Cupcakes

I felt like baking today and vanilla cupcakes it is! Lately, I've been shopping around for small cutters on behalf of my dear friend, Milly V because of her passion for sugar art projects. It is so easy to fall in love with all those nice decorating accessories and tools but I am not as creative nor patient enough for it. I guess I am spoiled when it comes to frostings and sugar decorations since we can just buy them ready-made from the supermarket.

Well, I road-tested my vanilla cupcakes today using a simple recipe I found on CupcakeRecipes. If this works out, I'm going back to buy some X'mas theme sugar decorations from the store :)

Before: Cupcakes fresh from the oven. Let them cool down thoroughly before starting the icing & decorating process.

After: Some of my iced/decorated cupcakes. All set to go!

P.S. I've yet to hear from my guinea pigs friends, so I don't know what's the verdict yet. Hopefully, it's good.

Left-over Bananas


It's been a while since I blogged about cooking and baking. Just the other day, I had 4 large ripe, speckled bananas that needed to be eaten quickly before they turned bad. What should I do? Another banana loaf? Nah!!! I decided to make some banana balls a.k.a. jemput-jemput pisang. There's no direct translation for this traditional Malaysian snack. If I translated "jemput-jemput pisang" word-for-word, it would mean "invite-invite bananas"??? Not very couth for a recipe name, isn't it?!

Anyway, jemput-jemput pisang brings me back to my domestic science lessons back in the days. It is so simple to make yet delectable. Always a family favorite. It keeps well overnight but I think the dry weather here helps a lot. Just put the left-overs in the oven and soon it'll turn crispy again.

Step 1:

First, heat oil in frying pan. Then, mash the bananas. Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla essence and 1 tsp. of baking powder until well blended.


Step 2:

Wet spoon and use it to drop the batter into frying pan.


Step 3:

Fry until golden brown & drain. Repeat until you finish the mixture.


Step 4 (although not entirely necessary):

Wait for it to cool down and sprinkle some confectioners sugar. Ta-da!

Radio City X'mas Spectacular

Earlier this month, we saw the Radio City X'mas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. This family show celebrates its 75th. anniversary this year and it is still a firm favorite. Like the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, this show featuring the lovely, leggy ladies called The Rockettes is a "must see" - at least once in a lifetime.

Long lines during the opening weekend on Sunday, November 11th.

We arrived at the door about 9.40 a.m. for the ten o'clock show and the line was already more than a block long. But, the security check was, thankfully, quick. We got in with extra time, settled into our seats, collected our program booklets and our little starlit wands :)

The lovely, sparkling Christmas-tree shaped Swarovski chandelier at the lobby.

The Rockettes through the years.

The show begins after a wild 3D ride with Santa on his sleigh. Wooooo...!

NY at Christmas - sightseeing during the holiday season.

Finding a present for a little girl - Ragdolls at Santa's toy workshop. The gift finds you.



Dancing and singing Santas.


Toy soldiers fall after being Kaboom-ed!


March of the three wisemen, with camels and other animals on stage! I decided to take a short movie instead of still photos (flash photography prohibited but I could still see flashes around me). We don't wanna scare those camels now, do we?


Living Nativity Scene - the Finale.

Tip: The best time to see the Radio City Rockettes and Santa is opening week; when tickets are still not premium-ly priced and the Rockettes are still fresh and eager :) Doing 3-4 shows a day is not easy and I bet they all sweat buckets doing over 1,500 kicks per day. For opening weekend, we paid $70 per ticket with good seats. Of course, we bought our tickets over 2 months ago, directly from the Radio City Box Office (no surcharge, unlike Ticketmaster). It pays to be an early bird. Hee..hee!

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2007


I know, I know. Why bother with the crowds when you can just sit at home and watch the parade? Well, this year we made an exception because of the beautiful weather. It felt like spring time on Thursday but yesterday & today is a different story. So you see, good weather on Thanksgiving Day doesn't come by easily. In the past, it had been too cold, too wet or too windy. Never has there been a more superb weather like Thanksgiving 2007.

We took the first bus down to NYC at 7.22 a.m. and reached the Port Authority before 8.00 a.m. There was no traffic because all the road warriors had left. Hah! We got off the subway at Columbus Circle and walked about 2-3 blocks to West 64th. Street. Since the balloons were 15 -20 feet up in the air, we didn't need to be directly in front to see them.

Get ready for photos galore. Snippets from the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade 2007...

Tom Turkey, Abby Cadabby & the Pilgrim.

Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo and the Sesame Street gang.

Harold the Fireman, Energizer Bunny, Ronald McDonald & Pikachu.


Super Cute Hello Kitty

Mr. Potato Head, Shrek & Kermit the Frog.

JoJo's Circus, Founding Fathers' Balloonheads & Cherokee National Youth Choir.

Flying Ace Snoopy, Frosty the Snowman & the Peanuts gang.

Care Bears & M&M's on Broadway.

Last but not least, the man himself - SANTA!

What a delightful day. I had expected the crowds to be worst but it turned out better than Black Friday shopping ;) Best of all, I got to re-live my childhood dream. My favorite float was the Care Bears' Winter Funderland and my favorite balloons were Snoopy & Hello Kitty.

Pre-Thanksgiving Get Together

On Wednesday night, I had a pre-Thanksgiving Dinner with some of my group members from Upwardly Global. I have not seen some of them since the 1st. Anniversary Celebration last October.

We all agreed to meet up at Piola near University Place in NYC. Great Italian Restaurant/Bar, cozy ambiance and reasonably priced as well. The place was packed when we arrived there. It's a good thing that Fredy made reservations for us.

Group shots of our table

Happy faces, happy people from Cohort #2

Food, glorious food!

We were introduced to Guarana by Fredy & Luis. This is a very popular soft drink/soda from Brazil. The profiteroles were really good too!

After a nice and satisfying dinner, we ended the night with a lucky draw. I went home with a dolphin massager. Hee..hee! Not bad at all. We're thinking of meeting up again for Christmas. Our group maybe small but the camaraderie is great. Thanks to Debbie & Aminata who thought of and organized the door gifts.

I know some of you had to work today :( But, the weekend is here, so enjoy!

A Fall Wedding

Gracie Pang & Andrei Rjeousski
Paletta Lakefront Mansion
Sunday, November 18th. 2007

An answered prayer, he is to me
My greatest blessing, she'll always be
He is my miracle sent from above
She'll always be the one I love
(an excerpt from the wedding invitation)

It's official! The radiant, beautiful bride and her handsome miracle - Mr. & Mrs. Andrei Rjeousski. Here they were, braving cold winds and unusually cold fall temperatures during the 15 minute outdoor ceremony. Of course, the guests were also keeping a brave face but we had the luxury of gloves & heavy coats. Gracie said that she didn't feel cold because she was too excited and happy. Tee..hee...hee! Now, that's the power of love.

Random photos taken right after the ceremony. Gracie's Aunts from Kuching also made the trip. It was a long flight from Malaysia and understandably they were still jet-lagged. Nevertheless, they looked beautiful and resplendent in their cheong-sams that day. So did Aunt Annie, the mother of the bride :)

Finger food and cocktail drinks while waiting for the bride & groom to have their photos taken by the professional photographer. Gracie's family spent the night before preparing and cooking "ngo-hiang" (savory spring rolls), prawn crackers and satay sauce. An excellent mix of Western & Eastern fare to nibble.

The Reception

The bride's parents, the groom's parents and the special couple at the main table.

Tomato Bonccocini & Asparagus Salad with Aged Tuscan Balsamic Drizzle, Seared Shitake Mushroom, Braised Ginger Coriander stuffed Supreme of Chicken with Miso Glaze and Vanilla Ice-cream Crepes with Creme Anglaise and Fruit Coulis Drizzle.

In between meals, there were several speeches, plus a fantastic slide show of the couple through the years.

The After Dinner Party/Dance

The couple's first dance as Mr. & Mrs. Rjeousski; followed by Gracie's dance with her Dad. Awww...


Who caught the bouquet?




Who caught the garter?




Congratulations Gracie & Andrei, may this be the beginning of a beautiful and wonderful life together.

Baby News

My cousin, Alex & his wife in Winnipeg are first time parents yesterday. Our heartiest congratulations to them on the arrival of their son, baby William.

Gracie, Alex's sister whom we attended her wedding last Sunday is now promoted to the rank of Auntie/Ee Ee. Uncle George & Auntie Annie are the proud Grandparents/Ah Kong & Ah Ma. Last but not least, Alex's Grandma in Kuching the very coveted title of Great-grandma.

P.S. Thanksgiving Week is always busy and more so with us initiating the claims process with the respective insurance companies for repairs. I hope to get updates of Gracie & Andrei's wedding up and running a.s.a.p. but I've a pre-Thanksgiving dinner in the City tonight with my UpGlo group members. So, Friday it shall be then. Gracie, if you're reading my blog, sorry. Please bear with me :(

Shit Happens!

We left NJ for Toronto yesterday morning at 5.35 a.m.. After being on the road for 2-3 hours and literally seeing the rain, sleet, sun & first snow showers passed by, we stopped at Denny's for a typical American breakfast - 2 strips of bacon, sausages, over easy eggs, hash browns and pancakes with a cup of Joe coffee.

This is late fall foliage in Pennsylvania, taken from the parking lot of Denny's.

We finished our hearty breaky and felt good. Then, we hit I-90W and was just about to exit the NY State Thruway near Buffalo/Niagara.

Yes, this very exit.

While we were at a complete stop waiting for our change at the toll booth, this semi/trailer rear ended us. Bam!!!!! The impact was quite bad and we hit our heads on the back of our seats.

The first thing that came to my mind was that the bumper and trunk must be severely damaged. The toll booth supervisor called in a State Trooper/police and the driver of the truck came to see if we were hurt. The driver said that he didn't see us in front of him. Hmmmph! We believed he must be sleepy from long distance driving but he blamed it on the height of the truck.

Our poor car....second rear end accident in 2 years!

