giving thanks

Ok, mummyji has many things to give thanks for...and is well aware of that.
But the one that is at the fore right now is to thank God for helping her decide to shelf Mumbai as our vacation destination, finally choosing Tokyo, cos it didn't require too much braincells to plan for. Mumbai would have required more research and detailed planning, which at that point in time, mummyji didn't have the luxury of time for..
Really really feel so sad for all those involved in the bloodshed.
We pray for world peace!!

Another very pressing thing to give thanks for - the family.
Mummyji's really grateful to have a loving and beautiful family - the hubs, the babes, mum, dad, the siblings and their families, the ILs...
Right now, mummyji's praying for a good friend, that he finds peace in his heart and with his family, and that he doesn't lose faith, ever...
Perhaps mummyji should remind Friend of one of our favourite hymns..
can't ever forget the lyrics of this one.

"He can turn the tides, and calm the angry sea
He alone decides who writes a symphony
He lights every star that makes the darkness bright
He keeps watch all through each dark and lonely night
He still finds the time to hear a child's first prayer
Saint or sinner call, and always finds Him there
Though it hurts Him much to see the way we live
He'll always say, I forgive...."

Joy

the present daddyji got for yours truly - of course, it was chosen by moi and it would have been the one with a detachable heart charm if not for the fact that it was from the Cruise 09 range, not out yet in the paris stores (sigh...)............but the fact is, on his only day off after a week of presentations and meetings, the first store he went to was the Gucci @ Rue St Honore. He might possibly have been the first customer of the day.... so mummyji's really touched, and mighty pleased with it. THANK YOU, SAYANG, LOVE U!!!
This sac is from fall/winter 09, and it's really lovely, a joy to behold - so aptly named. ;-)

about the babes

mummyji's just realised she's forgotten to upload the babes' birthday cake! 

It was a "Black Magic" cake recipe with 2 layers, frosted with white chocolate cream.

We had a bbq party, invited the whole clan, and everyone turned up. This is really a belated entry, the party was last month, on Z's birthday.

Well, today we got S's results, 2 As and 2 Bs, eligible for express stream. She was disappointed with the score, cried a bit so mummyji's not gonna rub it in.

Told her it's a wake-up call, that she's gotta put in more effort if she wants better results. 

And it's also a reminder to the younger sis, Z, that she too gotta put in a lot more effort next year. 

Mummyji often wonders if she's too soft with the offsprings... are they too pampered?

Sigh, tis not easy being a parent...

wise words to chew on

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew."

Saint Francis de Sales

AMEEN...

retail therapy

such a cool pair of gloves,right?
saw it at Promod's yesterday, and was about to plonk it on the counter for checkout with the dress and tops, when mummyji saw the label inside, proclaiming it's 100% pigskin..... :-(
so it was plopped back into its display hook.
Now however, looking at the website, the information given is 100% goatskin!
so, was it Mummyji's poor eyesight? or a mis-labelling??
Hmmm........ not so good, eh....
well, anyway, mummyji doesn't really need another pair of gloves... not for just 5 days in Tokyo.. there's always the pair worn last year in Paris.
And of course, there's also the pair of long ivory gloves worn at the company event, the pair that mummyji looked high and low for, and found in friendly neighbourhood Thomson Plaza..... ;-p

so anyway, this is about mummyji's latest shopping binges.. there's something about year-end, when every other store seems to have at least something that's twinkling and trying to catch mummyji's eyes... hmmm.....

New shoes

Ahem, so yours truly went on a spree and gota few pairs of shoes last couple of months.... 

of which, this must surely be the favourite..

then last week, another pair..... this brand claims to "respire"...

 Very comfy, great for walking and driving, and importantly, matches any colour of bag!

better stop before we need to construct another storage cabinet for mummyji's shoes... =>

"zhng-ed" recipe

just 2 days to the "big" event.

the other day mummyji was telling a friend what she'll wear... a simple black dress which will be "retro-ized" to suit the theme, and the young friend said, "oh, you gonna zhng your dress!"

not quite a word in mummyji's usual vocabulary, but then again, this is Singapore, and what the heck, it's a rather apt description actually.

anyway, got to thinking how very typical of mummyji that was... in the kitchen, always "zhnging" recipes.

this one here is today's breakfast, a cheese & onion muffin, modified from a plain cheese muffin recipe.

And it's here for the record, so mummyji doesn't forget and can reproduce it again.

2 shallots, chopped

1.5cup organic plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp Herb de Provence

1 tsp fine sea salt

2 eggs

50g unsalted butter, melted

0.5 cup milk

1 tsp dijon mustard

About 50g or more of english vintage cheddar, chopped into small bits.

The flour and baking powder were sifted, and mixed with the rest of the dry ingredients.

Butter, eggs, milk and mustard were stirred together till well mixed, then added to the flour mix, and folded in till just combined.

Place a heaped spoon of the mix into each muffin cup, then drop some cheese chunks and bits on it, and then cover with another spoonful of mix. Sprinkle leftover cheese bits liberally over the muffin tops and bake at 180 deg C for 30minutes, till the cheese on the top is a lovely golden brown.

Smells great... in fact, according to the babes, smells like freshly made pizza.

so for the next batch, mummyji's probably gonna stir in a spoon or 2 of tomato paste.... that'll really be more like pizza!

Tiffany & Co

Z exclaimed just the other day, "wow, so many tiffany stuff?"

so mummyji thought of doing an audit...

actually there's one more pendant, but somehow the item seems to elude mummyji's eyes in the catalog..

may just need to take an actual shot of it.

there are also some Charlotte stuff, but haven't got time to put pics of those up...;p

anyway, this post is up to remind the self that, whenever depressed or stressed, there is always someone behind providing love and support... and that will be (insert drumroll here), the hubs...aka good ol' daddyji.

so here goes, Thank you, sayang, and I love you too.

Day 3 of Ramadan

Drool-inducing, isn't it?

No prizes for guessing what Mummyji's craving for right now.........

check this out

Day 2 of Ramadan

Haven't posted in a long while.... blame it mostly on the infuriating internet connection at home. There're plenty of pictures to upload, but those'll have to wait a bit.

Today, mummyji came across this list of 100 things that any good omnivore should have tasted at least once in life. It originated from this site.
And this is what we are to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results

It is quite a strange list actually, but what the heck, it's kinda boring here today, and since we're fasting now, it's quite the norm for mummyji to be checking out sites on food!!

Here's Mummyji's results, those tried are in bold and brown....all the alcoholic stuff are gonna be crossed out here, of course.....
score of 49, not too bad, eh?
Try it for yourself, it's quite fun!

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare (shall definitely try it some day!!)
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (can't be sure, mummyji's not too well-versed in fish identification)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns (this is probably our chinese pau)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries - sadly, never had them wild..
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans (baked beans and rice counts, right?)
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (aren't all lassi saltish?)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat (our mutton curry, no?)
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal (not sure if any of those indian curries we've had is a phaal?)
44. Goat’s milk (only in the form of cheese)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips (never chocolate substitute for mummyji, ok!!)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (This one here must be a joke.... it's a anti-diarrhoeal, for goodness' sake)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain (goreng pisang?)
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (think this is the equivalent of fun cheong in chinese cuisine... therefore, it's in bold... this was pre-halal days, ok?)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers (chrysanthemum, cauliflower??)
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox (the breks dish at TCC isn't quite called this, but it's basically the same stuff)
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Of mothers' day, mango muffins, cheesecake brownie

Haven't posted for a while.. Mummyji's been kinda busy and was rather overwhelmed mentally the past weeks. Anyways, here's what's been happening in the kitchen...

A batch of citrusy muffins, made with the last of Mama's CNY kumquats..

said plant has 3 flowers now, hopefully they'll blossom and bear more fruits!

And this is dear Latte in his new resort, which he is not likely to break out of... No, Latte's not in the kitchen, but just outside of it, perched on the water feature, in which he gets some cardio exercise whenever we clean out his tank.

Breakfast in Bed

This was Mummyji's breakfast in bed, prepared lovingly by Daddyji and the offsprings.. Forgot to snap photos before tucking in, so touched was Mummyji,.....hence this picture of an empty plate and glass. The plate had a couple of heart-shaped pancakes topped with orange marmalade, and the glass had held some freshly-squeezed orange juice.
See the lovely handmade cards and sweet flower pot. The little yellow box on the right's from Daddyji..

... in which was this lovely freshwater pearl ring!

The weeks then passed quickly..

Now this was taken just yesterday, when the first born and her friends were gathered in school, waiting for the bus to take them on their Combined IJ schools Malay Learning Journey.

That's S, excitedly waiting to start her trip to Negri Sembilan. We can't wait to have her back tomorrow! Z, in the meantime, is enjoying the privileges of being the "only child" this weekend.

Just out of the oven and cooling right now, the cheesecake brownie for dessert tonight... 

It's also to welcome S home tomorrow night!

mango muffin for tomorrow's breks

Mummyji found a couple of very very ripe mangoes in the fridge and since nobody seems to want to claim it, Mummyji decided to bake something out of them.

The mangoes were so ripe that they were really mush when cut, so mummyji found an apricot cake recipe and tweaked it to produce a batch of mango muffins.

Really easy peasy actually, and here's the recipe for the record.

1.5 cup self-raising flour

a pinch of salt

125 g unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup greek yogurt

1 cup mango mush

Sift the flour, make a well in the centre of the bowl. Add the pinch of salt.

Melt the butter and sugar in a pan over low heat, then set aside to cool a bit.

Mix the eggs and yogurt with the mango.

Add the egg mixture and butter mix into the flour and mix in with a wooden spoon, until just incorporated. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C.

This recipe makes 16 muffins.

Daddyji's just had one for his teabreak and it was well-received! So this recipe's for keeps... ;-)

cheerios now, we're gonna play some basketball before dinner. (we're having roast chicken)

Of Bread, liver pate and turtles

Today being sunday, mummyji n daddyji visited our favourite market in AMK. The stalls have been relocated to a temporary site after the original got burnt. The new place is really quite claustrophobia-inducing, so it's a matter of choose, pay and go - no browsing or contemplating what to cook with what, unless you wanna be squashed by aunties with loaded trolleys.

Anyway, while daddyji was paying for some squids, mummyji was being stared at by some bright vermillion goldfishes in the next stall. They were pretty adorable, and mummyji contemplated getting a couple for the water feature at home. Somehow, in a twist of events, we ended up getting 2 little turtles instead.

So back at home, these 2 little fellas got into the water feature and did some laps around, like 2 happy kids in a pool.

Soon they latched onto the pipe and tried to climb out of the water, but kept slipping down back into the water again, quite a comical duo to watch.

The lil fellas were named Cafe (the darker one) and Latte (lighter coloured one, obviously) and after watching them swim around, we left them alone and got on with our own stuff.

Z had a bout of nose-bleed (3rd time in a few days) so daddyji brought her to the clinic while mummyji stayed home with S for science revision. 

Mummyji went to look at C and L, and found C doing this.

about an hour later, both were no where to be found!! Red Alert!!

mummyji searched every nook and corner of the little pond, then S thought, "maybe they swam to the back through the little opening" and looked behind the water feature. Lo and behold, the little fellas were there, with L the braver and more athletic one, perched on the ledge.

Mummyji wanted to grab it but it fell back into the water, so we just left them there, hoping they'll swim out of the narrow space by themselves.

Meantime, Z came back from the doctor's - $22 for the doc to advise her not to dig her nose too hard or it'll bleed... advice which all of us have been doling on her. (Ok, so for the $22, there was a bottle of nasal drops too, which mummyji had too, in her stash of meds)

After a yummy lunch of steaks and potatoes, mummyji decided to bake bread, so that we can mop up the gravy of tonight's clams and squid marinara sauce.

Bread dough proofing.... 

then mummyji whacked the chicken livers which daddyji had lightly fried in butter and onions into the blender, with 1 half-boiled egg and blitzed the lot into pate.

Creamy Liver Pate lovingly scooped and packed into a glass jar...

and lightly drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. 

Said jar is now perched proudly on a refrigerator shelf, waiting to be spread onto toasted baguette slices... probably tomorrow..

and then just when mummyji was about to take a break, she spotted a little spot of green behind a pot of pandan plant next to the water feature.

Latte's done a Mas Selamat!

Escaped turtle, Latte 

- swam to the back of the water feature, managed to squeeze through the tight space there and clawed up to the ledge. When spotted by mummyji earlier, he'd jumped back into the water. Later when all was calm and the owners were lulled into thinking that he was safely stuck in the tight spot there, he found a window of opportunity and made his jump to freedom, ala Singapore's most famous fugitive.

Alas for Latte (unlike Mas Selamat), his freedom was short-lived for Mummyji quickly picked him up and plonked him right into old Kaiser's round bowl. (Kaiser's our late fish)

All this while, Cafe was still paddling behind the water feature.

Mummyji decided that some action was required, for while Cafe may appear not to be as bright as Latte,  it could very well be but a show. We must not slip in our judgement of these turtles' intelligence. So daddyji, the hero, jumped into action and squeezed into the back precariously, fished Cafe out and plonked him into Kaiser's bowl too.

Fugitive turtles re-captured and placed into smaller space. 

We are hoping that the roundness of this bowl will prevent them from clawing their way up and out. Till we get a proper turtle tank, that is. Looking at Latte trying his utmost to claw up, Mummyji felt really bad about keeping them "locked up" like this. Would they be better off in the wild? Were they born in captivity or were they poached from their mother? Sigh, was it wise to have purchased them at all???

On a happier note, the bread turned out fragrant and did a great job of mopping up the sauces.

This is a somewhat focaccia, with wheat and organic plain flour, and a teaspoonful of Herbs de Provence mixed into the dough after the first proof.

Well, this was the last picture of the 2 little fellas taken today. Let's hope they'll behave themselves and stay in the tank. Just to be safe, tomorrow morning, Mummyji'll definitely check on them before she starts preparing breks.

Normally, Mummyji doesn't snack on store-bought chips, much preferring self-cooked ones. But these are different, they look and taste home-cooked. And it was truly "love at first bite", so much so that there is a tray of cut potatoes tossed in dijon mustard and honey roasting in the oven right now.

These make for a satisfying bite when mummyji's feeling peckish, which is all so often, especially when we're indoors all day, cramming for the mid-year exams (or aka Semestral Assessments, as they are called now).

Can't get over the "No Stuff" disclaimer on the back of the package. "No trans fat, no MSG, no artificial whatchamacallits"...LOL!!

Ok, gotta spin some salad now while the babes are working on their vocabulary exercises (assessment books), tomorrow's the English paper for both.

Before signing off, mummyji will end with this apt quote found the other day...

“Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four

pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of the

pieces.” – Judith Viorst.

It so applies to yours truly!

(but only for dark chocolate, and not just any old brands...)

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate chip muffins

A batch of muffins for tomorrow's breks - quite different from the usual choc muffins mummyji's used to whipping up. These had cocoa powder mixed into the batter, instead of melted chocolate, and then had chocolate chips sprinkled in the middle of the mixture inside the paper cases.

A closer view of the aromatic brown beauties...

Mache Salad with Emmenthal Cheese shavings and Beef Stew

 

Tonight's dinner, which mummyji whipped up single-handedly, cos the resident chef (aka Daddyji) is trying to finish up his MBA paper.

Beef stew, pomegranate seeds, Multi-grains and store-bought foccacia bread.

CZ 6 and 7

Erm, this isn't dinner. It's our little science observation project. We got these 2 baby butterflies from Mamaji's plant, and mummyji decided to keep them in a container, to let the babes observe the whole metamorphosis process, which is part of their science syllabus.

So the nutty Z decided to name these very hungry caterpillars, CZ 6 and 7... please do not ask yours truly to differentiate which is which. It's difficult enough for mummyji to tell Daddyji's twin nieces apart, let alone these wriggly creatures!

Anyway, CZ 6 and 7 will turn into fatty bugs in no time at all, for they'd devoured 2 leaves between them in a day, and look at how much poop they've passed! It just goes to show that the books are right, a fibre-rich diet will surely get your bowels going....

well, that's all for the week, Mummyji's gonna conk out soon, while the other half is still at his homework. Sorry, luv, this woman needs her sleep...

Sundays

Sundays are when mummy and daddyji put all our recipe-readings to practice. This is a sneak preview of tonight's dinner...

Pomegranate salad, roasted garlic yogurt dip and Roasted vine tomatoes with potatoes...

the lovely ruby red pomegranate is so so sweet! They were brought back from Daddyji's Istanbul trip. We're gonna try potting it here, with a couple of these ruby gems... wonder if it'll work?

7-colour bean salad - organic beans, boiled and tossed in last week's tomato salsa..

so simple, and bursting with goodness -

Lest anyone thinks we've gone vegetarian (?!!) .... of course there's the meat, grilled lamb slices, though there's no picture of the pink tender strips here.

