We have come a long way as a couple since September 11, 2004. Yes, don’t ask why we choose of all dates that particular one to meet up…but I supposed being a weekend was a convenient enough excuse, no?

The trials of being in a (first) long distance relationship and then (second) an interracial relationship, the madness of being half of an equation and the joys of being with someone…and now, the challenges life has thrown us both as a married couple.

Two years of married life plus the experiences of a new country, a lost job, and soon, a baby.

Two years have come and gone – I like to think that we can still be as silly with each other as we have been when we first met. After all, it is only with someone you are truly comfortable with that you can be yourself – silly, awkward and well, just you. As corny as it sounds, I’m happy that we can still laugh together, tickle each other to death, be free to argue over the silliest of things yet be comforted in the knowledge that at the end of the day, we have each other to return to in times of need and joy.

Now if our little one shows up, it would be the perfect second anniversary present, don’t you think? But if she doesn’t, I don’t mind. I like to think that we already have the right gifts for each other – ourselves.

That all changed recently…well, after this morning actually. I have managed to filled in at least six boxes of varying sizes (the smallest being around 120 x 150 x 200 mm to the largest nearly 480 x 600 x 800 mm). Of course a good three of them contain my shop stock so I can’t really count it as just for stash but still, with the ziplock-vacuum pack thing, those 192 skeins finally materialised.

Nil finds it amusing that I have little inkling as to the amount of stash I have. He being a non-knitter (and obviously someone who doesn’t understand the obsession some people have about yarn stashing) sees things more clearly than myself I guess. But then again, this is someone who is willing to drive to Germany to buy beer if given the chance. Granted though it’s not far – about two hours by car.

I did try my luck when he said he was thinking of making the trip there with Dad – the ever sought after Wollmeise yarns are now making their appearance in the form of a real life store but alas, Nil would only be crossing the border instead of heading inward (and this store is located in the Bavarian area).

O’well, I have another three medium sized bags to go but I think I’ll probably give those away instead of sending it to Singapore. We’ll see how it goes. After my stash, the only thing left would be my clothes, books (knitting, cookbooks and such) plus things like my shoes and all. I might donate some of my older clothes and shoes but yeah…talk about stashing yarn and fibres.

Definitely need to run a “knit from stash” thing once they are out of them boxes!

While sorting out the WIPs to bring to Singapore, I pulled out the suitcase which I would be using to go to Singapore and to my shock, found a rubber hose that Mum brought with her in June sitting in the suitcase. Why the heck did she bring a bloody rubber hose??? And what I am going to do with it now? Trash it? Yeah, sure…so much for not wasting money. Sorry folks – I may come across as stingy and tight-fisted but really, to me, every cent counts. Money thrown away just like that is money wasted and I don’t print money – ringgit or otherwise. Some may argue that it just costs a few ringgit to buy a rubber or hose or anything else but add it up and it can amount to a lot back at home or here.

And I DO NOT like the idea of wasting money – contrary to popular belief, Nil and I aren’t swimming in gold and I wish people would stop thinking that we are. And folks, when buying things for people, never assume that you know what they need because chances are you don’t. Things, situation, lifestyle and so forth here even the health insurance leads are all different. Always ask before buying and accept it graciously when people turn your offer down.

Then of course, next to the suitcase is the box of disposable diapers, cloth nappies, baby wipes, hankies and all those things related to baby care which she sent from Malaysia. And that got me to thinking about how to carry all that back to Singapore. Mum naturally volunteered to carry them back but really, what makes her think that it’s going to be that easy considering that she and my dad are heading off to Spain after the trip here for a tour? And then what? Make the bi-monthly, tri-quarterly trip to Singapore just to drop off baby stuff because it’s “cheap”. It’s not – after calculating all these unnecessary costs, it would have been more cost effective to buy them in Switzerland, factoring the move OR not.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate gifts and such but buying disposable diapers and other babycare items when you can find them here is NOT PRACTICAL (we’re not talking about super expensive things like a crib or stroller – even then, I draw the line between buying them in Malaysia versus buying in Europe) – as much as my parents think it is cost-effective and practical, it isn’t!!!

So really, in future, if anyone, ANYONE, tells you that they want to send things over from Malaysia just because it’s cheaper, quote them my example and how I am a living proof of what a nightmare things can be when it comes to storage and relocation.

