Salted Almond Butter Ice Cream

The other day, I came across this blog post. It struck a cord with me because from time to time, hubby and I discuss how our marriage changed since the arrival of Asher.  I'm a very lucky woman because I have the world's best hubby in so many ways. He is a hands on daddy, in love with me and is absolutely supportive in my fitness, health, work, family and food goals.

That does not mean though that we do not struggle from time to time. Like most families, we can fall into a rut if we are not careful. Because of his early morning starts, more often than none, he gets easily tired. For me, I'm a perfectionist in some ways and like to make things "right". With our focus on Asher, it's easy to start the morning with a text message and we may not even have a decent chat till 2 days later!

With tiredness and busyness means we say things we do not mean (or think), we forget appointments and neglected to check in with one another. It comes in with impatience and annoyance. I felt unappreciated, and he felt unheard. It could easily spiral into a downward mess.

I'm writing this to remind myself that I'm very very lucky even though sometimes I don't feel that way. Because counting my blessings makes me realise that the world is not bleak. My husband isn't the world's most unthoughtful person or mean. He is a human and humans can tire and make mistakes. So this is my list to remind myself.

1) He wakes up early every morning so that he can be with us earlier in the day
2) He brushes his teeth in the guest's bathroom so he doesn't wake us up.
3) He never complains with whatever I cook.
4) He plays with Asher every single day. He change his nappies when needed and feed him most dinners.
5) He budgets and make sure our household gets taken care of
6) He says "I love you" daily to me
7) I have been obese, skinny and pregnant and he stood by me
8) He stayed close to me when Granny was seriously ill and passed on.
9) He welcomed my family into our lives and even like them staying with us.
10) He adored my granny and attempted/learned cantonese with her.
11) Also attempted to speak mandarin to my dad
12) Taste and eat every single dish I made and bake AND gave me honest thoughts.
13) Never once did he complained about my gym schedule. He change his work schedule so I can head to the gym to have me time 4 times a week.
14) Totally embraced eating clean.
15) Does the laundry
16) Remembers rubbish and bin collection days
17) Trusts me completely with shopping and budgeting
18) Always on the lookout for cheap flights
19) Appears to know every city and transport system around the world.
20) Cooks me breakfasts occasionally
21) If I forget an ingredient in the midst of baking, he would go out and buy it straight away.
22) Often think about our future
23) Share our love for travelling
24) Endure my occasional need to "get it right!" (and then having to taste countless tarts, ice cream or roasts)
25) He is in love with Asher.
26) Some evenings, make me a cup of chai tea with warmed up almond milk.
27) Want to spend time with us. He doesn't stay long for work functions or meet up with friends for a beer at night.
28) Always keep me updated on his work, what's been bothering him or finances
29) Calms me down when I feel upset or panic.
30) Pray with me and for us.

I'm sure there are more and i'm sure I can add to it as time goes on.

So for my hubby, this salted almond butter ice cream is for you. (Just because I know how much you love ice cream!)

Salted Almond Butter Ice-Cream (serves 2)
2 frozen bananas
2 tablespoons of almond butter
pinch of salt

place everything in a food processor and blitz till it becomes ice cream! Drizzle with your favourite topping.

Chocolate Vanilla Slice

I have my bad and good days. Some days, I really really miss my grandmother. Grief is a throbbing pain in your heart that doesn't seem to go away. It becomes slightly duller but it aches. The image of her smiling face, the twinkle in her eyes and her old fashioned styled hair with heaps of hair spray stays with me.

Last year this time, there was so much excitement. I was heavily pregnant. My family was planning their big trip to stay with us for 12 weeks. An pending new arrival to the family brought a buzz. Who would have thought the past year would be filled with so many memories- both happy, troubled, happy and sad?

We are planning Asher's first birthday and then it hit me that granny won't be here physically to celebrate with us. I'm holding on though, to the memories of our family waking up together and looking forward to seeing Asher in those early days when he arrived. The laughs during his full month celebration and cooking lessons that grandmother gave me (yam cake and chill). The precious cuddles they shared.

Of course, we had our trips back where grandmother spent mornings and days seeing Asher play at my parents flat, or helped entertained Asher while I do a quick workout at the exercise park.

