Volcanic Ash Clouds in Iceland

Did you hear about this?
I haven't been reading the news for the past few weeks so I only found out about it today.

OMG!! So scary!!
My relatives are in UK and so many air flights has been cancelled.

My sis in law and niece are suppose to fly to London next week.
Not too sure if they can with all the rescheduled flights.

Found some videos on the volcanic ash erupting.
All I can say is that am soooo glad Malaysia is far from volcano unlike our neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Philippines.

Watch this if you have the time....


and this one too...

Macaroni & Cheese

My kids all time fave !!
Something so easy to whip up and so delicious to eat :)

Here's what we normally eat.... less than RM10 each



... sometimes we have these too.. about RM10 each box


And recently I managed to find a few others...


Scooby Doo and Sponge Bob

OH and Spiderman too !!!

... trying to look for Pokemon but can't seem to find it.

How do you cook this?
Simple... boil the macaroni till desired softness
Add some butter/margarine/olive oil to prevent stickyness after draining
Return the boiled mac into the empty boiling pot
Add some milk and the powdered packet included in the box
And mix thoroughly.
Serve hot!!

For better taste, add your kids' fave topping... chicken, brocolli, or whatever you can think of.

Sound easy? It sure it ... and its yummy and healthy too !!!

Fried Mushroom

Oh yes... the other day hubby bought some fresh mushroom from Giant.

Told me to deep fry them.

Talk about cravings !!! Hahaha.

So here's what I did.

I washed the mushroom thoroughly and pop them in the microwave to cook for a bit.

Once it was steaming hot and a little soft, I dried them with kitchen paper and let them cool a bit.

Took some tempura powder and mixed it with COLD COLD water to make a lovely thick paste just right for dipping.

Sprinkled the mushroom with some salt and pepper.

Heat the wok and dip the mushroom onto the flour mix and fried the mushroom.

Remember to drain the mushroom using kitchen paper to avoid any extra oil... kakaka.

Results? Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside fried mushroom :)

Wanna try? It's easy and yummy !!!

Again... I don't have pics as it was already dinner time and it was amongst the first dish to be finished. Hehehe.

But here's a sample pic of how it looks like... courtesy from the internet :)

Pizza for tea

Today I pop in the oven my own recipe of pizza :)
Yep... bought the base at my local hypermarket.

Got some cheese topping, some tomato puree, some pepperoni slices, mushroom and some pineapple too.

Sprinkles all on top and baked my pizza!
It's so easy to do and so yummy too :)

Didn't manage to take any pics... as it was half gone even before it had the time to get cold.

Hahahaha.

So if you're craving for some pizza.. go make some yourself and color it with your fave toppings !!!

ENJOY !!!!

Definitely more cost saving and almost as tasty as .....

(at least that's what my kids say.... LOL!!)

My Mom got so excited now she says wanna make some LASAGNE!!! 

Hahahaha... so we're gonna make another trip to our local hypermarket to get supplies soon :)

YUMMY!!!!!

Edible Images for Cakes and Cupcakesn - How to Apply

Did you know the latest craze for cake decorating is using fondant and gum paste?


But did you know that using edible images is also catching up pretty fast?

I love baking!
Unfortunately with my crazy schedule lately and the super hot weather, I haven't had the chance to bake much!

A friend of mine who baked my son's cuppies last month asked me where he could get edible images as he needed to make a portrait cake for his Mom for Mother's Day. Sweet huh? Yes..he is a big chubby guy who has the heart of gold ! That's why I call him TAI KOR :) LOL!!

Have you ever wondered how to use those edible images? I mean how to apply them onto your cakes/cuppies the right way?

I found this article...

Cake Decorating – How To Apply Edible Cake Art

There are many edible cake art images available for cake decorating, that will make your cakes stand alone in excellence. You must follow the directions carefully for best result and ease in application.

Tips to Apply Edible Cake Art:

- Make sure you have clean, dry hands before touching the image. If you are working with a frozen cake, let it thaw a bit before applying the icing. Edible Image(r) cake decorations need a bit of moisture to blend into the icing.

- If the cake is dry, spray it with a light mist of water, brush on light syrup, or add a thin layer of icing before you apply the image so it will stick to the cake. If your cake is moist, don’t add water or moisture to the cake. Too much water will cause the colors to run.

- Once the image is applied, it cannot be removed or moved. Know exactly where you plan to place the image. Using care apply the image to your cake, face up. Once the image has been applied, tap the image down gently with your fingertips. Start from the center of the image and work toward the edges.

- If the image should become moist or hard to remove from the backing, it can be placed in the freezer for a couple of minutes, the image should peel off easily.

- If the image should bubble after it is applied, gently tap and DO NOT RUB the image. If the cake is still frozen after application, it should be placed in the refrigerator to thaw slowly. Avoid exposing the image to ultraviolet light. The image may fade over time, as with any food coloring.

- If the image bubbles during freezing, again you can gently tap the image.

Royal Icing

- Make sure you add a good mist of water over a cake iced with royal icing before you apply the image

Non Dairy Whipped Topping

- When working with this medium, do not add any extra water before you apply the image. Keep the finished cake in the refrigerator to maintain the integrity of the image and the topping.