Mary Jane Skimmers
Pattern | Mary Jane Skimmers by Sylvia Schuchardt
Yarn | Puppets Cotton 8 ply in white
Needles | 3.5mm crochet hook

I was itching to work on something other than Nil’s one side sock but didn’t want the burden of having an unfinished WIP on my hands. So I thought, hey, why not work on another bootie for little Eva? I made two pairs for her – three months and nine months – but have nothing suitable for a newborn. I figured that these little skimmers would do the trick even though some may say that she’ll outgrow it fast. I don’t really mind actually since it keeps me busy plus it helps me dip into my stash. Not that my stash got really dented in the process. This project took up very little yarn and is great for leftovers and such – if you have tons of those.

I didn’t do a two-sole bottom as called for by the pattern because I wanted to keep it soft and such. Also, the center strap was lengthened by one to two stitches (two stitches was a mistake). When the two were complete, Nil remarked that it looked a bit tad on the small side and feared that our little one may not fit into it at all. I don’t think it’ll be an issue since cotton is stretchable to some degree and the yarn I’ve chosen to work with is quite pliable and soft to boot.

Now that this is done, it’s back to the packing and this time, we’ve continued on with the clothes – I’m so tempted to just the unwanted pieces with a wholesale clothing store – and our books. Clothing-wise, there are my work clothes which I brought from home (totally useless if you ask me). I might take a few pieces with me but otherwise, the rest will probably end up in storage like the winter clothes or just given away (especially the older pieces). Book-wise, Nil will be passing off his French comics to his mum while I get to bring over my cookbooks plus craft stuff. Huzzah!

And yes, now that Eva is full-term, the waiting game begins.

Nil is also checking out things like truck rentals and such to help with moving our furniture back to France. It looks like we’ll be leaving Switzerland a few days before the middle of August for the family home in Mazel Girard since it’s too hot in Lyon.

Apparently, my father-in-law called recently and complained about how unbearable it’s becoming there. Here where we’re higher than sea level and are therefore seeing cooler conditions, the days are getting warmer – today, the temperature is still alright at 25° but yesterday, it was around 28° in the shade and higher out in the sun during the day. Mind you, no fan and definitely no air-conditioning here. Yes, Malaysians are a spoilt lot! (Just kidding!) So imagine how it is like in Lyon…crazily hot. In fact, so hot that Nil’s grandma used to spent the entire summer and up to early autumn in the family home in Mazel Girard where it’s much cooler.

So yes, we’ll be moving there before the middle of August – baby, myself and my parents – and Nil will probably drive back again to clean up the place and pass the keys off to the next tenant (a bit of drama there, as you will see if you read on). The biggest concern I have with this plan is should she arrive on her expected due date, it means that part of the confinement will have to be carried out in Mazel Girard which will make life difficult for my parents and as well as baby & myself (no Asian stores, no proper utensils, and so forth). So really, Nil and I are hoping that she’ll show up earlier – preferable this week onwards.

Tenancy
Our rental agency is crappy. It’s official.

Apparently a prospective tenant was told that Nil never mentioned anything about quitting the place when she called to sign up for the place. Luckily she called us back to ask us if what they said was true and as you may guess, Nil flew into a fit of sorts. He called the agency this morning and was promptly given excuses like “I don’t understand”, “I don’t know” (did I mention how I abhor those words???) and so forth. Now, if you must know something about the Swiss, it is this – they do not like it when people throw tantrums (unlike how it is back in France and Malaysia where you HAVE to throw tantrums in order to get things done).

So yeah, he managed to sort it out with the agency but still, talk about crappiness. I felt like asking him to ask them if they were intentionally sabotaging us or just have idiots working there. =.=

Keeping sane
I’m still knitting away in front of youtube movies, Murder, She Wrote and so forth, and am happy that I’m close to finishing ONE side of Nil’s blasted socks. The trouble with going back to knitting is that my attention tends to wander to stashing and checking out all sorts of things related to buying like outdoor lighting sale, sock yarns, nursing bras, and so forth. Online window shopping is great and all but you seriously need plenty of self-control!

I’ve also cut back on the cooking by a lot – nothing “too” difficult or complicated. Yes, you could say that I’m getting lazy these days although I suddenly am now craving for a good dish of fried rice with some squid, prawns, watercress and fish cake topped with sliced chillies! *drools*

Oh, for those of you who are reading this, please pray for an early (and smooth) delivery for Eva – we really really need her to make an early appearance in the next two weeks!

Packing up stuff
For my part, I have slightly more on my plate since I’m the one doing the delivery, and care of Eva as well as managing my shop and such. Nearly all my shop stock has been packed away except what’s on sale at the store which will close in a few days time. I’ve been lucky to have had a number of sales right up till today so I don’t anticipate a huge inventory to pack. There is, of course, the tools and dyes to pack up and a spinning wheel to disassemble. My yarn and fibre stash is almost done – I am just missing a number of big boxes to put them all together…I should be able to find a couple of boxes here so Mum, if you’re reading this, please don’t start packing your things into boxes and carting them here.

