It looks like the only time we do our tag team baking is when we are doing apple pies – I’d do the filling and hubby would take care of the crust. The second time, we decided we should do a whole pie instead of mini tarts. It’s less work to have the dough in one pie pan compared to a dozen or so tart moulds.
Having learnt from the earlier effort, hubby patiently worked on the crust and it came out beautifully this second time. Needless to say, the filling was good too.
But sometimes things doesn’t go as planned. The latest third attempt failed because I got distracted by the washing machine and the filling got too mushy. And hubby’s dough wasn’t enough to cover the top of the pie despite following the same recipe as before.
I felt so unaccomplished after that so we’d have to bake another one again soon to get over the failure.
Well guess what? Our Movement Control Order (MCO) has been extended but with some modification from what it has been previously. This extension is until 9 June.
A week before Phase Four of the MCO ended, the government recalibrated the situation of the pandemic for the country with a Conditional MCO (CMCO). Basically this meant certain restrictions were relaxed but certain practices were still necessary especially social distancing, donning a mask and sanitizing.
The economy was opened albeit with conditions and we actually went back to the office last week, readjusting how to function with compliance to the conditions laid out. It’s weird to be back in the office after so long.
Other sectors opened too, like golf! We can go back to playing golf. Yay… but with conditions. Everything’s with conditions from now on and we have to get used to it.
I have stopped carving Whales for almost a month already for a couple of reasons. Number one reason being no more correct sized Meranti wood. However it’s not that I have zero wood supply anymore, it’s just that there’s a lot of odd-sized pieces. And it would be too tedious to trim to the size required.
Second reason being I wanted a change. With the 60th Whale (in total since the beginning) completed on 12 April, I felt like a factory, having carved a dozen of the same thing during the MCO (Movement Control Order) period.
So a week after Whale #60, I started on a new ginormous Gnome. But this totally new Gnome had a lot of ups and downs.
Plans to carve daily did not work out well as I had to juggle between cooking and design work. Throw in meal times and playing Homescapes, I simply did not have the luxury to sit down for a few uninterrupted hours to carve. And as work picked up too, this was far more important than all other activities. Hence progress on the piece was slow.
By the time I had the chance to sit and carve–and this would be by nightfall–I would be so tired mentally and physically, there’s no more energy left to even lift the carving knife.
Then there were errors and hiccups working on the piece. The initial outline on the big two-piece Meranti block looked okay with a slight tilt of the cap but when I got down to it, not only was I off, I managed to nick my finger without realizing. The Gnome ended up with a very obvious lop-sided cap and a slightly bloodied nose. Oops…
The cap turned out too lop-sided!Sweat and blood stains
It’s not only a totally new Gnome but a totally new challenge as well. I thought the Little Birdy was tough, this one was equally if not more. But I ploughed on because I don’t have the correct sized wood for Whales.
We thought the Snickerdoodle apple bread was oh-so-good but it has been superseded by the latest baking attempt.
The latest loaf, a herb white bread is simply heavenly. Hubby managed to buy bread flour at the last grocery run and this made the difference. All previous attempts were using all purpose flour.
I remember he mentioned that the temperature of the oven was important. While I did not pay attention to the details of the whole process, I managed to take some progress pictures.
The mixer at work and then the setting of the dough
Shaped and into the pan to set again
Rise of the Amazing Dough
It was an astonished but delighted moment when the pan came out from the oven. The five inch rise of the bread was very impressive.
I have to admit… the stand mixer was an excellent purchase as hubby has been using it. I have yet to use it though because I don’t really bake from scratch, only from pre-mixes in a box that don’t need a mixer. Heheheh…
The banana loaves and snickerdoodle apple breadThere were two batches of butter cookies
So far he’s baked three loaves of banana bread, butter cookies and a Snickerdoodle apple bread (this was oh-so-good!). There have been attempts too that did not require the stand mixer but just good old kneading and patience for the dough to rise.
All in all, the baking days have kept him busy for there have been many rainy days and he couldn’t go out to the garden. For M2 and me, it was many varieties to savor and I have been upping my exercise routine to counter all the intake.
I have never gone past seven weeks for a haircut but alas, it’s been nine weeks since my last haircut on 28 February! With the MCO in place since 18 March, my hair has grown to become an awful length and mess. I cannot stand it. Ugh!
