Matcha and Red Bean Butter Cake

Another cake. This time, I was really inspired by HHB. I love all green tea cakes - chiffon cake, butter cake, swiss roll etc... It did not turn out too sweet, like HHB's because I used homemade red bean paste instead of the canned ones. It has a subtle green tea flavour, but I couldn't really detect the red bean. Nevertheless, it was still delicious.

The recipe can be obtained here.

Cream Cheese Bread Loaf

I had a block of cream cheese left and I have to use it up before our trip back to Singapore. I remembered that I came across a cream cheese bread loaf recipe in one of the baking blogs that frequently visit. The blogger commented that its one of the softest bread she has baked so I decided to bake it! Its such a challenge to find soft bread here in Mongolia. The bread loafs here are all dry and crumbly. Not like the Gardenia bread that we are so used to in Singapore.




The bread turned out really soft, just the way I like my bread. Lester thought it was ok, but I discounted his opinion as he is not a bread fan.



This is the recipe I used, courtesy of KWF

Choc Chip Cookies

Had a craving for chocolate chip cookies the other day. Not the soft and chewy type, but the crunchy type. Went online and found a recipe from Allrecipes. They turned out really good! I substituted the all purpose flour with bread flour, as I read that it will help to make the cookies crunchier. I also do not have any shortening, so I used all butter instead.



Recipe from All Recipes site.

145 g butter flavored shortening (I omitted this and used butter instead)
150 g butter, softened
200 g white sugar
220 g packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
15 ml vanilla extract
440 g all-purpose flour ( I substituted with bread flour)
5 g baking soda
6 g salt
120 g chopped pecans (optional) - I omitted this
335 g semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening, butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips. Use a measuring tablespoon to round dough into balls. Don't roll the balls, just make them rounded. Place onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until centers are set and very lightly browned. Don't overbake. Cool 2 to 3 minutes before removing from baking sheets.

Class Photo

Cayden has been attending ISU for 3 months now. 2 weeks ago, they took a class photo and an individual photo for the year book. We were there when they were taking the photos and Cayden looked really scared. Lester and I were just laughing at the side. Evil parents.


This is the photo that they will use for the yearbook.




Pre-school 1 class. The class is not complete as 3 of them were absent.

Cayden writes his name

He writes the "N" like a "H".... At least we are getting somewhere...

What to do?

I have been very anxious about Cayden's place in ISU. I was worried if he would be able to get into the Pre-school 1 class. So on Monday, when I received a call to go to school with Cayden for an interview, I was elated! 

So we went and saw the Head of Primary. I received a terrible news. The pre-school 1 class has been re-scheduled from the original timings of 8.15am - 12.15pm, to 1.15pm to 3.15pm! How stupid is that? 

First of all, the class time falls right during his nap time! Correct me if I am wrong, but don't MOST 3-year olds take afternoon naps???? 

Second of all, what can we expect them to teach the kids in 2 hours? 

Lastly, they tell parents 1 week before school starts? How on earth are we going to reschedule his nap time within a week? 

The reason given to me, was that Pre-school class (both 1&2) are overcrowded. In total, they have 36 students with 1 foreign teacher and 2 assistant teachers. So they decided to split the class. Pre-school 2 class is from 8.15am to 12.15pm. Pre-school 1 class is from 1.15pm to 3.15pm. Priority is given to 4 year olds, as they think its more important for them to learn. 

They can't split the class into 3 hour blocks, because the teachers then won't have time to eat. They need to eat with the rest of the teachers during lunch time or it won't be fair to them. 

They won't employ another foreigner pre school teacher so that both classes can run at the same time because then the teachers won't have anything to do in the afternoon. Its a waste. 

All in all, I feel that the school has then made the 3 year old class as a sacrifice. 

Who cares if they will all be sleepy, and will be in the least attentive mode when class is on?

Who cares if they learn anything or not? 

Who cares if 2 hours is not enough. 

As long as the rest of the school is treated well. We must be fair to the teachers. We must be fair to the 4 year olds. 

I have a good mind of NOT enrolling Cayden in this school, but I have no choice. There isn't any other International school around. The American school takes students from 5 years old onwards. I have to enrol Cayden this year, or I risk him not bring able to get in for Pre-school 2 class next year. Priority is given to returning students and not new students. 

What am I doing here in Mongolia? Why am I here? Cayden has no school to go to! 

LL. Bo bian. But I am still pissed. 

ISU

I am getting a little anxious now. I still have not heard from the International School about Cayden's acceptance into ISU (International School of Ulaanbaatar). 

I sent in the application months ago, sometime in Apr/May. But I was told that the school is undergoing some administration change (i.e. change of direction and some teachers) so admission decisions are put on hold. Rumors are that there are more applicants than spaces, as the American school has closed their pre-school class. So everyone is flocking to ISU. There aren't any other options.

School starts on 13 August, and today is 1 August. Still no news. I called the school earlier and they told me we will find out next week. Fingers crossed that Cayden will be able to get in. If not, I have no idea we are going to do?