Thankgoodness we don’t have much furniture and such, not to mention valuables in the form of electrical goods and jewelry.

Today, we spent a good part of the morning going through what we wanted to bring to Singapore and what we wanted to leave here in Switzerland. Since we’re planning on moving into a fully furnished place in Singapore (which means that everything is provided), we’re not going to bring much other than the usual clothes and already bought baby items – don’t laugh when I tell you that I have to bring the cloth nappies, baby liners, baby wipes and cotton buds that Mum shipped from Malaysia back to the same region! Almost all our furniture is heading off to my in-laws and a variety of places for storage or use. My mother-in-law has already pre-booked our bookcase plus a couple of other items and all my plants (lavender, aloe, etc).

As for the kitchen items, we won’t be taking any with us apart from the hand mixer and pressure cooker – we’ll be leaving almost everything with Nil’s family. This means the wok, rice cooker, kettle, toaster, slow cooker, all purpose cooker (I have no idea what this is coz I didn’t buy it – Mum sent it over), my so-called blender, raclette & crepe maker (a wedding gift), Nil’s coffee machine, fondue set and the stand mixer. There is of course a big box of kitchen stuff in the basement which I haven’t looked at in over a year – there are a lot of things that we didn’t really use. I might bring my cake decorating stuff with me but otherwise, all our pots, baking pans, dishes, knives and all will go into storage here in Europe.

A huge bulk of our winter clothes and skiing items have already gone off to my father-in-law for storage so I guess that’s nearly done in terms of packing.

Tenancy
In case I haven’t explained it before, rental procedures here in Switzerland are bizarre. There are only four days in a year where you can move officially – any other day and you’ll have to find a tenant to take over the lease instead of being able to leave it to the agent, which is what’s happening in our case.

The next moving date is 31 July which is next to impossible for us since we’re only leaving in middle of August for France and then flying off to Singapore two weeks later. So Nil has had to put up paid notices for the apartment. I am glad (and so is he) to say that we’ve been having some pretty good luck, of lately. We had over 15 enquires and visits in the past week and a few look very interested in the place (thanks to the view). Nil’s pretty confident that we should be able to find someone. We have our eye on one particular pair and if they do bite, maybe we can offload some of our furniture to them for a lower price – that way we don’t have to worry about carting them back to France.

For my part, I’ve been “charged” to contact some agents in Singapore ASAP by Mum and Nil. I wasn’t too keen on pursuing the issue this soon but thought just to look anywhere to get a rough idea of what the market is like in Singapore. Completely opposite of Switzerland. Properties move fast and although I’ve established some form of contact with the agents there, the replies are almost always the same – “Please remind/call me again in August or once you land in Singapore. We can definitely find you something.” So really, starting this early does not help at all. We do have a rough idea of where exactly we want to go, what we’re looking for and our budget so no worries there.

Hey, it’s not as if this is our first time in Singapore or house hunting! Nil has stayed there for three years and moved three times plus I’ve had my fair share of house hunting in Sydney.

Keeping sane
With Eva coming in less than a month – she’ll be full term come next Thursday – there isn’t much I can do or go without getting those awful pelvic pains. Since my hobby gadgets have been packed or are nearly packed, I can only work on my WIPs and thus pulled out a project which has been hibernating for a while – socks for Nil. He isn’t exactly over the moon about it since it’s merino wool based and Singapore is awfully hot for wool socks but pfft, I couldn’t care less. XD

I might explore working/selling cotton based yarn for socks later this year for the store but we’ll see how it goes.

Then there is the cooking, the napping, easy house chores (gardening, light cleaning, etc) and usual online stuff. I can’t for the life of me understand why I cannot sit still and do nothing. I guess I’m too used to being busy and such. O’well…

Buttery, eggy yet rich, the profiterole or cream puff is a dessert item made with choux pastry, which is basically butter and flour cooked together with eggs and water. It is popular as a simple dessert item and the base – the choux pastry – is often used to make other pastries like eclairs and the traditional French wedding “cake” called croquembouches (filled and glazed with caramel). The little cream-filled pastries are simply divine when eaten chilled with side servings of fresh fruit or drizzled with chocolate sauce!

