Pizza Adventure - Part 3

Today I made pizza dough again. I've let 3/4 of the dough to proof overnight in the fridge. When you let the dough to proof overnight in the fridge, it definitely tastes better. This time I added chopped pineapples and capsicum for the topping. My grandfather made sure he stayed back to try the pizza.

2-in-1 benefit of making the pizza dough - a freshly baked pizza crust and a upper body workout from kneading the dough :)

Tomorrow will be a feast of pizzas, muffin and carrot halwa ;)

Korean Gastronomical Delight

Last week after watching Madagascar 2, we dined at Korean House restaurant at Bukit Baru, Malacca - it is situated opposite the Man-made Waterfall. We enjoyed the ambience - although parking was a little problem. The service was superb - with lots of attention - a great place to dine.

We both ordered Bi Bim Bab (Mix vegetables rice with chicken) - and it was accompanied with 11 side dishes for us to indulge. I missed the Korean experience I had when I was in Seoul last June for a conference - it was priceless. According to Chin Lay, the Korean dishes in Mahkota Parade is more palatable to our tastebud.

A Nice Weekend

Alfred and I had a great weeekend just chilling out and resting - on Saturday we drove up to Bukit Tinggi and chilled out there savoring the fresh air and the beautiful view. It was refreshing to just sit back, relax and enjoy. Alfred's motto now is 'Relax, Smile, and Enjoy' - each time he says that, it certainly helps us to cope in times like this. We are certainly keeping a positive outlook despite having some negative thoughts creeping up on us now and then - but each time he says his motto with a smile on his face, we end up cherishing every moment we have.

We had a fabulous meal at the rest stop in Genting Sempah - a perfect place to sit and enjoy your meal accompanied by a great view. A perfect weekend - just relaxing and spending time with each other - just the two of us :)

Pizza Adventure - Part 2

I have been reading about the art of making a tasty and crunchy pizza crust. There are so many differing opinions and views about what constitutes a good crunchy delicious crust. I found one where the writer mentioned that it's not necessary to let the dough to rise - and that will produce a nice crunchy thin crust. And I also read it somewhere that salt kills yeast - but there are recipes which suggest mixing salt with yeast. I have been noting all the tips and secret ingredients - and am determined to try 'em all out - and decide for myself which one produces the best crust ever!

Today I tried making the dough using a different recipe. I've rolled out a quarter of the batch of dough I made today in a baking tray without letting it to proof (I did leave the dough at room temperature for about 15 mins or so since it was 'not behaving' when I rolled it out). For the remaining 3/4 of the dough, I've set it aside to proof in the fridge overnight.

The recipe as follows:

Thin-Crust Pizza Dough:

Step A: Proof Your Yeast

1) In a medium-sized bowl, add 2 tsp of yeast.

2) Add 2 tsp of sugar.

3) Add 1/2 cup of warm water (heated to about 37-41 degrees Celcius).

4) Mix the mixture until everything is combined.

5) Set aside for about 10 mins before adding it to the dough.

You can make the dough the day before and proof it in the fridge overnight; or in this case I straight away used some of the dough and kept the rest in the fridge.

Step B: Making the Dough

6) Add 4 cups of flour in a big bowl.

7) Add 1 tsp of salt to the bowl.

8) Add 1/4 cup of olive oil.

9) Add the activated yeast mixture to the bowl.

10) Add a cup of warm water and mix everything with a fork to get the flour absorbed.

11) Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and turn the dough out and knead it.

12) Knead for about 10 mins or so or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

13) You can put the dough in the fridge and let it proof overnight or use it straightaway.

You can release some of the air bubbles trapped in the dough by dorking it (poking the dough with fork). The first time when I made the dough, I think I didn't give the dough enough kneading since the texture wasn't smooth.

The batch of pizza I made today is different from the first time: this time I added 2 tsps sugar to the dough; and I didn't let the dough to proof; I used cheddar cheese as the topping; gave the dough more kneading; and I added warm water to the flour and salt mixture. This is definitely a better tasting crust than the first one.

Tomorrow, I will be taking out the 3/4 of the dough which I left to proof in the fridge overnight and compare it with the one I made today. More updates tomorrow...

