My last post is a bit too depressing to
read. I was having one of those days; feeling cranky and frustrated. So I am
going to take that down.
I’ve been itching to bake in a while, but I’ve
been having issues with the trip going off suddenly at my place. This happened
when I was in Malaysia for a week and everything; I mean EVERYTHING that I
brought from Oman and the rest of what I had in the fridge was rotten by the
time I got back. I think I’m still a bit upset about all that cheese that got ruined. It kept happening over and over. Each week I had to throw out most
of my groceries until I changed my fridge and things seem to be okay so far.
Good thing the chocolates survived it or I wouldn’t have chocolate chips for
this.
I baked yesterday which made me feel really
good. I’ve been watching some Korean drama lately, (Do not ask me why) so I put
the tray in the oven, cleaned the kitchen and sat down for an hour of Lee Min
Ho and for once after a very long time I felt calm and quite happy. Honestly it
felt great because I’ve been feeling awfully stressed out lately because I do
not have time for anything.
I made Congo bars! These congo bars were
for my awesome new colleagues at work. Congo bars are in between a chocolate chip
cookie and a brownie. As bakerella calls is; a ‘brookie’. These guys pretty
much combine the best of both worlds. They are super chewy which the best part
of it all! Who doesn’t like a big chewy cookie? I’ve been searching all over
for a nice chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I think this is way better
because it is also a brownie! Sigh..... I was so excited I kept on eating raw
batter the whole time I was making it till I felt a bit sick once the bars came
out of the oven. I didn’t even taste any till I tried one at work. Thank
goodness Bakerella’s recipes have been amazing so far or I would have been
feeding rubbish to everyone at work.
I picked up a few pointers from Bakerella’s
post. I did all the mixing by hand as suggested because the texture would be
better. I didn’t do another batch with the mixer to see the difference but I am
super happy with the texture of the bars so I think I’ll stick with mixing by
hand. When I read that I should mix by hand I felt a bit lazy, but it wasn’t
hard at all. It is nothing like having to mix dough with a big wooden spoon
until your arm hurts. This is merely mixing the ingredients together and if I
used a metal tablespoon to do I’m sure it would be much easier with a wooden
spoon/spatula.
Also I am using a new oven! I love my old
oven, I honestly do. But being in Sri Lanka means I had to buy an electric oven
and this was my first time using it. I had a few issues but nothing too
serious. It took longer than 30 minutes to bake until I finally had to cover
the tray with foil and let it bake for 10 more minutes. Notice how the top of
the Congo bars are a bit too brown?
(please excuse this bad photograph.... had to rush to take these just before heading to work) :p
I
borrowed an aluminium tray from my cousin and so far I have to say I miss my
good old non stick pans. I’m probably going to have to keep baking in these
aluminium trays while I’m here and I hope I have some positive reviews to relay
to you guys soon. Getting used to a
different kitchen without any of your trusty utensils and appliances is a bit
daunting but I suppose this is how it is to have to be a student, never in one
place constantly shuffling between countries. You start missing a lot of things
and have to make do with the temporary. I suddenly thought of this long story
about moving from country to country that I should probably keep for next
time. For now I’m going to bask in my
good mood.
If you want the recipe for the congo bars I
made you can get them from Bakerella.
OOOOOOOH OHHHH I also got a new phone!!!
Since I do not have my brothers DSLR here I’m going to experiment taking
pictures from my phone for a while. The fact that I can take pictures and share
them immediately is sooo exciting!! Yes is know this has been around for ages
-_- Do not insult! Like I said let me
bask in my good mood while it lasts :D
