Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

Christmas baking was started three weeks ago. Sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, and pinwheel cookies are the three main cookies on my list. Baking these cookies was a multi-step project; preparing dough, refrigerating dough, rolling out dough, cutting into various shapes, baking, cooling, preparing icing, decorating, air-drying, storing etc. Before Christmas, most of these cookies had been given away to family and friends. Of course, there’s always some for home consumption ;)

Recipes of cookies to be followed…

It was an extreme weather this year compared to last year’s green Christmas in Malaysia; 30+ degrees Celsius weather. Today, on Christmas Eve, it’s -20 degrees Celsius. It had snowed pretty much all day yesterday, light and consistent, just enough to have the thin coat of snow for us to enjoy a white Christmas.

I’ll have to say, taking photos in the -20 C weather, started from cold, very cold, freezing cold, numbing cold, burning cold… very painful “thawing” process to get my hands warm up to room temperature again after staying out for just a mere 10 minutes. Oh well, that’s not the point.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

First Christmas tree ever!

Most people have heard of, or experienced the dreadful, brutal cold winter in Canada. Has anyone wondered how hot does it get in the middle of summer? Heat wave could very well happen. Last Friday, it was 39 degrees Celsius in Fredericton! Of course, when the weather gets that hot, thunder shower will follow. It was certainly a very Malaysian-like weather. I didn’t mind it too much, since we don’t get it all that often here. It sure beats -39!

Winter blues will soon be gone; snow is melting and ice is cracking. Wouldn’t it be nice if the four seasons spread out equally throughout the year? Spring from March till May; summer from June till August; autumn from September till November; winter from December till February. In reality, winter lasts up to six months in most parts of Canada.

This year, however, it hasn’t been too bad of a winter, considering major snow fall didn’t take place till January. It started raining last week with the fluctuating temperatures hovering around freezing point. Rain or snow? Be prepared, because you can never tell till the day comes.

Rivers are found frozen in New Brunswick during the winter months, covered by a smooth layer of ice. The depth of ice varies according to weather. The cracking and breaking of ice layer results in ice pans that slide past and collide against each other in the slow moving water, until smaller ice chunks are formed. They will further be melted away by the “warmer” river flow and disappear.

The formation of ice pans.

Three days later…Ice pans were broken down into ice chunks.

The unbelievable “shrieking” sound from the collision with ice pans. It’s an analogy of earthquake, doesn’t it?

The snow condition as of last weekend outside my apartment building.

The thick snow was observed one month ago, in mid-February!

It only seems appropriate to talk about Tim Hortons this time of the year, when “Roll Up The Rim” contest is back, for the 25th year! It’s usually around this time of season when snow is melting, rain is pouring, and occasional speckled fresh snow on the ground and trees. It’s a mix feeling for me, the joy that winter is ending and spring is approaching, as well as a lost feeling due to the scenery change; 8-ft high snow bank is gone and the green is resurfacing. On top of that, there’s also a sense of urgency, hinting “time is ticking, and the next season is fast approaching!”

It’s almost an excitement to visit Tim Hortons nowadays, hoping to get a “winner” cup ;) From Canadian-owned to American-owned, Tim Hortons is now a stand alone public company trading on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchange. The corporate head office resides in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

Let’s take a peek at some of the new products at Tim Hortons:

Raspberry Lemon doughnut, sprinkled with red & yellow candy bits and topped with raspberry jam in the middle.

The Caramel Chocolate muffin; baked with chocolate chips and filled with……

Caramel! Of course….

Caramel Crunch Doughnut; sprinkled with crunchy caramel pieces on a chocolate layer, and filled with creamy caramel.

Keep rolling, keep winning. Not for me though, for some odd reason, I’ve yet to receive a winning cup! Oh well…

Cool breeze, red and yellow fallen leaves… These are certainly signs of an early arrival of fall! Believe it or not, this was speculated in late July. I was thinking: if the season is shifting at this rate, we’d see snow in the fall!

The weather has gone whacky this year. Just as I was hoping for a longer summer days, the heat wave hitted Fredericton on the first week of September! On the night of September 1st, the heat was unbearable in my room (for someone like me who grew up in the hot climate to say “hot,” it means really hot). After a few minutes of toss and turn, I fianlly got up from bed and decided to find out my room temperature with a fridge thermometer.

I was right… I was reading it right… 36.5 degrees Celsius in my room! Trying to fall asleep in the body temperature-like “sauna” room was driving me nuts! How I wished I had an air-conditioning unit at that very instant! I convinced myself that it was a “warm-up” for my next visit to Malaysia. Thank God I didn’t get up till the alarm went off in the morning as soon as I fell asleep.

I was truly blessed by the dry summer; biking almost every day all summer long! Having said that, the water level was at an alarming stage where people can literally walk across the river.

The heavy rainfall from last weekend, partially affected by Hurricane Earl has helped with the drastic transition from summer to fall, once again…

What do I miss from Malaysia? Tons! The place, culture, people, food, and the list goes on… In terms of food, sweet buns are some of the food I’m missing so much. They bring back nostalgic memories from my childhood and teenage years. I remembered the wonderful aroma when I stepped into the bakery shop in Malaysia, and the mouth-watering that my eyes feasted on. That was why, I won’t complain to go shopping at the bakery, picking up my favourite buns for breakfast and snacks.

In Canada, however, there’s no fresh Asian baked goods in small cities. In order to satisfy and taste buds and fulfill my cravings, I have to do something….I have to make buns on my own from scratch! Sausage buns, sweet buns with red bean paste, Polo buns, Mexican buns etc., I love them all :)

Tim Hortons, the all-time favourite “kopitiam (coffee shop)” in Canada. I don’t visit Tim Hortons very often, but I make an effort to take some pictures when I’m there. Here are some of the pictures from Tim Hortons for the past six months or so.

The fall treats from Tim Hortons. Pumpkin spiced muffin and doughnut. There was even pumpkin spiced tea offered, around the Halloween season.

Cinnamon raisin, blueberry, whole grain, plain…. lots of options available for just a bagel. Can’t make up your mind? Try this “everything bagel.” Toasted “Everything bagel” with cream cheese (choice of plain, strawberry, or garlic & herb).

Hot breakfast sandwich, with a seasoned egg patty, a slice of processed cheese, and choice of sausage or bacon, on freshly baked tea biscuits.

Yummy breakfast sandwich!

Hot breakfast sandwich for the bagel lovers!

Candy Cane Doughnut; chocolate doughnut with chocolate glaze, and candy cane sprinkles. Needless to say, it was for the Christmas season!

Pastry filled with cream cheese and topped with raspberry jam.

Caramel Apple Fritter, made of chunks of apple and spiced of cinnamon.

Canadian doughnut, in conjunction with the Winter Olympics Games 2010 held in Vancouver, British Columbia on Feb. 12th to 28th.

Craving for some Chinese food? How about savouring some authentic Chinese food? Mei’s Restaurant is one of the places to visit! Located in the heart of downtown Fredericton, the restaurant has received lots of good reviews after it has been changed under the new management. *Thumbs up*

Out of all the dishes we ordered, dessert was the only one exempted from the hot & spicy category. A warm, hot, and spicy lunch on a cold, windy winter day :)

 Fish in soup with numbing spice. The more you eat, the tastier it is! And of course, the more intense burning sensation is on tongue!

 Thick and yummy beef soup with eggs.

 Fatty pork with mixed veggie. Does this remind you of bacon?

 Ma Po Tofu. Tofu and pork cooked with hot spices.

Crispy Milk for dessert. The crispy texture resembles the Chinese doughnut, filled with soft and sweet glutinous rice. It tasted great on its own, even without dipping in condensed milk served on the side.

Source: Canada.com

Living in the small city of Fredericton with the population of 51,000, I’ve been quite blessed with the reasonable cost of housing here. What can you do with $675? Perhaps a monthly rent for a comfy and spacious bachelor apartment, or a decent size two-bedroom apartment. Of course, as you’ve expected, kitchen, living room, bathroom will be included as well.

Imagine… an apartment unit in the above picture is all you can get in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. How big is it? About the size of two parking spaces!! The 270 sq. ft. “micro loft” includes kitchen and bathroom too. Amazing! It really makes me wonder, if we’re now following the footsteps of some congested cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The whole idea of these “micro lofts” is to allow low-income individuals to be able to afford a place of their own. Nonetheless, living in an apartment about the size of a standard bedroom will certainly drive me nuts!

Here is an interesting article I came across with, about an Australian dentist’s definition of Canadian:

An Australian Definition of a Canadian
In case anyone asks you who a Canadian is . . .
       
You probably missed it in the local news, but there was a report that someone in Pakistan had advertised in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed a Canadian – any Canadian..
   
An Australian dentist wrote the following editorial to help define what a Canadian is, so they would know one when they found one.
     
A Canadian can be English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. A Canadian can be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Pakistani or Afghan.

What’s your favourite chocolate? Smarties? M&M’s? Kit Kat? Lindor truffles? My favourite chocolate is Ferrero Rocher, the milk chocolates and dark chocolates are delicious! By the way, any Toblerone fan out there?

Toblerone chocolates come in white, milk, or dark chocolates. Take your pick!

Too small of a piece? How about turning this chocolate bar 45 times larger?

A Toblerone chocolate bar that weighs 4.5 kg! It’s 45 times heavier than the regular 100g chocolate bar. It’s humongous!

Good news to the Toblerone chocolate fans out there. Your chocolate supply for the year! :P

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.

Let it snow…let it snow….let it snow… The white and fluffy snow is not only pretty to look at, but also fun to play with!

We had joy
We had fun
We had seasons in the snow
But the snow that we played
was just never last too long

* Modified from “Season In The Sun” by Westlife.

The womanized “Winnie the Pooh.”

The cute snowman blushed as being kissed on both cheeks.

What is your favourite apple? McIntosh, Lady Pink, Cortland, Honey Crisp, or Gala? To  me, those freshly picked apples are the best! Nothing can beat that.

My first apple picking experience three years ago was great. I missed it so much that I wanted to go again! The apples were fresh & crisp, and tasted better than those store-bought ones. Besides eating on its own, apple is great for baking too.

$6 for 10lb bag of apples (McIntosh, Lobo, Gravenstein etc.)! It’s a price that you can never find at the grocery stores. Furthermore, the fun of picking apples off the trees is priceless!