chicchicbaby

Let's stretch our limbs and climb!

2011-05-04T11:13:00.000+08:00

We've decided that our kids spent too much time indoor playing with electronic gadgets that they have probably forgotten how to run freely, so it's about time to pack them off for some outdoor challenge.

I have heard of the HSBC Treetop trail but never get to try it out because it all sounded too tough for my cotton babies. I don't know what got into me two Saturdays ago, partly because I did not have to be in the shop (so why waste the day visiting other shops, I have very much enough of shops, thank you!) that I proposed, let's try the Treetop trail. Hubby was ok with the idea as he is quite outdoorsy (opposed to how he appeared to be). We did no homework prior to our 'expedition' and drove all the way to Venus drive where we left our car and embarked on our little journey. All I had with me was 2 water bottles (mistake!).

The first quarter of the journey was plain tracking in the forest, well fun because we've just started. We saw squirrels and monkeys watching us, making sure we do not intrude beyond the boundaries. We couldn't tell the sky had darkened as the canopies provided good shade, it started to drizzle before we were even halfway through but we managed to hit the ranger's station without getting ourselves drenched. The kids were ok up till this part, they were still excited and anticipated the scary treetop bridge they saw on the website.

Now that we've conquered 2.9km to the Ranger's station, we were just a little away from our destination. We've decided to go ahead despite the drizzle, it didn't look like it would stop and we didn't want to leave without completing our mission. The track leading to the treetop trail was a little slippery as it consists of many steps on wooden stairs. The kids were a little worried about falling and also the wet yucky feeling.

We reached the treetop trail pretty soon and it was unbelievable we are actually in Singapore! How often do we get to see so much greenery? We were literally walking on the canopies. This beats the Henderson Wave as the latter has hardly any shelter, keeping you constantly scorch under the hot burning sun. But sad to say, the trail is too short and we didn't get to enjoy the view for too much. The bridge is narrow and it is inconsiderate for one to stop to enjoy the sight without halting the groups after you.

By this point of time, my kids started to whine. I can't blame them as they have just walked like over 4km! It took a lot of encouragement and pep talk to get the son to complete the hike. Daughter was of coz clinging onto daddy's back, refusing to move anymore.

The hike was much longer than I have expected and two bottles of water is definitely insufficient although you can fill up at the Ranger's station. Surprisingly, there was hardly any mosquitoes that day but I will still advise you to bring insect repellant. Some snacks for the kids is quite essential to keep them going. All in all, I think we walked 7km or more and if you head off from Mac Ritchie, a round trip is about 10km.

For all the 'hardship' we've been through, we rewarded ourselves with a scoop of ice cream from Salted Caramel, yummy. Son was very pleased with himself for pulling through this tough hike *thumbs*

what have i been up to

2010-12-13T20:08:00.003+08:00

Planning to make some money, that's what I've been up to. Lol.

I feel bad not contributing to the household income. I feel bad buying another bag, even though it only costs $69. I feel bad for spending over a hundred on colouring my hair. I know I should not feel that way but I just cannot help it. If I am not contributing, I better not do more harm by splurging on unnecessary.

In order to curb this horrible feeling, I decided I need to bring back some bacon and hence I laid a big plan ahead of me. Now that it is slowly materializing, I'm a little overwhelmed. After all, it is really my first venture in my entire life. Let's hope things will turn out smoothly.

Apart from that, I've also done the unbelievable, to join the grassroots group. I'm still not clear why I took up this challenge but I'm sure I will find out, in time to come.

That's what I've been up to, all these while.

famous fruit pastry

2010-12-13T19:48:00.006+08:00

We made these for Teacher's Day back in September. I'm not one who remembers dates well and in addition to my ability to procrastinate, we panicked at the very last moment before we left for T's piano lesson.

I know presenting a gift to your teachers on Teacher's Day is not rule but still, it is nice to show your appreciation with something, be it big or small.

Obviously, it was too late to shop, the next best thing we could come up was something homemade. Hence, I decided to make this sweet little Fruit Pastry which I had bookmarked eons ago.

This is an easy recipe and with so many successful attempts by food bloggers, it sure is a lifesaver. I'm glad I chose this recipe and they looked really cute with the single heart shaped strawberry on it. They don't only look good but they taste fabulous too, In fact, I baked another batch for H's teachers the next day. Sar-kar...Lol.

You can hop over to HHB's blog for the recipe

It is a really wonderful tea cake.

baking frenzy

2010-02-11T20:01:00.006+08:00

I am not abandoning this blog, its just that I do not have the time nor any interesting things to talk about. Life has been hectic and slowly things are falling into routine. I have to get use to a new lifestyle that includes waking up at 5.30am every weekday. But, it is very fulfilling, in fact, a little decadent at times.

Anyway, lunar new year is just around the corner, and since I stay at home ninety percent of the time, I decided to make my own goodies this year, instead of spending hours sampling at CNY Bazaars and spending tons of money on snacks that eventually adds on to my thick waistline.

My favourite CNY snack has to be pineapple tarts, the open top version with lots of sticky pineapples and a pastry that melts in your mouth. I have seen many recipes that promises a pastry that melts in your mouth but I am reluctant to try them out, given that most of them are recipes that yield a considerable quantity, it will be a waste of effort and resources if it did not turn out the way I hope for. Moreover, taste is subjective.

This recipe is actually taken from the morning chinese newspaper published probably more than 2 decades ago. There is seriously nothing special about this recipe, and it is quite close to many popular recipes floating around. Somehow, I just prefer this to many others and like I said, taste is subjective.

I wish I had made my own pineapple jam but time was not on my side. Next year, I promised myself.

Apart from this, I also made a small batch of coconut cookies using the dessicated coconut that I have been desperately trying to clear. I got this recipe from a Taiwanese cookie book and it turns out very well - great smells and good crunch.

I'm still trying to squeeze in some time to bake the all time favourite chocolate chip cookies, using the recipe from the same Taiwanese book. And hopefully (greedy), Edith's oatmeal raisins cookies.

It has been tiring, but extremely fulfilling.

my sporty side

2009-11-25T20:09:00.004+08:00

I do play sports, though not much. Actually, the only thing I do right now is golfing. That hardly is any strenuous sports, all you need is to hit the ball and continue your journey on the buggy. Very suitable for lazy bums like me.

Anyway, I started playing last November and my scores have always been on the steep side. I never fail to make a series of mistakes in a few holes and blow the entire game. But things took a pleasant turn last week, I managed to cut down to 52 for my first nine holes. Maybe I was too complacent or the weather was killing me, my second nine ended up with 60. I was still very pleased with myself, this is the lowest I have come so far. I have this feeling that I am beginning to have better control over my body and my clubs.

I hope this continues, and hopefully, the hubby of my BFF will get to witness my another breakthrough next week :p

twin poncho

2009-11-15T20:44:00.000+08:00

Ponchos almost do not appeal to me because it always reminds me of Mexicans and it seems unwearable here. But I have been seeing ponchos on sale in the stores lately and somehow, this is a non triangular design and hence not so poncho-ish looking.

I made this pair with my friend L and her daughter Z in mind. L is not a girly girl type of woman and will not be seen in anything frilly or pink (unfortunately, Z loves pink). This poncho design doesn't look too sweety yet retaining the cute factor (for Z).

Its fun to make mom and babe pair, I think I'm going to make something for H and myself soon.

Pattern: ISBN - 978-4529046060
Yarn: Bendigo Mills 8ply
Hook: 10/0

hoodie scarf

2009-11-14T23:55:00.003+08:00

With the leftover yarns from my previous project, I managed to make this cute hoodie scarf I spotted from a book sometime back. I feel that there isn't many this kind of patterns available, especially for crochet, and it is such a useful winter wear too.

I made this with my second sis in mind, she should be able to use this during the cool autumn months ahead. The model in the photo is my favourite nephew (actually I only have one), he is such an angel *love*

Another cute project completed *happy dance*

hand mixed orange cake

2009-11-11T08:54:00.002+08:00

I have been going on a orange cake hunt ever since I had a crazily delicious slice in Frasers Hill earlier. This recipe requires no machine and almost like any basic muffin recipes, you simply mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Ta-dah! You're done. I'm quite pleased with the results, except that I feel the crumbs can be more fine. I think next time, I will substitute the oil for butter and use creaming method instead.

Orange Cake

100g Self raising flour
50g plain flour
20g brown rice cereal (I used 170g plain flour altogether)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (I used 1 tsp each due to the above changes)
3 eggs
150g castor sugar (I used 120g)
120ml corn oil
50g yogurt
1/2 tsp orange essence
1 tsp grated orange zest
60ml orange juice

Combine the flour, baking powder and soda in a bowl.
Combine eggs, sugar, oil and the rest of the ingredients. Stir into flour mixture until well blended.
Baking in a prepared loaf pan in a preheated oven at 175C for 35-40min. Stand for 10min before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

手拌式蛋糕 - Kevin Chai

merry berry shrug

2009-10-22T09:03:00.003+08:00

I made this specially for a friend, who is always feeling cold and snugging around with a shawl. I love the idea of a shrug - a mini cardigan without losing its cute factor. This design is taken from another of J's books, it was a love at first sight pattern for me (somehow, in life, the grass is always greener elsewhere) so I was actually waiting for an opportunity for me to work on it.

The only difficult part of this project was actually sewing the buttons, oh, I really dislike sewing buttons, especially on holely materials. But somehow, I managed to pull through, ugly but I cannot care anymore.

Pattern: ISBN 978-4834727975
Yarn: Sidar varigated
Hook: 5/0

fluttering butterfly

2009-10-11T12:16:00.005+08:00

That is how I see it, a pretty butterfly fluttering amongst a bed of spring blossoms. I love how this pastel varigated yarn turns out, all thanks to J's generosity. I hardly work with varigated yarns, partly because I cannot visualize how it might turn out. But since this is coming from J, it has to be good, I trust her taste and judgement, especially in this department. I really love how it turns out, now, I'm having second thoughts, to keep this for myself. Heh.

Pattern: ISBN-9784277172301
Yarn: Baby Acrylic
Hook size: 4/0

happy children's day

2009-10-03T08:13:00.004+08:00

Finally for once, I managed to bake something for T's children's day celebration in school. After pouring through a few cookie recipes, I decided on one from Nigella's How to Be A Domestic Goddess. This is a very straightforward recipe and the dough was easy to handle too. I love the buttery flavor but I will leave it in the oven it a little longer for better crisp. I was afraid of burning it as I always do with cookies. And oh yes, I finally get to use this cute cutters which I made my sis brought back from Hong Kong. They make cute cookies but removing the stamped dough from the cutter was very tricky.

