simplicity is understated

A recent order reminded me of the beauty of simplicity. And therein lies the universal truth that sometimes, the beautiful things in life need not be adorned with the most exquisite of designs, let alone the most intricate of details. For simplicity is a virtue, and the slightest splash of colour will paint a rainbow of a smile in the hearts of those who silently embrace the sweet lulling whisper of the sun dipping into the enveloped violet sky every evening. 

Fancy me getting all emotional over Nutella swirl cupcakes, really.

if life were peaches & cream

You know those times when your mind’s thinking of what feels like a thousand and one things concurrently, and the irony lies in the fact that you can’t begin to pinpoint even a single issue that’s playing in your head at the moment?

Well I’m having one of those right now. For the last hour or so, to be exact.

The only difference is that I know just the things that are plaguing my head right now; issues, questions, trepidations, and anxieties of sorts, but somehow or other, the mind simply refuses to think of each one at a given point in time, instead opting for the-more-the-merrier type of approach.

This would be one of those times when my MSN caption would usually aptly read “I wish life came with an instruction manual”, but surprisingly, not tonight. Because, you see, life need not be that complex, afterall.

between good and great

The problem with not updating for too long a period of time is the almost inevitable mental block that would concomitantly pervade the mind and inadvertently influence the fingers to rat-a-tat-tat to no specific rhythm whatsoever on the keyboard. And then there is also that crucial factor of over-hyping something up. I’m not sure whether it be the same for everyone, but I know for a fact that I can never look forward to something too much, for it would almost always result in a disappointment of sorts.

And for what seemed like the longest time ever, my MSN caption read “I can’t wait to bake proper”. No, there was no grammatical mistake in that; I was baking proper-ly, since I had been spending the time baking cookies for the Hari Raya Cookie Cravings bake sale. But there was just the itch of trying out something new; something from the dozens of bookmarked recipes I’ve collected and still had yet to touch.

I categorise recipes according to the different types; brownies & cakes, cupcakes, muffins, cookies, and pastry. And on top of the To-do-after-Hari-Raya list was basically anything sinful, decadent and chocolatey, and the immediate folder to flip through was that of brownies & cakes. But alas, the Chocolate Monster residing on his gastronomical throne was apparently too conspicuous for anyone not to notice, as he relished in the mouth-watering chocolate delights of the many houses I visited during the Eid celebrations.

And by the looks of it, he was not the only one who had his chocolate fill.

Several days on, after the sugar-rush from all the festive cookies and cakes had worn off, I took out the packet of Oreo’s hibernating in the depths of the cabinet, and went ahead to remove one of the bookmarked recipes, and made these.

I had been looking around for THE Oreo muffin recipe, since quite a couple of them turned out to be a tad too bland for my liking, despite the amount of Oreo’s in them. And I must say this time round, I was pleased. Very pleased. They did not rise as much as I wished, but I thought the taste made up for that. I loved how the hard exterior caved in to a moist and soft interior (my fave type of muffin is as such; hard crust, soft innards), each bite filled with chunks of Oreo’s and tiny chocolate chips. The recipe called for crushed Oreo’s, but I preferred chunks, of course. I was pretty glad that I decided against including chocolate chunks in the muffins, and went ahead with the chocolate chips, since the muffins turned out surprisingly chocolatey! I do implore you to eat this fresh from the oven, or at the very least, don’t leave it overnight. Don’t get me wrong, it still tastes good the next day at room temperature, but it’s really a matter of whether you’re looking for a good muffin, or a great one.