The day started early. I was dropped at my mom’s place where all the baking action has been taking place. After the 15 hour sleep marathon that occurred yesterday, you could say that I was well rested. I started the day with rebaking the cornflake clusters, I can’t tell you how they turned out because I’ll only be able to taste it tonight. If they’re soft again, I’m not going to bake it a third time!! Soggy cornflake clusters for everyone!!!!
Update: it was crispy, *phew*
Ok, I’ve moved on.
I started looking around for a sugee cake recipe, because I love the gritty almondy, buttery taste of a good sugee cake. With a hint of rose essence, its so good with a cold glass of milk. Most of the recipes use an insane amount of butter and egg yolks, some used milk, some didn’t. Some used crstallized melon, I had no idea this was an ingredient in some cakes, I’ve never had a sugee cake with crystallized melon. I’m sure. Some had golden syrup, some had almond essence. Some had ground almond, some just chopped almond. Some rested the batter overnight, some not at all, some for a few hours. You get the idea, there were so many variations. After a dizzying choice and a couple of mind changes I settled on one.
I wish life was perfect, at least in happygrub world, here I would then tell you how fabulous my cake was, how it was soft yet chewy with the taste of good butter and ground almonds. In real life, I was woken up from my afternoon nap by my mom. “your cake is as hard as a rock. If you were experimenting, you should have halved the recipe and tried it out first, did you use my butter? What happened to aunty faridah’s recipe I thought you were going to use that, at least if you didn’t you should have halved the recipe. I told you I had bad experiences with sugee cakes, it just doesn’t work. I’ve given up on the idea. So you tried, but at least you should have halved the recipe..”
I had woken up enough to exclaim “But you haven’t even tried it! I don’t think its hard, as the cake cools it will exude the butter and will become soft and moist..”
While awaiting the time to break fast, I fretted around the cake, hoping it would transform. I cut it, flipped it around, covered it with a cloth, cut it into half, put it into an airtight box. Then after our evening meal, I cut it into pieces and ate enthusiastically exclaiming how nice it was, I cut my mom some. She looked skeptical. Well it WAS hard. Fine, I should have halved the recipe.
So here I am, scenting the bedroom with my latest candle. Its made of soy wax. I didn’t know it existed before this candle
Soy candles are made from soy wax, which is hydrogenated soybean oil. Soy wax was invented in 1992 by Michael Richards who was looking for a cheaper alternative to beeswax. As he entered the candle industry he realized there was a growing demand for natural wax candles.
I’m looking around. Oprah is beckoning me to call my friends. Then again if I listened to Oprah, I’ll probably need big eyed Dr Robin psychoanalyzing my relationship with my mom and going into my childhood. I would then burst into tears of realization and the audience will be on their feet and clapping. H will be watching with tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.
If you’re wondering about some of the titles on my shelf (atkins??) well, some of the books were gifts. The exotic tastes of paradise is a Sri Lankan cookbook, sounds wild doesn’t it?
Its too late to read.
Then H pops into the room asking how I spent my day. I told him, baking the cornflakes, making the cake, then cooking for the evening meal. He remarks how great it is that I’ve been so busy in the kitchen baking up treats. He beams.
Maybe I’ll tell him the details another day. Meanwhile I let myself bask under his beaming smile. 
Another website I’ll love to share with you is this. Its a site which has great design ideas, vintage finds and little craft projects. We went to Tanglin Mall last weekend to sit in leather chairs that made you feel like you’re in a soft cozy embrace. We held neutral expressions when the price of one chair was half our budget to furnish our whole apartment. We went from shop to shop looking at huge grandfather clocks, bath accessories from grohe, extendable ultra modern glass tables asking questions, collecting catalogues in a calm measured manner. When in the car we were like “did you see the price of that and that??!!”. This shop which I have been visiting has second hand furniture at great prices. H and I are more budget conscious now as we are both hitting the books, and we all know how incredibly expensive that is now.
