{{ home }}

Originally uploaded by brainsforlunch

I am back in Victoria! Despite the horrifying windy weather and the amount of laundry and clean up that I have to do, it's good to be back home.

I got my ukulele in the mail on Friday and I have been playing it constantly. My fingers are still getting used to playing a string instrument ie. they are in a lot of pain right now..

The house is a mess... when will it get better!

{{ jp fashion }}

unique.

{{ Twenty - Two }}

enchanted garden cupcakes, originally uploaded by hello naomi.

Happy Birthday !

{{ eff-ed in the head }}

286\365 summer or winter ??, originally uploaded by ‘Daisy.

As stated.

{{ okay. stop slacking off }}

The Analyst, originally uploaded by Veronique (Image Focus Australia).

focus. focus. focus.

2 more exams. focus.

focus. focus. focus.

{{ i want!! }}

I can't wait until the end of exams. I'm studying Econ right now and.. err.. well lets just say I slacked off near the end of term and I have no idea what this capital cost allowance is.. 

Anyway, in 5 days I will be done. Summer will begin and I will start learning the ukulele. I want to buy this as my first ukulele. It's a Kamoa Mahogany pineapple. 

I don't think L&M carries them. I'll have to buy it online. 

Maybe I'll go to L&M when I move back to Vic and see what other ones attract my eyes. The Kala KA-S seems to be a popular beginner's choice. 

{{ a need to travel }}

[109-365] Welcome to Spain!!, originally uploaded by Beatriz AG.

I went to see my mum at the airport today. While I was waiting for her, I wandered around the airport, observing people. I wanted to go somewhere. I wanted to fly somewhere. The airport has a very peculiar smell.. do you know that smell?

Lots of traveling planned for this summer. I can't wait!

{{ a read! }}

I plan to get this book

I've heard it's a fast and funny read.

I think I'll get it when I'm back in Victoria.










Anyway, so concrete was a hard exam.. It didn't seem like there was enough time. Bah. yes.. Bah.

This is what I felt like after the exam..

I got a little depressed after the exam so I went to DQ and had a blizzard. If it wasn't for the promotion of getting the 2nd blizzard for 25 cents, I wouldn't have gotten a blizzard. I don't like them. They are way too sweet and after 1/3 of the cup, you start to feel really nasty.

I much prefer the dipped cones. I've always liked them.

{{ a flickr: time is passing }}

snooze, please?, originally uploaded by yyelsel_ann.

2 down, 3 more exams to go.

I slacked off last night and had tacos with friends. I had a great time though.

an exam at 3:30 this afternoon: advance concrete design..

{{ exams }}

I'm probably taking a little break from blogger because the exam period is starting. It has been most unfortunate that time always feel so limited. I'd made some pretty delicious (and quick!) dinners and lunches but didn't have the time to capture any photos. I'm looking forward to the end of exams. Big plans coming up! Lots of traveling. Hopefully the weather becomes nice immediately after exams then I'd really get into photography. I'm looking forward to that.

Also, I am thinking of making a switch to tumblr.

That's all for now.

Stress Monster.

{{ Birthday present to self !! }}

Pure Joy, originally uploaded by ::big daddy k::.

The birthday present I've ordered for myself finally arrived today.

I LOVE IT!

{{ dreaming }}

DavidsTea

I've been getting a lot of tea from DavidsTea lately and well, drinking too much of it.

I had their Earl Grey this morning while studying and I think the caffeine is making me hallucinate.

anyway, this is just a random entry because my head is kind of spinning.

Oh!

I'm looking at videos of Paris and I have decided that I shall move to Paris by the age of 35 (preferably before 30).

{{ pineberry }}

seriously?

combination of a strawberry and a pineapple.

an inside out strawberry that tastes like a pineapple.

why is a pineapple called a pineapple anyway..

from here

{{ not cool }}

the smell of good bread., originally uploaded by kvdl.

too much bread
too much butter
too much cheese
too many delicious cookies from capers..

too much food for one day

There was a time when I knew how to control my appetite.

{{ FIVE: coq au vin }}

Late Update!

After watching Julie and Julia, Ryan and I became obsessed with Julia Child. Eventually I will buy her famous book Mastering the Art of French Cooking but in the mean time, we just search for her recipes online.

For our big five year anniversary, we decided to make a French dish: Coq au Vin. Julia Child's Cuq au Vin.

Traditionally a Burgundian dish so we got a Burgundy to drink with it =)

To start, we made some brushetta!

Julia Child's Coq au Vin

2.5 - 3 lb chicken

4 ounces lean thick-cut bacon

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 cup cognac

2 cups red wine ( we used Beaujolais)

2 cup chicken stock

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 clove garlic, mashed or minced ( minced!)

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp thyme

brown braised onions

mushrooms

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp butter, softened

parsley sprigs

steps will be updated soon...

cut up mushroom

Julia Child says "never crowd the mushrooms. They won't brown!"

all cut up

these potatoes are soooo gooood

final product! Delicious...

Unfortunately I was sick this day and couldn't smell and taste anything. I felt better and less stuffed up the next day and was finally able to savour the taste!

{{ Big Five O }}

Five years ago on March 19th, Ryan and I were wandering down the streets of Avignon. In that dry sunny day in Provence, our lives together began.

