On the bright side, maybe i could tell myself that
(1)The weekend is here!
(2)Night cycling tonight!
(3)1.5 hr jam in a manual car improved my clutch control
(4)RGSPB friends were at menotti, which i've been there for 2x this wk
(5)Had the first CG OUTING!(yeah!)
(6)Surprised wanzhen
(7)Baked sth
(8)Got a pair of new retainers
I better internalise the above mentioned list cos i'm still feeling very sian...
Some photo updates...
Jay's bday present. I should think of new things to make/bake people for their bday or they're just going to get bored... Hope she liked the italian truffles made with a hint of orange flavour.
Bake of the week! i tried out this interesting friendship of chocolate & cheese in a loaf, and it turned out not bad. Kendrick wants some walnuts in it next time, while some medics like kristy want chocolate chips. Mental note made.
Interesting cross section of the chocolate & cheddar cheese loaf:)
On an interesting note, i just want to add that i finally understand how "difficult" a situation it is to be living from "paycheque to paycheque". I was just thinking that i should be happy on my payday like i was when i worked at NCC, but with the expenditure of this wk alone, i'm already in deficit. I know i shouldnt let money issues upset me cos money can be earned again, but it always happens because, in the moment of transaction, i'd always feel that the expenditure is worth every cent, but in retrospect, this feeling can be forgotten.
Sigh, wenyang, if u're reading this, i really pei fu you. Have u recovered from your europe trip?
Do you have an expensive hobby? Sometimes i feel that baking and ice cream making can be potentially costly if i choose to use the very best ingredients. But i'd ask myself, is it worth it? Can people even tell the difference?
Also, being an inquisitive and adventurous person, i always like to try the more exotic recipes. Albeit expensive ingredients, i get to learn the making of blueberry muffin for example, at the end of the day, unfortunately, i'm not happy with my muffins cos the blueberries i used, i believe, will never be as juicy, fresh or sweet as those that exist in the country of the publisher.
So is it worth it afterall?
Fortunately it is the process i enjoy the most. If people like what i make, it's really a bonus. Y'know surprisingly, i do not have the impt quality of a gd cook/baker/confectioner etc. to discern what is the generally acceptable taste. My problem lies in how i dont really like my food to be too sweet and i have a liking for savoury food. This can be quite a disaster in cake baking and ice cream making, cos i sometimes do not know how much to tone the sweetness down.
As a rule of a thumb, i always tell my friends to first follow the recipe and then modify accordingly. Baking is very different from cooking. I always believe that A great cook may create dishes intuitively, almost casually, working with what’s in the refrigerator, tasting and correcting the work in progress.
Baking a cake on the other hand is culinary magic. Nowhere else in cooking is the transformation of few simple ingredients so profound and so appreciated. A great baker is attentive to technique, details and timing. Unable to taste, correct and create along the way, the baker is a stickler for measurements, insistent on proper pan sizes, and fussy about the temperature of everything from the oven to the butter. Because the same ingredients combined in different order, mixed differently, or even used at different temperatures results in quite different cakes (or failures), good bakers are dedicated to small things that produce beautiful cakes that taste heavenly.
Enough of blogging. I'm choking from a lot of things i want to say but cant really put in words...
I'm just hoping for a great weekend, Please.