Making them is not very hard or time-consuming. Choux pastry can be mixed by hand – especially when you’re making small quantities – and then pipped into small balls before a 25-minute baking session which will result in some very lovely golden puffy structures. Definitely a quick bake for those with tight schedules or those who simply hate having to sit in front of the oven waiting for baked goods to finish cooking. After these pastry balls are done, it is just a simple matter of filling them which doesn’t take very long.

For the filling, simple vanilla whipped cream is the standard but you can opt for flavoured versions like lemon, strawberry, orange, etc. In my case, I decided on blueberry – still yummy to boot, even when served without the chocolate sauce. The result? If you’ve used low-fat whipped cream like I did for these babies, they are just great for that summer afternoon snack, especially when chilled!

Profiteroles
Adapted from The Cook’s Companion by Lisa McCormick

Ingredients

(A) Choux pastry
5 tbsp or approx 60 gms butter
scant 1 cup water
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten

(B) Cream filling
1 1/4 cup whipped cream
2 tbsp cane sugar
2 tbsp blueberry jam
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and preparing a baking pan by greasing it with butter or lining with greaseproof paper.
2. In a pot, heat the water and butter together until the mixture boils. Meanwhile, sift the flour into a boil. Once the butter-water mixture boils, turn off the heat, remove from the fire and beat in the flour until smooth. Cool for 5 minutes.
3. Gradually add in the beaten eggs until the dough is of a soft, dropping consistency. Transfer to a pipping bag with a 1/2 inch to 1 inch plain tip. Pipe small balls of about 1 1/2 inch in diameter onto the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and pierce each ball with a skewer in the center to let the steam escape.
5. In a separate bowl, whip the cream, sugar, jam and vanilla extract together until stiff. Cut the pastry balls across the middle (but not fully) and then fill with the cream.
6. Pile the profiteroles onto a dish and serve as is (or chilled) or with drizzles of chocolate sauce, and fresh fruit on the side.

It’s the man’s birthday today and being the birthday boy, he has the privilege of deciding the menu for the entire day – yes, breakfast, lunch and dinner! I had actually spent the past couple of weeks bugging him about what he wanted since the only thing I could afford (well, I can get him a gift but I’m just stingy) was a lovely meal comprising of a main dish and a dessert. Well, as much as people like to think that I am capable of running a restaurant, I’m not a chef and neither is my home a restaurant.

Anyway, Nil filed in a request – yes, it sounds awfully funny but I did tell him that the kitchen is now only taking special orders and in advance due to the baby belly – for some asam laksa and his all-time OTHER favourite dessert – tarte au citron.

FYI, I HATE LEMONS. Sure, I like the smell, I like using the rind in baking but to make a lemon tart with tons of lemon juice and rind…no, no, no!

BUT it IS the birthday boy’s wish so okay, tarte au citron it is. I looked around my cooking books and found a pretty easy recipe with no fuss ingredients – eggs, cream, lemons (of course), butter and so forth. As usual, yours truly made some adjustments to the recipe, particularly the pastry. I had some leftover cocoa powder which I’m trying to use up so hey, why not make a chocolate pastry shell? I didn’t put much as I wasn’t too sure how the mix would go plus I just wanted a hint of cocoa in the pastry NOT full-blown chocolate. Nil was a bit shocked at first (”why chocolate????”) but it turned out surprisingly good. I halved the recipe to get just enough for a small (and shallow) 8″ pie pan.

The result was a very tangy custardy tart – perfect with a side serving of fresh strawberries to take the edge off the sourish taste of lemon but still fragrant and delish without being too…well, lemony! Again, both the pastry and custard filling was not very sweet as I cut back on the sugar and/or substitute white/refined with cane sugar.

Tarte au citron & chocolat
Adapted from The Cook’s Companion by Lisa McCormick

Ingredients

(A) Pastry
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp cane sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp cold water

(B) Filling
Rind from 2 lemons
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup whipped cream/cream (35% fat)
1/4 cup cane sugar
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and lightly grease an 8″ tart/pie pan.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl before adding in the sugar and cubing the butter into the flour mix.
3. Rub the butter with the flour, using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center, add the egg and water. Mix well until it forms a dough – add more cold water if necessary.
4. Cover and leave to rest for 1 hour in the fridge.
5. When ready, remove from the fridge and roll out before covering the tart/pie pan. Remove excess dough from the top/sides, prick some holes in the base before pouring in the baking beans.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is set.
7. Remove the pastry shell from the oven, put aside and immediately lower the temperature to 190°C.
8. In a bowl, mix the rind, lemon juice and sugar. Beat well. Gradually add in the cream – do not overwhisk as it will result in bubbles or a frothy mixture. Add in the eggs one by one while stirring gently.
9. Remove the baking beans from the pastry shell and pour the filling in before baking it for 20 to 25 minutes until the filling has set.
10. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool. Serve as is or with a dollop of cream and/or some fresh fruit.

