Hanami

This is a cherry tree in our garden. Although the tree is still small, those cherry blossoms make me happy all the same.

A Personal Best

I did it! I ran a half marathon at 1 hour 39 minutes 13 seconds. This is a great achievement, as my aim was to run under 1 hour 45 minutes. Next year, I'd love to set a personal best of 1 hour 30 minutes. It'll be a big challenge, but they say 'If you can dream it, you can do it." I'll take a word for it! Although my whole legs, especially my calf muscles, are still sore and I'm walking like an old lady, I'm already looking forward to a next fun run (10km), which is held in Outram at the end of this month. The course is very flat and straight without much variety or scenery to speak of, but the afternoon tea they provide is just fantastic. It's worth taking part in for the sake of enjoying good food with all the other runners. What else would you need after a good workout?

Never-finished art

I thought I'm sick of writing, but here I am, still getting pleasure from putting words down on the computer. I set my foot in the Art School for the first time yesterday. Ryoko, who studies there, took me to a tour around the school. Its atmosphere and environment were so different from that of the Otago University. We walked around different classrooms where all sorts of art materials and heavy machineries occupied the space. I saw students' works that were casually displayed inside and outside of the building. I realized that art students interact with various mediums to express themselves, through painting, printmaking, jewelry making, metalsmithing, photography, textile, etc. I was somewhat envious of them who appeared to be freely and liberally expressing themselves and having fun! But, in spite of their outward appearance, I bet that they also face a lot of difficulties and agony during the process. I think the following words are true for all creating activities "Art is never finished, it's just abandoned."

The Meanest Chocolate Cake Recipe

This is the best, but the meanest chocolate cake. A friend of mine, Ryoko, gave me the recipe. Since then, I've made this for several pot luck occasions, and everyone who tried this has been asking me a recipe. So here you go, I've finally got around to it.

Flourless Chocolate Cake (The Meanest Chocolate Cake)

Melter butter, for greasing
125g blanched almonds
200g good-quality dark cooking chocolate (chopped)
150g butter, cubed
35g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
2tbs strong black coffee
160g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature, separated
Cocoa powder, for dusting
Double cream, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a 23cm springform pan with the melted butter to grease. Line the base with non-stick baking paper.
2. Spread the almonds over a baking tray and cook in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside for 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Reduce oven temperature to 160°C.
3. Meantime, place the chocolate, butter, cocoa, and coffee in a medium heavy-based saucepan. Stir over low heat for 3-4minutes or until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
4. Stir the sugar, egg yolks, and almonds into chocolate mixture. Use clean electric beaters to whisk the egg whites in a large, clean dry bowl until soft peaks form. Use a large metal spoon to fold a large spoonful of the egg whites into chocolate mixture until well combined. Gently fold in remaining egg whites until just combined.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and use a spatula to smooth the surface. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until clumbs cling to a skewer inserted into centre of the cake. Cool the cake completely in the pan.
6. To serve, dust with cocoa, cut into wedges and serve with double cream.