I'm a full-time mummy

After my successful first attempt at baking Shortbread Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies without using premix, I have decided to attempt butter cookies WITHOUT relying on premix again and this time, I used cookies cutter for the added special touch!

This recipe was adapted from Sara Lewis's "Healthy Home-Made Food For Babies & Toddlers" book. Because of this recipe, I actually bought the cute mini cookies cutter! So without further ado, here goes:

SHORTBREAD SHAPES

PREPARATION TIME: LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR

* About 5 minutes to mix & prepare the dough
* About 15 minutes to cut out the cookies
* 12 minutes for baking process
*  The recipe makes 60 cookies but because my cookies cutter are much smaller, I made about 100+ cookies

Ingredients / Tool Required:

What to Do?

* Preheat oven to 180℃.
* Brush 2 baking sheets with a little oil (I used 1 baking sheet and 1 wire rack instead and I used baking paper instead)
* Put together the flour, cornflour and sugar in a bowl.
* Cut the butter into pieces and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
* Mould to a dough with your hands.
* Knead lightly and roll out on a floured surface to a 5mm thickness (mine is thicker, almost 1cm).
* Stamp out shapes with small cookie cutters.
* Transfer to the baking sheets, sprinkle with extra sugar if liked (I didn't do this as I don't want Ben to be eating too sweet stuff).

First batch on baking paper using baking sheet

Second batch on baking foil using wire rack

BAKING PROCESS

* Set oven to 180℃ and bake for 10-12 minutes until pale golden.
* Loosen with a knife and leave to cool on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack.

THE RESULTS

REACTIONS FROM MY "GUINEA PIGS"

ME	"Yummy and oh-so cute looking! Crisp, taste all are just nice!" (giving myself a pat on the back again.. hehehe)
BEN	"Ammm! Ammm!"
HUBBY	"Hmmm, taste good! Very cute shapes too!"
SIL	"Mmmm... taste very nice! The sweetness is just ngam-ngam (perfect in Chinese). Bonnie (her 11 year old daughter) also said very nice and she's not a butter cookies person you know..."
MIL	"Delicious, but I prefer to see it more brown - try baking it a bit longer - give it the burnt look."

So there you go.... my SHORTBREAD SHAPES BUTTER COOKIES 2nd attempt without using premix (1st attempt at using cookies cutter)! Overall, I'm very happy with this attempt and I have additional 2 guinea pigs (my SIL and her daughter) to test on as we're out for a family dinner just an hour after I baked this cookies! To view my other recipes, feel free to hop over to my Recipe Library page for more info!

I leave you with a snapshot of my cheeky little man taking a bite of the cookie while watching his Donald Duck cartoons (his gobbling record stands at 5 cookies in less than 5 minutes)...

Brought to you by: Mama Baker wannabe aka

I have the privilege of reviewing a newly released entrepreneur book by Steven Schussler called:"It's a Jungle in There"

Title: It's a Jungle in There: Inspiring Lessons, Hard-Won Insights, and Other Acts of Entrepreneurial Daring
Author: Steven Schussler
Publisher:  Union Square Press (October 5, 2010)
ISBN: 978-1402762895
Hardcover: 256 pages
Dimension: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches

Excerpts from the press material:
"Wild and crazy ideas. That’s the foundation of Steven Schussler’s impressive career in the restaurant and entertainment arenas. Four years and $400,000 after rebuilding his suburban Minnesota home as a jungle—with a life-sized replica of an elephant near the front door and mist, waterfalls, and 40 live tropical birds flying around inside—and inviting prospective investors to come, Schussler launched his dream business. He watched the Rainforest Cafe grow from an idea everyone thought was crazy into an enormous business success and international phenomenon, while getting a kick out of bringing happiness to millions of kids of all ages.

In his first book, Schussler shares the wild and crazy stories of his life in business. While making readers laugh at his antics—from donning a Superman costume, getting into a wooden barrel, and having two policeman buddies deliver him to an interview for a sales job, which he nailed, to showering a parade with confetti made of real money from the Federal Reserve—he reveals the keys to successful entrepreneurship that he’s discovered through his experiences."

Although, gorilla face on the cover page was not my cup of tea, I presume it is related to how the author initiated his business ventures. Fortunately, I'm not the type of person who judges a book by its cover, otherwise I would have missed out on this awesome book!

Schussler shares his strategies for success by pinpointing the "Five P's" of entrepreneurial success - Personality, Product, Persistence, People, and Philanthropy - which jumpstarts creative thinking, and helps business people turn their ideas in to reality.  Curious, I wanted to find out more about his 5 strategies.

Some of the points in the book that caught my fancy were: 'Don't be afraid to dream, and dream big,’ as successful entrepreneurs tend to have the positive thinking attitude that allows them to reach for their goals. Also, dreaming big gives a person a better chance at succeeding big.

Another chapter in the book that I enjoyed reading was chapter 8: Sweat the Small Stuff - something that an aspiring entrepreneur should take great importance and pride in. I am impressed with how Schussler took the extra mile to ensure his clients are satisfied with their deals and projects. As Schussler mentions early in this chapter, people often fail to realize just how important paying attention to detail is, causing them to lose out on bigger opportunities. Schussler exemplifies this principle with his personal experience in noticing and picking up a cigarette butt on the walkway right outside his office door while he was with a client for a company tour. Attention to details such as this impresses his client so much as it reflects on his personality and his company’s.

