Headache

I had a headache in the morning when we all went to IKEA on saturday but it went away after a while. I was asymptomatic yesterday except for last night when my neck felt warm.

And today, my neck is no longer warm but i have a headache. So i couldn't study even though that was the plan for today since i don't have school today. I've been watching tv all morning. 'Fresh' has a longer segment, Yay! and it starts midday. Yummy cooking, although my head hurts so i just laid down in front of the tv. I have also been eating a lot of junk today. Biscuits and keropoks. I think its all part of trying to get rid of the pain but it probably has exacerbated it.

So, you're probably thinking, just take some panadol or aspirin right?! But i don't want to be dependent of drugs. I was previously. Chomping down panadol at the slightest headache/cold. I'll take some later if it doesn't get better. Tried sleeping earlier but didn't work. Hopefully will get better soon.

P.S: I took a couple of panadols just now after enduring the pain the whole day..

Banana and Choc Chip Muffins

Another monday morning. I've just showered and am now hungry coz i haven't eaten breakfast. Hopefully i won't have anything going today although my pblmate did say that we're supposed to have a make-up clinical coaching session with my previous cc tutor. But she hasn't contact me yet so i guess its not happening. I watched 'Ugly Betty' last night. I think that show is so over-rated. The cast too young, Daniel is too young to be running a company on his own, Betty thinks she's always right and the humour insulting (in everyway and everytime to Betty). I remember seeing the Mexican version of 'Betty' and it was fabulous and funny. But regardless of what i've just said, people should and would still wait in front of the television at 7.30 on sundays. Everyone else finds the show hilarious! Ok. enough said about that.

Yesterday, i made banana and choc chip muffins which was good but not as amazing as my pblmate's Coconut and Apricot muffins.

The recipe for the Banana and Choc Chip muffin is:

2 1/2 cups (375g) self-raising flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
3/4 cup (170g) sugar
1/2 cup (95g) choc chip, the more the better
1 cup milk
3/4 cup vergetable oil
1 egg
2 small bananas, mashed, add more for a better banana taste

Combine dry ingredients together.
Combine wet ingredient together.
Fold in dry and wet ingredients and place in party muffin cups.
Cook for 20 mins at 200*C.

Carrot, Pineapple, Coconut and Walnut Cake

Ah, the Ladies Lounge. A quiet corner of an otherwise rowdy public house. A comfortable, tasteful room for ladies of refinement, and perhaps their gentlemen friends. In the Ladies Lounge, they can relax and enjoy a cup of Earl Grey tea and a generous slice of Carrot, Pineapple, Coconut and Walnut Cake, perhaps even eating a second slice.

Pineapple, Carrot, Coconut and Walnut Cake, courtesy of the Favourite Recipes of Rotary Ladies of District 965 recipe book, circa 1986.

2 cups self-raising flour
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup well-drained crushed pineapple (from a tin- we prefer Golden Circle brand)

preheat oven to moderate - 180-200C or 375-400 F and grease a cake tin of about 8-10 inches

Sift flour, salt, bicarb and cinnnamon into a larg bowl. Stir in the sugar (I used caster, ymmv).
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the eggs, oil and vanilla essence.
Beat well with a wooden spoon.
Stir in carrots, walnuts, coconut and pineapple

Pour into greased cake tin and bake 45-50 minutes until cooked and a skewer in centre comes out clean (or almost clean, I like the middle just a tiny bit underdone). Leave in the tin 10 minutes after taking it from the oven.

You can ice this cake, and the Rotary Ladies recommend a vanilla cream cheese frosting, but with the cinnamon-y smell drifting all through the Ladies Lounge I never have the patience.

Eat the cake, sip your tea, rub your tummy.

Courtesy of http://ladieslounge.blogspot.com/2006/09/carrot-pineapple-coconut-and-walnut.html

Looks to be a simple recipe. Try it out. I haven't yet.

Back to school

Another monday afternoon. My week-long easter break has ended. It was uneventful, unproductive and all in all just a bloody good rest. I had a pathology tutorial in the morning which i neglected to attend because it was early and i just wanted to relax and take it slow as it is the first day of school. So i just went for my video recording session on 'breaking bad news'. I was nervous as hell but it was okay though i didn't manage to finish what i wanted to say as my time was up. Arrived back home, watched Oprah, Ready Steady Cook where my favourite chef; Alistair McCloud was there cooking up fabulous dishes such as spice-rubbed steak and french toast. Yum. And also watched ET where the latest goss seem to be the break-up of Prince William and Kate. They're young anyways. Its too soon to get engaged as they were rumoured to be. And if you've seen the gossip magazines, Will's usually drunk and on some girl's lap.

Tommorow is pbl day where we have to present our learning objectives for the week before easter break plus trudge through new triggers for this week. Hopefully it won't be too long. On wednesday, lectures and then Woohoo, autopsy observation thingy which for one thing, we don't know how to get to and second, was a disturbing event for some people. I'll just leave when it gets too gruesome and distressing and when i feel all nauseated. My clinical coaching is also on wednesday so i'll have to skip CC for the autopsy observation. Laters.

P.S: Happy Birthday to Adib! Wishing you all the best in your studies. Chai Yo!!

P.P.S: I am loving Avril's new single, Girlfriend and Mika's Lollipop right now. Have a listen.

Baking things

Its monday again. The second day of a new month. There were a lot of things i should have done/finished by the weekend that i didn't do. I've been instead watching dramas and videos online. Youtube is so addictive. I've just seen the 'sneezing panda' video which was cute and funny, funny to see the mama panda startled by her baby sneezing. Also see the 'pathetic baby panda'. So what's up with me? Easter hols is coming up next week. And i don't know what i'll be doing then. Hopefully something fun. But right after, i'm having the CCS video recording thing on 'Breaking bad news' which is hard and i don't really know how to do. Come on, we only had one CCS session for that and we're going to be assessed on it plus expected to be good at it. Its easier for those whose first language is English. I find it hard to communicate smoothly in the language. Writing is different. And to break bad news, i'll probably just blurt out stupid stuff.

I was on a brownie baking roll for a while trying out recipes. I've tried two and they both turned out great. One is Jamie's Brilliant Bloomin' Brownies which can be found on his website www.jamieoliver.com and the other is from 'Fresh', a cooking show here, which i'm sad to say no longer has my favourite and inspiring chef, Geoff Jansz there. But still the recipes are awesome and easy to do provided you have the ingredients. I'm currently baking muffins. I recently bought a 12 silicone muffin pan and a 6 silicone bear muffin pan which i imagine are the latest things on the market. The bear one is so kawaii. The only thing is that its hard to clean. I'll probably use some baking paper next time.. Til then.