Spam Fried Rice
Posted: July 30, 2007 Filed under: Cooking, Entrées 5 Comments »
Recipe found here on a lovely, new-to-me food blog.
:: Modifications — used 3 eggs instead of 2, entire bunch of green onions, and 1 cup frozen peas in place of spinach. This made a speedy and delicious lunch!
Rockin’ Girl Blogger Awards
Posted: July 29, 2007 Filed under: Uncategorized 5 Comments »
My good friend Ruth tagged me for the Rockin’ Girl Blogger award (thanks Ruth!), and I would like to give the same award to the following five amazing ladies:
1. Joyce — We met online just over a year ago, right before she was about to give birth to her daughter Ava. Joyce takes amazing photos and is very creative and talented in all of her crafting. She is also really generous — she taught me how to sew zippered pouches by sending me a photo tutorial, and she has gifted me with several lovely books.
2. Elise — If you have read my blog for awhile, you might notice that I get a number of delicious recipes from Simply Recipes. They are clearly written, and literally every single one I’ve tried has turned out well. I’ve cooked more dishes from Simply Recipes than from any other single resource. Elise always patiently answers my questions (sometimes dumb ones!) over comments and emails. I am very grateful for Elise and her excellent website.
3. Ari — I’ve only been reading Baking and Books for several months, but Ari is such a source of culinary inspiration for me. She experiments with new dishes regularly across various different cuisines, and I drool over photos of her baked goods. Ari also posts great interviews with famous cookbook authors!
4. Esther — This sock-knitting queen knits gorgeous socks as gifts — I wish I were as generous as she is about giving away handknits. We share similar interests in cooking and baking, and I always enjoy chatting with her over email about those topics. Esther has been busy with the bar exam lately, and I hope it went well for her!
5. Erin — I am always in awe of Erin’s stunning lace shawls. She is really, really good at knitting them and very patient with fixing any mistakes. She can also read Japanese knitting and crochet patterns and creates beautiful pieces of knitwear.
Just Friends
Posted: July 23, 2007 Filed under: Uncategorized 9 Comments »
For months, I had been drooling over the beautiful handmade ceramics created by Linda of Little Flower Designs. I loved all the items in her shop – if I could, I would have purchased one of everything. After looking, looking, and more looking, I finally custom-ordered the “Just Friends” mug and wall tile. They are lovely works of art that brighten up my day and room. Linda is gearing up for a huge shop update, and I believe the mugs will be available on her website at that time.
Swedish Visiting Cake
Posted: July 17, 2007 Filed under: Baking, Pies and Cakes 10 Comments »The Swedish Visiting Cake was another stellar recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking: From My Home to Yours.
The main flavors are almond and lemon. This was a super easy, very quick one-bowl recipe that resulted in a wonderfully delicious cake. I can definitely see myself baking this cake over and over again. You can find the recipe here on Dorie’s blog.
Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes
Posted: July 15, 2007 Filed under: Baking, Cupcakes and Muffins 5 Comments »Ever since I purchased Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking: From My Home to Yours, I have pored over the recipes and drooled over the lovely photos. The recipe introductions are written in a chatty and personal tone, and the instructions themselves are very specific and clear. I could spend many more enjoyable hours reading through this book.
For a birthday dinner this weekend, I decided to bake the Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes from Dorie’s book.
As I unmolded the cupcakes from the muffin tins, I noticed that they were a lot darker than the ones shown in the recipe photo. I pondered this for awhile…and then it dawned on me. I was supposed to melt two ounces of bittersweet chocolate for the batter and three ounces of it for the frosting…did I mix up the measurements? Yup. But fortunately, the cupcakes still turned out just fine!
This is an excellent recipe — simple yet delicious. Two thumbs up for sure! If you have this book and you like chocolate, I highly recommend trying these cupcakes.
Stay tuned for another Dorie recipe review later in the week!
The Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Posted: July 13, 2007 Filed under: Baking, Cookies 6 Comments »
I used to have a Quaker Oatmeal recipe booklet. My sister had given it to me years ago after requesting two free copies from Quaker. (This was back in the day when we didn’t browse recipes online.) As I wasn’t a huge oatmeal fan, I only ever used the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. Every time I baked the cookies, I “modified” them by throwing in chocolate chips. That made the cookies bearable for my non-oatmeal-loving-chocoholic self.
Sadly, I trashed my copy of the booklet two years ago because I thought I would never use it again, and my sister can’t find hers. So last year, I printed Quaker’s recipe for Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and assumed that this was the same recipe I used to have. Unfortunately, the cookies disappointed me. They were very flat and quite frankly, ugly. I am very much partial to fluffy-looking, soft cookies.
Hubby loves oatmeal raisin cookies — they are his favorite — so I set out to find a replacement recipe. The one from A Good Cookie by Tish Boyle yielded exactly I wanted. The unexpected ingredient (at least to me) is shredded coconut.
I didn’t add chocolate chips because Hubby wouldn’t touch the cookies if I did, but my non-oatmeal-loving-chocoholic self is actually eating two or three of these a day. Which is almost a miracle considering that I don’t usually like oatmeal raisin. Yup, pretty soon pigs will start flying.
Plum Raspberry Crumble
Posted: July 10, 2007 Filed under: Baking 11 Comments »A few months ago, I came across Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for Plum Raspberry Crumble. Plums were on sale at my supermarket for the first time this season, so it seemed like a good time to try my hand at baking this fruity dessert.
The original recipe yields a crumble that fits in a 9 inch by 12 inch pan, but I wanted less so I halved the ingredients and adjusted the baking time. Here is my scaled-down version of the recipe.
1 pound red plums, cut in 1/2, pitted, and cut in 1-inch wedges
1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
5/8 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/6 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup sliced almonds, plus extra for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the sliced plums, 1/6 cup of the granulated sugar, 1/8 cup of the flour, and the orange juice and toss well. Add the raspberries and toss lightly. Pour into a 9 inch by 9 inch baking dish.
For the topping, place the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, the remaining 1/6 cup of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Pour the mixture into a bowl, add the oats, and work it with your hands until it’s in large crumbles. Add 1/4 cup of the almonds and mix well.Spread the topping evenly over the plums, making sure the fruit is covered. Sprinkle with some extra almonds. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
While this crumble didn’t turn out perfectly for me — the plums were incredibly tart — it definitely has potential. The topping is delicious and I love the flavor of the baked raspberries. Next time, I might try: (1) buying ripe plums or simply waiting until the plums are ripe, and/or (2) increasing the amount of granulated sugar. Reviewers of the recipe also indicated that other fruits would work well. The whole thing was quite easy to prepare, which is always a plus.
Another reason why I liked the crumble? I am totally smitten with the color of my new baking dish. Silly of me, isn’t it?
Chicken Wings
Posted: July 5, 2007 Filed under: Cooking, Side Dishes 7 Comments »
Many thanks to Ruth for sharing this yummy recipe with me months ago. The flavors remind me of those that came out of my mother’s kitchen. The marinade would probably be delicious on chicken drumsticks or thighs too.
:: Modifications – marinated wings for eight hours instead of two (simply because the timing worked out that way) and omitted glaze entirely.
Heath Bar Cookies
Posted: July 1, 2007 Filed under: Baking, Cookies 10 Comments »
A great cookie for those who love Heath Bars! Recipe from Simply Recipes.
