20091231 New Year Eve :D Hurray~

so we are now on 31 december 2009, the last day of 2009.
and it is also what we call New Year Eve.

how was your 2009?
and what do you want in 2010?

hehe... i don't have enough time to finish this post in 2009, i guess.
as i have to go out for dinner very soon :)

continue in 2010 :D

wishing you all have a fantastic and joyful year ahead.

love,
zoe
xxx

plain macaron shells

it was a long journey to make a macaron-like macaron....
after the third attempt, i was about to give up.
as i just can't make it right...
until my fifth attempt. :D

everytime throw the "macaron" away, i felt my heart pain...
i am sick of wasting money and especially food.

since jade, a bride-to-be, wants some macarons on her wedding day and i really want to overcome this challenge.
i started to do a wider research and to seek help from my friend, james.

if you want to give the macaron a go and don't want to experience the sadness of failure, here are some websites, i think you should have a look before you start :)

once you master the plain macaron shells, you can play with different flavours. i tell you when i first find out my macarons turned right, i was so happy. i jumped up and down i was like the world happiest person!!!! feel so GOOOD! i am serious. until you try, you will know ;) you gotta trust me :)

1. macaron chronicles v: a study of the sucre cuit method on kitchen musing, it talks about what leads to the failure of the macaron.

2. la macaronicité on syrup and tang, a series of articles talking about how to make perfect macarons, the history of macarons etc.

3. {french macarons :: my ‘how to’ } on mélanger, i actually follow this recipe and the tips are very helpful :)

>> click here for recipe and more details :)

mixed berries jelly

not having enough time, i had another last minute...
we were having a christmas dinner at mei's place on 19th saturday.
have to work on saturday til 4pm and a church event on friday, it's hard for me to make something fancy on a thursday nite.

feeling bad, but no choice, i finally decided to make this mixed berries jelly.
simple but look great (i reckon... LOL)

running out of time? no problem.
summer jelly like this can save many people's lives... haha

>> click here for recipe

Gingerbread Men

it's another last minute christmas preparation...
i am not good at choosing presents...
besides, i think receiving a homemade/handmade present would be happier.
at least, i would be happier :D
so i decided to make something for christmas presents. :D

as mentioned before, originally was thinking of making truffle, but then it's too messy to make in this hot whether... so i have to think of something else.

however, time is running out.
i don't have much time to do fancy stuff...
lucky, i read this recipe the other day.
so, i give a go to this lovely gingerbread man. :D

the first batch was in a rush, so it did not do very well and it was a bit soggy.. :(
(sorry, ling and nadyne... )
the second batch was much better.
crunchy and tasted better.

if you are like me, running out of time, you may try this for your christmas gift idea :D

>> click here for recipe :D

how have i been?

have been busy since late november.
making christmas cards and presents.
baking ever failed macarons.
i am totally exhausted.

while my day becomes very routine.
there is something special happened.
and it definitely put a smile on my face.

natto lost her first teeth!
it is totally awesome!

kofanna discovered she lost her tooth...
and while we were wondering where it would be.
kofanna found it in natto's feeding bowl!!!
haha...
as you can see, her teeth are very small.

look at her face...
absolutely CUTE! heh~

so we are trying to collect all her teeth.
though it is quite impossible, it would be great if we could :P

xxx

movie: no reservations (2007) and julie & julia (2009)

recently, i have watched two food related movies,
which make me want to cook and eat badly!!!
and these definitely arouse my eagerness to blog again!

so, what movies were they?
one was No Reservations (2007).
and the other was Julie & Julia (2009).

i did say before on my fb.
it's food that connects people!
i think it's really true hey~
even you can't cook, food, it's the best way to start a conversation with anyone.

"have you eaten?"
"what did you eat?"
"where to eat?"
"how's the food?"

food is just a natural ice breaker.
love it!

i can deeply feel the frustration that julie had when she failed to cook julia's recipe.
it's exactly same feeling when i failed to make the macarons!
ya, i guess, keep trying is the only way to perfect the dish.
sometimes i do feel the pain to throw the thing in the bin,
but it reminds me that if i did it right at the first time and put more efforts in it,
i know i will be success one day! :D

so my christmas holiday is planning to be a making macarons day or days.
(if i am lucky enough to make it right the next time)

haha..
will you support me??? heh~

anyway, i was so tempted to buy julia child's "mastering the art of french cooking" the other day at BigW.
but my wallet has to be on diet lately...
plus i have bought too many cookbooks these few weeks...
so i put it back on the shelf...

if you want to visit julie's blog about julie/ julia project, you might click here!
bon appétit~