I was hit with an intense craving for chocolate cookies tonight, so I baked some. I used a recipe for double chocolate chip cookies I found online, but modified it a little because I didn't want the chips but also wanted more chocolatey cookies.
Recipe:
150g chocolate
125g butter
200g sugar
1 large egg
60ml milk
1tsp vanilla
200g flour
100g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1) Heat oven to 175C.
2) Melt chocolate, set aside to cool a little.
3) Cream butter and sugar.
4) Add milk, egg and vanilla, blend well.
5) Add melted chocolate, blend well.
6) In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa and baking powder.
7) Add to creamed mixture, and form a dough. (Note: if your dough is still a little gooey and not easy to roll into balls, just leave it for about 15mins or so till the chocolate in it cools down. The mixture will firm up, then you can roll the dough easily :) )
8) Roll into balls, place on tray, then bake for about 15mins.
Just for reference, the original recipe is here.
The cookies turned out really rich and luscious. Very chocolate-y, and not at all sweet because I used dark chocolate. Mine also turned out a little ugly because instead of rolling them into neat balls, I just dropped spoonful of dough onto my baking sheet ^^;;;;;; So no pictures, sorry!
I prolly should add that these are really quick to make - it took me about 1 and a half hours from walking downstairs to storing the cookies. The dought took about 30mins to make, including preparation time. Another 45mins was for baking the cookies. This recipe yielded 41 uneven cookies. If you use only a teaspoonful of dough for each 2cm ball, you'll probably get about 60 cookies :)
Okay, I'm going to take a plateful of these and a mug of milk and read some manga :D Bai bai!
Monday, 27 April 2009
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Jenny's 2nd Anniversary Cake
My friend Jenny came over to my flat today because she wanted to make a cake to surprise her boyfriend on their 2nd anniversary.
Together, we made a mild chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting :) I couldn't find heart shaped cake tins, so we baked them in round tins, and cut it into hearts. It was filled and coveredwith the very light and airy cheese frosting, and I put a border of chocolate curls on the heart, then arranged sugar roses and those silver sugar balls on one corner :)
Here's how it looks! :)
I'm quite proud of how it turned out!! Even more so of the chocolate thingy that says "Happy 2nd Anniversary"! It's a little messy and some of the border had melted of a little, but I did it all by hand using parchment paper, melted chocolate and skewers :) Yeah, that's my handwriting in chocolate!
There was loads of leftover frosting, so we ate the extra cake bits with the frosting to see how it tasted. It's not bad! Not at all sweet, slightly sour. It's good for people who aren't too fond of sweet foods ^_^
I'd post the recipe, but my right arm is aching like mad - the frosting called for double cream whipped into stiff peaks, but I don't have a handheld mixer, so I did it all by hand. Eurgh, where's my massage oil...
Anyway, I'm feeling quite tired now, because I woke up early this morning to go to ASDA to get the cake board, and a tupperware, plus a few ingredients that I can't get in my local Waitrose. So I'm gonna go sleep now.
G'night! Recipe will come tomorrow :)
Together, we made a mild chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting :) I couldn't find heart shaped cake tins, so we baked them in round tins, and cut it into hearts. It was filled and coveredwith the very light and airy cheese frosting, and I put a border of chocolate curls on the heart, then arranged sugar roses and those silver sugar balls on one corner :)
Here's how it looks! :)
I'm quite proud of how it turned out!! Even more so of the chocolate thingy that says "Happy 2nd Anniversary"! It's a little messy and some of the border had melted of a little, but I did it all by hand using parchment paper, melted chocolate and skewers :) Yeah, that's my handwriting in chocolate!
There was loads of leftover frosting, so we ate the extra cake bits with the frosting to see how it tasted. It's not bad! Not at all sweet, slightly sour. It's good for people who aren't too fond of sweet foods ^_^
I'd post the recipe, but my right arm is aching like mad - the frosting called for double cream whipped into stiff peaks, but I don't have a handheld mixer, so I did it all by hand. Eurgh, where's my massage oil...
Anyway, I'm feeling quite tired now, because I woke up early this morning to go to ASDA to get the cake board, and a tupperware, plus a few ingredients that I can't get in my local Waitrose. So I'm gonna go sleep now.
G'night! Recipe will come tomorrow :)
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Harp Music~
I do not recall when it was that I began to play the piano. It was most certainly before I turned 9. In fact, I cannot actually remember a time when I was unable to play the piano: it was always a permanent fixture in my life, always a favourite instrument to play.
As such, it is no surprise that piano music is my favourite type of music. I enjoy listening to piano music at any time, no matter how I feel, happy, energetic, sad or even angry - piano music is the one thing through which I can feel emotions at their most intense.
