Aussie day

yesterday was Australia day which was the day that Australia being discovered.

spent the whole day with the Melissa and her boys. was really fun, but tired oso :)

i brought some jap dramas for Melissa. she was so happy that one of the dramas is the one she really wants to watch.

so we watched the dramas when the boys having their afternoon nap.

really can't believe an aussie can fully understand japanese. if you don't see her face, you never know it's not a japanese talking, but an aussie... wish i can speak fluent japs as Mel.... :(

anyway, it was a busy day.. we made the cake in the afternoon and Mel made the patties for dinner. the patties were really good and easy to make. i am sure i will make more in the future, and put them in the freezer. hehe :)

Choc-cheesecake Muffins

makes 12 preparation 20 mins (+10 mins resting time) cooking: 1 hour

melted butter, to grease
1 x 200 g pkt dark cooking chocolate, coarsely chopped
100 g butter,melted
225 g self-raising flour
30 g cocoa powder
80 ml milk
4 eggs
270 g caster sugar
2 x 250 g pkts cream cheese, at room temperature
125 g sour cream

1. preheat oven to 160C. brush twelve muffin pans with melted butter to grease. place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water) and stir with a metal spoon until melted and smooth. remove from heat. alternatively, put the bowl in the microwave to melt the chocolate and butter.

2. add the flour, cocoa, milk, 2 eggs and 155 g sugar to the chocolate mixture and stir until well combined.

3. use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese, sour cream and remaining sugar in a bowl until smooth. add the remaining eggs and beat until combined.

4. spoon the chocolate mixture evenly among the prepared pans. top with the cream cheese mixture. bake in oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted and come out clean. set aside in the pans for 10 minutes to cool before transferring to serving plates.

[australian good taste - june 2007, p. 78]

Salmon and Sweet Potato Patties

serves 4 preparation 15 mins cooking 13 mins

400 g sweet potato, peeled, diced
415 g can pink salmon, drained, bones removed, flaked
1/4 cup thai chilli stirfry paste (or sweet chilli sauce)
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain flour
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. place sweet potato and 1 tablespoon of cold water in a microwave-safe bowl. cover and microwave on HIGH (100%) for 7 minutes or until tender. allow to cool slightly. mash roughly with a fork.

2. place salmon in a large bowl. add chilli paste, shallots and mashed sweet potato. mix well. divide mixture into 8 portions. shape each portion into a 2 cm-thick patty. beat eggs in a shallow bowl. place flour and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes. coat patties, 1 at a time, in flour, shaking off excess. dip in egg, then coat in breadcrumbs. place on a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes, if possible.


3. heat oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. cook patties for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden.


[food idea]

what a day!

time passes so fast... end of the month already...

and this week back to our normal busy + extra heavy workload...

sometimes jus don't understand why people can't be more considerate when they obviously know long weekend is ahead.

sent in their document not until 1 hour before close of business and wishing to get their draft on the same day!

no choice, but have to work overtime otherwise i am the only one who will suffer on tuesday... =_= poor MP had to wait for an hour before we went for our shopping nite.

felt like having western food, so went to Jo Jo's, can't believe it was the first time went there with Maria. we ordered one steak with chips (both forgot to take pictures, it's also the first time!) and
pumpkin & feta cheese pizza.

this was fantastic! :) Maria thought the pumpkin would be the mashed one, it might be a surprise for her :) hehe.. might be one day we can try the mashed pumpkin pizza. it won't be bad i guess.

Vanilla Cupcakes

makes 3 dozen (mini) preparation 10 mins cooking 20 mins

225 g unsalted butter, softened
225 g caster sugar (can be adjusted to your desirable level)
225 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

this is my favorite silicon mini cupcakes mould, as they are non-stick :)

1. preheat the oven to 175c.

2. place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.

3. spoon the mixture into the cases. bake for 20 minutes.

4. remove the tins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

[500 cupcakes, p. 21]

this is the 1st round. i put too much into the case...

the second batch looks much beta :)

to save time, i also put the mixture into the mini muffin pan

Storage:

• airtight container for up to 3 days
• freeze for up to 3 months

Comment:

this is the base for many different kinds of cupcakes. you can simply decor for variations. besides, it's really easy to make.

melbourne 191207-010108

my december was short but wonderful...though had been sick for a week, the last two weeks of december was really good.

took this before i left for melbourne. well, if i don't tell you, i m sure you might think why i am in the kindy... this is one of the departments in the office's decoration. haha, they said the theme was beachy christmas... not sure what is the exact term that they said, but i think it's funny to have a duckie in the office.... ;)

the second day of my melbourne trip was to visit lianne as she left the following day. she brought me to the singaporean restaurant that she blogged. was a very nice lunch and had this very yummy mango pudding for dessert. cool~


went to visit james with siti for breakfast the other day. these were made by james (not the chocolate)

must take picture with the chef hehe :)

after that, we headed to vikki's house. thomas and liam have grown up so much!


on the 24th, maria and i went to our melbourne office to meet nicole and paul. yeah, it's maria in the picture. even we were in melbourne still can see us together.. haha her hubby said why wherever they go still can see me around. hahaha, so you should know how often we meet in brissy...

by the way, the weather was really wild before christmas. lucky, after that most of the days were stable and calm.

my christmas menu~ please note the salmon & avocado rolls have never existed. as i didn't make it... too much food so decided not to make.

the very last day of december was crazily hot... 42C... the wind was like the wind from hair dryer... was a very very hot new year eve. when compared to brissy, it was much cooler~~

and i was so lucky that, my housemate + colleague, cherry and hubby came and picked me up at the airport. back home, they also prepared me some food for dinner + ah E made home made dumpling in sweet soup. felt so warm~~ :) thanks xoxo

though did not go sightseeing/ shopping much, was a very relaxing trip. wish can go melbourne soon.

click here to see more pictures

movie: I am Legend (2007)

i finally watched this movie... not as bad as what ray (cherry's husband) commented thought. but i think the ending could be better ;) umm... i will wait until dvd release..

here is the official website:

http://iamlegend.warnerbros.com/

a productive day

this weekend, i have done much work than the week before. my cross stitch only has less than half to go. proud of myself. hehe

last week, i was addicted to playing DS game... stayed awake very late every nite. therefore, i was so tired at work... even fell asleep during work... no good no good... :(

well, tonite onward, i have to force myself to go back to my normal life, otherwise, my work performance gonna be like sh*t... hehe...

anyway, i am tired now, as went swimming with cherry this afternoon. and with such a hot weather... feel tired easily...

this morning was going to update the blog. but somehow, didn't have the mood. haha... might be tomorrow~

Happy 2008!

i am so looking forward to this new year.

wish to accomplish so many things this year, but not sure if i could, as it's highly depends on whether i want to do, as i am lazy. anyway, one thing i am sure i will do ---- save$$$ :)

haven't posted for a long time... but will slowly update what did happen for the last few weeks of 2007.

coming up:
hilda's brissy trip
melbourne trip 2007
mooooooooore homemade food