Sleeping Beauty

Life in the city is so hectic that one often suffers from lack of
sleep and care of the body. I for one am apt to fall into this trap
until moi decided 3 weeks ago not to be caught up by the system. Here
are a couple of stuff I embarked on:

1.  Regular exercising
I started with thrice a week brisk walking and running gradually going
up to 5km only once! And that's 3 weeks ago! With my JP Morgan run
coming up next week and me still nursing a cold, I am getting all hot
and bothered. BUT and this is a HUGE BUT, I have learnt to take life
with its curve balls.  As Murphy's Law goes, when it rains, it pours!
So, I am just gonna take things in my stride!  Real looking forward to
the event still.

2. Eat right and happy
Well, I figured that to be healthy, one needs to eat right but to be
absolutely sated and happy, one needs indulgences of the vices now and
then. I for one live to eat and the constant challenge had been to
balance food I love aka sinful with soul food to keep my weight in
check. This is the conclusion I arrive at - I will never be supermodel
thin nor skinny but I am happy and satisfied with the way I look now.
It's a coming of age really where once body image issues will bother
me , I take them with a pinch of salt nowadays.

3. Stringent use of masks
Where once I could get away with minimal exfoliation and masking, my
aging could well do with some interventions these days. That's how I
discovered this glorious sleeping mask from The Face Shop. It had been
a best seller and together with this green tea blackhead remover, are
the loves of many gals I discovered.

The sleeping mask is infused with raspberry goodness that will hydrate
your face as you snooze and walah (!) you wake up with plump, fresh
looking face the following morning. Blemishes tend to recover faster
due to the higher moisture level and get this, this gel mask can
prevent them too especially when u use them intensively for a
couple of days after sun exposure. I for one had been reaping the
benefits by daily masking since sun evening. My makeup stays longer
too during the day and my face stays matt longer.

As I rave about my first love, let's not forget the green tea
blackhead remover. It is mineral oil based with green tea extract and
smells super calming. Apply a few drops on cleansed skin at the areas
where there are blackheads and massage with your fingertips (GENTLY)
for 2 to 3 mins. Thereafter wash off with warm water and cleanse
again. Typically I will extend the coverage to my T zone which is
great as my pores seemed to get smaller!

Both products are to be used once per week and after testing for 3
weeks, I'm happy to declare, they work! Goofing around does not pay
especially when you have oily skin like mine in a hot and humid
climate no less!

4. Activity bound weekends
Ah the weekend! A time to sleep in and just relax. Or so I thought. My
soul beckons ith promises of nourishment by undertaking activities of
the physical, intellectual and fun kind. So I had been involved in checking
out the recently concluded Maritime Amazing Race, joined the upcoming
JP Morgsn race, having leisure weekend lunches with my family,
visiting the museums, church or just meditating. I want to live my
life to the fullest and do not want to slow down one bit. The future
though unknown to me is full of hope and my strong faith in God keeps
me going. I believe that constant activity moves the mind, body and
soul. And constantly on the move keeps me alive too.

5. Dare to try the Different or New
I'm not born courageous and used to baulk at anything that seemed a
tad risky. To me being safe is the best bet. What changed my mind? When I
realized everything and anything will depend entirely for me to make
it happen, inaction included. That's when life embarked on a greater
meaning due to the meaning I give it. What could be more wondrous than
that? And the wheel of change and creation of happiness once started
cannot be stopped as new beginnings brings new happiness and more and
more happiness. Life still comes with its requisite bittersweet. But
the aftertaste is so much more well earned when I can say with a
smile, I did something different!

Madeleines

I first came across madeleines when I dined at Delifrance. It looked different and rather expensive to me at $3.60 for 6 small shell-like pieces. Even when I tried them, the taste was't exactly memorable. Too
dry was my first response. And the size is insufficient to gain a good mouthfeel.

That was when I did not know better. Now, ironically, it's one of my favourite cakes and I enjoy seeing the "bump" rise inside the oven. The bump is a classic sign of success of madeleines and much chased after, at least by me!  Such is my fascination with it! Success wasn't immediate though. I researched cookbooks and recipes online and found that the steps given vary somewhat.

1.  The main difference was the resting of the batter or dough which can vary from no resting, i.e immediate baking after mixing to resting for 2 hours to overnight.

2.  Oven temperatures play a part too especially in raising the distinctive bump at the back of the shell biscuits. After 3 to 4 tries, I found that it is best to rest the batter overnight and to set the oven at a higher initial temperature of 220 deg C. Once the characteristic bump appears, lower the temperature down to 180 deg C to complete the baking. The entire baking process should take about 6 to 16 mins (depending on your oven and the size of your madeleines in tray) with transfer and rotation of pans up and down the upper and lower trays every 2-4 mins. This 2-temperature process is taken from La Tartine Gourmande website, which I love immensely!

Do note that each oven has its personality too; either slow or fast to warm-up or just with hot spots here and there. Know yours intimately to adjust it accordingly. Mine has hot spots near to where the convection fan is and I must cover the pan with aluminium foil from the 40th minute or else the product will be too brown for my liking. Just experiment brave souls!

Baking is to me the best philosophical lesson of life - you get immediate uncompromising feedback, you decide how long you need to recover (I once took about 1 month to before re-testing) and once you
decide to return to the game (hurray!) confidence renewed, you are much better poised to take more fun tumbles along the way. I say fun as the situations of despair and forlonless when a baked good fails does
give way to hope and resilence as I determined to conquer the recipe!

Recipe (makes 25 pieces) - adapted from Chez Pim website.

4 eggs + 1 yolk
120g granulated sugar
50g honey (can reduce if you find it too sweet)
160g melted butter, cooled for 5 mins
200g plain flour

Soft butter, for greasing

The Day Before
1.  Beat the eggs and sugar on top of a bain-marie (water bath) until the egg mixture is warm to the touch.
2.  Add the honey and beat with your stand mixer till triple in volume.
3.  Stop the mixer.  Take a cup of the mixture and fold into the melted butter. Pour this mixture back into item 2.
4.  Fold in the flour with a spoon, GENTLY in 3 portions.
5.  Cling wrap the mixing bowl and store overnight, preferably in the fridge.

Prior to Baking
1.  Pre-heat oven at 220 deg C at least 20 mins prior to baking. Place the tray such that the pan on it will be at the centre of the oven.
2.  Butter madeleine pans (available from Phoon Huat stores).
3.  Remove mixing bowl from the fridge and using 2 small spoons, make medium-sized scoops to plonk onto the madeleine pan.
4.  Bake for 2-4 mins, all the while watching like a hawk.
5.  Once you see the bump rising, lower the oven temperature to 180 deg C. Should the cake start to brown, rotate the tray 180 deg before that.
6.  Transfer the tray up and down, remembering to rotate every 2 to 4 mins thereafter to allow even browning.  
7.  Once you see the edges of the madeleines pull away from the edges, the cakes are done. 
8.  Slide it out, remove and enjoy while warm.  Otherwise, store cooled at room temperature in air tight containers for about 3-4 days.

Wrath of the Weather

The weather here is a simple but potent combination of either hot and
humid or cool and humid. Case in point my flu. I had been nursing it
for about a week before it became full blown last Sat. And this is
despite my arduous efforts to minimise it. It does not help that I get
heaty easily and being greedy relish spicy and deep fried food as part
of my meals off and on. What is one to fight when food is just round
the corner everywhere.

Ok, I digress. Yes, the weather is cranky and had been alternating
mercilessly hot days with intermittent showers. Which brings to
another point - baking. For the longest time my friends and I had
groused about how making truffles always end up a mess as the ganache
melts so quickly once it is out of the freezer. yes, the freezer. Even
stuff like high fat cookie dough or pie pastry cannot escape this fate.

Coping methiods abound as we tried to have ice baths ready to chill
the ganache tray. But... The weather will not be beaten! Right now I'm
thinking if I have to set up air conditioners at my kitchen just like
what Lana Cake Shop at Greenwood Avenue did. Sigh!

7 Sensations

The human species is endowed with 5 senses; sight, taste, hearing, smell & touch. Our tongue can detect sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and unami, the taste revolutionised by Japanese through the simple sprinkling of Ajinomoto or monsodium glutamate on our food. It is the glutamate that heightens the taste buds and the sensory experience so much that some of us can get allergic to it! I for one will suffer from thirst that can only be quenched with copious amounts of water downed within an hour. Such is the price, or rather small price we pay for our enjoyment.

For 7 Sensations, it is a quaint little organic vegetarian shop that sits pretty between 2 shophouses at Madras Lane at Little India. It is a favourite haunt of mine notwithstanding the fact that it used to be very near to where I used to work! Avocado and mango salad, tofu squares, korean rice, petai rice and its recent addition, pumpkin tofu cake are stuff that dreams are made of and which fortunately can be enjoyed in reality. Me, being the greedy one will be apt to order one too many dishes and look forlonly as the unfinished dishes are taken away all because I wanted more space for dessert! It is a happy place to me and it had brought beautiful memories of the great company I went with and the food, simply made.

7 Sensations - a place that invokes my senses and more.

Cookbook Rampage

So there I was walking through Kinokuniya at Ngee Ann some 2 weeks back when 2 books just caught my fancy. I know, we can better purchase these books at Amazon right. But at the moment I held the books on my hands, all sense went out of the window...literally...trust me...Within half an hour, with my wallet lighter by $100+ and my shoulder aching with the weight of 2 new cookbooks, I went home with a broad smile.

These 2 books are gems of a lifetime, written by accomplished authors, namely The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard (executive chef of the Spago where the rich and famous hob nob with each other at LA) and of course, Rose's Heavenly Cakes, written by my favourite chef Rose Levy Beranbaum who wrote the bible worthy - The Cake Bible, The Bread Bible and The Pie and Pastry Bible.

Rose maintains a blog which you can access here. It's chock full of tips and mmmm...mouthwatering pictures... :)