2012 February » maameemoomoo

Scene 1

Over at the in law’s place..

Boy2 : Mom, can we go home by 7pm? There’s UP (the animation) tonight on Channel 5 at 7.30pm!
Me : Sure. I love UP too!

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Scene 2

Home @ 7.25pm after i had unpacked truckloads of grocery and decided to mince the huge piece of pork since it was still fresh (not frozen), boy1 hopped in..

Boy1 : Mom, can i have a packet of Cheezels please?
Me : Aaahh, thought you came in to offer some help seeing how busy i was…

(silence, for at least 10 seconds)

Boy1 : Mom, can you ermm, answer my question please?
Me : Oh my, you totally ignored me! Instead of offering your help, you asked me to answer your question?!?

(boy1 sighed and walked out, grumbling out loud upon reaching the living room)

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Scene 3

Home at 7.28pm, when all 3 boys decided to pay the loo a visit before the show starts…

After completing his business, boy2 looked at my direction and saw what i was doing – cutting the meat into small cubes..

Boy2 : Do you need my help mom?
Me : *hesitated, knowing how much he wanted to watch the show* Sure!
(if i were to reject his offer, he might never offer again, thinking it’s my job after all, plus, mom might reject, again)

With a heavy heart, i showed him what to do.. By then, the show had started. He looked up from where he was seated and to his surprise, his view wasn’t blocked. However, never once he ignored me when i was teaching him.. Once a while when the other 2 boys laughed out loud, he would look up and laugh along too, before shifting his attention to the pork once more.

At that point of time, i nearly teared.

I was half expecting him to ask me to excuse him since the show had already started but he didn’t. Not only he didn’t try to escape from his task, he also did not complain one bit or sigh out loud regretting his offer. So unbelievable this boy..

Me : Di, why did offer to help mama even though your show was about to start?
Boy2 : So that you can finish faster and we can watch together since you also love the show..

WAHH… i nearly broke into tears when he answered. Words simply cannot express how i was feeling then i tell you.. i was stunt. Speechless. I wanted to drop the knife and just hug him and cry. So easy to love him. I have said this before and i will say this again – Sometimes, i do wonder what have i done to deserve him. Boy2, he’s full of surprises. At times bad surprises, but most times, he’s simply really quite wonderful.

Those who are not close to him will never see this lovely side of him. To his grandfather, boy2 is always the cheeky and mischievous one who eats really slow and always causes problems (which isn’t true at all). To me, Darcy and my own family, he’s just different. Extremely observant and forever curious. My family loves him to bits, (especially after our Korea trip together) and thinks rather fondly & highly of him. :)

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Scene 4

2-3 minutes later, beep came in, after hearing the chopping sound – he finally realized! Heh.

Beep : Can i help too, mama?
Me : Of course!

10 minutes later..

All 4 of us (3 boys & i, the husband was at work) on the sofa, watching UP together, happily. But can you guess who was the happiest among all? ;)

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A mere 15 minutes of sacrifice (telly watching time) for boy2, a lifetime of sweet and happy memory for me…

Boy2 rocks.

Boy2 at work.. and beep was seated on his right but not in the picture

Banana Pancakes (Fritters) with Chocolate and Almond

serves 4

300g (2 cups) plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
125g (2/3 cup) brown sugar
250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed
20g butter – i omitted
2-3 bananas, extra, sliced lengthways, to serve
toasted almond flakes, to serve
chocolate sauce, to serve

Method

1. Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, buttermilk, eggs and bananas in a large bowl and mix to combine. Heat a large non stick frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add the butter and pour 1/3 cups of the batter into the pan and cook in batches until bubbles appear on the surface. Turn the fritters or pancakes and cook for 1 minute or until golden brown.
3. Repeat with the remaining batter.
4. Serve in stacks layered with the extra banana and topped with almond flakes and chocolate.

