Bear Chocolate

chilli chicken with stir-fried noodles

I always see dark stir-fried noodles in food courts and fast food restaurants. It is often served in a sizzling plate with the noodles swimming in dark sticky sauce obviously loaded with cornstarch. It looks so good but I'm often disappointed with the blank taste of the sauce. the advantage of making it at home is you can modify it the way you like it. I just discovered the sauce to use, it is the dark soy sauce. With just minimal amount to add to the egg noodles, it turns magically into a very rich dark color but not too salty. I didn't make much sauce as I don't my noodles swimming in sticky sauce like in the fast food stalls. I just stir-fried it with the sauce for a few minutes.

This is a quick simple meal to make. I'm not very precise with the amount but you may adjust it accordingly. It is important to keep everything ready next to before start cooking because everything happens so quickly in this dish and they are not so pleasant when overcooked or not cooked at the same time. You may use two burners so as to cook the noodles and the chicken at the same time.

onion and garlic
Chicken fillet (cut in strips)
jelapeno chili
egg noodles
dark soy sauce

Sauté garlic and onion until translucent, add chili, chicken and stir-fry until chicken is done.

Prepare the noodles by blanching it in a boiling water for few minutes until half cooked. Drain and place it in another pan for stir-frying. Stir fry with soy sauce for a few minutes stirring constantly until noodles are well flavored with the dark soy sauce.

Serve Chicken with noodles. Best eaten while still warm.

Roasted Pork Belly with crispy crackling

This one pot dish is heavenly delish.. Love the crispy crackling skin! Nope it wasn't me who made it, it was my dear hubby. This can not be done quickly as it will take two hours of roasting in the oven. But it was worth waiting and the house smelled like there was a big feast whilst it was just the two of us feasting on this for lunch with a bottle of red wine. Tell you what, it wasn't really that heavy lunch. It was light meal full of goodness. Light in a sense that the portion was just enough. The potatoes were perfectly done, not overcooked, carrots were still a little bit firm to the bite, it was just the cabbage were a little bit overcooked. The meat was tender on the inside, well done but what I love the most was the crispy skin! That crackling sound every bite was the highlight for me.

I could have elaborated more on its procedure how it was done if I made it myself, but I was busy with other houseworks and left hubby in the kitchen. All I know is he seasoned the pork belly with olive oil,salt, pepper,thyme (dried), fresh basil and parsley (from our tiny garden). He seasoned the meat nicely by massaging all the flavors into it for few minutes. In an oven proof dish, he put quartered potatoes, chunks of carrots, cabbage and the remaining marinade from the meat. Placed the pork belly on top, added a glass of white wine and roast for 2 hours in the oven at gas mark 7 and finished with gas mark 8 on the last 10 minutes.

This was an indulgence for us because we have been watching our fat intake but we are not really that strict on our diet and once in a while, we treat ourselves with good stuffs, needless to say, some good foods are packed with fats.

Grilled Pork with Caper Sauce

This is my favorite easy-to-do recipe. I have tried it in one of the restaurants before but it was with white fish and figured out it would be nice to try it with pork, hence since I tried it at home, it became a regular on our dinner table.

Here's how to do it.

prepare the pork:
Sear the pork in very hot pan until slightly brown, grill in the oven for 20 minutes just cook the pork completely. While the pork is in the grill, prepare caper sauce.

prepare the caper sauce:
Sauté garlic and butter, add the the capers with brine, season with salt and pepper, partially crush the capers with the back of a spoon to release its flavor.

Take out the pork from the oven and let it rest for 2 minutes, serve with the caper sauce on top.
Here, I served it with steamed potatoes and asparagus, but it also works well with rice.

Chiffon Custard Cake

The other day, I remembered the chiffon cake recipe I once knew by heart way back when I was in High School. It has been a while I haven’t made it and somehow my taste buds are itching for it then I came to realize that it is not in my journal. My sister used to make chiffon custard but I haven’t made it myself. Usually I ice the cake with royal icing for birthdays and other occasions which I sell as my extra income; that was a decade ago when I was still a student. The chiffon cake I knew and my sister’s custard recipe should be fine I thought. I remember how she told me how to do it. Knowing the chiffon cake, I was confident that I wouldn’t go wrong and so happy it turned out good. I was more than glad to indulge myself for a few bites and shared some to our neighbor.

