Sunyi dan Cemas

kesunyian - berasa sunyi (kerana keseorangan)

Contoh ayat : Segala yang berlaku di sekelilingnya ketika itu tidaklah dapat menarik hatinya, ia kesunyian, rindu akan si dia yang kebiasaannya menemaninya di laman siber bila pulang dari kerja.

Contoh situasi : Si dia pergi 'reservist' selama seminggu. Berkhidmat untuk negara.

cemas - ~hati berasa takut dan risau (gelisah, bimbang)

Contoh ayat : Dalam kesunyian, hatinya turut berasa cemas ketika menyiapkan tesis sarjana sulungnya.

Contoh situasi: paham-paham sendiri je lah.

waiting for the green
man to appear beside his nick

Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcake

The deadline is looming. Nearer and nearer. Terasa macam nak bernafas pon tersekat2. Jadi, bile stress teramat sangat, ape lagi.. ke dapur lah!

Been wanting to try the recipe for Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcake from Jo's Deli and Bakery. The ingredients are quite simple, and it did not use a lot of cream cheese. (Iyelah. harga seketul (250g) ard rm7, kalau satu kek mintak 500g, x ke pengsan.heheh.)

The original recipe called for large muffin liners. But I used patty tins, for cuter and smaller portions. It yields 22 small cupcakes. Syok sangat nk get the right angle for this pics, x sedar kek dah nak hangus. heheh. time membakar kembung mcm ikan buntal.. bila da kuar, it's expected to sunk a little bit since the cream cheese mixture is quite heavy.




Taste wise, it was extremely nice, not too sweet with a subtle tanginess. 3 kali ngap, dah abis. heheh. Surprisingly, the texture was soft and fluffy. Personally, i would love the cake to be a bit on the sour side. So for some of you, be generous with the lemon juice ok? hehe. For the icing, i mixed in some Apricot and Raspbery jelly for added sourness, without being overwhelmed. The chocolate ganache is what was left from last week. The cupcakes are best for beginner cheese cake enthusiasts. :)

This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Ok, time to get back to work!

Hard Work?

Ok ok.. and so i didn't exactly follow the deadline (or is it dateline?) which i set for myself. See, how poor my time management is. ditto for self-discipline. erghhh.

This week was spend rather not so productive. Been stuck in the same topic, without making much progress. And i have received an email from *gasp* my supervisor. "Can i have your complete final draft by the end of this month" OMG, being a queen of procrasti-nation *smirk* the end of this month would be 2359 on the 30th november. heheh. HOPE NOT!!

And himself had giving me some hint of "come home will you?for good?" heheh. Ok.. ok

And also, i have received an e-mail from another lecturer, informing about a vacancy for Research Assistant for 3 months!! 3 MONTHS (from dec-feb)! and the $$ quite good too. the timing is perfect, since im sort of waiting for a vacancy advertisement from a certain academic library, which i was told would be published around next year. Do pray for me that i would get the RA post. do i sound desperate? you would if u're 24 and still being support by your parents! *sigh*

im feeling a bit stressed out now. hmm, it looks like it's time for another cupcake baking session this weekend!!

Chun yip or Bake with Yen, here i come!

p/s: yeap, that's my working space up there. the whole living room.

Mocha Cupcakes with White Chocolate Mocha Frosting

Ta daaa.. experiment numero duo for project cupcakes. Presenting Mocha CupCakes with White Chocolate Mocha Frosting. Everything's made from scratch. :) Planning to make the cupcakes for Kakak's wedding. She already gave her thumbs up. Maybe with a different colored frosting to suit her wedding theme (tropical paradise cacamarba..heheh.. think of orange and green.. hawaiian garden la gitu).

The kitchen smelt similarly like Rotiboy's or Papa Roti's kitchen.mcm buat mexican bun, padahal mocha cuppies. heheh. To get the coffee flavour, i used serbuk kopi kluang! heheh. since that's what we have in the pantry. The frosting's recipe was actually a creation of mine. White chocs would be a bit muak and sweet for our taste, therefore i add some nescafe to it. no coffee emulco for me! selagi ade the real thing, better use it kan? Oh, and this is the first time i use the proper piping tips. tangan masih gigil lagi. heheh. Practice makes perfect kan?

Kak noha, dont worry, im planning to do another batch of cuppies for next weekend, new recipes of course! ;)

Now, feast your eyes.

The cupcakes are made into two sizes, small and large.

Fuhh legaa

one down, another one to go. yeay!

after that.. holiday yayayayayayayyy!!

wish me luck eh.

