下厨乐

好久没和妈妈一起下厨了。还记得小时候，妈妈在煮菜时我只能充当她的助手。就是帮忙切菜或清洗的工作。因为是左撇子的关系，常常被她说成‘左手左脚’（在粤语意思为反应不灵活，笨拙）。虽然很少有机会站在炉前，但是却没有阻挡我喜欢当小助手的心。现在虽然不能算很会煮（煮是一门很大的学问，还有待学习），但是要准备一顿菜肴倒不是问题。:P 总算可以好好煮一些菜肴孝敬妈妈了以补偿我不在您身边的日子。

乳酪焙蛋

小小的蛋在填饱我们的胃之余，也照顾到我们的健康。蛋可说是和我们的生活息息相关。每天我都得为该准备什么菜肴而伤脑筋。不过这也是烹饪最享受的地方。因为有人对吃的要求而使你绞尽脑汁去创新。吃本来就是一种享受。鸡蛋几乎成了每天的桌上主角。鸡蛋的做法不外乎用来炒，煮，煎，蒸，炖或配搭其他菜。煮蛋可说是其中一种蛮健康的烹调方法。今天我要准备的是一道乳酪焙蛋。

材料：鸡蛋4个（eggs），肉干或培根（bacon），牛油（butter），蛋黄酱（mayonnaise），乳酪丝（shredded cheese）
调味料：盐（salt），胡椒粉（pepper）
做法：
1. 鸡蛋煮熟后泡冷水剥壳，对半切开，并挖出蛋黄；肉干切小块，（我就地取材所以用肉干，你也可用培根并炒香）。
2. 蛋黄放入大碗里搅烂，然后加入适量的牛油，蛋黄酱，盐，胡椒粉搅拌均匀。
3. 将蛋黄合物填入蛋白中，撒入适量的肉干丝和乳酪丝。
4. 烤箱预热至175度，放入成品烤约5分钟，不须太旧，待乳酪溶化，即可取出。

Method:
1. Boil eggs and cool in cold water before shelling. Cut into halves and dig out the egg yolks. Cut bacon into small pieces and fry till fragrant.
2. Place egg yolks into a big bowl and mash well. Add in butter, mayonnaise, salt and pepper and mix well.
3. Fill the egg white with egg yolk mixture and scatter with some bacon and shredded cheese.
4. Preheat oven to 175 degree Celsius. Place the stuffed eggs in and bake for about 5 minutes. Once the cheese is melted, remove and serve.

Bread pudding - first attempt

What do you normally do with your almost expired bread when you are fed up with sandwiches? Do you go and feed the fish or throw them away? It is too wasteful to throw them away so I decided to make bread pudding with them instead. I came across few bread pudding recipes from Internet before I really start to make it. I found an easy and simple recipe so I decided to give it a try.

The fun of cooking is you are always the boss, you don't need to follow what exactly the recipes saying but just make sure don't screw up. That's why people says cooking is a kind of art and you have to be very creative to be a cook.

Ingredient

6 slices of bread or more or you can use french bread. If you are using slices of bread, cut them into squares.

3 tbsp of unsalted or salted butter. Salted butter taste better.

200 ml milk (you may need more milk to completely soak the bread)

2 eggs

a handful of raisins

2-3 tablespoon of sugar (white or brown, depending on taste preference)

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon (optional if you don't like the taste)

mozzarella cheese - optional. It is to cover the top if you prefer cheesy like pizza.

Method

1) Heat the milk over medium heat saucepan. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

2) Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla essence. Beat with the mixer (it will save you a lot of effort if you have an electric mixer) and slowly add in milk mixture.

3) Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. You may spread some butter on the bread.

4) Sprinkle with raisins or any dried fruits. Pour the batter on top of bread.

5) Lastly sprinkle some mozzarella and granulated sugar on top. The granulated sugar will give it a nice sheen after baking. (Optional)

6) Bake at 200 degrees C for about 45-50 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

The warm pudding will taste even nicer if you serve it with some ice-cream or bread pudding sauce. Isn't it easy? Basically only 3 steps - Soak the bread, bake it and serve. :-)

Yes, I do

Today we begin the rest of our life
Together forever as husband and wife.
It is never being too old to hold hands.

It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude
of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating
gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

I was suppose to post this up last months, but I was busy with the wedding preparation.
Sorry for the late announcement about my wedding which held last month. Shock and surprise are the feedback from my friends when they knew I have got married. The marriage is simple but ended with holy and the wedding dinner only held in my hometown - Miri, Sarawak.