After I took my exam, obviously
3-5 min read
Today’s Friday. Give yourself a pat on the back because you made it through the week!
Honestly, I almost forgot that I took my exam this past Monday. Do you ever get that feeling when you have a lot of things going on, you forget when you did what? This week felt like one of those weeks for me. But I must say that it was a truly productive and happy week. Yay!
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Below are five things I made this week:
1. DIY Face Mask
I made a DIY face mask using my husband’s old jacket! Not the ones that you use to moisturize your face, but the ones that you use to go to the grocery store these days.
The only materials I used to create the face mask were 1) part of the old jacket, 2) thread, and 3) sewing needle. I don’t have a sewing machine, and it worked totally fine. Using a sewing machine probably could’ve sped up the process, but this little project took me 30 mins tops.
I’ll be releasing a tutorial of how I did this on my YouTube channel. If you’re interested, you can subscribe to my channel here to get notified when my video is released.
2. Martabak Manis (Indonesian sweet pancake dessert)
This is called martabak manis (pronounced mar-tah-BAHK MAHN-niss), a sweet (or savory) Indonesian pancake. It’s basically a glorified pancake, but even that doesn’t do it justice.
My grandparents love this stuff. My parents love this stuff. I love this stuff. My friends love this stuff. My aunt’s twice-removed cousin’s father’s niece love this stuff. This stuff is really, really good. You must try it for yourself, so here’s the recipe I used.
It doesn’t taste exactly like the authentic thing (since it’s usually drippin’ in delicious oils, cheese, peanuts, and lots of chocolate). Still, it’s pretty good.
Usually the filling is made with chocolate, cheese, and peanuts. It may sound like a weird combination, but once you’ve eaten it, you’ll be forever changed and there’s no going back.
3. Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Ice Cream (Homemade)
When I visited Las Vegas a couple years ago, my mom and I always made it a point to visit the Sprinkles location in the Strip. I love their cupcakes, but what we really enjoyed was their dark chocolate ice cream (which I always had in their red velvet cone). Sadly, Sprinkles shuttered down their Vegas location on the Strip and the Sprinkles location closest to us doesn’t sell ice cream, only cupcakes.
So, a smarty femme’s gotta do, what a smarty femme’s gotta do.
I tried to emulate the dark chocolate flavor by following this recipe from the NY Times. I incorporated some tweaks of my own, and it turned out pretty well. It satisfied my chocolate craving, but it still wasn’t quite the same as Sprinkles’ dark chocolate ice cream. Looks like I have go on a trip to LA next year, since this year is definitely out of the picture.
4. Tofu & Garlic Fried Rice (That Actually Tastes Like Fried Rice)
After trying to perfect my fried rice recipe for so long, I am finally getting it right. It just took a lot of research and a couple of creative batches.
The ingredients I used were the things I had in my fridge: rice (I used long-grain brown rice), tofu, half a red onion, eggs, and garlic. But I’m telling you, the secret is in the sauce. I used a mixture of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and Chinese cooking wine (which I found at my local Asian grocery store).
To me, cooking feels like an art form and is a bit therapeutic for me. Some recipes may call for exact proportions, but cooking may take some trial and error. You have to experiment a little to see how it turns out. The journey is as important as the destination. Really, you only need to invest a little more time to be 100% better. Think about it.
5. Recorded videos for Mother’s Day
I actually recorded multiple videos – one by myself and another with my husband. I won’t spoil the details here, since it’s not Mother’s Day yet. I’ll have an update in a couple of days!
Have a great start to the weekend, you smarty femme! I’ll be doing a special piece this weekend, so stay tuned…
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The Smarty Femme 