A Walk Into Cheeky's Mind

Hot Cross Buns

2010-11-30T17:35:00.006+11:00

When mentioned Easter, two things always come to mind - Chocolates and Hot Cross Buns. Not sure why is that, but over here in Australia, we only get to see hot cross buns during the Easter period. So if you like hot cross buns so much, try make it yourself :p

Ingredients:

4 cups plain flour (you can opt for wholemeal flour, which I did)

2 x 7g sachets dried yeast

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups currants

40g butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

300ml milk (if you use wholemeal flour, you might need to add more milk)

* Add accordingly to get the right consistency of the dough, it should be quite sticky and gooey

Flour paste:

1/2 cup plain flour

4 to 5 tablespoons water

Glaze:

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons caster sugar

Method:

Combine flour, yeast, sugar, mixed spice, salt and currants in a large bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add milk. Heat for 1 minute, or until lukewarm. Add warm milk mixture and eggs to currant mixture. Use a flat-bladed knife to mix until dough almost comes together. Use clean hands to finish mixing to form a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth. Place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until dough doubles in size.

Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Punch dough down to its original size. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Divide into 12 even portions. Shape each portion into a ball. Place balls onto lined tray, about 1cm apart. Cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes, or until buns double in size. Preheat oven to 190°C.

Make flour paste:

Mix flour and water together in a small bowl until smooth, adding a little more water if paste is too thick. Spoon into a small snap-lock bag. Snip off 1 corner of bag. Pipe flour paste over tops of buns to form crosses. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until buns are cooked through.

Make glaze:

Place water and sugar into a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Brush warm glaze over warm hot cross buns. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Meatloaf Scotch Egg

2010-11-09T07:52:00.006+11:00

Everybody loves a good meatloaf. Me too, but I also love scotch egg. So then I thought to myself, why not combine them in one dish ? This way, I can enjoy both at once :) As I am not a beef eater, I have chose to use pork here. And you know what, serve this pork meatloaf with some hot apple sauce..... Mmmmm.... it simply is the perfect match from heaven.

I cannot remember the recipe exactly, cause when I cook, I cook based on my instinct and experience most of the time. So this recipe is written after that, therefore please adjust the measurement according to suit your own taste.

Meatloaf Scotch Egg

For a 23cm x 12cm loaf pan

Ingredients:

500g of mince meat (preferably a mix of some fat and lean)

- can mix it up by adding two or more types of meat (e.g. 250g pork mince, 250 beef mince)

3 – 4 eggs, hardboiled and de-shelled

1 onion, finely diced

2 – 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Handful of thyme and oregano (can substitute with any other herbs; can be dried herb flakes or fresh)

1 sprig of rosemary

¾ - 1 cup Breadcrumbs (approx. 2 - 3 slices of bread)

Olive oil

½ cup of Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and black pepper, for seasoning

Method:

1. Combine mince meat with salt, ground black pepper, herbs and garlic in a large bowl/basin. Cover it with cling wrap and put in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

2. In the mean time, boil the eggs in a saucepan. While waiting for the eggs to boil, prepare the breadcrumbs (if you are making your own).

3. When the eggs are done, wash them under cold running water. This will prevent the shell from sticking to the surface of the egg.

4. Remove mince meat from the fridge. Mix in the onion, parmesan cheese, 3/4 of the breadcrumbs and drizzle a little olive oil. Mix well until combine. Do not over mix.

5. Grease the pan and start putting 1/3 of the meatloaf mixture into the pan. Form it to create slight dent for the positioning of the eggs.

6. Lay the hard boiled eggs nicely on the meatloaf mixture, at equal distance. Then top up with the remaining meatloaf mixture. Filling up the gaps between the eggs first. Make sure all the eggs are fully covered.

7. Top the remaining breadcrumbs on top of the meatloaf and finally lay the sprig of rosemary on top.

8. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius, for about 20 - 30 minutes or until cook.

Note: You can also add in vegetables in this recipe, if preferred. Finely chopped or grate vegetables and add into the mince mixture together with the onion and cheese.

Chocolate Banana Cake

2010-11-09T06:45:00.004+11:00

I haven't been blogging for ages now :p but today I have a good reason to write again. My friends on facebook were asking me for recipes on some of the things I made. One of them is this chocolate banana cake. So I thought I might as well post it here on my blog.

So to you guys out there, hope you like it :)

Ingredients:

4 bananas, sliced

Cakes:

170g butter, softened

225g granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla essence

120ml sour cream

330g all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

100g cocoa powder

2 - 3 mashed bananas

Chocolate Cream:

750ml whipping cream

300g semisweet chocolate, chopped

Chocolate Ganache:

125ml whipping cream

125g dark chocolate, chopped

Method:

Cake:

Cream butter with sugar in a bowl, until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla essence. Beat in sour cream. Combine flour, baking soda and cocoa powder in another bowl. Then add in to the creamed mixture in 3 additions alternately with 2 additions of the mashed bananas. Mixing just until flour is incorporated. Spoon into 2 greased 8.5 inch spring form pans.

Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 35 – 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Let cool on rack for 20 minutes. Remove from the pans and let cool completely.

Chocolate Cream:

In a saucepan, bring half of the cream to boil. Remove from heat immediately and pour over the chopped chocolate in bowl, whisking until chocolate melted. Set aside for it to cool or alternately refrigerate until chilled, whisking it every now and then.

Remove from the fridge and using an electric mixer, beat chocolate mixture on medium speed just until ridges hold shape. Beat in remaining cream just until soft peaks form.

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

Bring cream to boil. Pour over chocolate in a bowl. Whisking until chocolate melted. Let cool for 20 minutes or until room temperature. Do not over whisked, or it will become whipped cream.

Cake Assembly:

Slice the cakes in half horizontally. Place a top layer, cut side up, on plate. Spread top with a layer of chocolate cream, cover with single layer of sliced bananas, leaving 1 cm border around. Cover with a bottom cake layer, cut side down. Repeat with cream and bananas.

Repeat with remaining cake, cream and bananas.

Using palette knife, cover cake smoothly with remaining chocolate cream (if there’s any leftover). Refrigerate until firm, about 1 – 2 hours.

Remove cake from the fridge and pour the ganache over the centre of the cake, spreading it to edge with clean palette knife. Gently cover the whole cake with ganache and refrigerate it until firm.

Photoshop

2010-01-26T15:10:00.005+11:00

While I was back in Malaysia recently, I spent most of my time with my sister and her 3 adorable kids - Karl, Wayne and Nyn. Being kids, they are oh-so-forever curious about things and they have wonderful imagination.

I strongly believe that we, adults should never never restrict them in exploring their imagination but instead try to always encourage them to further enhance their creativity. As I am into photography and design, I always carry my camera and laptop everywhere I go.

As usual, the kids love to ask me about my camera and what I do in Photoshop. I will try to explain to them in the most simplest and easiest way and allow them to try hands on. Kids nowadays can understand technology pretty well, so it did not take them long before they got the hang of taking pictures with my DSLR and editing their photo in Photoshop.

Here are their individual work:

Karl did everything on his own with my guidance.

Wayne was only interested in trying out since everyone is doing it.

But then he got too lazy to proceed further.

Nyn did most of the colouring by herself.

I only help her get the more difficult edges done.

So what do you think about their work ? Pretty neat huh ? :)

Chinese Vs Italian

2009-09-09T11:56:00.004+10:00

Wonton Mee is one of the old time favourite dishes in Malaysia. However, there are many versions of wonton mee in Malaysia. The ingredients are basically the same but the dish comes with different sauces. The most common ones are the ones with black sauce, we call those the "Black" ones. Then there are the Famous Johor Bahru version wonton mee which comes with chilly sauce, hence the name "Red" ones. As for those people who dislike both the black or red, do not despair, cause there are the "White" ones available too. The "White" ones basically comes with light soy sauce. Because they are not very popular, you will have to specially mention to the vendor when placing the order.

I have a very weird liking (or disliking ?) about wonton mee. I only like the red ones. Other than the red ones, I don't really like eating wonton mee. Weird huh ? Anyway, my personal favourite wonton mee is from the famous Johor Bahru stall - Ho Seng Kee, located in Century Garden. It is my whole family's favourite too. Frankly speaking, till today, non of the wonton mee I have tasted can beat the Ho Seng Kee's wonton mee.

Well... there is one that I came across many years back, which is pretty good too. It is from a corner coffee shop in Skudai. I think the name of the coffee shop is called Jin Jin or Jing Jing. Other than wonton mee, they also serve the braised chicken feet noodle. But when I eat there, I like to order the wonton mee and additional chicken feet to go along... yum !

Ooh... all these wonton mee talk is making me miss my favourite wonton mee. Thank goodness I will be going back home soon, so I can have a big feast of wonton mee to satisfy my craving :) Can't wait for that.

Hahaha... I think I am getting a little off the track here. Now back to what I intended to write. Yes, wonton mee. Since I am so particular about wonton mee, I don't eat any of the wonton mee here in Sydney. So I ended up making my own.

I actually made my wonton mee almost from scratch. Well, I mean I made the wonton myself, except for the skin and roasted the char siew myself. Pity I don't know how to make the noodle myself, or else it will be perfect. Er... almost perfect. I didn't make the sauce myself, I ended up using some bottled chilly sauce imported from Indonesia. And boy it was HOT ! I am one person who can't take too spicy food, so I used only very little chilly sauce on my wonton mee, enough to get the taste but not enough to get the colour.

Ok, I guess we are done with noodle ? Well... not quite yet. Talking bout noodle, I was just thinking the other day, that Chinese noodle actually has some similarity to Italian pasta, or was it the other way round ? Anyway, here's some example: Hokkien Noodle vs Spaghetti; Kuey Tiaw vs Fettuccine; Thin Noodle vs Angel Hair Spaghetti. Haha... interesting, isn't it ?

Well, I have come up with a simple pasta dish that can be done in 5 - 10 minutes. The Garlic Prawn & Mushroom Angel Hair Spaghetti. It's so simple and yet the aroma and the taste of this dish is simply marvelous.

Ingredients:
I am not putting the quantity down as everyone has their own preference

Prawns, de-shelled and de-veined (marinate overnight with finely chopped garlic if preferred)
Mushrooms, cut to small pieces
Garlic, finely chopped
Angel hair spaghetti
40g of butter (per serve)
White wine (approx. 50-100ml per serve)
Salt & pepper
Parsley (fresh or dry), finely chopped

Method:

1. Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the packaging. Cook it just a fraction under as it will be cooked further again later. Drain the spaghetti and rinse it with cold water. Set it aside.

2. Heat up a frying pan on medium to high heat. Put a slice of butter in the pan and put in the garlic. Stir fry the garlic until it is almost golden brown, then throw in the mushrooms. Continue to stir for a while, then throw in the prawns.

3. When the prawns are almost done, put in the spaghetti. Sprinkle some salt over it then pour in the white wine. Give everything a quick stir and turn off the heat.

4. Sprinkle some Parsley flakes and ground black pepper onto the dish. Drizzle some olive oil around the pasta, if desired. Serve hot.

Buon appetito !

Scones Fever

2009-08-31T07:55:00.008+10:00

Raisin Scones

Cheese Scones

Scones. I got to know about scones only when I came over here to Australia. I remember my first scone, it was from a small little cafe in Hunter Valley. Served with cream and jam. Mmmm.... I still remember me asking my friend, what scone is. Hahaha....

Now that I know what scone is, I have attempt to make some myself. Well, for a start, there are so many variety of scones out there. So to help me make a decision of which scone to make, I got my tester to decide for me (he's gonna taste them anyway). So here's two of his favourites - Raisin and Cheese.

I made these with two different recipes, but both tasted almost the same. Here's the recipe for both:

Raisin Scones:

150ml milk

150ml cream

1 egg

330g/3 cups self raising flour

2 tbs caster sugar

1 cup chopped raisins

1. Preheat oven 200°C. Line large flat oven tray with baking paper.

2. Whisk 150ml milk, cream and egg together until well combined. Combine flour, sugar and raisins in a large bowl. Add milk mixture and stir gently to a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until dough comes together.

3. Press dough out to 2cm thick. Cut scones from dough with a 5cm round cookie cutter and place onto tray flat side up. Press dough together gently and repeat using the remaining dough. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden and well risen.

Cheese Scones:

225g self raising flour

65g butter, cubed

Pinch of salt

30g cheddar cheese, grated

150ml milk

1. Preheat oven 220°C. Line large flat oven tray with baking paper.

2. In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Mix in the cheese and then the milk to make a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until dough comes together.

4. Press dough out to 2cm thick. Cut scones from dough with a 5cm round cookie cutter and place onto tray flat side up. Press dough together gently and repeat using the remaining dough. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden and well risen.

As I have 150ml cream left over from making the raisin scones, I have decided to create another flavour of scones using the rainsin scones recipe. For those who know me well, you might have already guessed it - yup, Chocolate Scones ! :)

The recipe for my chocolate scones is exactly the same as the raisin scones except adding 3 tbs of chocolate powder into the flour mixture, increasing the sugar to 3 tablespoons and substitute the raisins with chocolate chips.

I didn't manage to take photo of my chocolate scones because they were gone before I even had the chance to bring out my camera :p hehehe...

Ngor Hiang / Loh Bak

2009-08-17T09:46:00.010+10:00

I did my routine grocery shopping on the weekend and on my list was pork mince to make wonton. However, I came across some bean curd skin and decided to change my mind to make ngor hiang instead. Ngor Hiang, also known as Loh Bak in Penang is a dish where the pork is marinated in five spice powder, rolled in bean curd skin and fried to crispy golden brown. Hence the english translation would be Five Spice Pork Roll.

Being my first attempt at making it, I have to search for the recipe. So I went online and found one in one of my favorite blogs, Rasa Malaysia, who has a new blog Nyonya Food. Check it out here. I somehow changed the recipe a little to suit the ingredients I have.

So, instead of strips of lean pork, I used pork mince. I also replaced onion with scallions/spring onion instead to give it a little colour. I omitted the cucumber, which is optional anyway cause I really don't like cucumber and the rest are pretty much the same.

When I started rolling, I realized that my bean curd sheet is really large and I didn't want to cut it. So I ended up with really big long roll of ngor hiang =) Nonetheless, the result is what matters and I think it came out quite alright.

Happy Birthday Honey Angel

2009-08-15T17:42:00.006+10:00

happy birthday to you....

happy birthday to honey angel

happy birthday to you.....

Here's wishing my pretty little niece a very happy birthday and many happy returns... =)

Love, E.E

It's The Little Things....

2009-08-11T13:36:00.010+10:00

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon.... So I decided to take a short walk to the shopping complex near my place. As I was walking pass my letter box, I took a quick glance at it - no letter sticking out of the letter box (it is a very small letter box, so the postman tends to just leave letter half way sticking out instead of trying to push it inside).

Usually if that was the case, I will not bother checking it. But somehow, there was a feeling inside me telling me to have a look. So I did ! ...and boy am I happy that I did, cause whatever that's lying inside my letter box just made my day....my whole weekend, for the matter of fact.

