Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

Christmas is just around the corner! For a Christmas potluck/Yankee swap at work, Miles and I made some gingerbread cookies with royal icing. Yummm…

It was my first time making gingerbread cookies and they turned out wonderful. Nonetheless, I’ll probably put an extra teaspoon or two of ground ginger next time around, for more “gingery” taste cookies :)

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:
6 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
3/4 cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Sift together flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth. Next, gradually stir in the dry ingredients from (1), until they are well incorporated.
3. Divide dough into 3 pieces. Pat down to 1+1/2 inch thickness each, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto a cookie sheet.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies will look dry when done, but still be soft to the touch. Cool cookies on wire racks.
6. Decorate cookies when cookies are cooled completely.

* Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Royal Icing

Ingredients:
3 cup icing sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 egg white, beaten

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, sift together icing sugar and cream of tartar. Using an electric hand mixer, beat in 2 beaten egg whites for approximately 5 minutes, or until mixture is thick enough to hold its shape.
2. Add food colouring into icing accordingly. Mix well. Insert icing into an icing bag and decorate cookies accordingly.

* Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Josie, a good friend of Miles and I celebrated her birthday last weekend. We wanted to prepare a birthday cake for her during a Christmas/birthday party at her place. The first question that came into my mind was, “how am I going to incorporate the two themes into the cake?”

Tier cake, fondant covered cake, layered cake etc. After a few days of discussion, we finally decided on a checkerboard cake. Mind you, it’s a festive checkerboard cake!

Josie’s wedding bouquet had her favourite white roses and orange lilies. To personalized the birthday cake, I handmade the flowers with fondant and gum paste as cake decorations.

It seems like a long process preparing just a 4-layer 8-inch round cake. Nevertheless, Miles and I had great fun preparing it, despite the challenging part where we had to put the rings of cake together. A good try!

We were glad that Josie enjoyed the cake. All the “wows” and ‘wahs” we received for the pretty flowers and a surprise festive checkerboard pattern as everyone savoured the cake.

Stylish? Practical? I’m perplexed looking at the so-called “winter boots” on the market. Most of the women boots look pretty and stylish. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take long to realize that they have poor insulation, and with no water resistance! What good it is to keep one in the winter?

Oh well, I shouldn’t say that. For someone who hops into the car from home, drive to work, hop from the card into the work building, and hop back into the car and drive home after work, maybe, those boots won’t be a bad option.

For me, a few hundred metres of walk to the bus stop everyday, and a few kilometres of walk for groceries or to downtown when the buses are not available.

Where can those boots get me to? No where! It doesn’t take long before they get soaking wet from the snow, and leads to wet socks, and freezing feet.

So, be practical!

I’ve a good pair of leather boots that I’ve been wearing for the past six winters. It has good water resistance and well insulated. However, over the years, soles are losing treads and the traction isn’t the best. There were times where I almost slipped and fell on the icy patches, and worse still, I could barely balance myself walking down a steep slope. That was terrifying…

The solution to this is, studded boots! Same idea as studded winter tires, they will give more traction as compared to regular winter tires. These studded rubber strap, “Stabilicers,” can be placed around the bottom of my boots.

Off I went! Instead of avoiding the icy ground, I can now walk in a straight line without much complications.

Thanks to Miles for the great idea. It’s a nice Christmas gift, that allows me to walk in the winter with confidence ;)

I’m not a big fan of flu shots; not that I’m afraid of needles (I’ve had lots of practice from blood donation), but I’d rather let my own body immune system fight off the virus. What would happen if my body depends too much on the flu shots? Yes, by getting flu shot, I’m quite certain that my chances of catching the flu is close to nothing. Nonetheless, who can guarantee that I’m not catching something else in the air?

How many flu shots does it require for us to stay away from all the bugs? The answer is “too many.” Hence, my idea is, let my body defend for herself. This way, defense system can be strengthen and fight a longer battle.

Conversely, immune system that’s over protected (fully depend on flu shots) has a harder time to be on its own when crisis arises. Worse comes to worst, our body loses the battle and we feel miserable. At least, our body will then recognize the enemy and will do a better job in defending him/herself next time around.

When H1N1 flu shot became available to the public, I was contemplating whether or not I should get one. I convinced myself to get one in the end based on the following reasons:

1) H1N1 can be deadly. It doesn’t seem to get any better but worse. Prevention is better than cure.

2) If I never get the shot and happen to catch the flu. I’ll be the only person to be blamed.

3) It’s free. Actually, it’s more like I’ve already paid for it since it’s from the taxpayer’s pocket.

