Monday, December 27, 2010

My First Homemade Tangyuan!

Very easy step 1,2,3 to prepare a delicious bowl of tangyuan!

1. Bought the pre-mixed dough (of glutinous rice flour) from LipSin wet market.
Roll it into small balls.


2. Cook the sweet dessert soup (i put pandan leaves, brown sugar & longan meat)


3. Boil the tangyuan & served the the sweet dessert soup!



Happy Winter Solstice!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The Mr & Mrs Bae

D day = 17.12.2010
D time = 9-10am
D place = JPN Putrajaya

Congratulations!

Run JackJack Run!

His bodysuit is too long for him (14 months wearing size 24). That's made him looked so funny when walking.

BTW excuse the vibration sounds that appears few seconds after the video started. Received SMS when taking this video.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Trip to Papa's office

It's Intel family day on last Saturday, 4th Dec @ Intel PG12 car park areas.
There are lucky draws and of course we won't miss it. LoL.

And we also had a chance to visit Papa's office, and as expected, the desk is messy.

JJ's on his first shoes!


I got a 'smile'!


JJ pressed '0'.. luckily operator's line busy.


With Papa


With Mama

JJ walking!

Brownie - 2nd attempt!

Life has been busy - this is a very back-dated post.

I did my 2nd attempt baking the brownie, and it's fail AGAIN!
It's all OVEN fault!

First attempt - over-baked b'coz i follow the exact temperature to be used as per the recipe. But my oven is too small so overheated.

Second attempt - i thought i learn from mistake therefore i adjusted lower temperature, unfortunately, i am still wrong, its still over-baked outside, and worst thing is, inside is not cook!

I will not have 3rd attempt until i got a new bigger oven which have upper & lower temperature controls *hinting*

Let's have a look at the fail creature.

Outside - cracked. Sign of over-baked.


Inside - still wet. Sign of under-baked. (Pic is not clear coz my hp's camera lousy)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Birthday boy!

The king of the house turned 1 on last Tuesday! Here are some of the pics to share with you all =)

Birthday boy!

Brownie!

This is a back-dated post as the brownie already went to dustbin & indah water. Haha.

Well... finally i baked my first ever brownie. But it's not really a successful one because it's kinda over-baked, inside is not moist and fudgy, and the brownie is not high (in fact it's sinked down). I would say IT'S OVEN FAULT. LOL.

Anyway i guess the other reason the cake is not high coz i didn't use whisk when beating the egg into the chocolate batter. Hmm...

BUT, it's still taste YUMMY!





Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Mini tractor from grandpa

JJ's birthday coming soon and his grandpa already bought him a BIG present.





But he still doesn't know how to press the button (at the wheel) to accelerate the tractor. So we have to push him from back and he is pretty enjoying sitting on the 'automatic' tractor.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Next target - Brownies

Started to like Brownies since tasted the birthday cake on colleague's son birthday party (It's a whole Brownies cake underneath the sugar paste).

Found this recipe when google-ing just now. U hv any better recipe?

From Joy of Baking

Brownies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a nonstick cooking spray) an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in the cocoa powder and sugar . Next, whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, stir in the flour, salt and chocolate chips (if using).

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a little batter and a few moist clumps clinging to it. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature or chilled. These freeze very well.

Makes 16 brownies.


Brownies:
5 ounces (140 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons (15 grams) cocoa powder
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (125 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

S'mores - 2nd attempt

After my first trial on baking S'mores, i always wanted to try to bake again as the first attempt was not-so-success.

My personal food critic, Mr Phua, commented the S'mores is too junky. He suggested to make the S'mores (base) thinner and cut into smaller piece (bite size).

So, i listen to 'customer' feedback. But the outcome really disappointed me.

The baking time is perfect now (no more oven fault). All marshmallow are baked equally and melted in just nice way (see pic 1). I took it out from the baking tray, put on chopping board and cut, gosh, the S'mores (base)become crust. Why? b'coz its too thin!

My 2nd attempt turn out to be "Crustsmore" instead of "S'mores".

Conclusion, customer not always right. Agree?

Pic 1


"Crustsmore" top view


"Crustsmore" side view - the S'mores is crust

Friday, October 8, 2010

My not-so-success S'mores!

Came across this recipe from Joy of Baking and decided to give a try as it's only required few ingredients and less steps (and less washing also :P)

I couldn't found the KRAFT brand miniature marshmallow in Jusco, Giant and Sunshine. Sis helped me to check out in Cold Storage and don't have as well. So, ended up bought the colorful marshmallow from Famous Amos.

Ingredients:
S'Mores:
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated white sugar
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) (84 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Topping:
1 cup (170 grams) semisweet or milk chocolate chips or chunks
2 cups (130 grams) miniature marshmallows or homemade marshmallows cut into bite sized pieces

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.

Line the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 inch (23 x 23 cm) square baking pan with aluminum foil.

Stir together the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until all the crumbs are moistened. Press this mixture firmly onto the bottom of the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven about 10 minutes, or just until the crust begins to turn golden brown.

Remove from oven and evenly sprinkle with the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the marshmallows are soft, lightly golden, and starting to meld together.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, lift the squares from the pan by holding the edges of the foil. With a long sharp knife, cut into squares. Can be stored at room temperature for several days.

Makes about 16 - 2 inch squares.


Well, Tadaa... this is the "outcome". Hmm, look not-so-yummy but it keep my big monster mouth full.

1. The S'mores (After baked)


2. Sprinkle marshmallows & chocolate chips


3. Baking in process


4. A bit overbaked :P Oven fault.


5. Cute into small pieces & put inside container.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Jack Jack month 0 - month 10

Time flies. JJ's going to be 1 yr old very soon. Just to share some pics from born till now.

