Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Nascar



Ignorant me, always thought racing tracks are as flat as it can be. It is an amazing 30 degrees slant, whooosh~

I love their wings, they are famous for their burgers it seem but I ordered a sandwich because I know I can never finish a whole burger by myself. I thought I am the biggest wing fanatic, it turned out ZW is even a bigger wings-lover than me.
Daytona Brickyard
747 International Speedway BlvdDaytona Beach, Florida 32114
(386) 253-2270


Daytona 500 Experience
Highly recommended for car enthusiasts.

Daytona Beach

My picture did not do any justice to Daytona Beach, it was already evening time when we reached and hencewise the lack of beach-goers on the beach. We went around the busy Ocean Walked on foot and found a little excellent cafe- Hog Heaven for BBQ porkribs and buffalo wings. I definitely prefer their wings to their pulled pork.

Hog Heaven
37 N Atlantic AveDaytona Beach, FL 32118
(386) 257-1212

Monday, April 13, 2009

To the South it is!


Back from a 1 week roadtrip, this is a picture taken at Key Largo's John Pennekamp State Park where we went snorkelling. The water visibility is the best I have ever been, but the corals are maybe 1 or 2 inch below surface so it was not possible to hover above the reefs which I was accustomed to. Instead it was more like watching national geographic underwater, we were viewing from the peripheral of the reefs. Nonetheless, great waters and beautiful reefs, saw 5 barracudas which scared the hell out of ZW who came really close to one, they swam really slowly though. We also saw a shark when we board the boat, only caught a glimpse of its dorsal and caudal fins but enough to get me all excited. The boys were saying "it is only the fins" but I was telling them "how often we get to see a shark in the wild even if we can only see the fins haha we only get to see shark's fin on the banquet table."
Key Largo is the most southern town we accomplished in this roadtrip, it takes another 2.5 hrs to reach Key West, the southernmost point in the continental USA.

Barracuda
http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/news/images/Barracuda2006SRogerson1.jpg

Monday, March 30, 2009

Sour Cream Coffeecake


This cake is really moist, I never failed to be amazed by the wonders of sour cream. I did this cake in a 9 x 5 loaf pan as the 10 inch pan does not fit my little toaster oven. Ina's orginal recipe does include a glaze but I felt the cake was already sweet and delicious as it is hence I skipped the glaze. Enjoy with a cup of coffee~

Sour Cream Coffee Cake, adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!
For the cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife.
Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Feast at Aunty's house again!


This time round, I contributed 3 dishes, curry chicken, sticky gooey cake and tapioca cake~
Sooo glad the tapioca cake turned out well for my first attempt, phew! As usual, the recipe is from Lily's blog.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

The start of BBQ season~

We celebrated the start of Spring with a BBQ at Jennifer's apartment with a whole bunch of other friends. All in all, awesome food and company, and many more BBQs to come as the weather is turning warm in this sunshine state.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Finally something is growing out of the flowerpot~~


Yeah, finally I have fresh spring onions. Lets not talk about my failed attempt.