Almond Butter Cookies

 

Ingredients
2 tbsp cornflour
210g plain flour (I used self raising flour)
250g butter
100g icing sugar - sieved
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g almond powder
Some chocolate chips


Method
1. Preheat oven at 160C. Lined baking tray.

2. Sieve cornflour & plain flour together. Set aside.

3. Beat icing sugar, vanilla and butter till light and fluffy. Add in both flours and continue beating until well combined. Then add in ground almond and mix until well combined.

4. Tranfer to piping bag and pipe out desired shapes. Place a piece of chocolate chips in the center.

5. Send to bake for 12-15min till golden brown.

Hokkaido Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

6 egg whites

6 egg yolks

100g caster sugar (40g for whites and 60g for yolks)

**you may reduce the sugar portion according to your sweetness level

1 tsp cream of tartar 

70g corn oil

120ml milk (room temp)

140g self raising flour

Filling

200ml thickened cream / whipping cream

Icing sugar  

Frosting - Cream Cheese
 

**Made about 35 cupcakes with medium size cupcake mould

Method:

1. Using an electric hand mixer, beat whites with high speed. Gradually add in sugar and cream of tartar, continue to beat till stiff peak. Set aside.

2. Beat yolks and sugar till pale yellow. Add in oil, milk and mixed well. Sift in flour and combined well with a spatula. 

**Can add in drops of vanilla essence or any flavor as wish

3. Fold in whites into yolks batter, gently using a spatula and combined well.

4. Divide batter evenly into cupcake mould and bake at 170C for 20-25mins till golden brown or skewer comes out clean.

**Temperature may differ for different oven. Try not to open the oven door as it may cause the cake to sink.

5. Let oven door slightly ajar and allow the cupcakes to cool down about 5mins before taking out from the oven. 

6. Beat cream with high speed. Add icing sugar according to your level of sweetness and continue beating till stiff peak. Make a tiny hole n the cupcake and pipe the cream into it. Decorate as per desired. Chill before consumption.

Oreo Chiffon Cake

 

Ingredients

6 egg whites

60g caster sugar

1 tsp cream of tartar

80g cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

14 pcs oreo biscuits (removed cream, lightly crushed into small pieces)

6 egg yolks

30g caster sugar

50g extra light olive oil/canola oil

80ml milk

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160C.

 

2. Use a large clean mixing bowl, without any trace of oil or water, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form. Add the cream of tartar. After mixing well, add the 60 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (I just poured in the sugar and cream of tartar together)

 

3. Sift the cake flour and baking powder, mix well.

 

4. Whisk the egg yolks with the 30 grams of caster sugar, until the sugar completely dissolves. Stir in the oil, bit by bit, until completely combined. Add the milk and stir well.

5. Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, in three batches. Combine well.

 

6. Fold-in the beaten egg whites with a spatula and gently combined well. Add in oreo biscuits crumbs.

 

7. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes. After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 150C. Continue to bake until cooked through. A needle comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

 

8. Remove the cake from the oven. Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack. Let it cool completely.

 

Mini No-Baked Cheese Cake

Recipe:-
The base
200g McVities Digestive Biscuits (8-9pcs)
80g Unsalted butter
50g Icing sugar

1. Crush all the biscuits till it become almost like sand texture (crumbs) and mix it with the icing sugar.
2. Melt the butter. Pour the butter into a mixing bowl together with biscuits crumbs. Mix it well. (add more butter if the mixtures are too dry)
3. Compress it evenly on the base of the cupcake mould. Put in the fridge for at least 1hour or till it is hardened.
4. Make some small holes all over the base using a fork (this is to ensure the cheese sticks to the base).

The Cheese content
500g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia brand) 
1 cup of fresh yogurt (your desired flavor)
150g (or 1/3 of a small tin) of sweetened condensed milk
8 teaspoon of gelatin powder, with 200ml water

**using a small size cupcake mould (5cm diameter), made about 50 mini cheesecakes

Methods
1. Let the cheese cool down to room temperature. 

2. Pour the water into a small pot and heat up under low heat. Then, pour the gelatin powder into the pot and stir it thoroughly until melted. The end product is a very thick and sticky gelatin mixture. Set aside for use. 
***if you are using only 50% of the ingredients, then put 4 tsp of gelatin powder with 100ml water***
 
3. Using an electric hand mixer, blend the cheese well to make it soft.

4. Next pour in the sweetened condensed milk and mix it well. Then pour the yoghurt in as well. Blend it well and thoroughly.

5. Quickly pour this gelatin mixture into the earlier cheese content and then mix it well.

6. Finally, pour the final cheese content into the earlier prepared cupcake mould. Decorate as desired.

7. The cheese cake should remain in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or overnight) before consuming. Enjoy!

Happy 1st Birthday to MARSHEL PTY LTD

On 17.8.15, we celebrated our first year of business operation. It was not an easy journey but once again, our mighty God know our needs. When we first came over to Brisbane, we tried looking for jobs but no luck. Then, God made a way for us. Hubby saw this business opportunity from the newspaper and after much research, we bought over the business and Ta-Da, one year had passed and it was a blessed one.

It was pretty excited as it was our first time becoming Mr & Mrs Boss, haha...We need to set up a company in order to run the business. Hubby came out with this fantastic name - MARSHEL PTY LTD, which was the combination our names, MARk & SHErene + Lee/Lin. And our Accountant advised us to run the business as a family trust..so Hubby came out with another brilliant name, WOODSEED (木子 = 李） Family Trust. 