Thin-Crusted Pizza

After dining at Bianco in Damansara, I have been craving to try my hand at baking thin-crust pizzas. So, this weekend I set myself to indulge in pizza baking and eating, of course. I made the dough from scratch and it was fun! With lots of mess to clean up afterwards, though. Of course I need more practice in tossing the pizza like a master-chef, hehe. And I am determined to go through all the practices that it takes to perfect the skills of making pizzas.

There were many recipes for the dough and that gives me more reasons to make pizzas frequently to experiment the best recipe for the crust. The outcome - turned out well I guess. But I still need lots of practice to make it better - especially with the oven temperature-control as well as more time for the dough to proof (allow dough to rise) - it would have been better if the dough is left to proof overnight in the refrigerator. The toppings for the pizza - eggplant, mozarella, mushrooms, and basil leaves. My sister enjoyed it :)

Mango Mousse Cake

Today I was itching to bake again and decided to make a non-baking cake - a mousse cake. Honestly, I am not a fan of mousse cake - so only try this recipe if you really are a mousse-cake fan - if not don't bother. I just wanna experiment with new types of cakes and am more interested in checking-out the outcome and also the joy of watching people enjoy the cakes rather than my indulgence in the cake itself. The texture of the cake turned out well and it's pretty nice (if you are a mousse cake fan). I used a packet of milk chocolate digestive biscuits as the base - most mousse cakes’ base are made using sponge cake - so it depends on your preference. As for me, that will be the tastiest part of the cake, hehe. My panel of judges (which are my family and friends) haven't sampled the cake yet - so the review has to wait.

Herewith is the recipe:

Ingredients for the base:

- crumbs from a packet of milk chocolate digestive biscuits (you can use as much as you want depending how thick you want the base to be)

- melted butter

Steps for the base:

1) Melt butter in a saucepan and mix the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter (the amount of butter that you use should be sufficient to get a wet-sand-like texture when you mix it with the crumbs)

2) Press the crumbs on the base of a springform pan.

3) Refrigerate.

Ingredients for the mousse cake:

- 200 gm mango puree

- 1 tbsp gelatine + 50 gm water (soak together for about 5 mins)

- 2 egg yolks

- 30 gm sugar

- 150 gm whipped cream

- some chopped mangoes

Steps:

1) Boil mango puree and sugar together till boiling. Take off from heat.

2) Add in egg yolks to the puree+sugar mixture and stir till smooth.

3) Put back onto stove and then add in gelatine mixture and stir till dissolved.

4) Leave to cool till lukewarm.

5) Add chopped mangoes and fold in the whipped cream.

6) Pour on top of the base (the milk chocolate+butter crumbs) and leave in the refrigerator to let it set.

7) Decorate with some chopped mangoes.

8) Serve chilled.

Deepavali 08- Part 1

This year's Deepavali was a celebration among close friends and family; had fun spending quality time with my best friends, family, and cousins. Just catching up and makan-makan.

With my best-friends

Uncle Khoo and his grandchilden - I had lots of fun with the kids


She just fell asleep in my arms - montelnya

Deepavali 08- Part 2 - The Baking and Eating

The highlight of Deepavali this year was that I was eating non-stop - almost displaying an OCD-symptom. My eating spree of the cookies began much earlier than the Deepavali itself - much to my mom's 'likings'- I was behaving like a rat - tip-toeing to the cookie-storage room and 'stealing' the cookies - and I was unstoppable! My mom would just smile and shake her head in disbelief. So, it went on and on and on until my mother has to bake more pineapple tarts and the 'achi murukku', hehe.

Almond cookies covered with white chocolate icing

Caramel Nougat flakes

Baked cornflakes with raisins and almonds

Layered chocolate cake with ganache

The chocolate ganache-d cake was made specially for Alfred; but he couldn't come. But it was couriered to him anyways :) Most of the pieces made way into my sister's, mom's and cousins' stomachs :)

The Joy of Teaching

The following are the comments and suggestions from my students from the online academic evaluation report for the Microeconomics subject I taught this trimester:

1. Thanks.

2. nice teaching. easy to understand

3. It is not that i want to flatter, I really like the way you teach. You are gentle yet stern at times.

4. Can understand more when in tutorial class..

5. for me she is good lecture.

6. i like the way u teach...

7. Nth to comments

8. no comment.

9. like the way you teaching...

10. excellent, always punctual, friendly, very professional, knows her subject well

11. omg too pro ald untill cant say anything.keep on.