Usually, I would listen to some songs played on the piano (and on violins, guitars, etc.... I like listening to instrumental solos ^_^) on YouTube. However, as of late, I have also been listening to harp music. I used to admire harp music, but only in a very off-hand "oh, that's nice" kind of way. Now, as I listen to some people playing the harp, I am simply blown away by how beautiful it can sound.
Just as a couple of "samples" of what I've been listening to, I chose two popular and easy-listening songs from Phantom of the Opera:
Doesn't it sound stunning? Don't they look so elegant playing the harp? I feel so inspired to take it up now!! :) I wonder where I can find lessons in Kuala Lumpur...
As such, it is no surprise that piano music is my favourite type of music. I enjoy listening to piano music at any time, no matter how I feel, happy, energetic, sad or even angry - piano music is the one thing through which I can feel emotions at their most intense.
Usually, I would listen to some songs played on the piano (and on violins, guitars, etc.... I like listening to instrumental solos ^_^) on YouTube. However, as of late, I have also been listening to harp music. I used to admire harp music, but only in a very off-hand "oh, that's nice" kind of way. Now, as I listen to some people playing the harp, I am simply blown away by how beautiful it can sound.
Just as a couple of "samples" of what I've been listening to, I chose two popular and easy-listening songs from Phantom of the Opera:
Doesn't it sound stunning? Don't they look so elegant playing the harp? I feel so inspired to take it up now!! :) I wonder where I can find lessons in Kuala Lumpur...
Friday, 24 April 2009
Yukata Picnic!
When I dressed Michelle up in that furisode two weeks ago, we'd made a promise to have a kimono outing before she returned to Edinburgh. We made plans to have a picnic in the garden compound behind my flat, and we were all going to wear kimono! :)
Sadly, they were only able to arrive at 3pm, after which we had to prepare the food, so our picnic was at a rather odd time of the day. Also, Hong was meant to join us, but her flat got flooded (;o; poor poor thing!!) so she couldn't.. :( *sighs* And I was really looking forward to seeing her after such a long time...
Anywaaay... The weather was so nice and warm today that we decided to wear yukata! ^_^ Here are pictures of what we wore~~
Michelle is wearing my purple peony yukata with my navy blue ro tsuke obi. Mel is wearing my 2008 UNIQLO bunny yukata set.
I'm wearing my 1000yen UNIQLO yukata set, with blue swirling waters and orange kingyo (goldfish)! I think it makes me look older, but in a more elegant and refined way :D I must say, I'm proud of nice my kitsuke turned out, even though I took less than 10 minutes to put it all on.
Of course, it being a 10 minute kitsuke meant that my obi wasn't as nice as usual.
Pictures of the food!!
Clockwise from left, we had "pancake sandwiches made with cream cheese and smoked salmon", "chorizo scotch eggs", "ham, cheese and spinach sandwiches", "wild mushroom quiche", "quiche Lorraine", "egg salad and spinach sandwiches" and "baby plum tomatoes" :) It was delicious!
You can see the mixed seedless grapes and apples we had as dessert :)
Mel and Michelle enjoying the picnic!!
We chose a private little corner at the top of a hill to have the picnic :) It was the flattest bit of land there was without being in the middle of the whole place, and it was just under the (now bare) cherry tree, and overlooks the whole area. It was a cosy little nook! It was really peaceful and pretty sitting there, especially since Darcy (the cat) was frolicking all around the area :D
It was fun! We really should do picnics more often! And next time, we WILL have Hong here too! XD
Sadly, they were only able to arrive at 3pm, after which we had to prepare the food, so our picnic was at a rather odd time of the day. Also, Hong was meant to join us, but her flat got flooded (;o; poor poor thing!!) so she couldn't.. :( *sighs* And I was really looking forward to seeing her after such a long time...
Anywaaay... The weather was so nice and warm today that we decided to wear yukata! ^_^ Here are pictures of what we wore~~
Michelle is wearing my purple peony yukata with my navy blue ro tsuke obi. Mel is wearing my 2008 UNIQLO bunny yukata set.
I'm wearing my 1000yen UNIQLO yukata set, with blue swirling waters and orange kingyo (goldfish)! I think it makes me look older, but in a more elegant and refined way :D I must say, I'm proud of nice my kitsuke turned out, even though I took less than 10 minutes to put it all on.
Of course, it being a 10 minute kitsuke meant that my obi wasn't as nice as usual.
Pictures of the food!!
Clockwise from left, we had "pancake sandwiches made with cream cheese and smoked salmon", "chorizo scotch eggs", "ham, cheese and spinach sandwiches", "wild mushroom quiche", "quiche Lorraine", "egg salad and spinach sandwiches" and "baby plum tomatoes" :) It was delicious!
You can see the mixed seedless grapes and apples we had as dessert :)
Mel and Michelle enjoying the picnic!!
We chose a private little corner at the top of a hill to have the picnic :) It was the flattest bit of land there was without being in the middle of the whole place, and it was just under the (now bare) cherry tree, and overlooks the whole area. It was a cosy little nook! It was really peaceful and pretty sitting there, especially since Darcy (the cat) was frolicking all around the area :D
It was fun! We really should do picnics more often! And next time, we WILL have Hong here too! XD
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Kimono Opinions: Silk vs Wool vs Synthetics
I used to be really snooty about the type of fabric my kimono were made of. I always bought only the silk ones (except when it's yukata, when it's made of cotton) and snubbed all those made of synthetic fibers. Then, one day, I bought a synthetic kimono completely by accident.
For a while, I floundered: what do I do? I heard synthetics were really uncomfortable, I heard they were hot to wear, etc etc. Then I received it in the mail. To my surprise, it was very smooth and soft, almost like silk! It was also really comfortable, and best of all: if I accidentally spilled something on it, I just threw it into the washing machine! I was hooked.
From then on, I stopped snubbing synthetic kimono. But then I noticed something: nearly all of the synthetic kimono I could find were layered, and too hot to wear during some of the season-change months! I despaired for a while, thinking I'd never be able to wear kimono during the season-change months (usually in May and September) since all I had were awase kimono (double-layered kimono, or kimono with lining) and yukata (thin cotton summer kimono).
One day, while pondering this, I noticed RyuJapan was having a sale on his website. I noticed he had a category called "Wool" and went to check it out. I immediately saw a large number of absolutely gorgeous kimono made of wool, which meant they were casual and for everyday wear, not as hot as synthetics, but not as fragile or delicate as silk! A big plus is that none of them were lined. Of course, I bought a few of them.
When they arrived, I straighaway put them on. I had originally had misgivings on buying wool kimono because I was always afraid that the wool would be scratchy against my skin (I have very sensitive skin). I soon found that this was a rather stupid fear, because I would have my hadajuban and my nagajuban on, so I wouldn't feel the kimono if it was scratchy! (Not that many of them were scratchy)
I tentatively posted this on the IG forums and found a whole list of pros to wearing wool: natural fiber, so it breathes better and is cooler than synthetics; not as delicate as silk, so it won't stain so badly even if I spilled water on it; casual and for everyday wear; all of them are unlined, so technically I can wear all of them all-year round without worrying! I fell in love with wool kimono then, and have worn wool kimono almost every time since. A majority of my everyday kimono are actually made of wool.
Sometimes, I think back on all that time ago and wonder why I was such a snob for only wanting to wear silks, even though they're more difficult to care for and so delicate.
Two Saturdays ago, I got my answer as I finally wore a silk kimono again after nearly 5 months of not wearing silk. The reason I preferred silk then was really obvious to me: silk, despite being more delicate and requiring more care, feels heavenly even against my juban. It is smooth and flows wonderfully, barely creating wrinkles and hanging gracefully on my body. It is truly the one fabric that makes kimono seem soft and delicate, not at all harsh straight lines like the impressions that some stiff fabrics give. I think a part of its delicate appearance is because of the soft swishing sounds the silk makes when you move, unlike the loud crinkly sounds that synthetics and sometimes even wools make!
Of course, this does not mean that synthetics and wools aren't good to wear! They do have their own merits, after all. But still, after 5 months of wearing nothing but synthetics and wool, which are at times harsh to feel, the gentle feel and wonderful texture of silk fabric surprised me, and I found myself falling in love with kimono all over again.
Sometimes I wish the weather in the UK wasn't so unpredictable. Maybe then I'd dare to wear out a wonderful silk kimono out on the streets, feeling like a princess and floating along the pavement!! XD
For a while, I floundered: what do I do? I heard synthetics were really uncomfortable, I heard they were hot to wear, etc etc. Then I received it in the mail. To my surprise, it was very smooth and soft, almost like silk! It was also really comfortable, and best of all: if I accidentally spilled something on it, I just threw it into the washing machine! I was hooked.
From then on, I stopped snubbing synthetic kimono. But then I noticed something: nearly all of the synthetic kimono I could find were layered, and too hot to wear during some of the season-change months! I despaired for a while, thinking I'd never be able to wear kimono during the season-change months (usually in May and September) since all I had were awase kimono (double-layered kimono, or kimono with lining) and yukata (thin cotton summer kimono).
One day, while pondering this, I noticed RyuJapan was having a sale on his website. I noticed he had a category called "Wool" and went to check it out. I immediately saw a large number of absolutely gorgeous kimono made of wool, which meant they were casual and for everyday wear, not as hot as synthetics, but not as fragile or delicate as silk! A big plus is that none of them were lined. Of course, I bought a few of them.