Jack Jack Month 1-10

Monday, September 6, 2010

Jack Jack @ 10 months

Time really flies, JJ is now 10 months old!

See, he is even more cheeky now... Lots of expression especially when he wants something or 'beh syok' to sit on his carseat/walker.


and.. i would say we start them young.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Friday, July 30, 2010

Last bottle of EBM

Today mark the full stop of my breastfeeding journey for Jack Jack. He had the very last bottle of EBM today and mummy has no more 'nen nen' for him. In fact i already stop expressing since 2 weeks ago... but the "stock" lasts for another 2 weeks.

JJ have been on formula + EBM since 1 month ago and i'm glad that he able to switch to formula within short period... i heard some mommies that b/feed for > 1 year, their kids refuse to drink formula!!! =.=|||

Well, i have given the best 8 months to JJ even though i did not grad with "master" :)

Last but not least, i'm back to my 'nescafe' day ^^



p/s: My freezer is now no longer occupied by milk storage bottles :) got 2 pints of ice cream and lots of frozen food!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Homemade Egg Toast

I had this egg toast at Old Town and it cost RM4.20++ per plate.



So, during one weekend, i was scratching head on what to eat for breakfast, then i found eggs, kaya, butter in my fridge and i got a loaf of gardenia bread. Then, Ta daa..



Presentation wise, not so good. But it's yummy.


Cost breakdown:
Gardenia bread: RM2.30/loaf (I think 1 loaf have 14 slices) So, 5 slices = RM0.80.
Kaya: RM2.50 / Bottle (Assume 10 scoop per bottle) So, 2 scoop = RM 0.50.
egg: RM0.40/pc. Only 2 pcs needed. So, RM0.80.
Butter: RM.7.65/pc. Use 1/5. So RM1.53.

Total cost for making 5 slices of egg toast (cut into half become 10 pcs): RM3.63.

Cheap huh?

Moreover, old town only give 4 pcs (2 slices).

Then...

Me (asking Mr Phua): How was it?
Mr Phua: Like that lo.
Me: Like that means how? Ho chiak or not.
Mr Phua: 5/10 lo. Too much butter, too oily.

Cilaka...

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Jack's new swimsuit & float

Bought JJ a new swimsuit + float finally!!! We brought him to swimming pool few times but he's only wearing his own t-shirt + shorts to 'dip' inside water coz no float. After we confirmed that he not afraid of the GIANT 'long bath' and water, then only we proceed to buy him a proper swimming attire + accessories.

See how he wiggle his legs to get to Mr ducky!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Hotels

Some of the luxury hotels that i stayed before..

1. Hilton Singapore


2. JW Marriot @ KL


3. Marriot Singapore

Korean Hat

Not sure what it's name but some says it's "Korean Hat"

This is how to made it.


Image: extracted from forwarded email


Outcome. But JJ doesn't like to wear hat.

Lalat at the cup

Went lunch at Wong Kok QB on Wed lunch. All of us ordered a herbal drink and when it's been served, found that there is a lalat sticking at the bottom of one of the cup! It's died i guess coz it didn't move at all. Since it's outside the cup, so my colleague just ignore it.

Gosh, so obvious and i wonder all the servers are blind.



1987

One day, as usual, when browsing on FB, found this picture from a old-schoolmate's photo album. Wow. She still keeping it! I remember i have it too but not sure where did i keep it.

Folks, this pic taken when i was 6 years old. Guess which is me? ^^



*Front row, 3rd one from left. See how i sit. Cute? ^^

Monday, May 24, 2010

Before, After

Before



3 months later...

My first baking

Guess what it is? it's a chiffon cake! Hahahahahahahahahaha. The cake did not raise very well. It's collapse after took out from the mould. But my monster & i also enjoying it very much since it's my very first creation!!!!!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Free Haagen Dazs Ice Cream (But in US only)

Have you grabbed yours yet?


Image: extracted from forwarded email

Thursday, May 13, 2010

EBM - Exclusive Breast Milk

I have been exclusively breastfeed JackJack for 6 months+ and it's still counting.

6 months might be just 'sap sap sui' for those mothers that b/fed for 2 years! But, believe me, it is not as easy as you think. I experienced many issues throughout this 6 months and until today i'm still having problem with it. Plus, restless nights to express milk. Well, EBM is the best for JackJack, so, no complaint =)

Just to share that some mothers even come out some 'grading' based on the months you have breastfed.

3 months - Certificate
6 months - Diploma
1 year - Degree
18 months - Master
2 years - PHD

So, i'm a diploma holder now =)

Anyway yesterday i have thrown away 27 packs of milk in storage bags coz it's been stored inside freezer for > 3 months. Each storage bag have averagely 5oz milk. So its ~135oz or ~4000ml!!

It's averagely 5oz per pack


This is how it looks when all milk-cube melting inside the sink


Leftover... after the 'housekeeping' of throwing away expired milk

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Birthday wish list

Ya, i know my birthday still months to go... but i have in mind what do i want to get for this year birthday!

Ta daa...


image: www.longchamp.com

So, darling, either beige or lilac color. Deal?

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Jack's first outstation trip - Klang @ 1st & 2nd May

It's a long weekend in conjunction of Labour day. Don't want to grow fungus by sitting at house for the whole weekend. So, brought JJ to Klang for a short 2D1N trip.

U may wondering why Klang, not KL? Coz sis-in-law staying in Klang, so went her house to overnight to save 1 night hotel. It's the first time JJ met his gugu, guzhang, cousin bro (Jia Hoong) & cousin sis (Jia Xuan).

JJ is excited meeting his lil cousin sis


JJ: I want to sayang mei mei...


Mummy: Noooooo, pls be gentle.


JJ & XX... looks alike?