And the worrying times where Gran rebelled against death and came back from heart failure and her stint at ICU in February.

The sadder times when we lost her.

I was browsing photos of treats and bakes I made when this caught my eye again. This was made for a family gathering. At that lunch, we spoke about grandmother's likes and dislikes, and how the whole family became closer together (extended family included) this year. That is what my grandmother would have love to know. She would have love to take an adventurous bite of these small chocolate vanilla slices and give me her two cents about how it's not sweet enough, or it's too hard, or that it's "ok".  But she would eat it with a smile anyway.

Chocolate Vanilla Slice (makes 24 mini ones) Adapted from Spunky Coconut.
Base
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 tablespoons of linseed meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup of almond butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of vanilla paste

"Vanilla"
1 cup of coconut butter
1/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tsp of vanilla paste

Chocolate Ganache
100 grams of dark chocolate
1/2 cup of coconut milk

Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a 8x8 square dish.

To make the base- mix the wet ingredients using a mixer. Then fold in dry ingredients. Press it to the pan and bake for 30 minutes or so. Cool.

To make the Vanilla- Mix everything in a mixer. Spread frosting over the base.

Chocolate Ganache- In a saucepan, melt chocolate in coconut milk. Pour ganache over the frosting. Fridge it over night.

Cut into small pieces and enjoy.

Crispy Waffles with Berries Compote

People are often curious about what I do in my day. Given that I'm not working, there is an assumption that I'm the boss of my own time. To a certain extent, I like the freedom of being a little flexible. Tradesman needing to come to the house? Yup, I can arrange that. Parcel collection from the post isn't in the too hard basket when I can pop to the shops during the day. Arranging a play date on a week day? That can be done.

There are certainly advantages of being at home.

There is a scene in Sarah Jessica Parker's movie "I don't know how she does it"- where she played a business woman, juggling between motherhood and career. At night, there is a list of things in her head that she would go through like the end credits of a movie.

I could totally identify with that.

If I am lucky:

7am: Asher and I wake
7-7:30am- Wash up, I change into my day clothes and put some make up on (note to self- if I don't do it then, I find that I won't have the chance to do it any time after), change his diaper, prepare breakfasts for both of us
8:15am- Clothes change for him
8:30am-10am- Play time for Asher and me. We read, sing songs, dance, play chasey, hide and seek, stretches, swimming lesson..etc. I might also ring my dad or someone overseas then. More than often, I would squeeze in some housework such as clearing breakfasts, prep work for dinner, tidying around the house, clear the dishwasher, head out to do some groceries with him......
10-11:30am- Milk time and Asher's nap time. Now, this gets tricky. On a good day, he sleeps in his cot by himself. I have better luck on my bed with heaps of cushions and pillows. Lucky for us, our carpets are thick and I'm close by to make sure he doesn't fall. Some days, he wants me to hold him. If that happens, I just enjoy cuddle time. I don't give up putting him down though but he may need resettling. If he sleeps, I get to vacuum and mop the floor,  prep dinner, bake something, pack the bag, clean the toilets,
11:30am- He wakes. Has a drink of water. Plays by himself while I prepare lunch for him and myself.
12ish- Lunch time.
12:30-3pm- That depends. Could be gymbaroo, play dates, outing somewhere. I would squeeze in more housework like bringing clothes in, folding clothes, putting them away. Really try cooking dinner!
3-4ishpm- Milk time Nap time. Same deal above.
4ish- Light snack. If I have no chance to prepare dinner above, prepare dinner now!
5pm- Husband comes home!
Depending on which day- I'm off to the gym and arrives home at 6ish.
5-5:45pm- Asher and daddy goes out for a walk
6+pm- Dinner time for Asher.
7pm- Bath time or shower for Asher and hopefully for me too.
7:30pm- BED TIME for him. Dinner time for us.
8ish- bed time: Clean up the kitchen, have a chat with hubby about his day, read, blog, prepare for the next day. Write a list...

