Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones

Some people say hats are for bad hair days. The Cancer Council says they're for sun protection. Stephen Jones says they complete your outfit, express a statement and transform you into a character.Hats: An Anthology of Stephen Jones is a currently exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art, showcasing modern and historical hats and headpieces from the London's Victoria and Albert Museum and Stephen Jones's own collection. Here you can see a small selection from the exhibition. Jones's creations are such amazing work. I love how he has such a "British heart". He draws inspiration from the London underground, British passport, the Wimbledon tennis court, the uniform of the guards of the Buckingham Palace. He has the ability to put a paintbrush on a woman's head without making her look ridiculous. His work is so exciting and fun and has changed my perception of hats. Even though I absolutely enjoyed this exhibition, I still think they are missing one thing - a trencher hat!!A couple of hats featured in the exhibition:

John Galliano 2009 Spring RTW

Comme des Garcon 2007 Fall RTW

Sarah-Jessica Parker at Sex and the City Movie premiere

Where the outfit would not be completely without these exquisite headpieces:

Jean Paul Gaultier 2010 Spring Couture

Christian Dior 2010 Spring Couture

Marc Jacobs 2007 Spring RTW

Burberry Prorsum 2009 Spring RTW
(Has a fisherman hat ever looked that chic?!)

Chanel 2009 Spring Couture

Alexander McQueen 2008 Spring RTW

I always think fashion should be about fun. So go wear the biggest bow you have, put a bird on your head, wear colours that are not supposed to go together. Be adventurous. Go big. Have fun. Stand out.

And how can a weekend be complete without baking?

Banana and apple cinnamon muffins :)

House warming dinner

What a fun yoga class today. Such a wonderful way to start a Sunday morning. My shoulders and back feels so broad and relaxed and my whole body feels so light and lifted. A 7-day yoga retreat- sounds so tempting!!

I had a couple of people over for dinner last night. Risotto did not turn out as good as last time. Maybe it was the butter? Or the stock? Something was lacking and the flavour just wasn't quite there. But everything else was great. Thanks guys for bringing the soy chicken wings, the marinated cucumber, the 餃子 and the drinks.
And what would a dinner be without dessert? This is probably my favourite cheesecake recipe. I'm sure there are better ones out there. But this is probably the first recipe I have followed as a baker. I remember looking for recipe with BaBa, experimenting with different types of cheese, baking time, and how hard we tried to beat the cream cheese before we bought the electric mixer. I remember getting MaMi as our samplers and we would get her to comment on the cake everytime we made a change. This is the recipe that taught me how to separate the yolk from the white and introduced me to the incredible baking world. If I had a signature dish, this would probably be it.

~1/2 cup digestive biscuits, crushed
~75g butter, melted
500g cream cheese
250-300mL sour cream
1/4 cup fresh milk
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
~1 cup sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
lemon zest fro a whole lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1) Preheat oven to 230 degrees C
2) Mix biscuits crumbs and melted butter together. Press firm to the bottom of a cake tin.
3) Bake for 5-10 minutes or until base has firmed up and started to turn golden.
4) Meanwhile, beat to soften cream cheese. Add in sour cream and beat to combine. Add eggs and egg yolks and mix well, one at a time. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice and milk and mix well. Sift flour and and sugar and add to the mixture.
5) Pour mixture onto the baked base. Bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 160 degrees C and bake for a further 30 minutes or until the cake has firmed up and skewer comes out clean.
6) Turn off the heat and leave the cake in the oven for an hour with the door open. This avoids a sudden temperature change and prevents cracking of the cake. Allow to cool in room temperature before chilling in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve cold.

Homemade Muesli Bars

I've gone through phases with muesli bars. For a while it was a must-have in my emergency snack cupboard. I almost lived on it during WYD in 2008. But in the past 8 months I don't think I've had a single muesli bar. All of a sudden I find them dry, bland, unsatisfying. Lately I have started looking for baking recipes for healthier snacks. It wasn't until I came across some granola bars recipe I was reminded my previous liking for them. After stocking up on some seeds and nuts, I had my first attempt at home-made muesli bars.