Hailing for the food center of Malaysia (to me, that is), the humble char kuey teow or fried flat noodles is well-known as a street or hawker dish which is utterly delish yet oh-so-sinful. Trust me when I tell you that most great Malaysian dishes are sinful to boot. It’s just how things are…

This dish is no exception with its high content of fat, and cholesterol in the form of oil, egg, prawns, Chinese sausage, pig fat and yes, cockles…and may I add, semi-cooked cockles. Sorry if you detect a hint of disdain in my words but there is no love lost between me and cockles. Have always hated the stuff and whenever I order this dish back at home, I would ask for no cockles, plenty of chilli paste and longer cooking time (the taste and fragrance of almost-burnt eggs is…divine!).

Being away from home requires some ingenuity on my part when it comes to cooking Malaysian dishes and I have long resigned myself to the fact that if it doesn’t taste quite like the original, at least it ought to be as close as it gets to the real thing.

For starters, the noodles required for this dish ought to be thin and soft but they don’t sell fresh flat rice noodles so I had to make do with dried flat rice noodles from Thailand which are slightly thicker. Then of course, the Chinese sausage which my mum swears is the best in the whole world (sorry la Mum but not everything back at home is the best) isn’t available so we used the Vietnam version which is also called lap cheong, for your info. I actually prefer the Viet version – more meaty, less fat but still quite fragrant. The fish cake I used came frozen and well, everything else is from the Asian grocery – beansprouts, chives and all. No cockles because I don’t fancy them and Nil doesn’t see the point of buying even a handful just for a couple of pieces in this dish.

Overall verdict is, well, this is as close as it gets to the real thing considering that my crappy blender doesn’t really blend the chilli into a paste and that the dark soya sauce is salty (and not sweet). Otherwise, my recommendation? Put heaps of chilli paste, ground white pepper and you’re fine! Do note that this dish must only be made in single portion to retain its flavour and taste. Any more and it won’t taste nice at all. And yes, I know what I’m saying.

Char Kuey Teow
All ingredients listed below are for a one-person serving

Ingredients

Some flat rice noodles (kuey teow)
Prawns
Fish cake – sliced
Chinese sausage – sliced
Beansprouts
Chives
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
1 egg
Handful of sliced chives
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
Light soya sauce (to taste)
1/2 tsp chilli paste
Ground white pepper to taste
Oil

Method

1. If you’re using dried flat noodles, prepare according to instructions and then put aside. Cover to avoid the noodles from drying out.
2. Heat some oil in a wok on high heat and fry the garlic until light brown and fragrant before adding in the sliced Chinese sausage, prawns, fish cake and bean sprouts. Fry for several minutes until the prawns are cooked and push to one side of the wok.
3. Toss in the noodles and the seasoning (dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, chilli and pepper) before mixing them with the prawns and such. Sprinkle some water over the noodles if you need to.
4. After a minute or so, make a well in the middle, pour in some oil and add the egg.
5. Break the yolk, cover with the noodles (from the side) and let it cook for a few seconds before tossing in the chives. Stir fry until the egg is cooked. If you like it to be more fragrant, cook it for a minute longer or until it is a little burnt – don’t forget to stir constantly. Add more oil if it sticks to the wok.
6. Remove from the heat, dish, squirt some white pepper on top (optional) and serve immediately.

Miao
Pattern | Amineko Crocheted Cat by Nekoyama
Yarn | Coop Maxima in Pale Yellow
Needles | 3.5mm crochet hook

Yes, this is another toy I knitted up while watching Murder, She Wrote seasons 3 and 4 as well as looking up info on all sorts of things, eg nursing bras, breast pumps, Pleasanton motorcycle accident attorney and such. (It’s interesting how there are such things as attorneys specialising in motorcycle accidents…we definitely more of those back in Malaysia!!!).

Anyway, this is what people would call an amigurumi toy – a Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small creatures or items like plants and such. It’s usually made up of a few pieces which are stuffed separately and then joined together by handstitching the parts together. In Miao’s case, I had to make two arms, two legs, one tail, one torso, the head, two ears and the piece for the mouth. Looking at the list, it may seem tedious but it is quick and almost mindless work during to the nature of how it is crochet – spiral.

Instead of plastic pellets to give it some weight in the arms, legs and torse, I settled on filling instead to make it squishable. And yes, as you can see, I even gave Miao an attitude to boot! Now to see if Eva will like it…