Some of the symptoms of H1N1 swine flu are: extreme fatigue, sore throat, cough, headache, runny & stuff nose, muscle aches, nausea, and vomiting. Who can get it? It’s just about anyone!  

The media hype on H1N1 influenza virus leads to absurd paranoiac amongst the public. Here is the question. Is H1N1 flu virus any worse than other flu or disease that we know of? Reports have shown that seasonal flu kills more than 35,000 Americans every year, 1.6 million people died from Tuberculosis in 2005, and SARS killed 163 people up to 2003. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were about 8,000 confirmed death cases caused by H1N1 flu virus, up to end of November 2009. Is H1N1 virus any worse? Do the math.

What are the impacts of H1N1 (by getting the public paranoid)? Drug companies are selling more drugs, doctors are attending to more patients, medical institutions are getting more businesses. These phenomena made me wonder: are these all about media and politics?

Look at this. Every month, 50,000 people die from AIDS in South Africa. Every day, nearly 1,600 people die from AIDS. And guess what? 42,000 people died from car accidents in 2001 and more than 20,000 death cases from the common flu in the USA annually.

Stay healthy. Be happy. Instead of living in fear because of influenza viruses, there are lots of other things in life to be treasured and cherished.

Not a dozen, nor a hundred
But a single one
One that shows its vibrant red
Sparkles as the light shines on

On the pond, printed image of two
Once were strangers
Not knowing each other
Are now sharing love together

What’s my favourite cake? For something simple, marble cake. For something fancy, Tiramisu cake!

Tiramisu is a popular Italian cake, prepared with lady finger biscuits dipped in strong coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of mascarpone cheese, coffee flavoured liqueur, and sugar, and topped with cocoa powder. Yumm..

I’ve made Tiramisu cake with lady finger biscuits in the past and found that they turned soggy easily after soaking in coffee and liqueur. However, if they’re not soaked long enough, the cake will be less flavourful.

Miles came across with this Tiramisu cake recipe that called for regular white cake. It turned out to be fabulous! It was a hit :)

Ingredients:

(A) Cake
1 package of moist white cake mix
1 tsp instant coffee powder
1/4 cup coffee
1 tbsp coffee flavoured liqueur

(B) Filling
~ 230 g (8 oz) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp coffee flavoured liqueur

(C) Frosting
2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp coffee flavoured liqueur

(D) Garnish
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
~ 30 g (1 oz) semi-sweet

Directions:
1. Prepare cake batter according to the direction on cake mix package. Divide two-third of the batter evenly between two greased 8-inch cake pans.
2. Stir in coffee powder from (A) into the remaining one-third batter, before transferring it into another greased 8-inch cake pan.
3. Bake cake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Mix together the 1/4 cup coffee and coffee flavoured liqueur from (A). Set aside to cool.
5. To prepare the filling: In a small bowl, beat together all ingredients in (B) with an electric hand mixer on low speed, just until smooth. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
6. To prepare the frosting: In a medium bowl, beat together all ingredients in (C) with an electric hand mixer on medium speed, until stiff.
7. Fold 1/2 cup of frosting mixture from (6) into filling mixture from (5).
8. To assemble the cake: Place one plain cake layer on a serving plate. Using a thin skewer, poke holes in cake, about 1 inch apart. Pour one-third of reserved coffee mixture from (4) on cake, then spread half of the filling mixture from (5) on cake.
Next, place the coffee-flavoured cake layer on top, and poke holes in cake. Pour another third of the coffee mixture on cake and spread the remaining filling mixture on top.
Subsequently, top the cake with remaining cake layer, and poke holes in cake. Pour remaining coffee mixture on cake. Spread sides and top of cake with frosting.
9. Lightly dust the top of cake with sifted cocoa powder.
10. To prepare chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar. Garnish cake with chocolate curls.
11. Refrigerate cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Most people would probably agree with me that puddles aren’t pleasant to stumble into. Muddy and yucky. Eww! Pedestrians, especially, have to be extra cautious while walking along the sidewalk. Try to stay as far away from the road as possible. The “man-made fountain” is not as pretty as you thought it might be; yucky splashing water when a car is driven by the puddle is best to be avoided.

Apparently, carrying an umbrella on a rainy day can be very useful. Besides keeping ourselves dry, it can potentially be used as a “shield” to protect us from the splashing water.

Having said that, puddles can be a great setup for capturing water reflection images. Pretty cool!

The surroundings seem so different when it’s covered in snow. Although winter weather can be brutally cold, I enjoy the beauty and serenity of winter. It’s part of the nature, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience winter. I’m hoping to enjoy the most of it. Dress warm and stay strong!

