Blue Sandals' Corner

Up And Up...

2012-03-08T19:19:00.000+08:00

There are many new constructions around here, it constantly amazes me that people keep on building condominiums in the area. Yes, they sell really well. This above is one of them, the building has gone up so fast over the past months, I believe. When we moved here two years ago, it had not even begun. Looks like they are working on 18th level right now, there will be 36 floors altogether. The project is expected to be completed in 2015. Another skyscraper!

Water Pressure Test

2012-03-06T19:48:00.000+08:00

One early morning last week, I found water on the floor of our master bathroom. After the floor was wiped dry, the water came back in again. We started to identify that the water came from the wall behind the closet. We were unable to open the flushing unit that was installed on the wall, we just could not figure it out. The water stopped leaking the next day. After two visits from a group of four people, trying to solve the issue, they decided to perform a water pressure test on the bathroom. A few hours later, they came back and concluded that there's nothing wrong with the system. The floor is dry now, there's no more leakage and they figured it has been a temporary ~~insanity~~ water overflow.

Salmon & Avocado Salad

2012-03-05T19:28:00.000+08:00

There are way too many restaurants around our place and it just does not make it any easier to pick which one to go to. Last night we went to Japanese restaurant across the river right down from our place called Nanjya Monjya. They specialize in Okonomiyaki, which we found out later after we placed our order. It's our first time there so we decided to give a try on a few their sushi. We also had the above, Salmon and Avocado Salad, with Italian dressing. We did not care so much about the dressing. We ordered some yakitori that were quite delicious as well. It's a place to go back to again. We like the food, the service was a bit messy, but the waiters were reasonably responsive to what we said.

Control Power

2012-03-04T18:16:00.000+08:00

...where the remote controls are....

Lemon Cupcakes

2012-03-03T21:08:00.001+08:00

A combination of sweet and lemony taste is so yummy to have. For a long time I wanted these and made it happened only yesterday. Aww... So good!

A Wet Day...

2012-03-02T20:21:00.001+08:00

It's a miserable wet day today. It began right before 6AM, before Miss K even woke up. It rained rather heavily when I walked her in the dark across the street to the lobby hotel to meet her school friends who were competing in a swim meet this weekend at around 6AM. It rained on and off throughout the day. I took some pictures when the rained stopped for a while. I love water drops on the leaves of Adenium. They always make good pictures...

29 February...

2012-02-29T20:00:00.000+08:00

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."
- Martha Washington

29 February comes only once every four years and we are now approaching the end of the day. The end of February. Two months have gone by again, so super fast. I really do not know what happened to them. Everyday has been been about planning things out, working things out, dealing with problems and work, having guests, cleaning up and more guests. So there goes the time!

March is arriving in hours. We don't have Spring to look forward to in this island, but everyday is a new day that we ought to be grateful of. Let's move forward and enjoy life and do not let anyone ruin our happiness, including the very cold, miserable and unfriendly staff of the company that I am dealing with at present! (wink!) See you in March!

15 Minutes Away...

2012-02-27T19:52:00.001+08:00

This picture was taken approximately 15 minutes after I walked rather briskly away from home, trying to exercise aside from having an active lifestyle. I always like the colorful buildings there with the water and the boats on the side. Lovely scene. I have not been back since, shame on me! I have been failing to prioritize it. But then again, I don't really have to walk there to exercise. Other forms are accepted too. I know, it's just my lame excuse!

Behind The Fried Noodles....

2012-02-26T21:45:00.000+08:00

Eating Fried Rice Noodles is so homey to me. It reminds me of my childhood when my older siblings cooked them for the family. It also it reminds me of my sister who left this world to a better and more peaceful place. When I slice the green onion, I remember her helping me in the kitchen in my previous place. When I pack the leftover, I remember packing the noodles for her in the hospital. Occasionally I also bought bananas for her too, they were from Seven Eleven at Singapore General Hospital. Sometimes she asked me to eat her hospital food as she rather ate the food from me. Sometimes I sigh when I think about that, once in a while, I need to grab a piece of tissue paper to dab my teary eyes. To this very day, I still think of her and wish she had stayed around a bit longer. But God has a different plan for her, he is The Boss!

Cute Kittens!!!

2012-02-25T21:32:00.001+08:00

Simply adorable!

Fried Wontons

2012-02-23T18:29:00.002+08:00

As much as we'd like to, we can't completely avoid fried food. Occasionally, I indulge myself and make my family do the same, into making some deep fried food and soaked up the goodness of them.... Here are some fried Wontons that I made on Tuesday with homemade dipping sauce. The filling was a combination of minced chicken, minced shrimp and water chestnut.

Cheese Swirls...

2012-02-21T20:27:00.000+08:00

I think I have fallen in love with ready-to-use frozen puff pastry, they are so easy to use and the result looks so good, as if they came from a professional bakery. For these Cheese Swirls, I used a combination of grated Cheddar, Colby and Parmesan cheeses and brushed the side with egg wash. They are good for snack or breakfast on Sunday morning when the weather is cool or simply when you are hungry.

Sunday Dim Sum!

2012-02-20T18:55:00.000+08:00

We went out for Dim Sum yesterday, I don't know why but I longed for it. We went to Vivocity and had no reservation anywhere, thinking that it should not be a problem to get a table for three over there. Of course we were wrong. The first place that DH wanted to dine in was Crystal Jade Dining In, and we were informed that we had to wait for around 45 minutes. I asked him to leave our phone number anyway. The second place we tried to go to was Tunglok Signature. There was a man (staff) on the table looking down at the appointment book and ignored us. I asked and he looked up to us and said that the place was fully booked. "The whole day?" "Yes!" Hhmmh... no wonder he was snobbish.

So we went to look again, there were so many restaurants there, it just happened the first two that we picked were booked. It's a bit unusual. We walked and walked and suddenly got a phone call from Crystal Jade, informing us that there's a table for us. We went there, and yes, there's a long table shared by a party of two men and another party of three adults and two little girls with runny nose. We were seated in the middle. Beggars can't be choosy! We took it.

