It's getting colder

"Don't trust what you see out the window".  Pete was referring to the weather, of course.  The last couple of days, the mornings start off grey and dark but by the afternoon, the skies would clear and turn brilliant blue.  So lovely.  If it was summer, you know that it would be a warm day.  But autumn is upon us and that means temperatures are falling.  So even though it looks nice and bright outside, the temperature could be below 10C.

These days, temperatures range between 7 to 12C.  The main concern for me now is planning what to wear when we have to head outdoors.  Some times, mornings could be very cold and windy but would be warmer as the day progresses.  Hence, if I were to wear clothes that are too warm, I could be sweating later that day.  I guess I have to layer well - not too many thick layers but not too thin that I would get cold.  I really have to get that balance right.  

I try to look at what others are wearing to figure out what I should wear.  But I find there are lots of variations.  Some people are already wearing thick down jackets and woollen hats but at the same time, I find some people layering with just a thin jacket.  And of course, there would always be that one guy who would be walking around in a pair of shorts. 

I find that I can handle the cold better now.  Maybe it's all the extra layer of fat that I've developed since I got here.  Or maybe it's Pete's influence.  I don't really need such thick clothes to keep me warm.  It was only just a couple of days ago I ditched my capris and started wearing long pants when I am outdoors.  If my clothes are too warm, I would feel comfortable when outdoors but when I'm indoors, I immediately start sweating.  That's not good so I really have to plan well.

I also have to start using the moisturiser all over the body, especially the hands and feet.  The air is dry and there's no sweat to keep my skin moist.  That's the part I don't really enjoy.  It takes up time to apply the creams but if I don't do that, I know my skin will suffer.  It gets tight and feel itchy.  So I really can't skip that.

But that aside, I do enjoy the cold weather. It feels good to be in nice, warm clothes and feel the chilly air on your face.  It freshens up my face, clears my head and makes me alert.  And nothing beats the feeling of going indoors and warm up with a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate. I'd have a nice mug of Milo, but my stash is all gone.  Sigh.  

Fork & Spoon

I have been cooking lots of Asian dishes at home and I have paired them with rice most of the time.  When it comes to serving the food, Pete knows to bring a fork for him and a spoon for me, or sometimes I even forgo the spoon and eat rice the Malay way - with my fingers.  I am used to eating rice with spoons.  That's how it is back home.  We usually eat rice dishes with a fork and a spoon, pushing the rice with the back of the fork into the spoon.  The spoon is used to scoop everything up neatly into our mouths.

But here people use a knife and fork to eat, even when rice is served.  When I am invited to other people's houses for a meal, I notice that the table would be laid with a fork on the left of the plate and a knife on the right.  And it's interesting to see how they would eat the bits of rice, whatever they could push with their knife onto the fork.  When we invite people over, I would make sure I lay the table with fork, knife and spoon.  But I notice that I am the only one using the fork and spoon to eat the rice.

I guess the difference is that back home, rice is the main component of the meal.  The other dishes that are served with it, whether it's chicken, beef or seafood, are accompaniments. Here, rice is usually the side dish.  Hence the difference in the cutlery used.  And it's not only in the homes that the fork and knife combo is the norm.  When we went to an Asian buffet restaurant where dishes like chicken curry are served, again the spoons are missing. 

It looks like I have to get used to eating rice with a fork but at home, I am still going to use the spoon or even better, my fingers.  That way, I can enjoy my rice dishes fully. 

A taste of the competition

Things are moving very slowly with regards to the business. We are waiting and waiting for other people to reply or to get back to us before we can start so for now, we are focusing on other parts of the business. 

I have been trying out our new dough mixer and testing out recipes.  Since the equipment and baking pans are new, I need to try them out so see exactly how much batter I would need for each pan.  I don't want to have either too little nor too much batter and this is the best time to experiment so that I can get all recipes sorted.  It is important to do that for the cake batters since baking calls for exact measurements.  I want the baking to go well from the moment we start so that I don't have too many things to worry about.  It would be my first time at cooking many dishes in bulk so I would definitely be stressed out at first.

I have also been cooking dishes and baking cakes so that I could take photos of them.  The photos would go into our website, menus and flyers so I end up making more to have on standby so that I could take the perfect shot.  Because of that, we sometimes have lots of food left over.  Luckily we didn't have to eat everything ourselves. I have been giving them away to Pete's family or my friend who lives in the next block.  That's a win-win since we get feedback from them and also we don't have to waste any food.

Another task that we have been doing is a bit more fun - food testing.  But not our own food.  We have been trying some Asian food that are available here.  We have tried mainly Chinese and Thai food since those are a bit similar to ours.  So far, though, I haven't been impressed by their flavours.  Growing up in a place where street food is cheap, good and varied, I have tasted many different, delicious flavours and I think the Asian food here is sadly not up to scratch.  The sauces I have tried tasted like they either came out of a bottle or there were many ingredients missing resulting in insipid flavours.

Whenever I tasted the food, I would compare it with what I've experienced or with my own food.  I do think mine is more flavourful but I don't know if this would give me an edge over my competition.  What if our customers are more used to the bland flavours and are put off by my strong tasting foods?  I certainly don't want them to reject my food because they can't handle the spices or the new flavours they have never experienced.  Should I tone down the spices to cater to more palates or do I stick to the traditional flavours that I grew up with?

It's the same with cakes.  Most of the cakes here are very heavily laden with cream.  The cakes have only two thin layers of sponge and then filled and covered with whipped cream.  The cakes I am used to are more varied and much better looking.  I have been spoilt by world famous bakeries that have opened in Singapore and I thoroughly enjoyed the French and Japanese baked goods.  I can't make similarly exquisite desserts but the cakes that I can bake and love to eat are very different from those that are found here.  Cakes such as the humble butter cake, moist chocolate cake with ganache frosting, red velvet cake and lemon pound cake are not easily found here.

But with the cakes, I am going to stick to the recipes I know and love.  I am going to give our customers new choices.  If they want the usual cream cakes, I'm sure they can find those easily. But if they want something new, hopefully they will buy them from us.  What we need to do is to market our products well, maybe give out samples so they know what we have to offer.  And that's our challenge for now.  

A month on

It's been a little over a month since the two kitties joined our little family and what a joyful month it has been.  They came to us tiny and timid that very first day, not wanting to even get near us.  Every time we approach, they would run away.  They didn't even want to eat much that day.  But luckily, they quickly learnt to trust us and just the next day, they were following us around the house and even let us pet them.  

We have seen how they have quickly grown in a month - they are now double their size.  Their appetites have grown and they have learnt to jump higher and higher.  We are able to keep them off most of the higher surfaces such as the kitchen cabinets and the bookshelves but I think they would be able to get up there pretty soon.  Most of the time, though, they are not too disruptive.

Don't think they are not rambunctious though. They love running from one end of the apartment to another when they play catch, climbing up all our chairs, messing up my kitchen mat and stealing paper napkins during the night to play with them and strew them all over the kitchen floor.  They also love attacking each other and messing the other up.  Their favourite game, apart from playing catch is biting the other's tail.  They really enjoy stalking each other and aiming for the tail.  That game is made more fun when they are both in the bath tub.  That tub is like a playground to them.  I think they just love the cool, slippery, curved surface.  They love to slide about.

Since they got here, we have been truly entertained by their playfulness.  We really love watching them play with each other.  We think we have made the right decision to get both kittens since they would have each other for company.  But they are both very different.  Nymeria is really a girly kitty.  She loves to cuddle up to us and wants lots of attention.  She lets us carry her more than we are able to with Jon Snow.  Nymeria also has the softest and gentlest mews.  Sometimes you can't even hear her even though you can see her opening her mouth.  

Jon Snow is very boyish, very brash and independent.  He knows what he wants and will do anything to get it.  He is the one to wake us up (at 5 in the morning without fail) when he has decided that we have had enough sleep and that we should feed him.  He is also bigger than Nymeria since he eats more.  

The one thing they are very similar in is that they are very clever.  They know instantly how to use the litter boxes and where they are located.  They have learnt the signal I use when it's time for food.  It's a pity though, that they have yet to learn the meaning of the word "no" or even the Swedish "nej".  I mean, we use that word most often on them and yet they never get it whenever we shoo them off the dining and coffee tables and our desks.  We have to do that countless of times a day and they still go where they are not supposed to.  

But no matter how many times we have had to carry them off the tables or had our bodies covered in scratches ( we're like scratching posts to them ) we can never find the heart to be mad at them.  They are really sweet cats, especially when they make it clear that they enjoy being around us.  Even now, as I write this, we are both in bed and they are either playing at our feet or climbing all over us.  When I'm in the kitchen cooking or cleaning, they would play in the kitchen or simply sit near my feet and looking up at me.  When I leave the kitchen and sit on the sofa, they would be on either side of me.  They even want to follow me into the toilet!  They also like to follow Pete too.  When he takes naps in the afternoon, I would sometimes find Jon Snow draped over his leg, fast asleep while Nymeria naps on his chest.  Makes me go "awwww".    

In just one month, they have well and truly captured our hearts in a way we hadn't expect.  We have to do more cleaning now - clearing their litter boxes, vacuuming, mopping and wiping - but that's a small price to pay for making such a huge impact to our lives.  We {heart} our kitties.

 

Ups and downs

I'm sorry for not writing much these days.  I didn't expect things to be quite as tough.  When we decided to embark on this new career, we didn't know what to expect.  We are both very new at this.  Although I have had many thoughts about making cooking a career, I didn't expect to go through with it.

But we are now in the thick of things.  Every day, we have things to discuss, people to meet, stuff to check  out, things to do...our to-do list keeps getting longer.  And, since the time we acted on our dream until now, we have had gone through countless ups and downs.  The downs are whenever we got rejected for something, or finding out something costs more than we expected or that we needed to fulfill some rules or regulations about something - they are very strict here about food so there are lots of rules we have to adhere to.

The ups are when something goes our way, or finding bargains, or helpful people or when we received good feedback about our food. It has been months since we started this journey and the ups and downs have really tested our faith, patience and hope.  But it's great that we both support each other very well.  We both have very different opinions some times and that sometimes make our discussions quite heated and unpleasant but by keeping calm and being objective, we get through and are able to move on.  

For now, we are not physically tired since we have not opened for business yet, but the ups and downs can take a toll on us mentally.  When that happens, I just feel like lying in bed at night, cuddle up to Pete and hope things will get better the next day.  I didn't know starting your own business can be so tough.  But we will keep calm and carry on.  

There are fun days, such as shopping for kitchen equipment, photo shoot of our food and recipe testing so we are enjoying the process overall.  Also, I have quit school.  I am supposed to take my national test for course D in a few months but I have missed many lessons since I needed to attend meetings and such.  I couldn't log in the hours in school so it's better to just quit and study on my own.  Pete and I speak more and more Swedish now - not as much as we should, I feel - so I'm improving a little.  I hope to be more fluent when we open for business so I can speak Swedish to our customers. 

Hmm...I guess since I have more time now that I'm not going to school, I should write more here.  I will try, ok.  So watch this space :)

A new venture

This past month have been quite hectic for us.  I didn't want to blog about it at first because we weren't sure if our plans would materialise and I didn't want to write about it prematurely.  But now, it's looking more and more likely that it would happen so I guess I can start writing about it.

Ever since I moved here, we have been thinking about setting up our own food business.  Jobs are hard to find here and I wanted to do something I enjoy.  Pete also wants to be his own boss so we thought that we could start our very own company.

I have always wanted to run a café of my own.  I really love baking, most of all, and I thought it would be cool to sell my baked goods such as brownies, scones, frosted cakes and cheesecakes.  And I thought it would be even better to offer snacks such as curry puffs, grilled sandwiches and mini pies.  The cafes here are quite boring since they basically sell the same things.  But it was hard to find a suitable location that is not too run down nor too expensive.  Also, the laws regarding food are quite strict and I would not be able to cook in most café kitchens.

Besides looking for the right location, we had to overcome many obstacles along the way.  I wouldn't go into everything but suffice to say we have had many rejections and refusals.  But luckily for Pete, he managed to get enrolled in a Start Your Own Business course run by the city, unemployment office and funded by EU.  He got to attend classes, practicals and even got to consult the teachers for advice and help.  That helped us a lot since we could make appointments with them and have a chat about our business.

In the end, we settled on a small catering business that focuses on delivering lunch to companies and also have a small menu for take aways since there are many business around our location.  We aim to start operating by September so we are in a hurry to get things done.  We are currently working on our website.  We are newbies when it comes to building our own website so it has been quite frustrating when the programme is not as easy to use as we thought it would be.

Well, actually Pete's the frustrated one.  He is in charge of setting up the website.  Since we are trying to keep our expenses low, we have to do lots of things ourselves.  I am in charge of cooking and photographing the food.  All I have is a simple camera that I have used for my blog photos.  That and some new white plates to put the food on. 

That was my project for today.  Who knew taking photos of food would take hours.  After cooking - it's fried chicken, roasted chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy today - I had to plate the food and then find a nice angle to make it look good.  I didn't want the pictures to look cheap or tacky.  I want them to look nice and sleek.  I don't really know the best angle and such so I took many pictures from many angles.  Every time I replace the food, I had to wash the plate so that there won't be any smudges.  I don't know how many times I had to wash and wipe my hands.

Oh, and to save money, I used my only white bedsheet as the background.  I placed it by the kitchen window since I have no proper lighting.  I was lucky that the sun cooperated with me most of the time.  When it got a bit dark, I had to wait until the clouds moved away from the sun and continued taking the shots.  Hopefully the next few days would be as bright as today so that the pictures would turn out nice and clear.

