Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Beginning of a New Chapter

I don't know who to credit this image to as my friend took it from some site. If you're the owner or know the owner of this image, please drop me a note and I'll immediately credit the owner.

It was a couple of days ago that I realized that The Tempremental should, after all, have a Facebook page of its own as I don't want that day to arrive when I'm faced with friend requests from random strangers. I want a place where all my blog visitors and fans alike can mingle with yours truly without me sacrificing my privacy.

Take a peek here, if you wish.

A word of note, though. Because the page is still so new, please bear with me as the time passes us by while I slowly fill add contents to it.

Monday, March 26, 2012

my lil oyster: Caffeine

my lil oyster: Caffeine: Yes...good or is it bad caffeine? I have a love hate relationship with caffeine. It perks me up when I need that extra kick in the system. ...

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Cheese Cake with Pumpkin Seeds

This is a scheduled post. At the time when this recipe is up and published, yours truly is enjoying a well-deserved breakfast in Taman Megah after her hill walk.



Ingredients
200g cake flour
50g maize flour
50g plain flour (you don't really have to, though)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar1
200 ml cup cow's / goat's / soy milk
the juice of one small orange
100g softened cream cheese (any brand would do)2
1/2 cup raw, uncooked pumpkin seeds

Directions
Preheat oven at 190C.
Oil a square baking tray with butter and coat it with a thin layer of flour and leave it aside.3 This will help to keep the mixture from sticking to the tray.
In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and cream cheese until fluffy.
Sift flour and add in baking powder and baking soda.
Squeeze orange juice4 and pour milk and carefully fold in the mixture until a semi-dry consistency is formed. If the mixture is too wet, add more plain flour. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more liquid milk.5
Pour the mixture into the oiled tray and sprinkle pumpkin seeds on the top.
Bake at 160C for 45 - 60 minutes.



Tips
1) Add up to 4 tbsp of sugar, up to individual preference. I'm one who fancies neither sugar nor salt.
2) Feel free to add more cream cheese if you are a sworn cheese lover. The only difference you'll get is a stronger hint of cheese when you eat the cake.
3) Alternatively, you could substitute the flour with 2 cups of crushed Graham or digestive biscuits as the crust.
4) Worry not if you don't happen to have any fresh orange at home. You may substitute it with 1/2 cup of any unsweetened bottled orange juice.
5) Since cow's milk is readily available and cheaper, it will suffice. If you're lactose-intolerant, soy milk is the best option.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Sacrifice

She left the sealed envelope on the kitchen countertop and stopped short at the door with a heavy heart. She was reluctant to bid her sanctuary, the sanctuary that held so much memories for her and for him a silent adieu but she had to face it. He could no longer be hers; he was with her friend and they kept it a secret from her, which annoyed her. She hated liars and she didn't want to destroy their love just to teach them both a lesson in telling the truth.
    No, she sighed deeply, it's better than one hurt soul rather than three hurt souls. And left with her luggage, not knowing when her next return would be.
    He was not in his usual cheery mood when he had returned home. In fact, he was tired but he was as clear-minded as he had ever been. Although ending it with Mika took courage, it was worth it. Eight months of forced pretense had left him wearied to his core. He went to the kitchen to grab his can of Heineken when he noticed that colored envelope peeking out of its hiding spot and set the can aside while he read the letter.
    His heart skipped a beat when he read the contents and abandoned his beer and he immediately turned tail, worry written all over his face.
    She was three hours too early and hung around the departure area to kill the waiting time, watching as people sent their friends or family members off on their flights with goodbyes and silent prayers. It was still not too late for her to change her mind but the thought of broken hearts shook her awake.

    She didn't want to see him having to choose.
    She didn't want Mika to curse at her, at them for the rest of their lives.

Maybe it was just her imagination that she interpreted his chivalry as love, but one thing's for real. She had already fallen in love with him from day one, way before Mika entered the picture. I will surrender my deck of cards, she murmured, as I'm not playing anymore. Enough hurt sustained.

His heart raced a million times faster as he sped on the expressway narrowly avoiding the cars in front of him, hoping that he would be fast enough to catch her before she boarded the plane, before she permanently left his life.
    He sighed, recollected the contents in the letter. In it, she had wrote that she was extremely sorry for such a drastic move but she could no longer face her feelings about him and Mika. It was torturing for her. She kept it short; he was the one whom she had loved and since he was settled with Mika, she would merely surrender to fate and wish them all the best and kill all forms of communication with them.
    He knew how mean she could be. When she wanted out, she would avoid everyone until her mind was at its peaceful state again.
    Oh, dear, he whispered, you have it all wrong. You are the one that I've loved the most. We understood each other's minds fully and shared that special chemistry. I'm sorry to have kept Mika's relationship with I a secret but I've a reason, a reason that matter no more. Please, if only I could see you one last time.....

Monday, March 19, 2012

Disappearance

All the three of us were happy that Leigh had found a comfortable, well-paid job and it was normal for her to be nervous on her first day. Which newbie wouldn't?

Six months later, I received a call that she hadn't returned to the home that she shared with Missy after leaving the office for the day. Something in my heart led me to an acquaintance's banana plantation in a small village and true enough, I found an important clue there; it gave me a couple of reasons behind her disappearance.

While Missy was keeping an eye out on the signboards to guide us out of the secluded village, she saw a couple of notes peeking out of the back pocket of the driver's seat. It was written in Leigh's handwriting with messages that read 'keep this, please don't throw it away' and 'there are people you have to ask'. When Missy brought it up, there was more shock added to the shock that we had sustained from the news as I totally knew what the second message had meant.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Two More Weeks

Two more weeks to go.

If I have a choice, I don't want to attend it. I cannot bear the thought of it. I don't understand why the whole event has to end late into that hour. It's not like everyone wants to sit through the whole details of it while there is enjoyment on only one side of the fence.

We're here because we have to and not because we willingly want to. Not everyone likes the idea of returning home in the wee hours on that long, quiet drive out.

Certainly not me. Certainly not Mama and Papa Carrie either.

I can't avoid it; either way I take, I still have to face it with only a different batch of people there. How I feel like screaming at the person who arranged the timing. With the amount of segments included, it is still alright if it starts earlier. How come it was possible to start earlier back in the year and not in this day of age?

Geez, if it ain't compulsory to attend, I will skip it all together, you know.

Two more weeks to go.

The vows that I have silently made will expire on its own after some time, but I will take it to the next level now that someone has forced my hand. Why should I follow her and the group of acquaintances for the plates of famous dishes now? Why should I watch the movie that I've intended to watch?

It won't change anything if I do or don't, eat or don't eat.

I won't lose anything by staying away.

Might as well throw my time into perfecting and honing my skills in baking and cooking instead. At least that can/may be utilized for good uses in the future....

Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Farewell Meal


This will be one of the places that I will sorely miss when it leaves for a makeover and I shall hope to pick up some Easter eggs as a remembrance. It will be years after the hotel has reopened its doors that I will be able to visit this place again... as I'll have to endure the exhausting flight back.

Pictures will be taken and hopefully, it will include the remaining employees that the Carries have known since the 80s. Some of them have resigned, some of them have retired...

With that being said, there is always room for advancement and improvement. =D

Friday, March 9, 2012

Freezing Glares

There are certain things that still can infuriate me after all these years and in addition to last week's event, I really need a day of shopping spree and movies with a close friend or two to melt the frustrations that have since risen in my mind.

我越想那个事情, 我越要抓狂.



It's unfair for one to ask for everything and not sacrifice a single bit. Nothing in life is free, unfortunately. Everyone has to sacrifice at least something to get what they want.

I know God wants humans to extend their help willingly without expecting any blessings in return, but I can't stand the thought of unappreciative beings and the worst part is that one only comes to know of the true colors until it is too late. In my world, it is tough to forgive one for one's negative actions as it is tough to forget the whole issue.

And I'm off to soothe my boiling blood before it splashes everywhere...

Thursday, March 8, 2012

An Accidental Accident

I was on the road that led to Mersing and Skudai (both places are in the southern state called Johor Bahru) when I woke up in a hospital bed with a spinning, bandaged head. Beside me was a couple of friends who had flown to the hospital to be by my side.

Credits to Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya (formerly known as Subang Jaya Medical Centre) for the image.

One of them commented that it was such a pity that hospital rooms didn't come with locks as any Tom, Dick and Harry can easily enter and endanger the patient's safety. Methinks the fellow has been watching too many dramas.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

What a shocker!

My eyes nearly fell out of its sockets when it saw the idiot driver accelerating out of the auto car wash and attempting to flee the scene, which makes me think that that driver must've missed out on the sign.

I'm keeping this post short; it is sunny at my area, but the thunder's waiting for me to publish this before venting its frustration at its cousin, the sun.



Egg, Banana & Orange Muffins

Dry: 180g cake flour
50g maize flour
1 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder

Wet: 3 bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg, beaten
the zest and juice of 1 small orange

Directions: Preheat oven at 160C / 320F.
Line a 9-hole or 2 6-hole muffin trays with paper cases.
Sift flour and sugar together in a mixing bowl.
Add arrowroot powder, baking powder, baking soda and grated orange and stir well.
Pour in egg, milk and orange juice and mix well.
Gradually fold in bananas until a semi-dry consistency is formed.
Divide mixture and pour into paper cases.
Bake for 15 minutes on the oven's lower tray.
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