Novelty

At the moment, I have two very different plans for my future.

Plan A:

Get into 4th year (Honours) for Psychology. Do a research thesis on depression, anorexia, internet addiction or substance addiction.

Plan B:

If I were to fail to gain entry into 4th year Psychology (hopefully not but not that there is no chance because the only way to secure your spot is to get a score of 80, according to one of my lecturers that is), I will do a Masters in Public Administration and Foreign Policy. This way, my history major will come in handy. :)

I know, I know. It is bad to think too far but I personally feel that it is easier to complete present goals if one have a goal to look forward to in the future. All these years, I've been using my future plans to guide my present actions. When I was 12, I started thinking of the jobs I want to do. I trace the jobs backwards. Google up the experiences required. It's not necessary but it is necessary for me. I want to get a grasp on what exactly I'm after. I want to know that what I'm doing is bringing me closer to achieve this dream of mine.

Some people may find it unnecessary. Some people think that one can find a way with things but for an individual who gets carried away so easily when in the process of doing something and always out for something new, this is certainly not ideal.

For instance,when I was in first year,I had this plan to major in Literature or Creative Writing or French, but ended up majoring in history. I wanted to do an English major when I was in High School and I ended up doing psychology because I'm good with numbers and am curious about human behavior.

I'm always on the lookout for something new. That's why my recipes differ from day to day. If you know me well enough, you won't see me in the same garments from week to week. I don! 9;t want to just stick to one thing. I want to try many. I don't want to stay in just one place. I want to try and fit myself in many. Novelty is my best friend.

This is also reflected in my sandwiches. I don't make kimchi cheese sandwiches any more. I now try to combine chocolate and cheese, chocolate and herbs, chocolate and pepper in a sandwiches. Surprisingly, chocolate goes very well with ham and cheese. I also tried combining chocolate and jam. Just two hours ago, I had strawberry jam, smoked salmon and cheese sandwich. It may come across as strange to you, but it is pleasant. It has the nice tart flavor with it and the briny salmon seemed to pair nicely with the jam. The cheese adds a certain rich quality to the very wholesome sandwich, thanks to the multigrain sourdough.

Dark chocolate, cheese and strawberry jam

My mom finds this behavior of mine problematic. Always out for something new. Will I be ever contented?

Yes, I will be contented. Some day perhaps. When I'm old. Now that I'm young, I shall try to create and try to experiment with what I feel is best for my needs.

Recipe: Michael Elfwing's Chicken Liver Pt and Red Onion Jam

My kitchen is my sanctuary, or so I've written about it before. It's a warm and comforting cave where I can slowly spend hours cooking my fears and insecurities away. Ultimately, this ritual also comforts my aching stomach and does wonders for my broken heart. The smile on the faces of my family and friends as they enjoy every spoonful of the dishes I've whipped up is at once joyous and gratifying at the same time.

Last week, I was invited to a potluck dinner organized by the @heavenlycake duo, of which the criteria was to bring something made from Chef Michael Elfwing's cookbook. Since this was an opportunity to cook something I've not done before, I chose to make his Chicken Liver Pt and Red Onion Jam together with my fabulous partner is crime, @agentcikay.

To be honest, I was completely shitting in my pants from the moment I committed to the recipe. The recipe may look easy enough, but I couldn't really see how I was going to pull this off.

My fears stemmed from:
1. An inadequate experience or knowledge in fine cooking (I'm more of a Jamie than Ferran);
2. I've no idea if my tiny kitchen was equipped enough;
3. I'm intimidated by the guest list - which reads the who's who in foodie-land. Plus, the Chef himself was gonna be there, as the guest of honor no less.



Irrelevant fears or not, a great sense of self-doubt started to kick-in. But, we held our chin up high and marched on with smiles on our faces. Well, at least Ciki could since she left me as she marched off to get her fingernails manicured with encouraging words like, "Why don't you just cheat and buy some instead? I would!"Now, that's really what friends are for.

To be completely honest, I found the recipe rather easy to make. It was a complete surprise how well it turned out and how there wasn't a need for any complicated techniques, exotic ingredients or high-tech equipments involved. With enough planning and understanding, any home cook could have easily made this.I foundseparatingthe process into two parts made the whole process less stressful. The jam was made a week in advance, while theptwas made a day before the dinner. Easy peasy, liver-licious.

