tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35193214922361566122024-03-12T17:35:26.885-07:00Parasite's WorldStill an uncertain world that is developing constantly.PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-6571012636380305882015-01-28T12:12:00.000-08:002015-01-28T12:12:03.955-08:00Parasite's World has moved to https://parasiteworld.wordpress.com/I've noticed that people are still looking at my blog despite no recent updates. I'm very honoured!!!<br />
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Please visit me as I move to WordPress. Here is the link:https://parasiteworld.wordpress.com/<br />
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Now that I am on WordPress and found a mobile app, I'll be blogging again. Recently I've just been putting posts on my Facebook. I know it's not the best way to blog but I take pictures on my cell and so it's much easier to upload via my cell than by my laptop.<br />
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I hope you will continue to follow me on my adventures. See you soon!PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-88518728691077326162012-06-25T21:12:00.001-07:002012-06-25T22:04:21.419-07:00Pizza - No Knead PizzaI just ate the best pizza crust that I've ever made. I used Jim Lahey's recipe from his book called My Pizza.<br />
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Jim Lahey is well known in the bread making world for his adaptation of no knead bread at his bakery in New York, <a href="http://www.sullivanstreetbakery.com/" target="_blank">Sullivan Street Bakery</a>.<br />
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I made his recipe though I didn't document it because of the blog app that I'm using which only allows pictures at the end of the blog and not at each step.<br />
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Anyways it's a very easy recipe!! It's just flour, salt, yeast and water. Let it sit for 18 hours and voilà!!<br />
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It's so good!!! It tastes very similar to Grimaldi Pizzeria in Brooklyn. Of course it's not 100% the same but it's close enough north of the border. Trust me, after the pizza in Brooklyn, I can't stop obsessing finding the ultimate homemade pizza crust that tastes similar to that. This dough by Jim Lahey is very close plus it so easy to make. <br />
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Here is my pizza with Jim's tomato sauce. I fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and spinach. <br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mY_jSrYDgqU/T-lBwTlJbjI/AAAAAAAAAVM/N6ZE2NgPHXo/s640/blogger-image-568794694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mY_jSrYDgqU/T-lBwTlJbjI/AAAAAAAAAVM/N6ZE2NgPHXo/s640/blogger-image-568794694.jpg" /></a></div>PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-34513786409469459692012-06-24T22:09:00.001-07:002012-06-24T22:10:02.602-07:00Banana BreadThere's really nothing to post on a banana bread since it's just banana bread which is a common baking. But I'm showing this since it's a bit different since I have a strudel topping and bananas. I think it looks very nice. What do you think???<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WFHAdKzuEw4/T-fyqYq2g6I/AAAAAAAAAU8/OayXJRlBZQU/s640/blogger-image--1056949523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WFHAdKzuEw4/T-fyqYq2g6I/AAAAAAAAAU8/OayXJRlBZQU/s640/blogger-image--1056949523.jpg" /></a></div>PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-38753127885229423362012-04-13T19:11:00.001-07:002012-04-13T19:46:20.455-07:00Donut ...mmmmmI'm not a Canucks fan, I'm an Oilers fan to the end. Yes, they didn't make it to the playoffs but when they do, the cup is ours!!!! For my international followers, I'm talking about hockey, the NHL (National Hockey League). <br />
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Anyways, as I was walking home, I saw some Canuck fans eating something blue and green outside of Timmies (Tim Horton is a donut/coffee place that is close to Canadians hearts...kinda like hockey). Well, that piqued my interest. <br />
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I looked into Timmies and saw these donuts. I literally made a 360 and purchased the. They are called Canuck donuts. <br />
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This does NOT make me a Canuck fan, rather, I'm gonna your win away. Ok that's pretty lame but can't think of a witty comment to jinx the Canucks. <br />
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How's it taste? Sweet!!! Too sweet for me. I don't like sparkle donuts so too crunchy!! It does have custard in the middle though. <br />
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Wonder if Ottawa have them too for their Senators? If an reader from Ottawa see them at Timmies, can you send me a pic?<br />
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If you are in Canada and Vancouver, get them while you can at Tim Hortons. They won't last long cos the Canucks won't last long in the playoffs!!! Very limited time. Hehehe. Don't get angry at me on these comments, I'm just joking with my crazy Canuck coworker who might be at Rogers Arena watching the game. <br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TpkSJQj1N6U/T4jejIjgIDI/AAAAAAAAAUk/1nWupavihwA/s640/blogger-image--805722408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TpkSJQj1N6U/T4jejIjgIDI/AAAAAAAAAUk/1nWupavihwA/s640/blogger-image--805722408.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VnAJILNafq8/T4jdKzS9VHI/AAAAAAAAAUc/pa_h-lu7zVg/s640/blogger-image--949568093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VnAJILNafq8/T4jdKzS9VHI/AAAAAAAAAUc/pa_h-lu7zVg/s640/blogger-image--949568093.jpg" /></a></div>PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-18043278221604450972012-04-12T21:32:00.001-07:002012-04-19T00:18:00.095-07:00Beijing RestaurantSorry dear readers....I'm quite upset that I cannot blog on my phone and have to use a laptop. I really dislike this inconvenience of having to use a laptop and transfer the pictures from my phone. I'm in between deciding what to purchase next... an ipad, a new smart phone, a laptop or a puppy. I'll eventually get them all but just figuring out the timing.<br />
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Anyways, you're here to read about yummy food. During the long weekend, I went to Beijing Restaurant with my family for Alaskan King Crab. It is starting to be the season so it's a good chance to eat this type of crab. To fish this, it's actually very hard and potentially dangerous for the fisherman. "A<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">laskan crab fishing is very dangerous, and the fatality rate among the fishermen is about 80 times the fatality rate of the average worker. It is suggested that, on average, one crab fisherman dies weekly during the seasons," as mentioned in Wikipedia. Click here if you want more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_king_crab_fishing" target="_blank">info</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">If you have not had Alaskan King crab, read this article from the Globe and Mail. It talks more in detail about this: <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/restaurant-reviews/alaskan-king-crab-is-all-its-cracked-up-to-be/article2365375/" target="_blank">Alaskan King Crab is all it's cracked up to be</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">So here is a picture of our 13lb King Crab that my family ate. In Chinese restaurants, they like to show you the fresh seafood so that you know what you are getting. Truth is, I only believe this at reputable restaurants. With other places, I always worry that they will show the seafood to you then in then kitchen, change to something that is less fresh. I don't think that this place would do such a thing. </span><br />
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The first dish we had was Steam King Crab Legs in Garlic. The meat was nice and firm and definitely fresh. The flavour was a little bland and could use a little more garlic and salt. Nevertheless, the crab meat was succulent!</div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The second dish was Smoked Sea Bass. Wow! This was amazing! The sea bass meat was buttery in texture and just melted in your mouth. The smokiness complemented very nicely with the fish meat texture. I really enjoyed this very much. It was beyond perfect! They served this with mayonnaise but very unnecessary as it killed the taste and texture of the fish. The fish alone was more than sufficient!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Our vegetable dish was snow pea shoots cooked in superior soup with garlic. What is this you ask? Have you eaten snow peas? Well they are these: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The leaves are collected as vegetables and cooked in Chinese cuisine by stir-frying or simply boiling them. The pea shoots can be found at a Chinese grocery story. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Getting back to our meal, the pea shoot was cook in superior soup. I'm not 100% sure how to make that soup but I know that it's using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinhua_ham" target="_blank">Jiahua ham </a>and chicken. Chinese soups are used for flavouring foods and I have been told by a client who works as a Chinese chef that really good Chinese restaurants do not use MSG but use this soup to flavour their food. </span></span><br />
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What happened to the crab? Well, here is the second dish. It is deep fried crab joints in salty peppery seasoning. That is the literal translation of the name and also how it tastes like. I guess if you've had Chinese styled dry ribs in a bar, you'll have a general sense of how this taste, expect less salty and less oily. I think it's because of the batter that is used to deep fry that crab was less oily or at least felt like it. Again, I would have like the flavour a little stronger and more chili peppers and garlic on top.<br />
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We also ordered fresh scallops. I was disappointed with this because I didn't think it was good quality scallop....it was fresh but didn't have that seafood taste. Sorry readers, when this dish arrived, I was so excited that I ate it before I took a picture. What you see is an empty shell. :)<br />
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This next dish was using the crab's shell and stuff it with rice. It was Portuguese styled rice, which is a creamy mild curry like sauce. At least that's what it seems like for me. This was nice.<br />
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With the steam crab legs in garlic, there was some clear sauce which mainly consisted of water and the "juice" of the crab while it steamed. We added this Chinese noodle called E-mein. It was really good. You have to be someone who enjoys subtle flavours to enjoy this, as the flavours are not strong so may not suit everyone's palate. You can taste the crab, the garlic and some onions. I have to say, this was another of my favourite dish that night.<br />
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Lastly we had Crispy Chicken. This is a very common chicken dish at a Cantonese styled Chinese restaurant. <br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The meal was very good and we enjoyed it very much. The meal cost $600 for 6 people. It's expensive because the crab was large plus generally quit expensive; however it was not the most expensive Alaskan King Crab meal that my parents had. They have one meal that cost them $500 for 4 people. Of course my parents don't always eat like this but when it is the Alaskan Crab Season, they do sometimes like to splurge a little. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><b><u>Final Thoughts:</u></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The meal was very nice because it's always nice to enjoy meals with my family. I think family always make the meals more enjoyable. The food that night was good but I wouldn't say spectacular as it was just missing a little something. I don't know what this something was, but maybe it was a dash of salt or a dash of spice. It wasn't terrible though so I have to say that I did enjoy my meal. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">I </span><b style="line-height: 19px;">LOVED</b><span style="line-height: 19px;"> the smoked fish. It was so good. Like I said, the texture was buttery and smooth. It was definitely the winner of the night. The second was the E-Mein noodle. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Hopefully I'll figure out a way to blog so that I can keep my readers interested in my food adventures, whether it's my own baking/cooking or trying out restaurants!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-12684436821707364382012-02-24T08:49:00.001-08:002012-02-24T08:50:53.836-08:00TestI haven't blogged in a while because Blog Press stopped working. All my pics are on my iPhone and needed to be transferred but I hate using iTunes. Anyways, downloaded a new app. Let's see if it works!!!<br />
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Oh this only allows pic on the bottom?!?? That sucks!!!<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kzBM6boIPZU/T0e_5hIyrtI/AAAAAAAAASw/vNq-RC9JHYY/s640/blogger-image--375487810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kzBM6boIPZU/T0e_5hIyrtI/AAAAAAAAASw/vNq-RC9JHYY/s640/blogger-image--375487810.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_cqAIC3fP7M/T0e_7MAcU4I/AAAAAAAAAS4/FJTJDhxPkq4/s640/blogger-image--141550906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_cqAIC3fP7M/T0e_7MAcU4I/AAAAAAAAAS4/FJTJDhxPkq4/s640/blogger-image--141550906.jpg" /></a></div>PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-68173947799329294812012-01-12T08:04:00.001-08:002012-04-19T00:18:57.331-07:00"Bow Ties" (蛋散)Sorry for not posting anything but Christmas was too busy. Here's the first post of 2012!!!<br />
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I'm guessing South African Chinese decided to translate "dan san" (蛋散) to "bow ties" because they look like bow ties. They are amazingly good, at least the ones my mom and grandmother made. The ones at bakeries are greasy or the dough is too thick so I no longer buy even if I'm craving them. <br />
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Anyways let me introduce you to my family's bow ties. They are light pastries that are deep fried and covered with a syrup coating. They are shaped into bow ties, hence the name bow ties. <br />
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The dough is simple to make. It's just sifted flour and baking powder. You can use vegetable oil but my mom said lard makes the dough more crispy and flaky. <br />
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Then four eggs are added. <br />
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And mix the dough until it combines. <br />
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As you can see, it is crumbly at first. <br />
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Then becomes smoother. <br />
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I'm sure traditionally, the dough was hand rolled until it was paper thin and even. That must have been time consuming. Since the time I remember my grandmother making it, we've been using a pasta machine to make long thin pieces. Setting 6 or 7 on the pasta machine will result in the perfect thinness. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/12/1063.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/12/s_1063.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Then we cut the sheet into small rectangles and placed the two sheets on top of the other. With a sharp knife, we cut three slits lengthwise on the both rectangles sheets. <br />
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This is the slightly tricky part where we twisted the dough. To do this, slide the bottom part of the rectangle into the middle slit. The result is a bow tie looking thing. <br />
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Deep fry the dough until it floats. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/12/1066.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/12/s_1066.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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And now, the easy part is done (that's the pastry part). While the dough is cooling, we made the syrup. <br />
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The hardest part of making bow ties is the syrup. My grandmother used to say that on a cloudy day, the syrup tends to fail more. I didn't believe this but my mom made two batches of syrup this time. On the first day, the syrup wasn't very good, since it was too sticky. It was possibly overcooked. The second syrup was made the next day and was perfect. Guess which day was cloudy and which day was sunny? <br />
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Anyways to make syrup, just cook sugar, water and 3 slices of lemon. My mom say the "old wives tales" say that the 3 pieces of lemon is to reduce the failure of making the syrup. I didn't know that. I thought it was to add a slight lemon flavour to the syrup. <br />
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To tell if syrup is ready, you should be able to put a drop of syrup into cold water and it'll form a soft ball. This is a term used in candy making. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/12/1067.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/12/s_1067.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Once syrup is done, dip the bow ties and voila. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/12/1068.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/12/s_1068.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b><ins></ins></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b>Final Thoughts:</b></span><br />
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I love bow ties. They are delicate, crispy and flakey pastries and melt in your mouth as you bite them. The sweetness from the syrup complements the oil from fried dough. Mmmmm. <br />
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The recipe seems simple but as I said, the syrup is where failure occurs. You don't know if your bow ties' syrup failed or not until you've dipped all your bow ties. It's because you dip the bow ties in hot syrup, which is liquid so you can't tell if the syrup is a failure or success. <br />
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The syrup is important because if it's undercooked, the syrup will slide off the bow ties or if it is overcooked, the sugar crystalizes and the bow ties become crunchy and hard. <br />
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In my mom's first batch, the sugar was just slightly overcooked so the syrup coating was too sticky that it stuck on your teeth. It also stuck on the bow ties making the syrup coating thick. A thick coating of syrup makes the bow ties crunchy rather than flaky. <br />
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Making the syrup is finicky that my mom rarely makes this. Just to share this to you all, I had to beg my mom to make them!!! Thanks Mom!!! <br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonePARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-85727181136691701372012-01-04T10:22:00.001-08:002012-04-19T00:19:11.119-07:00Candy Cane Sweet Bread BraidI borrowed Debbie Macomber's Christmas Cookbook from the library because it was a new cookbook. I don't know who she is but as I was looking for a picture of the cookbook cover to put on this blog, I realized that she is an author. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1401.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1401.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="277" /></a></center><br />
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I decided to try two of the recipes in the book and this is one of them. <br />
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First mix warm water, yeast and flour. Let it stand for about 15 minutes. It started to foam like this. <br />
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In another bowl, I mixed butter, sour cream, egg, sugar and vanilla together. Then added the yeast mixture and flour. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1403.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1403.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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I kneaded the dough until it formed a ball. The dough was quite soft. <br />
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I let it rise until it doubled in size. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1405.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1405.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Rolled dough out on floured surface <br />
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Then used a knife to make lengthwise indentation on dough. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1407.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1407.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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While the dough was rising, I prepared the filling. I was shopping at Superstore (which I rarely do) and found Meyer lemons. They are suppose to have a different taste than regular lemons. Some recipes specify specifically for this type of lemons. This recipe didn't but I just bought it anyways. For the record, Meyer lemons did smell and taste slightly different than regular lemons; they are less tart. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1408.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1408.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Anyways back to the filling. I mixed sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and lemon. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1409.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1409.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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I hand mixed with a wooden spoon this because I was too lazy to wash my hand mixer beaters. It worked out ok. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1410.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1410.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Going back to the main event, I spread the cream cheese filling along the middle section, leaving about 2cm space at the top and bottom of the dough. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1411.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1411.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Then I put a layer of raspberry jam on top of the cream cheese. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1412.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1412.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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This was the interesting part. First I cut strips on the left and right sections. Make sure each side had the same number of strips. I Folded the top and bottom in and removed the dough from the four corners. I didn't want to waste the dough so I made a smaller version with jam and no cheese. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1413.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1413.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Both top and bottom folded in. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1414.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1414.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Next is cross left piece diagonal to the right side. Then the right piece to the left side. Continued doing this for all the pieces. Halfway in the instructions, it said to stretch the dough across. Darn, why wasn't it mentioned earlier?!?? So about 3/4 down, I started to stretch the pieces. It looked really nice!<br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1415.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1415.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Here's a completed one. <br />
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See the small one? That's from the corners. I had no more cheese left so it only has jam. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1417.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1417.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Egg washed and ready to bake. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1418.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1418.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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It looked really nice after baking except the middle part where the dough was not stretched. It opened up but still impressive. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1419.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1419.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Here's a slice. You can see the cream cheese and raspberry jam in the middle. <br />
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Here's all the baking I made that Sunday. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/01/04/1421.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/01/04/s_1421.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b><ins></ins></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b>Final Thoughts:</b></span><br />
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This was sooo good and fairly easy to make. It bakes really well and impressive looking. Definitely a thing to make at a potluck or party. <br />
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The bread part was really soft and fluffy. Just eating the bread part alone was nice. <br />
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But the filling was also delicious. Raspberry jam and cream cheese! The cream cheese was smooth. I wish the cream cheese taste was a little stronger but that's ok. Of course the raspberry jam fit perfectly. <br />
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I brought some to work and people thought it was store bought not homemade. The colour of the bread and texture was amazing. Very rich!!<br />
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I'm planning to make this again during the holidays. Yummy!!<br />
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The deceptive part of this recipe is the name. When I saw this recipe, I thought it would be a mint flavored treat but there was no candy cane. Rather, the candy cane is the shape of the bread, which I didn't make. I don't think I'll ever make it candy cane shape ever. It looks nice as is. <br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonePARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-87041743441966679492011-12-20T09:12:00.001-08:002012-04-19T00:19:23.585-07:00Cake Pops 2I decided to make more cake pops since I had some store bought icing left from last time. I thought it was suppose to last 3 months but read the label again and it said 30 days. Darn! Had to throw it out. <br />
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Luckily the cake was kinda moist that it held together as a ball so I didn't use any icing. I didn't go out to buy because the icing would be wasted since I'd use less than 1/3 of the icing. <br />
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I crumbled a cake that I froze previously and made into balls. I put them in the freezer to firm up. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/20/1359.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/20/s_1359.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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While firming, I melted some chocolate candy chips. I put in a couple of teaspoon of oil to thin the chocolate. I'm not impressed with Wilton products. I'm not sure if I will buy their products any more. The melted chocolate candy chips were too thick to work with and adding so much oil was just too gross for me. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/20/1364.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/20/s_1364.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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I decided just to cover the balls with red sparkles. <br />
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First I dipped a lollipop stick in chocolate. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/20/1368.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/20/s_1368.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Then put the cake ball on the stick. I realized without icing, the cake pop was fragile and wouldn't stay on the stick well or started to break apart. Not much I could do though but continue on. <br />
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I dipped the cake pop in the chocolate and like last time, it was too thick. Aw well, I just dipped it in the sprinkles. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/20/1369.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/20/s_1369.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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You're probably wondering why some look darker than others. I ran out of white chocolate so I used regular chocolate chips, the type you make chocolate chip cookies. It was sooo much easier to work with. The texture was perfect that when I dipped the cake pops in the chocolate, it covered the cake pops with an even and smooth layer. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/20/1370.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/20/s_1370.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Here's a close up of the cake pops with sparkles. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/20/1371.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/20/s_1371.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/20/1372.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/20/s_1372.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b><ins></ins></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b>Final Thoughts:</b></span><br />
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I'm not sure if I'll be making any cake pops soon. I'm not a fan of cake mix and store bought icing so don't really like the taste. I could make my own cake but since I don't bake cakes often, it would be a waste to crumble a homemade cake. <br />
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As well, the materials I have on hand sucks!!! The Wilton chocolate candy chips are way too thick and needs too much vegetable to thin it down (don't worry for those who received my cake pops, I used as little oil as possible). I don't have a nice food marker, again the Wilton one sucks. <br />
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All in all, it hasn't been great! Maybe if I had better materials, I would enjoy. Though, I got to admit, I got rave reviews for my Halloween ones. <br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonePARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-24494049920756136092011-12-13T07:59:00.001-08:002011-12-13T07:59:41.967-08:00Roasted Squash Soup with Apple and BrieI love soup...doesn't matter from where or what country. Give me a bowl of steaming hot soup and I'm happy!! I think it's because I grew up having soup after supper every night and if there wasn't homemade soup, well, instant was better than nothing. I don't have soup after supper all the time now and miss that so soup is a big treat!!<br /><br />I'm not so into creamy soups because they are too rich. The only creamy soup I like are New England Clam Chowder and Mushroom soup. Unfortunately I don't know how to appreciate rich soups. <br /><br />Recently I noticed in the last 5+ years, butternut squash soup and roasted red pepper soup are really popular. I've been wanting to make this type a soup for a long time. <br /><br />What stopped me was when I looked at the recipes, many asked for cream or sour cream to be added to the soup. I know that adding the dairy product will make the soup silkier and smooth but also more calories. One big pot of this would be too much for me to enjoy. <br /><br />As well most soups are pureed. I didn't own a blender until recently and Magic Bullet for a big pot of soup would take forever. So that was a major deterrent. <br /><br />So when I discovered this recipe called "Roasted Squash Soup with Apple and Brie" in my <ins>The Rest of the Best and more</ins>, I was excited. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1081.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1081.jpg' border='0' width='140' height='208' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Even better was that it required ingredients I already had at home. To make it rich and creamy, the recipe asks for Brie, which seemed optional to me. <br /><a name='more'></a><br />So here's how to make it;<br /><br />First cut the butternut squash in half and remove the seed. Bake in oven for 40 minutes at 350F. This is to "roast" the squash. To me it didn't make a big difference roasted or not roasted. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1083.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1083.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />While it was roasting, I cut 1 medium onion into 2.5 cm pieces. For a circular onion, I'm not sure what that meant. I just chopped big pieces. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1084.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1084.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I measured 8 cups of chicken broth. Actually the real reason I wanted to make this soup was because the previous day, I made a Chinese style chicken which resulted in a big pot of broth. So I just used that. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1085.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1085.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />If I didn't have broth, I might just use water. I try not to use purchased chicken broth as it has too much sodium. I also use a vegetable broth from a Chinese grocery store. <br /><br />Then I sautéed the onion, 1 leek (only the white part...why? Why not use the green part? Now I'm stuck with the green part of the leek but no recipe) and 1 carrot. Do not brown. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1086.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1086.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Once the squash was done, I removed the skin off the squash. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1087.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1087.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Then cut the squash into big chunks. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1088.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1088.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />And added it to the sauteed vegetables. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1089.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1089.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I added the chicken broth and heated the soup until it boiled. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1090.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1090.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Once it boiled, I added 1 peeled and cored apple and 1 bay leaf. I lowered the heat to a simmer for 40 minutes. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1091.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1091.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />At this point, the recipe said to purée the soup and add salt and pepper to taste. I was too lazy to use my blender and wash it afterwards that I decided to just use the back of my spoon to squash the apples and butternut squash. Hehe is this considered "rustic" since it's so free form?<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1092.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1092.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Anyways, recipe said to put a 1cm piece of Brie with rind removed. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1093.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1093.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Add the hot soup and voila. The Brie should melt, giving it a Brie taste and providing the silky texture of a dairy product. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1094.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1094.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here's my rustic soup. The vegetables are still chunky pieces but I'm ok with that. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/13/1095.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/13/s_1095.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br />This was Soooo yummy and Soooo easy to make. I will make this again and again. Since I decided not to puree the soup, next time, I'll put in more vegetable, including the green part of the leek. <br /><br />I only had the Brie in my first bowl of soup. I love soft cheeses like Brie but the particular brand I bought was TERRIBLE that it ruined the first bowl of soup. Secondly, I wanted a healthy soup so thought adding too much cheese wasn't a good idea. <br /><br />Try it. If you want a properly typed full recipe, message me and I'll send you the full recipe. <br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-87876909129791851042011-12-10T21:18:00.001-08:002011-12-10T21:18:27.349-08:00NailsI just wanted to show my nails. I went to Bloom Essentials to get a pedicure. At Bloom Essentials, they have a pedicure called Picasso Pedicure, where they draw pictures on your nails. <br /><br />I've posted my <a target="_blank" href="http://parasite8.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-wanted-to-show.html">Skull</a> nails before and really liked it. I was pretty sure I was going to get the skull one again. <br /><br />The esthetician showed me the Christmas designs and I ended up also really liking the snowflake one. I couldn't decide on skull or snowflakes. The esthetician suggested doing both so I had snowflakes AND skulls. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3172.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3172.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3173.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3173.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />The blue was really cool and wanted to paint my finger nails too at home but Bloom Essential sold out on their OPI "Roadhouse Blues" nail polish. They suggested to go to another spa close by to buy it. But I was walking in flip-flops in the cold that I decided that I just wanted to go home.<br /><br />Now that my Christmas party is over, I probably won't be buying the nail polish. I don't wear nail polish on my fingers because I bake too often and usually touch the dough. So I didn't want people to accidentally eat nail polish in my food when it starts to flake off. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3174.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3174.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Bloom Essential's website is http://www.bloomessentials.com/<br />You'll love their Picasso Pedicure!!<br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-33540655810893620832011-12-10T20:50:00.001-08:002011-12-10T20:50:27.067-08:00Fascinator 2At work, we decided to have a Secret Santa gift exchange. For those of you unfamiliar with this, we pick names out of a hat and buy gifts or write notes to that person. In school, we called it Kris Kringle. Anyways for work, to make it easier, we only did one gift exchange. The gift price limit was $10. <br /><br />Now I hate buying gifts under pressure and dreaded this. I looked around at shops and couldn't find anything decent for $10. Then I decided to make a fascinator for the person I got. <br /><br />At first I was going to use a hair comb to make the fascinator but since I was making a small fascinator, I decided it was too big. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3094.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3094.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I found a smaller hair clip that was unused at home. I decided to use that as my clip. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3095.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3095.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Prior to deciding to make a fascinator as a gift, I went to Dresssew to find feathers that were interesting to make another fascinator for myself. I was going to wear a fascinator for my company's Christmas Party so needed more feathers. They didn't have feathers that I wanted (they had lots of ostrich feathers which were too big). <br /><br />I've also been to Michael's for feathers. They were ridiculously expensive and had a small selections. So I had to use the same feathers that I used for my own fascinator (<a target="_blank" href="http://parasite8.blogspot.com/2011/09/fascinator.html">My fascinator post</a>) and made a hair clip version. As for my Christmas party fascinator, I didn't find a y feathers worthwhile to make myself one. Anyone know where I can buy pretty a d cheap feathers?<br /><br /><b><ins>How I Made It:</ins></b><br /><br />First I arranged the feathers. Three black feathers didn't seem quite right. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3096.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3096.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />So I added a fourth black feather. The black feathers are duck feathers and the blue one is a dyed pheasant feathers. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3097.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3097.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />While at Dressew, I looked for sparkly button for my future fascinator but was overwhelmed with their button section and found nothing. <br /><br />I decided that I was going to cut one of my sweaters buttons since it was sparkly. When I was about to cut the button off, I realized that I wasn't ready to stop using this sweater so was left without a sparkly item. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3098.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3098.jpg' border='0' width='320' height='320' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />It was around 10pm and all craft stores were closed. I ran out to the neighbourhood Shopper's Drug Mart hoping to buy a $5 necklace to use but they were all $15 dollars or more. Fancy hair clips with rhinestones were not cheap either so I gave up and decided to go home. <br /><br />Now, no one outside of family has visited my house cos it's messy. I might say I'm a bit of a hoarder because I keep things. I'm keeping them because I'm a last minute person so not always able to get materials for baking and crafts so I likes handy and accessible. Not sure if you notice, sometimes what I bake or cook is based at what is at home already!! <br /><br />Anyways, I had kept the trim from a Christmas present in case I wanted to reuse it for gift wrapping. I never had to use it since I rarely gift wrap. The trim had a shiny ball. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3099.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3099.jpg' border='0' width='320' height='320' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I placed the ball on the feather set and it looked stupid. So I cut the ball in half and placed it on the feathers. It looked good so I glued it on. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3100.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3100.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here was my finished design. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3101.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3101.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I then glued it on the clip. I wasn't sure how to glue it on. If I glued the clip the proper way, when the clip opened, it damaged the feathers. If I glued it backwards, it was hard to put on and off since it was counterintuitive and awkward. Well, I decided to glue it backwards and regretted it. It was hard to use. I put so much glue that I couldn't pull it apart to fix it. The person who received the gift had a hard time putting it on that I felt i made it so amateurish!! Too late though. Next time I know. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3102.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3102.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here's the fascinator. I wanted to put a veil because I love veils but decided against it since the person would not like that. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3103.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3103.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I tried it on. You can see the colours look quite good together. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3104.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3104.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />As you can see, the feathers are too long. It looks a bit like the headdress of Plains Indian on tv. I needed to fix it. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3105.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3105.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />So I cut the feathers. Well, it didn't look very good because it lost the feather shape. Look at the feather tips, it was kinda square looking. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3106.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3106.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />In the hair, it didn't look so strange and square. But I wasn't satisfied so I took the cut piece (which was the feather tip) and arranged the feathers so that it would look better. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3107.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3107.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />You can't see this error. That's the point..hehe. I was able to incorporate the feather in a way that you don't notice this flaw. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3108.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3108.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />I threw away many of my jewellry boxes as I wanted to declutter so when I needed a box like this time, I had none. *sigh* This is why is hard to decide if things should be kept or not. Just when I decided to throw things out, that's when I need it. But when keep stuff, I make my place messy and feel like a hoarder!!<br /><br />Anyways, I ended up using a cell phone box. I put in silver tissue paper and put the fascinator. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3109.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3109.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Isn't it pretty?<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/10/3110.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/10/s_3110.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br /><br />It was so easy to make, though I was thinking about a fascinator design for myself. When I decided to make this fascinator for my coworker, it was 9:30pm. <br /><br />I think if I decided to make a veil, it would have taken longer. I love veils and if it was for myself, definitely I would put a veil but I thought that for my coworker, it might be too much for her. <br /><br />Because I'm not sure how people feel about wearing a feather, I decided that I needed to add a gift for the Secret Santa event. Luckily I found something very nice at Shopper's plus the fascinator. <br /><br />Well at the event, turn out she like the fascinator a lot and many coworkers were impressed with it. Actually it's a very good gift because I went shopping and saw fascinators costing $20 and more. <br /><br />If you would like one, send me a message. Tell me the colours that you like and I can make it for you. <br /><br />Sorry to my friends though, I won't be gifting a fascinator for you. It's not because I'm a Scrooge but it's because I'm not sure if you will like wearing feathers. I don't want you to pretend to like it when you really hate it OR directly tell me you don't like it. I might feel hurt. But, if you like it, I'll make one for you. Then you can also own a Parasite original. <br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-17272418057772982602011-12-09T16:41:00.001-08:002011-12-09T16:41:35.915-08:00Meat & BreadA friend took me to this place around springtime and I LOVED it. I couldn't blog about it then because my phone battery was dead. I was determined that I would come here again because it was is delicious and also to share with my readers. <br /><br />Unfortunately I tried coming here on a Sunday and found out they were closed. So this time, I went on a Saturday. They were busy!<br /><br />The name of this sandwich place is simple. It describes what they serve, Meat and Bread. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2466.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2466.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><a name='more'></a><br />As soon as you enter, you see the employees chopping the skin of the pork. This crispy skin is added into their porchetta sandwich. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2467.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2467.