Tuesday, January 06, 2009

yUMmiliCiOUS !




Gardenia just launched (or maybe it was some time already but i just discovered it) a new range called Delicia.


This loaf is absolutely HEAVENLY, really Really REALLY GOOD!


You smell it before you see it.


Well, that's how I found it. Pick up a pack and breathe in deeply. Its healthy.


The sweet and buttery smell of butterscotch will make you salivate!


The bread is wonderfully soft with bits of melted butterscotch in it. mmmMMM


Only RM4/loaf


I just discovered this very morning that there's also a choc raisin flavour too! Almost finish half a loaf for brekkie good grief..


So good you can even eat it on its own!

Grab one today!



Friday, January 02, 2009

Hitting the big 3-0

I've been in denial mode the whole year since I'm a Dec kid. But now Dec has come and gone and I am now unarguably 30.


People say things change when you hit 30.. especially for women. Your body goes into automatic mode to grow more white hair, in more obvious spots, have more allergies, put on more weight in more obvious spots, turn drier, more wrinkly, crinkly - oh no more smooth, supple skin despite all the cosmetics you sweep off the counter.


Man.


But then, I've got a great life partner (who is now busy packing for his 8am paintball session tomorrow), wonderful family, a cosy home of my own, a crazee bunch of friends and a job i enjoy (70% of the time and that should be good right?).


Lots to be thankful for :)


And places to go eat and blog about. Heh.




Have you been to Neroteca? Its an Italian restaurant tucked in Lorong Ceylon, KL. This is my 2nd time here and they serve delicious pastas. Affordably priced too, except for their specialities like roast suckling pig. Go for that only if you're willing to splurge :)








Sorry my pics arent that good, its got a pretty dark ambience.


-_-

Ok TIME OUT. My ridiculous husband is testing out his paintball gear at 12am. Knee guards, chiplak army pants and his 2nd hand face mask that makes him look like Darth Vader. Good GRIEF.


Sigh.














This is the appetizer I ordered. Prosciutto e Melone (fresh parma ham and melon) RM 34. Absolutely delicious. Love the saltiness and hammie taste of prosciutto with the cold, sweet and refreshing melons.



For mains, I had Parmigianna eggplant with ham and smoked cheese RM22. This was ok. Perhaps because I wasnt very hungry and there was a wee bit too much of mozarella and too little eggplant. A little overpowering for me tastebuds.




Hubs ordered Tagliatelle Funghi e Prosciutto, ham and mushrooms RM22. Large portion and VERY GOOD. Love the cream base and mushrooms. Tops for me!




So far from my 1st and 2nd visits, their pastas with ham were very good. Try those if you love the taste of porky ham.


To wash it all down, we had a refreshing scoop of strawberry gelato. It was smooth with bits of berries, love the natural strawberry taste. RM6/scoop.








I'll definitely dine in this place again whenever I have the craving for a really good bowl of comforting, creamy pasta.

Important note: Make bookings in advance to avoid disappointments especially for dinner on weekends. Seats are limited.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Hello 2009!!

It has been AGES since i last posted!! Its been a crazy few months, busy with work, church activities, having fun hahah! All in all, 2008 was a great year. I dont think I had like life changing moments but it was rather made up of a lot of small, fun, great moments all mixed up together.


Let's see... i had my first go at Karaoke! phhooeeett! And then I went again! Never thought I'd enjoy karaoke but if you're with a crazee crowd, its really fun!


I didnt travel much this year as compared to previous years, gotta cut down on all these luxuries. Yessirree. Sigh, there goes my big plans for a holiday in New Zealand.. maybe in 2 years time.. hopefully.


I didnt cook as much as I wanted to. Hmm the cooking bug seems to have left me. Sigh. I better get my cooking buddy MY and plan wat we intend to try out for year 2009 or else I will just get plain lazy.


I made a lot of good frens this year. You learn a lot from different people. And they really make you grow as a person.


I learnt how to make mooncakes!!


Anyhoo, the whole reason for this post was actually to blog about my latest recipe. MY and I couldnt resist making this classy dessert/starter (don't know which) for a fren's christmas do.





Our very own Christmas Cheese Log!!

Bring it to any potluck and you'll receive plenty of praises, plus its super easy to make!





Lookit all those yummy nuts...mm Hmmm!

What you'll need is just - 1 block of Philadephia cream cheese, any nuts and dried fruits of your choice. We used dried pineapples (they are delish! you absolutely MUST try them), pistachios and dried apricots. Another version was with almond flakes sans the pistachios. The first definitely tasted better because of the pistachios but the latter was not bad too. You can try with walnuts, or more luxurious nuts like macadamia, brazil nuts .... i love NUTS!

So, just leave the cream cheese out to soften a bit. Chop up all the dried fruits. Toast the nuts for a wee bit in the oven then chop them up too. Mixed the dried fruits into the cream cheese and stir them up. Plonk the cream cheese onto a piece of aluminium foil and start sprinkling the chopped nuts all over. Use the foil to roll the cream cheese into the shape of a log. Press in all the nuts, sprinkle more and repeat till your log is bursting with those nuts.

The pistachios really make the logs look beautiful with their shades of beige, brown and green.



Serve with some crackers and enjoy the praises!