Ingredients: (good for 9 inch x 9 inch x1.5 inch square pan)

For caramel layer:

¼ cup sugar

For Custard Layer

1 cup evaporated milk
½ cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 Tablespoon custard powder

For Chiffon cake layer:

Mixture 1: (yolk mixture)
2 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¼ cup oil
½ cup milk
1½ cup self raising flour (sifted)
1 tsp. Vanilla essence

Mixture 2: (egg white mixture)
5 egg whites
½ cup caster sugar (sifted)
¼ tsp cream of tartar

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (gas mark 5)

2. Prepare the caramel layer. With a low heat, caramelize the sugar in the 9 x 9 x 1.5 inch square baking pan until sugar turns dark brown and coats the bottom of the pan. Be careful; this happens so quickly. Tilt the pan from time to time to spread the caramel. Leave the caramel to cool and set.

3. Separate egg white from yolks taking care that the bowl for the egg white is completely clean, dry and free of dust. To save time in preparation, prepare 3 mixing bowls, 1 large bowl for egg white mixture, another for custard mixture and another for yolk mixture. When separating the egg white from yolks, place 3 yolks in one bowl (for custard mixture) and 2 yolks on the other (for cake mixture 1) Set aside the bowl of egg white far from other ingredients.

4. Prepare the custard mixture. In a mixing bowl, mix egg yolk, sugar, milk and custard powder. Mix altogether until all well combined. Set aside.

5. Prepare cake mixture 1(yolk mixture). In a separate mixing bowl, mix egg yolk and sugar, add oil, milk, sifted flour and vanilla essence. Mix well until well combined.

6. Prepare egg white mixture. Before start beating the egg white, make sure the sugar is ready at the side. Add cream of tartar to egg white mixture. Using electric mixer, beat eggs at speed 1, when the egg white is bubbly increase to speed 2 until it forms a very soft peak; increase to speed 3 at this stage, gradually add sugar while beating until the mixture forms a stiff peak. Do not over beat.

7. Using the same beaters, beat the cake mixture 1 to make sure it hasn’t set and all ingredients are well mixed.

8. Fold-in the cake mixture 1 to cake mixture 2 using a rubber spatula until well combined but still airy. Take care not to over mix.

9. Pour the prepared custard mixture into the prepared cake pan with caramel set at the bottom.

10. Carefully pour the cake mixture to the center of the cake pan over the custard mixture. Level the cake mixture by pushing it to the corners and sides of the pan.

The cake now has 3 layers; caramel at the bottom, custard in the middle and the cake mixture at the top.

11. Place the cake in the middle tray of the oven and pour boiling water in the tray until about half inch deep. The tray of water acts like a double boiler.

12. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 200 degrees C. Test the cake pressing the cake lightly. If it springs back, its done, or insert a toothpick and if comes out clean, it is done. Take note not to open the oven when the before 45 minutes had passed, this will alter the rising of the cake.
13. Allow to cool down in a rack and trace the sides of the pan with a spatula or knife to separate the sides of the cake from the pan. Using a cake tray, turn to flip the cake over. The caramel layer becomes the top layer.
    

Wake Up And Smell the Mug

There’s no question about it, it is a lovely piece of art. I had got hold of it while having coffee in the hotel and was pleased with the presentation of a simple coffee. The coffee mug itself is a statement. They are modern and sleek mugs are so comfortable to hold with. If you are left-handed there is certainly a mug made just for you.

Now, if you are a coffee addict like me, then its time to grab one! This coffee mug is one of the new collections of Villeroy & Boch called NEW WAVE CAFFE is such a delight to sip coffee with. Check the online store for other products that compliments with it. Whether you are looking to upgrade your dinnerware or looking for a nice present to your loved ones, it is just about the right time to grab them while they are still on sale at 50% off MSRP prices through end of August 08. The good thing about it is they provide free shipping for all online orders over USD100.

Wondering what recipe to go with your nice mug of coffee? Hmmm… Try this Mocha cupcakes I’ve made last weekend.

