Pickles n' Tickles by JJ

IT'S September and I'm still fat. Slowing metabolism is one of the hardest things to handle, mentally more than anything, as we age. I'm trying to keep up with the long walks and the light to moderate weight-training in the gym but boy, it seems like this life is hell-bound on giving me tests, one after another. The bootcamp had to be stopped five weeks ago, as my Chronic Extertional Compartment Syndrome  had been causing me more pain and numbness with increased, very visible muscle herniations on the lower limbs. Next week, I'm back at a sports injury hospital here for a run test, to see if the pain which had gone up to the pelvic area from the lower leg is more than just CECS.  On the bright side, I'm keeping busy with projects that demand my full attention and concentration. I'm loving the embroidery stitching works that I've been doing. At the moment, I'm collecting small pieces of designs, inspired by the things and issues that are going on in...

I baked a cake for a friend's birthday party today. More than the baking, I enjoyed icing this cake. It's a simple vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. The idea for decoration comes from a cake Chef Lorraine Pascale made. It's a white cake with little flowers constructed from raspberries and almond flakes. So pretty and whimsical, just the kind of cake that'd make me happy if it was presented to me on my birthday.  I had so much fun decorating and re-decorating the cake while munching on berries, almonds and cream. I used red berries for raspberries as I found them to be more delicate for the flower effect. Red on white is one of my all time favourite combinations and not just at Christmas.  The final look. Whimsical.  White and Red  I started off with a scale-like design along the side. Since I had some extra buttercream, I decided to continue a row on the top too. With the space left on the face, I constructed a few flowers. When done, I stood ba...

I'M hooked. Like majorly hooked on whipping out buttercream and icing it. So I'm always baking these days. The joy of being able to play with colours and sugar to create pretty, yummy edibles that brighten up my day as much as they make many more happy is awesome. Right now, I'm just experimenting with various buttercream recipes, buttercream roses, perfecting the techniques and trying to establish some semblance of order in the kitchen while I work with butter and cream, sugar and spice. Working with this frosting during summer is quite a challenge as I really dislike having the air-conditioning on. I've no choice though if I want to have a nice, stable batch.  The early roses. You can tell they're messy.  Practice led to these .  ...And then, I ran out of icing.  So I felt like flattening those roses and I did ! Here's a basic buttercream recipe that I love. It's wicked, the kind of #badfood you'd want to keep in your li...

MY first experience with beetroots wasn't too disappointing like how it was for the other kids. It did feel like I was chewing on muddy grass. The earthy scent and flavour of beets didn't go down well with me but I ate it anyway because of its gorgeous colour! Unbelievable deep red from something so ordinary on the outside. I was morbidly fascinated by beetroots from the time I saw my grandma slice through one as it left bloody burgundy stains on her fingers and the wooden chopping board.  Many years later, my mom fed me with a  combination of beetroot, apple and carrot juices  daily at a low point when my system was down. Initially I was a little irked by the idea of having to consume raw beet but the experience wasn't bad at all. The combination was red and delicious, and, rich and healing. Two years ago, the same combination became a big part of my dad-in-law's diet when he was recovering from stomach cancer and I'd say it helped in a speedy recovery for him a...

MY life in Doha can be summed up as a cross between Bree Vanderkamp's and Gabrielle Solis' at the moment. I find myself re-visiting an old hobby of baking like Bree and earning the right to eat the baked goods and sample new restaurants by working out like Gabby, although I do worry like Susan every now and then with the ardent hope of wanting to get back to the corporate world like Lynette. Oh, I miss the Desperate Housewives alright!  Getting back to baking has been therapeutic. I'm once again reminded of why I'd started baking during my teenage years in the first place. There's definitely something relaxing about breaking and beating and throwing things into a chamber of heat. It's a greater joy to see the beaten ingredients rise up to their best an hour later and the best est part is when I'm able to share it with others. Washing up is the only thing I absolutely dread. Right now, my Sri Lankan neighbour is enjoying the perks of living next to a baki...

SO the Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies were baked with much pleasure. A fool proof recipe for anyone to follow really. I didn't sieve the flour and used a different variant of sugar and even reduced the call for chocolate morsels. Yet it did not compromise the yum factor one bit ( although I did switch the dark chocolate to full milk chocolate chips! ) Seriously, there is only so much chocolate you could stuff into these cookies before it actually becomes chocolate itself. These cookies have more solid chocolate than you could imagine and baking them was a challenge as I couldn't tell if they were browned and baked enough! Therefore it's important to watch over while baking so as not to burn them. Due to its richness, one probably can't consume more than a cookie at one time but with greed and determination, nothing is impossible of course. I like eating them cold out of the fridge with a glass of warm milk. Bliss!  Here you go. Click here for the recipe...

NOW that my hair is considerably long by my standard, the styling options are endless. I'm delighted that I could, for the first time in my life, braid my hair! French, Dutch, Fishtail, Waterfall, Five-Strand braids. You name it, I learn them all on YouTube and practice on my life-size Barbie, Mek Zhin. Additionally, hair accessories like bands, hair vines and fancy pins are also catching my fancy. On the flip side, some of these things can be so dear given the materials used and its workmanship. For an example, a simple hair vine at Evita Peroni costs something like USD 170. Ridiculous. Some pearls and beads woven through wires. How difficult can that get? So I decided to take matters into my own hands!  I had some fresh-water pearls and some shiny, black bicones. I wish I also had some diamantees to spice it up a little but the black and white combo is quite classy on its own. Using a long strand of clear nylon string, folded into two, I put in the pearls. The challenge was...