lovely carbonara!

my first attempt at carbonara (on the fateful day of 26 Aug 10) - the sauce was a little tasteless (didn't seasoned properly) and i used hickory bacon with honey & maple syrup. the sauce was not creamy enough, and insufficient too. and the bacon had lots and lots of fatty bits and couldn't really taste much of it either.

i decided to try it again the next day (not that i did not want to give up but because i wanted to use up the double cream i bought and also because it's my last day of "freedom" at home). this time i decided to be more adventurous and went with the feel of it (instead of referring to the recipe like a bible). and indeed, it turned out much better! so these are what went into the carbonara:

smoked turkey ham - i managed to sneak taste a few pieces and they taste yummy~! the taste is also preserved (and probably enhanced) after frying it. but it cost 13 bucks for 6 pieces of this ham - expensive!

the creamy carbonara sauce - you really don't wanna know what exactly went into this...

but for those interested, these are what i used for the sauce - parmesan cheese, double cream and egg yolks (many many egg yolks =.="). the olive oil is used for frying the smoked turkey ham.

the end product! much much better than my first attempt! though i think i could have been more generous with the sauce by adding more water. to prevent the jialiat-ness, we added baco-bits to counter the creaminess. it's really easy to cook and i love it! :) but gonna have to try and find healthier alternatives to the ingredients i used o.O

p.s. the recipe i used as a guideline can be found here by jamie oliver.

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." — Mark Twain

it's been three years...

...and tears can still well up in my eyes. and i thought i was totally over it.

well, maybe not.

or maybe, it was the only thing that has ever hurt me that much. and it's not something that i can simply just forget.

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." — Mark Twain

Two More Years

that is all i'm going to give myself. for my life to return to total normalcy. and i can go travelling freely again.

given my current state, there are many things that i cannot do/take part in, do too slow, get tired easily from doing etc. so i guess it is normal that friends do not ask me out as often, automatically leave me out when planning for certain activities, and so on. nothing wrong with that, but somehow, i get that littlest childish feeling of being left out. and i start to wonder. when will i be okay enough to be included in these certain activities? and even if i do become better, will i even be included since it has already become a habit to just leave me out?

it is a such a childish thought, i know. but sometimes, it is tiring to always be the one asking others out, just because others don't know if or when i am well enough to go out. and if i'm not the one asking others out, i know i will just be stuck at home everyday because no one will ask me out.

but of course, i say all these just because of a passing random thought. i do not really feel that way at all, except perhaps when i'm pms-ing or in a rare bad mood. i do not live my days filled with such negative thoughts. instead, i am thankful for the things that i am still able to do. and i am happy that i have the energy to still organise gatherings and go out for the occasional movies, dinners and plays. it doesn't really matter who's the one doing the asking, and the organising - i'm just glad that people are still even willing to go out or hang out with me, despite all the inconveniences i bring along.

so yes, life still ain't too bad after all. we just need to learn to look at the bright side of things and stop thinking that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." — Mark Twain

Food Glorious Food!

happened to chance upon the above postcard on postcrossing that shows the recipe to make "Kaiserschmarren". kai-what you say? curious too, i went to google it and found out that it's an austrian dessert which is a light carmelised pancake that looks like this:

the recipe looks easy enough, but staying at my grandma's house means i can't try out recipes that requires an oven or microwave since she doesn't have one and yet don't allow me to buy one for her (so i can use it!). so i got a little inspired and decided to surf around for other recipes. and that lead to such yummy pictures of food that other people cooked that i'm feeling really really inspired. how i wish i could have my own kitchen to do my own cooking one day!

mushroom bruschetta - this seems easy enough to try

huevos habaneros (eggs havana style) - this looks totally yummy! i love eggs!

crispy tofu with salted eggs - looks really good!

delicious creamy mashed potatoes - if you know what goes into this, you'll be on diet for days after!

atayef (pancakes) with blueberry sauce and cream cheese - simple and delightful!

spaghetti carbonara - oh this is making me hungry!

ah carbonara. *swoons* i think i will always have a soft spot in my heart for carbonara, so perhaps i shall start my cooking (if ever) with this dish! :)

the above food photos with credits to The Little Teochew.

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." — Mark Twain

Mad Rush

it's been a mad rush week, this being the last week at work before i go for my op next week which will probably result in at least 2 to 3 weeks of medical leave.

and so, even right now, on a saturday of a long weekend, i don't feel like i could really relax. too many unfinished business. i feel like somehow, i may be going into the operating theatre and never coming out of it again. well, no matter how small or minor the op is, there's always this small possibility right? so i tried my best to tie up whatever loose ends there were, made sure that there's a continuity of whatever work i was doing, just so, hopefully, i could have some rest for the next two weeks.

one of my hods knew i was feeling really stressed out yesterday and did not have time for lunch, so she made me a cup of mushroom soup despite being really busy herself too. i was so touched! thank God for surrounding me with such wonderful people.  was feeling really overwhelmed with all my work and was close to breaking down - He sure knows how to save you from having a mental breakdown!

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." — Mark Twain

Squatting

just some random thought - since i am most likely unable to squat again due to my bad knee injury, what happens if i was living in the old singapore where there were no sitting toilets, only squatting ones? going to the toilet would be such a pain.

then i thought again - if my accident took place during that time, medical help and facilities probably might not be so advanced and i probably wouldn't be able to survive the accident to worry about that.

and so, that put an end to my random thought. sorry for being so random tonight.

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." — Mark Twain