These bars are really delicious and chewy and full of flavours. So simple to make and a thousand times tastier than the commercial ones. Ingredients that you can try include: chopped dried apples/dried apricot/dried dates, blueberries, peanut butter, almond extract, ground flax seed, choc chips, walnuts, sesame seeds, Rice Crispy, 1/4 all spice, choc chips etc. The list is endless. They can be kept well in the freezer. Wrap them individually in baking paper/foil to prevent them from sticking to each other.

2 cups rolled oats
1/5 pack brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup mixed dried fruits and nuts
1/4 cup mixed seeds
flaked almond
1/2 cup honey
110g apple sauce
1 egg, beaten
1/3 olive oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

1) Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees C. Line and grease baking square.
2) In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients evenly. Make a well in the centre and pour in egg, vanilla extract, oil, honey and apple sauce. Mix well and press mixture into the prepared pan.
3) Bake in the oven until bars begin to turn golden at the edges and slightly undone in the centre, about 20-30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and cut into bars while still warm.

機動飯盒之陳氏炒飯

After a 47-hour week, I feel exhausted. I need sleep. I need food. I need time. I need a break. I need to relax. Having no internet at home, it almost adds to the stress. Fingers crossed I hope all will be fixed by the end of this week. (and there REALLY needs to be a patron saint for the internet)

Fried rice is a dish that you can find on the menu of any Chinese take away shop. But we're talking about home cooked fried rice here, not its greasy, heavy and fattening cousin. It is a great way to use up any leftover veggies / meat in the fridge. From the flavoursome XO醬 or juicy pineapple, to the humble grated ginger, almost anything that you have on hand can be used to make this easy healthy dish.

My favourite version of this recipe calls for 叉燒, a lot of eggs, heaps of extra frozen corn and chopped tomatoes. But do experiment with ingredients that you like. Chop all the ingredients into similarly-sized small pieces for even cooking. It gives better presentation at the end too. Things like prawns, salmon or sausages can take the place of 叉燒. Make sure you don't add the tomatoes until the heat is turned off at the very end or they will release too much moisture, making the rice soggy. Any leftovers are fine to be reheated later in a microwave oven.

1.5 cups cooked rice, preferably cooked the day before
2 eggs
1 onion
A couple of mushrooms
3/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 can of mixed beans
1 capsicum
2 tomatoes

1) Chop all vegetables into small cubes.
2) Beat 2 eggs together. Heat oil on a wok / a large frying pan. Shallow-fry the eggs on both sides and cut into slices / pieces. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3) In the same pan, add chopped onion and saute until soft. Add in the mushrooms and stir until cooked. Mixed in canned beans, frozen vegetables, capsicum and rice and stir to mix all ingredients. Add about 1 tbsp soy sauce and stir. Turn off the heat after all the ingredients are hot and cooked through. Add in the eggs and tomatoes and mix evenly. Season with freshly grated pepper for seasoning if desired. Enjoy!

Baking with wholemeal flour

In the attempt to improve the nutritional values of my baking, I bought some wholemeal flour the other day and incorporated it into a muffin recipe. It's a really versatile recipe that allows you to add different ingredients to make it your own.
Muffins turn out so perfect. The wholemeal flour adds a slightly course texture and these muffins have more "bite" than the ordinary ones. Great for on-the-go breakfast! Adapted from Best Ever Muffins from allrecipe.com

1.25 cups all-purpose flour
0.75 cup wholemeal flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup pack brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
30mL olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
Frozen mixed berries

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
2) Stir together flour, baking powder and sugar. Make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, beat egg with a fork. Stir in milk and oil. Pour the liquid at once into the well in the flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a folk until moistened. Foil in berries. Do not overbeat or the batter will be lumpy.
3) Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.
4) Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