I took out 3 cute little postcards with the most beautiful hand-written message on them. They were from my nephews and niece. It was really a pleasant surprise.

Sometimes when you feel the world has abandoned you or when you are feeling down and gray, it is these simple little things in life that put a smile back on your face and reassure you that the world is actually a lovely place...

Ouch

2009-08-02T11:18:00.002+10:00

I woke up today feeling wonderful as last night was the first night in the whole week that I had a really good night sleep. I have been coughing the whole week, and the cough gets really bad during the night, hence the disturbed sleep...

However, this morning after having my breakfast, while I was washing up the dishes, I coughed. And the next thing I knew, I was struggling to stand straight. I don't know what happen there, but I think I have just pinched a nerve on my lower back.... Ouch !!

Now, I can't bend forward, I can't lift my legs up, I have difficulty sitting etc etc.... Argh ! It is not something I want especially on a Sunday..... now I have to stay home instead of going dancing.... *sigh*

Personality Test

2009-07-16T13:53:00.004+10:00

I was reading my sister's blog and she mentioned about a personality test she did here. So being me, curious as ever, I tried the test and here is my result. I think some parts of the result are pretty accurate...

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties. (quite true)

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true. (true i guess)

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person. (not sure bout this)

The seriousness of your love:
You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with? (haha... this is so true)

Your views on education:
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can. (true with the learn as much as I can; but not so much on the study hard part :p)

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life. (not quite true)

How do you view success:
You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous. (used to be like that, but not anymore :>)

What are you most afraid of:
You are afraid of having no one to rely on in times of trouble. You don't ever want to be unable to take care of yourself. Independence is important to you. (wow...so true)

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve. (so so so true... o_0)

A Colourful Event

2009-06-10T16:17:00.009+10:00

I cannot believe I almost missed out on this amazing festival in Sydney. But thank goodness I didn't. This I had to thank my colleague, who's btw also a photography enthusiast for telling me about Vivid Sydney Festival.

There are lots of events in the festival. One of them is "Lighting The Sails" by Luminous. In a major artwork by Eno, Luminous launches with the lighting of the Sydney Opera House sails.
Like a freeform painting, Utzon’s masterpiece will glow with rich, continuously changing configurations of colour.

The results - PHENOMENAL !!

I will stop babbling on now because pictures speak louder than words...

Mini Pies

2009-05-16T10:11:00.006+10:00

Here's a good way to use up the left over shortcut pastry in the freezer. First divide the shortcut pastry sheet into 4 quarters. Then place the individual cut sheet into the greased muffin tray (I use butter to grease) and scoop the pre-cooked fillings into each of them. Gently fold the 4 corners of the sheet to the centre, while pressing into the dough to seal the edges. Make sure you leave a small gap on the top for the steam to escape as this will prevent a soggy pie.

As for the fillings, it is entirely up to individual. You can prepare any filling you like. For me, I did rosemary marinated mince meat with peas and diced carrots cooked in black pepper sauce.

The result - YUMMY ! You now have yourself a pie with a buttery crust which is chewy on the inside and yet crispy on the outside, beautifully complimented by the black pepper sauce and the scent of rosemary...

The 90/10 Principle of Life

2009-05-05T14:55:00.005+10:00

After reading my sister's post on anger management, it reminded me on an article I read about being in control of our feelings. It was an article by the famous author Stephen Covey, who wrote best seller "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People".

So what is this principle all about ? Well, the 90/10 stands for the percentage of control we have in our life. 10% of life is made up of things which happen to us, things that we are not in control of... e.g. the plane is delayed, a driver on the road cut us off in the traffic, bad weather on the day you plan to go to the beach etc...

... and 90% of life is decided by how we react upon those situation. These 90% of life is what we determine it to be, based on our very own reaction. We have full control over these 90% of life. Now let me quote a simple example:

Scenario:
You are having breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt.

Now this is the 10% of life which you have no control over, what happens next will be determined by how you react.

Reaction 1:
You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking over the cup. She breaks down in tears.

After scolding her, you turn to your wife and you blame her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A verbal battle follows between you and your wife.

You storm upstairs, feeling all angry. You change your shirt and went back downstairs. You find your daughter is still at the kitchen table. She has been busy crying to finish her breakfast. She does not have time to get ready for school and misses the bus.

Your wife must leave immediately for work. So you have to take your daughter to school. Because of that, you are late for work. You drive 120km/hour in a 80km/hour speed limit zone. A on duty traffic police stops you, wasted another 15 minutes of your time and gave you a traffic fine.

After arriving at the office 30 minutes late, you realize you forgot your briefcase. The day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse.

When you arrive home, you find your wife and daughter not talking to you. The whole day sucks.

WHY ? Why did you have a bad day ?

a) Did the coffee cause it ?
b) Did your daughter cause it ?
c) Did the policeman cause it ?
d) Did you cause it ?

The answer is "D". Because of how you reacted in the morning. Now what if you have reacted differently ?

Reaction 2:
Coffee splashes over you but you gently say to your daughter: "It's okay, sweetie, you just need to be more careful next time."

Grabbing a towel you go upstairs and change your shirt. You grab your briefcase and come back down in time to kiss your daughter and wife goodbye. Your daughter get onto the bus happily, your wife goes to work and you too leave home as they do.

You arrive in the office 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staffs.

Notice the difference ? Two different scenarios, both started the same but ended different.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 Principle:

If someone says something negative about you, do not be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You do not have to let the negative comments affect you.

If you are told you lost your job. Why loose sleep over it and get frustrated ? Instead, use that worrying energy and time to find a new job.

I believe that we always have a choice in life. Something happens to us, we can choose to be angry or we can choose to ignore. We can choose to be sad or we can choose to be happy. It is entirely up to us. So make the right choice.

To My Sis Who Loves Making Bento

2009-04-16T17:54:00.006+10:00

I found this adorable bento making blog and immediately I said to myself: "Oh...I must tell my sister all about it..."

So dear sis, hope you get more inspiration in bento making from Pikko's Advanture in Bento Making. She has other Bento websites on her blog too.

Quick Fix Meals For The "Lazy"s or "Busy"s

2009-04-14T15:31:00.014+10:00

Recently, I have been so tied up at work. It has become a routine for me to go to work around 6.30am and return home only after 7.00pm. By the time I got home and taken my shower, I will be too tired to prepare and cook a meal, furthermore the cleaning up after that. So I ended up finding quick easy ways to prepare something which is simple, very minimum cleaning and yet delicious.

Here are some of the dishes I have done:

First Dish: Pizza (my all time favorite)

In this particular one I did, I used:

1. Off-the-shelf Lebanese Bread (for a thin and crispy crust)
2. Tomato pasta sauce (tastier than normal tomato ketchup)
3. Ready cooked roast chicken
4. Avocado
5. Mushrooms
6. Onion
7. Cheese (mix of mozerella, cheddar and parmesan cheese)

I had everthing precut into small pieces, kept in containers and stored away in the fridge. Do this when you are free on the weekends. Then on those busy nights, all you have to do is spread the tomato sauce over the bread, lay all the stuffs on it and put it in the oven.

There, that's it. Super quick and easy. The only thing you need to wash is your baking tray. How good is that ? Well, you can always substitute the ingredients to your own liking. You can even use normal bread as the base. Toast the slices of bread and you have yourself a pizza base.

Second Dish: Scramble Egg

This is not the normal scramble egg. This is something I created and I just love it so much. All you need are:

1. Eggs (I usually use 2)
2. Bacon (diced)
3. Mushroom (diced)
4. Cheese (one slice of cheddar cheese)

First fry the bacon and mushroom in a pan until they are about cooked. Then break in two eggs. Put in the cheese and scramble everything. Make sure the heat is at low or medium cause you dont want your eggs to be too cooked. The best scramble egg is to have it slightly soggy and mashy. Then season it with some cracked pepper and chives. You do not have to add any salt to it as the bacon is already salty.

