Wilted jasmine

I have a string of wilted jasmine on my desk. I am counting the days till the 4th of December. I spent today reading NICE guidelines which aren’t very nice contrary to its name, if you’re not a healthcare professional please don’t click on the link, its boring, be forewarned! My Nikon has flown to Vietnam and the other to the middle east, so no camera for a while. I am still studying, and you guessed it, I’m BORED. And TIRED. There I have whined online, not just to H on the phone and the various people I sms when I get lonely. Yup, did I add that, my textbooks aren’t good company. So what have I been eating you may ask, I’ve been cooking and improvising to stretch one pot for a couple of days, so its spagetti bolognaise and shepard’s pie with the meat sauce, readymade frozen loaves popped into the oven spread with garlic oil, eaten with mushroom soup which you guessed it becomes pasta sauce the next day. Strrretching leftovers till the next grocery shopping. Hopefully the next post will have something edible!

Its time to say goodbye.. At least for the next 2 weeks

I guess you were expecting this day to come, when I say goodbye for a little while. I need to study for an exam. I’ve not been doing it at all in the last 3 weeks. I’ve been really busy as you probably know. My calls have been busy too so I have been spending time recovering and sleeping off all the sleep debt I accumulated. You know you have a really good friend when you can appear at their house, crash on their sofa (and I mean really deep slumber) after a few mumbled words and get a box of chocolates at the end. Thanks Mel!

And of course, one of those famous cards wishing me well for the exam. Thanks for the 13 years of friendship and the dozens of cards that span the years..

And to Razlyn and Anas, congratulations on the engagement! I’m sorry I missed it, well you know the reason Raz. No weekends. You looked gorgeous and the house looks wonderful don’t you guys think?? I really really wished we were there.

I’m still trying to cook as and when I can, the busier we get the more we are in need of a home cooked meal don’t you think? This is poached salmon with garlic sauteed portobello mushrooms on a bed of hummus with a tomato and basil salad. Dinner cooked in one pan in 20 mins. I poached the salmon in the same pan the mushrooms were cooking in the juices from the mushrooms.

Things have been crazier still this week and I think today was the day I had enough!! I just needed to sleep it off which I did this afternoon,post call, and I’m feeling cheerier. I’ve just had bad calls with the full works: collapses, resus efforts, MICU, seizures, urgent dialysis. I’m assigned to the clinic this week so half my day is spent in the clinic and I just don’t have time to update relatives, order the next day dialysis sessions, and other things here and there while making sure all the urgent stuff like prescriptions, discharges, getting the patients reviews from other specialties, getting them prepared for procedure/operations, arranging scans, handling new admission etc etc etc so my phone rings and rings and rings and rings and my battery runs flat in a day which is pretty unusual.

So it turns out I’m actually looking forward  to this study break. Catch up soon, after the 5th of December to be exact!

BBM arrived!

I have been waiting for some sunshine to post about the lovely package I received from Stephanie thru Blogging By Mail

The box came with a little furry mascot

Vanilla syrup for my latte! Yay!

Peppers for pasta..

Chocolate, well, CHOCOLATE!

Vanilla tea from her local teahouse

This is a truly beautiful book. Also included were more chocolate and a lovely novel. Thanks Stephanie being the lovely hostess of the event and for the thoughtful package!

Custardy but not very appley

I ate a custard apple for the first time today. I’ve seen it around and always wondered how they taste. Somehow I was never inclined to try! Its intensely sweet, juicy and fragrant, like a soursop but without the sourness. I wonder why I took these many years to try it.

Apparently its difficult to tell if they’re sweet or not, anyone has any hints?

I was shocked to find a recipe for beef korma with custard apple from here. How strange is that.. Is this really a dish that exists??

And because I have a secret love for botanical drawings, I had to put this up.

Tonight on my table

H has been feeling neglected, especially so since I have been hanging up after rushing an “I’m busy” when he calls, sometimes several times a day. I decided to make it up with some hummus, some sliced fresh beef sausages crisped up in a pan with whole garlic cloves, an olive and tomato salad, oven toasted pita bread and this grated green apple, greek yogurt and organic honey compote (to the extreme left looking slightly messy). It ended with hot Suchard a hot chocolate drink we got as a gift from Switzerland some time ago and a good book for him and a textbook for me.

I’ve been whining a lot lately, so I’ll make it up with a recipe. I’m not sure if people actually cook from my blog, well I know Quizas does did, and Shafaa made the chocolate cupcakes and the chicken pie, but well, here’s sort of a recipe which anyone can make and trust me, the most delicious things I’ve tasted are often the simplest. My mom used to make this for me as a kid, its a delicious apple and yogurt combination which is really really tasty. All you need is an apple of your choice, crunchy or soft, I used a green Granny Smith for its crunch and tang, grate coarsely into a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of greek or natural set yogurt, then add a generous glop of honey, about 2 tablespoons if you must measure, or less if your apple was sweet. Then let it sit and get very cold in the fridge while you prepare the rest of dinner. The apples tend to get soft and soak up the yogurt and honey, the yogurt gets a little runny from the apple juice and the whole thing sorts of comes together as a great dessert which is high in fiber and low in fat but all round tasty.

