Best Brownie Winner?

Recently, our Anti Bullying Committee held a fundraising stall for the Alannah and Madeline foundation. I felt the need to participate to help, so I decided to bake so BROWNIES!

First of all, I felt the need to let all of you know that I have NEVER baked a brownie before in my entire life, so I had no idea what to do: from scratch or box mix?

I did some research on which is better, and I somehow felt more convinced to get the box mixes.

Why? Because I had very limited time (like 3 hours) to bake loads of brownies, and it seemed like the best way to bake brownies for the first time -- easy and minimal mess considering my mom would freak if she saw me mess up her kitchen! So box mix it was!

I was just waking down the baking isle in Coles and found myself wondering which to get. There were tons of brownie box mixes and they all looked really good (also priced about the same!) so I pondered and pondered and finally decided to test 3 different type of brownie mixes! I ended up trialing Betty Crocker Tripe Chocolate Fudge brownie mix, Adriano Zumbo Chocolate Brownies and Donna Hay Molten Chocolate Chunk Brownies.

They all turned out pretty well for me. Both my mother and sister favoured the Donna Hay Molten Chocolate Chunk Brownies, saying that it had the richest taste out of all of them. I personally thought that they were all good, but was more of the Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Brownie fan. I felt that it was simple and not too overpowering and overwhelming in terms of flavour and chocolate richness. For the Adriano Zumbo one, I felt that it had this light coconut aftertaste which some people may fin weird but I oddly like. I am not quite sure as to how my fellow schoolmates would react to the brownies ( I made about 35 big brownie slices), so I'll update you guys on how a bunch of teenagers would react and which was the most popular among our school!

*Update*

Whew! Today was great! We raised almost $200 for the Alannah and Madeline foundation so that was awesome! Pretty much all my brownies were sold :) I reckon they were all equally popular among the student body, but the one to finish quicker would be the Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate fudge one, so there you have it, but they are equally fantastic (from feedback!).

xx,
Khatie

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

As said, since I couldn't find a book to read yet, I'll just be reviewing a book I have read a couple of months ago. With that said, it might not be the most accurate of all, but I will try my best! Here is the blurb/synopsis:

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Blurb from Goodreads.

Two young people are forced to make a stand in this thought-provoking look at racism and prejudice in an alternate society.

Sephy is a Cross -- a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Nought -- a “colourless” member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood, but that’s as far as it can go. In their world, Noughts and Crosses simply don’t mix. Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum -- a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger. Can they possibly find a way to be together?

In this gripping, stimulating and totally absorbing novel, black and white are right and wrong

Now that the blurb is done, lets move onto my usual summary.

So this book is set in a very different, yet similar society. It is set in a society where people are split into two different levels or castes -- the noughts and the crosses. Crosses are the dark-skinned, leading/higher class people. Noughts are the fair skinned, the 'blanks'. They are the underdogs, the lower class. Sephy is a Cross. Born into a family of wealth like majority of Crosses, she has everything she ever wanted handed to her on a silver platter. Callum is a nought. He is part of the lower class. He barely gets any education, does all the work that the crosses don't want to do for a living. His home can barely be called a house. Callum's mother used to work for Mrs Hadley, Sephy's mother. They were good friends, which was how their children grew up together and became best of friends. In this society, equality barely exists. It's all about the better race. Noughts were not allowed full education privileges. What would happen when you put two strong-willed teenagers from a Cross family and a Nought family together, who wants to stay with each other against all odds? Toss in some terrorists, a broken family and some disapproving people and pretty much the whole society discriminating against you? Can feelings still stay strong, or will it start to waver?

What I liked about this book:

The author, Malorie Blackman, did an amazing job on creating this oter world that seemed so realistic. I think now that we think about it, this story could be seen as an eye opener. This teaches us that if we let this go on, chaos will occur. I also think that by changing the 'fair skinned' people into the inferior class adds a very unique twist to it. She has also done a marvelous job in expressing how it would feel like to be in that society, and while reading it, I can feel some raw emotions boiling up inside me and especially towards the end, it made my heart clench when I read the book. I literally ran to grab the second book right after I read the first one. *there was originally a more personal input here but I have cut it out incase you guys don't want my rant to get in the way*

What I found needed some improvements: -

Favourite quote(s) from the book:

“You're a Nought and I'm a Cross and there's nowhere for us to be, nowhere for us to go where we'd be left in peace...That's why I started crying. That's why I couldn't stop. For all the things we might've had and all the things we're never going to have.” 