Many of our friends were very curious about what we have been doing in Australia as a living. So I think I shld blog it and direct them to my blog for more info. (too lazy to explain 'N' times, :P )

Q: Hey Mark, heard you are doing business now in Brisbane. What business are you in?
A: It's a bread run business, ie, bread delivery, Roti Man..haha

Q: Wow..from an engineer to Roti Man..180 degree change! Your wife bakes and you deliver?
A: Oh no..we got our supplies from a regional bakery based in Gold Coast. My wife can't bake so many. I deliver more than 300 breads a day!

Q: So you need to travel to Gold Coast to get the breads?
A: No. I go to the depot which is about 15mins away from my house to collect the breads. Then sort them out according to the customers' orders and start delivering. There are more than 400 varieties of bread and pastries! White/Meal/Multigrain bread, Hotdog rolls, Hamburger rolls, croissants, danish, pizza base, tortillas, muffins, dinner rolls, ciabatta etc..

Q: Who do you deliver to?
A: 2 major supermarkets - Woolworth and Coles, then snack bars and cafe. Gotta make about minimum 30 stops per day. 

Q: Wow..making big money!
A: Hard job my friend. I work odd hours and I drive a truck now, haha! Wake up 12.45am, and come home around 9.30am, sometimes 12pm (busy days). Then will sleep again in the noon till dinner time and sleep again around 8.30pm and the cycle starts again. 7 days job!

Q: So, how did the customer make orders?
A: My wife helps me with the ordering. They will call everyday to make orders for the next day. Then, my wife will compile all the orders and call to the bakery to order all the breads required.

Praying for another fruitful year ahead!

Butter Cake

Ingredients
230g Salted Butter, room temperature
4 egg yolks
150g caster sugar
200g self-raising flour, sifted
60ml fresh milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites
50g caster sugar

Instructions 

1. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until it turns light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Be patient and let the machine do its work!

2. Add the egg yolks, one a time and beat it in before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla extract. 

3. Fold in half the flour.

4. Add the milk and mix. Add the remaining flour and fold until just incorporated.Scrape the bowl and give the batter one final mix. Set this aside.

5. In a clean mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until it turns foamy. Slowly and gradually, add the sugar, whisking all the while. Whisk this until stiff peaks form.

6. Transfer 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter. Beat this in. Gently fold the remaining egg whites in 2 batches until all the egg whites have been incorporated.

7. Pour this into a lined and greased 8×8-inch baking pan.

8. Bake at 170°C for 45 minutes.

9. When the cake is done (insert a skewer it the cake and if it emerges cleanly it is done), let the cake rest for 5 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Cut into slices and enjoy!!

adapted from here

Shepherd Pie

500g lean lamb minc

4 large potatoes (800g)

1/4 cup light milk (60ml)

1 tbsp butter (25g)

2 cups mixed vegetables, diced (280g)

1 x Masterfoods Shepherd's Pie recipe base

150ml water

1. Preheat oven to 200C.

2. Cook potatoes in water until tender, drain. Melt butter in pot, add in mashed potatoes, milk and salt. Stir until dry. Set aside.

3. Place mince in fry pan, cook until brown. Add in mixed vegetables, recipe base and water. Gently simmer for 10 mins.

4. Place mince mixture in an ovenproof dish, then potato mixture on top. Bake for 20mins or until golden brown.

Ian's 4th Birthday

One-pan baked chicken & churizo

2 tbs olive oil

8 chicken thighs fillets, halved

2 churizo sausages, thickly sliced

Baby potatoes, halved

1 red onion, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves

1 lemon, rind finely grated, juiced

Cherry tomatoes

Flat leaf parsley, to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 220C.

2. Place oil in a large roasting pan, Arrange chicken, chorizo, potato and onion in the pan. Hit garlic with the flat side of a large knife to bruise and add to pan with lemon rind. Season well with salt and pepper. Toss to coat chicken in oil.

3. Cook for about 25mins. Add lemon juice and tomatoes and cook for a further 10mins or until golden and cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley to serve.

Thanksgiving Day #1 to #30 of April 2015

Thanksgiving Day #29 & #30 of Apr:
Gosh, it's the last day of Apr! For the past few days, we were so occupied with all the application to-do list, running errands to get things done. Thank God for helpful people and pray that everything will go smooth according to the timeline.

Thanksgiving Day #27 & #28 of Apr:
God answered prayers according to His timing. We wanted to give thanks for the good news this morning. This is only the first step and we continue to ask God for His guidance.
Today, I baked the 4th and also the last cake for the month. It was a repeat order from a church friend for her daughter's birthday. I was quite happy with the doll on a cake design. Hopefully my baking hobby will slowly turn into a small business and make some earnings.


Thanksgiving Day #26 of Apr:
Beautiful morning and both kids were so excited to go church. Today is Sunday School Sunday and Abby (together with other children) presented a song. The speaker also gave a very good sermon and I think everyone, including the children, understood the message preached.

Thanksgiving Day #25 of Apr:
It's Anzac Day (public holiday) and Hubby spent time with the kids, playing Playdoh. In the noon, we joined CG for outing at Capalaba. I prepared grilled chicken wings and baked chocolate muffins. It was a nice park and both kids had so much fun, playing with other kids in the park.

Thanksgiving Day #23 & #24 of Apr:
Praised God for fast recovery. Weather was not as cold as few days ago. Abby was one of the fast learner in the class and was given a different set of sight words. Hope that she will be humble and will get along well with all her classmates.

