Finally Posting

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. There are a number of factors, work and personal matters have been keeping me busy. It felt like an extended PMS, one that lasted a few weeks. Thanks to my friends in the blogging community who emailed me, it's a really warm cyber community. I would have baked tonight had I not run out of caster sugar...

I have been baking during this period but I didn't post because I had been baking numerous banana cakes since baking Nigella's banana rum cake. So I figured it was a little meaningless to keep posting about banana cakes.

I also tried baking 3 chiffon cakes, all I can say is that I am out of practice. They were all lousy to look at, but I still ate three-quarters of the 2 orange chiffon cakes. I added cointreau to the batter and that added another dimension to the taste. I would probably not be baking without liquour, if I can help it.

During the past few weeks, I added more toys to my collection as well. I went to Shermay's as they were having a sale for microplane graters. When I got there, I could not resist buying the packet of 3 different zesters/graters. The packet was priced at a real bargain, all for under S$100. Then I picked up 2 silicon madeleine moulds from Pantry Magic as well. I really love the microplane zester, it seems that orange and lemon zest taste and smell much better now! That was why I baked 2 orange chiffon cakes and 1 lemon chiffon cake (sadly, without liquour).

Duo and Novel

What do you know? I cracked open an egg and I got another double yolks! Hubs said hens could have been genetically engineered, otherwise how to get lower cholesterol and more what have you in the eggs? Besides, these hens need to produce eggs on a larger scale as well as quicker pace, don't they? This time though, the yolks are visibly smaller. It came from a no-frills packet from ShopNSave. Now that has become a fave supermarket for me. I will gripe about the staff another day, when they really piss me off big time.

Thanks to the helper at home, I got a new rice-cooker that bakes. It was something that I had been thinking about ever since I laid eyes on it as I walked past the demo counter at the Tangs basement. Then, however, I had no reason to indulge. I found out a few days ago that the base of pot of the old rice-cooker had scratches, and one really huge one too! Once such non-stick coating is scratched, they cannot be used anymore! As usual, helper didn't breathe a word about the scratches. I saw it with my own eyes when I scooped the last bit of rice out of the pan the other night. I was fed up alright. But what's done cannot be undone, so it's water under the bridge.

Just last week, the toaster decided to konk as well. My girl had wanted to toast some popcorn chicken and found that no matter which plug was used, the toaster just won't work. Well well, time for a new toaster? I was only thinking of using hubs' Esso Smiles points to redeem the toaster. He said we should just save the Smiles points for petrol. So we went shopping *grin*

We didn't find any suitable rice-cooker nor toaster at Carrefour (Suntec City). I thought I would be able to get bargain stuff there, guess I thought wrong. So hubs said we should check out Harvey Norman at Millenia Walk on the way to the car (parked at Marina Square).

To our surprise, we saw that rice-cooker that bakes going at a bargain price of under S$60! I was quite sure it could easier cost over S$100 especially at Harvey Norman. My boy was really clever, he said that "mummy will surely like this, cos it bakes!" Sweet boy he is. I tried to look at the "normal" and no-frills ones, but they cost more that this!

Next was the hunt for a toaster. Choices were eliminated by cost, and it's not easy to find anything below S$50 any more. But one caught our eyes. We have never heard of that brand, but hey, who cares, right? Other than a knob for timing, there is temperature control, as well as control of top/bottom/both heating! It's a dream! My brother bought one a few months back and I was tempted to get the same one. I had just taken up baking then and could use a "real" oven. But the toaster was working fine then, besides, that oven was simply too big for my tiny kitchen. But today's find fits snuggly. It's known as an electric oven, not a toaster lol.

I am one happy girl today. Although I baked, I didn't use either of these new gadgets...

PS: I needed 4 images to make this poster. So I chose to include the cover of a book I had borrowed from the library. I liked it so much that I went round looking for the book. I finally found a big bookshop at the basement of Cathay Cineleisure that carried books from this publisher. I was told by the staff there that the bookshop and publisher are owned by the same people!

Look at What I Bought!

Many thanks to Florence (Do What I Like) who helped me collect some of the above from Cake DIY in HK. The Hello Kitty moulds (2 of them) were also from her. I bought the other one years ago and have been using it to make ice cubes.

Bakewares are such as steal in HK and the variety! Too bad I didn't have a chance to scout for bakeware, but City Super in Time Square was enough to dazzle me as I knew there wasn't going to be enough luggage space. Fortunately, I didn't buy any more than these you see here. There was simply not enough space!

Cracking my head now as to what to use them for.

More Toys

Oops, went shopping again :P Could not resist buying these two, what do you call them? Bundts? Silicon moulds? Grey one is a catheral from Silikomart (available at PH) and the rose bundt is from Pantry Magic! Oh, Pantry Magic packs your purchases in a nice bag too! I paid only SGD22 for the rose bundt. I am so going to try baking a sponge cake and either the red bean or sweet corn pudding. Let you know later, ok?

Boy, this new hobby is costing a lot of money, I better persevere in it. I know a couple of friends won't allow me to let all these go to waste!