0 Berry Banana Morning

New star ingredient: Waitrose Blueberry Coulis!

There's only one ingredient on the list, which is 100% blueberry puree. But if there's no preservatives whatsoever, I wonder how the coulis manages to be packed without going mouldy. Anyway the coulis had a bright, tangy sharp flavour, clearly just blueberry goodness without the sugar nonsense.

Paired with fresh chopped strawberries, mashed banana, and spiked with cinnamon and vanilla, my steelies could not have been more awesome. The nut butter frenzy continues with four toppings today! Chunk of Laughing Giraffe vanilla almond macaroon, Jem red maca almond butter, Woodstock Farm almond butter and my homemade peanut/almond/flax/sesame butter.

I froze the rest of the blueberry coulis into ice cubes because I know I wouldn't be able to finish the package within 2 days as recommended. Makes as awesome after dinner dessert especially with the repressive humidity + blisteringly hot weather going on now.

0 Power up!

Could breakfast get any better? This morning's version was a buffet of treats. I wonder how many ingredients you can pack into this small Le Creuset bowl of mine ;)

• 20g oat bran
• Few drops of the last of Silk soy (unsweetened)
• Water -- microwaved and it overflowed :( --
• 3/4 (60g) frozen mashed nana
• Sesame-pumpkin-flax + Garden of Life raw protein
• 11 giant blueberries
• 10g Superfood Green hemp/spirulina/coconut granola
• Heaping Fage 0% yogurt
• JEM raw maca almond butter
• Woodstock Farm almond butter
• Homemade almond/peanut/sesame/flax butter
• Hidden treasure - raw cacao nib ball

12 Awesome ingredients! And very-belly satisfied!

0 1000 words a day

What a major load off the back! Poster session is finally over and done with. While one examiner asked plenty of questions, the other was barely listening and did not appear very much interested. Anyway, I'm so glad and happy it's over. Now I just have to write ~1000 words a day to the final thesis submission on 11 Apr. Okay, ideally I should write for one week and revise for another week so that makes it 2000 words a day.

Power breakfast to start the day: 33g oat bran (necessary for the time-being instead of steel cutters due to time constraints in the morning), 25g frozen nana, 11 blueberries, 1 strawberry, innards of one durian cream puff, chia seeds, sesame/flax/pumpkinseed powder, homemade almond/sesame/peanut butter, 2 raisins and topped with more sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Needless to say, the treasure in this bowl was the dollop of D24 durian cream strategically hidden in the centre of the bowl.

Let's get the ball rolling towards the goal of 2000 words a day! >>>

0 Strawbnana eggy oatmeal partaaay

Cream of whipped eggy strawbnana-on-a-hot-date Scottish Mayan oatmeal-quinoa-amaranth blend with sunbutter, and extra crunch fom sunflower and pepita seeds. If you understood that, you would understand the partaay that went on during this morn's breakky.

0 The days are numbered

Never had I thought FYP could amount to such a tremendous amount of time, pain, blood and effort. The days are numbered, and I'm not even 10 percent through my poster and thesis :(

Ten days later and my second bowl of creamy, fluffy, eggy (white) oats, again bananafied with broiled and caramelized bananas. The twist this time was sesame/pumpkin/flax powder and passionfruit, and needless to say, the mandatory salty [and now chocolately] sunbutter. Amazeballs texture and taste! My appetite these days have been ravenous and my digestion speed may amount to a high speed train; despite the (expected) high protein content of this breakfast, it barely tided over two hours, but I decided to hold the hunger in anticipation of: Farewell lunch later with the lab members for HM and I at Star Vista!

0 The gift of sleep and rest

Some things are just too coincidental to happen by chance; I believe it was a sign from God. Today's Bible verse is Psalm 127:2

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat--for he grants sleep to those he loves.

In light of my viral feverish sickness, I believe God wants me to take a break and rest; the few days before that I had been returning to the lab for consecutive days on end. Despite my sickness I still went back to the lab the past few days and was really non-productive, like slow jerky movements which is not good because you need steady hands. Maybe because I was defiant, I still have not recovered (fever has subsided but cough is persistent). Another reason is perhaps although I'm taking the cough medicine (pi pa gao), I'm still taking my nuts and nut butters and other cough-inducing foods that I would not give up. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this morning's stick-to-your-ribs bowl of oatmeal: whipped banana blueberry Scottish oats (BRM) cooked in water/goat's milk, protein powder, cinnamon, vanilla extract, topped with crushed nuts, raisins, chocolate AB (Justin's) and tahini. Except that it was interrupted with bouts of coughing fits in between.