Thanksgiving Day #22 of Apr:
I caught a cold from the recent unpredictable weather! Pray that I won't spread the virus to Hubby and the kids. Today, we also made an important decision and asked that God will continue to give us His guidance and blessings.

Thanksgiving Day #21 of Apr:
It's the second month of Autumn but weather today felt like winter! So windy and freezing cold. Pray that God will grant us with healthy body and strong immune system, so that we will not fall sick easily esp the kids.

Thanksgiving Day #18, #19 & #20 of Apr:
Last weekend, we just relaxed at home. Hubby finally had the chance to watch Fast n Furious 7 while the kids and I went for shopping!
Today is the first day of school (term 2) and weather was quite cold in the morning. Each time when I fetch Abby back from school, she will have lots of stories to share with me - what did she learn in school / play with friends / interesting events happening etc. Glad to see that she loves going to school.

Thanksgiving Day #17 of Apr:
Today marked the 11th month of our life here in Brisbane! We are experiencing God's grace and mercy everyday. Thank you to our Lord, the almighty God!

Thanksgiving Day #16 of Apr:
Today, we went to see our accountant for some professional advices. It's always a nice conversation between us as we learnt lots of him, and to me, he is like a grandfather, sharing his experiences and knowledge to the grandchild. We are happy to know him!

Thanksgiving Day #14 & #15 of Apr:
Yesterday's choir practice was an enjoyable one. God bless the choir with some new friends.
Baked the 3rd cake for the month, special order (with Frozen theme) from a church sister for her daughter's 6th birthday. I did some research on google search and were too complicated for me. So ended up with just Elsa & Anna on the cake.





Thanksgiving Day #11, #12 & #13 of Apr:
Been lazy these few days, probably due to the cooling weather. Nothing much happened for the past 3 days. Spent some quality time together as a family and also fellowship with CG members. Today I baked egg tarts and was very happy with them. Gave some to a friend and he wanted to order cakes for all his 3 children during their birthdays! Haha, made my day!


Thanksgiving Day #9 of Apr:
Abby & Ian went to the library for some sch holidays activities and they specially enjoyed the story telling session. I was happy to see Ian's spontaneous response to the questions asked, quite funny. Then, they came home with a big bag of books and Dvds!

Thanksgiving Day #8 of Apr:
Chilled weather today. We had to wear jumper and sandals in the house. Praying that we will have healthy body throughout Autumn and Winter.
I went to see the dentist for check up and praised God, my tooth were all good!

Thanksgiving Day #7 of Apr:
Today we had a sweet celebration for Ian's 4th birthday. Yesterday while baking the cake, Abby asked if I was baking a special cake for Ian, just liked how I baked the Barbie doll cake for her. Early in the morning, she quickly passed a birthday card (hand made by her with sweet messages inside) to Ian and wished him Happy Birthday.
I was happy to receive good comments on Ian's cake and didn't expect to have more than 250 Likes in Baking's Corner! Thank you all for your encouragements. Will need to bake two more cakes this month and hopefully everything goes well.

Thanksgiving Day #5 & #6 of Apr:
First Easter in Brisbane and it was a great experience. I was in-charged of refreshment for our Preaching Point church service. I baked a cake (1st cake of the month) and also prepared some decorative eggs.
First day of school holidays. Abby helped me with some house chores and played with Ian the whole day. It was a joy seeing them played/interacted/quarreled with each other. Also baked a birthday cake (2nd cake of the month) for my darling boy's birthday tmr!

 

Thanksgiving Day #4 of Apr:
Nice weather in the morning and managed to dry up all the clothes. (Been sitting in the laundry basket for 3 days!)
Attended a birthday party this noon and Malaysian food was served!
Tomorrow it's the resurrection day of Jesus Christ. Lets all prepare ourselves and worship Him with joyful heart for He is risen!

Thanksgiving Day #3 of Apr:
It's Good Friday and we attended a special church service. I would say service today was really different from all the Good Friday services I attended before. It was a good experience.
因祂受的刑罚，我们得平安；因祂受的鞭伤，我们得医治。以赛亚书53：5b

Thanksgiving Day #2 of Apr:
God answered prayer again! It was not raining this morning. Abby had a fun time at school and today marked the last day of Term 1, which meant I will be having 2 weeks of holidays too! Clap clap clap!

Thanksgiving Day #1 of Apr:
Welcome the month of April. (Malaysians might not felt so due to the implementation of GST, lol)
This morning was raining. Both Abby & Ian gotta wore their rain coat and walked to school. Haven't seen Mr Sun for 3 days already! Hopefully tomorrow will be a sunny day coz Abby was looking forward to her Easter Parade. (walking from school to the mall next by)
Today, I baked mini Hokkaido cupcake and added orange essence into it. Yummy!

