Entries from January 2008
16 January, 2008 · 1 Comment
My current bedside book is The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Here’s a little snippet purely for your amusement.
“Four thousand million years on, what was to be the fate of the ancient replicators (ancestors of present day genes)? They did not die out, for they are past masters of the survival arts. But do not look for them floating loose in the sea; they gave up that cavalier freedom long ago. Now they swarm in huge colonies, safe inside gigantic lumbering robots, sealed off from the outside world, communicating with it by tortuous indirect routes, manipulating it by remote control. They are in you and in me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence. They have come a long way, those replicators. Now they go by the name of genes, and we are their survival machines.”
Is it just me or does anyone else find this incredibly corny? In a bad sci-fi movie way… “Gigantic lumbering robots” = you and me???!!!
I also have to say that it really irks me when people completely write-off Dawkins because of his attempts to undermine Christian theology. Yes, I do feel a sense of indignation when I read things like “…I suppose the scholars of the Septuagint could at least be said to have started something big when they mistranslated the Hebrew word for ‘young woman’ into the Greek word for ‘virgin’, coming up with the prophecy…”. I feel that the illustration adds no value to the argument because of its controversial nature, and perhaps it is even distracting for the reader, as in my case. I hold on to the belief that God is God, and none of man’s folly or schemes can undermine His work. Nothing theologically profound but that’s what keeps me going. Having said that, I still respect Dawkins as a scientist (another story for another time). Yawn Yawn.
The next time I am bored, I will try to find out how much theology Dawkins actually understands and if he is well-versed in Hebrew and/or Greek.
Categories: Biology
Making dumplings is such hard work. Guess how upset I was when I realised that I had forgotten to take a picture of the dumplings only after I devoured them. My dumplings were curry puff shaped (the kind with a wave-like fringe) because I suck at pleating the skin. I learned how to make the curry puff (pok!) shape ages ago during those Play-Dough sessions with Dad. Pink, Yellow and Blue ones. Yum.
Cookie-cutter-cut dough waiting to be rolled out.
Beef and mushroom filling.
The wonderful thing about dumplings is that you can fill them with almost anything. Pork, or beef, spring onions, peas, spinach, Chinese leaves… Just remember that a little sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper, garlic and ginger goes a long way. I used the method I learned from
Cooking Cute to cook the dumplings. The result was crispy dumplings which weren’t dripping oil. Best of all, the insides were soupy like
Xiao Long Bao. The left over dough was rolled into little balls and flattened, then cooked in soup, in the style of
Mee Hoon Kueh. Dad, Gene and I used to make Mee Hoon Kueh on Sunday nights when Mom was either out shopping or ill. Idiot-Proof and a lot of family fun.
Categories: Cooking · Food
Winter Vacation ends tomorrow!
This was my end-of-vacation treat.
I made the marinade with a couple of tablespoons of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, honey,
hoisin sauce and sugar. I believe the ratio was something close to 5:3:5:2:3. Also, two teaspoons of chopped garlic and ginger. The concoction was heated over the hob until the sugar melted then poured into a large bowl to cover the pork ribs (the few which could not fit into my slow cooker when I made
Bak Kut Teh) and left in the refrigerator for 7 hours. Roasted at somewhere between 180 - 210 degreeC for about 25 - 30min and flipped about three times. A severe lack of precision for a scientist to be eh? Surprisingly, I managed to get the red colour without food colouring. Boo to my poorly white balanced handphone camera. Next time, I’ll use pork fillet and perhaps try making Char Siew Bao if I can get my grandma’s recipe for the dough.
Categories: Cooking · Food
Papa Fong is from Hong Kong. Mama Fong comes from Malaysia. Big Sister Fong is English, comically, Little Sister Fong is Scottish.
Great Chinese Food over lunch! So much so that I neglected my camera. The Wonton noodles pictured is from the unplanned dinner. Hoi Wen, Lynn and I helped out with the wrapping. We stayed from 1pm to 11pm partly because six of us were engaged in a brain-wrecking round of Chinese Checkers which took several hours. I really appreciate great company. Also, I <3 being Asian. Asian Food - Oriental, Indian, Middle Eastern, Whatever. We Own.
In true Asian-Grandma style, I did not allow myself to turn up empty-handed. Edible gifts are great for several reasons - they’re not as cliche as chocolate or wine, neither do they break the bank. I’m really happy that my Lemon Pound Cake, made from a modified version of Martha Steward’s recipe turned out well! A little moist on the inside and not too sweet. I only wish it looked prettier, perhaps a little more festive. I understand now why my Mom always taught us that “presentation is very important”. Pride Ladies (& Gents). It’s all about the Pride.
Categories: Food · Friends
Out of sheer boredom, I started to teach myself how to knit over the exam period - It is now an addiction! I highly recommend Debbie Stoller’s Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook to anyone who wants to learn how to knit - fast (n00bs!). It’s the only knitting book I’ve ever read and I learnt how to knit without much of the associated frustration.
After knitting about three useless 4×4″ swatches, I decided to take it one level up. Here’s my first project, completed over the span of two days - The very famous Calorimetry from Knitty. As anticipated, my version is a little too big for my puny skull - I did not dare to modify the pattern, lest I screw up. I’m just a no0Ob.
this is my chicken-ass ponytail.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Categories: Completed projects