And here's the bake for tomorrow's breks -

Pain d'epice or Honey Spice Loaf

A simple recipe from Clotilde Dusolier's Chocolate & Zucchini cookbook. It smells wonderful, of all its ingredients, the honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, baked mostly with organic goodies (the flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, the molasses - all organic!)

It's now wrapped up in foil, for it to rest to "give the honey and spices time to bloom".... taste test will be at breks tomorrow.

If it doesn't rain on sunday afternoons, we'll usually hit the pool after lunch. Today, we decided to go at 11 am when the sun was shining bright and hot. Good thinking too, cos it rained angrily in the afternoon, after lunch.

Babes clowning around in the water...

we've got the pool to ourselves, for once!

And lastly, mummyji'll like to show off her latest piece of jewellery - THE RING which daddyji bought from Istanbul.

THE RING!!!

had meant to post the picture last week, but just didn't find the time. But that doesn't mean it's not been worn yet... in fact, it's on mummyji's right index finger almost everyday.
Love the ring, Sayang! and love you too!


So there, that's our typical sunday.. Cheers everyone, and have a great week ahead!

express

there's another smell pervading every corner of the house again.. this time, however, it's a lovely enticing cinnammon scent. Mummyji's just baked a batch of apple cinnammon muffins.

Haven't taken a picture of the yummy-smelling babies yet, cos if yours truly were to go any closer to them, she'll definitely devour at least one!

Besides, one has to quickly type down the recipe, before the old gray matter forgets.

You see, yours truly didn't really follow the recipe (from the book 500 cupcakes and muffins) to the T. Mummyji dislike having to weigh her ingredients, much prefering to measure everything in cups and spoonfuls. So it's a bit of guesstimation for the recipe... well, so far, the muffs look pretty alright and as mentioned already, score A* in the smell department, hence they can't be too awful to taste, right?

Recipe:

1.5cup (heaped) organic flour

approx 3/4 cup organic molasses sugar (Afternote tweak : think this should be changed to either 1 heaped cup, or increase to 2 apples)

4 tsp baking soda (actually before adding the 4 tsp, alarm bells were already sounding in mummyji's head, erm, really, do we need THIS much?? Afternote tweak: too much will result in a slightly bitter taste, so probably can cut down to just 2 tsp)

2 tsp ground cinnammon (might increase this to 3 tsp the next round)

pinch of sea salt

4 tbsp sunflower oil

50g melted unsalted butter

2 lightly beaten eggs

175ml milk

juice of half a lemon

1 royal gala apple, peeled, cored and diced (see above, can actually increase to 2)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175deg C. Line muffin tin with paper cases, this recipe yielded 11 muffins, so the remaining "cup" was half-filled with water to prevent the tin from warping.

Mix the butter, oil, eggs, milk and lemon juice in a big bowl till even.

Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl: the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnammon and salt.

Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and just lightly mix till incorporated.

Gently mix in the diced apple.

Spoon into papercases, about slightly less than 3/4 full. In retrospect, if Mummyji had done just that, perhaps we'll have 12 muffins... but then this batch would not have had such cute domed heads that tilted one side or another..so it's not too bad, you could fill it 3/4 full too, to get the domes.

Bake for 20 min, and voila, your house will soon smell like a dozen apple pies!

Now we'll just have to wait for Breakfast, ze most important meal of the day, for the great verdict...

picture will also be posted later.

Sweet dreams!

rewind to March hols

Ok, as mentioned yesterday, these are the pics of our activities during the weeklong March hols...

This box of blue cupcakes were made for Z's ballet teacher. Z had her Royal School of Ballet exams...

And this is our Project Groom Babes' Room!

Mummyji did the artwork, ok, in case you're wondering.... the babes are just the helpers, filling in the sand bit..

Had a pretty stiff neck after working on this "masterpiece" from 10am to 6pm, but mummyji's gotta admit, she's mighty proud of it! It conjures up an image of the beaches which we so love...

Another craft project, on another day... the shells were collected on Sandy Beach in Danang last June.. Thank God there were enough of them to go around the entire mirror!! Mummyji got blistered by the hot glue gun, but looking at the mirror's new look, it's quite worth the pain.

A closer view of the shells, see how pretty?

And finally, 2 star name plaques for the stars in Mummyji's life.... hand-painted, of course...

The babes got their room a new look, and we're mighty pleased with the results! ;-)