Sping Holidays is Here!

Finally, it's the last day of term 3 and school holidays is here!

This term has ended faster than I think and I know that in the blink of an eye, I'm bound for my hometown. It's been an amazing term despite the ups and downs and I'm forever grateful to God's mercy and strength. His grace is ever so suffice for me and I am so thankful.

I've been baking more often than before and my gas is using up fast! Gas here isn't cheap but it's just hard not to get my hands on my kitchenaid every other day. This has been a very busy week with a few baking project. First it was a birthday cake for 2 ladies who turned 70 at Dorcas and then a cheesecake for my boy to take to his class party today. I enjoyed every bit of baking despite the challenge of making a Japanese strawberry cake which I had never attempted. It turned out good and I liked how it looked and tasted.

Mixed Fruit Jelly

Japanese Strawberry Cake

Besides baking, eBay has been a popular activity this week where I finally bought my missing 72mm lens cap for my telephoto lens. I even bought Clayton the rare Ninjago Green Ninja and that would be a surprise for him... I know he wanted it sooo much. Ebay is just a great place to find and buy things but you need to do your homework or you would be paying much than you should. You can find all kinds of stuff, from tupperware to collectibles to pillow block... my probe thermometer arrived this week and I'm delighted! Yesterday, my square pan with a removable base arrived and then my 'handmade' stickers came in the mail today too. Tomorrow, we are off to the camp and it would our third since arriving Brissy. It's nice to check out a new campsite and most of all, get closer to nature in the most natural sense... sleeping in the tent! Just pray that there are no ticks or any crawlies this time!

Bakes from the Kitchen

One of the things I look forward to is to build a kitchen of my choice. Big marble or granite table tops, an island, a wide digital oven, a 6 stove and a walk-in chef pantry. I know it's a dream kitchen but it is possible!

The oven is working overtime on some days and despite its imperfections, it had brought forth many goodies and treats. Not the best I want but for now, it serves my needs! Last night, I told myself that I had to succeed on the Castella cake and while waiting for a long 60 minutes for it to bake, I did my chores, got on the computer, compare some quotes from equote life insurance and catch up on some emails.

Here are some goodies attempted in the last 2 months.... are you drooling?



 

A Big Week that Harder than Baking Macarons!

The kitchen is filled with activities and I'm very busy, as always. Sometimes, I wonder why I'm so crazy... I can decide to bake a Japanese Kasutera cake at 10.30pm at night and I'm surprising myself with the outcomes of the bakes. This has been a macaron week. Yes... it's a finnicky cookie and I had failed enough attempts before seeing those little treats come out of the oven looking pretty and dainty. It's a challenge and it's no wonder why many will bury their heads just to get it baked right. It's a very big week at school as we reach week seven and the assignments poured in. I thought the last project was hard but this one was harder! Imagine a year 2 student 'creating' a new tool for an occupation. They have to construct, design and justify their design... I think we parents are put into a challenge ourselves! So if you have planned to be a musician, you may want to design a MF ibanez tube screamer that allows you to play some music or something like that. My little one has no clue and so does the parents. After some brain storming, we finally arrived to something and believe me, this is harder than baking macarons! I will choose to attempt any bakes anytime than to crack my hard over a project like this. But it's all good and the weekends is here!

The Last Weeks of Winter

We are into the last weeks of winter. Being our first winter in the new place which isn't insulated, snuggling on an electric blanket is a bliss.

 Brisbane has nice winters where the days are sunny and a little warmer compared to places like Melbourne and Canberra. I recalled having some sunny winter days in Perth but Brisbane winter is beautiful. You can still go to the weekend markets and have a good time. Strawberry season is here and this year, I had savoured some really good ones and the camarosa variety has to be the best. Big, juicy and sweet, they are so delicious - I don't even need icing sugar to go with it!

On Wednesday, I went to the Jan Powers markets in queen street and bought another 1kg of those! It was a nice market with more food stalls and I enjoyed sitting down with my mushroom lunch near the tabletop water fountains stall. When the boys are with me, we will end up with a German sausage bun each but I much prefer the freshly cooked mushrooms when they aren't with me.

 Last Friday, I whipped up some Hokkaido cake with fresh strawberry filling... they are light, fluffy, fresh and yummy!

 

Smartphone Convenience

I was asked a question not too long ago. That is, can you rather not brush your teeth for one week or be without your smartphone for a week. I find it hard to answer to that question!

The truth is, most of us are so used to having our smartphone with us all the time that it has become a very important part of us. When I have to get out for a short while, I'll grab my phone apart from my drivers. I don't even bother bringing my wallet or bag. The phone contains so much information and resources I require every day and I have to admit that I have become quite dependent on it.


I'm not sure how many people do this. I even shop with my iPhone. It is that convenient. Viewing stuff on the ipad is definitely easier but it's just faster with the phone. With many online stores launching their own apps and mobile sites, it's becoming so convenient to shop via smartphones. I was looking at some dakine back packs the other day and shopping online means savings too.

I only have to exercise some self control because online shopping can be impulsive too. Before you know it, the order is placed and your card is charged. Self control... that's something all of us need to work on, isn't it?

Oops... Seven Months Past!

As a matter of fact, I had almost forgotten that this site existed until an old friend reminded me that I had not updated it for more than 6 months. Has it been that long?

I blamed it on the pneumonia bug that took a toll on my health early this year, as the virus attacked me viciously, leaving me bed ridden before flying back to Brissy. Then came the move out of our Carindale townhouse into a new suburb. Like they say... time flies and now, it's mid July!

Grade two has been another stepping stone for the little boy who took some time to get used to his new teacher. He is still his normal self - playful, fun, unpretentious, lively, energetic, witty, hyperactive... definitely not one who will sit quiet for more than 15 minutes unless you give him a good book. This is a blessing indeed. He loves books and that's one thing that can occupy him for a good 15 mins or more.

On the personal side, I have been baking more than before in this new house. Cooking with a 5-stove is great but having an oven that doesn't heat up to the right temperature is a baker's nightmare! I had to sacrifice many cakes and recipes due to the wrong temperature and at one point, I thought I had to give up that baking passion of mine. One thing for sure, I will get a digital oven when we have our own house!

Baking is fun and relaxing still. I had the privilege to attend some cake decorating classes and it was fun to get my hands dirty and exposed myself to a new realm of cake art. These days, I enjoy baking for home groups and friends, they helped to share my calories and allowed me to experiment more. I am looking to my macaron and chocolate making classes next month.

Oh yes, we did Taipei and Singapore during the autumn break and it was good catching up with friends during the trip. I count myself blessed to travel back even though it was a short one. Shopping in Singapore is liberating and very... dangerous!

For the first time in Alex's life, he drove interstate and did a 12 hours road trip to Sydney. I applaud him! Clayton was such a wonderful traveler despite those long hours in the car seat... believe it or not, we don't have one of those DVD players in the car! I broke the rules a little, allowing him to read a bit and play a bit of games... not something he is allowed in the car.

It was a good trip for us and I'm very happy that Alex discovered Home which served one of the most authentic thai food in Australia. Brisbane thai food is pathetically sweet and Home reminds us of Bangkok's homestyle thai cuisine. He said that he would drive 12 hours just for the food... that sounds good to me! But I told him it's better that we fly next time, that would be less stressful.

As for me, Sydney wasn't a nice place for shopping, contrary to what many Aussies told me. Coming from Spore, Sydney shopping is pathetic and I wasn' impressed one bit. I have to say that Darling harbour is still charming, despite the touristy crowd. But I brought home a piece of sweet memory with me... it was something that would linger for a long time.

That's a brief summary of happenings in the last seven months. For anyone who is following my blog, I promise to update more... here are some photos that say the bits and pieces of life in brissy....

A milestone for Clayton:

Sydney collections:

My Passions:

Happy to be Home

I've been away for a long year and it's good to be back in Singapore again. Touching down to a place so familiar felt nice though I wasn't sure how I would like it after a long absence.