 

黑人vs白人

這是發生在美國的真實故事。

一位白人婦女帶著6歲大的兒子出遠門，叫來了計程車，司機是位黑人。

這6歲的兒子從未見過黑人，心中非常的害怕，問媽媽：『這人是不是壞人，怎麽會長得黑魯魯？』 黑人司機聽了很難過。 此時白人婦女告訴兒子：『這位司機叔叔，不是壞人，他是一個很好的人。』

兒子沈默半晌再問道：『既然他不是壞人，那他是不是做了什麽壞事，所以天父在懲罰他』黑人聽了淚水在眼眶中打轉，他很想知道這白人婦女怎樣回答？ 媽媽說：『他是個很好的人, 也沒有做壞事。 咱們家花園的花、有紅、有白、有黃…是不是？』

『是啊！是啊！』

『那花的種子是不是都黑色的？』孩子想了一下，『對啊！都是黑的。』『黑色的種子，開出色彩鮮美的花朵，讓這世界多采多姿，是不是？』 『是啊！』孩子恍然大悟地說： 『那司機叔叔不是壞人喽！感謝司機叔叔，您讓這世界多采多姿，我要爲您祈禱。』

天真的孩子在壹旁禱告著，黑人司機的淚水奪眶而下，心想：『爲黑人被世人瞧不起身，今日，這位白人婦女如此溫婉地教導孩子，解除孩子心中對我的恐懼，爲我祈禱與祝福，真得好好的謝謝她。』

此時，目的地到了，黑人司機堅持不收錢，他說：『小時曾問過母親同樣的問題，母親說我們是黑人，注定低人一等，如果她換成妳的回答，今天我定會有不同的成就。』

Chocolate Chips Muffins

(Make 24 muffins)

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter, room temperature

180g caster sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

500g self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

250ml milk, room temperature

Chocolate chips (I used Nestle Milk Choc Chips)

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line muffin trays with paper cases.

2. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs gradually and mixed well.

3. Fold in flour and baking powder (in 3 additions) and milk (in 2 additions) and mix gently. (Note: too much mixing will make the mixture tough) Add in chocolate chips.

4. Pipe mixture into prepare muffin trays. If desired, decorate with almond flakes, chocolate chips or raisins.

5. Alternatively, pipe mixture into one-third of the muffin cup, add 1 tsp of blueberry fillings as centre filling and pipe more mixture to fill about 80% of the cups.

6. Bake for 15-20mins till golden brown or skewer comes out clean.

Ngoh Hiong 五香

Ingredients:
350g Ground pork 碎猪肉
100g Prawn, clean and cut to small pieces 虾切粒
1/2 Onion, chopped 大葱切粒
5 Water chestnut, mashed and chopped 马蹄 切碎
2 stalks Coriander leaves and spring onion, cut finely 元西叶+葱

Seasoning
2 tbsp Egg white, lightly beaten 蛋白
1/2 tbsp Oyster sauce 耗油
1 tbsp Light soy sauce 酱油
1 tsp Salt 盐
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder 5香粉
a dash of white pepper 白胡椒粉
2 tbsp Cornstarch/tapioca flour 粟粉
1 tbsp water 水

4 pcs Beancurd skin (unsalted) 腐皮

Method:
1 Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl except beancurd skin, mix thoroughly till thick paste, set aside to marinate for 1 hour (I marinated the ingredients overnight)。 将所有材料混合。放一小时后放进冰箱腌制一晚。
2 Using a damp cloth to wipe the beancurd skin on both sides, spoon meat mixture onto each beancurd skin and wrap lightly, seal the end with some cornstarch that mixed with water. 用湿布将腐皮四周抹湿一边软化，加入适量肉馅，卷包并用粟粉水在边缘涂上，然后粘上。
Deep fry in hot oil over medium heat till golden brown and serve immediately. 可以中火炸至金黄色即可上碟。

Hokkaido Cup Cakes (recipe)

Ingredients

3 egg whites

3 egg yolks

50g caster sugar (20g for whites and 30g for yolks)

1 tsp cream of tartar

**you may reduce the sugar portion according to your sweetness level

35g corn oil

60ml milk (room temp)

70g self raising flour

Filling

200ml thickened cream / whipping cream

Icing sugar 

Method:

1. Using an electric hand mixer, beat whites with high speed. Gradually add in sugar and cream of tartar, continue to beat till stiff peak. Set aside.

2. Beat yolks and sugar till pale yellow. Add in oil, milk and mixed well. Sift in flour and combined well with a spatula. 

**Can add in drops of vanilla essence or any flavor as wish

3. Fold in whites into yolks batter, gently using a spatula and combined well.

4. Divide batter evenly into cupcake mould and bake at 170C for 20-25mins till golden brown or skewer comes out clean.

**Temperature may differ for different oven. Try not to open the oven door as it may cause the cake to sink.

5. Let oven door slightly ajar and allow the cupcakes to cool down about 5mins before taking out from the oven. 

6. Beat cream with high speed. Add icing sugar according to your level of sweetness and continue beating till stiff peak. Make a tiny hole n the cupcake and pipe the cream into it. Decorate as per desired. Chill before consumption.

Related posts here

Thanksgiving Day #1 to #31 of Jan 2015

Thanksgiving Day #19 of Jan:
Thanked God for answering prayer. Though it was not raining, but at least He gave us strong cooling winds!
Today, Abby & Ian met Clumsy, the Smurf and danced with him too! It's always a joy to see both of them having fun.

Thanksgiving Day #18 of Jan:
Super hot, 41℃ but we survived!
During summer:
Favourite food: ice cream, watermelon and cold cold drinks!
Favourite thing to do: Sitting at the mall and enjoy free air-cond...
Praying for rain tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Day #17:
Tonight we had buffet steamboat, my birthday treat from Hubby! I still prefer the Steamboat in Msia. 

Thanksgiving Day #16 of Jan:
This is the day that the Lord hath made. May I rejoice and be glad in it. Happy Birthday to me! Yesterday night, during my bedtime prayer, I was in tears when I gave thanks to God for His guidance for the past 34 years! He definitely has blessed me with so much that I am grateful for. We had a small celebration at home, with my beloved three family members. And, enjoying myself, reading all the birthday wishes from you in Facebook. Thanks for remembering and appreciate all your wishes. God bless!

