Rendition

Over the weekend, the husband i caught Rendition on the big screen.

I watched mostly for Reese Witherspoon and the husband watched mostly because he had no other choice.

After the movie when we were on the way home, we discussed quite abit about it, rendition. I never knew what the word meant, never knew such word exists [yes, my engrish is very bad!] until the movie.

Rendition : secretive, controversial American government practise of abducting foreign people who are deemed security threats for detention and interrogation in unknown locations overseas.

Another word will be scarily maddening. Note : maddening used here has got more than 1 meaning.

The movie itself though slow, it was intense. Very. I couldn't wait for it to end, for i couldn't really breath anymore. I sympathised with the characters played by a few of the actors and actresses, including the heartless Meryl Streep.

I can't quite say i can understand what they are going through because i've never gone through it and hopefully will never go through it. But i certainly could feel it for them.

Rendition is a very cruel thing to do. I hate cruelty. Any kind. Any sort. I condemned such act. To put a human being through such act is purely inhuman. It's barbaric, illegal and totally indefensible method.

Like the movie, i truly believe if you were to really torture a human in such a way, even if he/she is NOT guilty, he/she will somehow come out with an answer merely to satisfy you and be taken off hook for a while because that is what you want [there's a Shakespeare quote for this but i forgot and i can't find it]. No answer? - because you are truly innocent-. Continue torturing!

Mad.

A kind soul is the husband but he begs to differ on my views. Yes, cruel no doubt, he said. Hb then asked me a question. Would i rather 1-2 or more innocent die out of this practise : rendition or the whole lot of hundreds if not thousands of innocents to die?

I insisted that there must be another way to force a person to open up, even the worst of the worst lot. When i was asked what? I couldn't think of any, sadly except torture.

Is that it? Must we really resort to such act to force answers out, just for that small glitter of hope that we can save thousands of lives with one or two of the answers provided out of the thousands gotten from the innocents and the real terrorists over their dead bodies? And not care how some of the innocent people die? And not care of how the family of these innocent people feel?

Then the husband asked me this.

What would i feel then, say, if a bomb went off, an act by the terrorists at the apartment where my family in KL reside and killed my whole family instantly together with the thousands? How would i feel? Will i still be against rendition?

Me : well.. at least they are not tortured! It was an instant death. No pain.

I know the answer is pretty absurd, but i dunno.. hm.. anything that has got to do with torture, i simply cannot take it and will not accept. But you know what?

I do think the husband has got a point. I'm so into this anti-torture thing until i do not want to accept or see the bigger picture behind it. However, i did shoot one question back to the husband though. Grin.

Me : so, if u were caught through rendition, and were tortured the way the poor guy was tortured in the movie, would you still think that rendition is quite a must?

Hb : i cannot answer such question for i have not gone through it and will never go through it. So i will not be a hypocrite and tell you what i think now for i really would not know what my answer would be then.

Me : *roll eyes* CHEH!

So, am i still against rendition like what i thought i would 100% before talking to the husband?

Honestly, no and nor i support it. I'm sitting on the fence as for now.

Warning!

Everyone should not pick this up when you see it in the supermarket, be it in NTUC or Cold Storage or at some mini mart.


Because it is so darn good that i actually ate it with my noodle soup too! Something which i have never attempted and will not even think about it with other sambal.

As the name suggested, the chili is crispy and very spicy too, not to mention, very the good. Everyday, i look forward to my lunch and dinner because of it and i can eat up to twice my usual portion! *shudder* I literally eat it with e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. Once, i even tried it just like that, without anything *hide*. Paiseh ah!

Now that my sambal is finished, i dare not buy it anymore. Putting on 1 kg is bad enough. I don't want another kg with another bottle!

However, the most unfortunate thing about this chili is that it contains MSG :(

But still, do give it a try. Just 1 bottle and you will understand why this entry is being posted up. Heh :D

Interested?

Yesterday was my first time fiddling with a SLR.

I love it!

I took a couple of test shots and i really like what i saw on the camera screen. The camera said is Canon EOS 400D. However, i'm still hunting around to see if there's a better one. If you have one that you know of or owning a good one, please please.. let me know yeah?! :)

Anyway, check this out, for those who are interested in photography and SLRs.

I'm thinking of organizing one. But i need another 19 or less participants.

Interested?

Email me at maameemoomoo[@]gmail.com now!

Date : to be confirmed later on... sekali no one interested how? :P

Tagged!

Got tagged by Bernice from Baking Journey for this Meme :)

Five Things

Found in my room:

. Denon stereo + speakers

. table lamps

. whole lot of skincare on my bed side table because i don't have a dressing table :(

. CDs, hb's

. books and mags, temporarily for my leisure reading before bedtime

I have always wanted to do:

. volunteering work

. go backpack around the world with a partner for 1-2 years

. live in a different country every 1 year to learn their culture, lifestyle and their cuisine and how to cook them :)

. go for teeth whitening. Heh :P

. baking complicated bakes especially cakes but i don't have the time for it unfortunately which explains why the bakes i do are pretty easy peasy ones

Found in my bag:

. wallet

. handphone

. house keys and car key

. a packet of tissue

. a bottle of water

Found in my wallet:

. ID

. driving license

. Amore member card

. Spinelli store value card

. and credit cards of course! :P

I am currently into:

. yoga - have always been

. outdoor sports

. photography

. travel and planning my itinerary - another have always been :)

. moulding the kids to be a better person

+ baking bread and complicated cakes if i have the time

Candidates to tag :

Hee.. i'll skip tis! :P

A happy day :)

I was a very very happy girl yesterday!

Very very very very happy indeed. Hahahahha...

It has been quite some time since i last splurge for myself.. as far as i remember, ever since i was pregnant, i never buy things in huge amount [read : $$] anymore. After i gave birth, i did buy abit here and there but those were all online purchase. Hence, doesn't count hor :P

Yesterday i went shopping with mil, aiming to buy only 2 items, a pair of black shoes for the boy and a tub of night cream for myself.

However, in the end, i ended up with these!

See my gorgeous make up box on the left? *beam* :P

Grin.

Scary yeah?

Don't ask me why but according to mil, she thinks i bought them because it was very worth it. Haha.. mil knows me pretty well. She knows i do not anyhow spend or buy unnecessary things like her. She knows i'm very careful with my money or rather, hb's money.

So yesterday was truly an eye opener for her! [according to mil herself] Never had she seen me spend so much for the past 7 years. Not at 1 go definitely. After that, she reasoned it out herself, saying i must have thought it was really worth spending since i really bought them all after all :)

Honestly, i am not so sure myself :P

Note : the amount i spent yesterday may be peanuts to most of you! but to me, it's quite a sum okie... since the husband only earns a meagre pay.

Initially, i wanted to buy just my night cream. Then i saw the make up set which i have been eyeing for quite sometime through an ad in the paper, which i could get for only $98 because i'm eligible for it.

The make up set is available at $98 for any purchase over $100.

And then, i saw this bag.


It was love at first sight! I heart the material. If i'm not wrong, it's suede. Very nice!

However, i can only get it if i make another purchase of $200 and above. The night cream cannot be included because i am using that for the make up set already.

After browsing for a while, i decided to go ahead with another $200+ purchase because i saw 2 items which i have been wanting for the longest time. The SA further convinced me how good they are, this and that.. and most importantly, i really should start using it before it's too late, she said. Hehehe.. oh well, vanity and beauty.. it does come with a price, doesn't it?

Furthermore, my 26 years old sil has been warning me recently that the husband has been mistaken as her 'didi'! (younger brother) My soon to be 34 years old, 1.81m tall husband who has very prominent lines [in another word, wrinkles] like the railway track at the end of his eyes whenever he smiles as sil's didi?! *faint* She went on to tell me that i should really really take care and maintain my face so that i won't age faster than the husband.

With that thought in my head, how can i not buy the other 2 items?! Kekekeke.. :PppPP

Together, i bought 3 items + $98 make up set. The rests are free :)

My new make up set :)

Up close and open..

I (heart) the casing. Quite glam, no? :)

Ahh.. and then, one of the main reason why i bought the make up set.. 4 brushes which i desperately need!



But i am not sure how good they are since i am a make up idiot. A complete idiot. Trust me. And i am not proud of it. Bleah.

And oh... on top of the free bag i got for my $200 purchase, these 7 pcs of free gift was also in my reasoning on why i should buy the 2 other items :D

A small gold make up pouch just for the brushes on the back ground, together with the 7 pcs free gift

U say lah, how to not buy?!?!?!

I was so thrilled last night that i couldn't fall asleep till 1am. After that, i actually slept with a smile. So very silly, i know!

My very first real make up purchase that exceeded $60 *hide*. Got a feeling that i will not be buying anymore make up for the next 3 years at least - not joking! [yes girls - u know who u are! i know i am pathetic! I simply cannot justify the exorbitant price of those make up stuff. I can never be a make up junkie ah! When i am really in need, i'll just to one of your houses oki? :P]

As for now, the boys and i will go on a grass and water diet for the next 1 month due to my extra spending.

Sigh.

Bun bun buns..

Yes, i'm still obsessed with the whole bread/bun thing. It is an obsession that has got no ending. I love bread, buns of any kind. But if i can only pick one, it's European bread for me.

For the rest of the family, they like the normal asian bread/buns. I guess a wife , a mother gotta to do what she got to do..

Sacrifice *ahem*.

Till today, the only attempt i did on bread and buns are all Asian ones. Because that's what the boys eat, the big boy and the small boys.

Last week was a good week for me. When i went visiting to a new friend's house, i got myself a very good bread recipe.

I didn't ask of course, knowing the friend uses the recipe to sell her very famous black pepper chicken buns daily. But the very nice friend gave them to me voluntarily. She was so enthusiastic about the whole thing. Honestly, i have n.e.v.e.r met anyone who can be this excited when it comes to giving an almost stranger a recipe she uses for her own business.

I am very touched and grateful.

Equipped with the friend's recipe, i tried making some buns that i anyhow create using whatever i can find at home.

This is what i came up with :P



Ham and cheese with cheddar cheese filling. Yes, i really anyhow hor...

But at that time, i wanted to finish off the cheddar cheese, so i went ahead to use it as filling too, which i must say, wasn't too bad after all.



I know the cheese on top looks really funny. That was because i couldn't grate the cheese at all. The helper actually froze the cheese after i used it the last time which she shouldn't. So when i tried grating it after that, the cheese broke into many many lumps, big big lumps and small small lumps.

That was the main reason why i wanted to use up the cheese actually. Because i know if i didn't, i won't wanna keep it anymore :)



This bread by far, has the best texture i ever did.

I love it. So did the very fussy hb.

For once, the husband never said that the bun is too heavy. And all of us felt the same way too. We fancied the buns so much so that all of us, including the little boys, finished the whole tray of buns in 1 morning!

I made 9 buns that day.

Each adult had 2, and the children had 1 each + 1 test bun which we tried straight from the oven.

Thank you very much Kak Siti :) [if you are reading this ]

p.s : i know i still haven't mastered the art of bread/bun making yet.. so, please don't laugh yeah!

Good food, excellent host

Last Saturday, i was invited to a new friend's open house. A very nice and friendly friend whom i got to know through a cake decorating class sometime ago.

We didn't keep in touch since then until i texted this new friend for festive greeting since she was celebrating her Raya :)

The first thing that hit me when we first arrived was her house.

It was beauttiiful and very modernised. Totally unexpected. Now, i dare not invite this new friend over to my house anymore! Too malu ah.. :P

As i had imagined, this new friend was still as friendly as ever. We hit it off from the beginning, once more, as though we had been some friends for years already. We yak and yak.. and the food, whoa.. very the sedap i tell you.. *drool*

The pretty house and yummy food + kpo boy :P

We had nasi briyani with 2 meat dishes. Oh, there was salad too. And not forgetting, a countless kind of cookies and cakes, all made, baked, cooked by the new friend.

This chicken dish is so unforgettable!

Ayam masak merah

Very spicy. The chicken is fried till just right, with juices retained unlike some stalls outside, fried till all dried up. I really do feel like attempting this myself after getting some cooking tips for the 'shifu' :P

As for the kids, they had the rice with a little bit of the beef dish.. which is just a little bit spicy.

The beef.. so tender! I suspect this dish has been slowly cooked for hours with love hence, the beef has that 'fall apart easily' effect in the mouth.. Heh.



Now, the best part is the cookies and cakes. But it was so unfortunate that i didn't get to eat the very fanciful cakes at all.. because the lovely 2 tier serving plate got moved here and there to various groups so, kinda paiseh to just walk up and take a few slices. The face skin not thick enough ah! :Ppp

Nevertheless, devouring the cookies made up to it.

Different kind of cookies.. the green one with peanut filling is absolutely divine! Melt in the mouth and then suddenly, crunch peanut filling. Yumsssssssss~

One of the friend's husband colllection. So cool yeah? Too bad i forgot about the Hard Rock one.. Dang!

Finally, us.. with our new friend :)

We all looked kinda worn out because we were in the hospital earlier for nearly 3 hours!

I call her Kak Siti.. It sounds better and more respectful but i wonder if that's okie with her because i do know some might find it offensive, mainly because it made them seemed so old like that but of course, that wasn't what i meant at all.. I better ask this friend what she prefers because i don't wanna seem rude :P

And last but not least, green ang pows for the boys. Their very first green ang pows... Previous visit to hb's collegue place, we got red ang pows instead of green. So, that doesn't count ya!


What a lovely day..

Because of the 1 sms sent, i had so much more in return especially a new friendship with this nice new friend. I am so glad :D

Sage rocks!

Though the husband never did anything for me, but i still carried out my 'tiny' plan on surprising the husband with the place that i was gonna bring him that night for our Anniversary celebration.

A few emails exchanged with Kimberly and voila! Out came a 4 course menu for the husband...

Something for us to bring home...

Sage managed to live up to my expectation after all. Not only was the food excellent, the service was impeccable too. Kimberly, the restaurant manager who also happened to be the wife of Jusman So, the chef who owns Sage was very pleasant and friendly both online and in person.

Perhaps because Kimberly knows that the dinner was my treat (using hb's money though :P) for our anniversary, she threw in a complimentary starter for both of us. It was probably some puree - can't make out what and what but there was definitely tomato in it - topped with lovely caviar and a pretty small tree. It was just too bad that i didn't think of taking a photo of it at that time.

Then, there was some bread and butter, which was okay, nothing fabulous. I very much preferred Ember's and Garibaldi's which in my opinion were excellent!

For Appetizers, hb had :

Escargot & Prawns
A risotto of Burgundy escargot and tiger prawns flambéed with pastis, Parmesan crusted poached egg and Italian parsley foam

and i had :

Oysters & Vichyssoise
Pickled North Brittany Fines De Claires oysters topped with avruga caviar and cave aged Kaltbach Le Gruyère on a bed of leek & potato vichyssoise

No pics for both too unfortunately. A real pity because the presentation was beautiful!

I love both appetizers. They were so so good. I normally get sick of risotto pretty fast but not hb's! It was so full of flavour. Very delicious.

For mine, it was abit out of what i had expected. Mainly because it was served cold. The oysters were fresh, not smoked or grilled, minus shell, served on a bed of creamy soup made from leek and potato. One would be quite sceptical initially but trust me, one bite and that's it. You will be sold. I totally finished off everything, not a single drop of vichyssoise was visible on my plate. Heh.

For the soup, we only had 1, which was "Cappuccino of wild mushrooms". When they mentioned cappuccino in the description, i never thought much of it until i saw the soup.



Now we know why it is Cappuccino aye? It does look like Cappuccino, and we drank it as though it was one too! :P

Hb's main :

U.S. Beef Tenderloin
Charcoal grilled U.S. beef tenderloin resting on potato aligo scented with white truffle oil, glazed asparagus and white pearl onions with smoked bacon and natural jus



Usually, people say a picture says a thousand words but but.. not for this case though. All the photos on this entry were taken with hb's N95. I didn't bring my camera that day. But come to think of it, even if i did bring my camera, i doubt the photos that are taken with it will be any better anyway...

The beef was purrrfeect. There isn't any other word to describe it.

I really dig the potato. The truffle oil was the winner of the day. It was my first time tasting it - the truffle oil - and i'm totally blown away [yes, i'm very outdated!]. I cannot imagine eating the real stuff! Heh.

I can just envision the husband ordering the same beef dish again and again when we do go back to Sage in the future and honestly, so will i!

My main :

Lamb Loin
Australian grain fed lamb short loin with a cassoulet of summer beans scented with garlic, rosemary and lardons, crispy Parmigiano Reggiano and Roma tomato coulis



Guess what's the honeycomb lookalike biscuit?

It's crispy Parmigiano Reggiano. Simply brilliant!

I like the loin quite a bit. It was smoked and grilled i was told. The combination of the lamb and beans were abit fancy which is something that i have yet comprehend. When it comes to food, i am still a conservative idiot. This, has a lot to do with the husband for being a purist and not experimental enough. Hehe.

Perhaps if we do eat out more often at such places, my appreciation will soon come very naturally *hint*hint*. Lol.

So yeah, i am still not that used to eating Azuki bean with lamb in a savoury dish. I'm more used to it in dessert. But all in all, it was worth trying it out. Something different and it was rather nicely put together :)

By now, i was filled up to the throat hence, it was dessert sharing with the husband.

Lemon & Triple Cheese Bavarian
Mascarpone, ricotta, cream cheese and Meyer lemon Bavarian with peanut butter ice-cream and baked honeyed-lemon filo



Even though we didn't comment much, both of us know that the dessert was nothing spectacular. The only thing we liked was the peanut butter ice cream which rocks! I am so gonna experiment this myself, making peanut butter ice cream using my brand new ice cream maker machine. Yay!

The Mascarpone, ricotta, cream cheese and Meyer lemon Bavarian with biscuit base.

The food was so good that i requested to be put on their list for the coming Christmas eve dinner!

Now i truly understand why it was Sage Sage Sage here there and everywhere. They are worth mentioning. I simply cannot wait for Christmas to come.. *greedy eyes* ;)

Chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake

Craving for some cheese cake... So i baked one :)

Chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake

The recipe called for an oreo crust base but because i didn't have any oreo left, i decided that digestive would do too. Didn't wanna wait any longer to make this cheese cake since i was craving rather badly.. heh.

The chocolate ganache topping was something which i added myself for indulgence. It turned out perfect.. goes really well with the cheesecake i must say.



All in all, all of us had a blast eating this.

The kids wanted more and so did the husband. It got so precious that i didn't even give any to the in laws as i'd planned earlier. Bad bad me! Hehe. Yupyupyup, so in the end, we ended up devouring the whole entire 8" cheesecake ourselves which got wiped out on the very next day i baked it.

Scary hor? :P

Recipe for a 7" round cheesecake:

Ingredients :

7" round oreo crust

Filling :

Cream cheese 450g
Light brown sugar 3tbsp
Vanilla essence 1/3 tsp
Corn flour 2 1/3 tsbp, sifted
Nutella 150g
Eggs 2, large
Whipping cream 75ml
Milk 75ml

Method :

1. Prepare round Oreo crust
2. Preheat oven to 160
3. Beat cream cheese and light brown sugar at medium speed till creamy with an electric mixer. Beat in vanilla essence, sifted corn flour and nutella until smooth
4. Lower speed and add eggs, one at a time mixing till incorporated. Gradually add whipping cream and milk until well mixed
5. Pour filling onto prepared crust. Bake in a water bath for 1 hour 10 mins to 1 hour 30 mins or until edge of filling is set and centre is slightly wobbly
6. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake inside for 30 mins with oven door closed. Prop open door and leave for another 30 mins. Remove cheesecake from oven and cool on a wire rack.
7. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before unmoulding. Decorate as desired before serving

Oreo crust :

Using 100g of oreo cookies

Method :

1. Wrap a springform pan with a layer of aluminium foil. Place on a baking tray and set aside.
2. Break cookies into large chunks. Place in a blender and pulse until finely ground.
3. Transfer ground cookies to prepared pan. With your hands or the back of the spoon, press firmly into an even layer on the bottom of pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.

Source : Crave, Mac Woo and June Lee

Have fun! :)

The husband and the mom

Over the weekend, i brought all these home for the husband.

Not from me of course, but from the husband's mom - my mil [mother in law]. And i'm not even a teeny weeny bit of jealous i assure you. In fact, i was pleased. I like it when pil dote on their son :P

some clothings, hb's favourite snacks, some self-grind cordyceps in tablet form + cell protection supplement

Mil is a little more expressive. She dotes on her only son whenever she can.

Buy him this, but him that. Cook him this, cook him that. Sometimes, when i say something about her son, she would no doubt defend him too, especially whenever i complained that the boring son always wanna eat porridge almost every weeekend.. Lol.

But when i think of it, if i do have a son like the husband, i would also dote on him ah!

I still remember what happened on my birthday eve this year.

I had a date with the gfs in town. Hb was supposed to send me there and have his facial nearby at 7.30pm. It was already 7.10pm when we were about to leave in law's place when suddenly, mil asked if we could drop her off at the nearest bus stop [she was going for a meeting at Jurong West, at the very West].

At that very moment she asked, i knew what will happen, knowing the husband so well.
Obviously the husband wouldn't drop mil off at the bus stop and let her take bus to her destination! Hb will definitely send her there.

Sidetrack : I am one who dislike being late. I like being punctual.

Before hb said anything, he put his left hand on my right thigh and squeezed lightly. Kinda like getting me ready for what he would say next. I knew what he was gonna say and i was spot on because i was contemplating on doing that too..

Because the place mil was going was pretty far and if i were to tag along, i will surely be at least half an hour late, so hb turned to me and suggested that i take a cab instead. He will drop me at the nearest bus stop. As for his appointment, it doesn't matter anymore.

Imagine how my face changes colour then. Haha. Volunteering it myself is one thing and asked to do it is another different thing. But then, i was really expecting it so.. it wasn't so much of a 'heart attack'. But as all of us know, 7pm is peak hour time. Getting a cab from the road side is as good as getting a cab near midnight hence i told hb that i will to tag along afterall.

Throughout the journey, i couldn't even manage to say a word. I don't trust my own voice. I dare not even look at mil too. I am one who cannot mask my own true feeling. I do not know how to no matter how hard i try. My face is me. My face expression cannot lie and i know it.

All i could do to ease my anger and frustration was to sms the gf :P

What's more is that halfway there, mil actually asked hb to pick her friend! *smack forehead*

Anyway, after we dropped mil and her friend off, i couldn't bring myself to speak to the husband anymore even though i know that what he did what the right thing to do. But i was too angry about the whole situation and me being 35 mins late. So i calmly told the husband to leave me alone for the time being until i feel better which i did after i met up with the girls. When hb picked me up again, i was talking to him as though nothing had happened before and i can tell hb was pleased.

The thing is i was extremely angry then. Angry for what happened. But i wasn't angry with the husband [okie, maybe a little because he did place me at no.2 afterall! grr.. :P] nor mil. If hb is the kind who would really drop off his mother at the nearest bus stop, i don't think i would marry him in the first place. Seriously.[btw, that was how hb won me over in the first place after an almost failed courtship, by being so very nice to my mom.. conman donkey!]

And i also happened to know that mil was truly happy that day for what had happened and i am glad. When i relate the story to my own mother, my mom was sighing.. say this is the kind of son that is worth giving birth to. Grin. So, how can mil not dote on her this only son aye? :)

Volcanoes

This was made last minute for hb's aunt's birthday celebration quite some time ago.



Volcanoes : these moist chocolate cupcakes with creamy cheesecake centres are sure to be a hit with both children and adult.

How very true.

I tell ya, it was really good. The adults and kids love it tons!

Of course, i didn't send these cuppies the way they look here. I got them all dressed up in pink buttercream frosting together with some colorful sprinkles and wordings. At that time, i had enough of 'all-dressed-up' cupcakes photos since i just baked the teacher's day batch not too long ago. So i decided not to take anymore pics with the decoration.

But now, after a month of not seeing any colourful pics of desserts on this blog, i kinda miss looking at them. In fact, i yearn to see some colours again! Too bad about my decision then.. hehe.

Anyway, this cuppies are so delicious and very easy to make too! They'll be on my often-bakes list for sure. Writing this entry makes me wanna eat them right now.. *drool* :P

The original recipe calls for quite a bit of cocoa powder which i simply refused to follow. It was a bit too much in my opinion. I cut down almost 2 tbsp from it and the cuppies still turned out fantastic.

That left me wondering.. what 'if' i actually follow the recipe to a t. Will the cupcakes taste much much better?

Recipe :

Ingredients :

Cream cheese filling

115g cream cheese
55g castor sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 large, lightly beaten egg

Fudgy chocolate cupcake batter

100g cake flour
5 1/4 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
100g butter, softened

20g castor sugar
70g light brown sugar
2/3 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 eggs, lightly beaten
140ml milk

Method :

1. Prepare cream cheese filling. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla essence until smooth and creamy. Gradually add egg, beating until smooth. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 182. Line cupcake tin with cupcake cups.

3. Stir together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until well blended.

4. Cream butter, caster sugar and light brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add in vanilla essence and eggs.

5. Add flour mixture and milk in 3 separate additions, starting and ending with flour mixture.

6. Divide batter. Create a cavity in the centre of each cupcake with the back of a spoon. Fill cavities with cream cheese filling.

7. Bake for 25-30 mins. Leave to cook in tin for 10 mins.

8. Remove cupcakes and leave to cool completely on wire rack before serving.

Makes 12 cuppies.

Another milestone

Beepbeep has been attempting to stand up + climb on his own since 2 days ago.

Then yesterday when we were out at night, beep finally managed to do it on his own! [this definitely spells more headache now.. hehe]

The helper managed to capture one of his first successful climb of the night. I totally missed it! But luckily, there's video to watch :)




I thought it was pretty hilarious with all the 'go up, go up'. Like the baby can really understand? Heh.

And since i was already posting up 1 video, i might as well post another to bore you a little more coz i don't quite fancy posting up videos so often.

This is how we get the baby to sleep. The helper and i. Quite a task isn't it? :P



Speaking of videos, the husband took a video of himself and the baby few days back and when hb showed it to me, i almost laughed myself to a hysterical state in a nice ambience restaurant! How very embarrassing... but too bad, the husband forbids me posting it here due to some scenes of nudity [of the husband], disturbing scene [for the audience] and violence [from the baby]. Dang! :P

Hari Raya

Yes!!

We got invited for lunch today by hb's Malay collegue from another company for Raya.

I'm ecstatic :D

I can't wait for the ketupat, nasi pulut, rendang and many many more! Hehehehe... *drool*

And of course, Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri everyone!! :)

Curry noodles

As i flipped through my collection of hawker food cookbooks, i cannot help but drool at almost every single picture that i saw. But i can only pick one recipe to cook for the day.

So i picked this, to replace our usual rice and dishes dinner.


Curry noodles.

It's not your everyday laksa that you see in the food court/ hawker in Singapore. This, is a Malaysian version. Malaysian version is quite different. It is like eating chicken curry with noodles. In it, it has got bean sprouts, tau pok and of course chicken. You can add cockles too if you like.

Yes, the newspaper again! Hehe..

This is my first time attempting the recipe in the book. Without knowing how reliable the book is, i prepared myself for the worst.

But it turned out much better than i have expected, thankfully. Even the helper commented that the standard of the curry noodles i cooked is on par with what she have had outside. She enjoyed it very very much despite having a huge ulcer in the mouth. I am pleased. Extremely.

For myself, i lurvee it. It was really good, to me that is. For the husband, perhaps he isn't used to eating the Malaysian style laksa, he was not sold.

As i was slurping the noodles down, i secretly planned to cook this for my parents when they come visiting.. I am sure they'll be very proud of me. Haha :P

Due to the fact that this was our dinner, i have no choice but the to take the photos at night, in between me-just-finished-cooking and me-cant-wait-to-eat-it short break. The photos turned out a bit yellowish and dull than its real colour. So not appetizing.

See what i mean about the camera and its sensitivity? :(

Knowing what to expect, i didn't bother putting in any effort for the photo shoot mainly because i cannot wait to eat it! Grin.

Happy Anniversary!

It's the Anniversary again :)

Hb and i have been married for 6 years!

Rom-ed for 8.

Unbelievable... Time do fly! The other day, both of us agreed that it seemed almost impossible that we've been together for that long already... we sure don't feel it that way, although, i can already tell from the effort that hb makes for my birthdays and annis. AHEM!

The bigger the number, the smaller the effort! Eeessshhhh..

I wonder if the husband remembers today is the day. No sms, no phone calls till now, at 9.30am. Hmmpphhh.. The only thing that is in the schedule today is the delivery of the new LCD telly later in the evening. Oh, and me bringing mil to Mt E for dentist in a while but that's it!

Since 2004 (but not before coz no helper yet then), our anniversary is usually our yearly holiday.

04 - Bangkok
05 - Hong Kong
06 - pregnant - cannot travel
07 - was supposed to be our Japan trip! But now, eee-lek! Na-da! O! *shake fists*

I sure hope hb isn't planning to surprise me with flowers or something! I have enough of flowers lately.. Bleah :P Plus, they are so ex! I rather have a solid good gift anytime! But i also happen to know that to order a bouquet of flowers will be the easiest thing to do. Few clicks here and there and voila! Which suits hb just fine, that lazy-to-make-any-effort-bum!

Annnnnyywayy.

Happy Happy Anniversary to us!

Whether or not i'll get any surprises later which i doubt i would, i am very thankful for the what i have today. I cannot ask for more already.

Thank you for everything gip gip *muaks* :)

Sweat it out

I have almost forgotten how much i love loud nice music + groovy moves.

Yes, the lazy pig here hasn't been working out for a while. And the weighing scale in the gym, i siam it like mad and pretended it wasn't there.

Yesterday was the day that i finally dragged my big fat bottom to do some work out at the studio. It's always like this. Once you start exercising, you can't really stop. You don't want to. Then, once you stop, that's it. It's very hard to go back to it again. Does this happen to everyone or is it just me?

So yup, needless to say, i had an orgasmic time yesterday :P

I miss the good music which the instructor plays. I miss the very loud music where i can just switch off the brain for a while and just concentrate on the steps. I miss doing the sexy moves. And i really miss the good feeling after the class.

Nope, i didn't go for any kinky classes if that's what you have been thinking!

I merely resumed back my aerobics class. But because of the instructor that i have, our aerobics class is not the usual boring /sleepy one. It is actually a mixture of everything. We do do some basic aerobics steps of course. But most of the time, the fun instructor will blend in some mambo moves, cha cha and her favourite is sensual + sexy movements which include shimmer, supermodel walk, touch touch here and there etc.

I like. I really do.

I love dancing to begin with. So it's not hard to love going for classes such as this. Share something with ya.. i almost became a professional dancer at the age of 15 at a gf's family company. I went for the audition and i passed.

However, the parents + elder sisters didn't really like the idea so in the end, i didn't take up the job. It was meant to be a 2 months holiday job. But the gf did it throughout on part time basis till she went to the States for her degree and man, i regretted big time. When i saw her did her stuff on stage, my nose almost bleed! (was a coincidence that the show i went was a sexy performance at a club) Lol. And i am a girl! Can't imagine what it'll do to a guy. Heh.

Sometimes like now, whenever i feel like dancing, i have no idea where to go. The husband dislikes clubbing. Moreover, clubbing... so packed. Me no like that much.

I wonder if there's any good place to dance out there.

p.s : NO, i don't dance for the husband. Too shy!! Serious. I don't even sing in front of hb, and dance? No! Weird right? Heh. But really, what if he laughs or something? No no no no no.. No way man! It's an ego cum shy thing.. :PppPp

Pralet

I just got my Chef last week.

Finally!!

It was in the service centre for more than 3 weeks already. It's about time... else i'd report kidnap! :P

The first thing i wanted to bake was some really solid butter cake or sugee cake. I craved for it. However i got lazy, postponed and postponed until i could stand myself no more! Grin.

Instead of the cakes i craved, i baked this... something which i have been preparing to bake since ages ago. Didn't wanna waste the soon-to-be-expired ingredients.

Pralet, made famous by Jo. A nice girlie girl :)



I know!

The deco sucks right?? Hahahahhaa... i feel rather ashamed actually but i still wanna post this up! Something which i might laugh at myself later when i read back :P

So so rich - chocolate

I took quite sometime to do this cake. I wonder if it's because i had stopped baking for a month or something. The hands got slow. Grin.

But come to think not really though. This cake does take quite a bit of time.

I had to do the sponge, then the biscuit layer, the chocolate mousse, the chocolate topping and last but not least, the decoration.

That, is a whole lot of work!

In total, i took 2-3 hours, including refrigerating before assembling.



This cake, has quite many layer as i have kinda described above.

From bottom :

the sponge, the biscuit layer where the biscuit [or rather feuilletine(sp?) to be exact] got coated with nutella, melted chocolate and butter, 2nd sponge layer, chocolate mousse -- whipped cream + sugar syrup + stiff peaks egg + melted choc -- that has power alcohol [rum + grand marnier] content, 3rd sponge layer, chocolate mousse again and finally, the chocolate topping.



So how do i like this?

Initially, i don't. I somehow still prefer my truffle cake. Hehehehehehe..

But. After 2 more slices, i fell in love with it. It was really good. I guess it takes time, for me that is. Perhaps because i am biased towards my truffle cake! :P But for others eg; helper + hb + kids + bestie, it was love at first mouth *wink*.

The alcohol was really power. I actually felt my throat getting 'heated up' everytime i eat it. No joke. No wonder some of the testimonials stated 'got high from eating this'. But i didn't la of course. Just had that 'hot' sensation at the throat. Same kinda hotness that i get whenever i drink my DOM. Heh.

Photos. I am pretty thankful that the photos turned out alright.

The first time i shot the cake, i was like dang, again.. the photos can't bring out the cake that i wanna describe, just like my truffle cake. It doesn't look appealing at all. Does no justice to it. Then, after a couple of hours, i decided to give it another try.

This time, i put in some effort. I was determined to do it properly. That includes lying on the stomach and taking the photos from various angles. I have always been quite put off by taking food photos. As much as i lurveee photography, the camera i have turns me off. I want a new camera! On top of that, i have got no props too :(

No nice mats, no nice tea towels, no nice cutleries, plates, bowls etc. What i have is rather sad. I tried hunting up and down for table mats and tea towels especially but to no avail. I like bright and colourful colour ones but i can never find them. Aihhss...

And and.. no background. Because the camera is ultra sensitive to lighting, i can only do my shooting in the balcony. I like having 1 colour plain background + surface eg; a white wall and a white surface.

But yeah, anyway.. i am glad the second time round, the photos turned out okie. But not the first photo though, coz i took that shot during my first round. Can't re-shoot it coz the cake has been half eaten by then! :P

Sigh

How i wish i could block certain people from accessing my blog.

Those who came uninvited but simply wanna know more about my life.

My blog is not a food blog for sure. It's a mixture of everything. My passion [shopping, eating, baking, cooking]. My life. My friends. And sometimes, hints and messages to the husband. So, all these made it private.

Those who are nice and friendly, i am really fine. You are most welcome to read and if you do leave comments here and there, honestly, i like it more! That way, i get to know you better and vice versa :)

But those who merely wanna meddle simply because you kinda know me a bit and not very nice, do stop reading if you still have some dignity left because you are not welcome here, geddit?

Anyway, just in case i wanna close my blog again, do drop me an email at maameemoomoo@gmail.com but this invitation is opened to friends and nice people only.

Sigh. I really hate the idea of closing my blog. I like making friends. Through this blog of mine, i came to know a few very nice people. I mean, r.e.a.l.l.y nice and it makes me happy. But of course, this whole friend making thing wasn't intended in the first place. I never knew i could make friends this way until now... and i would like to keep things just the way it is if possible.

Generally, i am a very nice person. I will go all out for friends and even people whom i hardly know. Sometimes, strangers too. But if you are not nice, i will bite.

So yeah, to the uninvited reader/acquaintance.. stop reading into my life and meddle! I don't like it. I am not comfortable.

The one ring..

I know i have been talking about the ring again and again...

Here it is..

The one ring that i have been eyeing for...

Tiffany's Atlas ring

Isn't it gorgeous??

I h.a.v.e to post this asap. Because me think the husband has kinda forgotten about our anniversary which is just next week.

I did tell the husband to get me the Tiffany Atlas ring on our 10th anniversary. But that was because the initial ring that i was eyeing for costs $10k++ and this, only $5k+!

The $10k one no more in production liao.. *sniffs* :(

So.

Bestie says that since the ring i want now costs only half the price, get it now instead of waiting till 2011! My waiting time also halved like the price. Good idea hor?? Hahahahhaa...

So yeah, dear... [no more donkey!] i want this ring okie? *wink*wink*

I did try it on the other day with bestie and it looks soooo bl**dy gorgeous!! Really, very very beautiful. I so want it!!!

Hmmm... just checked. If i were to buy this from the States, it will cost S$1k less!!

Dear, let's go States!! ^.^

La la la la lil la la lil la...

It's a fun fun day!

Bestie and i planned to surprise the kids by bringing them for the Duck Tour on Children's Day. Imagine me struggling.. It is a very hard thing for me. Not telling the boys where i'm bringing them that is.

Because i know, they love love love and been wanting to go for the Duck Tour for the longest time.

What a tough time indeed..

When we finally reached the counter at Suntec, they turned to ask me if i was bringing them for the Duck Tour. Yes yes yes! They jumped and screamed with joy... :)

Bestie and i met at the counter together with her brood. The kids met and it was hard not to stare because they were so high! Lol.

We wanted to go for the 10am tour but it was fully booked. The next available one was at noon. We had no choice but to go for that. The 11am one was also fully booked. I never knew that the Duck Tour can be this hot! Heh.

With an extra 2 hours on hand, it spelled headache for the mommies. Instead of walking around, we pigged out. Something that everyone enjoys :P

At 11.50am..

Waiting patiently for our turn

I think no one else can look so adorable when yawning besides babies... Haha. Seriously lo! [not just my baby oki? All babies!]

Bestie and her son

The children - 5 in total!

Finally, my boys and i :)

It was really tough to get good pictures with the children around. It is as good as not taking any! Mothers with more than 1 child will know that for sure. Or if you've got nieces/nephews, you will know it too! Put 3 children or more together from different family, you will get double headache. Haha..

All in all, it was truly a fun fun day. Till today, the boys are still talking about it *smile*.

So it was a right decision after all, to pick the Duck Tour rather than the MacRitchie Tree Top Walk.. :D [but i am definitely gonna do that on the next available holiday!]

Er.. .

Maybe it's just me.

I have no idea what people go ga-ga over Buddha Jumps Over The Wall. Is it because of its very fanciful ingredients? Or is it the broth?

Honestly, give me home-cooked ABC soup anytime!

The other day at Hua Ting, the in laws (actually, it was just mil ah) were quite keen on ordering it. I was asked to make reservation and order the mini bowl for all of us 1 day in advance and i did just that [a gf said the same too, on the advance thingie].

My verdict?

Again, i can do without it.

$60 a bowl doesn't quite do any justice to it. Or perhaps, the dungu* me simply do not know how to appreciate it? :P

Anyway, from now on, i'm all out to saying no to all these fancy soups etc... Er, actually i did say no to it quite sometime ago but i somehow caved in this time. Yeah, horrible me! However, no more next time. Promise. Let's save the sharks from now on! And abalone too!

p.s : i can just imagine the husband rolling his eyes! Ha! Hb loves loves shark's fins anything.. that donkey!

Note : for more info on Shark Finning, click here. Warning : cruel photos.

Do you know? : Singapore is the world's third largest sharks’ fin trading center, after Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

pps : i know this is a very personal thing. I'm just stating my preference and of course, i do not expect you to have the same view as me. No offence to those who love soups like such. Of course, if you do.. i won't like you less because of it. Like mentioned, it's a very individual thing. If i am indeed that kind of person who will like you less because of your preference, like that i wont marry the husband liao :P

Disclaimer : the in laws do not usually dine out. Out of 365 days, they dine out less than 5 times. Most of the time, father in law prefer to cook his own huge (real huge) plate of stir fry vegetables and eat it like that. That, to fil is the ultimate good and satisfying meal.