Fun begins then
Anytime between 10am- 7am: Asher might wake 2-3 times. He is getting better now and usually only wakes once a night at 3 or 4 am for a feed. Then he sleeps till 6 or 7am. Not bad hey! Previously, he would wake every 3-4 hours and require settling from us. Asher is also sleeping in his own room.

Notice that I have "prepare for dinner" a few times during the day? Well, I have to be flexible from time to time. There are days where I can't get to dinner prep work till 4pm because Asher is clingy or feeling unwell, or we have been out the whole day. Other days, I might start making chinese slow cooked soup late morning. There are also commitments that I fit in like mothers group, play dates and errands.

On top of that, I'm in charge of Hubby's breakfasts, Asher's meals..etc and you guys know I like knowing what I put in my foods so I tend to make as many snack or meal from scratch. In our family, I'm usually in charge of organising presents, groceries list, food budgeting costs, social interactions and keeping in contact with extended family members.

One of the things I enjoy doing is arranging play dates with other mums. It's so lovely to see the children play together. I noticed that Asher learns from other children. He observes them and later in the day, he would try the skill out. It's also a chance for me to learn from other mums. Lovely since my immediate family is overseas.

I love it all though. I have my days where I go "what did I REALLY do the whole day?" and would come up blank. Other days, I feel productive and have baked like 2 items, cooked dinner AND manage to spend quality time with Asher and hubby. Oh and the house looked decently clean.

Other days, hubby comes home and dinner could be cooking, but the house is messy and I feel like screaming. Remember that I have no extended family help so we are mostly on our own. I can't run out to the shops by himself or head to wherever I want whenever I want. I have to make sure it's not Asher's nap time, or clashes with hubby's schedule or any other commitments we have. Looking at the list, it almost sounds SO simple but it is honestly a juggling act.

All fun and games right?

On a long weekend, or if hubby is working from home though, I try to put in extra effort to make us breakfasts. I made these waffles one morning and they are definitely a keeper.

Crispy Waffles with Berries Compote 
1 cup of almond meal
1/2 cup of arrowroot flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoons of coconut sugar
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/2 cup of Almond milk
1 tsp of lemon juice.

Preheat waffle iron. Place almond meal, arrowroot, baking powder and coconut sugar in a bowl. Whisk all wet ingredients together and fold it into dry. Spoon into waffle iron and make waffles!

Meanwhile
1 cup of mixed berries
1 tsp of honey

Place everything in a saucepan and warm it up.

EAT a nice healthy breakfast. This has arrowroot which is a starch so this is not an everyday breakfast if you are watching your starch intake. However, we love it and will have it from time to time.

French Toast with Shitake Mushrooms, Bacon and Maple Syrup

I do love a good breakfast. It sets the day up and makes us feel good. Hubby is more of a morning person than I am- but even so, I love the stillness of the day and how give little tell tales of what a fresh beginning looks like.

I wouldn't call this a "everyday breakfast". It was more of a brunch for us! Ever since I started to eat clean more frequently, we rarely have bread in the house. Pregnant though, does bring certain challenges and I find myself wanting more carbs than ever. Armed with a few additional slices of bread that is almost at the end of its life, I soaked it with some egg and panfried it.

I have had pancakes with bacon and maple syrup before and thought, hey, we could do a french toast version. My new found love for fresh shitake mushrooms is probably the most healthy ingredients in this dish! Nevertheless, the combination of french toast, grilled shitake mushrooms and a slice of bacon with a drizzle of maple syrup... it was yum!

This little bottle of maple syrup was bought near the markets at Brooklyn Bridge.

I said goodbye to my colleagues last friday. It probably would not be a permanent goodbye, but it invoked so many emotions in me. Sadness, relief, glad, anxiety.... It marks a change in my identity. I recall the first day of work, so full of excitement of what I can accomplish and learn and in my years of being in this organisation, I felt so blessed that I have been invited to into so many homes. Into many distraught families and in one way or another, I learned heaps from them as I work with them to have some clarity of what needs to be done next. On an organisation level, I'm walking away from beautiful colleagues who have a heart of gold and I am proud to be associated with them.

Work does not define me, yet it is part of who I am. As I settled into the idea of being a mum, and dare I say it.... a domestic goddess trainee, I know that the change will be good.

