Looking For The Next Challenge

Today will be the last day of the "Picture a Day" challenge that I have done for 2014. So now I am thinking I might start a new one which will probably make my mom laugh as it is a drawing challenge. I have found two, one which is a 52-week challenge, while the other is a 30-day one. I might just do both together at one point, but I think I will start slow with the 52-week one.

So here is the current line-up for the next year:

Final Post Of The Year

Nearing the end of 2014 and the family gets together as my cousin, Criszean, and his family return just before midnight. We started the night off with a pizza party and soon more food was being added as my aunt brought Nasi Lemak from her condominium's residents party. Criszean then brought over his log cake from Christmas and we dug out some ice cream from the last pizza party we had. 

So it is about the end of 2014 as we leave it enjoying some good food with family. 

Om Nom Nom...

Such An Eyesore

My right eye has been itching since the day I started helping out at the Christmas food fair and I thought it might have been because my eye got hit by the steam when I opened the big steamer. It was just slightly itchy until Christmas day when it got quite irritated and I thought it might be due to lack of sleep. 

Yesterday, my eye was swollen and the left one started to itch as well. This got me wondering if it might be the something in the air or something infectious. However I decided to avoid the creepy backup doctor and went to my regular doctor instead. Found out I got conjunctivitis and got myself a bottle of horrible eye drops. I dislike them because it ends up dripping down your nasal passage, to the back of your throat, and leave this horrible bitter taste.

Hopefully this clears up fast!

Facebook Year In Review

Angie posted this first on my Facebook wall and then another friend of mine also posted it with the link. I decided to see what mine was like as I did not like the one that has been made by Facebook. That one seems to take random pictures and it does not really highlight the year, and from what I have seen of my friends' year, it is definitely a mess. 

The My Times article is much more funny and is actually interesting to read. Even with parts of it sounding a bit cut off, you still get to see the real highlights of your year. Dad seems to be featured a lot in my news article. 

You can make your own here.

Checking Out Potential Savings

Went out with my parents today to check out the NTUC Warehouse Club, as well as Big Box which is almost similar. Both have memberships available but Big Box deals are for anyone, with their membership giving extra savings and invites to special events. Looking through both places, there are deals which are quite good, especially if you have a big family or have a a good amount of people to share in bulk buying. I would say the best deals are actually cleaning products where you do not have to worry about the expiry dates. There are also good deals to be had to food and you do not necessarily have to buy a ton of food to save. Only thing I was disappointed with Big Box, was that they did not have any diet drinks!

Getting Exciting

My spaghetti squash plant is flowering and I am wondering if there will be any squash forming soon. The flowers are huge and I am also wondering how big the squash will grow. Mom is on standby to crochet a net for the melons should we get any. Fingers cross I can get some flowers pollinated!

Not A Bad Concept

Had a long day at work today and I was glad to have Angie join me for both my lunch and dinner breaks. We were not sure what to have for dinner, but I definitely wanted a place I could just rest my feet. So after skipping a few outlets in the Gourmet Paradise, we ended up trying the food at Griddy. 

As their name suggests, there are waffles to be had here and what we did was order a main course and top it up with a waffle and drink. I got the Griddy Combo and it came with a rather flat piece of chicken, a nice burger patty, fried egg, and fake bacon, along with a salad, waffle fries and a small ramekin of mushroom sauce. It was quite filling and I only ate one of the waffle fries as I actually wanted to just have my waffle with all that meat. The waffle actually came later and had a really tiny portion of butter on it, but it was a nice simple dessert. 

I would not mind having this again, but I think I might try one of their waffle sandwiches. 

Om Nom Nom...

Christmas Freebies

After work, mom and I went to check out the food at the Pasar Malam that started near my place on Monday. Well it was actually I who checked out the food while mom waited for me in the car. Anyway, after getting a few tea eggs, I wanted to get some Vadai for mom but they were all really small and I would have an earful if I bought them. I decided to get two bags of min vadai instead. The stall keeper must be really eager to close his stall as he asked if I was alright with getting a little more vadai for a dollar more. After agreeing to that deal and looking to get a stick of chicken liver and hearts for Barkley, he started donating the rest of his stall to me. I ended up getting a pack of chickpeas, four of the vadai I did not want to buy, a small bag of Keropok Lekor, a dhal vadai and two veggie vadai. Must be the Christmas spirit!

Om Nom Nom...

