Still Learning

Stocks I should have bought in 2009:

1) Genting Singapore (SG)
2) Amazon (Nasdaq)
3) Google (Nasdaq)
4) TopGlove (KLSE)
5) Apple (Nasdaq)

Stocks I should have left alone:

1) Berjaya Sports Toto &%W*#E^&E#

Stock I don't regret buying:

1) Adobe
2) Berkshire Hathaway
3) Public Bank
4) BERNAS

Missing Him

Saying goodbye is always hard, especially to my little baby.

It is my dearest wish that one day we'd be able to bring our pets travelling with us (at a reasonable price).

So here are a few snippets of what he has been up to the weeks before I left:

Wrestling with a ring binder




I had just laundered his towels and stacked them nicely on the wooden crate (and I mean minutes before this). Of course, BooBoo can never resist a new place to lie down on and had to climb on top of the pile immediately.






Doing his look-at-me-I'm-so-cute pose under the dining table, one of his favourite hangouts

Another favourite place to roll about - the fluffy pink rug

Dearest BooBoo, behave yourself at the vet's, we'll see each other again soon enough.

And I'm Off (tommorrow)

Tommorrow I'm off to Penang.

But first comes a 6-hour wait at the Kuching Airport.

Well, I've armed myself with a good thick book, plenty of chocolates (obviously my root canal two days ago hasn't taught me anything), a warm sweater and comfy platform shoes, I'm good to go.

Home sweet home, here I come.

Too Bright

Booboo needs the lights to be OFF when he sleeps, please.

Now, go away and leave me alone.

Coconut and Palm Sugar Cupcakes

These are super-rich, moist cakes flavoured Malaysian-style, with coconut and palm sugar. Now, these two are common enough in chendol (green vermicelli in a cold soup of coconut milk), sago gula melaka, and bubur chacha.

I decided to put them to work in a cupcake, just for fun.

These turned out dense, super moist and with a gorgeous flavour. I used coconut cream (really thick and rich, with an almost sludgy texture) as the liquid instead of coconut milk, which would probably result in a lighter texture. But after the 3rd day of eating and still no sign of abating, I'd recommend using the cream.

After they're baked, these babies with are brushed with a palm sugar syrup, which is just palm sugar (gula melaka) melted with a little water until a sticky sugar syrup is obtained.

Coconut (oil, milk) has gotten a really bad rap in the 20th century. These days, people are extolling about the miracle effects of Virgin Coconut Oil, and milk as well. So these probably won't make you fat *grin*. And they do have such a sweet, nutty coconut scent that's almost delicate.


Coconut Cupcakes with Palm Sugar Syrup

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons castor sugar
1 cup cake flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup coconut cream
2 walnut (unshelled)-sized knobs of palm sugar
4 tbps water

Preheat oven to 180 degC. Grease your cupcake tin (or use a silicone one).
Cream the butter and sugar till light and creamy.
Add the eggs and stir to combine.
Fold in the flour and coconut cream, alternately.
Fill with batter till 3/4 full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tester inserted into your middle cupcake turns out clean.

Meanwhile, if your palm sugar comes in big blocks like mine does, chop/pound these into smaller pieces as they will melt quicker.
Put the palm sugar and water in a saucepan.
Bring to boil over medium heat and stir till all the sugar is dissolved.
Continue simmering until you get a nice sticky syrup and no solid traces of palm sugar are left.

While the cupcakes are still warm, brush them with the syrup

Serve cold. I found that after 2 days of sitting in the fridge, the cake became all smooth and rich, and made for one hefty (but thoroughly enjoyable) breakfast.

Self Indulgence

I probably should mention that I turned 28 not too long ago. Damn that number THREE-OH is looming.

AK took me for a sumptuous buffet at the super popular Lemon Garden Cafe at the Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur. I loved the smoked duck breast, Tandoori Prawns, salmon sashimi and sticky chocolate cake the most.

In addition, I also bought a lemon meringue pie from a little cafe in Mid Valley (which turned out to be so good), a slice of key lime pie from (again, I can't recall the name) from a cafe in Bangsar Village, and lots and lots of bakua and kaya puffs to cart home.

We visited Ikea, where I went a little crazy picking up a mass of stuff for the kitchen in the new place (stainless steel wall shelf and railings, hooks and a cutlery container).

For myself, I indulged in the following:

1) A 20 cm JW Schillings chef's knife (on sale - RM150), that I cut myself with pretty deeply the first day I used it - I am terrified of that knife now)
2) A slew of cookbooks - Sherry Yard's The Secret of Baking, MFK Fisher's The Gastronomical Me and Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
3) Lancome Vibrating Mascara - supposedly it lengthens the lashes with prolonged use. Hey, no harm hoping, right? It is a bit thick and clumpy for my taste, but with a lash comb this can be easily rectified.

All in all, a pretty indulgent one.

New Home, new Tree

After 4 years of sharing houses with other people, we get out own little place. Granted it's a rented one, but we get to live by our (granted, my) rules.

So this year, after 3 years of couldn't-care-less-about-the-Miri-home, I bought a modest Christmas tree, ice blue LED lights, silver ribbons and a few baubles in teal and silver. I lugged everything back, immediately put up the tree and lights and asked for BooBoo's opinion. Am a little bit disappointed that he merely blinked (and otherwise showed no interest), but am pleased nonetheless with how it looks.

Counting down to Thursday when I leave for Penang :)

Don't let this face fool you....(cos it did us)

Here is BooBoo's "Let's take their hearts" expression, when we caught him - and were just about to reprehend him for - batting the mobile phone charger around. You see, AK was re-arranging his stuff in the new place, and of course our little busybody had to tag along, happily bounding after AK going in and out of the rooms, and finding everything just oh so fascinating.

Having a pet cat like this is really wonderful - like a baby that doesn't grow up :)

Back to the scene of the crime.

Of course, how can you possibly scold/yell at this face???

So, of course we just couldn't, so instead (when we managed to stop laughing long enough), we took pictures and then scooped him up for one gi-normous hug.

Dearest BooBoo, what would life in this forsaken place be without you?

Nigella's Cafe Espresso Chocolate Cake

Light and moussy, yet dense at the same time. And totally reeking with chocolatiness (I used up the last of my Varlhona) and Tia Maria. I'd call these a more sophisticated version of the normal gooey brownie that is my permanent repertoire. And only slightly more complicated to make.

The process is simple (this is the true reason why we all love Nigella - one can always trust her to use the simplest of methods to obtain the most wonderful of results). Put butter and chocolate over a double boiler, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whip up the eggs (no separating required) and sugar till pale and light and more than doubled in volume (using my handheld mixer it took no time at all), fold in flour, Tia Maria, instant coffee crystals and cocoa. Then pour in (cooled) chocolate+butter mixture. Pour the entire mixture into a baking tin lined with waxed paper, then pop into an oven preheated to 180 degC, for 35-40 minutes.

Nigella likes this cake with what she calls a cafe latte cream - white chocolate melted in cream with a little instant coffee powder mixed in. But I like these just chilled, by their wonderful selves.

A Short Trip Offshore

3 nights. That's all.

I think it's good to get this offshore yearning out of my system, as my physical being really can only take so much beating - the freakin' cold airconditioning, the trudging around and walking flights and flights of stairs in heavy metal-toed boots. Not to mention the fact that I'm currently experiencing the WORST toothache in the world, one that throbs inside my right cheek and makes me dizzy at times.

Clearly the timing of this trip could be improved. But it cannot be helped, this is the only time when I will be allowed to come out, and even that was agreed reluctantly.

Our poor BooBoo is at the Vet's, probably planning his "payback" to me (I'll pick him up when I get back on Saturday) in the form of one veeeeeeeeery long sulk.

Sunrise over the Petra Endeavour

Anyway, the thing I really am yearning for right now is next Thursday, when I will say adios to Miri and return home for the Christmas Holidays.

BIG FAT Chops with Fennel and Onion Gravy

Oh the hazards (and pleasures, I'd have to admit) of impulse shopping. AK and I were at Miri's bestest mall, where we almost gave in to the LCD TV urge. But again, as always, we figured it could wait while we spent our money on more needful things. Like food.

We were strolling in the supermarket and I just couldn't resist buying a pair of thick, luscious looking pork chops (partly because I was watching an episode of Saturday Cooks where a they cooked the most tempting-looking pork chops with fennel seeds. And don't you tell me otherwise, Nigel Slater - the supermarket offers such a boon - what a nice change from the market it is - the chops were all cleaned and trimmed and ready to cook - wonderful.

As soon as I got these home I rubbed them with sea salt and black pepper, plus a sprinkling of brown sugar on one side, and left them overnight in the fridge.

The next morning, I let them come to room temperature for about 2 hours. Meanwhile I finely chopped an onion and caramelized the slices slowly in some butter and oil in my thick-bottomed La Gourmet pan, for a good 45 minutes over the merest heat. Once they got good and brown and melting, I added a cup of chicken stock (water and stock concentrate), some black pepper and a bay leaf. I let the sauce come to a boil, and then let the mixture steep while I prepped my chops.

I then heated up my nonstick pan, and melted a knob of butter with some oil till sizzling. I rubbed cornflour all over my chops for a slightly crisp coating and to thicken the sauce later. I then seared the chops on both sides, then added a teaspoonful of fennel seeds. Let the mix sit on high heat for 1 minute, then pour in the sauce mixture, making sure to scrape up all the good brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Covered the whole thing, lowered the heat and let it simmer away for a good 40 minutes, or until I was satisfied that the meat was cooked properly - stirring occasionally, and seasoning as required (a little sugar, more black pepper, a splash of soy, that was all).

Lime Rubble

Why I made it the way I made it:

1) Limes are way cheaper than lemons in this part of the world. I pay Rm1.60 for one measly lemon, and RM1 for 15 juicy (albeit small) limes. So I spend a bit more time juicing them one by one, but they do yield a lot easier. It's like squishing bugs :)
2) I halved the recipe as I don't have the heart to use up so much sugar and butter in one sitting
3) I used Nigella's trick of blast-freezing the pastry flour and sugar before mixing in the butter, for maximum shortness
4) I love rich-yet-sour desserts

Why did I call it Lime Rubble? Well, I seriously thing BJ would come after me with a lawsuit if I show these babies as representatives of her recipe. Make no mistake though - they are absolutely delicious, and I'd make them again in a heartbeat.

Lime Rubble
Inspired by Belinda Jeffrey's Luscious Lemon Slices

90 g butter, cut into small pieces and chilled well
3/4 cups AP flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
lime juice, chilled, 2-3 tablespoons

Filling:
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
100 ml lime juice
3/4 cups flour
1 cup caster sugar

To make the pastry:
Preheat oven to 180 degC.
Line your baking tin with greaseproof paper.
Sift icing sugar and flour into a bowl.
Freeze for 10 minutes (keep your butter in the fridge at this point)
Rub the pieces of butter into flour-sugar mixture till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly, add 2-3 tsps of lime juice or until the dough comes together in a ball.
Chill to firm, then roll out onto a baking tin.
Prebake for 18 minutes or until it starts to look brown at the edges.

For the filling, stir eggs and sugar together till smooth and light.
Add the lime juice, and then sift in the flour. I alse added a pinch of salt.
Pour filling mixture (give it a good stir before pouring) over the pastry dough and bake for a further 30 - 40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center turns out clean.

Cool, and serve at room temperature.

Epic Fail

Stubborn little guy will NOT be lead on the leash, despite all the threats, praise or treats we tried. Here he is trying his very best to hold on to something, anything, to avoid being dragged along. Of course he will NOT follow our lead.

Wretch that I am

Whenever I feel that God has cut me a raw deal, He proves me wrong.

When I thought that my job has hit the dead end, suddenly comes an exciting project, one where I definitely have no question on the value it adds, to me or to the organisation.

When I felt that the tiny world I live in has abandoned me, an old friend calls, another sends an email, yet another IM's me and we chat for hours, just finding out how it is with each other.

When I felt being taken for granted, I am proved wrong yet again.

I am an ungrateful wretch, I truly am.

Thank you, God, for all these people in my life that I hardly deserve.

Thank you, God, for paving the way.

I am reminded, as always, to be grateful.

Chubby Cat

OK, you know you're a lousy (pet) parent when people start to think that your male cat is pregnant.

Obviously we've been giving in too much to him. I mean, he asks for food all the time, and has the audacity to wake me up at six in the morning by sitting on my chest and meowing into my face, Friskies breath and all. Who says no to that??

Time to go on a diet, I think - easier said than done.