I should learn from my cat - snooze all day!

0 All the good eats in a [klutz] day

Breakfast - banana cinnamon oat-muffin-bagel porridge topped with Justin's chocolate almond butter, a chunk of Theo & Philo green mango and sea salt dark chocolate and cocoa mole hot chocolate sauce made with Delamere's skimmed goat's milk, and a scattering of pomegranate seeds. Lunch - Italian salad leaves, roasted vine-ripened cherry tomatoes and uber-ripe mushy avocado slices, purple potatoes & carrots roasted in avocado oil, seasoned with black pepper, cumin, paprika and dill, two whites-one-yolk creamy scrambled eggs, crumbled goats cheese, and half an Ambrosia apple afterwards. Dinner - lup cheong, shitake shroom and scallion soy sauce fried rice, sea bass, slow cooker chicken wolfberry herbal soup with si shen powder, papaya slices.

On the other hand, something was wrong with me today. 1. Spilled gooey egg whites all over the kitchen counter when I cracked the egg (NOT fun cleaning up). 2. Splashed egg mixture onto stove top when stirring the eggs in the non-stick pan. 3. Prepared my secondary antibody mixture wrongly three times before I got it correct. 4. This included fixing the dissected brains in the secondary antibody mix instead of fixing buffer! 5. Almost incubated the in situ brain samples with a secondary antibody mix with mouse Cy3 (red is Tyramide Cy3!) 6. spilled rice all over the floor when scooping rice for dinner.

I believe He was trying to impart a message about having quiet quality time today. The topic in Our Daily Bread today was "Time Out," a reminder to take time out and pray in the midst of hard work. Incidentally Luke 10 (I'm still through Luke 10) also talks about Jesus' teaching on Prayer.

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

0 2012>2013

I ushered in the new year... by not ushering it in; I was in deep slumber, knocked out and unconscious. Initially I even contemplated going for watchnight service. But as I crawled into bed at 9 PM (just after dinner and newspaper reading), I knew I was a goner. What an eventful start to the new year, ha.

2012 was a year of turbulence and self-discovery. It started off with re-adapting to the intensity of NUS's curriculum, after spending a relaxing semester at KCL, which may even be considered a semi-holiday. Of course, there was much nostalgia and pining for the days of yore. Politics of Heritage was also one of the most challenging, stressful but rewarding modules I'd taken so far. Of course, the highlight was the trip to Cambodia which really opened my eyes to the less fortunate and atrocities of mankind; my previous travels were largely limited to the first world countries. Starting lab was another turning point. I'd never imagine it could get so intense, or maybe it was the nature of my project. Even before commencing the project, finding the right professor proved a challenge as a faced many rejections.

Spiritually, I think I can say I've grown a teeny weeny bit. At least I try to devote the best part of the day (mornings) to reading the Bible and learning God's word. I hope to continue this practice in 2013, as well as to do more prayer and read deeper into the Word, and not just read for reading's sake. I would love to join a small group in church, but I'm so afraid of commitments, especially when my schedule is so unpredictable. I know this is an unexcusable excuse, for nothing should override God as priority. But still...

It has also been a lot of fun on the gastronomy side. Although I still like dining out, I now much prefer home-cooked food and experimenting with ingredients. This (oops, I mean last) year many new creations were replicated or developed, from breads from scratch to curries and protein powders. The tradition of oatmeal continues unabated, but with more flourishes and toppings. I also overcame my fear of coconut in 2012; now I enjoy coconut butter in appreciable amounts, use coconut meat without second thought in smoothies and drink coconut juice with gusto. The top few dining highlights in 2012 were (in no particular order): Pollen at GBTB, Waterfall Cafe at Shangri La, Wah Lok at Carlton Hotel, Wild Honey at Scotts and the sweet potato curry from Palm Sugar (?) restaurant in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Actually I loved all the food in Cambodia. Unfortunately, I lost even more weight, and am at my lowest physical point ever, if that is even possible. :(

In 2013, I hope to gain weight (drink supplements consistently and treat it like it's medicine); grow stronger spiritually and have a deeper relationship with God, and hopefully discover God's purpose for my life; learn to live and let loose; learn to treasure friendship, family ties, and not be so insular.

