The best advice that I’ve ever been given came from an ex-boss. I was a bit younger then, and definitely a lot more immature. One day as I was sharing with her my doubts and fears, she asked me, “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Nobody learns how to ride a bike by being afraid of falling. Great things would never be accomplished if people were afraid of failing. I once knew a man who was shortlisted for a prestigious job and invited for an interview. He never showed up for the interview because he was afraid of being rejected. It sounds stupid put like that, but how many of us turn down opportunities because we’re afraid of failure? It is always easier to stay in your comfort zone and not venture out to pursue your dreams. Many rationalize this fear by deciding that their dreams are not worth the risk. ‘Why should I leave this cushy job? I only think that I will be happier there, what if I’m not? What if I fail? I end up with less than I have now…’

All great things come with their risks. Great businessmen never rose to where they are by being afraid to take that critical step. Sure there are failures and sure there is always a big possibility that you will fall. But really, what is the worst that can happen?

As long as you are physically able, it is not impossible to find a job. Sure, you might have to start from the bottom, cleaning the floors or washing dishes in a restaurant. But if you have the ability and the courage to persevere, you will climb the ladder.

There is a great difference between “confidence” and “arrogance”. “Arrogance”, is the belief that you are superior to others while “confidence” is the certainty that you are not inferior. I am not arrogant because I have an opinion and am not afraid to share it. Sure, I might be wrong or you might think differently… but that is totally fine. Arrogance repels others, but confidence draws them to you.

How many dreams have you dismissed because you were afraid of failure? How much have you given up because somebody told you that you “couldn’t”?

In this world, there are three types of people, the enablers, the neutrals and the disablers. The neutrals are the ones that do not care about you and you should not be bothered by their apathy. The disablers are the ones you should be worried about. They may not do this intentionally, but they will eat at you with their fears and insecurities. If you listen to them, they will chip away at your confidence with their words and their pessimistic doubt until you are left with as much fears and insecurities as them. This is not of course to say that you should ignore all who give you negative advice, but that you should be wary of how much of this advice is realistic and how much of it is born from insecurity and paranoia. Finally, there are the enablers. If you have an enabler in your life, then you are a very lucky person. These are the people who believe in you and support you in your decisions. They do not coddle you with sweet words, in fact, many will share with you the risks involved in your decision. The big difference is that they believe that you can achieve your dreams and once you are prepared to accept the risks, they will support you in your decision.

So stop being a wimp and start pursuing your dreams. So what if you fall? What’s the worst that can happen?

I don’t mean the crazy ones that tell me that hot water from the bathroom sink is hot enough to cook instant cup noodles with (ah the joys of a dorm room). Or the violent ones that try and convince me to punch annoying people in the face for the betterment of humanity.

I mean, the bitchy ones that have a smart ass comment  for every situation. I suspect it might be because the bitchy side of me has finally found acceptance over here in Hawaii, where I can say what I think (most of the time) without being judged. But then again, there are still comments that I can’t say out loud as I think them…

To the girl walking through the CO-ED dorm dressed in her underwear: All your clothes in the wash sweetie?

Damn, I would love to say that out loud to her one day. Some day chun, some day.

Before you think too badly of me, let’s get back on task.

If you live in Honolulu, go and eat in Tango Market. Try their duck confit with risotto cakes, you won’t regret it. It’s about 15 bucks before taxes and tip but damn it’s worth it. Here’s the address because i’m nice that way.

1200 Ala Moana
Bldg 6 Ste 601
Honolulu, HI 96814

and a photograph of the food you can expect, because this is a food blog after all.

The duck is soft and flavorful. It falls easily away from the bones and dissolves in an explosion of taste in your mouth. It’s a tad on the salty side so please don’t eat this if you’re already pushing the heart attack borderline. The risotto cakes are soft and mushy on the insides and crunchy on the outsides. The vegetables are vegetables, don’t judge them. They’re there to keep you from getting that heart attack and to help you delude yourself that you’re eating healthy food.

It’s a great place to bring your date on a lazy Sunday morning. The place is clean and bright and hopefully she will associate you with that rather than that dark seedy club where you first met her (wait what?). The best thing? It’s casual with that slight hint of class and the prices won’t put you in the red.

Okay, maybe not ‘few’. It’s been a long 7 months.

Quick summary: Did an internship with Coke, went through a bad breakup, left Singapore to study for half a year Hawaii, mended my broken heart in Hawaii and fell in love with the place.

I’m currently in Hawaii, definitely the most beautiful place I have ever been. It’s like living in a dream. A beautiful dream that I never want to end.

The cultural shock/homesickness was pretty bad in the beginning, but it’s gone now and I just love this place.

Being so close to God’s creation, being able to actually live instead of mindlessly running the rat race… It’s definitely changed my life for the better. Money no longer seems so important when you realize how much better life on a tight budget is if you can live in a place like this.

It’s not so convenient baking in a dorm but there is an oven and I have started out again. Ingredients available here are so different from those back home and it’s honestly SUPER EXCITING to experiment.

So here’s a variation of my chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s fast and efficient to make and I normally make a few batches at one go and store the dough in little ziplock bags in my fridge. So that when I need small gifts for friends or the craving for fresh cookies strikes, i can just grab one ziplock bag and get fresh cookies in half an hour. Damn straight I’m lazy.

Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract until even fluffier. Add in the instant coffee powder and mix it in until dissolved.

3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture. Mix till the dough becomes sticky. Stir in the chips.

4. Wrap the dough in plastic/ dump it in ziplock bags like I do and chill for a minimum of 36 hours.

5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

4. Using a tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough on a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Tweak into a circular shape. Bake for 22 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges.

This is take 2 of my yuzu cupcake series! If you haven’t seen take 1, you should definitely go and check it out!

Anyway, as I mentioned during take 1 yuzu, I wanted to experiment around with the cupcake base, this is the result of it! I think that the slightly bitter taste of the matcha powder goes better with the yuzu. It’s so exotically Japanese that I want to squeal and decorate it with sakura blossoms and stuff… *squeals*

This cupcake is not meant for people whose idea of matcha is heaven and earth jasmine green tea. That is not matcha. Matcha is more grassy(?) than that.

Pictured below: Grassy cupcake.

Okay maybe grassy was not the word for it. But it’s just different. The closest I can come to describing it is the smell of freshly cut grass, but deeper and more provocative.UGH. You just have to try it to decide for yourselves and suggest better descriptive words. I also altered the yuzu curd recipe and the cream cheese frosting recipe as well.

PS: Did you know that Matcha is actually darn good for your health? It does everything from stoping aging, preventing cancer and even makes you happy.

Matcha Yuzu Cupcakes

(Please follow my proportions, the ratio of cupcake to curd is very important.)

Matcha Cupcakes (make 10 cupcakes)

adapted from Joy of Baking 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2/3 raw sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp Matcha powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup low fat milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (i baked at 165 instead as I was using a non stick pan) and line 10 muffin cups with liners

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and matcha powder well.

Alternately add flour mixture and milk in three additions, beginning and ending with flour.

Fill muffin cups evenly and bake for 17 to 20 minutes (i took 22 mins) until set and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

Hollow out a dip in the cupcakes using a spoon. Save the scraps.

Yuzu curd and frosting:

 Yuzu curd:

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp yuzu marmalade

70  grams unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 tbsp sugar

Method:

Cook egg yolks and yuzu marmalade over low heat until it starts to thicken. Don’t let it boil.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter until dissolved. Separate the liquid curd from the yuzu fruit bits that were present in the marmalade. Chill. (You can eat the yuzu fruit bits with the matcha scraps from above)

Fill hollow in cupcakes with smooth yuzu curd till level with cupcake top. Use up all of the curd! None should remain.

Yuzu Cream-Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

125 grams Cream cheese

1/8 cup butter

Icing sugar to taste

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Beat cream cheese, vanilla essence, butter and icing sugar till smooth and fluffy.

Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!

Maybe it’s a self-centered point of view but it feels like we are living in a time of change. The rise of social media and the internet have helped to level the political arena. It helps too that Singaporeans are generally well educated and (hopefully) able to make logical macro type decisions that will benefit the country. (or am i just deluding myself?)

Yet, there are still my peers living around me who remain steadfastly apathetic and live with their eyes closed. They are too content with the world that surrounds them. When everything is going well in your life, it becomes easy to forget about the less fortunate who are working harder than ever just to put food on the table, or the ones who fall through the gaps and are forgotten by society.

Be it for the ruling party or the opposition, I hope everyone will vote very carefully because this is a responsibility that should not be undertaken frivolously.

In this climate of severity, the cupcakes that I made this time round feel somewhat more mature than usual. It might be the bitter tang of the yuzu fruit, or the heavy texture of the chocolate cake, but everything about it screams “adult”.

If you have a chronic sweet tooth and hate chocolate, this is the definitely not the cupcake for you.

The yuzu fruit is a somewhat confused mix of mandarin orange and grapefruit. It is both sour and sweet at the same time and leaves a slightly bitter tang in its wake. Give it a while for your palette to get used to it and fall in love with it like I did.

I managed to pick up a bottle korean yuzu marmalade from NTUC Extra at Ang Mo Kio Hub (the only place I’ve seen it so far) and decided to use it to make these cupcakes. Surprisingly, the yuzu fruit is not very commonly used in baking and I had difficulty finding a recipe to adapt to use. Lots of love to Foodess and ChocolateChilliMango for their recipes which I adapted and combined to form this.

If i made it again, I think I would try a lighter matcha cupcake base. Although many of my guinea pigs said that the chocolate and the yuzu went very well, others felt that the chocolate overpowered the yuzu flavor which is quite shame.

Yuzu Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcake base:

from Foodess

I’m quite a noob at cake making so to be honest I almost got a heart attack when I finished mixing everything together. The cake batter has the consistency of hot chocolate and I always had this impression that cake batter had to be lumpy and thick…. luckily I trusted Foodess and followed through with the recipe dutifully. It turned out awesomely moist and yummy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water, or simply 1 cup boiling water)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the large bowl of a standing mixer, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract; beat 2 minutes on medium speed. Stir in hot coffee.

Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Hollow out a dip in the cupcakes using a spoon, eat the scraps and moan in ecstasy.

Yuzu curd and frosting:

adapted from ChocolateChilliMango

 Yuzu curd:

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp yuzu marmalade

70  grams unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Method:

Cook egg yolks and yuzu marmalade over low heat until it starts to thicken. Don’t let it boil.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter until dissolved. Chill.

Fill hollow in cupcakes with yuzu curd till level with cupcake top.

Yuzu Cream-Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients: 

125 grams Cream cheese

Icing sugar to taste

Method:

Mix the surviving yuzu curd with the cream cheese and add icing sugar to taste.

Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!

What’s with the world lately? It’s just too depressing. =( The past week, I have been secretly panicking. See, there’s this frightful phenomenon known as the “MID-SEM CRISIS”. It’s a horrible thing that strikes in the middle of each semester, when deadlines pile up and things don’t appear to be going well. And it creeps up on you slowly, like an evil snake and when you’re looking the other way IT STRIKES! Another word for it is the “HELL WEEK”.

This round was quite bad. The blow to my ego was unfortunate. But anyways, there’s no looking back because it would be freaky if there was someone standing behind me right now. Wait what? Anyway, ANYWAY, things have taken a turn for the better and my prospects are looking up! I’ve actually gotten calls for internship interviews which is a great relief. (By the way, if your company is looking for an intern… and you love sweet stuff…you know who to email).

So here are some Sunflowers to take away the gloom from the day.

Feel happy yet?

Just a quick shout out to my darling boyfriend, (who never reads my blog, terrible boy) for making the week better (and driving me around, yay, see I wouldn’t add this if you actually read my blog and not just look at the pictures). And to Mel who listens to my emotional roller-coasters and bakes brownies to cheer me up (I know you want her, but she’s taken). Fantastic brownies by the way, if you’re interested (or depressed). Fantastic.

Okay, back to the point of this post. I needed snacks to munch, and healthy ones too! But the problem with overly healthy snacks is that they aren’t always fantastic. Be warned, this biscotti is good (my dad’s been steadily depleting my biscotti supply, my mom just came in to compliment it too!) but it’s never going to give you a food-gasm. I cut the sugar, I cut the fat… I added fruits. For the original which was pretty darned good, go to Delicious Inspiration‘s website. But this recipe is healthily full of dried blueberries and olive oil… And you can eat it without feeling guilty.

Just a side note, my decision to use blueberries was UNWISE. It would probably be better replaced with dark chocolate or raisins, or crasins… something bigger. The blueberries are too small and kept falling out of the biscotti. =(

Biscotti, every discerning bear’s beverage of choice. (Yes i know my biscotti are ugly because I suck at cutting them.. stop giving them an image issue)

Hazelnut Blueberry Biscotti

Adapted from Delicious Inspiration

Ingredients
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon instant expresso

1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/2 cup blueberries (replace this with cranberries/raisins/chocolate chips or something)

Method
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.  In a smaller bowl, combine the oil, granulated sugar, eggs and extract.  Pour the liquid mixture into the flour and mix well, forming a stiff dough. Knead in the hazelnuts and blueberries. Divide the dough in half, then form the halves into logs as long as the baking sheet (about 12″) and flatten slightly.  Bake the logs until golden brown and firm, 25 to 30 minutes.

Let the logs cool slightly, about a half hour.  Cut the logs into 1/4″ slices (this was the most difficult part, mine kept crumbling… but then I’ve always been rather fail at cutting things. If you find a foolproof way of cutting them prettily, do let me know) and arrange them on the baking sheets and bake again for 10 minutes, flipping the slices halfway through, until they’re golden brown around the edges.

Let cool completely, then store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. As if it would survive that long, you serial snacker you…

The markets are down, my test was disgusting *@#* and people were mean.

You know it’s been a bad week when you tally the junk food count and it goes something like this.

1) Slices of cheesecake, 4

2) Chocolate consumption in weight, 300gram

3) Chocolate chip cookies eaten, 10

4) Ice cream in number of scoops, 4

5) Burger King meals eaten whilst having project meeting, 2

6) Coke drunk, 1 bottle

7) Cereal eaten at midnight, 4 bowls

The list goes on…and I was only in school for 3 days!

You must be wondering why I still can fit through my doors. Not for long I’m sure, if this keeps up. So imagine my relief when I found a cheesecake recipe that both satisfies my need for comfort food and doesn’t weigh too heavily on the tummy fats.

Japanese cheesecake is harder to find in Singapore as compared to the other kinds of cheesecake. When I was younger, we used to buy it by the entire cake from Fiesta and it was good… I’m glad to say that this cake tastes exactly like it. It has a very light and fluffily texture that collapses in your mouth. Some people call it souffle cheesecake but eh, that seems a bit too pretentious for such a simple cake.

Warning: Hardcore creamy cheesecake fans might not adapt to it’s fluffy bunny sunshine texture.

(Despicable me anyone?)

I got this recipe off A Tale of Crumbs, thanks muchly to her.

Japanese Light Cheesecake

By A Tale of Crumbs

Ingredients:
70g castor sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
25g butter
125g cream cheese
50ml fresh milk
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
30g corn flour
15g corn starch
Pinch of salt

Method:
1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk in a heat-proof bowl over a simmering pot of water.

2. Let cool and stir in the egg yolks, but do not beat the mixture.

3. Fold in the corn flour, starch, salt and lemon juice. Mix well and set aside.

4. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy, and add the sugar slowly in 3 portions and whisk until soft peaks form. (Don’t over whisk as it would be difficult to combine if too stiff.)

5. Fold the cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and combine well. (This part is important as it will determine the texture of the cake.)

6. Pour the batter into a 7-inch round cake pan lined with parchment paper. If you can get rid of the bubbles on top, your cake will turn out prettier. But I couldn’t. If you are using a springform, be sure to wrap the cake tin in aluminium foil to prevent seepage of water into the gaps.

7. Place it in a water bath (I just half-filled a large rectangular 2-inch deep aluminium tray with water) and bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 1 hour. Turn off the heat after 1 hour, and let cake cook slowly in the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the cake from oven and cake tin, and let cool on a plate.

8. When completely cooled, place it in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours until it is ready to be served.

I seriously doubt the intelligence of my decision, especially since I just got another post admitted into tastespotting. I just pray that people who click on that post will not be rebuffed by the empty musingat webpage but will follow through to here.

I feel a bit insecure because even though I always gripe about how people never visit my blog, the reality is that there are people reading. Like really. I get a minimum of 20 views everyday, thanks to tastespotting. Some days it hits a few hundred.. how many of you will follow to my new address? Sigh. But the cut has to be made now before it’s too late so I shall just grit my teeth and bear with the pain.

I’ve also adopted a CC license, as you can see at the side of the page. This means that all the photographs on this blog are available for non-commercial use, as long as you license your finished work under the same free license. Oh, and don’t forget to attribute me. Giving makes the world go round.

So here’s another beautiful photo (in my not-so-humble opinion) to landmark the changes in my blog!

It’s of the latest $70 million Sentosa Boardwalk, have you visited it yet?

So anyway, after 3 years of loveydovey-ness, i finally found out that my boyfriend dislikes chocolate! Oh the horror. This took place a month before valentines day.. and after giving him chocolate related foods for the past two years… oh the horror…lets not dwell on the past.. horror…

In addition, my boyfriend, (whom i have named BUNNY, solely because it rhymes with honey and wunny- do you pity him already?) NEVER eats enough vegetables. I tell him that he would never be able to poop properly if he doesn’t ingest sufficient bowel-moving, earth-shaking fibre. But does he listen? No. So of late I have been trying to sneak fibre into the cakes and cookies that I bake for him.

I am the mastermind! Beware my schemes!

I’ll be honest with you, this is the first time that my carrot cake has succeeded. And, this is NOT the first time that I have attempted carrot cake. This carrot cake right there below this line, has gotten rave (hopefully not out of sympathy) reviews and devouration (not quite a word, but an awesome descriptor).

EDIT (12 MAR 2011): I baked the cake again to use up my excess cream cheese frosting. It’s just as awesome as the last time. =) So don’t worry and go ahead and bake this!

Even rabbits love it! Convinced yet? No? Darn. I bet you never make impulse buys in the supermarket and have never shopped online before. Hmph. (lucky bitch. my credit card weeps out of overuse)

So anyway, here is the recipe, do give it a try if you have the time. Maybe it’d help in the earth-shaking, bowel-moving experiences. I just realized how bad that sounded. Bowel-moving not in a bad way, bowel-moving in a healthy make space for more carrot cake kind of way.

The Carrot Cake

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

For the carrot cake:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups olive oil
• 2 cups raw sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 cups grated carrots

For the cream cheese frosting:(this was too much for me. =( Halve it unless cream cheese frosting is to you like spinach is to Popeye)

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
• 1 cups confectioners’ sugar (just add how much you want, I prefer my icing not so sweet, so i just add and taste and trial and error it. Oops)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Colouring till prettiness

Directions:

1. Grate the carrots first. It takes so darned long unless you have some amazing kitchen gadget, or a kitchen slave.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan.
3. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla.
4. Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
5. Combine dry ingredients into wet ingredients, be careful not to over mix!
6. Stir in carrots.
7. Pour into prepared pan.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes (mine was about 45mins), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
9. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
10. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, colouring and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.
11. Enjoy with <insert name of loved one here>

I’ve never actually celebrated Valentines’ Day on the actual day itself with my boyfriend. He’s forever busy, flying here, flying there… but we still managed to have a Valentine dinner at the Flutes at Fort Canning Hill. =)

How was your Valentines’ Day? Hope you passed it with people you loved! Whether a girl/boyfriend or a good friend. =)

Gourmet! These babies are gourmet! Not even available off the shelf in Singapore, she got them from the UK. This must be love. And there are 4 in the set, what an awesome number that is for baking. 1 souffle for my sister and 3 for me. =) Awesome.

My boyfriend has been craving for strawberry cheesecake recently and to cheer him up after a tiring week at work, I decided to make this for him! It’s amazingly easy and I managed to finish making everything in one night, including the refrigeration breaks.

I used the recipe that I tried previously and made a few changes. For the original recipe together with a step by step (more or less) tutorial, check out here.

The Opinionated Baker’s Altered Strawberry Jelly Cheesecake

(makes 21 muffin sized cheesecakes)