Early Christmas Celebrations

We had an early Christmas gathering on one Saturday because my younger daughter had to leave for Korea on the 15th for a long holiday and also I will be away for awhile and hence will not be able to have any 'makan' at home on Christmas Day.
It was simple fare - kueh pie tie, curry chicken, pasta and fried chicken. I totally forgot to capture the food on print. Anyway it wasn't much to show!

So to all my fellow bloggers, friends and visitors,

MAY YOU HAVE A BLESSED & MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I'm Back

Back from Cambodia

Was a humbling experience

Glad to be home

Unfortunately caught the flu bug

Feeling groggy posting this!

So much to read and catch up

All the wonderful postings I've missed

Will return when I'm well!

Blog Awards

This is my first time receiving an award, correction two awards. Just fancy that! It's great!

Compared to all the wonderful blogs I've been visiting, mine is a simple one!

I'm not so computer-literate and don't know how to come up with fancy designs or lovely pictures that I have seen on so many blogs. How I do admire their photography and lovely layouts!

My very first award from Jean of Noms I Must @ http://needmorenoms.blogspot.com

Thanks Jean!

Zoe of http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.com also presented the above award plus the one below. Thanks Zoe for both the awards.

Vanilla Beans

I finally visited ToTT with my sister yesterday. As my hub needed to use the car to take my grandsons to lunch, we took a bus from Tampines Interchange. It took us almost 2 hours to reach our destination.

The moment my sister stepped into the store and took a quick glance, she commented that the things are similar to those found at Sia Huat, a shop at Temple Street. They are the suppliers of all kitchen and food equipment.

I asked my sis to check out SH's pricing to see if it's any different from Tott's which is rather pricey!

Anyway, I bought a packet of vanilla beans at Toque, a store next to Tott that sells baking and cooking ingredients. On display are two packets of the same brand vanilla beans. One packet has Iran printed on it and the other Papua New Guinea. The vanilla pods from Iran are about 3cm shorter than those from PNG. Both packets weigh 250g each and they are vacuum-packed. I asked the sales rep about the difference between the two packets with regards to the countries, he told me that they are of the same quality. Okay, but I wasn't convinced because (1)they are different in length and (2)they smelled different.

I could smell the sweet aroma of vanilla from the PNG packet despite been vacuum-packed in quite thick plastic whereas the Iran packet (similar packaging) yielded a faint aroma. So how could the two packets be of the same type.

I know that there are a couple of varieties of vanilla beans and some give off better aroma than others. So guess which pack I bought?

Obviously I bought the one from PNG. After 10% discount, I paid $49.50 for 250g of vanilla beans. Now what needs to be done is to buy a bottle of vodka to make vanilla essence and maybe a bottle of rum to get vanilla rum! I have no regrets buying the PNG pack because my kitchen smells of vanilla essence even though I have not opened the pack!

Season's Greetings

This is it!

The Day is finally here!

Countdown to Christmas!

Amidst all that last minute shopping

Bustling about in the kitchen

To lay a sumptuous feast on the table

And gearing up for a party

I would like to pause and ponder

The true meaning of Christmas.........

Thank you God for Christmas

Thank you for Lord Jesus

There would never be Christmas

If You had not come down to us.

AMEN!!

That said, I would like to wish all fellow bloggers, visitors and people all over the world,

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!

God Bless!

Christmas Dinner Menu

The annual battle in my head!

Shall I......maybe......or perhaps......

Roast Beef....

Baked Ribs......

Baked Salmon....

Beef Bourguigon.....

Beef Stew in Red Wine.....

Honey Baked Ham.....

Grilled Chicken........ or ...........??????

What a hassle! But I love it!

Planning a Christmas dinner for 12 persons!

Making sure that the dishes suit everyone

Not too spicy, not too salty, not to sweet.........

1. Meat

2. Fish

3. Potatoes

4. Two salads

5. Pasta

6. Appetizers

7. Dessert

Coming soon on Christmas Day!