Thanksgiving Day #15 of Jan:
Today at the mall, the trolley I was pushing, accidentally hit the car next to me and caused a small scratch. The car owner asked for my driving licence details in order for her to claim insurance for the damage. (According to her, I need not pay a single cents, her insurance company will cover the cost.) We exchanged details and hopefully, nothing serious will come out of it!
Finally, I have the chance to bake the famous butter cookies from Baking's Corner . Yummy yummy! Am starting to count down to our holidays in exactly one more month. (BolehLand, here we come) Any special requests from friends back home??

Thanksgiving Day #14 of Jan:
Every time when I go to the backyard to hang the clothes, I like to go near the Avocado tree and check on the fruits. Today, I was caught by the hot pink fruit - dragon fruit! I think it's time to google on some dragon fruit recipe, 

Thanksgiving Day #13 of Jan:
During school holidays, most of the shopping malls will have some activities for the kids. Today, I brought Abby and Ian to the Sylvanian Families activities at the mall near to our house. They enjoyed themselves very much. Next week will be the Sand Art, meeting with Smurf and also making your own Subway!

Thanksgiving Day #12 of Jan:
Today the kids followed me for grocery shopping. As usual, they will try to drag me to Kmart, then to their favourite corner - the Books section. So, Ian got himself a painting book (so happy to have his first painting book) and an activity book for Abby. We seldom say NO to them when it comes to buying books. It's a joy to see their happy faces!

Thanksgiving Day #11 of Jan:
Today our Reverend gave a very good message on God's blessings. No doubt we are living in a E-world, with advance information technologies and gadgets. We were reminded not to trap ourselves with social networks but to spend more time reading God's words, have connections with Him.

Thanksgiving Day #10 of Jan:
We have guests today! Thanks ChingThye Gan & Eunice Gan for dropping by our place and had a good catch up session.

Last year, around this time, I remembered I was busy baking cookies for Chinese New Year. (for charity sales at church in Malaysia) And one of my church sisters messaged me that she missed my cookies! I felt happy to hear that!

Thanksgiving Day #9 of Jan:
Something happened today and I wasn't happy about that. But I knew God is in control. We have to seek God in good times and bad times too!

Today I made 牛肉干 (a recipe shared by one Brother in Christ) and was very happy with the taste! 牛肉爽口，味道恰恰好，拌沙茶酱，甜酱油和花椒油，洒上芝麻，一级棒！

Thanksgiving Day #8 of Jan:
Today Abby and I played Spelling game. Abby scored 43/59 words which was pretty good. And the children look forward to evening everyday coz they get to play with PaPa. Games that they usually play are Hide & Seek, Ring a Ring a Roses, Simon says, Tag etc. Hubby is definitely a good playmate than me!

Thanksgiving Day #7 of Jan:
Abby has been bugging me to bake doughnut for her, which I was reluctant to coz I hate frying stuffs.(very messy :P) So, I tried the oven baked doughnuts but haha, it turned out to be doughnut biscuit (texture was not soft like bread but more like a french stick). But Abby was still happy to eat them, 

Thanksgiving Day #6 of Jan:
Apart from Kmart, Abby and Ian like to go to the library and will always come back with a bag full of books and/or children DVDs! Abby likes to read and I must say, for a 5yrs old gal, she knows quite a lot of vocabulary. As for Ian, he too, learnt a lot from watching the educational DVDs. For eg, one day he told me, "Mummy, ant is an insect!" These two 'monkeys' always bring colours to my life!

Thanksgiving Day #5 of Jan:
Thanked God for the rain! I taught Ian how to write Capital 'A' and he did it. But I think because he didn't have enough strength to hold the pencil, so the 'A' looked funny, hehe. Today, I also made mango sago dessert (learnt from church member) and it was good. I thanked God for many talented 'chefs' at church and they are willing to share their recipes with me.

Thanksgiving Day #4 of Jan:
It's the first Sunday of the year and we started off the day, attending church service. In fact, I attended two services today - home church (9am) and preaching point (3pm). Truly thanked God for blessing our church with faithful servants (the Pastoral team) and committed members. It's a joy to serve Him, alongside with other Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
Today, Ian spotted a four legged (or was it legless?) animal in front of the gate! So scary... but thanked God, it was harmless (at least it moved away when we poked it with a broom, hehe) Prayed that God will protect us over small incident liked this!

Ian is such a gentleman. I asked him a favour and said thank you to him, and he replied, "My pleasure Mum!" Ohh...so sweet of him! (And of course, Abby is a good gal too!)

Thanksgiving Day #3 of Jan:
Had a wonderful day at Captain Burke Park, attending a birthday party. This park has a nice view of the city, Brisbane river and next to the Story Bridge. Weather was good too! Abby & Ian had lots of fun at the playground. I also baked some egg tarts for the party and was very satisfied with the texture of the tarts. The taste was just perfect. Yummy!

Thanksgiving Day #2 of Jan:
A happy day for Abby as she received a barbie doll house and three dolls (in total she has 8 dolls) from a loving church Aunty! Though it was a second hand set but she was so excited! I am glad that Abby knows that she needs to clean up after playing, to keep the house neat and tidy.

Thanksgiving Day #1 of Jan:
Happy New Year 2015!
I started the 100 days of Thanksgiving in Oct'14 and I found that it was very motivating to me. So I decided to continue it this year, to give thanks everyday, ie 365 days!