We had roast pork, the first picture above. Miss K who was full to begin with, ordered Egg Tarts (above) and Lo Mai Kai. We also had Char Siu Soe (below), which is pastry filled with barbecued pork and Shao Mai. I guess, we were quite hungry, we ordered Fish with long beans and Penang Fried Kway Tiaw (see below) too. Thinking back, that's a lot of food for three people. one of whom ate so little because she was stuffed from late breakfast!

Lemon Meringue Tart

2012-02-18T21:09:00.004+08:00

It's Saturday. We had a couple of workers coming over in the morning to work on the drain in the garden. We then had afternoon dentist appointment that started a half an hour later that the appointed time. How annoying! The dentist apologized and blamed the earlier patient that came late. This came from a clinic that would call us when we are not there yet on the dot, for our appointment. Anyway. It was quick cleaning for the three of us, it was practically 10 minutes spent on each, we got clean teeth to begin with and the damage was still full price at $235. That's a quick way to make money, study to become a dentist!

We were starving by the time we finished with the dentist and headed to Da Paolo Pizza Bar again. DH seemed to long for the place since we had pizza there less than a month ago. This time, for dessert, Miss K chose Lemon Meringue Tart that she loved so dearly. I helped her out and found it just okay, but I want to make them at home myself. I think it will be more satisfactory.

Wordless Friday: Rosemary...

2012-02-17T19:07:00.002+08:00

Got Them All, ...

2012-02-14T20:04:00.001+08:00

I got the fire inside of me. To start going to the gym. I got my new trainers out, the one pair that I got months ago. I had no running shorts, a shocker. So I ran to the mall nearby and got myself a pair. I got my shirt, I got the gym and I got the special playlist in my iPod ready. Too bad I ran out of motivation today. No exercise. I got dinner to prepare!

Ahi Taki Salad

2012-02-12T20:05:00.001+08:00

We had lunch at Skinny Pizza after church today. I had a very late breakfast that actually was still kind of full. Since I sat down anyway, I opted for a plate of salad to fulfill my dietary requirement. My pick was Ahi Taki Salad. The tuna was nicely done, it tasted good and was the right size. Enjoyable.

Serene Looking...

2012-02-09T19:47:00.005+08:00

6:55AM, beautiful Wednesday morning sky.

Nutella Chocolate Scones

2012-02-08T20:24:00.001+08:00

I am a wee bit late in celebrating World Nutella Day on 5 February. Only yesterday, I managed to make something with Nutella. I decided on making Chocolate Scones with a Nutella layer inside. They turned out better than I anticipated. Miss K who reinstated that she did not eat scones to remind me that she would not eat what I made, ended up eating some and loving them. I adapted this recipe, omitted egg and hazelnuts.

Brazilian Cheese Bread: Pão de Queijo

2012-02-07T19:46:00.000+08:00

There are so many versions on how to make this delicious bread and I have baked them in the past before. It had been a while and I could not remember exactly why I was not too crazy about making them. But out of love, I made them again today. I think I found my way around and getting more comfortable with the process. The result is a yummy, chewy, light, a bit cheesy and addictive snack that keep on making us wanting more. One is just not enough.

Daily Affirmation Repost

2012-02-05T20:54:00.005+08:00

I have posted this Daily Affirmation by a little girl named Jessica, back in 2010. I came across the same video, except this one is dubbed with a song called "New Soul" by Yael Naim. The music seems to fit well and this is a good reminder for me to get myself going.

Cinnamon And Cheese Rolls

2012-02-04T22:10:00.002+08:00

With a half recipe, I made 12 rolls of them. At the last minute, I decided to make 6 pieces of Cinnamon Rolls and six pieces of Cheese Rolls. I did not need to make too many of them, because there would not be that many people around anyway. We were having a couple of guests over.

I only started with the process at around 1 PM and I was expecting them to be ready by 3:30PM. I was aware that the time was really tight for bread making, but I was able to raise the dough in shorter time, thanks to a bowl of hot water! Instead of putting them together in one large round pan, I put them individually on muffin pan. As a result, each of them had a nice golden brown bottom, side and top. They also required less time to bake.

The result is as good looking as always. There's joy seeing newly baked goodies from oven. Very inviting!

Chinese Gold Ingots...

2012-02-02T19:02:00.002+08:00

I dropped by at one of the bakeries at Ngee Ann City and found these little buns with interesting shape. They are small in size, one piece would not fill anybody up. The filling is barbecued pork. The bakery named them something Ingot.

They do look similar to the Chinese Gold Ingot we received in the box with oranges around them for Chinese New Year. What a creative thing!

Adding Colors...

2012-02-01T19:08:00.001+08:00

Over the past two months, I have been adding more silicone molds to my collections. I do not really need them, it's a matter of wanting them much more than needing them. How could I resist the above from a local store here, called Lemon Zest. They were so adorable and they were on very good discount.

My excuse for getting more Madeleine molds? Well, they are slightly have different shapes than the ones I already have and they are bright red! I did not have any red ones yet! These molds were purchased from Amazon. So was the one below. I liked the shapes of these Mini Bundt molds, They are pretty! And I am weak. So what?

Lunch At Da Paolo Pizza Bar

2012-01-31T20:09:00.000+08:00

I had a late lunch on Saturday at Da Paolo Pizza Bar in Holland Village. It had been years since we ate there and I can't really remember whether we had been there or not. To begin with, I have to say that I was there with Miss K and it was very unusual that I picked a Pizza Bar for lunch. We were in the neighborhood and I was so terribly hungry after visiting a store there. It was around 2:30Pm and I only had a small breakfast many hours before that.

We agreed on Colazione Americana for starter, it was a salad with romaine lettuce, oven-baked or maybe poached egg , mushroom, shaved parmesan. By the time the salad came, DH came and joined us. The salad was simple with simple dressing that we liked.

The pizza was called Bosco D'Inverno, it had Mozarella, Mascarpone, Mushrooms and Black Truffle. The pizza has thin crust with slight char at the edge. We enjoyed the pizza too. Simple and not complicated taste but delicious.

With little space left in my belly, I ordered Valrhona Chocolate Cake (warm) with Vanilla Gelato for dessert. It's yummy too. A place that I could return indeed.

Marble Cake Again!

2012-01-30T19:37:00.001+08:00

We were expecting guests over the weekend, I'd like to have something baked to serve. My choices were Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies and Marble Cake. It's hard to go wrong with Marble Cake. It's easy to make and everyone loves it.

