tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83386718191778830802024-02-07T02:32:09.306-08:00A Lambent DreamA Californian Bioengineer who just loves food! Baking and cooking new recipes as a way to explore new cultures, learn new techniques, and experience new flavors!Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-52095350593329521772017-04-01T23:01:00.002-07:002017-04-01T23:01:55.945-07:00Cranberry pecan biscottiBased on this almond biscotti recipe:<br />
<a href="http://www.italian-dessert-recipes.com/almond_biscotti_recipe.html">http://www.italian-dessert-recipes.com/almond_biscotti_recipe.html</a><br />
<br />
I consider this relatively healthy because it's only 2/3 cup a sugar spread over 16 slices and contains no butter. I read somewhere that real Italian biscotti should not contain butter; that butter is an American modification. Correct me if I'm wrong. I had XL instead of just large eggs at home, so I substituted a flaxseed egg for the other egg, which adds another healthier substitution without seriously compromising taste or texture. Also, if you use walnuts instead of pecans, you add omega-3 fatty acids to make it even healthier.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9Plbm80yk8RQxp7dICxz2SslnsztcJoT90nd4ZPwW_zJ2mfv_lkqbUmvAsbtzSjG2ItPNAfjRsYGFnktJSxSL_ft9d403Ag7iRbnIGfn2J829U0mAq0RdTjZR3Am8Xp9kJNzaY0WlX6Q/s1600/20141227_140404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9Plbm80yk8RQxp7dICxz2SslnsztcJoT90nd4ZPwW_zJ2mfv_lkqbUmvAsbtzSjG2ItPNAfjRsYGFnktJSxSL_ft9d403Ag7iRbnIGfn2J829U0mAq0RdTjZR3Am8Xp9kJNzaY0WlX6Q/s1600/20141227_140404.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Cranberry Pecan Biscotti</b> (makes ~12-16 biscotti)<br />
<br />
<i>Ingredients:</i><br />
1 large egg<br />
just under 2/3 cup sugar<br />
1 Tbs ground flaxseed + 3 Tbs water<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour<br />
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour<br />
1 tsp baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />
1/4 tsp salt<br />
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans (and walnuts, opt)<br />
1/4 cup dried cranberries (make sure they are still dried yet moist, not hard and dry)<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Directions:</i><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>If pecans are not yet toasted: toast pecans on skillet over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Let cool then chop.</li>
<li>Mix flaxseed and water in a small bowl and let sit for a 3-5 minutes to thicken.</li>
<li>Mix the all-purpose flour, pastry flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.</li>
<li>Beat egg and sugar till turns lighter in color. Beat in flaxseed water. Beat till light colored and thick.</li>
<li>Fold the wet into the dry ingredients until incorporated.</li>
<li>Fold in the nuts and cranberries.</li>
<li>Preheat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet or lightly grease the cookie sheet.</li>
<li>Gather the dough (it will be sticky!) and place in a log-shape on the center of the parchment paper. Use a spoon to smooth out the dough into a longer log with even sides. You may use the parchment paper to help shape the log.</li>
<li>Based on the recipe, you can bake a log that is about 12 inches long by 3.5 inches wide for 25 minutes.</li>
<li>Remove and let cool for 8-10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 deg Fahrenheit.</li>
<li>Slice into about 16 slices. Place slices cut-side down on the cookie sheet and bake for another 10 minutes. Flip over and bake another 10 minutes.</li>
<li>Remove, cool at least 5 minutes and enjoy!</li>
</ol>
<div>
<i>Ideas:</i></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Ice with a simple vanilla, milk or lemon icing </li>
<li>Melt dark chocolate chips and dip half of the biscotti or the top side of the biscotti in the dark chocolate and let harden</li>
<li>Eat with coffee or milk</li>
</ul>
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Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-4869198063522515112017-04-01T23:01:00.000-07:002017-04-01T23:01:16.347-07:00Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip CookiesMy family has been eating through our bananas too fast lately! My sister and her boyfriend consume almost all of them when they go surfing. Sadly, that leaves me infrequently with browned bananas. Luckily, this week, I had two laying around and searched the wonderful World Wide Web for a different way to use them instead of my usual fallback, the Stevia-sweetened Banana Bread.<br />
<br />
I came across this fantastic-looking <a href="http://chefsavvy.com/recipes/banana-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/">banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Chefsavvy</a>. I chose this because the photo looked great and there was only 1/4 cup butter for 2 dozen cookies! Relatively healthy and easy, so I opted to try this. Plus, my co-worker's been subtly (not, haha) trying to get me to bake cookies and bring them into work. Last week, I tried these healthy oil and butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe from HEB but was underwhelmed. They were too cakey and spread out too far, but that could have been because I didn't have rolled oats so replaced them with ground steel cut oats. Anyhow, this recipe is a show-stopper. I did not have brown sugar at home so I used molasses, and then added some ground steel cut oats because the batter was a little sticky. Everyone at work really liked it.<br />
<br />
<b>Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies</b><br />
makes<b> </b>20-24 cookies<br />
<i>adapted from Chefsavvy.com</i><br />
<i><b>Ingredients</b></i><br />
1 medium banana, mashed<br />
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
1/4 cup molasses<br />
1 egg<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour<br />
1 cup rolled oats <br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />
1/4 tsp nutmeg<br />
Just under 1/2 tsp salt<br />
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips<br />
1/4 cup ground steel-cut oats (not exact, pour some steel-cut oats in a coffee/spice grinder or food processor and process till somewhat fine - not as fine as flour)<br />
<br />
<i><b>Directions</b></i><br />
1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit. Prepare 2 baking sheets with lightly greased parchment paper.<br />
2. In a large bowl, beat the banana, butter, sugar, and molasses till thoroughly mixed. Beat in the egg and vanilla.<i><b> </b></i><br />
3. In a medium bowl<i><b>, </b></i>mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.<br />
4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Stir in the dark chocolate chips and ground steel-cut oats.<br />
5. Place rounded tablespoon scoops of dough on the parchment paper. Make sure to place about 2" apart. Staggering helps. <br />
<i><b> </b> </i>Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-17453801263981912002017-04-01T22:57:00.000-07:002017-04-01T22:57:34.768-07:00Tokyo, Japan Trip Sept 2017 Part 1[Delayed post back from September when I visited Esteban in Japan...]<br />
<br />
Hello, world! Or, konnichiwa! I just returned from one jam-packed sightseeing week in Japan and can't wait to recount my experiences there. To tell the truth, I came back to LA and have been waking up early (4 or 5 am each day) due to jetlag. It's been so hard this week getting over my jetlag and trying to work. I got back around 6:30 pm PST on Sunday after a nauseating 10 hour flight and my shuttle never arrive so I ended up walking to get my car, which really tired me out (Airport Express is a terrible terrible shuttle service!!!). Getting back last night, I went to bed aroud 10:30 pm and was hoping I'd just sleep until 7 or 8 am when I have to get up for work. Ah well, hope I can function today at work, lol.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, I went to Tokyo last week because my Esteban was there for work for three weeks. His second week there was more free for sightseeing activities, so I went over during that time. Buying my tickets last minute, I got a pretty decent price flight for a direct flight to Haneda airport: about $800 something after taxes and fees. The flight was on Japan Airlines, operated by American Airlines. I left Friday night September 16, arrived Saturday night September 17, and then left Monday September 26 at 1 am to arrive back in LA on Sunday Sept 25. It's cool; it's like traveling in time. Most of the time I was there, it was raining because Japan was being hit by a typhoon. Luckily, Tokyo was not hit by the worst of it, but it did make for some lousy weather and drab photos. Nevertheless, Tokyo was a blast. Below is a preview of things I did the first three days:<br />
<br />
<u><b>Friday, September 16</b></u><br />
Fly from LAX to Haneda Airport, 10-11 hour flight on Japan Airlines.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmf9_nhRJxods6p4F5BnVQAMXGYIvMUNp5Vd74mgJflN4kCA9oPmKD22LquRcW72jLhtgs77O_tdGNBDBj9F43IWnOLMz5hJiJZDXzGEnBKA2RUXaX6n5E5pfW0OS4IFqK9Faa_zVUogAt/s1600/20160916_195712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmf9_nhRJxods6p4F5BnVQAMXGYIvMUNp5Vd74mgJflN4kCA9oPmKD22LquRcW72jLhtgs77O_tdGNBDBj9F43IWnOLMz5hJiJZDXzGEnBKA2RUXaX6n5E5pfW0OS4IFqK9Faa_zVUogAt/s400/20160916_195712.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extensive movie list. Crappy American style food. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><b>Saturday, September 17</b></u><br />
Arrived in Tokyo around 10 pm and went to sleep (stayed at the Tokyo Dome Hotel). First time taking the Japanese subway. Pretty cool.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97zFxzJ2C-IgFHxCRioaGEM2urpJslqvxkhVxR0ytGgOalAXsKCZDA2l3iX6F-_N60CadJG7KrZVzZ1JNr5ApLwlG0ChVrvsdJIwsoDAJ0anG1Z5UCefGj-aXLCq_3OLCYeLovahUvqYJ/s1600/20160917_070322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97zFxzJ2C-IgFHxCRioaGEM2urpJslqvxkhVxR0ytGgOalAXsKCZDA2l3iX6F-_N60CadJG7KrZVzZ1JNr5ApLwlG0ChVrvsdJIwsoDAJ0anG1Z5UCefGj-aXLCq_3OLCYeLovahUvqYJ/s400/20160917_070322.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get a PASMO card to use all over the Tokyo subway and train system. Easy to use and recharge!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><b>Sunday, September 18</b></u><br />
Went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Edmont Hotel. First shopping experience at Family mart.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLAvoYvy0gt9xaZTu4ffwqoPhD9cKjWYwp2t4Ewk-LJvjbxhZZbb3LjTf7cIzCA3KBKTjGE6CLYm9JSuJRA8uVLKFyqHenirh0DYCJRpIl2uYIuixa8rNSaW4fkPRDG5T1cqzmM__5Rib/s1600/20160917_192503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLAvoYvy0gt9xaZTu4ffwqoPhD9cKjWYwp2t4Ewk-LJvjbxhZZbb3LjTf7cIzCA3KBKTjGE6CLYm9JSuJRA8uVLKFyqHenirh0DYCJRpIl2uYIuixa8rNSaW4fkPRDG5T1cqzmM__5Rib/s400/20160917_192503.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But a small preview of the awesome food and drinks for sale at Family Mart! Awesome convenience store.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Took the train to <a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3004.html">Asakusa</a>, famous for its Senso-ji Temple, a Buddhist temple with (I think) the largest red lantern in the world, and for its shopping streets.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliQy14Iui68Jf8ly7gi-T1dmutjQNDS7HpZoyQasN2XyGCugtXQe1GzYKZZ0Oh8swxOTFOAhXulXQgIOIdoO2lj2dwIQwoB79c3KS70KTVrdKnQzViqkm2LYZohKaJE46l1Fd0RAw9Otk/s1600/20160917_211604_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliQy14Iui68Jf8ly7gi-T1dmutjQNDS7HpZoyQasN2XyGCugtXQe1GzYKZZ0Oh8swxOTFOAhXulXQgIOIdoO2lj2dwIQwoB79c3KS70KTVrdKnQzViqkm2LYZohKaJE46l1Fd0RAw9Otk/s400/20160917_211604_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sensoji Temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBeSNLdvdUR4jZw9BAlvUL4Zob9we7y3nHWwa3k_C4J1j9GrYo0H1qCgzAMqvkVWg19CKBQGaxB1vE-9Jzr_Ui3qQcPe4W_y6gP0F2lcD9RtqLJ2ccJvFEBn2-jbnFF5wCR9uZLS7uetM/s1600/20160917_202846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBeSNLdvdUR4jZw9BAlvUL4Zob9we7y3nHWwa3k_C4J1j9GrYo0H1qCgzAMqvkVWg19CKBQGaxB1vE-9Jzr_Ui3qQcPe4W_y6gP0F2lcD9RtqLJ2ccJvFEBn2-jbnFF5wCR9uZLS7uetM/s400/20160917_202846.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Esteban and I wandering the streets of Asakusa, looking for some good deals!</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5yxy7Mf4QnSMrZ0uOuGNbpwQPLM0BrXJJBc8C3ZBrCk9If4KIhjqefOBFkiX6VJ0VAP-8a3-xLNrevuU05KMKPS9LuoOe2ZRMe7bZ_QSk1BsUe843R_kG8SoUkSqXUge-OhhGQZhM-lh/s1600/20160917_222751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5yxy7Mf4QnSMrZ0uOuGNbpwQPLM0BrXJJBc8C3ZBrCk9If4KIhjqefOBFkiX6VJ0VAP-8a3-xLNrevuU05KMKPS9LuoOe2ZRMe7bZ_QSk1BsUe843R_kG8SoUkSqXUge-OhhGQZhM-lh/s400/20160917_222751.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating some izakaya (Japanese small plates) in Asakusa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We then wandered to<a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3003.html"> Akihabara</a>, which was said to be known as the place that sells a bunch of home and electronics good, and a center for anime and manga items. I did not see that much anime and manga stuff, but it was an interesting street of shopping, including some fresh food and fish vendors. Next to Akihabara is <a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3019.html">Ueno Park</a>, which is a massive park that houses some temples and museums including the Tokyo National Museum and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art. We did not make it far into the park before we headed home. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZ0ktyS-F3u4Gz944FPXGrcqLoDrQe82Qci4vadL9iq3cLRVmYDxWBy-mSiB8nMSKgoCKvIgcbOnXZs5KhC388tLRh5Qw74c5NqCYEYHgEZtC_9zY6vzw4c1LgsHbZZIqG1fzftFSNGfH/s1600/20160918_012111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZ0ktyS-F3u4Gz944FPXGrcqLoDrQe82Qci4vadL9iq3cLRVmYDxWBy-mSiB8nMSKgoCKvIgcbOnXZs5KhC388tLRh5Qw74c5NqCYEYHgEZtC_9zY6vzw4c1LgsHbZZIqG1fzftFSNGfH/s400/20160918_012111.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fields of lilies near <a href="http://mcha-jp.com/13036"><span class="_Hcb irc_iis"><span class="irc_pt" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Shinobazunoike Bentendo</span></span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qWpZVTthmeH4AC0DR2GGhGMF4ZWXG6pz0qSMgztG_HIlP79T2CANI8Cv46HRq-8aPFvGuDlTM13pZvGZYl3SCw_9Ib1qZ1OYEOcvfXfMoA_l1rp87vctxI0kz0FaTv6V8LuvO2C2azN8/s1600/20160918_020058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qWpZVTthmeH4AC0DR2GGhGMF4ZWXG6pz0qSMgztG_HIlP79T2CANI8Cv46HRq-8aPFvGuDlTM13pZvGZYl3SCw_9Ib1qZ1OYEOcvfXfMoA_l1rp87vctxI0kz0FaTv6V8LuvO2C2azN8/s400/20160918_020058.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vending machines in Tokyo are legendary! For less than 200 yen you can get coffees, teas, waters, energy drinks, ice cream, and snacks. They are always within less than 1 block of one another!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Returning back to the hotel, we went for dinner at a random ramen shop nearby. A great hole in the wall. It was called <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/1zkVPhrXBhT2">Ramen Tanaka</a> and was my favorite ramen of all the places we went to in Tokyo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Vx0iKhIPt9UiWMBVT2EV_g78JR400sA7b-kx3RQES0OYpGGKnDl8GT0FZczl_ZZnKjl76x5omTiF5Xg-zErf33sEGaKs22owcAdUr4eARqipJS1KuYqVHLE2cHFQWs9KSSWh0R_5_L8o/s1600/20160918_053845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Vx0iKhIPt9UiWMBVT2EV_g78JR400sA7b-kx3RQES0OYpGGKnDl8GT0FZczl_ZZnKjl76x5omTiF5Xg-zErf33sEGaKs22owcAdUr4eARqipJS1KuYqVHLE2cHFQWs9KSSWh0R_5_L8o/s400/20160918_053845.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vending machine to put in your order. We can't read any of it, lol, but luckily there were some photos to help us out. Ticket comes out and you give it to the guy working.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOpxr5y1LwUUXAjhTR3dowmhs7-JLHGVyfrp7ipC83aoG3wNIIdLm1vXCWOl7hokLwYFNw5wnBETWVlcvEPlvjsN5_sDf3pVcc8Z4nykPU3vPOVrEbDZBxV8NpzY7lftFJl3J_qyqMaMn/s1600/20160918_053918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOpxr5y1LwUUXAjhTR3dowmhs7-JLHGVyfrp7ipC83aoG3wNIIdLm1vXCWOl7hokLwYFNw5wnBETWVlcvEPlvjsN5_sDf3pVcc8Z4nykPU3vPOVrEbDZBxV8NpzY7lftFJl3J_qyqMaMn/s400/20160918_053918.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delivious pork ramen with nori and a cute egg! Superb!</td></tr>