Thanks to Rev & Mrs Tay (CG leader) for inviting us to their house for dinner tonight. We had a great fellowship with Brothers and Sisters In Christ.
Today also marked the day that Abby needs to sleep without diaper at night. And poor Mummy, gotta wake up mid night and bring Abby to toilet. Hope this training will be successful as soon as possible. (Abby was quite worry that 'accident' might happen but I told her, she can do it with God's help)

Abby is in Prep!

31.1.15 (Sat)

It was already the last day of the month! Time flies!

Finally, Abby started going to school after a long break from Kindy in Malaysia. She went to Prep at Macgregor State School (one of the top 3 state schools in Brisbane) on 27th Jan 2015. In Brisbane, you go to the school  that is under your location catchment. We are lucky that we fell under the Macgregor State School catchment!

So, during school days, I have to wake up by 7am and get ready her breakfast and lunch box. By 8.10am, all 3 of us (Abby, Ian and me) will start walking to the school, about 15mns walk. (Hubby goes to work with the car) Thanked God that the weather was good except for Wed (28/1) that it was drizzling. With no choice, Abby has to take the small umbrella while Ian and I shared the big umbrella.

The class door will be open at 8.45am and all the students need to place their water bottle in a basket prepared outside the class and is allowed to bring in one snack for break. There are 25 students in Abby's class and she is in the Diamond group. She is in Prep G and G stands for Guppy. The teacher is very thoughtful to prepare a small aquarium with some guppy fishes inside. And there is also a reward system where the student gets a guppy sticker when he/she does something good, 10 guppies = 1 reward. So, for the first 4 days of school, Abby collected 9 guppies and one more to go to claim her reward.

Everyday after school, she has so much to share with me on whats happening in class. We knew that the Australia education system is different from Malaysia. They hardly have any homeworks to do. The classroom setting is like a mini playhouse - with book corners, kitchen set, computers etc. No wonder Abby said she loves going to school!

信仰的力量：80亿美元家产捐得一干二净

他已76岁，和妻子居住在美国旧金山的一套一居室的出租屋里。他从来没有穿过名牌衣服，眼镜破旧不堪，佩戴的手表是地摊上的塑料手表。他不爱美食，最喜欢的是价格低廉的烤奶酪西红柿三明治。他没有自己的小汽车，外出通常都是乘坐公交车，他曾经的公文包是个布袋。

另外，如果你和他一起到小酒馆喝上一杯啤酒，他一定会仔细核对账单；如果你住在他家里，睡觉前他一定会提醒你把灯关了。

一个贫穷而吝啬的美国老头有什么好说的？那么让我们看看他76岁以前都做了哪些事。

他曾为康奈尔大学捐献了5.88亿美元，为加州大学捐献了1.25亿美元，为斯坦福大学捐献了6000万美元。他曾投入10亿美元，改造和新建了爱尔兰的7所大学和北爱尔兰的两所大学。他曾建立慈善基金为发展中国家的腭裂儿童做手术提供免费的医疗费用……迄今为止，他已经捐出40亿美元，还有40亿美元等待捐献。

他就是全球免税集团DFS的创始人——对己吝啬、待人大方、喜欢挣钱却不喜欢拥有钱的查克•费尼。目前，查克•费尼还有三个愿望：一是在2016前捐光剩下的40亿美元，否则死不瞑目。现在，这笔钱正以每年超过4亿美元的速度流向世界各地需要的地方。另一个是为富豪们树立一个榜样一一“在享受生活的同时做出馈赠”。比尔盖茨和沃伦巴菲特深受他的影响并已付诸行动。

查克·费尼的善举被披露出来后，大量记者涌向他的居住地，当时，大家心中都有一个疑问：查克·费尼在亿万资产面前是如何做到如此淡然的？

面对大家的疑惑，查克·费尼微笑着给大家讲了个故事，他说：“一只狐狸看到葡萄园里结满了果实，想到园中美餐一顿，可是它太胖了，钻不进栅栏。于是它三天三夜不饮不食，使身体瘦下去，终于钻进去了！饱餐一顿，心满意足，可是，当它要离开的时候，又钻不出来了。无奈，它只好故伎重演，三天三夜不饮不食。结果，它出来的时候，肚子还是跟进去时一样。”

讲完这个故事，查克·费尼说：“上帝那里没有银行，每个人都是赤裸裸地诞生，最后又孑然而去，没有人能带走自己一生苦苦经营的财富与盛名!”

媒体追问查克•费尼，为何非要捐得一干二净？

他的回答很简单，因为:“裹尸布上没有口袋”。

Abigail's 5th Birthday Celebration

11.12.14 (Thurs)

Last Sat (6/12), we organised a mini thanksgiving lunch to celebrate Abby's upcoming 5th birthday. We only invited three families to join us. Unfortunately, one of the family couldn't make it. Nonetheless, we thanked God for a good fellowship with our guests.

Abby knew about this thanksgiving lunch few weeks ago and she was really excited about it. She even made a mark on her calendar on the important event and counting down each day.

On Fri (5/12), I started preparing some of the things for the party, especially baking her birthday cake. This year, I decided to bake her a Barbie doll cake. I googled some ideas on youtube and hopefully with my baking skills, I am able to bake the cake. Besides the Barbie doll cake, I also baked some carrot walnut cake in muffin cup and also the cake in the egg shell. You may click here for the Barbie doll cake recipe.