Lion Dance Again!

2012-01-29T21:00:00.003+08:00

The management of the complex apparently invited a group to perform Lion Dance again this year. It started with the dancers standing on top of each other building up a tall human tower, topped with a little girl. A bit frightening considering the risk should something went wrong. But it all went alright.

I stood a bit far and my view was so much limited by the people that stood nearby the dancers. The loud music was something familiar for this type of dance, but a couple of candies throwing as well as unleashing of confetti were something rather new to see for me. Hooray for Dragon year!!

It Is Still Chinese New Year...

2012-01-28T20:09:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year lasts 15 days, it begins with the new moon on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the full moon, which is 15 days later. So we are technically still celebrating Chinese New Year, since it began on 23 January. Decorations are still up and around, our complex is no exception. It's not totally exaggerated, but some basic simple decorations seem to do the job.

Found!

2012-01-27T20:32:00.002+08:00

I finally found a recipe for making Ciabatta that works. These are the the results from my second time making them after the first attempt which was a success too. It is crispy on the outside, moist inside with lots of beautiful holes. It tastes so good! Use them for sandwich, slice them and dip them in olive oil, spread the butter on them.... whichever way you choose. Just good!

Brings Out The Joy...

2012-01-26T18:29:00.003+08:00

I have some Adenium plants that survive out of that many more that I planted. I don't mind some ten plants that I have, although sometimes they are a bit much as each rather needs individual care and at times it can be quite tricky as I am not quite sure what to do. The one in the picture above is one of those that are doing very well. The caudex shape is very nice, the leaves are plenty and the flowers are blossoming. Simply a beautiful thing to have in the garden.

Cat's Tongue

2012-01-25T21:05:00.000+08:00

After baking Layer Cake yesterday, we ended up with so much egg white in the fridge. Today, I used some of them to make these cat's tongues since it had been a while since I made them.

Mini Indonesian Layer Cake

2012-01-24T19:04:00.000+08:00

These days, I tend to make small quantity of anything. I made 1/4 of the recipe for this one. So sad, considering the same amount of work needed to prepare and to clean up afterwards. I have justifications though. This Indonesian Layer Cake (Lapis Legit) is absolutely egg yolk and butter intensive. It's so absolutely high in cholesterol and it is super time consuming in making. Some recipes require 50 egg yolks and 1 pound of butter or so. If you fail, there'll be so much waste! But when you get it right, it is so good! Just eat a bit and that should do!

It happens that there are only the two of us at home, so it is so right to make a little bit of it. I don't mind using 10 egg yolks and I miss good Layer Cake that's not oily or dry as many of them are in the shops here. The last time I made them was when our second daughter was only a few months old. She's 19 years old now.

The cake turned out well too despite some substitutions of the ingredients, because I did not have any. I am pleased that I only have a small piece of cake, but delicious.

With such little ingredients, the cake had only ten layers. Ten layers are fine as long they are yummy!

Mini Blueberry Bundt Cake

2012-01-23T16:57:00.001+08:00

Dragon year is finally here. Happy Lunar New Year!

I made two types of desserts yesterday, egg tarts and the above, Mini Blueberry Bundt Cakes. The batter of the cake was really thick that it was quite a challenge to put it in the mold. In the end, it's all good, because the mini cakes were served upside down anyway.

Mango Dessert

2012-01-22T22:43:00.004+08:00

It's Chinese New Year's Eve, we're hosting the reunion dinner for the first time, a mini one, only for the relatives who live in the country. So today was a busy day to prepare everything for dinner. A few days ago, a search for what restaurants offered for reunion dinner, landed us to Din Tai Fung in Paragon. It's my second time to that particular one. We had some noodles and Xiao Long Bao and I had Mango dessert with crushed ice, above. Nothing spectacular here. I simply tried and it was just okay. The interesting part is its presentation.

Ice Cream Sandwich

2012-01-21T20:31:00.001+08:00

For S$1, you can get this ice cream sandwich from some street vendor in many places around the Island here. Miss P got hers from Clarke Quay when she was still back home last week (only a week ago, but it feels like forever ago!!!) We had dinner at Rendezvous Restaurant at Central by Clarke Quay that day.

Put Together...

2012-01-20T20:45:00.002+08:00

I never really intended to have this breakfast. It began with the leftover mushroom and lots of egg whites I had in the fridge. I thought of frying them together, but I remembered that a had a loaf of bread that I baked yesterday that was barely touched yet. I cut a sliced and grilled it on the pan. I put the egg and a slice of cheddar on top and waited a bit until the cheese melted. I, further, thought that I should put some vegetables on them too, to make it healthier. Prettier too. Olive oil, salt and pepper on top. Now breakfast was ready!

Egg Tarts...

2012-01-19T17:48:00.003+08:00

I have not been an egg tart eater, my kids apparently are fond of them. After talking about it for so long, I finally made them at home. I looked at some recipes and watched a youtube video on making them and then decided which recipe to try. It was a simple process. To make it even easier, I used frozen pastry. I made 1/4 recipe only, it's six mini pastries altogether. I would use the same recipe again, the one from the video. They are good!

The Rectangular And The Round Ones...

2012-01-18T16:21:00.000+08:00

Both were made from the same dough, they taste equally superb, especially when they are fresh out of the oven. They taste so heavenly that makes it difficult to stop once you start eating one. The recipe I used is from widely known source, New York Times, adapted from Jacques Torres. Miss K was having fun and decided to have some rectangular ones. Some of the round ones were taken by Miss P for her trip back to DC. The leftover dough was stored in the freezer for future baking.

Window Shopping At Bugis Street...

2012-01-17T21:29:00.000+08:00

It was the second last weekend before Chinese New Year, naturally Bugis street shops were packed. I think, to the best that I could remember,, it was my first time there.

This is all about shops and Chinese New Year stuffs, plenty of them. Unfortunately, despite all the abundance of things, we went back home empty handed.

Pasta Dishes They Have....

2012-01-15T21:09:00.000+08:00

When I go to any Italian restaurants, I try to stay away from pasta. But my family members seem to be drawn to them. DH and our two kids picks for their lunch at La Nonna yesterday were also pasta dishes.

Miss P had Spinach Fettuccine with Prawn in Saffron Cream Sauce.

