Chocolate pudding addiction

Do you have some chocolates sitting in the cupboard that have started to separate and bloom? Do you hate the white powdery ick that makes them taste funny? Do you wish you could go back in time and eat them before we came to this awful scenario?!

Of course not! You sensible people never leave chocolates in the cupboard for months or years, because chocolate is so irresistibly delicious!

But if, like me, you just married someone who is good at maintaining a healthy near-chocolate-free routine, then this recipe might be useful:

Chocolate Pudding: Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 handfuls chocolate(s)
90g butter
1/3 cup raw sugar
3/4 cup SR flour
3 eggs

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, and while this is happening...

2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in a bowl, stirring half way [2 x 30sec @ ~750W]

3. Add the sugar and the melted (or at least getting there) chocolate to the saucepan, along with almost all the flour. Turn off the heat and mix all the ingredients together.

4. After a few seconds of cooling time, crack the eggs into the mix, and stir in thoroughly, then add the rest of the flour to help integrate the eggs.

5. Bake for around 8 minutes (or longer if you want it more cake-y, less saucy) in either individual oven-safe bowls, or a loaf pan lined with baking paper.

6. Serve with ice-cream!

I made up this recipe because I don't like following prescribed methods of cooking (I love to experiment in the kitchen- I read recipes to know how ingredients react, then make up my own) and I needed to use up those icky chocolates that were left over from years before. It tastes amazing, and I doubt I could ever be bothered with any other chocolate pudding recipe after this one. 3-4 minutes of work and 8 minutes cooking? Heck, yeah!

This recipe can also be easily modified, and once you have an idea about the consistency of the mixture, feel free to add whatever you like. For example, the pudding pictured above is an Orange Mocha Chocolate Pudding I made two nights ago, replacing the chocolate with orange chocolate, and adding a sachet of Malaysian white coffee powder. It was amazing.

Kitty Gym!

Thanks, Rob and Divz- it's beautiful! Honey loves it, and when the others wake up, I'm sure they will too!

Honey knows something's afoot...

Isn't it pretty?!

Which devious scheme shall I enact?!

Honey, the bell-ringer.

Quite roomy. Not bad here on the ground floor.

It's so much fun having all these friends always around us. There's nothing like waking up to a kitty trying to get under the blankets, or the sound of jingling bells tearing up the stairs. They truly are a pleasure to have around.

Kitties, toys and music!

Last week we welcomed a new member of our (ever-growing) household. Puccini, the Devon Rex - previously owned by a family friend, and finding the situation with a new baby to be unpleasant - now lives and plays in our large house, sometimes snarling, sometimes purring, and other times sleeping on a lap for a few minutes, only to wake up, hiss, then bite whoever's attached to the lap. Puccini likes to keep things interesting.

 At first we kept him away from the other feline inhabitants of the house, but after only a few days he was happy to play with his new friends- only very occasionally freaking out, yelling then storming off. "Young cats these days..." he murmurs...

Aaaaaand... *Chomp*

A couple of posts back we met The Chosen Four, plus Porky. However, these aren't the only new inhabitants of our bookshelves.

We have Nicholas D. Wolfwood, the travelling minister. He's the only man whose skill with a firearm could ever compare with...

Vash! The hero from Trigun! Sporting his iconic hand gun, red coat and round glasses, we see him in all his infinitely-pose-able glory.

Here's a wedding present from my sister that captures both me and her very well. I love toys, and we both adore The Muppet Christmas Carol. Here we have Bob Cratchit (Kermit) and Tiny Tim (Robin) singing joyfully on their way back home for the Christmas Eve meal.

And here's the rest of the set! The Ghost of Christmas Present, Robert and Jacob Marley (Statler and Waldorf), Fozziwig (Fozzie Bear) and some ice-skating penguins. A lovely collection!

One thing we really enjoyed in Singapore was The Tintin Shop! Here's our latest wall decoration, featuring Snowy chasing a lizard!

And the marvellous gift, courtesy of the Best Man- A 10 figure set of Disgaea 4 toys, which came with the game, a soundtrack, an art book, a guide and stickers! I love stickers! Thank you so much, Jackson!

Can you spot the live one on the table? 'Cini can!

Testing out our fabulous new pizza stone is... Adam and I! Thanks, My Love for cooking us pizza! It had goats' cheese, eggplant, and all sorts of goodies.

What's this? A Moroccan tea set? Such beautiful colours! Apparently we shouldn't clean it (to keep it authentic) and the dirt will add to the flavour. After receiving this gift from our friend Cass, we decided we really need a display cupboard in the kitchen to display our growing collection of teapots.

