I love almost everything crispy (except crunchy leaves in salad…. not really a salad fan) hehe.
A few years ago a good friend recommended me to try baking kale at home and she told me it tasted just like seaweed (which I love).
It has been at the back of mind for a while now but never really got down to doing it…
And recently my masterchef adventurous mama picked them up at a supermarket.
I don’t know where she got the idea to bake kale from, but I’m not going to question it!
Her first attempt went a little less ideal than expected (leaves were burnt) but I still finished my share of the stash hahaha.
Recently we did our second attempt together, one fine day after school…
Not going to claim any credit at all because I literally did nothing!
They turned out super awesome!!
This was shot on iPhone 8+.
Amazing right!!! I think it looks like a kale stock photo.
And the leaves remind me of mitochondria.
Mum bought organic kale at $6 a bunch… she couldn’t risk failure again haha!
We used this truffle flavoured spray oil to give our kale a good misty shower.
Also sprinkled a teeny bit of salt AFTER BAKING to give it a little more taste.
Wasn’t really apparent because there really was just a sprinkle.
And I repeat: it’s very important to put this only after baking!
Recipe:
1. Cut or tear the kale leaves into smaller bite-sized pieces (do remove the stems) – give them a good thorough wash and dry them well. You can use a salad spinner or just leave them out to dry… It’s important to make sure they are dry or else you’ll end up steaming them and they won’t be crispy.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Remember to line the tray with a parchment paper to make clean-up easier!
3. Spray or drizzle your oil-of-choice on, and leave them to bake in the oven. They can take around 10 to 15 minutes, so keep an eye on them. Once the leaves turn brown and crispy, they’re ready.
4. Give them a sprinkle of salt if you want them more savoury.
That’s it!
Outcome :-)
Mum’s beautiful plating HAHAHAHA.
I think it turned out really well 10/10!!
Kale chips are actually really healthy, filled with vitamins and antioxidants! Not going to pretend I know anything ahahaha but yes.
Baking really only removes the water content (thus making it crispy) and keeps in all its nutrients.
That makes it a really good savoury crispy AND healthy snack! Totally my cuppa tea :’)
This is my healthy living attempt.
And!!
This mostly applies to homemade kale chips, because the ones in packets sold outside are usually filled with sodium and fats – I mean at home at least you have a good control over what you’re eating!
Is this the same as Tao Kae Noi?
Nah, not really, but it’s a much much healthier alternative that I sincerely truly enjoy.
The only possible downside: apparently it doesn’t fill you up as quickly as RAW kale… but not a huge concern to me ahaha!
But if you have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), you can’t eat too much of it – sister faced a severe tummyache after consuming this. It’s high in fiber, which makes it a little harder to digest. It’s also dependent on individuals la so it’s important to know what you can or cannot eat!!
Fun fact: I didn’t like the smell and taste of truffle at all.
And when we went out to eat at this cafe near my house (really more “coffee shop” style), mum would order truffle fries because she knows I don’t like it!!
Then one day something in me clicked and I fell in love with it.
Still waiting for that to happen with me and salad. Really don’t appreciate raw vegetables… how do people eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner?!
And yes I am absolutely in love with all things truffle now!! Would love to try truffle ramen one day.
I actually have a “to-eat” list, which is quite interesting because I am quite a simple (in other words, fussy) eater.
But I’ll always try to finish all my food!!
And I also make it a point to eat vegetables every single meal, so that means eating the (raw) cucumber in chicken rice ???????? (let’s talk about the dont-eat-chicken-rice-it’s-fattening thing another time…)
From my last post “On Friendship”… I thought it’d be interesting (for me) to write a series of posts with similar titles.
I’m pleased with today’s title.
—
Sometimes I wonder why do McDonald’s fries taste so irresistibly good.
Sometimes I wonder how can a supermarket giant like Cold Storage not stock up on Potato Wheels/Spin Crackers.
(It’s the kind of snack that nobody actively buys but eats actively whenever a packet is open.)
