Monday 15 January 2018

QUEEN VICTORIA'S BUTTERNUT SQUASH- FLAVOURED MUFFINS



Cherishing my own country of birth means yearning for appetising delicacies and flavoursome desserts. Last time I was craving for “Puto” (Steamed Rice Cake), the idea of creating my own version just suddenly came into my mind. Moreover, it was even more compelled and supplemented when I bought a whole Butternut Squash.

In cold months, the use of our kitchen oven in the cooking process offers extra warmth which keeps us very snug indoors and also, provides satisfying dishes. What a heavenly feeling to have both! That is why for the past months, I have preferred more the oven cooking process eventhough it takes extra time.

Main Ingredients:
  • Prepared Butternut Squash mixture
  • 3 tbsps. of Rice Powder (Ground Rice)
  • 2 tbsps. of Oat Flakes
  • ½ cup of Grated Cheese
  • 1 tsp. of Clear Honey
  • 1 medium-sized Egg; beaten
  • a pinch of Salt and Ground Spice
Butternut Squash Ingredients:
  • Half (Lengthwise) of Butternut Squash
  • ½ cup of Grated Cheese
  • a stalk of Spring Onion; diagonally cut
  • 2 tbsps. of Extra Virgin Oil
  • a pinch of Mixed Herbs
  • a dash of Ground Pepper
Butternut Squash Cooking Procedure:
  1. Wash very well the whole Butternut Squash, then dry it with a clean cloth.
  2. Place it on the chopping board and use a chef's knife to divide it into 2 halves. Keep the other half in the fridge for future use.
  3. Once divided, use a metal spoon to scoop off seeds and scrape out the stringy pulp.
  4. Preheat the oven to 190ºC under Bake Mode (electric).
  5. Turn over the butternut squash and make a few penetrating vertical lines (an inch) by simply stabbing it with a knife. Turn over it again and do the same (Be careful and avoid hitting your fingers). Set it aside for awhile.
  6. Roll-out a substantial sheet of foil or a length more than enough to envelope the butternut squash.
  7. Lay the butternut squash in the centre of the foil (pulp side facing you). Garnish it with grated cheese and spring onion followed by sprinkling of mixed herbs and ground pepper. Then, surge it with Extra Virgin Oil.
  8. Finally, seal it by twisting the open borders of the foil and just make sure that there are no open edges. If it is not totally sealed, it will decelerate the cooking process.
  9. In a baking tray, place the well sealed butternut squash and then, stick it in the preheated oven.
  10. Bake for 60 minutes but check after 40-minute to see if the pulp has softened. If it is, take it out of the oven entirely, then switch off the oven.
  11. Unseal the borders/edges of the foil and leave it to cool down for 15 minutes.
  12. When it has cooled off, use a metal spoon to scoop off the cooked fleshy pulp and place in a deep bowl. Avoid scraping off the outer skin, if possible. 
You now have a pre-cooked Butternut Squash and a bowl of fleshy pulp. The next final step await for you is easier and less complex. What a (butter) nutty!

Main Cooking Procedure:

  1. In a saucepan, combine the pre-cooked Butternut Squash fleshy pulp; rice powder (ground rice) and grated cheese. Mix all well.
  2. Make a well, then add the clear honey and beaten egg. Beat all well using an electric beater or a metal fork.
  3. Once well blended, add the remaining ingredients (salt and ground spice). Mix again until all well blended. Set it aside for awhile.
  4. Prepare your electric Food Steamer and fill the boiler pan/base with water up to its maximum water level. Set it aside for awhile.
  5. Prepare the steaming barrels/trays, then arrange in each tray loosely (half an inch apart) the silicone muffin cases.
  6. Mix again your prepared main mixture in the saucepan (Step 3), then use a metal spoon to fill-in each muffin case. Make sure to distribute evenly the mixture into the muffin cases. 
  7. Cover, turn on the food steamer and set its timer at 45 minutes. In 30-minute time, test for its consistency by inserting a toothpick into a muffin and if it comes out clean, you can now soon enjoy your Butternut Squash Flavoured Muffins.
  8. On the other hand, if the toothpick comes out moist you must steam the muffins for 15 minutes more.
  9. When you are satisfied with the consistency and the outcome, remove one by one the muffins and arrange them on a plate.

I would passionately recommended to eat the Butternut Squash Flavoured Muffins while they are still warmish or fresh from the food steamer. Additionally, you can try glazing its amorphous top either with a teaspoon of caramelised onion chutney or a slither of cranberry sauce. Who knows, with the added piquancy you will end-up eating more than 1 homemade muffin like myself!

Thursday 11 January 2018

LARGE LADY DIOR CANNAGE QUILTED BAG IN FUSHIA PINK

About three weeks ago, I decided to purchase another handbag as a post-Christmas present for myself. Beforehand, I was still ruling-out what brand I would choose; which one I would prefer most to be the penultimate piece of my collection. In particular, there were three brand names that came into my mind and I was even thinking of settling for the most foothold one. Despite the fact that my budget allocation could afford the highly priced double flap bag, I still resisted buying it for the simple reason that there are too many counterfeit versions out there. Realistically speaking, I just love the thought of sticking around waiting for the best time to buy for a good deal; choosing wisely with my acquisition and more importantly, making sure that my finances are no over my threshold limit. Don't you agree? 

I was down to my final two preferences. After some research regarding their pros and cons in the fashion market, I blissfully ended-up choosing the piece which fits well enough with my personality. It has a stunning and youthful structure which differentiates from the rest of my peg away handbags. I singled out the feminine elegance and soft appearance of Large Lady Dior Cannage Quilted Bag in Fushia Pink.


The Lady Dior bag was created in 1994 by at that time its artistic director, Gianfranco Ferré. It attracted and fascinated every fashion journalists and members of the fashion house which paved the way to gaining its original couture name as 'chouchou' (French for favourite). By that time, it had the sole purpose of becoming a classic and iconic bag because of its charismatic design and features. Such as, the leather hallmarks; soft lambskin topstitched; rounded handles and the metal D.I.O.R letters charm.  
The Lady Dior bag became marketably more famous when the People's Princess, Princess Diana, fell in love with it in 1996 and carried it elegantly for years. Historically speaking, Bernadette Chirac (French Politician) offered this bag to the Princess of Wales during a trip to Paris in September 1995. Then, The Princess of Wales was wearing it during the opening of the Cezanne exhibition at the Grand Palais. That is why, Lady Dior is a commercial name given to a handbag by the Christian Dior company in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales. 

Let me now give you my personal insights after having possession of the Large Lady Dior Cannage Quilted Bag in Fushia Pink for a week to date...

 
I am more enticed and settling for captivatingly vibrant shades which in this case helped me to verge on my usual chosen colour wheels. That is why, the vibrancy of its colour has been the wisest decision for me rather than to have favoured the available safest colours. Many of us will choose the shade black but my mind and heart said, “choose the YOU colour!”. By oneself, it shows the true reflection of my colourful personality and compliments my optimistically light hearted behaviour.


 
The dome styled handles are crafted with robust material and sheathed in dyed lambskin leather to give it a smoother appearance. There are two facets of the handles, the front angle was trimly cushioned while the back angle remained firmly flat. These handles are then fixed into the main bag using a solid and strong oval metal in silver. There is also an integrated hanging metal D.I.O.R letters charm in silver but with a bigger letter “O” shadowed by a leather pattern. At the back of the leather pattern there is an embossed “Christian Dior Paris Made in Italy” in centred alignment. Moreover, it also has a fine and slim detachable shoulder leather strap which is secured on both ends with personalised CD lobster claw silver-tone snap hooks.  
 
 
The overall key attributes of the Lady Dior bag are its savoir-faire network of lines stitched vertically and diagonally which create precise quilted leather cushions emerging like scattering shimmering diamonds. The refined topstitching called “cannage” brings forth femininity and elegance in the finesse of the bag. 
 
 

The Lady Dior Bag has been architecturally design to stand alone when place on a flat surface. To be more specific, the entire bottom part of the bag was plainly blanketed in dyed leather and protected more with additional wee silver-tone studs in the shape of cones. In addition to this, it is a top zipped bag with a CD silver pendant like flap (to open/close the zip) which opens entirely to a well crafted interior of jacquard fabric lining. I have to say that the solidity of its interior is the exact opposite of its soft and smooth cannage exterior. Furthermore, the spaciousness of the bag's interior has been conceptualised with a functional zip pocket and underneath its opening mouth there is a trimmed leather panel that has an inscription “Christian Dior Paris Made in Italy” in centred alignment. If you will turn up the stitched trimmed leather panel, you will find the embossed 8-digit serial code (2 digit numbers- 2 upper case letters- 4 digit numbers) which will give an idea of its batch/production year. 

Personally speaking, the Large Lady Dior Cannage Quilted Bag in Fushia Pink itself is commodiously ideal and will always be sophisticatedly stylish. It is indeed a timeless and unique work of art imbued with meticulous craftsmanship which yields the Couture spirit of Dior.
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