Today the new year gave an impetus to try out a new breakfast: buckwheat groats porridge. Previously I had only tried buckwheat flakes before which has a very earthy taste and definitely would benefit from some (natural) sugars. As a fail-safe strategy, I did a cream-of-banana-cinnamon-vanilla with buckwheat groats, cooked in water/soy in 1:2 ratio. The groats were much less absorbent than oatmeal, and did not get creamy at all. Although according to instructions, the groats would be cooked within 10 minutes, I doubled the cooking time as I did not want to be biting into stones for breakfast. It was topped with the usual tahini, protein nut mix and a special (last) chocolate-covered raisin. The result? Either the groats were tasteless or the banana-cinnamon-vanilla spice completely overwhelmed the expected earthy taste of buckwheat. I may reduce the cooking time to 10-15 minutes for some chew; this time it was quite soft although the groats still retained their individual shape. Overall it was not a bad experience. I am also looking forward to experimenting it in salads and savoury dishes like pesto buckwheat.

For lunch I also prepared an artichoke - a first experience. Another post will be dedicated to this!

Seeing prof for ISM arrangement tmr morning :( My last ISM. A tinge of regret that I procrastinated last sem and shifted it to this sem.

Bible verse to tide through the year (or at least the month or week)- Joshua 1:6-9

6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

0 Doughy, carby, chocolatey

Things have been busy lately, but it's the repetitive-kind-of-busy, which means not much progress made on the lab front. At least I've managed to clear 90% of confocal imaging, which was my target set for 31-12-12. I'm really quite sick of lab now; what's keeping me sane is knowing that it'll all be over in a matter of months time. It's so near yet so far. I know all this will pass in a whiz, yet during this period of time there's still the data to process, thesis to write, poster presentation. These very thoughts scare me.

On the food front, things could not have been better. I take every meal, especially breakfasts and Sunday dinners, as an opportunity to exercise creativity. From Christmassy oatmeal themes featuring s'nog (soy nogs) and homemade cranberry sauce (above) to pools of hot mole chocolate made with good quality dark chocolate like Godiva and Fauchon (below).

Today's breakfast theme - triple chocolate & banana (from bottom up): seared 'nana coins; Rude Health The Oatmeal cooked in water with a nugget of Justin's chocolate almond butter stuck in the core; topped with hot chocolate mole sauce made with soy milk, protein powder, square of Fauchon 65% coffee chocolate noir, chocolate mole powder and extra coffee granules.

This week I also bought Rudi's cinnamon raisin bagels which I had for a quick lunch today before going off to Middle Earth. Mouthfuls of doughy carbs paired with mushy avocado and flakey salmon = pure satisfaction.

Dinner was aloo matar gajar, basic indian curry with potatoes, peas and carrots (translated in that order). I added carrots for extra bulk. Alongside I had a hunk of Curry Times' curry bun, which was filled with even more potatoey goodness, and I must admit, their filling was much tastier than mine. I loved the soft sweet white bread bun. Doughy carbs again!

It's yet another eventful year gone by. I'll be ruminating on the changes and challenges I'll like to take on for 2013 as I reflect on events of 2012. Maybe a dedicated post tomorrow, if I can fit the time in.

0 Coconut - variations on a theme

What do you do with the remaining coconut flesh once the (utmost refreshing) water has been drunk?. Previously I had mostly used it as a garnish for my oatmeals but its getting boring and given the heaps of coconut flesh, it would take an absurdly long time to complete it, or probably it would have turn to rot even before I finish it. Hence I needed a more large-scale manner of using it.

Here comes homemade coconut milk. Its super easy: just blend coconut flesh (chopped into small pieces) and water in a 1:2 ratio. Strain it using a fine-meshed sieve, or better still, milk it using a milk bag. The best thing about homemade is that you get to adjust the amount of water to your desired thickness. The 1:2 ratio gives a nice mouthfeel and rich coconut flavour without being too jer-lat.

