My tiara.mi.su Journey (Part 1)

I love tiramisu. I think Da Paolo makes the best tiramisu in Singapore. I loved it! 

Once, years ago, I made a tiramisu using Marie biscuits for my own consumption. Other than that, I satisfied my tiramisu cravings at Pastamania coz it's halal and the texture was to my liking.

When Han was going to celebrate her birthday in September 2013, I was troubled. What gift can I give a special someone who has everything? That's when I decided I'd surprise her with a tiramisu birthday cake. That's the only dessert she'll eat. I began searching for what I needed at the supermarkets. It wasn't easy for one who doesn't bake much to look for mascarpone cheese and savoiardi biscuits.

As I made the cake, I thought about how to make it look special. Thus, I made a stencil for the top of the cake - a simple design, her name and an owl, her favourite animal.  

It wasn't as easy as I imagined. I had trouble taking the cake out of the springform tin. The mascarpone filling was too runny, I thought. Oh, and I was worried how the other guests (her family!!) are going to judge the cake! So much stress!!

After that, Han started encouraging me to market my tiramisu. She reckoned it was good enough for others to enjoy. I wasn't sure and was too shy. 

Quietly though I wanted to find out if other people liked it. I got some small containers, made a batch and brought them to work. That was the first big step I made. 

My first sale was on 30 Oct. The first three batches were for colleagues. We found all that we needed at Benny's shop. 

By mid November, friends started ordering. Han and I began seriously educating ourselves about Kosher and Halal products. Our mascarpone cheese at that time does not have the halal label. She contacted distributors and manufacturers in Malaysia and Italy. I found out the difference between vanilla essence and vanilla extract. We realized that we had a huge responsibility in ensuring that we deliver what we promised. 

By end of November, we had our first order from one we both don't know. That was a milestone for us. We have reached the public.

I spent countless hours googling and watching YouTube videos on cake decorating. I looked at endless photos of tiramisu on Instagram. We needed to be current yet different. We discussed cups, mugs and containers. We weighed, calculated, weighed again and calculated again. We bought and tasted tiramisu from other shops then weighed and calculated again. We took in account our customers' feedback and adjusted the taste.

We started with a small ($10) and medium ($20) tub. 

Now we have a large ($30) tub. 

We started with a 10" cake ($60) and now we have a 7" cake ($40) too. 

We also have our Cuppas ($27 for 6) which we hope will take off soon.

In Dec, I tried making our first small log cake ($40 for 750g). The design wasn't great at all. I learnt that icing sugar melts in seconds after dusting so I was back googling for an alternative. The large log cake ($60 for 1.5kg) were well received this Christmas season and we are making the log cake available all year around.

  

To cater to different people's needs and tastes, I have made Milo tiramisu, tiramisu with decaffeinated coffee and even butterscotch limoncello tiramisu. I know the difference between caramel and butterscotch now. 

I have other ideas that I'm very excited to try and I hope I have the opportunity to do them in the future. 

As 2013 comes to an end, I am very grateful for what I have had the chance to do this year. Alhamdulillah. 

Thank you for your encouragement Han. I wouldn't have done this if it hadn't been for your tireless motivation and patience. Thank you too for those long drives around the island for ingredients and deliveries and your patience during the occasional spat over weights and workflow. 

Thank you for everyone too for making these past few months amazing just by ordering a tub or two (or eight!!) and a cake or two for yourself and your friends. 

Follow me on Instagram @ http://instagram.com/halaltiaramisu

Like our page @ http://www.facebook.com/Halal.Tiaramisu

Happy 2014!!

Do visit http://www.facebook.com/Halal.Tiaramisu 

Halal Tiramisu by tiara.mi.su

My partner & I just started a small home business selling halal tiramisu. We've been doing this for two months now. It's been a dream come true!

We offer free delivery to anywhere in Singapore. We have a Facebook page.

Do visit the page and Like us!! 

These are some of the sizes we sell.

Finding your life partner and soul mate (Part 1)

Finding the ideal life partner is one of the most important things in life for many people. Many people have different criteria as to what qualities their life partner should have. In fact, many people believe that there is one single person made for them who exist, a soul mate.

