Swarovski Pearl Necklace

Continuing  the documentation of  my beading pieces, I found this  swarovski pearl necklace, bracelet and earrings set  I made for my daughter.  The photo does not justify the beauty of this swarovski set as it does not show the sparkling effect of the swarovski and pearls.  Great to wear to dinner occasions.

I also gave a set of these to Yuen May who is the daughter of Susan for her birthday when I visited them earlier in the year in Melbourne.  She was very pleased with it and I can still remember that she wore them to a dinner date with her boyfriend.

Banana Walnut Muffins

Left with 6 ripes bananas, I decided to make some banana muffins.  This time I used a recipe which I have never tested before though it is written down in my cookbook.  I have no idea where I got this recipe from.  It could be from one of those TV cooking shows.  They turned out delicious and very easy to make.  I added in some chocolate chips.

Here is the recipe if you want to try.

Banana Walnut Muffin  (Makes 12 big muffins)

6 ripe bananas (mashed)
240 gm self-raising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
100 gm brown sugar
100 gm walnut
180 ml milk  or 180ml orange juice
2 eggs (A)
120 melted butter
1/4 tsp salt

1)     Add cinnamon powder, salt and sugar to flour
2)     Add eggs, milk, melted butter and mix
3)     Add in mashed bananas
4)     Mix the above together but do not overmix.
5)    Spoon into muffin pan.  Add walnut on top and bake 20-25 mins and check  with a skewer.  If the
          skewer comes out clean, then it is done.
    

Layered Chocolate Cheese Cake

Having found a block of cheese near expiry date in the fridge, I decided to make a layered chocolate cheese cake.  Found this recipe from a food blogger Mary Moh and as mentioned in her blog, this cake is rich, moist and tastes good. Thanks Mary for sharing the recipe.   Having saved a big piece for my son, the rest of the cake is almost finished.

Aquamarine Necklace

This aquamarine necklace is one of my earliest pieces.   Like it too much to part with it.



Turquoise necklace for my daughter.

  A pair of earrings for my dancing teacher, Ms. Ran.

Lai Lai Swarovski Necklace

Blue Swarovski Necklace for my sister-in-law, Dawndee.

         Lai Lai Swarovski Necklace

It was a pleasure creating this necklace for a relative Susan who is my husband's
cousin.  She commissioned me to make something for her to wear for her son's
wedding and I am honoured that she wore this piece of jewellery on such a big
and important occassion.  After that I made a few more of different colours for
other relatives but Susan was the  first one to wear it and hence the name "Lai
Lai necklace" being her status when the son got married.

Enzyme - Lemon and Grapes

I was given a bottle of fruit enzyme by my good friend Josephine and after tasting it I had to make a bottle myself.  So here it is:   Lemon and grapes enzyme.  Pile a layer of grapes and lemon into a clean dry glass jar.  The fruits need to be washed and let dry beforehand. Cut grapes into halves.  Cut away the skin of the lemons together with the white pit.  Slice the lemons.   Put a layer of brown sugar on top.  I used those rectangular type of brown sugar (peen tong) that we use to make 'thong yuen' filling.  It is sold in a packet of  5 pieces. Continue the layers until you fill up the jar.  Close the lid and wait for it to ferment.  Shake the jar a bit every day to wet the top part of the fruits so that it would not go mouldy. It is ready after  3 weeks depending on how strong you want the enzyme to be.  I kept mine for more than 3 weeks and I love the taste.

This is how it looks after 2 weeks. 

This is after 3 weeks and ready to be consumed.  Sieve the liquid into a glass bottle and store in the fridge. Tastes better when cold.  It can be kept for a long time.  Below is the final product.

Moist Chocolate Cake

My daughter came home for the holidays and I made one of her favourite moist chocolate cakes.  Don't be fooled by the appearance of this cake.    It tastes fabulous and is very easy to make.  Top it with chocolate ganache and it's even more yummy.  A lot of my friends ask for the recipe after tasting it and I gladly share it with them.

This recipe is from my sister-in-law Vivien who is a good cook and also bakes delicious and beautiful cakes.

Moist Chocolate Cake

6 3/4 oz. plain flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp sodium bicarbonate
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 oz cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz. caster sugar
8 oz. corn oil
8 oz. evaporated milk
8oz. hot water and 3 tsp. nescafe  -  mix and let cool
2 eggs

1)    Mix all ingredients together and use only hand whisk to combine them.
2)    Batter is very watery.
3)    Line the pan with baking paper and brush with butter.
4)    Bake it in 9 1/2" pan at 160-170 deg. C for about one hour.  Check your cake after 50 mins. by testing
       with a skewer and if it comes out clean then it is done.  It would be easier to bake the cake in 2 separate 
      7" x 3.5" cake tins.
5)   Make sure the cake is complete cool before you overturn the cake otherwise it will crumble.