Flying up north

Hey hey hey!

We'll be flying off in 15 hours time, n i just cannot comprehend how excited i am to be going home! Haven't been out since i stuck myself down under, n not flying for a while turns me into a messy packer; i don't even know what to pack! Two luggages full with cereal, Old town coffee..lotsa lots chocolates, cookies, gifts and packed baking ingredients. Only three sweaters n a few Ts..i'm ready to head back to winter! *grin**

May not have access to Facebook or blogspot for a month (unless my Hub found his trick around); so here's an early Happy Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year ahead to everyone of you! 

Oh ya, Watch out for my postcards n keep more coming please! 

The Chiffon Infection

Exams over!! Hip Hip Hurray!

Five days since my last paper, and I only manage to breathe this joy of freedom and declare the war is over today all thanks to my assignment mark. I was traumatised; so badly tat my hub thought i've gone out of my mind. If you think you get 28% for your assignment which you have worked so hard on because that was what your tutor keyed in on your portal, i guess you would feel the same way as i did. I couldn't sleep well for a week, checked my softcopy million times, n asked myself nonstop why. Turns out, a blessing in disguise! Thank God!

I promised someone this recipe a while ago, but my hub warned earlier on not to bake anything for the time being (reason: he wans to lose weight), so this is kind of a delayed post. During exams, i was so stressed i baked countless chiffon cakes, not knowing what happened to each of them, but only to realise  i've gained that extra kilos. Yeah, learn and don't fall into temptations.

Oreo. The oreo slice in the middle is supposed to be horizontal, but turns out inclined.

Black Sesame

Sweet Potato

Orange Choco Marble



Nutella Hazelnut



My hub likes to eat them with fresh warm custard

I took the opportunity to bake this cake today as we are going to my uncle's place for dinner tonight. It was not a good day in Melbourne, pardon me for the quality of the next pictures.







It was cloudy n raining when i took this photo.

 

Blueberry Chiffon Cake

Ingredient A:

95g flour

8g corn flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

50g sugar

60g corn/ sunflower oil

60g milk/ orange/ lemon juice

4 egg yolks

Ingredient B:

5 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

95g sugar

Ingredient C:

55g fresh bluberries, lightly coated with flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 180oC. Sift all dry ingredients in A.

2.Mix Ingredient A together till combine. Do not overmix.

3. Beat Ingredient B till stiff. Add one quarter into Ingredient A and fold in gently.

4. Add remaining whipped Ingredient B into A and fold til combined.

5. Add the bluberries and mix lightly.

6. Pour into a 8" chiffon tin and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

7. Enjoy!

Rain comes, water rises ...

My latest favourite song.

Such an inspiration. Let's persevere on!

Have you ever wondered why, when you have tried so hard, put in all the effort you can, only to realize, it was beyond your control?

This little light of mine, i'm going to let it shine!

Steamed Black Sesame Buns

I'm back to my crazy bao fantasy. Just submitted last assignment last Monday and exam is in 5 days! I took some time off in between the revision to make these lovely tea treats (or brekkie) yesterday noon; baking just refreshes me! I don't know how to cope with the stress without baking, honestly. 

They are fairly simple, only took me  two n half hours to get the result with an hour waiting time in between. Made them with black sesame filling this time (voted as my most fave bao nowadays!) n i only got 7 out of the dough (thanks to my small steamer). 4 gone, three left in the freezer. 

Got to go back to my soil stress n Mohr Circles now. Sigh, i am an engineer with very poor statistical and data analysis skills. Time series makes me dizzy. N matlab programming makes me wan to cry.

Animal Baos and MJ's Flourless Chocolate

My supposed to look like "Piggies" baos

Seems like I have abandoned this blog. Tried to put in more effort to update regularly, but my studies have indeed taken quite a toll of my time. Not baking though (HEHE), nothing can ever substitute the time for baking. At least for the present time and current condition.

