My Favorite Dessert

I am a simple girl, honestly. My taste buds are simple, seriously. A red date and longan dessert, a real mean sweet soup, will put me in heavens.

Red Date and Longan Soup brewed by your highness

Cooking by Numbers

The Husband has been sick on and off from the last bout of stomach flu. And he is so stubborn and fussy about his food still. I mean, who in the right mind eats ice-cream and chicken rice when he’s down with a ailing stomach? That’s my Husband.

And I am nursing a headache and not really in the mood to do some fancy cooking. The refrigerator contains more preservatives than natural fresh food. *shakes head*

CookingByNumbers.com is pretty cool. “Get clicking on what you’ve got and we’ll show you what you can cook…..Don’t worry, Skills By Numbers will make you look great in the kitchen…..” Just what I need.

I miss Breakfast

Breakfast is one meal I most love, am most greedy for, most looked forward to. Back at home, by this hour, I would have finished some packs of beehoon, kueh etc.

But…ever since marriage, breakfast has been sadly abandoned as I wait in futile for The Husband to wake up to go out and eat with me.

Really love to have every Sunday morning, a good breakfast together. Some marketing. Some leisure walking in the bright morning.

Not trapped at home at 10+am, feeling hungry and moody.

Rice Muffins, anyone?

Rice Muffin with Blueberries

I must say…my baking instincts have improved a bit since marriage. Today I baked blueberries muffin, using rice flour and soy milk. Thus, diary free and wheat free again! Yay…The original recipe below from http://www.wheat-free.org. (I used blueberries instead of cherries and skipped the coconut…)

100	g	low fat spread, butter or margarine
100	g	unrefined sugar
2	large	eggs, beaten
200	g	rice flour
2	tsp	baking powder
2	tbsp	desiccated coconut
5	tbsp	milk
½	tsp	vanilla extract
75	g	glacé cherries (regular or natural), halved
		preheat oven: 180°C, 160°C (fan oven), Gas 4 1. Line a large muffin tray with the paper cases. 2. Put the low fat spread, butter or margarine into a bowl with the sugar and beat with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until pale in colour, light and creamy. 3. Add the beaten eggs gradually, beating well between each addition. The mixture may curdle but this will correct itself when the dry ingredients are added. 4. Add the remaining ingredients except the cherries, and beat well until the mixture is smooth and well combined. 5. Gently fold in the cherries, then spoon the mixture into the muffin baking cases, each muffin case should be about 2/3 full. 6. Bake in the oven for approximately 22-25 minutes, make sure that the muffins are cooked through to the centre by inserting a skewer which should come out clean. 7. Leave to stand for 10 minutes in the baking tray and then leave to cool on a cooling rack. Only store once they are completely cold.

My Love, My Durian

I overate again. I blew my diet again.

This time, the durian mooncake from Home’s Favourite is the culprit. It is sooooo lovely. The durian paste is soooo durian. Ok, I mean, it’s authentic durian, almost like 100% or it is 100%?

Whatever, I really should not buy it next year.

It’s sinfully delicious

I am a big fan of durian but I’ve never eaten a real durian mooncake until last night. After training, I came down to be tempted by the Home Favourites shop.

“I should really get it.”

“No, it’s so expensive.”

“Hell, I bought for mum and in-laws but not for myself??”

“This is against your blood-type diet.”

“Hubs has been saying he hasn’t eaten snowskin.”

I think the “I want to pamper myself” machine won the internal dialogue. I went home with the 100% pure durian mooncake, 10% discount!

204 calories for every quarter of a mooncake...shesh.

You Have Stolen My Heart

After many burnt weekends scouring the island for furnishings, cleaning and doing up the house, we finally got to date!

We made it just in time to watch Wall-E at Kallang Leisure Park, then browsed the shops there and discovered a really cool house phone. Kinda like Phillip Starck-inspired sleek minimalistic design.

Then we went to Brewerkz. Wow, more than 10 years after it has opened in Singapore, have I finally got to try it! And we really pampered ourselves. All thoughts of wheat-free, diary-free diet were thrown out for the night.

drink up!

dear, your love handles...

this kebab lasted for dinner and next day breakfast.

see the thief of hearts

And then we walked from the suspension bridge, across to Tanjong Rhu, fancying the condominums, around my old school, caught every last bus headed for home.

Sweet.

Repeat Baking Attempt 1

The Husband liked the first cake so much that he has been asking to bake it again. So while he was fixing our newly bought Rakku shoe wheel, I took the chance to bake it ALONE for once. All was going well and the delicious waft of chocolate smell floated everywhere in the house. I even found the cake rise better this time. Until The Husband peered at the oven and remarked, “How come the mode is “toast”?”

Argh, I used the toast function for my breakfast some days back and forgot to turn it back to the bake function.

Anyhow, the top was cracked after 20 minute worth of toasting. But it still tastes good.

A guilt-free cake

Baking Attempt 2

This no-bake chocolate cake was a flop. I found the recipe online. Somehow, it turned out overly sweet and it looks gross!

No Bake Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

200g (7oz) gluten free and dairy free biscuits
125g (4oz) soft brown sugar
125g (4oz) Dairy free margarine
3 tbsp cocoa or carob powder
50g (2oz) raisins
50 mls (2 fl oz) dairy free milk
50g (2oz) potato or Soya flour

Method

• Line an 18 cm (7″) round sponge tin with foil.

• Chop and crush the biscuits to fine crumbs.

• Melt the margarine and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat. When the margarine has melted remove the saucepan from the heat.

• Add the flour, dairy free milk, raisins and cocoa or carob powder and mix together.

• Add the biscuit to the saucepan and mix until the biscuit is evenly coated.

• Put the mixture into the cake tin and, using the back of a wooden spoon, press the mixture to fit the tin.

• Chill in the fridge until it is set – usually about 30 minutes.

Baking Attempt 1

I got this recipe online and it worked! You can eat this cake without worrying about the calories or bloat…

Wheat-free, Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:

1.5 cups of spelt flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

3/4 cup water

Sift together all the dry ingredients, then add the wet ones. Pour into greased pan and bake at 350F for 45 minutes.