CARROT CAKE

Carrot Cake is one of those cakes that never go out of style. One bite will tell you why. This rich and moist spice cake, full of grated carrot and toasted nuts, has great flavor, especially when covered with a cream cheese frosting. The interesting part about adding grated carrot, is how you really don't taste its flavor.

'Carrot' comes from the Greek word "karōton" and the Greeks started the belief that eating carrots would improve your eyesight. John Ayto in "An A-Z of Food & Drink" tells how during World War II the British furthered this belief by saying that British pilots improved their night vision by eating huge amounts of carrots. They were, however, only trying to encourage the eating of carrots as it was one of the few foods that were not in short supply during the war.

Ingredients:

cakes

75 gm chopped walnuts
255 gm bread flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 eggs
3/4 cup corn oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
455 gm grated carrots
390 g sugar

cream cheese topping:

220 gm cream cheese
60 gm unsalted butter
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
130 gm icing sugar
finely grated orange zest of an orange
1 teaspoons orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh milk

Cooking directions:

1.Preheated oven until 180 degree C.Butter cake pans
2.Peel and finely grate the carrots.set aside.
3.Toast walnuts in a small baking pan in the oven until fragrant,5-10 minutes.Let cool and then chopped coarsely.
4.Beat the eggs until frothy.Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3-4 minutes).Add the oil in a steady stream and beat in the vanilla extract.
5.In a separate bowl,whisk flour,salt,cinnamon,baking powder and sodium bicarbonate.

6.Add the above mixture into eggs mixture and beat just until incorporated.
7.Add the grated carrots and chopped walnuts and mix with rubber spatula just until blended.
8.Scraped the batter into the prepared pan,spreading evenly.
9.Bake the cake until the top springs back when touched lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean(40-45 minutes)

Topping:

1.Beat cream cheese,unsalted butter,vanilla extract,icing sugar,orange juice,milk and lemon zest until fully incorporated and smooth.
2.Spread the cream over the cooled cake.

YUMMY!!!

Meanings of flowers

Flower have a language of their own.However,most have different meanings to different people.A gift of flowers for a special someone will always create its own personal meaning too....Here are some of traditional flower meanings:

ROSES

red: i love you

pink: expression of admiration

yellow: joy and friendship,decrease of love,jealosy

white: expression of remembrance,innocence and purity,

lavender: love at the first sight

Aloe Vera vs acne?

aloe vera ...Malaysian used to call it as 'lidah buaya'.Ancient Egyptians described it as 'Plant of Immortality'.Aloe vera is really good for your skin as the plant has moisturizing and healing properties.Transparent gel from the pulp of the meaty leaves of Aloe vera has been used topically for thousands of years to treat wounds, skin infections, burns, and numerous other dermatologic conditions.
I believed that aloe vera is good to treat acne too..as i'm using the fresh pulp and apply it onto my skin.Guess what?it works!!Even the glamorous Cleopatra regarded aloe vera as her beauty secret....and my granny too...

Yong tau foo...healthy diet?

Yong Tau Foo(YTF)...according to wikipedia,YTF is a chinese soup dish containing varied selection of food items such as fish balls,crab stick,lettuce,ladies fingers,cuttlefish,broccoli,mushrooms etc.Some of items such as bittergourd and chilis are usually filled with fish paste.This Hakka origins dish commonly found in Malaysia and Singapore.
You can choose YTF as one of your healthy diet menu since the recipe contains a great balance of proteins from vegetable and fish sources....You can have YTF with:

Broccoli-low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Mushrooms(shiitake)- a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc and Manganese, and a very good source of Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Copper and Selenium.

lettuce-It is also a good source of Protein, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Potassium and Manganese.

and others... nutritional facts:http://www.nutritiondata.com

You can have some for a healthy diet at http://www.helpguide.org

plum vs weight loss

Health Benefits of Plums

Plums provides proper nutrition to our good health. Dried plum for instant are packed with important vitamins and minerals like Potassium, Vitamin A, Magnesium, Iron and fiberto help us stay healthy, balanced and energized. It can improve our blood circulation by preventing platelet clotting.

Food that contains excessive fat, sugar and cholesterol, lack of exercises are the main cause of platelet clotting. These will subsequently attribute to several diseases like Artherosclerosis, High Blood Pressure, Stroke, Coronary Artery Disease (Heart Attack).

Prevent constipation and clear toxins can reach permanent weight loss

Plum contains Citric Acid that can effectively reduce and prevent tiredness and muscle-cramp. It helps to regenerate our body by disposing unwanted substances. It can also improve gastrointestinal and liver function and thus prevents constipation.

Eat Plum everyday towards a more healthy life

Research proved that by consuming the right quantity of the plums in our daily diet will significantly increase the dietary fiber, helping us achieving the dietary goal. It will prevent bone loss associated with estrogen loss at menopause, and prevent the rise in total of non-HDL blood cholesterol levels.