When they arrived, I straighaway put them on. I had originally had misgivings on buying wool kimono because I was always afraid that the wool would be scratchy against my skin (I have very sensitive skin). I soon found that this was a rather stupid fear, because I would have my hadajuban and my nagajuban on, so I wouldn't feel the kimono if it was scratchy! (Not that many of them were scratchy)
I tentatively posted this on the IG forums and found a whole list of pros to wearing wool: natural fiber, so it breathes better and is cooler than synthetics; not as delicate as silk, so it won't stain so badly even if I spilled water on it; casual and for everyday wear; all of them are unlined, so technically I can wear all of them all-year round without worrying! I fell in love with wool kimono then, and have worn wool kimono almost every time since. A majority of my everyday kimono are actually made of wool.
Sometimes, I think back on all that time ago and wonder why I was such a snob for only wanting to wear silks, even though they're more difficult to care for and so delicate.
Two Saturdays ago, I got my answer as I finally wore a silk kimono again after nearly 5 months of not wearing silk. The reason I preferred silk then was really obvious to me: silk, despite being more delicate and requiring more care, feels heavenly even against my juban. It is smooth and flows wonderfully, barely creating wrinkles and hanging gracefully on my body. It is truly the one fabric that makes kimono seem soft and delicate, not at all harsh straight lines like the impressions that some stiff fabrics give. I think a part of its delicate appearance is because of the soft swishing sounds the silk makes when you move, unlike the loud crinkly sounds that synthetics and sometimes even wools make!
Of course, this does not mean that synthetics and wools aren't good to wear! They do have their own merits, after all. But still, after 5 months of wearing nothing but synthetics and wool, which are at times harsh to feel, the gentle feel and wonderful texture of silk fabric surprised me, and I found myself falling in love with kimono all over again.
Sometimes I wish the weather in the UK wasn't so unpredictable. Maybe then I'd dare to wear out a wonderful silk kimono out on the streets, feeling like a princess and floating along the pavement!! XD
Outfit Snap: Lazy Showa Kitsuke
I don't know if I ever posted these photos, but sometime in October last year, I really really wanted to wear kimono.
I decided to try on my 150cm early Showa era (Showa is a time period in Japan, from 1926 to 1989) kimono just to see if it would fit. I didn't have a juban with matching sleeve lengths, so I just wore an easy collar. For the obi, I didn't have any obi that matched it well, but I did have one hanhaba obi that seemed to achieve the look I was going for. (I wanted to try and accomplish the "Showa" look like in vintage photos and prints)
The musubi is a variation of something I found in a kitsuke book a while ago and had been dying to try because it really looked like some of the Showa era pictures I've seen. Also, to accomplish the look, I tried to have a messy at-home kind of kitsuke that wasn't neat at all, but I think I failed at that :P I've had too much practice being very neat!! XP
Here is the result!! (Btw, pls ignore the ugly face! :P)
I tried to do one of those poses in prints and photos :P
I actually kinda like this obi musubi ^^;;;;
Do you like it? :)
I decided to try on my 150cm early Showa era (Showa is a time period in Japan, from 1926 to 1989) kimono just to see if it would fit. I didn't have a juban with matching sleeve lengths, so I just wore an easy collar. For the obi, I didn't have any obi that matched it well, but I did have one hanhaba obi that seemed to achieve the look I was going for. (I wanted to try and accomplish the "Showa" look like in vintage photos and prints)
The musubi is a variation of something I found in a kitsuke book a while ago and had been dying to try because it really looked like some of the Showa era pictures I've seen. Also, to accomplish the look, I tried to have a messy at-home kind of kitsuke that wasn't neat at all, but I think I failed at that :P I've had too much practice being very neat!! XP
Here is the result!! (Btw, pls ignore the ugly face! :P)
I tried to do one of those poses in prints and photos :P
I actually kinda like this obi musubi ^^;;;;
Do you like it? :)
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Coordination Comments: Potential Ensemble for Sakura Furisode?
On the IG forums, I was advised to choose more colourful accessories for the furisode I dressed Mich in a couple of weeks ago. I found some hot pink accessories, and decided to put them together to see how they went, and this is the result!
What do you think? Colourful enough? Bright enough? Too much pink? Comments and suggestions welcome!! ^_^
P/S: I really need to find that white han-eri I was talking about.. I can't believe I lost it!! Or did I give it away..? o_O
What do you think? Colourful enough? Bright enough? Too much pink? Comments and suggestions welcome!! ^_^
P/S: I really need to find that white han-eri I was talking about.. I can't believe I lost it!! Or did I give it away..? o_O
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