And you think the kids would love them, the container came back untouched, none was eaten, guessed the kids had to much food and preferred games instead. Oh well, all ended up in my tum..yum!

spag top

2009-09-26T08:00:00.005+08:00

I finally get to work on this top from a book I bought last year. I was making it for an ex-colleague now friend. She is those petite type, like the model in the book and this will look perfect on her. However, due to my own miscalculations, the shoulder strap came way too short and hence, the arm hole was a little snug. I can't re-do that part as it would mean, ripping the entire top part! The only hope is, to leave it hanging on a hanger and hopefully, the weight of the bodice will lengthen the strap :(

Sorry WC, hope someday, it becomes wearable.

pandan kaya cake

2009-09-06T15:01:00.004+08:00

This cake brings back lots of 'exciting' memeories, which I will fondly cherish.

I learned this cake from a bakng class organised by Bt Batok Community Club many years back. Mdm Law, the instructor made it looked so easy and I had very little difficulty replicating it at home. Fast forward a few years later, I shared this recipe with some mommies in a parenting forum I frequent. This was my greatest 'mistake' made. Many of them attempted this recipe on a same Saturday night, my handphone rang non stop. Everyone encountered different problems, one said the kaya didn't thicken, another one reported that her cake broke into half when when she poured the kaya over. I wasn't expecting so many different outcomes and I really didn't know how to reply or solve their problems. Everyone was simultaneously reporting their results on the forum, like as if they are waiting their newborns to arrive. Funny yet stressful for me.

I'll still share the recipe here for those to want to try. I can only say, please do not pour the kaya over the cake when it (the cake) is still hot, it will break, no matter how careful you are. You may use your favourite sponge cake recipe instead.

pandan kaya cake
(this recipe is for 2 x 7" cake tin)

345g Optima flour (from Bake King)
2.1 tsp ovalette (stabilizer)
25oz water
6 eggs
2 tsp pandan paste (indonesian butterfly brand)
85g melted butter

1. Beat the flour with eggs until it thickens and pass the ribbon test.
2. Add in the ovalette and water and beat well.
3. Add in the pandan paste, make sure it is well mixed.
4. Add the melted butter and mix well.
5. Pour into 2 seven inch lined cake tin and baked at 180deg for 35 min.

Prepare the kaya after the cake is done and slightly cooled.

570ml water
200ml coconut milk
170g sugar
Half a packet of hoon kueh powder
1 tsp gelatine
1 tsp pandan paste

1. Stir all the ingredients together and boil over low heat.
2. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens.
3. Let the kaya cool slightly before icing the cake.

To assembly the cake.

Cut the cake across horizontally and sandwich the cake with a layer of kaya. Scoop some kaya into a measuring cup or any container with a beak. Slowly pour the kaya over the centre of the cake, with the back of a soup ladle, move in circular motion to spread the kaya and let it drip over the sides naturally. There will be quite a bit of wastage in order for the sides to be covered up evenly.

You can dust some dessicated coconuts on the sides to cover up any 'flaws'. I do that as my frosting skills is extremely lousy.

Let's hope nobody is seriously interested enough to try the recipe out. Some people suggested adding jelly powder into the kaya so that it will set easily. Personally, I feel, if jelly is used instead of hoon kueh powder, the bite will be very different, I don't want my kaya to taste 'hardened'.

Try at your own risk. Keke

brown banana cake

2009-08-21T18:20:00.004+08:00

I love banana cakes and almost seldom reject any chances of trying out a new recipe. This recipe is taken from Pichet Ong's The Sweet Spot and since he claimed that this is the best banana cake ever, I have no reason not to try it.

The cake turns out to be very moist, almost limping and hard to hold in shape. I'm not really sure if it is the works of yogurt. Imagine a very light and moist banana bread.

Banana Cake

1/3 cup butter (78g)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup roughly mashed bananas
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt or sour cream

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda, set aside.

2. Cream the butter, sugar, honey, cinnamon and salt until pale and fluffy.

3. Add bananas and vanilla, beat on medium speed until the mixture looks "broken" or lumpy. The bananas should be mashed, with a few small chunks remaining.

4. Beat in the egg until incorporated. Fold in the flour and stir in the yogurt until the batter has only a few remaining white streaks. Be sure to avoid overmixing.

5. Transfer batter into a grease pan and bake for 45min at 180degC.

Cream Scones

2009-07-10T09:10:00.004+08:00

The first time I came across scones was during my Home Economics lesson. The entire class except for one girl, got a good scolding because we did not lift the flour high enough to allow air be incorporated, resulting in batches of flattened biscuits. In the end, we had to do it all over again (we didnt enjoy cooking then).

Many years later, I had my real taste of scones at Tea Room (now no longer exist) a coffee shop in the previous Westin Hotel. It was nothing unusual and definitely did not leave a deep impression. What changes my mind was after I had some really good ones at Perth, served with generous portion of clotted cream and homemade strawberry jam, it was sensational.

Fast forward, I had some real good scones during my recent visit to Bukit Frasers (scones was the last thing to expect) and that prompted me to make some at home. I sieved through all the scones recipe at home but in the end decided to try out this particular one simply because the author had put in so much thoughts and hardwork into her research!

How did it turn out? Perfect if eaten fresh from oven, its a pity I did not have any clotted cream nor jam at home. But it has been a good boost to my confidence, at least, if I met my Home Economics teacher, Mrs Kan again, I can proudly tell her, yes, I can make scones! Lol.

low fat orange yogurt cake

2009-07-02T09:34:00.004+08:00

During my recent visit to Bukit Fraser, we dropped by Ye Olde Smokehouse for a lazy afternoon tea, not knowing what else to do in a cold wet afternoon up in the mountains. Our tea came with a slice of homemade orange cake, a very plain slice but crazily delicious. It was buttery yet it fluffy and very light, so good that we tried to ask for the recipe but of course, they do not entertain such ridiculous request.

When I came back, I started to scout for similar orange cake recipes and I managed to see one at Happy Home Baking's blog and decided to give it a try. The recipe uses yogurt, which reminds me of Sri's Lemon Yogurt Cake, another recipe that I've bookmarked, actually both recipes are rather similar.

Tastewise, this is a little richer and denser, I suspect it is the yogurt since the amount of butter used is very little. Nevertheless I still like it because it is super moist and I think I'll try this recipe with passionfruit next. This cake is really good with a cup of Earl Grey.

back to basics

2009-06-29T17:30:00.007+08:00

Our family recently took a short break to Malaysia, I was a little hesitant initially, I'm not sure how well could my children (or even hubby) adapt to the unfamiliar environment. We are not talking about visiting the cosmo KL but rather, a very rustic kampong in Bentong, unfamiliar to most.

I want my kids to know what it is like living in a kampong, I don't want them to grow up thinking, every building has aircons and lifts. It was really a great experience for them, to get to know their cousins, appreciate nature, chase after chickens, catch prawns and harvest limes. The only culture shock to them was the squatting toilet, that is something I have almost forgotten how to use myself, I can imagine myself toppling over now.

We also made a side trip to Bukit Fraser to enjoy the serenity after a hectic day in the farm. It was a good decision, we made use of the time at Bukit Fraser to recuperate, taking it slowly and even enjoyed a delicous afternoon tea in one of those English inspired hotels.

It was a truly enjoyable vacation and I'm glad hubby takes a liking to this kind of kampong lifestyle too, in fact, he gets along so well with the guys that they are already making plans to go fishing and catch wild boars in December.

pretzels

2009-06-08T08:38:00.004+08:00

I have been wanting to do pretzels, for a long time, after eating the cinnamon sugar coated lovelies from Aunt Anne. I have been searching around for a recipe closed to Aunt Anne's and I found this with numerous pages of good reviews from Imperial Kitchen. Those ladies there are wonder homebakers, so many can't be wrong.

The recipe calls for simple ingredients, readily available at home. It didnt take me long to prepare the dough and perhaps due to the large ratio of yeast used, the dough rised pretty fast. The most challenging part, which I initially thought, was dipping the twisted pretzels into the soda bath. I had imagine a gluey messy batch of shapeless dough but my surprise, it was almost effortless. I did it almost as swift as the workers from AA (hehe). The difficult part was actually shaping them, it wasn't easy, to me.

As for the taste, it is soft like AA but I think they didn't only use melted butter to coat the cinnamon sugar. I remember tasting caramel, maybe next time. I'm happy with these for breakfast today.

Pretzels

1 1/4 cup warm water (start with 1 cup for Singapore's climate)
1 tbsp + 1/4 tsp yeast
3 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vegetable oil

Bath

4 cups warm water
1/4 baking soda (or 4 tbsp)

1. Activate the yeast in 1 cup warm water
2. Mix all the ingredients and knead until you get a soft dough
3. Cover the dough with clingwrap and leave it prove until double its size
4. Divide the dough into 10 portions
5. Roll each dough into long strips and form into pretzels
6. Dip each pretzel into the soda bath, quickly dry it on a piece of kitchen towel
7. Place them on a greased baking sheet and bake for 8 - 10min at 220deg preheated oven
8. Brush the baked pretzels with melt butter and coat with cinnamon sugar

sweet potato bread

2009-05-25T09:06:00.004+08:00

I am constantly looking out for new bread recipes and when I heard about this famous 17hr bread method, I knew I had to give it a try. I manage to coax my sis into bringing back a copy of the book from HK as it wasn't available here. This book is written by a famous HK blogger and this method, is apparently failproof plus it promises soft fluffy bread due to the extended hours of low temperature proving.

I chose to start off with the sweet potato bread simply because it looks the prettiest. The intital starter dough felt dry, I had to add in more water for it to feel 'right'. The main dough, after the addition of the starter dough was very wet. I wonder did the moisture come from the condensation of the starter dough (out from the fridge). It wasn't hard to manage but it was not easy either, trying to shape a wet dough.

The bread is indeed soft but a little too chewy. I want to think it is because of the sweet potatoes that changes the properties of the bread. Overall, it is a easy recipe to follow and the extended proving time means you don't have to stay at home whole day just to jagar your dough. I will try another recipe, probably the one with the mixed nuts, highly recommended by E.

Sweet Potato Bread
(extracted from Natural Breads Made Easy)

Pre-ferment Dough
377g bread flour
216g water
11g fresh yeast
5g sea salt
11g skim milk powder

Dissolve the yeast in water, add bread flour, sea salt, skim milk powder and knead until soft. Cover the dough in cling wrap. Refrigerate and let it prove for 17 hours.

Dough
162g bread flour
16g skim milk
5g sea salt
65 sugar
135g water
5g fresh yeast
43g unsalted butter
269g mashed purple sweet potato

Fillings
Mashed sweet potatoes

Knead all ingredients of dough together (except butter). Add pre-ferment dough piece by piece. Knead after each addition until soft and smmoth. Add butter, knead until elastic.

Prove the bread until double in size, divide it into 16 pieces and let them rest for another 20min.

Flatten each ball and wrap with mash potato fillings, let it rest until double in size and bake in preheated oven at 170-180deg for 30-35min.

whipping cream buns - again

2009-04-26T19:13:00.007+08:00

The Dplus Hokkaido Cream bread inspires me so much that I went ahead to fix my own whiping cream bread using the previous recipe again yesterday. I really don't quite like to work with a greasy dough but the result was great, my buns turned out rich and chewy.

