Back for baking !

finally survived thru the two weeks in camp
gonna enjoy the freedom of being a "civilian " for the next one year
before my next reservist in feb 2010.. -_-"

oh well , my blog been pretty lag lately
so , it's payback time ! lol ..
yes! gonna blog more before i gets really really busy at work ..

it's been quite sometime since i last bake , hmmm
so today , i'm back here with a brand new entry !

make a guess ?
what i will be baking today ? =p

haha..
alright ... shall not ramble anymore ..

let's check out what i've specially prepared for you guys today :)

ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup hershey's cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
  
• cream cheese
• peanut butter
  
• chopped dark chocolate for topping
  

To make the Chocolate Cookies,

in a large bowl cream butter and

sugar , eggs until light in color and fluffy.

In another medium bowl stir together the flour , cocoa powder, baking powder .

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir to combine using spoon.

Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap.

Press the dough into a 1-inch high round.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.

Roll out the dough to between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick.

Use a 1 3/4-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the dough.

Bake on a heavy baking sheet for 15 minutes at about preheated 350 degree F oven .

Place the baking sheets on a wire rack to cool cookies.

For cookie filling :

To assemble the cookie sandwiches,

place about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese & peanut butter respectively on a cookie.

Top with another cookie and press together .

And after my fav garnishing part ....

here you are !
featuring ..
my first creation in 2009 !

peanut butter and cream cheese chocolate cookie sandwich

Sandwich cookies are about contrasts in flavors or texture .
with these peanut butter & cream cheese cookies the contrast is in the texture .
two crisp cookies paired with creamy and soft filling ,
both the cookies and filling are full of the flavor of the peanut butter ,
yet while the cookies are sweet ,
the filling also contains cream cheese which gives it a touch of tanginess .

simply love the subtle combination of the peanut butter and cream cheese,
accompanied by these chewy chocolate cookies .
An uncomplicated desserts that has a very appealing visual as well as tasty effect
is perfect for tea time !

When I started this blog it was so easy to keep up.
I fell in love with baking instantly
and the thought of baking just once a week seemed absurdly limiting.
Yet here I am quite (well, incredibly) late for my update
It seems that I assumed that my personal matters wouldn't interfere with my baking
but alas, they have.

nevertheless .. in the year 2009 , my goal is to exert myself out of my comfort zone
especially when it comes to work ...
gonna achieve and accomplish more than what i am capable of !

alright peeps ..
gotta run .. hope what i did today score well again =P
have a nice & smooth week ahead everyone ! hugs .... :)

V day 09 '

Thank you j for the gift & the little note inside :)

The art of painting ..

hey peeps !

Mr D is not going to bake today ..... :(

he's " transforming " himself into a painter today !!!!!!

oh well ... that's because ben wanna a total new look in his bedroom after some contemplations & discussion

we decided to do some paint work before arranging new furnitures into his room ..

and of cuz everyone knows we are big fan of colors in terms of everything !

a pop art inspired wall is what we hope to achieve ! ^^

cool ! let's check out what we've done !

we got all the materials , brushes , and paint ready !


good planning is always important in whatever we do ..

me doing some sketching ..

and ben googling images for ideas ...

these collectible zouk cards that ben kept definitely gave us so many ideas !

next,, we start cutting the shapes and designs we wanted to be paste on the wall

hahaha .. cam whoring abit ... lol ..

alright let's kick start !

ben looking so excited like a little boy ... ^^

me too =P

men at work !!!

this is how it looks after we finish pasting ... abit messy uh ... hurhur ..

had a quick lunch break .. hoo...

me starting to paint on the wall ..

and we have to paint the background black :)

we gonna peel off the papers after the paint dried up ..

we like how it looks when it's black & white too ..

we got the colors ready to paint on the shapes !

halfway done ... so excited wheeee....

ben did a super great job in painting the rocket !

and we include the "chipmunks " name on the wall ! ^^

about ten hours later
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


drums rolling !!!!!

here's our final product !!!!!!!!!!!

like what ben mention in his blog .. we are real amateurs when it comes to painting
hence this might not be professionally done but i'm really proud of myself
cuz i never believe that i can do this initially !!! it's really not easy man !

how can i waste this chance for not cam whoring on this super uber nice wall
that we both painted up ..
sorry guys ! haha that's too much photos of me lol ...