Being away for so many years allows me to appreciate the sheer convenience this city brings and i am not about to take it for granted. I was already planning my appointments and updating my calendar. This is the first time in man years that my birthday was spent here and I'm also happy that I can be here for Christmas.

We are missing big daddy who is in KL and I think he should be bored with the food and lack of space by now. We are all looking forward to Krabi and then HK..l it would be what we call a family vacation. This trip to Singapore is packed with activities as I had signed up with a few baking and cooking classes with chef Aki. I've always want to learn the art of macaron making and good souffle cheesecake. It took me 4 attempts to succeed macaron baking a few months ago so I do like to know how to do it well. And I'm happy that I had made a really soft and nice Japanese souffle cheesecake yesterday.

I'm looking forward to some good Christmas shopping here in Singapore and its quite hard choosing the right gift as there ae heaps of gift ideas. Maybe some funny t shirts for the teens and a masculine gift for the big man in the house. I forgave him for missing my birthday. Now, he cant complain about my shopping spree!

Its on to physio at Physioeficaz before watch shopping at The Hour Glass with my dear friend...

Less Baking and More Packing

The week has been quiet but very busy since DH left for Malaysia. It's tiring doing the school and activity runs on my own but I'm coping well.

In less than two weeks' time, school is out for 2011 and it's vacation time for most. It's been an amazing year and I'm so thankful for everything. Though I didn't like the idea of moving another time, I'm thankful that we found a nice place. Though I didn't like clearing the yard for the fussy owner to do the concrete works, I'm thankful for strength to do the clearance and for friends who so graciously look after my plants. I miss my herbs and veggies and can't wait to grow them again next year in the new place.

I've started group fitness training and it's been so tiring. It's good to know that I'm toning up and burning calories but I didn't like wobbly knees the next day! Now that DH is not here, I'm baking less cos there isn't anyone to share the sweets! I'd love to share them with friends but I just don't want them to get bored with my baking pleasures. Less sweets for me means less weight gain! I'm one of those who never seem to be bothered with the best weight loss pill though I know of people who use weight loss aids.

So the packing begins... it feels like a year ago where we had to pack and do the big move. This one is smaller... that's for sure.

House Settled, Move will be Next

After some stressful weeks of home inspections, we had finally confirmed our place for next year! What a relief! I was praying hard that it would all be settled before Alex leaves for his long trip.

Looking back, God has opened doors for this house and I was very sure He would do the same for the next. He is faithful. I'm glad that I don't have to do anymore house inspections and though I dread the move, I am happy to move into a house soon. Last week had been a busy one for me as I moved all my plants to friends' homes. I am missing my mini cherry tomato plant and my french beans! They were growing so well and I miss watering and caring for them. I can't wait to have a vege patch when I move into the house next year!

The next few weeks will be different as DH won't be here. I'll be doing all the school runs and packing. My friend whom I used to do coffee with is looking out for Pharmacy Technician Jobs so I will be without a partner when she starts working.

This week, it's cooking time again with my 'teacher-friend' and I can't wait to learn something new with these lovely ladies. It's life here in Brissy and I'll be missing these things in three weeks' time!

Moving Again...

I felt a little sad when I learned that we needed to move out of this place end January 12. We have grown to like where we are and it's just nice to be 8 minutes drive from school! No traffic jams, no highways.... the local area is beautiful and we enjoy the park.

But we need to face the truth and move forward. I trust that God has a purpose in all things. So the house hunting starts and continues. It's time to find a place before any of us leaves for our long vacation. I certainly look forward to the coming holiday. Singapore, Krabi, Hong Kong... plus the baking and cooking lessons I'm going to have. I know it's going to be fun, fun, fun! Clayton will have his fair share of fun at Children Technology Workshop.

Well, I hope that we can find a place near parks and all. There are plenty of parks here in Brissy but some of them can be a drive away. Last weekend, we took a drive to the Mount Gravatt Outlook Reserve and it was nice. We saw bikers in their scorpion helmets and the bike tracks looked cool!