Here are some of the pictures that I am quite satisfied with.  Take a look and tell me what you think.  Comments are welcome!

 

Hari Raya here and there

After a whole month of fasting, we celebrated Eid last Thursday.  This is the very first year we celebrated it together.  Last year, I went home on the last day of Ramadan to be with my family.  I left Pete, who tried his hand faithfully at fasting for the first time ever, while I went back to be with my family.  I had some stuff to tend to at home, but I still felt bad that I had to leave him after he did so well during that Ramadan.  

So this year, we both got to celebrate our efforts during Ramadan.  It had been a tough month - temperatures were high, the air was dry and daylight hours were long - but we tried our best. Even though there wasn't any public holiday for Eid here, we decided to take the day off.  

At first, as the end of Ramadan was approaching, I thought I was going to feel very homesick.  I've never missed celebrating Eid, or Hari Raya as we call it in Singapore, with my family.  But I decided to be very pragmatic about it.  I tried not to think about the people and things I'm missing.  I concentrated instead of doing some of the same stuff that I would do back home.  

Food, is a huge part of the celebrations and so naturally that's the first thing I think of.  I made pineapple tarts and lemon cookies that I would always make and planned a menu of very traditional foods that my mum would cook for Hari Raya.  Pete and I also decided to invite his mum and sister to join us for dinner.  That made the day festive as well since Hari Raya is all about visiting family and friends.  

Clothes is another part of the festivities.  We usually wear our traditional clothes called baju kurung that day.  Most of mine are back in Singapore but I brought two of my favourite and Pete has one that he wore for our wedding last year.  That afternoon, after we finished cooking and cleaning up, we tried on our clothes and they fit beautifully. I guess the fasting made us lose weight.  Pete looks even better in his that day compared to when he wore it during our wedding!

To get me more into the mood, I played Hari Raya songs and tried to watch some Hari Raya programmes online.  In fact, I had been playing the songs a few days before Hari Raya.  I just love them.  Some have very insightful lyrics, some are a bit sombre but most are fun.  They really bring me back to the times when I would celebrate the festival with my family and friends. I try not to make the songs too personal because I would simply be making myself sad.  I have accepted the fact that I would miss all these special days but I am glad to be making new memories and new tradition with Pete and my family here.

With my own family, we simply make sure we web chat more often during this time.  In fact, they have asked for tips on baking cookies and cakes which were my usual Hari Raya duties.  My sister has taken over the role and I helped her in real-time while she baked.  I, in turn, asked my mum for help with some of her recipes.  Then, when some of my relatives came to visit, I would get to chat with them as well.  As we talked, I could hear the background sounds and it's easy to be immersed with the festive cheer.  I feel like I'm right there with them!  How lucky we are to be living in this technology-rich era. 

There is another huge difference between Hari Raya here and back home - we celebrated it for only one day here.  Back in Singapore, the visiting and festivities would go on for weeks because we would try to visit as many relatives and friends as we could.  But here, by Friday, it was back to normal in our household.  I do miss my family and friends a lot, especially at this very special time of the year.  But they are only a FaceTime call or SMS away.  If I do feel very homesick, all I need to do is pick up my phone and I'll be alright again.  

Pitter patter of tiny paws

For the past two days, our peaceful household is no longer as it was before.  We had two new additions to our little family -  a 12-week old pair of male and female kittens.  We adopted them from our friends who have two beautiful Siberians, a male and a female, of their own.

The female, Tula, is a show cat that has won many awards.  She was supposed to be bred with another Siberian but she somehow found a mate of her own choosing and gave birth to four cute mixed breed kittens.  The timing is perfect since Pete and I have talked about getting a cat of our own not long before that and our generous friends happily let us have two of them.  It works out great since they can visit the kittens whenever we have them over or whenever they miss the little cuties.  

The two that we got were two of their favourites.  The white male, named Jon Snow, is a very brave and curious kitten.  With his beautiful colouring and longish muzzle, he takes after his mum.  The sweet looking female, Nymeria Sand (our friend named them after characters in Game of Thrones), is black silver tabby and has the sweetest mews.

Our friends came over with the kittens in a stroller for pets on Sunday afternoon.  When the flap was open, the first one out was Jon Snow, of course.  He immediately started exploring the apartment, sniffing everything in his path.  Nymeria Sand came out shortly after that, following close behind him.  They were still very timid at first, jumping at the slightest noise.  They were also very wary of us, not letting us come close and running away as soon as we got near.  

We let them explore everything and they soon discovered the litter box, water bowls and the food plates.  Pete and I have set everything up before they got here and being such intelligent creatures, they knew immediately how to use the litter box.  They didn't take to the dry food and water at first, but maybe they were still very scared and nervous.

After our friends had left, we went about our usual routine but kept our eyes on them.  They found comfort under the bed  and that was where they took a long nap.  We managed to lure them out with food in the kitchen.  We out food in two separate plates - one for each of them - but they ate out of only one.  I guess that was what they were used to.

They didn't eat everything at first, maybe because they weren't used to the food.  Then, we took out some toys and tried to coax them to play with us.  We only managed to buy three different types of balls and a tiny mouse.  I attached the mouse to a string and tied it to a stick.  I know no cat can resist that type of toy and sure enough they went flying all over the floor, chasing and attacking the mouse.  They played for a bit and then, all tired out, found a place to lie down and sleep.  

It's so sweet to see them snuggling up to each other and snoozing together.  We feel good to have adopted two so that they would have each other for company.  They would stick very close to each other and would always be in the same room and sleep next to each other.

The first day, they didn't let us pat them much but we noticed that they would follow us around the apartment.  If they didn't see us, they, especially Jon Snow, would mew and call out to us.  When we called out to them, they would run to us.  Sometimes, when they wanted to sleep (and as kittens they sleep a lot) they would curl up at our feet.  

Those were good signs that they were getting more and more comfortable around us.  That night, when we headed to bed, they followed us and started playing with the curtains.  We let them play and fell asleep, only to be awaken in the middle of the night when they nibbled and clawed at our feet that were under under the covers.  We had to switch to a thicker cover so that we'd still have all our toes intact in the morning.  When we got up the morning, we found one kitten on each of our side.  They had curled up against us in the middle of the night.  

By the second day, they were more familiar with us.  They let us pat and stroke their fur more and more and would again curl up and nap at our feet.  They also got their appetite back and were eating more.  Jon even learnt to ask for food when we forgot to feed them that evening - we have to get used to having the cats around.  I forgot that they were with us and almost tripped over them a couple of times when I didn't watch where I was stepping.

Today is the third day that they are with us.  We've trained them to come to us in the kitchen when we want to give them food and are training them to know their boundaries in the house.  They are not allowed on the dining and coffee tables and the balcony.  Somehow with babies and kittens, one of the first words we teach them is 'no', isn't it? 

