Turning the big 60

Last Sunday, Anita celebrated 60 years of being an Earth citizen - or Erdenbürger as what they call it here. Isn´t that cool? Earth citizen. After 3 days of intensive spiritual food, we were treated to a LOT of physical food.  We had brunch at 10am, which consisted of a wide assortment of bread, ham, salmon, fish as well as warm appetizers like those above. I believe they were Feta cheese and some delicious baked pastry.

2 hours later, we had lunch - Meat galore! We had a few types of meat, like turkey, beef, ham and cheese etc in 3 difference sauces; Mushroom, beef and some tomato Mediterranean sauce.

Look at the amount of presents Anita got!

This present has got to be the most creative present one! A 2-million dollar present! Remember what I said about Germans being super creative? This is why!

The superb dessert! Chocolate / Vanilla mousse....

All the guests....some ladies were sweet enough to recite a poem for Anita, who was moved to tears.

The beautiful room with a great view of a snow-coloured football field. You can tell the difference between Western table arrangement and Asian eh?















Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Anita! :) Du bist die beste Schwiegermutter der Welt! Ich bin Gott so dankbar, dass Er mir so eine tolle Schatz als Schwiegermutter schenkt! Wir hoffen, dass du dein Geschenk von uns magst und dass Gott dich offenbart, wie viel Er dich liebt! :)

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag auch Werner! :) Danke, dass mein Superhero bist! - Wenn du mich immer wieder von verschiedenen Notfällen rettest! Gott liebt dich und wir auch! Gönnt dir was Gutes mit deinem Geschenk!

(Can you guess what I said?)

Like water to a thirsty (wo)man.....

Source: here

We´ve been relatively busy since last Thursday.

Bayless Conley, a well-known, American Tele-evangelist came to Germany and preached at our church over 3 days during our annual leaders´summit.

It was nothing short of AWESOME! I really looked forward to every session.

Actually, I´m quite sad now that its over! I could imagine life consisting of just going from one sermon to the next. Every word he said was like water in a desert. I drank up every drop of wisdom, truth and revelation explained with such clear clarity and passion.

This guy might be an evangelist, but he´s sooo deep in the word too. He weaved poetry from "typical Bible stories". For those who know the Bible, he used the story of Hezekiah - a righteous king who fell sick and pleaded with God to extend his life, to talk about sharing Christ and leaving a legacy for the next generation.

This story is commonly used to talk about how God heals diseases but so many nuggets of hidden truth can be found if one would but dig hard enough. And Bayless did. I just happily reaped the rewards of his labour. Of course self-found truth is always the best, like how home-cooked food always taste better than those served to us in restaurants, I´m inspired by Bayless to dig deep into the word.

And his stories. Oh man. His stories. He is such an awesome story-teller! I can picture him as a father, tucking his children into bed by telling them one Bible escapade after the next and his children being fixated to the storyline and clutching their blankets at every twist and turn as the plot unfolds.

There were 1,000 leaders all over Germany who attended the conference. And all of us (or should I rather speak for myself) were so entralled by the story of the Bible. It was like the book became alive! No longer was the Bible merely a lifeless, historical book with stories passed from one generation to the next.

On the contrary, it is like a Hollywood Blockbuster that spanned generations - An epic movie. A classic. An oscar-winning production. Directed by none other than God Himself and starring every single person who chooses to place his / her life under His creative expertise. Each unique life - a golden thread in His tapestry.

During the conference, I had to remember why I reminisice my YWAM days with such fondness. That´s because we were immersed day-after-day, hour-after-hour in the word of God - In truth, in stories written in heaven but played on earth, in miracles, in the supernatural and everyday events of life.

And these stories awaken something in my heart that tells me this is how life is meant to be lived! Like what Bayless said, people need to be caught up in a cause bigger than themselves. And this cause can only be fulfilled by God because He was the one who placed a God-shaped vacuum in the fabric of our beings in the first place.

Like how one director produces different films with different genre and themes. No matter how different these films are or when they were produced, the style of the master is so evident that one never fails to recognize who the director was.

God stories are so crazily different from one person to the next that my spirit of adventure is always desiring for more. The more I´m told, the more I desire to be told. I see the hand of God at work in peoples´ lives and I so desire to have that for myself.

I guess you can tell how much I really loved it! There were 3 sermons by Him altogether. I shall take my time to absorb what I´ve been taught and will endeavour to summarize them into bite-sized portions so that you can benefit from them too.

The tales of ordinary people, both in the past and present, who serve an extraordinary God.

Speak English

Two words. Oh no!!!!

If you know anybody who needs to practise his / her English, please refer that person to me. I would be more than delighted to offer my services.

PS# On second thoughts, I have to admire this guy for practising what he preaches. He said something in the lines of "English should be the official business language and everybody should be capable of speaking this language".

Black Pepper Crabs

I decided to try cooking crabs since I love this seafood and didn´t want to wait until my annual trip to Singapore to savor this delicacy. Of course Sri Lankan crabs aren´t available here, but frozen crabs are a good substitute.

This was my first time cooking crabs so I had no idea what type of crab to buy (frozen crabs all look the same) and I wasn´t sure how long I can cook them.

I must say that other than the fact that this crab didn´t have any claws **bummer**, the crab meat was surprisingly succulent and firm! I wish I added more pepper and that I didn´t cook the spices too long because they were no longer edible with their burnt aftertaste. The crab however was flavored well-enough by the seasoning though.

Other than that, I´m pretty happy with my first attempt and am so going to buy another type of crab next week to try again! heehee.

The hubby had a hard time trying to eat the crab and he was complaining about the amount of the work needed to shell the crab relative to the amount of meat you get. I had to silence him by telling him that Fondue has the exact same problem - you wait forever to eat a bit of meat. He was at a lost for words. The next time, I should get myself a nutcracker too! .

Black Pepper Crab

- 1 bag of frozen crabs (about 750 grams)

- Cooking Oil

- 1 tbsp Butter

- 2 shallots, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 tablespoon salted soya beans, mashed

- 1 tablespoons dried prawns, softened and ground

- A lot of whole black pepper, ground coarsely

- Handful of curry leaves

- 2 tablespoons black soya sauce

- 2 tablespoons sugar

- 1 tablespoons oyster sauce

1) Wash the crabs under running water and clean them. Frozen crabs are usually clean though.

2) Smash the claws with a cleaver to allow the seasonings in. I didn´t have claws, so I skipped this step.

3) Deep fry the crab without closing the lid. This would cause the crab meat to steam instead of being fried. You want it in whole chunks, not soft pieces that break apart easily. Set aside.

4) Heat a wok, melt butter and put in shallots, garlic, salted soy beans, dried prawns, black pepper, curry leaves.

5) Saute till fragrant, then add crab, black soya sauce, sugar and oyster sauce.

6) Stir-fry for about 5 minutes just to coat the crab with the seasoning. Pay attention not to burn it.

7) Serve with rice and / or a vegetable dish. I used Kang Kong.

Adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Fellow countrymen

Last Saturday we met up with 2 new Singaporean friends. As mentioned before, they are friends of a friend of mine.

Like any first-time meeting, you don´t really know what to expect. But I figured, if they are Serene´s friends, they should be pretty interesting to meet.

And I sure wasn´t wrong about that! Both of them have been living in Paris, one for more than a decade and the other for about 2 years. Both had amazing stories to tell about how they landed up in Paris and their love for all things French. Its so fascinating to talk about culture differences, societal and spiritual issues and gain such a fresh new perspective from my fellow countrymen halfway across the world.

We shared our personal experiences and struggles of living overseas - ie. The difficulties in finding a job / good job, bureaucratic red tape at the immigration offices, being on your own, having to be independent when you´re far away from a government that spoon-feeds you from your education to securing your jobs for you (Singapore), discrimination (minimal but does exist) etc.

Dinner was at a German restaurant, Ratskeller and adjourned to the bar at their hotel for drinks. They had free drink vouchers which had to be "redeemed" before they left. I really enjoyed speaking my Singlish and listening to their "God stories". As they say, when you meet other Singaporeans overseas, its like a home away from home.

I lured them to come back by telling them about the famous outlet store, Mettzingen where one gets brands like Hugo Boss, Burberry, Polo Ralph Lauren... you get the picture. And yup, we now have more friends to meet up with when we visit Paris!

The interior of their hotel room. The bathroom light turns red at the beginning before changing to a more decent yellow colour. What´s distinctive about this room is its height. The hotel was refurbished from an old building so the high ceilings give it a very old-school feel. A 4* hotel, 5 mins from the city centre - The Arcotel Hotel.