The Annual Christmas Eve Spread

Time for our annual Christmas dinner with the family and mom managed to dig out proper bowls and plates to present all the food. She also dug out the free 3-tier dessert caddy we got while shopping at Plaza Singapura last year, perfect for the red velvet brownies. There were three bowls we got during a sale at Ikea that came in handy for the coleslaw, potato salad and Risoni salad. Two souvenir plates from a school event I did in 1999 that held the cured salmon and banana cakes. A baking dish held the fried chicken chunks and a scalloped Chinese plate which held the sliced lamb. While the Nutella drops were in their own plastic container. It all came together as everyone came in and finally I can dig in!

Om Nom Nom...

Ovens Working Overtime

It is the third day of Christmas preparations and the Christmas tree has not been put up but the two ovens are up and running. Mom and I are preparing the coleslaw and potato salad dressings, marinating meats and still baking desserts. The oven has baked red velvet brownies, banana cakes and mini apple pies already, and still have the big apple pies to go. Tomorrow would be another round of roasting. Cannot wait to dig in.

Om Nom Nom... 

Created My Own Recipe

It is the second day of Christmas preparations and I thought I would make something for mom and I to nibble on while we baked. With the ideas from all the almond and coconut flour recipes I have been using, I thought I might do something similar and use up as much of my Nutella stock as I can. I intended to make cookies, but they turned out a little more like cakes and would definitely do well as cupcakes. Too bad I did not have any cupcake cups, but it does not matter what shape it is, as long as it is easy to eat. 

Om Nom Nom...

Christmas Dinner Preparation Starts Now

Mom got a good deal on a whole salmon, and as planned, she got one so we could cure it in time for this year's Christmas dinner party. The salmon has to be cured for at least two days and that means the process has to be started tonight. With suggestions from the family, I made some adjustments to the curing mix and added a little more lemon juice to the curing mix. It was a little wet but the curing mix tasted alright and I think it should turn out as good as our first try. 

Fingers crossed. 

Mushroom Farm

With the recent wet weather, there were quite a few patches of mushrooms sprouting around tree roots all around Singapore. I had joked with dad that we might end up at some mushrooms in our own garden patch and then it happened. I had found one the other time and pulled it out, but the spores are obviously in the soil and new ones keep popping up. Wonder if we can grow our own Enoki or Shitake one day.

Contractors And Hampers

Got home from work tonight and mom told me we got a hamper delivered to us this afternoon. About twenty years ago, we used to have hampers delivered to us during Christmas and Lunar New Year from some of the contractors my dad use to work with during his time in the hotel industry. 

This time, I could say that the hamper was for my dad being the contractor while we were staying at my sister's place. While over there, my dad had been doing quite a bit of electrical work, cleaned out the cars, created a veggie garden in a patch that was being wasted with nothing in it. 

Thanks for the goodies!

Om Nom Nom...

Japanese Vegetables Anyone?

Today is the start of the Christmas food fair and I have been scheduled to man the stall at the event together with Takuya, the delivery and trained chef of the company. Since his English is not the best, I guess I am the one tasked to promote the Japanese products on sale, as well as hand out samples. No one really prepared anything for the sample platter and this was what I managed to find. It is definitely not the best looking sample platter, but it works for now. 

Steamed sweet potato, pumpkin, potato with butter and mayo, and barbecued corn anyone?

Fatty Tuna Nigiri

It was the last day of the Japan fair and I managed to get the braised squid along with a few other items that I wanted. I decided to also get a Donburi from the sushi counter as I wanted to have the squid with the lightly flavoured rice. While looking around the counter, I spotted a pinkish row of Nigiri sushi and realised that they were filled with the chopped fatty tuna I was eyeing. Finally I get to have a pack of it all ready to eat and all they needed was a little splash of soy sauce.

Om Nom Nom....

A Day With Family And Food

Met uncle Shane and my cousin Dwayne this afternoon at Ikea and had a quick lunch. We then dropped Dwayne off at his home before heading to Mandai Columbarium to look for where my grandaunt's ashes had been interred. The information given to us was lacking but we were lucky enough to find it quite fast as I noticed that there were numbers on the rows of resting places. We turned the corner and found 120, and Shane got out to check if it was right. Seems like there were a few people who have visited her resting place as the tiny holder for flowers was fully stuffed with a bunch of plastic flowers and had dried ones sticking out at strange angles.

After a few minutes paying our respects, we head back to the hotel to pick up Karmei and the boys for the trip to Mustafa. We managed to get into Mustafa just after 5pm and decided to have some food before shopping. Crossed over to C.M.K. 2001 Restaurant for some local food and drinks. We got a some Prata, Thosai, Murtabak and Roti John, together with a Milo Dinosaur and Bandung. I just realise the chilli for the thosai here is AWESOMELY spicy. Once filled up, we were back into Mustafa where Karmei got a few bargain buys.

Big Bowl Lunch

It is lunch with mom today and we wanted to use up as much of the leftovers from the pizza party as possible. We actually bought a pack of noodles for my dad and uncle as the both of them do not like pizza. Since then, we only used a little bit of the noodles and had about two-thirds of the pack left. Mom told me to cook the rest of the pack, while she heated up some of her pork nuggets from the party night as well. The only thing fresh was the blanched garland chrysanthemum and sliced chilli padi. We had enough to feed four, but after mom and I had our share, dad basically finished the rest when he got back from work a little later.  

 Om Nom Nom...

 

Personal Cutting Board And Bin

Been getting a bit of a pain in the back at work and I realise it was due to the height of the work tables. The work tables are at a height that is about half a metre too low for my height and bending to cut vegetables daily is killing me. I finally saw an opportunity to help my back when I saw one of the older ladies throw a styrofoam box that once contained all the broccoli. Slipped the box in a trash bag, turned it over and cut out a small hole for whatever bits I needed to throw. The styrofoam box was also sturdy enough for me to use as a cutting board. So I basically killed two, or three birds with one stone, but most importantly, my back is not killing me!

Pizza Party

We got the family together so that everyone can finally meet Shane's family. Uncle Dennis decided to make his pizza and that rolled off the idea of a potluck party but the pizzas were still the main attraction. We managed to put together a choice of thirteen ingredients and let everyone decide what they wanted to have on the pizza. 

There were the usually pepperoni pizza, ham and mushroom, vegetable pizzas being made. I managed to make a version of the bacon cheeseburger pizza I had in Australia, but with a slight twist thanks to the nacho cheese contribution from Adi. Shane actually liked the pizza, probably because it did not have one bit of vegetable, and it was full of meat. There was also a pizza made with the cured trout, onion and peppers that seems to be enjoyed by everyone as well. 

Perhaps it has been too long since our last pizza party. 

Om Nom Nom...

Bloody Expensive Melon

Today I got to try one of the most expensive melons in the world. One of the Japanese melons were getting a little too ripe for sale and Kei-san took it in and cut it open. A bit of it had turned too mushy but there was still enough for Angie, Kei and myself. It was really sweet, and slightly creamy. I would say this would be the perfect melon to make into an ice cream or gelato if you want to stretch your dollar. However, I did not have time for that or to bother with trying to freeze it, and since it was nicely chilled, it was the perfect sweet break from work. 

Om Nom Nom...

Lovely Flowers

Everything looks better with a bit of fresh, colourful flowers. Even work feels better when there are pretty flowers that smell good. Flowers in December can also get a little bit strange and alien-looking as well. The only thing I have not seen though are Poinsettias even though Christmas is getting close. Maybe they are really expensive. 

Today I got to work at the flower shop, but there was nothing much to do as there were no orders. The only thing I could do was chat with the florist and ask him to teach me a few bouquet wrapping methods. 

However I did get to sell one big red rose!

Blender Line

Today I get to man the blender line for some fresh blended juices. The fruits are actually frozen, and they are blended with apple juice, which actually makes them smoothies rather than juices. Well, whatever they are marketed as, the important thing is that they taste good and that people actually want to get some. Wonder if I will end up burning out any of the motors?

Japan Fair

There is a Japan food fair at Isetan Westgate and since my aunt had a winning lottery number, she bought us a few things from the fair. There is a stall selling some fried and braised seafood and we got a pack of fried prawns and mini crabs to snack on. I saw a braised squid stuffed with cod roe which I was thinking of getting but I might get some another day. 

We then went round after dinner and saw mini fish Taiyaki that came wither plain or stuffed with one of nine different flavours. We decided to get a pack of sixteen fish for $9. The stall also sells Mochi in soy bean powder and was thinking of getting it when the boss gave me and my aunt a sample. It was easy to just grab a pack after that sample as the mochi was different from the sticky chewy Japanese mochi I was expecting. I knew mom would like it as she loves her Muah Chee, but this was a cross between that and our Agar jellies and the Konnyaku jellies. It was light, just slightly chewy, and had the tiniest tinge of sweetness to it. Rather refreshing when the mochi cubes were cold. 

I will definitely come back for more. 

Om Nom Nom...