Sometimes I wonder what people are trying to do by repeatedly pressing a lift button – the “up” button, the “down” button, the “close” button (hardly ever the “open” though), their floor numbers…
Sometimes I wonder why I have the urge/time/need to blog when my exams are coming in less than 2 weeks.
And sometimes I wonder why people are late.
Haha this post is going to sound so self-righteous and trust me when I say nobody is on my mind as I type this.
In fact the names popping up in my head are people who are always punctual, no matter the occasion.
—
There are a few kinds of people – the ones who are on time, the ones who adjust their punctuality according to whoever they’re meeting up with, the ones who are late no matter how hard they try and the ones who don’t even try.
The world has come to accept that punctuality is hard to come by.
Growing up, my mother always told me:
“being fifteen minutes earlier means being on time”
She got it drilled into me so bad, that it got to the point where 9-year-old me pushed back the time on my Little Mermaid wristwatch 15 minutes later, just so I’d be super damn early on time.
Obviously I couldn’t understand why, since hardly anybody else thought the same.
I think this explains why I’d always be punctual (no one is perfect, I say already don’t PM me all the times I was late pls) be it for lessons, meetings, friend dates or deadlines – submitting an assignment 1 minute before it is due is not thrilling!
I’m not the punctual no-nonsense military-style friend because I understand that there are endless reasons why people often turn up later than they intend to:
losing track of time (especially when you’re in a big group)
waiting for the rain to stop or the sun to stop shining
waiting for the washing machine to finish its cycle because mum said to
huh meeting at 1 means leaving the house at 1 what
you get it I’m too tired to think of more
But I think its disturbing and mortifying when people are late just because… with no signs of remorse.
Remorse: “I’M SO SORRRRRRRRRY I AM LATE FOR THE MEETING I AM RUNNING I AM REACHING IN 23 SECONDS I AM HERE” No remorse: “Ok I’m here. We can start.” /munches on a kaya toast while everyone else’s stomachs growls to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”/
Remorse: Scurrying into the lecture theatre and sitting in the first row No remorse: Strolling into the lecture theatre with a Starbucks cup in tow, taking 5 sips along the way before arriving at desired seat on the 8th row, 5th from Stage Right
Remorse: ”I’m coming already but you guys order your food first!! SORRY I GOT LOST!” No remorse: ”I’m coming.” - 20 minutes later - “I’m on the way.” - 20 years later - “I’m here. What shall we eat?”
I think I’ve accepted that people will always be late – and I just wonder as I seek comfort from social media platforms/read an iBook (omg I love The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)… Why are some people chronically late? I am genuinely curious.
Instead of hating on (strong feelings here) people who are constantly late, I think I add 10 brownie points to the I-Like-You scale for people who are constantly punctual.
When you’re late for a meeting by 10 minutes, you wouldn’t only be be wasting 10 minutes. Those 10 good minutes should be multiplied by the total number of people who are waiting for you because they could have spent those minutes doing other things: 10 minutes more of sleep, 10 minutes to eat breakfast, 10 minutes to take a good poop in the toilet instead of rushing it through…
When you’re late for a lesson… how do you remain so calm!! Being late makes me crazy anxious and I really really don’t like being late – I like to be slightly early for lessons, so I have five minutes just to take out my cardigan and wrap myself in it, and try to do relevant things like looking through the tutorial. Aha. Ha. Haaaaaaa.
When you’re late for a lunch date, I’m sure friends know your patterns and I’m sure they’ll be okay with it. Just like how I say I’m okay with people taking fries off my plate… am I really?! HAHAHAHAHA kidding.
But seriously though, 10 minutes is totally acceptable but 2 hours?! Preposterous. Enough time to go to JB for San Lou Bee Hoon and then back.
Punctuality is really a good value to have.
I’m not hating on late people (I love my chi2dao4 – English equivalent is wrong here – friends as much as I love my punctual friends) but it’s just the concept of time… the anxiety that comes with being late, the guilt that comes after for wasting people’s time, the delay in your schedule that follows… how do they deal with it calmly?!