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The next days of adventuring in Japan will be dispersed between the occasional food posts. Stay tuned!Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-47257915811801545202016-08-23T23:26:00.000-07:002016-08-23T23:26:19.787-07:00New Apartment and Turkey Meatballs Barley and Garlic Sauce Dish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32yBysJ2wC24SliNIMzq9EZCdJN9mFaBgNxlCPGfEUUWocb5Geu1Jl2VfQlZBptbsmXmlMl93qvgNwOsaH5SCV8Uzc4XRFo60RcRtW6Zn7qbWAFY7u1ZQGkQV7NcANHXtktZUnaIBV1yl/s1600/20160819_075612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32yBysJ2wC24SliNIMzq9EZCdJN9mFaBgNxlCPGfEUUWocb5Geu1Jl2VfQlZBptbsmXmlMl93qvgNwOsaH5SCV8Uzc4XRFo60RcRtW6Zn7qbWAFY7u1ZQGkQV7NcANHXtktZUnaIBV1yl/s400/20160819_075612.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I just moved from my parents' place to an apartment closer to work and I am so happy! I've been commuting since January and the commute can be anywhere from 1-2 hours, depending on traffic. It's about 60 miles each way. My dad has been doing this commute for over 10 years now. It's very taxing and you lose 3-4 hours of your day every weekday. I gained weight because I did not exercise as much, plus I would typically get sucked into my work and end up sitting for several hours. I try to walk periodically, and take a 15-20 minute walk after lunch, but it's not enough to combat a 9-10 hour sitting session. Finally, I got a place that is steps from the beach! It is such a great deal. Pretty good price for LA, though the room is small, but can't beat being close to the beach and in this nice area. Plus, my commute is only 30 minutes each way! It's only been 1 week since moving in but I am so much happier. :)<br />
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Another reason I wanted to move out and closer to work was to get back into cooking! My mom cooks a lot at home, and she is a FANTASTIC cook, but at times I really enjoy the process of cooking and getting the chance to experiment. Now that I'm in my own place and with more time (come home at 7 instead of 9!), I can get back to cooking!<br />
<br />
Tonight I made a turkey meatball and veggie dish over barley. We had a pint of this great garlic sauce leftover from a work lunch, and I knew it would be great on nearly anything. I finished cooking around 9:30 and was very pleased. I did not take a picture of this because I still need to figure out how to plate it best, but the dish was very delicious despite its simplicity. I am proud because the turkey meatballs turned out very juicy! Earlier in the year, I had attempted to make Swedish meatballs, followed a recipe, and it came out very dry. I brought it to work too and feel like I forever shamed myself "-_-<br />
<br />
The garlic sauce is this delicious thick creamy white sauce from Chicken Maison, which is famous for this sauce. It's delicious. It's probably based on this <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/150654/thick-style-lebanese-garlic-sauce/">Lebanese garlic sauce ("toum") recipe</a>, but is thicker and creamier, maybe closer to this <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/81240/creamy-garlic-sauce/">garlic recipe here</a>. Here's what I did:<br />
<br />
Turkey meatballs:<br />
1/2 lb of ground lean turkey (95% lean)<br />
1/2 large yellow onion, minced<br />
1/2 tsp of Texas barbecue seasoning (salt, black pepper, dried garlic, dried onion, paprika, oregano)<br />
1 large egg<br />
4-6 crumbled Saltine crackers <br />
<br />
Mix together and let sit 15 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. I used mushrooms and broccoli here, cooked with caramelized minced onion in avocado oil. Once cooked to a crisp tender and caramelized state, remove contents to a bowl. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, cook pearled barley according to packet directions. I used 1 3/4 cup of water to 1/2 cup of barley, and probably cooked it for 45-60 minutes, but it was too much water and I had to drain the excess.<br />
<br />
Using a mini cookie scoop, shape meat mixture into tight little balls. I got 11 out of the 1/2 lb meat mix.<br />
<br />
In the same pan that the vegetables cooked in, heat another tsp of oil. Place the meatballs gently in the pan and cook over medium until browned. Turn meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. Make sure to cover the pan at some point to allow the meatballs to cook through without losing moisture. Once browned on all sides, turn off heat and remove pan from heat.<br />
<br />
To serve:<br />
Scoop barley into a wide bowl. Top with meatballs and vegetables, then drizzle garlic sauce over. You can garnish with paprika and parsley, a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!<br />
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Here's another Mediterranean garlic sauce (copied from this <a href="http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/main-dish/a-mediterranean-love-affair-pita-bread-chicken-shawarma-garlic-sauce-tahini-hummus-fid-884317#drsseZmjAsvpB3HE.99">link</a>)<br />
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"GARLIC SAUCE:<br /> - 4 cloves garlic minced with <br /> - 1/4 teaspoon salt<br /> - 1 cup canola oil<br /> - 1/4 cup lemon juice <br /> - 1 egg white <span></span></div>
<div class="pw-hidden-cp">
<br /><div class="pw-hidden-cp">
In a food processor add
garlic minced with salt, begin processor and slowly add oil and lemon
juice alternating them until gone, scape down sides intermittently. Add
one to two egg whites while the processor is blending until you reach
mayonnaise consistency. Serve with chicken or meat and cover and
refrigerate remainder. Lasts about a week refrigerated<span>"</span></div>
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<span> </span></div>
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<span>Till next time!</span></div>
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Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-81261846527663780502016-03-24T09:57:00.001-07:002016-03-24T09:57:32.544-07:00Cranberry Orange Cream Scones (revisited)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipX-19uWiLmYDVgEhhbyspMZAKcCTqFF23xuSP4RmUfJ1R8dwdrJFAhrQLJXEEzrtaaAqClc0Cg7wiwJ-OMqiOWuxFelWrVFlOua53UAUawZP5CnNcww1A6V1CkJbYPPZZ298r0o9IuWa7/s1600/20160302_134602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipX-19uWiLmYDVgEhhbyspMZAKcCTqFF23xuSP4RmUfJ1R8dwdrJFAhrQLJXEEzrtaaAqClc0Cg7wiwJ-OMqiOWuxFelWrVFlOua53UAUawZP5CnNcww1A6V1CkJbYPPZZ298r0o9IuWa7/s400/20160302_134602.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I made another batch of the cranberry orange cream scones because it was so well liked by everyone in my family and at work. This time, I think I perfected the recipe. I made a double batch and made slightly smaller scones, a bit bigger than bite size but not as large as original. These were the perfect size I think.<br />
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<br />
<b>Cranberry Orange Cream Scones</b><br />
makes 12 scones<b> </b><br />
<i>based on <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lemon-cream-scones-1923">this Epicurious recipe</a></i><br />
<i><b>Ingredients</b></i><br />
2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
Just under 1/4 cup granulated white sugar<br />
1 Tbs baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon<br />
Just under 1/2 tsp salt<br />
3/4 cup dried cranberries<br />
About 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice<br />
1 Tbs freshly grated orange peel<br />1 cup heavy whipping cream<br />
<br />
<b><i>Topping</i></b><br />
1/2 Tbs melted butter<br />
1-2 tsp coarse sugar <i><br /></i><br />
<i><b>Directions</b></i><br />
1. Combine the dried cranberries and fresh orange juice in a cup, making sure to cover the cranberries. Allow to rehydrate for at least 15 minutes and then drain well.<br />
2. Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Mix in the cranberries and grated orange peel.<br />
2. Pour in the whipping cream and stir just till combined. Form into a ball and lightly flour the surface.<br />
3. Lightly flour a clean surface and your hands. Pull the dough out onto
the surface and shape into a rectangle about 8-9" by 4-5". Cut in half
lengthwise, then cut each strip into 3 squares. Cut each square
diagonally to create triangles. (You can change the size and shape as desired. These are great made into bite sized scones too!)<br />
4. Preheat oven to 420-425 deg Fahrenheit.<br />
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper
with oil. Place the triangles of dough evenly across the baking sheet.
Brush the top of each triangle with melted butter and sprinkle the tops
with coarse sugar.<br />
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. You may turn it around 8 minutes to promote
even browning. (Reduce time and check frequently if making smaller scones). Let cool on the rack for a few minutes, then remove to a
wire rack to cool further.<br />
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Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-34811466123508384702016-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:002016-03-01T12:00:06.963-08:00Tiramisu CheesecakeCheesecake is an American favorite, but the New York style and Cheesecake Factory ones are usually too thick and too sweet for me. The American palate tends to turn their desserts into sugar and fat bombs that are quite bad for your health, but are sure addicting! Being health-conscious and familiar with Asian-style sweets, I lean toward less sweet or sweet and salty desserts. I like combining sweets with something slightly salty or savory and bitter, such as adding nuts. Red bean and sesame desserts are delicious to me, too, because the flavors help cut the sweetness of whatever dessert they are in. <br />
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I must admit that I do like cheesecake, but in small portions, like the cheesecake bites at Yogurtland. Sometimes, I get that craving but never go out and buy one because most restaurants and stores makes theirs too sweet and thick. Finally, I had time to make one. I found this tiramisu mascarpone by BelGioioso, and I wanted to make tiramisu, because that is one of my top favorite cakes, but that required getting heavy cream and whipping cream and other things. I already had cream cheese at home so I thought a tiramisu cheesecake would be an awesome thing to make.<br />
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After searching a bit, I found this recipe for <a href="https://www.blogger.com/">tiramisu cheesecake on AllRecipes</a> that met my requirements for minimal ingredients and only a moderate amount of work and complexity. Earlier, I made a batch of homemade graham crackers and decided to add that to the crust to add a bit more crunch and flavor. I made some other adjustments as I went along: (1) soaked ladyfingers in a mix of Kahlua and coffee and wedged in the cheesecake batter, (2) added more Kahlua to the crust, (3) added more Kahlua and coffee to the cheesecake batter, and (4) topped with a pretty design using finely-ground coffee. I reduced the sugar by half because of my aforementioned aversion to sweet desserts and the cheesecake came out perfectly. It was just sweet enough and just thick enough to be addicting and enjoyable without getting sugar headaches. In addition to those changes, I baked the cheesecake in a waterbath, which helps maintain moisture while baking. I think I read somewhere that the waterbath also helps the top from cracking and helps the cheesecake bake evenly.<br />
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My family was very impressed by the presentation and flavor of this cake. This is definitely a recipe that I will return to time and again when I want a show-stopping cake!<br />
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<b><i>Tiramisu Cheesecake with Kahlua</i></b><br />
<i>Ingredients</i><br />
<i>~Crust~</i><br />
1 7 oz package of ladyfinger cookies, crushed to a coarse powder<br />
About 5 crushed graham crackers to bring up the dry weight to 12 oz <i>(I will increase the amount of crust in the future. This was too thin for my liking)</i><br />
2 Tbs Kahlua (coffee liqueur)<br />
4 Tbs of unsalted butter, melted<br />
<br />
<i>~Filling~</i><br />
16 oz of cream cheese (regular or Neufchatel)<br />
8 oz of <a href="http://www.belgioioso.com/Products/Mascarpone">BelGioioso tiramisu mascarpone cheese </a><i>(mascarpone cheese flavored with real coffee and sugar; you could probably make your own by mixing mascarpone with some instant espresso powder and some sugar, or with a splash of room temperature strong brewed coffee with some sugar)</i><br />
2 eggs<br />
1/2 cup white sugar<br />
4 Tbs all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour<br />
3-4 Tbs Kahlua <i>(I would add more Kahlua and coffee in the future)</i><br />
3-4 Tbs of strong-brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature OR 3-4 Tbs water mixed with 1-2 tsp instant coffee granules<br />
4-6 ladyfinger cookies<br />
Finely ground coffee for decorating top (optional)<br />
<br />
<i>Special Equipment</i><br />
A 9" springform, nonstick pan<br />
A jelly roll pan with at least a 1" rim<br />
<br />
<i>Directions</i><br />
1. Mix the crushed ladyfingers and graham crackers with the Kahlua and butter. Press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan. <br />
2. Beat the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sugar until smooth. Add the Kahlua and coffee and mix. Add the eggs and four and mix slowly, just until incorporated. You do not want to overbeat or else the cheesecake will crack as it cools.<br />
3. Pour half of the cheesecake batter over the crust.<br />
4. Mix the brewed coffee (at room temperature) with some Kahlua. Dip each ladyfinger in the mixture and arrange in a single layer over the cheesecake. You don't need to cover the entire top.<br />
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.<br />
6. Pour the remaining cheesecake batter over the ladyfingers. Jiggle the pan a bit to distribute the batter evenly.<br />
7. Place the pan on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap the foil up and around the sides of the pan, making sure there is no opening for water to get in. Make a second layer of aluminum foil wrap in the same fashion. Place the wrapped pan in middle of the jelly roll pan. Pour water to reach 1/2" up the side of the pan.<br />
8. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes - just until the cheesecake is only slightly jiggly in the center. If it is browning on top too quickly, cover the top with foil and lower the temperature 10 degrees. Once done, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the oven door open for 20 minutes. Then, remove from the oven, let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 3 hours.<br />
9. Before serving, dust finely ground coffee over the top, using patterned stencils if desired. Slice and serve!<br />
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<b>Tips:</b><br />
1. Wipe your knife with water in between slices to prevent dragging cheese filling over the rest of the cake.<br />
2. Cheesecake freezes and thaws well too. You can wrap individual slices, or put wax or parchment paper in between slices, then wrap and freeze. When you want to eat, just remove from the freezer, thaw, and eat!<br />
3. You can sprinkle cocoa powder on top instead of finely-ground coffee.<br />
<br />Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-86222914426397257542016-02-29T22:18:00.003-08:002016-02-29T22:18:34.370-08:00Cranberry Orange Cream SconesIf you have a lot of whipping cream that you need to use up, these cream scones are a great way to use it up. I myself had bought a bottle of whipping cream to make green tea cream puffs, but then my dad used all the matcha and then I got lazy to make the cream puffs.<br />
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<br />
In addition, these scones are great if you are low on eggs and butter. Rather than using butter and eggs, these scones use the pure fatty goodness of heavy (whipping) cream. The texture came out so great. It was moist with a texture somewhere between cakey and bready. It was not as dry and crumbly (aka flaky) as typical scones, but I like this better, I think. I was eating my mom's day-old red velvet donut and I think its texture was very similar to that. Cakey but firm and crisp on the outside. Ooo, great idea! This recipe could be piped into donut pans to make baked donuts! Will have to try that next time I get a donut pan.<br />
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<br />
This recipe is based on this one for <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lemon-cream-scones-1923">lemon cream scones</a>. I swapped out the apricot for cranberries and lemon for oranges, because I had those at home and they are two typical flavor combinations. I also added cinnamon because I think cinnamon should be added to nearly every baked good. Hey, they say it helps control blood sugar!<br />
<br />
<b>Cranberry Orange Cream Scones</b><br />
<i>based on <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lemon-cream-scones-1923">this Epicurious recipe</a></i><br />
<i><b>Ingredients</b></i><br />
2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
Just under 1/4 cup granulated white sugar<br />
1 Tbs baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon<br />
Just under 1/2 tsp salt<br />
3/4 cup dried cranberries<br />
1 Tbs freshly grated orange peel<br />
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (next time I may reduce this to just 1 cup)<br />
<br />
