2025-03 Worth Remembering

Oliver Burkeman

When stumped by a life choice, choose “enlargement” over happiness. - major personal decisions should be made not by asking, “Will this make me happy?”, but “Will this choice enlarge me or diminish me?” 

The advice you don’t want to hear is usually the advice you need.

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

I felt privileged to attend a mentoring event organized by an industry organisation the day before International Women's Day. This is not man bashing event. In fact, during the whole day conference many women have recognised help from their male counterparts from work or elsewhere. This is definitely something I can relate to. I have received lots of opportunities, encouragement and belief from male figures in my life. I could not have been who I am without them. Yet, there are still invisible barriers and glass ceiling partly formed by unconscious biases in the society. Women's issues are diversity issues. When those issues are addressed, every human being benefits. We are all in one. 

I make - Browned Butter Carrot Cake (New Favorite)

Yes, this is my new favorite of carrot cake recipe. I was initially intrigued by the browned butter but to be honest with you, its flavor was overshadowed by the spice mix. Not that I mind, cardamon, cinnamon and nutmeg, all my kind of things. The cake is light, with lots of carrots, feels healthy enough to have it at breakfast (sans frosting). My go-to recipe for now.

Browned Butter Carrot Cake, adapted from justine doiran

Ingredients for cake
350 grams carrots, grated
115 grams salted butter
150 grams dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
210 grams gluten free flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sultanas
Walnut pieces for topping (optional)

For the cardamom cream cheese frosting (optional)
1/4 cup salted butter softened (57 grams)
1/4 cup cream cheese softened (57 grams)
1 cup powdered sugar (120 grams)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Grease and line a loaf tin or a 20x20 metal pan. Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 180°C.

Set a small sauté pan over medium heat and add all of salted butter. Let it melt and foam. The milk solids will begin to brown at the bottom of the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until deeply brown. Transfer this to the bowl with the carrots. Mix so the carrots cool the butter.

Add brown sugar, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients together.

Add to the bowl, flour, xanthan gum, all spices, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix to form a batter. It will be thick, so don’t worry!

Mix sultanas into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin or square pan. Dot the top with walnuts (if using).

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

While the loaf is baking, use an electric mixer to beat together 57 grams of salted butter and 57 grams of cream cheese. Add 120 grams of powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom and continue to beat until an icing forms. Transfer this to a piping bag.

When the loaf is out of the oven let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

The cake itself microwaves well to bring back the light and fluffy texture.

I make - My go-to Gluten Free Brownies

I think I found my go-to brownies recipe (thank Kat again) and perhaps cracked the issue I've long had with brownie baking. All the brownie recipes say with the toothpick test to look for many moist crumbs attached for fudgy brownies. The thing is, it always takes a lot longer than the specified time for my brownie toothpick test to come out with moist crumbs and every time my brownies ends up too dry. So this time, I decided to remove my brownies when an inserted toothpick covered in half-baked batter while baking for the specified time. Voila, although the inserted toothpick comes out with half-baked batter, it cools down to just a few moist crumbs afterwards. The brownies does continue to cook after being removed from the oven and the right texture (for me) is obtained to have it slowly cooks in its own heat.

The recipe I used is from The Loopy Whisk, so far the most reproducible gluten free baking website/author I've ever come across. With slight alternations, here is my go-to gluten free brownies, chocolaty and fudgy.

My Go-To Gluten Free Brownies

140 g unsalted or salted butter
250 g chopped dark chocolate, 60-70% cocoa solids (I sub 50 g of gianduja for chocolate)
3 UK medium eggs, room temperature
200 g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsps black coffee (optional)
75 g plain gluten free flour blend
30 g cocoa powder
½ tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan gum.)
½ tsp salt
chopped walnuts or pecans to decorate the top

Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Line a 20x20cm metal tin with baking paper.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a milk pan on low heat. Stir to mix everything together. Remove from the heat when everything has melted.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl for 2 minutes. Add in vanilla and coffee (if using) for another 3 minutes or until the egg mixture is pale and fluffy, without any visible sugar granules.

Pour in the butter and chocolate mixture, and fold them in using a rubber spatula until fully incorporated.

Sift in the gluten free flour blend, Dutch processed cocoa powder, xanthan gum and salt, and fold them in until just combined.

Transfer the brownie batter into the lined baking tin and smooth out the top.

Sprinkle the chopped nuts (if using) on top and bake at 160ºC for 24-26 minutes for fudgy brownies. Do the toothpick test at 24 minutes. It's likely that the toothpick will come out with half-baked batter. This is when you need to know your oven. I removed my brownies at 26 minutes and the texture is just right for me, fudgy not dry nor gooey. 

Allow the brownies to cool completely in the baking tin before removing them out of the tin, slicing and serving.

2025-02 Worth Remembering

Adam Grant:

The purpose of negative emotions is not to cause misery. It's to prevent mistakes.

Outrage is a signal to speak up.
Anxiety is a prompt to prepare.
Guilt is a reminder to repair.
Disappointment is a cue to persist.

Pain reveals principles. Where we hurt is a clue to what we value. 

Jefferson Fisher:

Communicate to:

1) untie the knot of / unravel the argument, not to win the argument. This is how you can connect with the person.

2) have something to learn, not something to prove. Ask questions to see where you can fill in.

3) remember that the person you see is not the person you are talking to. You don't what this persons has gone through. Every person has a surface and a depth.

Philippa Perry:

So many wise advises from this piece on: how I matter in any area of my life

There are two levels of perceptions, based on facts and emotional reality.

Removing all external labels such as mother, daughter, wife, employee, we need to be seen as who we are as a whole person, I, not an it.

The deepest kind of mattering comes when we give and receive undivided presence, not from external validation.

Explore where you can invite more authentic connection into your life, through conversations with close friends, where you let them into this feeling instead of keeping it to yourself. It could mean making space for moments of being seen, for example, allowing yourself some vulnerability with others and engaging more openly with your children. The aim is not to add more responsibilities, but to notice where those deeper moments of presence can already exist.

You matter, not because of how many people you help, or what roles you play, but simply because you are you.

2025-01 Worth Remembering

Shane Parrish

Two rules to help you be consistent with exercise this year:

    1. Show up.

    2. You can quit tomorrow.
    Repeat.

**

Don't Forget:

Be reliable.
Do your job.
Speak for yourself.
Outcome over ego.
Focus on the details.
See challenges as opportunities.
Go to bed smarter than when you woke up.

Paul Graham

To write well you have to think clearly, and thinking clearly is hard.

In preindustrial times most people's jobs made them strong. Now if you want to be strong, you work out. So there are still strong people, but only those who choose to be.

It will be the same with writing. There will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be.

2024 Reflections

2024 is a year of self transformation. Early this year, I have made a conscious decision to read more and make my reading work for me. It started by taking notes when reading a book. What does each chapter say, what I think of the writing, who would be interested in the topic. By being a more "proactive" reader, my memory retention is getting better when it comes to book reading. I finished 6 books in 2024, taking notes for three books. Book reading enriches my mind like no others. Perhaps I have more time to think over a longer length of time? I will continue reading in 2025 and improve my memory retention of books I read. 

There are big changes in the way I conduct myself this year. Probably for the very first time I realise a deep desire in me regarding where I want to go professionally and I put effort into it. That means interacting with people more, upwards and downwards. Speak out more and think strategically more. Behave in a way that you want to be seen. Yes, I've made it to the goal and gained more. I discovered that I am surrounded by many people who like me and want to help me. I feel so honoured, humble and grateful at the same time. People from work or outside work whom I'd lost touch until this year. I do feel that the world is rallying behind me when I set out a goal to achieve. Thank you.

As I have been also promptly reminded by Morgan Housel in "Same as Ever":

Everything worth pursuing comes with pain. The trick is not minding that it hurts. Endure the pain when necessary rather than assuming there is a hack, or a shortcut, around it.

and to remember that:

Advantage has a shelf life. Keep running is the only way to stay competitive.

I can't assume job done now I've reached my initial goal. I have to continue doing what I have been doing, reading or otherwise to make sure enrichment in life continues for me. And that's my 2025 wish and goal.

To all of you out there, may your 2025 be full of excitement, hard work, passion, caring, loving and fun. Happy New Year.

2024 Christmas Dinner

 

Starter

Smoked salmon

Main

Rump of Beef with a Mustard and Bone Marrow Butter 

Chestnuts and Brussel Sprouts

Pigs in the Blanket

Dessert

Bûche de Noël 2024