These baos were made two months ago after i was struck by a picture (which i couldn't remember where now) online. I tried to imitate some funny animal shapes, but for a first timer, they didn't do the justice. Oh well, at least they had this smooth silky skin which proved my kneading effort!

Mice?

So what's for breakfast?

The pigs are 'char siu' which the mice are 'tao sar'. My hub got a bit excited one night after finding a good place for 'sweet and sour fish' (now who's the big fan of sweet and sour again?:-P), and being so satisfied, he decided to take away bbq duck, roast pork, char siu, and beef slices (apart from chicken, i believe it was nearly all kinds) as he was making payments at the counter near where they usually hang their 'roasties'. Yeah, we had the bbqs straight for a week, until eventually I decided to make use of the char siu. Hence the reborn char siu pig baos and some flaky pastries which i will post later.

My hub turned ** a week ago; the very next day I returned from a field camp at Dookie. I only had a few hours in the morning to bake him a nice birthday cake, thus this easy flourless dark chocolate cake. The cake itself was light and moist but I coated with chocolate cream cheese as icing hence the whole thing became too rich for my liking. I would drop the icing the next time i make this cake.

Add caption

Very simple deco due to time constraints, but i'm glad Hubby dear likes it. Blessed Birthday and many blessing always! :-)

My masters life so far

Uni life is... all about assignments, MATLAB, pressure n more stress.

I am taking four subjects (initially five, dropped one coz i couldn't handle) .. n all 4 have assignments with close deadlines every fortnight! Apart from lectures, i spend many many hours at skool, even on Sats (my hub sure has plenty to ramble about this!) ... n on Suns, i worry abt my test the next day. God, please help me manage my time! I don;t want to neglect my family a.k.a my hubby!

I've got two assignments to submit next week, one the next, two tests this week, n a big project whose hypothesis i need to deliver this Weds! ...... ^-^ .. Pray for grace. n lots of wisdom! Persevere till the end, you can score Joyce!

Starting all over with Butter cakes!

I feel like i'm starting all  over again. Not baking for real for ages, my skills have sort of, deteriorated. Being alone at home and enjoying while i can before my studies/work start in July, i try to make use of the time the best I could. Best thing is my hub has a bigger appetite now that he's back to work, so i could try out more stuff.

To begin with, i figured it's best to re-solidy my butter cake creaming skills. Hence many stuff like chocolate, pumpkin etc etc butter cakes. Haha. And i'm still crossing my fingers abt dropping 5 kgs!

Joanna's B'day Cake

Not baking a real cake for a long time has really taken a toll of my skill. I trembled, confused not knowing exactly how i am going to do it. It was Joanna's,daughter of my lifegroup leader 15th Birthday.

A simple cream cake, Japanese Cotton Cheesecake with Lemon Curd.

My hub told me to use up the ingredients stocked up in the cabinet. Which means i wasn't allowed to buy any decorative items or fresh fruits e.g. strawberries. With only cherries available as the red, i snipped some basil leaves from the poor plant. In the end, i decided it looked more like a Christmas cake than a birthday.

 Simple 6 lemon cupcakes to surround the cake. 6 to carry the six letters in 'Joanna'.

With one extra i reserved it for hubby.

Blessed 15th Birthday, Joanna. I hope you like the cake.

Before July comes

Have been waking up early since my hub started his work at MA. Preparing his lunch box, breakfast n tea treats is my responsibility and tat's how i start my day daily. At 8.30am, i send him off to the Park n Ride a.k.a. major bus stand to catch his direct bus to the city. Come home, clean, read, surf and cook. Thank God i'm having a break before my semester starts, and i'll be a student officially next mth! :-). At the meantime, i'm a housewife who's contemplating whether she shd join Mccain.

