.: day 76 :.

There is always calm after a storm. And just like how yesterday was a rather stormy day, today was a day of clear blue skies and sunny weather. I guess sometimes God makes some days tough, just so we will be able to appreciate the good days and remember that all blessings rain down from Him.

Breakfast: Cereal Mix with Yoghurt

My mix today had a whole lot of nuts that made ED remind me of how packed with energy they are. Of course I knew that! Silly me. Which made my whole breakfast even more enjoyable since it had the added crunch and nuttiness from the crushed macadamias, almonds, cashews, walnuts and pistachios. That’s not to say that it wasn’t tempting to remove the nuts and throw them away, but I kept telling myself that I needed the extra fuel for…

ROLLARBLADING!

Yes! I went rollarblading at East Coast Park around 11.15pm this morning before we went for lunch. Mum and Dad chilled at MacD’s with the newspapers and a hot cuppa. I bladed for about 30 minutes and it felt wonderful! The heat wasn’t stifling and the sea breeze was blowing inland making me feel as if I was flying.

I realise that with every new step that I take, Mum and Dad get even more excited than I do, embarrassingly so to be honest. After I donned on one of my new pairs of socks sent to me by Sophia (SO cute no?), I put my spanking new blades on and before I could whizz off, Dad picked up my trusty camera and snapped a picture of me.

When I viewed the picture for quality control, I dismissed it because I felt that my hair didn’t look right. Lol. And then Mum decided that she was a better photographer than Dad, thus taking the camera away from him and aiming it at yours truly once again.

Being ever the perfectionist, Mum thought that the angle at which she was sitting wasn’t good enough. So, she got off her chair and stood a little away from me with the camera in her hands. Still not good enough. Mum then did a half squat, right in the middle of MacD’s(!!!!), which was teeming with school kids and families because of the holidays. That even made the cleaning Uncle stop short in his work, with a mop poised up in one hand, only to observe this spectacle of a middle-aged but gorgeously young-looking mother, taking a picture of her 21-year old daughter in her rollarblades.

Well, at least the picture turned out pretty decent. x)

I felt like it was my first day at kindergarten, with Mum and Dad buzzing around in a frenzy of excitement at their little girl all grown up. I guess in a way, it must have felt quite like that. After so many months of not being able to engage in physical activity, I think they must have been feeling proud that I have managed to reach my target weight #1. Sure, I am not wholly at my normal weight yet but can you imagine what Mum and Dad will be like when I DO hit my normal weight?! I think they may just pull a trophy out of thin air, fan fare playing in the background and a photographer snapping professional pictures of the mini prize-giving ceremony they will indulge in. Haha. I’m just amusing myself now.

I didn’t rollarblade too far or too fast. My new blades were a little heavy compared to the blades that I usually rent, and so I had to work a bit harder to move at the speed I am more used to. It was fun though, soaking up the sun’s rays with the wind messing up my hair, feeling my body move and being alone in my thoughts apart from the few times I was greeted with a ‘Good Morning’ or a ‘Hello’ which felt nice. =)

I got back to MacD’s at 11.45am and after a good wipe down and cooling off, the three of us set off to Swanlake Avenue at Opera Estate to get a taste of Big Ben’s Pies!

Lunch: Steak and Mushroom Pie from Big Ben’s Place

Stepping into Big Ben’s Place would make any Brit feel right at home with their pub-like decor and flags of the Union Jack proudly displayed. The only things out of place I would say, were their metal tables and chairs, and of course, there were not pub ladies taking our orders – just a nice, friendly, young local chap.

Their menu consisted of the good ol’ British favourites such as Bangers ‘N’ Mash and Fish & Chips. They also had more Western food catered to our local tastebuds such as Chicket Cutlet which if you realise, can be found NOWHERE in Europe unless you insist that it is simply the local terminology for a schnitzel. Whatever the case, we weren’t there for any of the above. We were there for Big Ben’s Pies.

Chicken & Mushroom Pie. Chicken & Vegetable Pie. Steak & Mushroom Pie. Steak & Guiness Pie. Steak & Kidney Pie. Beef & Cheese Pie. Irish Lamb Stew Pie. Black Pepper Chicken Pie. Cornish Pasty.

A pie set comes with a choice of pie with either Mashed Potatoes, Coleslaw or Baked Beans, as well as a soft drink, all for $7. Mum and I skipped the soft drinks which brought our set lunch price down to $6 instead.

Mum’s Chicken & Vegetable Pie came with Coleslaw.

There were potatoes, peas, carrots and celery inside, together with chicken chunks and the sauce was not creamy. I thought the chicken chunks were slightly dry and my preference is still for M Hotel’s Chicken Pies!! Although, that said, the two pies are different seeing that Big Ben’s is made of short-crust pastry while M Hotel uses puff pastry. But filling wise, I like M Hotel’s better.

I had a taste of the lamb in Dad’s Irish Lamb Stew Pie, and I found the lamb taste to be rather strong. Nice. But strong.

Dad loved it anyway. And his Mashed Potatoes was really good. It wasn’t just plain mashed potatoes. It had bacon bits inside, as well as hard boiled eggs and some carrots mashed in as well.

I went for the Steak & Mushroom Pie, even though a part of me was leaning towards the safer Chicken & Vegetable option. Nevertheless, the steak slices were well done – very lean and hence, a little chewy.

The pie was not overfilled with the savoury sauce and the short-crust pie itself was exceptionally thin, unoily, and was perfectly crusty without being too dry. It could have done with more fresh button mushrooms though but then again, I’m always asking for more vegetables so perhaps most people would be happy with the amount they gave in the pie. Heinz Baked Beans with Steak & Mushroom Pie… How much more British can you get? Hehe.

Portion-wise, the pie with a side made me feel just right! Dad and Mum said they could have had another pie if they had wanted to, or shared another more like, because the pies aren’t particularly big. They have a Big Ben’s Place kiosk at United Square, Novena if any of you would like to buy some home to eat since Swanlake Avenue is really out of the way. Mum and Dad bought 6 pies back to freeze so that they can have them while I’m away. Haha. They bought just about every other flavour that we did not have this lunch time and Big Ben’s also sells Blueberry, Apple and Strawberry Pie if you fancy a dessert pie.

Tea: Mango Lassi Courtesy of Amanda =)

I made a Mango Lassi for Dad and I this afternoon as Mum decided to stick to her tea. The mango we had was incredibly sweet and juicy such that we did not need to have any honey added to the smoothie. So here’s what I did:

A whole mango, diced up, went into the blender.

Then I added some plain yoghurt. I have no idea how much but just enough for two people. I sprinkled some cinnamon in before giving the mango and yoghurt a good blitz.

Poured out and with a little more cinnamon on top, we had our lovely, sweet, mango lassis!

Unfortunately for me, being as absent-minded as I am, I forgot to add in the ice cubes in order to make this even more refreshing. Still the thick concoction was blissfully good to drink and when the last bit coated the glass, refusing to slide out, I simply used my finger and scooped it into my mouth. =X Not very lady-like perhaps but hey, it was finger-lickin’ good!

Dinner: ‘Some things from the Land, Something from the Sea and Something from the Tree’ Pizza

Mum, Dad and I made our own personal pizzas for dinner, deriving inspiration from the lovely eats Sophia constantly whips up.

Using the Tomato-Basil Tortilla Wrap as a base, I then layered it with a pumpkin-cottage cheese spread. What I did was I baked a Blue Pumpkin in the oven for about 40 minutes until the flesh was soft. I would have preferred the Japanese Pumpkin but it looks like The Finest isn’t carrying it at the moment, or perhaps it’s off-season right now. What was facinating about the pumpkin though, was that after the flesh was cooked through, the outside of it managed to peel off so easily, giving way to the orange flesh underneath. I couldn’t resist it and as I peeled the outer ’skin’ away, I kept popping them into my mouth, almost like chomping on pumpkin chips. It was really good!

After removing the pumpkin ’skin’, the pulp was then mixed together with about 100g of cottage cheese, which was then lathered onto our pizza base.

I then piled on some fresh baby spinach, a few slices of sausage (some things from the land), crab meat (something from the sea), about a quarter of a mango worth of mango cubes (something from the tree), and even allowed Mum to grate a little bit of cheddar cheese on top. I still have a little more way to go with cheese, mainly hard, mature cheeses so this was a baby step in the right direction.

Our pizzas were then popped into the oven, which was preheated to 180C, for about 5 minutes. When it came out, the cheese had melted, the spinach had slightly wilted and the tortilla base was crisp! Talk about the best thin-crust pizza ever!!

The cottage cheese balanced out the sweetness of the pumpkin, which I believe wasn’t really very sweet to begin with. Lol. I enjoyed the mix of the sea-flavoured crab meat, the tropical sweet mangoes and the slightly salty Bratwurst pork sausages. The spinach leaves and the crispy-thin base gave a gorgeous crunch while the bit of cheddar cheese on top provided a light, almost creamy taste to the whole pizza. Mum and Dad totally enjoyed their pizza too and as we munched happily on dinner, we were already discussing what toppings to put on our next pizza-venture!

Nightcap: Tau Sar Ang Ku Kueh

I just found out that my new favourite dietitian has managed to find my blog!!!!! x) This means that I will not be able to get away so easily with foods that are too safe because if there is any weight loss, she will definitely be able to pin-point the reasons as to what led it to happen and I will have no excuses to give. I am grateful to June though, that she cares enough to actually find my blog after I made a mention of it to her last appointment and making known her presence to me reminds me once more about the amount of support I am getting from the ED team. Although my relationship with them is a healthcare specialist-patient relationship, their personal concern for my well-being by these random acts really makes a difference to me.

I know that June doesn’t know about the Warm Fuzzies Game but you know what? She gave me warm fuzzies unknowingly which makes the warm fuzzy even warmer and even fuzzier! x)