Chocolate chip hazelnut cookies

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Mabel

Sweetness galore…seriously. But if you just want to settle for the smell of freshly baked cookies, this is just what you need!

Now, I found the recipe a bit tad sweet, although it would go very well with espresso or unsweetened black coffee, so I intend to cut down on the caster sugar bit the next time I make it. Nevertheless, it’s very airy and light due to the baking powder. For those of you Malaysians, this is so similar to those yummy Famous Amos cookies!!!!

Oh, if the center dips a little, don’t fret…some cookies are meant to do that when you pull them out of the oven and as they cool. Mine dipped quite a bit for some because I accidentally made the fork (used to flatten them) too wet.

Also, I love my cookies nutty so I used up all the chopped hazelnuts in the batter and sprinkled the top as well with more nuts! Less if you like more dough, more if you like…that crunch!

Chocolate chip hazelnut cookies

Ingredients
115g or 1 cup plain flour
5ml or 1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
75g or 1/3 cup butter
115g or 1 1/2 cup caster/fine white sugar*
50g or 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
5ml or 1 tsp vanilla essence
125g or 2/3 cup chocolate chips
50g or 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts**

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F. Grease 2 to 3 baking sheets. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl before putting it aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until it’s pale and light with an electric mixer. Beat in the egg and vanilla essence until well combined. Add in the flour gradually on low speed and mix well.

Stir in the chocolate chips and half of the hazelnuts, using a wooden spoon or spatula.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture on to the prepared baking sheets to form 2cm mounds. Space the cookies 2.5 to 5cm apart.

Flatten each cookie lightly with a wet fork and sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts on top of the cookies.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and leave to cool.

* I’d cut down on this since I find the cookies too sweet for my liking
** You can replace this with almonds, walnuts or cashews…it’s up to you!

Is it the right reason?

Posted on November 10, 2008 by Mabel

I have always wondered if that is an appropriate reason for adultery and betrayal. Too often, I hear the following being said to innocent hearts about the be broken…

“I/We had no choice; I am/we are in love.”

No, no, this has nothing to do with me and Nil. Just an observation from the forum – someone recently posted a thread talking about his few-month-old illicit affair with a newlywed (his client and a woman six years his senior). As to be expected, a lot of those who responded were married and therefore, didn’t look too kindly on this fellow, especially when he started justifying his actions to love and spark & chemistry, about how people deserve second chances, about how this is his first serious relationship (despite being in one with his girlfriend and having countless of exes in the past)…

It touched a nerve, I must admit.

From the start, I have never believed that people lack the ability to make decisions and choices in life. Yes, in general, people are limited to the few choices that life gives them BUT they still have the ability to choose. This young man, for example, had the choice to wait for this woman to obtain a divorce before engaging in an intimate relationship with her while she was still married to her husband. The woman had the choice to get married or not instead of just going ahead with the wedding. She had a choice to speak up and obtain a divorce instead of two-timing on her husband and giving the young man less of what he deserves.

On top of that, this woman is his client! Ohgosh, what does that speak of this man’s sense of professionalism and business ethics?

To be honest, when he started talking about how this was true love and all, I nearly fell backwards. True love in a few months and in the form of adultery, especially after I read the words “spark & chemistry”? That is not love. That is a dick and vagina talking. Now, I don’t profess to be a guru in true love BUT I know love involves time, experience and intimate knowledge of your partner and by intimate, I don’t mean sexually. I mean intimacy in the way of knowing the person’s feelings, insecurities and all…and more.

A fellow forumer implied that I was harsh with my observation and words. I guess if by being politely blunt, I was harsh, then so be it. I have no qualms about calling it what I see it to be – someone cheating on their partner and helping another person cheat on someone else. I have no respect for such individuals, to be frank. It reminds me too much of the past and some people I knew then.

Anyway, what annoyed me more than anything else was this man’s implication that what he was doing is right by all accounts…why? Because he is in love. He even quoted “love conquers all”!

*sigh*

I have seen families fall apart, hearts broken, lives changed…all supposedly in the name of love. If love had a voice, would it agree with these people?

Is love the right reason and justification for adultery and betrayal?

I think I shall go rest my feet lest I get the horrible Plantar Fasciitis problem (painful foot condition in the heel and arch area)…

Northern Indian food…

Posted on November 8, 2008 by Mabel

On the menu tonight, some Northern Indian food in the form of Fragrant Prawn Rice, or perhaps more commonly known as prawn briyani. Although a little time-consuming on the preparation side, this recipe is creamy and fragrant. Definitely a keeper!

So what’s on the menu tomorrow? I’m not too sure but chocolate chip & hazelnut cookies are on the list…

Spinning with a wheel…

Posted on November 7, 2008 by Mabel

Summer into Autumn
Ply | Single
Yardage | Approx 224 m/100 gms
WPI | 12
Fibre | My own handdyed merino roving
Tool | Spinning wheel [5:1 ratio]

I read somewhere that once you start spinning up fine singles, it can be hard to churn out bulky weight singles; on the spindle, this theory has been proven to be true. I can’t, to save my life, spin bulky singles on a spindle (perhaps it is the weight but even with my heaviest spindle, it ends up being laceweight and such). So needless to say, when the wheel arrived, I pulled out my first handdyed roving and decided to get some bulky action going on.