Mocha Cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

½ cup milk

1 ½ cup plain flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

¼ cup cocoa powder

3 Tablespoons instant coffee

Topping

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

½ cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon instant coffee

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F/ 160 degrees C. Line a 12 cupcake tray with fluted cupcake papers. In a mixing bowl, Light beat butter and sugar until creamy; add eggs and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add mil, flour and baking powder and stir to combine. Add remaining cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes until light and creamy. Divide the mixture evenly between the cake papers. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes. Allow to cool fully before icing.

Topping:

While the cupcakes are cooling, combine all topping ingredients in a mixing bowl. Decorate cupcakes using a spoon or piping bag with different designs.

Curried Seafood Pasta

Curried Seafood Pasta

Once in a while me and hubby crave for spicy and aromatic foods that reminds us of our days in India. Yes, we had lived there for 6 months. Before we had our apartment we lived in a hotel for a month with inclusive of dinner buffet. We were both not new to Indian food since we had also both lived in U.A.E. where Indian restaurants are just everywhere, but to some point, when we were in India, having all Indian food every night at the buffet table with the entire spicy aroma around the dining hall it lingers to your shirt and even to the room. At the end of the day, you smell spicy as well. Lols

I think we both have explorative palates, we try some of the dishes that are unfamiliar to us, knowing that it is served the buffet gives us confidence that the food is safe. So we did tried several foods that are new to our senses, new to our eyes and nose and the stomach have no choice for that matter. Anyways, the bottom line of the adjustment in terms of food you know when it comes out the other way in the morning. When there’s no problem, it’s ok. At times it became a daring game for us who has a tougher stomach. Despite few stomach upsets, overall I love the experience.

Well, I’m truly amazed of the diversity of food that this world has to offer. Depending on where you are. The challenge is to enjoy, savor the local flavors wherever you are.

And this dish is an Indian influence to us, which we crave for from time to time. It is creamy and spicy at the same time.

Ingredients

2 large onions (Sliced)

3 cloves garlic (Diced)

200 g. squid (cut into rings)

200 g. Shrimps (shelled and deveined)

300 ml coconut milk

200 g. fish curry paste

1 tsp. chili flakes (optional)

Parsley (finely chopped)

Pasta

Salt and pepper

Procedure:

Cook pasta until al dente. While cooking the pasta, in a medium fire, sauté garlic and onions until onions become translucent. Add shrimps and squid until all the liquid has evaporated stirring from time to time. Add fish curry and chili flakes paste and continue stirring. Lastly, add coconut milk. Reduce fire and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add pasta and mix with the sauce until well absorbed. Season with salt and pepper. Lastly, add parsley just before serving. Serve while still hot.

MINI CUPCAKES

Mini Cupcakes

Warning! These mini cupcakes are addictive!

This is my version of Paz’s Yellow Cupcakes. She had this lovely YELLOW CUPCAKES decorated with yellow roses which looked so great that I can’t resist from doing it. I didn’t have the right size of fluted paper cups, but I have a smaller one, slightly bigger than the paper cups I usually use with COCONUT MACAROONS, I think it is the next to the smallest size. Anyway, this obstacle hasn’t prevented me from doing it. It turns out to be a bite size which is addictive. Every time I take one, I secretly say to myself “this is gonna be the last bite” but me and hubby didn’t stop until we realized there are no more left! It goes well with tea.

Here’s the original recipe that PAZ posted but I have some alteration on the procedure coz I’m not using the same material.

Yellow Cupcakes

Source: The Fannie Farmer Baking Book by Marion Cunningham
Yield: 18 mini cupcakes

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick or about 1/3 Cup) butter, melted

2 eggs

1/4 Cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Cup all-purpose flour

1 Cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Confectioners’ sugar or Chocolate Butter Frosting

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line small muffin pans with fluted paper baking cups.

Combine the melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat well.

Put the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a sifter or strainer and sift them over the butter-and-egg mixture. Beat until the batter is perfectly smooth and thoroughly combined. Spoon into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup about two-thirds full.

Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.

Dumpling wrapper

Beef Dumpling

My dumpling fascination has come to a new level, I like freshly made dumpling wrapper or dumpling skin. It tastes so much better than the ready-made ones. I have the almost transparent dumpling skin recipe from a magazine, but it is not working!! The dough was way too gooey and there is no way I can knead it. Either the food writer is not the cook himself/herself or there might be some misinterpretation from Chinese to English version of the recipe. Although the recipe is written in English and Chinese, there might have been errors in between. Or maybe the some people are just not generous to share the right recipe.