Massive Low Carb Burger

Went to Vivo City this afternoon with Shane and family and ended up going to Carl's Jr for my lunch, while the rest had their dinner. I have not been here for more than a year and the menu has had some nice additions. One of which was their Low Carb Thickburger, which was great for someone, like me, who should not be eating so much carbohydrates. Also, I do not really like bread and it would be at the bottom of my carbohydrate choices. 

Anyway, it was a really filling burger and I did not order any fries with it. The downside was that it was quite messy to eat as the lettuce just was not big enough and a little too firm to wrap around the burger and other ingredients. I would definitely order this again when there is a Carl's Jr where ever I may be.

Om Nom Nom... 

Crunchy Takoyaki

Wanted to snack on something and I could only find the takoyaki snack Angie got for me from her most recent trip to Japan. It seemed a little like the Kracie mini food kits but most of it all prepared, and you were only left to dress the octopus flavoured ball-shaped crackers. It already comes in its own container and I just drizzled the sauce and sprinkled the dried green stuff that tasted more like parsley than seaweed. The kit also contained two toothpicks so all I had to do was share. 

They tasted quite nice, and I would say rather close to the real thing. Only thing I would do different is to add some mayonnaise on it and it should taste like a really crunchy takoyaki. 

Om Nom Nom...

Creature Spotting

Went oyster hunting with the family today. It has been a few months since our last outing and we had stopped when it was time for the oysters to go forth and multiply. At the same time, dad and I had travelled to Australia, and after we got back, I saw a news article about some contaminants in the water. So after seven-month hiatus, we went out to see what we could pick. 

Today we managed to get quite a number of huge oysters which we decided to open right away. We also found some prawns trapped in the shallow pools of water and decided to feed them with the muscle stuck on oyster shells. Dad also found some agar seaweed and showed the rest of the family which ones to pick. The most interesting find was the horseshoe crab which I was excited about, until I learnt it was dead. Hopefully I'll get to see some live ones one day. 

Time to head back to make some fried oyster omelette. 

Korean Drama Syndrome

I have noticed something common among the people, that I know, who watch Korean drama and get whole-heartedly involved in the story - they seem to be out of touch with the world around them.

However, I do know that all of them seem to have something holding them back, emotionally, from just moving along. Plus they all seem to use this dead weight as a crutch to avoid a lot of things, and an excuse for them to stay in the pits.

So perhaps the shows get them away from all the emotional rubbish that is holding them back, but then it still does not help them. Either way, the ones I know seems to be lost in their own world, either not understanding how the rest of the world is evolving or just refusing to move along with the times.

There is a difference from one that gets too involved with Hollywood dramas though. Haha

Mini Midnight Banana Loaves

Decided to make some banana bread to snack on and used the recipe I tried in Australia. This time I decided to make small loaves rather than a huge one as it breaks up easily due to the lack of gluten. Also, each mini loaf would be just nice as a tee-time snack. These little ones came out alright but are a bit too moist. Now I have to remember to pack my almond meal and coconut flour when measuring. 

Om Nom Nom...

Island Way Sorbet - Lemon

Still feeling off and needed something sour to perk me up. Got mom to dig out another sorbet that we bought a while back. I found this to be the right punch of acidity I was looking for without having to eat an actual lemon. It was like a frozen lemonade served in a lemon shell. I prefer this over the mango-orange one, but the mango sorbet on the plane is at the second spot, while I cannot forget Millers Ice Cream's Dark Chocolate Sorbet that is at my top of all frozen desserts list. 

Om Nom Nom....

Convenient Soup

Was feeling a little off today, and whenever that happens, I usually love a hot bowl of soup that is usually spiced up with lots of pepper. Today mom dug out a cup of instant clam miso soup which I bought a while back. I have not had this soup for a long time and only found some while shopping at Meidi-Ya and Isetan. Drinking this brought back memories about a hunt in Orchard Road for a Japanese restaurant that we gave up on, and a few dinners at the Sushi Tei that was once next to the taxi stand at Takashimaya. 

Om Nom Nom...

Sprite Zero

Went marketing this evening at NTUC, and while the addict wanted to get more Diet Coke, I spotted something new on the shelf below. Finally Sprite Zero is available (and manufactured) in Singapore! Time for some flavoured sparkling water with no sugar or caffeine. 

BURP!

Advent Calendar

It is the first day of December and the first day to start opening windows on your Advent Calendar. While shopping in England, I found a few Advent Calendars for pets and got a few for the pets I know. I got one for Barkley as well and he got his first treats of the month. He might be a picky eater, but the treats must have some liver in it as he came straight for them when I opened it up for him. Hopefully he will enjoy all the treats for the next twenty-three days.