Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

Time flies. Miles and I celebrated our first anniversary as a couple recently. When it comes to anniversary, there are different ways to celebrate it. It could be a romantic candle light dinner, a bouquet of flowers, a nice gift etc. A nice surprise, in my opinion, is a wonderful way to celebrate anniversary.

Having told that there will be an anniversary cake, I had no idea what the cake will look like, besides for it being a heart-shaped cake.

Surprise! A nicely decorated anniversary cake that Miles prepared in the midst of his hectic exam schedule. How sweet! p/s: very neat handwriting for one who doesn’t grow up learning Chinese.

The “interior” of the cake; red and blue (Miles’ and my favourite colour, respectively) marble patterns, with chocolate ganache in the middle, and topped with buttercream icing.

Of course, we shared the cake with friends too. It was one of the best homemade cake I ever had; rich but not too sweet. Very well done (someone mistakenly thought it was store-bought)!

Happy Anniversary, Miles! Thank you very much for the lovely cake :)

This past weekend was Easter weekend. Besides a turkey meal, and many other delicious treats, we had a chance to enjoy this lovely Easter Bunny Cake!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter celebration!

Welcome to the Malaysian Cultural Night 2010! About 30 students from the Malaysian Students’ Society of University of New Brunswick have put together a cultural night in the city of Fredericton on February 20th, 2010.

It was part of my university life; joining the board of committee and organizing events for the society members, as well as the community. The highlight was no other than the cultural night, which I considered as something of great challenge, knowing that the preparation work can take up to 3 months, if not more. Thanks to the society members who put in time and effort to make things possible, despite their busy schedules as full-time students.

This year, I was invited to be one of the masters of ceremony (a.k.a. emcees), while Miles filled in as a photographer.

It was a good-size crowd of 150 people; students, faculty members, and people from the community.

The backdrop of the stage.

Clementines! Yes, it was still Chinese New Year…

Red packets (a.k.a. Ang Pau)! They contained numbers for lucky draw.

A big and gorgeous bouquet made of “Bunga Telur” (a.k.a. Egg Flower). These flowers were given out as door prizes.

Rangoli, sandpainting with finely ground coloured powders, is known as a popular form of Indian art.

The Malaysian flag.

Food…food…best of all, it’s Malaysian food! Limited ingredients, restricted hours of preparation, and lack of manpower; despite all these, the food was made possible, scrumptious, delicious, appealing…. *thumbs up*

Want to find out more about Malaysian culture? Check out the exhibition section.

Performance of Silat, Malay martial arts.

Chinese Umbrella Dance.

The great finale–Lion Dance!

It was an eventful day. By the end of the evening, I was ready to hit the sack. What a wonderful way to introduce the Malaysian culture to the crowd which comprised of different nationalities, Canadian, Thai, Indian, Filipino, Chinese, and many more. Furthermore, it was a rewarding experience of tasting the Malaysian cuisine, learning Malaysian cultures, as well as enjoying cultural performances, without visiting Malaysia :)

How did you celebrate Christmas? To me, Christmas a great time for traveling and and having a get-together with friends. Other than that, there is not much to look forward to, since I’ve no family here in Canada. To cheer up my Christmas spirit, I might give myself a gift or two for Christmas. I know, it sounds pretty pathetic…

Last year, however, I celebrated Christmas with Miles and his family. A truly Canadian Christmas celebration; Christmas tree, treats, gifts, food etc.

I couldn’t remember the last time I was excited about Christmas and anticipated for the Christmas morning to come. Even though I never truly believed in Santa as a young kid, I was always looking forward to receiving my stuffed Christmas stocking on Christmas morning.

It brought back my childhood memory when I received a stuffed Christmas stocking in the morning! I’ve never had that many Christmas gifts in the past. Unwrapping each gift brought great excitement. That was one of the greatest fun celebrating Christmas!

Christmas decoration on the dining table.

Turkey and ham, with homemade beets and pickles for on Christmas day.

Homemade minced meat pie.

Plum Pudding. A must-have Christmas dessert in Miles’ family. It has a similar taste to fruit cake.

Hard Sauce, goes with the plum pudding. It is made of butter and icing sugar, and tasted like cake batter.

Christmas tree with gifts from Santa!

Cracking the nuts can be fun; walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.

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.

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 :)

Halloween is celebrated on October 31st each year. It’s a secular celebration that involves trick-or-treating for young kids, costume parties, pumpkin carving, ghost tours, watching horror movies etc.

My halloween experience from last year can be found here. This is my first year giving out treats to the young children at the door. Most kids came between 6 and 8 p.m., with their halloween outfit.

Halloween treats.

Trick-or-treating:

This cute “monkey” was my favourite!

Pumpkins were hard to find this year, especially the good ones, due to the wet weather. Nonetheless, we managed to find some small pumpkins for carving.

The black cat.

The haunted house.

The owl.

This big pumpkin was carved a week before Halloween, but it lasted only for a few days before the pumpkin was rotten so badly that we had to throw it out.

An annual event celebrated on the 5thof the fifth month (according to Chinese Lunar Calender), Dragon Boat Festival is deeply rooted in the Chinese culture. Participating in a Dragon Boat Race and eating Zongzi (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) are some of the ways to celebrate this festival.

The origin of Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the great patriot poet Qu Yuan.

“Like other Chinese festivals, there is also a legend behind the festival. Qu Yuan served in the court of Emperor Huai during the Warring States (475 – 221 BC). He was a wise and erudite man. His ability and fight against corruption antagonized other court officials. They exerted their evil influence on the Emperor, so the Emperor gradually dismissed Qu Yuan and eventually exiled him. During his exile, Qu Yuan did not give up. He traveled extensively, taught and wrote about his ideas. His works, the Lament (Li Sao), the Nine Chapters (Jiu Zhang), and Wen tian, are masterpieces and invaluable for studying ancient Chinese culture. He saw the gradual decline of his mother country, the Chu State. And when he heard that the Chu State was defeated by the strong Qin State, he was so despaired that he ended his life by flinging himself into the Miluo River.

Legend says after people heard he drowned, they were greatly dismayed. Fishermen raced to the spot in their boats to search for his body. Unable to find his body, people threw zongzi, eggs and other food into the river to feed fish, so hoped to salvage his body. Since then, people started to commemorate Qu Yuan through dragon boat races, eating zongziand other activities, on the anniversary of his death, the 5thof the fifth month.”

* From About.com

I missed the Zongzi (a.k.a. rice dumpling) from home. The rice dumpling is so popular that it’s easily available all year round. The preparation is time consuming and very skill demanding. Since I couldn’t get any fresh ones here in Fredericton, I made some a few years ago to soothe my cravings. It was a tedious process. I’ll have to improve on my wrapping skills for the rice dumplings appear to be more presentable.

The 5th Annual Dragon Boat Race was held in the city of Fredericton in September. Why in September? I’m not exactly sure. In my humble opinion, spring weather might still be cold. The summer months allow participants to sharpen their rowing skills, so that they’ll be ready for the race when it comes fall. Furthermore, most people are away during summer for vacation and spending time with family & friends. Needless to say, winter is not on the option list due to the extreme cold temperature and frozen river.

Majority of the participants are amateur rowers. The race is considered more like a friendly match rather than a competitive one.

It turned out to be a nice day for the Dragon Boat Race on a Sunday morning.

Participants were getting ready.

The competition began!

Boat No. 2 was the winner in this elimination round.

Acadia, is another name for the Canadian Maritime provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island), as well as Maine in the United States. Among these places, about 86% of the total Acadian population settled in New Brunswick. Acadians are known as the descendants of the 17th century French colonists.

The Acadian Day is celebrated annually on August 15th. It’s a celebration of the Assumption of Mary. The date of celebration was set in 1881 in Memramcook, New Brunswick, at the first National Convention of the Acadians.

In conjunction with this special occasion, there were bouquets of flowers on sale. How were they special? These flowers came in yellow, blue, red, and white; just like the Acadian flag! How nice… The blue roses were especially precious. I’ve been wanting to get some in the past, and my dream came true… when Miles handed me this unique bouquet of flowers as a surprise gift. ^v*

A bouquet of red, white, and blue roses; matching colours of the Acadian flag.

The red rose.

The white rose.

The blue rose.

The “Fireworks Extravaganza” began at 10:40 p.m., presented by Fredericton Civic Pride and sponsored by Remax Realty. It was a good 20 minutes of fireworks, with stunning appearance and creative effects. There were amazing fireworks displays; some of which were presented in surprising and unexpected ways.

The celebration of 142th Canada Day came to an end before midnight.

The Canada Day Parade started at 4 p.m., with the theme “Colour me Canadian – A Celebration of Creativity and Diversity.” It was known to be one of Canada’s only “Green” parades. Various organizations and cultural associations from the community were involved in this event.

Happy Canada Day! Despite the overcast weather for the most part of the day, Canada Day celebration turned out to be a joyful and memorable one. July 1st… I could hardly believe that summer is here!

I’m amused by the identical weather on Canada Day for the third year in a row (at least); overcast during the day, and some rain during or after the parade which usually starts at 4 p.m. I couldn’t help but thinking: Is it coincidental or being planned for? Even though it wasn’t a hot sunny day, I was contented with the cool and dry weather.

