my fickled friend, the summer wind

My fickled friend, the summer wind.

It's been ages since I've written a decent post. And when I say decent, meaning an entry with proper content, not entirely doused in overwhelmed emotions of wretched feelings. But what if I'm nothing more than that? A barrel bursting of liquid fuel just waiting to be ignited? Perhaps mum's right, I should enroll myself in some sort of EQ class (if that even exists?), can't seem to churn out answers the way people want to hear them. Again, I take on the villainous role. Not that it was intentional or anything, but I do agree that my non-chalent attitude can be a little over bearing sometimes. oh gosh, ramblings again. So sorry, where was I? ahh.. decent entry.

So moving on to more important things, I meant to write a little short entry on the recent happenings of the past weekend. To my blessed fortune, I was given the opportunity to prepare a 'high tea' spread (or in modest terms, 'cha dien' as we would normally call it) for the young adult fellowship and our parents who had been cordially invited to grace the occasion. Essentially a program aimed at resolving the differences between parents and their children, guest speakers included ling kang and his family shared their experiences and attempt to answer the nagging queries both from parents and the 'angsty' children alike.


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The tea spread consisted of 7 simple items, 3 savouries and 4 sweets. All of which, after an entire day of slaving away, I managed to churn out from the depths of my kitchen sans my usual helper. Thanks goodness for the mummy-to-the-rescue at the point of meltdown and the occasional dishwasher brother who was more of a dirt and grime fanatic with endless complaints at the tip of his tongue. The Mini sesame crusted crab cakes with wasabi mayo, a classic; parmesan crusted baked chicken with apricot mustard dipping sauce and lastly the mini burgers (yes, the burger buns and beef patties all made from scratch! *wink*) were the first to make a showstopping entrance from the plates upon curtain call before the other sweets made their exit. Seems like more people have a penchant for salty than sweet don't you think?

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happy faces!

Sweet butterfly cupcakes with strawberry swirl mascarpone filling whisked across the table followed by hearty 'flat' cream scones with jam, an enormous chocolate malt cheesecake and dainty blueberry turnovers; many of which had burst and yield under the high heat of the oven, the purple juices runeth over. All good, but still, the mini burgers were the star of the show. And being the hostess with the mostest, here's sharing with you the recipe for the buns! do shout out if you guys are interested in the recipe for the burger patties though.

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Mini Burger Buns
makes 22 small (2 inch diameter) buns

Ingredients
3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
3 1/2 cups All purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast


Directions
1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—

to make a soft, smooth dough.
2) Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk.
3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round

1" thick (more or less); flatten to about 2" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased
baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.
4) If desired, brush buns with melted butter. Or brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten

with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5) Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.

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Thanks to everyone for their kind compliments. It was definitely an experience making all this food for you guys. Therapeutic for the heart yet not so much for the poor feet. Landed up with aching arch the next 2 days. Still, God provides in all his miraculous ways.

Now I pray that he sorts out the rest of the wreckage for me. Plans? What certainty can I have in life? How else can I ensure a life pure and sanctified unless I sow my seeds in the ground with his steadfast presence as my final marker? too many questions...

Itchiness creeps up my throat. Got to hit the sack folks. Goodnight babe.

3 comments:

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

What adorable little hamburgers! I can imagine they would have gone crazy over them :) That's very good of you to cook for everyone!

ladyironchef said...

wow the mini burgers look great! where u buy the buns? haha. Hmm.. why haven't u cook something for us yet? *raise eyebrow*

Sihan said...

Lorraine: hi hi! what a surprise visitor! these burgers were more than adorable. they were delicious! haha. i was relived that everyone cleared their plates almost immediately!

Ladyironchef: I baked the buns myself lar! haha. can't you see I provided the recipe? hehe. aiyoh.. you get such good food all the time (looking at your dim sum), I'm sure you don't need me to feed you. haha.