Hence, its time to experiment again!

This experiment is just like playing play-doh.. I feel like a kid in the kitchen. I had this silky white dough as in pristine white. Quite happy with it, at least if my dumpling skin fail, I had fun!

Objective: to make transparent dumpling skin

The result of my dumpling skin is a little bit transparent, but not transparent enough as I wanted it to be. I realized that it is the tapioca starch which is making it transparent; so next time, I will decrease the amount of cornstarch

Posting this experiment for my record, so that I could come back and from time to time and check where did I went wrong and avoid having the same mistake again.

Filling

¼ kg. Minced beef

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 Tablespoon flour

Salt

Dumpling skin
1 cup corn starch
1 cup tapioca starch
1 tspt salt
1 Tablespoon shortening
1 cup boiling water

Procedure:

Filling: Mix the ingredients altogether and pulse for 2 minutes using a blender or food processor until the mixture is fine and well combined.

Dumpling Skin:
In a mixing bowl, put corn starch, tapioca starch and salt, add boiling water slowly while mixing with chopstick or with the wooden spoon handle, continue mixing until the starches come altogether forming a dough.

Set it aside until the mixture is cool enough to handle.

Bring mixture altogether while still warm and knead adding the shortening by portion until well combined. Dough becomes silky white and elastic.

Shape the dough like a log, roll it making longer until about 1 inch in diameter.

Cut the dough into small portions and roll it with the hand; achieving a marble size dough.

In a slightly floured surface, flatten the dough as much as you can with a small rolling pin. Separate each skin with a sprinkle of flour.

Wrap : To wrap the dumpling, put a teaspoon in each skin and seal the skin by pressing the edges creating pleats.

Cook: Steam the dumplings for 15 minutes in a bamboo steamer.

Make the Sauce: Mix soy sauce, lemon and few drops of sesame oil.

Serve Hot with soy sauce.

conclusion: lessen the amount of cornstarch next time.
texture: a little bit stretchy when cooked.
taste: good, but it can be better

Grilled Fish with Garlic Fried rice

Simple food is the best. Fresh fish grilled to perfection; juicy in the inside, that's how I like my fish to be. Tender and Juicy. I'm not a big fan of overcooked fish but my cousin is. He likes fish fried or grilled until almost crispy, I find it overcooked and dry and all the goodness had gone.

This is really quick, simple and straight forward dish. Preheat the pan (don't put oil in it) Season the fish with salt and pepper, oil the fish (not the pan) and straight to the preheated pan. Pan grill 5 minutes on each side. Here, I served it with GARLIC FRIED RICE, other option would be plain rice or ARROZ BRANCO.

Chocolate Cappuccino Cake

This post is long way overdue. I made this for hubby’s birthday last week, along with the PORK TERRINE. But, I count on the saying "better late than never". I just don’t have the time to compose this post until now.

Well, this cake may seem complicated when you look at the recipe but if you had been making cakes before, things become simpler. I love the flavor, its mild and creamy with the bitterness of coffee and chocolate that melts the mouth with a sip of coffee, ohh so heavenly.

If you are a coffee lover, there is no reason why you wont like this with your favorite cup of coffee. I’ve bookmarked this in the recipe book waiting to be done for quite a long time. Just waiting for an occasion. Birthday calls for a cake; what is birthday without a birthday cake after all? Source of the recipe is my book which I had for quite a long time and I just flip the pages when I’m looking for some inspiration when there is an upcoming occasion. The book “Cakes and Cake Decorating” by Angela Nilsen, Sarah Maxwell and Janice Murfitt. Below is the recipe that I have copied from the book for this post, but I didn’t follow everything as I have to consider the portion for just the 2 of us. I used a circular pan and cut in half and layered it. If you are wondering why the cake is just half the circle, its because I’m limiting the portion. I don’t want to have big extra cake sitting in the fridge after because I’m sure I will keep on coming back and have a slice and this cake is rich and creamy with lots of goodness… too good for my belly, that is. (winks)

Another alteration for this recipe, I don’t have coffee liqueur, so I just used coffee powder instead. Any coffee powder will do, not necessarily espresso powder.

Chocolate Cappuccino Cake

Ingredients:

175g plain chocolate, chopped
2 tsp instant espresso powder; dissolved in 3 Tbsp boiling water
3 eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of cream of tartar

Cocoa powder

For the coffee cream filling:

¾ cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup mascarpone or cream cheese; softened
2 Tbsp. coffee flavor liqueur
25 g. plain chocolate, grated

For the Coffee Buttercream:

3 egg yolks; at room temperature
5 Tbsp. Light golden syrup
¼ cup sugar
1 cup butter, cut into small pieces and softened
1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 Tbsp boiling water
2 Tbsp. coffee flavor liqueur

Procedure:

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F/ gas 4.

Grease a 40 x 27 cm baking tray. Line with baking parchment. Grease the parchment.

In the top of a double boiler, over a low heat, heat the chocolate and dissolved coffee powder until melted and smooth, stirring frequently. Set aside.

In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar for 3-5 minutes, until thick and light colored. Reduce speed to low and beat the chocolate mixture until blended.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer with cleaned beaters, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks begin to form. Do not overbeat. Stir a spoonful of whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and then fold in the remaining whites.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin, spreading into the corners and smoothing the top evenly. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cake springs back when touched lightly with a fingertip. Sprinkle a clean dish towel with cocoa powder to cover and turn the cake out on to the towel. Peel off the paper and cool.

Prepare the filling:

In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, whip the cream and sugar until soft peaks form. In another bowl, beat the mascarpone or cream cheese and liqueur until light and smooth. Stir in the grated chocolate and fold in the whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the Buttercream:

In a bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, beat the yolks for 5-6 minutes until thick and pale in color. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the syrup and sugar until the mixture boils, stirring constantly.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, slowly pour the hot syrup over the beaten yolks in a slow stream. Continue beating until the mixture feels cool, 5-6 minutes. Beat in the dissolved coffee and liqueur. Refrigerate until ready to use, but bring to room temperature before spreading.

Assemble the Cake:

With a serrated knife, trim off any crisp edges of the cake. Cut the cake crosswise into three equal parts. Place one cake on a cake plate and spread with half of the coffee cream filling. Cover with a second cake and the remaining filling. Top with the last cake.

Spoon about one third of coffee butter cream into a small piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle. Spread the remaining buttercream on top and sides of the cake. Pipe this around the cake with the design. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Apple Pie

What’s the difference between a pie and a tart? These two pastry dishes always confused me. I didn’t know until just recently that I have to be specific what to call my dish, tart or pie? For the benefit of those who are still confused until now, the difference between these two pastry dishes is that the other is covered with pastry or “pastry crust” and the other is uncovered.

As per Wikipedia’s definition:

A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough shell that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savory ingredients. Pies can be either "filled", where a dish is covered by pastry and the filling is placed on top of that, "top-crust," where the filling is placed in a dish and covered with a pastry/potato mash top before baking, or "two-crust," with the filling completely enclosed in the pastry shell. Pies can be a variety of sizes, ranging from bite-size to ones designed for multiple servings.

A tart is a pastry dish, usually sweet, that is a type of pie with an open top that is not covered with pastry.

Now, it is clear to me that I’m making a pie. This apple pie is simpler than what I have made before, the FRENCH APPLE TART, though I am using the same sweet pastry recipe I just doubled the quantity of ingredients so that I can make the “pastry crust”, which it turned out to be thicker than I thought. The base pastry shell was perfect but the covering pastry or pastry crust was a little bit thick because it was ripped and I tried to patch the cracks as a result, it thickened. To make things worst, these patched cracks had become rough; instead, it should be smooth. My quick remedy is to sprinkle some nuts on it so it wouldn’t be visible. I found a pack of crushed almonds in my pantry and sprinkled it on top of the crust. I’m so pleased to see the cracks have magically invisible and it added a different texture and flavor to it.

Unlike the French Apple tart, I didn’t make a pastry cream; instead, the apples were boiled with sugar for a few minutes and drained. The filling is just as simple as that.