The Overachiever's Guide to Cope with Stress

1. 15 minutes session of cardio-workouts on elliptical machine, twice daily OR beberapa minit yang anda suka sampai lutut tercabut OR seberapa lama yang anda suka sampai lah dapat idea nak teruskn writing. choose whichever comes first.
2. a trip to Lorong Haji Taib. heheh. ini lah lorong aktiviti "kupu-kupu malam" dan "akak2 berhalkum". heheh. dan kat situ jugaklah my de-stress shop, Bake with Yen. The baking shop is like a treasure trove. Disebabkan cinta yang mendalam to any things/ingredients/utensils related with bakings, just give me any time of the day, sanggup pergi tempat tu sorang2. Last Saturday I went there and spent 1 hour (and $$), in that shop alone. Among the things i've bought:
• cupcakes liners!! they have soooooo many cute and pretty design. I've lost count how many designs are in my collection. Nampak cantik or unik je.. gue sambarr
• stainless steel ice cream scoop. me goooooodnesss this one cost me rm12. erkk.. the plastik one is only less than rm5... xpe xpe.. tahan lama
• more colourful sprinkles. heart-shaped dah ada, striped choc chip pn da ade, bintang2 da ade.. bunga2 pn da ade.. wahhh
• Piping tips! kalau ikutkan hati nak angkut satu plastik drawers tu. hehe
  
• Mini spatula.. selama ni nk rata kan icing guna butter knife atau belakang sudu je. ni nk kasi more professional finish la ni..
  
• ingredients yg ntah hape2.. saje penuhkan stock
3. Among the things yang i geram sangat nak beli tapi belum ade budget
• 3 tiers stainless steel cake stands. jaga ko nanti. but im still looking for the cup cake stands which look like this. This one is available from an online shop based in aussie. mana la nak cari kt sini (mesia/s'pore) ehhh?
• The shop even sell Wilton's product!! arghhhhh.. yang selama ni nampak kt online shop aje.. meleleh air liur tgk satu2 decorator's equipment.. sebab tu x nak balik..
• Chocolate mold - leaf and sunflower pattern. thinking of putting edible choc flower on top of the cupcakes instead of fondants (yg hanya indah di mata, tp x sedap di mulut)
• cookie press bentuk kupu2. mesti kakak sgt suke sekali ade rama2 atas kek die. hehe

dah-dah la tu.. sambung siapkn thesis balik. nak hantar next week kan..

My Wish List

I wish I have a brilliant mind, churning intelligent words after words, constructing brilliant sentences.

But I have no problem at all writing my blog. Cheh.

I wish I have a brilliant mind, keep coming up with brilliant ideas for the thesis and assignment.

But all I have now is brilliant idea for kakak's cupcakes. Cheh.

I wish I have more time for my hobbies.

But those times are for the above mentioned!! The thesis laaa

I wish I am baking cupcakes or biscuits now.

But I loathe the cleaning up part.

Better Late Than Never

Here are the obvious signs of being missus procrastinate:

1. Makcik eccentric and the drama queen would like to wish everyone, a joyous Eid! ;) This makcik eccentric (read:me) still eligible to receive the green packet tau! Selagi sumber pendapatan belum kena income tax. heheh.

2. A happy belated birthday to me! i turned 24 *gulp* on last 27th oct.. it was a quiet celebration, wishes from friends and loved ones were pouring in. Did have an early celebration with himself the day before. Since "gaji belum masuk" we settled for lunch at the food court in Haig Road. I'm certainly going to present him with my wish list the next time we meet. hehe. tuntut hadiah birthday!! ;)

So what did i get for my birthday? A couple of green packets *grins*, the kenwood mixer (self-proclaimed birthday gift frm Baba, since i had it in October), a beautiful mug from my colleague in psz *got this on the last day of my attachment, 13th Oct*, and a recipe book from Kakak (500 cupcakes - i go crazy the next couple of days, experimenting with the recipes).

On the day itself, me and Kakak went to KL for raya visit by bus. Mak, Baba, Adik and K Supi has gone off earlier by car. My goodness, boarding the bus was like being in a gas chamber!!! there was a guy in front of us, who took out his yellow bandanna and pooooff.. baunye.. aduhhhhh.. hapakkkkk!!! You know the smell some men tend to have; sweat, baju berpeluh terkepam plus wet un-shampooed hair with a dollop of hairgel??? Kakak and me, ended up sleeping covering our head, with shawls. Haha. it was a funny scene, imagine dua anak dara tidur kepala berbalut. Kepala je tau. hehe. Nampak mcm ninja pn ade.

Reached KL and had some b'day supper at kg baru along with Baba and Mak Lang who had birthdays in october too, the drama queen (read: nurin) sang me a "Happy birthday puyuuuu" days later..

3. Im still contemplating the date to go back to KL. dang.