Canada Day celebration kicked off  in downtown Fredericton at noon with the “Civic Pride Block Party,” which also known as Canada’s largest Block Party. Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Artillery School presented the “Twenty-one Gun Salute” (deployed from the Carleton Park). The opening ceremony took place at the Officer’s Square downtown, at 2 p.m. The public was invited to participate in the singing of national anthem “O Canada” and cake cutting ceremony.

Canada Day Cake Cutting Ceremony.

The Officer’s Square.

Across from the street, there were food vendors with their food stands set up by the riverfront. Besides that, fun rides for the kids and game stalls can be found there too.

Mini Ferris Wheel for kids.

Hmm…cotton candy? Popcorn?

The game stall.

The riverfront at downtown Fredericton.

Canada Day tattoos!

A little kid on a big truck.

It was Sugar Bush weekend on Mar. 21st and 22nd this year. Special events were held at the Kings Landing Historical Settlement, which generally opens to the public only during the summer and fall seasons.

The busy crowd has taken me by surprise when I arrived with a group of friends around 10 a.m. last Saturday. There were long lineups to purchase admission tickets. After standing in line for fifteen minutes to pay for the ticket and breakfast, it was an hour later before we were being seated for breakfast. The busy crowd was unbelievable. I had been there in the previous years and it was usually quiet in the morning. Everyone decided to be there early to beat the crowd this year, I supposed. Unfortunately, things are unpredictable sometimes.

The pancake and maple syrup breakfast is an annual fundraiser event organized by the York Sunbury Search & Rescue. A hearty and delicious breakfast. It was worth the wait!

The volunteers in orange shirts were busy serving the crowd.

A generous serving of breakfast; two pancakes with maple syrup, toast, two sausages, two strips of bacon, baked beans, and scrambled eggs. Yummy!

Horse-drawn wagon rides were offered to visitors.

Maple sap was boiled in iron cauldrons over an open fire, as a demonstration of maple and sugar making 150 years ago. A lady in costume was scooping out some piping hot maple syrup to make maple candies.

A sweet treat of candy-on-the-snow was sold for $2/stick.

The making of candy-on-the-snow: pour hot maple syrup on snow, and roll the slightly harden candy with a stick when settled.

The super sweet maple candy. It was a nice treat!

How much maple sap is required to produce pure maple syrup? The ratio of maple sap needed and pure maple syrup produced was a stunning 40:1!! The making of maple syrup is highly weather-dependent; slightly above freezing point during the day and a few degrees below overnight is perfect for maple sap flow. The harvest season again, is weather-dependent; usually about three weeks. Pure maple syrup is costly.

A demonstration of wool processing with a spinning wheel.

An iron cooking stove/oven in a farmhouse.

A close look at the ancient cooking stove/oven.

A sampling of buckwheat cake was offered.

Subsequently, we made our way to the Joslin farm to visit some animals; sheep, chickens, pigs etc.

Sheep in the barn.

The grist mill and frozen stream.

Winter view at the waterfront.

I’ve been participating in the Sugar Bush weekend for the past few years and truly enjoyed it. It’s a must-see for those who like to experience the welcoming of spring in a traditional New Brunswick fashion.

It was St. Patrick’s Day yesterday. Go GREEN with a big GRIN!! Wearing a green shirt, putting on St. Paddy’s costume and accessories, and drinking green beer are some of the ways to celebrate this Irish national holiday. It’s widely celebrated in many places around the world; North America, England, Australia, and New Zealand.

This special day was celebrated in local Irish churches during early 17th century. It’s an annual feast day (usually Mar. 17th) to celebrate Saint Patrick (c. AD 385-461), a patron saint in Ireland. St. Patrick is believed to have used shamrock (a three-leaved plant) to explain Holy Trinity to the Irish. St. Patrick’s Day is known as a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland. It’s a major celebration for those of Irish decent, with an increasing number of non-Irish people participate in the celebration each year.

Besides some exciting parades held in different cities worldwide, Chicago river (Chicago, Illinois) is dyed green annually for this special occasion. Furthermore, Calgary Tower in Canada replaced its top exterior lights to green compact fluorescent lamps in conjunction with St. Paddy’s Day celebration this year.

Looking for a special treat for St. Paddy’s Day? How about a slice of yummy chocolate cake, coated with incredibly delectable ganache and sprinkled with candied shamrocks? Best of all, it contains a secret ingredient which has a lot to do with Irish! Guess what? Two cups of Guiness stout in this cake! Surprisingly, I didn’t taste the beer at all. A very “chocolatety” cake, loved it!