Another alteration I made was instead of using butter or margarine, I used shortening which is vegetable based so we wont end up feeling guilty of cholesterol after having a slice or two. It worked quite well, in fact it tastes lighter, yet the crust is still crunchy and crumbly. From now on, I’ll use shortening instead of butter or margarine. It works just the same, its just the absence of richer taste that the butter has, but I don’t mind to opt for a healthier one.

Ingredients:

Filling:

6 Green Apples
½ cup sugar
500 ml water
1 Cinnamon stick
2 tsp.Cinnamon powder

Sweet Pastry Dough:
1 Cup and 2 Tbsp. shortening
1 cup icing sugar (sifted)
2 egg
5 Cups All Purpose Flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla essence

1 egg for eggwash

Make the Sweet Pastry Dough:
In a mixing bowl, mix shortening and icing sugar until creamy, add eggs and mix for another minute until soft and creamy.

Add flour and baking powder. Continue beating.

Add vanilla essence

Bring the mixture altogether to form a dough and mix with the hand. Form the dough into a ball, Cover with Cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

Prepare the filling:

Core apples and slice thinly, using a mandolin is very convenient and fast. Place in a sauce pan, add sugar and water, add the cinnamon stick and bring to a boil and simmer for about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander to get rid of excess water. Cool to room temperature.

Assemble the Pie:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees C.

In a flat working surface, divide the dough into two, one is 2/3 and the other 1/3. the bigger one is for the base shell and the other is for the covering crust. Roll out the dough, which has rested for an hour in the fridge, with a rolling pin. Flatten the dough forming a circle place it onto the pie pan. Press the sides of the dough to form the patterns of the pan.

Arrange the apples which have cooled down to the base of the pastry evenly and sprinkle cinnamon powder. Avoid empty spaces in between and press them a little bit after each addition to make it compact.

To complete the pie, cover with the covering crust, and brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle crushed almonds on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Lessons of the Square Water Melon

This is such a great read that I stumbled upon on the net and I can't just let it pass without passing it on. I've read it from Hard Knox Life on his post Lessons of the Square Water Melon . Quoted his post below. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

"One of my best friends passed along a story that is a great reminder of the power of creativity and innovation. The story revolves around the growing of square watermelons in Japan (a confirmed true story from Snopes). Below is the email he passed along:

Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their US counterparts and therefore don’t have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. ”If the supermarkets want a space efficient watermelon,” they asked themselves, “How can we provide one?” It wasn’t long before they invented the square watermelon.

The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn’t nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn’t assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.

This made the grocery stores happy and had the added benefit that it was much easier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved them because they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller than those in the US - which resulted in the growers being able to charge a premium price for them.

What does this have do with anything besides square watermelons? There are a five lessons that you can take away from this story which will help you in all parts of your life. Here are a few of them:

1.) Don’t Assume:

The major problem was that most people had always seen round watermelons so they automatically assumed that square watermelons were impossible before even thinking about the question. Things that you have been doing a certain way your entire life have taken on the aura of the round watermelon and you likely don’t even take the time to consider if there is another way to do it. Breaking yourself from assuming this way can greatly improve your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better ways to do things.

2.) Question Habits:

The best way to tackle these assumptions is to question your habits. If you can make an effort to question the way you do things on a consistent basis, you will find that you can continually improve the way that you live your life. Forming habits when they have been well thought out is usually a positive thing, but most of us have adopted our habits from various people and places without even thinking about them.

3.) Be Creative:

When faced with a problem, be creative in looking for a solution. This often requires thinking outside the box. Most people who viewed this question likely thought they were being asked how they could genetically alter water melons to grow square which would be a much more difficult process to accomplish. By looking at the question from an alternative perspective, however, the solution was quite simple. Being creative and looking at things in different ways in all portions of your live will help you find solutions to many problems where others can’t see them.

4.) Look for a Better Way:

The square watermelon question was simply seeking a better and more convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a problem they were having and asked if a solution was possible. It’s impossible to find a better way if you are never asking the question in the first place . Always ask if there is a better way of doing the things that you do and constantly write down the things you wish you could do (but currently can’t) since these are usually hints about steps you need to change. Get into the habit of asking yourself, “Is there a better way I could be doing this?” and you will find there often is.

5.) Impossibilities Often Aren’t:

If you begin with the notion that something is impossible, then it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you decide to see if something is possible or not, you will find out through trial and error.