Anyway, they are learning it.  And they are learning not to be too afraid of us and of loud, strange noises.  I used the hair dryer today without scaring them too much.  They were, instead, curious and came near to me to examine the source of the noise.  Also, I found it so sweet that they follow me around the house.  When I'm in the kitchen to do the dishes or to cook, they would play in the kitchen or simply sit and look up at me.  When I'm done and go to the sofa to watch tv, they would lie near my feet or curl up against me and nap.

Within three short days, they have captured our hearts and of course entertained us with their antics as they play with their toys.  I hope that they would live long happy lives with me and Pete.

Ice cream from 3 ingredients

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a post on Facebook about making ice cream using just 3 ingredients.  Plus, you don't need an ice cream maker.  Seeing how warm the weather has been for most of this summer, Pete and I decided to give it a shot.  If it didn't turn out right, well, we'd have only wasted 3 ingredients.

How did it go? Very well, actually! I am so surprised at how easy it was.  Basically there are just three steps.  The first ingredient is heavy cream and that needs to be whipped till thick.  Then, mix the next two ingredients together - condensed milk and cocoa powder.  Oh did I mention this recipe makes the most chocolatey ice cream ever? The last step is to mix the two together. Then you simply freeze it overnight.  The next day, you have chocolate ice cream.  It's really that easy.

Pete and I made the ice cream in the afternoon and by the time we finished our supper and wanted dessert, the ice cream was ready, though a bit soft.  We only managed to freeze it for 7 hours.  But it was enough to give a nice soft texture to the ice cream.  We had it again the next day and it was more firm.  It was a bit difficult to scoop though, so we left it out for a bit before we tried to scoop some out. I don't know if that's how it's supposed to be or perhaps we whipped the cream too thick or added too much cocoa powder.  I guess I would have to experiment a couple of times to perfect it.  

Those of you who would like to try this recipe as it is, I've included the recipe below.  You can also do a search online to browse other recipes.  After the success of the ice cream, I searched for more recipes since I was thinking of making vanilla ice cream.  I found a couple that uses the same method and ingredients. I might give some of them a try.

I don't know how long this method of making ice cream has been around but I'm glad to have stumbled across it.  Pete loves ice cream and he already has ideas for other flavours. We also want to add other stuff like chocolate chunks or jam to make ripple types of ice cream.  I think this could be fun.  Do try it.

Chocolate Ice Cream

500ml heavy cream (around 36% fat)

1 can condensed milk ( should be a bit over 1 cup)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

In a big bowl, whip the cream just until soft peaks form.

In another bowl, mix the condensed milk with the cocoa powder (the mixture will be a bit thick)

Take a big dollop of whipped cream and fold into the cocoa mixture.  This will loosen the mixture a bit.

Fold in the rest of the cream until evenly mixed. 

Pour into a container with a lid and freeze overnight.

Cucumbers

Last year, my mother-in-law gave us some cucumber seedlings to plant.  I am not a big fan of cucumbers but Pete is, so we planted a few of the seedlings in our garden.  But the weather wasn't so great last year.  After we planted the seedlings into the ground, the weather got too cold and the leaves got frost-bitten.  They shrivelled and turned white.  They took quite a long time to recover and by the time autumn came, we didn't have a single cucumber from the plants.

I didn't want to plant them again this year, but the seeds were cheap so we decided to try it again.  The first time I tried to sow three of the seeds, they didn't turn out well.  Maybe the balcony at that time was still too cold.  I had to sow three more and hope for warmer weather.  Finally, they grew after a few weeks.  I waited till I was sure the temperature outside is rising steadily and not going to dip before I dared to plant them in the garden.  I wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

Although I had three seedlings, one of them was still too thin and scrawny looking.  I decided to plant just the two healthier ones.  I planted them at one corner of the pumpkin patch.  They took a long time to grow, compared to the pumpkins.  Also, the pumpkin plants kept on growing wide with their tendrils growing each and every way.  The cucumber plants on the other hand, looked like they were shy.  Their tendrils are curled up and they look like they are shielding themselves from the wind and the other huge pumpkin plants.  

I didn't think they would give us any cucumbers again this year since I could hardly find any flowers, but how they surprised us.  When we looked carefully inside the curled up plants, there were several small cucumbers in there.  And a few days ago, they were big enough to be harvested.  We took two of the biggest and have already eaten them up.  They were great with nasi lemak!  I also served sliced cucumbers with nasi goreng mamak, with ketchup just like how they do in the hawker centres.

So, what of the third cucumber seedling? I planted it in our balcony.  I would examine the cucumber every day and when it started to flower, I got very excited.  There were many flowers and I thought I would get many cucumbers, but no.  I've learnt that they were male flowers and they greatly outnumber the female ones.  And only female flowers could potentially turn into cucumbers.  

Out of maybe 15 male flowers, there would only be one female flower.  And if the female flower is not properly pollinated, you will not get cucumber. Our balcony doesn't get much insects so I had to pollinate the female flowers by hand.  I used a paintbrush, dabbed it on the male flower and then dab that on the female. I have to do it several times to make sure they're properly pollinated. So far, out of three flowers, I only managed to pollinate one.  I have to keep on checking the plant to see if there are any more female flowers appearing so that I can keep on pollinating.

It's not so easy to be a gardener, is it?  But it is fun to see the plants that you care for grow and flourish. For me, it's ok if I don't get much harvest.  I just love to see the plants grow bigger and greener.  Also, through my failures, I learn to be better and I must say, from zero cucumber last year to at least seven this year, it is a huge improvement.  

A female flower - notice the baby cucumber under it

A male flower 

The fully-grown cucumber ready to be harvested

A tough Ramadan

If I thought last year's Ramadan was challenging, I've changed my mind now.  This year, Ramadan fell smack into the middle of summer.  This is the period when daylight hours are at their longest, which means more hours of fasting.  For the first week of fasting, we could only break our fast no earlier than 9.45pm.  We had to make sure we don't eat too much so that we could sleep.  We would try to fall asleep no later than midnight before waking up again at 2am to have our morning meal.

Other than the long hours, the weather has been quite harsh.  Temperatures are mostly high, above 24C and the sun shines brightly every day. Also, the air is very dry with humidity at nothing higher than 50% some days. I think, for the whole of July, there were only two days of light rain and a couple of cloudy, windy days.

So, as you can imagine, it has been tough to fast under these conditions.  But we soldier on.  We try not to think about the thirst and the hunger.  We try to keep cool - splashing water on our faces, having the fan on the whole day, even dipping our feet in cold water while we sit by the tub.  Luckily I am on my school vacation.  I could stay home when it's too hot outside.  

Having said that, we do go out almost every day on our daily walks.  We try to go as early as possible to avoid the hot afternoon sun.  Or we could go out during the evenings.  The sun would still be out, but the temperature would have dropped to make it a comfortable walk.

Now, it's only ten more days of fasting left.  The task seemed insurmountable when the weather got hotter and hotter, but we hung on and tried our best.  A few more days of fasting, and then we could celebrate our steely resolution and determination.  Celebrate I definitely would, because of all my more than 30 years of Ramadan, this is by far the toughest.

My perfect brownie

I love brownies, but not just any brownie.  I'm quite picky when it comes to these chocolatey squares.  I only love the fudgy, rich brownies.  The type that has a shiny, slightly cracked top, dense texture and just a tiny bit crumbly.  Not too crumbly or it just means the brownie is too dry and overbaked.  Also, I prefer mine plain without nuts.  If there are chocolate chips or chunks in there, all the better.  

I hate the cakey ones with walnuts in and on them.  A brownie is a brownie.  Chocolate cake and brownies do not taste alike.  A brownie is not a flat chocolate cake. It's not simply a matter of using a chocolate cake recipe and omitting the leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda.  Nor is it a flatter chocolate cake.  It's not supposed to be fluffy.  If I want to eat chocolate cake, I will make chocolate cake. 

The brownies that I want should be dense with a very rich chocolate flavour.  The top should be a bit crunchy and the inside should be gooey, but not too wet.  They shouldn't be too sweet, either.  For me, the brownie is all about the chocolate.  Sometimes I would have cravings for chocolate and brownies would make the perfect substitute if I don't have any chocolate bars with me.  I would eat them on their own with a nice, cold glass of milk.  Or with a small scoop of ice cream.  Divine!

I have experimented with several brownie recipes over the years.  Some resulted in the cakey ones and when I'm lucky to get the perfect brownie, I would lose or forget the recipes.  Finally, last week, I managed to find a recipe I like.  So, I'm going to post it here so I will not lose it again.

The recipe uses the usual method of making brownies.  You start with melting the chocolate and butter.  Then while that is cooling, you whisk the eggs and sugar.  Then you add the melted chocolate and fold in the dry ingredients.  Then bake.  It's not hard but you need to keep your eye on the timer.  Don't let the brownie over cook or else it'll be dry.  Also, the size of the baking pan will effect your baking time.  Here, the suggested size is a 20cm square tin.  You bake till the brownie just pulls away from the sides and the centre is still a bit jiggly.  I didn't have the right pan.  I only have large ones so I baked them in muffin cups.  They are about 3cm high.  They took between 20-25 minutes.  So, depending on your baking tin, try to adjust the baking time.  Check early and don't overbake!

Brownies

185g butter

185g dark or semi-sweet chocolate, broken into smaller pieces

85g plain flour

40g cocoa powder

3 eggs

250g caster sugar 

Optional : a handful (about 80-100g) chocolate chips or chunks or even chopped nuts if you like

Heat the oven to 180C and prepare the 20cm square tin by lining with baking paper or aluminium foil. This makes it easier to get the brownie out of the tin.

Melt the butter and chocolate over a double boiler.  That means to put the bowl of butter and chocolate over a pan slightly filled with water.  Use low heat and slowly stir the mixture until all the butter and chocolate have melted.  Let the mixture cool slightly.

Beat the eggs and sugar until double in volume and the mixture looks pale.  This should take about 5minutes.

Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir until well-combined.

Sift in the flour and cocoa powder then gently fold in.  Make sure there are no streaks of flour.

Stir in the chocolate chips/chunks or nuts, if using then pour into the prepared baking tin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

After you take out the tin, let the brownie cool in the tin.  

Once cold, you can lift it out and then cut into squares.

Harvesting gems

The past week has been very hot and dry.  The sky has been clear blue, with hardly any dot of cloud.  And rain is not expected to fall any time soon.  Naturally, the grass has turned brown and dry and we have had to make sure our plants in the garden are well watered.  

The balcony gets extremely hot during the day as well, since it gets the full blast of the afternoon sun that can shine and heat up the room for up to 7 hours.  I've had to water my plants there twice or even three times a day.  It's amazing how dry they can get in the heat.  The poor plants will droop and wilt if it gets too hot so I have to open up the windows so let the cool wind in and the heat out.  

However, with all the sun were having, the vegetables are doing well.  Lots of French beans and snap peas are ready to be harvested with even more tiny ones waiting to grow bigger.  The carrots are also growing well.  Their green tops are so bushy and we can see the carrots just beneath the ground getting bigger.  The potatoes are also starting to wilt and turn brown.

All that just means that our favourite part has come: harvesting!  Yesterday, we harvested the first row of potatoes. From about 8 small plants, we got a hefty 3 kilos of spuds.  It's really fun to harvest them.  Just dig carefully around the plants and pull them out.  Some potatoes would be attached to the plant but the fun bit is to carefully search the soil and uncover the gems.  And to me, they are gems.  I just love potatoes.  The potatoes we got were very well formed.  Some are as big as my palm and some are as tiny as a grape.  

I made French fries out of some of them yesterday and mashed some to make the shepherd's pie we had just now.  They have a very nice texture - not too soft nor too firm.  I forgot which types of potatoes these were.  We planted several types but we didn't label them.  Doesn't matter though because I love all types of potatoes.  We still have some in the kitchen.  Maybe I will make potato bread tomorrow.  And after harvesting more, I will experiment with other potato recipes.  We still have four rows of potatoes to be harvested.  We will harvest them only when we need them so that they'll be nice and fresh.  

We have already started harvesting the beans and peas last week.  They are really good.  I love how they are so juicy and fresh.  For two years, they have been high yielding plants and they are quite easy to grow too.  Looks like we will continue to grow them again next year.  We only need to make sure we rabbit-proof them at the beginning since the rabbits love to eat the baby pea shoots.  Once they are bigger, the rabbits would leave them alone.

We also harvested a few carrots.  They are still thin so they can be left in the ground to fatten up.  This year, we planted a mix of white, purple and the usual orange carrots.  We can't really tell the colour until we pull them out of the ground.  This time, we got the white and orange ones.  They are really lovely.  I love fresh carrots just out of the ground.  They are sweet, crunchy and very carroty!  Again, we would only pick them when we need them.  I think I'll try making carrot soup when the weather gets colder.  Carrot soup with potato bread on a cold, windy day.  That would be lovely.

The pumpkin thief strikes again!

Last week's great weather brought us to the garden more often.  We have cleared a lot of the weeds so most of the time, we go there to do a bit more weeding (that's a never ending job) and checking up on our maturing harvests.  So, we know exactly how many potato plants are flowering, how many carrots are in a row and how many pumpkins are developing.  We've even taken some pictures to track their growth.

Then, last Saturday, a rude shock greeted us.  Our fence has clearly been damaged.  It looked like it had been kicked or pushed down.  Some sections of the fence even had parts broken and screws whacked off.  But someone had tried to cover up the damage by propping up the broken fence with some wooden planks.  The gate is also busted.  It doesn't fit well anymore.  Maybe the culprits tried to lift it out of the ground to try force an opening.

My first instinct was to check the pumpkin patch and true enough, the biggest pumpkin has been cut off.  The cut on the stem looks clean and wet, so it might have happened just earlier that day.  The clean cut suggests that it was planned - who would walk around with a knife with them?  Anyway, Pete and I got very upset.  And to make matters worse, someone let their dog take a dump just outside our gate and didn't pick up the poop.

The pumpkin on Monday.

The pumpkin on Wednesday.

Gone!

We were simply too upset and disappointed to be angry.  We were disappointed enough to be thinking of giving up this plot.  Since we've started gardening here, we've had our first fence ruined and one of the poles stolen, found dog poop outside and even inside our garden, a gardening fork I left there by mistake stolen and vegetables and even whole plants stolen.  Even his mum, who only started her garden in the plot beside us this spring, had her strawberry plants stolen and her huge rhubarb plants ripped out.  She had this ancient wooden chest from 1825 put in an inconspicuous corner of the garden where she would store her tools.  We figured the chest was heavy enough to be left alone but still thieves managed to steal it.  And now this.

Sigh.  Pete and I are now so sad about how this is turning out.  I am usually excited to go to the garden but not anymore.  Looking at it, I don't think we would be able to get any pumpkins or cucumber or butternut squash by the end of the season.  Looks like the thieves would strike first before we could harvest them.  So, we are not going to get our hopes up.  Hopefully, we would at least get to harvest our beans, peas, carrots and potatoes.  

The thing is, the stolen pumpkin is nowhere near ready to be picked.  It's a winter pumpkin and its only the middle of summer.  You can see that it's hardly ripe.  Yes, it's big but it is only maybe half the size it should be.  Why take it?  It can't be eaten.  Anyway, it's better that this happens now.  If this were to happen after I have painstakingly cared for it month after month until its ready and then it got stolen, I would be even more crushed.  At least now I realise that this would probably happen again.  It's hard to accept but that's how it's going to be.

I wonder why the thieves like to target our garden.  Ours is clearly very amateurish and we don't grow much there. Other gardens are so much better than ours with more luscious and plentiful crop.  Why not pick on them?  Why us?  Sigh.

We don't want to give up this plot.  We really enjoy the gardening and enjoying our harvests after that.  And this plot is very big.  But the location, which is right next to the bike and walking lanes makes it very open to unscrupulous people.  If we were to stay, we would need a much better fence but then again, if people are determined to get inside, they would find a way to wreck it.  Well, we'll just have to see how it goes later.  If things continue to go missing, we have no choice but to look for another plot somewhere else.  

Oatmeal Cookies

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe.  Here's a quick and easy one to do.  It's for oatmeal cookies.  Since we would be starting our fast soon, we try to clear the pantry of stuff like biscuits or chocolates.  We also haven't bought any junk food since we wouldn't be able to snack during the day.  The only things remaining in the pantry are the staples such as flour, sugar, spices and oatmeal.  

Pete and I took a very long walk today - about 10km, so once home, we were ravenous.  We had lunch soon after but I got a serious case of the munchies.  I craved for something sweet.  I looked at my pantry - no bread, cookies or cake.  But I had the ingredients to bake something quick.  I decided to make oatmeal cookies.  I could also throw in whatever was left of a dark chocolate bar I had in the fridge.

Since its a warm day, it didn't take long for me to soften the butter.  I only had to put the bowl in the balcony and let the sun do its thing.  While waiting for the butter to soften, I measured out the other ingredients.  One thing about cookies is that they don't need much work.  Once the butter is soft, you only need to beat it together with the sugar for about 2 minutes on high.  Then, after adding the other ingredients, the cookies should be ready to bake within 10 minutes.  Depending on the size of the cookies, you could be enjoying them within 15 minutes.  Quick and simple.

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chunks and Coconut

1/2 cup butter or margarine, soft

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

A pinch of ground cloves

A pinch of ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cup oatmeal 

60g of dark chocolate, chopped into chunks ( or simply use chocolate chips)

A handful of grated coconut (optional)

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Beat the butter with the sugars until well combined.

Add the egg and continue beating on high speed for another minute.

Add the vanilla and mix well.

Add the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.  Stir well and then add the oatmeal.

Lastly, add the chocolate chunks and coconut.

Shape the mixture into balls (mine were the size of boiled egg yolk) and place them slightly apart on a lined baking tray.  Press them a bit to flatten them a bit.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  If you want the cookies to be soft, take them out earlier.

Before the harvest

Although this summer has been mild, with lots of cloudy days, it didn't affect our vegetables in the garden.  They got enough sun and more than enough water to grow well.  The rabbits and some thieves have robbed us of some butternut squash and lots of pea shoots, but most of the stuff we planted are thriving.  

We have not started harvesting anything yet.  I expect the peas and beans to be ready in a week or two.  The potatoes are doing well and have started flowering.  We only need to wait until the leaves turn yellow before we can dig up the potatoes.  I think that would be in a couple of weeks.  The first batch of carrots are doing well.  Tiny carrots have started to form.  In a few weeks, they would be big enough to be pulled up.

The cabbage and broccoli would take longer.  I think they would be ready only in autumn.  Same for the pumpkins.  As of now, we have spotted three small pumpkins and some flowers.  They would continue to grow until autumn or even early winter.  That would be great since nothing beats a bowl of hot pumpkin soup and homemade bread when it starts getting cold outside.  I have planted two types of pumpkin - winter pumpkins and giant pumpkins.  The winter pumpkins are growing faster than the giant ones.  The cucumber and butternut squash are flowering but not fruiting yet.  

So, before the harvesting starts, here's a peek at our garden:

The rows and rows of potatoes.

A close-up of potato flowers.

Three out of the four rows of carrots. You can see the first two rows are bigger since they have been planted two weeks earlier.

The rows of peas which are towering and hiding the shorter bean plants behind them.  Next year I would plant them separately. 

The pumpkin and cucumber patch.  See the ugly, empty space where the two butternut squash plants should have been.  I still get upset when I look there.

A pumpkin flower.

The bigger of the three growing pumpkins.

One of my flowering lavender bushes.I might harvest the flowers to freshen up our home.

A Losing Battle

After a week of neglect, we got a shock when our garden looked more like a jungle.  I exaggerate, of course, but really, the weeds have grown so tall and so plentiful.  The tall weeds almost blocked our view of the tall potato plants and the luscious pumpkin plants.  Some vines were climbing up the pea plants and some even invaded the tiny carrots that were trying to grow. 

Needless to say, we had to work real hard today to clear the weeds.  I was very happy with our work before this, but the days and days of bad weather didn't allow us to do our weeding.  The rain and long daylight hours helped the weeds to thrive and it was amazing how fast they grow.