I can't believe that it's just two more weeks and school holidays will begin. Till then, I am geared up for a long break but I don't look forward to the humid weather in Singapore.

Holidays Are Coming!

Just when I felt so settled, we got news that our rental lease won't be renewed. This isn't very good news for us as we will be away in less than two months' time.

It did take me some days to accept the situation and I dislike being back to a 'square one' situation. But I know it happens for a good reason. I do hope that we buy a place next year but for now, I have to work on getting a place to move into early next year.

Sad news aside, I'm glad that our Krabi trip is confirmed and it's nice to be on holiday with good friends again. We have never been to Krabi so it would be nice as we go island hopping. Clayton is happy to see his friends again and I'm missing the beautiful beaches in Asia. Queensland does have some nice beaches but the waters can be too cold to jump into!

Now that the holidays are confirmed, I need to start shopping for a gift for new baby arrival as a friend of ours will be having a baby girl soon. It is nice to rejoice over a new birth and I can imagine the joys that surround the family. Shopping for a baby gift can be fun as those little baby clothes are so pretty and cute.

As the trip home draws closer, I am listing down the things to buy when I am back. One thing for sure, I'll be visiting a few bake shops. It's time to stock up things I can't find here!

Cooking, Baking... in brissy

So many things have happened in the last month that I'm having difficulties recalling them one by one.

In a nutshell, the little junior celebrated his seventh birthday last weekend, his first birthday celebration in sunny brissy. He was very happy to have his friends on that day and we decided to do it at Lollypops playland. It was a very simple and 'stress-free' celebration as there was a party host who took care of of the activities and games. He received lots of lego gifts and we had only allowed him to unwrap them once a week. The party place had personalized bags for the party guests and it all went well. For the 1st time ever, I made a cake for him and the chocolate cake brought much compliments and I was comforted.

There had been so many cooking and baking lessons in the last month and I found myself picking skills of making rice dumplings, chee cheong fun and even tiramisu cake. Last monday, I even learnt how to make ang ku kueh... sweet!

Next week, I'll be teaching a friend how to make kueh bangkit.... life is brissy is exciting after all :)

Durian Baking Time

My baking adventures continue and this month, it's durian time!

Well, I certainly miss my durians - Musang king, XO, D24 - whatever. When you are here and durians are sold in the chiller for $8/kg, it makes your craving grow more intense! BUT we were delighted to spot frozen durians in Yuen few weeks ago and I bought a pack to try out. For $8, I was willing to test it out. Well, the frozen durians surprised us - they smelled good and tasted delicious! I couldn't wait to try out my durian chiffon cake.

You couldn't imagine how excited I was when that durian chiffon cake came out of the oven... I touched it straight away to test the softness and viola, it was pillowy soft and the whole kitchen was saturated with the fragrance of XO durian. I was SOOO happy - the durian chiffon was a huge success!

My durian experiment didn't end here. I went on to test out the Japanese Cotton Durian Cheesecake and then the Durian Cream cake. I think the durian cheesecake was too dense with that recipe I had but the durian cream cake was yummy!

So much of durian cakes and bakes, there are so many baking stuff I need to buy when I'm back in SG end of this year. I think I would need to ship a box for the list of things I want to buy! My friend is asking me to bring back some canon camera batteries for him and I am hoping to get a few household items during those post christmas sale.

I'm now eyeing at the Kitchenaid food processor and mixer... it would be nice to get them both... they sure make great birthday and Christmas gifts!

Term 3 Ended and School Holidays is Here

I can't believe that it's the end of term three for Clayton and school holidays is here again!

Looking back, he was still settling into his new school and environment and now, he's almost finishing his grade one! Whew! This also means that we have been here for 10 months and in two months' time, it's officially our first full year down under!

Life has been interesting in the last ten months and I'm giving thanks every minute for God's goodness and provision. I have no complaints and in fact, I have so much to thank Him for. The RRV was indeed a wonderful blessing for us and that's why we can be home end of the year. I'm just so grateful for His favor.

There have been so many adjustments for us and so far, things have been smooth, despite a few hiccups here and there. It took DH a while to get used to the 60km speed limit and we are glad we haven't utilize any emergency road service so far. It's good to know it is there when we need it especially when we travel in the country.

We are looking forward to our second camping trip in October and yes, October is a very busy month for us. Clayton is turning seven and then DH will be preparing for his trip to Myanmar in Nov.

As for me, baking adventures continue every day and it's nice to smell fresh bakes from the oven. More about these later...

Durian Cake in the Baking

After a long search in the Asian grocery store, we finally found some frozen fresh Malaysia durians in the frozen section. I was quite happy to see them as I thought I could get them only in Melbourne.

Honestly, I ain't buying them to eat... frozen fresh just doesn't appeal to me. I'm thinking of getting them for my baking! Durian chiffon cake, durian swiss roll.... yum! It would be nice whipping up something and let the fragrance saturate the whole kitchen. I know Clayton won't think it's fragrance!

So we chose the XO one who was about $9 for 450g... not cheap but that's better than the Musang King, selling at $16. Aiyo, that is exorbitant! Well, hubby is waiting for me to whip up the durian chiffon and I can't wait too!

I just got home from the doctors and am glad that my medical results are looking good. No high cholesterol, no high sugar levels, no urid acid...etc. I must watch out for these things with all the coconut I'm using in my cooking and baking. Coconut is such a lovely ingredient in the kitchen and it's just so nice to savor the flavor!

We had a wonderful time in the city watching the riverfire at Southbank last weekend. My friend was telling me that she had so many friends taking up various courses at TAFE and some even took up Cardiovascular Technologist Jobs for better career prospects. DH seems interested in forklift truck classes.... he thinks it's good fun! I told him it would be good to learn a skill, after all, it pays well at $70 an hour!

It's Monday and I find myself listing down a big list of things to accomplish for the week!

My love for Pineapple Tarts and Kuih Bangkit

Lately, I have had a craving for some traditional Chinese New Year cookies such as pineapple tarts and kuih bangkit. These are about the two things I binge on during the festive season.

So now that I'm more familiar with baking and using the oven on a regular basis, I decided to embark on a baking journey on CNY cookies! Big G is the best place to learn and search for good recipes and there is always a risk in trying out a not-so-good one. The tip is to read the comments on what others had experienced and not repeat their mistakes. These days, people used Big G for anything and everything, from finding recipes to looking for payday loans!

After a long search, I found a couple of pineapple tart recipes and decided to give it a go. I bought two big ripened Queensland pineapples from Crisp on creek at $6 and started cooking the pineapple filling. I had heard from my mom that this was a tedious process. I did it anyway. Tedious can be a nice challenge. When the pineapple filling was done, I moved on to the pastry which I was most frightened of. You would only know if it is a success when it's baked and by then, you have to live with your mistakes. Know what I mean. A bit different from cooking the pineapple filling. You can adjust the moisture and end result.

To cut the story short, my first experience with pineapple tarts was a huge success! I was so happy that they turned out so well... according to DH, better than what we got from those we bought previously. I am so delighted that I won't need to order or buy any more pineapple tarts from anyone next time... it's such a nice feeling to eat your own 'masterpieces'!

I went on to try out kuih bangkit two days later. The 1st time was a flop because I used a tin of coconut cream that was reduced fat and had a fat content of only 23%. After reading many comments and doing my research, I used another recipe and lo and behold, they were perfect!

It's been two weeks since I first made these goodies and I'm on to my second batch.... What an amazing baking journey! I'm loving it!

Weekends is Here and More Baking

It's been a while since I wrote a post here. It's just been another busy school term and I find it hard to believe that we will be entering week six soon!

As usual, I have been baking and doing lots of cooking. Two days ago, we were invited to a friend's house for steamboat and I made Keiko's Green Tea Tiramisu. Everyone loved the Japanese inspired dessert and I was glad that my first attempt had brought much compliments. It was a nice feeling. The slight bitterness of the green tea complemented the sweet mascarpone cheese and the homemade lady fingers (sponge fingers) were nice to bite into!

