Black Cake

A doctor friend shared with me the recipe for this cake. She told me: "If you put in good ingredients, the cake is bound to come out nice. So dont stinge."

A few weeks ago when S, N and hubby were out at a chess tournament, Little D and I got down to baking this cake. I measured the ingredients while little D helped to stir, and taste the batter (not that tasting it was necessary). As this is a very simple recipe it took us less than half the usual time we normally took to bake a cake.

When the cakes came out of the oven, Little D was still unhappy. She wanted to do more. She had not stirred enough. So I decided to make some butter cream to top the cake, just so she could do her part by adding sprinkles on top.

This was the result:





When the rest came home, they wolfed down the cakes. S and N were disappointed that I did not wait for them to bake the cakes, they love baking too. Since it is such an easy recipe, we will be doing it more frequently. :)

So if you want to try it out, here's the recipe:

Black cake

8 oz self raising flour
2 oz cocoa powder (use Valhorna)
10 oz caster sugar

2 eggs (beaten)
5 oz melted butter
1 cup milk

Melt the butter and add in the sugar. Next stir in the flour, beaten eggs, and milk. Stir till smooth. Pour into a greased and floured ring pan and bake for 45 to 50 mins in a 180C/350F oven.
(Instead of doing it in a ring pan, I halfed the baking time and made cupcakes).

Am I addicted to Blogging?

Saw it on a few blogs, so decided to find out how addicted to blogging I really am. Took the quiz and this is what they say:

60%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Miami Singles from Mingle²

What a relief! 60% only. I thought I was worse. Reading the questions in the quiz I did realise that I wasn't that addicted. I still have my priorities correct. I did not neglect my family and kids just to blog. Blogging is not on my mind ALL of the time. Phew, relief.

But then again, I dont like the idea of being addicted to anything. So, I will try to cure myself of this addiction. Less posts, less comments, less visiting. Let's see if I succeed.

TTFN!

The results are out!!

And now, the time is near
I face the final curtain....


Yes, the cholesterol test results are out.


The good news is:

Total cholesterol is down - Yippee!
(Thanks, Quaker!)

BUT (why, must there always be a BUT!)
But I am not out of the woods yet.
Bad cholesterol (LDL) is still on the high side. - Sigh.

Considering I ditched the doctors medication,
I think I have done quite well.

So - no foie gras and crab celebration,
Nor laksa and char kway teow.
Not for now, at least.


I must still continue my acquaintance with Quaker.
No, no - not acquaintance - I must get to know him more intimately.
Must make it a habit to invite him over for a meal on a more regular basis.
Not only breakfast, maybe, even lunch, tea or supper.
Must introduce him to the rest of the family.
Must make him my best friend.
Must watch and continue this diet.

Oh, well! Life goes on... :)

Amazing Brilliance!

I logged into my kids school's e-learning website this past week. I was pleased that the school had made arrangements for the children to blog on this website . My guess is that it is to protect the kids from outsiders (read: "perverts who target kids") and also it allows the teachers to monitor the kids feelings about the going-ons in school.

I decided to read some of the blogs of my daughters' classmates, to find out more about the happenings in class, and also to get a different perspective of some of the things she has been telling me.

This is a class of 11 year olds, supposedly gifted. I was totally amazed at what they wrote. Sorry, but I am not reproducing anything they wrote, not without permission. But, believe you me, some of them had the maturity of an 18 year-old if not older. The way they had logically penned out their thoughts,(not sure if they planned - coz when I blog I dont - I just write what I feel and go with the flow) their arguements for and against something, the words that they used (I admit it puts me to shame, I had to check the dictionary to find out some meanings!!), their views and reflections. And these few brilliant ones blog everyday about anything and everything under the sun!! Their knowledge, maturity and use of language really amaze me!

It made me think of the time when hubby was teaching in the uni (some years ago), and he used to bring home scripts for marking (both everyday assignments and exam scripts). He used to share with me some of the "masterpieces", and we used to wonder what was going to happen to our future if these "so-called" uni students were to run the country in the future. Those were really like some of those jokes being passed around via e-mail nowadays.

Having read these blogs, and comparing it with those my husband used to share, these young kids win hands down! I am assured our future is now secured. Out of a class of 25, there were at least 4 who showed this brillance. Extrapolating it over the full GEP cohort of about 500 we would have at last 40, and this is not even counting those who dont even blog. Include the late bloomers (ie those not even selected for the GEP), we really do not have to worry. Our future should be in very good hands!

Do oats really reduce cholesterol?

I know Quaker advertises that it does. But has it been scientifically proven? I really dont know! Everyone swears by it tho'.

Anyway, today is d-day. Had my blood extracted by Dracula (that's her nickname at the medical centre that I go to) for my cholesterol test this morning. Results will be out tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed. (Toes and hair, and everything else that I can think of).

"Quaker, I am depending on you to give me good results tomorrow."

Then, maybe we can celebrate with some laksa and char kway teow for lunch, and crabs and foie gras for dinner. I have been really good these past three months - keeping my distance from these good friends of mine, and acquainting myself more with Quaker (up to 5 times a week!) and his good friends Mr Fruits and Mrs Veggie. Please, please, let what has been advertised about Quaker be true!! If not I may just have to sue them for false advertising!

Rocking Blogger Award cum Charity Meme

My friend bp thinks that I rock. Hence she awarded me with this:



Me rock? I really dont think so. The only rocking I do, is to rock Little D to sleep. Sometimes. Hmmm. Maybe bp knows something I don't. So, thanks BP for the award.

With the award bp also tagged me. It is a charity tag in aid of Darul Izzah Orphanage.

For each of this meme completed (at least 17 out of the 27 sentences below), generous Idham will donate RM127.00 to the Orphanage, provided it's done by 26 Aug.

So, without further ado, here's my contribution of all 27 sentences:

1. A person is only as good as...he wants to be.
2. Friendship is always... being there for your friends.
3. To love is to....trust.
4. Money makes me... want to go shopping.
5. I miss...my freedom.
6. My way of saying I care is... doing the little things.
7. I try to spread love and happiness...whenever I can.
8. Pick the flowers when... you want to brighten up someone's day.
9. To love someone is... to trust completely.
10. Beauty is... only skin deep!
11. When I was thirteen, what I remember the most was...having the best time in my life in school.
12. When I was twenty one, I remember... I was busy slogging out for my final year exams in university.
13. I am most happy... When I am with my loved ones.
14. Nothing makes me happier than... when I can share some joy with others.
15. If I can change one thing... I would have eloped for my wedding.
16. If smiles were... on everyone's face, then everyone must be happy.
17. Wouldn't it be nice if we could... have peace on earth, goodwill amongst man.
18. If you want to have... a pretty face, you must go to bed early.
19. Money is not everything but... unfortunately it is something that everyone works too hard for.
20. The most touching moments I have experienced is...when in a medical crisis, my hubby told me that he wanted the best care possible for me, cost was irrelevant.
21. I smile when... my kids do the darnest things.
22. When I am happy... I try to spread the joy.
23. If only I don't have... to worry about the future, then I would be totally carefree!
24. The best thing I did yesterday was... having morning coffee with my friends.
25. If I ever write a book, I will give it this title..."Musings of a Stay-at-home Mum".
26. One thing I must do before I die... is to remember to ask God to forgive me for whatever wrong I have done, but am not aware of.
27. Doing this meme, I feel like... I am reviewing my life.

So what I am doing now is to pass on the tag and charity meme to the real rockers:
nomadic-mom
sweetpea

Prayer of St Francis

Just thought that I would share Prayer of St Francis with you all:


"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."

Well, I am leaving everything in the hands of the Lord. There is so little that we can do. Our time here on earth is short. We just have to go on, come what may.
And, NO, I am not going to stop blogging!