Of course, at first it was crazy trying to figure out how to get the fibre into the orifice and some action going but after googling and watching some videos on the Net, things started going smoothly…

A night later and after 24 hours of skeining, washing and drying action going on, the Summer into Autumn yarn is finally ready. It is safe to say that this yarn is considerably thicker than the others I have spun up with a spindle and it is still overtwisted – something which I’ll need to work on. But otherwise, it is a nice combination of even and thick-thin in some parts and suitably thick as well as long enough for a hat.

The colours were a surprise – I hadn’t anticipated the colour change and intensity – but still, it’s a good yarn.

Now while this was drying, I started working on one of my recent handdyed superwash merino. I know I started one on the spindle but I didn’t want to work half on a spindle and half on a wheel so I pulled out another colourway instead. As so far, it’s turning out beautifully. So beautifully that if it goes well, I might just use this for a handwoven scarf but we’ll see…

In the meantime, there is laundry, brunch/lunch and assignments like mesothelioma to put up with…

It finally came!

Posted on November 5, 2008 by Mabel

After three weeks of waiting (and technical errors with the supplier), my biggest birthday present – big enough to rival what I got from Nil – arrived!!!!

It’s an Ashford Traveller Single Drive and completely assembled already with four bobbins and an integrated lazy kate. I had to pull out my spinning reference book to check on a couple of things but otherwise, it’s all good to go for some practice session and in time, some good old-fashioned wheel spun yarn! A great addition for the store really…

The real people to thank for this awesome gift are my parents, actually. They sent over some money and I used a portion of it on this wheel. This baby is not huge at all…in fact, it’s about 45 cm wide and less than 20 cm deep. So, Mum & Dad, thanks heaps!!!!

I’ll have a contest soon for picking a name for this little baby. I just need to think of a prize (probably one of my handdyed yarns or rovings)! What do you guys think? Should I have a contest or not?

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A day in history

Posted on November 5, 2008 by Mabel

Nearly 50 years after giving his speech, “I Have A Dream”, Martin Luther King can probably rest at ease in his grave. His country have come a long way. From the time of the segregation to the last lynching of a black man in 1981, today is a defining moment in American history.

Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan economist and a white Kansas woman, will be inaugurated on January 20, 2009 as the 44th president and the first African-American black president of the United States.

A man raised in Indonesia and then Hawaii, Obama is a lawyer by training and clearly a passionate man throughout his presidency journey. Around the US, this man is a culmination and juxtaposition of the various cultures and beliefs of the country, and has chosen to focus more on changing the country than his ethnic/racial background.

Around the world, many people watch with bated breath as to who would rise as the next superpower leader – this is a change that goes beyond just the person’s race and name. This is a change that will see new trends in global world politics, foreign policies with regards to Iraq and naturally, a change that will have an impact on the current global economy…to say the least among many other things.

Indeed, Obama represents a country prepared for change, a country that is not afraid to embrace new beginnings.

Looking at the long road American has taken to reach to this stage, I wonder when too will be Malaysia’s turn? Are the people and the government ready to embrace a leader who is more about change than about his faith? Will we ever stop hearing the “race” card being played at every religion? Will the political parties realize that no matter what ethnic group we are from, we are Malaysians first above everything else?

I can only hope that while Americans can celebrate how far they and their country have come, Malaysians will take stock and learn from this journey of theirs…

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to work on some assignments (like this one I got about CLAs (stands for Conjugated Linoleic Acid))…

Going from 0 to nearly 40…

Posted on November 4, 2008 by Mabel

…that’s right. I went from zero to close to 40 sold items, 2.5 kilos of wool to 8.5 kilos, from three different items to almost 15…

The shop is over two months old and I’m amazed at how much it has grown. The journey hasn’t been easy – the competition, the slow sales (due to a global slowdown), criticisms & ideas from all sorts of people about the prices/photos/profit (what profit?), and sometimes just slow braindead days where I can’t seem to come up with any new colours or combos – but I’m glad I never gave up.

For more of this journey of mine, please check out the shop’s blog!

Hubby’s socks

Posted on November 3, 2008 by Mabel

With winter fast approaching, I thought I’d knit up some socks for Nil since he did mention that I never seem to knit up anything useful for him. He doesn’t think scarves are very useful…o’well…he doesn’t need them, actually. XD

Anyway, I’ve decided to work on these with one of my own Merino-Bamboo handdyes named Mountain Blue. It’s a two-coloured yarn and so far, it’s showing up as self-striping but I’m anxious to see how the colour blends on as I progress further up the foot length as well as cabling.

I’m actually loving the colourway – the bamboo gives it a soft heathery look and it’s still very masculine – and I plan on replicating this colourway for regular superwash sock yarns.

So yup, time to spin, spin and knit, knit!!!