Third Dish: Bacon Wrapped Scallop

I did this once and it was fantastic. I got this recepie from Chocolate Shavings. It was a great recipe. All you need are bacon and scallops. I am not writing the recipe here as you can read it on its original blog.

There are more dishes actually, but I do not have any good photos of them yet. Probably next time when I prepare them again, I will take good photos of them and post it as Part II.

From A Clean Freak To Another Clean Freak

2009-04-03T14:36:00.010+11:00

Referring to my sister's blog, I am writting this in hope to help her handle the "clean freak" situation of her son.

Hmm... where should I start ? Being a clean freak myself, I know it is difficult on others around us who are not as clean-freaky as we are. That is the reason why I do not like having housemates cause I know I can be a pain-in-the-a** when comes to living together.

But it is not a bad thing being a clean freak. As long as your level of freakiness is acceptable (like me...hehe...). But if you have reached Jack Nickolson's level in 'As Good As It Gets', then I would say that you seriously, seriously need to get a life...

Ok now... back to my mission. A little advice for the little clean freak:

Now imagine our human body is a big piece of land/country. Every country will have their own troups of army, to protect their country from enemies and harm. So does our body, we have little troups of army in our body, they are called, "the immune system".

If we are constantly clean, our body will have no chance to be exposed to the dirty and nasty things, like germs and bacteria. Because of this, our little army will not know how our enemy looks like. They will have no idea how the enemy behave and will not know how to tackle the enemy because they never got a chance to study them.

So when an extremely clean person actually ate something dirty or got themselves infected by bacteria, they will become really sick compared to those who are not as clean as them. Reason being, their little troups of army just had a sudden attack by unknown enemy to them. The army are not prepared to fight back as they have no clue how the enemy works.

But for those who occasionally come into contact with germs and bacteria, because their little troups of army were exposed to the enemy from time to time, they have plenty of time to study the enemy and get themselves ready to fight back when the enemy launches big attack. That is why people with stronger immune system are less likely to fall sick.

So you see, being clean is good. Being extremely clean can actually make you weaker. But being dirty is asking for trouble. At the end of the day, it all comes down to balance...

Now hopefully this will help my little clean freak nephew to understand :)

Good luck sis...

Bidding Skills

2009-03-28T23:19:00.011+11:00

I was bidding for something on ebay recently and I have just learn that bidding actually takes a little bid of skills and the need for a good internet connection. Many times, I have been outbid at the very last minute, sometimes even seconds by just a fraction of the value.

I have also learned that hesitance will cost you when comes to bidding. If you are not sure about your maximum budget and had to rely on the auction as it goes, you will end up like me, taking a few seconds to ponder before confirming the bid. And these actions actually cost you to loose out on the bid especially if your broadband connection is slow.

I use a mobile broadband at home and I never had any complaint about the speed. But yesterday, while I was bidding on ebay, due to the "slow" loading time of the page (took about 5-8 seconds to load), yup... only merely 5 seconds and I actually got outbid :(

It was at times like this that seconds are considered preciously important. So here's something else I learn...

By the way... I have just won a bid on a Nikkor AF 50mm f1.8D without even thinking that I will win. So... I am happy... yeah :) haha...

Mango Cheese Cake

2009-03-15T20:32:00.013+11:00

I received this fabulous mixer from a friend as a Christmas gift but it has been sitting in my cupboard ever since. I was dying to give it a go and was looking for something to make. I scanned through all the recipes I have and decided to make a chilled mango cheese cake.

Ingredients:

100g biscuits (whatever you like... personally I like to use Digestive biscuit)
60g butter, melted
500g cream cheese
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
200g white chocolate, melted
300ml cream, whipped
3 teaspoons gelatine
1/4 cup (60ml) hot water
2 mangoes, sliced
1 mango, cubed

1. If you have a food processor, place biscuits in it and pulse until fine crumbs form. If you do not, place biscuits in a plastic bag and using a roller, roll/crush the biscuits until fine crumbs form.

2. Add butter and mix to combine. Press into base of a 20cm springform pan. Chill for 15 minutes, until base is firm.

3. While waiting for the base to firm, using an electric mixer (my new one :>), beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Fold through chocolate and whipped cream.

4. Whisk gelatine with hot water until dissolved. Stir 1/4 cup of cream cheese mixture into gelatine. Return to cream cheese mixture and mix well.

5. Combine the cubed mangoes into the mixture and pour cheesecake over biscuit base. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

6. Arrange mango slices over top and cut into wedges to serve.

Making this cheese cake actually made me miss my home grown mango... I would say, there is no better mango than the ones from the mango trees in our garden. Simply no comparison... Thanks dad for the delicious mangoes :)

Chicken With Ham & Cheese

2009-03-06T12:19:00.010+11:00

My sister recently posted an event on her blog about me cooking for her family. Among the comments, there are queries for the recipe. So I thought I would do her a favour by posting the recipe here.

I decided to do this dish as I saw the recipe somewhere online and I have never tried it before. So I thought this would be a good chance to try. Unfortunately, I can't remember all the ingredients exactly, but I know the few main ones, so I did it my own style.

Ingredients for 4 serves:

4 chicken breasts/thighs with skin, about 150g each
4 slices of Swiss Cheese or Cheddar Cheese
4 slices of ham
1 bunch of spinach
Dry herbs (oregano or Italian herbs or sage)
Salt and pepper
Toothpick (optional, only if needed)

Preparation method:

Place the chicken skin-side down on a board. With a sharp knife cut the chicken almost in half from the side, cutting parallel to the board, and leaving the other side joined. Open up like a book and lightly bash flat.

Or

Buy ready cut and flatten pieces of meat like I did... hehehe :>

After cleaning the chicken, season well with the dry herbs, salt and pepper. Set it aside to marinate. While waiting, wash the spinach and then chop it into small pieces.

Cooking method:

Heat the oven to 200 degree celcius and warm an oiled baking tray.

Heat the oil in a pan, cook the chicken, skin-side down first, for a few minutes, until well coloured.

Place the chopped spinach, a slice of ham and a slice of cheese on the inner side of the chicken, then close it as you would a book. If the chicken is too thick, use toothpick to hold it together.

Place skin-side up on the baking tray, then roast for 15 minutes or until cooked, which will depend on their size.

If you do not have an oven, then place the chicken back onto the pan and fry it until cooked.

Surprise Call

2009-02-27T14:09:00.007+11:00

I received a phone call yesterday. This is how the conversation went:

Me: Hello ?

Caller: Hello... *silence*

Me: *puzzled* Er...hello ?

Caller: YEE YEE !! *cackle*

Me: Hey !! How are you ? *surprise and happy*

Caller: Fine thank you

Me: So what are you doing ?

Caller: ....homework *spoke in a softer tone*

Me: Ok... so why do you ring me ?

Caller: YOU ! *giggle giggle*

Me: ?? *processing*

I think the caller misunderstood my question as "who are you ringing"... ha ha ha

Me: hmm... does your mummy know you're ringing me ?

Caller: No... *cheeky laugh*

Me: *laugh* aiyo... you naughty naughty...

Caller: hehehe...

Then we got cut off. I'm not sure if the caller hung up or the line got cut off. So I tried ringing back, but no one pick up the phone.

So that was it, the conversation of a surprise call between me and the caller - my 8 year old nephew. Isn't that sweet ?

What Is Happening ?