I made the whole meal in about 45 mins, I’ll share some shortcuts soon.

 

My caffeine shot this morning

 

Pocket coffee

 

Its a serious shot of liquid espresso encassed in a chocolate coating. I hitched a ride to work from a friend who has just returned from Italy.  He asked me if I’ve had my morning cup of coffee, when I answered in the negative, out came a box of pocket coffee, and its really good. Now how do I get my hands on a box..

I’m on call again. Its quiet now as I’m covering the A&E so will only be activated once all the wards are filled and  A&E starts to overflow. Since its Sunday night I am filled with dread as I have a bad feeling about this night. Usually Friday is quiet then as soon as the work week starts, it gets busy. I guess the elderly sick try to bear it out thru the weekend than seek help as the work week starts and grown children go off to work. So my work may start after midnight when my energy is low. But the sun always rises and I am still keeping positive *keep fingers crossed*

I’m feeling a wee bit panicky too because exams are drawing near and I met an old friend I used to work with who gave me a sense that I wasn’t studying enough. So unfortunately this means my presence here may be fewer, shorter and far between till the 4th of December..

Wish me luck!!

I’m still alive

I’ve been having a really crazy time in this new department, I suspect it is largely due to the fact that we are understaffed, running at 2/3 the number of people as previously. I’ve sort of disappeared this entire week, I have not spoken to my mom nor seen much of my family. I’ve not replied to sms-es, well I have to some but not to all, I’ve not been replying to calls, and I have been hanging up when you called. I’m sorry!!

 

I’m sorry for not keeping up with comments on the blog too, but I’m reading and appreciating all the comments! Quizas: I am on call again on the 15th.. Looks like we’ll meet up only after our exams? Probably see you on the day itself!

 

Since I know some of you may be reading, let me just let you know whats going on. I guess there are a number of reasons why I have not had the time to have a proper lunch at work this last week. I did not even get to eat dinner till 11pm while I was on call on Thurs night! And dinner was another sandwhich, I’ve been surviving on sandwhiches and cartons of milk. Worse still, I did not manage to go off post call on Friday afternoon, ie take the half day off after spending the night in hospital. So yesterday I worked for 33 hours straight! With sort of a 2-3 hours fragmented sleep on Thurs night, I was really exhausted. So its Saturday, I worked half the day and I’ve just woken up from a nap, and guess what? The sun has set! I’ve not mananged to see much daylight at home. I remember vaguely H trying to rouse me just now, probably to watch tv or go for a walk, I can’t really remember. And more bad news, I am on call again tomorrow! So my weekend is over after tonight. I am crossing my fingers I would be able to take the afternoon off on Monday because working since last Saturday isn’t good for me. But then again, did I tell you that I am working every single day till the 23rd of November which is when I go on exam leave. Yup, every single Saturday and Sunday. I’ve run out of clothes to wear cos my laundry isn’t done and I’ve not done my groceries in ages.

 

So while I was complaining to my brother while lying on the couch in front of the tv at my parent’s, he asked, what was the upside to the whole situation. I did think about that this week, because I need to cling on the some positivity in the middle of the madness of running around the hospital, answering phonecalls non stop and not really eating. I guess the upside would be that there’s a steep learning curve, I’ve learnt how to order dialysis for my patients, I’ve learnt about renal transplant and managing some of its problems, how to manage blocked lines hemodialysis, and lots and lots about the social and emotional aspects of managing a patient with failed kidneys. Its a lot of work because every single patient on my list doesn’t have much of an immune system because of their failed kidneys, and even if their kidneys work, its a transplanted kidney and they’re on drugs to suppress their immunity. So they are a bunch of fragile delicate people who need a lot of love because life can be trying when you don’t have your kidneys working for you. I’m also looking forward to this week cos I’m not on call till the following, and hopefully I can work a little faster because this week has really been about finding my way around.

Anyway these were from a weekend dinner last weekend at a hawker center near our house with my parents.

Satay with rice cakes and peanut dipping sauce. Notice the money on the table. Usually payment is done when the food arrives at your table.

My dad eating mee rebus or yellow noodles in a thick peanut and beef flavoured soup. I’m not sure why his dish came in a disposable container, perhaps the stall had run out of bowls.

Freshly squeezed sugarcane juice

I always end my meal at Changi Village (the hawker center) with the ice kachang or literally translated as ice nut. This dessert is layered boiled sweet red beans, pieces of grass jelly or chin chau, sweet corn and atap chee or sweet palm seeds then topped with shaved ice, a few splashes of colourful rose flavoured syrup and then finished with a good drizzle of evaporated milk.

 

Did I mention I’m on call again tomorrow? Yup, so my weekend has ended.

BBM!

I love my package..! I need to wait till the end of the week to have some daylight to photograph the lovely items I received from Stephanie. The dim lights in my room won’t do the items justice.. Thank you Stephanie! I will post all the wonderful gifts in the box soon..

It included chocolate so that’s definitely a winner in my books!

By the way, Have you ever Zeroll-ed?

If you’ve wondered how they scoop perfect balls at the ice cream parlor while you struggle with your frozen tub, wonder no more, its the Zeroll. I bought this over a year ago at Sia Huat, its really handy when scooping for a crowd and you get perfect round scoops. The heat from your hand somehow transmits to the head of the scoop resulting in easy scooping and release of the formed scoops.

I’m envious of this the owner of this beautiful bookmark  handmade by Quizas. I miss you so much!! Study hard.. Unlike me..   but you’ve always been more disciplined!

Anything but depressing..

Remember a post ago I spoke about depression glass? I would like to share the two little pieces I recently acquired with you.

I’m glad I managed to catch a little bit of sunshine when I got home. Its raining so heavily now. With a little mix and match of some of my favourite things, a little alcapone J.co donut tastes just that much better.

You may notice the little teacup in the background, I recently got it on sale at Takashimaya from Royal Doulton. Fine china is definitely a good investment, my mom has had hers since I was 4 and they’re so classic and do not look dated at all. The napkin is from Tangs which is having a really good sale right now. I bought a king size bedsheet and quilt set for a third of the price. At 511 threadcount, its silky silky soft good cotton and I know it’ll be better in time. At $200 down from over $600, its a good investment that’ll last for years and years.

If you feel like injecting a more masculine feel, use dark colours and a little blue on your table. The good old Ikea napkin. Napkins can be used everyday, they’re inexpensive and H always likes it when I give him one to mop up drips or spills during the meal.

Check out the detailing on the stem and plate. Imagine these were made in mass and really cheap, put in free in oatmeal boxes during the 1930s. I paid $15 for each cake plate which is quite reasonable according to my ebay research.

Polka dots and flowers, my favaourite combination. This is also Royal Doulton, and part of their 100 anniversary series. Just by having these around, it gives you more reason to take it out for nice morning or afternoon tea. You don’t have to go that English cafe at Takashimaya, just make your own scones! And call someone over to share it. I don’t believe in keeping the pieces I have for display, I bought it to be shared and used. I would love to have you over one day!

Perhaps next time, there’ll be real homemade goodness on the cake plate.

I was looking for a pyrex bowl for tiramisu and bakes like lasagne or sheperds pie. I thought these were a steal for $10 each. For pyrex its cheap, and again pyrex lasts and lasts and lasts. There’s a small logo at the bottom of the plate, this really was the real deal.

I thought the antique silver plate cover was a bonus. It looks pretty good scrubbed up don’t you think? After a good foray at the antique shop, my fingers always turn black and my nose and face itching like crazy. But for these finds, don’t you think it was worth it?

Hope this inspired you to have your own little tea party, alone or with someone you love!

My latest book purchase and Valrhona

This is a fabulous book.  I started looking around for chocolate sources in Singapore, so this is what I found. Its for my own reference if and when I can get around to buying and making something from the book!

I think women love chocolate more than men, (support me here..). I asked H is he liked chocolate, there was too long a pause before he said yes. H doesn’t have a sweet tooth, I think I’ve mentioned this before. He’s more a savoury man. More chocolate for me then

The suppliers (where they sell in 6.6 pound bags, about 3 kilos) I found at valrhona.com were:-

EURACO FINE FOOD PTE LTD
BLK 219 / HENDERSON RD / INDUSTRIAL PARK
159556 SINGAPORE

VALRHONA FAR EAST
BLOCK 215, HENDERSON ROAD #1-3, HENDERSON INDUSTRIAL PARK
159554 SINGAPORE

Please don’t ask what and why I want to buy a 3 kilo bag, I don’t have the answer yet.

You can also check out smaller quantities at http://www.b-i-y.com/valrhona.htm which is a small bake shop near KK hospital (Quizas, any inclination to walk down and have a look?) Extracted from their site, the price of their darkest (most expensive) chocolate is:-

 

Feve Araguani Boite

72%

500 gm

54

$23.80

 

The other place is Sunlik. Apparently based on my research on blogs, a 1 kilo bag costs $30.

 

Sun Lik Trading Pte Ltd

 

Contact Details

Physical Address:       33 Seah Street

                                 Singapore 188389

Phone:                     +65 633 80865

Fax:                          +65 633 92685

Email:                       mailto:sunlik@pacific.net.sg

 

I am eyeing these recipes in the book: chocolate mousse, chocolate rice pudding as I still have a bag of arborio from my risotto foray, chocolate coated caramel almonds, caramel rice crispies..