12. she is good. she clear our doubt in this subject at that time.

13. teach very detail and interesting during class not boring . I hope lecturer can give more exercise to us . let us more understand .

14. I like the way lecturer teach.I understand what you are teaching.Thanks madam.

15. can understand what the lecturer trying to say and im satisfied the way she is teaching...:)

16. her teaching is easy to understand..

17. like the way you teach

18. gives good explanation. easy to understand.

19. this lecturer is very hardworking and she teaches us very well..

20. explain very detail when discuss the tutorial questions . can understand clearly.

21. Thanks.

22. Nth to comments..

23. i like the way the lecturer teaching:)

24. mdm u really deserve this bcoz u indeed a very good experienced n talented lecturer. keep it up mdm...

25. excellent.

26. very nice lecturing way so its easy to understand

27. she is a very gaad lecturer...

28. Good

29. your class is the best madam...this is one of the classes that i really enjoy attending

30. Very detail!@!

31. very good lecturer ~~

32. She's nice

Thus, the joy of teaching! :)

A New Earth

This book gave me a deep insight on certain spirituality questions that I had. And I realised that understanding spirituality lies not in the understanding of thoughts and words, but it's the feeling of the consciousness of the eternal power that created us; which lies within us. And often times when I dwell on the past or focus on the future, I realise that I lose the precious present moment in which I am in NOW - and time just slips through - no wonder we always exclaim on how time just flies.

I've always questioned the concept of religion and God; religions and worshipping acts never seemed to convince me of the conceptualization of God. Along the way, I am learning that all religions point to the same awareness and it is all ONE. I never wanted to believe in one religion and downplay other religions. Which is why I find the teachings in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam - to be kind to all sentient beings - has universal effect and it all signifies the same message - however we choose to look at it.

I learnt that I should try not to personalize anything and learn to let go of attachments and live with conscious awareness on how my actions affect not only me but others as well. Acceptance, if you have to go through it, you just have to go through it willingly - it is easier that way. And we dont need anything to define ourselves.

This is a book to read - to awaken from the dreamlike-state of humanity.

Happy Birthday to Me

October 11th, it was my birthday - a day which I look forward to every year; it fell on Saturday this year, my favoritest day of the week :) Spent the day with my family and Chin Lay. Had fun-filled laughter and joy.

Went for a scrumptious vegetarian lunch in Bonani's in Melaka Raya; it serves northern Indian cuisines and it's a beer garden as well. We ordered Saag Paneer (spinach with a type of cheese known as 'paneer') - it was just right to our taste - not too rich. Other dishes were Aloo Gobi (potato and cauliflower and other veggies cooked in North Indian style), Chapati (with carrot and other veggies grated in it), and Mango Lassi. It was a fulfilling lunch - thanks for the treat, Chin Lay :)

Mango Lassi

From left to right: Vegetable briyani rice, Saag Paneer, Aloo Gobi, and Capatti

After that we went for a movie at Dataran Pahlawan - watched Mamma Mia - totally enjoyed it from the beginning till the end - fantastic settings (amongst the islands in Greece) and the cast - I've watched it twice! and I will never get bored of it, especially the songs and the performances. Chin Lay and I had a good laugh and was totally entertained.

On the way back home, I bought myself half-dozen Big Apple donuts - just for a change to birthday cakes. The pleasure of indulgence - once in a while!

Those bites are left behind by me, just couldn't resist :) And Alfred calls me a rat

Later in the evening, we attended a 70-th Birthday party celebration in King's Hotel. Since I was vegetarian, didn't really enjoy the food. But I had great company :)

I missed Alfred, couldn't celebrate with him; I am looking forward for next year's celebrations with him :)

Quote

My favorite quote from Seal (how sweet!):

"The most important thing is that we put each other first. I always say that it goes in order of priority—it's my wife first, then the family, then my career," Seal says. "The most common hiccup is when couples get married … and then they have kids, and it [becomes] all about the kids, which is understandable because they're miraculous. But you've got to put each other first…she will always be number one for me. To have a happy life, Seal says there's only one thing a man needs…a happy wife!"

My Prince

One of the joys of having dogs – you can laugh your heart out when they do things like this - he was practically laying still with his mouth open and staring blankly - for a while I thought he was 'stoned'.

