THANK YOU

... is what i wanna say.

wow, i'm really surprised that news about me have spread so quickly with just one blog entry and by word of mouth.

but i am also glad that this can save all that awkwardness when i face my friends after the Alevels this year. & to all those who have shown concerned or encouraged me in one way or another,
(you know who you are =p )

elaine says
a
big
thankyou
sincerely,heartfelt-edly & truthfully.
really appreciated it.

i am happy to know that there's so many people around me who cares and understands (: i may not have a fully supportive family, but i am blessed with a good father and many friends out there who cares!

for that, i am extremely thankful.

as for what i've been up to recently other than meeting people up, having multiple birthday "celebrations" & going for my doctor appointments : fine-tuning my cooking skills HAHA.

i'm into bento-making! those japanese, kiddy kind lol.
which my victims (dad & sis) have to take to work for lunch. hee.

*imagine food with faces.



Bento#1: Rabbit bento







bunny riceball filled w cooked salmon flakes, sausage "carrots", maki tamago, ham corn & cucumber salad, macadamia brownie.
all homemade.

Bento#2: Panda Tako Bento





panda riceball w corn filling, bolied tako sashimi, bonito flakes, takoyaki, sausage "octopus", carrot stars, chocolate chip cookies.
all homemade except the takoyaki (no machine!)

accompanying sauces to go with the takoyaki..


mayo & sweet sauce in the cutie mini containers from daiso.
DAISO ROCKS.

and then, i did a japanese light cheesecake...





got them sliced up,



and packaged individually for giving away (:



whoa its got the cheesy taste & texture i loved.
success!

plus, another chap-a-lang dinner prepared~
mixed mexican, italian n american haha.


mexican cajun dory w guacamole
dory fillets blackened with cajun spices marinade, panfried will crispy and topped with a coriander-infused avocado mash. tex-mex style.




meatball marinara spaghetti
large handmade seasoned pork meatballs simmered in a tangy napoletan tomato sauce, atop cooked spaghetti and parmesan. stir it up, and its comfort food!


elaine's dark chocolate walnut tart
ooh my very own creation, no recipe followed. dark chocolate and walnut fillings sweetened with natural honey, on a sweet shortcrust pastry. its alot of work, but its worth it. rich yet not oversweet (:

we all liked it lots!

i'm falling deeper in love with culinary~~~

btw, i am currently considering about creating an online bakeshop for whole cake orders and tea-party catering, plus private chef for hire- this is to earn extra bucks to supplement my future culinary sch fees.

won't be too soon, but i am very determined to make it happen.
we'll see how things go.

birthday entry coming up soon, scroll back to previous entry to view once its posted.

Farewell Assembly 2008

well, technically it wasn't my last day of official school.. but it was the last day for all of my fellow saints.

the farewell assembly began in the cc, civics, then ended with refreshments in the hall. that was the fun part.

buffet lined up & plenty of photo-taking~




FOOD.
the pizza's crazily sweet.
i swallowed it too quickly, wonder if it was the dough or the sauce.


gp class!
A02, one of the bestest class to combine with.


ms lee- the best gp teacher!



07S18, i will miss the class.


HAHA mr fong.


F.B.I, S.H.E, & clarissa
saints i will never forget.

fyi.
F= fong
B= brandon
I= ian
S= sarah
H= huiling
E= elaine


my girl grace.


fellow og-22ians.
faris, ruiqi, elaine, grace.


i was trying to be taller than cheryl lol.


culinary jeannette


culinary stella. my trusty vice pres.


tkgians undivided


ahh, jesse quek. he's the joy of our gp class.


gp girls- jiawen, clarissa, elaine, claudine, sharon.

i found this on the floor...

a whole mountain of siewmai abandoned.

after school, birthday-dessert time with the animals! (:

Azabu Sabo @ The Central



japanese icecream desserts, hotballs & quality company.



thankyou girls for spending time with me!
love you all loads, & i will miss you guys.. really.

My Break

I've been taking a break from those books and relaxing my mind- my doc told me so, haha. & meeting people is a good way!

ooh i absolutely love meetups~
i can talk, crap, eat & laugh (:


newyorked with him on a saturday night.

og-matee-yuwei gave me a marche treat!
you'd guessed; our study plan failed.LOL.




the tart shell was THAT hard.



marche rocks,
cause i really do love their savoury crepe =D
& thankyou yuwei for dinner!

sammie-man-tha~







it was purple dresscode day, since she is always in purple anyways. haha.



we icecream-ed,

and

then we shokudo-ed.


had more than this- this was just the first round ya.



that purple zara top is my latest wear cause it feels really comfy, and i'm always rushing my maid to get it washed for me. so you'll see me in it real often... at least for this period of time. heh.

more meetups, i hope!

Elaine's Food Again.

Time for more of my makes (:

Many of these are very casual dishes i whip up in about 15-20 mins including prep time (for real jiffy meals) so the presentation wasn't meant to be emphasized on. Lately, most of the time i cook to de-stress or simply because i needed something to eat. lol.

One Pasta Dinner.

Seafood Marinara
tiger prawns, squid, scallops in a homemade tomato base with fresh basil


Prawn & Mushroom Arrabiata
tiger prawns, shiitake mushrooms tossed in a tasty tomato-mushroom sauce base


Sausage & Squid in Creamy Tomato Sauce


Mentaiko Wafu Pasta w Furikake Salmon Tataki
spaghetti in a special cod roe wafu sauce, furikake half-seared salmon sashmi slices with seaweed shreds.

oh man, i was super discouraged when my tataki failed at the last moment. Everything went well from the seasoning to the searing but i crumbled at the final step of slicing- just because i didn't have a sharp sashimi-slicing knife!

to make things worse, i had made a sesame-ginger vinaigrette to complement it but i forgot to drizzle it on. LOL. and by the time i remembered, dad & sis have already cleared their plates.

lesson learnt: get a good knife & be less blur.


Rose Strawberry Tarts
almond puff pastry, rose-maple scented cream, apricot-glazed strawberries, dark chocolate sauce, pistachio bits, pink rose buds.





i worked hard on that cream! the flavour was really good (:

A Leftover Dish.

Mixed Grilled Seafood Mesclun Salad

the next day, i used up the remaining seafood pieces- seasoned, grilled and then tossed them up with balsamic-olive oil dressing.

Breakfasts.



Berry Hotcakes
Japanese-style Hotcakes, maple sauce, berries & walnuts


Bacon & Egg Baguette
toasted garlic frenchbread, scrambled eggs, streaky bacon, drizzled with a homemade Hollandaise sauce


Monkey Bread
peanut butter & banana filled raisin toasts, served with 2 butter-bathed pork bratwursts

Casual Dishes.

Oven-Roasted Miso Snow Cod
baked silky cod fish topped with roasted garlic


Rosemary Snapper Fish
with an indian-style tomato chickpea salad


Grilled Norwegian Salmon
over a bed of balsamico braised lentil salad, cherry tomatoes


Herbed Chicken Breast
with balsamic-mushroom sauce and a mixed veggie salad

(all the above are served with white rice)

you'd notice how frequent i use balsamic in my cooking.
i love balsamic vinegar! esp the aged ones =D