CNY 2010

I have decided to just make a few canisters of CNY cookies this year. I had planned to enjoy the process and not stress myself out by mass producing. But somehow… Hubby took some orders for my pineapple tarts. I did try selling them a few years back and oh boy, I realised how tough it was to earn money from selling home made cookies… too time consuming and stressful. Not to mention the mess. The heat. The ants. Arrgghhh…

But these customers keep coming back every year. Should I feel honoured or what? ;p After serious consideration, I decided not to disappoint them. Just THEM. No more. Ended up baking 15 canisters in 8 hours and feeling completely pooped out! ;p


Unfortunately I can’t afford to cook all the pineapple jam myself. Too much work, seriously. Just take a look at the entire process. My hands were shivering for the rest of the day from the juicing.
First, blend the pineapples (3 here!) and squeeze out all the juice.


Then, caramalise some sugar in the pan and pour in the juiced blended pineapples, stir till dry and golden brown. Add in cinnamon & cloves.
End product - not even 1 small canister full of pineapple tart filling!!
So I bought the premium grade pineapple jam – which could be better than what I made – for the customers. Shall keep the self-cooked jam for my own enjoyment :) I’m not that profit-minded after all… This premium grade jam costs RM5.30 per kilo more than the other brand! -_- Anyway, today I bumped into this recipe that doesn’t require juicing – just let the blended pineapple simmer and dry up on its own! Maybe I should try that next year, makes life so much simpler ;)

On another note, I also tried my luck at deep frying arrowheads. It was really easy and quick – I spent only an hour to make 3 canisters from scratch! Maybe I should sell this next year instead – the profit is 300% of cost and time cost is nothing compared to pineapple tarts :)

Yoga is BACK!

What a happy day. Glad that I made the decision to “invest” in my health and fitness. Yes I’m back to (practising) yoga :) Just so happened that my favourite teacher’s studio was having an open house with very good offer for membership – RM100 per month for 10 months! (Just hope that they won’t close down before that. Once bitten twice shy...)

Also decided to take part in their quest to create a record with the most people doing headstand in a room. And with that I got a 1-month free membership, and on top of that, I won a red yoga mat from the lucky draw! Gosh I don’t even remember winning any lucky draw in my life. Maybe I did, that must be yonks ago or I won something really small and not memorable ;p

So, my plans are all laid out. Just waiting for the right moment to activate the membership. Yeah it’s CNY, going to be busy blabla… we all know it all boils down to my own laziness ;p pole dance? That will have to take a backseat for now. Suddenly I’m feeling really really poor -_-

Let's hope the new year bring me prosperity. Never seems to have enough $$... ;p

Magic Bread!

OK, I lied.

I was not supposed to bake anything else but CNY goodies. But I couldn’t help trying out this new bread recipe that I found. Because I desperately needed some “healthy” breakfast.

Well it’s not exactly healthy in the strictest sense, because obviously it’s made of white bleached flour. And sugar. Pure carbohydrate. But at least I know for sure it’s free of preservatives.

And the best part was, I didn’t have to do any kneading. Thanks to Kenwood Chef. And the result was good :)

It rose very high and the texture was very soft, and it tasted great. At least for the first 2 days.

As I didn’t use any chemicals, the bread hardened on the 3rd day. And strangely this recipe is not suitable for making toasts. It’s just good eaten steamed. Anyway, I’m not complaining. It’s like the most successful and frills-free bread I have ever baked. Shall bake this again with healthier ingredients.

And since the oven was on (haha… there I go again), I attempted another vanilla cupcake recipe. Another one that claims to be NYC Magnolia’s original recipe. I cut the sugar in half – and it was GREAT. Honestly I have forgotten how the real Magnolia tasted (it was delicious and aromatic, that’s all I can remember). This was good. Even without the frosting. The right texture, the right sweetness. Yes I think I have found IT… The best vanilla cupcake recipe. Happy happy.

Naked cakes

Haha... Yup, this time round you're going to see some "naked" cakes.

To me, good cakes are not just pleasing to the eyes, they have to be delicious with the right texture, right sweetness and taste.

I love to try out recipes because I want to make sure the cakes are delicious even before they are made beautiful. So here you go...

Green tea sponge cake - this was wonderful. Attempted to put dairy whipped cream with homemade azuki beans as the filling. They turned out nice but the azuki beans were not soft and sweet enough. And I forgot to take pictures of the "dressed" cake :(

Another brownie recipe - nah, I'm still sticking to the previous chewy-fudgy recipe :)

Another batch of vanilla cupcakes - still looking for the BEST recipe... more trials to come...

There should be no cake-baking for a while as I'll be baking cookies for Chinese New Year. So far my list includes Pineapple Tarts, Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nuts, possibly some Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies too :) Stay tuned.

First yoga post of 2010

Yay, finally made it to a yoga class this year, after stopping for about 40 days ;p

And it was one of my favourite teacher's class - Azmi's Flow2. So glad that he brought back Flow 2, and the best part is the timing - Saturday morning! And the class is not crowded like the ex-yoga studio with 30-40 sweaty people haha... there was a nice crowd of 7, it was as great as ever.

There was a bit of pain, but I felt great being forced to go into poses that I usually feel too tired (lazy) to attempt at home. I really should do this more often. Thinking of getting the weekend only unlimited membership. Going for yoga once or twice a week is better than no yoga at all! Yup this is still my 2010 resolution, apart from taking up pole dancing too haha...

I just love Azmi's class because he's so good with his sequence, adjustments, and calming voice. I just can't stand teachers - especially ladies (sorry!) - with screechy voice and non-stop talking for the entire 60 minutes. I prefer to "feel" the poses and the pain and connect them to my breath and soul, without being too distracted by the instructor. Yes I promise to be back! :)

On another note, went for the torturous deep tissue massage again as my bunion has been very painful and swollen for weeks now. Biggest regret in my life. It was EXCRUCIATING. I am so going to quit going!! Please get better... He told me I sit long hours and thus there's a lot of congestion in my spine (causing the knots), and the effects are often reflected in the legs/feet. And I need to stay away from cold drinks, sour and spicy stuff. Sigh... age is really catching up I guess... I can no longer enjoy all the food I like! So people - enjoy it while you can, but eat in moderation. You wouldn't want to go through what I have to go through... ;p

Christmas Cupcakes

A long overdue post. Have been busy with work related matters since the start of new year. Not hectic, but stressful emotionally. If you know what I mean. The kind of stress that won't go away even in your sleep simply because some people are not doing their work.

Let's not talk about work. I made some cupcakes over Christmas for my colleagues and was quite pleased with the results. But making fondant is STILL a nightmare. For this new year I've decided to try the ready-to-roll version, which costs 3 times more but 30 times easier haha... Will tell/show you the results after my attempt.




For the cakes, I attempted some new recipes as I am still not happy with the "alleged" Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes (NYC) recipe I found on the net. I baked Lemon Poppy Seeds Cake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting (reduced sugar, of course!) and La Manilla Chocolate Fudge Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. They were both yummy! Definitely keepers.

I still had some fondant left after the Christmas Cupcakes project, and since my not-so-little bro's birthday was around the corner, I attempted another recipe - the Bon Ton Tiramisu - minus the sugar frosted nuts.

Every time I told my bro I would bake a cake for his birthday, he would respond with a smirk. He vividly remembers my failed cakes (ONLY -_-), and it was then I realised that he hasn't been eating my cakes (and seen the "improvements") over the years!

So, to redeem my reputation, I had to prove him wrong. And this sponge cake recipe (for the tiramisu) didn't fail me. It was easy, and for once, the texture didn't change when I refrigerated it! I'm so glad. However, the cream was way too rich for us... Hmm... again, recipes cannot be trusted 100%.
Poor snowman was already melting away as I had to put him in the fridge with the cake ;p

I tend to forget all the time - Tiramisu can never get enough of the coffee liquid to become moist...

What a start...

What a way to start 2010...
I practically limped into the new year.

Went to the sports doctor again as my right knee has been feeling funny, though I could still perform the yoga poses painlessly, but sometimes I feel pain at the back of my knee when I walk, and occasionally the entire right leg feels weak.

He told me this time seems more serious than before (!!) and it could be due to hormonal imbalance. I should also avoid eating vegetables which are white in colour and mushrooms. Oh no... I love mushrooms!

It was the longest 1 hour in my life. I had tears in my eyes and wanted to give up half way, but I persevered. I hope it works. It hurts like helllllllll till today :(

Hubby is no better haha...
And this was Day 2: