Saturday bakin'

Since my dad's not well enough to get us the nice pineapple tarts frm Joo Chiat this yr, i decided to try making the very delectable snack the first time ever last night. Thank goodness the result was ok (it doesn't look very pretty but it tastes rather nice) 'cause i would be really sad if i had to throw away a whole bunch of inedible tarts.

Initially thought it was gonna be a flop 'cause i only found out that i did not have enough plain flour at the last min - so i used 2 cups instead of 3- and i didn't know how much to cut down for the butter, so ended up using too much. Plus, i actually read the recipe wrongly and added double the required amount of icing sugar for the pastry. Also, I wanted to try the open tart recipe bt i couldn't find the cookie cutter at the supermarket yesterday so had to settle with the closed style.

The filling which was cooked for ard 30-45mins.


First batch of tarts (too huge and the pastry crumbles v easily probably 'cause i tried substituting too much corn flour for the lack of plain flour)


Apparently the 2nd batch tastes nicer.


Bottling 'em up!


On a side note, some lagsana-like breadcrumb dish my mom made for lunch today!

Junkie

I've got a new food combi to add to my list of fave meals.

Domino's pizza with ice-cold beer!! Though it all goes happily down to my hips and stays there..

First post of the year

Here's a really good satirical MV by The Decemberists.



Really have to applaud whoever wrote the amazingly witty lyrics which pokes fun at so many stuff in a single song.

Happy Hols!

Here's a nice song to everyone =)

And the Christmas dinner (and goodies) I had...


Plus some dishes I made a few weeks back...with much effort since i've not cooked a proper meal in years (as if im some old experienced chef like tt)

Nov updates

Work has started to pile up this month and will only increase in time to come. Anyhow, these 2 weeks have been really interesting- conducted my 1st ever FGD with the ASD youths and helped out in the camp for the ed psych kids. Interacting proper with ASD (short for Autism Spectrum Disorder) children and youths has really changed the prior mindset and perspectives I had developed after studying and researching abt this condition. These kids are really an interesting, intelligent and unique bunch and i wouldn't mind specializing in this particular condition in the future. Funny how one's decisions can change in a short span of a few months. Before I started working, I was quite sure I wanted to pursue a masters in clinical pysch in the future but right now, i've more or less decided i want to do ed psych, partly also due to the fact that the local clinical psych courses are limited and more ex and i realise that i'm more interested in working with children. Oh well, I might change my mind again...

On a different note, I'm very into satirical books like "Good Omens" atm. I really like English writers, who i find have a much more intelligent and dry sense of humour compared to the Americans (not all though). Just finished reading one of the books frm A. McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series. I really like his fictional works 'cause he's one of the few authors who weaves in bits of psychology, philosophy, history and culture into his novels though he can get too chim and pretentious at times. Nonetheless, he's quite good at characterization and is very fashionable and up-to-date for his age, plus he makes me really want to visit Edinburgh!

Anyway, byebye nov, my favourite month is coming up!!

Over the weekend

This weekend's been pretty packed with guitar hero sessions and stayovers 'cause my parents are away! Had the psych gang over this afternoon and the pets on fri night. Celebrated annie's belated at Firestation Hillside Gastrobar which serves surprisingly decent food at reasonable prices.Cedele has pretty good cuppies, much nicer than Cake Ave.










Nice movies are flooding the cinemas this period. Caught "Julie & Julia" and "500 days of summer" recently and I really like the former. I think 500 days is alright but pretty overrated imo. Maybe my expectations were too high after hearing countless praises for it. I mean I like the mod, 60s style and the non-linear perspective but all these ideas aren't exactly very original and on the whole, somehow, the film lacks depth. Compared to similar style films like Amelia and Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, it comes across as slightly pretentious. J&J has a much more entertaining, funny and original storyline imo.

I've been feeling slightly ill since yesterday. Hope i'm not falling sick. Work btw, has started to pile up with the addition of projects.

Tis the season to get married?

Is it me or is 2009 a good year to get married? A sec sch classmate held her wedding recently, i've got a colleague's wedding to attend tonight, another colleague's wedding to attend next month and apparently another sec sch mate has just gotten married as well.

By the way, I caught "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" with the pets this week. The film's super hilarious even though the plot's more or less predictable. "Up" has a better plot imo. I think the company you're with affects the way u view a show, especially for comedies and cartoons. The fact that i was sitting next to auntie who was laughing throughout made the movie even more funny than it actually is. Though i still find the film more entertaining than the average cartoon. "You are abt to be crushed by a giant corn" is the funniest of all.

Anyway, I got really sick of my ever-long hair and went for a haircut yesterday. Its not that long anymore but still tie-able. I think the hairdresser did quite a good job because I like the way I look currently. Plus, shorter hair is so much easier to wash, comb and manage.