Some of the coconut milk was promptly used in today's breakfast. Fresh is best, no? Frozen banana chunks and blueberries steeped in homemade coconut milk and further thickened with protein powder and chia seeds, then ladled over buckwheat flakes, given a good stir, and the mixture allowed to stand as I busied myself with lunch preps. After about 20 minutes, the result was a pudding-like buckwheat porridge with delightful notes of coconut amidst bursting blueberries. Almonds and sunflower seeds provided some extra crunch. Fantabulous.

So I have another 1+ cups of milk left and amok trei, the Cambodian version of otah, is calling. On the school trip to Cambodia earlier this year, I had wanted so badly to try amok but every time I chickened out at the last minute at the thought of coconut milk. I have since gotten over the fear of coconuts (stemming from saturated fat) - yay! - but unfortunately I won't ever get to try authentic amok less I make a return trip to Cambodia. The alternative is to DIY and that's my Sunday plan for tomorrow! Nevertheless, I still remember the best meal I had in Cambodia - a sweet potato curry at Sugar Palm, Siem Reap. The sweet/spicy gravy was intoxicating! Incidentally there happened to be a widespread blackout that night and dining in the dark (candles provided minimal lighting) made the experience even more memorable. Perhaps to recreate this another time!

As for my weight gain program, I've progressed in a few aspects but failed in others (hangs head in shame). I have successfully maintained by carbohydrate intake and even increased it in a few instances, like doing 95g of rice for dinner last night and 33g of Rude Health "The Oatmeal" oats [the mix of steel cut + scottish is amaze balls!]. Typing this out now, I feel rather silly; what difference does 1g make? But I tell you, every time I look at the figure on the scale, there is this inexplicable urge to reduce. It was a battle each time NOT to reduce and so I think maintaining the amount (which I WILL increase soon) is a baby achievement. The major failure so far is that I DID NOT take my Ensures. I still feel full at 0830 and when the bloatedness tones down by 9+, I fear that when lunch time rolls around, I'd have no appetite. It helps if I'm at home as I can then split the Ensure into morning and afternoon portions, but as I was in school yesterday and today, I couldn't do that and ended up skipping the entire thing.

The question now is that what will my action plan be when I face this situation again? Okay here's what I'll do: I'll bring the half portion of Ensure to school (if I'm going to school) and PROMISE that I'll drink it. No excuses.

I haven't forgotten my recipe for baba ghanoush. I think it tastes even better after a few days in the frige when the flavours meld together. Soon to come!

0 Beet this [smoothie]!

All it takes it just a little effort [and a whole lot of noise tolerance] to whip up this chokeful-of-antioxidants smoothie. This consisted of a chunk of roasted beetroot, slices of frozen bananas, Lifetime Basic's protein powder, scoop of chocolate mole powder, chia seeds, and a dollop of Rachel's ginger greek yogurt. The result was a thick, satisfying smoothie. The earthy notes of the beets were noticeable but nicely balanced by the sweetness of the 'nanas. Chili chocolate gave it a nice warm kick to the ice cold smoothie. I like contrasts, and this smoothie embodied multifarious textures and tastes.

I'm the most effective procrastinator; should really get back to studying. Feel an impending doom for tomorrow's paper. Yay for being the last exam but nay for being rather unprepared. Whatever, just wanna get over and done with possibly the second last round of exams in my entire life.

0 Dysregulation

I think am self-destructive, or at least immune to stress, or maybe, have a damaged amygdala. Knowing very well that I have an assignment which deadline is imminent, exam in two freakin' weeks time, and untouched revision, yet I still am surfing the web like it's the holidays. Why can't I regulate my behaviour properly???

But I haven't been that relaxed and happy in such a long while. After church (7.30 AM service - a convert to early bird :)) I headed to Cold Storage at Takashimaya for grocery shopping. Unfortunately at just past 9 the shops were still closed. What [bad] luck. As such, it called for a detour to United Square's branch instead. But it proved a blessing in disguise because I scored a few discounted items and exotic buys. Like:

• Kashi cinnamon harvest (blame it on Amanda's influence! In fact I still have an unopened box of Dr. Oz's buckwheat flakes)
• 71% Ecuador dark chocolate block (Montezuma)
• Swiss farmer rolls (Swiss Bake) - 1/2 price!
• Pacific Almond milk (unsweetened) [couldn't bring myself to splurge on Silk's almond milk]
• Flavour Fall pluots - 1/2 price and in rather good condition still!
• Wild sockeye salmon [omegas yum!]