Pierre Herme..... Martha Stewart...........

I hardly shop and when I do, it's with a vengeance.

Today I had steamboat buffet lunch with some friends who had retired. We would try to meet for lunch at least twice a year. Lunch was at Coca, Takashimaya. Though it was a buffet, we couldn't eat as much as we wanted - you know the eating capability and capacity reduce as one gets older! ;P

But eating wasn't the main agenda. It was more to catch up with one another and perhaps sometimes to reminisce about old times.

After lunch, we went window shopping and I strayed into Kinokuniya Bookstore. I made a beeline for the food and drinks book section. Shelves of cooking and baking books were beckoning to be touched, to be held, to be browsed and to be bought. I spent about an hour and a half looking around. And with very eager hands, I flipped the pages of the books.

To cut the story short, I bought 4 baking books and they cost me $176.97!!

Check out the chocolate! Absolutely decadent!

Sinfully scrumptious!

Heavenly!

Pure Delight!

These books will be my bedtime stories and I'll be dreaming sweet dreams! :)

I am looking forward to trying out the recipes and shall be posting them.

A Hari Raya Treat

For the past twelve years our friendly Muslim neighbour , a family of five, has been generously giving us delicious Hari Raya food. On the eve of every Hari Raya, we would be given a tray of a few dishes. We appreciate their gesture very much. They are very nice and friendly people.

Sometimes, I want to reciprocate by baking them cookies or cakes. Unfortunately I can't because my kitchen isn't halal. So I always end up buying them fruits.

This year, this is what we just had for our dinner - Chicken with turmeric and tamarind juice, beef heart sambal, beef rendang, potato patties and rice with serondeng and fried shallots.

Dinner was yummy and we practically clean up every dish!

So to all my Muslim friends and all other Muslims, I wish you all a

"SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI".

Gone Are The Days When My Heart Was Young And Gay

Indeed my post title, a line from a folk song, is so befitting my present stand today. I guess I am feeling so because never in my life have I been beaten by two 'bugs' consecutively that have left me so tired and listless. I will take a breather and hope to be back with more baking and cooking!

Meanwhile I can only read blog postings and drool, drool, drool.............! :(

Pesto - Where to buy?

The website is here : http://www.melvados.com/

You will find that they produce other food stuffs too.

Happy shopping to my dear blogger visitors who are residing in Singapore. :)

Food Thickener

For cream soups, stews or some other dishes which require the gravy to be thickened, I usually use corn flour /cornstarch. The corn flour has to be mixed with water before adding it into the gravy. If I am not careful, I end up getting lumps in the gravy.

I have stopped using corn flour to thicken gravies. Instead I have been using a food thickener which is easy to use. Though it is slightly heavy on the budget, I like it in that the gravy stays thick without turning watery and I don't have to use much.

It can be obtained from any pharmacy located at the hospitals.

Breakdown

A mean bug

Intervals of tummy cramps

Frequent loo visitor

Woozy head

Cross out oily

Cross out spicy

Plain and light

Tasteless on the buds

Desist no more

Visit doc

Tomorrow to say

Hello

I'll Be Back!

To Upgrade??

As I browse through numerous food blogs, I am awed and attracted to the lovely food pictures posted and they make me want to try out the recipes. When I look at mine, (oh dear!) how dreary they look!

My digital camera is about 7 years old. How obsolete mine has become in terms of all the latest 'what it can do' features! I am still mulling on whether I ought to get a new one cos' I am not much into photography. Having the latest model might not yield a better result. In other words, I am clueless about cameras!! Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Off Day

I have had enough of the mess in my kitchen cupboard. The sight of it made me lose my mood to bake today. I wanted to make a steamed cake and had to use some rose petals but to get to to the packet I had to remove so many things. Okay, I know I have to organize my stuffs!

I have this bad and incorrigible habit of hoarding 'bake' stuffs. Every time I stepped into a supermart or a bake shop like Phoon Huat or Gim Hin Lee, I would definitely end up buying some baking peripheral or ingredients which I think I would probably use in the near future. I find myself besotted by such things. Hmmmm......

