Welcome to the Family, guys!

.... and here's some cookies as ur welcome gift :):)

That was the first time ever since I came to Singapore that I've seen so many ppl getting baptised. 11 people! Majority are from earliteens. 2 from BRATz! Congrats to Denise and Teddy!

So happy especially for Teddy. He definitely has changed alot from the first time he joined BRATz. He was er.... rather chubby and bit wilful. Now he's much better. Trimmed down lots (but still considered as my 'babat' rival). And he's now even more diligent in reading his Bible than I am. Shame on me *shakes head*

Can't believe the BCD were baptised also o.O Those 3 mosquitoes.... A big headache in PF. So mischievous and can be super pesty. Hopefully they've really changed haha....Wait. Noe what? Bryan actually complimented my cookies *gasp* The most rascal one.... First time he said nice things to me! I was really happy. LOL... All the effort baking those cookies till 11+pm yesterday paid off ^.^

Seeing all of them getting baptised made me remember my own and how I've changed since. I must say not really for the better. But somehow now I kinda feel lyk I've gotta change my attitude. Be a good role model, sth like tt. Feel kinda bad when Dom actually read all those F words and told me it was vulgar and I ignored him. Haha... Sry Dom, was really upset tt day. But well, I'm the kind who need to let things out. I'll be really mad and upset for a while, but shortly after tt I'll be fine and be a good girl again :) So yea...

Mayb I shud say things using their positive synonyms even when I'm upset. Like my bro said. Instead of saying, "F***, he's such a flirt and so lazy". I shud say, "Goodness me, he's such a super sociable and laidback guy." haha

Well neways, again to Ralph, Denise, Dom, Clarence, Bryan, Tasha, Nic, Grace, and the 3 Filipinos (forgot their names :S), WELCOME!!

I shoud've made more cookies so the rest of the youths cud eat them too. But since it was a new recipe, I wasnt sure how it would turn out. So only made half batch. But it turned out great! the kind of cookies i like. Crisp on the edges and chewy on the inside. Like Subway cookies :)

I think i took out a little bit early so it wasn't tt crispy (I didnt mind tho). An extra minute or two wud make it perfecto. Finally I found the perfect (at least for now) choc chip cookies recipe!

Well, I won't be selfish and keep recipe for myself. Here's to all cookie monsters out there ;)

Addictive Chocolate Chip Cookies

(courtesy of 'bakingsheet')

2 cups ap flour

½ cup quick cooking oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Blend in vanilla extract and egg. Slowly add in the flour mixture until nearly combined.

Add in chocolate chips and stir until dough is uniform in color and chip distribution.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake at 350F for 11-13 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 40 cookies.

Note: I suggest reducing the sugar by 2 tbsp at least, unless u've a very sweet tooth.

Argh, I hate using camera phone but bro took my camera >.<

Chocolate Keeps Me Sane

Okay, so I've been rather pissed, frustrated, and jaded these past few days. All triggered by that stupid MS midterm which i failed really badly. And i mean REEEEALLYY badly. So bad tt everytime i remember it, I felt like taking the paper out (which I've put right at the bottom of my papers pile) and tear it into tiny little pieces while screaming "Damn u, MS. DAMN U!"

Well, of course there are many other reasons that had sorta built up. But yea, that bloody MS - it's worth 30% and it's MS for heaven's sake. Not AFA.

And so to keep myself sane, I turned to whatelse but chocolate! I ate them, made them into brownies, truffles and muffins in the past 4 days. Chocolate therapy works wonders ^^

I've just realised that we have so much chocolate at home. Thanks to bro's friend who got us a big box of Ghirardelli assorted chocolate fr US. Then there's a container-ful of white and dark choc balls my sis bought couple of mths ago (still taste good), few bars of snickers from last cell group's retreat, couple bars of different milk choc i bought for my experiments (still can't find meltable white choc ): ) and a bar of baking choc :D

Seiously, whoever discovered chocolate should be given a Nobel prize. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, I'd say, "A piece of chocolate a day, keeps the psychiatrist away."

Mayb it's just me, but I don't even need exp choc to keep myself happy. I love kitkat, snickers, and even those cheapo choc gold coins.

The brownies were for Pris. The heart Yuppies spells "happy bday Pris". Took me quite sometime to stick the hundreds&thousands to the gummies. One of them got burned by the candles. Hee...Had wanted to make choc cupcake cuz i like frosting them but she likes brownies more. She's got expensive taste :P

Made these cuz still have the ingredients left from making the choc truffles bouquet for Kris and Yola. They're the not the normal choc truffles with ganache filling btw. They're Oreo truffles and Tim Tam truffles. But I think I won't be making them in a long long time. Too much hassle. And seriously, working with chocolate when u're living along the equator is a real challange, unless u don't mind blasting ur air-con while making it. But my kitchen doesn't have air-con :(

Those pics are taken in my room with the air-con on and even then the humidity made the chocolate 'sweat'. Sigh....But they still look better then the first ones I made. When I took the pics of the bouquet, they were already melting cuz the weather was warmer. Still contemplating if I shud post the pics cuz they don't look as pretty as I had intended :(

I love taking pics of chocs! They're so photogenic, don't u think? Don't think we have this brand in Singapore. Read about them in some American flog. Their choc is good! Had to eat all 4 squares cuz I've lyk touch them here n there while taking the pics. But not complaining :)

Used the dark choc one to coat the truffles. My fav is the raspberry one. The sourish raspberry filling compliment the dark choc real well. It's just slightly too sweet for my taste. Me not a big fan of mint choc, but I must say I really like their mint choc. After Eight is another good brand.