There is not shortcuts to good breads (I cheated the last time), so yesterday, I made sure I gave it a good 250 slams against my tabletop, sufficient time to rise and rest in my fridge. I am pleased with the results and when I ate one for breakfast this morning, it was still soft *yay*

I have increased the amount of sugar slightly so I that can eat it on its own. The original recipe calls for 40g sugar and to me, it was kind of bland or perhaps, will taste better with butter and marmalade spreads.

Whipping Cream Bread

300g bread flour
7g dried yeast
3g salt
50g sugar
225ml whipping cream
60ml water

Somehow, unintentionally, my cute little buns reminded me of udders..mooo..

cottony soft natural yeast bread

2009-04-24T08:54:00.006+08:00

This must be one of the most delicious breads I have ever eaten. And I didnt buy it from a high end bakery, I bought it from a old provision shop off Commonwealth. I have a feeling this is how my whipping cream bread should taste like. It has the familiar greasy touch due to the large amount of whipping cream used. I take back my words, I'm going to give this whipping cream bread a try again.

In case you are wondering, this wonderful bread only cost me $1.20, which is a steal considering you often pay more at some bakeries.

whipping cream bread

2009-04-23T08:43:00.001+08:00

Baking bread takes alot of planning and effort. A lot of planning because breads really take a long time to prepare, from the inital stage of kneading until they are ready to be sent into the oven. The timing, hence, is very important. I usually knead my dough after 10pm and let it rise overnight. For my dough to rise within an hour or two, I need external assistance, like sitting my bowl over hot water or leaving it in a warm oven.

I saw this recipe from dailydelicious and I remember one of the memebers in the parenting forum I visit, mentioned that it is super nice, so with some planning calculated, I started on the dough on Sunday night. This recipe does not require any eggs or butter but instead, 225ml of whipping cream. Being a novice breadmaker, I was surprised how oily whipping cream is! The dough felt like a chinese oil dough, my hands were covered with a film of oil. No wonder the recipe requires the dough to be kept overnight in the refrigerator.

When I shaped the dough the next morning, I can still feel the oiliness so I had to make swift movements to prevent the dough from melting. While I let the dough do its 2nd stage proofing, I made a quick trip to the airport to pick up my sister coming back from HK. However, halfway through we received news that my youngest sister, in labour then, was about to birth, we detoured to the hospital. I did not factor in this and hence, my breads were over proven.

I didnt think this bread is anything more fabulous than my 65C bread. Maybe because of the little mishap at the end. I dare say I might not attempt this recipe again because the whipping cream is way too oily and fattening.

Anyway, my sister gave birth to her second child, little Freja yesterday evening. Such a lovely little bundle. Maybe I should bake some Swedish Semlor to celebrate her arrival.

fine butter cake

2009-04-22T08:33:00.003+08:00

I saw this on Florence's blog and since she named it Fine Butter Cake, it must be good! So how can I not give it a try then. As it turns out, it is really good, how good is good, I guess it is subjective but if my family is not rejecting it, then I'll take it as good.

As compared to the famous butter cake recipe shared by Lee Lee, this one is not as fluffy, hence more dense. Both are different in their own ways.

Fine Butter Cake

150g good quality butter (I use Golden Churn)
1 tbsp corn oil/olive oil
110g castor sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs

140g cake flour
40g corn flour
1/3 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp whipping cream

1. Cream the butter, sugar and corn oil until white and fluffy
2. Add in salt and vanilla essense
3. Beat in the eggs, one by one
4. Sift the cake flour, corn flour and baking powder before folding in into the butter mixture
5. Stir in the whipping cream
6. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180degC for 35 min

chocolate cupcake

2009-04-17T09:10:00.003+08:00

E made a latest entry on moist chocolate cake, when I saw the words moist and chocolate, I have this urge to bake it immediately. So I started working on it right after dinner.

The method is quite different from the usual creaming of butter and sugar. This one involves melting the butter with water. And because H was helping me, I sifted the flour and cocoa powder together when I was supposed to whisk the cocoa powder into my melted butter. Anyway, other than this little mishap, everything went smoothly.

This chocolate cake is really good, super moist and soft even after overnight. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks E!

Moist Chocolate Cupcake

150g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
150ml water
35g cocoa powder

170g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
180g castor sugar (E uses 200g, I scaled down)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven @ 180degC
2. Combine butter, salt and water in a saucepan and heat it under low fire until the butter melts, almost reaching boiling point
3. Add in cocoa powder and whisk till smooth
4. Let it cool complete before adding in eggs and vanilla essence and give it a good whisk
5. Sift the flour and baking powder, stir in the sugar
6. Fold the flour/sugar into the cocoa mixture and beat till smooth
7. Pour into prepared muffin cases and bake for 20-25min or until the skewer comes out clean

hummingbird cake

2009-04-12T09:01:00.004+08:00

The first time I bought a hummingbird cake, I had no idea what it was; I thought it was just a fanciful name for a cake-like donut. However, they turned out to be the kind of cakes I love, dense and flavorful.

I followed R's recipe and voila, it does resemble the ones I bought at Pop Doh and making them is so easy! I'm now tempted to get myself some donut trays so that I can have cute little donut shaped cakes instead of a big bundt ring now.

Hummingbird Cake

140g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp grond cinnamon

1 egg
70g castor sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/8 tsp salt
40g corn oil

130g mashed bananas
80g crushed canned pinapples
20g pineapple syrup
50g walnuts/pecans

First you whisk the egg until it is pale and fluffy, then you add in the sugar, vanilla, salt and oil, giving it a good beat.

Add in the bananas, pineapple, syrup and nuts into the egg mixture.

Fold in the dry sifted ingredients (flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon) and baked in a preheated oven at 170deg C for 15 min or until a skewer comes out clean.

oatmeal chocolate chips cookies

2009-04-11T11:04:00.005+08:00

I'm often attracted to E's bsking, she always bakes the stuff that I would love to bake (and eat) too. So inspirational : )

In one of her recent entries, she made oatmeal raisin cookies. I have never made anything with oatmeal so I thought this is a good chance. I always have the impression that oatmeal cookies will turn out very crispy but somehow mine is more chewy. E said that I can make them crispier by baking them longer. Overall, it is a nice cookies but next time, I'll stick to the dried fruits combi, chocolate chips are really meant for the good old chocolate chip cookies.

Thanks E for sharing such a wonderful and simple recipe.

frog the frills

2009-04-10T10:55:00.003+08:00

I started on this project a while back, it was one of the hottest winter patterns and I have seen so many different versions of it sprouting in blog world. Attracted by its frilly ends, I went ahead even though it wasn't a practical design.

And so, 3 weeks later, short of a sleeve, it looks like something a flower pixie would wear. It is still cute but no way I or anyone for that matter will wear it. The final decision is to recycle the yarn into something wearable.

Another reason is also partly the color isnt my usual choice of colors. That is the problem of buying online, sometimes, what you see is not what you will get, especially the colors appearing on different monitor can be very different.

condensed milk pound cake

2009-04-03T08:34:00.003+08:00

Now that my baking mojo is somewhat back, I am eager to try out some recipes I've bookmarked earlier. My second sis Y, loves butter cake and since she will be making a trip back later this month, I have to prepare a good butter/pound cake for her. For me, frosted do nothing for me, I prefer those simple dense and flavoursome loaves. So when I saw this cake in E's blog, I knew I have to try.

The cake turns out to be soft, moist and smells wonderful, partly because of the condensed milk. But I felt it was a little too sweet for my liking and I will have to scale down on the sugar. However, it is a very small loaf (or should I say short), I will have to double the recipe, or probably follow R's recommendation.

Compared to the usual butter cake I bake, I like this better and Y, you are going to have this when you come back from HK this month.

Oh, this cake keeps well and taste good too when it is chilled.

Condensed Milk Pound Cake

Bake at 170degC for 1 hour

120g butter
45g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp vanilla essense
1/2 cup condensed milk
120g cake flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs

Yields a 8 x 1.5" loaf

golfing with gf

2009-03-31T10:59:00.007+08:00

Men will tell you how great it is to share a round of golf with their buddies and I can tell you, it is even better if you could with it with your bestest gf together with your spouses.

Thats what we did, when J came over to Singapore this week. I haven't seen her (other than online) for a year and our first meeting this time is actually off to the green.

I was sceptical about this outing because I really do not want J to feel bored, knowing that she has just started on this game and it will be challenging to conquer 18 holes (applies to me also) on a hot humid day (it is still wintery at the place she came from). Nevertheless, seeing her immaculately dolled up in her Nike golf attire assured me she was more than ready (at least, the dressing part).

We did it slow and easy and we actually had alot of fun!! Fun for me because I have someone else to talk to during the game, instead of hearing dh's constant reminder to square my shoulders and don't lift up your head!!

The day started hot and got even hotter, I was afraid J would pass out anytime! It got better after the brief shower, at least, cooler but that was also when the mosquitoes decided to come out for a feast.

We ended the game in the late afternoon and had a yummy fattening lunch of Char Kway Teow, Nasi Goreng at the clubhouse. I wish we can do this again, J. Maybe next time, in your home ground. *wink*

Er..I forgot to take pictures, we were, erm, very serious with the game. Yes we were. Lol.

cinnamon rolls

2009-03-23T08:38:00.003+08:00

You can see by now, how crazy I am over bread making, I'm not denying. I try to make them on weekends, as the process takes a long time. Usually, I knead and let it proof overnight (I start after 11pm), I didnt have to worry about overproofing as the weather has been nice and sometimes chilly, so by 6am the next day, I have a nice puffed up dough waiting for me.

This recipe somehow taste a little chewy on the outside. I'm not sure if its the baking temperature. I am quite sure for breads, you need a very hot oven to ease its final growth spurt before settling into nice puffy buns. This recipe only requires 170degC which I feel is a little too low and requires 15-20min to bake, which I feel is a little too long, my understanding is hot and fast for breads, unlike cakes.

Nevertheless, the final outcome is still nice, though I'm going to try using another recipe or changing the over temperature/baking time the next round.

cocktail bun 鸡尾包

2009-03-16T08:58:00.005+08:00

I made these on Sunday, actually, I prepared the 汤种 dough on Saturday night, left it to proof overnight before shaping and baking them on Sunday morning. There has been a rave over this water roux dough in one of the baking forums I visit and according to the experts, this method yields a super soft and fluffy texture, like what you can get from the Japanese bakeries. They were not exeggerating, my buns were so soft and so fluffy that we could not resist the temptation and ate them while they were still hot.

As usual, I keep some for the next day, to see how long the softness can last. This morning, I ate one, it is still soft but not as light as I hope. Perhaps more slamming helps?? Lol.

I'm posting the recipe here, for jq, specially.

汤种 (water roux) Bread Dough

Water roux dough
25g bread flour
125ml water (ratio is 1:5)

Stir the bread flour into the water and heat them up in a saucepan, over light medium fire, constantly stirring the batter with a whisk. You should stop when it reaches 65 deg but since I didnt have a kitchen thermometer, I followed the instructions here.

Main dough
375g bread flour
100g plain flour
35g milk powder
75g castor sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 egg, lightly beaten
150ml lukewarm water
40g butter

Prepare the bread dough by incorporating the water roux dough into the main dough.

The filling
100g soften butter
45g plain flour, sifted
50g milk powder, sifted
45g castor sugar
20g dessicated coconut

Mix the stir all the ingredients together. I leave it in the fridge so that it is easier to handle.

my successful loaf

2009-03-09T08:50:00.004+08:00

I love baking breads, this stems from more than 10 years ago, where an ex-colleague brought some freshly home baked cinnamon rolls to work. I was determined to try since I remember learning bread making in Home Economics. But I havent had much success, my breads were usually hard, far from soft and totally not fluffy. I knew it had something to do with my kneading but I just didnt know how to improve until recently, I read somewhere that, in order to achieve results like the Asian fluffy soft breads and without using a high duty mixer, you have to slam the dough against your worktop for about 200 - 250 times. Sounds crazy right? But I tried, and I am pleased to confirm that it is true. I did manage to get myself some soft and chewy raisin buns, they stay soft, even after a day. (previously, my breads turned hard after 1 hour).

And this is also the first time I see a smooth and shiny dough form, from its inital sticky gluey messy stage. All the while, I doubted the books because I never seem to be able to get that shiny look on my dough.

My not so pretty looking raisin bread, I will work on my shaping later on.

The soft and fluffy inside *beaming with pride*

There's going to be more loaves to come : )

CNY bakes

2009-02-09T09:44:00.003+08:00

No no, I didnt not attempt any cookies or whatsoever for the festive season, it was just too much work and practically impossible to spend hours in the kitchen without disturbance from the two babies.

I did, however, tried Sri's Honey Pound Cake as I am a sucker for pound cakes, especially SaraLee's. I can eat the whole bar if no one stopped me. I must admit, this comes quite close or even better than SaraLee's especially when it is chilled. However, I must remember to lower the oven temperature since I am using a nonstick bakeware, see the dark crust?

I also made a red bean nian gao for CNY. This is the second time I tried making red bean nian gao, but like my first, it was not firm enough after steaming. I'm still trying to figure why, did I not steam enough? This time, I used a different recipe that calls for glutinous flour instead of tai 太白粉 the last time.

I'll just leave the recipe here, so that any one can comment and let me know what went wrong.

Red Bean Nian Gao

200g Glutinous Flour
250g Cooked Red Beans
180ml Coconut Milk
150g Brown Sugar

Heat up the coconut milk until it bubbles, turn off the heat and stir in the sugar, and make sure it dissolves.
Leave it to cool down before stirring in the glutinous flour and finally red beans.
The mixture should be thick and gluey.
Pour the mixture into a baking tin lined with cellophane paper (optional) and steam over high heat for 1 hour.
Test for doneness but sticking in a skewer, it should come out clean.
Cool before cutting.

mini bolero

2009-02-07T20:06:00.002+08:00

This is my first attempt on a circular design and I am glad I tried it out, it is perfect for clumsy people like me, who has difficulty stitching a beautiful seam. This bolero is seamless and I love how the little sleeves stick out, like a fairy's wings. I think, I might just make a bigger one for myself since it is so simple and quite a fast project.

The yarn chosen here was Hamanaka's Sea Queen. After learning about this yarn, I had a hard time searching for a online shop that carries this line. I finally got them at Rakuten and paid S$70 for 2 packs of tens. The beauty about this yarn is, it has very good yardage, a little goes a long way you may say. I used only 2.5 balls for this project.

for the little miss

2009-02-02T08:54:00.002+08:00

She is so lucky, without even doing anything, she received a beautiful handmade vest in the same shade as my shawl.

See how happy she is.

And here's my pretty shawl, thanks J, I love it too much.

laughter's the best medicine

2009-01-28T17:21:00.006+08:00

Not that I needed medication but recently, my BFF made me fell off the chair, not once but twice with her crazy antics. It was simply too hilarious that I laughed until I tear.

The first occcasion was pre-warned surprise package arriving at my door step on my birthday. I had no idea what it was, I thought it was this but at around 5pm, my mom called my mobile to inform me that surprise has arrived and because she couldnt believe her own eyes, she asked me if I had told my friend that our family is short of a wok?! Now that got me all curious and I quickly made a phone call to my BFF. We laughed, we giggled like two silly teenagers. You've got to see it to understand what it was all about. I also salute to the guys behind it, it is indeed a very unique table arrangement, except that I would prefer a Scanpan wok rather than a Ikea :p

The second dose was even better. Not too long ago, I completed a mint bolero which was inspired by a certain French luxury brand women's wear. BFF was so convinced by me that she made one for herself, in the exact color (plus the shimmering metallic threads) I described to her. That was like two days after the wok surprise, I received another box from the mailman, this I had anticipated. Nonetheless, when I opened the box, I saw a paper bag that spelled Chanel and in it, was that lovely bolero she made!! Goodness girlfriend, you shouldnt have spent so much money *grin*. I called her again and we laughed like two mad women this time.

Thanks for the presents J, you are such wonderful friend and I love your unusual sense of humor. I think nobody but us will understand what the Chanel paper bag is all about. Lol.

varigated capelet

2009-01-22T10:27:00.003+08:00

Yet another capelet added to my list, not only they are easy to make, they can be a cute fashion accesory too. This is the first time I worked on varigated yarn and this particular one was bought from Knittery, I love their color choices, and it is very dangerous to visit their shop, you might just buy all the colors available. I bought another skein in reds, Moses of Fire with my BFF in mind, and I am glad she likes it. The color is so her.

Unfortunately, as much as I love this capelet, it doesnt fit me, its a little too small for my round meaty shoulders so I will be giving it away. However, I might want to make this again, you can see how much I love capelets. Lol.

another year older

2009-01-21T08:33:00.004+08:00

Birthday present to myself : )

If someone were to ask me which is the best part of my life, I would say its now. I have a great (literally and figuratively) hubby, 2 lovely children, my mom in good health, a super duper cute nephew and wonderful family, what more can I ask for. I am grateful for what I have today.

It may sound freaky but I know 4 other people actually sharing the same birthdate as me. Happy Birthday to mom, wishing you great health and happiness, and also to JR, J & LB. Wishing you all a wonderful day!!

make your own dress

2009-01-07T11:19:00.003+08:00

I have been searching for some casual weekend wear dresses but all I saw were skimpy sun dresses that exposed half of your chest, or frumpy sacks that tried to pass off as dresses. Of those that pass my looktest, they cost an arm and sometimes a leg throw in.

I have a couple of Japanese sewing books which I am now toying with the idea of sewing my own dress. Problem is, my sewing skills (haha..hardly any) sucks. I cannot even sew a straight line or cut a perfect rectangle. The sewing machine roars like a hungry lion and I am so petrified, hardly dare to treadle faster. So how am I going to even sew a dress?!

I love those Japanese designs, they are roomy enough without looking like a shapeless sack and sometimes, they have cute details too. Maybe I should humble up and ask my mil for help. She is a great seamstress, surely she can guide the most clumsy apprentice.

Let this be one of my 2009 resolution, to learn how to sew. I wonder why, when a woman becomes a mother, she suddenly takes interest in sewing and dream of making an entire wardobe of cute dresses for her daughter. Or is it me only?

random updates

2009-01-05T13:36:00.002+08:00

Our long vacation is finally over and now its back to reality. T is promoted to K2 now and due to some 'technical faults' my mom failed to pick him up on time for the first 2 days, that cry baby bawled his heart out. We promised him it won't happen again.

During the short break, we made a trip to the Marina Barrage, a huge open space but crazily hot with not much shelters.

We also managed to squeeze in a getaway to Sofitel Palm Resort and celebrated the children's birthdays there.

Finally, my princess is willing to put on the cape I made for her last year, ever so convinced that she is indeed a princess. I think she looks alot like my second sis in this picture. Actually, they have similar mannerism and equally vain :P

crochet vest

2008-12-23T09:23:00.003+08:00

Honestly, I'm not a vest person, but this design caught my eye and I feel I can do with one. Take note, I do not have a good eye for colors and I definitely did not plan for it to have a different tone edgings. I ran out of yarn without knowing that those were discontinued colors. After some searching, I finally found someone selling the color I was looking for and placed an order. You can imagine the shock on my face when I received it in another lighter tone. I went back and checked through my correspondences with the seller and confirmed her mistake. What's worst, the seller disappeared and her ebay shop was emtpy. Out of no choice, I consulted my BFF and we decided to give it a go since the colors are rather close. Fortunately, it turns out quite well. Phew.

The only seaming required for this piece is at the shoulder joining. I'm not sure if it is the yarn or that I'm finally getting at it, my seams were pretty neat. The most exciting moment of each and every project would be the fitting part and alas, much to my anticipation, this wonderful vest is too snug for me! I have to loose a good 5kg in order to wear it nicely like the model did.

Final decision, to keep it and try to lose 5kg or just close one eye and rip it. Such anti-climax too.

room shoes

2008-12-22T09:21:00.004+08:00

Japanese have a cute way of describing things, and I think, Japanese, in general is feminine, regardless male or female. Just like how every single item has a gender, in the French language, I think to a Japanese, all things are Female. If you have been watching Japanese gameshows on TV, it is easy to see how the male host often tilts his head or does a cute hand gesture that you don't see any male of other nationalities will want to display. Oh, and how they exclaim 'oiishi' when they tasted good food, so orgasmic. But I have nothing against them, in fact, I love Japanese, they are my paymaster. Lol.

Back to this, this is room shoes, not socks or shoes, specifically room shoes, as stated in the book. What a good way to use my acrylic yarns and this was a really quick project. The fit was right and it does keep my feet warm, during these windy days. I'm pleased with how it turned out, and very cute too.

christmas party with ex-nobelians

2008-12-15T16:25:00.005+08:00

...ex nobel colleagues, not nobel lians :p

We planned this about a month ago and we finally got together last Saturday. It was a boisterous afternoon. I do miss this bunch of colleagues, well, at least, they are normal people, compared to my current co-workers. What fun we had!

We had a table laden with good food and speaking of food, I mustn't forget to mention the pulot hitam logcake. You cannot imagine black glutinous rice and sponge cake coming together but I tell you, it was fabulous, best logcake I'd ever had. Shirley got it from Pine Garden (and their famous lychee martinis cake) and I'm thinking of placing an order for my family gathering next week. But I'm a bit lazy to travel all the way to AMK to pick it up. Jess' fried Mee Siam was simply ol la la too, everything was yummy!!

What is a christmas party without gift exchange. Everyone was supposed to bring foodstuff, yes, we are a bunch of foodies who prefer food to photoframes or cups. And lucky me, I got a tin of nougats from Agnes b delice, all the way from HK, thanks to Ko Heem!

