Saturday Brunch

My Saturday Brunch…

Onion-Potato Tart

Today I didn’t feel like eating heavy ‘ta-pao’ food and kept thinking of making something on my own. Abuthen…there was nothing much at home…I found a couple of onions, a potato and some leftover cilantro. Oh ya…and a pack of ready rolled puff pastry! And I made OnionsPotato Tarts…

Oranges and apples are all time favourites…agree? Last week I made orange sorbet…and this time the highlight is apples! This is something extremely simple and you can make it anytime!

Ingredients:

1 Apple

2 spoonfuls of fresh cream/whipped cream

1 tbs chopped roasted almond

¼ cocoa powder (optional)

Steps:

1. Peel the apple and cut them into small chunks.
2. Soak the apples in salt water for about 5 minutes.
3. Drain the apples and place them in the freezer for about 15mins.
4. When the apples are icy cool, place them in a nice champagne glass.
5. Top the apples with cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder and almonds.

I’ve tried this and this recipe is absolutely safe! Hahaha… You can also serve this in a more healthy way. Substitute the cream with plain yogurt, minus the cocoa powder and you may even add a dash of cinnamon powder to this recipe.

SMI Band Concert

Erm…although this is a sorta outta-date-post but I’m still very excited!!! Last last Friday, 6^th June I went back to Ipoh to attend my bro’s military band concert. Ya ya, my bro is a clarinetist in the school band. Well the event held was a combined concert of St. Michael’s Institution Military Band and SK Wind Band. Both schools did very well in the concert. They played these pieces…

SMI Band:

Wind Harmony March

Der Vogelhandler

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Copacabana

Japanese Graffiti 4

SK Wind:

Whistle While You Work

Noah’s Ark

Fantasy on a Japanese Folk Song

The Inn of The Sixth Happiness

Need To Be In Love

Sir Duke

Combine performances:

For Wonderful Friendship

Fairytale

We are The World

Jazz Pieces:

Best of Basie

Feelin’ the Funk

I personally love the Copacabana song. It’s a great piece and I find myself enjoying it very much. When SK Wind played their first song, it brought back those fairytale moment that always ends with “and they lived happily ever after”. Hahaha…

Well well…the most exciting part was…I got to shake the Conductor’s (Mr. Lee) hand and the best part…I took a picture with him!!! Wow…I mean..okay…he’s not an extremely famous guy but as he stood before the band and start conducting he’s absolutely mesmerizing…ops… *shy shy*…nah…he’s really good. Kekekekeke…

Guess this is the very first pic with my chubby face in this blog! =P

Orange Sorbet

By special request from Ginn,

I get this recipe from one website which I don’t quite remember where.

ORANGE SORBET

8 navel oranges

Juice of 1 lemon

1 C sugar

1/2 C water

Steps:

1. Melt the sugar in water with high heat to form thick syrup. Set aside.

2. Remove pulps and juices from the oranges.

3. Pour orange juice, pulps, lemon juice and syrup into a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth.

4. Pour mixture into a cake tin or any container, preferably metal.

5. Freeze the sorbet for about an hour or until set.

6. Remove from freezer and blend in blender. You may also use fork to ’scrape’ the ice.

7. Repeat step 6 until a few hours before serving.

eh…i hope my directions are clear enough. I find it quite difficult to explain how to repeat the ‘re-blending’ step. hahaha…if you really couldn’t understand then give me a call ya. =P

Btw…this recipe is a bit too sweet for my liking. I suggest that you add in extra lemon juice. I prefer my orange sorbet to be a lil’ sourish instead. =P Oh ya…You can garnish with lemon rind or some mint leaves. Happy trying!

Sunday Cookout

Yah…a big cookout is the best remedy. I just hosted a late lunch yesterday, serving seven adults and two kids. I planned for this lunch thingy few weeks ahead! The not-so-good-part is that I did not have a proper plan to make something special for the kids though. I am already glad that at the end of the day, my guests were please with the meal.

