocolate mixture and flour into the eggy mix and it's ready for the oven.

I baked two mini ones with a piece of additional chocolate in it, and two small ones for my sis-in-law and bro. Well, I can't help but finish the two mini ones before dinner.

Finished the one above in less than ten minutes and I had to stop the urge of reaching out for the rest...

Well, my bro likes it with loads of ice cream, that explains the start of the bump at his waist, wonder when will it become full-blown.. *giggles*. Sis-in-law likes it the way it is, next time, she have to try it warm, just out of the oven!