in the kitchen.....EntertainingWithBeth's Cannoli-Napoleons

I LOVE EntertainingWithBeth! She makes me feel like I'm more than just a passable cook/baker - sometimes I even think I'm quite awesome, hehehe. And it's mainly down to Beth and her amazeballs YouTube channel EntertainingWithBeth.

Recently, I have been so keen to try out Beth's creation - the Cannoli-Napoleon. I'm going to insert a screencap of Beth's gorgeous confection taken from her vid here -

I have always wanted to taste cannoli's ever since watching Buddy Valastro's show "Cake Boss" but since I don't eat anything piggy, most places that sell authentic cannoli's are out of the question for me as the shells that house the cannoli cream are deep-fried in lard.

When I saw Beth's vid on the Cannoli-Napoleon, I swooned and immediately knew I would be attempting this ASAP. ASAP turned out to be a couple of months later since I had a hard time finding pre-made pastry dough and only during my recent trip back Homeland was I able to score some.

Anyways, long story short, my take on Beth's scrumptious dessert -




I adjusted her recipe a little bit by using pure orange extract instead of orange zest cos I didn't have any oranges on hand to grate as well as substituted the pistachios for walnuts cos that's what I had in my fridge.

It was yummy, the cannoli cream was refreshing - not too sweet or cloying likely due to the orange extract. The pastry was flaky and buttery and went so well with the filling. It was just delicious all around. And so easy to make too! It looks so good, taste so good and is such a breeze to make! That's one of the reasons I love trying out the stuff EntertainingWithBeth puts out cos she really does give great instruction and her recipes are usually a cinch to prepare aside from being totally yummers!

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more than a month goes by.....

In the brief history of TIWFM, I don't think I've ever not written anything for any given month :D Sorry June 2013! Anyways, there were plenty of happenings, I was just too exhausted to type up anything PLUS they were mainly personal stuff that I didn't particularly want to reveal despite my relative anonymity.

I did however come across this article in the NY Times and felt compelled to reiterate my belief that society at large is abusing social media platforms in the most idiotic of ways! Do people think it's a smart idea to be posting threats against POTUS in such a public manner furthermore thinking they can get away with it? It makes me wonder what has happened to humankind in the broader sense - we have become a society of narcissitic, exhibitionist that has an unslakeable thirst for putting our grandiose ideas of ourselves out there for the whole world to see. Does nobody have an internal filter anymore? Are we that obsessed about being heard that we say anything and everything that produces synapses in our brain?

As much as I demonize social media, I do believe there is inherent goodness in them as was demonstrated to me last month when I had a personal family crisis and my extended family's Facebook group mobilized action using the site. In that respect, the news that was being conveyed was able to reach the majority of our family members in a timely way. I did thank God that I did not opt out of the mailing list for the group which I had been contemplating since being inundated with emails coming from various cousins promoting their MLM business. That was honestly the first time I found myself seeing the usefulness of Facebook for me. However, it doesn't totally change things for me personally. I still feel strongly the bad outweighs the good but that feeling I had about completely ditching the site has been squelched. My Facebook profile lives online to fight another day, hehehe.

in the kitchen - 10 minute banana bread

I love baking but I don't enjoy how time-consuming it can be. That's why when I find recipes that are 3-minutes, 5-minutes, 7-minutes or 10-minutes, I jump for joy :) Perhaps that's also why I love my Magic Bullet so much....

Anywho, I found this recipe from thefreshloaf.com for a 10 minute banana bread and I immediately went to make it.









It just so happened that I had some very overripe bananas in my fridge that were just begging to be used in a banana bread recipe so it was a win-win all around. I figure for my first ever attempt at making banana bread and considering I had to do it in a convection turbo cooker, it came out looking good. It's not really sweet but still taste like banana bread. If I make it the next time, I'll add a little bit more sugar ;)

DISCLAIMER: Well the pictures are mine so 'll use 'em however I want. I do not give permission for re-use though.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

gladiatorial pursuits

Sigh, the title of this post just reminded me that Spartacus is now over and done with. I miss the show. But that's really not want i wanted to talk about. These are what I wanted to talk about -

I got these luscious all-leather gladiator sandals off of Asos.com for - get this - GBP14! GBP14!SCORE!!!! Can you tell how psyched I am with that deal?!?!?! Hehe, putting that whole "cheap score" aside though, aren't these Asos Fiction Leather Gladiator Flat sandals in itself gorgeous? I love it, totally gladiatorial to me. These were on sale for 50% off as part of Asos's spring savings something, I can't seem to remember exactly what.

To be honest, I actually was drawn to the site for the Asos Attack Leather Gladiator Ankle boots -

But the price point, at GBP65, was a bit too much for me to spend on sight unseen. Hence when I scrolled further down and saw the Asos Fiction sandals, I did not hesitate. And since I have a thing for black-hued footwear, it's a good thing the one on sale was the black sandals only. There were a selection of colours, all looked good too but I prefer black for its versatility.

So my order has shipped and should arrive to Homeland by the end of the month or so. I can't wait to get my hand on these!

DISCLAIMER:
Images are from asos.com, I do not own them, just borrowed from asos for descriptive purposes ;P

mr consistency

That's the new nickname being bestowed upon Kimi Raikkonen of late - 22 points scoring finishes, 33 consecutive race finishes. Don't particularly know how nice "Mr Consistency" would look tattoed on his other forearm, the one opposite of his "Iceman" tattoo.

Or naming his other water demon "Mr Consistency" might get him laughed out of the docks :D

Cool factor aside, that awesome consistency is what is keeping his WDC challenge alive. Out of 5 races, he's been on the podium 4 times. Won the Australian GP and aside from the blip of a race in Sepang where he finished 7th, he subsequently has had three consecutive 2nd place finishes in China, Bahrain and last Sunday in Spain. C-O-N-S-E-C-U-T-I-V-E.

Back in his McLaren days and even sometimes during his Ferrari stint, his car would almost always be guaranteed some kind of mechanical failure. But coming back after that 2-yr out, he has managed to get his equipment, and himself, to the finish line every single race. Being a Kimi fan from way back when, I'm so amazed by this run of reliability for him because to be a Kimi fan back during his first F1 career was to always prepare oneself for some kind of heartbreak due to some kind of car failure - it simply went hand in hand. I really don't want this post to jinx him though!

Anyways, next up is Monaco in 2 weeks. Feels like the spacing between races this year has been crazy long. 3 weeks after the first 2 fly away races in Australia and Malaysia before China rolled around. Then after that and Bahrain there was another 3 week break before last weekend. Now we have to wait 2 weeks for Monaco. Makes too many F1 forumers stir crazy, these big gaps between races :D Myself included. I'm hoping, like I always am, that if Mr Consistency can't win it, he'll at least get another podium finish. I know that to truly battle for the WDC that he'll need to win a couple more races but this consistent podium run will in the end be an enormous help for him towards the end of the year - bearing in mind his title challenge is still alive. Eeks, didn't really wanna type that out but felt I needed to be more realistic in the grand scheme of things. It is only Race 05 out of a 19 race calendar :)

DISCLAIMER:
Picture of Kimi Raikkonen's tattoo or boat is not mine but I got it from here and here

i remembered today.....

a moment quite some time ago, when I was talking on the phone with my boyfriend and was mightily offended when he paid more attention to the television than our conversation. It was when I was away at matriculation college and I was having one of my moments where I was missing my life back home and my then boyfriend, G, was not giving me what I felt was due attention. When I asked him what he was watching, he said he was watching the F1 race and telling me about Schumacher in the Ferrari was dicing on the track with Coulthard.

And I remember telling him then - "What? Why would you find a bunch of cars going round and round in circles so interesting that you're not paying attention to what I've been saying?!?!?!"

*GRINS*
I know better now, obviously ;D Since 2001, my weekends are built around F1 races. If there's a race, I am usually averse to being away from a television with a broadcast on. I haven't done an F1 post this year I think. Been feeling like I should keep the crazy on that front to a minimum. Even didn't crow about Kimi's win at the season opener in Melbourne so I pretty much kept my obsession under wraps thus far. But this weekend, it's the Spanish GP and Kimi just qualified 4th on the grid and I'm feeling good. He's 2nd in the WDC, 10 points behind Vettel and has helped Lotus into 2nd in the WCC. Crossing my fingers and sending all my goodwill (and love) to him for a great result tomorrow - win would be the aim but I will be ecstatic for a podium too!

in the kitchen - s'mores pie

I have my Magic Bullet! And I absolutely live it!

First thing I used it for was to grind my flaxseeds :) Then I made a bunch of smoothies and shakes - just to get my bearings.

But last Sunday, I decided to really put my Magic Bullet to work. First up was a s'mores pie I have been salivating over from Youtube's EntertainingWithBeth. Beth is AWESOME! I have a major woman crush on Beth!

Anyways, this is Beth's beautiful s'mores pie -





She made everything from scratch. Mine too - well except for the marshmallow cream, I may have cheated and used Solo's marshmallow creme instead, hehehe. But everything else was made by moi.




I dunno if it was cos I used store bought marshmallow cream or I was just to scared it would melt but mine didn't brown as much as hers. I left it in my convection oven for about 10 minutes and that was as brown as it would get.

Never mind, next time I will try to make everything from scratch. Still was yummy though so no complaints from me Solo!




Disclaimer:
All pictures are owned by moi (except screencap of Beth's s'mores pie from her Youtube channel) and I do not give permission for reuse.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

signature scent - Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh!

That's my completely, bone dry bottle of my current fave scent, Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh. Got it back in 2011 when the company went to HK for our yearly retreat. Took me approximately 2 years to finish off that 75ml bottle but it was well worth it.

Couple of months ago when I had an email discount from Strawberrynet, I decided to get myself another bottle of this scent since I loved this one so much. Now that my first bottle is all sprayed out, I'm pulling my new 125ml bottle into the game :D


I know it seems excessive - 125ml of perfume, hehehe. What can I say except that I really love the scent!

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my HG lip product - Benefit's Benetint

I feel it's time to give this amazing stain its dues - Benefit Benetint, you are my most favourite lip stain EVER! And you don't do too shabby a job as a cheek stain either, it's just love, love, love all around!

I have no clue why I bother with trying out other form of lip stains, none compare to the awesomeness of Benetint. That one that I hold in my hand is my third bottle of the stuff, I got it when I was in Sephora back in Homeland. Been using it daily to work ever since and it's just rekindled my love and affection for it :)

My first serious foray into high-end face products began with Benefit, I was their product junkie - tried everything from the makeup to skincare to bath & body. I used to fervently adore their foundation faker Some-Kinda-Gorgeous. That, Benetint and Benefit's boxed blush Dandelion were the first Benefit products I ever got. It came as a set and thus started my Benefit love affair. Though the formulation of the foundation faker no longer suits me, I still hold a special place in my heart for Benetint and Dandelion, I still use both frequently. In fact, you'll actually be able to glimpse my Dandelion at the top right corner of the pic above.

Why is Benetint my holy grail lip product? Because despite my having the most dry, chapped, lined lips amongst all around me, when I put this on, the stain manages to make my lips look naturally healthy. It somehow fills up the lines and moisturises the dry areas and gives a healthy, natural rosy tint which evens out my lip colour. It truly is a bene tint!

Zinio, stop giving me $5!

Sigh. My new obsession - digital magazine subscriptions. I just can't turn away from free money, am such a sucker. Okay that's not really true, I am letting my OpenSky $12 credit languish into obscurity cos I dont like the fact they force you to spend a minimum of $50 first before the credit qualifies.

Back to Zinio, they gave me another $5 credit and I decided to get Every Day With Rachael Ray. This publication is part of Zinio's ongoing "2-for-1" promo. That means if you subscribe, you're getting a 2-year subscription for the price of 1. I paid $5 for a 20 issue sub so SCORE!

It was between this and Eating Well. I like both mags but since I do watch Rachael Ray on TV, thought I might as well get her magazine. I've downloaded her magazines before in PDF version and I like the content. Out of all the foodie magazines, I prefer Food Network Magazine best though but I wasn't looking to spend additional $ on it and since I don't have an iPad anymore, I couldn't buy it even if I wanted to since they don't have a Mac/PC version of their magazine. Anyways, the subscription I got was $10 for 20 issues and with the $5 off, I got it for $5. Am a very happy Zinio customer :D

DISCLAIMER:
Image belongs to Zinio, I own nothing but the text I typed out.