Monday, October 20, 2008

There's something soothing

I love it when it rains at night. It set the mood right for baking and it doesn’t matter what there is to bake be it cookies, brownies, bread or tarts. There’s something soothing about mixing flour and sugar together, kneading the dough. I’ve wanted to bake something for a few weeks now. I bought the ingredients, simple items on the list that make the staple of every pantry and it is only tonight when the time is right.

There’s something soothing about baking, an art that has been practiced and perfected and dare I say, invented by, women for centuries. I wonder. I wonder if it’s encoded in our chromosomes, like a biological clock that overrides self conviction of being something else. There’s something soothing about the scent of cookies in the air. I think that something soothing is a sense of home.
My aunt, 大姑媽 (Tua Kow), passed away suddenly one morning in July this year. She was a great woman, a kind person, how loving and giving she was. There was always a space for chance in her eyes to start over no matter how awkward a girl I was. It is through seeing conviction in others that one often finds the faith to believe and to achieve a better self. She upheld a wholesome and true sense of justice in her that neglected even herself. She was loving and warm, a great many things that I could only aspire to be. There’s a something soothing about baking, the memory of her words, “chip yi… chip yi kin khe” (knead it, keep kneading). There’s something soothing. There’s something soothing about baking and grieving.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Ravi the massive ravioli

my asian-fusion ravioli.
some people eat when they're jittery, i cook. there's something soothing about chopping, stirring, mixing, getting second degree burn on my finger. the feeling is simply grand (no, not the burn). i tried making a fusion ravioli (you'd never get the authentic stuff out of my kitchen) with prawns and vegetable filling and chinese dumpling wrapper that i found in the supermarket. may i just confirm store bought wraps are crap. repeat after me... store bought wraps are crap. store bought wraps are crap. amen.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

butter chicken

Butter chicken that I made tonight. Despite how obviously wonderful the people I work with are in Sydney, I miss my Brisbane lab. I miss how we used to go to Punjabi Palace for nearly every celebration... and especially Rekha's Monday Indian lunch.