This time there's 2 deep puncture "wounds", probably from the screws on the semi's vehicle registration plate, a long "gnash" line on the back and a scratch on top of it. We were quite surprised that in spite of the hard impact, the damage was minimal although heart breaking to see. Adrian works hard to keep the Toyota Camry scratch free from careless drivers at parking lots and shopping carts. This is a big whamy from a semi/trailer! Poor him :(

We are really thankful that we bought the Camry instead of keeping the old beat-up Honda Civic. If it had been the latter, we would have to cancel our trip and maybe end up with half a car. I supposed we should be thankful that we are not badly hurt and it happened at the toll booth while the speed was not as fast as on the highway.

So what does this all mean now? More work for us next week when we get back to Jersey. Quotations, adjuster, etc., before we can get Camry a new butt. *sigh*

A Short Note

Serenity will be away in Toronto for Gracie & Andrei R's wedding this weekend. Updates next week!

Preparing myself for a very cold (no pun intended) wedding by the Palleta Lakefront. There'll be no sexy outfits from the ladies. I need to hide my layers, anyway. Haha!

A Beautiful Mind


Some photos of Princeton University taken during our visit there (Fall of '05). One of the loveliest towns in Central New Jersey. A place saturated with literary and scientific geniuses.


One man comes to mind...

Albert Einstein - Princeton's famous resident
(Source: Wikipedia)

My New Favorite TV Show

Visit Aliens in America

Life in America through the eyes of Raja, a Pakistani exchange student. Or, is it a real lesson in life for the gawky Justin Tolchuk & his family? Either way, the show is hilarious.

Andy Kho

I first met Andy about 10 years ago when we worked together at Western Digital Media (formerly, Komag USA (M)). We lost touch after we left the Company. I don't even remember who left first. Anyway, Andy pursued a different career on the high seas on board MV Doulos; while I went to work for a garbage waste management company. Not as glamorous as being a humanitarian :(. We met again briefly during my cousin Andrew's wedding about 5 years ago. If I remembered correctly, he said that Diana, my cousin's wife was his Sunday School teacher. What a small world :)

Fast-forward to 2007...

I stumbled upon Andy's website a few days ago while reading a blog. As usual the cyberspace is always a great connector or in this case a re-connector. What a pleasant discovery! I always knew that he has natural talent; and a keen interest in photography, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he has decided to pursue a career professionally in that field. This is Andy's website:

ANDY KHO PHOTOGRAPHY

Good luck & all the best in your business, Andy! I hope you will add more photos to your portfolio soon. With clients like Channel [V], Zouk KL, OK! and Adidas to name the few, the sky is the limit!

Curry Laksa in a Hurry


A soupy and spicy dinner is perfect for a cool autumn night. For this easy to prepare dinner, I enlisted the help of Tean's Gourmet Curry Laksa paste. Bring 1500 ml of chicken broth/water to a boil and add the paste, fried tofu and okra. Let it simmer for a while and stir in 500ml of coconut milk. Blanch 1 packet of cooked yellow noodles and add in boiled chicken pieces. Pour gravy over the noodles and garnish with some shallots. Ta-da...!

Yummy, yummy...!

Fall Foliage Pictures

We did the Fun & Foliage Tour today as recommended by the NJ Tourism website. The suggested loop was an easy drive and we passed through many quaint towns like Andover, Waterloo, Hope, Pequest & Hackettstown.

We did the drive first thing today as the days are getting shorter. It is totally dark by 5 p.m. Yesterday was the last day of daylight savings. Last night, we turned back our clocks an hour before retiring to bed. The weather has cooled down considerably and this is the best time to enjoy a slow Sunday drive on the country roads of New Jersey.

The changing landscape is just too beautiful to be missed. The smell of burning wood from the fireplace is a welcome change. Apple season is over and the pumpkins, harvested. The good ones sold and the lesser ones left behind on the sprawling fields.

Another Sunday well spent!

Celebrating Halloween - Chelsea Market Style


Halloween photos! I had initially wanted to take some over-the-top shots of Halloween decor around my neighborhood but I was afraid some people might be sensitive about it. Worse still, they might think that I am a robber or some child predator in disguise lurking outside their homes. Understandably, they're a lot of big bad wolves out there and I noticed a lot of parents (dressed to the nines in spooky costumes) "trick or treating" with their kids on October 31. I think it's a good thing. Peace of mind and quality time with their children. On a sick note, I read somewhere that pins, needles and razors have been found in apples & candies given to kids, so I would inspect all their candy loot before they munch into something lethal.

Anyway, Adrian took some photos at Chelsea Market yesterday. Yeah, this is all happening below his office! Some people have all the fun :)

A few hanging but very dead friends and one who is slouchy. Look! He's giving out candies. Hee..hee!

Some people are so crafty (no pun intended!). I've never tried carving a pumpkin before. Even kids can do it so I must be craft-less or something.

This particular pumpkin is a "Godzilla". It weighs 1,162 lbs. and the champion grower is Don Young from Des Moines, Iowa. The master crafter/artist is Hugh McMahon.

Here's a closer look at "The Gigantor". Sorry, I just had to add in that morbid thought.