Homemade Latte

Been addicted to Starbucks latte and their almond biscotti lately.  Having it too frequent is not doing my wallet any good so I decided to come out with my own version of 'starbuck' latte.

While getting the coffee beans is very easy, one just need to get a packet from the oh so many Starbucks outlet, preparing the warm frothy milk is a bit tricky as I do not have any milk warmer or frother.  Finally came out with a solution which is so ridiculously simple.

I first filled a microwave safe tumbler with low fat milk.  Close it tight and shake it for about 30 seconds.  The milk would have turned frothy then.  Thereafter, remove the lid of the tumbler and heat the milk in microwave oven at medium heat for 2 -3 minutes.  Next, pour the milk into the brewed coffee and scoop the froth to the top.  A home made latte is thus ready.

Milk Froth

Milk froth after microwave

Homemade Latte

German Cookies

My sister gave me the recipe for German Cookies which she claimed is super yummy.  Her son and she finished up 2 tins of this cookies in just 2 days.  Decided to give it a try. 

Recipe :

250g   butter
60g     icing sugar
250g  potato flour
200g  cake flour

Mix butter and icing sugar till well combined.  Then add in potato flour and cake flour.  Mix till well combined.  Shape into rounds and bake at 150 deg C for 20 - 25 minutes.

I found it strange that there is no water or egg used in this recipe.  Plus the 250g butter is a bit too rich.  Anyway, I gave it a try and it turned out quite well. 

German Cookies

The cookies are yummy although I find the 250g butter a bit too rich to my liking. My maids said that the cookies are very nice too.  So in the end all the cookies went into their tummies as I dare not take food that are too rich.  Still trying to get my post partum figure back to pre pregnancy state.

The Lunar New Year

The chinese believe that the lunar new year or commonly known as chinese new year (CNY) or the spring festival marks the beginning of everything.  It is considered good luck to have everything new on the day itself.  Thus, it is not surprising that there is a rush to get new outfits, especially in red, to mark the occassion.

As for myself, I have always found it difficult to get a new outfit for CNY as I am quite picky in clothes selection. The fabric texture, the cutting of the clothes, color, length, etc have to be right for me to spend money on.  I find it more difficult than ever to find clothes that suit me this year as 2012 CNY is just 6 weeks away from my delivery date.  Yes, I delivered a baby 6 weeks before CNY so how on earth could I shape up myself in this short period of time?  Hollywood stars do have personal trainers and all sort of massage, theraphy, etc to whip them back to shape.  But not me.

Having said that, it is indeed true to my thoughts that I coudn't find any clothes that suit me.  Not even one.  The pressure of looking svelte is building up.  Finally came up with an idea to sew the clothes myself.  Managed to sew myself a Zara inspired skirt at the 11th hour. 

Zara Inspired Skirt

I really like the blue color of the skirt.  Paired it up with a chilli red top and in my own opinion, I looked quite decent wearing them.  This will mark the beginning of many self tailored dresses / skirts in the future