it's been awfully long

work have been keeping me away. everyday seems like a battle that leaves me exhausted and looking forward to days where i simply have nothing to do. however on some days the desire to bake comes like a craving for chocolate; chocolate chip cookies that i have not baked for the longest time.

I kinda lost the touch i must say, the texture seems a little different from what i used to make although the recipe is the same. chocolate chips are as expensive as ever and i must admit that i really do not like baking things that comes in batches. since my over is smaller than usual, my baking trays needs a few more visits to the oven.

infact now, at this very moment that i am typing. i feel so sleepy that i just wanna fall into my bed and dream away. but after looking at the last post and all that's been missing for the past two months, i shall type an obligatory post to make do first.

work. it really takes the life out of you.

plum jam

i remembered waking up at 6am in the morning due to jet lag and helping myself to breakfast while my aunt and uncle continue to snooze. on a wintery london morning, as my cousin and i sat in the kitchen watching the sky turn to light, homemade plum jam and thick toast never tasted so delicious with a mug of hot chocolate.

over the years my aunt always bring back jars of plum jam she made for us back here in singapore and i have always thought that making jam was pretty tedious hencei have never once thought of making jam myself. however i came across a jam recipe on "my tartelette" while reading and admiring the photos she has posted and was surprised at the ease of making jam.



making plum jam at this time seems like a coincidence as my aunt is on her flight back to singapore and when i walked into the supermarket, the shelves were stacked with plums. i guess it's a sign. slicing and removing the pits while watching television seems like a good activity and before i know it, my bowl is filled with sliced plums.

as the plums cook and bubble in the pot, they got darker in shades of red and the scent of nutmeg and sweet plums were dancing around the kitchen.

cherry clafoutis

the wondrous thing about living in singapore is that we import our fruits from all over the world. hence even when the season for cherries in europe is over, our awesome supermarkets just flew in a whole batch of fresh cherries from canada. the stalks were so green and the cherries looked so luscious that i decided that another dessert won't hurt.

clafoutis clafoutis clafoutis as everyone will wonder, we've known about tarts and crumble but clafoutis seems foreign. fruits baked in a custard like batter, the aroma is awesome i tell you. the nice fragrance of the fruits is one thing, the eggs and cream baking till lightly brown is comforting.



while baking this dessert, i thought of the different serving methods and i decided to do both; in a pastry crust and in ramekins. the sugared ramekins gave a deep caramel taste to the clafoutis while the buttery crust of the tart added a light fragrance to the custard while giving it more crunch. and i couldn't have more fun photographing both presentation styles.

almonds and cherries are a matched made in kitchens all over. the light toasted scent and taste of sliced almonds really compliments the clafoutis.

light and a spacious bedroom

Well i have to confess; i've turned my folks bedroom into my makeshift photography studio during the day. as a matter of fact it's due to the morning curtains that hang so calmly down, the warm morning and crisp later afternoon light that shines in. and that floorspace, with just the basic room furnishing that makes the bedroom ideal for photographing food.

I simply love tables that has shelving below, and those that can be pulled out; plus points. Well this table that i've been using was used to place a sound system initally. well i guess that makes the table almost two decades old. i love vintage.

summer's sweet crumbs

Summer is coming to an end soon and with that, fruits with hearts of stone. although singapore is a tropical city that imports most of its fresh produces, we seldom get a generous variety of stone fruits all at the same time. but when the season is sweet; apricots, nectarines, and prunes are some of my favorite fruits that goes into my crumble.

the sweet light scent of nectarines in the kitchen is enough to make me feel happy and chirpy in the mornings. every bite is a moment of bliss, the honeyed sweetness and aroma reminds me the beauty of summer with her fields of green and clear blue skies. then again, the fruits usually arn't really ripe, leaving them on the kitchen counter for a couple of days and slowly picking up its sweet scent is all worth the wait.

sprinkle a little sugar and ground nutmeg. while these bake in the oven, the kitchen will be filled with its warm sweet scent. i love the scent of nectarines so much that while walking in town a few months back, i hopped into l'occitane and got myself a glass of sweet cherry scented candle; the closest to nectarines i suppose.

revisiting foret noir

I was looking back at some old photos and came across a few photos of the black forest gateau that i made more then a year ago. and with my new nikon d90 sitting on my table, i simply couldn't resist the temptation of baking them again. I'm a perfectionist in some sort of way and seeing how the older photos could have been sharper and more intense in colour; my decision was final.

A few years ago when i was backpacking in taiwan, i happen to discover black forest flavoured ice cream in their seven eleven convenience stores; what a surprise. Looks, or rather the place can be deceiving, however the ice cream was delicious. a frozen dessert with a chocolate ganache shell with bits of nuts, within a smooth chocolate ice cream with chunks of sweet liquored cherries.

when it comes to desserts, I love the use of glassware in gateau presentations as it makes the dessert look simple and classy, not to mention that it's also easier and much neater to assemble the number. With the blazing weather in singapore, baking at night has become a norm for me especially when it comes to whipping up cream; i end up sitting infront of the televison watching and assembling the dessert.

And did i mention how much i love cherries? those sweet pretty red jems are simply delicious. i was chilling the afternoon away when the light seemed ideal for some photography and in a moment i took out my d90 and went snapping away at the cherry. The ones i bought from the supermarket had a hint of bitterness and it really adds to the deep flavour of the stone fruit.

There are so many other cherry desserts that i have yet to attempt.

And a chapter ends

The place becomes a past of black and white
While the times we had together becomes a memory ever precious
And these friendships made are tied in the history of yesterdays and tomorrows

i'll miss you guys.

one thing leads to another

Last night while i was deciding what time i should head to the wet market to get those pandan leaves and coconut milk for my kueh salat, memories of making the nonya kueh in shanghai unfolded yet again in my mind. Our attempts in the chilly apartment blending and sieving the pandan leaves and steaming the glutinous rice in the wok with a make shift cover; pathetic situation, delicious kueh.

How time really flies when you're occupied with other things in life. When i mentioned making kueh salat to my friend, she was all chirpy about our cooking attempt in shanghai. it never failed to surprise me how the little things in life can bring back memories from the past, sparking light conversations and nostalgia that feels so precious i'll never forget.

Well the main reason why i love kueh salat is perhaps the use of coconut milk and pandan leaves. the rich aroma of the coconut milk and the fragrance of the leaves is good enough to make anyone feel that committing a sin of biting into a slice absolutely forgivable. Then there's that lovely hue of green that makes the day seem just comforting.



The traditional peranakans will ting the rice with blotches of indigo for colour and aesthetics, and the dye comes from the flowers of the morning glory. The flowers are dried and pounded to extract the colour when mixed with water. However since i am unable to find any dried morning glories at the market in the morning, i'll just have to make do with a simpler kueh.

With all the bunches of pandan leaves unused, i rolled them up and tie them in small bundles and left them around the house. and when i got home the next day, there was a light sweet scent lingering about the house and with the light breeze dancing in, the moment was serene.

Hong Kong once more

we talked about it, we gossip about the possibilities and we asked around. the nine of us took off for hong kong with a few sketches of hand drawn maps and it was one superb long weekend of shopping and awesome food. thank goodness for jetstar's travel light airfares, it's really a breeze traveling with no luggage.