Following is my menu for the lunch

Starter:

Chicken Bruschetta

(Bruschettas are served with a special honey sauce)

Pumpkin Carrot Soup (with croutons)

Main:

Tomato Mushroom Pasta

Dessert:

Orange Sorbet

(I chose this recipe mainly because I dun need to scratch my head to find 9 proper glasses to serve them! They just look so cute in those orange shells. Btw the sorbet is not cold enough to serve but still taste good. Ops..self praising =_=’’’)

The pumpkin soup, I have to say, the biggest success of the day. This is the first time I am making a cream soup. Thanx to Family Circle^® Mini Cookbooks and some youtube clips! I’ll put up the recipe here, but this is a lil’ different from the Family Circle^® Mini Cookbooks. It’s really a good try and very healthy, fully packed with beta carotene!

Ingredients:

2T Butter

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

Juice of 1 orange

500g carrots (cubes)

750g butternut pumpkin (cubes)

1.5L chicken stock

½ C cream

(Extra cream for deco)

Fresh cilantro for garnish

Steps:

1. Melt butter and sauté the onion until soft.
2. Add in garlic and carrot and cook for about 5 mins.
3. Add in orange juice and bring to boil.
4. Add in the pumpkin and chicken stock, let simmer for 30 mins.
5. Blend the soup.
6. Reheat soup and add in cream.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Serve warm

(Serve 6)

The sorbet took hours to make. And it took just 10 minutes the fully filled orange shell to become this >> … T_T

Thank You

Dear friends,

I am so touched by all your concerns through comments, sms, emails and calls. I am getting better now. At least I know there are issues that i need to really think and head for proper solutions rather than finding ways to escape. Rain or shine, life goes on. And everyday it’s just a matter of choice how and what you want it to be. I have to stop being miserable and pull myself together. Thank you so much my dear friends for being there for me!

Even more miserable…

Feeling even more miserable now

Felt so betrayed…

And at the same time…

Felt so bad for being judge if I am really a Christian…

This certainly got me thinking…

Does being a Christian meant that you need to be perfect all the times?

And not to make any wrongs all our lives?

Or are we not mortals?

Are we not emotional beings?

Could we make mistakes?

Could we have any desires?

Could we be a lil’ selfish?

Am I a hypocrite?

Am I a terrible person?

Am I not good enough?

Should I trust?

Should I be sincere?

Should I be myself?

I need a way out…

Miserable

Depression, gloom, desolation, melancholy. confusion, misery, conflicts, dilemma and everything else!

*end*

Kuantan & More Stones!

So frustrating, no connection for almost a week already. I could not check my emails, update my blogs, chatting, voice conferencing and so much more…ish~~~

Just glad to be able to finally update my blog!

Over the past few weeks I manage to paint another few stones to add in my collection. Some of the designs are pretty easy to paint but then this cherry blossom flowers took me 3 hours!!! But then I’m really glad with the outcome.

More Stones

I have my first ‘customer’ who requested for a special customized, in fact VERY customized stone for his friend’s birthday. Wow, customized stone is really not an easy task after all. I have to consider his ‘customization’ and at the same time have to follow my own creativity. Phew…however he’s happy with the end product and to tell you frankly…arrgghhh..i’m so sad having to give that precious stone to him!!! T_T so sad!!! Since it’s a gift to somebody I think it’s not so appropriate to post a pic of it here lar…hahaha…

Behold, there shall be more creative stones soon!

KUANTAN

I went to Kuantan over the weekends. Main aim was to visit my aunty and uncle and cousins. Hey peps, my cousin bro, (biao ge) very lengchai wan ar! kakakakaka…

The first day we just spend the day catching up with each others. It brought back so much memories. I still remember I was only 4 the first time I visited Kuantan. I was so young and carefree. Holding a lil’ spade and pail to make sand castles on the beach, digging sands looking for lil’ crabbies, flying kites in the warm breeze (err, a polystyrene plane to be exact).

The last trips were in 1994 and 2001. And now 2008!

The Teluk Chempedak beach is a must-go. (Nick, see I get to go too…blerk =P)Just look at the nice (crowded) and ‘colourful’ beach (with cigarette butts and paper wrappers!) . Nevermind, I’ll just snip those off and let you see this:

And this:

Meet my cousin brother: Front View

Back View : HIE!

Although I did not bring spades and pail and other props, I still manage to make my lil’ sand art…see this!!!

Creative eh? hahaha

Then at night we went clubbing…erm…it’s interesting to see what ‘clubbing’ is in Kuantan. Errr, you know lar I’m a kampong girl mar, so naïve and innocent. =P.

Anyways, I did have fun hanging out with my cousins and relatives!

Now I just can’t wait to go home this weekend!!!