RedVanilla | tong’s kitchen experiments

The Girl in the Kitchen

I bake from my Grandma’s kitchen in the westernmost corner of Singapore. I’ve only been baking regularly for the past few months or so, even though I remember that I made my very first batch of chocolate chip cookies when I was 13. I’ve since lost that recipe, and moved on to explore the many other types of baked goods there are.

I’m going to be 20 (the big two o!) at the end of this year, and I’m currently in my final year, studying Mass Communication in Ngee Ann Poly. It’s stressful, and not very fun alot of the time, but the interest keeps me going (mostly).

I enjoy spending time in the kitchen – Baking de-stresses me and it’s something which I really enjoy doing. I bake before I go for classes, I bake after school, I bake on weekends, and I spend the rest of the time thinking of what I’m going to bake the next time I have a few hours to spare. I like to cook too, but with Grandma (great cook) at home, I don’t wanna go clashing head on with the competition, haha.

I don’t eat most of the things I bake. Of course, I do taste a bit of everything, and occasionally, there’ll be something which I like too much to share. But most of the time, I’ll be feeding others with my creations. Boyfriend is the biggest fan of anything I make, although not the most objective. I’m still really glad that he’s around to tell me that “Of course I want it! You made it!”. It keeps me going. (:

Kitchen Equipment, and my Wishlist (sigh)

At the moment, I bake using a small $100 oven and mix using a hand mixer (which comes with a useful plastic stand). I really lust after a KitchenAid stand mixer, as well as a large(r) oven which can bake more than 6 muffins at a time. There’s also 497261 tools which I want, like the Microplane, a digital weighing scale, an oven thermometer, a candy thermometer, a food processor, a non-stick pastry mat, a cookie scoop… (I can go on for quite a while). But all these can only go on my wishlist for now. I’m also starting to be rather interested in cookbooks, and will be checking them out soon, once I have enough time to soak in the bookstore for a few hours.

Photography

I shoot all my photos and I’m currently using a Nikon D40. I’ve owned it since March 08, and it’s very much a beginner’s DSLR with only 6 Megapixels, but it works great for me. The lens I’m currently using is the kit lens, the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor. Nothing fancy, just a good multi purpose one for the moment. I do plan to invest in a macro lens, a remote flash and lighting, but let’s just say that those plans are for the future.

The Name?

Oh, and why RedVanilla? Because Red is Boyfriend’s favourite colour, and Vanilla is my favourite flavour. (: