Pound cake

It's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas. As I eagerly await the coming of the special season, I begin to realise it's the preparation towards the festive day that makes it all so special; in fact, it is already that season now. The writing of Christmas cards, sending of gifts, having parties and dinners with friends and family, decorated streets and homes, and happy people - these are the reasons why I love Christmas.

It's my first Christmas with B. :) To "celebrate" his arrival in York, I baked him a pound cake! Traditionally, pound cake is made of a pound of each ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs and flour, hence its name. There have been quite some "modern alterations" of this old recipe, you can add berries, chocolate chip, banana and even peanut butter (eww...) to the basic pound cake recipe.

I wasn't gonna make a 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 pound pound cake, so I scaled it down, keeping the 1:1:1:1 ratio. I squeezed in some lemon and added some grated lemon skin as well. Itchy fingers despite wanting to stick to keeping it simple.

The lemons provided a little tart taste, and I like that it is so moist and dense. Gives a christmasy-cake feel. :p

Merry blessed Christmas to all. :) And a happy new beginning to the new year!

Tomato rice

Preparing meals for one has never really been the easiest thing to do. Having lived alone for almost 9 months now, I have been repeating my dinner menus so often I could easily count the number of variations with just my fingers. Yes yes it is the same old excuses of not having enough time to cook, being tired when I get back from school and just wanting quick relief to my gruelling hunger.

My friend, J, recently pasted me a link to a recipe for making tomato rice. I was absolutely delighted when I realised it was so simple to make - literally no effort at all. All you need is some pepper and salt, a teaspoon or two of olive oil, rice, water, a big tomato and a rice cooker. Put all of the mentioned ingredients into the rice cooker and cook as you would normally do.

When it is all done, stir everything up, popping the tomato as you do so. That's it!

The best part about this dish is that you can add anything you like. I flavour my rice with basil every time I make this (I loveeee basil! Shall have a pot of it in my own kitchen next time!), sometimes I added chilli flakes or mixed herbs. I added mixed vegetables once and some celery another time. The celery gave a very nice crunch to the dish *om nom nom*. To make it a "complete" meal, I top it off with cooked meat during the last few minutes of cooking in the rice cooker. You could add an egg too if you like! :)

This is really so easy to make, without the compromise of taste and flavour, plus the flexibility of adding almost any ingredient you like. This is for me a definite tried, tested and repeat.

Chocolate & vanilla swirl cookies

Pain demands to be felt.

On my *longest* flight home, I watched one of my favourite movies on the in-flight entertainment.

“'Without pain, how could we know joy?' This is an old argument in the field of thinking about suffering and its stupidity and lack of sophistication could be plumbed for centuries but suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not, in any way, affect the taste of chocolate.” 

“There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There's .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.” 

― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

There is nothing more stress-relieving than having some me-time in the kitchen with my hands kept busy and mind distracted. I love the aroma of baked cookies emitting from the oven, it is like therapy to the tired soul and mind. The blast of hot air that gushes out when I open the oven seems to whiff away with it all the nonsensical troubled thoughts and helplessness - albeit for just a moment, but nevertheless, very very mollifying.

I don't know what it means to be mentally prepared. I only know I am not prepared, and I never will be prepared enough for loss. The brevity of life and the unpredictable unexpected scares me. Fear and pain is so real. 

He is a man of few words. Many know him as someone who is strict and stern - "a grumpy old man" may sometimes be an apt description. He is quiet, usually, and often sits in his room, listening to his radio. He doesn't seem to be the sociable sort unlike grandma, and to many he may be difficult to hold a conversation with. But my grandpa is more that all that. He is and always will be my loving and affectionate grandpa.  When I was young, he would always put me on his lap and rock me to sleep with that self-composed tune of  "London bridge is falling down". He is tall and lanky, but very strong and healthy. I had to run to keep up with his walking pace. We visited the market every early morning and the uncle who tended to the vegetable stall would always ask, “你的孙女啊？” And he would reply “是咯，我的孙。我们来买菜。” Before we headed home, he would bring me to that heavenly candy shop where I could pick any and every gummy and candy I wanted. I loved that. Satisfied and happy, we would then head back home, hand-in-hand (really, it is much easier to keep up with him that way). When it was time for my afternoon nap, grandma would prepare my afternoon milk bottle and send me to bed together with my grandpa who took his daily siesta. Sometimes I would keep talking and to make me keep quiet and try to get me to sleep, he would make cat noises (meowing and scratching sounds) to "scare" me enough to shut me up. I have no idea why and how that worked, but it did. In the evenings, grandma would bathe me and grandpa would do the powdering and dressing up. He dried my hair with the towel and powder-puffed my neck and arms. Grandpa loves sweet desserts. When I was older, I would go over with ice cream and gramps and I would enjoy having it together. Grandma always said he was like a little kid, still loving ice cream at that age. I would ask him as always “好不好吃？” and his classic reply, “好吃，怎么不好吃？”  These and all the other little moments we had, I will never forget.

How does one prepare for loss? I know I can't prepare enough.

I wished he could have a cookie. I made cookies.

Fried rice

远亲不如近邻。

Falling sick is horrible, and it is even worse when you're alone. I was ill just a week ago, but in the midst of wallowing in self-pity (haha shamelessly admitting this but hey, the sick is king), I am blessed to have wonderful friends in this faraway land.

First came M with a bottle of garlic. Yes I cringed too at the thought of eating raw garlic. Sure it flavours almost any stir fried dishes, but raw?

BUT I was wrong about this allium. This bottle of marinated garlic was not difficult to ingest at all - no bad taste, no foul after-smell. M specially bought this as garlic has been known to combat the common cold - basically it can boost the function of the immune system. It is quite a "power plant" actually. Research has also shown that garlic provides a host of health benefits which includes reducing blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels and preventing dementia. I finished my bottle of garlic in 2 days. It was a surprisingly tasty natural medicine, and because it was a thoughtful gift from a friend made it even more flavourful. 

On the very same day, R came over with dinner. Knowing that I was prolly too tired (lazy, really) to cook, she bought me a packet of rice to make sure that I still have energy and that I'd get better soon.

I was deeply touched by these gestures from R and M. I may be far away from home, but I am still blessed with love and concern from dear friends. *warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy* People like them made me realise that I am never alone. <3 So, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, I think I may have passed the nasty bug to R. She fell ill just a few days later. GARH!

So today, I decided to cook a simple dinner for her. Fried rice.

I prepared this with a bunch of colourful vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain colourful phytochemicals that give them their colours and their healthy properties (antioxidants!). We should always "eat a rainbow" so we can get the unique benefits from each of the different coloured fruits and vegetables.

And so I went over with my prepared dish and few tablets of effervescent vitamin c. We had a good chat over dinner. Quiet slow saturday, but nevertheless a very pleasant evening.

Get well soon dearest! (: 

Oats with bran and easy-peelers

It's starting to get chillier around here, a sign that summer's coming to an end. I was only beginning to enjoy the warmth and sunshine - I think we've had barely three weeks of that. 

Before it gets too cold, I'm gonna make more of these cold oatmeals for breakfast. They're really easy to make and satisfy as a delightful first meal of the day. Just mix oats and milk in a 1:1 ratio and leave it refrigerated over night. Instead of a full portion of milk, you can mix in some yoghurt. I sweeten it the next morning with honey and fruits. It's versatile really, you can add anything you want. 

Initially adding oranges to my oatmeal seemed a little odd. But the luscious oranges added zest to my breakfast and it was nothing less than yummy! I was trying to *save the best for last* by intentionally leaving out a few spoonfuls of the oranges.

It may be getting colder now, but that's alright I guess. I'm really looking forward to crisp copper autumn leaves. :)

Strawberry oats

Love happens in the most unexpected ways, when you least expect it.

Because now that we are so far apart, I miss you more than I ever did. I took your cleanliness for granted, sometimes I even taunt how strict you are with prohibiting me from occasional consumption in trains and buses (I often pop a gummy in my mouth, feeling smug about it even). I never noticed how fresh you smell, how bright and radiant you always are. With you I'm secure, cos' I know that as much as you can help it, you'd keep the streets safe for me to walk at night. Now that you aren't with me to help me out, I realised how much I'm missing your efficiency - all it takes is *at most* 3 working days, or I can always reach you immediately by phone. When I'm hungry, your are always there to feed me, 24/7. I love you for your generosity; you bring me for the good ol' local fare (my favourite black black cai tao kueh, chee cheong fun, lor mee fen, kueh chap no innards, mee gao, chilli crab, bbq stingray, satay etc.) as well as to the non-pretentious classy restaurants and hipster cafes. I miss your geekiness, your techy-savvy ways, and how you bring a plethora of international entertainment to me whenever I want them. Last but not least, I miss your silly language - silly but oh so endearing. And very distinct. ;)

And it's your birthday today. Though we aren't physically together, I'll be celebrating your 49th birthday over here. Distance means so little, when someone means so much.

A little red and white to signify the flag we fly :)

I am still gonna complain about how unbearably warm and humid you are, but it doesn't mean I love you any less. Can't wait till I see you again. xoxo

Fondant cupcakes

These were made more than a month ago.

It was pretty overwhelming - the entire pre-departure, departure, relocation and settling down. I could not find the time *at all* for sugarloaf.

Departure is painful, so is the aftermath. Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful here - I love the peaceful quiet, the new learning environment, the new friends from all over the globe, the yumyum pastries and bread (haha!)... It's all good. As much as I look forward to what awaits me here, I miss the warmth (yea, literally too) back at home. Home is where the heart is.

Right. So back to the pretty fondant. (: I love the tiffany blue.

Perhaps now that I'm here I'd be doing more cooking rather than baking. I have my "own" kitchen now. Small but sufficient. Maybe in time I'd start to have more baking essentials and materials. Haha, who am I kidding. I have an oven. :D

So hopefully I'd be back with more bakes. (: I miss baking. But I miss you even more.

Danish butter cookies

Again it has been some time since I last baked. It's kinda ironical; the more you think you need a break, the harder it is to find time for it.

These are danish butter cookies, piped - better with the 1M tip than the rose tip.  Dad requested for raisins in them after I was done with half the batter. *frown*

Because these cookies are piped, I couldn't think of a better way to incorporate raisins in the cookies than to sprinkle raisins on the tray, then pipe the batter directly onto them. Really, it isn't as messy as it sounds. You just can't SEE raisins cos they're all hidden at the bottom.

Baking makes a happier night. And timely too, for the lunar new year. Some for the family, and people who made a difference during this crazy busy time. (: