***

This morning I baked these …

Banana Almond Truffle Pancakes

Method: Cut a ripe banana into 2 inches slices. Make a thick pancake batter — I used 1/3 cup of Betty Crocker’s pancake mix.  Dip each banana slice into the batter and then roll into silvered almonds. Place on a baking tray. Bake at 200 C for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the almonds turn golden. Best served while these babies are still hot and the almonds are still crunchy! This recipe can easily be modified. I’m thinking of  cinnamon or vanilla or chocolate to the batter.

And these …

Cracked Protein Choc Muffins. Recipe can be found here.

Annnnnnnnnd these!

Orange Choc Pancake Muffins

Method: I used 1/2 cup Betty Crocker’s pancake mix and made a batter. I added orange flavored essence + sugar + bittersweet chocolate chips to the batter. Bake them at 200 C for about 10-15 minutes. Simple!

Well there is just something about baking that does magic to the soul …

***

I recently bought a new tub of Meridian crunchy natural peanut butter from Holland & Barrett. A 1kg tub! And it was only $11 without any discount!

Roasted in their natural skins

Off to sleep now …

One year ago

And one year later i.e today …

Sis got her a Barney chocolate cake as she loves Barney.

Such a cute cake don’t you think!!

Time to cut the cake

The cake

And after the mini celebration we all headed down up for a wedding dinner!

First things first … I got more bangs! Fringes that is :)

I like my fringes this time because there’s no layering (unlike last time). I also covered up the dark hair root. It’s been 3 months since my last haircut. I don’t have a regular hairdresser but I think I’ve finally found one now.

Now on to the Muffins!

The wet ingredients: 2 very ripe bananas, 4 tbsp of Greek yogurt, 3 tbsp of creamy peanut butter, 4 tbsp of honey, 4 tbsp of sunflower or vegetable oil, vanilla extract. They are actually pretty healthy muffins.

Stirring until smooth

I mixed  in the dry ingredients. Then filled the muffin liners.

Twenty Five minutes later. The house smelled sooooo good!

An hour later. When time is on my side and I am in the mood I enjoy having guests at home, cook and bake for them. Not pictured was my hot chocolate drink =)

Can you spot the ‘Biscuit Champagne‘? hehehe

An hour and half later

With our guest, director of Ugandan youth Track & Field Association, whom the husband met (along with others including the Mauritian team) at the Youth Olympic Games.

I will post my niece’s Birthday pictures another day.

***

Banana, PB, Greek Yogurt, Raisin Muffins

Recipe via here

Ingredients

• 2 very ripe bananas, roughly mashed
• 4 tbsp of Greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp of chunky or smooth peanut butter
• 4 tbsp of honey
• 4 tbsp of sunflower or vegetable oil
• 1 ad 1/4 C flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 C of raisins

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180 deg C and line  a cupcake tray
2. Beat together the bananas, honey, Greek yogurt, peanut butter and oil till smooth.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda. Mix in the raisins.
4. Fold in the flour mixture to the banana mixture, a couple of tablespoons at a time, till everything is just moistened. The mixture will be quite thick.
5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin liners, till about 3/4 full.
6. Place the tray in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 22-24 minutes or till the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted through the centre of the muffins come out clean.
7. Cool the muffins in the tray for a minute, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before storing in airtight containers.

Mmmmm that was delish! Though not the healthiest muffin :P — Recipe is at the bottom of the post.   “Moderation” my friends …

***

So this week has been jam-packed and each day went by fast. I laughed, I cried, I felt cranky but then I moved on and looked at things in a positive way.

Weekend is around the corner. Yay!  I have a wedding to attend on Saturday, we are celebrating my niece’s birthday right before the wedding  and maybe hosting dinner for some YOG French athletes.

Recipe for the Triple Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients

• 190 g butter
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 can of evaporated milk
• 40g baking chocolate
• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
2. Combine caster sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla extract, butter and baking chocolate in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved and butter and chocolate is melted.
3. Set aside and let cool a little. Add the beaten eggs into the slightly warm mixture and stir till well mixed.
4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda into a large mixing bowl then pour the egg mixture over the flour and stir till well mixed (cake batter should be runny). Add the handful of bittersweet chocolate chips and mix.
5. Line and grease muffin pans.
6. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Enjoy :) And remember not to eat too many!

Last night I attended two birthdays. First one was at The Pump Room at Clarke Quay.

A starter plate

Calamari rings

Nachos

Chicken Drumlets

The live band started at 10.45 pm. After listening to a couple of songs, the girls and I hit the dance floor. I left around midnight to join another batch of friends for another Birthday at St James Power station.

Trying to get my friend  high as a kite … and this was after being already whiskyfied!

Then we hit the dance floor and danced through the night till the wee hours.

This morning I woke up at 9 am — yes NINE!! — with a headache and a queasy feeling. I was looking for my mobile phone like craaazy! But it turns out that I dropped it at the back seat of a friend’s car last night!  Thank goodness!!!

***

The husband went to collect Youth Olympics Athletics Tickets today.

Goodnight!

I needed this run. I needed to take a breather today. My brain thinks that things are piling up and that I am falling behind. But am I really? Or is it just the mind thinking too much.

Anyway … can you resist this? Because I can’t.

I. Seriously. Can’t.

It’s a protein choc muffin (recipe further down) sliced into two to fit in some PB and topped with maple syrup and crunchy cacao nibs. So. Good.

Bought decaf tea yesterday and after this morning run I made tea.

Tonight I am meeting friends  for dinner,  live bands and celebration. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

***

Protein Choc Muffins

Ingredients (makes 6 small muffins):

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp Bob’s Red Mill soy protein powder (3 servings)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Sugar (I made mine semi-sweet because I like to top it up with syrup or PB or Nutella)
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• Water (start with 1/2 cup first and if batter is too thick, add more)

Preparation: Preheat oven 200 C. Mix dry ingredients together. Add in the liquid ingredients. Pour the batter into muffin liners. Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Today I got up at the crack of dawn, did Jillian’s NMTZ, then made  myself tea and ate a semi-sweet protein choc muffin topped with a dollop of peanut butter. Did I mention how much I enjoy Adam’s 100% natural crunchy peanut butter! I can finish a jar in a week … okay kidding .. maybe two weeks  :)

Reminds me of this quote :)

No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut.

I made these protein choc muffins last night. I intentionally made them semi-sweet so that they can be topped with syrup, nutella, jam, peanut butter etc.

Or cacao Nibs! … although they ain’t sweet :P

I was at Great World City during the weekend and grabbed a packet from Four Seasons Organic Market @ Basement 2.

And this bar too, just to try. Hmmm not a fan … I only like homemade bars I think :)

One more thing … Pretzels to bring to my office – I always snack at work.

***

Last night we ate this while watching the National Day Parade live on TV. On the plate was BBQ chicken wings and satay … I ripped those wings apart. I <3 chicken wings.

Earlier that night I prepared dinner. This plate fed two mouths.

Baked salmon, stir-fry mushrooms, egg and noodles.

Good Night!

Rewinding back to yesterday ….

We were at the hotel lounge watching the first part of the soccer match – Man Utd vs Chelsea

Finally he smiles for the camera :)

It was 5 pm and too early for dinner … and because we were too lazy to go out and eat, we decided to order in a Club Sandwich. It came with fries …

Just before heading for a swim

Around 8pm we went out for dinner … Spaghetti

Mushroom Soup

And brought back duck noodles + LOTS of tidbits — Japanese crackers, mixed nuts etc. On top of those, we had grapes and homemade pickled guava — I brought from home to the hotel — as well as sis’ delicious & super moist chocolate birthday cake. I went to sleep in a pure food coma!!!

The husband happily showing me a a YOG (Youth Olympic Games) Torch Relay ceremony video.

And this picture .. He ran alongside the torch bearer on Sunday.

The first Youth Olympic Games begins in exactly 4 days 12 hours! From 14th August  to 26th August. The husband is gonna be a busy man during this period.

Anyway … back to the the getaway pictures … Me enjoying a Mango Smoothie

Morning breakfast buffet … My first plate

***

What were we doing exactly one year ago today?

Celebrating sis’ birthday plus doing this :)

They were saying the Singapore National Pledge. It was a very fun night!!!

I want to get this off my chest first

Grabbed some muffins and a iced milk tea this morning — there were orange, cranberry, banana choc and mocha muffins.

***

Last week – Dessert time at Bugis

I like Mango Sago … I always eat the chunky mangoes first followed by the sago :D

I will update again soon!

It happened so fast – My cat ran between my legs and the next thing I knew I was lying on the floor in tears and laughter! I also remember banging my left knee on the door edge as I tripped down. Thank goodness I never hit my patella! I couldn’t believe that a cat could  do such damage! The husband applied lots of ice on my (still) hurting knee and we both couldn’t stop laughing. It was a funny but unhappy fall and it happened some time before heading out to meet my girlfriends at Zouk.

Well I missed the POCC (Power Over Cervical  Cancer) biggest pink party in the end – I came when the event was over haha – around 10.30pm!!  But we stayed at Zouk and danced all night till mid morning :)

There was dancing, wine, screwdriver, vodka cranberry, broken shoes – MY shoes — Well it was a fun night. I probably had 4-5 glasses of wine. It’s been a long while since the last time I danced.