Apart from the usual gift exchange, Cat and myself sponsored a mini lucky draw, we had crazy prizes ranging from shopping bags to g-string. It was hilarious to see who got what. And to top that up, one lucky winner brought home a lottery ticket, we are waiting for her to split the loot in Jan (Lian, we never forget).

It was really fun. Let's hope we will get to meet for CNY.

can drive

2008-12-12T09:48:00.003+08:00

I took a day off, to play golf yesterday. Bearing in mind what G told me about how a driver should work, I carefully planned my set up and stance, took a deep breathe and wheee...my ball flew! I had to make sure it wasn't just sheer luck and true enough, I managed to get the right projectile for 70 percent of the time. If you were there, you could see me beaming like full moon.

What I need now is to tackle my short game and make sure my wood works. I'm still not very confident of my short game and like it or not, the more you fear topping, the more it is going to top and roll off the green. I don't know if it is a game of sport or mind. My wood is erratic too, I think I have learn it like how I learned my driver. It should work.

My happiest moment was I managed a 2 on for a par 4 hole but the green was really fast, so I ended up with a 3 putt bogey finish. My putting was bad, averaging 3 putts yesterday, something to do the the fast green, I couldn't see any break/brake. So IF I maintained my usual 2 putt finish, my total score could be lower. Unfortuntately, golf doesn't work that way.

It is really fun, when your ball gets going. And oh, I played the Allamanda course at Palm Resort yesterday. Alot of water hazards and I lose 3 precious balls.

first

2008-12-01T14:57:00.005+08:00

T participated in his first piano concert last Saturday. He started learning piano in February and with hardly any practises at home, I was surprised when his teacher proposed to register him into the year end concert. That shows that he is doing something we are not aware of.

He played two short and simple pieces and everything turned out well. He didnt forget his notes nor did he get his tempo wrong. We are so proud of him. When his teacher first told me about this concert, the first thing that came into my mind was T getting panicky and started to cry on the stage. Now, it looks like he is more calm and composed than me.

Now that the concert is over, I think we are going back to our lazy self again, no more nagging about practising, at least for the time being. His school holiday is my holiday too.

mint bolero

2008-11-18T12:57:00.004+08:00

There is some background to this project.

This is a popular design from one of last year's books, in fact, the original pattern is meant for children but I followed some other crafters to have it made to fit an adult.

I had this pattern stashed somewhere, not quite willing to work on it until one day, I saw someone wearing a Chanel crochet bolero. Both patterns are so similar except the sleeves were much more elaborate for the designer piece, and since I can never afford a Chanel....the rest is history.

I am very happy with this piece, the color and the fit, is perfect.

the long and the short

2008-11-12T08:46:00.003+08:00

I finally went back to the green after a good 5-year break. The feeling is beyond words, I was nervous and at the same time excited when I took my stance at the first tee. Needless to say, I couldn't drive for nuts. I had three mulligans but my biggest relief was, there wasn't any flight after ours, less stress.

It was a good game though it was drizzling throughout, funny thing was, I hardly felt the rain, maybe I was concentrating too hard on my game. My final score counts a grand total of 126, hardly mentionable but I guess thats not too bad for someone who hasn't stepped into the range nor touched her clubs for half a decade. Lol.

I need to work harder on my driver, get my woods to be more consistent and of coz, my chipping. In summary, I have to work on my long and short game. The only consolation is, I managed an average 2 putt finish.

killer heels

2008-11-03T15:47:00.003+08:00

My first ever 4 inches high stilettos. I think the cute fringe overtake my fear for toppling over. Thanks to S, for constantly sharing with me all her good buys . That woman, she has enough shoes to dress a millipede. Lol.

the long and winding yarn

2008-10-28T11:41:00.003+08:00

So I plucked up enough courage to unravel the 2 hanks of yarns J sent me. Whosh..my instant nightmare began. I spent almost 3 hours trying to wind the first skein, getting messy all throughout. I recalled vaguely something about a clothes hanger J used when she did hers, but too late for me to do anything now. Just imagine a plate of meatball spagetti, I'm the meatball sitting on top of a mess of spinach noodles.

I became smarter with the second skein, I tried the clothes hanger method but didn't quite work for me, it was slow. I then looped the huge coil of yarn around my knee with me sitting on the floor. I used 1 hour for the second skein, much faster and tidier.

I don't think in any time sooner, I will order yarns sold in this format. I'm not ready. Lol.

surprise package

2008-10-21T20:24:00.004+08:00

I <3 mails, especially these kind of mails.

Thanks J, I love the bolero, everything is perfect, from the colour to the fit. And the lovely green yarns, the first time I see yarns wind in this way. So what am I going to do? Get G to loop it in his two arms while I wind them into balls?? Lols.

I'm going to use this lovely yarns for this pattern that is on my to-do list. Perfect isnt it?? I do not have any idea the yardage of those yarns, I do not think weighing them will help, I haven't quite figure out how to guage by weight. As this is a patchwork design, I can easily cut short the sleeves or length, so I don't have to worry about running out of yarns half way. Smart move?

My BFF, thank you so much!!!

autumn shawl

2008-10-05T09:01:00.004+08:00

I finally made something from the latest book and can self declare that I am no longer behind time, although my BFF will tell you, it doesn't matter as long as the design is appealing. Lols. Still, it nice to work on something that is the 'latest'.

Having said that, I guess shawls are not my favourite projects as it involves (almost endless) repeating the same pattern for more than a metre long, it gets really boring after a while.

This shawl is made especially for my Aunt, who has been so kind to have us over for dinners almost every other week. She is a fabulous cook and gets satisfaction from seeing us gobbling down her creations. I wanted a none too dowdy shawl and this was chosen because of the cute little frilly ends. I just hope she likes it and finds it useful.

F1 fever

2008-09-30T09:01:00.004+08:00

The world's first ever F1 night race came and zoomed passed over the weekend. No, we did not have any tickets to the race, it costs an arm and leg (well, almost) for those really good seats. I knew nothing about F1 except the famous Schumarcher, who has since retired from the racing scene. Whenever I see F1 on TV, it was senseless to me, almost as senseless as golf but at least, I am able to understand golf now.

Anyway, everyone's spirits was high since last week, my two F1 fever girlfriends, after seeing their idols in person, were all more than ready to attend the race. S, especially lucky when her boss passed her a pair of tickets to the private suite, that pair of tickets worth $5,000 if I am not wrong. Lucky her!

So by Saturday, much under the influenced of the media and A, I decided to brave the crowd and bring T to Marina Square to catch a glimpse (if possible) and to experience the roaring engines. I am not surprised that we were not the only cheapos around, there were many others trying to do what we were doing. T was naturally delighted to 'hear' a race, it was really loud.

The race ended with Kimi Räikkönen crashing, so did my Timmy Räikkönen, he crashed onto the door frame while racing with his sister at home, quite silly, now he has a huge bump on his forehead. He is proud, that he crashed, just like the big boys.

patchy mini shawl

2008-09-22T08:10:00.007+08:00

I finished this quite a while ago but haven't blogged about it because I did not managed to find any suitable button for it. Anyhow, my BFF wanted to see it, so here is it.

The size of this mini shawl is just nice, wrapping around the shoulders, it uses slightly less than 3 balls of Panda Starshine, an impulsive buy from Spotlight since 1. it was cheap ($1.50 per ball) and 2. my favourite colour. I didn't know what to do with 270 metres of yarn, too little for a bolero, a cape or anything until I came across this design in one of my books. This is the first time I work with a 8/0 hook, I felt like I'm crocheting with chopsticks!! This is also the first time I attempted on motif designs, luckily this mini shawl takes only 7 triangles to construct. But having said that, 14 loose ends is enough to dry my patience whether I weaved it in along the way or not. I keep having second thoughts about my 118 squares bolero (J, I salute you!).

Somehow, it didn't turn out fitting, the joining edges are popping out, the sides of the triangles are not straight but instead, convexes out, maybe that's the reason?

crochet copycat

2008-09-19T09:33:00.006+08:00

Have you ever had this experience where you ran through the latest crochet book, you found nothing catches your eye and until you see someone finishing a pattern from that book, then you realised, gosh, thats what I wanted to do too!! It happens to me all the time. Perhaps I'm really no good in mental visualisation and color coordination, if it didnt appeal to me at first look, I will not try to see it in my mind, playing with different color tones to if it worked for me.

Thankfully, I surf blogs and very often, I come across fellow bloggers with similar tastes coming up with variations of the same design. And it is because of them, I revisited patterns that I carelessly skipped because the original model did not appeal to me in the first place.

Perhaps I should refrain from rushing to buy new books the moment they appear in Kinokuniya, perhaps I should just wait and see what others have on their hooks, perhaps I should just be a crochet copycat.

took a day off

2008-09-04T11:38:00.003+08:00

from work and spent the entire day with the children since it is T's school break this week. I knew I'm playing my luck when I suggested Pasir Ris Park since the weather here has been gloomy and rainy. The morning was sunny but the boys didnt wake up until 10am. By the time we set off, we made a quick drive to Bedok to satisfy the man's craving for char kway teow. Our favourite Hill street CKT has moved to Bedok since a decade ago and we have not made any effort to locate it, so why not yesterday, since we were heading east. The prize was not the CKT but actually prawn noodles a few stalls away, I love their chilli, with a dash of tomato sauce that adds tangy sweet taste to it. Sedap!

Pasir Ris Park was very quiet on a weekday despite school holidays, I guess the students are busy preparing for their year end exams (SA or CA?? I have lost track but will surely remember in 2 years time). We didnt get to cycle as planned but we plonked ourselves beside the beach and built sand castles. H was so terrified of stepping on grass and sands so she kept herself busy by drinking 700ml of diluted Ribena and snacking on biscuits within the safe zones on the picnic mat.

Nothing special but just a typical family outing with lots of fun as usual. Oh, we did make a detour to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, hoping to retrieve a missing waist pouch containing G's precious memory cards (containing his psp games, not erotic pics btw) which he might have left behind during our last Bintan trip. And because of this, we bumped into our long lost friend who was on the way to Bintan with his family. I always feel happy to meet up with old friends, brings back memories of my happy school days.

I will be taking the afternoon off tomorrow, will be bringing the children to the toys store, we haven't done that for a long time and, we don't have to worry about the menancing dark clouds.

purple shawl

2008-08-18T09:04:00.005+08:00

I started this project during my mini getaway and only get to complete it last saturday, quite a bit of hardwork on the little pong pongs.

Now that I look at it, it doesn't look too bad, I mean colorwise, it is actually rather acceptable. I just hope I can gather enough courage to wear it out. Somehow, wearing knitted stuff is still not very common in Singapore.

The best thing I love about this shawl is the loop joining the extreme ends of the shawl, it keeps it from falling off your shoulders, keeping it secure and at the same time, accessorising the entire look.

chocolate chips cookies

2008-08-15T09:12:00.007+08:00

There must have been 1001 chocolate chips cookies recipes out there, all claiming to be the best, the most chewy, the most favourite but really, you have to try for yourself which works for you. So far, I have not found any, that is close to what Arnotts used to make and sell in bags at the supermarket. I could finish that entire bag in one go and that also accounted for what I am today.

Back to my chocolate chips cookies, the recipe I tried last night was extracted from this blog. How can I not give it a try when the blogowner is, obviously a chocolate chip cookies lover herself, just look at her numerous entries on chocolate chip cookies, in all format and styles (she even attempted to bake some in her car on a hot summer day).

So I went on to bake, and because the recipe is really simple, I was done within 30 minutes. My first tray didnt turn out too well, actually my fault, I stepped away from the kitchen to install a game for T, so the bottom was a little burnt. The second tray was perfect and boy, they go very well with a cup of hot tea, rather similar to the little cookie accompanying the hot cuppas at Coffee Club. Nice!

summer waldorf

2008-08-07T09:13:00.005+08:00

This simple waldorf is made with a combination of yoghurt and mango puree, the final taste is really fresh and summery. I'm going crazy about all sorts of salads, perhaps next week, I'll attempt my BFF's Thai seafood salad.

cold soba salad

2008-08-06T08:59:00.006+08:00

While lunching with S at Toast yesterday, my eyes sank into their bowl of soba salad, such a healthy and wholesome meal, good for people on diet.

My cheater's way of making this soba is really to blanch a packet of snow peas, cook a bunch of soba, mix them with zaru soba sauce and finally garnish with toasted sesame seeds. I don't think Toast made them this way and I'm still curious about their dressing (they make really good salad dressings, I can eat there everyday if my purse allows), I will do a CSI, one of these days. Psst - S, when shall we go again??

i <3 my country

2008-08-04T13:21:00.005+08:00

We were at the NDP08 preview last saturday and all I can say is, I'm super impressed with the Black Knights and the fireworks, they were highlights of the evening. See the heart above, its actually the trails of 2 jets, cool isn't it?

violets are blue

2008-08-01T16:10:00.002+08:00

So are my newly bought yarns.

These were bought from taobao.com, a online shopping mall from China, I was tempted by the attractive price and gave it a go. I have no complaints about the quality since it was so affordable, around S$1.50 a ball, however, I can't say the same for the color. I wonder what was on my mind when I chose this bold color.

I hope it will turn out okay *pray*

back from our mini getaway

2008-07-31T13:08:00.008+08:00

We spent the last weekend at Bintan, a deserving break since we have not gone away for a long time. It was supposed to be a relaxing weekend yet I feel more tired after that, maybe I have not relaxed enough?

Though it was a hectic getaway, we had alot of fun, especially the kids. They simply love the pool and H, being the littliest dare devil, was bold enough to walk around in the baby pool (0.5m) without any floats or hand helding. Of cause we stayed close to her, we were pleasantly surprised by her lack of fear for water. T has great fun monkeying around in the pool. He learned three techniques of jumping into the water; the slithering snake slip, the leaping frog jump and finally his infamous Ironman dive. He also managed to conquer his fear of water by learning how to hold his breath under water for 9 sec, quite an achievement for him.

The resort is nothing new to us since we have been there a couple of times before. This time round, they managed to allocate us a adjoining room with pool view. Even though our rooms were right at the end of the wing, it was great because we were actually nearer to the pool. You know how important that is, especially when you have young children with you, never know when they need to use the toilets or left something for you to fetch from the room.

We found a mini 'zoo' right behind our block, not your regular kind of zoo, in it, we saw bald eagles, vulture, parrots, white crocodiles and a humongous python! There was a signage saying that those animals were salvaged from smugglers trying to bring them out of the island.

As much as I hope to enjoy the makan part like my BFF (all the time during her vacations), unfortunately, our resort does not offer fabulous food. We tried their seafood bbq, their western kitchen and eventually, we concluded the best was still their local delights, my ayam bakar-something was yummy and I cannot forget that lime-ish sweet chilli sauce that went with it.

We had a great time there, except for a minor 'setback' (yes, that traumatizing experience *wink*). I am going to tell G, if we were to visit Bintan again, we have to stay abit longer, quoting my BFF, that you have to literally scrapped me off the beach and pack me home. Lol.

my little cropped top

2008-07-25T10:27:00.005+08:00

Finally, I finished this challenging piece.

Really you would wonder what challenges are there, it is just a very simple cropped top. My challenge is getting the guage right. I got the perfect yarn that calls for 5/0 yet it turned out to be even smaller than the 3/0 sized in the original pattern! How can a hippo sized me squeeze into that tiny top?

I'm so happy with this piece of (hard)work that I wore it fresh from the oven, I only stitched up the buttons this morning. So, tell me, is it cute??

decisions

2008-07-10T10:12:00.008+08:00

My dilemma, just like J's perennial KitchenAid 'problem' (quoted from her), is really to buy or not to buy a sewing machine. The fact that I can remain so half-hearted, for almost a year, indicates that I really don't need (deserve) it.

My inner voice says I should have one, so that I can sew up pretty dresses for H but my mind thinks otherwise. Now, if I had a sewing machine, maybe I can whip up pretty quilts like Erin, look at her Bloom quilt, isn't it awesome? So unlike the usual quilts that come in blocks of standard shapes. She is really an inspiration.

Okay, back to my problem, so, even if I bought the machine, will I use it to the fullest?? Or will sewing split zippers/hems be the only glorious task it will undertake?

So, do I really deserve one??

And which one?? Brother, Janome, Sakura, Pfaff, Bernina (hehe)??

...roar...!

2008-07-01T20:21:00.008+08:00

my lion head...

This is another secret recipe of C and frankly, I have no idea how its supposed to taste like though I've often come across this dish in many 亦舒's novels, I think it is a popular dish in Hong Kong, even though it originates from Shanghai??

C shared this dish with me a month ago, the precious meatballs smelled so good (de javu) that I swear the stomachs of my neighbouring commuters were roaring in silent (actually mine also).

Mine still didnt turned out as good as C's, I wonder what secret ingredients did she add to get that punch. Nevertheless, it was still good and uncle walloped 2 cubs at one go and little H was asking for more - 还要！

This will be another dish for me to show off, when needed. Lol.

tee time

2008-06-18T14:27:00.002+08:00

T is finally getting his posture right and even G felt he can shift his weight better than I do. Furthermore, he is getting good contacts too. As for H...the beginning.... of a golf prodigy..lol.

raspberry shortcake shrug

2008-06-10T09:08:00.005+08:00

This has to be one of my fastest finish project, I took slightly over a week to complete it. Again, I chose Sidar Snuggly for its softness and lightness and I use slightly more than 2 balls of yarn.

The truth about this shrug is, it is actually designed for kids and they are usually super cute so much that even adults want to wear them. And so, I used a bigger size hook, had it converted it into my size. I like how it turned out and the pink its neither too pastel or sickly sweet.

This shrug will go to my friend who has just celebrated her birthday last Saturday and she is simply pretty in pink. Happy belated birthday A!

pandan kaya shrug

2008-06-07T16:42:00.003+08:00

As what A calls it, the shade of green resembles too much of a pandan kaya cake. Actually I really hate to think of it as pandan kaya cake, brings back nervous memories.

The yarn I used was bought together with J during her last visit, I think it is called Layette from Spotlight. I agree with her that this yarn has a nice touch and good to wear. The sleeves should be puffed but I ran out of yarn so I added a row of scallopy edges and leave it as it is instead. I think it looks nice this way too, though A thinks the sleeves are too wide, enough to put 2 arms inside (oy, this is style, fashion, ok)

I really love the design of this shoulder warmer and I can foresee myself ditching my raggy shawl in office.

kids run 2008

2008-06-03T12:00:00.004+08:00

T took part in the Cold Storage Kids Run 2008 last sunday and he ran the whole 800m, hand in hand with his best friend, R.

A rare moment of T and R tassling over their medals. The boys had so much fun that morning.

I'm taking this opportunity to enter the above photo for the Kids Run Photo contest, if you think the boys look cute, do cast your votes here. Thank you!!

sin-food

2008-05-29T09:10:00.002+08:00

Delish and sinful, my kind of good food.

A tempted me with her mom's Pig Trotters last week, it was so good that I had to bug her to get me the recipe even though it is supposed to be a family secret. I couldnt wait to try out and so I spent the entire evening last night, standing in front of the stove, stiring and quietly praying that my version will come out as good.

My neighbours should really thank me for the free smells, the whole house smelled so good because of the spices used. The meat was tender after 2.5 hours of simmering and the fatty layer of skin almost melted in my mouth, good collagen.

Looking forward to a good dinner tonight and many thanks to C, for sharing with me (so generously and patiently) her michelin secret recipe :p

summer hat

2008-05-26T11:54:00.004+08:00

I'm not keen to crochet hats or bags because it doesnt seem practical to wear hats in Singapore and crochet bags don't seem sturdy. However, seeing this hat pattern changes my mind, I love its large rim and useful for a great sunny day.

I worked this on my Elann yarn, the mercenized composite was great to hold the hat in shape as this yarn tends to be a little hardy. However the rim, being big, hence heavy, flopped all around that I had to study the pattern one more time to find out what went wrong. I realised for this kind of bigger rim hats, you need to insert in a frame to prevent it from becoming floppy and the great news is, I cannot find this in Golden Dragon. No choice, got to improvise, so I got hold of a roll of pliable wire in red and inserted it around the outer rim of the hat. Voila, it works and what a relief.

I have already packed her off to my dear friend, who will be celebrating her birthday next month. I should not reveal this before she receives them, otherwise, no surprises. I just hope she likes it and er...please be careful of any wire sticking out, though extra precaution has been considered.

当然，很感谢兔妈妈慷慨的织图还有细心的解释，要不然，这漂亮的帽子将会变成一顶中看不中用的帽帽了。

my pets

2008-05-16T14:32:00.003+08:00

He has been asking for pets but, who is going to be responsible for them?? Definitely not me! I better go distract him with more Thomas.

お元气ですか

2008-05-15T11:05:00.006+08:00

日本语お　ぜんぜん　忘れますでした。残念。
(did I get it right?)

Someone mentioned about selecting a good Japanese language school and this stirs up my memory of me studying the language in my early working life. My first job was with a Japanese company and at that time, Jdrama was a hit (like current Kdrama craze). I was totally in love and had eyes only for Kimutaku, after watching his performance in Love Generation and Long Vacation. I took up the language course, determined that one day, should I patronize La Bonita and meet him in person, we could communicate, just in case his English competency is pathetic.

I studied the language conscientiously up to Advanced level, made my way to Tokyo two times but never get to go near his restuarant let alone meeting him in person. Years have passed, he still have a place in my heart, but just a very tiny corner since it has been replaced by T and H. Haha.

thank you mommy, thank you T

2008-05-12T09:35:00.002+08:00

This is what T made in school, for me, a mother's day present. How sweet. No wonder I kept seeing his classmates stringing beads every morning. T made two, one for his por por and one for me. Such a darling.

