Food Diary: Brownie Baking

Deadline week at school is approaching, and there’s this imminent tsunami of presentations and project submissions heading my way. I didn’t even notice it was coming so fast. And I think some part of me still doesn’t, because I’m still sitting here blogging while diligently ignoring Microsoft Word where an essay is waiting.

Recently I’ve been wanting to bake a lot, and I’ve got this whole list to try when the semester is over (my Internet history is clogged with recipe blogs).

But last week I made brownies during a study break! It only took twenty-odd minutes to prepare, so it was kind of easy to just mix everything up and wait for it to bake.

It turned out like thisI’m kind of proud of them…I’d never made brownies before and they turned out as perfectly fudgy as I’d hoped they would. Success! And then I dusted the brownies with icing sugar and forgot they were still hot and some of the sugar melted off. Sigh. There’s always a catch.

Anyway continuing this food diary, here’re some of the interesting things I ate in the past week or so

 

The other day my friend and I went for a university open house, and we had a quick lunch before thatWe went to a small bakery cafe and shared mushroom soup in a bread bowl! Which was really more of a stew, because it was so thick and creamy. We started tearing the bread apart to dip in the mushroom soup, and it was deliciousAnd it was filling too, but dessert is always necessary so we got a strawberry shortcake.

 

My dessert palate covers Asian flavours too! Kueh (on the right) is always a favourite because I love choosing the different colourful pieces. The one on the left is a special cake from Indonesia; my grandmother lives there and has recently come to visitShe only visits Singapore once in a few years, but each time she remembers to bring our favourite Indonesian cakes and sweets. Since I’ve been so busy with school I haven’t been able to see her much at all, but the few times she came to my place we got to talk a lot. It seems I grow taller with every conversation too

Today’s Outfit Menu: Rich, Juicy Reds

Hello! Oh look, it’s Wednesday—I’m a little nearer to my weekend posting goals. A lot of times I start writing a post on Sunday night but end up dragging it through a couple of days until I finally finish it because on school nights I use up what little creativity I have on my assignments.

Today it’s a fashion post of outfits featuring red items! Red has that really warm, cosy image that reminds me of winter, so I like to use it in my coordinates while the season is still going on in the rest of the world. (Again it’s just me being envious of all you countries with four seasons)

This one’s a somewhat girly, demure coordinate with the extra punch of red and black shoes. The skirt was a sale item from Lowry’s Farm—yay for discounts, nay for the fact that Lowry’s Farm is closing all stores hereI’ve always gone to them for my Japanese fashion fix, so I’m feeling an extra big loss here especially after Dip Drops announced their closure too.

I love logo sweaters, and this is one of my favourites because it’s such a deep, bold shade of red. Sweater and shorts coordinates are perfect because they’re so easy to pair, and they’re a casual and solid combination at the same timeThis time I wore my black knee-high tights too for extra definition.

This was a last-minute coordinate because I’d been wearing my formal clothes for a presentation at school, but I didn’t want to spend the day in that rigid office-like attire. So I substituted my high-waisted shorts and cosy red cardigan and just left the formal top, which wasn’t quite so formal anymore underneath all that casual goodness

That’s all for today’s post! Now I can go to school in peaceSee you next week!

The Small Joys

Hello! I thought I’d start off a new year of blogging by dutifully keeping to my weekend updates (as I did once upon a time), but there’s clearly no success yet. And I know I routinely moan about this, but school is not being particularly kind. It’s the busiest semester yet, and I’m smack in the middle of it.

But even when I’m stuck in a never-ending cycle of late nights and deadlines, there’re still the little things around that put me in a good mood.

Every once in a while mom makes sweet potatoes for both of us after dinnerIt’s a simple homemade dessert—she steams the potatoes and cooks a pot of coconut cream to pour over them. It’s so rich and creamy that I don’t have to think about anything else except the bliss of eating chunky sweet potatoes covered with a blanket of sweet and salty coconut cream. (Now I’m trying too hard to wax poetic about these babies)

And then I have Saturday mornings, when my dad brings me to the neighbourhood coffee shop for breakfast. He likes to eat local grub as much as he can because he’s always travelling, so we drink teh (typical Singaporean tea) and eat pau (my favourite steamed buns!) while my dad reads the papers.

There’s an unspoken routine between us—I always start with just one pau, but when he’s halfway through his newspaper he insists on another round so we end up going through a whole assortment of them. There’re our favourites like red bean and lotus paste, and sometimes we try different flavours like coffee jam. Saturday breakfast with my dad is the only time I ever get to try that many

Things like these sweet potatoes and steamed buns keep me going every week.

What makes you happy?

Wishing for Winter Fashion

Hello! It’s only a week into the new year and my life is back to being clogged up with school assignments and projects. But I hope 2015 is treating everyone far so far! I’m curious to see how it’ll play out for me; change is in the air. I can already smell my impending graduation.

Starting off the year with an outfit post! These are three of my recent favourites from the past couple of weeks—lots of white and fluffy layers and the occasional beret, because I’m determined to dress like it’s winter.

(Top & skirt: Lowrys Farm/Beret: NICE CLAUP)

One trick to do so is to wear long sheer sleeves so you don’t melt away on the inside. I paired the plain sheer sweater with my stripy skirt, and topped it with a red beret for a pop of colour.

(Sweater/skirt: Dip Drops)

This is a comfort coordinate for those days when I just don’t feel up to putting together layer after layer. A fluffy knit sweater, pastel pink skirt, black shoes, and I’m good to goPlus the whit knit makes me feel all soft and cosy.

(Jacket: LDS)

I injected summer into this coordinate with the oversized denim sailor jacket, and popped it over my cat print dress. It’s dressy and casual at the same time; I think it’s useful to always have a jacket and dress on hand for easy pairing.

This is a new year for me to try different styles! Shopping for my favourite Japanese styles seems like it’s going to be even harder, because Lowrys Farm and Dip Drops (which I visit a lot) are closing. I guess just have to keep trying to think up different ways I can coordinate the clothes already in my wardobe.