A new year, a new beginning

Greetings everyone! I bet my absence was missed dearly by everyone *cheeky grin*. I’m currently back home in Penang. A lot has happened since I last wrote. A lot of obstacles were thrown my way but with HIS grace and with constant support from my family and close friends everything seems to be going smoothly now. The good news is, I got through my finals!!!! WOHOO.After all the hard work, 1000s of cumulative calories and a few mental blocks along the way, I made it: D.

On another note, my one and only beloved sister is finally getting married!! And please do not ask me when I am going to get married. I’m no where near. Applicants are most welcome though.

I’ve been vegetarian for the past 1 month in conjunction with Thaipusam. Personally, I really enjoy being vegetarian back home. There’s so much variety here and you can get vegetarian versions of all your favourite local cuisines. But I do have to admit I can’t wait to set out to all my favourite hawker joints here in Penang. I’ve had quite a few requests to compose a list of all my favourite food joints here and i’ll try my best to make a list for all my loyal readers before I return to dear ol’Adelaide. So fear not dear friends, the next time you are faced with the conundrum of where to eat, you know where to come.

Now let me share with you my unforgettable New Year’s Eve sleep over with 2 of my best friends, Jas and LF. I’ve known these girls since standard 1. Yes, I’m serious! We’ve been friends for the past 16 years. You can do the math to find out how old I really am if you really want to :P We’ve been studying in different continents for many years and finally were in the same place at the same time.

We decided to have a small social gathering at home to span the transition of the year at midnight and decided to steer clear of all the overcrowded places. The day started off by going grocery shopping. I just get so excited going grocery shopping. We wanted everything to be simple that night and here’s our menu

Entrée

Stuffed mushrooms
Sausage rolls & tofu rolls for me

Mains
Vegetarian pizza

Dessert
Mars bar slice

I got my stuffed mushroom recipe from Dharm! Thanx Dharm for the lovely recipe. Your ever so reliable recipes always come in handy! The mushrooms were a big hit. You can get the recipe here. The major problem I had was finding the mushrooms here in Penang. But I finally did from Cold Storage in Island Plaza.

As for the pizza, all I can say is nothing can beat homemade pizzas! The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

2 tsp dried yeast

1 tsp sugar

¾ cup hot water

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 cups flour

Filling

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 onion

1 capsicum

1 can button mushrooms

Grated mozzarella cheese

Grated parmesan cheese

Italian mix herbs+ oregano

Method

1. Add dried yeast + sugar in blood hot water.Mix thoroughly and leave until bubbles appear(~ 10-15 mins)
2. Mix vegetable oil + yeast mixture to flour. Knead and leave for about 1 ½ hours. Dough should be roughly twice the initial size.
3. Spread tomato puree on base followed by whatever filling you desire.
4. Bake till cheese is melted and crust turns golden.

Being vegetarian , we had non-alcoholic sparkling apple juice to spice up the final seconds of the year, and celebrate the beginning of a new year full of hopes, challenges, changes and dreams.


Happy New Year everybody! Put the past behind and start fresh!

Another fresh new year is here,
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest..
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best.

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

~William Arthur Ward~