Then, on Sat itself, I woke up around 6am for another round of cooking  marathon.  I have prepared:
Fried meehun

Rice with salmon fish, green peas and egg

Japanese curry chicken

Chicken mushroom soup

Mixed vegetables

Thanked God that it rained in the morning and stopped before the guests arrived. We had a good time chatting with each other, laughing together over silly jokes and the kids, happily playing around the house. Food were too much to finish. 

Highlight of the day - the Barbie doll cake. Glad that the cake turned out to be beautiful and I was proud of myself. Abby liked the cake very much. In fact, after blowing the candle, I put back the cake into the fridge so that I can admired my 'masterpiece' a lil longer before 'crashing' it! Haha.

Abby received some presents. We told her to open the presents on her actual birth date and she agreed. 

On 12.12.14, we had another birthday party for Abby - just the 4 of us. I baked a mini rainbow cake for her and Ian sang a lovely birthday song for JieJie. Finally, Abby can unwrap all her presents!

 

100 days Thanksgiving Day #62 to #92

100 days Thanksgiving Day #92:
Today is the last day of year 2014 and our first New Year Eve in Brisbane. We purposely took a train to South Bank (very happening place in Brisbane) just to watch the 10mins fireworks show. Abby and Ian were very excited as it was their first train experience and second fireworks show. Tomorrow will be a brand new day, a brand new year! May God bless all of you! Happy New Year!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #90 & #91:
These few days, weather was unpredictable. Been raining for 3 days, and today, weather was super hot! On one hand, I prayed for sunny day to dry up my clothes, but on the other, I also prayed for rainy days to cool down the weather! God must be having 'headache', thinking how to have my prayers answered,
Tonight was the last choir practice of the year. Only 9 choir members turned up. I wanted to thank all the choir conductors for their commitments and passions in serving Him.

Today, I kept hearing Ian singing some Sunday School songs. Though he couldn't pronounced the words accurately but I knew what he was singing about and I felt so touched! (Only Mothers can understand how I felt!) Now, both Abby & Ian can do a duet!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #88 & #89:
It has been raining for the past few days, felt like Winter than Summer. No doubt rainy days are very nice and cooling, but I am praying for sunny day tomorrow so that my clothes will be dry! Also praying for Air Asia flight no. QZ8501, may God send His Angels to search for the plane and all the people on board are safe!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #87:
Spent my first boxing day with my very first English breakfast in Brisbane. The food portion was big that I had to skip my lunch, hehe. Thanks AiHoi Lin for spending 4d3n with us. Enjoy the rest of ur vacation in Melb!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #86:
Merry Christmas to all! It's our first Christmas in Brisbane and we were glad to have my sister, celebrating with us. After the church service, we spent the rest of the day at home. (Christmas is a public holiday here and most of the shops, including the mall are closed) After dinner, we went to a shop for not-so-delicious dessert. I still prefer the dessert in Malaysia. Am gonna write down a list of MUST EAT food when we are back next Feb!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #85:
It's Christmas Eve and we had a great day!
Day: Took my sister to the mall for some shopping.
Night: Christmas Eve celebration at church - love feast and short sharing. I grilled 2kg of BBQ chicken wings and also bake blueberry muffin with Christmas deco.
And, also went to Brisbane City Hall to experience our first Christmas moments. I think the Council had done a brilliant job in making the city filled with Christmas joy and love.
Merry Christmas to all! 


100 days Thanksgiving Day #83 & #84:
It's Christmas week! And Christmas this yea, we welcomed a VIP from Malaysia to celebrate with us! Though there were some hu-ha in the airport but thanked God, He is in control. VIP arrived safely and Abby was so excited!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #82:
Relaxing Sunday. Today, a big ant bit me (I was wearing my jeans and didn't realise an ant crawled inside) and it was so painful! Thanked goodness it's not fire ant!
Though Ian couldn't read now, but he likes books. Often, he will sit down on the floor with a pile of books. He will flip them page by page or ask me/Hubby to read for him. Today, Hubby had read three books for him and he was happy! Hopefully, soon, Ian can read for us. On the other hand, Abby likes to sing. She could memorise the whole song of 'Away in the manger' and God blessed her with angelic voice. I love listening to her singing!


100 days Thanksgiving Day #81:
Happy Saturday! We went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (ranked #2 of #131 attractions in Brisbane) and really wanted to thank God for such a beautiful weather. This place was really well maintained, all animals were well kept/fed and highly recommended for family outing, especially with children! Both Abby & Ian had so much fun, including myself! Then, we ended the day with a sumptuous dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

100 days Thanksgiving Day #79 & #80:
Today marked the 7 months of our new life here in Brisbane. God has been faithful to us and life is getting better and better each day. Never in my mind that I would start a new life in a foreign country. Give thanks to God and also my Hubby, who persistently applied for the PR. The kids are having fun here. Ever since we came here, they have been buying lots of books and toys (which we will not do so in Msia). Tomorrow is another exciting day as we are going to visit the Koala and Kangaroo!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #78:
Hot hot day! So, I brought the kids to the mall for some school holidays activities and also to the library. Today, Abby & Ian had the chance to decorate their own Christmas sock with magic colours. And, we met Santa again, hehe. So each of them got another book from Santa! I also borrowed some books, hopefully could try out some recipes there.