Moist Steamed Chocolate Cake

Last week during the Raya break, I developed the itch to bake again - this time I decided to be simple - no icing, no frosting - just a simple cake with simple steps and with just one bowl to wash up - it's the easiest cake I've ever baked - and turned out the effortless endeavor produced a moist-yummy-tasting-choc-cake. Everybody loved it so much - my aunt wanted the recipe for the Christmas cake. This gave me an incentive to be lazier when it comes to baking spree - but then I have a thing towards the fancy-looking cakes, anyway ;-)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
- 550 gm instant steamed chocolate cake flour
You just need to add the following ingredients to the instant cake flour:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup condensed milk
- 1 cup cooking oil
- 1 cup water

Steps:
1. Just mix the eggs, condensed milk, cooking oil and water together in a bowl.
2. Add the instant steamed chocolate cake flour little by little to the wet ingredients and mix evenly.
3. Grease and sprinkle some flour on a round cake pan. Pour the mixture in the cake pan.
4. Steam for about 1 and a half hour or so.
5. Indulge!

Gy's Wedding - 14th Sept 2008

Gythiri, my ex-roomate during uni days in Cyberjaya, got married on 14th Sept - it was a great reception with live band of sitar and carnatic singer - and the food was awesome. It was great to meet up with all the jing-bang-uni-gang - Kom, Vatsie, Mel, Siva, and Shuba - my good friends during uni days - people whom I shared my joys and sorrows with - they were always there during all the memorable moments during uni days - right from the first relationship to the break-ups - and also the 'cuci-mata' activities back then (now, we have other more serious things to think about!) - and how we'd do all the crazy things that are meant to be done when you are in uni coz it'z never gonna be the same once you start working. We certainly had lotsa fun - we lived our uni days to the max, I must say. Cheers to all the good years to come for us to celebrate!

A month later

The reason of my sudden dissapearance from the blogsphere for 1 month - lots of things happened and I was busy running around. Looks like our wedding will be postponed to sometime next year - he has to undergo a few treatments and surgery for a lump near his ribcage. Right now, prayers and faith help us get through this difficult period- and I must say it brings us even closer now than ever and we realised how much we mean to each other. I love you sayang with all my heart and I pray that you get well soon - remember we've got the Mount Kinabalu waiting for us - and lots of fun in store; and our life together :)

The Weekend Rendezvous with the Gals - Ai Lin's Place

After attending Sara's wedding, we went over to Ai Lin's place in Puchong - her apartment is located near a hill - and it's so breezy and cool. We bunked over at her place -that night we knocked off - had a long day.

The next morning Ai Lin took us for an Indian breakfast - the food was good - Ratha's restaurant in Bandar Puteri Puchong. Alfred joined us for breakfast - Ai Lin and Chin Lay had a great thosai breakfast with 'tairu' (Indian yogurt) - sounds like a weird combination - but they enjoyed it! - Finger-licking good :)

Ai Lin took us for a ride to look at the new housing projects near Bandar Puteri - we went to see a few show units - absolutely loved the interior and the high-ceiling concepts - all the units were being sold like hot cakes. We really had a fantastic time - Ai Lin can be a great real estate consultant - she always comes equipped with all the essential knowledge about anything and everything!

better be serious, ok!

Us being serious? Yeah, right!

Sara's Wedding (6/9/08)

After lunch at Mages's place, we attended Sara's wedding in Klang later in the evening - Sara is a friend whom I met through Shuba - and when I see him I remember his signature 'hok hok' sound effect :P

It was drizzling that night and with Mages's navigation, we managed to reach the hall without getting lost.

The Weekend Rendezvous with the Gals - Lunch at Mages's Place

Last weekend after our Kuantan roadtrip, we went over to Mages's and Ai Lin's house. We first went to Mages's place in Shah Alam - boy, the journey there was like a merry-go-round - hehe, we were so lost and basically going around the roundabout for-don't-know-how-many-rides while getting some directions on the phone.

Mages cooked us a scrumptious lunch - mushroom soup as the entree; main course was spicy bolognese linguini; lemonade; and the dessert was coconut milk jelly with palm sugar - it was good :) Thanks Mages for taking the trouble and cooking for us with love. We had a great time catching up.

Me waiting patiently for the food

Spicy Linguini

Chin Lay enjoying her meal (she was starving)

Creamy mushroom soup