Spider Web Cake

Oops, spider web cake, haha......... sound scary right? Actually, i was refering to the spider web design on the cake.

Talking about this spider web cake, sometime last year, so many of us is crazy over this cake. The cake is really delicious. I still remember the 1st time when i attempted to do this cake, i was such an "idiot". One of the ingredient involve in this cake requires to be crushed. Guess what i did? Haha..... i actually do it the very traditional way - I POUND IT. To think that i actually have a blender/miller at home, yet i didn't use it......... so stupid right? At that time, i still “死要面子”，i said i enjoyed crushing it by pounding it as i enjoyed watching it being crushed under my hand. Haha......... "You are a sadist" - my friend commented, and of course it's meant to be a joke.

So much of last time, back to the main purpose of this post. I have been wondering how to draw a nice spider web till i saw the picture demonstration in one of these recipe book. Here's how it is being done:
1st, you mixed some coco powder with hot water (thick but runny enough to be pipe), place it in a piping bag, and pipe a swirl (circular form) on top of the cake (before cooking) as show above.




Then you use a satay stick to pull out straight line from the centre of the swirl as shown in the picture on the right.







The completed design before cooking will look like the picture below.

Dada............. the cake after cooking is like the picture above.

Well, i still needs lots of practice on my piping skills as you would have notice the thickness of the swirl is not very even. Heehee.......... that's how a real spider web should looks like isn't it? I believed no real spider web will be even in their "cottonly thread". ME AND MY "AH Q" 精神！ :p

Retrenchment?!

Tdy, colleague L cried in the office. L's so called being retrench......... but without official notice and the last day would probably be June 2.

So sad for L. After spending 8 over years with the company, now that the section is closing and L is expected to leave on L's "own accord" - without any retrenchment compensation or any notification about the decision. It's only after much pestering with L's boss that L realised the company is letting L go just like that. Actually L more or less expected it but never expect them to not even inform at all. Sigh.............

A few year back, the "sister" company also retrench some one who works abt 17 to 18 years with the company already. The reason is just becos - times up - 55 already. Alamak, being retrench at 55, how to get another job else where.

L is not even anything near that but then for L's age (even though L is still younger than me), it's still difficult. L told me that while browsing around, L is being told that they are not looking for "matured" one. What a "good" word this professional job placement company uses.

I'm already in my 20th year of service, i wonder when it would be my turn.........

PEACE OF MIND

Read this in someone else's blog, found it quite true. Hence, recording it here:






PEACE OF MIND

If you were to ask your neighbor,
"What would give you peace of mind?"
he might tell you, "A vacation in Bermuda!" or
"An extra hundred grand would give me peace!", or
"A new Ferrari would make me content!"

But going places – and getting stuff – is usually a temporary solution ...
Peace of mind rarely comes from getting more stuff.
Getting more stuff usually leads to wanting even more stuff!
Peace of mind starts with being grateful for what we have right now.

GRATITUDE IS POWER

When we are thankful for what we have -
for the friends we have,
and for the things we've got,
we attract more good people and good things!
People who always complain about what they DON'T HAVE, stay stuck. Complainers attract more things to complain about!
It is a law of life.
It's hard to explain, but you can observe it around you.
We get more of what we dwell upon.
That's why all the spiritual masters have taught the same lesson ...

"Start by being thankful. Be happy with what you have now, and more will come your way."

It's practical advice.

Every time you say a silent "thank you",
you become more peaceful – and more power.

TRADITIONAL STEAM SPONGE CAKE

Tested this recipe tdy. Just happened to have all the ingredients needed, so tried it out. Wow! yummy yummy - so soft. It's not 很扎，it's very fluffy, taste very good - so i eat and eat. Oh no............... going to put on more weight already.

PS: must use high flame (大火）to steam - otherwise, 发得不美。

OLD syndrome

Recently have been having problem reading the fine prints. Perhaps i may have to resort to something similar like the cartoon on the left. Haha....... everytime asking for BIGGER LETTERS.

Well, beside problem reading fine print, below is also a scenarios of getting old...........

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the table that I collected from the letter box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the rubbish bin under the table, and notice that it is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the rubbish first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the post-box when I take out the rubbish anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my cheque book off the table, and see that there is only 1 cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the fridge to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the worktop catches my eye - they need water.

I put the Coke on the worktop and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the worktop, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote control. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realise that tonight when we watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote control, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the front room where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote control back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

- the car isn't washed

- the bills aren't paid

- there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the worktop

- the flowers don't have enough water

- there is still only 1 cheque in my cheque book

- I can't find the remote control

- I can't find my glasses

- and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired. I realise this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favour. Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I've sent it to. Don't laugh - if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

Same Name?????

Visited DJ Violet's kitchen recipe blog yesterday after receiving a sms from someone whom i have always respected. Har....... guess wat i saw? Someone having exactly the same name as me left some very unpolite comments. Ridiculous........ use a sentence always spoken in Korean drama "难道我疯了吗？”how could i have use my own name to leave such a provocative comments. Want to invite trouble meh? To tell the truth, i have not been reading comments left in the blog for quite some time already till yesterday. Well, i still do visit this blog occasionally to try some recipe and visit some of the tag along members blog; but only to look at pictures. Honestly, i have not even been listening to the radio let alone leaving comments. Well, partly becos i'm busy at work and partly becos i don't want to give myself any chance to be KPO again. I just have too much of my own life to bother about, so I would not “吃饱了，趁着，没事找事。”(korean drama phase again).

I don't believe there's such a coincedence - really got someone having exactly the same name as me meh? No wonder i'm being suspected for finding quarrel. Even i myself found it so unbelieveable...............

Jewel Quest

Have been crazy over this game "JEWEL QUEST" for some time. There's about 5 x 10 stages all together. Didn't purchase the game, but some how or the other, managed to download the game for free unlimited trial (with advertisement in between stages of the game). This surely is a good game for passing time.




About 2 to 3 weeks ago, i managed to finished the final stage. And this is exactly how i feef after achieving the final stage - no glory or wealth but self satisfaction beyond measure till the itch to quest surface again.