The hotel bar where we slurped cocktail and talked into the wee hours of the night, before being "kicked out" by the barman.

Salmon and scallop pasta

Met up with Serene´s friends from Paris yesterday. Gone are the days when you get to know people face-to-face. Now most things happen online! We had an Email introduction, when Serene informed me that her friends would be coming to Stuttgart and we were delighted to meet up with them for dinner.  Bl-ore (blog + more) about that later!

I saw some scallops at the supermarket while bringing them around and couldn´t resist buying some since they taste awesome!

This time, I decided to pan-fry it for about 1.5 mins on each side and they turned out perfect! Cooked and firm on the outside and yet still soft and palatable on the inside, tearing apart easily when one lightly bites on them.

Tried searching for pasta recipes with both salmon and scallop, but didn´t find any that I liked. So I decided to cook them my style. Lots of garlic, onion and chilli! hahah.

Salmon and Scallop pasta

- 1 Salmon, cut into bite-sized pieces

- 200 grams Scallops

- 200 grams Spinach Pasta

- Lots of garlic, chopped

- 1 Onion, chopped

- 1 Thai red Chilli, chopped

- Olive oil

- Freshly-grated Parmasan Cheese

- Salt / Soya sauce, pepper

- Lemon juice freshly-squeezed from 1/2 a lemon











1) Cook the pasta as per normal, drain and set aside.

2) Pan-fry the scallops for 1.5 mins on each side. Set aside.

3) Using the same pan, fry the garlic, onion and red chilli with lots of olive oil

4) Add the salmon and fry it until cooked. Remove the salmon and set aside (so that it doesn´t break into bits)

5) Add the pasta and stir-fry it for 2-3 mins.

6) Add freshly-grated paramesan cheese and stir until it melts.

7) Season with salt, pepper

8) Return salmon and scallops to the pasta to warm them.

9) Squeeze the lemon juice over the pasta

10) Serve warm

Prayer for You

"Just wanted to tell everyone that I am so grateful to have life each day.

May today be all you need it to be.

May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight, and conquer all your fears.

May God manifest himself today in ways you have never experienced.

May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer, and your prayers be answered.

I pray that faith enters a new height for you;

I pray that your territory is enlarged.

I pray for peace, healing, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, true and undying love for God.

In Jesus Name Amen!"

I got this from my email and thought it was soo meaningful so I decided to leave it on my blog too....If this has touched your heart, go ahead and pray and bless others! Copy and paste it on your blog.....

A walk in the park

That´s a frozen lake in the background btw.

There´s been so much snow lately that we decided that we had to go for snow walks! So last Saturday, we took the car and went for a drive to Rosenstein Park.  It´s just around the corner from where we live, but oh boy, there´s nothing like being in nature.

To breathe in the fresh, crisp winter air, soak your eyes in the beauty and serenity of pure,white snow and add to that the magic of being with your partner for life - total bliss.... We spent an hour just walking, talking, praying about issues on our hearts, hearing from God and letting Him refresh our hearts again.

After that, we went to the Königstraße to do..... shopping! Ok, so we shopped for household items like something to chop up vegetables, so that I don´t have to cry each time I cut an onion, plus many other stuff that we happened to come across. I can forget so easily that Stephan makes such a perfect shopping companion. As a matter of fact, shopping is one of our favourite pastimes together. He´s the type of guy who enjoys shopping and is not gay. He gives his opinion, is patient enough to wait and also enjoys looking for things for himself - that´s if he manages to drag me away from my womens´ department. haha.

However, being in Germany, we´re both somehow very price-conscious. I have this automatic setting in my brain about how Euro is double the Singapore dollar and I would be better off waiting to get it, if I can make a better deal halfway across the world. Stephan shops more in Singapore too funnily enough. I guess going to Singapore has the whole holiday feel to it, so we´re easily enticed to empty our wallets at the sight of "sale" on display.

Love how the white clouds cut distinct lines against the blue skies.

Ok, this isn´t the sunset. I photoshopped it so that the photo´s clearer

Love the poetic feel of this pix. The trees lining the winding pathway and a man walking through the seasons of life......

The dinosaur is there because the park is just next to the Museum of Natural History. Oh top right is a picture of the "dirty" snow that I was telling you about. They actually look nice on the photo, but trust me... they can get real, extremely dirty!

