Wisdom Teeth and After

I had my wisdom teeth taken out today. Two. If you don't want to know the gory details skip the rest and go onto the next paragraph. What hurt most during it was actually the four massive anaesthetic needles that got stuck into my gums, the rest was okay, just a lot of drilling and whirring etc involved. The one on the top was simple enough but the one on the bottom jaw was kind of at a 60 degree angle to upright, and part of its roots were embedded in my jawbone. Basically what happened next was part of my gum was cut through so my dentist could chisel off a bit of bone to take the tooth out. Okay enough of that.

I have top-up analgesic (ooh that's a cool word, basically it means to stop the pain) pills which had to be taken before 1.30pm otherwise my wound (which is still bleeding) would hurt like hell, and I was told I had to have food before. So I threw together the quickest yet most edible food in my disabled state in record time. I found some cooked leftover rice in the fridge, and along with that some chicken stock pots. I boiled some water, threw everything into a saucepan, stirred, stirred and stirred and half an hour later I had congee ready to eat.

I used to hate plain congee when I was a kid. And to this day I'm still quite picky about congee - if it's literally just rice and water i will refuse to eat it. The chicken stock added some flavour into it without actually having to chop up a whole chicken, plus I wouldn't have been able to bite into any meat anyway.

A Simple Banoffee Pie

 I promised my parents I'd make dinner on Thursday. When I left work it was already 7pm (though I am loving everything I do on my internship) and as I walked through the aisles of the supermarket thoughts of this-is-going-to-be-me-in-five-years flashed through my head. Scary times.


I made Spaghetti with aubergine, cherry tomatoes and pork. In record time, dinner was served at 8.30pm. Scorrrreee. I also did the laundry, and got started on a Banoffee Pie to take to a house party the next day.

Boy did I have fun with this. Treating it as a particular person's face as all the stress that has gone on in my life for so long. It felt good.

Three simple steps. Good times.

Stormy - I mean Smoky - Earl Grey Tea Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes in such a temper that Julia Child definitely would not have approved. Hummingbird would definitely have not approved. Even a three-year-old would not have approved.

It's so difficult seeing others reap what they have sowed, rightfully, others achieving what I so ever wanted, with me still stuck in the gutter, failing to look at the stars. Do I even believe in what is coming out of my mouth. Do I even trust in my dreams anymore. Do I even dare to dream.

I was so frustrated I couldn't sit still. I had to, had to do something with myself. Work off the confusion, the frustration. And not for the first time, I pulled out the flour, sugar, raided the fridge for leftover unsalted butter from Father's Day and Lemon Meringue Cupcakes combined, and took out the pot of Smoky Earl Grey Loose Tea that I got Mum at Fortnum and Mason.

There's a musky scent to Smoky Earl Grey, reminded me of a barbecue, and there's a slightly bitter after taste to it. I like it though. It's almost as if you can smell the burnt scent even though it's the taste that is 'smoky'. The wonders of our five senses. Sometimes it gets blurred and I get confused.

Look at my mess. Flour everywhere. It always happens, so I always measure out a bit more than needed. Yet I can't deny how I love the way flour puffs up like a cloud. Up until it gets in your nose and then I regret.

And then I bit into one. The bitterness in my mouth matched the bitterness in my heart, I know I have more to be thankful for than to be bitter about but the bitter aftertaste cannot be ignored. The sponge was soft as I liked it, with slightly crusty bits because I had been so distracted I let the top brown more than it should. It was like drinking earl grey but with milk and sugar, not a way I normally like taking my tea (I prefer it black). My parents each had one too, they prefer cupcakes without the icing. And I bit into a tea leaf and reminded myself that there are things which are more bitter in life than I normally have to take it to be.

You don't have to promise me the moon and the stars...just promise that you'll stand under them with me.

A Father's Day Brunch

Happy Father's Day!

Most of the time the food at home is Chinese cuisine - I've grown up with it all my life. Dinner's normally an ordeal of two or three dishes plus a bowl of rice and soup/broth to finish off. I'm not complaining, I love Chinese food and I love the warm family dinners I enjoy at home. It's a rare occasion now that I get to stay home and spend time with my family.

I remember making Father's Day brunch last year too, as I am normally back at home for the summer. This year I decided to make a Tomato and Feta Cheese Tart, and a Warm Lamb and Courgette Salad.

This knife is amazing. Enough with the blunt kitchen knifes back in the Netley kitchen. Julia Child said that you know a knife is sharp when it slices through the skin of a tomato effortlessly. That can be said about this ceramic knife at home.

Into the miniature oven we have at home! It's about the size of a microwave. I miss the massive oven in Netley.

The Warm Lamb and Courgette Salad. I used a vegetable peeler for the courgette to shred it.

And gave everything a good stir-fry in the wok at home! All done during the baking time of the Tart. Quick and simple.

Dad loved it. He was happy. Made me happy too. Omnomnom.

Made with Love, Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

JH's girlfriend is interning in Guangzhou, and JH, over lunch, was pondering what to get her as a present when he went up to see her over the weekend.

JH: "I actually really want to make her something. Bake something. A cake. Cookies. I dunno," said JH. "Tiramisu? It means 'pick me up' literally...but it's what wives used to make for their husbands went off to the war..." I said.
"I don't think it'd survive the three hour train journey it's too hot in China," he said.
...

"You could look through my Hummingbird Cake Days recipe book and see what there is? There's a cupcake version of a tiramisu maybe that would last longer," I offered.

So that's what we did, and as we were deliberating betweenTiramisu Cupcakes and Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, my phone buzzed.

D: "I'm walking past by your house!"
"Come in! I'm there! Do you want to make cupcakes for your girlfriend too?" JH had already called him the minute I showed him the text.

And that's how I ended up giving two love-struck boys a cookery lesson, Lemon Meringue Cupcakes 101.

Trust guys with grocery shopping. They forgot baking powder. So we had to trek out in the rain to get baking powder since I'd run out at home. Oh well I guess turning up at mine at 11 in the morning with all ingredients except the baking powder was enough of an achievement for them.

Work of the boys, and they kept bickering over who had spilt the most batter. Children nowadays...watching them slowly spoon the batter into each muffin tin was a teeny bit painful. I know I could have done that in half the time they did, yet at the same time it was so sweet to see the look of concentration on their face as they tried not to drip anything over the table or the edge of the muffin tin. Their girlfriends are so lucky to have them.

I tell them one tablespoon of baking powder, they put a heaped tablespoon instead of a level tablespoon (I guess to them it did not really make a difference) and cupcake batter kind of exploded out forming 'growths' onto these cupcakes...

Meet Ellie the Elephant. I found it really amusing that a cupcake would turn out with a trunk and proceeded to give her ears. Some people were less impressed. But I liked her.

JH even found cupcake boxes. They do look good enough to sell, and credits to the boys because all I did was just to instruct them what to do, plus boil the sugar to reach the soft boil stage when making the meringue. Oh and putting them into the mini-oven we have at home.

I later had tea with mum, one Lemon Meringue Cupcake each, with Fortnum and Mason Smoky Earl Grey. She loved it.

I'd never have thought Lemon Meringue Cupcakes would bring about so much love.