My winter boots made their first appearance of the season this past Sunday. Taking pictures in the winter can be enjoyable, yet torturing. By the end of the session, my hands were nearly frozen. Gloves and camera don’t seem to go along very well. I was snapping pictures with my bare hands. Cold… freezing cold… but it was worthwhile :)

Advent (adventus in Latin meaning “coming”), is observed in many Christian churches during the preparation for Christmas celebration. A practice introduced by the German Lutherans, the Advent calendar starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. An Advent wreath has five candles; candles will be lit one at a time on a Sunday during the Advent season, and the central candle is not lit till Christmas Day. 

First Candle: The Candle of Prophecy/Hope
Second Candle: The Candle of the Way
Third Candle: The Candle of Joy
Fourth Candle: The Candle of Peace
Fifth Candle: The Christ Candle/Christmas Candle

In the commercial world, Advent calendar is widely available. It’s fun for young kids. There’s a piece of chocolate underneath each window with date printed on it. It’s a surprise everyday; pop open the window to receive a treat as Christmas Day approaches. A “big kid” like me is having fun with it :)

More baking! Miles and I did more baking last weekend. There was something new that we wanted to try preparing–gum paste.

Similar to fondant, gum paste is a pliable dough that can be easily shaped for cake decorations. As the name implied, the latter has more of a gum texture and it holds its shape better than fondant.

Cake baking, cake cooling, cake leveling, cake icing, cake chilling… all happened on the first night. Fondant and gum paste were prepared on the same day.

The next morning, we moved on to rolling out the fondant and laying the thin sheet (1/8 inch thick) onto the cake. Miles did a fabulous job transferring fondant onto the cake on his first attempt!

While the cake is being chilled in the fridge, we cut out various patterns on gum paste. Then, they cut-out patterns were placed in mini tin foil cupcake liners to hold their shapes. Painting was the next step. We used mainly gel paste food colouring for painting. Meanwhile, home-made chocolate icing was artistically piped along the top and bottom edges of the cake.

Finally, we assembled the gum paste ornaments onto the cake, placed a maraschino cherry on each flower, and garnished cake with milk chocolate curls.

Final results:

It was a heart-breaking moment to have to cut the cake. Oh well, that’s what the cake is for–consumption! More importantly, Miles and I had great fun preparing the cake and everyone enjoyed eating it ;)

Allergic to eggs? Ran out of eggs? Try this awesome eggless chocolate cupcakes!

Ingredients:
3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cup water
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, white sugar, cocoa, salt, baking soda.
2. Next, stir in oil, water, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Stir until well-blended.
3. Line a muffin pan with paper muffin cups. Pour batter into the muffin cups about 2/3 full.
4. Bake cupcakes for about 25 minutes in preheated oven at 350 F.

* Modified from Allrecipes.com

Yield: ~ 24 medium cupcakes

The cupcakes tasted wonderful! Better still, by reducing the baking time a minute or two will keep the cupcakes moist and yummy ;)

It’s hard to believe that the calendar is slowing easing its way into the last month of the year. It’s only less than a month away from Christmas! Christmas carols, Christmas decorations, Christmas sales…

Snow has finally arrived, on the last day of November. Despite a few freezing cold days in September and October, we’ve been blessed with a mild November weather (yes, after Miles and I stopped biking to work).

Days are shorter and nights are longer, as we gradually approach the end of December (Dec. 21st has the shortest daylight hours). Going to work in the dark and returning home from work in the dark. The bright sunshine can only be admired from afar when I’m at work.

While everyone is hustling to Christmas shopping and trying to have it squeezed into their busy schedule, Miles and I have already accomplished most of the shopping needed to be done. Believe it or not, we started Christmas shopping early September!

No major plans. No major trips. This is one of the very few years that I’m not visiting any new places during Christmas/New Year’s Day.

Here is a glimpse of what I’ve done in previous years:

2003 – Stayed in Fredericton and celebration Christmas in the residence.
2004 – Spent “Boxing Day” shopping in Moncton.
2005 – Participated in International Christmas in Nova Scotia.
2006 - At Urbana Student Mission Conference in St. Louise, Missouri.
2007 – Travelled to Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City for Christmas; New York and Boston for New Year’s.
2008 – Visited Calgary and Edmonton for Christmas and New Year’s.

This year, I’ll be in Fredericton/Grand Bay/Saint John for most, if not all of my Christmas/New Year’s vacation. Hopefully, there will be skiing opportunities should the weather be favourable, and also chances to go skating during the holidays.

It’s going to be a quiet, joyful Christmas this year, for the seventh year in a row celebrating the festive season without family around. Next year, hopefully, Christmas will be different, a good different.