Oh, I have to wear it the whole day, he requested.

happy feet

2008-05-12T09:21:00.006+08:00

Woke up to a gloomy saturday morning and decided to make something cheery for breakfast - waffles. This is one item in my kitchen that I'm determined not to let it turns into a white elephant else G will have alot to say about our ready to burst storeroom.

I do not have a great recipe for waffles and so I followed what was provided in the manual. Problem is, the recipe isn't good either, what does

1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup milk

means altogether?? 7/12 cup milk? Or was it a typo? Or it means 1/4 (or 1/3) of something else?? I'm too lazy to google up for a recipe and rely on eyeball measurement, hoping to get it right each time. I mean, how difficult is it to make waffles?? So, sometimes, I get fluffy waffles and sometimes rubbery. Thankfully, the recipe yields 6 pieces so it is still not wasteful even when it goes wrong.

Happy go lucky.

bid it

2008-05-07T09:48:00.006+08:00

Sis will be attending a conference in the US and we are taking this opportunity to stock up some children's books from ebay. We have been very busy watching and bidding for sets of books and I get heart attacks at those very last minutes to see someone outbidding me. My weak heart cannot take this kind of excitement, I have to settle for items with reasonable purchase price.

While searching for our children's books, I decided to get something for myself, Nigella Lawson's latest cookbook - Nigella Express. This is her latest publication and I think it is selling at S$69 but I managed to get it at S$19 including shipping to US. Yay!!!

my little indulgences

2008-05-06T14:25:00.004+08:00

There are times where I buy certain things for pure indulgence rather than actual need. I reckon if we worked hard, we should reward ourselves in little ways. (At least, I'm not splurging on luxury items)

Buying food magazines always makes me happy for a long time, I will happily flip through the journal, savour every single articles, enjoy the pretty photos and (sometimes) plan to try out the recipes. One of my favourite magazines is Delicious (Australian ver) as they cover mainly on food as well as restuarants reviews. I prefer the mag to focus on its purpose than to branch out covering every possible topics which they think their readers will enjoy.

I have to stop myself from buying every single issue because, firstly, it is not cheap and secondly, I do not have space to store them. One thing for sure, I must get their Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas edition for the specialties featured.

J, hope I'm not making you green with my latest buy, I can dhl a copy over but first we must sort things out with the PO, making sure the postman is not trying to pick up cooking as well. Keke.

and thomas again...

2008-05-06T13:26:00.005+08:00

We are planning for a vacation and when I asked T if he would like to visit HK Disneyland, he thought for a moment and told me he prefers Thomas Land. Yes, you've heard it correctly and there is indeed such a place, somewhere at the foot of Mt Fuji, Japan.

If you haven't known me, I love to plan for holidays, the research and working out the itinery set my adrenalin rushing. So when my darling said Thomas Land, I started clicking on my keyboard straightaway, now if only I'm as efficient at work *blush*

I have since shortlisted a few hotels and the route to take since it will most likely be a free and easy trip. I dislike guided tours even though they are supposed to be cheaper and no brainer, the thing is, I hate to wake up early and spend half a day travelling on the tour bus. I also do not enjoy spending my precious holiday time waiting for some inconsiderate tourmates who do not seem to realise the entire bus is waiting for them. As such, most of my holidays are self guided.

Anyway, the plans are drawn, destination decided, we are just short of deciding when to take off. As usual, the dad has an unpredictable work schedule and speaking of which as I'm typing now, I realised our mileage is going to expire. I better be speaking to G about this soon.

retail therapy

2008-04-11T13:29:00.003+08:00

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to Chinatown when hubby needs a new luggage. I spent a lovely 30mins in Golden Dragon trying hard to memorize the kinds of yarns they carry and the price range. I'm a fan of japanese yarns as I love the feel of it and they have more varieties in the cotton range. I left happily with 5 of the above.

Yummy isn't it?

lookalike

2008-04-10T10:34:00.004+08:00

I was reading a book that features various artists and literary figures from Japan when I came across Yoshitomo Nara's work. In many of his works, you can see this little girl with high forehead, squinty eyes and chubby cheeks and she reminds me so much of H. Cute factor. I only hope H will not develop the anger that shows in her eyes sometimes. I believe he is one of modern cult artists hence you can see the little girl holding a tiny dagger sometimes, though in his explanation, she is hardly aggressive since the knife is so small.

Not many people will want to associate anger or any form of evils with children but you can't say they are all angels otherwise, why Terrible twos, threes and even up to twenties?? Its part of growing up.

homemade pizza

2008-03-24T09:26:00.006+08:00

With the rapid rising cost of living, we make a point to eat home more on weekends. To keep us from temptations, we try to do something different every week. Last saturday, it was pizza night. I tried out Ali's recipe for the crust and everything else was bought from Cold Storage Gourmet, still worked out to be cheaper than eating at Modesto's and alot more fun too.

We made two versions, the standard tomato based salami, ham, mushrooms and mozerella cheese and a olive oil based with proscuitto ham and rocket leaves. For the latter, we baked the crust kosong and layered the hams and leaves when the crust is done. Both were good, and I realised, you mustn't stinge on the ingredients, get the freshest possible and even so, it is still more economical than dialing for deliveries.

See the little pizza? It's made by T, he had alot of fun doing this but my mom was frowning over the mess we created in the kitchen.

Ali's Pizza Dough

3 cups plain flour
1 sachet active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

happy easter day

2008-03-23T10:27:00.002+08:00

My aunt made these for the babies, pretty isn't it??
Happy Easter Day.

is that what he understands?

2008-03-14T17:02:00.004+08:00

T was reading the chinese readers supplied by his kindergarten so fluently that I was surprised he can grasp the language so well. So wanting to find out if he understood what he read, I asked him the meaning of 我有一个快乐的家庭, my darling confidently replied "I have a chinese new year house" *faint*

Need I say more?? This shows how much he understands what he is taught in school. I have no idea how he relates 快乐的家庭 to happy new year house; my guess is, 新年快乐 and 家庭; same character used in different contexts so he just anyhow guess what he reads. Aiyoh.

Joey's SAL 2008 二月群编

2008-03-11T20:40:00.007+08:00

Pattern: Joey's SAL
Yarn: Bella Baby - Lullaby, Lilac
Yardage: 50g @227m, 1.5balls
Hook Size: 5/0

I was undecided until the second last day of the month before I decided to join the February SAL. It was record breaking, I finished this within two weeks, with hardly any mistakes made. Yay!

I'm now back to my cropped top, hopefully I have a FO to share very soon.

想了足足整个二月，还是顶不住在最后第两天到Joey那儿要这件小披肩的图. 把手上钩不到一半的小外套放着,赶紧把二月的功课完成.线是喜喜披肩用剩的浅紫色的毛线, 钩完这件竟然还有半球剩. 喜欢它是小小的一件, 比较实用.可是，同样是五号针，为什么他们的都那么大大一件，我的却小好多？？

honey, stop buying!

2008-03-10T16:39:00.008+08:00

Someone in the parenting forum I frequent asked how to curb overspending, I did not enter my views as I know I'm not the best person to comment. I do not indulge in clothings, shoes, bags or comestics but when comes to my hobbies, I can get a little overboard sometimes and that will explain my growing stash of yarns and books. It doesn't help when Kinokuniya gives 20% off periodically to their members, its like a sign, telling you, now or never and the herd mentality in me sends a signal to my hand to reach out for my wallet and legs to walk to the bookstore.

But I'm proud to admit that I somewhat manage to have some control over myself today, I only bought ONE book despite the tempting offers they are dishing out. I was careful to make sure that the book I bought contains only crochet designs. Before that, I made 3 costly mistakes of buying the book for just a pattern I fancy, worst is, those are crochet/knitting books, meaning half wasted as I do not (know how to) knit. I am very serious in my choices this time, a little too serious that it takes away some fun in building book stash. Sigh.

red bean kuih 红豆糕

2008-02-27T07:44:00.017+08:00

I love red beans, from mom's red bean soup to dorayaki to ice kachang. One thing I miss most is the nonya style red bean kuih sold at the (now demolished) 大众 departmental store near my place. I cannot even find this kuih in Bangawan solo and I guess my remaining chances is to make my own, using JY's recipe. Scrolling down the recipe, it doesnt look like what I'm looking for what you never know until you try it.

I managed to make it last night but somehow, mine didnt set properly, it is still in its wiggly state despite one night chilling in the fridge. Texture wise, it taste more like hoon kuihs, very soft and jello-like. What I want is something firmer. Anyway, I still like it and as you can see, I am very generous with the amount of red beans.

我超喜欢红豆,小时候吃妈妈做的红豆糖水，红豆冰也先挑红豆。很久以前尝过娘惹式的红豆糕，过了好多年，摊贩也不见了，更不用提到那香喷喷，有嚼劲，满满红豆的红豆糕咯。

在嘉仪哪得到了这个红豆糕的制作方法，赶紧回去式。味道不错，但口感有点软，可能鱼胶粉不够，整个软绵绵的，需要用汤匙拨来吃，很开心，好像回到童年。希望能找到我期待已久的红豆糕。会做这个的朋友，要和我分享食谱哦，也谢谢你，嘉仪。

Ddeokbboki - Spicy Korean rice cakes

2008-02-23T18:05:00.005+08:00

This is the second time I attempted this simple korean dish and maybe because the rice cakes are of better quality, it turned out really chewy and spicy. Even hubs who doesn't fancy such snacks took more than one bite.

The first time I made this dish, I used the frozen rice cakes bought from the korean mart at Cineleisure, it was rather hard despite me simmering them for quite a while. This time round, it was my cousin who got me the rice cakes from another korean mart in south bridge road (a few steps away from Fook Oon). From its simple packaging (those plastic boxes use by confectionaries) it looks like something homemade rather than mass produced from factories, perhaps thats why it tastes so much better?

I make it really simple as I do not have corn syrup and all the other special ingredients required by the authentic recipe. If you really are interested, this is how I made mine:

Ddeokbokki

1 box of korean rice cakes
1 ball of beijing cabbage
1 boneless chicken thigh meat
2 large tbsp of gochujiang
1 tbsp of sugar
water
spring onion, cut into inch length

Method
1. Cut the chicken meat into strips and marinate with soy sauce and pepper
2. Cut the cabbage into bite size
3. Heat some oil in frying pan, brown the chicken, remove from pan
4. Fry the cabbage, add some water to simmer until cabbage is soft
5. Add the gochujiang
6. Add the chicken and rice cakes, more water if needed
7. Add some sugar and do a taste test
8. Simmer for a while more before thickening it with corn starch
9. Stir in the spring onion
10. Voila, done!

我真的很喜欢这种韩式辣炒年糕, 多吃也不腻, 只会发胖罢了. Lol.

look what i've found

2008-02-17T20:44:00.003+08:00

Yes, a vintage (ok, not that vintage, perhaps 20 years old) crochet book in my storeroom!!