<b><i>Topping</i></b><br />
1/2 Tbs melted butter<br />
1-2 tsp coarse sugar <i><br /></i><br />
<br />
<i><b>Directions</b></i><br />
1. Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Mix in the cranberries and grated orange peel.<br />
2. Pour in the whipping cream and stir just till combined. Form into a ball and lightly flour the surface.<br />
3. Lightly flour a clean surface and your hands. Pull the dough out onto the surface and shape into a rectangle about 8-9" by 4-5". Cut in half lengthwise, then cut each strip into 3 squares. Cut each square diagonally to create triangles.<br />
4. Preheat oven to 420-425 deg Fahrenheit.<br />
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper with oil. Place the triangles of dough evenly across the baking sheet. Brush the top of each triangle with melted butter and sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.<br />
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. You may turn it around 8 minutes to promote even browning. Let cool on the rack for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool further.<br />
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These scones can be eaten warm from the oven, at room temp, or lightly rewarmed. Goes very well with a cup of coffee or tea!<b> </b>I will definitely remake this in the future because it is so easy and rewarding!Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-27028448536335694012015-09-24T14:11:00.000-07:002015-09-24T14:11:13.956-07:00Banana Oatmeal Bread with Nutella SmileHello!<br />
<br />
It is officially autumn but it sure is still hot in Southern California. Yesterday it was mid-80 degrees Fahrenheit and the news says that it will be hotter these next few days. It will be nice when the cool fall weather kicks in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southern California Sunset</td></tr>
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In its fourth year of drought, California has been cutting back on water, making various efforts to reduce water loss and waste, and has successfully r<a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/8/27/california-surpasses-water-savings-goal-cuts-use-by-more-than-30-percent.html">educed water use by more than 30%</a>, which is about 5% above what the government was hoping for. Despite almonds getting a bad rap for water use in California, California still manages to churn out a good deal of produce.<br />
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Luckily, just last week, there was some torrential downpour which broke the drought but caused some damaging flooding in various areas. There was some hope that there was going to be rainfall earlier this week, but the clouds ended up just passing by my area with no rainfall.<br />
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Although it's been hot lately, I still want to bake and that requires turning on the oven. It's a small price to pay, though, when the reward is something scrumptious! My mom and I have been buying lots of bananas because my sister and her boyfriend take so many when they go surfing. We buy a bushel and then half are gone by the end of the week! This time, we bought too many, and boy-oh-boy was I happy. Because you know what brown bananas mean?<br />
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Banana bread!<br />
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I had this recipe I used before that merged America's Test Kitchen's banana bread recipe with Giada's recipe. I made it twice but they were too moist and lacked structure. Although adding more bananas increases sweetness and moistness of the final product, too much made it mushy. Therefore, I sought to make a better banana bread. Serious Eats has become one of my top go-to sites for food recipes. I trust their recipes because of the expertise and creativity of its contributors. When I found this Banana Oatmeal Bread recipe on their site and read that a pastry chef, Anna Markow, created it, I knew it must be a good recipe. As a healthy baker, I could tell that although this was a dessert, the ingredients were not so bad for you and I could feel good making and eating a lot of this.<br />
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In place of the rolled oats, I used Coach's Oats Steel-Cut Oats that I pulverized in my spice/coffee grinder. Also, I had some Nutella leftover and I wanted to use it up because it has been in my pantry for so long, so I mixed it with a small portion of batter and added that to the middle of the pan. On top, I put sliced bananas and some mini chocolate chips for presentation value. The final result was spectacular. My sister and her boyfriend really enjoyed it. I had to stop myself from eating too many slices myself so that I could share with my family!<br />
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Hope you try this recipe as it is a slight change on the classic banana bread recipe with a few improvements that make it nearly irresistible.<br />
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<b>Banana Oatmeal Bread with Nutella Smile </b>(adapted from <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/02/make-ahead-banana-oatmeal-bread-recipe.html">Serious Eats</a>)<br />
<i>makes 1 9" by 5" loaf </i><br />
<i><b>Ingredients</b></i><br />
1 cup white whole wheat flour (recommend Ultragrain(R))<br />
1/2 cup whole wheat flour<br />
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar<br />
1/3 cup light brown sugar, slightly packed into the cup<br />
1/2 cup rolled oats (or steel cut oats pulverized into almost flour texture)<br />
1-1/2 tsp baking powder<br />
1/4 tsp baking soda<br />
1/8 tsp salt<br />
1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />
2 medium, ripe bananas<br />
2 eggs<br />
1/3 cup of buttermilk (or a little less than 1/3 cup of whole milk with 1-2 Tbs fresh lime or lemon juice, set aside to curdle for 5 minutes)<br />
1/4 cup vegetable oil<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
2 Tbs Nutella<br />
<i>For topping (optional):</i><br />
1/2 banana sliced in thin rounds<br />
A few chocolate chips<br />
<br />
<b><i>Directions</i></b><br />
1) Sift the white whole wheat flour, the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the white sugar, brown sugar, and rolled oats.<br />
2) In a blender, blend the bananas, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until well-mixed, but do not over-blend or you will incorporate too much air.<br />
3) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Fold/mix together until just combined.<br />
4) Prepare a 9x5" loaf pan by lightly greasing and flouring. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (if you oven tends to output higher temperature or tends to brown things too quickly, try reducing the temperature to 325-340 degrees Fahrenheit).<br />
5) In a small bow, mix 2 Tbs Nutella with about 1/2 cup of the batter.<br />
6) Pour half of the original batter into the pan, then spread the Nutella batter in the center. Pour the remaining original batter and spread evenly in the pan.<br />
7) Place the banana slices and chocolate chips as desired on top of the bread.<br />
8) Bake in the preheated oven for 28 minutes, then turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Make sure to watch it in the last 10 minutes because mine browned quick a bit and I had to remove it after about 46-48 minutes of baking.<br />
9) Immediately remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for about 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving.<br />
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<i>Note: </i>Loaf lasts at least 4 days without refrigeration in Southern California summer weather. If you live in a humid, hot area, I suggest refrigerating by the 3rd or 4th day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smile! Happiness can come from food! :D</td></tr>
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Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-90392280284058693532015-03-21T22:05:00.000-07:002015-03-21T22:05:04.981-07:00Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut BreadI've been sooo lazy to post. Honest, I have been cooking and baking a lot, but nothing too spectacular to warrant a blog post. Well, I guess, one thing that I enjoyed was that, earlier this week, I made some homemade black bean veggie enchiladas with homemade roasted tomato serrano sauce. It was good and fed me throughout the week. The recipe for the roasted tomato salsa is from Once Upon a Chef (found <a href="http://www.onceuponachef.com/2012/09/roasted-tomato-salsa.html">here</a>). I am now amazed at how easy it is to make roasted salsas at home. By simply broiling tomatoes, onions, garlic, and serranos for 10-20 minutes, then blending them with oregano, cumin, salt, and fresh lime juice, you come out with this tasty sauce you can add to various Mexican dishes to perk up the flavor. Alas, I had no cilantro, which really would have given the sauce the extra fresh flavor it needed. This will be a go-to recipe for a different salsa than the normal pico de gallo.<br />
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Today, I was shuttered up in the house for most of the day because it was raining all day here in Houston. Houston is like that. One day will be bright and sunny and beautiful (i.e., yesterday, the first day of spring), and the next is freezing and it's raining cats and dogs! Okay, so the rain was not so terrible. It let up now and then, but still put a damper on my usual morning walk with my dog. Being stuck in the house, all I could do was cook or bake. So after fixing myself a nice breakfast taco (I have learned to make scrambled eggs by cooking over low heat rather than medium high. My breakfasts have been transformed with soft silky eggs now instead of dry crunchy eggs!), I set to making a bread that has wow'ed me since I first tried it out.<br />
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Red Star Yeast posted this <a href="http://redstaryeast.com/oatmeal-walnut-bread/">recipe for Oatmeal Walnut Bread</a> and I made it some months ago. It was so fantastic I had to write a note on the recipe that it was really good so I would remember. Now, this is my go-to bread. But I must admit I never seem to make it the same. First time, I used just honey and maple syrup instead of molasses and pecans instead of walnuts, because that is what I had. This time, I used 2 Tbs of molasses and 1 Tbs of honey and added walnuts and cranberries. This bread gets better each time I think.<br />
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The reason I added walnuts AND cranberries is because the HEB (huge Texas grocery chain) bakeries make this fantastic cranberry pistachio bread. It is one of their best. They also do a cranberry walnut bread. These are baked in artisan-looking loaves and run about $4.99. HEB knows these breads are good and generally never put them on sale. I wanted to replicate that delicious bread but with a recipe I was familiar with. Additionally, I wanted a healthy spin. This Oatmeal Walnut Bread lends naturally to those requirements.<br />
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I was pleased with the result. I admit I am still uncertain about my hand-kneading technique but I think the crumb came out well. The crumb was a bit dense from the whole wheat and mix-ins, but you can still see the airy micro-structure and the gluten development, which allowed for a sturdy loaf that doesn't fall apart too easily when you cut or tear it. The instructions listed below are for how I made it this time around (rainy day, humid Houston, 65-75 degree outside temperature).<br />
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<b>Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Bread</b><br />
One 9x5" loaf<br />
<i>Ingredients</i><br />
1+1/4 cup of bread flour + more for kneading<br />
1 sachet (2+1/4 tsp) of Platinum Red Star Yeast<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
1 cup water<br />
2 Tbs molasses<br />
1 Tbs honey<br />
2 Tbs vegetable/canola oil<br />
1 cup whole wheat flour<br />
1/4 cup instant plain rolled oats<br />
1/2 cup walnuts, crushed or chopped<br />
1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries<br />
Half an egg and some more plain rolled oats for topping<br />
<br />
<i>Special equipment</i><br />
Thermometer that reads up to 130 deg Fahrenheit<br />
9x5" loaf pan<br />
<br />
<i>Direction</i><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Mix the 1+1/4 cup of bread flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl.</li>
<li>In a medium sized microwaveable bowl, add 1 cup water, 2 Tbs molasses, 1 Tbs honey, and 2 Tbs. Microwave for over 1 minute 30 seconds until a thermometer, when inserted, reads 120 to 130 deg Fahrenheit. </li>
<li>Pour the still warm liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Stir until dry bits are incorporated.</li>
<li>Add in the 1 cup whole wheat flour slowly until you reach a dough ball that pulls away from the sides, stays together, but don't make it too dry.</li>
<li>Mix in the crushed walnuts and cranberries.</li>
<li>Now turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is supple and elastic. Add extra bread flour a tablespoon at a time if needed to work the dough. The dough may still be a little sticky but do not add more just to prevent all stickiness. Adding too much dough will make your bread dense and taste like cardboard wheat.</li>
<li>Lightly grease a large bowl. Roll the dough into a ball, brush a little oil on top, and then place into the greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and leave for 30 minutes. </li>
<li>The dough will have almost doubled in size. Lightly punch down the dough, expelling excess air and redistributing the yeast. Knead and stretch the dough into about a 7" x 14" rectangle. Roll the rectangle up along the long end so you end up with a log about the size of the loaf pan. Pinch the seals closed.</li>
<li>Lightly grease the bottom and lower sides of the loaf pan. Sprinkle with flour or cornmeal. Place the rolled dough seam-side down into the pan, cover, and let rise for another 30 minutes.</li>
<li>Before the last 10 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit. Place a pan filled partway with water inside to create steam. Mix half an egg with water and brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash. Sprinkle the remaining rolled oats on top and press lightly to make them stick.</li>
<li>Once the oven has finished preheating, put the loaf in the middle rack of the oven (keep the water pan inside) and bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is lightly browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. If the top is browning too quickly near the end, remove the loaf, cover the top with foil and return to the oven to finish baking.</li>
<li>When finished baking, remove the loaf and let cool for about 20 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and let cool on a rack.</li>
</ol>
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The bread was so good eaten fresh out of the oven. It was even better when it cooled down further and even better better when I made a roast turkey sandwich with it. I really should have taken a picture of my sandwich. Fresh avocado, smoked gouda, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, and turkey deli slices that I heated in the toaster. It was a fantastic sandwich. </div>
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Hope you enjoy this bread as much as I did! Oh, and if you have tips on kneading bread dough, I would love to hear your advice. Thanks for stopping by!</div>
Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-47180515980036705322015-02-17T09:29:00.002-08:002015-02-17T09:29:48.992-08:00King Cake for Fat TuesdayI've seen King Cake circulating around Mardi Gras time for several years now. I've never had it before and it looked very festive with all the colorful sprinkles on top. The tradition of hiding a little baby Jesus inside the cake always make me laugh. Whoever receives the slice with Baby Jesus inside has to bring the cake next year, but then I also heard how Baby Jesus is sometimes replaced by a little bean or candy bean because people would choke on him.<br />
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It being Fat Tuesday, I wanted to try King Cake. Like I do, I decide to make it even before I have tried the real thing from stores (but really, can the grocery store in Texas make as authentic a cake as something homemade?). I used the recipe for <a href="http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/quick-mardi-gras-king-cake/a285aa15-62d7-493b-8d34-b00038646c81">Quick King Cake from Betty Crocker </a>and proceeded to make it last night while also eating dinner, playing with my dog, and prepping a huge pot of beans. It was quite a busy night.<br />