I think what put in a such a good mood was really today's breakfast: (last of) rolled oats (Binda Valley) cooked in unsweetened soy milk (Natura), sweetened with 1/2 mashed nana and raisins, upped with protein powder (Lifetime Life's Basic protein - the most neutral flavour thus far, compared to Sunwarrior and Vega Health Optimizer) and protein blend (real good food), spiced with cinnamon and chocolate chili and dressed with chocolate hazelnut butter (Justin's). A double whammy of chocolate would be bound to deliver a double whammy of endorphins and it sure did!

And then it was home sweet home. Managed to be a good girl and squeeze in a bit of work before spending ~2 hours (!) cooking and eating lunch, which was a ooey gooey curry & cumin bean stew (BRM whole grains and beans soup mix) with torned tortilla pieces, avocado, sardines (Boiromar), curly lettuce, cucumber, tomato, honey goat's cheese (Delamere) and beetroot relish.

A Jaffa sweetie (pomelo x grapefuruit) to end the meal. Guess what was found on Pubmed:

All applied methods showed that sweeties had higher antioxidative activity than grapefruit. Experiments on laboratory animals show that diets supplemented with sweeties, and to a lesser extent with grapefruit, increased the plasma antioxidative potential and improved the lipid metabolism, especially in the rats fed with added cholesterol.

Apparently a sweetie has more antioxidants than a grapefruit!

Lately people's been asking what I plan to do after I graduate. My PI is persuading me to consider PhD at TLL. For once, I really don't know what should my next step in life; so far it's been pretty straightforward: pri > sec > jc > uni, with the choice of school's quite [re-determined too. Pray for God's guidance in this.

0 Tofuel: tofu fuel

I was so bowled over by the divine experience of the tofu pudding that I just had to make it again. This time, the base was the same (Morinu firm tofu, 3/4 frozen nana, chocolate mole powder), but I changed the source of protein. Specifically, this morning's one features Vega Complete Health Optimizer (natural flavor) which explains the bile-like, greenish appearance of the pudding. But looks are deceiving; this was one delicious, thick creamy pudding, with a block of chili cherry Chocolove to boot!

The Vega protein powder is derived from a mix of plant sources. Hemp is at the top of the ingredient list, which presumably contributed to the grassy smell/taste of the powder. There's also pea and brown rice protein in there. Compared to Sunwarrior, Vega has a more assertive presence. I quite like the grassy taste of it (something like Amazing Grass powder but less vile) but if you don't, Vega's definitely not for you. Both Vega and Sunwarrior have similar dissolvability. No problems with texture for both brands. The serving scoop provided was humongous (like the size of 3 tbsp?). The recommended serving is 2 (humongous) scoops, which gives 220 kcal and 26g protein, but I only used 1/2 scoop (=1/4 serving) for the tofu pudding, which was satisfying enough.

Apart from the tofu pudding, breakfast featured a tofu (beancurd) tart from Le Cafe. Talk about tofu fuel! It's similar to egg tart in appearance, but much lighter on the tastebuds. Imagine firm tau huay encased in a buttery digestive biscuit-like crust. It's not sweet, and that's what I like about it. If you noticed, there's an absence of oatmeal in today's breakfast. I unwillingly admit that over the years of nearly-daily oatmeal breakfasts, perhaps my tastebuds have become a little bored and jaded. Maybe it's not so much that I love oatmeal but the comfort the "safety" brings. Time to listen to inner cravings and honour the mind & body.

Lunch was also fueled by tofu - Amy's Indian wrap featuring spinach and tofu. I think "Indian" is a misnomer because its non-spicy at all and I wouldn't associate the taste of the wrap with Indian cuisine (e.g. no curry flavour). Nevertheless, the spinach was creamy and the blocks of tofu provided textural variations. Frozen fast food can be so good.

