Planet Cake

I invested in a new book!



Let's see if i have the time to actually learn more cake decorating skills.

The best I have done (together with Criss) by far is:
Shawn's ARMY (pandan fudge cake with shredded coconut) birthday cake 2008!


Think i can do a better work of art next time, esp with this new book? I wonder...

Cher-Mel's Delights!

In the past month, some of the more interesting dishes that Cheryl and I have made include...

(my first time making) Watercress pork rib soup with dumplings and noodles, with cut dried chili and soya sauce (dried chilli, because the fresh chili here is SOO expensive. $1 for 2 big red chillis can you believe it??!);


Grilled sandwiches with balsamic vinegar caramelised onions (NOT WORMS), roasted zuchinni and eggplant, and leftover teriyaki chicken (interesting zuchinni that i've never really used before);



(again my first time making. never knew it could be so simple!) 卢猪脚 with taupok, shitake mushrooms, black fungus and whole eggs, with porridge made using pork soup stock.


Red wine steak with shitake mushroom, accompanied with roasted potatoes with herbs, zuchinnis and eggplants, simple salad of lettuce and tomatoes (cos I quote Cheryl: Eat more Veggies!). We cannot forget our latest investment! Coopers Ale BBQ sauce and Red wine & Garlic Mustard. YUMMM. I thought Smokey BBQ sauce was the best. Coopers Ale is even BETTTER! haha.


Limau Purut (Lime leaves) Chicken Curry with $2.20 gigantic Naan, and some pineapple on the side to counter the spice!


Sometimes we just invite a few friends over on a Sunday night for a simple 'bring your own dinner' dinner.


Other times we invite our running buddies to have a more luxurious breakfast to reward ourselves for keeping fit! This one was the best we've had yet (we usually DON'T eat so much): Pancakes with golden syrup (or the honey that Cheryl takes instead), with strawberries, rock melon, bananas. Then cereal with yoghurt and milk. And tea of our choice! HAHA. Very good for students like us who need alot of energy to study.


And who can forget DESSERTS???

There was banana chocolate chip muffin. Because bananas are so cheap now! $0.70 per kg! (even though i still prefer my 'ang ba jio' and 'kim jio' best. the ones here are like starchier Del Monte bananas. not that great.)


Also, tried making a healthier version of 'Orh Nee', or yam paste dessert (and cheaper too, cos we used half white yam and half purple yam. the purple one was cheaper even though we found out that it wasn't so tasty) for a simple Fund Raising for OCF Easter Camp 2009! I think it's too healthy to satisfy my picky palate. Need to learn how to make the real deal. Anyone has a good recipe?


And Fresh Carrot Cake that told a story!

We thought 9 looked better than 10. But we just couldn't squeeze them all in 9 muffin cups.
So as we were waiting for them to cool before we could put the cream cheese icing, I decided we could take 'artistic' shots of them. (Was soooo hungry by the time we baked them, that I just had to busy myself with something, if not i would have just started eating without the cream cheese! Cheryl refused to let me start eating before it was all finished.)
Pictures were always with that 1 extra muffin at the corner. Haha.. Outcast muffin!

In different shapes...

even some for our names... (We have even been branded by our friends as 'Cher-Mel' for all our fantastic food!)

and more interesting ones... rainbow with smiley face (cos a rainbow is a reminder for God never to flood the Earth to destroy all life ever again. :) )

And... finally this one represents Unit 61!!! Without any outcasts... None in our unit! :)

When they were FINALLY cooled and creamed,

We all loved it! Including our 2 U.K. housemates! :)

More coming up... Stay tuned... *grins*

(Let x be my weight in kg at time of arrival in Adelaide on the 20th Feb 2009. Current weight is now x-3kg. Must keep running!)

More studying..

Finished studying for Jap test! :)
2 more weeks of lectures to go...
Meanwhile, i'm very distracted. I shall post pictures of what we've been cooking for the past month. :)
Drool!

Cooking is her passion, and mine too!