If you decide to challenge yourself in the kitchen, here's the recipe and some of my own side notes to help you out.



Chicken LiverPt
(serves 10 | cooking time approximately 2.5hrs)

600g chicken liver
300ml milk
50ml cognac -thanks to my alcoholic Ah Pa for supplying!
150ml port wine
6 shallots, finely chopped -I used Indian shallots; cheap and pungent
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
600g butter -I prefer using salted butter
6 whole eggs -medium sized
A pinch of sea salt and 1 tea! spoon of ground white pepper

1. Clean the liver and remove the white sinew holding the livers together. Soak the liver in milk and cognac for 1 hour. Remove the liver and pat dry on kitchen paper.Combine port wine, shallots and thyme in a pot and reduce over medium heat until all port has been evaporated an been soaked up by the shallots and remove from heat. This is the most aromatic part of the process. So, enjoy it.Heat butter over low heat and add liver and shallots, cook gently until the liver is medium-cooked. Liver should look opaque on the outside and but still soft on the inside.


2. Now, take a deep breath and brace yourself for the gross part. Pour the liver and butter mixture into a blender and blend until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the eggs one by one, once incorporated into the mixture, strain the mixture and pour into a terrine mould and bake at 140C for 50mins. I used a large Pyrex baking dish instead of a terrine.

3. Once cooked, let the pt sit in the warm oven until it completely sets before taking it out to cool. This is to avoid a giant crater as the pt rises during the baking process caused by trapped air from the blending earlier. Once cooled, let thept sit in the mould overnight and unmould the following day or eat it straight out from the mould with some crusty bread. Best served with red onion jam for extra bite.



Red Onion Jam
(makes 1kg jam | cooking time 1-hour)

1kg red onion - I used large Australian red onions
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
3 bay leave I find dry ones more aromatic
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon whole all spice po! wder
1 10-cm cinnamon stick - or use two 5-cms instead as it is readily available here
150ml red wine vinegar
150ml full-bodied red wine - I used some leftover Australian Shiraz
100g sugar - I used brown
100ml water
2-3 tablespoon of honey - found some organic Australian red gum tree honey in my kitchen cabinet

1. Heat olive oil in a deep sauce pot and saute the onion and spices until soft but without colouring. My heat was set on low. This should take about 7-10 minutes.

2. Add the vinegar and wine and reduce until about a third remains, then add the sugar and water. Simmer the mixture until it thicken and become glossy. Pour in the honey and simmer for another 2-minutes. Don't worry if this doesn't look anything like a jam or puree. I actually panicked because it resembles a pickled onion dish. But according to Chef Michael, it was perfect! Joy.

3. Cool and keep insterilizedglass jars or freeze for up to 3 months. This red onion jam goes well with red meat and is a great condiment on any antipasto platter. I stored and refrigerated mine in an airtight tiffin carrier.

Rhubarb Berry Crumble

Tell me you dont have this obsession of wanting to buy every pretty book or magazine you see in the bookstore. Every time I step into one, Im bound to buy a magazine or a book, except for if I forget to bring any money and when Im in a hurry. Lol. My shelves are crying out loud for lack of space, the books are now all stacked under my working table. But on the bright side, yes were moving and therell be MORE shelve space ><

Ok so the other day I was in a grocer, I saw some nice rhubarb. The first (and only) time I ate rhubarb was in Bills in Sydney 4-5 years ago. It was a crumble; sweet, tangy and sends chills to your spine. Haha!! Im just kidding about the last part.

And the moment I saw the rhubarb, I knew I wanted to make a crumble cause I havent ate a crumble for so so so long! Its just one of those comfort food with sweet and tart warm berries or other fruit to perk you up, and a buttery and crunchy crumb to balance the texture and your palate. Amazing.My brother and I loved it. We couldnt help but ate one bowl each. Haha.Its always nice to have ice cream to go along with crumbles, but this time around no ice cream and it was just as good! But dont take my words for it, make it yourself and youll get wht I meant.

Rhubarb & Berries Crumble

(serves 3)

150-200g rhubarb; stalks trimmed, cut into small 2-3cm chunks
200g strawberries & raspberries (you can use either or both)
60g caster sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split seeds scraped

Crumble
120g plain flour
100g caster sugar
1/2 orange zest
50g rolled oats
120g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
pinc! h of sal t

Method.

1. Chop chop rhubarb to 2cm pieces. If you have a big baking dish, make them 3cm.

2. Hull, half or quarter strawberries. Scrap seeds of vanilla pod, add into bowl. Add in rhubarb, strawberry and raspberry and caster sugar. Gently toss or mix so the berries are coated with sugar. Let it macerate for 30 minutes.

3. Spread them into your baking dish. Make sure you have enough of fruits in each of the dish.

4. Make crumble. As the name suggest, just crumble everything together. Or use a food processor to whiz everything till it resembles chunky bits or breadcrumbs. If its a little dry, add in 1 -2 tsp of water to bind them together so you have some larger crumbles and some loose ones. Scatter crumble evenly on top of the rhubarb mixture.

5. Bake in a preheated oven of 200C for 30 minutes (or more for a bigger sized dish) until crisp and golden and the juices from the fruit bubble up through.

6. Cool but serve warm, with a dollop of ice cream.

Oh my, doesnt it matches the new layout ? heheh

Steamed Pork Ribs With Black Beans

Steamed spare ribs with black beans, right, and with sour plums, left. The guys like ribs with black beans but mom and I prefer sour plums so this half-half dish is a compromise. I don't recommend doing both flavors in one dish though because both flavors are mixed up after a couple of digs at the dish.

This is such an everyday dish that you should skip this post unless you really need to read it.

Steamed pork ribs with black beans is a common Cantonese home dish that's so popular it's even served as a dim sum at yum cha restaurants. My dad would always place a small plate of steamed pork ribs with black beans in front of me, for me only, when the family ate dim sum out. And he would always jokingly say "Ah ----(my Chinese name), nah, you rack of ribs, eat ribs lah!" I didn't mind that he was reminding me that I was as thin and meatless as the ribs because I loved being pampered and not having to share the delicious nibbly ribs with my four siblings. My own plate of ribs was my military-trained father's rare show of affection for me and I basked in it.

For the uninitiated, steamed ribs are to be popped into the mouth and worked with the teeth and tongue to get the meat off before politely spitting the bone out, or, if you want to appear aristocratic, use your chopsticks to pick them out. Just thought that those who haven't a clue how to eat steamed ribs might want to know.

Although black beans are very salty, do not soak them or they loose their flavor. Just reduce the salt when you season the dish. You can add the sugar and sesame oil to the beans first before mixing them in with the ribs but I didn't find any di! fference in the taste of the beans when I did that. A different take on the dish is to fry the black beans, some green and red peppers and then add all the other ingredients (use some of the cornflour as sauce thickener at the end) and it's another classic Cantonese dish, fried spare ribs with black beans sauce.



Steamed Spare Ribs With Black Beans
400 g pork spare ribs, in bite sizes (try chicken wings for kosher/halal dish)
1 heaped T black beans, washed quickly
1/2 T chopped garlic
2 T corn flour
1 T light soy sauce
1/2 t fine sugar
1/2 t salt (or to taste)
a few shakes of white pepper
1 t sesame oil
1 T rice wine (optional)
1 T water

garnish: chopped spring onions & red chillies

1. Put everything into a heat-proof dish and mix well. Leave covered in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.

2. Get a pot/wok of water boiling, put the dish in and steam the ribs at high heat for 20 minutes. Serve hot.


note: steamed spare ribs in yum cha houses taste better than home-made because msg is added. If you like more sauce, add another 2 to 3 tablespoons of water but remember that steaming adds liquid to the dish and the pork gives out liquid too so extra water is not really necessary.

Tong Sui @ Jalan Dr Krishnan, Seremban

Tong sui, literally meaning "sugar water" is a Cantonese dessert and can refer to hot or cold sweet soup. There is a stall in Jalan Dr Krishnan (opposite Eu Yan Sang) which sells very good tong sui. We have been frequenting this shop since I was in my teens (a long time ago!). We observed that the business has now changed hands to the previous owner's son. This stall only operates at night, and a few tables will be set up at the sidewalks or you could take away the desserts. That evening, there were 3 types of desserts available. We ordered all 3 for takeaway.

