chronicles of young

Okay, this dosen't seem like a good note to start off a post on my birthday, but well.. It was an awkward week. Anyway, not saying much to prevent y'all from rolling your eyes and dismissing me as yet another angsty teen. (I am though) I did what Mommas in olden days do: pounded the Oreos myself Anyway, I made Oreo cheesecake that was totally polished off! The feeling of accomplishment when your cake is well-enjoyed. Love my lil' oven One thing, I didn't get good photos of the cheesecake.. Cos my hands were oily from eating party food. How you must be thinking, are you gonna show the cheesecake or not? (I'm irritating like that at times) The reason why I seriously need some photography tips.  When I grow up and have a place of my own, I'll make sure the kitchen is the center of my home. It will be stocked with baking stuff I need and a worktable to get my hands dirty on. Bliss.

Today I saw someone that reminded me of myself. So self-conscious was she that I really wanted to say "Its okay, don't worry." Somehow beneath my egocentric thoughts of how I have above average looks and a reasonably good-to-be-with character, sometimes (more often now) I find myself thinking how terribly boring I am with nothing interesting to talk about, or how I can't seem to express what I want to say exactly the way I want it or how I feel like I'm just some quiet girl in the class, not to be missed if one day she was absent. And then it got me thinking about how the world perceives beauty. Why in the world did we torture ourselves by setting goals for one to become aesthetically pleasing? And along with it stereotypes? Perhaps the emotions from what I saw are a stereotype themselves, because didn't I somehow associate her with low self-esteem? I guess what I want to say is that, how ever hard it may seem (and how ever hackneyed it may sound), eaach...

I was feeling crappy the other day.. So I decided that the time was right. In this time capsule that 14 year old Kang Li wrote to herself, she spoke of dreams and love and believing in yourself. And man, it really did make me smile and believe "I CAN!" again. This one really made me laugh out loud. I think I was (still am, I guess) a dreamy girl. More time capsules:  This has a specified time: when I'm 20  P.S. Guess I won't be able to bake so often now, but drop by if you don't mind reading somewhat crappy talk. Who knows, there may be occasional bits of advice :) Cinnamon squares Just baked them today, but won't be sharing it here cos there's something lacking about the texture, though I like the cinnamon taste.

Okay.. its been ages since I last made an appearance here. And um.. I'm at a loss of what to talk about. I feel... old. Being 17 feels like I have been given such a large responsibility and things I need to do. I often wonder what will I be like when I grow up. I think I will most probably be plump because of my love for eating. No regrets! But will I be making a difference? I really want to make a difference, because I guess that's what life is about right? " Its something unpredictable but in the end its right, I hope you had the time of your life!" ~~ Greenday, Time of Your life

No. Please don't tell me you think of Rebecca Black's Friday when you see this. Cos today's a special Friday. Good Friday . A warm breakfast conveys love. These cinnamon-date scones are perfect with tea to start your day, warm your heart. Cinnamon-date scones  Makes 8 2 cups self-raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 60g unsalted butter 1/2 cup dried dates, finely chopped 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/4 cup + around 3 tablespoons milk, plus extra for glazing 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon pinch of nutmeg Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. In a large mixing bowl, stir flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder together. Lightly rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and vanilla essence, then 1/4 cup of milk. Gradually add more milk to form a dough. Fold in the dates. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly (no more than 10 times), then use your p...

You know 'If' by Rudyard Kipling? Well, here are some of my 'Ifs'. If I can eat cookie dough and baked goods everyday And not have my waistline expand in any way If I can make all those wacky recipes of mine- In reality, not in my mind If Chocolate Pound Cake succeeds with it being a social enterprise too With me at the counter Talking to my customers Man, that would be a good life! What about yours?

Hey. Its a clinche, but time flies huh. School, serious stuff, teen angst... ... just couldn't find the mood to blog. Or take pictures of what I made. I have my own brownie recipe now!! No pictures though :( But take a look at these: Onde- onde, pronounced onday onday. Its a type of kuih, which is Asian pastries/cakes/snacks mainly steamed. This has palm sugar, gula melaka in it. The green colour comes from the pandan (screwpine leaves)  juice incorporated into the dough. Yum. And this is sorta a failed thing.. There are sliced apples below with cinnamon oatmeal cookie dough on top. Though it tasted superb, it was a pain to take it out. But still, yum. That's all for today.. no more remotely interesting photos to show off. :) a random photo of Marina Boardwalk in dear lil' Singapore.