Every day i ask him what he wld like in his lunch box, and without fail, he wld answer 'sandwiches ba'. I am hoping that he wld bring some leftovers from last nite's dinner but i understand sandwiches are perhaps, one of the convenient meals. No need microwaving, or reheating; just pop n munch. And yeah, he's much slimmer now.

I try to make them as healthy as i can with lotsa salads n proper fillings. Sometimes it's ham n honey mustard. At times when there is chicken, it wld be chicken avocado. Or when the supplies are out, tuna or egg mayo comes into the rescue. Any more ideas ppl? I'll be searching for nice pork floss.

N they are often multigrain/ linseed soy bread. I became lenient these days, i gave him croissants. :-) If he grows slimmer, it makes me feel insecure (HAHA!).

And that's how bad i am. I wld fill his tea box with butter cakes or fresh egg tarts, depending on  what i baked the day before. That way he can last till a proper dinner at home.

Pumpkin butter cake - still trying out n modifying the recipe.

I have been pretty lazy. Wanted to bake buns, but somehow the tv looks more inviting. :-P

Lazy week

I've been terribly lazy lately. Why? Coz there is a TV in the house now!

Yeah, my hub bought a 50" plasma tv the next day after his exams and ever since then, the house has never been quiet. I'm home alone most of the time with hub working in the city; and always having this 'cake baking' project going on in my mind but never seem to get the action going. LOL. In the end, i only made two items: peanut cookies and egg tarts, which of course i spent the hours sitting in front of the tv pushing doughs onto tart cases and simply popping into the oven very quickly without having to leave the tv for more than 10 mins!

So typical me. LOL. My frens asked where i got the patience to make these egg tarts ... i told them i made them when i was lazy. What could be better? sitting in front of the tv doing something which i like! I can have all the patience n time in the world! :-P

Battle: Level 2 (Known to be the toughest exam on planet Earth?)

My dearest hubby is sitting for a V.I.P (paper) tmr! The battle of CFA level 2 will kick off at 9am, tormenting pour souls for six hours 'zhun-zhun' (2 hrs lunch break in between) and i will be picking him up after 5pm.

Pretty tough; six books, six modules fitted into one exam in one day of six hours. My hub claimed he's losing hair ald. LOL

For the last lunch before the battle day, i cooked my first pot of lamb in my entire life!! Black pepper mongolian lamb!

A very ordinary spread of a typical chinese meal:

Now it's my turn to stress! Civil or Environmental?? What say you? I need to make an informed and justified decision!



In spite of that, i wan to wish hub the very best of all best - May God's wisdom, patience, good time management and ultimate favor be with you throughout your exam!! God bless you tremendously!! 

Seafood Marinara

My dearest hub cooked me another pasta dish the other day and i was overjoyed! Lol.

Seafood marinara in red wine basil sauce spaghetti...yummy. Has been long long time since i had fish! :-(

A little sth to share

Don't ever challenge God, He's not easily defeated, certainly not someone you wan to test on. Woke up this afternoon from a nap that left me very disappointed, I posed God a very harsh statement: "If You really care abt me; this instance i wan the 'offers' for my postgrad." And they came. Yeah. God cares!

Let me tell you an interesting testimony. I have not told anyone apart from my fellow brothers n sisters in Mel, but it is truly a remarkable way of how God works in my life personally. Wanting to pursue a postgrad in Ozzie or specifically the University of Melbourne being one of the top in the southern hemisphere, was one of my dreams before i came and even when i was working back home! You may not heard of this, becoz i seldom share abt my life with people, but yeah, i had hoped to enrol as i settled in the metropolitan. Initially i thought of searching for a full time job, and have attended lotsa interviews only to be given false hopes and futile results. I guess being a lady in the engineering workforce is somehow not an advantage after all. Especially when you are young at a child bearing age with a husband and a privilege to take up to 12 mths paid maternity leave. So for some discrimination reasons, i lost to my male counterparts. Sigh. This is life.

