The End - Chapter 6

After a restless sleep Lauren and I were up and ready to solve the Japanese puzzle box. The moment we stepped out of the warm welcome lounge, a bitterly cold gust of air froze the moisture on our skin. Instinctively we retreated back into the warmth of the hotel lounge.

Soon the pristinely clean taxi pulled up to the curb and signaled for us to enter. Snow kept on blurring my vision as I was sprinting through the freezing conditions of Tokyo. I heard a dull thud and my foot hit a jagged stone protruding from the pavement. I fell down.

My hands were touching the freezing bare concrete. I couldn’t even lift them as they were stuck. Gasping for breath, my lungs struggled to process the cold air. A shiver ran down my spine as I heard an eerily familiar voice “Be careful. Be very careful.” A wrinkled old hand lay on my back and I began to involuntarily twitch.

I couldn’t believe it. The scene before me began to whiz and images of milestones in my life seemed to rush around me. My head began to hurt and sweat trickled down my face even though it was freezing cold. Nausea rushed through my body, as the images sped up into a brilliant blur of white. I struggled to stay conscious, but it was just too overwhelming. I collapsed to the ground, as the blur around me dissipated. I croakily sucked in the few breaths that I could manage. Though I could hear footsteps crunching in the soft snow and the busy traffic in Tokyo, all I could see was the colour black.

Through all the chaos and confusion in my head, I finally figured out what had happened. The elderly lady still had her hand pressed into my back. I had to escape. I lurched and writhed, but all I felt was the stinging coldness of the snow. A sharp, yet soothing female voice commanded, “Stay still.”

Thick ropes shot out from all directions and tied me up; I gave up once again. The voice echoed in the darkness “Good. Now, pay attention.”

The darkness below began to disappear, revealing a glowing red underneath. At first, the warmth felt wonderful; contrasting the harsh wintery bitterness of Japan. But within a few minutes, breathing became uncomfortable because of the unbearable heat.

I lifted myself off the ground and noticed that I was standing in a glass corridor. Steep rocky cliffs around me all ended up at a cracked glowing terrain that appeared about one hundred metres down from where I was observing.

Where was I?

Glancing around my surroundings, I heard a groaning noise echoing from below. I could see a vague shadow. It was a man; he looked as if he was in his fifties. Looking rather familiar, it struck me that it was my late father. A dark cloaked figure glided across the cracked ground and stretched a long bony finger; the finger was pointing at me. My father slowly turned around and glared gloomily at me. His skin was a dull grey and his eyes drooped. His face all deformed and twisted.

Surely this was hell.

CHOCOLATE !

Background Speel:
Chocolate begins with the seeds/beans of the Cacao tree (Yess, spelled C-a-c-a-o)
The seeds are very bitter.



Through fermentation, the beans get their flavour. The beans are dried, cleaned and roasted and the shell is removed as well ---> Which = Cacao Nibs.

Cacao nibs are ground (Noob terms: Smashed really hard until they turn pasty)which = cocoa mass(Yess, spelled C-o-c-o-a)or when its warmed up into a liquid, cocoa liquor.

The liquor is often processed into ---> cocoa solids (or powder) + cocoa butter



NOW.. Chocolate is created..
Dark Chocolate=Cocoa Liquor+Sugar+Cocoa Butter
Milk Chocolate=Cocoa Liquor+Sugar+Cocoa Butter+Milk or Milk Powder
White Chocolate=Sugar+Cocoa Butter+Milk or Milk Powder

AS you can see.. White Chocolate ..doesn't really count as a type of chocolate..:)
What's your favourite? VOTE! :P

SOME OF MY CHOCOLATE INVENTIONS :):)



Chocolate cake (Cocoa+Sugar+Flour+Eggs+Milk) and Chocolate Sauce (Chocolate+Cream)



Cocoa Drinks (Cocoa+Sugar+Milk+Vanilla)



Chewy Chocolate Biscuits (Cocoa, Eggs, Almond Meal, Sugar) and Chocolate Ganache (Chocolate and Cream)



CHocolate Mousse (Chocolate, Cocoa, Eggs, Cream, Sugar)

Juggling?

Much of cooking is balancing flavours...Especially Asian Cooking
Elements of salty, sweet, spicy, sour and bitter are all well balanced in good cooking.

I went out for Vietnamese food today.. and I really love a dish called Bun (?) which is a Viet noodle salad
This dish has many components including the lettuce, onion, carrot, meat, nuts, noodle and of course the sweet, sour and spicy dressing..
On their own they are very plain and ordinary, but together they taste amazing!

Some people are narrow minded in that they try all the components separately, then not enjoying it much, they come to the conclusion that the dish is terrible..

Haha I'm rambling now.. well I always balance flavours and apply it to chicken.. eg: honey lemon chicken.. or honey soy chicken!
(above is my attempt at honey lemon chicken)

CHIFFON CAKE ^^

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while.. but i've been procrastinating again :PP

Umm.. I LOVE CHIFFON CAKE.. My parents used to buy it for me from asian grocers.. and they were beautifully chewy/spongy/moist.. and a common Chiffon cake flavour is Pandan (referred to as the Asian Vanilla)

Above is a photo of a perfect Chiffon cake.. and then my failed attempt :PP MM My excuses: a bad oven, a bad baking tin.. :)
I definitely recommend trying authentic chiffon cake^^

Moroccan!

It's nearing the end of WINTER!! August time :):)
MM.. Well one of the cuisines I really love is Moroccan!

GEOGRAPHY LESSON: Morocco is located on the North East of Africa!

Moroccan food is soo diverse and comes from so many different backgrounds. Couscous is eaten a lot with Moroccan Food (Will's Saying: As Couscous is to Moroccan, Rice is to Asian :)

They are also known for theyre delicious mint tea (Poh's Kitchen ep.22? I think.. about breakfasts)

Without further ado.. I present to you my interpretation of Moroccan Lamb on Couscous with Yoghurt!(Pictured Above)

I recommend Masterfood's Moroccan Seasoning (Pictured Above)! It's soo good and versatile. It's great to flavour bread crumbs when coating fish or chicken.. great for adding depth of flavour to meat, soups, pizzas, stews, broths.. and so much more!