Happy monthsary~

This is actually a picture to remind myself to stop procrastinating! I am supposed to start scrap-booking on my wedding pics but 6 months have passed and nothing is started. OOPs!

For our monthsary, we decided to buy lobster from Joe Pattie, we are abit broke from the Thanksgiving madness, so we shared 1 lobster between 2 of us (haha), 1 whole lobster only costs 6.50. But we kinda of unsure what to do it, we threw it into microwave and just warmed it and ate it. Maybe I should whip up some lemon butter sauce or something? Heh

Our 1st Thanksgiving~~whooohooo aka Shopping Madness

It was Thanksgiving for most of us with the exception of Ryan. Initially I wanted to try roasting a turkey but all the turkeys are bigger than my toaster oven (haha, why is that hardly surprising).
The itinerary for Thanksgiving is as followed:
4-6pm: Drive down to Destin
6-8pm: Thanksgiving Buffet @ Marina Cafe, Destin
Hang around....chill, rest before shopping
The whole cafe has a nice waterfront view, we got
to try both fried and roasted turkeys. I much prefer the
fried turkey. Hah

10pm: Ralph Lauren outlet store opens
12-3am: Own time own target at Silversands Outlet Mall
I believed Coach has the biggest crowd, literally have to snatch for what you want.
Our boot is fully stocked!

3-5am: NEX opens
Yeah I grabbed my knife set for 19.99. Yippee, going to bring it home (as in Singapore) with me.

The other item I was really drooling upon is the classic white KitchenAid Mixer for 149.99. We did not buy for several reason, firstly there is no tabletop space for the mixer, which means it has to be put on the floor, secondly, we cant use it in Singapore due to voltage difference, we need to buy a transformer which might be very expensive for all we know, thirdly, it will be hell trying to bring it back because of its weight. Oh well, the rational side won.

Oh ya the other big ticket item we bought is a new Sony Vaio so that we can each have our own laptop, for him to play game and for her to bug her friends while they are working. But sadly it seem like the old computer is at its brink of death...why like that!!!! Argh

Ps, I am wearing a scarf sent by Irene all the way from Singapore~*Grin*

Live in the moment

I am falling back on the Straits Times articles but this article "Live it, don't click it" by Teo Cheng Wee, 23rd Nov 2008 had caught my eye.

"After all, the most powerful camera, I can now say with some certainty, is in your head."

In it, he has questioned about how easy it is for people to "miss" the moment while they are trying to get a good picture (or looking at it through the LCD screen of the camera). I must admit I am VERY guilty of that, especially when it comes to fireworks, most of the time, I am furiously trying to either record it or take pictures while the flames exploded in burst, latest incident being the Blue Angels Homecoming show. Now come to think of it, I almost never replay the numerous videos of fireworks I took.

I should just sit back and enjoy the fireworks with my hubby.

Meanwhile HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all~

Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show

The Homecoming airhshow is a huge event on base, although I had seen the Blue angels practise before, it is still exciting to see them fly pass.

There were alot static displays, in this picture is a F15, Singapore's newly acquired aircraft and could be what Kenny will be working on next time. Anyway Singapore has 2 types of fighter aircraft, F15 and F16, so either this or that. Either way we hope to come back to US soonish after this stint. Heh.

I wish I could have taken pictures of the aircrafts doing their stunts but my point-and-shoot did not allow that. Check out the pros and their gadgets.

Chocolatey chocolate chips

The Sweet Melissa Baking Book: Recipes from the Beloved Bakery for Everyone's Favorite Treats

Melissa Murphy

I'm not interested in desserts that involve ten components, exotic ingredients, and structural supports. I want to make everyone's favorite desserts better than they have had them before. Now you can to. (p. XIII)

A new book! This is the first and only recipe I tried and it is as true as she said, just simple ingredients

and steps. Best for a new baker, moi~

I omited the nuts just because I dont have any on hand.

If you follow her method of chilling the dough, the

cookies are really soft in the center and chewy.

Yummy! The boys cant keep their hands off these chocolate chip cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds

Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients: 10 tablespoons unsalted butters softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole natural almonds, toasted, roughly chopped

8 ounces best quality semi-sweet (58%) chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and vanilla until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another minute.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. With the mixer of low speed, add flour mixture in three batches to the butter mixture, mixing until no flour is visible after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in almonds and chocolate. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 1 hour. Turn dough out onto a clean work surface and divide it in half. Roll each half into a log about 12 inches long. Refrigerate logs for 30 minutes (or tightly wrap in plastic and foil and freeze for up to a month).

5. Cut the logs into 1-inch slices and place them 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes or until the centers no longer have a glossy look of raw dough. They should be chewy so don’t overbake. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to three days.

Please refer to her pastry book for more delicious treats!

Ps, my cookies might be much smaller than Melissa as my toaster oven is duper small.

B is for Birthday, B is for BBQ

We decided to host a mini BBQ for my birthday, essentially made up of the boys, Yukari and family, Akemi and family and Jennifer who had very kindly offer to make me a birthday cake.
A lemon poppyseed cake, oh so yummy, her secret is using pudding mix instead of butter, cant wait to get the recipe.
Master Chef Tan is having fun pretending to be satay-man, Kenny had tried to make satay (which uses peanut butter), he also spent alot effort making seafood skewers, bacon-wrapped-scallops, and many others.

Thanks to all who turned up, had lots of food and laughter.
What more could I want? Till next time~

Pandan or chocolate? Or both~~

Another of my new favorite food blogger, I have been on a lookout for healthier ingredients for cake baking. I have first tried Pandan Yogurt Cake and like her, I have too much yogurt on hand so I decided to try her chocolate yogurt cake as well. We much prefer pandan yogurt cake. I did it in a loaf pan instead of cup cakes and had used grapeseed oil instead of canola oil. I need to get a smaller loaf pan so my cake will be taller instead of wider! =)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp Pandan extract

1/2 cup canola oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350'F. Place papercups in the muffin pan.

2. In a bowl, sift flour and baking powder. Add in salt & sugar. Stir to mix.

3. Add in beaten eggs, yogurt, Pandan extract and oil. Stir until incorporated.

4. Lastly, scoop the batter into each papercups until 3/4 full.

5. Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.