Will post the muffins pics later and listen to AMA prof now. Ah.... I love chocolate!

"I'd give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter"

I had some stored in my mobile which I found while browsing through choc cookbook. The rest is courtesy of google. Enjoy :)


The darker, the better. -- Myself, Caressa

Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies.--John Q. Tullius

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.-- Anon.

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.-- Linda Grayson

All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! -- Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

There are four basic food groups, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles. -- Anonymous

Man cannot live by chocolate alone, but woman can. -- Anon.

When the going gets tough, the tough eats chocolate.-- Author Unknown

There’s more to life than chocolate, but not right now.-- Author Unknown

I'd give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter. -- Anon.

Cereal with Chocolate?!

All those baking are really making me fat cuz I ended up devouring most of the stuff. Having a 8.30 to 6 job is not helping either. Such sedentary jobs are really not good for a girl's tummy. Sigh... So i decided to lessen my carb intake and really work out after my internship. Seriously. But, this afternoon while accompanying my parents shopping at Marks & Spencer, I saw these 2 on sale...

Oat crunch, I really like and they're quite common. But with chocolate clusters? Now that I've never seen, or tried. And it has milk, white and dark chocolate altogether. Oh yumm! I think that will make a fab breakfast. Moreover, chocolates are endorphine-enducing and endorphines are feel-good hormones. So theoretically, you'll start the day in a good mood. How great is that?

But but but... I'm sposed to be on a low-carb diet. So should it be the healthier Strawberry & Almond Crunch, or the no-so-healthy but happy-mood-making Triple Chocolate Crunch?

Well, I guess my choice was pretty obvious. Who cares if ur healthy but ur miserable, right? And besides, dark choc are good for health too. And I decided to buy just 1 box, so it wasn't that bad. And.... whatever, I like choc, diet can wait. HAHA!

Guess what, I totally didn't regret my decision. They sure aren't stingy with the choc. And it's good quality choc, I can tell. 3 cheers for a happy breakfast!!

Some fruits to lessen the guilt

Double Chocolate Brownies

After failing the last two (it wasn't that bad really. Still edible, but a bit dry and hard), I went to find some more brownies recipe, even borrowed this brownies recipebook from the library (man, am I glad they finally build a library in Bishan). There are quite a lot of brownies recipe in that book, but somehow i prefer getting my recipe online from foodblogs, cuz I thot those recipe must be more do-able, and it seems easier when people have actually tried out those recipe.

But I still visit the library for recipe books. I still believe in Jamie and Nigella, and occasionally Martha and I need to satisfy my fettish for drool-inducing, yummy pictures on recipe books. That's why I really can't figure out why people would publish recipe books without pictures. I mean it's so silly. People need to sort of have an idea how the end product should look like, especially noobs like me, right?

I forgot the name of the book, but the chocolate frosting recipe was great! Neways, I found this brownie recipe online and tried it out during the weekend.

Double Chocolate Brownie
adapted from Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Brownie recipe

What's in it:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
200 grams good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed firm)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

How to concoct it:
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degree celcius. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper.
2. Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until completely melted. Let cool slightly.
3. Mix your flour, baking powder, and salt well and aside.
4. Using an electric mixer (or a handwhisk if you prefer), mix sugar, egg, and vanilla well until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until well combined.
5. Pour brownie batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a skewer, when inserted in the brownie, comes out clean.
6. Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes then lift out to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

It turned out pretty good. See... (I took more pics actually, but my ever-so-smart sis deleted them *grrr*)

I sprinkled some chopped Brazil nuts on top. Aunt Soh gave us a big container full of nuts (brazil nuts, pecans, macadamia nuts etc). I've never tried Brazil nuts before and never came across a recipe that uses it. It tasted quite bland when eaten on its own. But it went really well with the brownies. It tastes kinda like walnut but with a tinge of coconut taste. The texture is also more dense than walnut, kinda like almond.

Oh btw, I know the recipe asks for pure vanilla extract. But I've read in several recipe books that imitation one is good enough and they are really close to the real thing. Unless you're a real pro, you won't be able to taste/smell the difference. But if u are a purist and/or have lots of dosh to spare, by all means, get the real thing.

Neways, although the the brownies was not bad at all, I wasn't really satisfied. The brownies was a bit too cakey I think. I prefer it to be more fudgy. But well, Ralph said it was good. I guess different folks different strokes.

I really like the brownies from the Secret Recipe. It's just nice for me. Top it off with vanilla ice cream to make it even more 'mmm :):) I shall look for more recipes that'll give me that kind of brownies. Yup!