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So, in making this recipe, I found out what a King Cake really is. It is basically a sweet brioche (eggy, buttery bread) dough with a buttery cinnamon sugar filling, twisted or braided into a circle. Other filling are possible such as pecans instead of just cinnamon sugar. Then, the "cake" is topped with icing and sprinkled with the typical Mardi Gras colors: purple, green, and yellow. Once completely cooled, Baby Jesus is hidden inside the cake. Sadly, Baby Jesus is not with me and I could not hide him inside.<br />
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In making this dough, I thought it was interesting that the butter is added after combining the dry ingredients with the eggs, milk, and vanilla. The addition of the butter made the dough very easy to handle. I did everything by hand, all the mixing, kneading, shaping, so the ease of handling was a godsend. I did add some flour after the full 3-1/2 cups of flour were added because the dough was too sticky. I let it sit in the fridge for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. When I came back, it had risen nicely.<br />
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I prepared the filling with only half the butter because I ran out but it was still enough, I think. I rolled the dough out to the specified size, spread the filling in (a little sparse), folded in half and then made a mistake. I wanted to incorporate the filling more and didn't think that cutting the strip into three would allow me to make a big ring. So I tried rolling it out to cut it into three strips lengthwise but that wasn't working. I ended up cutting it into three short strips, found that i couldn't braid that long enough, and ended up just trying to put the three strips back together to form a long ring. I twisted to the dough to give it that nice look. The ends didn't really seal but it kind of worked.<br />
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I let it rise for about 1-1/2 hours and then baked it for 25 minutes. The filling was spilling out because the way i twisted the dough created many openings. The filling became delicious sweet brown sugar caramel on the pan. Delicious mistake, but not one I want to make again.<br />
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After letting it cool overnight, I frosted it with cream cheese icing and dusted it with food glitter. Not the prettiest, but it sure is soooo tasty. It's like a giant cinnamon roll but better. The brioche dough is light, fluffy, buttery, a bit sweet. Biting into the filling or the caramelized sugar coating the bottom gives you that punch of more sweetness.<br />
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No wonder they eat this on Fat Tuesday. Yayyyy fat and sugar!<br />
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Overall, the recipe was not too difficult except for my misunderstanding of the shaping part. Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-63296780275941506362015-01-02T11:51:00.000-08:002015-01-02T11:51:07.296-08:00Pear pecan pieOne thing that I've started baking and has never failed me is an apple pecan pie. I like apple pie but it can be a little boring just eating apples in buttery crust. I like the top part of the pecan pie but don't like the usual thick layer of corn syrup filling beneath. To make a healthier, more dynamic and delicious pie, I thought about combining the two! The first time I made it, I loosely based it on <a href="http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/10/apple-pecan-pie/">this recipe</a> and used a pre-made pie crust. It came out so well, I was surprised! Using pre-made crusts makes pie-making a breeze!<br />
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For Thanksgiving this year, I made it again, but did not have enough apples to fill my 9.5" pie pan! So I had to add this pecan oat crumble and maple whipped cream.<br />
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For Christmas, my mom bought a lot of pears so I made my signature apple pecan pie but with the pears! Used bartlett
pears that are still slightly crisp, not too ripe or soft, instead of
apples. For the pear pecan pie, I used a few different recipes for reference but here's the basic gist:<br />
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<b>Pear Pecan Pie</b> <br />
<i>Ingredients</i><br />
1 refrigerated roll of pie crust for 9" pie, unbaked<br />
Filling:<br />
3 medium/large bartlett pears, peeled and cored, then cut into thin slices<br />
1/3 cup light brown sugar (not packed)<br />
1/3 cup flour<br />
1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />
1/4 tsp cloves<br />
1/4 tsp nutmeg<br />
1/4 to 1/3 extra juicy lime or lemon<br />
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Streusal Topping:<br />
1/3 cup pecans, chopped<br />
2-3 Tbs butter, softened<br />
1/4 cup flour<br />
1/3 cup light brown sugar (not packed)<br />
1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Directions:</i><br />
<ol>
<li>Combine pears with juice of the lime, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, light brown sugar, and flour.</li>
<li>Line a 9" pie pan with the pie crust. Crimp crust. Prick crust a few times with a fork and bake in an oven at 350 deg Fahrenheit for 8 minutes.</li>
<li>Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare the streusal topping: Combine all the ingredients for the streusal topping in a medium bowl using your hands, forks, or whatever you need to make it a uniform crumble.</li>
<li>Fill the baked pie crust with the pear filling. You may align the pear slices in a pretty circle.</li>
<li>Top the pie with the streusal. </li>
<li>Cover the crust of the pie with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield</li>
<li>Bake about 40-45 minutes until just browned on top of the pie. </li>
<li>Let cool. Slice and serve with fresh whipped cream.</li>
</ol>
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Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-90203724544931501802014-10-15T20:07:00.001-07:002014-10-15T20:07:22.675-07:00Coffee Muffins with Mocha Glaze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been craving coffee flavored sweets lately. Now, I am not one to go buy a frappuccino and I am also not one to make some coffee and put more than 2 teaspoons of sugar into it, but I really felt that some coffee-flavored cake or bread or muffin would be fantastic. The idea is not prominent in the baking world. Search "coffee cake" or even "coffee-flavored cake" and you mostly end up with coffee cake. Coffee cake to me does not deserve to be called that unless it's coffee-flavored! Also, I think coffee cake is way too sweet for breakfast, maybe even more oily and sweet than donuts. But I suppose that is why you eat it with coffee, because the bitter coffee will become palatable due to the lingering sweetness of the coffee cake (and vice versa).<br />
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After searching for a while and evaluating the various recipes available to me online, I came across this <a href="http://therecipecritic.com/2014/01/coffee-cake-muffins/">coffee cake muffin recipe</a> at therecipecritic.com. The ingredients in the muffin base sounded like an easy thing to put together and didn't have too much oil, sugar, or eggs (I'm stingy with my eggs and try to be healthy by baking with less fats and sugar). But, the recipe was filled with jam and had that same sugary topping seen on coffee cakes. I wanted just a pure coffee-flavored muffin, no other flavors or sugars to mask it. So, I borrowed her muffin base, excluded the filling and topping, and put my own mocha glaze on top. I have to say the results came out very well.<br />
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The batter only produced 10 muffins in my case, but they were soft, moist, spongy. They have a crumb that stays together relatively well, but still is tender and breaks away when you bite into it. I added 1/2 teaspoon of ground coffee (Cafe du Monde) to boost the coffee flavor, but I will have to add more next time. I also used leftover coffee from the morning, which was made just regular , not strong. Due to this and the predominant sugar and flour base, the coffee flavor was not as strong as I wanted it to be. So, next time, I will brew extra strong coffee (probably do Vietnamese drip coffee using my phin and Cafe du Monde coffee), and add a full teaspoon to the batter to boost the flavor.<br />
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In making the icing. I had too small an amount of powdered sugar and added too much coffee. It was runny and definitely not suitable for icing. So I melted some bits of a dark chocolate baking bar in the microwave and stirred it in until I achieved a consistency I thought would be good.<br />
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After the muffins cooled down, I iced them. First, I tried covering the tops, but that did not look that nice. So next I went with zigzags. Much better. Still, displeased with the ugly muffins, I sprinkles some of the Cafe du Monde coffee on top, and voila! I was finally pleased.<br />
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Hope you enjoyed my journey to achieve a good-lookin' coffee muffin. Now, to the spoils! The recipe!<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Coffee Muffins with Mocha Glaze</i> (makes 10 muffins)<br />
<i>Muffin Ingredients</i><br />
1.5 cups of flour (I use Ultra-Grain Flour)<br />
1/4 cups of brown sugar<br />
1/4 cup of granulated (white) sugar<br />
1.5 tsp baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
less than 1/4 tsp of salt<br />
1 tsp of good quality, finely ground coffee (Cafe du Monde, Starbucks, Illy, etc.)<br />
1/2 cup of brewed coffee, cooled to room temperaure (next time, I'll brew it extra strong)<br />
1/4 cup of milk<br />
1 egg<br />
1/3 cup of vegetable oil<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Glaze Ingredients</i><br />
1/4 cup powdered sugar<br />
1 to 2 Tbs brewed coffee<br />
1/2 oz to 1 oz dark baking chocolate<br />
Extra coffee grounds for decoration (optional)<br />
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<i>Directions</i><br />
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<ol>
<li>Sift the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.</li>
<li>Beat the coffee, milk, egg, and oil in a small bowl or large glass measuring cup.</li>
<li>Make a well in center of your dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir just until combined. Do not overmix. Set aside.</li>
<li>Pre-heat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit.</li>
<li>Line a muffin tin symmetrically with 10 muffin liners. </li>
<li>Pour the batter evenly into the muffin liners (if you have enough to fill 12 muffin cups about 2/3 full, go ahead)</li>
<li>Fill the remaining 2 unlined muffin cups with water about 1/3 full.</li>
<li>Bake in the pre-heated oven for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the middle-most muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the pan or 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.</li>
<li>While the muffins are cooling, prepare the glaze: In a small cup, beat the powdered sugar and brewed coffee until the powdered sugar has dissolved. Heat the baking chocolate in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Mix into the powdered sugar mix. Continue to melt and add chocolate until you achieve the desired frosting consistency.</li>
<li>Once the muffins have cooled to room temperature, ice/glaze/frost/decorate. If desired, sprinkle coffee grounds on top of the glaze.</li>
</ol>
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Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-52487483950028580772014-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:002014-09-11T10:00:02.648-07:00Multigrain Walnut Banana MuffinsYou all probably know: I LOOOVVEEE baking. It is a truly active activity with results that you can both eat and share with others. How awesome is that? What I don't like about baking is that the results can be bad for you, with all the sugar and butter. My family is generally really healthy, my mom especially. She eats loads of fruit and nuts, has cut out pastries and chips except for very rare occasions when she'll eat a few, and is always active. My mom is one of my strongest motivators to be healthy, strong, active, and more.<br />
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Balancing healthy and my love for baking is challenging. Most of my friends know I bake relatively low-sugar and low-fat desserts, with occasional splurges when attempting to impress others. For myself, I can't stand desserts that are too sweet. I seek out a wholesome balance of sweet and salty. Grains have a natural nuttiness and subtle sweetness that I have come to love. Nuts have a lot of fat, but these are healthy fats and good for you if eaten in moderation. Sugar is now emerging as the main culprit in rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. It may seem like all sugar is bad, except for natural sources like stevia, agave, and erythriol. Those sources sound great and natural and all, but they are still added sugars. Maybe they don't cause spikes in your insulin but they are not an excuse to eat as much of these sugar sources as you want. Sugar from fruits, eaten naturally and not removed and processed, is the best way to take in your sugar.<br />
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Taking what I've learned from a variety of health resources, I attempted to make a banana nut muffin that would appeal to my mom and me: healthy yet tasty, without added sugars, full of grains and omega-3 walnuts. This muffin would be something you could eat and feel good about. Definitely not a dessert muffin, but something to enjoy in the morning with milk or an afternoon or after dinner snack.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFbE5tMxJEyQ_qeZSmWEmzbRscX19e9kS909IPZg4c-z0s5u3DSQHRU7qrqB6PNSX7j8ns78-8HdyVx5huL5mriD0C2ONrdPH_GE1jqS-uqGkO4qolmvqTRY64Sbx0y82GWqCiRhSk2mj/s1600/20140910_114742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFbE5tMxJEyQ_qeZSmWEmzbRscX19e9kS909IPZg4c-z0s5u3DSQHRU7qrqB6PNSX7j8ns78-8HdyVx5huL5mriD0C2ONrdPH_GE1jqS-uqGkO4qolmvqTRY64Sbx0y82GWqCiRhSk2mj/s1600/20140910_114742.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Multigrain Walnut Banana Muffins</b><br />
<i>Ingredients</i><br />
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or unbleached all purpose flour)<br />
1 cup multigrain hot cereal (I used 7-grain hot cereal from Bob's Red Mill, or you can use 1 cup oats that have been processed in a food processor)<br />
1/2 cup rolled oats<br />
1 Tbs baking powder<br />
1 tsp cinnamon<br />
1/4 tsp nutmeg<br />
1 egg<br />
1/4 cup oil (olive or vegetable oil both work fine)<br />
3/4 cup 2% organic milk<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
3 mashed over-ripe bananas (~1.5 cups)<br />
1/2-3/4 cup cinnamon chips or dark chocolate chips<br />
1/2 cup chopped walnuts<br />
<br />
<i>Directions</i><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Mix the flour, hot cereal (uncooked), rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.</li>
<li>In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg, oil, milk, and vanilla.</li>
<li>Make a well in the dry mixture and pour in the wet mixture. Mix just until combined.</li>
<li>Add the mashed bananas. Mix just until combined.</li>
<li>Add the cinnamon chips and chopped walnuts. Mix just until combined.</li>
<li>Preheat the oven to 400 deg F and line 12-16 muffin cups.</li>
<li>Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way up with the batter. (optional) Top each with a full walnut piece.</li>
<li>Bake 12-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted the center of a muffin comes out clean. </li>
<li>Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.</li>
</ol>
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A caution is that this is healthy and you know it while eating it. To make it more appealing for the general public without adding spoons of sugar, I added in some mini cinnamon chips. Yes, this is processed sugar and I just lectured against it above, but you can't persuade others to eat healthy if it's unappetizing. Therefore, I added 1/2 cup of cinnamon chips. Next time, though, I'll add 3/4 cup of cinnamon chips to bring out the cinnamon and sweetness just a tad bit more. I also think the dark chocolate would be better than the cinnamon chips.</div>
Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-89298098826533424252014-09-10T14:04:00.005-07:002014-09-10T14:35:52.254-07:00Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese sizzling crepes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQCWwZwU90OnG74Yvgg75tHDK1qEGCBbde0M9dCqJm5qfUB0v5lccuUOveuFx9jThm3E-XsIy5EcjxBm3nnQNcnQR2aoUhJV6qJE4m1WmD72VlCu3R566Vx98qUxA92ionW5cqEayYNrZ/s1600/20140907_211533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQCWwZwU90OnG74Yvgg75tHDK1qEGCBbde0M9dCqJm5qfUB0v5lccuUOveuFx9jThm3E-XsIy5EcjxBm3nnQNcnQR2aoUhJV6qJE4m1WmD72VlCu3R566Vx98qUxA92ionW5cqEayYNrZ/s1600/20140907_211533.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the most unique and delicious Vietnamese foods that is not commonly known to most non-Vietna<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">mese</span> people is a savory meat-filled Vietnamese crepe called <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">b</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">ánh xèo</span><span style="background-color: white;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">B</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">ánh xèo</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> looks like a large omelette, but it actually does not contain any eggs at all! </span><span style="background-color: white;">It is a rice flour-based crepe that is filled with mung beans, ground meat, shrimp, and bean sprouts, and served with fresh lettuce and herbs and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">n</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm (fish sauce dipping sauce). The yellow color of the crepe comes from turmeric powder mixed into the batter, and from the mung beans added during cooking. </span></span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXuNkKdlfnTonWHWQfXkzjekFVrQ3DwoITssctylHq_EWg_ZzyXaKPMJvVQlZXJjM_paNs4xqlAneP0e2noJD_8qB2MhiF7WjxLeUkKdudkNhBFka7g82nJnqAQ9qOyjz3maDRPyIDHrh/s1600/20140907_212114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXuNkKdlfnTonWHWQfXkzjekFVrQ3DwoITssctylHq_EWg_ZzyXaKPMJvVQlZXJjM_paNs4xqlAneP0e2noJD_8qB2MhiF7WjxLeUkKdudkNhBFka7g82nJnqAQ9qOyjz3maDRPyIDHrh/s1600/20140907_212114.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If you've never had it, I REALLY encourage you to venture out from the usual noodles, pho, and spring rolls to try this. You will experience something truly unique and tastefully rewarding that you will be sure to brag about to your friends. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">I've never made b</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">ánh xèo</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> myself, but my grandma and mom have and I've had it at restaurants. During my short break back at home with my family, my mom asked me what I wanted her to make for dinner. I suggested b</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">ánh xèo</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> and she got real excited. She has only made it once before and was eager to try it again. Plus, we both knew how tasty the final product would be. Crispy pancake edges, creamy mung beans, caramelized sweet onions, salty-sweet </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">n</span><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, umami meat, and refreshing greens! So many flavors! I'm surprised the food trend people and renowned food critics are not gushing over this yet!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDICxRoJIggQIBsEw-5tzMP_H4DYAKnbRX7UydlglciWrBOOWS-XKFysqK5OVy6lsiezgTw5iEmhl4mRWX-CmB3kdOzY3hvt1ZNJ0EFJKJvgnFdLHNKVnLLH7HgA8Vwx1-4msnyIEpXw_/s1600/20140907_211523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDICxRoJIggQIBsEw-5tzMP_H4DYAKnbRX7UydlglciWrBOOWS-XKFysqK5OVy6lsiezgTw5iEmhl4mRWX-CmB3kdOzY3hvt1ZNJ0EFJKJvgnFdLHNKVnLLH7HgA8Vwx1-4msnyIEpXw_/s1600/20140907_211523.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">The n</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;"> for this Vietnamese dish is slightly sweeter than normal </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">n</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm used for things such as noodle salads (bun). To make the dipping sauce, you add fresh lime juice and minced garlic to sugar, let the acid and garlic permeate the sugar, add a lot of water, then add a good amount of fish sauce till you reach the right balance of sweet, salty, and umami. One site you can find some ratios for ingredients is <a href="http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/basic-vietnamese-dipping-sauce-nuoc-cham.html">VietWorldKitchen</a>. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To make the crepes, we used a pre-made b</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">ánh xèo</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> mix. Here are some suggested bags to grab:</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKeOV_oyRSA/VBC6pSPJgYI/AAAAAAAARzs/fpx1AqVwS6s/s1600/banhxeo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKeOV_oyRSA/VBC6pSPJgYI/AAAAAAAARzs/fpx1AqVwS6s/s1600/banhxeo.png" height="251" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">They are basically rice flour, self-rising flour, and turmeric, which are easy to make at home if you do not have access to these mixes. They also instructions in Vietnamese and rough English translations on the back.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is what me and my mom did:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b>B</b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b>ánh Xèo</b></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b> (Vietnamese Sizzling Crepes)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>Ingredients</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 bag of b</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">ánh xèo</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> mix, 1 can coconut milk (8 oz), and 3.5 cups of water</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2-3 stalks of green onion, green and white parts, chopped</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 lb of ground meat (normally pork, but we used chicken to be healthier)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 lb of shrimp, cleaned, deveined (usually the hard skin/shell is left on, but we removed it because i don't like the sharp crunch)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2 whole yellow onions</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Lots of garlic cloves, minced and divided</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 bag of mung beans (I think most bags are around 12 oz.), <b>soaked for an hour</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">1 bag of bean sprouts, washed and dry</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>To serve</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2-3 heads of lettuce</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Lots of <a href="http://vietworldkitchen.typepad.com/blog/vietnamese-herb-primer.html">Vietnamese herbs</a> (purple perilla, Vietnamese mint, fish mint)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Prepared </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">n</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>Directions</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Take the soaked mung beans and boil them in water for a few minutes. You only want to add enough water and to boil it long enough for the beans to soak up the water and not get mushy. Put into a bowl and set aside (drain excess water if any).</span></li>
<li>Dice 1 whole onion, mince the garlic. </li>
<li>Saute the onion in oil until it starts to turn yellow, then add half of the garlic. Once that begins to turn brown, add the ground meat. Season with a bit of sea salt and black pepper. Use your spoon or chop sticks to break up the meat and cook through. Pour into a separate bowl and set aside.</li>
<li>Saute the remaining garlic till just brown then add the shrimp. Add black pepper. Cook through (do not over cook). Remove to a separate bowl and cut the shrimp in half lengthwise (the shrimp as they are are too thick to fold nicely into the crepes). Set aside.</li>
<li>Slice remaining onion into thin strips. Saute in lots of oil until caramelized. Remove to a bowl lined with paper to soak up excess oil.</li>
<li>Prepare the crepe mix. Add the turmeric powder to the rice flour mix. Pour in coconut milk and water. Stir. Add in diced green onions. Let sit for ~10 minutes.</li>
<li>Wash the lettuce and herbs. Put into colanders to drip dry. Prepare the <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">n</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm</span></span> if not done so yet.</li>
<li>Now prepare to make the crepes. Take the individual bowls of crepe batter, meat, shrimp, mung bean, and bean sprouts and place them near the stove. </li>
</ol>
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<ol>
<li>Using a large nonstick skillet with a wide base (~10 inches) over high heat, pour in a generous amount of oil to cover the surface. Throw in some meat, shrimp, and onions on one side, then pour a small ladle of the batter into the pan, distributing the batter into a thin layer. Plug up any holes with extra batter. Immediately throw onto the half with the meat and onions, generous spoonfuls of mung bean then bean sprouts. </li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w7tY6djZRzVsiPKAnzSVi51Ep-NLBUFiaG8cnEwWsMny5vET7iSgW0mylDy7L1Cqgsr8P_GY__3HV1Kyh_OqSYMy9D7Lu1vH6ZPoTmBO5K_bMlPPekWmlLA7S1kA4zJtg_Ts1nsbm7lP/s1600/20140907_210124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w7tY6djZRzVsiPKAnzSVi51Ep-NLBUFiaG8cnEwWsMny5vET7iSgW0mylDy7L1Cqgsr8P_GY__3HV1Kyh_OqSYMy9D7Lu1vH6ZPoTmBO5K_bMlPPekWmlLA7S1kA4zJtg_Ts1nsbm7lP/s1600/20140907_210124.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<ol>
<li>Fry until the edges are lifting and the crepe is crispy. Fold the crepe and remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter and fillings.</li>
<li>To serve: place crepe on a plate, serve with lettuce, herbs, and <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">n</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm</span></span>. Provide bowls for the dipping sauce. Use chopsticks and spoons to eat. </li>
<li>Traditional way to eat (messy): break off a piece of the crepe. Take a full lettuce leaf, top with fresh herbs and the piece of crepe. Fold over like a little lettuce burrito, dip into the <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">n</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm</span></span> and eat. </li>
<li>Alternate way to eat (clean): break up crepe into a bowl, top with ripped lettuce and herbs. Drizzle in however much <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">n</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ước chấm</span></span> you want. Eat with chopsticks.</li>
</ol>
<div>
I hope this is helpful to anyone looking to try a new ethnic dish. It is very time-consuming for sure, but the results are rewarding and the presentation is fabulous. Everyone will be oohing and aahing at your next dinner!</div>
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Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-45377692625797024782014-04-18T13:04:00.000-07:002014-04-18T13:04:49.253-07:00Mango Cream Scones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWi04WMLp0xGTcKgfgUe61twZp7-IcFIc49z_abt5d0wOWETBStGRbJcBHAIKV1ZZ9V8NX9zg1eupXjUwGF75bAkc3zI4CouIgL_Zi48ya2290twPa9VcclgBNc4pyzQ-bdMrPjVDWjlEM/s1600/scone1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWi04WMLp0xGTcKgfgUe61twZp7-IcFIc49z_abt5d0wOWETBStGRbJcBHAIKV1ZZ9V8NX9zg1eupXjUwGF75bAkc3zI4CouIgL_Zi48ya2290twPa9VcclgBNc4pyzQ-bdMrPjVDWjlEM/s1600/scone1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I baked scones at midnight a couple days ago because:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I was craving scones</li>
<li>I had leftover dried mangoes</li>
<li>There was some sour cream and heavy whipping cream in the fridge</li>
<li>I was very sleepy from studying</li>
</ol>
<br />
That last point obviously points to baking at midnight. <i>Derrr</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I looked around the web for some scone recipes, and I usually go to EatingWell and CookingLight for relatively healthy recipes. This <a href="http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/scone-recipes-00412000078252/">slideshow</a> was nice and I selected their <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/apricot-scones-10000000221922/">Apricot Scones</a> recipe to model my midnight baking off of. I pretty much did everything in the recipe, but made it delicious again by using heavy cream and sour cream instead of buttermilk (plus I didn't have buttermilk and didn't want to use skim milk+lemon juice), and I used dried mangoes. I also cut them into squares, because I really don't like the triangle shapes they come in. Makes it hard to share with someone. Like, oh, let me break this evenly in half and give you an awkward shaped triangle or rectangle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drawn by me!! :-D</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just no. Make them squares or circles, but triangles are just selfish :'(<br />
<br />
The scones come together sooo easily. They're great; they barely stick to your hands even when you knead or pat them out. I used a little less sugar, cream/egg mix, which may have contributed. When they get close to baking, you can smell the soft aroma of butter, cream, and slight sweetness in the air. They brown lightly and break easily. Mmm mm!!! These were so good, they made me remember why I love scones so much.<br />
<br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Mango Cream Scones (makes 12 squares)</u><br />
<i>Adapted from CookingLight</i><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Ingredients</i></span><br />
2.5 cups flour (I use <a href="http://www.ultragrain.com/">Ultra-grain flour</a>)<br />
2 tsp baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
1/3-1/2 cup granulated sugar (I bet you can try mixing part brown sugar if you want)<br />
3.5-4 Tbs salted butter, cold, cut into small cubes<br />
6 dried mango slices (more or less to your liking, probably like 1/4-1/2 cup chopped)<br />
1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream<br />
1/4 cup sour cream<br />
2 large eggs<br />
<br />
<b><i>Directions</i></b><br />
1. Preheat oven to 400 deg Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with oil or butter.<br />
2. Soak dried mango slices in warm water while you prepare the batter.<br />
3. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut in butter with knife, fork, or hands till the mixture resembles coarse sand. (I use my hands and try to incorporate the butter well without melting it. It is imperative that scones use COLD butter)<br />
4. In a medium to large measuring cup or small bowl, mix sour cream and buttermilk. Beat in eggs one at a time.<br />
5. Drain mango slices. Chop up into small pieces.<br />
6. Mix just enough of the wet ingredients into dry till you have a slightly sticky, not too wet batter. Mix till just incorporated. Add mango slices and mix to incorporate. Knead in the bowl about 4-5 times.<br />
7. Place the dough on the prepared parchment paper, dusting hands with flour if necessary. Pat out into a 1/3-1/2" thick rectangle and cut into squares using a wet or floured knife. Separate pieces and place evenly on the baking sheet, reforming cute rectangles as needed.<br />
8. Bake in the 400 deg F oven on the middle rack for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then on a wire rack for another 5 minutes.<br />
9. Enjoy warm with some milk, tea, or coffee. They are great as breakfast, afternoon tea snacks, or midnight snacks!!!<br />
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<br />
<i>Nutritional Info (1 of 12 scones):</i><br />
<i>195 calories, 7 g fat, 28 g carbs (9 g sugar), 5 g protein, 222 mg sodium</i>Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-51611807785169948102014-01-20T15:01:00.001-08:002014-01-20T15:02:59.084-08:00Quick Dan Dan Noodles<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvdp16XFne0Zwi1TDkblrbeijA1GU6UPRKX0n49x6nnRbublRJnLW_d_Svvhyphenhyphenm173Zm_p93PKFjbvW9V-79Uapzo0eR7ptvBhIWbMr0R8BIN0UYFdKzj9ZoFLwaADwsy_1Yvj2SoBAZYM/s1600/noodles1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvdp16XFne0Zwi1TDkblrbeijA1GU6UPRKX0n49x6nnRbublRJnLW_d_Svvhyphenhyphenm173Zm_p93PKFjbvW9V-79Uapzo0eR7ptvBhIWbMr0R8BIN0UYFdKzj9ZoFLwaADwsy_1Yvj2SoBAZYM/s1600/noodles1.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan dan turkey noodles</td></tr>
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<br />
I always wanted to try dan dan noodles, but I've never gone to a restaurant to try them before. I heard about them by reading food blogs online, and it seemed simple yet satisfying. After forgetting about it so many times, I finally had the means and the memory to make it!<br />
<br />
I l<a href="http://yireservation.com/recipes/dan-dan-noodles/">ooked up a recipe</a> as a guideline and then started cooking with what I had on hand and to my preferences. Instead of traditional ground pork, I used ground turkey, which is generally heralded as healthier than pork or beef. I try not to eat a lot of pork anymore, in part because I do not eat that much meat anymore and because my mom decided one day pork was bad for us and decided not to cook it anymore at home. I also do not eat or buy beef very much because of the low amount of meat I just normally eat, and because I don't really know how to cook chunks of beef.<br />
