Monday, April 14, 2008

When The Fatboybakes Falls Sick......

I have always prided myself on almost never falling sick. Even after my trans Malaysian Qing Ming tour, where we suffered the effects of Yeet Hei (Heatiness, equivalent to consuming 20 durians), I fought off the impending cough by pumping myself with liberal doses of vitamin C, fruit juices, ( a healthy cocktail of carrot, celery, bitter gourd, orange juice, every morning, freshly made in juicer) and looked like I was about to emerge victorious. Meanwhile the nefarious army of germs were regrouping, like the orcs of Sauron, as I basked in my temporal victory, and even made a pavlova to celebrate.

This was on the Tuesday night. I even went to the gym, for Body Combat. The family ooh-ed and ah-ed, (the adults only, the kids looked at the fruit and went, EUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH), when I brought this out for dessert. I am confident in saying that since making the one for Lemongrass, I am now confident I have mastered the art in making a decent Pavlova nest, crispy and crunchy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, almost marshmallowy, but lighter. Initially the stars did not seem aligned for this dessert to happen. Blueberries had shot up in price, nearly doubling (to RM22 a punnet) since two weeks ago, (and people complain about 20 sen in hike per kg for noodles), organic passionfruit was nowhere to be found, leaving the option of those expensive shrivelled types, which cost RM6 each, ..... and the base of the meringue nest broke.

But good deeds beget good karma, and as I trotted to Bangsar Village again, later in the afternoon, to check for Lemongrass if they sold bulgur, (for tabouli), I found the passionfruit I was looking for, and the stars looked aligned again.



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So, after a hearty family dinner, a good workout, glorious dessert, I plonked myself in front of the TV, relegating the parental duties of homework assistance, reading to the kids etc, to their mother, who does it so much better. Also, I feel, the father participation should be occasional, so as to make it "special", and not taken for granted. Ya wat, it's like Unkaleong who always jual mahal for invites, so when he DOES show up, people think its a big deal.

I digress. As I was in this happy state of affairs, little did I know that this little army of cretinous bacteria were regrouping, and at about 10pm, launched their attack. Charrrrrrrrrge, I coulda sworn I heard them say.


Suddenly clutching my heart.... okay, maybe not that dramatic, suddenly, that Grease Song ran through my mind...
I got chills.
They're multiplyin'.
And I'm losin' control.
'Cause the power
you're suplyin',
it's electrifyin'!


Badabush, it hit the way the opposition hit the National Front on March the 8th. I started shivering, and thought I had been teleported to a winter in Siberia. It's a horrible feeling.

By midnight, my temperature had risen to 39.5C, and I administered some panadol, ....it was dark, they could have been the ones for menstruation for all I know....

The next morning, visit to the doctor. Antibiotics. Continued sleeping. Total hours in bed = THIRTY SIX. Gosh, I never knew I was capable of that much sleep!!!!! Did Lemongrass, whom I chat with REGULARLY on MSN even bother to sms to find out why I was unannouncedly missing in action for that entire duration? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

By Thursday evening, I was returning to some semblance of normality, and as I hadn't eaten for the last 36 hours, I suddenly felt a craving for THIS:


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BUTTERCAKE!!! Bizarre, don't ask me WHY!!!! I just had to have cake. And nothing the the aroma of golden churn wafting through the oven to make me feel that I was alive again....the sun was breaking through the dark clouds of Mordor, as the orcs were slaughtered by the forces of Good.

I have to say, the buttercake, with Golden Churn, was absolutely yummy. The others in the household, deprived of my delightful company for the last 2 days, delightedly chomped up the cake, which was finished in no time. (it did last a day la).

Friday, I was about 80% there, and so, for bible study, as an offering of thanksgiving.... I decided to swamp by cell group with food, spiritual and physical. Have always wanted to try this recipe from the Golden Chocolate Book, ORANGE CHOCOLATE SQUARES.

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It's only today that I realised there's a blood pressure monitor in the background. Anyway, to cut a long story short, PTOOOOOOOOOOOOOI, its a horrible recipe. Okay, granted I didn't follow it to a T, but in fact, the original recipe would have been even WORSE, I reckon!!!

So, to really potong steam, DON'T EVEN BOTHER trying it. It ranks right up there with Lemongrass's baking disasters of late. At least her mitosised choc chip cookies tasted okay. These look okay, but taste horrid. HORRIBLE. The son took one bite and spat it out. The adults were a bit more polite, and said, "not that bad la". (which is the Adult equivalent of going "Ptoooi")

But the saving grace were these babies. My favourite, Pigs in Blanket. Seeing as to how I had spent a lot of hours curled up in a blanked recently, it was a dish after my own heart.

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The name is inspired by Nigella Lawson, but I didn't follow her recipe this time. Instead, I used a cream cheese based pastry, (usually for Rugelach or cream cheese spirals), which is lovely, light and aromatic. See, I do feed them well. (my cell group).

Anyway, I think I'm almost fully recovered, except for this slight cough I cant seem to shake off.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Fatboy, you know what, I got the exact comment like the one on top. I think this girl cut and paste everywhere. Anyway, hope you are feeling ok..I think musim la. Drink lots of the fruit juice. Ok, take care.

Anonymous said...

Hallo, at least I showed concern the next day! That should count for something, no?

MSN conversation reproduced here, in true FBB style, for effect:

LL awwww. i missed u yesterday lar...poor dog
fatboybakes i think i'm going home to rest soon too
fatboybakes never kena so bad before
LL flu?
fatboybakes guess so
LL poor boy. yes, do get your rest.

Well, well??

Babe_KL said...

wahhh sick still can bake? *tabik* kekeke i've been out of action for ages cos been coughing 2 weeks non-stop :(

Argus Lou said...

Chortled at your "noticed blood pressure gauge at the back".
How come the passionfruit in your pretty pavlova is a bit like custard? ^_^
Thought Pigs in Blanket have been called that since before Ms Lawson was born. (She's beautiful but I'm not really keen on her cooking methods, sorry.)
Liked pic of your germs -- can be used to wash bottles, ah?

Tummythoz said...

Sad title but such a funny post. Somemore got a couple of shots aimed at friends. U not feeling well? Yearite.

Big Boys Oven said...

hahahah you should also feed us well too! walio since when eh?

msiagirl said...

Still on form despite the flubugs! My daughter was gazing in awe at your baking output on a sick day. Going to go and make those pig in blankies now for lunch.

fatboybakes said...

hiya, msiagirl. oooh, more pigs in blankies. such a delightful name hor... trust the brits.

BBO, you feed me first la, you the baking see foo mah.

tummythoz, yarwat, misery loves company ma. but okay liao. on wednesday, i doubt i can even sit facing the PC for more than 30 seconds

argus, looks like custard meh? where got. the long yellow pieces are nangka wor. ya ya, i'm sure PIB were there before boobsie's time, but i first read abt it in her book. oooh, she's still my goddess.

babe, did you try the vicks on foot and cover with socks trick ah? i also cant shake my cough after finishing a whole course of antibiotics AND whole bottle of cough mixture.

showed concern the next day, LEMONGRASS? i could have rigor mortised by then.

min, that's definitely spam. hey, where's your choc cake recipe?

Anonymous said...

Hi, have been reading your blog regularly here in London. Very witty! What exactly is Golden Churn? And is it alright if you share your recipe for the lovely buttercake? Thanks!

Argus Lou said...

Aah, almost orange-coloured nangka - didn't know. How innovative!

HairyBerry said...

wah, man, you really live up to your nick ar? the baking part, i mean. at a time of misery and war with those hairy, sperm-like microbes, you can still make wonderful cakes and pastries...

cream cheese based pastry with sausages..yeah, high on heat capacity (equals fever) but still, who can resist??? haha!

Breadpitt said...

oo, the aroma of golden churn butter are great , those butter cake looks tempting . hope u feelin better now.

fatboybakes said...

hi breadpitt, yup, golden churn smells great.

nickhkl, hahah, fidgety person by nature, so even in sickness (except when i was in near comatose state), must potter around....

argus, the dark orange colored nangkas are the best wat.

small, golden churn is a brand of creamery butter from new zealand, that comes in a tin. it has been used since time immemorial, (according to the older folk), when refrigeration wasnt a common thing, and it produces the most aromatic of butter cakes. i personally find the actual butter a bit too bovine smelling, so i wouldnt eat it like that, but in cake, ah, divine. however, the english and irish butters are wonderful anyway, so i wouldnt be too worried if i didnt find golden churn in london.
now problems with the recipe, just email me at fatboybakes@gmail.com. i might have posted it before. thanks for the compliment, and do keep visiting.

sc said...

hope you're feeling much better today! but you really berkobar-kobar here fatboybakes, so sick can still make an effort to bake..salute!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

poor thing..next time we will check on you when you are not blogging about cakes..

Rarebeet said...

Am having visuals of you wrapped up in a blanket sick and sausage-like. Hmmm... Anyway, well done for even wanting to bake when the orcs are attacking. Hope you are feeling better!

p,s. looks are so deceiving eh. that orange chocolate slice thing "looks" good enough to eat.

UnkaLeong said...

wah...you sure you ok for Thursday ah? I have not been online for a while oni fall sick. Tsk tsk tsk..

fatboybakes said...

unkaleong, har har...yalor, such a paramount influence that you are!

paps, hahah, yar, quite pathetic aitelyu, in foetal position, thick quilt, shivering and squealing in misery....
actually i forgot to mention what was wrong with the orange squares. the layers was too spongy, prob too much cornflour, and tasted like haliborange, or some orangey cough mixture.

nipples, that reminds me, i dont think i have your hp no....

sc, wah, i havent heard that word for a long time,berkobar kobar...
haha, no la, the baking was after i was no longer bedridden ler...

JOjo said...

Virus virus go away~
Come again another day~

Oh, forgot, virus infection doesn't use antibiotic. So yours must be a bacteria infection then.

Ok, i'm so virus-intoxicated. Virology paper coming Thurs @@"

Hope you are up and kicking now. Speedy recovery from the irritating cough! =)

Anonymous said...

Hi there FBB,

I regularly read your blogs and have tried out a number of recipes which you have posted here.... and they turned out really well... :D especially the molten flourless chotolate cake... yummyyyy... :D

anyways... was just wondering, whether you have any recipes for baking cakes using microwave, not using the convection function, but using the regular microwave settings.

Thanks

fatboybakes said...

jojo, wah, you medical student ah?

SPV, thanks for dropping by, and so glad that the recipes work for you. actually, i've been meaning to try out the microwave cakes myself, since i have several silicone pans that supposedly are great for microwaves. tell you what, i shall make that my next exploratory project, and will let you know the results.

Anonymous said...

Glad you're feeling better, FBB. We miss your particular brand of wit around here in FoodBlogLand. Can go BC some more... terror lah you.

And was it just me or did you call Her Royal Nigellaness 'boobsie'?? Urgles.

Bernsy said...

FBB ,

did you try the honey and whiskey remedy for sore throat and coughs ?

Gwai lou recommend wan...

fatboybakes said...

bernsy, AIYA, you mean its honey and whiskey ah!!!! i've been having whisky, sans the honey, and with honey, plus lemon no whisky. drat. but it seems SUCH a waste to sweeten whisky laidat wor. you think it'll work if i drank it both separately?

kennymah, actually i'm well oridi ma,thats why can go combat ler. thanks anyway for your kind words. haha, "particular brand of wit".... now, let me see, if i were a brand of wit, what brand would i be..hmmm...alas, the creative juices arent flowing.

Simon Seow said...

Why have cake? Because you are Fat Boy Bakes, not Fat Boy Steams or Fat Boy Grill.