It's the weekends tomorrow and I'm heading to the Brisbane Markets. I'm going to stock up some spices from this lovely spice store and maybe buy a few plants for the garden. I can't wait to put more 'edibles' in the garden and I'm enjoying those lovely herbs in the patio. It's been my desire to have a herb garden and I'm so happy that it's come together now.

My little boy loves Saturdays cos he is allowed some computer time and he's so 'wired' electronically. Many of his friends have handheld games and couple of them are already talking about the PS3. We haven't bought him any and I am delaying it as long as I can.

Oh yes, I baked Keiko's Soy Bean Chiffon cake and it turned out very well. The kinako was fragrant and there's a 'peanut butter' flavour in every bite of the soft chiffon. It was a lovely cake to have in the morning when need a pick me up!

That's it for a friday night and have a nice weekend if you are reading this on a friday!

Back from Melbourne

In the twinkling of an eye, we are back from our vacation in Melbourne and I only wish we can stay a couple of days more! Living in brisbane is quite different from Melbourne where the city is vibrant and the lifestyle is busier. I'm not complaining but it's nice to have a little change every now and then.

It was nice to see some old friends and it was great for the little man as he played and spent time with his little friends too. For us, it's discovering new places to dine, especially Asian food and we didn't find anything that stood out until our final day in Melbourne. A friend recommended Shark Fin Inn and the dim sum was so good. I later found out that it was a popular restaurant! We went to a couple of 'good' ones including Ocha Japanese (which we thought was so-so) and Hutong whose pan fried dumplings didn't deliver. The skin of the dumpling was so thick that I much prefer the ones in Shangpaign kitchen in Brisbane.

Food aside, Clayton missed few days of school during the Melbourne trip and I believe the memories of hanging out with old friends meant more than those few days in school. He would have many years in school so few days of absence won't hurt too much!

Yesterday, he received a birthday party invitation from his good friend in class and he's looking forward to it. He's already discussing with me about his birthday party and telling me that some of his friends have cool invitations such as Pirate Invitations and superhero ones. He wanted a lego party and a big set of lego... we'll see how he behaves haha.

It's back to baking for me after taking a break for a few days. I miss baking and oh, I miss Koko Black in Melbourne. Since learning that their chocolates are so good, I have been sipping a cup of belgium hot chocolate every morning and I even splurged on a big and few packs of koko black chocolates. I finished the box ones in two days and I am truly missing them!

Till then, Melbourne is a lovely place to visit and we had brought the Queensland sunshine to this city of erratic weathers! I hope to be back again and this time, I must check out all the yummy restaurants with the real locals!

Off to Melbourne

The week has gone so quick and it's now week 2 of Term 3.

The routine has resumed and I'm feeling the fatigue from waking up early and preparing morning tea for the little man's lunch box. The holidays has been a good break for me - sleeping in and and taking things easy - but now, it's back to normal!

I have a big list of things to do and my home office table is piled up with letters that need filing! I should find time to take a look at the Christmas photo cards online, so that I can start planning early.

Tomorrow will be Melbourne for five nights and my little man is so excited to meet his friends! It's going to be a good time catching up with friends and I only wish that Melbourne's weather is as nice as Brisbane! Winter in Brisbane has been enjoyable despite some cold mornings and nights. But it's still nice to see the sun during winter.

That's it for now and my oven will be 'off' for a few days while we are away.

Hayden Quinn is OUT - ARRGRRHH!

Arggrhh! Why is Hayden Quinn out of the Masterchef Season 3? In the first place, Dani and Ellie don't deserve to be in the top 5! The entire team challenge yesterday was biased and totally badly judged! The blue team got the signature dish nailed and they lost to the lousy red team! The judges are biased and for whatever reason, they tend to favor that Dani and Ellie.

Arggrrhh....! I just hope that Michael or Kate takes the Masterchef Season 3 title - the other three....Alana is ok but the other two, no way! They are such 'lau ya' cooks lah! What's wrong with Gary, Matt and George??