OUR VIRTUAL INSANITY ... DOES TECHNOLOGY BRINGS HAPPINESS?

For those who suffers O.C.D = Online Compulsive Disorder

and us who keep checking emails every 10 minutes in the toilet, in the restaurants, in our kids end of the year concert and before we go to bed.

"Futures made of virtual insanity

now always seem, to be governed by this love we have

For useless, twisting of our then new technology

Oh now there is no sound for we all live underground

~ Jamiroquai

I love the song...and I love it being the hit in 1999, I think. Well this is before we wi-fi(ed) the (whole) world and Blackberry or IPhone arrived.

I am not a gadget person who responds and follow the instruction of computer-TV for yoga exercises, playing tennis or rafting.....

If you don't have a TV, no cellphone, no high speed Internet access at home, don't write emails, are not on Facebook, not on MySpace, and don't know what Twitter is... - Gee, what century do you life in? Do you actually exist?

Many of us equate technology with progress, improvement, and an increase of happiness. Even if the actual value of a gadget in terms of progress is not clear, they are often a source of novelty, and novelty - in technology, as much as in art, entertainment, science, or your peer group's gossip - can be pretty much addictive. For these reasons, technological developments are mostly considered positive changes, which in turn leads us to push forward these changes and incorporate them rapidly into our daily lifes.

But it must not necessarily be the case that these changes are good and lead to increased happiness. It needs time for us to judge on the advantages and drawbacks of changes. Dealing with unwanted side-effects is not an easy task, not one that takes place automatically, and not one that an invisible hand guides; it requires care, thought, and political institutions that ensure happiness is sustainable even on the expenses of dopamine-kicks. Instead of 'Can Technology make us Happy?', the question we should then actually ask is

If technology makes us unhappy, will we be able to realize and correct our mistakes in a timely manner?

Gratin Dauphinois of my mom-in-law's style

Gratin Dauphinois, originally uploaded by L'Aubergine Grillée.

Among other things I learned when I was going to get married with this French man is cooking Gratin Dauphinois with my mother in law in Paris. It is like a 'French food boot-camp' for me. Oh wait, "French culture boot-camp". She or perhaps Ludo who called her to give me a short course on cooking his favourite mom's foods. I know, I should've known this coming from him. At the end of my stay in France after our wedding, I've got a folder of recipe of her son favourite food!!! That's the role of the French mom, making sure the son is eating well in this tiny Asian country with surrounded by oriental cuisines. Oh well.

Before I know him I did not have a clue about European foods beside eating out in the restaurants which claim French cuisine in Singapore. I suppose it is DeliFrance :-), affordable food closer to French. Or maybe when I visit Paris for work.

When I saw the potatoes were almost gone bad in the kitchen, I would love to quickly turn it into something 'homey' which most of the ingredients are pretty basic in our fridge. This Gratin which means a top crust consists of crumbs from cheese and butter is a homey food for most French. It is classic and warm. On Gratin Dauphinois, she advised me to put the thin sliced potatoes neatly so it will be nice to see as well as eating it. Since my 'short course on French cuisine' with his mom, I started to appreciate alot from it. Because it is fast and simple compare to so many steps and ingredients of Asian cuisine, and it tastes good.

Talking about making homemade foods, we are trying to teach the kids to learn to love eating-in. In Asia especially in Singapore, the food stalls are everywhere and they are pretty clean and affordable. Some of them are good. But the idea is to make the children appreciate good nutritious foods prepared at home and sitting with the family to enjoy the food. In this age, every foods prepared really fast as there is no time for us to even prepare them in the kitchen. It comes in the easy to carry package, of course with lotsa chemicals and preservatives. If not, they would not have long shelf-life.

Having quality time together during dinner, It is something that I was lacking off when I was young because we ate in front of the TV to entertain us.

So now, we turn off the TV and We prepare the foods together and sit to eat with family.

Hopefully someday I can teach the kids to cook good food which I believe it is one of the quality time with the family.

Gratin Dauphinois

Ingredients:

1 kg potatoes
1 litre creme fraiche or sour cream
2 cloves garlic
2 cups milk
2 eggs
Swiss gruyere cheese
a pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper

Steps:

Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly and put them in the bowl of water so it won't discoloured.

Heat the milk with the nutmeg to just below boiling; allow to cool.

In a bowl; beat the eggs and cream together. Add the salt and pepper.

Gradually pour the lukewarm milk into the bowl while stirring.

Rub the garlic in the bottom of the dish and spread the butter over it. Put layers of potatoes, alternate with cream mixture and diced garlic. Finish them with layer of cream mixture and cheese gruyere.

Bake them in 180 deg for an hour.

Carrot Cupcakes for the Year of Rabbit!

"Les carottes ça rend aimable" (Eating Carrots make people agreeable)

The shops were closed during the Chinese New Year. Everybody did a groceries a day before to prepare for the celebration. And I was craving for something sweet. And we bought sooo many carrots lately because those are one of the vegetable we love for snack, stir-fry, salads, soups etc. But I was getting sick of snacking the fresh cut carrots, that explained because I am not French. But Noelia, she looooooovvveeess it for snack like the father.

So I thought, there must be something more from carrots than usual carrotes rapees or snack. There, I found it could also be a dessert. How versatile! However, I am not usually fond of cupcakes. But this time the carrot cupcakes is a good and easy size of carrot cakes, so I can control how much I indulge in this delight...

Carrot Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes:

2 cups of non-bleached Flour
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
4 cups carrots freshly shreded
2/3 cup nuts chopped
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

For Cream cheese icing:

1 package of cream cheese
1/4 cup of butter, softened at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup of icing sugar


Steps:

Preheat oven 180 deg C. Prepare the muffin pan and line with baking cups. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and mix everything well.

In large bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer until foamy. Add oil in a thin stream and beat well. Add flour mixture to egg mixture slowly and mix well. Fold in carrots and nuts also Raisins. Spoon into baking cups.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the fork inserted in center of the cupcakes comes clean.

For cream cheese icing:
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer. Add vanilla and then add icing sugar slowly until smooth and creamy. You can also put 2 teaspoon of grated orange peel for flavour.

Happy Lunar New Year 2011

Happy Lunar New Year 2011, originally uploaded by L'Aubergine Grillée.

Wishing you a Happy and prosperous Chinese New Year 2011! May a year of Rabbit bring luck and good health....