We were going to do a big dinner to celebrate our 5 year anniversary, but since Ryan didn't sleep the night before (he had to write a paper), we decided to postpone our big dinner plan to Saturday (today!)

However, we weren't going to eat junk food either. We made Japanese Katsu Curry! It was my first time making it and it turned out quite well!

Sauce:

3 carrots

1 potato

1 onion

glico curry cube

Cut all ingredients into bite size pieces. In a large skillet, stir fry onions with oil. Add all other ingredients and stir for few minutes. Add 2 cups (500ml) of water to the skillet and bring to boil. We used a little more than it asked for to keep all vegetables submerged. Cook in medium low heat with a lid for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and add Glico curry sauce (break into several pieces). Adjust amount based on how thick you want the sauce to be. Stir until completely melted. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.

Deep frying Katsu:

pork tenderloin (it's the only type we had. Fattier meat will probably be better!)

1 egg

flour

panko

We sliced the pork tenderloin and bashed it flat with a knife because we didn't have a hammer... Drizzle the pork slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Prepare 3 plates: 1 with flour, 1 with an egg, beaten with a bit of water, 1 with panko. Like an assembly line, coat the pork slices with flour, dip in the egg, and coat it with sufficient panko.

Deep frying can be done in a small pot or a frying pan with sufficient oil. We heated a frying pan in med-high heat and placed the pork slices in it. Flip when the edges become golden.

When they are done, place the fried pork slices on a rack or on a plate with paper towel to absorb the excess grease. Cut them into 1 inch strips and serve with rice and curry sauce.

Yum!

Deep frying got quite messy but it was worth it. I would definitely make this again.

What to do with the leftover katsu? Put them in a sandwich!

{{ motivation }}

from here

Don't dwell on the past

Keep moving

Keep changing

Keep charging

{{ quinoa, south american love }}

from here

So I bought my first pack of organic quinoa from Costco some months ago. I had heard of this grain-like crop, but had never tried it. Originated from South America, it is actually a species of goosefoot (some sort of flowering plant). It is extremely healthy (high in protein) and has very little fat.

I found a quinoa pilaf recipe from the Whole Foods website. This was so easy to make and the flavour of this simple dish was absolutely amazing.

Quinoa pilaf with Cranberries and Almond

Serve 4

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small red onion, chopped ( i used white, and it was fine)

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained

2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth ( i used vegetable because i had one open)

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add quinoa and toast, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in broth and salt and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cranberries, cover again and continue to cook until liquid is completely absorbed and quinoa is tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Toss with almonds and serve.

I sliced up some carrots and boiled them in water. I mixed the carrot slices with Japanese shiso dressing. (btw, I love the taste/smell of shiso). Another name for shiso is Perilla and it is a perennial herb in the mint family.

Like I said, this dish was so delicious, so easy. The combination of the broth, the nutty almond chunks and the sweet dried cranberries was not as weird as I had thought. I will definitely make this again.

PS. I want to try to make risotto. Does it work for any short-grain rice or does it have to be a specific kind?

{{ when do i see you? Canon! }}

My next big purchase is going to be a DSLR and the one I have in mind is the Canon Rebel XSi or Canon 450D. When am I going to buy it?

Hopefully soon.

I've been to Future shop, and lens and shutter. I found out that the body is made in Japan and the 18-55mm lens is made in Taiwan. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but somehow I wish to get the lens that's made in Japan. The guy at Lens and Shutter said that the 18-55mm is inexpensively made and a good lens to begin with for people new to DSLR. It shouldn't matter too much where it is made. Suppose he is right, I still wish to compare prices.

On the same note, once I get my DSLR, I'm going to learn about food photography. I love food and well, I think that's a good enough reason.

PS. Daylight saving. We lost an hour. Boo. I wish my day was 48hrs.

{{ nutella in the morning }}

from here

On Sunday, we made crepes for breakfast. I love crepes and I haven't had one for so long! Not only had I not had crepes for a long time, I hadn't had nutella for a looooong time.

This hazelnut flavoured chocolate spread is probably one of my favourite things in the world. It's great with thick toast (only with Asian bread though because they are sweeter in general. It's okay with regular white bread, but significantly not as good). It's great with banana slices in a sandwich and it's great with banana slices in a crepe. It's great. period.

note:

Unlike a regular white loaf of bread , asian white loaf doesn't have that round top, but is actually a perfect square in cross section. Slices of approximately 1" is most ideal for thick toast. Spread nutella on the bread and make a shallow cross with the knife across the top. Put this in the toaster oven until it's warm and a little crunchy at the top. yum!

Other common spreads for thick toast are: peanut butter, strawberry jam, butter, and, condensed milk.

As I was randomly searching on the internet, I found out that there is actually a World Nutella Day. I should've known. I mean, why wouldn't there be? It's on 5 February and I can't believe I missed it this year! Anyway, now i know for next year.

While we are talking about chocolate, I had a full pack of Ritter sport just now. It's my overeating self acting out again. I feel so sick and it's completely my fault. Where did my self-control go? I seem to be able to control myself better over the weekend. School sucks. Schools stresses me out. School makes me eat. I need to go to Bikram.

Anyway, Ryan and I have found great recipes that we want to try out this weekend. Excited!