2009-01-08T15:37:00.005+11:00

There was this news yesterday regarding parents complaining about fairy tales and wanting a ban or change of those tales. Among the list are classics like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ginger Bread Man etc...

The reason behind this was because these fairy tales portrayed negative issues and it might cause trauma or psycological impact to children. What the F*** ??!! Are these people for real ? Wait till you hear/read the examples they gave...

o_0 *unbelievable*

Examples of the negative issue:

1. Cinderella - Cinderella was a young girl who was abused and being forced to be a slave
2. Little Red Riding Hood - Big bad wolf tied up poor old grandmother and impersonating her
3. Ginger Bread Man - Ginger Bread Man was eaten by a fox at the end

Now, the psycologist has a term for parents who overprotect their children - it is called "cottonwooling" the kids. I always feel that it is quite normal for a parent to overprotect a child sometimes, but this is just way too absurd.

Sometimes I wonder... Do these people actually stop and think about what they are requesting ? They are requesting to change the story of these fairy tales, fairy tales that have been around for decades, fairy tales that are a classic, fairy tales that are well known to most children or even adults...

Just imagine the new Cinderella is not a slave, her Stepmother and Stepsisters adores her and she gets to go to the ball without problem. Then what ? There will not be a need for Fairy Godmother anymore, no glass slippers, no pumkin coaches, no magic etc... And imagine in the future, when an older generation talks to a younger generation about these classic fairy tales... I can foresee there bound to have lots of confusion and argument...

*sigh*

Christmas

2008-12-23T06:51:00.014+11:00

One more day to go till Christmas... Hooray !! Christmas is one of my favourite festive seasons... To me, Christmas is all about family and friends, the good food, the Christmas deco, the presents, Christmas carols and of course, Santa.

Talking about food, I realized that there are certain food which have become the traditions for Christmas. During Christmas season, you will definately hear about roast turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, apple sauce, fruit mince tart, fruit cake, christmas pudding, chocolate truffles and christmas cookies.

Doesn't all the food make you hungry ? Yum... Mmm.... Mmm.... Alright, lets do something then, so eeny meeny miney moe.... which of the christmas food should i make ? and the result is...........

The Christmas Fruit Cake !!

So last Sunday, I baked my ever first fruit cake. It was slightly over baked (due to my negligence, I was watching movie on my computer and forgot about the cake :p) but thank goodness it wasn't so bad. It came out slightly darker than it supposed to be and a little bit dry. But other than that, it tasted pretty alright.

Next on my list will probably be the chocolate truffles or mini cheese cakes. Hmm... or I might just do both :> until then, here's wishing all of you out there: Merry Christmas

Just Me

2008-12-16T18:43:00.014+11:00

Lately I am obsessed with photo editing, particularly photos of myself :> It all started with the idea of creating a profile picture for my facebook. I wanted to use a picture of me but still keep a certain secrecy. So I ended up croping part of my photos and adding some artistic touch to it :p

Chinese New Year

2008-12-09T16:49:00.009+11:00

I know.... I know.... Christmas is just round the corner and I am talking about Chinese New Year ?!

o_0

Ha ha... Actually I decided to make some pineapple tarts and that reminds me of chinese new year. During chinese new year festival, there will be lots of cookies available and one of the most popular-must-have cookies are the pineapple tarts. Also my all time favourite :>

Unfortunately, when comes to pineapple tarts, I am very picky. I don't like those from the bakeries such as Season, Lavender etc (no offence to them, just my personal likings). Maybe because I started eating pineapple tarts made by my uncle. The tarts he makes have a very soft, milky texture, it just melts in your mouth. Very different from those bought.

Another type of pineapple tart I like is the Nyonya pineapple tart. Unlike the cookies type, it comes in a tart shape with crispy crust. Everytime my family goes to Malacca/Melaka, my mum will sure to buy some (as she knows I love them)... well they love them too... who doesn't ?

Anyway, few weeks ago, I decided to make some pineapple tarts myself. I wasn't sure which type I want to make, so I surveyed for both recipes. I ended up making the cookies type or pineapple rolls simply because I cannot find the mould to make the tart shell.

I am not posting the recipes here. So for the pineapple rolls, I have adopted the recipe from Fresh From The Oven [Thanks Mandy for the recipe, it is exactly how I like it]. And for the Nyonya pineapple tarts, you can visit Malaysian Nyonya Cooking Recipe at Malaysian Nyonya Cooking.

ps: I made my pineapple rolls extra large as I like to have a mouthful of it... I know, I can be such a piggy at times :p

Happy Birthday

2008-11-26T08:06:00.007+11:00

Yesterday was my eldest nephew's birthday and tomorrow is his younger brother's birthday. So I picked today to wish them a very happy birthday.

Happy Birthday Boys :)

This picture is specially posted for both of you

... and also to my little niece too for a really belated birthday
Happy Birthday Angel :) sorry for not posting anything on your birthday...

Say Cheese

2008-11-26T07:31:00.007+11:00

I am in one of my crazy snacking mood again. It started few weeks ago and I can't seem to stop it. It is seriuosly addictive. I am constantly looking for something to munch on eventhough I am not hungry. I know... it is an unhealthy habit... but... * giggling and shrugging my shoulder, giving the what-can-I-do look *

Anyway, instead of buying potato chips from the supermarket [feeling guilty of snacking and trying very hard to refrain myself], I thought I would make something instead, something healthier perhaps. So I have decided to make some cheese snacks - Cheese Twist and Parmesan Wafers

CHEESE ! Not really any better of than potato chips, isn't it ? Ha ha...

0_o

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cheese Twist :
Recipe adopted from Better Homes & Gardens TV show

2 sheets of puff pastry (approx. 25cm x 25cm)
1 tablespoon of melted butter
1 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup of cheddar cheese, grated
sugar (optional)
flour (for working on the pastry sheet)

1. Lay a sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface
2. Brush the entire side up of the pastry sheet with melted butter
3. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese onto the pastry sheet
4. Lay the second sheet of puff pastry on top of the first sheet
5. Place a sheet of baking paper over the pastry and compress it a little with a rolling pin
6. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top and repeat step 5 (to prevent the cheese from falling)
7. Cut into 10 strips. If the strips are too long, do what I did and cut them into half
8. Twist the strips and place on a baking tray laid with baking paper
9. Bake in a 180°c preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden and crisp
10. Sprinkle a little sugar over the twists (optional preference) and serve

Parmesan Wafers:
Recipe adopted from Better Homes & Gardens magazine

75g plain flour
50g cold butter, grated
100g parmesan cheese, coarsely grated
1 egg
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon milk
45g flaked or slivered almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c (fan forced). Line baking tray with baking paper
2. Sift the flour in a medium bowl. Add butter and rub it through the flour until mixture has a very fine consistency
3. Add the parmesan and mix to combine
4. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, mustard and milk with a fork until well combined
5. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and use a fork to combine
6. Gently stir through the almonds with a metal spoon
7. Place dessertspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking tray and spread each one out with the back of a wet spoon until 10cm in diameter and very thin
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-9 minutes until golden
9. Cool on the trays until firm enough to handle, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely

Presents

2008-11-19T18:03:00.005+11:00

Everytime when I go home, I would definately get something for my nephews and niece. It is my belated birthday gifts for them. So everytime when they know I am going home, they will be extremely excited, because they know I will be bringing presents for them... [I hope that is not the only reason they are happy and excited :p]

Anyway, I rang my mum two days ago and so happen my eldest nephew was with them. So I talked to him over the phone. I asked him what he would like for his birthday since his birthday is just around the corner.

He said:
"POKEMON ! I love Pokemon or Digimon. Not Ben 10 please, I don't like Ben 10 anymore..."