One day I decided to tie the front of my mop to be what we affectionately call a ‘coconut tree’. One day during our daily video call with M1, who’s doing good in the US, she decided to make fun of my new hairdo. See what happens when getting a haircut is not an option?
😂😅
I think the first thing I’d like to do when the MCO is lifted is to get the mop fixed. I can’t wait…
It was supposed to end today, the third phase of our Movement Control Order (MCO) but no… the government has decided to extend it again. Another two weeks from tomorrow until 12 May for Phase Four.
Well, we have gotten so used to staying home, being in partial lockdown for six weeks already, what’s another two weeks, right? We’ll just continue with our home routine. No problem.
The home routine revolves around food – what to cook, what to bake, when to cook, when to eat because these activities are the highlight of each day while house chores are definitely not. We can skip sweeping or mopping the floors but we certainly can’t skip a meal.
Two weekends ago, I decided to buy a stand mixer from my regular online shopping site. This is one kitchen appliance I don’t have because I’ve never had a use for it before so the thought of owning one never came about. But now, it’s a much needed appliance since hubby’s baking so much.
Since we cannot go to the stores to shop, online shopping was the way to go and the box arrived a week later. Never have I been so excited by a kitchen appliance before, what more a stand mixer! Little things in life now thrills.
It’s a timely purchase because with the MCO Phase 4 in place, our baking endeavors or should I say hubby’s is about to be more exciting. He can now try all those recipes that require intense mixing with the addition of a stand mixer now. Bring on those recipes!
2020 will forever be etched in stone as the year everyone looked forward to but now wants to forget – for the first half of the year that is. The Covid-19 pandemic has swept across the globe and has caused lives to be upended, events cancelled, routines disrupted and birthday celebrations postponed. Some people even want to reset the year, get a refund for the months lost and such.
For me, I can’t decide what I want but for sure, it’s the first time in my life I’m celebrating a quiet birthday at home, not outside or away. With the MCO in place, there’s no restaurant to go to nor a destination to visit for a getaway celebration.
It’s okay because…
I’m thankful for being healthy;
I’m thankful for my loved ones who are keeping safe;
I’m thankful for my friends who are keeping me sane;
I’m thankful for my hobbies and discoveries that are keeping me occupied, and
I’m thankful for technology for us to stay connected to be closer while staying apart.
Hubby is not pleased. The woodpecker squatting in the staghorn fern in front of the house has certainly made itself unwelcomed. He attacked another staghorn fern to make another home!
The first home in the staghorn must have become unsuitable or unlivable because of the peeling and holes in the shield fronds. So the Rufous Woodpecker must have decided to relocate.
The first home, riddled with holes and peeling
The second staghorn is a beautiful lush and dense pride of hubby’s, and the nasty woodpecker helped himself to it to make a second home. And in the process, damaged the beautiful plant. Grr…
The damage to the second staghorn
Hubby then decided to put a stop literally to this by plugging the entrance of the second hole on the staghorn with a stalk of cut-off plant. Let’s hope this works. We will have to monitor.
Towards the end of last week, I started doing jumping jacks. With all this baking and cooking at home, and having stopped the 16/8 diet, I have to do something to counter the intake. Hence, the jumping jack exercise.
We didn’t have a mixer and ten thousand whisks later to yield a sinful glass of Dalgona coffee
Hubby baked butter cookies. So sweet and buttery, how to resist?
I think it’s an ideal form of exercise without having to go out of the way to exercise. Honestly to even exercise, I feel lethargic just thinking about it! So I find other means to exercise like going up and down the stairs more often, walking more around the house and keeping busy with chores.
Team effort for a golden beer batter dinner! So good.
I even made dhal curry from scratch!
Fresh from the oven, hubby’s new hobby, baking.
Besides I find setting up to properly exercise not conducive when there are days I actually have some design work to do in between the daily cooking and cleaning. So doing jumping jacks has worked out well.
Each time I’d do a set of 50 and they don’t actually take up a lot of time. Spread out the routine and I find myself doing 300 jumping jacks each day!
I do feel good and less guilty. Why didn’t I think of this earlier?
Angieneering 
Remarks