It's really like fighting a battle that we can't win.  Every time we managed to clear the weeds, they would simply grow back.  Sometimes I suspect the weeds grow twice as fast after we cleared them, sort of like they were saying "na nana na na" at our pathetic attempts to get rid of them.  It's impossible to be there every single day and pluck out each weed as they pop out, because that's exactly what I feel like doing after another long battle with them.  I feel like if I don't, they'll double or even triple themselves and take over the garden within a day or two.

I would have been more conscientious about weeding if the weather hasn't been so bad.  Last year was nice and sunny so we were at the garden a lot.  This year, there has been more rainy and cloudy days making it feel like summer has never been here, so we had to stay away more often.  I guess, I would have to be less uptight over the weeds.  Since it is not possible to keep the weeds out totally, I have to learn to accept that the garden would not be perfect and that weeds would always be a part of the garden.  I just need to make sure more of the beautiful vegetable beds are viable and not crowded out by the weeds.

If I were to look past the weeds, I suppose I could be happy with the vegetable beds.  The potatoes are growing well and have even started flowering.  The carrots are growing nicely as well.  I had to thin them out, which means I had to pull out those that are growing too close together to allow for more space in between for them to grow big.  The ones that I had to pull out looks nice and smells so carroty.

The peas and beans are also growing well.  They have started flowering and I guess we will soon harvest our first beans and peas.  The second group of peas that I planted weren't doing well though.  They have been attacked by rabbits again.  It seems like the rabbits love to eat baby pea plants, but I have plenty of other pea plants that have survived.

The broccoli and cabbage are doing well too.  The leaves look very strong and healthy.  My lavender plants are getting bushier too.  But the biggest growers there would have to be the pumpkin.  The plants are huge! They have even grown out of the allocated bed.  Luckily there is an empty space beside the bed.  That was to have been a walking path but its ok that they have taken over that space.  They can grow as big as they like, as long as they produce some good sized pumpkin by the time autumn comes around.  In fact, we could spot a couple of cute, round pumpkin developing.  I just hope they are hidden from view so that they won't attract other people to go in and steal them.

Weeds, rabbits, thieves.  The problems of a gardener.  

Celebration!

My birthday falls on a weekday this year so Pete and I decided to invite his family today, a Sunday, to have a small, simple lunch. I wasn't really keen on doing anything special - just some simple fare for the adults and kids to enjoy.  I didn't want to cook the spicy dishes that we Malays would have on such occasions since I didn't think the kids could handle it.  Instead I decided to cook chicken wings and drumsticks.  Which kid wouldn't like them? 

I wanted to have a bit of Singapore in the food, though, so I marinated the chicken wings in turmeric and a bit of chilli powder and fried them.  I also made jemput-jemput udang, or prawn fritters.  I wanted to make fried beehoon, which are vermicelli noodles, but I couldn't find them in the neighbourhood stores.  I had to substitute it with egg noodles. I also roasted some drumsticks, made mashed potatoes and coleslaw for the non-spicy choices.

One of Pete's sisters very kindly made a smörgåstårta, the Swedish sandwich cake.  It's a fragile thing and she successfully brought it here after an hour's drive.  It looked so beautiful and tasted great.  The dill that was on top of the cake as a garnish even came from my mother-in-law's garden! 

So, once everybody - two of Pete's sisters and their five children, and my mother-in-law - got here, we started eating.  I thought I didn't cook too much, but in the end we did have plenty left.  I guess I'm just like my mum.  She would cook more than what was needed, but for us, it's better to have too much food than too little.

I find that parties here are a bit different than those I'm used to.  Back home, most of the time, the food is served buffe style.  We would put all the dishes out on a long table and everybody help themselves to anything they want, however much they want.  Then guests would either find a seat somewhere or simply stand and eat, while chatting with friends.  

Here, or at least in Pete's family, the savoury food would be served first, also buffe style.  But usually, we would take our food and sit at a long table, with napkins and cutlery neatly laid out.  Then, after everyone has had their fill, we would clear the table and put the kettle on to make tea and coffee. Those would accompany the dessert - mainly cakes or cookies.

We did the same today.  After the main dishes, I put out the sweet stuff - tiramisu and Swedish chocolate balls which I made and some cinnamon rolls and almond fingers that we bought. The kids, being brought up on Swedish chocolate balls and cinnamon rolls, had their fill of them.  I, don't know about the others, thoroughly enjoyed the tiramisu. I used to make them often back home since that was my family's favourite.  This was the first time I made it here and I would be making them again for the simple reason that the mascarpone cheese and whipping cream are cheaper here. And that I love them.

Apart from the food, the company was great.  I enjoy talking to everyone.  I did try to speak in Swedish but I switched to English when I found I was taking too long to find the proper Swedish words.  I also had fun playing with the kids.  Time really flies when you're having fun and I didn't realise how soon they had to leave.  That's the downside of living far away.  But whatever time we got to spend together was great.

Oh, they also got me some very thoughtful gifts.  I got a gift card from one of my favourite malls, a lovely wicker basket for picnics, a purple scarf, a set of four candle holders and a cake carrier.  Everything that I needed and wanted.  In fact, they asked me for my wish list two months ago!  I didn't really tell them what I wanted since I didn't want to trouble them, but they seem to know what I wanted.  Maybe they paid careful attention whenever we talked or maybe Pete told them.  I don't know.  But I do know that I feel so blessed to be here.  Not only am I married to an awesome guy, I also got to be a part of an awesome family.  Life is swede :)

Here is summer

We have been having real warm, beautiful, sunny days for almost a week now.  The sun has been shining throughout the day and it gets so warm in the apartment that we have had to use the fan and open the windows to let the cool wind in.  Days like these, it's much better to be outdoors instead.  It's very windy here and this is the only time I appreciate the strong winds.  As Pete and I go on our walks, the winds cool us down, even as the sun bore down on us.  As a result of being outdoors, I am finding my tan again.  Pete is also getting some colour on his skin, though most of it is on the back of his neck.  

Yesterday didn't start out too well, though.  It had been raining in the night and the rainy continued to drizzle in the early morning.  The day was cloudy, wet and grey and the winds were chilly.  Pete and I had plans with our friends.  We planned to join them on a dive that day.  They live in a town just outside of Malmö but they would drive here to dive sometimes.  We were to go with them and sit by the beach as we waited for them while they go into the water.  I guess you can say that we were to be a sort of safety team just in case something happens.

Luckily the weather cleared up and we continued as planned.  They picked us up and away we went to one of the city's dive spots.  The view was breathtaking - navy blue sea, rocky beach, and the Öresundsbron, the bridge that connects Sweden to Copenhagen, just in the distance to our left and the Turning Torso, another of Malmö's attractions, on our right.  It was very windy there but the sky was clear and the sun was shining.

