Kueh Lapis Legit Attempt #1

Only just passed. The bottom two layers are almost cookie-like (crispy, because somewhere in the middle I turned the oven off and accidentally put it to convection oven), and the layers are way too thin and uneven. Some of the middle layers are rather wet-looking, not sure what caused this. But the worst thing (to me) is - it's only half the height of the 10 inch square pan (not enough batter).

Well, it's still edible, and tastes quite good, once I've shaved away the sides and bottom two layers. The spices really came through, and so did the cognac (shiok!).

I'm aiming to try again next weekend. Never say die, right? And Lulu will never say "give up" when it comes to baking!

Culinary exploration - Kueh lapis legit or Spek koek

I have been thinking about this for a long time and I think I have psyched myself enough - I am going to make kueh lapis! Not the Chinese kind aka 九层糕, but a many-layered cake made with lots and lots of egg yolk and butter, and lots of TIME.

If I pull this off, it shall be one of my greatest achievements in the universe of baking.

After picking a suitable auspicious day to carry out the deed (the DH must not be working so he can help handle the tot while I labour in the kitchen), I bought the equipment, and today I got all the last of the ingredients, namely the eggs, which must be as fresh as possible. Tomorrow will be the day!

I think I shall be too excited to sleep tonight.

About the new fridge (and starting it up)

And here is the new, bigger refrigerator! It came yesterday, much earlier than expected, and I am now all smiles.

My new SHARP SJPC54 in a gorgeous, classy black

I learnt something new yesterday. My neighbour told me she'd been instructed by her fridge delivery guy not to open the fridge doors for at least 3-4 hours after he had plugged in and switched on her new fridge. This completely boggled me so I turned to my good friend Mr Google. 

From Stack Exchange:

"The short answer is to check with the manufacturer. That way you can be sure to stay within warranty guidelines.

The longer answer is that it varies from model to model. When a refrigerator is placed in a non-standard position (for example on its side), compressor oil can run out of the compressor and up refrigerant lines. So if you don't stand it upright and wait, the compressor will pump without sufficient oil -- not good.

-M"

Apparently, most standard refrigerators (like mine) are always transported upright, so the risk of this happening is lower. However, sloshing may occur during transportation, plus they do tilt the box when loading or unloading it from the lorry, so my delivery man told me to wait at least an hour before switching it on. No problem, as long as I can clean it first.

I guess my neighbour's delivery guy didn't know what he was talking about. She's rather pissed (many years too late).

Fridge dead, but life must go on

My Fisher & Paykel refrigerator only lasted me 4.5yrs and it's totally gone. I should've sensed it was nearing the end of its life by the way it was acting up the last few months. But I didn't think much of it at the time, because our previous (smaller) F&P fridge was still going strong when we sold it off after 5 years!

Meantime, I'm living out of cooler boxes. And I am ever so grateful for neighbours with whom I have good relationships. They're helping me to store some dairy and other stuff that absolutely need refrigration.

Living out of cooler boxes SUCKS

AND I still have to bento for the P3 boy. It's a(nother) challenge to come up with foods that require no refrigeration, for the night after packing or to keep till early the next morning. Looks like I will have buy another big bag of ice cubes this evening.

Happy New 2013!

This year marks a rather big change in my lifestyle, as my two older kids will both be in the morning session so I am returning to my old job of chauffeuring them to and from school. Yes! I am not going to spend anymore moolah on school buses! It's ridiculous that they should make us pay for the holiday months as well. (So what if this has been the practice for years.)

A significant challenge will be the little one, who is apt to wake at the wrong times (ha ha). I can foresee having to drag him along with us so early in the morning, if he wakes up, or if his Dad is on AM duty.

And now that the big boy is in the morning session, I will have to, alas, wake up even earlier many many mornings to bento. And I no longer have the luxury nor time to prepare different foods for the two - bentoing must be more streamlined. This is a tough one because these two have such opposites likes and dislikes!

I am looking forward to my first day of school tomorrow. It will be really satisfying to overcome the challenges!