Insanity.

The rate at which the weeks have been flying by really freaks me out. Every week, I feel like I'm split into a million, billion pieces dealing with ongoing/pending issues and only on Fridays do I gain some semblance of sanity. But I guess that's probably how everyone feels at work and we all have our own ways to get it out of our system.

The God of Alchies wasn't on my side last night, and some other method was definitely much needed for me to keep that semblance of sanity for the weekend. So, when I saw the fresh ripen mangoes at the Wet Market this morning, I decided that I was going to bake a Mango Tart.

I realised, a little too late (and after I've made my Pate Sucree) that we had no rice at home. Uncooked rice (in case you think I've gone mad), is the poor man's alternative to the posher baking beans that are available in any baking specialty stores. They help in the process of blind baking to keep the tart shell looking the way they should. But of course, there is always a poorer man's alternative out there and I had to resort to repeated docking of the pastry whilst the tart was baking in the oven to prevent air bubbles. Crisis resolved!

Thank goodness my creme patisserie came out looking the way it should, providing my mangos with a nice blanket of creamy goodness.

With insantity kept at bay for the weekend, maybe, just maybe, next week could be a better one.

Come picnic with me (:

You know how sometimes, just sometimes, getting takeaways just doesn't cut it? On those days, the dad, sis and I will drive down to our friendly neighbourhood butchers' to get ourselves a ready roasted chicken. Throw some campbell soup into the pot (mushroom only please), mash up some potato and voila. Easy peasy, no?

But when you start doing this on a weekly basis, things can start to get a little boring. So instead of just attacking the chicken fingers and all, I decided that I wanted my chicken on foccacia AND on a blanket of gouda. And that's what I did! Of course, sans all the lettuce and tomatoes and everything the mom tried to convince me necessary.

The only thing that was missing was a picnic mat, but of course the parents would hear nothing of that sort (only because our garden is really just a patch of grass and of course with the crazy heat we've been experiencing, the mom just goes into a well-rehearsed the-sun-is-terrible mode).

SOooo, I've managed to psych my darling bestfriends into a picnic in a fortnight! Can't wait!

London- the ex lover.

So after months of hard work, non existent weekends and pure exhaustion, alcohol was definitely in order last night. Sure it's temporary relief, but I'll say any relief is better than none.

Our little party of four started talking about the crazy days in London and soon realised that we were sitting on two different sides of the fence. You see, we started personifying London as the lover- the dashing dark and handsome stranger that you'd wish to have flings with over and over again. And of course, Singapore was the dependable archetypal Mr.Right that girls tend to marry and end up with even if the constant yearning for the darker side remains. Because dependable and safe (and boring) is always good, no?

Well, that's how the other girls saw it. But K and I stood on the opposite side of the fence. Sure, London was the lover that taught us so many things, allowed us to breathe freedom, lured us to see the world proper with our own eyes. London was sexy and seductive, but London wasn't exactly the ideal perfect lover. In fact, London was pretty nasty and cold to us at times, and many a time we'd wonder why the hell were we there.

Sure, Singapore's dependable and safe and undeniably my Mr Right. But whoever said being in the comfort zone isn't a good thing (or boring?!)? We've gone out and explored options. We've had dalliances and decided that it wasn't for us. And I've decided that being able to have my favourite Roasted Pork Noodles in the morning with loved ones is something that I cannot do without.

Besides, I live with the faith that my new lover will throw me fantastic surprises when I least expect it.

When the kids go out to play

Spent Sunday with the nieces and nephews/Dimsum/Cracking Eggs can actually look like a whole lot of fun/Off to Botanics to feed the fishes/Running after 4 kids can be a full workout/Enough exercise done for April methinks//

Ah, what I'd give to be a kid again.

Why I live for weekends

I know, I know, the photo above is overexposed and (insert photography-junkie jargon) whatnot, but I couldn't help but choose it. Life's all about imperfections, not a perfections right?

Spent the weekend with the family as usual, and headed over to MinJiang for dimsum. Because it was decided a little last minute, all the indoor sitting were already reserved and we had to go for alfresco dining. But, seriously, I don't think I would have wanted it any other way! Yes, we had the insane heat beating down our backs, yet somehow, everything felt less stifling and a whole lot more relaxed. And although I do think dimsum really is how-to-present-prawns-in-1million-different-ways in disguise, the food was excellent and quite the perfect way to start a lazy Sunday.

All I need now is coffee from Palheta.

Let's bake away our friday night, shall we?

I stayed home on Friday night to bake 2 brownie cakes, 1 strawberry shortcake, 6 mini strawberry short(cup)cakes, 1 cheesecake and 1 oreocheesecake all in the name for charity. Not bad huh? And I did all of the above in 4 hours! I think, I've officially reached cake superstardom.

To be honest, I actually wanted to finish up the baking this morning, but I was on a roll last night. And when you're on a roll, you just don't stop, do you? Nothing, and I do mean nothing, beats seeing the butter+sugar+flour in their various proportions combine to form morsels of yumness. And of course, seeing your brownie falling out perfect from your (crisco-ed really well) William Sonoma pan really, is as good as having strawberries with champagne.

Okay, I think what was truly gratifying was that my tiny nuclear family wouldn't have to bear with eating the same thing for a few days straight. Which then meant that I could actually go CRAZY baking, without feeling guilty (which is a truly amazing feeling).

And in case you're still wondering, the huge cake with 'Cookie' emblazoned across it is my brownie which I'm damn proud of thankyouverymuch! Such a misnomer really, but don't the prints look amazing?


























I do need to make a special mention that doing all of the above within 4 hours wouldn't have been possible without the darling sister's help. My little commis de barrière's invaluable contributions really made cake superstardom achievable. (No, she didn't force me to do this)

So, till the next bake sale then (:

When life gives you strawberries..

you make a strawberry shortcake. Decided to bake a cake for a colleague's farewell over the weekend, and because Korean strawberries are all the rage at the moment- I thought the Strawberry shortcake would make a yummier alternative to any chocolate cake I could whip up.

Unfortunately - I did have a cake emergency! Imagine going back from your friendly neighbourhood supermarket only to find out that half your straws are rotten! Okay, that still wasnt as bad as finding out that I was on my way to finishing the second (and last) box of straws, double eeps!

Still, it did turn out pretty okay i'll say :) could have been better save for a few factors but yayness! looks better than the last one I did.