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 A much welcomed break

I had a mini respite from the 12-hour intensive lab work over the course of last week. We marked granny's 83rd birthday at Ming Kee seafood restaurant, which meant I had an excuse to complete my work earlier. The dishes were lip-smackingly good from start to finish: signature homemade beancurd with shitake and broccoli, bamboo (razor) clams, triple cooked crab bee hoon, soft and silky smooth steamed tiger grouper, sea cucumber with more shitake and broccoli, and chinese spinach in superior stock. Everything was flavorful without being too rich, salty, or having that MSG taste that so often plagues cze char eateries. The crab bee hoon was Shiok with a capital 'S' - thin rice vermicelli coated in its sweet & robust crab stock, with more crabtastic goodness from the chunks of fresh Sri Lanka crab pincers. The fish was also very good (flavoured in the classic soy sauce/spring onion way), albeit a tad pricey. I loved the plump shitake shrooms featured in the bean curd and sea cucumber dishes too. Unfortunately, I didn't take to the bamboo clams, and the broccoli and sea cucumber could have been more well-cooked as they were slightly hard to the bite.

Before that I had a jaunt at Marketplace@Tanglin Mall, where I stocked up my supplies. Exciting new buys included Mullers coconut greek yogurt, cappuccino Larabar and a tabbouleh salad mix (Fantasic Foods). Also bought Israeli couscous, Pacific soy and cage-free eggs (to test if there's a difference between that and normal eggs).

For lunch today I decided to have the egg yolk, instead of throwing it away. Lunch was tri-colored fusili pasta with purple sweet potatoes and the last of my soaked and roasted crunchy buckwheat groats, salmon, aforementioned egg done sunny-sideup, cucumber and lettuce, and pesto and goat's cheese. I thought the egg yolk would make a "sauce" for the pasta since I don't fancy Pappy's pasta sauce, which is the bottled creamed version. Although I couldn't really make out the taste of the yolk, I did have the thrill of poking into the yolk and seeing the golden liquid ooze out. I was eating in the dark (in confocal room), and sometimes I like it that way.

0 On a yogurt roll

Unexpected surprises evoke the most pleasure. Pulling off the cover of Rachel's ginger greek yogurt revealed a thick, creamy, off-yellow pudding-like yogurt that tastes as sublime as it looked, or even better yet. This yogurt is laced with bits of crystallized ginger which makes for an interesting warm flavour and texture. The ginger wasn't as kick-ass as I would have liked, but the highlight, as I stress again, is the gloriously thick and creamy mouthfeel that the non-fat Fage 0% cannot give. The power of fat, cream and sugar is manifest. I felt so indulgent, digging into the pot. But it sure did make for a good post-lunch dessert, and because it was so rich, I was easily satisfied with two (heaping) tablespoons.

Yogurt was featured in this morn's breakfast too as part of a yogurt mess: Last of Fage 0% + 1/3 crumbled [commercial] muffin + buckwheat flakes + coconut shreds + R2E2 (or KP) mango - the best, non-fibrous, super creamy and smooth mango I'd had ever!! It's a mango from Australia.

For mum's birthday yesterday, I did a handmade card and whipped up some orange zesty french toast using the slightly stale rye sourdough baguette she bought from Bread Society. The french toast wasn't sweet at all (likely attributed to the small amount - 1 tsp - of brown sugar in the egg mix), but with the zesty orange flavour, seared caramelized bananas and yellow nectarine slices, there wasn't and shouldn't be much need for sugar in the first place. My only regret was that I wolfed down my share too fast that I did not have time to analyze the areas for improvements. And also I got serious bloatedness after that and its effects is still manifest till today (slightly).

The family's going out for a Chinese lunch/dinner tomorrow as a continuation of the big 55 celebration. Venue's not confirmed, but I'm game for anything :)

After my final paper next Wednesday, I cannot wait to (i)watch Life of Pi; (ii)watch Rise of the Guardians; (iii)Christmas-related activities; (iv)bake/cook; (v)FYP-related stuff. Yesterday the PI reminded me of the PhD application deadline, indirectly insinuating that I should apply. I guess he's hoping I stay on to continue on the research; I, on the other hand, am not too keen of another four years of studying. At least I should be glad I have an offer to stay on.

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!

4 Sign me up

I persuaded Mum to sign up for Biblethon, a church effort to handwrite the whole Bible. Yep you heard that right. It's a three-prong exercise to celebrate our church (Wesley) upgrading project, to emphasise spiritual building (and not just building of physical structures), and to reinforce this year's theme of 'Speak Good Bible'. We each get 15 minutes to write a number of verses, and the final handwritten Bible will be displayed at the church's archives. I think it's quite an innovative idea to bring people together. I also signed up for a talk called 'How Do I Know God's Will?' Everybody faces some identity crisis now and then, and since it's only two hours and at a reasonable price, I thought it wouldn't hurt to go. It will be my first time attending a church talk though.

Did some atas grocery shopping which put me in a very good mood, albeit significantly poorer. ThreeSixty at Ion has spruced up its line of products; it's range is now even more exclusive - and expensive. Extra virgin olive oils, authentic balsamic vinegars (from the region of Modena or Emilia Reggio and aged at least 12 years), Japanese mini-watermelons at 38 bucks and a mango at freakish 128 bucks! The cheapo me bought varlhona guanaja (70% dark chocolate) just because it was going 2 for the price of 1. I also bought a jar of dried porcini mushrooms which would come in very handy for risottos and soups, and a mini jar of fig jam by Hediard. At realfoodgrocer (Killiney Road), I finally found coconut cashew cream. Coconut oil is now sold at many places including specialty supermarts, but coconut butter is still a tough find. I have yet to find pure coconut butter (without mixing with other nuts).

And last but not least, a very stimulating breakfast that I had this morning, both in terms of color and taste. All my favorite ingredients in a bowl!

Should I or should I not volunteer for SIWW?

0 Savoury oatmeal for the sick soul

Savoury oatmeal that looks like vomitus.

Down with the flu. I was thinking of what to make for dinner tonight and then I suddenly thought of savoury oatmeal, something I never tried before but heard lots about. My version was steel cutters (+ 1 tbsp red lentils) cooked in water with sauteed savoy and yellow bell peppers, with a piece of cod for protein. I melted a huge dollop of mushroom pate into it for seasoning.

I suppose my blocked nose suppressed my sense of taste cause I couldn't really taste (or smell) much. I could only feel the texture - creamy and chewy. A pity really. It kind of reminded me of singapore fish rice porridge, but a more hearty version (oats are heartier than rice), which sent me a shudder of yearning for yong tau foo and slurpy kway teow noodles. Speaking about tofu, I think I found a substitute for tau huay - Sojade's soy yogurt. Bought it from Whole Foods a couple of days back and it's like soy jelly.

I still like my sweet peanut buttery oatmeals better.

I'm watching a tennis match at the O2 tmr! I would have been more excited if I was not unwell.