Blisstix*

SzeYen* aka witchstone
Loves to Eat* desserts! and all sorts of things.yummm.=) just see what i rave about on the blog.haha
Loves to Bake* desserts and teatime or breakfast time things.=) not very into savoury things as yet due to lack of need for it.
Wants to Learn* pastry and baking at cooking schools.=D wee!

Readings*
Andrew Todhunter: A Meal Observed
Anthony Bourdain: Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour
Bon Appetit Magazine
Christine McFadden & Christine France: Chocolate
delicious. Magazine by ABC
Donna Hay Magazine
Dorie Greenspan: Paris Sweets
Good Food Magazine by BBC
Gourmet Magazine
Jeffrey Steingarten: The Man Who Ate Everything
olive magazine by BBC
Peter Mayle: Bon Appetit
Pierre Herme: Desserts by Pierre Herme, with Dorie Greenspan
Remembrance of Things: Paris, Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet, Ruth Reichl ed.
The Food of France
The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook
The Straits Times: Lifestyle, Urban
Wine & Dine magazine

Victoria*
loves eating* DESSERT! all things sinfully sweet. mmmmm=)
loves baking* american carrot cake/ chocolate mud cake/ cheesecake/ blueberry muffins/ strawberry and cream cake
cookbook of the momemt* Donna Hay Classics 2
wants to bake* mango bread and butter pudding

Sunday, February 27, 2005
11:37 PM

hmm.making the muffins were very satisfying.=) the batter was BEAUTIFUL.at first, the recipe recommended using a machine to like beat the softened butter till smooth but what did smart ol' me do? i did it by HAND.how smart of me right? ^^ but it was a good arm workout!!! i was smushing the butter until it became really smooth and nice.=) then as i started creaming the butter and sugar together, it was a little..funny looking at first but got nice when i was done.adding the eggs made it REALLY NICE!!!! i have to say, eggs really make a WORLD of difference to any batter! ^^ and the recipe also called for alternating the flour and milk which was very cool because you could watch like the "progress" of the batter coming along.and i added raisins, almond essence [too much!!!] and flaked almonds on top before baking.^^

1 being very very easy and 5 being expert level/very difficult:

technique rating: 3.5/5most difficult is doing the butter by hand and the order of ingredients that have to be added.and remembering the timing taken for the muffins.

obtainable-ingredients rating: 4/5you may not be able to obtain pure vanilla extract at ntuc for example.but you can get it at cold storage! ^^ everything else in the original recipe is easily obtainable.=)

health and eating rating (1 being grossly inedible/superbly obese causing and 5 being gastronomically applaudable/who cares about calories then?):
3/54 eggs, 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of butter certainly contributes to cholesterol and fat ratings! and almonds, while high in fat, is full of HEALTHY fat and vitamin e! it is moist and delicious though.but the almond essence is a bit too strong despite putting only 1/2 a teaspoon.

looks rating: 4/5looked nice! =D especially with the lightly toasted almond flakes on top! attractive? definitely! but of course, you may not agree with me.=P

- witchstone

Painted
Chopstick Fairytales.

Thursday, February 24, 2005
11:48 PM

alright.now, i MUST proclaim a triumph! =D [i sound uber strange today.wonder why..] i made chocolatey mini chip muffins yesterday! and i declare them a success, if i do say so myself! the first time i made them [last year i think] they were quite..URH.but this time they were GOOD! ^^ hehe.very happy now.they rose quite a considerable amount to make for very pretty looking cupcakes [hmm.muffins to be more accurate since they are large] looking all puffy and cute in their white clothes.=) and the mini chips add a nice touch to the muffin itself.the muffins tasted quite..urm..well, they weren't THAT great on their own, but now, with the addition of minichips, i find that the muffins taste a whole lot better! ^^ i was afraid i had overbaked them but they turned out moist.=) goodie! plus, they leave a nice lingering chocolatey aftertaste that is very pleasant and leaves you on a mini chocolate high for a little while after.also, although they look quite large, you don't feel sick after eating one which is great! =D and i used low fat sour cream [this is like a MIRACLE ingredient! ^^ it makes SO MUCH DIFFERENCE!] so i guess the muffin can be considered somewhat healthy.=)

of course, the dough was disgustingly difficult to stir.and i took note that after adding the eggs, the mixture miraculously loosens up and turns into a GORGEOUSLY creamy batter.then, with the addition of hot water [i am not kidding.but i may try chocolate milk next time if i can get my hands on chocolate milk], the batter becomes this gorgeously smooth creation that tastes fantastic and looks wondrous! ok, look, i'm not trying to praise myself or anything, i'm just trying to share the experience so that i can copy and paste into the food blog soon enough! =) so..yummy rating: 4/5!!!!

1 being very very easy and 5 being expert level/very difficult:

technique rating: 3/5
it wasn't that difficult with melting the chocolate being the hardest to do probably. oh, and it takes LOADS of arm strength for this.>_< but its exercise, which is great!

obtainable-ingredients rating: 4/5
you may not be able to obtain the pure vanilla extract at ntuc, for example, but it is available at cold storage. everything else is easily obtainable.

health and eating rating (1 being grossly inedible/superbly obese causing and 5 being gastronomically applaudable/who cares about calories then?): 3/5
delicious! =D and the mini chips add a nice touch to the muffin. of course, the double dose of chocolate may scare a health-nut but for ordinary people like us, it is a marvellous treat.

looks rating: 4/5
looked GREAT. it is quite wonderful how chocolate looks so good when incorporated into something else. of course, the fact that it tasted good helped it look better. haha.

- witchstone

Painted
Chopstick Fairytales.