It’s been a while since I make a decent dessert. The other day when I was reviewing some of the 101 challenges I’ve made, I thought about food. Food related activities haven’t exactly been high on my challenge list. I’m sure I’ll add a few in time to come. Nothing too luxurious, perhaps a few cooking lessons from the natives of some far and remote countries.
I shift my thoughts on all the cookbooks I owned which have been underutilized. I don’t have a lot of cookbooks but the few that I have are rather precious and good. It will be a great idea to cook each and every single recipe from all my cookbooks. I doubt I’ll ever be able to achieve it but it might be fun to try until the day I decided that I had enough. But for a start, here’s one I made today.
Chocolate Roulade with black cherry kirsch cream is the original recipe from my faithful book, Tempted: 150 very wicked dessert. Unfortunately, I can’t find kirsch and had to replace it with marsala, which is an idiotic thing to do as it’s nowhere near of being a kirsh substitute, unless you count ethanol as one. Unfortunately too, I didn’t have much choice.
First time making a roulade, my rolling skill is non-existent. As you can from the images, there’s nothing swirly about this roulade. In fact, it’s looks more like a stacked cherry cake with sickening cream and sugar to help you forget the misery of this flop. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. What’s a little mistake when it taste so good, so sweet and so moist? There’s always a next time, after giving the remaining 140 plus recipes a try.
Hurrah, the chill of this winter is finally justified with the sight of some snow. Not exactly the pouring like a bucket or where I can stick my tongue out to taste the frost kind of snow; but an overnight snowfall paved parts of the Corrin Forest and the Namadgi National Park with icy but beautiful blanket of snow. So, off we went on Saturday to have some fun …..
Life Is Wonderful - Jason Mraz (feat. Gregory Page)
I tried making a snow angel but it wasn’t thick enough. So I settled for shoe prints……
A Canadian snowman taking a summer vacation and found his way to the national park….. I’m serious
I wish I have more words to give to you these days. Truth is, my brain is in hibernation. Here are some random images to tantalise you while I work on a resurrection. And, yes. I wish you love too.
I Wish You Love by Lisa Ono
29/06/08: Caught a majestic sky as the sun sets on one Sunday
30/06/08: I have the craving for croissants lately. It’s not the healthiest but having it with herrings and cheese, it’s pure heaven
02/07/08: The power dog taking advantage of the winter sun and a hand-me-down curtain I was modifying for a room
02/07/08: A scarf I finally completed this morning. It took me two weeks and a few hair-tearing episodes to get it done. It was abandoned for a few days, picked up, abandoned again before being completed
Tagged by Midnitelily. Like Midnitelily, I’m already going through a few changes and then some more.
1. Go Green
- I’m already composting all the organic stuff from the kitchen that didn’t make it to the dinner table. Onion peels, rotten vegetables. This composting business is really good as the trash bin is no longer stuffed with everything. It used to breaks my heart seeing the compostable stuff going into the bin when there is a big garden out there that can do the job.
- I’m starting a vegetable patch so there’ll a little bit of fresh and organic food.
- Though I cannot resist using hospital grade disinfectant to clean the house, I try to use environment-friendly cleaning products for the rest of the house. It’s difficult sometimes but it’s worth the effort.
- We are already recycling as every household has a normal wheelie bin and a recyling wheelie bin. There are other miscellaneous items that can be recycled including ink cartridges. Find out from places like Planet Ark or your local greenie on how to recycle some of your unwanted items.
2. Health
- I’m out walking, jogging and running whenever I can, i.e. when the weather doesn’t suck. When I started again after stopping for some many years, I thought I was going to die after a short run. These days, I can run faster and longer without feeling that my lungs are about to collapse. I hope to run a marathon (even just half) one day.
- I just underwent a holistic diet that includes fish, white meat, fresh vegetables, yoghurt, soy, brown rice, rice milk, wheat-free products, gluten-free products, yeast-free products and lots of fresh vegetable juice. I know I can consume whatever I want but I’ve decided the food introduced during this diet are here to stay. It feels good to have power over food.
- Since the diet started, I’ve been paying attention to the food labels when shopping. It’s so easy to just pick up this canned food or that packet of chips. It makes a difference when you start reading the labels and realise you don’t want those crap going into your body. Sure, shopping takes longer but it sure will make my life better in the long run.
3. Work
- Time and tide wait for no man and I spent few years wasting it away. So, I’m channeling my time and energy towards building something I can hopefully call a career. Making this decision has changed my lifestyle tremendously.
I only watch TV in the evening and has since given up a couple of favourite series
4. Social
- I need a life. I think I need to make more friends, talk to more people and just go out. This is not a priority but it is definitely a change I want to see in my life.
- There are a few activities I would like to take up just to get myself settle into a routine. I’m not a sharp shooter and archery equipment are expensive but I really enjoyed archery when I was at the university. I would like to do it again. Cycling is another thing I like to take up as a serious sport. I am considering doing rowing but fit swimming skill is a pre-requisite. That means I’ll have to acquire proper swimming skill. Tsk. The point is, I’d love to see myself out there doing things I like again.
There is always a first time. I’ve never posted a photo of my bare back before and it’s not my intention to shock. Maybe just a little. I thought it’s good to make an entry that I’ve never made before. At least I can cross this off my to-do list.
I have a birthmark on the right side of my back that I now fondly calls the ‘world map’. It doesn’t resemble anything like any part of any country I know but the oversized abstract shape makes me want to call just that. Admitedly, it’s out of the whack to be naming a birthmark but it’s my way of coming to terms with a permanent marking that I could not accept for many, many years. When I was growing up, I loathed the birthmark. It still gets to me sometimes but I care less these days. As a child, I was very conscious of the marking and thus wouldn’t wear anything that will potentially reveal it. Even in a bathing suit, I wrapped my body with a bath towel before quickly dumping it and jumped into the water. It didn’t help that I dislike my droopy shoulders. It was distinctively ugly. It was an invisible burden.
The liberation came not too long after I started working. It was necessary but I was still rather conservative, choosing working clothes that would reveal very little of my shoulder. It must’ve been in Singapore when I decided to wear my first spaghetti strap. I do not remember the colour of the top, the brand or why did I decided to wear it. I just remember the liberating feeling walking down the crowded street as cool air touches my back. I felt almost naked but it was a good feeling. It still is.