Amid all these, I was rushing to complete my 3-pg essay on pain/hyperalgesia, which I had spent is disproportionate amount of time for 15 marks. That's always the case isn't it? Don't know why I have to be so perfectionist and precise with my wordings. I left house in a hurry at 4.05pm, hoping to make it to school by 5pm (deadline). It must be through the hand of God that Mum's car miraculously appeared as I was running to the MRT station. She drove me to school and back!

The past few days have been relatively relaxed, mostly just completing confocal for lab because I've finished the dissection (except for lethal NICD crosses). Also lectures were canceled either due to tutorial/SDL or for no reason at all. In fact come to think of it, I only attended a grand total of one tutorial this week i.e. 2 h of school for the entire week! It's back to the grind starting next week, with CA on 8 sep, sadly.

Next week will be when I will turn 22 (sobs). I will be fulfilling my dreams of going to Gardens by the Bay and dining at Pollen!

0 Chocolate mole banana tofu soft serve

After months (years) from procrastination, I finally took out the food processor from the depths of the kitchen cupboards. Dusting off the layer of fine dust that had settled from under-usage, I set to create the much anticipated banana tofu soft serve.

This morning was a good lesson why you should never procrastinate - you'd end up missing up lots of good things in life!

I can't believe how such a simple no fuss recipe (if you can even call it a recipe) can yield such amazing wondrous results in less than a minute (or five if you consider washing up.) Thick, utterly smooth and completely flexible, tofu soft serves are definitely going to make more appearances (and so put my food processor to good use too!)

Chocolate mole banana tofu soft serve (serves one)

Ingredients

• 1/2 frozen banana, sliced
• 1/4 package firm tofu (I used Moringaga; silken would work too but probably would yield a slightly less thick texture)
• 1 tbsp chocolate mole powder (or 1 tbsp cocoa powder)
• 1 scoop protein powder (optional; I used Sunwarrior natural)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor, blend.
2. Serve immediately or chill/freeze if you want a more ice-cream-style dessert

Recently, I'e been enjoying lots of fancy nut butter products too, including PB&Co cinnamon raisin swirl (so-so; good for a bit of indulgence); Woodstock farm creamy almond butter; Artisana cacao bliss (will please coconut fans, 2nd order from iHerb!); and Arrowhead Mills crunchy peanut butter (PB will always be my first love). From iHerb I also got Vega complete optimizer (natural) which was 60% off! So happy with the great deal! Shipment was faster this time round, taking about 2.5 weeks. I also got Chocolove chocolate with cherries and chilis. Chocolate mole is my new favorite flavour. The Mexicans have nailed it right!

Finally, last weekend I bought Nancy's kefir (beverage made from fermenting kefir grains in milk) and Kashi's seven whole grain puffs. Kefir's not cheap but the tangyness and benefits of it is far superior than any yogurt drink; can't be beat. Off to complete my to-be-due-soon essay!

3 Nature & nuture

What makes Sunday so special? It's always associated with a laid-back hippie vibe, coffee-on-the-patio and hearty brunches. Today encapsulated exactly the prototypical Sunday - good food, good mood and good company.

First off: breakfast in a mug! Or, more using the more popular term, smoothie-in-a-bowl (SIAB).

And it's not just any smoothie; it's a top-grade Mao Shan Wang oat/amaranth protein smoothie, with some strwabs and banana thrown in for goodm measure. Power-packed with nutrients!

Recipe

Flesh of 1 durian seed, best use mao shan wang

1/4 frozen banana, sliced

1 gigantic U.S. strawberry

1/4 cup Silk (vanilla) soymilk

1 ice cube

1/4 cup basic amaranth muesli, soaked overnight with 1/4 cup Silk (vanilla) soymilk and 1 scoop O+ protein powder

Toppings: 1 spoonful almond butter!

Directions
Mix & get those blender blades chuggin' and top with almond butter.

Outcome
Thick, creamy & hearty shake that could pass off as a pudding, strongly flavored with the potency of durian, with undertones of strawberry essence. The banana was barely detectable, although it probably served to give that creamy consistency.