100 days Thanksgiving Day #77:
Wow, two more weeks, year 2014 will come to an end!
Today, the kids received a loving parcel from Singapore - all toys! Finally Abby got her very first "Elsa" doll that can sing "Let it go" and Ian got his favourite Lego car! Many thanks to AiLee Lin.
And, I got to know my mum was being robbed (necklace and pendant) by an Indian guy during her morning walk. Thanked God she was not hurt. Pray that God will look after our family members back home. 

100 days Thanksgiving Day #76:
It has been raining for few days and I couldn't dry my clothes. Thanked God for answering prayer. Finally, "Miss Sunshine" came back to work! However, I also pray that it will rain on and off in order to cool down the weather.

100 days Thanksgiving Day #75:
Beautiful Sunday! Abby & Ian had a great time at the Sunday School Christmas party. Thanked God that Ian can now go to SS independently. After church, we went to a church friends' house, about 40mins drive, for Christmas gathering. The host has prepared yummylicious food. We had a another round of wonderful fellowship with one another. I was telling Hubby, this weekend we ate too much yummy food, especially meat (duck, chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, fish) So tonight, we just had vegetable for dinner. 

100 days Thanksgiving Day #73 & #74:
Have been very busy baking these two days - for Abby's birthday and also CG Christmas party.
Yesterday I baked a mini rainbow cake for Abby's actual birth date. Ian sang a birthday song for JieJie. Abby also opened up all her presents (I asked her to open only on her birthday) and she liked them all. At night, we went to Hakataya (Kid's favourite noodle shop) for noodle again coz Abby got a free noodle on her birthday!
Today, I baked a Butter Chocolate Cream Cheese cake (very popular recipe on Baking's Corner, credit to Enne Ty) for Cg Christmas party. The remaining batter I made it into mini cupcake, decorated into a Christmas tree! Though it was time consuming, but I was very happy with my masterpiece.

 

100 days Thanksgiving Day #72:
Thanked God for the rain that cools down the weather.
Same day 5 years ago, around this hour (11pm+), I remembered clearly that my water bag burst and was admitted to hospital. Hubby just came back from outstation and with God's amazing arrangement, Abby was born the next day, with PaPa witnessing the whole process.

Today, I baked her another birthday cake, now chilling in the fridge. Abby is having flu now. I asked her to sleep early, to get more rest so that she can enjoy her birthday tomorrow. She obeyed and went to bed at 9pm. Pray for speedy recovery.

100 days Thanksgiving Day #70 & #71:
Yesterday was another minor hail storm but thanked God, we were not affected. However, choir practice has been postponed to tonight. One of the choir member brought his son tonight, so, both Abby & Ian were running around with their new friend, hence, making noises! I thanked my choir members for their tolerance and that the practice went on smoothly.
Today in the noon, I brought the children to the library. We met Santa! Both Abby and Ian were invited to have a chat with Santa. Surprisingly, Ian was not afraid of Santa this round and he was quite chatty. Santa gave both of them a book each as present.
  
100 days Thanksgiving Day #68 & #69:
Brand new week. Yesterday I was asked to help out with refreshments for the night church service. I baked carrot walnut cupcakes again and was told that they liked it.
Today, I cooked a simple dinner - fried noodles. I thanked God for my Hubby and children coz they eat anything and everything that I cooked and seldom have complaints. Sometimes, the children even praised me, "Mummy, you are the best COOK ever!" Haha..

100 days Thanksgiving Day #66 & #67:
Thanked God I survived! Yesterday, I was very busy baking for Abby's birthday thanksgiving lunch today. I baked 18pcs carrot walnut cupcakes, 12 cakes in the egg shell and the Barbie doll's cake (shaped like a skirt)
Then this morning, woke up 6am for another round of cooking marathon. Prepared 2 main courses (fried meehoon, salmon rice), Japanese curry chicken, chicken mushroom soup and a vege. Also decorated the Barbie doll cake. It was ...not as easy as I thought it would be or what I saw on youtube. But thanked God, the cream cheese frosting turned out to be nice and Abby liked it. We also had a great time chatting with our guests.

At night, we went up to the North side of Brisbane to meet up a friend from Perth! Another round of great meet up session over yummylicous Thai food.
All in all, an eventful day. Though I was really tired and exhausted, but most importantly, Abby was very happy today!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #65:
Ever since I joined the FB Group Page Baking's Corner, I got lots of baking inspirations and ideas from all the passionate bakers around the world! Today, I tried making the Apple Juice Jelly like Beer (credit to Fiona Lau) and it was great! Hubby even got tricked thinking it was real beer. The children liked it.
Tomorrow will be a busy day for me. I need to start preparing for Abby's 5th birthday thanksgiving lunch on Sat. Planned to bake a Barbie doll cake and carrot walnut cake in muffin cups. Hopefully the Barbie doll cake turns out to be what I imagined, else, better!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #63 & #64:
Praised God for good weather these few days. Also wanted to thank God for His wonderful creations. Looked at the avocados on the tree and the beautiful flowers in the garden. According to my landlord, it's not the right time to pluck the avocados as they can grow bigger. So I need to be patient.

I am also happy to hear news that we will be expecting guests from Malaysia soon!

100 days Thanksgiving Day #62:
Happy December and welcome Summer! Abby is much more excited than me as she has been counting down since Nov to her 5th birthday in 2 weeks time. Thanked God for our lovely daughter. She is my best helper at home, helping with some light house chores, taking care of Ian etc. She is also a very good song composer. Many a times, she sang to me her very own self-composed song and I must admit, the songs are good. Pray that she will adapt well in Prep next year and be a bright student!