<br />
I doubled the recipe, but added much less soy sauce and other salty sauces than called for because I do not like things to be too salty. Despite this, the sauce came out still very salty and I will remember to <i>lightly</i> dress my noodles and meat with the sauce. I did not have sesame paste, but I did have leftover toasted sesame seeds from yesterday's sushi prep, so I threw those into my coffee/spice grinder, along with 4 garlic cloves, and a 1/2" knob of peeled ginger. I ground this into a chunky paste for the dan dan sauce, in place of the recipe's sesame paste. I also did not have hot chili oil nor Sichuan peppercorns, but I have an awesome Vietnamese substitue: Huy Fong chili garlic sauce! You should have this in you kitchen. I like it even better than Sriracha for cooking.<br />
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I tossed a huge glob of this into the sauce and DANNGGG was the sauce spicy. I can't ever imagine eating true Szechuan/Sichuan food. I think my tongue would light on fire and I'd die on internal burning.<br />
<br />
So, if you don't have typical Chinese ingredients at home, but have access to soy sauce, vinegar, chili garlic sauce, fresh vegetables, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and Chinese wheat noodles, it is very easy to make a Dan Dan-like noodle dish at home in nearly 30 minutes!!!<br />
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<u><b></b></u><br />
<u><b></b></u><br />
<u><b></b></u>
<u><b>Pauline's Easy Dan Dan-like Noodles<i> (Serves 3-4)</i></b></u><br />
<i>Meat Ingredients</i><br />
1/2 lb (8 oz) ground turkey<br />
1 Tbs grapeseed or olive oil<br />
2 Tbs soy sauce<br />
1 Tbs vinegar<br />
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder<br />
Black pepper to taste<br />
<i>(I added some chopped kale leaves too. Yay vegetables!)</i><br />
<i> </i> <br />
<i>Sauce Ingredients</i> <br />
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped<br />
2-ish Tbs sesame seeds (toasted, optional)<br />
1/2" knob of ginger, peeled, coarsely chopped<br />
1 cup of water (I accidentally added 2)<br />
3-4 Tbs soy sauce<br />
2 Tbs vinegar<br />
2 tsp white sugar<br />
3-5 Tbs of Huy Fong chili garlic sauce (to your spicy desire)<br />
<br />
8 oz (3-4 servings) dry Chinese wheat noodles<br />
Other veggies (I used alfafa sprouts and thinly sliced carrots, but you can throw in spinach, green onions, bok choy, or none at all, but veggies are so good for you!)<br />
<br />
<i>Directions</i><br />
1. Prepare the meat topping: Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbs of oil, then toss in the meat and cook, chopping into small pieces. As it starts to turn brown, add the kale (optional), soy sauce, vinegar, Chinese five-spice powder, and black pepper. Continue stirring over medium heat until the meat and kale are fully cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside.<br />
2. Prepare the sauce: Puree the garlic cloves, sesame seeds, and ginger in a food processor (or spice grinder) until you get as minimally chunky paste as you can. Meanwhile, heat 2 cups of water in the skillet from step 1. When it gets warm, throw in the paste and stir to distribute throughout the water. Add soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and chili garlic sauce. Taste and adjust accordingly. Let cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.<br />
3. Boil the noodles according to package directions, adding vegetables in the last minute. Drain.<br />
4. To assemble: Place noodles with vegetables in a bowl. Top with meat, then drizzle a ladle of the sauce on top, about 1/2 to 1 full lade is good, depending on how salty/spicy you want it and how much you are eating. Garnish with green onions or more sesame seeds, if desired. Enjoy!<br />
<br />Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-11621770315828100402014-01-12T18:54:00.001-08:002014-01-12T18:54:31.592-08:00Giant California RollsMy senior year of undergrad at Berkeley, my best friend there taught me how to roll sushi. It was a really fun experience and tasty. I also tried this raspberry beer called Framboise and I was genuinely surprised that there was a beer out there that I liked. Sometime after that, I invited a bunch of my Vietnamese Student Association friends over to my apartment for a sushi rolling party. We made a lot of different rolls, but primarily imitation crab meat filling if I remember correctly. Every time, we made maki rolls, which are sushi rolls with the nori seaweed sheet on the outside. Recently I wanted to try my hand at making California rolls, where the rice is on the outside, then the nori, and then the fillings on the inside.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maki sushi on left. California-style sushi on right. <a href="http://www.colourbox.com/image/sushi-maki-and-california-rolls-on-black-bamboo-mat-image-2926870">source</a></td></tr>
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<br />
I prepared the crab filling using canned crab meat this time instead of imitation crab sticks. I simply drained the water from the can of (sustainably caught!) crabmeat, and added 2 Tbs of mayo and about 1/2 to 1 Tbs of Sriracha. I also sprinkled in some lemon pepper seasoning and ground black pepper. Seeing as it was still too moist (I did not drain it that well) and my eyes thought it was not enough meat, I sprinkled in vegetarian pork floss (something like <a href="http://www.kwongyickhong.com/shop/vegan/4-in-1-vegetarian-floss/">this</a>).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge3u7m-LOPbKnZRiTXCgPTkOaIyAiGQ9JcNuRQzwDmxGq58zXFnvYvE0PIPKEaPb33euqsUlKH2456ILjWQMQ8PAxPvoHCO5JRf-TsoRwCfeo7CKS1DZkVJLzZx3WoHx-87RiUWZLfI1Ic/s1600/crab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge3u7m-LOPbKnZRiTXCgPTkOaIyAiGQ9JcNuRQzwDmxGq58zXFnvYvE0PIPKEaPb33euqsUlKH2456ILjWQMQ8PAxPvoHCO5JRf-TsoRwCfeo7CKS1DZkVJLzZx3WoHx-87RiUWZLfI1Ic/s320/crab.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://how-to-crab.com/canned-crab/">source</a></td></tr>
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For vegetable fillings, I sliced some avocado, cucumber, and carrots into thin strips. I also washed fresh alfafa sprouts. I just looked up the health benefits of alfafa sprouts. One cup of alfafa sprouts contain about 10% women's DV of vitamin K. It also contains vitamin C and phytoestrogens, which can help reduce risks of heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. Alfafa sprouts also contain saponins, compounds linked to reducing LDL cholesterol and raising HDL cholesterol - although the site did not say how much saponin a cup of alfafa sprouts contain nor how much saponin is needed to be effective. Nevertheless, alfafa is a green vegetable and is definitely healthier for you than filling up on fatty, meaty fillings!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ingredients all prepped.</td></tr>
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I made the sushi rice using Kokuho Rose brand sushi rice. I washed a cup of rice under water for a while (they recommend doing it till the washing water is clear, but this brand says "No washing necessary", so I only did it briefly), then spread it out to dry for ~30 min along the walls of a colander. After cooking the rice, I mixed 1-1/2 Tbs rice vinegar, 1 Tbs sugar, and 1/2 Tbs salt. I poured the vinegar mixture over the rice and mixed it in with chopsticks. To add something a little extra, I toasted white sesame seeds in my toaster oven and mixed some in as well.<br />
<br />
To assemble, you spread the rice in a thin layer on top of a sheet of nori, completely covering the nori. Sprinkle more sesame seeds if desired. Place a plastic sheet on top then flip it over. Place it on a sushi rolling mat and then put the fillings inside. I spooned on 1/4 of the crabmeat, then generously added all the vegetables. I tried rolling it over, but my rolls were not tight and I had forgotten how to correctly roll these, since I had done it so long ago. My rolls ended up looking like sushi burritos! HUGE! I ate two that night, because my friend and I made 3 altogether. I know sushi is not good the next day and did not want to waste those last 4 slices of my sushi.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvEE8S2AVO0v0hk48AdAypV4S0uEMBGSGieUOpsncQtxGUUx4Iht51hRMc_iJtBuA1mFw5aMG4cIfgPveVwImV0Ky1KHLORB28EYTjC5r6DZfFJSMZnErLn9C3AQbDBo3ED-mTqDzdY5y/s1600/sushi2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvEE8S2AVO0v0hk48AdAypV4S0uEMBGSGieUOpsncQtxGUUx4Iht51hRMc_iJtBuA1mFw5aMG4cIfgPveVwImV0Ky1KHLORB28EYTjC5r6DZfFJSMZnErLn9C3AQbDBo3ED-mTqDzdY5y/s400/sushi2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HUGGGEEE sushi roll</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After slicing into 8 pieces.</td></tr>
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The nori I got is not that good. I will have to buy a better brand next time. Do any of you have suggestions on good nori for sushi?<br />
<br />
Next time, I will definitely read up on the proper sushi rolling technique and also cut my avocados thicker.<br />
<br />
In all, after not cooking for a month because of being on winter break at my mom's fully stocked house, it was good to get back into preparing my own meals. And sushi is a great first meal back at school!<br />
<br />
Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone!Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-22207257690162701182013-12-16T17:33:00.001-08:002013-12-16T17:33:09.031-08:00The magic of the City in one weekAs I sit here watching the sun set<br />
in Sunset<br />
It is hard to believe the pleasure this trip has been<br />
I came in with no real plans<br />
No expectations<br />
Just hope and happiness<br />
To return to what I call my homeland<br />
The Bay Area.<br />
Long ago, I had said I did not want to live in San Francisco,<br />
"The City," as they say,<br />
For it was too crowded, too busy, too expensive.<br />
Too hilly, too too too too much.<br />
But now, after having spent a week here,<br />
Generously guided by my host,<br />
I have fallen under the San Franciscan charm.<br />
West of the tourist area of San Francisco,<br />
West of Union, Pier 39, SOMA,<br />
Lies Sunset, Golden Gate, Land's End, Twin Peaks,<br />
Haight and Ashbury, UCSF Parnassus.<br />
All of it beautiful and unique and bustling in its own charm,<br />
Without the hectic feel of the east part of SF.<br />
Little local shops, individual and unique<br />
Yet fitting into the San Francisco culture all the same.<br />
The shops: Tibetan, vintage, boutique, hippie, retro, random, bizarre.<br />
The food: classy, one-of-a-kind, fresh, local genius, diverse.<br />
Oh, the food! What can I say?<br />
What can I do to engulf all the edible beauty before me?<br />
The carefully constructed platters, pieces, pastries.<br />
A tender, careful eye to ingredient selection.<br />
Artistry and culinary expertise in the composition.<br />
Walk down Irving Street and oggle<br />
At the Chinese, Vietnamese, Eritrean, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean restaurants;<br />
At the adorable little Japanese shop, the Posh Bagel shop that sells cronuts,<br />
A store dedicated to vacuums, to glasses, to tarts.<br />
Everything just being there beckons to you,<br />
<i>Come, experience what I have to offer,</i><br />
But one week is not enough to see it all.<br />
<i> </i><br />
What I did in these past few days are many, but they will forever be held lovingly within my memory:<br />
The view of the City from Twin Peaks at night<br />
The hike up to and view from Land's End<br />
Reindeer and butterflies and more at the California Academy of the Sciences <br />
The ramen with the Japanese breaded fried egg at Ikazaya Sozai<br />
Swing dancing at 9:20 social with my old instructor/buddy <br />
Walking around Haight, browsing the vintage shops and sampling artisan chocolate<br />
The dry-fried chicken wings at San Tung<br />
Touring Genentech in South San Francisco <br />
Watching soccer in the 37 degree weather in San Jose at night and witnessing a short tussle<br />
Seeing all the unique trees decorated by organizations at Christmas in the Park, San Jose<br />
<br />
Then there was the return to my old home<br />
Berkeley...<br />
<br />
How I have missed you, Berkeley.<br />
Your cracked and hilly streets,<br />
The vagabonds and hobos and smell of weed down those same streets<br />
Students going about their own business, worried about classes,<br />
About relationships, about organizations.<br />
New shops popped up, old shops still there, others gone, maybe replaced.<br />
Holiday craft street fair, showcasing local unique gifts<br />
Things always bustling, always exciting<br />
Music, people chatting.<br />
Walk, continue walking, through the campus, up the hills.<br />
Past the beautiful buildings, colors not just brown, different.<br />
Big grassy Memorial Glade.<br />
People with dogs and frisbees, the Campanile rings its bells in the background.<br />
The breeze plus the sun combine into the best of feelings.<br />
If happy had a recipe, this was it.<br />
The feel of walking all over again, instead of driving everywhere,<br />
Invigorating, healthy.<br />
Visit old friends, blend in with the students,<br />
Sit on the steps of Sproul, munch on a sandwich,<br />
People watch.<br />
Man with milk crate heralding some speech or dialogue or opinions.<br />
Shorter man break dancing<br />
Girl asks directions to architecture building<br />
Lots of Asians, I am surprised by Caucasians.<br />
Leave, wander, buy Cal gear,<br />
Because now after being in the middle of nowhere Texas for a while<br />I appreciate what I had and left.<br />
Cal, Berkeley, a Bear: this is who I am and who I will always be<br />
I am proud to be a Cal Bear,<br />
Proud to bleed Blue and Gold.<br />
<br />
Better yet, proud to be a Californian,<br />
Spurred on by the collective progressive mindset,<br />
To be the leaders in the green movement, sustainable, active, proactive.<br />
Integrate it into all aspects of life.<br />
So what, not every man is a Southern gentleman,<br />
There is not cheap BBQ everywhere,<br />
and there are a lot of more homeless and a lot less free parking,<br />
But this is the exciting life, where one can explore everything one can be.<br />
This is why I shall return to you, Bay Area, California,<br />
I will come back and embrace you with all my heart,<br />
Because you and I are one.<br />
<br />
It is..<br />
Love.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow, I say good bye to the things that captured my heart.<br />
Good bye, and I hope we reunite again.<br />
May fate bring us together in the future,<br />
The future, uncertain but always promising...Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-7001054145378409762013-10-13T22:04:00.000-07:002013-10-13T22:04:25.222-07:00Pretzel Crust Sour Cream-Topped Cheesecake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I am always looking for a way to use up random items held in my pantry. Once long ago, I bought a big bag of mini pretzel twists from Wal-Mart to make chocolate covered peanut butter pretzel sandwiches. These were okay, as I tried to minimize the amount of sugar and butter in the recipe, and the pretzel twists don't squeeze around peanut butter filling as well as those square pretzels.<br />
<br />
So I have these pretzels, and yesterday, I wanted to snack while studying, so I started dipping them in some whipped strawberry cream cheese that I had from Einstein's Bagels. This was really tasty because of the salt crystals crunching in your mouth, imparting savoriness, while melding with the sweet creaminess of the strawberry cream cheese. Pretzels and sweet cream cheese are a great combo!<br />
<br />
Now, I am a lover of sweet and salty desserts. Sweet, sweet, sweet desserts are just to cloying to me. You really need a cup of tea, milk, or water to wash each bite down. Cheesecake is one of those decadent desserts that I have always just *kinda* liked if it wasn't too thick. I thought it'd be great to make a salty pretzel crust to cut through the heavy sweetness of the typical cheesecake filling, and adding a sour cream topping would add an extra tang and lightness that would make cheesecake more complex and palatable.<br />
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<br />To achieve this concept, I combined three recipes I found on the internet. For the pretzel crust, I used the crust from <a href="http://homecookingmemories.com/peanut-butter-pretzel-cheesecake-squares-moesnackrs4urmoney/">Peanut Butter Pretzel Cheesecake Squares</a> by Brandie from <span id="goog_1697525446"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Home Cooking Memories<span id="goog_1697525447"></span></a>. For the filling, I referenced Small Cheesecake by Lynn at Happier Than a Pig in Mud. Finally, for the sour cream topping, I used the part from <a href="http://www.confessionsofanover-workedmom.com/2012/01/fruit-topped-cheesecake-with-snyders-pretzel-crust-recipe.html">Fruit-Topped Cheesecake with Snyders Pretzel Crust</a> by Ellen Christian at <a href="http://www.confessionsofanover-workedmom.com/">Confessions of an Overworked Mom</a>.<br />
