kachow!!

happy birthday to my friend AC

baking lesson

have you ever thought that so much science is involved in baking? i always thought just mixing all the ingredients together and sticking it into the oven will be just fine. nope... look at my failed marble cake last week. in order to give baking another try, i went to get help from my aunt.

my aunt is a super cook. she studied cookery (i guess that's the equivalent term to culinary) in hong kong and was a home economics teacher before coming to the states.

she taught me the various methods and techniques, showed me how important having the right kitchen tools are, and shared with me her own baker's tips. from the amount of air that goes in the batter to the right rack in the oven, baking is really a science subject itself. especially if you want your baked goods to be perfect. but experience is definitely the key~

right tools + correct techniques + good ingredients = yummy cakes!


roll cake demonstration


this cookbook from 1981 is my aunt's secret weapon


spongy!


this marble cake is much better, right?

exhibition: annie leibowitz

today, my friend C and i went to see annie leibowitz's exhibition.


i've lived in the sf bay area for almost 15 years but have not known about the legion of honor museum until now. situated in lincoln park, it's not a very large museum but it reminded me of the louvre in paris (well, maybe just a little...)


see what i mean by "reminded me of the louvre"?
it has a miniature glass pyramid replica at the entrance.


sorry... no pictures from the leibowitz exhibition, because cameras were off limits in that area.

we also went to the other permanent collections in the museum.
here's a beautiful satin footstool from the early 19th century

very interesting porcelain teapot... maybe this was the inspiration for the teapot song

this simple blue teacup and saucer set was my favorite among the porcelain collection


at the museum entrance, we found an amazing glass sculpture. it was composed of many hand-blown glass tubes. the sculpture looked fragile yet strong. it's a preview of an upcoming exhibition by the artist dale chihuly.


may i present my own masterpiece... lol

late night cravings

why did i have to come across this website at 1:00am, when my late night cravings started to kick in? (no, not only preggies have late night cravings...)

must bookmark!

success vs. failure

here are some examples of success and failure -- learned from my baking challenges.

success:
ham and corn pastry


semi-success (coz it's not really what i expected, but turned out ok):
chocolate puffs


failure:
"supposed to be" marble cake


will work harder next time...

annie leibowitz

a few nights ago, i came across a documentary on the famous american photographer - annie leibowitz. i knew leibowitz from being a subscriber of vanity fair magazine a few years ago and i was amazed by her shots. if you're not familiar with her, she gained her fame by taking cover photos for rolling stone magazine in the 1970's. she then moved on to work for vanity fair and vogue -- a completely different style from rolling stone. let me introduce a few of her famous shots.

john lennon and yoko ono - taken the day when lennon was killed (december 8, 1980). rolling stone decided to use his final publicity photo as a commemorative cover.

photograph © Annie Leibowitz

the shocking nude maternity photo of demi moore in 1991

photograph © Annie Leibowitz

the much hyped up 2006 family portrait debuting suri cruise

photograph © Annie Leibowitz

one of leibowitz's famous hollywood group shots for vanity fair


a sample from her latest book "annie leibowitz: a photographer's life, 1990-2005" released in october 2006

photograph © Annie Leibowitz

leibowitz at her book release


some photos from the book is currently on exhibit in san francisco. my friend C and i plan to go to the exhibition next weekend. let me know if you are interested to join!


Annie Leibowitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honor
Lincoln Park
34th Avenue & Clement Street
San Francisco, CA 94121
* tuesday through sunday; 9:30am - 5:15pm
* adult admission: $15; free admission for members