Negative and Positive

There are days when one is down and there are days when one feel up. When one is down, one need friends and family to hold you up. Similarly when we are up, we should send out positive vibes to help others who are down.

If we only emits the negative, very soon, we will neutralise a lot of positive. It is true that we are often brought down by the negative like anger, frustration and just being a pessimist.We owe it to ourselves to make a conscious effort to push it off. I read about it a long time ago. I tried practising it. It is not easy to replace negative with positive but It can be done. And when we did it, it is like winning a battle against them.

I also find that the negative will come back again and again AND again and again we need to replace it until it gives up. The important thing is that I do it for myself and no other reason.I feel good as I conquer it. I feel good that I am in control and not controlled by others around me

I next believe I need to practise letting things be.I want to but sometimes wonder if it is right to do so. Do I let go and let things take it's own course? At which point is it being irresponsible towards those we love.It is easier to take this course but is life meant to be like this.To me it is like walking on the road without looking left or right and letting fate take over. And that doesn't sound too right.

Baked chicken mimi styled

Last friday, daddy wasn't home and MIL went off to dinner.
Tried out self coined baked chicken with the help of Au.

Baked Chicken, mimi style for 4 pax

4 chicken full thigh
4 chicken wings
seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, wine, dash of vineger for half a day

carrots
cauliflower
bombay onions,
garlic
parboiled potatoes
all cut into bite size
seasoned with salt pepper. chicken stock,oyster sauce

using olive oil, cook onions and garlic, add in the rest of vegetable
pour into buttered metal dish (to get faster baking : ) )
top with chicken dot with butter

Baking timetable, 180 degree celcius bast with sauce 20 minutes, 40 minutes.
with butter at 50 and 60 minutes

comment vege just right texture. taste good

New Tries on Orange and Chiocolate cakes

Last weekend converted an idea to a recipe. Tried out the orange cake adding kei chee soaked with brandy. Wanted to add longan as well but ran out of stock so raisins was added.

At first taste, there wasn't much to say but later on, after savoury it myself slowly, kinda like the change. Sofe with a liitle bit on the seeds. Should get the good sweet variety and maybe use chinese wine?MIL like it too!!!

The next variation tried was to add the belgium button chocolate into my favourite chocolate cake recipe Converted to cupcakes, one button per cup. Chocolate was gooey but I think i will add one and a half the next round and break it up. It will stay gooey better.

Orange Cake
150 g butter
100 g sugar (I normally use 80 only)
Rind of 1 orange
1 1/2 tbsp orange juice (lemon substitute is just as nice)
3 eggs
125 g sr flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 tsp milk powder

#for every 100 g sr flour, I use 1 tsp baking powder and enough plain flour to make up 100 g.Cheaper!

Zero

Do you somedays have this feeling of just no feelings. not wanting to do anything, just sit back and stare?
If mood is signified by numbers, today is zero. No thoughts, no feel just waiting for nightfall to have a good night sleep.
What a blog!!!!!!

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I was looking into R 's profil when I open up the link to'Thank you Jesus '. It was a lovely hokkien song about His love. Without fail, times like this stirs up my emotions. His love, the purest form.

Gifts from Students

Yesterday my tuition kid gave me the second bottle of pickled mangoes ( results from the mother's labour). Before that was mooncakes.Thinking back on gifts from my students, apart from the usual things on teachers day, gifts includes ginseng honey, Brands essencs of chicken, cream of soup, mooncakes, imported cookies and boxes of mandarin oranges. I am always very touched by it because it never occur to me that I would receive gifts like that.And the fact that some of the gifts were given by some who are not earning. I always try to reciprocate by giving them back an ang pow but that is not always possible. To all of them, I would like to say that it is not the price but the thought that touches me and may all of you be blessed for such thoughts.

Topics for Discussion

I always wonder why some of the questions discussed in public has such shallow mentality. I don't know if it comes with age or has society gone backwards. The questions asked and discussed upon just get me agitated Examples

Topic: should people change after they get married?
I thought they were referring to character change or habits change. which I believe a leopard never change its spots.Apparently the person involved was talking about whether a married man should spend more time at home after becoming a father relative to bachelorhood time. The question is not'changing' We are talking about being responsible towards a home, wife and kids which shoukld be there if the maturity is attained by the time he marries.

Topic : should caning be allowed in school?
The right questions should be: when, how and why should caning be carried out in school?What is it's objective and at which point is the objective attained?Does the school authorities and parents including the students know the reasons for the caning, do they accept the caning? Are the children edicated in the process?

I can think of afew others but I better refrain from further comments.Before I get myself into trouble.

Ideas

Some ideas I picked up while reading in the library this week.

1. pastry for pies- add coriander seeds, cheese, lemon juice, sesame seeds at the right occasion

2. Butter cake with lomgan and kee chi soaked in milk or brandy. Should be interesting.

3. Butter cake with raisins and chopped pineapple. Should be better tastewise compared to pineapple upside down cake though not as nice to see.

4. Making crumble . - add oats (healthy but not so nice) or chocolate chips (Au dream but need to think about it first), dessicated coconut (not a favourite of family though)

5. Instead of apple, to try topical fruits like 1 papaya, 225 g pineapple, 1 1/2 tsp ginger, 100 g butter and 100 g sugar cook 10 mins till soft.

6. banana crumble with 4 just ripe banana sliced with 2 tsp of rum and lime. Daddy said he tried that at some hotel but didn't like the crumble (too floury. ). Maybe with my crumble it should be better.

Well. ideas. ideas. One of thease days I will transfer you all under 'recipes'

Last Week

Had been a busy week with no particular big projects. Au finished her EOS on Tuesday and has been spending time with her since. Went for movie in mid valley.... G-force. -light and entertaining: my way to relax. Next had lunch with sister and got her linked up at facebook. And that got the nieces' attention. 2 senior citizens in the world of the young people! I also took the opportunity to learn a few things.

Next spend a day out with Au shopping and running errands.

Had another good link to an ex student from way back 1980.A group Isaw from form 4 to form 6 not forgetting attending my wedding.Wow and wow, they have changed so much I could hardly recognise half of them.

One last thing. My oven of 20 years finally decided to retire.Need to look for one before any new baking could be done. Sorry kids and hubby. ; )