The Last Day of 2009

It is 11:55pm; five more minutes and 2009 will be over. I feel this year went by in a flash. I hope 2010 will be a good year in every sense of the word. Wow, I can't believe we're starting a new decade. God Bless :)

Oct - Dec 2009 Reading List

Here are my ratings of the books read between Oct - Dec 2009. My rating is from 1 (excellent) to 6 (horrible).

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown - Thriller, Historical: 1
2. Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel - Young Adult: 2
3. Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel - Young Adult: 4
4. The Twelfth Card by Jeffery Deaver - Thriller: 3
5. Stargazer by Claudia Gray - Young Adult Fantasy - vampires: 2
6. Southern Lights by Danielle Steel - Adult Fiction: 3
7. Tempted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast - Young Adult Fantasy - vampires: 1
8. The Magicians by Lev Grossman - Fantasy - magicians: 3
9. Shadowland by Alyson Noel - Young Adult: 2
10. Fly Me to the Moon by Alyson Noel - Adult Fiction: 1
11. Willow by Julia Hoban - Young Adult: 4

Angels + the Day after Christmas

I don't know why Christmas reminds me of guardian angels floating above us; I guess it's the magical feel in the cold air, the carols, and the very many lights hanging on trees, houses, and windows.

I found several beautiful angels making their appearances at the Rockefeller Center, and couldn't help but take a picture. Don't they bring a spiritual feel to the city?

On to other items, it was raining heavily on Saturday (the day after Christmas), and I decided to spend a good 1.5 hours in the kitchen, and try my hand at making pad thai. Only, I was unable to find the noodles used for pad thai at the grocery store.

So instead, I used a Japanese-style packet of noodles called Udon (I think that's how you spell it), and using the following ingredients*, I made Asian Style Noodle Stir Fry. Below is the end result. It tasted good, except the eggs appeared blended in the noodles, rather than in pieces (like in the restaurants)....Oh well. Next time, I think I will fry the eggs separately like in omelette mode, and then cut it in small pieces and mix it in the noodles.

* Ingredients used:

-one large red onion;

-five pieces of garlic & one green chilly blended;

- one carrot - shredded;

- one tomato - cut in small pieces;

- three mini packets of soya sauce;

- one lime;

- one tablespoon of hot sauce;

- one green paprika - cut in small pieces;

- one bowl of brussel sprouts;

- two eggs, and of course,

- the Japanese-style noodles.

Candlelight Carol Service

It's 10:30pm (Christmas Eve), and I just got back from a Candlelight Carol service. It was a lot of fun, singing carols with a group, and I didn't have to worry about singing off-key, because seriously, I am off-key. The only place, I will sing freely is in the shower. You will never find me performing on American Idol. Thankfully, the people in the group were not professional singers, and sang in a similar mode as moi, so I was able to relax and enjoy the moment. After that, we had cookies and egg nog....yummy. I got my Calcium intake for the day. Less than two hours to go before it's Christmas :)

Home-Made Truffles

When I woke up on Sunday, it was freezing outside, and the city was covered in a cozy blanket of white snow...not sure how long that will last, as snow in this part of the world quickly turns to a nasty grey shade of slush :)

Anyway, this weather + the upcoming Christmas holidays bring out the chef in many...including yours truly. I decided to try my hand in making home-made truffles. A recipe had been given to me about two weeks ago, requiring only two ingredients - baking chocolate and cream cheese. In terms of non-food items, I needed mini-paper truffle holders and a spoon measurement scooper (1/2 teaspoon for shaping the chocolate into truffle size shapes).

So, the day before my big chef event, I went to the supermarket and purchased a packet of eight squares of Baker's Semi-Sweet chocolate, and a packet of 1/3 less fat cream cheese. The recipe was based on making a total of 36 truffles. However, based on the amount of ingredients I purchased, I would be able to make approximately 16 truffles (a little less than half). My mathematical skills sure came in handy, as I would be using only 40% of the quantities quoted in the recipe.

Now on to my process of making this delectable treat:

Step 1: I melted four squares of chocolate in a pan. Here, I sporadically mixed the concoction, occasionally licking the spoon....hehehe.

Step 2: I placed about half a packet of cream cheese (~4oz.) in a blender.

Step 3: I poured the melted chocolate into the blender.

Step 4: I first hit the Blend, then the Mix, and ultimately the Whip button on the blender, thinking that at least one will do the trick of making it nice and smooth. Oh, and I made sure I held the cap/top of the blender to prevent a disasterous mess :)

Step 5: I scooped out the result in Step 4 in a bowl. Here again, I took the liberty of tasting the concoction. I must say, this is a very, very messy process, because the combination of melted chocolate + cream cheese is soooooo sticky. Tried to scrape away as much as I could, but it's virtually impossible to get it all. I really felt like I was wasting a bunch of chocolate. Sigh.

Step 6: Placed the bowl in the fridge for about 45 minutes so that it could harden.

Step 7: Took bowl out of fridge, and used a measuring spoon/scoop (1/2 teaspoon size), and began to shape the concoction into 16 small balls. Placed them on aluminum foil, as I conveniently forgot to buy wax paper. Oh well, it still works.

Step 8: Melted remaining four chocolate squares in a pan. Then with a spoon, dipped each ball into the melted chocolate, and placed it back on the aluminum foil. For some of them, I placed a tiny piece of a walnut on the top of the chocolate ball.

Step 9: Refrigerated my handiwork for one hour.

Step 10: Placed the little truffles in a box, minus four, which were eaten shortly after...why you ask weren't the four placed in the box as well? Well, the box could hold only twelve.

Step 11: I am now really tired, and don't think I will be making home-made truffles any time soon. It is a messy business....but at least they came out okay. Plus, I didn't have to do the dishes...hahaha. Anyway, to view my masterpiece (Godiva worthy), see picture below. They taste pretty good, too...not too sweet, but sure quite fattening.

Christmas Tree Sightings

These are the following Christmas tree sightings I captured in NYC. Enjoy!!!!

-> Tree at Lincoln Square

-> Tree at Seaport

-> Tree by Wallstreet

-> Tree at Rockefeller Center

Tree Lighting Ceremony on Wall Street

Today, I watched part of the Tree Lighting Ceremony held on Wall Street. It was freezing cold, but I was keen to see a Christmas tree be lit, since unfortunately it had been too crowded last week to watch the one held at Rockefeller Center. But that is what you can expect when major artists like Alicia Keys perform.

Thankfully, the ceremony on Wall Street had a much smaller crowd. It was organized by the NYSE Euronext, and it was their 86th tree lighting ceremony. When I got there, it was freezing. Of course, I had not worn my heavy overcoat, nor did I have a cap. Being as smart as I am, I had worn ordinary shoes rather than boots, and had a very, very thin pair of gloves, which really did nothing for me. I stood in the cold, feeling a bit like an idiot, because temperatures were really low...like 20 degrees or so...brrrr.

Anyway, some of the performances were worth watching, before the tree lighting actually took place. I am not familiar with most of the performers, but found one group quite fun - the Manhattan Transfers. One of their tunes was very engaging. It's called "Spain (I Can Recall)".

Most delightful was the countdown to the tree lighting. Do enjoy the clip. After the tree lighting, I stayed on for another 15 minutes to catch Billy Ray Cyrus perform. Personally, his music is not my cup of tea (i.e., country music), but a lot of the girls were screaming like crazy....I think it's because he's the dad of a famous singer/actress called Miley Cyrus (of Hannah Montana fame). I am not familiar with her stuff, and personally, I don't really want to get familiar with it....too "tweenybopper" for me. After watching his performance I left, because my toes had turned into frozen ice cubes so to speak. And I really didn't want to get to the point where frostbite sets in. Just not worth it, you know?

Hidden Meaning of a Christmas Carol

For the past three weeks or so, I have been pretty much listening every evening to Christmas carols on the radio. My two favorite tunes are "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" composed by Robert Meredith Willson, and "Christmas Canon Rock" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

So, you ask what about tunes that I don't like or may find a bit unsettling? Well, there is one. While listening to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", I suddenly realized something. Something that disturbed me. Those other eight reindeers mentioned in the song were really cruel. They were a clique; a mean, bullying clique. Shame on Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen. And I mean Shame on you!!!.

Making fun of poor Rudolph, and refusing to let him play with them; that's just wrong. And come one, eight-to-one is not a fair match-up. I mean, I'm not sure what kind of reindeer games Rudolph was left out from; but, no matter how dumb it may seem, Rudolph should not have been excluded. It's just not right...I thought animals had a better sense than humans to be less psychologically cruel, but it seems animals have their own form of junior high. Rudolph was probably a kind, soft-spoken and sensitive reindeer, who was very lonely, and wished that he had been born of another species...like a bird maybe.

But what I really can't believe is that I used to sing this song when I was in kindergarten...it was in one of my nursery rhyme tapes. And only today I realized the hidden meaning.

Oh, and those eight reindeers being all nice to Rudolph after Santa Claus asked him to guide his sleigh is totally FAKE. I hope Rudolph saw through their false claims. They just wanted to be invited to guide the sleigh with Rudolph. I am sure at the first opportunity, they would push Rudolph off a roof, the moment Santa Claus turned his back or went down a chimney. Anyway, so that's my interpretation of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."