Was supposed to finish studying for my Jap test today, but Chin Ting called me and Andrew out for lunch, and we had so much fun talking, and cooking simple dishes, including dessert as we eat. :)

I should have brought my camera along...

Anyway, finished making my jap notes after Hall and Village Path party, and learning how to make 盒子　(like a giant 锅贴) from my Chinese housemate. But spent the rest of the time reading a blog she introduced me to. All the way till past midnight. Can you believe it? haha.

Check it out. It's FANTASTIC. Feel slightly jealous, and tempted to go learn from NotterSchool of Pastry Arts in Orlando; FL too. Meanwhile, i know i'm in the right place studying.. and i'll just keep cooking and baking DELICIOUS stuff with Cheryl!

http://cookingismypassion.blogspot.com/

I really should post up pictures of everything we've been whipping up so far... :)

Printer.......died

My Epson Stylus C63 Printer has given up on me... :(

The helpdesk says it's a mechanical problem and will cost $100+ to fix. So i might as well get a new one. Cos printers here are so cheap. Cheryl offers to share her newly bought colour inkjet with me... But still, I'm very sad............ So many extra cartridges now... :(

:(

To the tests!

YES! Finally finished my 750 word exegesis assignment!!!!! Perfect word count of 750. No more no less. WOO.

I can Finally go back to studying. 2 tests coming up. Hiragana and Katagana. I'm aiming full marks.

がんばって　ください！ (Gambatte Kudasei!)

Church at home?

Just felt like i had to have 'church service' at home today. Was reading and talking to him... and then.

Amazingly, my housemate came up to me.. and sought some advice for problems that has been going on. She wanted to do something quite drastic to solve it. But i managed to offer her... well, 2 solutions with biblical basis.

I guess there's prob 101 problems that we can solve with 1001 solutions. But whether we follow the biblical patterns that God already told us a long long time ago. I can only try my best to be a peacemaker. Blessed are the peacemakers because they shall be called sons of God.

Honestly admitted to her that i have been affected by criticisms of her prior to me getting to know her for myself. I'm glad she feels comfortable with me now and is thankful for my very alternative solutions compared to all her other friends.

I hope things work out well for her, and that she can one day decide to follow Christ too. Cos like after every paragraph of what i say to her, i tell her the reasons why i say what i say. And those are biblical patterns.

Anyway, 2 weeks ago, Anna commented that Unit 61 (my house) is the 'Church of Melissa'. HAHA. Gosh. What the... At first i thought it was ridiculous, but after a while.. i realised. Why not? Not the name... but whoever steps in, it should be an opportunity, a God time... haha. Perhaps, not my church la. The focus should just be on God. Perhaps Melissa allowing God to do church or something like tt... But church here sounds cool. :)

Leadership Training

Had 2nd session of 'The Leadership Huddle'. I think this has been the best leadership training i've ever had so far, compliments to Raymond Lim of OCF. Very inspiring, very biblical, very practical.

Discussed the relevance, the uniqueness, and the needs of OCF in Australia.
And i guess this is really the foundation of OCF itself. An organization that God has comissioned, and cannot be replaced. A work that uses ppl who are called, not just volunteers.

Uniqueness:
Non-denominational, para-church organization, run by (mainly, or at least we have the independence) by international students for international students

Relevence:
Support group on campus, something that many churches find it very difficult to do
Group not bounded by the church's control, but still requiring their support. A different part of the universal body of Christ.

Needs:
Problem of scarcity, esp when our priorities are actually -
1. Being a Christian 2. Being a child/parent(family member) 3. Being a student 4. Being an OCFer
and also the circumstances around our scarcity... We just can't do as much as we hope we can do.

Of cos, there's also the need of accountability (VERY impt), generational thinking, relevence to the culture of students, & strong leadership

Problem to this huge point about relevence is.. if we stop being relevent, there won't be any need for OCF anymore. Why not just let churches take over the student ministries?

