Cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting

I found the best simplest cupcake recipe (I added vanilla extract but not baking powder). The texture and taste are both great!

There're left-over oranges in the fridge, so I thought of making some orange flavoured frosting.

I used the frosting recipe here, with some modifications. I used the whole block of PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (which is 250g), fresh juice instead of extract, and added the icing sugar to the sweetness I like(around 3/4 cup).

Chocolate chips cookies

After finishing a packet of Famous Amos, I felt like baking some chocolate chips cookies. I used the recipe from Joy Baking.



Why the recipe uses un-salted butter and salt? So that we can adjust the saltiness? Anyway, I used salted butter (that's what I have at home) and skipped the salt :p

Humble warrior

Practice to build strength and confidence.
Learn to bow and down to earth.

Banana shake

After a week of eat-and-sit/sleep Korea trip, it's time to cut down on heavy meals. I bought a comb of bananas and a big bottle of fresh milk for dinners.



To make 1 cup of banana shake, I used

1 Banana (around 100gm or slightly more)
150ml fresh milk
1 tablespoon oatmeal

mix and blend for 1 minute.

The best thing of making juice/shakes for dinner - washing is so easy :)

Honeymoon in Korea

We love the weather and scenery there. Mild sunlight with cooling wind blowing on the face was refreshing, but not in the night because it was like needles pricking into the skin. Trees were in mixed colors of green, orange and red. Many places in the outskirt were planted with big cabbages, oranges and paddy, which were ready for harvesting in this season.


Many said food over there is bland and got bored with it after a while, but we enjoyed it till the last day of our trip. Most of the time we had steamboat, with lots of cabbage in the soup and refill-able side-dishes. Meals always served with plain rice - Korean rice which are fat and round similar to Japanense Sushi rice. But I noticed that Korean seldom serve fruits with meals.


Besides sight-seeing, shopping was great in Seoul. The Skin Food outlets were crowded with people as though they were shopping for groceries - getting baskets full of skin products. The streets were busy and lighted up till late at night, and we feel safe walking around. Some shops were opened till 11pm, many people were eating at the roadside stalls which seemed like they just got off from work. Happening yet safe city.


It's definitely a nice place to visit, but it would be more romantic if not going with a tour group - everything wouldn't be in a rush, then would have more time for strolling, snapping photos and shopping!

Marble cake

The cake I baked always 'explodes' in the center. Some said is the way of beating (after adding the eggs because eggs trap air inside the cake), some said is the heat distribution of the oven.

Tonight I tested again with a Marble cake mix which I bought some time ago.

I used the middle rack in the oven. First I turned on the top and bottom heat mode. After 20 minutes or so, when the cake slightly expanded in the center, I turned the heat mode to bottom only.





And it turns out great! Should experiment with other cakes :)

By the way, the instruction states that divide the batter into half and mix the cocoa powder into 1 halve. I shall make it 1/3 cocoa and 2/3 butter the next time I bake Marble cake, too much cocoa makes the cake too bitter.

How to check on Triangle pose

I've learned this method from a Iyengar class, to check myself in a Triangle pose (Trikonasana).



By gently turning head back to look at the back heel to 'feel' the lower hip is slightly pushed to the front making both hips straight (on top of each other).

Next have to work on elongating both sides of my body.