Sometimes you need to loosen up a little.

This is the shoe that broke

I suffered no hangover this morning. Didn’t drink any vodka or shots last night –  just a sip of that vodka cranberry –   so maybe this is why I am okay today.

Today’s agenda: Catch up on sleep. Have a lovely Sunday!

Balance. is. key.

I’m not going to do anything today except go out meet the girlfriends at a (good cause) partaaaaay tonight. But before that, I’m gonna sleeeeeeep.

This morning I did J.Michael’s NMTZ workout dvd. Awesome.

After her vicious workouts, I made myself pancakes and had 2 cups of hot tea.

I topped my pancakes with maple syrup.

Off for a looong nap!

You don’t know what you can do until you try.

Moving on.

Guess what I made today? Some sweet raw treats! Mmmm. Delish and not overly sweet!

Process dates, dried apricots, almond and peanut in your food processor until crumbly. Shape them into balls and they are ready to be eaten!

This one above was Monday’s breakfast – flour-less pancake topped with diced pear and drizzle with nutella.

Will update again soon.

We had friends (my co-workers) over for a super late lunch (3 pm) yesterday. It’s been a while since I had friends over! It was a fun afternoon. Must. Do. Again.

Pre-lunch: The guys preparing the steamboat stuffs

Lunch included steamboat, homemade chicken pie, salad and snackies. For my usual salad, I threw together some two types of lettuces, rocket leaves, cherry tomatoes, mint leaves, mixed nuts & raisins, balsamic vinegar, salt and olive oil … Alas, I totally forgot to add in the cucumber, apples and carrots!  Duuhhh… No wonder the whole time I was eating my salad, I felt like something was missing! O.o

[Edit - I've posted the Chicken Pie recipe on Ti Pomme D'amour]

I and the hub finished one of the crisp white wine bottles after the guests left heehe. It’s a mild white wine (9.5% alchohol) and even the taste is mild. I like it :)

I haven’t posted a picture of my cat in a little while … So here’s Mikey

What’s your plan for the day? The husband is out attending courses for most part of the day and I am just gonna relax  in my Little Space. Oh I need to do the laundry too. Have a nice day ahead! And in case I don’t get to blog this week (due to laziness or after-work activities or busy schedule), I wish you all a good week!

***

I received this in my inbox and thought of sharing …

Everyone has God-given dreams and desires. We all have goals we want to accomplish and situations we are believing will be turned around. Sometimes it seems to take longer than we originally thought. Sometimes, things don’t work out the way we planned, and it’s easy to lose enthusiasm. If we’re not careful, we’ll get discouraged and end up just settling where we are. But God doesn’t want us to settle, He wants to take us higher. But many times, people miss out on God’s best simply because they give up too soon. They don’t realize how close they are to their victory.

Friend, don’t let that be you today. Don’t give up just because things seem hard. You’ve invested so much, and you never know, just a few more days of believing, another few weeks of doing the right thing, another few months of staying in faith, and you could see that situation turn around. Remember, God is on your side! Keep standing and keep believing because you are closer than you think to fulfilling every desire He’s placed inside of you!

Met the girlfriends on Thursday night and we went to ORGO (at Esplanade roof top) for drinks and tapas. I was told to check out this alfresco place, so it was our virgin visit. Love the ambiance and the splendid view of Singapore city from the top. It’s a nice place to chillax with friends or go on a romantic date :)

Orgo is short for “Organic Chemistry”. The entire Orgo experience revolves around the word “organic”. As a matter of fact, part of the menu will include drinks and food made from organic produce.

Singapore at Night

Upon arrival, they served us grapes in a cocktail glass.

We ordered Bruschetta, Grilled Kurobuta (crispy slivers of Kurobuta – pork – served with pickled cabbage) and Coq au Vin. I was disappointed with their bruschetta. I think it was the bread.

The girls seemed to have enjoyed that porky grilled Kurobuta thing (pic below) but not me.  Euh I do not know how to appreciate meat with thick layers of fat in them. On another note, Coq au Vin was delish.

Drink-wise?

Sometimes a girl just needs a Mojitos.

And Strawberry with Chili Salt Margaritas too. It was a pleasant evening with friends.

And then we do what we like to do. Take pictures my friends :)

And we took a few more shots.

Left the place before the stroke of midnight. Will I re-visit Orgo? Definitely. But not that soon with the girls because we want to try out new places! Brunch will be next :)

Up next: Lunch at my place with friends. Goodnight!