THANK YOU + (seriously awesome) Peanut Butter & Choc Chip Cookies Recipe

Expressing my sincerest gratitude the only way I know how...

Final thoughts...

As you all know, the Live Below the Line Challenge is finally over. The first day was the hardest. I had to wake up for work at 5am, go straight after to a medical checkup before having a full day of class till 7:15pm. I swear that in between I almost passed out and wanted to give up because I didn't have time at all to go back for food! Eating under $2/day is one thing, but not being allowed to buy food when I'm out is another.

I mean, usually I would be able to buy a snack when I'm out if I wanted to. And I realised early on that one of the most fortunate thing we can have is the CHOICE to be able to eat or not. I never realised it was a luxury until then. So even though it was only a few hours into the start of the Challenge, I already felt really empathetic towards the people who were ACTUALLY living in extreme poverty.

We shared the same, painful hunger too but what made me really sad was the fact that most of the time, there was NOTHING they could do about it. Just as I had experienced myself. They simply didn't have the money to eat and had to bear with it. It really was the first time I was honestly put in the shoes of my fellow global citizen who had been suffering like this all this time. I was in pain, but ironically I was thankful that it really helped me see the purpose of why I chose to take up the Challenge in the first place. It was a hard but really, really good start.

That's why when the Challenge finally ended, I couldn't help but still feel quite guilty inside (even though I tried to come across happy that it was over). There I was, celebrating the end of my hunger since Friday midnight by eating a lot of amazing food. The more I ate, the more I thought about them. Then I realised it wasn't that I was guilty about the food I got to eat, but it was that I was sad because my fellow brothers and sisters in poverty did not have the luxury of "moving on" from the challenge like I did. Their hunger was NOT for a known, finite period of time.

Later, I realised I was being too hard on myself. Because if it weren't for my fortunate position of living in a First World Country and having all of you people in my life, WE wouldn't have been able to raise SO much money to help them out and give them a chance for a better Life!! I see now how we all really played a part to make a difference, no matter where we came from. Whether you've donated or even reading this post...

A lot of my worldviews have drastically changed from the Challenge and to say that I am grateful for this experience would be an understatement...

A word of Thanks...

First of all, I really want to take this opportunity again to thank EACH and every one of you who showed your support throughout the Challenge. The response has been really overwhelming! With all your help, I've managed to raise a total of $731 towards the cause. And it is a collective, team effort. Only possible because of YOU. HURRAHHHHH...!!

On top of that, this experience was quite different in a sense that I was getting a number of donations from the blogging community as well! I mean, even though we've known each other for a while, but I'm still SO touched by the fact that a lot of them are from people that I've never even met before! It was so gracious and generous of them to drop in a donation to show their support. Man... I know that I've always felt that this community is so encouraging but this just takes it to a whole new level. You know who you are!!

Also, I really do mean it when I say that every donation, comment and like on my Facebook and Twitter page really spurred me on even further, especially on days when I felt like giving up. THANK YOU.

And finally, to my team awesome teammates: Leaf, Bryan, Jade and Daisy. I've got so much love and respect for each of you and I'm so blessed to have gotten the opportunity to go through this together with you. THANKS.

Now, the Cookies...

To show my immense gratitude, I wanted to bake some cookies (even though I've never made them before!) and write a personalised thank you note to each person that donated.

Personally, I LOVED how they turned out. I baked 8 batches of these in total and could not find any way to improve them. I thought they were absolutely delicious. And I was even more glad to hear that people enjoyed them a lot too! Phew~! The best part was definitely the flavour and the crunch. NOTE: It's not me, but the recipe that's fantastic!

There's so many other people (that are interstate or I haven't got the chance to meet yet) that I didn't get to give cookies to this time around, but know that I do remember and cherish each of you and will definitely return the favour and kindness one day...!

Anyway, hope you give this recipe a go. Couldn't have asked for a better outcome, especially for a first attempt! Goes to show how simple/straightforward this recipe is. Now... GO BAKE!

________________________________

Peanut Butter & Choc Chip Cookies Recipe

(adapted from this recipe by Canary Girl, makes 60)

Ingredients:

250g butter (softened)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs

1 1/2 cup peanut butter (use chunky!)

2 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

2 cups chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 deg C. Line cookie sheet/baking tray with baking paper.

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs (one at a time at low to medium) and vanilla essence and beat until smooth.

4. Add peanut butter and continue to beat until combined.

5. Gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat at low to medium until combined.

6. Add the chocolate chips and beat until combined.

7. Use a measuring spoon (if possible), drop 1 tablespoon of dough onto the lined tray. Flatten the centre slightly with a spoon.

8. Repeat until you have 12 in one tray (as shown).

9. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until just golden. (My 1st, 2nd, 3rd batches were baked at 20, 19 and 18 minutes respectively).

10. Remove from oven and allow to rest in tray for 2 minutes before letting them cool on a wire rack.

NOTE: You can bake them at 180degC for 12 minutes instead if you prefer chewy cookies (but I don't and honestly think these cookies are better crunchy)

SO good with a nice, cold glass of milk...

Yeaaaaahhh~~

Challenge to: LIVE BELOW THE LINE

Hi guys!

How are we all doing? If you follow me on Twitter, you would've heard me say this already, but I've just signed up to Live Below The Line...!!!

For all of you who don't know what it is, it's basically an event organised to raise awareness and funds for people all around the world who are currently living in extreme poverty. That means that there are 1.4 billion people living under the poverty line and have to pay for all their daily expenses (such as food, accommodation, health, transport, education, etc) with only US$1.25 or AU$2.00 per day.

So, the Challenge for participants is to live on $2 a day for food for 5 days, from 7th - 11th of May (i.e. Next Monday to Friday). It doesn't even come close to what they're going through each and every day, but hey, it's a start.

To be honest, I've been contemplating whether or not to participate for more than 3 weeks now, ever since my dear friend Leaf tweeted about the challenge. I can't tell you how conflicted I felt because I really, really wanted to take part! But after much deliberation, I decided that I wasn't going to do it because there's NO WAY I could feed myself for 3 meals a day for under $2, especially cause I eat a lot. But this thought never left my mind.

But just last week, my friend Jade told me that she was taking up the Challenge too and shared that you could get AMAZING deals at Aldi. I immediately went to Aldi that evening straight after class to suss it out for myself. I spent more than 40minutes there just to carefully plan to see if it was possible. And it was, it really, really was! I was so incredibly happy because that trip to Aldi really gave me hope! Thanks, Jade!!!

Anyway, both Leaf and Jade has really inspired me to take up this Challenge to do this for a good cause. Best part about it is that I won't be alone and am doing it with my fellow blogger friend, Bryan aka "Fatboo" (of Let's Get Fat Together), so exciting...! Bryan's created a team, called "Food Lovers Collective" and all of you are more than welcome to join!

So I do hope you will join us on this journey, and support us if you can. I honestly mean it when I say that any amount, big or small, is highly appreciated =).

And to make things more exciting... I will be keeping you guys posted on my progress throughout the challenge on my Facebook Page, so do check that out for photos and updates, it'll be fun!

To send me a donation, you can click on my profile: HERE

And if you're feeling generous, please support my friends Bryan and Jade too, because we're all doing this together! Hope you're all doing well on your end.

Thanks for everything!

Winston =)

Reading Room Cafe, Footscray

Reading Room Cafe... Not your usual "uni cafe", no!

Honestly, I don't know what I like more. The fact that Reading Room Cafe is a uni cafe, or that for 8 weeks, they're donating a fraction of their proceeds to charity. Having been involved with Engineers Without Borders for a good part of my uni life, I think I'd go with the latter because community development is something that I have always fully supported.

After hearing so much about this new Pop Up Charity event at a uni cafe for few weeks now, I'm so glad I finally went last Saturday! The weather was perfect, we had a nice big group (with 8 of us + 1 toddler), so off to Footscray we went...

We felt almost just as good and comfortable sitting inside as we would if we sat outside. Just because all four walls was almost completely made of glass with lots and lots of light coming in. I like it.

Can't believe everything was prepared from this tiny little kitchen! #impressed

Good stuff.

A very "Zumbo" looking barrista, kidding... ;p He made great coffee, though!

HAVE to come back to try their cold drip coffee, looked AMAZING!

Soy Piccolo

AWESOME coffee! The milk was just the right consistency and it still had the fullness and creaminess I enjoy (which can be quite hard for soy milk). The Chompy blend by Sensory Lab I had was delicious. Definitely having the Chompy again next time I'm here.

Latte

How pretty is the coffee art? Nice touch that definitely puts people in a better mood... =)

The BFG -- $14.50

Brioche French toast with a generous serve of crispy bacon, candied walnuts and maple syrup

Really good! The candied nuts were great. I was expecting candied bacon too but glad they didn't do that. It was regular bacon but neither salty nor candied, so the BFG was quite a perfectly balanced sweet (from the nuts and syrup) and savoury dish on its own! So much so that it was hard for me to classify it as sweet or savoury... Really interesting, I like it! The thick brioche was soaked all the way through and moist, which made it soft to eat too.

Definitely one of their most famous item in the menu =)

Fritter's Lane -- $14.50

Sweet corn, pumpkin and coriander fritters, poached eggs, avocado, tomato chutney

Only had a small taste of this but the chutney was delish! Full of spices and flavour. I liked the creaminess the pumpkin gave to the fritters. Another specialty of the cafe.

Crackle & Pop -- $16.50

Roasted pork belly, apple and zuchini remoulade, coriander, chilli jam and toasted flatbread

LOVED THIS!!! My favourite dish of the day, actually. First, I really liked how they served it with flatbread instead of baguette because I find the latter tough to eat, more often than not. The pork belly that day was fantastic as well. Meat was so moist and the crackling was thick and crunchy (but not hard), just the way I like it. MMMmmmMMMmmm...

DELICIOUS chilli jam and flatbread!

Another closer look at the pork belleh... Yeahhh~

Also, all the condiments went REALLY well together. The chilli jam was amazing, sweet and punching in flavour. The remoulade was SO good too. Now, imagine... Pork belly, chilli jam, remoulade and flatbread... All in one bite. Killer combo and so delicious. YUMMM...!!

Step 1: Slather some chilli jam on flatbread

Step 2: Top generously with remoulade

Step 3: Grab chunky piece of pork belleh and ENJOY!!

Repeat Steps 1 - 3 to your heart's content

Patas Bravas -- $7.00

Light spiced fried potato with garlic aioli

Man... I cannot begin to describe to you how cute it was when my friend's toddler got so excited as soon as the Patas Bravas hit the table. Murmuring words of excitement, clapping and all... Who doesn't love fried potato? WHO?! Let's just say that "the young one" and "once young"enjoyed this all the same... =]

Overall, I think the owners, Eleena and Michael, did everything right when it came to setting up this Pop Up For Charity Cafe. From getting the right chef, to designing the right menu and even marketing it to the right people (influential bloggers et. al). But, credit where credit is due because they did do a great job in every aspect. Well, I'm saying this based on my experience anyway. It is for that reason that every single table (both indoors and out) were completely occupied by the time we finished our meal. It's always even better too when the owners are such friendly and approachable people, which they are.

To cap it off, the food was generous and it was tasty. Coffee was really good too. And how many times have you come across a place that serves both good food and coffee these days? Plus, I feel like I've only just scratched the surface because there's SO much more food I want to try from their menu and those on display. Had my eyes set on some delectable goodies on my way out. Anyway, I'm definitely coming back to Reading Room Cafe very soon and I do hope that they continue their weekend menu even after the Charity event is over (which I'm sure they will, given the amazing response).

So why not you join me and eat for a good cause? There's about 3 more weeks (I believe?) to give back to the community so do try it soon! Peace! =)