<br />
I used a 9 or 10 inch glass pie pan, which fit the pretzel filling very nicely, but when I poured the cheesecake filling in, it only filled it to halfway! I needed to double the sour cream topping from 1 cup to 2 cups in order to fill the crust the rest of the way. If you are using an 8 inch pie pan or an 8 by 8 inch square pan, I am sure the same filling and the 1 cup sour cream topping would fit. You would probably need only 2/3-3/4 of the pretzel crust though, unless you like a thick crust, to which I say go ahead!<br />
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<br />So, enjoy this pretzel bottom, sour cream top cheesecake and enjoy the start of fall!<br />
<br />
<i><b>Pretzel Crust Sour Cream-Topped Cheesecake</b></i><br />
<br />
<i>Pretzel Crust:</i><br />
3 cups mini pretzel twists<br />
1 stick butter (I used vegetable oil-based baking sticks)<br />
cup sugar<br />
<br />
<i>Filling:</i><br />
1 (8-oz) package of regular cream cheese<br />
1/2 cup white granulated sugar<br />
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract<br />
2 eggs<br />
<br />
<i>Sour Cream Topping:</i><br />
2 cups (16 oz) (lowfat) sour cream<br />
4 Tbs white granulated sugar<br />
2 tsp pure vanilla extract<br />
<br />
<i>Directions:</i> <br />
1) Crust: Preheat the oven to 325 deg Fahrenheit. process pretzels in a food processor until finely ground. Pour into a bowl and mix thoroughly with melted butter and sugar. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan. Press the pretzel crumbs firmly into the pan and try to get the crust even along the bottom and sides. Bake in preheated oven for 10 min. Take out and let cool while you make the filling.<br />
2) Filling: Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat in eggs one at a time until combined. Pour into slightly cool crust and bake at 325 deg F for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes while you make the topping.<br />
3) Beat 2 cups of sour cream with 4 Tbs sugar and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Pour over cheesecake. Place back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then cool 6-12 hours (~overnight) in the refrigerator. <br />
4) Top with chocolate shavings, sliced fruit, drizzle of fruit compote, or just keep it plain. Slice and serve!<br />
<i>Serves 10</i><br />
Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-18599210821075871222013-10-13T14:23:00.004-07:002013-10-13T14:23:58.078-07:00Turkey Veggie ChiliFall is setting in and I've been in quite the soup and stew phase. Since last week, I have made bo kho (Vietnamese beef stew), turkey veggie chili, and potato parsley soup! With the rain and colder weather setting in here in Texas (which, granted, is still rather warm), I need to battle the looming potential for colds and flus by eating lots of soup.<br />
<br />
First, the turkey veggie chili.<br />
<br />
This is a simple, quick, and tasty recipe that goes well on its own, with tortilla chips, or maybe even cornbread if you want that. I typically like eating chili with cornbread, but that is truthfully because I want a reason to make cornbread and eat a lot of my sweet cornbread. This time, though, I ate my chili with tortilla chips and I liked it a lot better than with cornbread. The salty crunch from the chips really gave an extra texture and salty slightly sweet corn flavor profile to the chili.<br />
<br />
Now, I will describe what veggies I used, because that is what I had on hand, but feel free to use other good stew vegetables you have on hand. For example, zucchini/courgettes, carrots, onion, celery, broccoli stalks, green bell pepper, etc.<br />
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<br /><i><b>Turkey Veggie (Vegetable) Chili</b></i><br />
<i>Ingredients:</i><br />
1 lb (<i><b></b></i>16 oz) lean ground turkey (15% fat)<br />
1/2 diced onion<br />
3 minced garlic cloves <br />
2 chopped carrots<br />
1 chopped zucchini<br />
2-3 cups chicken broth<br />
2 medium-large fresh tomatoes, diced<br />
1 (15-oz) can of beans (I used Simple Truth organic tri-color), undrained<br />
Chili powder<br />
Paprika, dried oregano<br />
Salt and black pepper<br />
(Arby's sauce, <i>*see Personal touch</i>) <br />
Green onion, cilantro, parsley, for garnish<br />
<br />
<i>Directions</i><br />
1) <i> </i>In a large pan or pot, saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until light golden brown. Add in the minced garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add in the turkey and cook over medium-high, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon until the turkey is cooked. Remove the turkey from the pan into a bowl and set aside.<br />
2) Add the carrots too the pan and add some water just enough to slightly steam the carrots and just enough so that the water will evaporate quickly (< 1/4 cup). Once the carrots have quickly steamed but are still firm and the water has evaporated, add some oil and saute the carrots till somewhat softer but with a little bit of firmness. Add in the chopped zucchini and saute briefly to undercook. The vegetables will cook further when simmering.<br />
3) Return the turkey and all the juices from the bowl back into the pan. Mix together of medium heat, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and all their juices. Let cook over medium-high for a couple of minutes. Add in the chicken broth, mix. Add in the can of beans, mix.<br />
4) Season with 2-3 Tbs chili powder, some dashes of paprika and dried oregano. Season with some salt and black pepper. Adjust with more chili powder if desired.<br />
<i>*Personal touch: I wanted to give a little extra flavor to my chili, so I went through my fridge for random sauces or condiments I could add. I found a packet of Arby's sauce, which is like a ketchup or BBQ sauce but not. You can omit this or use ketchup or BBQ sauce instead</i><br />
5) Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer, with a slightly open cap, for 20 minutes. Give a stir occasionally and add more broth or water if necessary.<br />
6) To serve, ladle into bowls, add a dash of black pepper, and sprinkle freshly chopped green onion, cilantro, and/or parsley. Serve with restaurant-style tortilla chips.<br />
<br />
<i>Serves 4-6</i><br />
<br />
This is a relatively healthy chili. It uses turkey but not the 90% lean because that would be too dry and too healthy. There is a good mix of vegetables and beans without overwhelming the meat portion. I hope you try this out, or use it as inspiration for your own chili! Thanks for reading!Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-37937359014971830642013-09-13T22:00:00.000-07:002014-01-12T18:55:03.464-08:00I refuse<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: '.Helvetica NeueUI'; font-size: 17px;">Maybe these repeated occurrences means it's just not for me. I am capable, but my happiness is elsewhere. I know I am hard working, inquisitive, eloquent, but maybe this is just not my style and I need to find the place that fits me, rather than crumpling my paper heart up to fit it. My mind and heart are fragile like paper, lightweight such that I fly away in the free breeze. The hard times do make the achievements all the greater, but must the hard times be like a fatigue test, stressing you till you finally break with catastrophic results? A psyche should not be turned into a psycho, but nurtured into a science about yourself. Some may say I don't know how to cope; maybe the truth is that I refuse to...</span>Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-36128112571036481822013-09-11T22:20:00.001-07:002013-09-11T22:20:38.725-07:00Skin Healing and HormonesOne of the reasons I joined the bimoaterials and tissue regeneration lab at my grad university is because I wanted to take part in the research behind wound healing. I have always had a history of being highly susceptible to cuts, bruises, abrasions. You name it, my skin can't handle it.<br />
<br />
It does not help that I am also very careless and thus accident-prone. Just a few weeks ago I was digging through these shelves at Michaels and shoved my hand into one of the little bars that shape the shelf. The little circular edge lifted up a good chunk of skin and started bleeding. I had to go get a band-aid and the Michaels' workers were like, "How did you get hurt here?" I am so unique and amazing like that, I just can.<br />
<br />
I have had to get stitches twice: once when I slammed my shin into the edge of a concrete fountain and it shoved a whole patch of skin through the dermis and right above the fatty tissue upwards into a wrinkly mass of dermal tissue. I saw some kind of white in the hole and just thought, "That is way too deep. I should NOT be seeing this."<br />
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Rushed to the ER at 2 am, got stitches, had to wrap it up for several weeks to heal and now I have this ugly lighter color scar tissue on my left shin. Second time was when I was washing dishes and a cracked cup decided to finish cracking as I was scrubbing it, slicing across my pointer. I washed it, tied a napkin tight around it and proceeded to finish cooking my tikka masala that night. By the end of cooking it still didn't stop bleeding, so I thought, "I don't want to bleed to death. Looks like I gotta ask my friends to drive me to the ER again at night." Off we went to the ER and I got more stitches. I had to wear this large clasp over my finger to keep it from moving and ripping the stitches and healing tissue. The scar still is a little tender.<br />
<br />
So, yeah, my skin is not that great a barrier against physical assault. I always wondered what was wrong with my skin. What biologically and chemically was different about my body that made its skin weaker than the normal person?<br />
<br />
Opening my <a href="http://www.bpod.mrc.ac.uk/">homepage</a> today, I saw that they were talking about the "<a href="http://www.bpod.mrc.ac.uk/archive/2013/9/12">Healing Power</a>" of skin. Intrigued by the relevancy, I read on: skin is remarkable because it heals itself by forming a blood clot then a scab. As the scab dries and falls off, the process of wound healing fills the wound gap with new cells and extracellular matrix. A variety of factors contribute to this complex process, including hormones.<br />
<br />
The big draw to this article is how important estrogen (or, as they spell it: oestrogen) is to wound healing. Mice that have no ovaries and thus are incapable of producing estrogen do not proceed through the wound healing process. The conclusion is that estrogen is an essential player in wound healing.<br />
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I have low levels of estrogen. I don't know if that is just how my body is naturally or if it occurred as a result of a phase in my life, but that is the truth. My low levels of estrogen are likely one reason for the weakness of my skin and the subpar aesthetics of my healed skin. <br />
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Just thought this was interesting. Hormones do a lot for your body. It's nice when they are in balance, sucks when they aren't (right, ladies PMSing now?).<br />
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If you get the chance, go to the <a href="http://www.bpod.mrc.ac.uk/archive/2013/9/12">actual page</a> I got this from and also check out the other archived pictures/research.Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-52294182514915182102013-06-29T10:13:00.001-07:002013-06-29T10:13:25.041-07:00Blue Baker Review<a href="http://www.bluebaker.com/index.html">Blue Baker</a> is one of my favorite bakeries in College Station. They are an artisan bakery that bakes everything from scratch, starting from 3 or 4 am in the morning. Doubling as a restaurant, they serve fresh bagels, pastries, breads, pizzas, sandwiches, desserts, salads, and soups. Every month features <a href="http://www.bluebaker.com/docs/monthly_calendar.pdf">specials</a>, such as peach pecan scone, candied orange twist, and key lime tarts for this month of June. Additionally, they have weekly bread and pastry specials. I typically go to Blue Baker to eat their scone specials, but everything on their menu is superb.<br />
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Today, I went to go on their bakery tour, which happens twice a year, I think. I will give a summary of the tour in the next post, but first, I will give a thorough, thorough review of Blue Baker's offerings.<br />
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Their <a href="http://www.bluebaker.com/breads.html">breads</a> are moist, have the perfect crumb and texture (a little chewy, perfect crunchy golden crust that you can bite through, a little sweet, moist enough for bread), and show off that artisan, made-by-hand look. Their sweet breads and pastries are delicious and varied. My favorite sweet breads are the zucchini bread sold every Sunday, the blueberry peach bread (THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST) on Tuesdays, and the cinnamon swirl bread on Thursdays. I have yet to try the red, white, and blue sweetbread, but I am very excited to get it when July 4th rolls around.<br />
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Cupcakes are large, maybe 2/3 the size of Costco-sized cupcakes. I have gotten the Boston Cream Pie and the Zucchini cupcakes before. Tasty, not too sweet, but definitely sweet. Good, standard. Maybe a bit dense for cake texture.<br />
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Cookies are huge too. They offer many types every day: chocolate chip, chocolate walnut, chocolate decadence, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin. Special flavors are rotated in weekly and monthly, such as white chocolate macadamia, sugar, ginger.<br />
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Scones are about the size of the ones as Starbucks, but feature different flavors that allow the buttery saltiness of the bread shine while melding with the sweets of the fruits incorporated or the sugar crystals on top. With the addition of nuts, the scones also give a nice crunch.</div>
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<a href="http://www.bluebaker.com/pizza.html">Their pizzas</a> are made <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neapolitan_pizza">Neapolitan style</a>, which is a thin crisp crust, a touch of marinara sauce, and a delicate addition of fresh, quality toppings. Once before, I went with my BF and we ordered the four cheese tomato and the D'Vinchee.<br />
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The four cheese tomato was delicious, with fresh slices of tomato, melty spots of mozarella everywhere, freshly chiffoned (sp?) basil, and drizzles of just perfect marinara over a bubbly thin crust. I liked mine better than the D'Vinchee, which was also good but I'm not a meat person and not as big a fan of portabella mushrooms. The D'Vinchee has olive oil, mozarella, sausage, roasted portabella mushrooms, chicken, and cilantro. These pizzas are not as filling as Pizza Hut or Dominos (as in one slice won't fill you, but 1/2 to a whole 9" pizza will), but they are high quality pizzas.<br />
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Prices are somewhat high, upwards of $8-10 for a meal. Individual breads and pastries are quite affordable. Scones are about $2.25; cupcakes around $3.50 (a bit pricey, but they are large); breads about $4.50 for a loaf (I get day-olds for half off) or $3.00 for baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia. Despite the somewhat higher prices for meals, you are paying for the quality of your food. All the workers here are also extremely nice, fast, and wonderful.<br />
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This is, again, one of my favorite places in College Station. Hit either location on University or Dominik Drive in College Station, or their newest store in Austin, TX. This is one artisan bakery and restaurant that truly deserves to be tasted!Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-28356950317839015102013-06-18T03:51:00.000-07:002013-06-18T03:53:59.563-07:00Hong Kong Day 3There are a lot of little boutiques, food shops, and other shops around the hotel. BF and I woke up and went out to get breakfast and head to any mall nearby.<br />
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On Cameron Road, there is a very small shop that sells fresh fruit and vegetable juices. You can get a wide selection of fruit and even vegetables juiced: pear, dragonfruit, bittermelon, starfruit, kiwi, celery, tomato, carrot, orange, mango...Each is about $15 HKD, which is about $1.88USD. We went with the mango with sago (little tapioca pearls), which was only $8 HKD and came in a small cup (about 8 or 12 oz, I think).<br />