Well, it clearing time now! Guess the baking will have to wait till everything is sorted out.

My Crazy Computer

My computer is acting up again. I have problems posting replies in the comment column. I tried three times, after logging out and restarting. I don't know if the replies will appear later three times in my comment column. That would be hilarious cos each time I replied differently.


Imagine what would happen when all the computers do not function one day! *shudders*

JB Visit

Last Friday, I went to JB for seafood and a visit to an ostrich farm. The visit to the farm was an eventful one 'cos one of us lost a diamond ear stud to an ostrich. The 'culprit' took a peck on her ear when she wanted to pose for a photo with it. It was certainly an expensive snack for the ostrich! LOL! The owner of the farm was kind enough to drive the earring owner to the police station to make a report so that she could claim from insurance. Hmmm.... I am not sure how it works.

As usual wherever we go, it's typical of us Singaporeans to shop, shop, shop! Well I ended up buying some 'otah' which our tour guide did her best sales pitch to convince us of how 'deliciosa' the otah is. Anyhow I ordered 6 packs at about five ringgit plus per pack which was much cheaper than the ones I used to buy in Singapore.

Well I had one pack for lunch today. I'll post about it later after work.
Hasta luego!

CARS

Will the 'real' car, please stand up ?

I had some leftover yellow fondant and didn't want to mix a new colour.Trying my hands at modelling fondant cars for a car enthusiast whose birthday is a couple of weeks away. You can see it's quite crudely done, so there's room for improvement.
Currently I can't decide what to do - to bake a car cake or decorate a cake with car models! Making a car cake requires shaping a cake and icing it whereas with fondant modelling, I can simply put the little cars as cake toppers.
Hmmm.... tough decision because it's my first time doing a car. And I really want to put my skills to a test!

"Home Alone"

My good husband is away on a 5-day fishing trip in Malaysia at some obscure island called Pulau Dayang. I went there last year in April. Heat aside, the fishing was fantastic - I had never caught so many fish in my life. There are chalets on the island for fishing enthusiasts and divers who would usually stay for 3 days to a week. It is beautiful, unspoilt and idyllic except for the chalets. The water around is crystal clear and from the jetty (my favourite part of the island) I could see the corals and the fishes swimming around (see pics) - something we can never get in Singapore any more (way back in the 1950s, the water at Changi Beach was similar). And mind you, the islanders there do not litter!

So what have I been up to? Nothing much, except to turn the house upside-down, 'junking' stuffs which I am going to send to a donation centre at Waterloo Street. My meals are simple since my younger girl doesn't come home for dinner. Been trying to finish whatever food I have in the freezer because I have to free up space for the fish my dear husband will be bringing home Friday night. Oh no! I dread all the cleaning and scaling!!!!

To Bake or Not To Bake

I just feel so restless. I have been flipping through my recipe books and I simply can't decide what to bake. Maybe I should do something savoury for a change. I think my husband is quite tired of eating my cakes now. But when I mentioned that I would like to do an "Orh Kueh" or "Chai Tow Kueh", he grimaced at the thought. Not to discourage me, he said he wouldn't mind eating a piece. Only A Piece!!!! What am I going to do with the rest. I can't gorge the whole tray all by myself. I'll end up looking like a yam. Not that I don't look it now, but I don't want to look like a really bulbous one! Heehee!
Anyway I am having second thoughts about making them now. One day I shall make them when I have more people around to eat. Any volunteers?

What To Bake

A friend's birthday is around the corner - this Friday. I just can't decide what to bake for her. I have been scouring my recipes and still haven't come across one that I would love to do. I don't want to bake the usual chocolate or butter cake. As the weather has been unforgivingly hot of late, I would want to make something light and refreshing. Maybe I 'll come up with something fruity.
Maybe.....Whatever it's going to be, it's got to be something that I don't have to shop for the ingredients. My baking stuff cupboard is spilling over. Sigh!