anyway i really wanted to say a big thank you to ben for believing in me and
also giving me the confidences to paint on his walls ..
i really never expect i could do this ! seriously !!! lol


alrite guys .. hope you love this entry .. =)
anyway , i will be going back for reserivst tommorrow ..
will be back on the 21st of this month ....
hence this blog will be lagging for bit !
gonna miss everyone here ...
wonder if there will be someone missing me too ? -_-"
hopefully lol ..
and i'm going to missed celebrating valentine's day too !! shit man ! :(


last but not least ... enjoy your week and v day ahead guys ... take care ! hugs .. :)

one day in batam ...

it's always hard to plan a holiday especially
when the group of people traveling is big .

me and my gang of colleagues wanted a short getaway before we start work & gets busy
after few discussion we settled for a day tour in batam island ..

but the question is ?
what can we do in batam ?

let me be the tour guide for the day !

follow me ! =)

06:38 am
wake up time !

07:23 am

out when the dawn ends ..

08:35 am
reach harbour front & collection of ferry tickets ...

preparing to board the ferry

09:14 am
immediately conked out after i board the ferry ...

10: 33 am

arrival at Sekupang International Ferry Terminal ( SIFT )

10:57 am
in the coach ..

oh why
is duncan smiling his way ?


that's because he just collected his change currency in rupiah .. * wink *

and for those who yearn to be a millionaire
in indonesia you can easily be one !!!

hmmm...

and how would you react if you are a millionaire even just for a day ?

let Mr D show you ...
.
.
.

ahhahaha.. convince ???

if not how about this ?? whoo hoo ...

hahaha ... lame i know ... -_-"

ok ok .. let's continue ..

according to the information i have , batam dun have much places for sight seeing ..
the only place that is much visited by tourist is
the barelang fisabiliah bridge .

12:09 pm

This is the biggest and longest bridge connecting Batam Island to Tonton Island.
It stretches an impressive 38 meter high and 642 meter in length.

next ..

12:44 pm

visit
maha vihara duta maitreya laughing buddha temple
the biggest Buddhist temple at South East Asia.

guess what i'm praying for ?
haha...
of cuz .. to stay happy , healthy & earn more money !

oh .. not forgetting ... to pray that i will find my true love soon whahha... -_-"

1:24 pm

for those who are big fan of polo ralph lauren !
you will be happy ..
cuz according to the locals .. these clothes were made locally hence
it can be purchase at much lower price and discount.

actually to be true .. i really dunno why is it so riduculously cheap ?
for example , a normal polo tee shirt can be purchase at about $ 60 - $ 70 in sing dollars .
and there are further big discount some more !

can someone tell me ? lol

but i rem i bought quite a few pieces in hk sale before and it's equally cheap
and i feel " safer " oops...
hence after much consideration i never buy a single piece hur hur ..

so camwhoring to entertain myself in the shop lo ...

2:05 pm
after that we were brought to gts local product shop

where there's a delectable range of Coffee, Batik, Handy Craft and crackers etc

the weather so hot ... faint ..... =x

2:18 pm

lunch is being served at the biggest seaside / kelong seafood restaurant
" golden prawn 933"
built with wood and bamboo over the sea..

Indonesia traditional serves a variety of local seafood dishes with the nice view of north eastern coast of Batam, en route.

big fresh coconuts in the house !

i seldom eat tropical fruits ..
and believe it a not .. it's my very first time eating coconuts ! ha..

3:02 pm
After lunch , visit the kuda lumping or magic show , just opposite the restuarant .

The local performer will perform dances , and other special skills such as opening the coconut skin with his teeth , live coal & glass eating .

alright ..
for big coffee lover like me is gonna be dammn disappointed !
cuz in batam , there is no starbucks =(
gonna make do with godiva coffee ..

i wonder if it has anything to do with godiva chocolate ?
hmmmm.. another mystery ...

my craving for coffeeeeee .... =/

4: 10 pm

we ended our day with a massage session!
is'nt it heaven !!!

and guess what ?
my full body massage for 90 mins is only $ 20 sing dollars !!!!!!

7:10 pm
dinner @ pizza hut in batam mega mall ...


7 : 50 pm
procceed to the ferry terminal

8 :46 pm
home sweet home .... :)

okie peeps!
hopefully i can pass off as a guide for the day .. ( joking ) haha..
oh well ... i wonder will i ever travel back to batam again .. hmmm.. ?? ha
to summarise for the whole trip ..
i personally think it's a very affordable short getaway for a day
or maybe should try to stay for a night in their relaxing resort
if not we can get pretty bored .. ^^

alrite ... have a nice week ahead everyone ! hugs...