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We were trying to head to a mall called "The One," which was supposedly nearby but with my limp was much farther. Plus the rain started coming down a bit and so we stopped into some little restaurant for breakfast. BF got a plate of ramen with chicken wings and a bit of veggies. I got the Hong Kong style (french?) toast. The noodle plate was rather small and underwhelming. <br />
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I poured sweetened condensed milk and some liquidy peanut butter on top
of my toast. This is how the Hong Kong people eat their french toast:
with condensed milk, peanut butter, and honey. Pretty tasty and
different than the french toast I'm used to eating. Not bad. The price
tag for these two items plus a drink was around $8.50 USD, which is very affordable. <br />
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For lunch, we met up with the grandma and aunt, uncle, and cousins on BF's dad's side at Maxim's Palace. This restaurant is housed in what used to be a theater. Going inside, I was awestruck by the grandeur of the interior. There were two stories, chandeliers, and fancy wall decorations.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to see full size of the panaroma shot!</td></tr>
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Maxim's Palace is a dim sum restaurant. Ladies go around pushing carts with various dim sum, but we primarily put in orders from the papers on the table.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fried noodle with some sauce, chicken, and bean sprouts</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bitter melon with fish</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honeydew panna cotta: yum!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet tofu pudding with longan and dates</td></tr>
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Everytime we go to dim sum, we get so much food and I get so stuffed by the end of it, trying a bite here, a bite there. Also ordered were char siu bao (BBQ pork buns), fried rice, beef rice rolls in soy sauce, porridge, and more. <br />
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We then went karaoking at <a href="http://www.redmr.com/#/home">Red Mr</a> with the cousins. You can rent out a room, in which there are several couches, coffee tables, and a TV. A touchscreen next to the TV lets you browse music and then add music to the queue. They had a good selection of old and new songs, popular and not as well known artists as well. Some that we sang were: Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, LFMAO, One Republic, Usher, Chris Brown, Lonely Island (I'm on a BOAT!), Justin Timberlake, Pink, Beyonce, Jay-Z and Kanye West, and Kelly Clarkson.<br />
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We spent over 3 hours in there singing. It was pretty fun. Each person gets 2 free non-alcoholic drinks. The parents (BF's mom, aunt, uncle) ordered some food for us: fried platter (fries, shrimp, onion rings) and a meat platter (skewers, cucumber with pork floss or something). BF's grandma came and stayed the whole time. I was soo amazed by her and felt a lot of respect for her because it's hard to be patient and stay doing nothing for 3 hours just to be with her grandsons. She also managed to nap while we sang really loud and horribly, which I thought was also amazing.<br />
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A famous tourist attraction is the light show at the Kowloon Public
Pier (south Tsim Sha Tsui), which occurs every day at 8pm. We gathered
amidst the other tourists (and locals, I'm sure) on the edge of the pier
and waited for the show to start. Across the water, you can see all the
tall buildings and the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center in
Wanchai. At the start, the Samsung building has a large LED banner that
proclaims "Symphony of Lights". Basically, lots of buildings light up
with many colors in coordination with the background music. People can
also take the ferry around the harbor to watch. It was a little
underwhelming. Pretty, but I got bored after 5-10 minutes. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to see full-size panaroma image!</td></tr>
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Once it ended, we headed back to the hotel while window shopping. BF's
family stopped by a jerky store. Jerky in Asia is sooo much better than
in America. The jerky is not tough; rather, it's sweet, soft, and super
flavorful. The flavor is dynamic, not just like smoked meat flavor like
in America.<br />
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I wanted to walk around a digest still, so we wandered a bit. Went into a McDonalds and was impressed by their McCafe. Totally classy like a Starbucks. Fast food usually seems to be so much nicer in countries other than the USA.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheesecake, lamingtons, and muffins!?</td></tr>
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After this long day, we finally headed back and passed out on the wonderfully hard beds. I knew I was excited for the next day and fell asleep planning what I could potentially do and eat...Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8338671819177883080.post-18153374328839068912013-06-16T18:20:00.000-07:002013-06-18T03:55:57.164-07:00Hong Kong Day 2I think I have lost track of everything already! So much has happened already. It is hard to believe that it is already the end of Sunday here and coming onto Monday.<br />
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(Happy Fathers' Day too, by the way!)<br />
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We are currently staying at the Ramada in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is in the heart of many tourist spots and shopping in Hong Kong. The hotel is an old one and, therefore, has rather small rooms but is good enough, considering that we are out all day and only come back at 10 or 11 pm to clean up and sleep. The room has two twin beds pushed together to make it look like a large full or queen bed occupies the small space. The bed is rather hard, but we can still sleep fine in them. They give you a fruit basket (apple, orange, bananas) and some water. A small refrigerator and mini-bar is in the room as well, but drinks are for purchase (single-serve Bacardi, whiskey, vodka...). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZjClxAoqdKmkzjyiy8BRvNWEWGp7SrHnk3yh09AyDUHu0B6Qwk0qEmRQh4XcPpOGDHWLkkDhdUqP__r7NxFKZzVK0-yp2IOGPFPIP5D6_FzXpzbKqnlqKjVZNxroyFLstIPzQnqPphuG/s1600/2013-06-14+11.01.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZjClxAoqdKmkzjyiy8BRvNWEWGp7SrHnk3yh09AyDUHu0B6Qwk0qEmRQh4XcPpOGDHWLkkDhdUqP__r7NxFKZzVK0-yp2IOGPFPIP5D6_FzXpzbKqnlqKjVZNxroyFLstIPzQnqPphuG/s320/2013-06-14+11.01.19.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BBQ pork bun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shrimp in fried tofu</td></tr>
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Late Friday (6/14) morning, we got dim sum at Star Seafood Restaurant near Amoy Plaza. For all these meals with my BF's family, I just let the adults do all the picking, because I cannot speak or read Cantonese and the locals know what's best. The spread is always generous and quite tasty. Everything is served in the center and you can pick and choose as you please, allowing you to eat as much or as little as you want. The two twos are the same as before: Ti Kuan Yum and Pu-erh.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steamed meat and bitter melon rice</td></tr>
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I got to meet the grandparents on my BF's dad's side of the family that day. Another aunt joined us. It's cool how fun the Hong Kong people are. The family chats a lot over the food, laughing and chatting away. The food may be in the center, but is only a side to the experience of people's company. The family always jokes around and even gets the waiters to join in the laughter. It's a truly jolly time.<br />
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Afterward, we went to Salon di Beauty (near Hollywood Plaza, I think) to get our hair done. This salon was recommended by BF's mom's sister. BF's mom and I got are hair permed (permanent curls) while BF and BF's brother got their hair trimmer. BF got a new style that I like, in addition to his usual haircut. I really like my new curls. This salon did really well, but I should hope so because the treatment took about 4 hours to complete. They even have really crazy looking machines inside to hot air dry your hair, or heat your curls, and such.<br />
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Once my hair was done, the boys and I wandered in the small plaza of the salon. We went into the Circle K (or is it "OK"?) convenient store and we got Vitasoy soymilks and cola candy. The Hong Kong people have such a wide selection of cola-flavored candies. I have to admit, these are pretty good. BF also got some curry fish balls and egg tarts from the little bakery next door. Pretty tasty, but the egg tarts were just decent (as he reports).<br />
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Finally, we went off to explore the mall. We wandered up and down, I got some new Reeboks (not much cheaper than in America, but I really liked the color and the feel of the shoes), looked at a couple bakeries.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCUv5VvDZvi-_6g8qwSftukjnuMdq-U6dlUairuR4Y-nbzXiqbHSPxMEMnEknyWj9CtSMS5ArhuuEIC3y7IlB58mSIRcxrNHI1ig9oBHBHl9FBjKS5bsWkcQBKCUIoNfwoa1Q16V7XZ0z/s1600/2013-06-14+17.17.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCUv5VvDZvi-_6g8qwSftukjnuMdq-U6dlUairuR4Y-nbzXiqbHSPxMEMnEknyWj9CtSMS5ArhuuEIC3y7IlB58mSIRcxrNHI1ig9oBHBHl9FBjKS5bsWkcQBKCUIoNfwoa1Q16V7XZ0z/s320/2013-06-14+17.17.44.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egg tart cup!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2_R7DjRhRbEfgYpHhxhJjG0ULKPH-am0bC3oLM-HZjK29pUEymgtmerdVmIhjSO97XVqpgjxrdLhIhBlS2IzuQfLw6Rj4-nm3LsXhC6v1SiTzJvs8OWMZ1VXt0YifovoRpm8fDb8ghwn/s1600/2013-06-14+17.19.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2_R7DjRhRbEfgYpHhxhJjG0ULKPH-am0bC3oLM-HZjK29pUEymgtmerdVmIhjSO97XVqpgjxrdLhIhBlS2IzuQfLw6Rj4-nm3LsXhC6v1SiTzJvs8OWMZ1VXt0YifovoRpm8fDb8ghwn/s320/2013-06-14+17.19.58.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asian savory baked goods</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We went into a bookstore and I luckily found a <a href="http://www.etpress.com.hk/etpress/bookdetail.do?id=9789626787151_e">cookbook</a> in both Canto and English! It has a load of Canto dishes that I definitely want to learn and try out when I return to the US. The author is food blogger: Christine Ho from <a href="http://en.christinesrecipes.com/">Christine's Easy Recipes</a>. Some highlights include BBQ pork, egg tarts, shredded pork noodles. I am very excited and happy about this book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhP4xuk23u6bYG4aW4730SVu9yj42f646vbkDObGPR2jJ-NF9ICaaYji_c-DDLZhFxj5gxZdJ-hSG4C8FwaGPZMmo0VD-JG3ZFoX1p4KMLeKYGb6_0ybhs4m8qYc28ctdSracNEsyWKm_/s1600/2013-06-14+17.35.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhP4xuk23u6bYG4aW4730SVu9yj42f646vbkDObGPR2jJ-NF9ICaaYji_c-DDLZhFxj5gxZdJ-hSG4C8FwaGPZMmo0VD-JG3ZFoX1p4KMLeKYGb6_0ybhs4m8qYc28ctdSracNEsyWKm_/s320/2013-06-14+17.35.48.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We got some snacks in the mall as well. There was this one bakery selling good looking egg tarts. One of them was an egg <i>white</i>
tart. Highly intrigued, I got one. The BF said this one was really
good, and by just looking, I could tell it was. I ate my egg white tart
and was in heaven. The crust was buttery and slightly crumbly. It was
also thin so that you get a lot of the egg filling. The egg white
filling was light, fluffy, not too runny, perfectly sweet. It was the
best egg tart I've ever had. I seriously want to go back and get some
more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUy-QEaxcorYup-EGN_RbMnKEvVNDBByY8nJ2VIUrDw2dqrN-LPXA9GxIYdCgrCINTolp5oAQrfeYk3eqql7zusKuFgzY0N1cz7nQPT0XcfGkaSoSs96Cq3XV51XZLLfSOlDz-yMxlm9r/s1600/2013-06-14+17.38.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUy-QEaxcorYup-EGN_RbMnKEvVNDBByY8nJ2VIUrDw2dqrN-LPXA9GxIYdCgrCINTolp5oAQrfeYk3eqql7zusKuFgzY0N1cz7nQPT0XcfGkaSoSs96Cq3XV51XZLLfSOlDz-yMxlm9r/s320/2013-06-14+17.38.06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUTj9W3JRL-IYarNVmYDqTHcR7lXlNyyuCAT9XQP_yG2mUVaxowTDn8Azwm-fKX8BbzwleiiQEOmRvp7vtUC9rn_pFV2KiQgzqiTtTFtSmpNyS7bLTt6Zgy5m2RYVsIRjg2XhaCDZab3U/s1600/2013-06-14+17.38.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUTj9W3JRL-IYarNVmYDqTHcR7lXlNyyuCAT9XQP_yG2mUVaxowTDn8Azwm-fKX8BbzwleiiQEOmRvp7vtUC9rn_pFV2KiQgzqiTtTFtSmpNyS7bLTt6Zgy5m2RYVsIRjg2XhaCDZab3U/s320/2013-06-14+17.38.52.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After wandering down the mall, we stumbled upon the BF's favorite dessert place: <a href="http://www.hkhls.com/">Hui Lau Shan</a>. We got the trio sampler. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vB0AtS9Wj7ItHJ72e5jWpE9YXe8YdAq4tKXILUKgvEegaiRJceq_QECRbf50nMp4B_hNV_b1AOGoo4p9RUsBHwPrWjMPuhAclP-t5K5_EV7BhyphenhyphenD7ioNF_njZNlB-xJZetKt2A6_r6lbg/s1600/2013-06-14+17.47.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vB0AtS9Wj7ItHJ72e5jWpE9YXe8YdAq4tKXILUKgvEegaiRJceq_QECRbf50nMp4B_hNV_b1AOGoo4p9RUsBHwPrWjMPuhAclP-t5K5_EV7BhyphenhyphenD7ioNF_njZNlB-xJZetKt2A6_r6lbg/s320/2013-06-14+17.47.52.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The first is mango ice cream with fresh mango and some kind of
jelly. The second is mango puree with fresh mango and tapioca balls.
The third is fresh mango with mango flavored and filled mochi rolled in
sweetened coconut flakes. They used sweet mangoes and everything was
good. The curry platter in the background was standard packaged stuff
and was fine. Tasty but standard, just like the instant House Curry
stuff you can get in the supermarket. It comes with fish balls, white
radish, and octopus/squid.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNARj3YhH2XZ7DL7SxErt5Fnh3010x6EuXjrJgbYTQrI_AUHwr08gscVk95W2wY0_tRkSLoqCjqRbJPEZQgM3Ayu4W5hXVLheD9km4pcoGwHhO5a9GvAH2-9Mry_GdqLznY8opr01PjjiK/s1600/2013-06-14+17.54.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNARj3YhH2XZ7DL7SxErt5Fnh3010x6EuXjrJgbYTQrI_AUHwr08gscVk95W2wY0_tRkSLoqCjqRbJPEZQgM3Ayu4W5hXVLheD9km4pcoGwHhO5a9GvAH2-9Mry_GdqLznY8opr01PjjiK/s320/2013-06-14+17.54.40.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIz1FUKnaTGOb12CMVZeoCUnI4v_R-58NjD4Elt2oOi5C3g967hE26ApvrFZQUwhQZLcTxz7veySm6VWgp6DITB82N1amjUOBwo7O98nH676e4ivV1xIK2wrnTp9wn1MMQx9lBm0qv7Dz-/s1600/2013-06-14+18.07.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIz1FUKnaTGOb12CMVZeoCUnI4v_R-58NjD4Elt2oOi5C3g967hE26ApvrFZQUwhQZLcTxz7veySm6VWgp6DITB82N1amjUOBwo7O98nH676e4ivV1xIK2wrnTp9wn1MMQx9lBm0qv7Dz-/s320/2013-06-14+18.07.54.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute cartoon candies at snack shop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O5O1zYZKrRU/Ub31ko_TVmI/AAAAAAAAI3w/q8UXtfL8OIs/s1600/2013-06-14+18.08.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O5O1zYZKrRU/Ub31ko_TVmI/AAAAAAAAI3w/q8UXtfL8OIs/s320/2013-06-14+18.08.13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BF looking at single-serving jerky in snack shop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRZAjOfGfOT5rHfLA0JhCele_NnqE1ZWNVyys1ZdtbfVHJAEQCSRhKQ1ZvtlLmj5ZsEbb0bFFSWyPR_RiV0OgtT5VsCGGh2C-3gnN4Sm-JIEd5YSZzYL23ctW8m2hun_dz-_hP4nCkPNa/s1600/2013-06-14+18.08.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRZAjOfGfOT5rHfLA0JhCele_NnqE1ZWNVyys1ZdtbfVHJAEQCSRhKQ1ZvtlLmj5ZsEbb0bFFSWyPR_RiV0OgtT5VsCGGh2C-3gnN4Sm-JIEd5YSZzYL23ctW8m2hun_dz-_hP4nCkPNa/s320/2013-06-14+18.08.18.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They have a music store in the mall. I went inside and was enamored by the gorgeous pianos. It felt so good to brush the keys with my fingertips again and hear the full and beautiful resonating sounds come forth as I depressed the keys. I pulled out a piano book of 50 favorite songs and tried to play some. I want the book so bad. One song I tried was "Eye of the Tiger".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MaEAY-WQYrkhr3pOEfjvecuiGY86mj-ccXUdbiI18NOdAnLOI8iHKMaYM7ocOZdSI6q7QUQ1Isn0yc03w2368o-TDu7xUdm3LXMNNf9qzC6FsyMTrmCqj6h9rLrFDLYemaHw6efm_ppF/s1600/2013-06-14+19.13.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MaEAY-WQYrkhr3pOEfjvecuiGY86mj-ccXUdbiI18NOdAnLOI8iHKMaYM7ocOZdSI6q7QUQ1Isn0yc03w2368o-TDu7xUdm3LXMNNf9qzC6FsyMTrmCqj6h9rLrFDLYemaHw6efm_ppF/s320/2013-06-14+19.13.21.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
There were so many amazing things I saw. Every thing and place was new to me and amazing and enticing. Hong Kong is really the City of Asia!<br />
<br />
More excitement and pictures of the next days to come!Paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01110384969253388715noreply@blogger.com0