Chickpeas, Cheddar & Sausage Cakes- My Blogging Beginning

How did I end up blogging?

This question sent me back to sometime before Chinese New Year 2008. *Whoosh...time traveling*
Damn...I've totally missed my first bloggiversary without realizing it, just like how I've missed uncountable anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions of my loved ones. My bad.

I have always been an online exhibitionist. I love sharing what I ate, what did I do, where did I go, documenting, posting and ranting about every mundane trivia, torturing whoever happened to come across my (pre-blogging) Friendster/MSN Space page/Picasa Web Album/Facebook page.

Last year, when I started cooking, my friends and I would talk about recipes etc, and I found that it'd easier to just post what I've cooked, including the recipes in my Facebook photo albums, than repeating the same story again and again via various Instant Messaging mediums (I should join IM-holic Anonymous).

When I was looking for recipes online, I came across Su Yin's blog, The Journal of A Girl who Loves to Cook, and from there, all hells broke loose. I read every single post in her wonderful blog, feeling every moment she documented, and clicked all the links my eyes could see. Her blog led me to Jaden's hilarious blog, Steamy Kitchen, and again, I devoured everything, feasting on the drool-worthy food photographs, rolling on the floor laughing.

Inspired by them, my food descriptions in facebook photo albums was getting longer and longer, soon enough, one album grew to two albums, and I thought, what the heck, let me start a blog just for fun.

Great. And now look at me...totally hooked!

Let me spare you from a never ending nostalgia, which is a more accurate indicator of old age compared to wrinkles (wrinkles can always get ironed by cosmetics, botox, and the best of all...photoshop, but the tendency to blurt out repeated stories of nostalgia doesn't lie)...and share this with you...

Chickpeas, Cheddar & Sausage Muffins

Recipe
(yields 8 cakes, 6 in muffin tray, 2 in ramekins)
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained, pat dry, mash approx 3/4 of them
- 1 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- a dash of black pepper
- a bit of dried mixed herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage)
- 1 tsp chicken stock powder (optional)
- 6 mini sausages, sliced
- 1/3 cup (or more) cheese (I used cheddar, cut into cubes)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180C (350C), season mashed chick peas with a pinch of salt and pepper. Keep sausages, cheese and chickpeas on the side. Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl. Mix dry and wet ingredients well, add chickpeas, sausages and cheese, pour batter into greased ramekins/cake mould/muffins, bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Hearty and savory deliciousness, perfect with my morning coffee or afternoon tea.

Now, tell me what led you to this addiction?