In April, I was invited to two interviews by this company which I learnt through an engineering expo. Using my 'very not-usual' networking skills (i'm an extreme introvert!), i got to know this guy who later recommended me for a position in his company and hence went for two meetings with them. I still got a 'no'. In midst of that, i was telling God that if it's His will for me to start working first, then I will get the job; but if it's Study, then it's a no. So it was a no. Later on, i discovered from one of the assessors in Mel Uni for the School of Engineering that the supported places (which are fees subsidised by the Oz Govn) are guaranteed for those who have successfully admitted in 2011 and they are changing the policy from next year onwards. Which means, this is the last semester for a guaranteed supported place! The annual tuition fee for a Master in Eng is $26,500 and the supported place is $7,756. Becoz i am a lady in engineering, I have the privilege of receiving $5,000 bursary per year, which means my fee is reduced 90%!

After all those nos, i feel life is so unfair, and extremely difficult. But God's timing is always the best. If not for the nos, i wouldn't have gone back to my studying option and discovered that i'm still in time for the last semester of guaranteed subsidy. I don't think it wld be possible for me to do my Masters, if the fee is $26,500 per annum or more for the next few years even if i have already started to earn $$$.

Praise God. He is awesome! He even provided me with a part time job opportunity! What wld be better to do full time study n work part time in your own profession?? Most importantly, thank God for hub's support and blessings!

P/S: Wld appreciate all your continuous prayers always. N i will be praying for each n every one of you. :-)  

Another steamed version - The moist killer!

This is soooo good. LOL. N easy too. No need mixer. No need oven. Just a pair of hands, and a nice steaming pot.

I saw this recipe and immediately knew i need to try it out. After the last steamed cake, i was still craving for sth more chocolatey, like a perfect moist chocolate cake but sumhow, to bake a cake like tat, i can't use my mini oven (too small) and hesitantly must ON that big oven. Not to mention, two mouths can't finish an 8" cake. Too fattening, no no!

This cake is lovely and moist. Especially when served warm. Personally i feel chocolate cake tastes better when warm.

Packed a few slices for frens' gathering tmr. Can't savour all those calories by ourselves. :-P

Try it out. Like what i said, no need skills!

Ji Ku Ba Ku Teh/ Ba Ku Teh

Ahh, bak kut teh! One of our comfort food in the cold. Never realised how comforting the herbal rib soup is, especially during those chills. Hehe, tell you a stupid secret. I never really liked ba kut teh to be honest. Wouldn't fancy it in M'sia in that tropical warm weather. And did you know that ba kut teh in Singapore is ... well, very different? They taste like pepper soup!

Malaysia (as in Klang) has a reputation for best ba kut teh. According to one of my friends from Klang, they have ba kut teh for breakfast n lunch. They signify it as how the northern Chinese signified their dumplings. Slightly different, we Sabahans eat ba kut teh for dinner, and sometimes lunch? I didn't fancy the ba kut teh i had in Singapore (quite bad, i tell u) lol, but somehow, cooking their herbal sachet at home taste better than those from M'sia. The taste is more prevalent n stronger, wherelse the ones from M'sia are weaker. Funny thing is, it doesn;t taste like the true n real Singaporean ba kut teh. Go to SG to try their infamous 'rou gu cha' n u'll understand wat i meant.

We occasionally cook ba kut teh at home, using ready-made satches of spice. Tried the Klang version, but not strong enuf (yes, how ironic).  Once my uncle and his family came for dinner, i boiled a large pot of chicken drumsticks and pork ribs with this Seah's spices n it was super good. From then, i stick to SG spices.

Another thing i discovered was by boiling chicken n pork together, it produces a sweeter stock.  For this reason, whenever i decided to cook ba kut teh or 'ji ku ba ku teh', i always get skinless chicken drumsticks and pork spare ribs. The result: super yummy!

What can be better than serving with a bowl of plain rice! On a cloudy winter day ... i'm dreaming of ji ku ba ku teh!