The search for a life partner has been made easier with the advancement of technology. Technology simplifies the search. With one click and within seconds, people can send e-mails to everyone around the world. Websites offer online dating service. Speed-dating is fast becoming a weekend activity for singles who are ready to get on the wagon of marriage.

Years ago, most people get married to have children or own a home. However, according to Paul Amato, professor of sociology, demography and family studies at Penn State University, marriage is now considered as a “vehicle for self-fulfillment and happiness” (Shulman, 2004). According to the Department of Statistics in Singapore, “as of 2003, an estimated three in ten registered marriages ended in divorce” (Chuah, 2008). Why is this so?

Shulman (2004) states that people now want a partner who reflects their taste and status, accepts and loves them for who they are and helps them become the person they want to be. Joshua Coleman, a San Francisco psychologist says relationships are pressured to live up to an unrealistic ideal and remaining in a relationship that isn’t working is considered “an act of existential cowardice” (Shulman, 2004).

In an online poll by www.misterpoll.com, 52% of 146 online voters believe in the concept that there is a soul mate for them. 35% of them state that they will settle for no less than to marry their soul mate and  33% of them think it is very important for them to find their soul mate.

There are many definitions of soul mate. Author of paperback Soulmates, Thomas Moore, defines a soul mate as “someone to whom we feel profoundly connected, as though the communicating and communing . . . between us were not the product of intentional efforts, but rather a divine grace” (Moore, 1994).

The search for love, a life partner or the quintessential soul mate is now increasingly becoming a type of science. For instance, psychiatrist Paul Dobransky developed the overall model of psychology called mindOS, the operating system of the human mind through. Dobransky (2007) claims there are four types of men and four types of women namely kings or queens, warriors, magicians and lovers. He claims the model can “explain how soulmates really exist scientifically”.

Kathryn Alice, a licensed spiritual counselor, conducts workshops on love and she claims that “many people manifest their soul mate within seven days” (Alice, 2003) of her workshops.

Chau Vuong, founder and CEO of three technology companies who has “dedicated his life and wealth to finding his soul mate and helping others to do the same” has created a mathematical model called the Love Economic Model. He claims that the model can predict and explain all human behaviour pertaining to love and also “promote intelligent dating by explaining love using simple math equations” (Vuong).

Psychologist James Houran tried to dispel these notions of soul mates by stating in an online magazine that during the early stages of a relationship the brain naturally releases a natural high that is misconstrued by people. He also states that “friendship, passion and intimacy and a conscious decision to commit” are the three elements to a successful loving relationship over a lifetime.

Counselor Kenneth Sprang suggests that our soul mate will share the same vision and attitude about life as us and is concerned about our happiness as he or she is about his or her own happiness in http://family-marriage-counseling.com.

In the same website, therapist Lisa Kift shares ten characteristics of a successful relationship which she has identified through her work as a counselor, which are, friendship, humour, communication, chore-sharing, sexual intimacy, affection, reliability, avoiding criticism or contempt, having mutual and separate friends, and developing relationship vision.

Different individuals have different opinions, different visions of themselves and different dreams. These differences can be a result of a person’s background or the way she has been brought up and also a person’s vision of how she sees herself with their life partner years down the road or the kind of life she wants for herself.

Innocence

"I want to live here," I said as I sat at the back of my father's old Vespa. 

"Can we move here please?" I asked my father in earnest while pointing to the four-storey walk-up apartments that had just been built. 

They've got walls built around the apartments grounds. I haven't got walls built around the flats where I lived. I'm sure there were flowers and plants around the walled garden. 

"Sure. Go home and tell mummy to pack all our clothes. We'll move here tomorrow," he replied. 

I couldn't see his face but he said yes and that's all that mattered. 

We're moving! He's going to buy an apartment where I want to live. 

I came home that afternoon and told my mum,"You can pack all our clothes up. We're moving to an apartment that has a walled garden. Daddy said we can move there tomorrow." 

I was excited to see the garden. I was excited that my father agreed to move to a place where I wanted to live. I'm such a lucky girl, I thought. 

