The game of football.

Posted on July 12, 2006 by Mabel

I suppose the question people have been asking is this: Why in god’s name did Zizou do that?

Granted that he could have been provoked into it by Materazzi – he, after all, never had a very sterling, squeeky clean attitude on the grass. So it would have been hardly surprising if he indeed deserved that very painful headbutt to the chest.

Then again, there is Zizou, a French national hero, about to retire. He should have known better than to end a career in this fashion, we say. Some see him as the one who is rarely given to sudden bursts of violence on the playing field but others would disagree. “Zizou has a history of violent reactions.” “He has a temper.”

People start to find fault without looking at the heart of the matter.

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Betta care: Food

Posted on July 8, 2006 by Mabel

Bettas, especially CTs like Le Bleu, require a little bit more care in terms of water and food. (Well, actually water is more important than the food but it doesn’t mean you just scrimp on it either.)

While it is preferable that bettas get live food as often as possible, freeze dried (FD) is probably the next best thing (top on the list are frozen foods). Unless of course, you prefer to make your own food cultures and what-not. Bear in mind, breeders actually do this BUT I wasn’t referring to bettas you intend to use for spawning/breeding.

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Viva La France!

Posted on July 6, 2006 by Mabel

So here they are again after eight years. In the Finals against the Azzuris – L’Italie – after beating Portugal with a goal.

This should be an exciting game. As usual, I’m not holding my breath; I think it makes the results a little less devastating or sweeter if either were to win.

Hm.

Now the next big question is this: Should I stay up to watch the finals?

Le Bleu

Posted on July 5, 2006 by Mabel

Thought I’d share some update pics of Le Bleu since I got him almost three weeks ago.

He’s a healthy little bugger who loves bloodworms, flares a lot and blows bubblenests a day or two after his water change. I’m thinking of getting him a bigger tank but we’ll see how it goes.

(Note: Of lately, his rays have been thinning. So it’s back to some tender loving care with some Indian Almond Leaf.)

I am tempted to get some guppies but the huge problem is this: they tend to breed like bunnies. Gah.

Fudge banana brownies

Posted on July 2, 2006 by Mabel

Note: Dad thinks I’ve gone bonkers. He’s worried that we won’t be able to finish the cakes. No worries. Bet with you that if I take the two pans of Orange Cheesecake and this one to the office, it’ll be gone in no time.

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France v Brazil: 1-0

Posted on July 2, 2006 by Mabel

OHMIGOD.

I was rooting for the underdogs with the awful thought that they might lose to the Samba kings BUT I was pleasantly surprised this morning.

O_O

Talk about shocking.

(This World Cup has definitely been surprising, to say the least. On one hand, England has been knocked out by the Portugese and Germany has gone on to the semis.)

Lets see how Le Bleus will do – they weren’t really hoping to get this far but if they can make it to the finals, it’ll be 1998 all over again but this time with a different twist to things.

Orange Cheesecake

Posted on July 1, 2006 by Mabel

Orange Cheesecake

250 g digestive biscuits (actually you can use 200 g of biscuits and 50 g of cornflakes)
140 g butter (salted or otherwise)
500 g cream cheese (cubed first before mixing)
300 ml whipped cream or regular cream
Orange rind from 1 Valencia Sunkist orange
Orange juice from 1 navel orange and half of a Valencia Sunkist orange
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 water
1 tablespoon gelatin (unflavoured)
2 teaspoon brandy/cooking wine/orange liqueur

What to do:

Finely crushed biscuits, add melted butter and press into a 8 inch pan (or any pan of your choice). I used a shallow pan because I don’t like to have too much cheese in my cheesecakes and thus, ended up with two pans of cakes.

Refrigerate until base becomes hard.

Beat whipped cream until soft peaks form. I’d suggest this AFTER you are done with your cream cheese and such. I did it first and my whipped cream started bleeding (I got a bit of water coming out of my cream – normal if you let it sit after beating).

Beat cream cheese, rind, juice, and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the batter looks smooth and creamy. I added a bit (maybe a quater) of the orange pulp while squeezing out the juice. I think it gives the filling a little bit of colour and texture.

Fold in cream until it’s well mixed.

Add gelatin to the water (make sure that the water is boiled) and stir until it dissolves. Leave aside to cool. This can be done while you are busy making the cream cheese mix.

Spoon in brandy/cooking wine/liqueur and add gelatin. Mix well.

Pour into the pan and refrigerate for at least six hours. Overnight is best.

When serving, use anything you wish as a garnish. I plan to use sliced oranges.

The original recipe called for less orange juice and more liqueur but I sort of felt that it could be a bit tad over-powering. Parents had a go tasting the filling and found it orangey enough to be passed off as an orange cheesecake.

The gelatine bit worries me. My previous attempts at making cheesecake involved baking so I’m rather unfamiliar with this product. Hopefully, it’ll turn out just fine – am planning to check on it tonight.

It was a little chaotic in the kitchen while I was beating the cream and making the filling. Hence the lack of pictures during that process. So, unless you’re a pro, have everything prepared before you start mixing stuff except for the orange juice which has to be squeezed out fresh (like with all fruit juices that you intend to use in cake-making recipes). Same thing with the rind.

[EDIT: On a side note, I ought to get a springform pan - just took a look at the cake and while it looks kinda cute, the cake when removed from baking paper has this "homemade" look to it. Gah.]

Ah…baking…now if only Nil was here to finish off the leftover filling. ^.^