Is this a naggy post? I’ve been thinking about this seriously.
This is a bit all-over-the-place but you get the message.
Time is truly one of the most valuable things people can give away.
It’s really not just a matter of being uptight or unreasonable… and it’s also not a popular opinion to have, but time management is something we can all work on… yes? Yes.
There’s the saying that goes:
Early is on time, on time is late, late is unacceptable
But being 15 minutes earlier is an overkill la.
For me, on time means being on time.
It’s nice when people are on time.
Let’s all try to be on time la okay.
QUESTION!
If you're hanging out in a group of 4 friends - one is always punctual and the other two are always late, would you make an effort to be punctual?
It’s fun right! Don’t think I don’t know you see results only but never vote.
Hahaha.
Okay seey’all wasted enough time on my blog post ahahahaha.
—
1. McD’s fries: salt + sugar (they coat it with dextrose wth) + fat = DOPAMINE = pleasure
2. It’s Chinese New Year season. Everyone’s wiping the shelves. Try again after CNY. Alternatively, go to Giant.
3. To allow themselves to feel better: action > inaction; perhaps the lift didn’t register the first time the button was pressed. Maybe the lift button’s request timed out. Or there exists the possibility that the lift can detect urgency when its pressed 521 times a minute. Go big or go home!!
4. This one I have no explanation.
5. You tell me!
Thumbs up for you if you know what I’m talking about. You pay good attention!!
Yes my hobbies include stealing ugly pictures from Google and pasting them in my blog posts, no matter how irrelevant they may seem.
My primary one self is still living within me!!
Seey’all next week… maybe?
Happy Chinese New Year by the way!
Also…
Some friends asked me what I used to blog about. And why I had to private them.
Edit: This offer has expired. HAHAHA.
You can reward yourself by clicking here to read a post I wrote on 10 March 2013 titled “Dee Y Dee X”. Treat yourself to the stupid and ridiculous thoughts of 16-year-old me. (This explains why all my other posts are privated, even though the content I’m delivering now is largely similar. Nothing I write should be taken seriously.)
If you’re wondering why I don’t type Chinese characters, it’s because they show up as question marks on this space hahahaha.
Ya and I have immense difficulty titling my posts.
I just don’t know how what to name them.
It looks like I didn’t even try for this post, but I really did.
Trying to avoid cliché stupid titles but then again…
This blog is all about being sappy. And cheery and loving.
I hope you feel the love from my end!
I cannot possibly be blogging about things such as encouraging violence between siblings or promoting self-supremacy, so please pardon my relatively bland topics.
I also do not condone domestic violence and arrogance – just thought this disclaimer is necessary.
I love reading blogs but I don’t really have many (read: any) to read, because it is a dying art and nobody really blogs anymore.
Also because everyone is posting their deep dark thoughts on private dodgy Instagram accounts I do not usually have access to, so…
Ya.
#salty
Dodgy accounts are so refreshing on the carefully-curated feed of Instagram, but why don’t people post irrelevant things more often on their “mains”?
I would really like to see more of your leaky water bottle or awfully-taken photos of what you had for breakfast. Or a 3am rant about how people are ridiculous and how you wished you were a toad instead.
(I love frog legs.)
In case you’re wondering, this space is where such thoughts go for me.
I am so distracted by my own thoughts.
Instagram is truly an entire world of its own.
—
I drafted a post a few weeks back about this (what I am about to write) but the post mysteriously disappeared.. and yes I currently have 31 drafts sitting around and most are half-complete (e.g. my Spain/Andorra trip in 2015).
I also have a list of potential posts (this really exists) I want to write someday, but unfortunately for me, my writing ability is mediocre and I very much depend on ~feels~ to write.
I have come to terms with my limitations: I cannot write eloquently – if I could, I would have dabbled in poetry-writing.
Or haiku-writing.
What dya say? 3 lines 17 syllables?
Pssh 5 / 7 / 5?
My best shot:
How should one begin
To write a proper haiku
I am out of words
LOL I tickle myself sometimes.
When my friends accuse me of being weird, I find myself unable to make a good comeback because I think I’m really a bit dotty. Of course I learnt the art of masking that in typical social settings (I try not to scare people away) but if you were to ask me, my natural default self is being strange and occasionally noisy.
Honestly I don’t think I’d like to be friends with myself… and no, don’t worry, I’m not about to break into a self-loathing rant.
I just think it’d be a bit difficult trying to friend (verb) myself.
Haha just thought it’d be fun to see your responses on this… even though you guys always choose not to… why…………. I wouldn’t know who you are!! :-( Please just humour me la ok. HAHAHA.
—
Sometimes, I wonder how my friends became my friends.
I love asking about people’s first impressions of me – typical response: “nice and sweet, but actually freaking weird” (this is not a nice thing to say)
I am actually a very fluffy person and as I grow older, I realise how fluffy I actually am.. which means I cannot possibly be entirely fluffy. You know what I mean?
Like some people are coconuts.
Tough husk soft flesh.
But I think I’m this:
A Scotch-Brite Flat Mop.
You know why.
HAHAHAHA I laugh too much at my own jokes.
But you get where I’m coming from la ok.
I am not as fluffy as I look.
This is a threat.
(Not really.)
Someone once described me as a Russian Soufflé Cake… at that point I was totally creeped out but I think she wasn’t entirely delusional.
Question I truly have is why Russian???
I am so full of nonsense and I always digress.
Anyway!!
I’m not going to bore you with the MBTI personality tests and stuff, but if you’re someone I don’t know very well: my personality type is INFJ!
Please say hello if you’re also an INFJ.
Please say hello too if you’re not an INFJ.
If you have a lot of time to waste and want to find out more about this “extremely rare” personality type, click here!
I really think a lot of things mentioned are spot-on about me, it’s amazing.
I’m not the kind to obsess over such things la but it was quite interesting for me the first time I read it. And it really doesn’t ever change no matter how many times I take it!
I know there are people who take this way too seriously but it’s just fun to see your personality put into words… that are not 100% accurate, but good enough.
Heh.
There are some days I want to be best friends with everyone in the world, because people are so cool and so complex and so wonderful (by default) but then there are days I just want to roll around at home and hide under my bed.
I find it very difficult to make superficial and silly conversations like such:
“So where do you stay?” “I stay in the storeroom in my house!” “Oh that’s so Harry Potter-esque! Is it under the stairs?” “No it’s actually a bomb shelter!” “Wow cool!”
“What does sister do?”
“She has her own business – she sells rotten bananas. How about your brother?”
“That’s so exciting. My brother’s job is really boring – he counts how many red cars pass by our house every day.”
“Why?! Does he enjoy it though?”
“I dunno… Jobs are stupid. I don’t want to graduate.”
“What is your favourite food?” “I don’t know… if I have to pick one I think I’ll pick apple.” “Apples!! That’s so cool, nobody I know would pick apples as their favourite food.” “Yeah, because people usually don’t eat their iPhones.” “…” “…” “…”
Sorry I’m having too much fun by myself.
But yes silly conversations drain my battery so much.
I rather much spend my time getting to know you as a person – what are your motivations, beliefs, dreams, deep dark secrets, emotional baggage… than know how long you take to come to school and how many siblings you have.
But I understand that they all come together and people can’t start out diving into such private issues la.
Which is a problem for me making friends because people think I don’t care about they say when I really care… about other things in their lives. But I can’t possibly ask right!
Can you imagine me going: “Hey how depressed are you on a scale from 1 to 10?”
When I’m talking to people (especially for the first few times), my brain runs at a speed of 1000000 thoughts per minute – What should I ask next? Am I boring? Am I dominating the conversation? This is so tiring I don’t want to do this anymore.
It’s no fun when you’re an introvert to meet new people, unless you *click*.
And my friends are predominantly female and I still long for the day I meet my gay best friend.
I have imposed this on a couple of innocent parties (most notably, J) and they really aren’t gay in the first place so… there goes nothing.
But I really like to get to know people better than what’s on the surface, but not everybody’s comfortable with divulging crap about themselves they don’t want any old stranger to know, and I often don’t linger long enough to drill a hole.
Apparently I’m also not very reciprocative in terms of conversation when I meet people for the first few times. It’s somewhat explained above. Superficial conversations kill me slowly but yes I know they are completely necessary.
Know that I’m always trying my best ok.
And physical touch and quality time are how I show my love and receive my love… Touch is not the most appropriate thing to do when you meet someone for the first time. Some people don’t like it. And I avoid them at all costs. HAHAHAHAH kidding. My best friend hates it when I touch her but she puts up with it sometimes. Thanks beef. You know I love you. And you can’t really have quality time with people you barely know… can you?
I think people have different ways of getting closer to people, and some people are perfectly satisfied with having friends at a distance (e.g.”I am happy knowing that you have a pet lion and that’s all I want to know about you! DONT TELL ME ABOUT YOUR POOPING PROBLEMS.”) but I crave sincere friendships! I love authentic people.
My mother/sister think I’m “fake” to my friends… because my default self is truly quiet and introspective (which is how I behave at home), but there really are multiple layers to me ok. Like a nutmeg liver. You can uncover them yourself. HAHAHAHAHAHA. This just sounds wrong.
I also have a very weird habit of not looking at people when I’m outside, and sometimes FBN has to tell me “Your friend is waving at you.” before my eyes register said friend, proceed to light up and then you’ll see me returning the greeting. It’s just one of the weird things I do. Please don’t take it personally.
—
I love surrounding myself with happy people because sometimes good vibes are all you need!!
If you’re the kind of person that appears happy on the surface but have loads to worry about, know that you’re not alone – but people who often like to post emotional quotes online like “the saddest people smile the brightest, the prettiest eyes cry the most tears” is no-go for me. I will give you the love you need, please talk to somebody if something is really getting to you. Don’t post this kind of things so people will crawl to you please!!
I love listening to friends and their problems – not because they have problems, but the fact that they confide in me really brings our friendship to the next level. I don’t always give the most sound of advice, but know that I’m always here if you need someone to talk to!
Nobody should have to deal with their sadness alone, but I also understand if bottling things up and compartmentalising your feelings are your compensatory mechanisms.
But when you’re filled to the brim, you gotta empty it somehow!
Keeping it all in only makes you a ticking bomb and ticking bombs are scary.
Anyway bottomline of this post is:
I want to be your friend and I will listen to your woes and cheers.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
It’s not practical to be best friends with everybody (even if that’s what I would like) because relationships take time to nurture, and you always have to give time to people who matter!! You can’t just declare it and expect the other party to do the work.
I often get too comfortable with my friends and it’s soooo easy to take people for granted but lets try not do that.
And also it’s almost impossible to be friends forever with everybody so it’s okay to let a few slip occasionally (in a natural way, don’t fire them). But I’m a super sentimental person and I value all my friendships so don’t fade away!
This post is all over the place but you know what the point of today’s post la huh. ;-)
People are so complex!!!!!!
If you don’t like someone very much, maybe it’s because you don’t know them very well.
Or maybe it’s because you know them too well.
Life is interesting.
HAHAHA good night enjoy the upcoming weekends. <3
Treasure the people around you!!
Send that friend who’s always been around for you a confession text and get together already. Love is love.
I bet you didn’t expect that.
Sorry I’m so full of rubbish but I love seeing people get together.
I think it’s because I assume they are happier together. I really hope they are.
I always tell people to stay happy and healthy in all the cards/notes/letters that I write, not simply to fill up the space – but I think happiness and health are perhaps the most important things in life for you to enjoy it fully. It is not rocket science but it’s so easy to be distracted by other things yes?
So stay happy and healthy and invite me to your weddings when they happen.
Good night! Here’s a virtual hug from me to you if you need it!
P.S. I think I find it very difficult to stick to a schedule. I wanted to post this today because I like how the date looks.