(adapted from Donna Hay – Simple Essentials, fruit)

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Alternately, feel free to replace the chocolate sauce with maple syrup or honey, which i did because methinks these pancakes actually marry better with maple syrup than the chocolate sauce. But then, that’s just me. :)

OR.

Just eat the pancakes plain.

Yup, that’s right. Eat them PLAIN. I’m dead serious about it. These pancakes were that good!

They kinda reminds me of Kuih Kodok, which i can’t find in any restaurants/road side stalls anymore these days. Because there were still a few left on that particular day (they were rather filling!), i just stored them in the fridge (air tight) and heat it up the next day as mid-morning snack. The boys couldn’t be more pleased and even fought for them but being the mean and greedy mommy as usual, i secretly ate 1 whole piece before distributing the rest among them. HEEEEE!

What a coincidence!

Just when my oven went into coma (and later, it came alive again. PHEW!), i received this invitation in the mail box for the above launch. How exciting!

Being a mountain tortoise (read : homemaker) for so many years, i’ve never, ever been to any launch parties or gala or whatever in my life. The most formal and dressy event i’ve ever been to was…. errrr, high school prom? *facepalm*facepalm*and*facepalm!* Lol! So yeah, this reason together with my wonky oven excuse, of course i have to go!

When i saw the invite stated “Cocktail Elegance” for the dress code that night, i kinda panicked a teeny bit. Seriously, what the *toot* is that? Cocktail = short dresses. Elegance = dressy short dress? That was my first guess but i ain’t sure. So i turned to Google and good ol Twitter for help and viola, question answered. :)

I was torn between 2 dresses (if i hadn’t pile up those excess kilos, i’d have more choices! Hmph!) but in the end, i went in this.

photo taken while trying the dresses right after whipping up dinner for the boys. didn’t have any proper photos after that due to the very tight schedule! :(

Internationally reputed for their ability to marry innovation and aesthetic appeal, De Dietrich once again sets new milestones with their latest Corium and Premium collections.. Dubbed as “Jewels In The Kitchen”, this French premium appliance brand boast an array of sensuous designs and finishes. Each is enhanced with subtle accents that simply spell WOW. Together with technological advancement, home cooking is now taken into an exciting new level!

From left (clockwise) :

Built In Espresso Machine $4980 – sophisticated system that allows you to create the perfect cuppa at the right temperature. It provides a selection of water and steam temperature settings and adjustable grinding level. While a minimum of 9 bar pump pressure needed for a good espresso, De Dietrich Espresso Machine has a 15 bar pump pressure for rich and intense coffee flavour and aromas.

The Crescendo Updraft Hood, available in Black Pearl, White Pearl and Grey Pearl $2397 – installed directly overhead cabinetry or as a free standing hood mounted the wall in the casing, it moves down towards the hob to effectively remove all odour and fumes. Once tasks completed, it retracts fully back into the cabinetry or its casing. So intelligent lorr!

Le Piano Zoneless Induction Hob $11,880 - this innovation raises the bar in induction cooking with the first industry’s first full zoneless cooking hob. Up to 5 different cooking pots, no matter the size or shape, can be cooked on any part of the hob! What can i say? I WANT THIS HOB!!

Steam oven, available in black or platinum $3480 – apart from steaming, reheating, rehydrating, defrosting, blanching, the Steam oven keeps your food warm up to 1 hour after end of cooking. Equipped with 2 tier steaming tray, you can now prepare different healthy cuisines at the same time!

De Dietrich is treasured by some of the best chefs around the world. In Singapore alone, we have Asia Chef-Ambassador Chef André Chiang and Chef Pang, just to name a few.

Together with Marilyn Tan, De Dietrich 2012 Collection Launch also showcased models wearing beautiful pearl accessories.

Pity i didn’t manage to take any good shots of the White Pearl ovens which simply got my mouth hanging open for a while. Heeee! So gorgeous those ovens.

Sigh.. I want one!