Then in the background, I can hear my mum said:
"Aiya... all those can get here in Malaysia... ask for something that only Australia has..."

So then he said:
"Ok.... yee yee... I want the best toys in Australia !"

OMG... what would that be ? Ha ha.... me and my big mouth for asking him.... so right now, I need to crack my head thinking of what to get for him that he cannot get back there... and on top of that, it has to be THE BEST !

0_o

My Sunday Afternoon

2008-11-18T08:21:00.012+11:00

I have always love dancing. But never got the chance to do it professionally when I was back in my country. I guess it was the lack of time, money and the availability of classes that stop me from doing what I like. But I have not given up the passion in dance.

Few months ago, after watching so many episodes of So You Think You Can Dance, the fire of my passion in dacing has been ignited once again. And this time, there are no excuses for me to not do something about it anymore. So I did some research and survey on dance classes in Sydney and went for it.

I started with Jazz and so far I have attended 6 classes till date. When you look at dancers dancing on stage, they always seem to make the dance so easy and simple. But in reality, dancing is tough but in a very good way. It is a very good form of exercise for both body and mind. Dancing helps improve cardio, increase stamina and flexibility, tone the muscles and improve posture and balance of the body. On top of that, you get to unwind and have fun. It just feels absolutely great [not for the next few days though, where your muscle in every inch of your body is aching] ...

Ha ha ha...

Fishy Business

2008-11-18T07:46:00.006+11:00

I usually don't take lunch on Sunday for two main reasons. First reason - Sunday is a day where I sleep in. I usually wake up only around 10am and will be having my breakie around 10.30am. Second reason - I go for dance class at 2pm (trust me, not a good idea dancing with full stomach).

So last Sunday, I actually got up earlier than I expected - around 8.30am. Had my breakfast and started doing housework. By the time I hit the road to my dance class at around 1.40pm, my stomach started rumbling... "Oh no..." I started to feel hungry but I tried to keep my mind off it. Thank goodness it was a fun routine that day, I totally enjoyed the dance until I have forgotten all about my hunger. But right after the dance, the trouble starts - I was feeling super duper hungry all the way back home.

Ok.... so I thought to myself : " What can I cook in just minutes to feed my growling stomach ? " The minute I arrived home, looked into my fridge and ah ha - I'm going to do Pan Fried Barramundi Top With Asparagus.

In 10 quick steps (approximately 15 minutes in total)

1. Cut fish into small pieces
2. Season with a little bit of salt and ground black pepper
3. Add some chives and some olives oil
4. Leave it for the flavour to set in
5. Clean the asparagus and cut away the woody part (bottom part)
6. Steam the asparagus (can be done in other ways)
7. Heat up frying pan with oil
8. Place fish in pan on medium heat
9. Flip fish after 1 minute or 2
10. Serve fish on plate top with steamed asparagus

Moment

2008-11-06T17:10:00.010+11:00

Doesn't moment like this put a smile on your face ? Even the birds are enjoying the moment... this reminds me of a very spectacular performance by a six years old little girl from Britains Got Talent...

Salmon

2008-11-03T15:34:00.010+11:00

Salmon... I have never liked salmon. Well... except for those thinly sliced and smoked. I have tried so many salmon dishes in restaurants but none had ever impressed me. All salmon dishes I have tried are always too dry and tasteless.

One fine day while I was doing my normal groceries shopping, I was scanning at all the fishes over the counter, trying to decide what to buy. I usually will go for Dory, Barramundi or any other fish but definately not salmon.

I don't know what came on to me that day, I actually decided to buy some salmon fillet. I guess I wanted to proof that salmon can be tasty, it is just a matter of how it was cooked (ha ha... I'm a big sucker for challenges).

So then began my quest. I did some research on salmon by looking up for salmon recipes, but most are more or less the same. So I decided to do it my own style after all. My ultimate aim is to overcome the two main reasons that made me dislike salmon - the dryness and the tastelessness.

Finally I came up with this idea - seasoned salmon with tomato salsa.

For the salmon:

First, seasoned/marinated the salmon fillet with a little bit of salt and some ground black pepper, some McCormick's Italian seasoning (contains garlic, onion and some herbs and spices) and finally some olive oil. I usually would prefer using fresh herbs but since I have none at home, I had to make do with whatever I have. Once done, cover the salmon with plastic wrap and let it set.

For the tomato salsa:

5 red juicy tomatoes, remove the inner parts (don't chuck it away, that's wasting food; eat it instead), cut the rest into cubes.

2 green pepper (jalapeno) - sliced, seed removed (I personally do not like the seeds, but if you don't mind the seeds and prefer it hotter, then don't remove them) and cut into small pieces.

1 big red onion - sliced and chopped into small pieces (I had a hard time doing this, my eyes were in tears, can hardly see).

A handful of Kalamata olives with seed removed and cut into small pieces. I am not a big fan of olives but I wanted something black/brown in my tomato salsa, just to add to the colour presentation :p but I must say, other than the colour, the olives actually added a little extra kick to the tomato salsa (olives are salty).

Now, put everything in a big bowl, add a pinch of salt and ground black pepper, juice of a lemon and a tablespoon full of extra virgin olive oil. Mix everything together and voilà - you have yourself a tasty, zetsy tomato salsa.

Set the tomato salsa aside. Heat up the frying pan in high, pour some oil in the pan and wait till the oil is hot. Once the oil is ready for frying, turn the heat to medium. Put in the salmon fillet, skin side down first and let it sizzle through about 2 minutes or so (depends on the thickness of the fillet). Flip it and fry the whole fillet until it is cooked but not over cooked.

It is very important to make sure not to over cook the salmon or it will end up dry and flaky. Lastly spread the tomato salsa on a plate, gently place the salmon on top and serve it with a lemon wedge.

Now enjoy the savoury taste of the salmon and a blend of the appetizing zetsy tomato salsa with a tinge of chili spicyness. This is the first time I actually enjoyed my salmon dish :>

Names

2008-10-31T07:11:00.005+11:00

Last Tuesday, I went to the RTA (Road & Traffic Authority), which is similar to JPJ in Malaysia to sit for my driver's knowledge test (yes... I had to go through all the process again just to get the NSW driving licence) Anyway, I was unable to sit for the test that day. I was told that the my family name and given name was mixed up in my visa, hence they cannot allow me to proceed until I get my visa ammended.

Usually I would be so pissed off when things like this happen. But on that day, I was actually pretty cool about it. I couldn't stop laughing because I felt it was so funny - because things like this always happen to me. I have had so many experiences like this when I was doing my masters degree. All my fellow friends did their masters in the same uni and had no problem. But I ended up with hips of problems, one after another. I guess I am now immune to things not going smoothly for me... ha ha ha...

I still find it funny when I was walking towards the car park. So when I walked pass a news agent, I thought I'd buy myself a lottery ticket since I was so "lucky". The lottery ticket is still with me now, has not been drawn yet, so I'm keeping my finger crossed. Who knows... :p

Well...the story continues on Thursday. I went to the Immigration Office to get my visa ammended. When I first told the guy behind the desk (a cute one actually :p) about the problem, he said there's nothing he can do about it. He showed me the database on his computer. Apparently whoever that processed my visa was not sure which is my family name (you see, most chinese have their family name BEFORE their given name, but in our family, we are like the westerners, we have our family name AFTER our given name).