The First of (Hopefully) Many Up-coming Cooking Night

I love risotto. Who doesn't?! It's creamy, smooth and flavoursome and it is full of CARBS. I have always thought of it as a gourmet "restaurant food" that would be hard to reproduce at home. But with the help of allrecipe.com and my darling friend Crystal I made my first attempt of the dish.
And it was delicious! It really is not as difficult to make as I imagined. It requires a bit of patience and time because you have to be prepared to stand by the stove top for at least 20 minutes while you constantly stir the rice until you get the desired firmness and texture. I would strongly recommend cooking this with a friend - it just makes everything so much more fun don't you think?
It is a very versatile dish as well. Sprinkle freshly chopped herbs and Parmesan cheese at the end and stir in whatever you feel like - seafood, chicken, sausages, grilled / roasted vegetables, lemon zest + lemon juice, etc.
NB: Some reviews recommend using 1 whole cup of dry white wine and adding garlic with the shallots to enrich the flavours. I'll definitely try that next time.

Gourmet Mushroom Risotto

6 cups of chicken stock/beef stock/vegetable stock
Thinly sliced mushrooms
2 shallots, diced
1.5 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 TBSP finely chopped chives
2 TBSP butter (optional)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1) In a saucepan, warm the stock over low heat
2) Add olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, saute until soft. Remove mushrooms and their liquid. Set aside.
3) Add olive oil to skillet and stir in shallots. Cook for 1 minute. Add in rice and stir until coated with oil for about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken a pale golden colour, pour in wine. Stir constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add in 1/2 cup warm stock to the rice and keep stirring to allow stock to be absorbed. Continue adding stock to the rice, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir constantly until the rice is al dente. May take 20-30 minutes.
4) Remove from heat. Stir in mushrooms with their liquid, chives and butter if desired. Season with cracked pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Frustration

I pity you.
I feel sorry for you.
I am speechless for you.
I have zero respect for you.
I have no trust in you.
I am disgusted by you.
I am appalled by your behaviour.
I am completely frustrated by the situation you have created.
I am embarrassed for you.
You are unbelievable.
You are unreasonable.
You are uncivilized.
You are a dirty cheater.
You are a joke.
You are a liar, to me and to yourself.
You can't tell rights from wrongs.
You have sold your integrity, your credibility and your honesty for mere $80.
Your personality have absolutely no value.
You have no quality as a person.

People do desperate things in desperate times.

I pity you.

Today's dinner

Baby quiche

This is meant to be a healthier alternative to your ordinary quiche. It actually tastes more like a fish bake than a quiche, because of the proportion of the ingredients. You can really add whatever vegetables that you like. Make sure you add heaps of chopped fresh herbs and enough black pepper - they really add to the flavour.

1 large size onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 can of mixed beans, mashed
1/3 cup of corn
1/3 cup of mushrooms, diced1/2 head broccoli, finely chopped
1 small can of salmon/tuna, drained
3-4 eggs
1 cup of finely chopped fresh herbs, eg basil, parsley, mint
cracked pepper

1) Pre-heat oven at 180 °C
2) Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add mushrooms and broccoli and continue to sauté until soft. Add other vegetables and salmon. Turn off the heat and add the eggs. Mix well
3) Spoon mixture into muffin tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
4) Serve warm with salad!Strawberry & Chocolate Slice
I also tried out one of the recipes from the Easy Baking cookbook. I wanted to use up some of the chocolate buttons that I have so, instead of choc chips, I added a layer of melted chocolate on top of the strawberry jam layer. I forgot to buy butter today so I only used half of the butter stated in the recipe. The slices turned out really yummy. Great combination between the strawberry jam and the almond. However the flour mixture did not bind as well as it should, probably because of the amount of butter used. Just have to eat them like crumbles then!!

225g plain flour
1 tsp baking power
100g brown sugar
200g unsalted butter
150g rolled oats
225g strawberry jam
Chocolate buttons
25g flaked almonds

1) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Line 30x20 cm rectangular baking tin with baking paper
2) Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Add the butter and rub in with fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the oats.
3) Press three quarters of the mixture into the base of the prepared tin. Bake in preheated oven for 10minutes.
4) Spread the jam over the cooked base. Melt chocolate buttons in microwave and spread over the strawberry jam. Mix the remaining flour mixture with almonds. Sprinkle evenly over the chocolate layer. Press down gently.
5) Bake in the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into slices. Enjoy!