I was looking for a little Mickey canvas bag that held a bag of candy I bought in Euro Disney some ten years ago, for my little princess, who currently loves to play going out when I found this book in one of my carton boxes, serendipity.

This brings back vague memories of my early attempt of crocheting in my teens. I'm glad I kept it in the box instead of trashing it. And flipping through the book, I'm delighted to find that most patterns fit me well, I mean sizing wise, by looking at the models themselves. Those days, models are made of real people with curvy figures. I hate to admit that I have to up two hook sizes or add a couple of motifs in order to fit into the standard japanese patterns of current days.

I'm going to spend a few moments going through the patterns tonight.

claypot rice

2008-02-13T10:20:00.001+08:00

Sis brought back some lap cheong (chinese sauages) from HK and we decided to have sar bo fan on the 3rd day of CNY. This is the first time I'm cooking claypot rice in a claypot, usually, for convenience sake, we do it in our rice cooker. I wish I can figure out how to get the sides to be burnt, perhaps I need to use a bigger stove so that the flames can reach the sides of the pot instead of just under??

This is how I did my sar bo fan, if you are interested.

Recipe
2.5 cups of rice
2 deboned chicken thighs (seasoned with soy sauce and pepper)
2 lap cheong, sliced
1 yun cheong, sliced (this is made of liver)
some roasted pork
2 thumb sized dried salted fish, diced

oil and dark soy sauce for seasoning

Method
Wash and cook the rice together with dried salted fish until you see small bubbles.
Add in the chicken and let it simmer until the rice and chicken is almost done. Sprinkle water over the rice if needed.
Add in the lap cheongs and roasted pork and simmer until rice is cook and you get that burnt smell.
Do not attempt to stir the rice at any point, I like my rice to stick to the pot in order to get them burnt.
Just before serving, mix generous amount of dark soy sauce and very little oil if you needed.

Taadam...chow time.

Joey's SAL 2008年1月群編會活動

2008-02-13T09:37:00.001+08:00

Yarn: DMC Petra (size 5) - 1.5 balls
Hook: 2/0

I can finally do a happy dance after spending one month slogging on this project. As I was telling J, this pattern is straightforward but I kept making mistakes along the way, either missing a stitch or adding an extra. Other than those hiccups, I really love how it turns out to be, very elegant and I'm glad I chose that color amongst the sea of colors avail.

It is fun to join a SAL but I doubt I will do it again in the near future; it is rather scary and stressful to see other fellow members finishing their projects within days when I'm here struggling with mine, unless Joey has irresistable designs offered for the next SAL, that would be another story.

我终于完成了1月的群编活动-粉紅圓形斗篷。整整花了1个多月的时间才完成，其他会友都已经开始了2月的活动了，好不惭愧，手脚确实是有点慢。其实，这披肩并不难钩，只是，大头虾的我，怎么搞的，一直算错。结果，拆了好多遍，差点就想放弃, 还好坚持到底,迟到好过没到.

看来,我实在没勇气再参加这种声势浩大的群编活动,追得我好喘, 所以会长,千万别发出我会很爱很爱的design 哦, 后果不堪设想!

wrapping up the year

2008-02-06T11:57:00.000+08:00

Sounds a little funny since we are already into the 2nd month of 2008 but since today is the eve of our lunar new year, it still counts, doesn't it?

It was a little frenzy over here, with all the last minute shopping and preparation for the lunar new year. And of cause, making arrangments to meet my long time pm-pal J, who is visiting us during this period. We've since had hi tea at the chi chi Equinox with a bunch of likeminded and non-calorie-counting girlfriends, did some craft shopping and spent a hour pouring over all the beautiful crochet books at Kinokuniya. Next in line would be another gathering at Big Momma's house during the long CNY break. Sounds hectic, but its fun. I'm glad she is here coz most of my CNY breaks ended up staying at home doing the same old routine stuff. We don't do much visitings apart from the first day.

On craft end, my SAL is coming to and end (finally), I still have another 3 rows to complete and I hope to finish it during this long weekend. This is a relatively easy project but due to my own negligence, I made a couple of miscountings, I even had to rip one row off just this morning. However, I'm liking how its turning out to be, in fact, elegant enough to wear in the evenings. I hope I can share my FO with you soon.

Meanwhile, wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year and don't hesitate to pop another pineapple tart into your mouths. Lol.
恭喜恭喜！

look who's coming

2008-01-31T17:09:00.000+08:00

(You better watch out
Better not shout
Better not cry
I'm telling you why
Dutchess of Cookalot is coming to town)

She's coming, really, and I can't wait to meet her. Gee, this is like a blind date, it can turn out good, can turn out bad, nervous yet happy.

Welcome back!

a new start （开动了）

2008-01-23T16:06:00.000+08:00

I recently joined a crochet along organised by a Taiwanese blogger and in order to participate, I have to blog in Chinese, so that we can communicate. Okay, I'm proud to say that I'm effectively bilingual...but..blogging in Chinese is another ball game. In the first place, I'm a lousy writer and I'm seriously having cold feet about expressing my thoughts in a language I have not used (write) since my A levels exams.

Can you understand what I'm writing below??

在Joey家潜水了一段日子，终于鼓起勇气在她的1月群编活动喊有。以为这样就可以，哪知道会长要我用中文纪录我的编织心得，也对，这豆芽始终不是织友们的共同语文，看来我只好硬着头皮试一试.

the naked artist

2008-01-14T08:59:00.001+08:00

For once, T is enjoying his bath, and its all because of the soluble chalks Aunty J sent him, so much fun, for once. I'm still wondering, why do boys (or is it only my boy) hate baths so much??

thank you is not enough

2008-01-08T09:11:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, a word of thank you is just not enough to express your gratitude and this is how I feel now.

I went home to find a white envelope in my letterbox yesterday with the familiar cursive handwriting on it, I knew its something from J. I quickly tore it open and found a ziploc bag containing something nicely wrapped in crimson tissue paper. I had no idea what it might be, there weren't any clues and I wasn't expecting this package but I knew it must be something precious since it is packed with so much care. My guess was right, this woman actually stitched up Fern for me, a design I've much wanted to own, in a pretty hand dyed fabric from SMF (am I right?? or EF?).

I'm really touched by her thoughtful gesture. You see, she is one of the best stitchers and her work is really intricate so you see how honoured I am. Not only that, she was busy with her recent relocation and yet she managed to steal time to do this for ME, I really cannot find the right words to express my emotions now.

Thank you J, I love her and love you too. You've made my day and I think I will be one lucky and happy 38yo this year.

I'm waiting for better light to capture a nice picture of Fern and when I've done with admiring her, I'm going to have her framed up nicely.

the end, a new begining

2008-01-07T10:13:00.000+08:00

No, I don't mean my blog is coming to an end, rather, my pumping career has ended as of last friday. H turned one on Saturday and since she is on a almost solid diet, I decide to stop pumping at work. It is a relieve to me, any pump moms will agree that expressing milk is a no joke task plus you are constantly worrying about your output. However, I'm still breastfeeding her whenever we are together. Not that I'm passionate about breastfeeding, being lazy, I simply cannot imagine crawling out of my bed, make my way to the kitchen to prepare her middle of the night milks. Of coz most importantly, I do not wish for her to wail while waiting for her milk, waking the entire household.

Turning one marks a new chapter of her life. I have to say, its easier bringing up girls than boys based on my own experience. H is so sweet and gentle, hardly a difficult child and I'm keeping my fingers crossed she'll remain that way. T turned four a week ago too and I sense he is much more sensible, at least he is able to say things I'd love to hear (I'll brush my teeth when I reach home and sleep early etc). These I supposed are the sweet rewards of parenthood.

happy birthday

2007-12-31T08:34:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was T's fourth birthday. Time flies, I remembered going to the hospital to have him induced and spent a great long day waiting for him to arrived, which he eventually did in the wee hours of the morning.

He has grown into a sweet little boy, with occasional tantrums but still a nice brother to H and K. Happy Birthday darling!

adventures @ 'knapford' station

2007-12-31T08:21:00.001+08:00

My son is crazy about Thomas and all kinds of trains & automobiles and being doting parents, we brought him on a visit to our one and only Malaysian railway station on a hot friday afternoon, to see a real working train.

We got the schedule wrong and arrived at the station one hour before the afternoon train arrived from Kuala Lumpur. We decided to have lunch there despite the (rather) poor hygiene. The tables were laced with houseflies and T, being a city kid, had no idea what they were and kept refusing to sit down because he "doesn't want those animals" (in his exact words). What embarressement, he has no idea they were houseflies, we need more nature education. The food from the canteen was surprising good but I had the runs the next day, I must have eaten something dirty from those "animals".

We waited till 1615 before they announced that train has been delayed and would be arriving at 1450 and gosh, that means 2 hours wait in total for us. We had ample time to walk along the platform 3 times, studied the tracks, the signals, the buffers and H even managed to have her afternoon nap before the train arrived and gosh, it was such a hot afternoon.

Nevertheless, it was a fun experience and we even planned to do a KL visit via rails some time later this year, only thing is, I hope the interior of the trains are well maintained, I do not wish to have animals, er, I mean roaches, riding with me.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T11:40:00.000+08:00

It is H's first christmas and she seems to be aware of this festive season; whenever she sees a christmas tree, she'll clap her little hands and she'll point out to those blinking lights. So cute.

The long weekend came and passed, we had a great time getting together, enjoying our potluck christmas eve dinner and exchanging presents but I think, the happiest person is really T, a huge harvest for him this year and I think his favorite is the toy golf set and the 2 Thomas books he received.

My marinated mushrooms tasted fine but not quite the way I hope for, I guess I have to tweak the recipe somemore, and I have to go back to Oosh to refresh my memory how their mushrooms taste like. As for my berries tart, I realised my creme pattserie is more suitable for little tartlets and not a huge 9" tart, it ends up too runny and was hard to serve.

Still recuperating from the holidays. Lol.

bedtime talks

2007-12-17T16:42:00.000+08:00

I remember posting about this ritual I share with T every night; before we both fall off sleeping, we will talk, just about anything that he wants. Lately, he has been imagining himself going for golf games and so, he wants to talk about golfing. I'll have to ask him where did he play, how was his scores, what else did he do etc.

I love his answers, cute even though its totally impossible. He usually takes a flight on our sofa to Bangkok for his game and will take a MRT back after the game. In between, he'll break for lunch and rest a while before continuing. His score, even the daddy may have difficulty pitting against him, is fixed at a constant 8 above par. His golfing partner is non other than his beloved Por Por (my mom).

Last night, he asked me where which MRT station is nearest to Aunty Ratna's house and when I replied its Kembangan, he told me he will be going to Kembangan for golf today and will drop by Aunty Ratna's hosue because he wants to finish up all the cupcakes in her house. Looks like this little guy is very captivated by the Cupcake Momma's cuppies and have been thinking about it after our last Hari Raya visit to her house. So cute.