Left: Footprints in the snow, somewhat parallel to the poem entitled "footprints in the sand".

Love you sweetie! Can´t believe we´ll be celebrating our 4th year wedding anniversary next month! And that would also mark the 7th year of getting together!..... Can really say that I´ve married my handsome prince, laughing partner, cleaning-up helper and all-in-one best friend ! When things look gloomy, I just have to look at my hubby and know that God is good.

East-meets-West Pork chops

That was our dinner today.  A fusion of east-meets-West because I simply had no idea how to season my pork chops. But it tasted awesome! The hubby said that the Teriyaki sauce made this "western" dish taste foreign for his German taste buds, but he loved it! Rated it 10.5/10. I think the excellent rating is partially because I´ve been cooking Chinese meals the entire week and this is the first Western meal that he´s having! This meal is sooo simple and quick, definitely recommended for people who work!

Pris´ Pork Chops

- 700 grams pork chops (4 pieces)

- Fresh Mushrooms

- Potatoes

- Frozen vegetables (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)

- 4 cloves Garlic, chopped

- Garden herbs

1) Season the pork chops with Teriyaki Sauce. You can use the pre-made one, or make it yourself.

2) Peel and boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes.

3) Remove them from the water, slice them and place them in an oven-proof dish. Add olive oil, mixed herbs and some freshly-grated parmesan cheese

4) Place them in the grill oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes, until they develop a crispy outer crust

5) Once the potatoes are in, prepare the mushrooms. Slice them thinly and mix them with the garlic

6) Place the mushrooms in another oven-proof dish. Add olive oil and Italian herbs. Grill them together with the potatoes for 10-15mins.

7) While the potatoes and mushrooms are grilling, grill the pork chops on the stove. Not too long, about 1.5 minutes per side. Check if they are done, by slicing one piece and testing the consistency.

8) Take desired amount of frozen vegetables, place them on a plate and microwave them for about 5 mins.

9) Prepare the mushroom sauce. You can make your own sauce, or you can use the pre-packed one from Knorr. I opted for the latter, since they taste just as good and do not contain artificial flavouring.

10) When everything´s done, serve them on a nice plate.

11) They taste awesome with a glass of red wine and Italian Caprese as starters. :) Caprese recipe here.

Don´t you just love the black lines on the pork chops??? They make the whole meal look so mega appetizing!

Bladder Infection

Today started really terribly.

I had to make an emergency visit to the doctor, because I had to pee every 2-3mins since I woke up! I have never experienced anything like that! Immediately I realized that something was wrong and went online to check out my symptoms. Turns out, it sounded like Bladder infection or UTI - Urinary Tract Infection.

Called the doc at 11:30am and they gave me an appointment at 12noon. It was too late to take any public transportation, so I called Werner who drove me there. Oh boy, being able to make it to the doctor without (any accidents) was a miracle in itself! I had to spend 1 hour waiting for my turn and spent most of the time in the toilet! - where else? Doc says that it definitely looks like bladder infection and gave me some antibiotics and 2 days of leave from work.

I had to call my school to inform them that I can´t teach tomorrow. That was the other nightmare. This colleague (let´s call this person XY) insisted that someone brings the books to the school so that the next teacher can teach. I offered to bring the books to the company (which is 2 mins from where I live) and asked her to print out the teacher´s instructions so that my replacement would know what to teach. She refused, saying that everybody is busy.

And I was like, hey I can´t get out of the house and you can´t expect my husband to make the 20-30mins drive down to Stuttgart just to bring the books? And she was adamant about not helping.

That´s when I decided, if you want something done, you just got to do it yourself.

I called the replacement teacher, explained to him the situation and he was fine about my suggestion about me bringing the materials to the company and he would get the teaching instructions in school.

Then I called the school / receptionist, asked to speak the colleague who prepared my materials. Asked her to print another copy of the teacher´s instructions for my replacement. Explained which materials they are exactly.

Sent an email to XY to clarify everything, to which she just replied "Thanks".

OH boy, spend 1 hour fighting a fire at work, for which I didn´t even have to and for which I don´t get paid to do.

But you know what the cool thing is? My bladder infection has improved sooo much! I can hold it for an hour or so now....it feels like its back to normal, after just one tablet of my antibiotics. :) And thanks so much Werner for rescuing me again! So for the fact that my day started badly, it is just getting better.....

Snow chaos

My sweetie shoveling the snow. I lurve his grin on this photo!

In Germany, we have this thing called "Kehrwoche" when each neighbour takes turn to clean the pavement around the house, wipe the stairs,... you get the idea. We were "lucky" enough to have our turn of Kehrwoche last week and my sweetie had to shovel snow like 4 times in 2 days. I´m SOOooo happy that I didn´t have to do it! He woke up early on Saturday, wanting to go to the gym. However, after doing his Kehrwoche, he was too tired to do anymore vigorous exercises. And for me? I slept in...heeehee.

All the snow on our balcony!

The tree outside our house. This little boy is one of our neighbours. Stephan was being mischievous and threw some snow at him while he wasn´t watching. He was clueless at first and had no idea who did it. But when he found out, we almost ended up having snow thrown into our study room!.

Look at the massive amount of snow all around! You can barely see the plants underneath it! Even the car is half-covered by the heavy snowfall.

Coming from Singapore, I know that I should rejoice at the sight of snow. Afterall, my brother´s coming to Europe in May and he´s sole intention of coming is ??? You´ve guessed it. To see snow! Where on earth we´d go to see snow in May is another question. But yes, I grew up dreaming and wishing that someday I would live in a country with seasons AND snow.

Now, my dream has really come true! **Note to self: Be careful what you wish for!**

So why am I not all that exhilarated from it? Because of the flip side of the coin.

When the snow melts and mixes with dust / dirt, all you get is this lumpy, sluggy, clumpy black stuff that you have to squish squash through on the way to work / home / supermarket / basically everywhere you go. Plus this stuff sticks to your shoes and leaves a trail of black spots wherever you walk. Trains, buses and all forms of public transportation are so filthy on a snowy day.

Still, I´m thankful to God for this ability to experience snow where I´m living now. In the words of Joel Osteen, " Don´t look at what´s wrong, look at what´s right and thank God for it". I guess this is what it means to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths". Prov 3:5

Acknowledge - means to show or express appreciation or gratitude for.

So yes, Thank You dear Lord for snow in winter. Help me to appreciate it more in all its beauty and to get out for more walks in snow-covered fields!

Lobster pasta with shrimps

Don´t you think this photo looks straight out from a magazine cover?

I´m sooo proud of my latest creation! Lobster cream pasta!

Actually, I went ahead to buy a frozen lobster from the supermarket when I saw one the other day. It had been sitting in my freezer waiting for the right time when I felt inspired enough to cook it.

This is the first time I handled lobster in my kitchen and I must say that it was quite an experience! My beanie helped me with the cutting of course. And its is a LOT of shell and very little meat. The recipe calls for fresh lobsters, so that´s probably why my frozen, pre-cooked lobster didn´t quite make the cut, consistency-wise.

Still, it was a very good first attempt and the hubby rated this dish a 10/10. So here´s my recipe for this pasta! I would recommend that for frozen, pre-cooked lobster (like mine), one should remove the lobster meat while letting the shell simmer with the rest of the sauce.

Lobster cream pasta

• 1 large lobster (preferably fresh if not, frozen one will do)

• Some shrimps and fresh mushrooms

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 large onion, chopped / shallots

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• 4 fresh tomatoes - diced

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 teaspoons salt

• lots of ground black pepper

• 1 cup whipped cream (30% - 40% fat)

• Dash of white wine

• 220 grams pasta

• A handful of fresh herbs (I used a mixture of parsely, dill, basil, chives)

• Freshly-grated parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the lobster and cook for about 5 minutes, until bright red.

2. As soon as the lobster starts cooking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and 3 cloves of garlic. Do not let them brown.

3. Bring another pot of water to a boil and season with a little salt. Add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes, or until tender.

4. When the lobster comes out of the pot, place it on a cutting board and use a big knife to cut it in half lengthwise. Remove the meat from the shell and reserve any lobster juice. Fry the shells together with the onion and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes to the skillet and turn the heat up to high to bring to a boil. Add the shrimps, mushrooms, olive oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Cook, stirring constantly for 5 to 7 minutes.

6.Slowly pour in the whipped cream and lobster juice (if any), stirring constantly. The sauce will become a nice pink color. Use flour / corn starch / any thickening agent to thicken the sauce. I had some leftover cream cheese, so I used that. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the lobster meat back into the sauce. Keep warm, stirring occasionally until the pasta is done.

7. Add a dash of white wine and season with salt and pepper, according to how you like it. I added some ground chilli too.

8. Drain the spaghetti and place on a large serving plate. Pour the tomato sauce over the pasta. Discard the lobster shell / arrange them in the centre for decoration purposes.

9. Sprinkle all over with fresh herbs, fresh parmesan cheese and serve. Drizzle some fresh lemon juice over it to complete the taste.

Tip: I simmered my sauce for a longer time, so that the lobster taste would be absorbed into the sauce. I also added the prawn heads into the sauce, so that it tastes seafoody.

Recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lobster-Pasta/Detail.aspx

Ginger Chicken with mushrooms and coriander

This is such a comfort food! I remember that we used to have it on a weekly basis at home. Of course I never thought twice about it then, but its one of those "normal" dishes that really reminds you of home. Last night when I cooked it, it occurred to me that it must have been 6 years since I last ate it!

And of course I was delighted to see the hubby enjoying this dish too. Don´t expect him to relinquish every bite of it as much as I do, but he likes it enough for me to cook this meal anytime!

This dish is easy as pie and is definitely something that I will cook again! Thanks again Beaulotus for sharing your recipe with me!

Ginger Chicken with mushrooms and coriander
- 500 grams chicken fillet
- 1 shallot
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 huge piece of ginger, sliced into thin pieces
- 1 can of sliced mushrooms

Marinate:
- 2 tbsp Dark soya sauce
- 2 tbsp Light soya sauce
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tbsp Dry Sherry
- Salt and Pepper

1) Dice the chicken fillet and marinate it with the above sauces for a few hours or overnight.
2) Heat up some sesame oil in a non-stick pan
3) Fry the shallot, ginger and garlic till fragrant
4) Add in the marinated diced chicken and stir-fry for a minute or so.
5) Add in the mushrooms
6) Mix some corn starch in water and pour into the pan
7) Stir fry until sauce thickens.
8) Sprinkle some chopped chilli powder for a tinge of spicyness
9) Garnish with coriander and / or spring onions. Serve warm with jasmine rice

Cinnamon Rolls

Ok, I know Christmas is over but cinnamon rolls are an all-time favourite. Actually anything with cinnamon is always welcomed!

Can´t believe how easy it was to make them this time round. The last time I tried it, about 2 years ago, the flour was unmanageable and they didn´t look pretty at all (here).

This time round, I decided to do my research, compare recipes, read comments and finally ended up with this recipe, which is pretty straight-forward and easy. :)

Rolling and cutting the dough. Don´t the rolls look so fricking neat?

Placing them on a greased baking sheet

The finished product. And yup, they taste just as nice as they look.

Homemade cinnamon rolls

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk (40 - 43 degrees)

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast into warm milk set aside.

1/2 cup sugar

75 grms butter, melted

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

4 cups flour

In a large bowl, mix together sugar, butter, salt and eggs. Add dissolved yeast and milk mixture. Add flour and mix well.

Using a kneading machine, knead the dough until it is smooth. Continue by using your hands to knead the dough into a large ball. This will ensure maximum airyness of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 50cm x 40cm rectangle, approximately 1/2cm thick.

Left: Can´t wait to dig in! See that look of anticipation on my face?

Filling:

1 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

75 grms butter, softened (room temp)

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread softened butter evenly over surface of dough, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Working from the 50cm side, roll dough down to bottom edge.

Cut rolled dough into 12 slices. Place slices 6 at a time in a lightly greased baking pan. Cover and let rise until rolls double in size (about 30 min).

Bake at 205 degrees C, for 10 - 15 min or until light brown on top.

Icing:

115 grms butter, softened (room temp)

50 grms cream cheese

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

While the rolls bake combine all ingredients. Beat with mixer until fluffy. When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each generously with icing.

They taste awesome with our Nespresso Cappuccino!

Photography

When Belinda was here, she taught me a couple of functions on my camera and I must say that of all the new features I´ve found out of, the macro one has got to be the most interesting one!

You have to change your camera to "Manual" mode and select "Macro", which is the symbol of a flower. Then you´d have to zoom into the object and press the button, such that the focussing box appears. This is when you click and take your picture.

I have a Canon Ixus 90. Does anybody have any other interesting photography tips to share with me?

This has got to be my favourite!

This is not bad either

I like the colour of this one, though its not that sharp