Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I Have A Dream or Simply Said- I Have So Many Dreams




Yellow Daffodils In Cameron Highlands, Malaysia- Daffodils are my favourite flowers.
  



Blue Flowers- Parents' house in Melaka
  


Yellow Beetle (Google)
 



Bognor Regis, West Sussex (Google)
  



Tower Bridge, London, England (Google)
  



Mecca (Google)
  
There is a saying that goes by this - Never Stop Dreaming! How true it is.. I am a dreamer, definitely. Dreams are cheap, they say, but to achieve the dreams, it is not an easy task. The process of achieving dreams is actually expensive. We know that we need to work hard for our dreams. That is why it is easier to dream on things. It is free, it does not require any single dime.
  I am Ms Perfect all the time, I really dream to have a perfect life, perfect work, perfect happiness. But, perfection is underrated. To err is human, God is perfect. At times, it is not easy to please everybody in our life. Sometimes, people expect too much from us, but they forget that we have our own limitations too. The recent phenomenon on social network made me ponder at times. Could we really take things seriously or could we keep our privacy at bay? One wonders. Don't get me wrong, I have so many praises for things like FB or Twitter, but at this time of the year, I wonder where do we go after that? Am I going to keep my account on FB even after I am no longer  in this whole world? Probably I 'll ask my best  friend to close my account the minute she knows I am no longer around. I dread the idea of people remembering my good deeds only after I am long gone. Well, I make mistakes too, only God knows how many times I  have dissatisfactions on certain issues or people. But hopefully, this blog will be around for a long time, I hoped it served as a reference stop for those who appreciate it even though it is quite  unpopular, compared to other blogs. Only time could tell.....
   Back to my dreams, I dream of one day being able to take pictures of the daffodils again in the UK. I particularly like those yellow ones- especially during Easter or Spring. When the birds were chirping happily early in the morning, to mark the beginning of Spring in the UK, and I could see the bulbs of daffodils sprung up, and the chill of the morning made me snuggling in the bed instead of going to the college, those were the moments when I truly felt blessed and happy. I could still hear the birds chirping near the white French window at my landlord's house in West Sussex, UK.  I shall treasure that too. I remember having come across a yellow Beetle in Sussex, and I fell in love straight away. That was the moment too. I dream too, on being able to go back to my hometown and reside there, when I have my elderly parents  and happy kids around. There is also a dream to visit West Sussex in the UK, where I have spent two years of my happy life. It maybe  only two years of my short life but those two years were  definitely the best (apart from having a kid of my own). Lastly, I have a dream of paying a visit to Mecca. I am working towards this, as I slowly learn and find myself again. Yes, people have dreams, it is not hurtful to have dreams. I dream of becoming a good daughter and a loving mother. I dream of having plenty of time to spend with my child, and not to be burdened by work. Work could wait, but times spent with our loved ones are precious. Children grow up very fast, and we become older, and time may not come back again. Time (as I read in a poem that  I have found online) ; sometimes can make us cry..
    Yes, if dreams could make us happy, let's have as many dreams as we could, and then we will definitely be happy....

Monday, February 20, 2012

Hershey's Choc Chip Brownies



Hershey's Choc Chip Brownies
 



I used Bournville Cocoa Powder and Vanilla Pod
  


Oozing with perfection...
 


Cut into pieces
 



Brownies to dream of...
  




Full of chocolatey flavour...
  





Brownies are definitely made in heaven, I guess...
   
They say, when ever we feel the blues, we need to bake something. Baking is a therapy, a medicine for a wandering soul. Baking is like magic, it makes the heart jump when ever we smell the heaven-baked goods. Give me a choice of baking or shopping, I will definitely choose baking.
 Apparently, in baking, I have a confession to make- I could go crazy with brownies, without any doubt. Eventually, I have attempted this recipe of brownie in a row and this time I give it a twist, instead of nuts, I have added chocolate chips in the batter. I could never go wrong  with brownies, when ever I feel like whipping something, I always think of brownies.
    For this attempt, I have added Special Dark Hershey's Chocolate Chips (Real Midly Sweet Chocolate Chips). I just feel the need to have chocolates in my brownies, I guess I miss my experiment phase, the time when I could have all the time in this world to do experiments on what to add in my cupcakes. Thus, to cure my baking addiction ( of the need  to bake something) ~ I have baked these brownies. Well, feel free to bake them as you will know why brownies are definitely my kind of thing.
Here goes;

Ingredients

100g cocoa powder ( I used 75g Bournville Cadbury's Cocoa Powder + 25 g of Hershey's Cocoa)
140g unsalted butter
125g plain flour
4 eggs
3 oz / 175g / half cup Hershey's Special Dark Real Midly Sweet Chocolate Chips
350g Soft Brown Sugar
1 vanilla pod ( scraped) or you can use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 pinch salt / 1/2 tsp salt

How

** Grease your brownie pan with butter. Line with baking paper.
1) Firstly, melt butter in a deep saucepan. Let it cool for a while.
2) Using electric hand mixer, in a stainless steel bowl, whisk eggs  for 2 mins. Add in brown sugar. Whisk again for another 2 mins or until the sugar dissolve.
3) Next,  add in melted butter. Whisk the batter again. Add in vanilla and salt.
** At this stage, you can preheat the oven at 125C ( for 7-8 mins) ~  I used electric oven.
4) Sift the cocoa and flour directly into the bowl. Stir using wooden spoon.
5) Add in half of the chocolate chips.


I was inspired by this book...


6) Transfer the batter into the brownie pan. Level the batter. Put another half of the choc chips on top of the batter.
7) Bake the brownie for about (20-25mins). Check if the brownie is ready, by inserting a skewer. If it comes out clean- your brownie is ready to be transferred out from the oven.
8) Let your brownie cool in the pan. After 10-15 mins, you can cut the brownie into pieces.

Now, you have it - the ultimate brownies....



Love is definitely brownies...
 


Happy baking, and may brownies find your way.....deep into your heart ;)

Old- Fashioned Brownies- The Recipe



Hot from the oven...



I have cut this brownies into squares


Ready to be packed off

Brownie Bliss by Linda Collister
I'm hooked on brownies, any kind of brownies is good enough for me. Brownies seemed to have an important part in my baking agenda, that is why in my last post, I have baked brownies for a good friend of mine. I have baked these old-fashioned brownies based on the recipe by Linda Collister. However, I have twisted and adapt it a little bit, just to give a little bit of oomph here and there. Here goes;

Ingredients

100g cocoa powder- ( I used Hershey's)
140g unsalted butter ( I used SCS)
4 large eggs
140g plain flour
150g pecan nuts ( roasted and chopped)
* The original called for 150g walnuts
200g soft brown sugar
100g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla pod (You can use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence)- Scrape the vanilla pod.
1/2 teaspoon salt

How

** Grease your brownie tin with butter. Line the pan with parchment paper.
1) Firstly, melt the butter in a deep saucepan. Let it cool.
2) In a stainless steel bowl- using the electric hand mixer, whisk the eggs for 2 minutes, add in brown
     and caster sugar.
3) After a while ( 2-3 mins), add in the vanilla. Next, add in the melted butter.
** At this stage, preheat your oven at 125C. ( for about 7-8 mins)
4) After that, sift  in the flour and cocoa powder directly to the stainless steel bowl. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Add in the salt.
5) After the mixture is fully combined, stir in the pecan nuts.
6) Put the mixture into the brownie tin, spread it so that it will be in the correct level.
7) Bake in the oven for about 20-25 mins or when you insert a skewer into the brownie, it comes out clean. Then, remove the tin from the oven.
8) Leave the brownie to cool in the tin for about 10- 15 minutes and they are ready to be removed and cut into pieces.

You can eat these brownies straight away or keep in an airtight container, and store them in the fridge.
* Serve them with  vanilla ice-cream and you'll  definitely fly. Fly to heaven, I guess... (hmmm)

Happy Monday, everyone....




Saturday, February 11, 2012

Here comes the baking mood again~Old-fashioned brownies

Old-fashioned Brownies- with wild honey, Hershey's cocoa, vanilla pods, unsalted butter and roasted pecans.. who wouldn't like them, anyway?!

I baked this for a dear friend


Just a quick update.... I have got back my baking mood  again, (it went missing for a  few months )- and today I've finally broken the no- baking spell. It is  so nice to bake again and diminishing all my worries. I am bringing this to my friend's kenduri or get-together with the recital of prayers. Ms Fara is going to have a big event for her baby girl. She's been waiting 7 years for the arrival of her bundle of joy, so I guess I need to bake something special. I had wanted to surprise her with cute cupcakes with fondant pink buttons on top, but I was too tired to do any of those- so I opted to bake this. Well, I've got to go... I will share the recipe on the next entry. On a final note, these brownies are simply divine- I have to hide them from my son, as he keeps asking for them... Happy Sunday, everyone...





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