The above is Linguini pasta with Crab Meat in Tomato Cream Sauce with fresh Basil, DH's selection.

Miss K decided to have Gnocchi with cream sauce and lemon zest and Dark Chocolate Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. Yum, isn't it?

Gnocchi with Four Cheese Sauce

Rock Melon With Parma Ham

2012-01-14T21:44:00.000+08:00

We had lunch at La Nonna today. I saw some of the restaurant's Specials on the board and queried the waitress of what Rock Melon with Parma Ham was. I know what Rock Melon and Parma Ham are, but was not sure what else or how the dish was going to be presented. I was told that there would be some green salad and decided that it would be my lunch. The dish came as it was described, I don't think there was any dressing on the greens so I put some olive oil and balsamic vinegar that were on the table to give a little kick on the dish. I love the size, as I was not too stuffed by the time I finished. I was able to taste a bit of unfinished spinach fettuccine with prawns. I thought that a salad like that would be a great idea to serve at home too. It's pretty much what you see is what you get. I would dress the salad, however.

Friday The 13th!

2012-01-13T20:43:00.000+08:00

Only one who listens can speak.

Dag Hammarksjold

This post has nothing to do much with the title, other than the fact that it is written on Friday, 13 January. It has been like any other Fridays, nothing spooky whatsoever. Yesterday, we were low with our egg stock, it was down to just one egg left in the fridge. Coincidentally, I craved for this Parmesan Cheese Crackers , which does not need any eggs to make.

This is Mark Bittman's New York Times recipe and you can see the recipe right here! It is very easy to make, really fast and the outcome is super delicious! Yummy!

Dadar Gulung/Kuih Dadar

2012-01-12T19:32:00.000+08:00

This snack is known as Dadar Gulung in Indonesia, while in Singapore and Malaysia, its name is Kuih Dadar. Essentially, it is a rolled crepe filled with sweetened grated coconut. This is one of my favorite snacks. The grated coconut is cooked with pandan leaves, giving the filling a very aromatic taste. The green color of the crepes also comes from pandan, although in my case, I used green colored pandan essence. The recipe is here.

The Gallerie

2012-01-11T18:55:00.000+08:00

The Gallerie is the name of the food court at Marina Square. We were there last week to get a couple of shirts for my brothers as gift. It was after 1PM and most of the seats there were taken, but we managed to get a large table in the corner for the DH and me, with a nice view above and more. The food court is on the 4th floor. It's not so high but the view is lovely. People can see the Flyer, Marina Bay Sands as well as Esplanade.

I had Nasi Padang with Beef Rendang and some Sauteed Vegetables (above), while DH went for dry Yong Tao Fu (below). The food was simply okay, but I would not return just for the food.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

2012-01-10T19:56:00.000+08:00

I made a mini Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread this morning, using the leftover brioche dough in the fridge that had been kept for a few days. I always love Cinnamon Sugar Bread and this one was also no exception. We had so much stuff in the fridge and it now has begun clearing up (sigh.....) We are working hard on using up the leftovers and it's wonderful to see the space again inside the fridge. I love space, spacious space, more than Cinnamon Bread! Yay.

I Love Rainbow!

2012-01-09T21:19:00.000+08:00

I can promise you that I will take pictures of the rainbow, if and when I see one or double and have the camera with me. I love the colors of the rainbow. These rainbow pictures were taken two days ago. It was even prettier as the sky in the background was blue and very clear. Rainbow gives me joy and hope!

More Chicken Rice...

2012-01-08T20:41:00.000+08:00

Our search for the the Kuih Bahulu mould took us to Seah Street, a street that has plenty of eating places including one Chicken Rice restaurant that was visited by DH before. He always loves Chicken Rice and I did not mind having it, I was hungry. We missed the baking shop that we were supposed to go to, I think because we were so distracted by the sights of food after food. The taste of the rice and the chicken were alright, but for $4 per serving, it was a bit on the small side. I was still hungry by the time I finished the rice and we also ordered a plate of vegetables that we cleaned up. The best part was its chili sauce!

Kuih Bahulu

2012-01-07T20:19:00.000+08:00

With Chinese New Year approaching in a little over two weeks, all Chinese New Year goodies are all out in force. Kuih Bahulu (with many different ways to spell them!) are out too. These are very simple cake with very few ingredients namely eggs, sugar, flour and some people add baking powder or baking soda, vanilla and melted butter. I am still doing some trials and errors to find a composition that I love best. I am not too impressed with this one and looking to try a different recipe next time.

Cheese Brioche

2012-01-06T20:46:00.000+08:00

If you have never been hated by your child you have never been a parent. ~Bette Davis

The first week of 2012 has come and nearly gone. It sometimes frightens me that time goes so fast and I could barely keep up with everything. It did not feel that long ago that I finished college, started my first job, got married and have three kids and now two of them are in college. That makes me sound like I am so ancient. Nah.......! I made Brioche dough this week, another first of this year. Some were stored and some were used to make Cheese Brioche. After brushing the top with the egg wash, I sprinkled some sugar before baking them in the oven. Good old yummy Brioche!

Another Sunset...

2012-01-05T21:06:00.000+08:00

From my kitchen window, I saw this sunset last year, well, it was last week actually, so it was technically really last year. Sunset does not always look great, so when it does and I happen to be able to grab a camera to capture the beauties of it, I do that.

First 2012 Family Dining Out!

2012-01-04T21:25:00.000+08:00

The first restaurant meal we had as a family in 2012 was at Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck. Miss L, who was on holiday in the country for only eight days, made reservation for the five of us the day before and we only got the slot for 1:45PM, which we figured would be fine anyway. It sounded late, but on Jan 1, I would think that everyone would get up later than usual and had a later breakfast too. A later lunch would be good, subsequently!

The restaurant was packed and the service was rather poor because of the heavy crowd. I took very few pictures, nothing was impressive. We had Beijing duck, of course and the rest of the duck was requested to be cooked with noodles. We also ordered some dim sums and a plate of spinach with garlic.We were stuffed, happy and more importantly, we were together with our loved ones, something that is harder to do these days!

First 2012 Bread!

2012-01-03T12:56:00.000+08:00

The significance of the bread was the fact that it was the first of many breads that I will be making this year. It was a No-Knead Sour Dough Bread with only a little bit of yeast and left overnight to rise and baked in the morning of January 1st, 2012 when everyone at home was still asleep after watching the fireworks at midnight and doing different things til early in the morning. Yay!

I went to bed before the fireworks and was awaken because of the sound of the fireworks in the Marina Bay area and the sound of people cheering as the island entered the year of 2012. I woke up and watched the fireworks and collapsed again shortly after. That's me. But I managed to be the firs one to wake up and bake the gorgeous long and delicious bread for everyone.....

Polenta Cake With Mushrooms

2012-01-02T18:43:00.001+08:00

This polenta cakes were my last dinner in 2011. The request to make polenta was done many times but for one reason or another, I never got to make them. Miss P came home from Virginia and brought back a bag of Polenta and it took a while to buy different types of mushrooms. I took me a bit longer to make the dish but I am glad it was done before the year ended. There are so many recipes around and I, as typically do, constructed something the way I like it with the ingredients that I had and I liked.

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-01T08:58:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Wishing all of us a better, healthier and happier year, especially to those who have been experiencing challenging times! Have a safe and peaceful 2012!

Clearing Up....

2011-12-31T18:55:00.000+08:00

The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy. Jim Rohn

After weeks of gloomy weather, sunshine came and the blue sky re-appeared this afternoon. Looks like there will be no problem with the fireworks tonight to greet the new year.

Double Hibiscus

2011-12-30T21:34:00.000+08:00

We are back with getting these pretty flowers nearly on daily basis. They are pink, big and beautiful!

Shortly Before 7....

2011-12-30T21:24:00.000+08:00

It's the view from the same spot in the morning, sometimes it's just plain dull, something it's more interesting, occasionally it's very pretty and many different adjectives can be used to describe it. These pictures were from this morning, merely a couple of minutes before 7AM. I went down to the kitchen and tidied up the mess by someone who used the kitchen early in the morning and I saw a beautiful painting in the sky that urged me to pick up the camera and start taking some pictures. Two days to 2012!

Turkey Sandwich...

2011-12-29T19:54:00.000+08:00

We still had leftover turkey, although a couple of us really put a strong effort into finishing them. This evening, I had a rather small but tall sandwich with turkey, avocado, spinach, sliced tomatoes and the best part is........ (drum roll please.........) honey mustard! I have fallen in love in honey mustard, thanks to Miss K who introduced it to me. Honey mustard makes everything tastes better................

Turkey Pot Pie

2011-12-28T10:20:00.000+08:00

We had some turkey leftovers, with some carrots, celery, onion, potatoes and herbs, I made these turkey pot pies. These are warm meals that utilize the leftovers well. We still have more turkeys left though!

Before Wicked...

2011-12-27T20:23:00.000+08:00

We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness. David Weatherford

It was in the evening of 25 December, the children had their tickets to watch Wicked at Marina Day Sands' Theater. The theater is located inside Marina Bay Sands Shopping center, where the casino is also located. Go figure, being Christmas day, the place was so full of people.... DH and I dropped them off at the theater and went off.

Our car was parked at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, just minutes away from MBS and we walked there passing the Helix Bridge that was quite packed with visitors as well. We got to view the stunning scene around there at night.

Christmas lights were lit up along the street and looked very lovely and brightened up the area. It was a pretty scene.

The Bird And The Leaves

2011-12-26T20:56:00.000+08:00

The family got together for a Christmas meal and we had the turkey above. We chose the small one available but still ended up with a rather gigantic bird, it was 10 pounds! There was no smaller one available, unless we picked chicken. The turkey was already pre-cooked, which really helped a lot, but we still seasoned it with a mix of olive oil, minced garlic and rosemary from the garden. Miss K prepared the spinach salad with caramelized onion, dried cranberries and mozzarella cheese with whole grain mustard salad seasoning.

We had ham and mashed potatoes too. Apple Cinnamon Crumbs for dessert and gelato and sorbetto of various flavors should one wished to have. They were more than enough to stuff ourselves and left us with lots of leftover....... One beautiful day to be grateful to God considering many people in some parts of the world do not have enough to eat! Five more days to the end of the year.... Yay or nay?

Early on Christmay day...

2011-12-25T21:04:00.000+08:00

In the early morning on Christmas day, to be more precise, 1 AM, we were at the Changi airport, waiting for the arrival of Miss L. The airport was very crowded, many planes arrive at these hours apparently.....

Practice Makes..... Better

2011-12-24T21:50:00.000+08:00

The children, big children, but they are still my children irregardless what age, decorated more cookies a couple of days after the first try. They did it with more knowledge of what to do and more familiarity of the materials. We saw more exciting results here..... Credit to Miss P for the nice picture above.

Three more hours to Christmas.......

A Holiday Wish!

2011-12-24T17:07:00.000+08:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful and safe holiday! God bless us all! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

Puff Night!

2011-12-23T20:21:00.000+08:00

Three of us went into the kitchen around 5:30 PM and started making something using puff pastry. Mine was pizza, with sliced tomatoes, onion, and cheeses. It was so simple because I practically did not have to do anything with the base. One layer of pastry and that's all. They looked really tempting, especially if you are hungry!

Miss K was on her mission to make Cheese Twists, but changed her mind half way as the process was time consuming. She made some rectangular shapes using the rest of the dough. Miss P was determined to used the salmon fillet that we have thawed. We do not have the pictures, but I can tell you that the salmon pockets that she made with ricotta cheese were yummy too.

Returning To Chatterbox

2011-12-22T20:32:00.000+08:00

I had no intention to return to Chatterbox for their Chicken Rice, I was simply not interested. But Groupon cleverly emailed my hungry and rather food obsessed daughter and passed that to me. Well Groupon made it sound so interesting, a deal worth $98.70 would only"cost us $36.52 plus 10% service charge and 7% GST. For the damage, we got 1/2 chicken, 2 bowls of rice and one serving of vegetable, also free parking during the time selected.

It sounded good, but it actually was not that good. The drinks were either soda or beer, neither of which we cared. The vegetable was beansprout. Ouch! None of us wanted it. The chicken did not taste great, we could easily get better ones at cheaper price. Thank goodness we ordered an extra dish.