Poured White Chocolate, or other poured icings

- Apply the image while the icing is wet. Be sure your cake is on a flat surface or the image may slide.
Standard Instruction for Application

- Remove the Edible Image(r) from the sheet just prior to application.

- If there are still images in the bag, reseal it immediately.

- Remove the image from the backing sheet by gently placing it on a table edge, (facing up) and rolling the backing sheet over the table edge. This will loosen the image so that it can be carefully peeled from the backing.

Thanks to ....

http://www.cookingitalianrecipes.net/cake-decorating-how-to-apply-edible-cake-art

(visit the site for more info ok)

Dalissa Sweet Treat Birthday Giveaway

Oh yummy !!!

What cake is this?
Can you guess??

Yep.. its SNICKERS Cheese Cake !!

OMG.... I so love snickers :)

 

Imagine those yummy peanut and those yummy....

 

I am sooo drooling already !!! Kakaka.

Anyway, should you want to give it a try... you can get it from..

http://dalissacuppacake.blogspot.com

 Check them out now :)

Oh if you wanna win the cake like me.. you can join their giveaway contest at..

http://dalissacuppacake.blogspot.com/2010/04/dalissa-sweet-treat-birthday-giveaway.html

Blah blah blah....

The weather is hot.

I am so busy.

Organising contest.

Getting sponsors.

Cracking my heads with more ideas.

Updating blogs.

Receiving packages.

Updating inventory.

Again... updating blogs.

Feeling tired and sleepy.

Yet needing to finish up as much things as I can.

Loving the aircon while my son takes his nap.

Yet scared of my next electricity bill hiking up again.

Thinking of making pizza.

But decided not to as the hot weather might lead to sore throat.

Thought of baking some pastries.

But the hot weather and the thought of hot oven, is such a turn off.

I'll probably just drop by Giant and buy some buns off the shelf instead.

Admiring the new VS paper bags that just arrived in the mail today.

So sweet, so pretty, so lovely !!

With light pink motif.

And lovely pink straps.

Golden circle and wordings.

The sweetest bag so far !!!

Holla...

Holla everyone :)
It's been a while since I actually rambled about anything and everything here.

Been rather busy (what's new eh?)

MIL came visiting again.

Mom is here too.

Oh and Mom is busy trying to get her visa approved to go to UK.

Wonder why its such a hassle to get a UK visa for non-commonwealth countries residence.

Sigh.

Anyway on a lighter note, my sis is opening up a stall in one of the flee market in May. So am pretty excited about that. It's gonna be a first so am looking forward to seeing how the response will be like.

My niece and sister in law will be arriving next week from their one month holiday trip to UK and US. Yep.. finally my SIL dream came true. She finally visited Elvis Presley's mansion and stayed there for almost 5 days. They even commented that the peanut butter sandwich tastes the same with the exception that it feels like Elvis is dining with them :) *snigger*

 

They are now at my sis place and will be taking a trip to NYC, Washington DC and Virginia Beach these few days. Ah... so envy them as they're really enjoying themselves.

Other than that?

I am feeling abit numb on my wrist for using the computer a lot.

Carpal tunnel syndrome? Probably!

I hold the mouse too much... gotta try working on that.

Well.. its another round of picking up little g and sending big g to school now.

Will post more next time if I have the time :)

Cheerios everyone and have a great day !!

More rooster items....

Yep.. more rooster items on their way !!!

I'm going cookle-doodle-dooooooo :)

Rooster Chalk Board

Eliza Rooster Cushion Cover for my stool

More kitchen towels... I just love them :)

Hmm... wonder if I can find more :)

.... FOUND ONE MORE !!!
ROOSTER CLOCK!

Rooster deco

How did it start??
Honestly am not sure !! LOL!

But I remember buying carpets and rugs and towels and pot holders with ROOSTERS on it.

 

And today, I ended up buying even more ....

A lovely tissue holder :)

And a lovely cutlery holder too :)

I've even eyeing on a few other rooster items too... OMG... I'm in the shopping mood again !!!

 So if anyone out there selling ROOSTER items, let me know... :)

Cockle - doodle - doooo !!

What would you do..

... if someone dear to you.... 

.. who is 8  months pregnant... 

... and dies due to a tummy ache??

She has been attending all her prenatal exam.

No complications.

Baby is fine. Mommy is fine.

And suddenly during her baby shower, she complain of pain... falls down and dies on the way to the hospital?

 

It's just so shocking.

She was all so excited about her new baby.

Giving thanks for how lucky she was.

And she had to leave this world ... just like that???

What would you do?

** Mae and baby Micah, may both your souls rest in peace **

We just got back...

... from Andy's bday party in Seremban.

Yep, it was a fun day.
Kids had a great time.
Playing games. Winning prizes.
Making friends... and sweating like mad :)

Andy's Mom tapao quite a lot of food for us to take back home.
So I got dinner covered. Rendang, fried chicken, stew, fried mee hoon, tau foo fa and cuppies too :)

Thanks Andy for having us... and Happy Birthday my darling !!