Last night we had an impromptu dinner party, and the evening's success can be attributed wholly to our guest, Chris's swan trifle! So pretty! Chris is the fellow who hand-made (over several months) a gift of 1000 paper cranes!

We have so many amazing friends! We have these beautiful kitties, courtesy of Jo and Richard, of Impress Tea House & Gallery fame!

Here's our bookshelf as of this morning, but I don't expect it to stay this way for long...

After waiting MANY months for restock, my Ouran poster arrived! Now the music room is looking even more lovely!

Wait, what was that you saw? A piano?! How did that get there? Thank you for everyone who contributed towards our amazing digital piano (St Paul's Choir, Jiapei & Michael, Vong, Jess, Berenika and Ray & Anne Moore)! It's been a real treat playing again, and listening to my wife's performances.

Thanks to everyone who shared in our wedding celebration and thank you for all the exciting gifts! Our house is looking beautiful, and we're so grateful for all our friends! I hope this new year is full of joy and learning and good friends.

Much love,

Evan

Last-Minute Maid of Honour

One aspect of getting hitched that has been at the forefront of my mind since we started the whole caper is the instant expansion to my "family". I've been nervous about cultural differences - never between me and my wife, we always try approach everything with the goal of growing together, so I'm secure in the knowledge that we can overcome anything, if we work to honour each other - but the expectations of her family have made be jittery. And in many ways I've been right to be nervous.

But there has been one amazing spark that's given me hope for good relationships with her family; that spark was the last-minute Maid of Honour.

This young woman is my wife's cousin on her father's side- a girl in whom I see so much potential. I often feel it would be so easy for that flame to be extinguished in the environment she's subject to- but she shows new strength each time I hear from/of her. She's the daughter of a wealthy paediatric surgeon, with a mother who (from outward appearances) uses her as a play-thing, and despite her mother's best efforts to push away from the ingrained urges that say "she's mine, and she (along with our properties and purchases) defines us and our standing in the community" she still falls into the habit of manipulating her. Her mother's combination of endearing and manipulative (despite some efforts not to be) is a deadly combination.

I'm told she's "come so far". Every time I engage in conversation with my immediate in-laws concerning how much she's under the thumb, I'm told not to bother because "she's already improved so much." This concerns me deeply. Firstly, it lays blame on her, rather than the oppression she's subjected to. Secondly, this pessimism parading as optimism could stunt any progress towards seeing who this woman can be. My prayers for her are that she will see through with her own dreams, never thinking to fulfil any role for the standing of the family. I would see her marry someone outside her culture- someone who will cherish her and lift her up, so she can shine like she's meant to, never pursuing money for money, but chasing love and altruism with a passionate conviction.

Let me tell you a little of her character- she likes to make people feel comfortable, she always offers assistance before anyone else, she values the relationships with those around her, she is welcoming, excited by knowledge and she's fun. And she likes to do hip-hop singing and dancing.

One morning in Penang, she took us for a tour of the street shops and historic buildings. As we travelled through alleyways in the care of our knowledgeable guide, we stopped in at various little stores, as my cousin-in-law would enquire after the store-owners' family members, with insight and affection, remembering small details about their lives. We were scheduled to tour for several hours, with a final meeting point, but her mother rang every hour for a status report, eventually cutting our time a little short.

It's probably important to note here that her family did a great deal for us in our travels, feeding us all we could manage and taking us out for exciting events and tours. As a reflection upon my own culture, it's interesting to note how much more importance we put on relationships and attitude than financial offerings- because her family really pulled out all the stops, and I wouldn't want to understate their generous efforts.

Her family, along with my wife's family and my own, spent the week before the Big Day travelling around Geelong, Melbourne and Bendigo, largely together. It came to pass that our intended Maid of Honour was... less than helpful, due to her commitments to her work and to her (apparently-not-together-but-still-living-together-and-we-mean-the-world-to-each-other) boyfriend. I suggested strongly that there was still time to get a new one, and we came to the decision that our cousin would make the perfect fit! She'd doted on us for the week prior and we knew she'd be enthusiastic (if her mother would only step back and let her handle things- which she did, praise God!) and we just knew she was the perfect choice. She'd met the best man (who was also travelling with us during that week) and they'd had fun getting to know each other. It was perfect!

And it really was. She was so kind and helpful, and my then-wife-to-be needn't have been jealous of the Best Man's wondrous efforts (which you will hear of later). We had a ball.

I'd really like to take this space to thank her for everything she did for us, and wish her all the best in her future- and I pray it truly would be her future; never fearing failure, nor striving for wealth or status. Full of joyful and meaningful relationships. 


Thanks, Aun Qi- our amazing, last minute, Maid of Honour.