Same Old, Same Old...

To reflect upon a certain time line that drifts by as silent as the coming of a new dawn is an effort to make in deciding whether those memories are worth reflecting upon, whether you could learn something from your mistakes. Then again, there are those egotistical individuals who are as stubborn as to not admit their faults even when they know it is without any kind of resolve.

As words form at my fingertips, I reminisce my moments filled with fairy dusts and pixies along with the sweet and mystifying fruits I bore in life and the usual demons that came with it. I noticed how some of my perspectives have altered and how a person could give less to be a little more understanding. I have lost a lifelong friend in a battle of substantiating something that is already perceptible. I had been so wrapped up in my bubble that I fail to realize that true friends have been by my side all along. A simple selfless act could eventually go a long way and I have had my moments with karma.

Couldn’t I just be same old, same old me? I could run in the meadow without a care in the world and soar high up touching the clouds with my smile, nevertheless, my feet would eventually have to touch the ground again someday and reality will force itself upon me.

I know that deep down each of us feels the same each year, dragging our behind, reluctant with changes but as long as we remember who we are, who we were brought up to be and the magic behind all tears, “change” will look a lot more like the morning dew on grasses. I’ve had my fair share of bliss and frustration; still, I will cling onto good memories as well.

It is just another more day to welcome 1st January 2010 and I have planted them happy thoughts in my head as the minutes tick by.

Me, as Tinker Bell @ HobbyCon 2009
Credits to David Shia for photograph & Kent Chan for editing

Fairy dust and happy thoughts anyone? Happy New Year 2010 and have a happily ever after from me!

Delicious Cravings

Recently, I discovered the amazing joy of cookery that it secreted my immense interest in creating fine cuisines when there are rules to follow and to abide by. Simple rules that would only satisfy the core of a person's craving, rules that could easily be bended according to a person's contentment once the rules are memorized. Cooking rules commonly known as recipes.

I have always enjoyed cooking since back in the days where recipes still have not applied to me, yet the lack of knowledge in cookery precludes me to discover my potential interest. This new feeling of curiosity opened a whole new doorway – an undiscovered frontier that made me wished I have discovered it sooner.

There are many people who contributed to this newfound hobby of mine, mostly to Aunt Carrie (Brian’s mother) who enthusiastically offered her old oven which I could not have afforded to acquire on my own. Then there was my employer’s wife, who baked me the most deliciously moist and rich dark chocolate cake I have ever tasted, which notably materialize what little attraction I had towards baking. I am grateful, in particular, to my late mother for all her marvelous cookbook collections which she gathered throughout her entire life before she married my father.

Black Forest Butter Cream Cake for my father

A piece of the cake

Macaroni & Cheese
(A little burnt on the sides)

American Meat Loaf
(The looks hardly compliments the taste)

I wish I have started taking photos of all the dishes, generally trials and errors, which I produced in the past and shared those fantastic recipes I have discovered and customized; then again, I figured that it is never too late for me to post my recent creations for you readers to drool over especially this particular recipe which you are about to disinter.

I call this recipe, Coffee Jelly Cheesecake.

For the crust:
8-10 pieces graham crackers or digestive biscuits, crushed (if you are a health freak like myself, I would suggest using oatmeal biscuits instead)
2 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine (again, if you are a health nut, use unsalted butter)

Alternatively, you could always opt for a store bought graham cracker crust.

For the filling:
250 grams cream cheese
½ a cup of castor sugar (of course, it would be much healthier if you substitute this with raw sugar or brown sugar)
1 cup of plain yogurt (the initial recipe called for sour cream but of course I needed to keep my father’s cholesterol level at a minimum)
2 eggs
½ a teaspoon of vanilla essence

For the coffee jelly:
1 heaped teaspoon of gelatin
150ml strong black coffee
2 tablespoons of castor sugar (you may use brown sugar for this as well)

Now onward to preparation and baking!

1. Dilute the coffee powder and sugar in 150ml of hot water. The strength of the coffee mixture is entirely up to you (I used 3 teaspoons of coffee powder). Set aside to let it cool.
2. Preheat oven at 165°C.
3. Mix the biscuit crumbs and butter evenly, then press it firmly onto the base of a spring-form baking tin until it covers the whole base (my baking tin is 9 inch in diameter). Bake this in the oven for about 5 minutes.


This is how a spring-form baking tin looks like


Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar until thick, pale and foamy.
Mix in cream cheese, yogurt and vanilla until well blended.
Pour the filling on top of the prepared crust.
Bake for 20-25 minutes but not so much until the cake cracks (I overcooked mine and my cake cracked when I tried extending the cooking time to 30 minutes).
Cool it on a cake rack.
While the cake is in the oven, sprinkle the gelatin over the coffee then put the bowl in a pan of gently simmering water until dissolved (do not bring the water to boil unless you want to break your bowl and waste your effort). Cool the mixture. When cold, carefully spoon the coffee mixture on top of the cheesecake to make a thin layer.
Chill the cake until set.
To serve cheesecake, wrap a hot towel around the outside of the tin, and then gently ease out the cake (this is why a spring-form baking tin is essential).

Have I made you drool yet? Have a happy ever after from me!

Experiencing Stephanie's World

Fine, so my inquisitiveness had finally settled in not wanting to wait next for the cat in me to eventually die of curiosity. My sister would be laughing hysterically knowing the influence she has over me to join her inexplicably obsessed twilight world of vampires. Although not as equally passionate as to how C. S. Lewis captivated me through his Chronicles of Narnia, I find that I am beginning to feel an attraction towards Stephanie Meyer’s work as I unraveled Twilight chapter by chapter.

I have to be honest that when I first saw the movie, I made a redundant effort to like how the story turned out; it was good but not that great.

The movie, Twilight

Then, being a devout fanatic of Twilight, my sister assiduously hunted for the E-books to satiate her thirst for the evidently beguiling vampires. Neither the unreliable Internet connection nor shadows of electricity failure got in the way of her quest. At the time, she had been using my mobile and I believe it was much easier for her to read if the series were installed in it.

This was not how I imagined the characters would look like
given Stephanie's detailed descriptions in her book.

In the latter when she finally returned the mobile to me, I initially read the first book of the saga out of boredom. Yet I could not find the drive to stop myself from being absorbed with Stephanie’s work. My imagination had worked its magic and the experience was nothing like the movie. The E-pages flew by each day till I was almost at the very last chapter that I realized what immense effect the author had over her readers. It would be judicious to say that even if I am not as obsessed as my sister on the matter, I had no regrets reading Twilight.

Twilight book cover

Give the book the benefit of doubt and a chance for yourself to explore what I have discovered and I guarantee that the prospect of the material is worth your time.

Until the next time, have a happy ever after from me!

Empty

That is how I am feeling at this very moment.

I have not had the urge to express myself so greatly in a while since life had me going at a pace so furiously fast that if I stopped to breathe I'm afraid I might lose track of all the wonderful goodness it has to offer.

But now, it's nothing but a mere cold and pitch-black hole of hollowness that the very emptiness pierces the core of my soul. Exactly the feeling I had been avoiding; still, it managed to lurk one step behind me