Our friends suited up in their gear and after checking all equipment, they got into the water.  They planned to surface 45 minutes later so Pete and I spent the time walking among the rocks and sitting and chatting, while enjoying the view.  Back home, I have always enjoyed views of the sea whenever I go to the beach.  Living in a small island means that the sea and the beach is never far away, so sitting there and looking out in the water comforts me.  It made me feel like back home, except the view was different - I was looking at the shores of Denmark and not Malaysia.  The best thing is also that I was enjoying the view sweat-free, unlike back home, in the tropical heat.

Soon, our friends made it back safely.  They got out of their wet gear and packed up.  Understandably, they were ravenous so we had lunch and then back to our place for dessert and coffee. It's very nice to be outdoors and hang out with friends on such days.  We didn't have to worry about the rain or snow and we could stay outdoors for as long as we wished.  Summer is here and I do hope for more of such days.   

A real test

Last Friday, one of my teachers said that he had something to tell me - I was going to sit for the National Exam for Course C, the one that I have been taking.  I know that I was due to take the exam some time this month but no one had told me anything more about it.  Then, out of the blue, I was told that I was going to take the test in four days.  Interesting.

Anyway, he then told me a little more about the exam. There was going to be a few components to the exam: reading comprehension, listening, writing, speaking and conversational skills.  He also tested me a bit to give me a sense of how the speaking component was going to be.  He asked me to talk about a specific topic and I talked about it as best I could.  His assessment was that I had the vocabulary but lack the confidence and hesitated a lot.

I took the opportunity of the weekend to help me prepare.  Pete and I spoke Swedish much more.  I wish I could say we spoke only Swedish but that didn't happen.  We would start of speaking it but would fall back to English when I have trouble understanding him or expressing myself in Swedish.  But since I sort of knew how the exam was going to be and what the examiners would be listening for, I knew how to prepare myself.  I tried to remember the grammar rules and brushed up on my vocabulary, trying to memorise descriptive words such as adjectives and adverbs.  

Pete and I would have conversations in Swedish and he would give me topics to talk about.  I would also ask him to help me with new words.  There are still many words I haven't learnt.  Something that we did was to point at things around us as we go on our usual walks and say the name in Swedish.  That was very helpful.  I only wished we started it earlier.

I also did a lot of written practice on grammar from books I've borrowed from the library.  My fingers were sore after hours of writing and my eyes got blurry.  Two days of trying to cram all the grammar rules, which is so much more difficult than English, into my well-worn brain.  It wasn't easy.  I still had lots to learn and remember.  I know I wasn't good at speaking yet but I was confident of the reading and comprehension part.  I think I was even worse at listening to someone talking.  Some of them speak so fast and by the time I find words I recognise and translate them, I would have lost the whole meaning of the sentence.

So, this morning, I was a little nervous as I walked to school.  In class, I had to wait a little before the other teacher came with the exam papers.  I got a bit more nervous then.  Once I stepped into the exam room, I tried to calm down and focus.  I was the only one taking the exam.  The rest were not ready yet, so I felt a bit alone.  

We started with the reading comprehension component of which there were two parts. I managed quite well and got my confidence back.  I was given 50 minutes for each part but I finished within 20 minutes. Then, I had the listening test.  I had to listen to some conversations and news and answer some questions.  That was really tough. The people on the CD were talking too fast so I had to listen for key words and tried my best to keep up with the speech.  I was a bit downtrodden after that.

I had a short break after that.  I sent some messages to Pete to update him on my progress and he assured me that I would be ok.  And I was.  When I got back to the room, the teachers have scored those components and out of all three, I only made one mistake.

Then, I had to write a descriptive text.  I was given 45 minutes for that.  I took more time for that since I had to make sure the grammar and spelling were correct.  I wasn't too happy with my writing since I forgot some words that I needed but I tried to find other words instead.  Then, I was finally about to face the components I dreaded - speaking. 

I was give a choice of two topics.  My choice was done based on my vocabulary and so I spoke to the two examiners.  I was really hoping that they would understand what I said and that I didn't make too many mistakes.  They seemed to understand me and laughed at appropriate parts.  I took it as a good sign.  

Finally, it was the last component. For that, they had one of my classmates into the room.  I was supposed to have a conversation with her about a topic.  Again, I had two to choose from.  That was not as nerve wrecking. Having her there, and she is someone I like and enjoy talking to in class, made me feel at ease.  And soon, it was over.

The teachers told me that I wouldn't get my results so soon.  They would decide on the preliminary grade but it would have to be endorsed by the principal and that would take a couple of weeks.  But I was just happy to have finished it.  They asked if I wanted to continue to Course D and I do.  I still have lots to learn and I don't have any jobs lined up for me as yet, so I would continue to study.  

As I walked back home, I thought about the exam that I had just completed and I think I made it.  I felt relieved and shared the news with Pete.  A few hours later, my teacher sent me a message that I got a B! I was thrilled.  Not a bad result for a few days of cramming!

The case of the missing pumpkin plants

Why are people so mean?  

Pete and I went to the garden yesterday and got a rude shock.  Two of my beautiful butternut pumpkin plants have gone missing!  Instead of my green, thriving plants, there were two empty holes, so glaringly obvious in my pumpkin patch.  At first I thought rabbits have eaten them up.  But Pete pointed out that the whole plants were gone, roots and all, so that must mean someone must have dug them up and took them.

Why would they do that?  I was so furious and upset.  I am so sad because I love butternut pumpkin so that was why I planted three of them.  And worse is that it's too late to start planting more to replace the missing plants.  So sad.  On top of that, the rabbits have found their way in again and have had a jolly good time wiping out most of my peas.  They have even attacked the sugar peas, which they stayed clear of before.  

That was it! I got so upset, I started hacking and ripping weeds off the ground.  The poor weeds had no chance.  I whacked everything I could find.  I used all my anger to clear most of the weeds that I have left at the back of the garden.  I didn't clear them before this since they were at the back, and hence not in the way of the vegetable beds.  But not this time.  Only my four lavender plants were left at the end.  They did put a bit of a smile on me since three of them are clearly growing bigger and bushier, and some flowers are starting to bloom.

As I was taking a break, I saw that my mother-in-law's gate was open.  That started my mind working - the pumpkin thief! He/she must have gone in through that gate.  We put a latch on ours and even without, it was a bit tricky to open since it fits tightly to the rest of the fence.  And, of course, after taking my pumpkin plants and perhaps my mother-in-law's rhubarb, said thief wouldn't have bothered to close the gate after looting our garden.  And that was how the rabbits found their way in to decimate my pea plants.

That brought about another wave of frustration and more weeds fell victim to my anger.  Thanks to my rage-driven efforts, I managed to clear a lot of the weeds that have grown too big for my liking.  I went home tired but still sad and upset.  This made me paranoid and I now worry that I might find some other things missing in future.  What are they going to take next?  I worry and dread going to the garden and finding something else gone.  Why are people so mean?