Tomorrow came and went. We did not move. Mummy didn't pack our clothes. 

For the next few days, I said the same thing to my father and got the same reply. I would come home from school and told my mum the same thing and still she didn't pack our clothes. 

If only she'd pack our clothes, we could move. My simple mind only understood that. My father said we could move there but mum had to pack our clothes up. She didn't pack our clothes so we can't move. 

After a few days, I realized my mum didn't want to move and that's why she didn't pack our clothes up. I was resigned to living in our flat which didn't have a nice walled garden. 

"If only mummy would pack our clothes," I thought, "Then we'll be able to live in that apartment." 

My Birthday & Arafah Day

I'm born on 9 Dzulhijjah in the Islamic calendar. It is an important day for all Muslims all around the world because it is Arafah Day or Day of Arafah.

It is an Islamic Holy Day, in which the last verse of the Qur'an was revealed which explained that the religion had been perfected. 

This day is the culminating event of the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. At dawn of this day, Muslim pilgrims will make their way from Mina to a nearby hillside and plain called Mount Arafah and the Plain of Arafah. 

It was on Mount Arafah that Prophet Muhammad SAW recited his Farewell Sermon in his final year of life.

Watch the Final Sermon narrated by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)

The day after Arafah Day is Eid'ul Adha when Muslims honour the day Prophet Abraham, in an act of submission to Allah's command, willingly wanted to sacrifice his young first-born son, Ishmael. Allah intervened to provide Abraham with a lamb to sacrifice instead.

My birthday was always celebrated on Eid'ul Adha with the family. Dad would order a huge cake so that relatives who come on that day for Eid would be able to enjoy it too.  

Since last year, my Birthday on Eid is celebrated in a different way. 

Now, before my birthday, I will remind myself of the significance of Arafah Day and Eid'ul Adha. This then leads me to ponder on why this day was chosen by Allah for me to be born. 

I haven't yet found the answer to this of course but this leads me to find out the purpose of my life on God's earth and to try to be a better person.

Mothers

I'm a single 36-year-old woman and lives with my 74-year-old mum. I know what you think. I must be crazy. I should be getting my own place. I should be more independent.

You see, I'm Asian. An Asian woman seldom moves out of her parents' home if she's still single. Anyway, I own the flat that I live in now so I can say that my mum is living with me instead of the other way around.  

The thing is my mother is insanely protective of all her kids and since I'm living with her (or she's living with me - whichever way you want to put it), she's giving her 101% in smothering me.  

She calls me every single time I come home later than usual. She gets jealous of every single person I have a relationship with or protective over me whenever I'm seriously involved with anyone. 

At times, I feel sorry that she worries. I also feel guilty because I think she may be feeling lonely. Most times, however, I get annoyed because she doesn't express herself well and most times comes across as angry and furious with me for not doing what she expects me to do. 

Therefore, I've learnt to manage my guilt and anger.

1. No one can make me feel guilty. The guilt is a result of the tug of war between my love for my mom and my desire to be "free from her clutches" and less of her concern.

2. Give up my anger. It isn’t doing anything to change the situation. It either makes me feel bad or it makes me rebel. Either way, the effect isn't desirable.  

Meanwhile, Adam Chester actually wrote a book about his experiences with his own mom. It's called S'Mother: The Story of a Man, His Mom, and the Thousands of Altogether Insane Letters She's Mailed Him. 

And you think your mom is too involved? Meet the mother of all mothers.

Adam Chester is the son of a very loving mom, who for almost 30 years has peppered his life with unsolicited advice, news updates, and opinions in the form of thousands of inappropriate, embarrassing, and utterly crazy letters. S'Mother is a hilarious memoir based on this correspondence showing the pathological extremes maternal instincts can take. Why is a grown woman so frantic that her adult son screw on his windows to keep out killer bees? And are adult trick-or-treaters really that much of a threat? Adam saved his mom's letters as proof this all happened and reproduces many of them in the book. And now, with time, perspective, and plenty of therapy, he acknowledges and accepts the comedy of it all and is proud to share his story with you, if for no other reason than to make you feel better about your own mother.

Watch on YouTube 

Buy the Book