Due to that, they have keyed in my full name under "FAMILY NAME" and left "GIVEN NAME" blank. OMG... don't they read my application forms ?? It was cleary written in my application forms. Anyway, while looking at the database, I saw my previous record in there (the previous record is of a working visa I applied before applying for a PR visa), so I told the cute guy that the data in my previous record is correct and asked if he can do something about it. So he tried some trick and managed to reprint the visa with my name in the correct order (family name first then followed by given name).

phew... that's a relief... :>

My First Cheese Cake

2008-10-16T10:07:00.026+11:00

All these while, I have always wanted to have a go at baking cheese cake. I always thought it would be a difficult task based on my perception of how much a cheese cake cost. Well, I must say that my perception is so wrong. Baking a cheese cake is no different from baking a normal cake. Just a little extra work involve in those which uses the hot bath method for baking.

Before I started my quest, as usual I did my research. I realized that in all the cheese cake recipes that I have come acrossed, all of them uses a spring form cake pan, which makes me wonder why ?? I have 3 cake pans but non are spring form type. I was a little reluctant to get another one and wonder if I can get away without having to use the spring form type. But I soon understand that I have no choice but to get one because cheese cake is different from normal cake (I will not be able to get the cake out from the pan as I cannot tip it over).

So off I went shopping with a list of item needed for my cheese cake. I have no problem finding everything except cream cheese. Reason ? Cause I do not have a single clue how cream cheese look like :p

I was standing in front of the cheese aisle, scanning every type of cheese, from block to tub to cube, from cheddar to cottage to ricotta but just failed to spot the one and only cream cheese. For about 10 minutes I repeatedly go through shelf by shelf, eventually I gave up. I ended up asking a nice lady what cream cheese is and how does it look like.

The first thing she told me was: "oh... it's something like philadelphia spread..." Ah... "Philadelphia" is one word I am familiar with and immediately know where to look. True enough, I found the cream cheese. Thanks to the wonderful lady.

****************************************************************************

I baked my cheese cake over the weekend. It took quite a bit of physical strength of me though as I was whisking the mixture manually. I guess it is time for me to invest in an electric whisk/mixer :p

Nonetheless, all the hard work and sweat is worth it. I am now enjoying my deliciously yummy marble cheese cake.

The Cycle

2008-10-03T07:45:00.020+10:00

from green they turn into beautiful yellow and red
and as the weather turns colder day by day
they become more vulnerable
barely hanging on

then come the moment
moment for them to let go
they drop gracefully to the ground
dancing along with the wind
they vanish into mother nature

................................
*silence*
..........................................

finally
the feel of warmth sipping through
after days and days of silence and cold
out come the little ones
so fresh and soft and green
popping their little heads towards the warm sun
embracing life as they grow

...and the cycle goes on
over and over again
the cycle of life

Anger

2008-09-16T15:07:00.005+10:00

he came visiting today
make a mess out of my day
left me no peace within myself
and kept reminding me about the cause

**************************************

I tried to make him go away
by focusing on something else
but he just sits there and refuse to go
I hate it when he comes

**************************************

I had to do something fast
or I will be eaten up by him
bit by bit as days go by
it will be the last thing I want

**************************************

what shall I do ?
it is not easy getting rid of him
but I will try my best
to deal with him the best way I could

Dolphin Talk

2008-08-23T11:28:00.013+10:00

I went to the Gold Coast last weekend to meet up with my friend. She and her sister flew in from Malaysia. We went to Movie World on Thursday, Brisbane on Friday and Sea World on Saturday.

At Sea World, the most memorable moment was when we were standing around the dolphin nursery pool looking at some dolphins. There are many others like us too standing around the pool lookig at the dolphins.

But for some reason, there are two dolphins which kept on swimming towards where we were standing and doing tricks on their own such as rolling over on their back, standing and sticking their head up.

It was as if they are talking to me especially. In fact, I was talking to them too. Ha ha... I have the tendency to talk to animals :p Anyway, they kept coming over to where I was (which was surprising because they do no do that to others). It made me feel so special somehow...

After I left the pool, I do not see them do that anymore... weird right ? I was so captivated by them that I forgot to snap photo of them. When I finally realized that they do not do this with others, I managed to take one quick snap on one of them before I left the pool.

As I know, dolphins are one of the most intelligent creatures. Maybe they only communicate to those who has the same intelligence - they know one when they see one :> ha ha ha

So You Think You Can Dance Mania

2008-08-06T08:21:00.019+10:00

I was back in Malaysia for two weeks, so lucky to catch So You Think You Can Dance Malaysia. But after watching it, I realized that Malaysia's choreographers still have long way to go. Just check out Australia's So You Think You Can Dance.

These are a few of my favorites... I think all the choreographies were really superb !! My favorite dancers got into Top Three - Jack, Rhys and Kate...Yeepee :>

There's another one of my favorites in my older post under the title Fix You (May) - danced by Kate and Graeme.

The Love of A Mom

2008-07-10T16:59:00.015+10:00

Today is the worst day of the week so far. I was in a very bad mood the whole day. Not sure what triggers it but it just went down hill as the day goes by. I thought I would give myself a few minutes break to do something other than work.

So I decided to visit my sister's blog. Her recent post just put a smile back on my face. It's a smile of proudness. Proud that my sis is doing so fine to be a good mummy. Proud that my nephew is growing up to be an extremely mature boy.

Here's a message to my dear sis:
Never ever doubt yourself cause you are a fantastic mummy :>

Feeling Cold

2008-07-06T16:25:00.006+10:00

It is 15ºc today. My apartment is freezingly cold. If I have not left the heater on, it will feel as if I am staying in a big refrigirator. Ha ha... maybe I might have exaggerated a little but I just cannot stand cold. It is the time of the year that I hate - Winter. Thank goodness I will be away for two weeks soon.

It's funny though, last week I was feeling hot and this week I am feeling cold, what a total opposite. By the way, I would like to share my little victory here from my last post. I DID NOT fall sick after all and thank you for those who were concern about me.

Today is the worse day of winter. I guess that is because I overworked my arms and shoulders yesterday and the muscles are really sore. It would not be as bad if the weather is fine. Because of the cold, the soreness became more excruciating and it is really killing me.

At moment like this, I really wish that I am rich. That is because if I am rich, I would no longer be renting and have my own house/home. With my own house, I would have it nicely heated throughout so that it is warm and cozy 24 hours. Maybe then, I will not hate winter as much as I do right now.

This would be one good reason to motivate myself in becoming rich. One day, I will succeed. I will have my own house. I will become rich. I will live in comfort and do not ever need to worry about money anymore.

Feeling Hot

2008-07-02T15:46:00.007+10:00

There are so many meanings in the impression of "Hot". It can mean a girl who is sexy hot or water which is boiling hot or sun that is scorching hot or feeling really angry and pissed off hot. But in my case, I am talking about feverish hot.

Yup... I am not feeling too well today. I'm feeling a little feverish and I've been shivering from within. So many people are down with flu lately due to the weather change. However, I am not allowing myself to fall sick. I am trying to feed my mind that I am well and healthy.

Mind is a very powerful tool. The mind is everything that makes a man. Ever heard of the saying "mind over matters" ? Well, I totally agree with that. I have also come across this interesting saying "man is a mind with a body, not a body with a mind". How interesting is that ?

I can go on and on with this topic but I don't feel like writting so much today. So I'll probably continue some other day. Right now, I am going to tell myself that I will not fall sick. I am feeling good and extremely energetic. So lets see how well my mind work against my body. It will work, ya know. Try it yourself ! Cheers !

Searching Pavlova

2008-06-27T12:44:00.017+10:00

I was first introduced the Pavlova during my company's christmas party back in 2006. I did not like it one little bit. It has no substance as it melts in your mouth. It is overly sweet as it is basically made out of nothing but egg white and sugar. At that moment, I thought to myself : Who would actually like a cake like this ?

However, as I am getting to know Australia a little bit more day by day, I came to realize that Pavlova is not a cake. It is actually a dessert, like Soufflé. It is not only just a dessert but a traditional Australian/New Zealand dessert. Now I can understand why Australians love Pavlova.

Everyone knows that Australian and New Zealand are always in constant competition. Even this too has caused some heated debate between the two countries claiming the origin of the Pavlova. So as usual, I being as curious as ever did some googling and found out about the history of the Pavlova. Come to think of it, I wonder why I even bother ? :>

Anyway, for the rest of you who are curious, the famous Pavlova is actually the name of a famous Russian danseuse who visited Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s and enthralled her audiences with the grace of her dance. In the event to honour her during her visit there, chefts and cooks in both countries had invented a dessert to capture her light, airy spirit and appearance.

Anna Pavlova

At that time, there was no generally agreed basic rule nor was there a list of the essential ingredients and an agreed method for making a pavlova. However, as time goes by, people wanted to know the origin of the Pavlova and the traditional recipe for it. The recipe, including a list of its essential ingredients and a matching method for making the ever sought after “pavlova”, was created by Chef Herbert Sachse at the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Australia, in 1935.

Today, there are more than one recipe of Pavlova out there but the basic ingredients and methods are still the same. So I too have tried making one - my own Peach and Strawberry Pavlova.

Apple Cinnamon Cake

2008-06-21T09:47:00.025+10:00

I found a simple cake recipe in a magazine one day. The recipe looked and sounded delicious but I wasn't sure if my cake will turn out to be as good as it looks in the magazine. So I decided to take the challenge and give it a go.

Here are the ingredients...

2 eggs, separated
165g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
180ml milk
45g butter, melted
½ teaspoon vanila extract
1 apple, cored and sliced

Cinnamon Topping
10g butter, melted
1 tablespoon caster sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Here are the step by step procedures:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C and lightly grease a 20cm cake pan.

2. Beat eggwhite until firm peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly, until mixture is thick and glossy.

3. Beat in egg yolk.

4. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold through flour alternately with combined milk, butter and vanila extract, beginning and ending with flour.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and arrange apple slices on top.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

7. To make cinnamon topping,

brush the hot cake with melted butter and sprinkle with combined sugar and cinnamon.

8. Cut and serve warm.

There you go, yummy apple cinnamon cake. Mine looks like a mountain cause my cake pan is too shallow. If you use a deeper pan, you will get the perfect cake shape.

Now you can just sit back, relax and enjoy your afternoon tea with a slice of homemade cake :>

New Found Passion

2008-06-20T06:28:00.009+10:00

I have always had a thing for cooking since my younger days but never really put it into practice. I hardly cook at my own rented place because it is just not worth going through the hassle cooking for myself. It is far economical to eat out anyway compared to cooking. So the only time that I really get to cook is when I'm back at my parent's.

However things changed ever since I came over to Australia. I had to cook for most of my meals because eating out is just way too expensive and the food portion here is way too big for me :p The only time I would eat out is when I go out with friends. During times when I am lazy to cook, I would just order take away. This way, I can divide the big portion into 2 or sometimes even 3 smaller meals for me :>

I started cooking only simple dishes at first but as time goes by, I started to explore deeper and trying out new dishes (new for me). I have also started developing a new interest in reading recipe books/magazines and watching TV programmes associated with food - e.g. Ramsay's Kitchen, Better Homes and Garden, Food Safari, Jamie At Home etc.

Besides cooking, I have also fallen in love with baking, which has become a weekend past time for me. I surprise myself for what I am able to do. I never used to bake. I still remember the very first time I tried to bake a cake with my sister for mother's day. It spelled DISASTER !! Ha ha... the cake turned out to be cookie like.

I like to take photos of the items I have made. It is a combination of the love for photography and keeping a record of my progress. I think my mum would be so proud of me knowing that I have become such a good cook/baker now. Ha ha ha... hey... for a girl who grew up a tomboy, I think I did pretty well :>

Thanks to my mum who first taught me how to cook.

Seafood Fettucine

Fish Fingers with Tartar Sauce and Salad

Grilled Saveloy tops with Bacon, Onion and Cheese

Stir Fry Udon

Lamb Cutlets with Salad

Bacon Mushroom Shells in Creamy Sauce

Bacon and Egg Pie (Whole)

Bacon and Egg Pie (Sliced)

Blue Berry Crumble Slice

Caramel Pecan Swirl

See Me Fly

2008-05-29T08:12:00.023+10:00

Free Fall Into Paradise - This is one of my life's most memorable experiences.

I was in New Zealand somewhere in November 2007. Me and my friends traveled from North Island to South Island in 14 days. We did everything we could possibly do - black water rafting, white water rafting, mountain biking, zorb, swoop, jet ride, glacier walk, bob sledging, hiking and of course the famous bungee jumping.

When we arrived in Queenstown, I decided to try sky diving - something that I've always wanted to do in life. I thought to myself: Where will be a better place to sky dive if it is not in New Zealand ? It's pretty obvious why I say that, simply because New Zealand is one of the most beautiful country with a fantastic scenery.

I asked my friends if they were interested. One of them is but unfortunately he had been suffering the after effect of a shoulder dislocation since his bungee jumping session. So at the end of the day, I am the only one into sky diving.

Doing alone sucks but that did not stop me from doing it. The best part is I never regretted it. In fact, I am thankful and happy that I did it, alone. It gave me a sense of achievement - something that I did but none of my friends did, something I did that is my story to tell but not anyone else. Something so great that cannot be described with words...

Hence, I would like to share some of those special moments here...

isn't this a magnificant view ? ...The Paradise

me with CJ the camera man (with hat) and Saco the dive instructor

here we go... the leap into the sky

i'm flying...

ah...the feeling of free fall...

For that mere 45 seconds of free fall... I have felt the most wonderful feeling ever. You can feel yourself surrounded by the wind and the clouds, looking down on the mountains, feeling yourself floating in air, feeling yourself flying in the sky...

If anyone of you are interested, click here to New Zealand Sky Dive.

Fix You

2008-05-22T10:28:00.021+10:00

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

High up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down on your face
And I...

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down on your face
And I...

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isn't this song beautiful ? Everytime when I hear this song, it always brings back the sweet memory of a dance performed by Kate Wormald and Graeme Isaako, choreographed by Debbie Ellis Linnert. It is one of the many wonderful routines from "So You Think You Can Dance Australia".

This is one breathtaking piece that can send emotions flowing through your whole body...When you watch both Kate and Graeme dance, you can simply feel their sincerity and emotions spreading while they melt into the dance becoming the characters in the story... briliant !

I can only think of one word to describe - SENSATIONAL !

New Chapter

2008-05-19T14:47:00.008+10:00

Vesak Day - a day celebrating the birth, the enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha... a day so pure with trails of hymns forming like beautiful music to the ear... a day so peaceful with love from fellow devotees...

Today...I too celebrate the three same elements. The Birth - birth of my blog. The Enlightenment - enlightenment of my life. The Passing Away - passing away of the old me. Yes... I am starting a new chapter in my life today. It is time for me to move on and embrace the new beginning.

It is a very emotional day today. I have mix emotions - happy, sad, envy, proud, confuse... All intercrossing each other forming a huge energy build up. This energy build up has caused me feeling very expressive. But yet, the expressive feeling is so overwhelm that I found myself lost of words.

Anyway, I am excited about the new story I am about to enter. There are so much to do, so much to learn, so many things to see, so many decisions to make. In this new story, I will be somebody, somebody great, somebody special, somebody to be remembered...

I will make my story the nicest fairy tale with the happiest ending...
[ yup...I still believe in fairy tales with happy ending :> ]