Two for Tea

 

Two scrumptious cream puffs for tea today bought from a wellknown patisserie in town.  They were oozing with fresh cream and each bite was heavenly!  

Here's what I found from the net about the origins of cream puffs:

Legend has it that cream puffs were invented by a French chef named Pantanelli during the 16th century reign of King Henry II. The story goes that Pantanelli was working in the kitchen of Catherine de’ Medici, the queen consort of France, when he accidentally created the first cream puff by adding too much flour to a pastry dough. Rather than discarding the dough, he baked it anyway and filled the resulting puff with a mixture of whipped cream and pastry cream. The cream puff was an instant hit, and it quickly became a popular dessert in France and beyond.

Alas, too much of a good thing is not good, so they say, so I shall have to be careful and watch what I eat in the future!

Meantime, viva la chou ala creme!

World of Birds

 

My front door leading to the garden is like a window to the world of birds.  Everyday as I sit in my armchair facing it, I see a variety of birds coming and going.  They seem to be using the fence separating my house from my neighbour's as a halfway stop for rest, sometimes as a toilet stop (!), sometimes just to take a look at what's new.  I've seen small sparrows, a black bird with a long tail that opens up into a fan with white trimming, small birds with yellow breasts, doves (grey and brown ones) and most wonderful of all, a large crow which is called the Greater Coucal or Crow Pheasant which is revered as a symbol of good fortune in India (my findings from some research).  It's twice the size of an ordinary crow and I've seen it on two occasions so far, maybe it's on its way back to India!

 Unfortunately I have not been quick enough to take photographs of any of the birds because they scare so easily. Here's a picture of the Crow Pheasant I got from the net.

This is my regular visitor whom I call "Lovey Dovey".  Sometimes he comes 
with his mate.

So friends, thanks so much for visiting me!  I look forward to your twittering everyday, though I can't understand a "word" of what you're saying!

Lunch Today

 

One of my favourites for lunch - Vegetarian Bento Box with veggie, "meat" rolls and curry.  Very convenient indeed for a quick bite!

Hurray for Milo

Nothing like sitting down to a hot cup of Milo to rest weary legs after shopping at the mall!

Healthy & Happy

 

Smile While You Still Have Teeth

I spent two gruelling hours at the dentist's yesterday.  An old tooth, half decayed, had to come out.  I had hoped and prayed that it would be a quick, clean extraction but it turned out to be a nightmare.   My dentist, a youngish man, assured me not to worry and that it would be over in a few minutes, but unfortunately that was not the case.  I squirmed in my chair as he nudged, pushed, poked and pulled until the offending and stubborn tooth finally came away in his hands.  It was an exhausting ordeal for both dentist and patient and if it hadn't been for the local anaesthesia, it would have been a very painful process.  I was sent home with some painkillers and cotton wool to stop the bleeding.  

When I looked in the mirror this morning, I was shocked to see that my right cheek was actually swollen - the result of many jabs of anaesthesia to kill the pain!  So now as I am writing this, I have one hand holding an ice pack to dab at my poor swollen cheek.  Gosh, I will have to wear a mask when I go out!  

Take good care of your teeth, everyone, they're more valuable than you may think - and don't forget to smile while you still have teeth!

Of Memories and Mussels

 

 Today I suddenly thought of my teen years when Pa and Mum took us to the beach over the weekends.  It was an outing we kids looked forward to.  It's been ages since I went to the beach now and I miss wriggling my toes in the sand, chasing the waves, climbing on half submerged rocks, taking little dips in the water and best of all, digging for mussels with Mum.  Sometimes we dug near the water's edge, sometimes in the dry sand.  Mum seemed to know the right spots and by the end of the day, we would have collected at least two pails of mussels for dinner!  Those days were great fun and I shall always have fond memories of them.