You Want to Be Happy? Get Inspired by Little Katie's Story

Little Katie offered to help her mum to prepare a cake for her sixth birthday party. "Well thank you Katie! That's great! We'll make a special chocolate cake this year, with custard and roasted almonds, and coconut flakes..." said mum, wanting to make the event really exciting for Katie.

And so, the preparations for Katie's special cake started.

First, there was the whisking of eggs. Little Katie did it brilliantly but just as she was passing the bowl to her mum the egg mix fell on the kitchen floor. Mum didn't realize until she saw Katie sliding right and left in a puddle of egg mix, giggling and shouting: "Look mummy, I can dance like Justin Timberlake now! Look!"

Mum looking horrified, quickly proceeded to clean up the mess so they could start the cake all over again.

After the sponge base was taken out of the oven and had cooled down, it was time to squirt the custard onto the first layer of the cake. Katie thought she'd spice it all a bit more by emptying the whole jar of strawberry jam onto it too, and flatten it using her hands.

"Look mum, bloooooood! Aaaargh! Are you afraid mum?!"

Mum told her to stop messing and to wash her hands well with soap. "OK" said Katie " but can we keep the jam in my cake please mum? I like jam...Three hours later, the kitchen looked like a battle site and Katie's chocolate cake was almost finished.

Mum had melted dark chocolate buttons and had covered the cake fully with the melted chocolate, and the coconut flakes were ready to be sprinkled onto the top. Katie was busy licking the remaining melted chocolate straight from the bowl. Her red lips and rosy cheeks were covered in dark brown chocolate and her new pink t-shirt was now a little abstract work of art.

"Katie! What are you doing? Don't you want to wait until we finish your special cake?" to which Katie, wearing the biggest smile on her little cute face, replied: "No mummy, thank you, I'm happy now".

Just thinking of little Katie puts a smile on my face...

Kids can often teach us adults valuable lessons. And no one knows how to be happy the way kids do. Playfully, even nonchalantly, fully immersing yourself in the moment, with no other expectations but to just be there and enjoy whatever it is you are doing to the maximum.

Being happy " just because" is something we, as adults, tend to forget along the way. When you allow yourself to remember all the simple, "silly" things you used to do when you were a kid that made you so happy so easily, you can realize that you can choose to be happy right now too. Just think of something that puts a smile on your face and notice how much happier you feel!

Follow Dr. Richard bandler's Recipe for Happiness: Be in a good mood for as long as you can!

40th Birthday Buffet to Make Things a Little Easier

A 40th birthday buffet should reflect that the mature guests have traveled and experienced life to the fullest. A buffet with international flare may be a perfect way to please those tastes acquired along the road of life. Another more subtle menu idea is to serve a variety of regional foods from one country or region. Perhaps a selection of Asian foods; Chinese regional cooking sampler; French haute cuisine contrasted with nouvelle cuisine; or American regional favorites could be represented.

The trick here is to point out that the menu chosen is meant as this kind of themed Smorgasbord rather than just a hodge-podge of menu items. Do this with themed decorations and place cards which denote the region represented or cooking techniques demonstrated. Group these in distinct areas on the buffet table or serving carts. A desert cart with only one item from each region is also a good idea to be used with the buffet table.

Whichever direction is taken for the buffet it's always a good idea to veer toward easily prepared or frozen items. Perhaps one or two homemade dishes should be prepared ahead of time but the bulk of the menu should be easy and quick. Maybe a good option for the international Smorgasbord is the German chocolate cake rather than a more traditional birthday cake.

This cake is a favorite of many because of it's milder chocolate flavor combined with pecans and coconut. Rely on a purchased German Chocolate cake mix prepared to manufacturer's directions. Bake in layers and after cooling stack with plain chocolate icing between the layers. Again a canned German chocolate icing will be the perfect shortcut to top this birthday cake. The remainder of the plain chocolate icing can be used to decorate. Buy paper plates and cups for serving.

Little Known Exotic Asian Desserts - Malay Kuih

An American friend on a visit to Singapore some time back stumbled upon colourful and delicious gooey desserts which he had never tasted or heard before. I said to him those were called Kuih or sometimes spelt as kueh, and these kuihs originated from the Malays, a race of people from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

My friend thought it remarkable that these kuihs were little known to the western world, especially in the USA and Europe, where people love cheesecakes and puddings and fudge, they too would love to not only eat these kuihs, but make them as well. And so of course I packed for him a nice box of kuih as a gift when he left which I am sure he must have eaten them all at the airport.

If you must know, these kuihs were created in the deep Malay villages by resourceful grandmothers who created recipes made from whatever ingredients that were available then like tapioca flour, palm sugar, coconut milk, glutinuous rice, green beans, banana leaves, pandan leaves etc. And of course they had plain flour and sugar as well. They did not have ovens back then, so these kuihs were mostly steamed or grilled.

The end results are moist, rich, chewy desserts and for those that have palm sugar in them, would guarantee the equivalent of chocolate melt. And the colours will make any chef pleased and happy.

The kuih recipes had since then travelled from the deep villages of Indonesia and Malaysia when our forefathers migrated to the cities and other countries.

Today Malay kuih recipes have expanded into many versions but essentially using the base ingredients like coconut milk, sugar (white or brown),eggs, flour (several types), just like western desserts must have their butter, sugar, eggs and cake flour.

But that is not all. Variety is indeed the spice of life, no pun intended - these kuihs also come in savoury version where spices are sometimes added and eaten as snacks or in between meals. In fact, Asians eat sweet or savour desserts for breakfast, as snacks, at teatime or just in between meals. Or served to guests whenever they drop in.

I especially love Kuih Pulut Panggang where grated coconut cooked with spice is wrapped around steamed glutinuous rice and then wrapped in banana leaf and grilled. Imagine the smell and taste contrast of the plain glutinuous rice and the spicy coconut, heightened by the smell of banana leaf.

Many people have made a living from making and selling these kuihs, some at the back streets, at the market and little dessert stores. These days hotel chefs have started to serve them at functions and catering businesses have thrived as well.

Another friend recently arrived in Singapore and I got him about 8 different pieces of kuih. He said he couldn't possibly finish them all and would share with his room mates. But he ended eating them all because they all tasted deliciously and interestingly different.

Look out for the next article where I will share more information, tips and recipes of this glorious and exotic dessert called Malay Kuih.