of christmas and giving

A friend once told me that philanthropy was merely men's way of making themselves feel good about themselves. I guess different people have different feelings about volunteer work/philanthropy. Some associate it as a purely monetary contribution, while others pursue it as a lifelong commitment.

I've always had very conflicting views over these community involvement projects (CIP). Instead of donating (whatever coins I have in my pocket) weekly to the hoards of teenagers trying to fulfill their quota of CIP along our famous shopping street, I'd rather donate food, something more practical.

So, I spent the greater part of yesterday baking the light fruit cake + chocolate cookies (in gingerbread men cut outs) and driving me and Y down to our nearest hypermarket to stock up on Milo/Coffee/Soda Crackers for the old folks home. Yes, I drove on my own. But I made sure that the carpark was an open-aired one- just so I won't have to deal with the humiliation of cars honking at me while I make my 12948th attempt at reverse park.

Y has been involved with a project on community music, working with dementia patients for the past year. She kindly invited me to join her and professors yesterday as they carried out their 'Christmas Special'. Watching them conduct carolling, simple jigsaw puzzle playing - I doubt there was any other way I could have spent a better afternoon.

Oh and by the way- I gained a whole lot of encouraging fans! 'Ying ah, you should open a shop!' I'm just glad that we were able to make their day- my best Christmas present ever!

Can you smell the brandy?

Because I was terribly bored at home, and with the newly tightened braces really getting on my nerves, I decided to bake. A lot of people find me weird because seriously, who needs a precision, full on concentration hobby when you're simply just frustrated with your teeth (and yourself for wanting to have nice teeth. The price of vanity.) But yes, I bake to distract myself from pain and it has served me well.

Yea, my fruit cake doesn't have quite the dark glamour of the traditional ones, but I never really like cakes that colour. Christmas on our little island is far from the gloomy, cold, miserable dark at fourp.m. christmas-es experienced on the other side of the globe- so why bake the traditional heavy dense cakes that are usually doused so heavily with alcohol, you can't taste nothing.

Thank goodness we learnt how to bake the light fruitcake at school :). Although Chef C went a little crazy in administering Rum to the finish product, I kept my dousing well under control. And instead of Rum, I used Brandy instead- simply because Brandy has such a christmassy smell, non?

Still, you'd be surprise at how the brandy permeates the entire cake when it has been given its 48 hours of rest. Add a splosh of brandied butter and you've got yourself Christmas on a plate!

So I lived to see the Greek Sunset

The Greek trip I took this year was one helluva trip. From crashing ATVs to seeing riots+shouting+chaos unfold before my eyes - I think I left Greece shell-shocked and never really recovered from all that. Yes, the people were friendly, the islands were spectacular and the food was great. But, it has taken me 8 months worth of hindsight to see this.

























But I'm incredibly thankful that I lived to catch the gorgeous Greek Sunset at Oia and that the huge bruises peppering my limbs didn't require much medical attention save for an xray (that mysteriously disappeared).

I guess the best part of the trip was properly enjoying Greek cuisine. After all, it was here that I fell in love with Feta and Moussaka. It was also here in Greece that we got to climb the beautiful cobbled pathways in the freezing midnight spring wind (resolutely to the pub in the middle of the labyrinth). It was here that I finally got to see the sugarcube houses and blue-domed churches of Santorini. And it was here that I made one of the best decisions.

You've never really lived, till you have lived. Oui?

Un plus, s'il vous plaît

I guess maturity found its way to me this year. All that jazz last year with the customised cake, the one thousand parties and non-stop clubbing has been firmly replaced with something much simpler. No one ever said you needed to have a lot of money and friends to make a birthday a meaningful one.

All you need is close friends, good croissants and excellent coffee.

We found our way to Mirabelle Patisserie (chef's LCB alum, yay!)- to have one of its famed croissants. But we had to settle for just the PainauChocolat in the end (instead of both Chocolat and Frangipane) because the Frangipane Croissant was sold out. At 11am.

Left the shop with a couple more treats but the PainauChocolat never did get to meet the camera ):

Wish I bought one more for the road.

Mine Came Early

Look what my darling aunt got me! I feel truly loved :) Anyone wants an Oreo Cookie Cake?
William Sonoma is truly genius.

When we all become Kids

Spent the later half of the day having fun with my little nieces in the kitchen today.. and my sis and I couldn't resist starting on the cookies first whilst waiting for the arrival of our princesses.

Kinda regretted not going crazy on the food gels and having only one colour to work with. But thank god for my sister's obsession with (what we call) roly polies. Having these multicoloured goodness in your fridge are almost guaranteed to put a smile on any kid's face :) and of course darling R couldn't resist eating as she decorated her cookies!

Good times and the perfect way to spend the birthday week!

When Boredom Creates

Friday's Project: The Basketweave Attempt #1
Just because I've been hugely enamored by its intricacy :)

Because ilovepeanutbutter

My love affair with the peanut butter (smooth only please) goes way back. Can you imagine a world without peanut butter? Or worse, without Peanut Butter and Jelly (PBJ) on toast/whitebread/brownbread? I think, and I am certainly not exaggerating, that my world would crumble into a heap of nothingness without my PBJ.

Of course, the mom is always freaking out when I tell her that I had that for breakfast(or lunch, or dinner) because when I eat PBJ, I eat PBJ. One slice never suffices and I think my record is half a loaf at one go.

[note to self: never buy a jar of peanut butter when you are alone overseas, especially after you haven't had any for a long time]

But I digress. While PBJ is clearly essential for me to function, Peanut Butter alone can do wonders too! In a bid to stop myself from wolfing down another half loaf, I decided the next best thing would be to make peanut butter cookies! And I did.

This marks the end of the baking hiatus and the return of weight gain. How smart was I to think that the 5 batch of cookies that is now sitting on my counter top is going to be 'healthier' than a loaf of bread.

Where are santa's helpers when you need them?

When you have Breakfast for Dinner

Sometimes, don't you just feel that having pasta/rice/(insert random dinner menu here) just doesn't cut it for dinner? Well, I felt just like that on Monday. And thankfully, the gang was also sick of having dinner for dinner :)

So off we went to Hatched, a relatively new place specializing in all-day breakfast. Whywhywhy you may ask?

1. You don't have to queue. I've heard the horror stories about the queues at breakfast/brunch.
2. No one said you can't have brioche+bananas+bacon+maple syrup for dinner (bytheway, the picture turned out awful, so I decided not to put it up). While the bacon insert was a tad weird, I'm always up for anything.
3. It feels like you're having brunch/dinner/brinner in Stockholm. I think both the reindeer and the light wood furniture had something to do with it.

I highly doubt the Swedes enjoy the oily, greasy, quintessential brit breakfast (oodles away from minimalist perfection, if you ask me). But, the home-like, christmassy vibe kinda worked out. And when you can actually have conversations (not shouting matches) over a meal out (at a pocket-friendly place) -- I say that's a great place!

Hatched
26 Evans Road, #01-06 Evans Lodge