Chicken Pox - Day 4

Baby seems to have gotten over the worst of his chicken pox. I didn't notice any new blisters today.

He doesn't seem too bothered by the blisters. I have been giving him oatmeal and bicarbonate of soda baths several times a day. I have also applied Vitamin E on his scars. This is on top of the calamine lotion that the doctor gave us. I read that honey , smeared onto the skin, is also a good remedy. But it sounds too messy for me!

If no more blisters appear, then I'd say his illness has been rather mild. I'm crossing my fingers no-one else at home gets it. We want to be able to have some holiday fun outdoors!

Chicken Pox!

Baby was diagnosed with chicken pox on Monday, at the start of the school holidays. So all our plans haven't at least the next two weeks have been thrown out the window.

At first, it didn't look too serious, but on Monday night, he simply couldn't sleep. It must've been very uncomfortable for him as he was wailing all night, and even nursing couldn't calm him.

As a result, I hardly slept. It was amazing I made it through the day...

He seems to be sleeping better tonight...but it's still early. I should go take a catnap while I can!

Chocolate Cake (Rachel Allen)

I was looking for a simple basic chocolate cake recipe for Junior's 7th birthday celebration at home (just the family).  I chose Rachel Allen's Chocolate Cake recipe (from her book "bake") as it looked like a classic chocolate sponge with chocolate buttercream icing.  It was relatively easy to make.

In terms of flavour, it was OK. Jr liked it and said it was sugary (mainly due to the icing, which was more sugar than chocolate).  I thought the chocolate flavour was not as strong as I would've like it to be, and the icing was much too sweet (which I think for some people is really the point of icing).

I have mentioned before that I am wondering if my oven is too hot, thereby drying out my cakes. I did bake this a little shorter than the recommended time.  But the cake was also a teeny weeny little bit drier than I prefer, though I must say I am comparing it with the really moist chocolate cakes I've made before.  Perhaps it was because it was refrigerated before tasting time.  The cake certainly did not look overcooked (not cracks on the surface or mountain effect).

Overall, it was pleasant tasting, but I think I have other much nicer chocolate cake recipes that I'd reach for before this version.   I like my chocolate cakes really moist and chocolatey, almost fudgy.  But this is really just a simple chocolate sponge, which is a different cake altogether.  So I guess I was expecting too much.  Sorry Rachel Allen!

Dense Chocolate Cupcakes (2)

I had made these wonderful cupcakes from Nigella's HTBADG previously, and blogged about it here.  The recipe is soooo soooo soooo good, that I've made it again and again.  Most recently for Teachers' Day in September.

This time round, I used the skills learnt from my Basic Cupcake Decorating Course at Bake It Yourself to do little pretty swirls with the chocolate ganache.  The ganache, as usual, was a pain to make. But I managed to get it (sort of) right after employing the refrigeration trick learnt from my experiment with strawberry shortcakes.

Here are the pretty pictures!

Brownies (Joy of Baking)

I baked this in August but didn't have time to blog about it as things have been quite crazy the last few months!  Anyway, Jr watched an episode of Masterchef Australia which featured brownies and asked to make some.  I thought we should try the brownie recipe from Joy of Baking this time. (I had done Nigella's Flourless Chocolate Brownies previously.)

Based on my previous experience with Joy of Baking's recipes, and the fact that they warn you about the baking time only being a guide, I decided to bake the brownies for 20 min instead of the recommended 25 - 30 min.  Even then, it turned out a little bit dry.  I'm wondering now if my oven is too hot. But the oven thermometer tells me that the temperature is OK.  I'll try out Nigella's recipe again and see if it's an oven thing or a recipe thing.


Or perhaps, they are two different types of brownies. One fudgier and one more cookie-like.  (Which suddenly reminds me of those gorgeous Ben's cookies I used to get at Oxford's covered market during my student days.)

Anyway, it was quite yummy, and not as sweet as Nigella's version.  Still, I prefer Nigella's brownies.

His Peace

This morning, BB had a routine medical appointment.  As we were having our breakfast at the hospital foodcourt, enjoying my time with Baby, BB and Hubby (Junior was at school), I became aware that exactly a year ago, I was at this very same hospital, and not quite so happy.  I was 29 weeks pregnant and on the way to a work meeting, when I discovered that I was bleeding heavily.  I was rushed to the hospital.

The doctor in her usual soothing manner did her best to calm me, while explaining the seriousness of the situation.  She spoke about trying to keep Baby in for as long as possible, but that they might have to take him out if the situation did not improve.  I remember her words very clearly, "If baby has to come out now, he has a very reasonable chance of survival."  While I was relieved that baby was OK at that point, I was suddenly aware that we might lose him.  Which mother wants only a reasonable chance that her baby would survive?  And my tears flowed.

Fast forward a year later.  I thank God everyday that he kept Baby safe.  The weeks that followed my hospitalisation were full of fear and anxiety as we faced many issues with the pregnancy.  But God was always there.  Always showing us that He would lead the way, if we would only trust Him.  It was a faith journey.  With Baby I think God has been challenging me to allow His peace to enter my anxious heart.  I am still journeying.  But today, I just want to give Him thanks and praise for giving me this "Peace" Baby.