Easter a Week Overdue

We were supposed to have painted Easter eggs last week but were so tied up with stuff that we only just had time to do it recently. Hubs made the tiniest little holes at the bottom of the egg - still in awe over how he managed to do that plus get the egg so clean *mind boggling* I'm surprised Bubs didn't break the egg at all and he was really gentle while handling it. I wanted to put it on a chopstick in a tin can (that was how my parents taught me to paint eggs, lol) but the hole Hubs made at the bottom of the egg shell was too tiny for me to even stick it over a chopstick.

Bubs's giant grimace-smile combo that he puts on each time you ask him to smile :D Still using the Ikea smock though it's getting a bit too tight for him. Again, can I tell you how much I love Crayola paints, pricey as they are there?

I asked him to pick 2 colours and his choices were red and orange. You can see him fully concentrating as he's holding the egg and painting it.

Really getting the hang of it by thoroughly mixing the colours.

My egg, ma-meee! Hubs was less than complimentary about the colours and asked if the egg came from a bleeding hen :P

The Mugshot Cafe, Penang

If you are enamoured by the artisan breads at Rainforest Bakery, then you're bound to be doubly enticed by their new offering: the Mugshot. It's a narrow but looooong cafe just right next to the bakery at Chulia Street.

It was filled with backpackers when we were there on a rainy Saturday afternoon. We were drawn in by how cosy it looked plus the inviting scents of freshly baked goodies. The Mugshot offers a small selection of yogurts, bagels and coffees. The jackfruit and gula melaka yogurt sounded tempting but we ended up with the bacon & egg bagel and corned beef & rocket bagel (RM10 each)

Bubs loved the low chairs that were toddler friendly. There is a small courtyard at the back with more seating choices. See that grey round thing nestled on top of white bricks? That's a wood fired oven that they use to heat up the bagels.

A little fish pond with lots of tiny fishes darting around. Bubs had a naughty gleam in his eyes so I quickly moved him away before he could even think of poking at them with his finger.

 
Hubs thought that the mocha was okay though he'd have preferred something richer and stronger. Maybe that's just him. I loved my bacon & egg bagel. The egg was done to perfection and when you bit into it, the creamy yolk oozed out. Hubs liked his corned beef & rocket bagel though I'm not the biggest fan of corned beef. The Mugshot makes the yogurts and bagels by themselves and while we were there, I saw them whipping up a batch of yogurt.

Everyone gave a thumbs up for the carrot cake, it was nicely spiced and I could see fresh, grated bits of carrot. The icing was just right too, not too sweet.

We couldn't resist playing around with the chalkboard to make our very own mugshot. 

Hyperactive Bubs - guilty as as charged ;)

The Mugshot, Georgetown
302 Chulia Street, Penang
012-405 6276

Fashion Friday: Leopard Print

Image credit

Leopard print is always something that will divide the masses but I've to admit, I've fallen head over heels with this stunning dress, everything about it is perfection, from its breezy fit, low back, sheer sleeves to topping it off with a pair of understated gold flats.

Fool Proof Strawberry Jam

The idea of home made jam always brings forth to me images of hours spent bent over the stove top with hot bits of jam splashing at you. Doesn't sound like how I'd choose to spend my weekends. I was skeptical when this recipe promised that making strawberry jam wouldn't be as labourious as it sounded. I've made strawberry jam using the recipe a couple of times now and I'm pleased to say that it is fool proof and doesn't require the entire afternoon slaving over a hot stove.

I don't make huge quantities of this. I have no idea how to sterilise jam jars and the idea of having to chuck away all of them due to mold growing makes me queasy so I usually make enough to last us a week and refrigerate it covered.

You start out with luscious, fresh strawberries ... I've to swat Bubs's thieving little paws away from them otherwise I'll end up with no strawberries at all for the jam.

It's even harder to stop myself from pinching a few slices to nom on every now and then.

I'm really cheapskate old school and use a mortar and pestle to crush the berries. If you've a food processor, you could skip this step and give it a good whirl.

Add in sugar (I think the rule is equal amounts of sugar to the amount of strawberries that you are using) and since I'm sharing this with Bubs, I always use less sugar. Add in a nice squeeze of lemon (don't quote me on this but I think it adds a bit of pectin to it?) and bring to a rolling boil. I let it simmer for a while and then pour it into a bowl to chill in the fridge. Don't worry if it's runny. The jam will set after it cools down in the fridge.

It's not as thick as store bought jams but the flavour is so intense and rich. I'm not sure if mine is considered more of a strawberry coulis than an actual jam but this is mind blowing to be mixed into Greek yoghurt and fresh fruits. I've also paired it with plain cakes and Bubs can't get enough of this.

The Happiest Things in Life Are ...

Having a fabulous weekend doing nothing but hanging out with family and close friends. I've been highly stressed out the whole work week so it was good to just spend some time away from the laptop, being reminded of what is truly important to me :)

Bubs's great aunt visited and I'm impressed with how he's gradually warming up to people that he's not really familiar with.

We celebrated Glam Girl's birthday a couple of days earlier. I can't believe that she's given birth just two months ago, she looks so svelte! Though I probably sabotaged her portion control plan by ordering this massive platter of garlic pork ribs, tequila spiked chicken, sausages, corn on cob, side salad, fries and corn bread at Morganfield.

Look at we found at Cold Storage - Adriano Zumbo premixes: passionfruit macarons, salted caramel macarons, chocolate brownies and choc mud mirror cake for RM30 each. It was so hard to  narrow down my choice to just one though I've to admit, the step by step instructions at the back seem a little dauntingfor a total novice like me. I picked the salted caramel macarons, given that Hubs loves anything caramel.

Bubs loves his Grandpa to bits and it melts my heart to watch how the both of them have so much fun playing together. Dad loves to make silly faces, tickle him, chase him around and Bubs responds by squealing and giggling with joy. Random Bubs fact: Hubs pointed out that Bubs speaks Hokkien to old people. It was cute to hear Dad ask "Bubs, do you want me to buy you more toys?" and Bubs relpying "Mai, wa oo liao" (no, I have enough) haha!