Plus, it gives me a chance to try out and cook up a different kind of storm in the kitchen.

French Toast with Shitake Mushrooms, Bacon and Maple Syrup (Serves 2-3)
2 pieces of bread
3 eggs
1/4 cup of almond milk
sprinkle of sugar
knob of butter

200 grams of shitake mushrooms
handful of chives
1 tsp of chopped garlic
1 knob of butter

2 slices of bacon- make it free range and grass fed
maple syrup

Whisk up eggs with almond milk and sugar. Soak bread into it. Heat pan up and melt butter. Sizzle bread on it.

Meanwhile, in another pan, sauté mushrooms with butter and garlic. Toss in chives. Set aside. Sizzle bacon on it.

Assemble french toast, mushrooms and bacon on it. Drizzle maple syrup. Dig in! You will be full for hours!

Happy New Year!

The year 2010- another year full of memories and life lessons. I thought a good way to sum up the year is to have a look at the all those beautiful moments and capture them in a post.

Highlights:

• Started the New Year in Paris (plus Pierre Hermes' macarons)!

• We survived one year of marriage!! Woohoo!
• Attended and be part of the bridal party for my closest friends. 
• Emcee for the first time at a dinner banquet for my best friend. 

• We bought sand land and will be building our home in 2011.

•  We had the BEST road trip from Adelaide to Melbourne.

•  Headed to Sydney and tried Guylian Chocolate Cafe and saw the Blue Mountains. (although my tummy felt really ill after the chocolate, the pain was worth it!)

•  And officially on 30th of Dec 2010, achieved a milestone in my career. A goal that I have been aiming for since year 2000 when I arrived in Australia. 

And my cooking and baking highlights? 

• Learned that simple is good. Totally enjoyed my Star Anise Stew Pork with Soya Egg.

• My family favourite- Dom Steamed Chicken 

• Learned that chocolate hazelnut cake can be enjoyed! 

• Totally happy with my pavolva!

•  My cheesecake that did not crack!!!!!!

Goals for 2011:

• To continue to make changes and improve the appearance and accessibility to content of this blog.
• Try making curry!! (from scratch!!!)
• Ice-cream making perhaps. 
• Continue my quest to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. 
• To create more beautiful memories with my family and friends.
• Accelerating to our dreams. 
• To live more, laugh louder and breathe deeper when challenges cross our paths. 
• Looking forward to the building process of our new home. 
• To be even more respectful and loving towards my hubby. 
• A closer journey with God. 

Wherever you are, here is wishing you a FANTASTIC NEW YEAR.  May each step you take in the New Year bring you closer to your dreams.

Marriage and Gifts

I have been thinking of writing more thoughts about marriage- simply because I think that we experience and learn so much from it on a very day basis, and it will be a waste not to pen it down. Abit of it is humour, and abit of is just pure fun and frustration. Just to add a dash of sweetness and kindness to the mix as well.

Marriage is like a book of good recipes. You want to keep the good ones and learn from the mistakes/challenges. There is no such thing as a bad recipe isn't? There is always something to learn from.

It's funny. This blog has followed through on my journey in my studies all the way to us getting married. It has also followed through quite a few of my birthdays too. Since I was 21 actually. Which make it.... a decent amount of time!

Which brings me to my birthday that happened about a month ago. The day went really sweet. Hubby made me breakfast in bed, brought me a bunch of flowers and we had the most awesome Jap buffet dinner ever.

But he didn't get me a birthday present.

He tried. He really tried very hard.He wanted to get me a car charger massager thing to help with my bad back while driving. Apparently it doesn't deliver to Australia. And while that thought was sweet AND practical, I was actually thankful that he didn't get me a gadget that may not work......

Then he tried looking for a bag, nothing that caught his fancy.(he bought me a beautiful Oroton bag last birthday! and a little clutch a few years back and it was the most successful gifts ever!)

He tried thinking outside of the box, he tried to ask me. But I joked around and said "Tiffany, or anything belonging to the apple range of products" (which I know it is out of our household budget at the moment. given that we are building and wanting to save those shiny new products for our new home). So that was out as well.

