~Finals' Week~

Undisciplined Girl"

I ended week 10 of Winter Quarter. I don't quite remember what happened actually. I guess because I had been a naughty girl. Even though there was exam that week, I watched TOO many Korean dramas and I am still at it right now. Consequently, I scored so bad in Immunology Exam 4. I felt so bad on Friday because I have misconducted myself in the eyes God. Suppose if I had paid attention in class to Dr. Tom's lecture, I probably wouldn't have ended up this way. What happened on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday....I have no clue. The events that was so vivid in my mind was the effort of going to gym for workout. IV Dinner is coming up somewhere around March and I have to wear formal dress which I am not accustomed to. For the first time, I actually have to lose weight to look good in a dress. My normal me wouldn't be bother about beauty but I guess I have to because I found out that I am overweight -- thanks to America --. My body store fat more excessively during winter even though I eat a little.I wonder what mom thinks of this.Rain is the one has been couching me in exercise for 2 hours each two days. Gosh...exercise addict.

Chinese...I am getting better now. Thursday was the last day to have Shi Fang Yu to teach the class. Starting next quarter, there will be a new teacher called Miao Laoshi. Zhang lao shi forbid us to abuse her because she is really a good teacher. I hope she will move into my house before she starts teaching. It will be fun to have a teacher at home. Imagine how weird it would be. I recommended my house to her for accomodation. So far, there isn't any news about her yet but Hong Fei, from the other house, is moving into my house as well. Then, my house won't be that quite and boring anymore. But then, I am not too sure if I can adjust myself again to new people around because take time to get to know a person again.I have been introvert lately because not much social life happening everyday. Yet, I am still happy to meet Rain, Zeu Ven and Seth during lunch time.

I have also slept early this few weeks. I hardly have any worries and concern at all about my study. I think because I have lost track the gist of classes. I should be ashamed for writing this out. Living off campus, I should be more stern, orgnized and disciplined in my doings, to prove tat I can manage well off campus.I can do it but it was the hectic schedule which had made me cut off totally.

I have so much to say in my mind. But i have to stop now. There is more reviewing for immunology and tissue culture.

Hershey Choloate FActory

Hi,

I know this is too late but I still want to let u see my trip to pensslyvania hershey town. site where hershey chocolates are produced. enjoy!

FileFront - The Most Gaming Files on the Web

This was last week's Tissue Culture experiment. Dissecting the embryo for heart, liver, brain and eye cell, wasn't as hard as I thought it was because it just like slaughtering a chicken,just that this is small. "The embryo chicken was kicking around when I cracked the shell open." 

NBCOlympics.com Video

NBCOlympics.com Video

Birthday Dinner

Conversation with Bee Khim:

i had a birthday dinner at home
actually i didn't want to celebrate at all
but Zeu Ven and Rain insisted on comin gto my house to
in the beginning i thought it would be really late to have dinner by the time my friends reached my house after 6 pm.
so i was worried but then, ing didn't seem to take long with many people helping out
i learned that i shouldn't be so worried and missed out all the fun making stuff with friends
i didn't anything but just soup . i am more like being ask question where were the stuff they needed....u know more like a host on a ing show. the host talks and assist the chef

carina - lee hom aT m'sia/ says:
ic..i understand

NewMe--so tired but had fun w volleyball, basketball & badminton says:
i enjoyed the party...actually my housemates treat me so well
sarah tricked me that she wasn't able to make a cake for me because she was too busy....
when she told me that, i felt strange because that's not like her at all. normally she has a lot of time at home and also no matter how busy she is, she will always find time to make it. but i don't know why i trusted her, i guess because she never tell lies.....so i felt hurt
i think i wouldn't feel hurt if i have seen her within two days. i didn't see her for two days because i was in the room resting from sick
then i told her, "it's ok. we can just poke candles on the banana muffin Kurni made for me." i felt so hard to say this sentence to her...
carina - lee hom aT m'sia/ says:
after that?
tat was in d car....then funny thing oh, when I reached home, the first thing I saw was a bouquet of 10 carnations which is my favourite flower. That flower, I knew it was from Renee because she knows i like carnation. I felt so tranquil looking at those beautiful flowers but i didn't dare to go close for a look because I felt so ackward to hav flowers for first time.

I walked away pretending not knowing anything, to go hang my coat. Then, Sarah with a big e looked at me, " Did you see it?" " See what?" " Didn't you see it?" "Yeah, I see flowers." Both of us were at the flowers but felt weird too cos Sarah doesn't know my fav flowers and why would she buy that for my present. "Look again!" " Flowers!" I said.

carina - lee hom aT m'sia/ says:
ow,dat's sweet of ur friend.

"NO! Look the cake!" She pointed the cake on the left of the flowers.
I was shocked but didn't express it. I also didn't know what to act and so speechles...I took quite a long time to realize what was happening. Sarah made that carrot cake after all.....last, I gave her a hug. fuh~~~

carina - lee hom aT m'sia/ says:
i nvr receive real flowers too,except those for deco.
hehe...dat's nice

Joe, Rain, Zeu Ven and Aziana was there in my house helping out with dinner cooking and enjoyed eating the simple dishes. Although dinner wasn't that grand but my friends really enjoyed the time. It's so funny at the moment when all of us argued about how to cook the dishes :D because each of us has our own taste bud. Zeu Ven , for the first time made steam red bean buns. Haha she said my red bean paste was tasteless....aiks she added more sugar...but the bun came out delicios after steaming although d dough looks ugle (Zeu Ven sorry...jk). I didn't have my camera so I couldn't catch all the happy moments.(Thank God I found it back after losing it in the tissue culture lab...later you will see what I mean). Rain fried glutinous rice ball with red bean filling also , using my glutinious dough (left over since winter break :S) but good! She also cooked fried chicken saute with chinese wine...yummy. Aziana, so good of her, cooked very tasty bake catfish. See how much variety of dishes during my birthday..I don't have to cook hehe except for assorted seafood soup (??). Joe was slowly experiencing how to cook vegie and just simply added seasoning...and turned out delicious too (with the help of Aziana). I hope he enjoyed the dinner. He was the only guy during that time.