“I hadn't fully realized just how powerful words could be before this. Whoever came up with the saying 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me' was talking out of his or her armpit.”

“And things go unsaid soon get forgotten”
That is it for this (I apologize) rather short book review. I read this book as part of a nationwide reading challenge and I loved it so much I read all the others in this series.
*here is my rant*
This book really struck something in me -- whether it is realization or something else, I am not quite sure but it made me realize that if roles were reversed, it wouldn't be at all different, and how society can be so cruel and twisted, and it makes it worse knowing that we are the ones who created this whole thing to discriminate against one another of the same kind. Why? Because they don't have the same complexion as you, they don't look the same as you? It's insane and it makes me so sad to be faced with such a reality. I mean I understand that there have been some inequality, but after the book, I did some closer observations and research into the inter-racial discrimination and I can't help but feel disappointed in ourselves. I feel that sometimes, I can relate to this whole ordeal. Maybe not as seriously, but still a little bit. This is how heartbreaking it is to know.

*end of rant* 

Okay, so I should really get going because I have a Spanish, English, Maths and Science test coming out and I still have Chinese homework so byeeee!

xx,

K

Cabonara Pot Pie

Hello Pulchritudinous readers,

Today I am here with a new recipe! I came up with this myself as part of my Home Economics class and got really great feedback from my friends and kayaking teammates, so here I am sharing it with you guyssss!

So this Pot Pie apparently tastes like Cabonara Sauce, so I changed it a little and decided to put in some pasta under the sauce(in the pot), and it worked like a gem! The picture above is from my first trial and excuse the bad photography and background. Yes, that is a love heart made from pastry on it. I'll try to get my other picture (probably had better lighting than this!) up soon!

So without further adieu, here is my pot pie recipe!

Ingredients: Olive Oil (about 3 tbsp)
Garlic (2 cloves, finely chopped)
White Onion (half, finely chopped)
Bacon (1 rasher, cut into about 2cm squares)
Chicken (1 chicken breast)
Mushrooms (about 7 pieces, cut into quarts)
Frozen peas, corn and carrots (3/4 cup)
Skim milk (1/2 cup)
Chicken Stock Powder (1/2 cup)
Tasty Cheese (1/4 cup)
Parsley (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Flour and Cornflour as thickening agents
Ready made Puff Pastry

Recipe:

1) Preheat oven to 200 degree.

2) Chop garlic and white onion finely.

3) Add olive oil to pan

4) Add in garlic and white onion and cook till soft but not to brown.

5) Once soft, add in bacon (cut into small cubes) and fry.

6) Remove from heat and empty pan’s content onto a bowl and put aside.

7) Add a little more olive oil onto pan and put in chicken (cut into small cubes) and fry it till cook, but not too cook to remain moisture.

8) Take chicken out of pan and set aside.

9) Add some olive oil and mushrooms (chopped) and stir around over medium heat til cook and slightly golden brown.

10) Add in peas and corn. Stir around in the pan and add in chicken, bacon, onion and garlic mixture.

11) Put in skim milk, tasty cheese and chicken stock. Bring to boil then simmer. If needed, add in some flour

and/or cornflour to thicken!

12) Stir well to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.

13) Add in a dash of chopped parsley for flavour

14) If desired, add in some cooked pasta in the pot you are going to bake you pie in, then pour the sauce mixture over the pasta, and cover with the puff pastry however you like it. 

Note: When using the recipe, it is advised to not put in all the liquid ingredients at once to prevent the 'too much sauce/liquid' situation. This was an estimate of how much I put in, so you have been warned. This is also based on a two person serve, so adjust accordingly. Happy Cooking!

xx,
K

Mothers Day

Hello my pulchritudinous readers!
Okay, so mother's day is coming up really soon! I spent ages brainstorming on what to get my mom, you know, something special that isn't costly but is priceless at the same time, one that would make her whole face light up when she sees it, one that is irreplaceable. So after some serious thoughts, I decided to go with one of the cheesiest thing I could think of -- a mother's day poem! Yes, I know, how unique blah blah... But that was the best I could do. Being a minor, I can't afford much, so that was my gift. I will post a copy of my poem below. Hope you enjoy it and blog soon since it is the weekend though I have quite a weekend filled with lots and lots of homework (3 history research task essays, maths homework, English book PMI, Chinese homework etc) *groans*

SO there ya go!

I know this is overrated

Thousands of the same kind

And probably kinda belated

So I hope you don’t mind

Sometimes I seem indifferent

Towards your affection

Towards your sentiment

And your compassion

I won’t go about

Saying thing I don’t mean

Although that won’t make me sprout

A long nose, like a beam

With that said,

No holds barred,

And I promise to not raid

Those insincere greeting cards

I can’t begin to express my gratefulness

To your ever-present humility

To your ever-lasting gentleness

And your never-ending dexterity    

Those are one of the many

Things that you prevail

A list might come in handy

As a reminder, full scale

This list would be long-winded

The longest you’ll ever see

Miles and miles, you’ll be adulated

In the best means it can be

This list would start from A

Have it follow through to Z

Though it can’t formulate

For the sake of the trees

Just know that in my heart

You will always be the best

And one day we may part

But I won’t be like the rest

Today is your day

To kick back and mitigate

So keep your worries at bay

And luxuriate

Forever & Always

Wonder if you people get what I was trying to do...

Anyway, it is my first time writing a poem so please be nice :)

xx,

K

UPDATE

Sorry about all the personal posts lately! I know I have not posted a book review in like a while (well, for me at least) so I will try to get that to you as soon as I find a book, hopefully! I am still in the search for a good new book, but if I still can't find it, then I guess I will have to do an old book review (as in the ones that I have previously read). I will visit the library if I can, though that is not guaranteed that I will find something that catches my attention, so for the time-being, you guys are stuck with my personal posts! Yay? Nay? Meh? So anyways, I reaaaally shouldn't be blogging right now because I have a Science test tomorrow and I should be studying, though I heard that it is easy... Yeah, I should stop procrastinating now and acutally get my lazy bum to study so that is it for this very short update! Might delete this once I find a bunch of books and are active with reviews again!
 BYE FOR NOW

Cheers,
K

Mashed Potatoes

Since I have kinda started this recipe or food thingy, might as well continue it! So the next thing I am sharing with you guys is mashed potatoes. I know that there are lots of them out there, but personally, I prefer this one.

Ingredients:
-Potatoes
-Milk
-Butter
-Salt
-Pepper

Recipe:
1) Cook the potatoes (preferably boil it)
2) Peel and mash the potato, but don't stress if there are some chunky bits in it
3) Get some butter (softened)
4) Mash butter into potato.
5)Once thoroughly mixed, transfer the potatoes into a stove-top safe pot container.
6) Put your fire on low and add in a little bit of milk. Mash it together. Repeat process until achieved desired consistency.
7) Add in some salt and pepper to taste.

For every 150 grams of potatoes, have about 40 grams of milk (don't have to use them all, this is just an estimate) and about 1TB of butter, but this should be adjusted to your taste. Like it buttery? Put more and vice-versa. This was about how much I used.

* make sure it is hot or as warm as you like it, but not too hot that it burns your potato or milk when you add it in! *

Happy Mash Potato Making :)

Cheers,
K

Avocados

So I feel pretty bad about not having anything to post and I feel so empty and lost so here is a random, personal post about... Avocados.

As random as this post seem, I just had to. So I know most people have their avocados in guacamole form or on toast or in a smoothie whatnot, but I have mine with milk and sweetened condensed milk. It might sound weird, but it really isn't (to me, at least). I don't know any one else does this, but if you have not, give it a go, it tastes great with like some ice on a really hot day or just with cold milk and all. Seriously...

How to have avocado my way:
Ingredients: -Milk
                  -Sweetened Condensed Milk
                  -Avocado
                  -Ice (optional)

Recipe: 1) Wash Avocados and halve it.
            2) Using a spoon, scoop avocado out and put into bowl
            3) If desired, cut into small pieces with knife/spoon/fork/anything you wanna use.
            4) Pour some milk over the Avocado
            5) Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over it and voila!
            6) Add crushed ice if you like.

So there ya have it! My attempt at doing a good recipe tutorial thingy! Hope you enjoy it and let me know if you do.

Cheers,
K

B/N: Let me know if you want a pic tutorial or something of how it looks like in the comments and I might just do one, though this is a very simple 'recipe'. If you would like more recipes, let me know!

Road Trip!

Hey! I recently took a trip to Yarra Valley! WEEEE. It was one long drive, I tell ya! it was fun though, so enjoy the pictures :) I took them using my iPhone camera so excuse the quality! Most of these were taken at a kiwi farm/winery. Enjoy! (Don't go all photography Nazi on me because I am in no way a professional)

 This is a close up this gorgeous rusty chair I saw just there on a field of grass. Why was it there, I have no clue...

 No clue what this is, a machinery of some sort, maybe...

 Dramatic B&W of a pond 

 Such pretty colours *sighs*

 Oh the morning dew drops 

 Boat #2

 Back of the pond...

 Dramatic B&W strikes again!

And to end this update, cute little post boxes I took from the car!

Cheers,

K 

Competitions?

Imagine being entered into something you don't quite want to join and get ready for. Probably won't be too glad about it, or confident. Well, here's the thing -- I was entered into a competition by my coach with like 2 weeks notice and I was barely ready for it. I was just paired up with another girl on my team, who I don't even (sorry) new existed on the team. Apparently, it is part of our program or something, I don't know, but we aren't exactly allowed to back out. I was actually thinking of being mean and just not going to it, but then I would have to ditch my partner and all that jazz, so I went! Guess what? It was pretty awful. First off, my partner and I both have horrible balance. Secondly, in the river we went to paddle in, they had no proper landing/dock, so we had to climb in from this teeny tiny beach thing. Thirdly, the water was pretty choppy. Besides that, it was freezing and it was raining. What more can I add to the beautiful list? Me and a couple of other teammate got withdrawn because we failed to get to the starting line without falling out at least 10 times on the way there. So there you go, the summary of my perfect day! Unfortunately, there is more to this fun little tale. YAY -- not. So after we got withdrawn, we went to the shower rooms to clean up and all, and then BAM, I dropped my clean Trekkie into a big fat puddle in the public toilet. So I was stuck wearing the tiny little spare shorts I had thankfully packed in my bag, and let's just say the weather just loves me so dang much that it became cooler after that. Wonderful, huh? The competition host probably felt bad for us so they presented us with these ribbons that wrote 'ENCOURAGEMENT' on it and honestly it was kinda like a big sign writing LOSER on you, not too nice, but it was a cool ribbon nonetheless. Oh, and I have another sport event tomorrow :( so hopefully things won't go all crazy on me again!
-edited and updated version-

Update (9:08 pm 4/05/14) : Guess what? The sports event tomorrow is cancelled. I don't know if I should be happy or sad. Happy because I don't have to be at another house event or sad that I have to wake up earlier to get myself to school. *sighs deeply*
Maybe I could just skip? *evil smirk*

Until next time, my pulchritudinous readers :)

Cheers,
K

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Annabel

Heyyy! I'm back! I know I was actually supposed to upload this before Invisible but oh well. Enjoy!

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Basically, this story is about a girl, Hadley running late to her flight to London, where she was expected to attend her father's second marriage to a woman she has never met that goes by the name Charlotte. She is not too pleased about being forced to go, but for her mother's sake, she agreed rather reluctantly. She missed the flight by 4 minutes and the next flight would give her a slim chance of making it to the wedding on time, but better late than never, right? So she goes for it. She meets Oliver first when she was waiting on her flight, and needs to go to the bathroom. She asks for a lady sitting nearby to hold onto her bag for the time being, but the lady refuses, claiming that it is illegal to do so, which was when Oliver swoops in and offers his assistance. Eventually, they start talking and discover that they are taking the same flight, and Oliver claims to also be heading over to London to attend a wedding, and as every minute pass, their chemistry get stronger -- and what would they do once the flight lands? Will they keep in touch, or will they just move on? 

What I liked about this book: 

I liked the humor in it. I enjoyed Oliver as a character and it could be classified as a light read, nothing too serious.

What I felt needed some improvements:

For a book called The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, I would've expected a lot more than what I got. I felt that the story was not really engaging, and the story line was dull. Some aspects of the book was also unrealistic. Yes, I know that books don't have to be realistic, but that just makes the book totally cheesy. I also thought that things in the book was moving too fast. It was an okay read, but it did not leave a deep impression on me. 

That is it for now! WOW! 2 in a day, man I'm on a roll!

Okay, so it is pretty late and I should probably get off the internet and all but I just can't help it.

Cheers,

K

B/N: I feel kinda bad for all the negativity towards this book but I speak the truth, or at least what I feel! I need to look for more books to read now! Byeeeeee :)