The hong dao sui (red bean soup) here has always been my mum's favorite. With generous amounts of red bean and the right consistency, this is a sure winner.

I am usually not a big fan of fah sang wu (peanut soup), however I found the one that we ate that evening very pleasant. It was aromatic, smooth, creamy and thick. Just like eating peanut butter!

This I like - the fu chuk yi mai (beancurd sheets and barley soup) has always been one of my favorites. Not too sweet, you will find gingko, barley, beancurd sheet pieces, and a quail's egg in your bowl. This is suitable for those who prefer their dessert soup light and not too creamy.

Opening times: Evenings only, from 8pm (I think). Off days not fixed.

Price: RM1.50 per pack.

Location: Stall opposite Eu Yan Sang / next to Kee Mei Siew Pow, Jalan Dr Krishnan, 70000 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

GPS Coordinates: 2.727479, 101.937536

Free Shiseido Makeover Female Magazine issue April 2011

I got to know about this complimentary makeover + make up lesson from my fellow beauty bloggers Jess, Sharon & Kelly. Thank you babes, you gals rock!

The deal is very simple, buy/steal/borrow an issue of Female magazine this month & look for the Shiseido booklet inside.

One of the pages has this cut -out voucher. Your only investment is RM8 for the mag & RM80 for any Shiseido products and you are entitled for an one-on-one 30 min personalized make-up lesson with a Shiseido Colour Artisan.

To top it all off, youll get a 5 pc gift set which includes the new Zen Eau de Parfum for Men & Women, a White Lucent Brightening Spot-Control Base, a little tub of foundation and a set sample of 6 colours from the Maquillage lip rouge range.

Still very new to the art of make-up though Im errr.. a few decades old, Im mesmerized time & time again with the power of these beauty products.

Yes, Ive become an intolerable vainpot of late! On almost every weekend Im at the malls trying out new products as well as taking part in just about every makeover I heard of.

With that much groundwork, I have finally grasped the definition of base, primer, foundation, 2 way cake, powder, concealer, highlight powder, eyes highlights, the need for 10 different brushes and the concept of blend blend blend when it comes to the art of applying make up. LOL!

It also helps if the make-upartiste is very communicative & patient. My recent experience at Shiseido counter in Parkson Pavilion was exemplary.Angie, the Shiseido Artisan was simply wonderful. She comprehended my needs almost immediately. Her level of experience wasindubitable as she listened, and then started selecting the perfect products & colours for my make-over session.

We started off with Florence, who is one of the girls at the counter who assisted Angie to prep my skin for the make-over. My face was cleanse, hydrated & a layer of softener from the Shiseido White Lucent range was applied before the make-up base.

This was followed by the make up primer & the foundation.

Then a lot of the work was on the eyes. My eyebrows were trimmed and shaped, 2 different shades of eyeshadow applied, followed by careful blending and then the eye liner prior to fixing the false lashes into place.

I love the colours! Gold in the middle of the eyelid followed by both sides of shimmering green.

More eyeliner were applied after the lashes were fixed into place. To open up the eyes, Angie traced a bit of liner on the outer corners of my eyes.

And voila! Instant effect of bigger eyes!

Done with the eyes, Angie dusted a few strokes of blusher on my cheeks for the pinkish glow.

I looked so darn pleased right? Hehehe

Seriously, Im enjoying this little self-discovery journey of mine. Playing with make-up. Dressing up. Partying. All done in the right doses & responsibly of course

Its a good feeling, being happy & pretty!

The last part of it all the lipstick.

I absolutely adore the Maquillage range of Rouge Enamel. The colour really lasted throughout the day though the lip gloss would have to be re-applied from time to time.

Since I have to buy RM80 worth of Shiseido products for this session, my default choice was a Maquillage lipstick RM90. Im using it everyday now!

More camwhoring pics!

Hahah.. Florence and Angie thought this is was funny!

So ladies, what are you waiting for? Buy a Female mag this month & pamper yourself for that special day/night! I did this session for the Johnnie Walker Black Circuit Party & had loads of positive feedback .
Note: The voucher is valid til 30th April 2011.

All pictures are: