Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Secret Life of Nora...


Set in a fantastical version of the 1960s, “The Secret Life of Nora” is about Nora, the star of a cabaret, who becomes a spy by accident to help uncover a mysterious evil plot by an evil Baddie. She falls in love with Roger, a British agent who helps her in her transformation from a stage Drama Queen to a skilled undercover spy!

 ...the ticket... (thanks Hawa)

 ...with who?.... bunch of dearest collegemates..
(L-R: Hawa, Hawa's friend, Dida, Lela, Rynn, Hawa's friend, me)

... the noisy bunch..!.
Tu ada yang cannot make it, otherwise, semua kena banned masuk Istana Budaya..!
 
...shhhhhh.... show is  about to start...!

Chillin' out when I'm stoned...

Have you ever lost it and just wanted to scream? There were definitely times when I would lose my cool, get irritated, and lash out  unnecessarily.

Usually, when I feel the pressure of life — when it is very busy with all kinds of commotion taking place around me — then I go onto autopilot mode, a state of self-protection and self-preservation. When my mind can relax a little and become calm and more spacious, then I see there is nothing to fear.

I know almost everyone I know in real life; from running a large topical message board and meeting people at related events, or making individual plans to meet.   I'm not the type of person to join a club or use online meet-up services but when I share conversation and ideas in common with thousands of people, it just seems natural to end up meeting them eventually. It doesn't even take effort really.
 
 

Meet my new found friends: Associate Prof Dr CH Kuang (UM)
and... the  sexy, extraodinaire Violinist - Dr Joanne Teoh.

(Dr Joanne Teoh is a Fellow of Trinity College, UK (Piano), as well as, a Fellow of Trinity College, UK (Violin). PhD in psychology with a focus on music and consumer behaviour.  Currently lectures at the Music Department of Universiti Putra Malaysia)

...now that Joanne... is one heck of a 'cool-sexy' violin..!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Happy 12th Birthday Girl...

Today is the begining of an adventure, as in another world you delve.

   In all that is ahead, now that you are twelve. 


Have an incredible time, on this special day.  May your 12th become the best, the very best birthday

Happy Birthday Hannah
& thanks Puan Sham for the order.



Friday, September 23, 2011

Marble Cake

A marble pound cake is a wonderfully rich and buttery cake that gives you two cakes in one (chocolate & white cake).  The marbeling effect is created by placing white and chocolate cake batters, alternately in a pan. 

 It may look complicated, but they actually start with a basic pound cake batter and devided into half, and then melted semisweet chocolate is added to one half.
(Thanks Fauziah @ Puji for the order,
..and thank you for letting me cut the cake - I know that we were both very curious on how the marbeling effect would turn out..! LoL)
Sharing the recipe:

MARBLE CAKE

55 gms - bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (roughly chopped)
1 table spoon - instant coffee (I use decaf - as if it makes any different! - LoL)
2 1/4 cups (290 gms) cake flour
1 tablespoon - baking powder
1/2 teaspoon - bicarbonate soda
1/4 teaspoon - fine salt
1/2 teaspoon - ground cinnamon
2 teasppon  - pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (113 gm) - unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 1/4 cups (250 gms) - granulated white sugar
3/4 cups (180ml) sour cream or plain yogurt
1/3 cu (80 ml) - Fresh Milk (room temperature)
2 large - Eggs

Direction:

Prehat oven to 350 degF. Prepare/butter. 8 inc round pan (or you can use bundt pan if you have)

1)  Melt the semisweet chocolate with the coffee using double boiling method.  Remove from heat, set aside.
2)  In separate bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt
3)  Beat butter until smooth and creamy, gradually add sugar and continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy.  Scrap down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4)  Add eggs one at a time - beating well after each addition. 
5)  Add vanila and sour cream - beat well.
6)  Alternatively, add flour and mix to the batter, in three additions - begining and ending with the flour.
7)  Pour half of the batter into a separate bowl, stir the melted chocolate into one half of the batter. 
8)  Spoon batter alternatively (chocolate-white-choc-white, and so on ) into prepared pan.
9) With the end of wooden spoon, gently draw swirls through the batter to create marble effect - dont over do it.
10) Bake for about 45mins to 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place on  a wire rack to cool before removing the cake from the pan to cool completely.

Serve warm or at room temperature .


I usually serve this cake plain, with just a dusting of icing sugar.  But feel free to frost the cake to your likings.

 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Moist Chocolate & Vanila Cupcakes

There’s something to be said for cupcakes that you can whip up at 1:00am in the morning...when you need some baking therapy that requires little to no brain power...!


These lovely Moist Chocolate and Vanila  cupcakes are all about having your own little cakes that you do not have to share.

Amami, I bet your little sister is enjoying the cuppies right now.. (LoL)



Where have I been...?

It's been quite a while and I've missed posting regularly on this dear blog of mine.  Put it this way...I have been busy. There's been a lot of chaos, adventures, and drama. But all is well and I am doing good, for now.
So let me just update you on what's been going on.   Have I stopped making desserts?
Not unless you think cakes and cupcakes aren't desserts...
 
Thank you so much Amami for this order... 
I hope you are happy with these floral themed cake and cupcakes..

Lemon-Orange Pound Cake...

“Loaf” ...hmmmm.....probably will be the name of the imaginary bakery I want to open one day....yeah., one-fine-day..!   Besides my cakes and cupcakes, there I would sell all sorts of cakes baked in loaf pans: One of which is this Lemon-Orange Pound Cake.

Won’t you buy a pan and help me stay in business?

(Thanks Amami for the order..)
OK, lets share the recipe...

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound (250gms) butter, plus more for pan
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup milk  (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 table spoon Lemon rind of 1 lemon
  • 1 table spoon Orange rind of 1 orange

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
With a mixer, cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar, a little at a time. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to mixer alternately with milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Mix in vanilla, orange and lemon rinds. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Simple & Easy Sheppard Pie...

Shepherd's Pie is essentially a casserole, lined with cooked meat and vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked.   Here is a basic recipe for a simple & easy ground beef Shepherd's Pie.  I dressed it up a bit with some veggies and Worcestershire sauce.
Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 lbs  ground round beef
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas, leak
  • 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (4 big ones)
  • 8 tablespoons butter
  • 1 table spoon Olive oil
  • 1/2 cup beef broth
  • 1/2 cup of fresh milk
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method:

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter in large frying pan, add olive oil.
shepherds-pie-1.jpg
3 Sauté onions in butter/oil until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.
  shepherds-pie-3.jpg
4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, add fresh milk,  season to taste.

      
6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown

Viola.. dinner is served..!

Now, I need to start on my baking...!




Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Turquoise Ombre Cake & Cuppies...

I've recently been fixated on the beauty of graduated layers of color, also called ombre. From ribbon, to curtains, fashion, and of course cakes. I've been seeing gorgeous ombre colors all over the place!

When our Taman planning to have a 'Hari Raya Gathering' last Saturday, I decided to bake and decorate my cake and cuppies with turquoise colour.
   
  

Here is my pretty, turquoise, starlet cake! ...

... that comes with matching cuppies..!  

I would love to see some of you try this in other colors... yellows to orange, shades of lavender, or pink...!  Oh I may need to make another one soon!
 
What colors will you try?
   
 
Ombre:  A French term meaning "shaded." Usually a multicolored stripe, with colors graduating from light to dark.



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Love and charity...


One weekend morning I took a walk alone.  Everyday I would pray about things that concerned my own life, and the lives of my friends and family, but this was a special morning.  The night before I had been listening to a quran recital of Imam Saudis, and made me think..."What would it look like if our desires here on earth were to merge with the desires of heaven?  How would that look?  How would our lives be different?


I was pondering on those thoughts the following morning and asked God, "Tell me, what is in your heart:  What do you love? What do you think about?  Instantly, I saw in my mind's eyes, a little girl with a big pleading eyes,  She was sitting alone on a dusty road, with no food, no family and no hope.  I knew she was a symbol of orphans worldwide, and God was sharing with me in that moment what He thinks about, and what is on His mind is orphans.

Now I know that there are a bunch of things on His heart, not just orphans, but in that moment He was sharing with me a piece of His heart, a path, and a calling.  He was showing me that orphaned kids are not forgotten by Him.  He loves them passionately.  He wants to find people on earth who will partner with Him to serve this forgotten population.

It is so much easier to just forget about it.  After all, we don't see many by the roadsides.  We dont see starving, suffering people very often.  It's much easier to think that there is nothing we can do.  But God is challenging us all:  Will we lay down our lives and see what can happen if we partner with Him in His passion?  How would our lives be different?  Please don't mistake me to be saying that everyone should be adopting, or everyone should be giving it all for the plight of the orphan.  I'm not saying that.  But I do know that God has shared with us that this is something  that is greatly on His heart.  And so, the question is, what will we do about it?


It's not about Charity.  It's about Justice.





Project Raya Bersama Anak-anak Yatim: 18 Sept 2011

I had trouble sleeping last night because I kept thinking of those kids - I often was caught up in prayer.  I did not sleep at all last night, so I thought I would let you all know.. (*yawn*)
Al-Quran clearly stressed in several verses that tell us to do good to the orphan. I have a heart for children and I take very seriously the Al-Quran mandate of  Surah Al Baqarah Verse 2:220

"To this world and the Hereafter. And they ask you about orphans. Say, "Improvement for them is best. And if you mix your affairs with theirs - they are your brothers. And Allah knows the corrupter from the amender. And if Allah had willed, He could have put you in difficulty. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise"



It is my passion and privilage to love all of them.  This is who I am and what I'm called to..
..and this precious little one really caught my eyes......

The event was not completed without a Birthday bash for some 15 birthday kids.  Hence, a huge birthday cake was made for them...
Kids + party = cupcakes...
... of course...

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Baru ku tahu ada kubur di atas Qubah Masjid Nabawi..

SUBHANALLAH...

Diriwayatkan oleh Sheikh Al-Zubaidi:

Ada seseorang mencuba untuk menghancurkan Kubah Nabi Muhammad SAW-- kubah warna hijau di Masjid Al Nabawi (Gumbad-e-Khizra) Madinah, yang juga menjadi tanda tepat di bawahnya terdapat makam Rasulullah SAW--. Namun, ketika dia mencuba memanjat kubah tersebut untuk menghancurkannya, tiba-tiba petir dan kilat datang menghentamnya. Pendaki yang berniat jahat tersebut pun mati serta merta di tempat tersebut. Anehnya tidak ada seorang pun yang mampu mengalihkan tubuhnya dari atas Kubah tersebut!



Ia juga mengatakan bahwa seorang yang soleh dari Madinah mendengar suara dalam mimpinya, bahwa tidak ada yang dapat mengambil mayat dari atas kubah itu dan bahwa ia harus dikuburkan di sana sebagai peringatan dan pelajaran bagi orang-orang yang mungkin memikirkan berusaha untuk menghancurkan kubah itu di masa depan! Akhirnya, mereka memutuskan untuk menguburkan orang itu di sana, di atas kubah dan menutupi tubuhnya dengan kotak hijau sehingga tidak akan terlihat oleh orang.

Namun Allah SWT ingin memperlihatkan kekuasaan-Nya, bahawa yang benar itu tetap benar, dan yang salah tetap salah walaupun dipertikaikan kerana yang benar itu mengatasi yang batil.

Firman Allah bermaksud: “Dan orang yang mendustakan ayat (tanda) keterangan Kami, mereka adalah bisu dan tuli di dalam gelap gelita. Sesiapa yang Allah kehendaki, akan disesatkannya, dan sesiapa yang Dia kehendaki, akan dijadikannya atas jalan yang betul lurus.” (Surah al-An’am,ayat 39).

"Bila ALLAH makbulkan doamu, maka DIA menyayangimu, bila DIA lambat makbulkan d0amu, maka DIA ingin mengujimu, bila DIA tidak makbulkan d0amu, maka DIA merancang sesuatu yang terbaik untukmu. 0leh itu, sentiasalah bersangka baik pada ALLAH dalam apa jua keadaan...kerana kasih sayang ALLAH itu mendahului kemurkaanNya" Wallahua'lam.

p/s : Wallahua'lam Subhanallah, ini adalah sebuah keajaiban yangg terjadi sekitar 90 tahun yang lalu.. semoga menjadi pengajaran buat kita smua... amin...

Moist Choc Birthday cake...



Thanks Zarina for the repeat order.


P/s:  the lighting is not very 'friendly' with me today, hence photos not very satisfactory... (*sigh*)


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Now I know why....

Just figured out why I'm overweight. The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my body says.."for extra volume and body". From now on, I'm going to start using dish washing liquid..! It says... "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove".






Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Its a myth...


Have you ever gone to the Mad Hatter's party?  Well, you don't know what turned him like that.

So as a precaution, if you're planning on a kid's party try to keep your sanity should the kid's get on the sugar rush.

 


By the way,  Sugar does not make kids hyper.
In fact, it has been proven in numerous studies that it doesn’t affect their behavior at all.