As i ponder again about these points... somehow, there are so many dilemmas in my head. haha. Too many to share it all at once. Reaching out to the closest ppl around me is my first concern.. Here i can be so passionate about a work, yet i cannot seem to be able to reach out till i see the harvest. Till i know that someone is in the 'safe zone'. I know that it is the Holy Spirit that convicts. Yet somehow i just feel the pain when i think of the end, when everything else we have now doesn't matter anymore. Our fun, our school, our disputes... Only that personal relationship with God...

Anyway, just feeling moody tonight. And i'm trying to finish my assignment when i'm just not excited about it for tonight. So that's not good. So much to study too. Lagging behind in my understanding of lectures. I usually study and understand my work by the week (last yr).

I'm not very good at thinking, and i'm not very good at expressing myself. Perhaps i don't even really make sense. Anyway, i have a song that i think expresses part of what i feel for ppl i love dearly around me, but for now, i don't really know how to tell them that they need God. That without him we are like sheep without a shepherd, and we are not really 'surviving' without him, even though it feels like we are. If you get what i mean...

Perhaps a bit of what God feels about us sometimes? We all fail... Thank God for grace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2yLMpGPU8A

Come back to God... come back...

Perhaps i'll take some time off to spend with God in a nice quiet place beside the school lake tmr, instead of listening to a sermon...

wanna stay home...

I miss having more than enough time to study... :(

OCF Flinders Vision Night 2009

Whole week of planning for Vision Night, (with lotsa prayer and planning done already since last yr) and finally revealed on Friday the 13th! Phew. WAS SO NERVOUS. I had about 2 hours of time for the night. Can you imagine a 2 hr presentation for 40+ ppl?? Prepared bible study material for the theme verses for the BS leaders to lead the group, and managed to make it as interactive as possible by splitting everyone into 4 groups, and have quiz-like session to see whether they knew each other (lotsa new members) and also to test their knowledge of OCF. 1 of the bible study groups!

OCF Australia Vision:


Theme verses: Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

And presenting OCF Flinders' Vision 2009:



Nearing the end, my lappie went flat and i didn't bring the charger. Shucks. But i ran out of time anyway.. So i just used the whiteboard, and decided to think on the spot on how i can make do. Events could be emailed, new song could be taught next week, thank you gifts to committee still can be given out. But still, Praise God! It was well-received! Got positive feedback. That it was relaxed, good sharing, very interactive, fun! Hopefully, hearts were changed, or spurred or excited. Just for God!

When i walked from home to OCF before the session, it was one of the longest walk ever. Was so scared, and kept praying and praying and praying. Whatever i prepared wasn't gonna be of any use if God didn't speak through me... Gosh. Yet his yoke is supposed to be easy, and his burden is light. Still learning, still learning. Thank God for this opportunity to learn, to serve and to grow...

As i finished off the night with Marcellina's pizza supper with some OCFers, i just wondered how amazing and different a student initiated ministry is... Such different dynamics from a church, yet all from and for the same kingdom. How would i be sent back after these 4 yrs? How much would i have grown? How Christ like would i become? I know.. that if i didn't take that step of faith previously to even come here, to take up this responsibility to serve, i would never find out the biggest extent of how God can work in my life...Can't believe we can actually plan so much every week, every month, every year. It's crazy. Comm meet once a week, SA meet once a month, 2 camps, combined events, outings, prayer meets, leaders' training, leaders' workshops, life beyond uni workshops, AGM that lasts for 3 days/year, etc etc. And we're still trying to do more...

Just wanna thank lotsa ppl who helped build me up in YPM/COS previously. Coming to mind right now (in my tired tired mind) are Matt and Serene, who taught me how to plan events, to lead bible studies and care for others in Benjamin.... The amount they have invested have so much far-reaching effects to impact, that they themselves prob never even had a clue? (i remember how Siew Ho and I were quite irritated with all the planning just for outings. We just thought, it's just a simple bonding session ah. Why need to have so many objectives and budget and logistics.. blabla. haha. Now i know the true imptance. I have been well trained. The tough part of discipline was over, now it comes more naturally to me) May i become a disciple maker as well...



Anyway, random pictures courtesy of WoeiShyang. :)

OCF Orientation Collage i made! (Batt died before i could show it)