We ordered an outrageously priced Nasi Lemak ($24 before tax and service charge) and we were stuffed and promised ourselves to never return. Let's see if we can keep our promise.

Cheese Scones

2011-12-21T19:58:00.000+08:00

It's nearing Christmas and it's only right to shape the scones that we made in Christmas shapes..... We are warming up to Christmas.....!!!

It's Beginning To Taste Like Christmas......

2011-12-20T16:29:00.000+08:00

We kicked off the festivity with Christmas cookies making and decorating. It was messy but fun and we managed to pass a few of them to others ...... Yes, we had the fun and passed the calories around.

Looking Golden....

2011-12-19T22:01:00.000+08:00

Here are the fries made using Air Fryer, they looked golden and crunchy on the outside. I did not take good care of them well when I was cooking them, because I was busy doing other things in the kitchen as well and neglected the fries. I turned the fries practically just once when according to the manual, I was supposed to turn them for it a few times. But result was not bad at all.......

Airfryer

2011-12-18T19:58:00.000+08:00

I could not find the Tefal Actifry that I wanted but found Philips Airfry instead. It is a bit similar in concept, cooking without or with very little oil. It's healthy, so why not? The fryer circulates hot air to cook the food inside, that's the basic. It's like mini oven. The unit comes with cookbooks too that mostly tell you many different ways of cooking potatoes. And a few other dishes too. Haha. So far, we tried the easy ones, French Fries from scratch. We use a little olive oil and rubbed the oil all over the cut up potatoes. The result was satisfactory. I hope to get the pictures of the food up soon.... Interesting.

Angels

2011-12-17T20:16:00.000+08:00

Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him.

St. Jeanne de Chantal

When things get tough..... and we try to make it through the rain....

Pain d'epice

2011-12-16T18:26:00.000+08:00

Everything around me is so Christmas-ey these days and I feel so way, way behind everyone else. I'm not even sure if I plan to decorate the house at all. Yes, that bad. I feel so tired and so beat and I just do not feel like doing anything other than things that I need to do. I have baked some Christmas cookies for school last week. I also have sent some Christmas cards to selected number of people in Australia, California and Oregon.That's about all.

I found an interesting recipe for Spice cake last night, it's a French cake called Pain d'epices. Originally they are baked in loaves, but I love mine in smaller bundt molds like the recipe that I saw. Noticeably different than other cakes that I normally make, this one uses a combination of honey and brown sugar to sweetened it. The smell.... it's the spice smell... it's beginning to smell like Christmas........ Hohoho...

They're Back....

2011-12-14T14:37:00.000+08:00

I hope there are always hopes for everybody and those that persevere. I know that there are so much sufferings around the world. The technology has made it easier for anybody to help out, with one click you can donate to any chosen charity. We can donate to charity far away while sitting in front of the computer. It only takes willingness and a bit of your money and you help make the world a better place. I particularly like this Boys' Brigade Share A Gift for Christmas this year. It's so handy.

Talking about perseverance, this double Hibiscus is a one tough chick indeed. At some point, I really thought that I would lose this plant for good. I am glad I was wrong, it made an excellent comeback. The leaves have grown much more and greener than ever and the flowers have started blossoming. If you have a rough day, try to hang in there. I know it's hard, but just try, a little bit longer. Hang in there. Hope things turn out well soon. Cheers!

What Customer Service....????

2011-12-13T21:00:00.000+08:00

When some things do not go so well, we'll try to have them out of our chest......

I could not help but feel the urge to write about this woman. She came to our house without introducing who she was. I was aware that the visit had something to do with the problem that we had with our terrace. It was her responsibility to come. Having been asked, she replied that she was a Senior Customer Service of the company. It's a big company that developed the project. I could smell the arrogance from a mile away. Her mannerism spoke it all. She refused to imagine her being in our position and went on with her announcement that she would issue a letter to rectify the mistake that her company made without giving a workable solution to potential problem that could seriously affect our place. I could translate what she said into, "It's not my business to care what happen to your house!".

Such a sad thing that someone that is in the position of customer service to be so unwilling to help and really lacking of compassion. I see many of this kind of people in this place. It blew my mind away that just the night before I watched CNN heroes, I saw many people that are willing to go extra mile and away to help others and today I had to deal with someone that is completely in the opposite side of being a hero.

Let me put it this way, she is making her bed and one day she will have to sleep on it. In God I believe! He's been so good to us...

Bali Thai...

2011-12-13T13:57:00.000+08:00

Our search for Actifry took us to Millenia Walk this weekend. We could not find any stores that carry Tefal Actifry but found Philips Air Fry, the one with very similar concept. We did not get one that day, but ended up with a juicer and a new toaster, of course. Then came lunch, we crossed to Suntec City and had it at Bali Thai restaurant where DH met his favorite stuffed wings.

We had, of course, Chicken Pad Thai and Green Curry too. We finished up the Pad Thai but had to take home some leftover green curry chicken.

We saw the picture of Grilled Chicken on the menu, served with glutinous rice and was attracted to order one too. I find the chicken to be on the tastier side that even dipping the piece of the provided sweet chili sauce, did not help much.

Disappearing Act.....

2011-12-12T19:38:00.000+08:00

We had a rare treat last Saturday evening, having the opportunity to witness the Total Lunar Eclipse, right from our terrace. I took lots of pictures, some were good, many were awful. These two pictures were taken within 25 minutes of each other. It was such a good thing that the sky was very clear that night.....

Buried With Cheese...

2011-12-09T17:41:00.001+08:00

On some cooler days, it is so nice to have grilled ham and cheese bread .....

Potato Mushroom Soup

2011-12-06T20:21:00.000+08:00

I never made Potato Mushroom Soup before last week-end, but there are so many recipes available in the internet and I did not need to worry about it. Basically, I put together my own version, as usual. I also put in a stalk of rosemary from the garden and served the soup with grilled homemade bread. It was so good to have them when the weather was cool.... it brought the warmth to your heart and..... tummy....

Skinny Pizza

2011-12-05T15:36:00.000+08:00

There were signs everywhere in Great World City announcing the presence of this new restaurant, I was told by Miss K and I did not even see one. DH and I went through the mall to go to our church, but I simply walked pass without looking. Miss K suggested the place for lunch after church, supported by DH and my Chicken Rendang lunch had to be postponed for another time. The above, the first pizza that came to the table was Wild Truffled Pizza. If you like thin crust pizza, this pizza could be for you. The crust is thin and crispy like cracker.

We could use some salad so I decided to order one of their salad, it's Thai Crispy Beef salad. It was quite nice, but mind you, the beef was not anywhere near crispy. In terms of the balance of flavor, it's there. It's a smallish salad, though.

DH' order was American Sliders served with Truffle Fries and Sweet Potato Fries. We gladly helped him with the Truffle Fries, they are really good.

Finally, the last order we had was Grilled Figs with Parmesan Crumble Pizza. They threw in some slices of Mandarin orange as well and we like it. We definitely were so stuffed, we had over estimated our capacity. No dessert this time. Way too full!

Spaghetti With Bacon

2011-12-03T17:48:00.000+08:00

Pasta or Spaghetti in particular, would not be the first pick for my meal, but when I have Spaghetti, I like to keep them simple. I had Spaghetti for dinner a few nights ago, I tossed them in olive oil, chopped basil leaves and crispy bacon and sprinkled with lots of black pepper and top them with grated Parmigiano. Ready to go.

TBBT Bloopers!

2011-12-02T19:36:00.000+08:00

I love The Big Bang Theory and I love the bloopers even more. Ten minutes of happiness on Friday is here!! Let's smile and laugh and forget our sadness and sorrow for a while!

Hello December!

2011-12-01T19:58:00.000+08:00

And December is finally here. 24 more days to Christmas and 30 more days to 2012. We began the last month of this year with tomatoes for dinner. We got plenty of ripe tomatoes at home. I bought them a while back and had not got the opportunity to use them. I utilized some to make Marinara sauce for our spaghetti dinner. Some others were used for Bruschetta. The bread that I used was the leftover I had. We cleared up some food stocks well tonight.

Korean Inspired Fried Chicken

2011-11-30T17:13:00.000+08:00

This is not exactly Korean, but it comes close to the Korean's version. I do not have any Korean ingredients but substituted what I needed with what I have. The wings were deep fried twice and tossed with sauce and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. These are yummy, sweet and spicy. Mmmhhh... it's hard to stop at one. I used David Lebovit's recipe and now I am looking for Tefal Actifry that he talked about in his recipe. I am so getting one, I hope they sell this machine in this island.

Different Look...

2011-11-29T08:58:00.001+08:00

We are trying hard to stay away from Japanese food these days because, not only we had too much of it, we also know that when the kids are back for Christmas, we will be eating some Japanese food. So we went for Chinese food on Sunday, at Paradise Inn in Somerset to be exact. We saw the above, Vermicelli with Pork Trotters, on the menu, looking pretty and appetizing, therefore we ordered the dish. The picture below is what we got. It almost look like someone has tumbled over, dropped the plate and put the noodles back on the plate in a big hurry and rushed the plate to our table. That ain't pretty! Huh?

Brownies!

2011-11-26T19:18:00.000+08:00

I was waiting for DH to come back from getting our lunch outside and I was very hungry. I made myself productive by baking brownies using Matt Lewis recipe using 8"x8"baking pan. I have Baker's Edge Pan Brownie Pan that I have been longing to use, but still can't use, because I did not want to make too much brownies. That pan (13"x9") will require me to double the recipe. It's way too much for three people that are currently staying at home, one of whom barely eats brownies. Hhhh......

A Slice Of Pizza

2011-11-25T17:02:00.000+08:00

It's a slice of pizza featured on The Daily What. This sleeping bag is available at etsy.com

..... looks comfy.....

Basil And Pesto...

2011-11-23T19:36:00.000+08:00

Our basil plants are growing quite healthily in the garden despite the constant attacks from some bugs who seem to love eating basil leaves and leaving most others there. What better way to use the leaves than making basil pesto? I have pine nuts, garlic, parmigiano and olive oil. It's a matter of putting them together in a food processor or a blender and let the machine do the job. Season with salt and pepper and it's done. Pour some olive oil on top to prevent color change resulting from oxidation, the wise people say. It has not worked for me, but I still did it anyway.

One Of Them...

2011-11-22T19:40:00.000+08:00

It is impossible not to notice that Christmas is coming soon. Main streets like Orchard road is decorated for the occasion. Buildings are beautified with lights and ornaments and everything related to Christmas. The Christmas tree in the picture above is placed outside Orchard Central. It is one of the many around there.

Art Of Meepok

2011-11-21T20:24:00.000+08:00

It's an out of box thing I did last Sunday morning, I joined DH all the way to Bedok to have breakfast in a place called Art of Meepok. This place apparently is well known for its yummy Meepok. I would not normally have the willingness to go all the way, almost 30 minutes to the east side of the island towards airport, just to get a bowl of noodles. DH normally goes on some weekends with now College girl No.2. She is the only one who gets up early and loves meepok. The rest of us, do not care as much. I was in a nice mood and against my better judgement, went along. I felt a bit bad that he was going to go alone.

I love small noodles, therefore I had them (picture above). DH had his usual meepok plus a few extra things that he normally has. He messed up the noodles before I managed to get a picture.

We got a nice place to sit, it was breezy and made it more enjoyable to eat. The noodles are great, but I am not the type who is willing to go to far for some food. I might go again in the future. I just don't know when.

Back To Sushi Tei....

2011-11-20T19:29:00.000+08:00

When you went with two family members that love Japanese food and suggested to eat at a Japanese restaurant, but opened to your suggestions and then turned down your suggestion, you knew that your option was either going to the Japanese restaurant or going to the Japanese restaurant. There's no typo here, I wrote it the way I thought. Sushi Tei at Nge Ann City it was. We had not been here for a while and it took me by surprise (a little bit) that the place was not packed at lunch time on Sunday. I guess, with so many new places to eat around the place, they could not help losing some of its customers. Aside from my usual Kani Avocado Salad with Sesame Dressing that I love dearly, I went for something different this time. My picks were full packed cholesterol Hotate Teriyaki (scallop teriyaki) and Ika Sugatayaki (grilled Squid with salt). We could not finish the later and brought them home. They are stored nicely inside our fridge for now.

Chicken And Potatoes

2011-11-19T20:48:00.000+08:00

For weeks, I have been trying to clear up the stocks that I have in my fridge and freezer, constantly minimizing the purchase of meat and everything else so that I have a nice and clear space inside. After all, there are practically two-three people at home most of the time and do not eat much (at home). I had some frozen chicken breast that I converted into oven baked breaded chicken with parmigiano and baked smashed potatoes that have been previously steamed. They were baked in the same oven, but required different timings. With some salad, it's dinner for two last Wednesday! Simple and easy.

After Nine Years ...

2011-11-18T18:48:00.000+08:00

I still think of her. My sister. My big, selfless sister that succumbed to Lymphoma and left us nine years ago. She was like a mother to me and many of her siblings since our father died and our mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. While young girls at her age were enjoying life, she was working full time and looking after the big family. She assumed a big responsibility since she was merely 17 years old. After she started making money, she put back the money that she earned for the family, meal, school and other necessities helping out her three brothers that equally carrying the burden to feed everyone in the family. It's hard to comprehend that a good and dedicated person like her was diagnosed with Lymphoma way too soon and left all of us way too early. But that sort of things happens in life.

There are things that remind me of her. Origami, crochet and Fried Rice Noodles are some of them. Two of the last three years in her life were spent a lot in this country with me. She was in and out of the hospital too many times. For treatment, for chemotherapy, for blood checks, for bone marrow transplant and everything else related to her medical treatment. She also stayed at home with us and helped out with the cooking sometimes. She helped me do the preparations and I did the cooking. Many times, when she was hospitalized, I packed this Fried Rice Noodles and brought it for her and she truly enjoyed it. More than hospital food, of course. I miss her sometimes, especially today. I know that she is in a better place.

Pancake And Strawberries

2011-11-17T18:41:00.000+08:00

A lot of times, I run out of ideas for breakfast. We are not a big fan of cereals or toasts. So, when I have an idea that could work, making breakfast becomes a piece of cake. I planned it all out last night, I was going to make some buttermilk pancakes with sliced strawberries for breakfast. I craved for them. They easy to make, light and fresh. Delicious too, I must add. If only I could plan this sort on daily basis, life would be easier. Now I have to think of what to prepare tomorrow....

One Of The Two Birthdays....

2011-11-13T20:26:00.000+08:00

We have two family members celebrating birthday this month. Today's is DH. We had a quiet celebration with a simple but wicked chocolate birthday cake from the Grand Hyatt Hotel and dinner at Limoncello. Just the three of us.

In hours, Sunday will be over and we are entering the third week of November. Zzzzzhhhh..... Christmas is nearing...... I am not excited. Really.

Lunch On 11-11-11

2011-11-12T11:25:00.000+08:00

True. There are so many restaurants and food places to choose from and we do not even have to go far. There are way, overwhelmingly, too many. In fact, sometimes the vast selection confuses us more that helps us. We do get tired of the same places but we also are not too keenly attracted to try new places. Tough life, huh? Haha. Anyway. Yesterday, being non-meat day, made it even harder to pick a place for lunch. If it was up to me alone, I would pick a place that has good salad. But since another person was involved, I let the him choose and tried being respectful with his choice, we ended up at Crystal Jade Dining In at Vivo (again!). Two of the three that we had were Sea Bass with String Beans (picture above) and Seafood Fried Noodles (below). We also had Claypot Eggplant and Beancurd and bought our mango dessert at a nearby dessert place.

11-11-11

2011-11-11T19:54:00.000+08:00

It's an ordinary Friday, but the date is so special that record number of couples got married today all over the world. May happiness be with them forever, or for 72 days! The day went like any other day, we had sun today, but we also had rain. It may not be as special as 11-11-11 to many people, the yellow Four O'Clock flowers in the garden looked ordinary too, but their presence helped brighten the look of the garden. And that's today's picture!

Lunch At Mezza9 @ Grand Hyatt

2011-11-10T19:39:00.001+08:00

It was public holiday last Monday and since had not dined at Mezza9 for quite a long while, we decided to grab lunch over there. I had Bratwurtz with caramelized onion and Sauteed Spinach as side dish to share with DH.

DH picked Seafood Hor Fun without bean sprout and squid. The size is reasonable for one person and the taste is just alright.

The part that I liked best was actually the Ciabatta that they served before the main course s were brought to the table. The two of us finished them and were offered to have more. We declined as we wanted to have enough space for the main entrees.

Sweet Potato ...

2011-11-09T20:04:00.001+08:00

Sweet potato plants are really easy to grow and they grow really fast. I replanted them not so much to get the sweet potatoes but mostly to cover certain area in our small garden. If after a few months I am able to harvest some good sweet potatoes, that would be a bonus. If not, that's fine too. The leaves are rather pretty.

Akashabu

2011-11-08T17:28:00.001+08:00

Akashabu at Funan is a Japanese restaurant that my two housemates religiously go, but the one that I constantly refused to go to after the salad incident I had while dining there. I ordered one of the three salad they had on their menu, called Avocado Salad. With Avocado in the name, I expect avocado to dominate the salad, but it upset me that the salad was so full of sliced cabbage and very little pieces, hardly found avocado. The dressing was unimpressive too. I found no reason to go back.

Last Sunday, I decided to tag along the two, back to the Akashabu. I was very curious in finding out what make these two people keep on going back there. The plate above is basically full of both Miss K's & DH's favorites sushi, including fatty tuna and scallop.

As usual, we also had Salmon Sashimi, which I must admit, tasted really great.

I had a set lunch with Grilled Mackerel (Saba)as the main Entree. It was okay, but I don't think I will want to join my two loved ones to dine there again. I am not too crazy about the food there and I think we have a little bit too much Japanese food lately. Unless I find another good reason to do so.

Bread!

2011-11-07T07:20:00.001+08:00

If I could capture the smell of the freshly baked bread, I would. The smell is absolutely so heavenly that I could just never get tired of it. The smell would fill up the kitchen as it bakes and spreads to the dining and living areas and further up to the study area where I normally park myself while waiting for the bread to be ready. Of course, to fill up our tummy, we need to put some of the bread in.... The bread was baked yesterday, it was simply wonderful to eat them just like that. You don't need butter or olive oil to enhance the taste. Just like that and you will be content.