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