Tuesday, February 04, 2014

The Perfect Green Tea Ice-Cream...

Where did the idea of green tea ice-cream come from? I remember seeing the recipe somewhere in one of the magazines but after browsing through the collection of magazines on the shelf. I couldn't find the recipe but I remembered seeing it. Anyway, I succeeded in making one.
The ultimate tasteless cookies...
On top of the green tea ice-cream is the finest topping. No money can buy that finest groundnut cookie topping. My kitchen angel blessed us with two containers of cookies... almond cookies and groundnut cookies. The first bite was horrible. I thought there was something really wrong with my tastebuds. Thus, I make each kitchen crew to have a taste. Their faces were hilarious. One expensive reaction that struck me,"We treated your kitchen angel so nice with fantastic ice-cream and chicken pies and all the goodies. Why would the kitchen angel treat us like that?" My pineapple was really against me sending food over for now. Okay... Got it... got it... no more food delivery to the kitchen angel. Strike that kitchen angel off... demoted from being kitchen angel for the lousy taste... horrific in fact. The cookies were completely tasteless... but come to think of it... one need to be a professional to make totally tasteless groundnut cookies ... extremely salty actually and the worst part was there was completely NO groundnut aroma. Wow... after each of us sucked on the cookie, we tried doing some brainstorming session on how to create such tasteless cookies which has the same texture of the perfectly done groundnut cookies. None of us could come out with anything. We shook our heads in amazement. We were still thinking about those cookies every time we came across the two containers nestled in one corner of the table. We have totally no idea what to do with it.
I came out with a really bright idea. The texture was perfect... melt in the mouth until eventually you have your mouth completely plastered shut. Good enough to shut a person up for talking too much. The second piece would choke you to death... literally. Anyway, I was thinking of putting all the cookies into the food processor and maybe add some sugar and redo everything. I did not need the food processor. I just needed a fork... press lightly on the cookies and they were gone. To redo everything needs a lot of skills which I do not think I have.
Then, the bulb just lighted in my head. There's a box of green tea ice-cream. It would go perfectly with the ice-cream. YES~! Smart of me. The cookies wouldn't go to waste but the saddest part was nobody wants those crushed cookies on their ice-cream as well... *sigh* I crushed a few cookies but I only need a few pinches of them as topping or else the saltiness would spoil the taste of the ice-cream. Looks like I will need the whole year round to finish up those two containers. 

Sunday, February 02, 2014

The Best Chinese New Year Ever....


The year of the horse. Any significance in my life? Nope... I don't believe in any of the Chinese stuff. But I'm galloping away. I have a rather weird family who asked me to bring my own food for reunion dinner. And one who always always always asked me how much I'm earning. Fantastic... and all the remarks that opened up my eyes, "If I'm poor, then everybody else is worse than I am." Wow~! Amen~!!! My Father in heaven does own the cattle on a thousand hills.

My biological sister taught me that to stay on in a family, it's best that I grow up and keep my mouth shut. Wow... I would rather have strangers used me than having my 'so-called' family used me to the max. I would rather bring food and bless others than having humiliated for eating too much. This year I chose the way to celebrate as we like it. 

While others have loving family and relatives... I've never belong to the family over there. It's enough to have my mother, my hubby and my girls. We rot at home and ate to our heart's content. After rotting for two days straight, today we decided to leave the house and walked aimlessly at the mall. The best part of a shopping mall is the one selling kitchen utensils.

We had a great time eating instead of looking at steamboat with only a few stuff and more steamboat and more steamboat. I cooked up a storm and then we have the pleasure of eating straight from the pan and wok and pot. What kinda superstitious is that that one should not do that? And about sweeping the floor on the first day of Chinese Lunar New Year... don't worry about that... I don't sweep the floor whole year round. Somebody else who can't stand the dust in the house will do it. I will only do it when I have the time. Hey, I'm not jobless... like some people think I am.

We had our first Mexican dining experience at Habanero. Messing ourselves with tacos. Eating quesadillas were easier. Then, we walked over to the opposite Pie Harbour. The pies are to die for but beware... Yen's Chicken Pies will creep into the market very soon. Hehehehhehe....

The cinema. It's a place where everyone goes to when there's no where to go. Last year when we were in the dead town over there, we went for movies every day and spent our free time in MpH buying cupcake books. Then mi mama was warned against going to the cinema anymore but to rot at home over there staring at the walls and ceiling. What kinda celebration was that? I will never torture my mama like that. So, this is the best Chinese New Year ever and we'll have better ones next year and the year to come. We didn't catch any movies so far, the queue at the counter was snaking long.

I shall hold my very own private long table dinner soon. I will never complain of anyone eating too much... or should I ask my friends to bring their own food to the dinner I'm hosting? 

*WOOT* The Big 3-Owh...

My first birthday cake of the year... moist chocolate cake :D
When I was 10, I was amazed that I could live that long. I wondered how life would be like at 20. Right now, I could not remember what I was doing at the age of 20, probably building my career in teaching. At the age of 30, I'm veering towards cooking and I might want it for life now but I wouldn't let go of teaching no doubt I used to complain about it as it wasn't my first love. Cooking ain't my first love, too. Cooking is more like an accidental thing or something like I do not have a choice but to start cooking so, why not... do it perfectly?
My besties in black... 
All in black... with the interesting owners of JT Restaurant...
My birthday started off with my besties... the Judith gang + GK. I was driven to the Heritage... ? Don't really know the place but it was JT Restaurant. The buffet lunch was just normal. Nothing to shout about. It wasn't my kind of food but I love the company. There was no dressing up this year... getting bored with the old style. I prefer simple now. I wouldn't mine if Gracie made some sandwiches, Juju bake a simple but EDIBLE cake and Judz put them in a cute beautiful basket and off we go for a picnic. And we drag a professional photographer and turn it into a photography session... hey... I think I will want that for my next year's birthday~!!!!!! Minus the cake bake by Juju... that's just imagination running wild... 
A selfie~!
Yay~! My happy family~!
My second birthday cake... a black sesame cake... first time having it...
Mussels... *love love love*
Uncle Zack by the beach... at Park Royal Hotel... it's time to enjoy life...
With Park Royal's Executive Chef and Assistant Executive Chef...
My second surprise dinner was really awesome. According to my precious, she's the main planner. You would want to hire her as your interior designer in future or maybe she is more cut out to be an event's planner, planning everything to the dot to make sure there's no flop. I was asleep all the way to the other end of the island. I was kinda surprise to wake up to the main entrance of Park Royal Hotel. Then, we did some cam-whoring. My eldest and youngest were there, too. THAT was a real surprise. I was thinking of something else, though. The food was great and more importantly, the Executive Chef and the Assistant Executive Chef was around to greet us all. That's really a nice gesture. The food in Park Royal was really awesome. I'm thinking about going for the Saturday night seafood nite at Uncle Zack's by the beach. The view and the weather were just perfect. Everything was picture perfect.
Surprise~! My kitchen crew~!!
Photos~!!
On the real day itself. My kitchen crew was around to give me a bigger surprise. It was a cake and hubby ordered me another cake. Actually I asked for last year's shaggy dog but didn't know it would come in pink colour. I wouldn't mind if it was just like last year's. What is the one thing that all of us are really good in? PHOTOS~! They're really good in photo-bombing and we can play with the camera for hours and hours. And we're also gifted in enjoying good food.
My third birthday cake... Shaggy dog at the garden- dark chocolate cake... delicious..
My fourth birthday cake... My Pink Shaggy Dog... chocolate swissroll...