Happy 1st birthday, Extra Virgin Chef.

Today marks the end of my first year as a blogger, and I've often mused about why I blog.


Along with millions of others, I publicise my thoughts and invite everyone and anyone in the world to read what I write and peep into my kitchen on what I'm learning to cook that day. I post on my blog a few times a week or as and when I'm inspired by a dish, a food picture or an ingredient. 

My blog posts tend to be short due to attention span. Yours and mine. Personally, I always prefer a quick read and adopt a "get-to-the-point" approach. And sometimes I just run out of words or am too busy munching on my food or being a culinary paparazzi.

A couple of my posts got some good hits and were featured on official food channels but most of them are ignored.  I don't do all the things I've been advised to do in order to drive more traffic and viewership to the blog so I don't expect a huge following. Now I get just enough attention to stay motivated.

Sometimes when I meet a friend for a coffee or bump into an acquaintance or an ex-colleague from the corporate days, someone will tell me that they enjoy my blog and are inspired to try my recipes. That’s the best compliment of all. It’s even better than hearing that my food tastes good. Well, almost.

A third of my readers are from Singapore, which is not a surprise. Almost a third are from the US which is a big surprise. Who are these silent readers reading my blog so faithfully but hardly dropping comments on the site? 

If you’re a blogger like me, it’s exciting to discover that someone in the Ukraine, Taiwan and Vladisvostok looked at your site. My reach, thanks to the power of the internet, goes to countries whose names I can't even pronounce.

I intend to enter my second year as a blogger and keep this site going.  If nothing else, it will help reduce my anxiety over this transient stage of life.

Then, if I get into some business of my own, I’ll have plenty to write about. 

And if I don't, well, hopefully you will see a more learned cook emerging from the apron of an extra virgin chef.

Follow me on Facebook or Twitter as I continue to cross the kitchen chasm. If you have enjoyed my blog or somehow benefitted from reading it, do share my public page with your friends www.facebook.com/extravirginchef.

In case you're new here, these are some of my food highlights from the the last 12 months. Every picture brings back memories ranging from panic in the kitchen to pure exhilaration when the dish is a success. 

No-bake Cheesecake with Strawberry Hearts 

Pink-blush duck breast with crispy, crackling top

Beef Carpaccio

Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake Ice Cream

Bamboo Charcoal Loaf

Home-made Ciabatta

Slow-roast Duck Legs

American Carrot Walnut Cake

Pretty Ratatouille

Barded Chickens

Seri Muka Nonya Kueh

Baked Sunny Eggs in Ramekin 

Home-cured Gravlax or Smoked Salmon

Carrot walnut cake Part 2

I took my leftover piece out of the fridge for a photoshoot. To me, it tasted better today than yesterday. There's something about overnight food really. Still, much room for improvement.

Hole on the left created from apple chunk. Apples should have been sliced much thinner.

Cream cheese topping - I can do with more of it so the sides are better coated. 

Oh and only small raisins. No big ones even if you run out!

Living Room Talk #1: Virgin American carrot walnut cake, my little everest

A mountain scaled.

I've wanted to try this for a long time and finally got to it yesterday. We had invited Esther who recently conquered Everest to our place to share her experience together with 20 other friends and their young adults. This was a good occasion to conquer my own little everest with a small e. I wanted to do a step-by-step photography but that proved too much to handle so I gave up on the photos and focused on getting the cake right.

"Sliced thinly", so the recipe says. These here are not thin enough. You should be able to almost 'see through' the slices, otherwise, they affect the cake cutting later.

Cook with cinnamon and brown sugar. Leave to cool, then mix in raisins, grated carrot and ground hazelnut 

This was when I gave up on the step-by-step photography and focused on getting the cake right instead.
Here's how it looked just before going into the oven.

I got busy and it overcooked by about 6-7 minutes or so and caused some cracklines, the crevices of my little everest

It should be given more time to cool but I didn't have that much time and it felt a little too soft to handle. I learned later you should always make a cake a day before you need it.

I've seen my sous chef do this and was excited to try on my own.

The topping is cream cheese, icing sugar, Kirschwasser and pistachio. I did not know what K was, so I googled and saw images of cherry brandy. I happened to have some cherries in the fridge so I poured some liquor I had bought in Frankfurt and soaked the cherries for a couple of hours, then scooped 2 TBS and mixed into my cheese topping. It worked rather well!  

So here's the final product. No pictures of the sliced cake as I got too busy chatting with friends by then. (Update: click here for a picture of the sliced cake taken the morning after.)

Not enough cheese topping, was one of the feedback. I think she's right! I like to get specific honest constructive feedback but not too harsh to scare me from trying again!

Overall, a rather nutritious cake I think - 2 carrots, 3 Granny Smith green apples, a good pile of raisin and 3 types of nuts (hazelnut, walnut, pistachio). Esther was awesomeness packed into a petite body. We all went away inspired by her amazing story of life and death, humility, imagination, courage, and her closeness with God Almighty. I also enjoyed catching up with friends I'd not seen for a while, and listening to their stories of overcoming the mountains in their own lives. It was a very lovely evening indeed.

Click here for the morning-after look of the cake.