The bowls of wanton noodles and century egg congee, those plates of roast duck and meat rice and cups after cups of milk tea, pure sinful bliss. It was practically a eat where you shop kinda experience as we were always feeling hungry. The dim sum experience at Luk Yu was unique, with decor bringing you back into the 70s. And not that any of us could have forgotten the number of egg tarts we bought.

and how could i have forgotten to write about this. we went in April/May 2010.

chocolat truffle tart

i adore chocolate.
a rich dark chocolate truffle tart with a waffle crumb base.
sinful bliss

Quiche Lorraine

i got my hands working on an authentic french quiche, one that's two inches in depth and left to chill overnight, allowing the flavors to mellow out. a quiche is basically a gorgeous pie, that uses custard and simple fresh ingredients. It's pretty hard to find good quiche in singapore as people here are more accustomed to the usual pies that they see everywhere else.

i guess one thing that marks the coming of autumn is the increased in butter and cream used in dishes as the dairy product somehow gives us warmth in the colder months. although quiche can be considered food for all seasons, the ingredients changes. and that's what makes quiche a welcoming comfort food.

baking is such a wonderous art of work.

a book and the kitchen

I've gotten myself thomas keller's bouchon, something that i have set my eyes on for a long time but have always been contemplating due to the price tag attached. The twenty percent off sale at kinokuniya gave me the courage i needed and with a wave of my visa, i find myself lugging the book home.

There's a good many reasons as to why i bought bouchon over the french laundry. The simple and bistro styled recipes probably suited me more since i plan to cook and bake on lazy mornings when there's nothing more enjoyable than spending personal time in the kitchen alone. the aromas floating about and the sounds of chopping, stirring makes the day seems somewhat more interesting.

While france is a many hundred miles away, i'll be dreaming up of my own french kitchen in the days to come as i try out those recipes.

thoughts that drift like snow flakes

i've just come to realize that accommodation in sydney is gonna cost me dearly. with the aussie dollar and living expenses to consider, it's seriously making me consider taking up the singapore tourism board's scholarship. but there are so many other "what ifs"; opportunities abound while i'm studying in sydney. life truly is full of surprises, i feel excited simply just thinking of the possibilities there.

yak yak about studies aside, the timbre rock and roots event yesterday was a blast. the organizers should plan more of such events and i'm surprised that the tourism board isn't part of the team. with the city state wanting to hype up the arts scene, jools holland and his rythmn and blues orchestra was something of an awesome surprised for people who have never heard about him before.

really well known in the united kingdoms, he really made the crowd boogied away with such joy and i had such a great time. the blues orchestra was amazing, it made me reminisce about the days when i was in band and infront of the stage, i could feel the fun playing for such an event. i wanna join a band again when i enter university, nostalgia.

all the lives that we could live, all the people that we may be. there are so many things that i wanna do and learn. i guess these are what dreams are made of. i can smell my days of freedom and it makes me excited about the things i am planning to accomplish before i leave the country.

when circles meet and collide

oh how i love chillin out at timbre. our first patronage at timbre mobile east coast park, a make shift pub with designer artsy fartsy benches and tables and a stage that seems almost falling apart. and when circles collide, new friends are found however weird they may be.

Sometimes

life surprises us with the unexpected

happy is a many bizarre feeling

the past month has really been a busy one for me. quite exciting too i guess. i've at last handed in my essay to unsw and all i hope is they'll give me a reply soon. along the way came a happy story although time and circumstances seem all messed up but i guess it doesn't really matter cause all i need is a promise of words and feelings.

friends

i guess the photo above is long over due. i have not had the time these past few weeks and there are still several issues that i have yet to complete. a glass of strawberry shortcake with pistachio on the side. the most challenging part about making the number above is not the different components but the presentation.

n.s has seriously reduced my personal time lately and not only have i not typed out my university application essay, i haven't caught up with my friends too. i went to a 21st birthday party just yesterday and when my friends mentioned how it's time to move on, a new phrase of his life and friends will soon part ways due to different life commitments, i felt horrible.

the feeling was all too familiar and i realized that as we get older, the friends we have that are really close to us are numbered in the single digits. so i say keep these friends close like family for people come and go but some stay with you through the times. i'm quite the solitary person, never really close to my family and on the other hand there's a side of me that my friends haven't a clue.

i've always wanted a life overseas, working in a foreign city. yet with it brings challenges, away from my old friends. distance places people apart and the bond fades. where will i be.