It was back to church after a three week hiatus and today's topic was on repentance, befitting for the period of Lent. Using Mark 1:15 as the grounding scripture - "The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" - the pastor guided us on the hows of repentance: change of mind, change of heart, and change of life. It almost sounds like making new year's resolutions. After all, both boil down to the same thing - pausing to reflect, recognize mistakes, and take corrective changes. Things that are being increasingly rare in the fast-paced world.

Anyhow, since Daddy has gone back to Malaysia, Mum & I took the opportunity to explore far-flung nook-and-crannies of Singapore. We went to Marmalade Pantry at the Stables (Fairways Drive).

Despite - or maybe because of - being tucked amidst the lush greenery of Bukit Timah, Marmalade Pantry was as crowded (with tai-tais/expats) as it could get. Service fell a little short and I suspected they served our food to the wrong table, causing us to wait impatiently. Eventually, my Crabmeat Linguine ($24) and mum's Seared Scallops Linguine arrived.

Calling it crabmeat sauce would really be a misnomer; it was more like a crab ragout, thick and chunky from the generous portion of shredded crab meat and coated with a spicy tomato sauce. The linguine could do with a minute more of cooking; it was slightly too al dente. It was tasty, no doubt, and the pine nuts gave a nice touch to the flavours, which would otherwise border on being too one-dimensional. I suffered from the bitter pine nut aftertaste though.

After lunch, we wanted to explore the stables but it was restricted to club members only. However, we were lucky and got to spot one which was out exercising. It had an interesting spotty color and you can actually see its number branded on it's coat.

Having had a heavy lunch, dinner was a light affair, but no less delicious. A salad of massaged kale with grilled chicken!

The baby kale leaves were purchased from Cold Storage at a rather offensive price. But since kale is so difficult to find in Sg, I decided to buy it. Anyway, I'm not playing with words when I say massaged kale. Kale is tougher vegetable than the normal spinach or rocket, and so by massaging it with acid (lemon/lime juice and/or cider vinegar) and oil, it breaks down the leaves a little and also imparts flavor.

Basic massaged kale salad and possible mix-ins (for one)

Handful of baby kale leaves, chopped
Dressing

1 tsp lime juice (or lemon)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp raspberry balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp walnut oil

1/8 avocado, chopped
Mix-ins

Cherry tomatoes, chopped

More chopped avocado

Grilled chicken & capsicum satays

Sunflower seeds, roasted

Directions
Using cleaned hands, mix the leaves with the dressing ingredients for about 1-2 minutes until the leaves turn a brighter green and well-coated with a sheen of avocado and oil. Add the mix-ins and let stand for a little.

Outcome
The action of massaging the kale was quite therapeutic and during the process, you can actually feel the leaves becoming softer. The avocado, which will get slightly mashed from the massaging, will coat the leaves nicely. I liked how the raspberry vinaigrette balanced the zing of lime and vinegar with a touch of sweetness. And of course, the nuttiness of the toasted sunflower seeds and walnut oil! The chicken & capsicum satay was bought by Mum from Jasons supermarket and was pre-marinated. All I had to do was to grill it. I added that in for some protein. It produced a simple yet tasty salad!

Dinner is served, with a frozen & toasted ciabatta slice (Cedele) topped with smooshed avocado.

If only every day could be a Sunday... - but that would make Sundays lose it special meaning, wouldn't it?

0 The rage

Study trip to ACM and farewell to Ms Soh yesterday summed up a busy day. Less than expected number of people turned up for the farewell; the 07/08 batch had 5 people only. Just typing '07/08' makes me feel so old. Luckily it didn't last that long or I would have felt rather awkward. Just dinner + some speeches + photos + mainly catching up with QY

What I'm lovin lately: baked steel cutters. Advantage of this is that I can let the oven do the cookin' which saves the stirring time. It comes out chewier than stove up, another plus! Here's a banana version I made a couple of days ago. Drizzled geneously with Maranatha's AB.

2 Shaken but sober

It's about time I do a proper post; I haven't written a decent one since I arrived two-and-a-half weeks ago.

