Inaugural Christmas Hampers 2014

I have always been attracted by gift hampers, ever since I was a little girl. The food ones on display on supermarket shelves are (usually) beautifully wrapped with cellophane and seem to contain the most delicious goodies anyone could want -- chocolates, cookies... I remember watching a commercial on TV by this gift hamper company called Noel. The scene of the delivery person arriving at a house to present the gorgeous hamper to the recipient family and their pleased and surprised expressions (okay, I now know it's all acting) left a strong impression on my little girl mind.

I think I received my first gift hamper after I had my first baby. Can't remember who it was but it was sent to the hospital. The contents were all baby-related, so hmm... I guess it wasn't for me but for my baby, haha. Nevertheless, thanks to those young childhood memories, I was immensely happy at receiving that hamper. I still keep the box that was used as the, er, hamper. It's a little mildewy though, probably from sitting in my wardrobe for years, hehe.

Nine years later, after I had my third baby, a Noel hamper arrived from a close Uncle and Aunt who were regretful that they couldn't attend the baby shower, which is actually known as the Full Month Birthday Celebration among Chinese people. A NOEL hamper!!! The brand I'd always seen on TV as a little girl! The child in me was so over the moon, I immediately telephoned them to express my gratitude. Needless to say, that box hasn't left my ownership.

Moving on, this year, I was cracking my brains as to what food gift to prepare for Christmas for my close friends and family (a yearly brain-cracking occurrence). I couldn't decide, so the lightbulb that finally light up suggested a little bit of each type. Aaaaaaand of course I had to give them in hampers! What fun! My chance to pass on a little of that warmth that I had received, first from the TV so many years ago, and then in recent years from the love and support of my family and friends.

I found three suitably-sized cardboard shoeboxes with lids that I could use as the "hamper". The lids were stuck on the bottom of the boxes to provide additional support for the base, as I knew that my items were going to be rather dense and heavy.

Next I lined the boxes with what I call bouquet paper cos I really dunno the official name for it, but it's what most professionally-wrapped bouquets in Singapore are wrapped in. Not cheap, this kind of paper, say at least $2 a sheet at any florist? I saved mine from all the bouquets I've received in the last thirteen years, not, alas, from dear hubby but from my ex-boss, who is also my close friend cum mentor. She gives me a bouquet of flowers every year when we meet to celebrate my birthday, and I save every sheet of paper from them. DH last gave me flowers when he proposed. I still have the wrapping papers from that bouquet d:)

This is the part I like best -- stuffing the hampers with goodies! I made fruitcake, brownies, chocolate syrup and granola, all properly packed, labelled and shelf-life stated. On a bed of colourful shredded paper.

Then I hit a snag. It was late at night and I don't keep cellophane paper on hand. HOW on earth was I going to wrap these hampers? I hit on the roll of plastic leftover from wrapping my kids' school books. Not the right kind but as long as it works, right?

At the end, I slipped into each box a Christmas card to add to the festiveness and they were done! 

I must say I enjoyed the process, although I do wish I'd planned this earlier so I could have prepared and bought all the materials for it. Majulah Lulu!

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

After the relative failure of the Devil's Food Cake last month, I really wanted to bring my family's opinion of my cake-baking skills up again, so I set my heart on this Strawberry Shortcake that I'd heard so much about. Especially since it was for the birthday celebration of my sister.

Strange. The first few recipes on Google seemed to be making something like a scone or choux pastry, instead of a cake. I was getting increasingly befuddled.

Finally, I saw the words "Japanese Strawberry Shortcake" and THIS really seemed to be a kind of sponge cake. Later, I did more researching and realised that the "western" Strawberry Shortcake and "Japanese" Strawberry Shortcake are actually very different things. Perhaps the only similarity is that they both use whipped cream and sliced strawberries for filling.

It was an undisputed success! All loved it, okay, maybe except for the fussy Roast Meat of a son who doesn't eat strawberries. I regret forgetting to take a pic of the cut sides, so I can show how beautiful the cake looks with all the layers. Well, there are countless pics available online, as long as you search for "japanese strawberry shortcake".

Happy Birthday Jie!

Devil's Food Cake - First Try

It's my Dad's birthday, and we are having a family celebration tonight. Technically, it should be the combined celebration that includes my birthday celebration, the anniversary of my first cry being a few days later, but we usually only sing for my Dad.

Now that I've become the official family baker, it was a given that I should again be the supplier of the cake. I decided to try something new -- Devil's Food Cake. Sounds incredibly easy from all the various versions -- just cream the butter, sugar and eggs, then pretty much beat everything else in. No need to fold, no need to worry about deflating eggs, and assured dense chocolatey flavour. Bring it on!

The top few hits on Google yielded Nigella Lawson, Martha Stewart and a few others. I read them all (including the reviews where available) and then found David Lebovitz's recipe on the next page. I read it through and decided to go for this one because I've had success with his Madeleines (every single time) and like reading his blog.

Unfortunately, as everyone could tell after taking a couple of bites, it was a little too dry. I suspect it was the baking time, but it was weird because everyone's recipe says to bake for about that length of time. If I try this again, (and I will for sure, because my big boy loves it and is requesting it for his birthday next year) I shall have to decrease the baking time by 5 mins and test for doneness, something which I didn't do this time because of blind faith.

This has turned out to be my best and most cooperative chocolate ganache icing, though. Smooth, glossy, easy to spread, delicious.

Check out that sheen in the ganache.

New Home (again) and Old Memories (of Dettol)

We have finally moved into our new place, where we hope to "stay long long". After moving house every two to three years in the last 13 years (and all within our homeland, mind!), we hope we have learnt from our previous renovation mistakes. Our new home is bursting with custom-made designs and ideas from our house-moving journey, as well as incredible inspiration from Pinterest. I love Pinterest!

So a few days ago, I was tasked by hubby to "go get a bottle of Dettol". The two older kids were with me, and as we sought out the cleaning aisle at the supermarket, I felt moved to tell them about the role that Dettol (the original germicide liquid) has played in my life.

The smell of Dettol may be pungent and unpleasant to many, but to me it has always brought back the feeling of being loved and cared for. How is that possible?? Well, when I was a child, whenever I had a cut or some other open wound on my limbs, my grandmother would put a few drops of Dettol liquid in a basin or pail of warm water and bathe my wounds very gently. She doted on me a lot. This is one of my fondest memories of her, bless her soul.

Now the Dettol smell still lingers in our bathrooms because of some weird insects which seem to be frequenting them. It's a tender reminder of the way my grandma loved me.

The Day The HDB Approval Came

One of our biggest headaches in this renovation was the approval for hacking down a couple of walls. According to the ID, it had to do with this area (Bedok), which was supposedly notorious for being troublesome.

Well, it finally came and the team lost no time in knocking the walls down. We were, after all, very delayed in our schedule.

Balcony sliding door removed

Living room wall hacked to reveal new living room

Kitchen wall hacked to reveal new kitchen entrance

I literally jumped for joy!