Now You See Me, Now You Don't

RD and I are constant companions.  We often take the bus to the city and back during the week. It is not uncommon to see us holding hands as we walk.  If I am lucky, he would join me to the mall on weekends.  Typically, we would pass by the library and the shops to browse before heading to the butcher and the grocery to get our week's supplies. 

There was this one weekend that RD and I went out as normal and while we were at Coles, RD got a message from MyGirl.  Apparently, one of MyGirl's friends had seen us pass by and sent her this Snapchat message.

omg just saw your mum and brother and they were holding hands

my heart  ❤❤

I sent a copy of the Snapchat image to the family and in true 'you gotta love her' fashion, London Eye replied to say that she could not see me in the picture.  

💫 -- that's the dizzy symbol for London Eye

I love you, London Eye!

I Want To Hold Your Hand

I found this video so cute that I posted it in FB.

Eldest Sis added the comment, "Just like you." 

I replied with this picture which I grabbed from MyGirl.

Over the years, MyGirl has taken so many pictures of me and MacGyver holding hands while walking that she has created a folder to store them.  Naturally, when she saw my FB post, her aunt's comment and the above pictures, she pulled out the big guns and posted four more pictures in reply.  

I replied to her barrage of pictures saying I thought she had proven her point.

Apparently she still had one more up her sleeve.  She posted this one she had taken last July during our vacation.  She said this was the one most relevant to the FB post (because it was taken on the beach).

I thought she had ran out of ammunition but I soon found out that MacGyver and I are easy targets.  

No Pressure Pressure Flan

I recently ordered an Instant Pot from Amazon UK.  I am still getting to know this amazing new gadget but it is no secret that I am beginning to love it.  And depending on what comes out of the IP, the rest of the family love it too.

My family loves this dessert. I try not to make it too often because it is quite rich and calorie-laden. Prior to discovering an IP version, it took a lot of effort to make. I like this recipe since it uses whole eggs and making it in the IP is a breeze. Many versions only use the egg yolks but that leaves me a lot of egg whites that usually end up becoming meringue. Depending on your point of view, that could be a good thing or a bad thing.

No Pressure Pressure Cooked Flan

Caramel:½ cup white sugar2 tbsp water

Custard:
4 large eggs
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or lemon zest

Combine caramel ingredients in a microwave-safe container. 
Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes until light amber in colour.  Check every 30 seconds after the 2-minute mark and stop once caramel looks done.  Better to stop cooking earlier rather than later.  Try not to overcook the caramel.
Do not allow to turn dark as the syrup may have a burnt taste.
Swirl the container to distribute the caramel evenly on the bottom.  
Be careful as the container and the caramel will be hot.
Set aside to allow caramel to harden.

Whisk together custard ingredients in a medium bowl. 
Strain mixture into prepared container to remove any bubbles.
Cover the custard, if desired. 

Place trivet inside Instant Pot and pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of IP.Carefully place custard container on top of trivet.
Close IP and set to seal.
Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes if using a single large dish (10 minutes if using 4 ramekins).
Once cooking cycle has completed, allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, open the valve and release any remaining pressure.
Very carefully take out the trivet and custard dish from the IP.
Allow custard to cool uncovered.
Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

To serve, loosen custard from side of pan and invert onto deep-sided serving dish.

Note :  To make the flan using sugar, regular milk and cream, replace condensed milk and evaporated milk with ½ c sugar, 1 ¾ c milk and 1 ¼ c cream.  Bring cream and milk to a boil.. Whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Add milk mixture slowly into the egg mixture. Mix to combine.  Strain into prepared container as above.

New Expectations

One of my team members got married last April.  In July, she told me she was two months pregnant and was expecting a baby in February 2019.

Last week, I asked if she was reading anything in relation to her pregnancy. "What To Expect When You're Expecting" was very helpful during my first pregnancy. I was willing to get her a copy if she wanted one.

When I mentioned it to her, she seemed surprised, "A book?"

  

"Yes, it has chapters that tell you what to expect as you go through the nine months of pregnancy."

She said, "Oh ...a pregnancy tracker.  They've got apps for that now.  I have one in my phone."

Welcome to the 21st century!

Everything is in your phone nowadays.