Today was a harrowing day. It started off on the wrong foot: while opening the shelf to get breakfast, I knocked a container containing muesli over, and its contents came spilling out as it hit the table. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just the table, but my camera case was just lying at the damned spot and thus was covered in muesli chalk. More cleaning up, I hate. I soothed my annoyed soul with my daily fix of creamy banana oats & peanut butter, then went for the departmental welcome at Strand, then to the welcome fair at Barbican Centre. I had no intention of signing up for any society whatsoever, but went there just to accompany Charlene, and hopefully get freebies (I ended up with a useful cloth tote bag, some post-its and a kilo worth of flyers).

All was well until the time I decided to leave the fair. I was directed to the exit ("go up turn left," instructed the security guard). I went up onto the second floor but only God knows why I did not turn left, but right instead. I followed a fire exit sign (the universal green man running) which led to a door. Pushing it opened, I was greeted by a vast, empty, dark stairwell. Another door stood at the opposite end. The dingy atmosphere and absence of people should have set alarm bells ringing in my head. Perhaps I was deaf; as I walked towards the second set of doors which I presumed was the real exit, the first set of doors slammed behind me. Horror of horrors: the second set of doors was firmly locked and when I returned to the first set  of doors, a sign above it read, "exit only, no re-entry" - or something along that line. I was locked up in the stairwell! I panicked a little, but not as much as the situation should have called for. I started rattling and banging the door as hard as I could, praying to God that someone would hear the banging above the din of music, chatter and white noise of the welcome fair. About 3 minutes passed. I continued banging on the doors. Now, I really begin to panic and thoughts of having to spend the night in the basement, and even dying in this basement with no one to find my body (how very dramatic) came to my mind. Just at this instant, a KCLSU student voice drifted over from the other side of the door, "hello, is someone there?" I nearly cried out in relief. Soon enough, the doors opened and she asked me how I got in there because apparently the alarm should set off when the fire escape doors were opened. I was pretty traumatized that I didn't bother explaining my situation and didn't thank her as much as I should; I just wanted to escape from that area into open air.

I had my packed lunch of tuna & spinach sandwich on a bench at Beech Gardens, just outside the Barbican Centre. I wolfed it down, unlike my usual "slow food" style, trauma still reigning over me. After I finally calmed down, I set off on my ?-mile-long walk to Dover Apts, with a planned stop at Borough Market along the way. (To save on transport, I have been walking to all walkable destinations, which is nearly everywhere.)

I shall cut the long story short and move on to the second traumatic incident of the day. I had just bought a twin pack of rainbow trout from Marks&Spencer and as I went into Tk Maxx just opposite the road, the store alarm started beeping. This shouldn't be much of a cause for alarm under usual circumstances. But this was not any normal circumstance; I almost stole a grapefruit from M&S for 65 pence but returned it to the shelve at the last minute. It was like God's warning to me, God's eyes on me. The security guard came over and opened up my shopping bag. I told him I just walked into the store, and came over from M&S. He took out my fish and removed the scanner bar tag. That was all. I was so shaken I couldn't shop properly (I was looking out for a sling bag).

Finally, I went back to Dover, feet sore from the walking. Pasta was on my mind for dinner. Since I had four rainbow trout fillets which would give 8 servings and they had the expiry date of 27 Sep, I thought I had better start using them now. As much as love fish, I haven't much experience cooking them. I removed one large fillet with the intention of slicing them into two, so that I could just cook one-half and save the other half for tomorrow. However, I then realized the trout still had the skin on on the other side and tried as I could, it was impossible to slice vertically through the skin, at least not with my small paring knife. I gave up and decided to steam the whole darn trout, despite the trout being larger than my mini travel-sized steamer (I compensated by curling the trout at the tail-end). The next problem was I didn't know how long to steam it for. 15 minutes? 20 minutes? I knew the end-point was when the fish starts to flake. Still, as a first-timer, it was hard to tell. The last problem was that even after 15 minutes of so, the trout flesh remained rather pink. I thought the flesh was supposed to turn white? Ok, maybe it's like salmon, with pink flesh, I reasoned. I let it steam a while more - better to have rubbery over-cooked fish then suffer from food poisoning from raw fish) - then served it with wholewheat Tesco fusili. I didn't do any seasonings, just pure steamed fish, and it was certainly one of the best meals so far. Sure, it was a little firm for my liking, but I daresay my rainbow trout turned out pretty well :).  The day ended off well after all the incidents.