The Golden Years

Not long after our return from Malaysia (yes, I still haven't blog about that trip...in fact I have SO MANY things that are backdated!!), a friend told me that she and her sister-in-law were planning a 50th Anniversary for her in-laws. She later asked me if I could make a cake! You see, I'm not a professional baker. I'm still experimenting. I'm ok with baking for my family and experimenting, but when someone PLACES an order with me, that's A LOT of pressure! Anyway, I said yes! (Which I later question myself if I was just too excited and still haven't overcome the jet lag??! :P )




So, I brought some magazines over for her to look at, to chose the design, talk about the flavor, size..etc. She also came over to my house, and that's when she saw my Yellow cake (the cake I submitted for the State Fair competition), and she liked that design. She needed the cake for 60 people. She called up some local bakery and asked what size would best feed that number of people. They told her a 12" and a 9". Yikkeess...I have never made any cake bigger than a 9"!!! I have covered a 12" dummy cake for the Oregon State Fair cake decorating competition. But THAT was a Styrofoam! I didn't have to worry about a Styrofoam! Nevertheless, I figured this is a great opportunity for me...and I better not screw up!

I broke down the days into making this cake. There was the chocolate cake for the 12" cake and butter/vanilla cake for the top. They are both filled with raspberry buttercream, and covered with fondant. Originally, the number "50" was supposed to be upright. I place toothpick under the numbers to help them stand. As I was placing the other decorated pieces, the number 5 started to "cracked"!!! *sigh* I knew I had no time to make another "5" (gum paste might have worked better in this case), so I had no choice but to lay them down F-L-A-T! :( The design also included fondant roses, which I'm pretty pleased with, but still need to work on placing them on a toothpick/wire stem and working on the calyx. I hand painted the other little golden flowers, the numbers and the pearls with petal dust.

When the cake was done...all I have left to worry about was whether it will stay in one piece all the way until they cut the cake, and if they liked the taste of the cake! It was difficult for me to be the judge...cos' 1st of all, I always set higher expectations for myself...2nd, I don't like to eat cakes...I liked the buttercream I made, that I know (it was a meringue buttercream), but cake?! It was hard for me to judge...I'm not a cake person, I only like to make them for others, I'm VERY picky when it comes to cakes. I like desserts and pastry, but I don't really have a sweet tooth...so, that makes me even pickier!!! :P

Anyhow, I was nervous the whole night....until I saw her e-mail giving her thumbs up! *phew* :) I'm so grateful for A to give me this opportunity.

Apple Pie --- BAR!!!

I came across this recipe while reading the Food & Wine magazine one day. How wonderful is that?? Instead of an apple pie, you could have an apple pie BAR (by Cathy Odson)! ;) I've tried it on last year's July 4th pot luck with our neighbors. I made a chocolate caramel sauce and brought vanilla ice-cream along, and it was a hit! :)

Tomorrow, my neighbor's son will be leaving for college in California. He's been an awesome kid to have around. Few days after we first moved in, there was a knock on my door. I opened the door, and there he was, 10 years old, about my height (5ft 2), introducing himself and handed me a business card, telling me that if we needed help with the lawn, give him a call!!! How cute is that??

Now, he's 6ft 3". He takes care of our lawn whenever we are away for a long time. And whenever I bake something, he and his brother never complain about being the guinea pigs. I've asked his mom of all the things they have tried from me,what's his favorite? She told me he liked the apple pie bars the most. So, here it is, apple pie bar with chocolate caramel sauce with vanilla ice-cream. We wish him the BEST on this exciting journey.


Click here for the Apple pie bar. Below is the Chocolate Caramel Sauce by Julie Hasson.

Chocolate Caramel Sauce

Makes 1 ½ Cup

Recipe from 125 Best Chocolate Chip recipes by Julie Hasson

¼ C Unsalted butter

¾ C packed light brown sugar

1/3 C corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

1/3 C Whipping cream (35%)

1/3 C semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar, syrup and salt. Increase heat to medium-high, bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, it will look like bubbling lava. Boil for 1 minute and remove from heat.

2. Whisk in cream. Add chocolate chips, whisking until smooth. The sauce will look as if it is separating, but will smooth out after a minute or so of whisking. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Tips:

For fondue, serve this warm with fruits, small cookies and cake cubes.

Store in covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Variation:

Omit chocolate chips for caramel sauce. Use in recipes that call for caramel sauce.

We're Back!!! =)

It's been a while since my last post (no counting the MIA one of course). The kids and I have been away since June 24. We went back home to Malaysia for the Summer!!! We just got back 3 days ago...and I am still recovering from the 15 hour time difference... I go to bed at midnight-1 a.m. and wake up at 4-ish! *sigh* I need a nap SOON :P I will be blogging about the trip soon, I hope! :P

Anyway, after our long flight back home the past Wednesday, a friend of ours was really kind to pick us up from the airport, even though it was closed to midnight. And when we opened the front door, this is what we saw...


Our neighbors have made a banner for us! How sweet is that?! They even got us some milk, cereal, bread, and fruits ready!!! You can't ask for a better neighbor than this! We're so blessed!