I also concur with the chapter that touches on making someone feel special, as it does go a long way and ensures the relationship with the clients remain strong. Schussler provides his readers with examples that show how friendships help forge stronger business ties.

This book is a good choice for individuals who are aspiring to be successful in their business or those who are already in the business world wondering whether there's anything else that can be done to build up their business.

Steven Schussler is the Chairman and CEO of Schussler Creative, Inc., a company that creates theatrical environments for restaurants, retail stores, and attractions worldwide. The award-winning founder of the Rainforest Cafe, one of the fastest growing and top-grossing restaurants in the world, he is also the creator and founder of T-REX™, Yak & Yeti™ Restaurant, Betty & Joe’s™, Hot Dog Hall of Fame™, Galaxy Drive In™ and Backfire BBQ™. A dedicated philanthropist, he is a founding member of Smile Network International and has participated in its surgical missions as a volunteer. Born and raised in Far Rockaway, New York, he has homes in Minnesota and Mexico, and frequently gives talks and workshops to aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs across the United States.

You can get this book from Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble and even an autographed copy from the book website itself. You can also read about the author at: http://www.schusslercreative.com/schussler_author.html

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by the publisher (Union Square Press) via my association with BookPleasures in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

This will be my 3rd post on sharing "My Two Cents Worth" throughout my blogging journey. In this post, I'm going to write about: Comments.

Firstly, according to Wikipedia, "A comment is generally a verbal or written remark often related to an added piece of information, or an observation or statement."

Personally, I love comments. I believe it's a way how my blog readers/visitors can tell me their feedback and thoughts on the posts I wrote and shared in my blog. Without comments, it's like writing a diary (online that is) and talking to myself. Which is weird...

(* Now that reminds me of the time I freaked out when my blog readers/visitors who uses Internet Explorer can't comment on my blog due to a technical bug and I had to scramble off to find a temporary fix to allow the comments to still come in. It has since been resolved and I'm so happy I get more comments nowadays!)

OK, without further ado, let me share my thoughts on:

The reasons and/or benefits of leaving our comments

* If you regularly leave comments on a particular blog, it will make the blog owner become aware of you and also your website. In a way, it's kinda like trying to make bloggy friends. IMO, I made a number of bloggy friends this way and we have to start somewhere to make friends right? So, leave a comment if you want to be friends!

* Leaving a comment means you care about the topic discussed in the post and would like to share your thoughts on it as well. I think even a simple comment like 'Great post!' or 'Looks yummy!' goes a long way in telling the blog owner that although you are just blog hopping (for example) or really have nothing much to say on the post, you do make an effort somehow.

* Increase traffic to your website. When you leave a comment, some blogs/websites allow you to leave your blog/website URL as well and by doing so, you increase your chances and traffic to your website. For me, the way I replied back the comments I get is to go to the links you left when you commented on my post. Else, I revert via the email address you left when you commented.

* Participation in giveaways - some blogs/websites hosting giveaways requires the readers/visitors to leave comment(s) in the giveaway post as a way to enter.

Why People Don't Leave Their Comment?

* There's nothing for them to comment with. Could be what you wrote is too detailed that there's just no way for your blog readers/visitors to comment.

* Stepping into the line of fire. Could be that what you wrote is highly debatable that any single comment posted will ended up with more reactions on it and people are just afraid of that.

* You don't respond back to their comments. It kinda shows people that you're too busy to respond back to their comments, so people ended up not doing that anymore. Remember, communication is between 2 parties, not one sided only...

* CAPTCHAs and/or login system in order to leave a comment. Some websites/blogs I encountered required a user ID to login in order to leave a comment. I already have gazillions of user IDs and passwords that I need to remember, and absolutely do not need to add another one just so I could leave a comment for you.

My Comment Etiquettes:

When someone leaves me a comment, I do the following:

1. Check whether it is a spam? On average, I get about 10 spams daily (sometimes up to 30 a day) and it's very easy to spot them as most of them leave a flattering comment but at a closer look, you will noticed that their name and/or blog or website are from commercial type. This is a way to sell their website and put out their site links to as many websites out there as possible. Of course I will definitely delete all these spams ASAP.

2. Do they leave me their personal blog/website to contact them? If no, I will reply via the email they left in their comment. If yes, go to number 3.

3. Reply back to each and every comments, thanking the person for their comment and copy the reply, go to the person's blog/website, browse around (I normally looked for the recent few posts) and take the time to read their post(s) and leave my comment by pasting my reply on top of my comment on their post.

4. Of course, if the person who left me their comments are close bloggy friends, I don't often do step 3 as I would most probably be checking  and left my comments on their blog/website whenever they have a new post up.

So there you go... I think I pretty much covers all there is on the topic of comments.

I've always treat my blog as if it is my child (ok, lower ranking than Ben of course!), and I think you should too! Nurture it, build it, have fun and make happy memories with it as how you would do with your child. It does bring joy to your heart! Feel free to leave me a comment if you would like to find out more on a certain topic. And do let me know your feedback and thoughts about this topic, will you? Like I said earlier:

Until then, happy blogging!