Welcoming Ramadhan Al-Mubarak



Ramadhan is the light for the wandering soul  ( Hotel Equatorial, Malacca)




And we see life in a natural phase  (Bagan Lalang,Sepang, Selangor)




As night withdraws its curtain ( Malacca)





We finally come back to our creator, and seek solace for all the difficulties in life...
 (Masjid Sultan, Arab Street, Singapore)

 

I am here again. I have not updated this blog for about two months. Again, work has been the main culprit for my disappearance, not to mention that I have troubles of transferring pictures from my memory card to the pc. Well, excuses once more. As a matter of fact, this year has not been utterly kind to me- I lost the mood to bake due to heavy work schedules, and I simply lack of time to do any baking. Then, suddenly Ramadhan (the fasting month for Muslims) is finally here. Phew, how time flies. I wish that I have more time to spare, how I wish.

  This year, I aim to bake more types of Eid cookies i.e biscuits and share their recipes here. I would like to make up for the lost time last year, when I have only managed to bake one type of biscuit. It was very dissappointing indeed. Well, hoping for the best Ramadhan this year, despite all the challenges and short-comings in life. On a final note, I would like to wish all Muslim readers and friends a Happy Ramadhan, may all your doa and prayers would be fulfilled.God Willing i.e. Insya Allah ....




 

I baked these raspberry cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting and swirled with frozen raspberries

 (specially done for a dear friend who was craving last June)

  

May life treat you well and have a blessed month, indeed .........

Love Is ......



A cupcake baked by a student, hand-delivered to yours truly. I was touched....





Hummingbird cake in The Coffee Bean cafe-spending time with my two kids



They say that love is unconditional. To me, it is not a symbol created for lovers specifically. It is more than that. Lovers can part their ways, but family will always stick together, through thick and thin. That is love to me. Today, I wish to write about things that make me happy in this entry, such as the time when my student hand-delivered a cupcake to me. Unexpected? Yes... simply because I have gone through the phase of expecting things from the others. Usually, I always loved the reaction when people receive gifts from me. So, when a student gave me a cupcake the other day (not that I don't receive any other gifts), I was taken aback. Yes, how true that the saying goes like this- "It's not the gift that counts, it's the thought". It's the effort that I really appreciate, well you see, (I was not up to myself these few weeks, that was why I have baked nothing), my work is taking a toll of my life- Again! Therefore, knowing there was a teenage girl making efforts to bake cupcakes for her teachers, was something that made me really touched. Impressed a bit, definitely.
   Sometimes,  when the thought of the things that make you unhappy comes across your mind, and then you discovered that there are people who have thought of you, it really made up your day. It changed your perspectives of love. Yes, like spending time with your kids in a local cafe and savouring the Hummingbird Cake, never mind that store-bought cakes never tasted as good as home-baked ones, but it's the time spent with loved ones that matters. I don't know when will I have the time to bake and update this blog again, but until now- I think this post is more than enough to keep this blog alive...
     In another note, let's celebrate love with a new definition- that is to think and thank those who have touched our lives... Adieu





A single red rose for me ;)

 

Macaroons in Serai, Empire Gallery



Multi-coloured macaroons and Lemongrass Tea in Serai, Empire Gallery, Subang...



I have yet to attempt any baking, but right now, I wish to update this blog and rave about macaroons. I have sampled these macaroons a few weeks ago in Serai, an up-scale Malay fusion restaurant in Empire Gallery Subang. Yes, they were too sweet to my liking, but I think they went well with this Lemongrass Tea. I still have reservations on doing macaroons but yet I keep buying books on macaroons-- the latest being the Pierre Herme' s Macarons. The book set me back for RM144.05 and I now I wish that I have the guts to do macaroons. You see, my work load is getting heavier this year and I couldn't simply have the time to do as much baking as I used to do.  Oh well, I must stop my ramblings now, I need to do some house and work- related chores, so that I could concentrate on baking after that...



This wonderful book, in English of course



Until then, have a nice weekend, every one...

Patience Is All That I Need Right Now

Patience is what I really need right now, as life is testing me in many different forms. Being dying to bake and update this blog, but at the present, I could not simply do that. There are just so many things to cater to, that I have lost the touch of baking. At the moment, let's hope for the bests and these challenges are here to make me a better ME....

What I really need now is patience.

Hang On .....



We wish to live longer

  

We learn to never give up on things that matter to us



Sometimes, when  you only have yourself to believe




You would think that life is a beach



And you learn to hang on even if things seemed to be difficult at times

When I was young, I used to think that growing up was difficult. I thought that being a teenager was a phase I needed to get rid of. I hated the imbalance of hormones, the merry-go- round moods and the unrequited crushes. I was eager to be an adult. I thought being an adult was easy, with a secure job and lots of cash. I even thought adulthood was the answer to my never ending questions in life. Life was confusing then and things were different. It was always school, friends and family. There was never really a big responsibility, but I learnt a lot through out my school days. Coming from an all-girls school, I learnt to be tough, to be a perfectionist or rather truthfully I learnt that life was not easy at all. I first learnt the word failures in school, picked up the pieces and stood up as if nothing had ever happened. That was a real lesson in life. You see, I learnt to be tough when the going gets tough. It was not an easy task to survive in an all girls' school-- as we learnt the word "competitive" from the beginning. Everybody would want to be the best. However, only those who had the tough spirits would survive.

     I wished I would have knew then what the future really looked like- for me. Sometimes, it is difficult just to stay afloat in a world full of misunderstandings and confusions. But what I learnt in my school days was  it was easy to give up rather than to stand back, it was easy to say good bye rather than to say hello. However, what I really learnt -in one of those incidents in school, (which I chose not to forget now), was to get up, walked and  ran. I chose to think positively out of difficult situations. I chose to believe in my own strengths and abilities. I chose to think that no matter what people think of me, God knew the truth back in those days. That was me then, that is me now. No matter how difficult things are, there will always be possibilities to be found and opportunities to be gained. Some people may misunderstood us, but there are some other people who would understand. But the most important thing in life is, hang on during difficult times, and never give up.... That is all that matters.

Hopes And Prayers

Hope is like a single lone flower

It gives us the courage and determination to hold  on...

We realise that life is too short when tragedy strikes



But we always have doa and prayers for those who are affected.
Hope is like a light in the darkness of a tunnel. It gives us purposes in life
and prayers are our only solace when tragedy strikes.



My thoughts and prayers for those who are affected by the 8.9 Richter Scale earth quake in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia today ( 12 April 2012). Doa and prayers for the fishermen in Kuala Muda, Kedah, residents near the coastal area of Perak, Penang and Kedah - hoping that nothing bad will happen to them. The Boxing Day tsunami of 26th of December 2004 is still remembered by all Malaysians from all walks of life, and it is a sad memory for me. I truly hope that tragedy will not strike again. I am praying for the safety of everybody. God is great and He knows the best......

The Ultimate Banana Bread




Banana bread - a prime favourite with friends and family

 


Sprinkle some brown sugar  on the banana bread @ cake and decorate it with roasted pecans



I have never expected this creation of mine would be a hit among my friends especially. This banana bread recipe is created by me to fulfill the request of my son. I have done countless of baking experiments just to get the ultimate recipe. Each time would be a sold-out among friends and students. My son especially liked this banana bread, it is definitely his favourite. Therefore after, making some adjustments here and there, I  am finally ready to share this original recipe of mine. This is simply an original version which really suited my taste bud.  One tip to be shared is - please use very ripe bananas. I have used the Malaysian type of bananas - pisang emas or loosely translated as golden bananas. They are  yellowish gold, small in size and very sweet. You could google the picture for "pisang emas". However, if it is not available, you could use other type of bananas as well, as long as they are ripe and yellow in colour. Please set your oven to 150C for about 7-8 mins, (I used electric conventional oven) before putting in your banana bread. I have used the loaf tin to bake this bread. Use roasted pecan nuts to decorate your bread. I have found out that these pecans gave another aroma to the banana bread. To do this cake, you could always roast your pecans in the oven beforehand. Now, here goes the recipe;

The Ultimate Bread (Recipe)

** Grease the loaf tin  with butter, (here I used unsalted butter) and outline it with baking paper.

* Please do not use baking spray to grease this loaf, as the sides of the bread will turn out to be

  very crunchy after baking.

* Set your oven to 150C ( for about 7-8 mins)

Ingredients

7-8 mashed pisang emas (golden bananas)

A handful of roasted pecans

1 tbsp of brown sugar (to be sprinkled on the bread)

4 large eggs

1 tsp of salt

1 cup of unsalted butter ( I used SCS)

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of fresh milk - add one tsp of fresh lemon juice into the milk

2 tbsp of sour cream

1 tsp of fresh lemon juice

1 tsp of vanilla essence

**To be sieved together

2 1/2 cup of bread flour (high protein) - it would make the bread soft - you can always use the plain flour

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of baking powder

11/2  tsp of nutmeg powder ( do not omit this- it is crucial to the taste of the bread)

How

1) Using electric mixer, cream butter and sugar in a stainless mixing bowl.

    Add in eggs, one by one. Add in vanilla essence.

2) Add in salt, the sieved flour, baking soda and powder, and also nutmeg.

    Then add in the fresh lemon juice. Mix them well again.

3) Add in the fresh milk (which has been added with lemon juice). Next, add in sour cream.

4) Lastly, put in the mashed bananas. Mix well

5) Immediately, using wooden spoon, put the mixture into the loaf tin.

6) Decorate the bread with roasted pecans and sprinkle some sugar on it.

7) Bake the banana bread for approximately 45 mins- it could be longer- check if it is ready by inserting a skewer into the bread. If it comes out clean, then your bread is ready.

** Don't worry if there are cracks on the bread. That is the beauty of the banana bread.

Happy baking, everyone......