^_^ I finished my first exam of this semester today so I'm in a good mood.=D [This does not, in any way, reflect upon what I will get for the exam. That sort of information is totally irrelevant in this context.] I'm baking brownies! Yay!
Anyway, today is another BEAUTIFUL day. A bit windy and cold but nevertheless, beautiful!!! ^_^
I took these pictures on another sunny day that was slightly warmer than today.=P But still, they SORT OF recreate what today is like!!! ^_^ I love spring when it isn't raining.=)
The Clock Tower by the MLB and Hill Auditorium!
The Diag when everyone comes out to enjoy the sun!
An afternoon nap under the shady trees.=)
Beautiful tulips are blooming everywhere right now.=) Along with a whole host of other gorgeous spring flowers!
Besides the gorgeous beauty of Ann Arbor's university campus, here are some shots at the absolutely amazing Lake Michigan beach in Holland, Michigan.=)
The pier, at the end are tons of fishermen and people just walking around and enjoying the scenery.=)
Fishermen out in their boat on the lake in the sunset.=) It's almost 9pm by the way, hence the setting sun.
A wide view of the pier.^_^ The sand at the beach is amazingly soft and smooth by the way.. I definitely should go visit Rachel again and play at the beach! ^_^
I'm afraid I'm not doing the scenery much justice with my terribly amateurish shots.. =X I picked the best ones I had already and I still feel that they don't capture the ... awe-inspiring scenes we saw in real life..
Besides scenery in Michigan, we've been cooking for ourselves and have already had several larger gatherings.=D It's fun to cook for a larger number of people [max 6-8 is the best] but the preparation work is tough too.xP Still, I love cooking and despite all the trials and tribulations, have had a few successes! ^_^ Of course, this couldn't be done without the help of my friends and friendly kitchen co-workers! Hehe.
Steamed Minced Pork on top of Fish Tofu.^_^ The minced pork was leftover from our wanton making. Delicious!
Due to requests, custard puffs made with chouquette dough! ^_^ It's basically the same thing but I like my custard puff to be a bit softer than chouquettes.=P I must learn to make the Beard Papa/Zettai Kareshi versions!!! [ie: The crackly-top Japanese version that is huge and filled with the most gorgeously smooth and rich vanilla bean pastry cream.]
Courtesy of Ted, these are just some of the pineapple tarts we made as a thank-you gift to Rachel's family for letting us invade their home once again.^_^ They were delicious by the way, John Yap's family's recipe is fabulous!!! Now, if only I could remember my own family's recipe.. Ahem ahem.
With all this cooking, I am determined to learn all the Cantonese dishes I can remember [or write down] once I get home! ^_^ Especially how to make soup. *coughs* It'll be useful in winter.;) Of course, I also want to learn to make all the Nonya dishes from daiguma! =D =D =D Ahh!! I LOVE COOKING. And eating of course. But nothing can beat the process of creation when a lump of something can turn into something beautiful that will make somebody happy.^_^
Ahh.. The warmth and richness of the chocolate is drifting over here, the smell leaking out of the oven.^_^ The texture of the brownie batter was rather different today from the usual but.. Let's see how it turns out.=)
Anyway, all this spring weather calls for a new template which I will work on.. erm.. soon! ^_^ When I'm not cooking, doing my work or updating the food blog, I will work on it.;)
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*
[music : Tsubomi Kobukuro]
[mood : ^_^]
[food : GRANOLA!]
Jiamin: Bish! I don't have time to wax lyrical about everything as I usually do.=( So sad!!! O well. Is this post better? =D