I'm bringing Xanga back - drop a comment if you're with me!

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she's back!

pinkcocoa is back!

truth be told, i reckon i am still in desperate need of a good detox program. while i was away and supposedly be rejuvenating myself, i er... in fact stuffed more junks into my system. this is a strange thing. every time you try to limit yourself to something, you always ended up having more of the forbidden fruits. at least this happens to me every time i try to get on a diet which always ended up with me putting on more weight than before! >.<|||

i have had a good rest ie. indulging in heaps of forbidden goodies. but the important thing is my hayfever is gone! *yippeeeee*

so yup. the girl who is into pink and chocolate (thus the nic pinkcocoa) is returning returning to the world of food blogging!

alright, let's not be "long-gas" (a direct translation from chinese, meaing long-winded) here. the last thing i want to say is i would like to  *sob* thank everyone especially you *sob*, you *sob* and YOU *sob* for all the care, strength and support *sob* that you gave me during the making of this movie.*sob* uh-oh. Oops. sorry, wrong notes. (o_O)~

anyway, all i wanna say is i am back and that it is all of you (yes, i mean YOU, the one who is reading this sentence now) who gave me the strength and energy to be back here again.

happy food-blogging everyone!

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happy chinese valentines !!
♥♥ double 7 (qi xi) valentine ♥♥

i am so so sorry. this post is 2 days late.

the chinese valentine's day falls on the 7th day of the 7th month on the chinese lunar calendar, hence the term "qi xi" (double seven). this special occasion relates to a beautiful and romantic legend about the forbidden love of Niu Lang (an orpahned cowherd, literary means ox boy) and Zhi Nuu (the 7th daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, literary means weaving maiden after her talent in weaving). the Emperor separated the two lovebirds by forcing Zhi Nuu to move to the star Vega and Niu Lang to the star Altair.

the two are allowed to meet once a year on the 7th day of 7th lunar month when they would cross the milky way formed by magpies to finally reunite. their tears of happiness and sadness on their yearly reunion fall onto earth and turns into rain. thus, the chinese valentine's is usually a rainy day.

for a more detailed story, see: http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/77a.htm

this year the chinese valentine's falls on Aug 23.
by the way, this also indicates that it is now the ghost month (the 7th month) in the lunar calendar. word of precaution from the elders: do not stray on the street when it's late at night. hmm.
 
© foodies date: 23 August 2004
© where: pinkcocoa's kitchen and ShinChan's kitchen

we dont actually celebrate the chinese valentine. but this year, a few friends in taiwan reminded pinkcocoa. pinkcocoa reminded ShinChan. to celebrate valentine and to be fair, ShinChan cooked up dinner (ah finally, man in the kitchen) and pinkcocoa baked a cake.


♥ lovely dinner: curry raisu (curry rice)
ShinChan decided to cook up one of his best dishes: curry raisu (japanese curry rice). it was yummy though ShinChan complained that the curry is a little too mild. it was fine with me. in fact i thought it was delicious. but i wont mind it a little spicier next time *hint*.

in the curry raisu were:
 chicken thigh, diced
 potato, diced
 onion, sliced
 carrots, diced
 cauliflowers

the curry raisu was served with a japanese drink that is specially for drinking with curry raisu. i think it is called "miruku yoku" (milk yogurt drink). it comes in sachet and to make the drink, simply add ice and 150ml milk. stir. and it's done! it has a lemony, acidic flavour. the drink is very refreshing and can be quite appetizing too. the milk gives it a very rich and creamy texture.


♥  valentine's cake
i baked a low-fat buttermilk pound cake. i have been wanting to get my hands onto pound cake for a while now but i have been a little lazy. ok. i admit i am actually very lazy. so this special occasion really pushed me into making my thought a reality.

the recipe originally comes from Alice Medrich's Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Dessert. thanks to Renee of Shiokadelicious who kindly post up the recipe for everyone to share.. by now,  you should have noticed i like to copy Renee's recipe? see the char siew post. ya. i am a copy cat.

i baked my cake in a 23cm springform pan. it took about 40min @ 160c. we could smell the vanilla aroma from the oven long before the cake was cooked!

 
♥  low fat buttermilk pound cake
my cake didnt rise evenly. *sigh* i wonder what i did wrong. one side of the cake was higher than the other. it might be me fiddling with the cake for a bit before putting it into the oven. i wanted a flat top so i decided to make a trench in the centre of the cake batter. maybe i overdid my scrapping or did it unevenly without knowing so.

luckily, the uneven rise didnt affect the tenderness and texture of the cake. we have got a very nice crumb or crust. i am a sucker for cake crusts. so this is my type of cake. the cake was decorated using icing sugar, nutella (yummmm) and dried roses (for tea drinking).

pinkcocoa: is the cake nice?
ShinChan: ya
*chomp *chomp *chomp
pinkcocoa: you like it?
ShinChan: ya
*chomp *chomp *chomp
pinkcocoa: so....would you believe it if i tell you this cake is low fat?
ShinChan: what? low-fat? no way!
pinkcocoa: it is really low fat. only 75g butter!
ShinChan: no way. i dont believe.
pinkcocoa: ......
ShinChan: .......
ShinChan: can i have more please?


♥ cake disappearing fast
one slice
two slice
three slice
you can see the cake disappearing fast.

i had about half a slice, made up of mainly crust. i just loveeeeee crust. ShinChan had about 2.5slices. he kept eating wanting more and more after he was told the cake was low fat. 1am in the morning he asked for another slice and said "it was low fat right?"

it would have been a perfect day if not for the fact that i have been told to vacate the property in 1 month time. ah well. i will worry about this later. right now i am in the bake-a-choc-cake mood. got to search for a low-fat choc cake for the upcoming occasion.