He tried to hint at getting a ice cream maker or hair straighter or something to that effect. I said we are only married for 17 months hon, not 17 years! Couldn't you leave appliances out? So that was out of his list too. 

So I became the not so grateful wife who said no to any suggestion.. and ended up with..

no gift. 

Which surprisingly, I was quite ok about. In fact, I think he was more upset that he didn't get me anything. I, on the other hand, didn't put too much emphasis on it because he chose to spend the day with me and he respected me enough to give me what i want..which was...rest. 

But I got really nucky when he suggested using funds from my birthday gift to buy a coffee machine for the household... I was really really angry!

Which means I was fine with no gift, but not ok if the same funds are directed to elsewhere-no matter how practical it is.

My poor confused husband.

And I admit that even I think it looks confusing after re reading this post. But it is the principle isn't it? He did get it in the end and I explained to him by saying...

"How would you feel if I saved up the money to buy you a brand new computer, but you didn't want it so asked me to wait for a while until something interesting/new came up. So instead, I suggested taking the money and using it for a spa retreat. For myself. I will bring home a small bottle of vanilla massage oil for you"

He got it. ;P

No gifts aside. He got me this awesome durian cake. It's not quite the same as the one my parents used to bring back for my grandmother's birthday. But it will do..because it is in PERTH and beggars should not be fussy.

Country Women's Association Cookbook- Seafood Cornflake Bake

 My colleagues and I-we are obsessed about food. There is something about food that brings different cultures together. It is also a stress-relief. It is a talking point of what to bring for our weekly morning tea (to sweeten our long meetings and calm our hungry tummies), or to discuss where can we find good value and fresh sushi (I can have it for lunch and dinner every day I think). Strangely, most of us are not even born in Australia.

I noticed a Country Women's Association Cookbook lying around and asked my colleague what is this about? She replied that Country Women in Australia often needs to be creative in their cooking- given the time and lack of resources sometimes. Not to mention, good value for money. I like the sound of it already. I quickly flipped the pages and this recipe caught my attention-really, it's the cornflake crust. I don't have the "proper" recipe and chose to recreate it from memory. I think it is even called something else! But I can assure you that it features tuna in it and cornflakes. Doesn't that combination sounds yucky?I can assure you that it turned out delicious!

Having a better understanding of the Country Women's Association, I appreciate their recipes even more. For the past few weeks, I have been struggling with meals and time. You may have probably even read what I mentioned before- cooking a few meals in one setting to make sure we have something warm and fairly nutritious when I return home late at night. It's starting to show and I even went through a period of time where I actually thought I lost my mojo in cooking and baking! Horror of all horrors!

I started to re-create some earlier recipes that I have blogged prior and reminded myself to be kind... to myself. That was why I started the blog, to show that meals can be quick and most of the time, healthy and low in fat and calories. It is OK not to have home cooked meals every day. It is OK not to re create something new every few days.

It is ok to be kind to myself ;)

Seafood Cornflake Bake (Serves 4-6) 

2 cans of tuna in spring water
150 grams of prawns shelled (I happened to have some prawns in the fridge)

2 tablespoon of spread
1 tablespoon of flour
1 cup of soy milk (I might have put around 1.5 cups)
1/2 of low fat cheese
around half a cup of corn flakes crumbs (u can buy them in a box!)
2 cups of frozen veges (I used peas and corn)


Melt spread. Add flour and cook till golden. Add milk and whisk till it thickens. Add cheese. Season. Add tuna, prawns and frozen veges. Spoon into a casserole dish. Top with corn flake crumbs. You can spray it with some oil to make it more crispy. Bake in a pre heated 200 C oven for 25 mins.

Bento Lunch- Smoked Salmon Salad

I am blessed with lovely friends- fate has it that Singairishgirl and I hit it off straight away with our common interest in FOOD of course.

Drooling at the trend in bento boxes in the blogging world, Singairishgirl sensed my despair as I couldnt locate any that I like in Perth. I am sure we can get it from ebay if we want it badly enough but I can't seem to find one that I fancy.

I was so excited about it that I promptly brought it to work the next day. Girls in the office were full of "wooo..ahhh..and how cute!" comments. With pride, I attacked my food and somehow it tastes a tad better in that pretty pink box.

Packaging works! 

Sweet Singarishgirl even included in some cute picks and a fork! No more office cutlery for me! (Also handy as I spend a big part of my day travelling in a car, so this means I can have a salad in my make shift car office anytime I like).

Thank you D! Your generosity and thoughtfulness is really really appreciated!

Teriyaki Scallops Stirfry

Dinners in our households can be a simple affair. Lately however, AR has been requesting for more Chinese style meals. Being a Cantonese girl means I often think of dinners as "Soup, meat, vege and rice" combo. Unfortunately though, more than often, I am back home late and the thought of being in front of the stove for more than 30 minutes does turn me off cooking.

So we compromise. The "soup, meat, vege and rice" combo, is much better off handled over the weekend. Sometimes, he just have to do without a soup. Being brought up under my grandmother's wings means that soups must be boiled many hours and with love. And I simply can't handle preparing it in the morning before I head off to work either. Some weekends however, it is doable.

Isn't funny how husbands are "not quite fussy" until they got married?

I regretted buying the Woolworths Brand of Teriyaki Sauce- wonder what was I thinking of getting a Home Brand? Most of the time though, I have no problems with Home brand but when it came down to this sauce, it wasn't as good as it should be! Too sweet, and it didnt taste like teriyaki at all! Next time, back to the oriental store and stick with a Japanese brand!

Speaking of Woolworths, my bargain side came out quite unglamly at Woolworths one day- All seafood were being marked down and it was close ot 5pm. Haggling resulted in 50% discount in these scallops! YES! My Singaporean blood remains.... 

Teriyaki Scallops Stir Fry (Serves 4) 

400 grams of baby scallops
1 bunch of spring onions sliced
1 red capsicum diced
1/4 of cabbage sliced
1 tablespoon of garlic
1tsp of chopped chilli
3 tablespoon of teryaki sauce
1 tablespoon of soy

Saute garlic and chili till it smells sooo good. Then add the veges. Add a couple of tablespoons of water. Cook till it is nearly done. Push them aside. Add scallops and quickly fry them till they are not transparent. Add sauces and toss everything together.
Serve with rice.

Red Bean and Logan Sweet Soup

Time just seem to slip by so quickly. Last week we were in Sydney for 4 days and what a great experience it was.

Max Brenners

Lindt Chocolate

Who can resist Pancakes on the Rocks!

The only regret is that we did not manage to try Guylian Cafe.


While having dinner yesterday, we were reflecting on our very young 6 months of married life. What have we learned, how "prepared" we thought we were but truth be told, being married is joyous BUT hard work. I told hubby that I have learned how to take my responsibility as a wife seriously-doing my best to put family first and of course, learning how to be more patient and to hold my tongue.

His version was:

"I learned that I need plan ahead and how to look after you...especially your late nights at work."

So I thought. "That's so sweet!"

then he said:

"Like for example, if I plan ahead what kind of dessert to prepare for you, that brings a smile to your face and you will be happy. But if i don't then you seem to get easily stressed and I get into trouble."

me: "...."

No wait..there is more.

He said: "What I have learned is that bubble tea will make you happy. Oh, and if I plan ahead and make you almond jelly (From the packet) and cut some mangoes, that makes you happier.. but if I buy hot grass jelly, that is up a few notches happy. My struggle is finding a dessert that is low in fat!"

and he ended with

"I wish I learned that the first 3 months of marriage so that we can be even happier!"

Words of a wise husband. =)

Even I did not realise how a tiny thing like dessert can be pivotal in having a good evening ahead. The hubby said that he realized what hard long days I have at work and the least he could do is to prepare something sweet so that I can look forward to it when I come back. Also, I haven't have much of an appetite for dinner these days so he thought he could feed some sugar in me-that should count as some nutrients right? LOL

From that conversation, it also made me realize how many more marriage books I have to read to curb my tongue, leave my work behind when I lock the car door and concentrate on being a wife and partner.