MIA

Haven't been posting since June.... opppsss!!! I'm still here, I'm still around....but we've been away from home. The kids and I have came back to Malaysia for the Summer (Nd joined us in mid-July). We've been here for almost 7 weeks!!!! It's wonderful to see the family and friends, and eat "THE FOOD" that we so missed. However, I am ready to go back to my own bed, to my berries picking, and the other routine. I know we will miss everyone back here in Malaysia, and all the food...but, like the saying goes "Home sweet home" --- no matter where it is.

So, until then, I'll see you all again soon, and I'll be blogging about the trip. =) Have a great Summer while the Sun is still shining! :)

Variations from the Tang Zhong Bread Recipe

I haven't been baking bread since January. I have since then, managed to return the Cuisinart bread machine my husband got for me as Christmas gift, and bought a Zojirushi bread machine from Kitchen Kaboodle (they have the cheapest price for a Zojirushi bread machine, I think). After making less than 10 loafs of bread with the Cuisinart, it made some funny sound one day, when I tried to stop the cycle half way. Also, I didn't like it because with just one paddle, part of the ingredient didn't got mixed in at all!

So, the other day, I had a sudden urge, partly due to the sudden "idea" to add on to the 65 degree Celsius bread by Florence, I decided to bake some bread again. I have only baked with my Zojirushi machine twice after I got it! :P It's been sitting upstairs in the study/guests room for A WHILE! (yup, as much as I like A Zojirushi bread maker, I don't have the space to store it in my kitchen!!!) :P

This time, I made a red bean paste loaf. The original plan was to make 'em into buns, like the BBQ pork steam buns (char siew pau). However, I was afraid the dough is too soft and would flatten like my ham and cheese version, so I tried out with just 3 pieces. The rest of the dough, I rolled 'em up like Swiss rolls and baked in a loft pan. To my surprise, the buns did not collapsed. I wonder WHY?! Was it because it was a very DRY day? Was it because I had forgotten that I should let it rise once more after shaping before brushing the egg wash on?? No idea...but I was happy. The loft turn out great too! I have used the canned red bean paste, hence, it's a bit too sweet for us. Maybe someday, I feel like I have the energy, then I'll try to make my own paste! :P


The next day, I asked Yesmin what other flavor should I try? First thing that came out of her mouth was cheese!!! And my light bulb lit up...I told her, I'll add some bacon and chives!!! Ooohhh...bacon!!! We all love our bacon! :P So, that's what we had the next morning. I was surprise that I didn't cut a slice to taste it after it came out from the oven that night. Yeahhh!!! ;)
By the way, I LOVE my Zojirushi bread maker!! Not only the double blade was awesome, it also have 3 memory settings for personalizing the whole process to your liking! :)

A Sunny Day, A Swing (actually two swings), and A Dress

On one sunny day...

when the ground isn't soggy with the Oregon rain...they went out back to get some Vitamin D & loads of fun!!!

It is one of the many reasons why it is so difficult to move away from this house (although I am constantly running out of storage space), as we have spent so much time and sweat (and $$, of course) into making it a comfortable and fun home.

I don't know if there is ANY kid in this world who would not like to swing on a swing...even till this day, I still find myself, sometimes fighting over with them for the swing (I can't fit into the slide anymore, and I don't have strong arms to do the monkey bars)! :P We are so lucky, and we're THANKFUL for this.

This is THE OTHER story...about a dress...

For few months now, I have noticed that whenever Yesmin or any girl is wearing a dress, Lucas will show extra affection towards her or whoever the girl is. He seems to like girls wearing dresses. He's the type of person that sticks to the "rule" --- pink color is for girls, blue color is for boys, hence, dresses are meant for girls. Both Yesmin and I rarely wear dress/skirt, so, I think it is very special to him, when she does wear them. When he was in school last week, he met a girl wearing a PURPLE dress...and he kept talking about her the WHOLE week!!

The day before these pictures, he had INSISTED on Yesmin wearing this dress! She didn't want to, but promised him she would the following day. He was mad and sad at first. Then we told him that if she had worn a dress, she won't be able to play with him in the back yard , as she might rip the dress while climbing up the ladder on the play structure....so, he accepted the negotiation. The following morning, he told ND(Lee) that the play structure is broken, so Jia jia (big sister) could now wear the dress!!! ;P

Chives, oh Chives!!!

We have a herb/vegetable planted by the sunny side of the house. 3 or 4 years years ago, I planted some herbs, like rosemary, chives, mint, oregano, thyme, and basil. Every year, the mint would spread more and more, every year, the rosemary withstand the winter without a shiver. This past winter we had quite the snow storm, and I think my oregano and thyme are a goner. However, the chive is back, and growing like nobody's business. It has flowered so much, and though it's PURPLE in color, I have to admit they are so pretty.

Every year, since Lucas started to walk and plays out back with Yesmin, they have always love hoping (running) on the stepping stones to the planters, pick out strand and strands of chives and mints (I would only allow them to pick on those two, since they are the 2 of the most durable and easy to pick herbs). Lucas would sometimes just chew on the chives, just like that...like how some people chew on tobacco! ;P On this day, I found them picking out a bunch of the flowered chives, some mint, and some arborvitae foliage. Yesmin wanted to turn it into a bunch of flowers, like a bouquet, while Lucas was trying to make his vision of a flower --- a stemmed flower with two leaves on the stem! :D How cute it is that!? I think the chive has "kids tolerance" characteristic! :)