Easy. Just boil the meat with garlic over low heat for the first 1.5 hrs, add the spices in the last 30 mins, followed by mushrooms n vege before serving! Enjoy!

Prayers - May 2011

Prayers Prayers Prayers!

I have a few agendas being lined up for the next couple of months, and am earnestly praying real hard.

1) Full time Masters.  Praying that God will look into all financial aspects. Tuition fees, living costs throughout that two years, and lotsa lotsa Wisdom! My first preference is Civil Eng, but I also applied Env Eng, now depends on which tuition fees are supported! I need the CSP and Women in Eng. Let God's will be done!

2) My part time job. Hopefully i get this one. Wetlands, integrated sustainable design n passive treatments; sustainability n climate change. I'm hoping to specialise in this area, both in my postgrad n job prospects. Looking to God for direction.

3) Family planning. I pray that one day some day in the very near future, i will be a mommy to a beautiful healthy baby.

KPMG! Keep Praising My God. This reminds me that, hub is sitting for his CFA exam Level 2 in less than 2 weeks; 5th of June. Praying that he will walk into that exam hall with full confidence, God's wisdom n favour. Persist persist, n God bless!

Jiao Zis - Down Under version

To be married to a Chinese guy from a city called Beijing, one of the compulsory traits to follow is learning to love jiao-zis (dumplings). Not only must one love to eat, but also love to make, wrap, boil and serve. I should have realised, however, up to this point i would't say I love dumplings. The most i cld gobble upon one time was five pieces, but usually it's only 2-3 pieces. N my hubby? 20-30 pieces.

Dumpling or jiao zi is one of the staple foods of the Northern Chinese communities. My in laws eat them twice a week in average, even if that means sparing 2-3 hours preparing them. Every woman has to boil them while serving, which means, you are likely to eat only after the men are satisfied with the number of dumplings they have consumed. Dumplings must be served warm and fresh from boiling. According to mom-in-law, it's easy n less trouble. Because the dumpling in itself has combined everything a Chinese meal must have: meat, vege n starch (being the skin); hence one does not have to worry about coming up with 2-3 dishes. I wouldn't agree further; it's pretty true.

Back in M'sia, we have shui jiaos as another version of jiao zis. Dun be confused, they are the same thing. The only difference is perhaps, jiao zis contain lotsa vege (nearly 50 - 50 to meat portion) while shui jiaos, as you can find, are mostly made of minced pork n sometimes prawns. Nowadays, they have century egg shui jiaos ( which i love so much) and lots more other versions; but jiao zis are always meat n vege. There are pork chinese cabbage; beef carrots; lamb white melon/spring onion, etc. etc. Basically you can combine anything you like in jiao zis; but make sure it's 50% meat and 50% vege. All minced and julienned finely.

I remember my first time learning to make dumplings (Refer to here). How time flies! My mom in law is a top masterchef when comes to dumplings; for her, julienning/shredding/grating or watever you call to make sure the veges are fine enough, are no hassle work but sth which she enjoys very much. Dun mention about the skin dough. It's just peanut to her.

For me, it's a big learning process. I still buy ready made skins. How pathetic, after nearly 3 years of our marriage, i've only made dumplings - - - well, less than 'one handful of fingers' times for my hub. No wonder each time i ask him wat wld he like to eat; he wld answer teasingly; jiao zis!

Our version: Pork n Chinese Celery.

Too lazy to make my own skin, i used ready made ones.

Boil in boiling water, and add cold water twice before they are officially cooked.

 Serve with black vinegar, sometimes chilli and ginger soy sauce.

I made this batch yesterday n he had 20 pieces. Practice makes perfect huh? I will thrive ....

My sister went frantic crazy after i tagged her on Facebook as an initiative to teach her how to make dumplings. Unlike me, she loves dumplings like how i love char sao bao. Poor thing, try to make one yourself, dear!