My presents.
Pic by AngelicTosh

Swallow A Fly

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I dunno why she swallowed that fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd, to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that, she swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a dog.
What a hog! To swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat...
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a goat.
Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog ...
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow.
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat... She swallowed the goat to catch the dog...
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat...
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse -
She's dead, of course.


I recited this rhyming poem in BASIC Talent Nite meeting last Friday. Despite of the mistakes that I made, everyone enjoyed my poem as they followed along.

Jan 28: CNY Party presented menu

These was what Rain and I cooked at home for the party which started at 12 noon.

- Almond Chinese Cookies (even better with PURE almond extract!)- Higly Recommended
- Neen Gow
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (I replaced the pork with chicken) - Highly Recommended
- Stir-fried Vegie with Cashew & Xia Mee
- Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake
- Rice Cooke Fried Rice (healthy cooking)
- Tea Egg!!
- Steamed Catfish with Black Bean Sauce

N ew Y ear's C ake (NEEN GOW)

Neen Gow, New Year's Cake, is the most important cake eaten on New Year's — the main ingredient, glutinous rice flour, is a symbol of cohesiveness. The egg-dipped, pan-fried slices have a mellow sweetness and are slightly chewy from glutinous rice flour. Mama remembers watching her grandmother's servants scraping the slab brown candy, peen tong, for this cake, which is the traditional technique. Brown candy is a kind of sugar that is sold by the slab in 1-pound packages and is also available loose in bins in some Chinese markets. The slabs are about 5 inches long, 1 1/4 inches wide, and a scant 1/2 inch thick. The scraping of the sugar is extremely labor-intensive, so some cooks dissolve the slabs of sugar in water, which is less authentic but much easier to prepare. Be sure to use glutinous rice flour here, not regular rice flour!

Ingredients
3 Chinese dried red dates
5 slabs brown candy (peen tong), about 11 ounces
3 teaspoons vegetable oil
7 cups glutinous rice flour
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1 large egg
vegetable oil, for pan-frying

Preparation

In a small bowl, soak the red dates in 1/4 cup cold water for 30 minutes, or until softened. When softened, remove and discard the pits.

Cut each brown candy slab into 8 pieces. Place sugar in a heatproof bowl, pour 2 cups boiling water over the sugar, and set aside until dissolved and completely cooled.

Grease a heatproof 8-inch round, 3- to 4-inch-deep, straight-sided bowl, such as soufflé dish, with 2 teaspoons vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, place rice flour. Make a well and stir in cold sugar water. Knead dough in the bowl, adding an additional 1/3 cup cold water until dough is smooth, slightly moist, and shiny, 5 to 10 minutes.

Place the dough in the prepared dish and pat until it fills the dish evenly.

Cut the red dates into halves and place cut-side down in a ring around the outside of the dough, leaving a few to decorate the center.

Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Coat with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, using your fingers and lightly pressing down on the dates and sesame seeds.

Bring water to a boil over high heat in a covered steamer large enough to fit the dish without touching the sides of the steamer. Carefully place the dish into the steamer, cover, and steam 35 to 40 minutes on high heat. Check the water level and replenish, if necessary, with boiling water. The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Carefully remove the dish from the steamer and pour off any excess liquid on the surface. Place on a rack to cool. Loosely cover and set at room temperature in a cool room until the next day, when it will be ready to eat.

Run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen sides. Place a cake rack over the bowl and invert to unmold. Flip the cake right-side up onto the cutting board. Wrap the cake in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to eat, cut the cake into quarters. Cut each quarter crosswise, not into wedges, but into two 2-inch-wide strips. Cut each strip crosswise into scant 1/4-inch-thick slices. This is the typical way of slicing a cake Chinese style. Beat an egg in a small bowl, until frothy. Dip the slices in egg.

Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or skillet, over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add just enough vegetable oil to barely coat the wok, add the egg-dipped slices in batches and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Makes one 8-inch cake, about 72 slices.
Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen
May 1999
Grace Young
Simon & Schuster

My first nian gow ever. I can't help feeling happy for being able to share nian gow to Rain, Zeu Ven and Zhang Teacher. It is just fun with friends like them to enjoy cooking with. There are always there to help me finish the food up especially CNY!

C hinese A lmond C ookie 4 CNY lunch

This is one of the recipes I cooked for CNY open house.
Pic by AngelicTosh

Chinese almond cookies are lighter and more delicately flavored than most cookies.

Prep Time:15min
Cook Time:25 min >

Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
-1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 tablespoon PURE almond extract
- 1/4 pound whole, blanched almonds

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 F. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, butter, salt and baking soda until it forms a well-mixed dough. Add eggs and almond extract.
Roll out the dough on floured surface. Cut with 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter or cut manually a cylinder shape dough using a knife.
Placed on greased cookie sheet and place an almond in center of each cookie.
Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 30 - 35 cookies.

The air was filled with joy and laughter with the smell of almond.

T issue C ulture E xam!!

Myoblast,myotubes, myofibers, blastocyst, fibroblast, transplantation, dystrophin gene, mdx transgenic mice, transdifferentiation, MTT, adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, X-inactivation, plasticity, .......................and the list goes on!