Wake Up and Smell the Cake

So yesterday night I got bakin'! I really really wanted to try my new mini loaf pan . It is perfect! I buttered the sides of the pan, and the cakes could be removed very easily! Love it! I didn't realise it was so pricey, when I was washing the pan then I saw the price tag - $28. T_T I know I know, I bought without checking the price haha. It was a good bake yesterday. I finished my cake flour, finished my sugar, and there are points for improvement. While I was preparing the ingredients, I realised I was short of sugar. The horror !! The recipe called for 1 and 3/4 cups of sugar but I only had half a cup! So I added in half cup condensed milk. And then I realised something, whenever I use condensed milk, I shouldn't have added vanilla essence. Happened before with the Condensed Milk Cheesecake . Gives an overpowering taste. I think if the vanilla was reduced, it would be perfect. Another thing I noticed,I didn't really taste the cheese! Haha! Maybe it's suppos

I have to curb my expenditure. I can go on and on with buying baking stuff. Yesterday I went to Kitchen Capers after a forced U-turn from going Bake King at Haig Road. Someone made me fuming mad and I sooo wasn't concentrating on where I was going, I missed my exit to PIE. And then I made one heck of a reroute, I ended up at Balestier Road and I went Kallang Bahru instead. No matter, cos I wanted to go to Kitchen Capers some day anyway. I got my mini loaf pan, baking paper, heart shaped springform pan, cupcake paper cups in baby blue with white polka dots! Oh and something I couldn't resist - Miffy cookie cutter yay! Can add on to my Chip & Dale cookie cutters hurhur. My Miffy cookie cutter and mini loaf pan. That's my measuring cup duckies set I bought from gmarket which I collected from the post office few days ago. Sooo cute! Actually there's still loads of things I wanna get, my list can go on and on. But these will do from now. I shall ban myself from bu

"Hi my name is Far and I'm a bakeaholic." I can't believe this. I'm having withdrawal symptoms from baking. I haven't baked in about two weeks now and I am itching to bake. I have been trawling food (particularly dessert) blogs, always looking for recipes, looking at lipsmacking cakes that just screams out EAT ME. It doesn't help that I have a new stand mixer that I have yet to try, and ingredients on standby: loads of unused Hershey's chocolates waiting to be chopped/melted, a whole pack of Optima flour in addition to other opened packs of flour, 12 eggs waiting to be cracked and whisked, two little cartons of heavy cream, two (or was it three?) packs of cream cheese, and three packs of butter! Gasp. I do have lots of ingredients hahaha. Oh and I have a box of instant brownie mix too. So to tame - yes, tame, not satisfy - my baking addiction, I decided to make sago gula melaka last Saturday night. That too, after a looonnng ponder of whether I s

Other Half got for me a stand mixer yay! ♥ Not a fancy schmancy one, no metal bowl. Just a basic mixer. One which I think if Junior were to use and spoil it, I won't mind. HAHA. I wanted to get a Philips mixer but I got Kenwood instead. Have yet to unwrap it haha. Now I can whip cream and eggs! Frosting here I come! But before that... My first experiment shall be Marble Cake using Optima Flour ! Or if I'm feeling adventurous, Chocolate Banana Cake , something which Other Half would very much prefer. Heh. Here's to many more cakes! :)

So today was supposed to be day 3 or 29 but I overslept. Bummer. Junior has been disturbing my sleep a lot lately. He doesn't really sleep in the day, and at night, he can wake up every hour, sometimes a few times in an hour. Long gone are the days I had uninterrupted sleep. Yesterday Other Half wanted to eat lemak cili padi again after my successful lemak cili padi tenggiri attempt . Haha. But he wanted to cook it this time round, so I can attend to our little mister cranky and feed him dinner. I prepared all the ingredients, cut them nicely and put into bowls for him to cook. This time round I added more red chili cos I wanted to finish them and they weren't hot anyway so might as well. And more cili padi too!! Other Half prefers to blend everything, easy peasy. I on the other hand, prefer to tumbuk the chili using batu lesung just like my mum does it. To me the flavours kinda disappear when you blend. Hence more chili? Hahaha. So I let Other Half cook, and he wanted t

Day two, insyaAllah. This time I planned my sahur earlier and with more food and water! Muahaha. On the day I decide to fast, there's free good food. Like epok-epok my colleague brought. And new tidbits from another colleague. And sandwich and suji from the wife of yet another colleague! Drools. But I get to eat the suji at least! She brought these cookies for me yay! Hmm does that mean I have to bring something in return? Such a nice lady, I have yet to meet her! :) My eyes are dry, from the lack of sleep. Woke up at 5am and didn't sleep back. And at night Junior didn't really want to sleep. He kept waking up after like 10 minutes of sleep between midnight and 1+am, finally slept after singing to him. He's getting VERY active too! Cannot sit still! So adorable, such a handful! Husband says he's not a handful, he's two hands full. Hahahaha ♥

So the four day weekend has come and gone. Way to fast! Sadness. Day one was quite fruitful yet packed. Morning I did laundry (I think? I've done laundry waayyyy to many times over the weekend I forgot!) and entertained my chubbycheeks. Afternoon we went to fetch in-laws and had lunch at Sabar Menanti which somehow wasn't that good on that day for some reason, and then sent them somewhere. Then we went Mustafa's which was kinda crowded and then to my mum's house to rot and celebrate Brother's twenty-fifth birthday. Sister made hazelnut cake and yes! She bakes! Hahaha. Hazelnut cake with Smuckers chocolate syrup and crushed roasted hazelnuts. Yumyum. Day two was spent at FFL (YK)'s home, made opera cake and had Indian food for dinner. Husband had a meeting most of the afternoon, bummer. I didn't really take part in the baking cos I was babysitting, how to babysit and make a cake?! Actually I can, I've been doing it all along but that's at home,

So yesterday we were on half day cos Husband wasn't feeling too well. Went back, and felt like pre-Junior days. Even so, I have become so accustomed to Junior, I kept expecting to hear a baby crying. Hahaha. While Husband was resting... I baked! And did laundry. I can never resist doing laundry when I see the sun shining so brightly. Husband almost forbid me to do laundry, saying I need to rest too since I'm fasting, but in the end he gave in. Teeheehee. I tried Ultimate Chocolate Cake by Angela Nilsen from bbcgoodfood.com. I am on the hunt for awesome chocolate cake recipes! I planned to do the ganache but have yet to do so cos I ran out of chocolates haha. You can refer to the website for the original ingredients, but below is what I actually used (some measurements are different cos I don't have weighing scale and proper measuring instruments). Ingredients: 200g good quality dark chocolate = I used 2 bars of Hershey's (finally finished using them!) one 60% o

Weewoo we're going Langkawi this March!! :))) It'll be our second family holiday, and the first airplane ride for Junior. He'll be eight months by then, should be okay for him. I have to think of activities for him on the plane, and on the trip too! Unless he sleeps through the flight. Hahaha. Today is the first of twenty-nine days I have to pay back for fasting. And at 9am I was so freaking hungry my stomach keeps growling very very loudly. Oh God twenty-nine!!! *faints* The last time I fasted was like a year and a half ago? Hahaha. That is looonnggg . I hope my milk supply won't dwindle. InsyaAllah.

I have been browsing gmarket once in a while, with Shez & Juni but I have yet to buy anything from there. Until today!!! I found the cutest measuring set ! I'm on the lookout for measuring cups and spoons, and this is just too cute to resist! Cheap too! So I got for myself one set! See! Soooo cute! Hahaha. I wonder when it'll arrive though. Can't wait! :) I wanna look for bundt pans next!

Omg omg omg I am so so excited!! You must be thinking I'm crazy to go crazy over a measuring cup, but it's no ordinary measuring cup okay! It's the kind that can measure all sorts of dry ingredients in pounds. My mum has it, but it's super duper ancient I thought they wouldn't sell these anymore. Until!!! I was browsing Bake King's website - how I came here, I'll explain in a bit - and I FOUND IT !!! Here it is, the Tala Cook's Measure! Very retro looking (totally love!) and freakin' made in England can! I am so gonna buy it!! I hope the shop has it if not I'll have to order online . I browsed the website and found lots of other things I am so tempted to buy! Heehee. Lucky thing I have loads of cabinet space that can store my baking utensils :) So back to the point where I was directed to Bake King. Yesterday at Husband's grandma's house, she made for us marble cake which I totally love! So moist and soft and airy! So I asked f

Okay I think I shall skip the outstanding posts I mentioned earlier . Getting out of date already. Haha. Suffice to say, making sugar cookies with difficult mould shapes (like Chip & Dale) is frustrating and tedious, and I haven't found the perfect icing recipe yet. That aside!! I is excited to say I've finally (yes, finally!) perfected my banana cake recipe! Heehee. I have no idea why I couldn't get my mum's recipe to work, maybe cos it's a different oven? But it's almost the same model! Oh well. This time I reduced the butter because the last time it was too oily, and the cake could use a bit more flour. I kept the banana the same cos I love having loads of banana in the cake, rather than use banana essence. Here are my lovelies I brought to work. I didn't capture any pictures while I was baking because I wanted to get it in the oven before Junior gets impatient watching me bake. This was taken with my iPhone. Ingredients : 200g butter 9 oz

I've yet to write about the sugar cookie baking session with my siblings (that was Christmas!), baby developments (two teeth!!), work, and the mandatory year-in-review and what I hope for 2012. So far 2012 started off with lots of work! -_- Hope to do so soon! And what's this buzz about Ombak Rindu. I wanna watch it! But sooo many links on YouTube have been removed. Sadness. Okay back to work! I have a ginormous target I set for myself!

Tuesday blues. Lack sleep. Junior woke me up at the most terrible times. He woke me up just after I dozed off for 15 minutes and it felt like my entire sleep was disrupted. After milk he went back to sleep, only to wake me up 15 minutes later!!! And then he slept peacefully and what seemed like five hours but it was only 1 plus when he woke me up again! Then again at 2, and again at 3, and 4 and he didn't want to sleep back until 6am. I suspect it's teething that's causing him discomfort. When he finally slept at 6, he was holding me tight and cried when I put him in his cot. So I let him sleep with me and hugged him :) Oh and starting yesterday my FFL isn't gonna be online anymore for a couple of months cos she's happily rotting at home. How I envy her. Sunday morning I attempted to make Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls . Wanted to make them for breakfast but it was ready only after 10 because Junior wanted attention as well. Key word is attempted. I couldn't rol

My stomach has been on a food fest lately that I refuse to weigh myself. Haha. Over the weekend, I baked two cakes. Butter cake at my mum's and banana cake at our own home. Even though I didn't eat much of the butter cake, I happily wiped clean the leftover batter from the mixing bowl with sheer glee and greed. It has been ages since I've eaten cake batter! I had to avoid raw eggs during pregnancy. Then on Tuesday Husband and I went to Al Majlis for dinner date. I was surprised by the ambiance! Very cosy and perfect for dates. I had sheesha kofta or something like that, and it is delicious! The previous time we were there for an office thingy, the kebab was cooked too long and it was almost burnt. This time round the lamb balls were done beautifully, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside! Yums! I wanna go there again! The yesterday lunch was Arnold's Chicken. Sungguh perangai budak gemuk (fat girl attitude?!). Hahaha. I wonder what's for lunch today :

Hello everyone I am feeling very lazy to work and so many people are on leave already! My fingers on my left hand smells of baby barf! As weird as it may sound, I shall not wash it with soap just as yet cos I will smell my fingers if I miss my boy. And I miss my boy so so much! I miss my other boy too. He was busy with sooo many things over the weekend that I only managed to enjoy his company only minutes before dozing off. And I don't want movie dates! No fun just watching the screen -_-" But then again I always talk a lot in movies. I love to spoil the show and give my own commentary. Hahahha. Husband gets irritated by it but I do it anyway teeheehee! Today is the last day for the 1-for-1 Filet-O-Fish deal. Maybe I shall have two Filet-O-Fish burgers for lunch! :D Tampines Mall is overcrowded. 9kg baby on a ring sling for TWO hours is sooo not advisable for your shoulder. Pain will last two days. Minimum. Okay I just smelt my fingers. Baby barf isn't ni

Mornings should start out proper. Mornings should be pleasant and positive. Mornings shouldn't be spent talking about things that will put you down. Mornings shouldn't be about rushing, shouldn't be about worrying, shouldn't be about negativity. I hate it when my mornings don't begin right. It Will Rain by Bruno Mars shall be on repeat mode to make my day a little better. And some Gary Moore too.

Since the end of last week Junior has been playing with his mouth a lot. It's like he found out he can pout and puff and make bubbles. Cos that's what he has been doing :) And he looks like he enjoys it a lot! Spurting out bubbles (large ones too!) of saliva to anyone and everyone with an amazing trajectory. Reminds me of that pokemon Squirtle. Boooshh saliva!! Hahaha   I don't have a picture of him in the act but this is the closest. Taken this morning, on the way to fetch my in-laws and send them to the polyclinic. This was when he was about to start squirting. Junior was very well-behaved in the car! Kept smiling at me and kept himself busy when Mama had to concentrate on driving. The cheeky boy wanted to play peek-a-boo while Mama was driving hahaha. Monday blues !! I miss him. This weekend will be LAME. The Husband will be busy on Saturday and Sunday both of us will be at a work event. We'll make it up to you sweetie, Tuesday when you have your injection,

Dear son, Yesterday was the PSLE results. In twelve years' time, it'll be your turn. This year's top student is the daughter of a bank director and a lawyer. The second top student is the son of a lawyer and an accountant. Since you're the son of a LLM-but-no-LLB-lawyer and an accountant, we'd expect the same. Nope we're not trying to stress you out. Just a point to note. Lotsa love, Mama

Okay I think I'll blog today. I bought a new pump last Friday! I've been using the Medela Mini-Electric since I got back to work, and of late I realised the other breast leaks when there's a letdown on one breast. Wasted precious milk! So double pump it is! After days of deliberation, I've settled for the tried-and-tested Ameda Lactaline instead of the relatively new Ardo Calypso because I am not a risk taker. I found good reviews for both but I decided to go with the one with a longer track record. So I searched for online shops and retailers selling the pump, contacted departmental stores to ask if they're going to have a baby fair soon, and finally bought one from Baby Kingdom at Kaki Bukit. I actually wanted to go to the main distributor at Tagore Lane, but they didn't pick up my call when I wanted to come so I went to Baby Kingdom instead. For $399, I got the pump with free milk bags (I can't remember how many) and a nursing pillow which we now use