(here is one dessert I made one Sunday afternoon that lasted us for a few days- Bet Hubby was relieved that he didnt have to think of a dessert for a few days at least! LOL)

Red Bean Logan Sweet Soup

2-3 cups of red bean soaked over night.
4-5 bowls of water
100 grams of gula melaka or if you can't find it brown sugar
30 grams of dried logans washed

Boil water and add sugar till dissolved. Put red beans and logans in pot over medium heat and simmer for around 40 minutes. Stir constantly. Cook till beans become soft. Taste test to see if it is sweet enough. Ladle and serve hot or cold.

Pear and Cranberry Loaf- Happy Birthday to Me!

Greetings from Sydney!

Last year this time- we prepared for a wonderful engagement photoshoot. This year, I'm in Sydney celebrating with great friends.

Birthdays are a funny thing. One can probably lament that getting older limits what one can do. I beg to differ. Each year brings us to different opportunities. It all lies in our attitude. The thoughts that we place in our head.

The year of 2009, and the year of being 25 years old has finally ended. This year though, has brought me unbelievable joy. I have graduated (finally!) and got married (with the amazing 3 weddings) and had a wonderful time with my friends in Malaysia. I learned that it is NOT easy to organize home improvement/renovations and is increasingly getting addicted to magazines (Food and Home improvement included).

So here we are, celebrating a new age- it is only fitting to celebrate with a cute little cake isn't it?

Pear and Cranberry Loaf 

2 pears diced
1 cup of cranberries
125 grams butter
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cup of self raising flour
1/2 cup of buttermilk (I used normal skim milk)

Preheat Oven at 180C. Line loaf tray with baking paper.

Process butter, eggs and vanilla in food processor for 2-3 minutes. Add sugar, flour and milk, process for 1 min or till combined. Spoon mixture into big bowl and add pear and cranberries. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and bake for around 30-35 mins. Serve. =)

Pear and Chocolate Sticky Date Pudding

The flu bug is nearly conquered now. I'm feeling much better..it's great to be able to be up and abouts! Woohoo. Life's little luxuries. Being in bed for more than 2 days can make a person feel sad!

Every morning, I try to start my day by thanking the blessings I have. It's a little harder when the sky is grey and sick in bed (plus hubby working long hours in bid to finish this HUGE project that he has) but counting blessings does help to take "poor me" out of the equation and to enjoy more of life.

Some blessings I'm counting
1) A roof and warm bed to be in when the weather gets tough. (Or when the flu bug decides to bite)
2) Wonderful friend who rang at around 5 pm for two days when I was ill.
3) A hubby who cares and tries his best.
4) It was only TWO days that I was really down (And a few more of feeling horrible).Thankful for being generally healthy with no other disabilities or health issues.
5) The rain for the garden.
6) Invention of medication.
7) And to meet an old friend who works in the pharmacy besides the GP that I went! (Would have never caught up with her if I wasn't sick)
8) Enjoying the taste of food when my hunger came back.
9) Having the money for food to be bought back when I couldnt cook.
10) Being in doors at 7:30pm when I would be usually working or more than 1 hour drive away from home.

So I'm also learning to be thankful when a recipe doesnt turn out the way I envisioned it to be.

I love a GOOD sticky date pudding. It's like one of my thing for winter- just have to bake at least once sticky date pudding. Generally I wait till there is a gathering of some sort because I would bake a 12 ppl portion size pudding and love dishing a warm dessert on a cold night. I spotted this recipe om Better Homes and Gardens and thought I will give my traditional Sticky date pudding a twist by trying it out.

It was... in my tastebuds' opinon a little too overwhelming. Or perhaps I just like my sticky date pudding the way it is..sticky date! The chocolate though was a nice touch, seems to have overwhelmed the date taste. The texture was a little more cake like than pudding, and I'm not sure the pear did anything to it. It certainly looks pretty though!


Blessings counted:
1) Everyone was forgiving and ate it all up anyway. =)
2) It looks pretty.
3) Love the texture-a little more like a cake than pudding but who cares!
4) I tried something new!!! =)
5) Love a good traditional sticky date pudding.

(ps- prob not trying this again, but if you want the recipe, let me know! =) my mag is out on loan at the moment).