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />What is porchetta? Here's a quote from wiki: <blockquote>Porchetta [porˈketːa] (or sometimes "porketta") is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild. </blockquote><br />Sounds yummy, right?<br /><br />Actually texture-wise, it's similar to Chinese Roasted Pork. In particular, the belly area and only from a skilled Chinese BBQer. There are many unskilled BBQer that result in poor roasted pork. <br /><br />At Meat & Bread, there are a couple sandwich choices but the most popular and most ordered is the porchetta. Both times that I've been here, I've only had Porchetta and I think that it's what I'll get each time I come here. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2468.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2468.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here's a close up of the porchetta being cut up. Not sure if you can see how juicy and moist the meat is. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2469.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2469.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here's the prep/kitchen/serving counter area. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2470.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2470.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Our sandwiches are almost ready to go. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2471.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2471.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Our meal. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2472.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2472.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />A close up of the sandwich. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2473.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2473.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Meat & Bread have soup or salads as sides. The soup seems to be daily specials and are very interesting flavours. I think that day they had Thai chili and coconut (something like that). I don't know if the salads change. I had quinoa salad. I love quinoa!! <br /><br />The potato salad looks really good that each time I see others ordering it, I regret not getting it. Next time I'll try to order the potato salad. Hopefully I won't get tempted by their other sides <br /><br />Look at how the meat looks. Just writing this post is making me hungry!! You can see pieces of crispy pork skin and the herb sauce they added when making the sandwich. I had to make sure every morsel of meat was eaten since I didn't want to waste anything. Also the mustard was very good. It was a great match to the sandwich. Wish they would give a little more mustard though. I had to scrape every last bit of mustard off the paper. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2474.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2474.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here's a pic not related to their food. I just thought how they hung the toilet paper roll was pretty unique. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/09/2475.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/09/s_2475.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br /><br />I <b>LOVE</b> their sandwich here. The pork is so succulent, juicy and moist. The taste is perfect. The sides are just as good as the main part of the meal. <br /><br />I focused so much on the meat, that I forgot to talk about the bread. The bread was equally as good. It had a crunchy crust that wasn't too hard. They lightly toast their bread before making them into sandwiches. <br /><br />The staff are perfectionists. I noticed that one staff accidentally didn't slice the bread open evenly. He didn't use that bread for my sandwich and put it aside for other uses. The error was so minor but this person wanted to ensure the quality was there. How many places do that nowadays??<br /><br />This place was featured in <ins>EnRoute</ins> magazine's food edition (<ins>EnRoute</ins> is Air Canada's flight magazine). <br /><br />Anyways, a must try!!<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-86467610230412343082011-12-07T08:09:00.001-08:002011-12-07T08:09:53.217-08:002011 New Year's Resolution update- FAILEDI just broke my 2011 New Year's Resolution. After working so hard on keeping my resolution for 11 months, I finally failed. I was so close!!!<br /><a name='more'></a><br />I just bought a recipe book at Costco. It was <ins>The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary. </ins> I had to get it for the price. It was such a good deal!<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/07/1085.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/07/s_1085.jpg' border='0' width='200' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />I recently decided that I should have a copy of The Joy in my library but at $40cdn, I thought it was way too much. When I was in Portland in their huge book store called Powell Books, I thought it would be cheap but they were selling for $35USD used. I don't like used books so of course didn't buy.<br /><br />Then I saw it at Canadian Amazon.ca for $25 plus shipping and was going to buy that on January 1, 2012 since it was an ok price and I would have successfully completed my New Year's Resolution. <br /><br />Well, I saw it at Costco and knew that I had to buy it right away as there was only 3 left and it was only for $19.99. So <ins>The Joy of Cooking</ins> made me break my 2011 New Year's Resolution.<br /><br />I decided to buy it because I wanted to have a cookbook as a reference for everything in cooking. Since this was so well known and owned by many chefs as a starting point, I thought I should buy it. <br /><br />I haven't tried any of the recipes so can't review it but it must be good to be around for the 75th Edition. The only thing I didn't like about it is there are no pictures of the recipes - it does come across as a reference book. <br /><br />Just flipping the book though, I liked how it had suggested party menus, depending on event and theme. Maybe if I use this book, I would have to buy another recipe book...NOT!!<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-34269999914822393732011-12-04T17:35:00.001-08:002012-04-19T00:20:51.031-07:00ABC RestaurantAt the suggestion of an anonymous comment, I went to ABC Restaurant (愛彼茜餐室) to try out their souffle. <br />
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The decor of the place was questionable. It looked like a 50s diner, serving burgers, fries and shakes. I was hesitant to go in but trusted that my reader wouldn't lead me astray. So I tried out the place. <br />
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Rather than just eat dessert, I had supper there. I thought it was a Kong Kong style cafe but it also served Chiew Chow food (a village from China) in addition to the Hong Kong style food. I've never ordered a full meal Chiew Chow meal and decided to try some Chiew Chow dishes. <br />
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I didn't like the decor but I liked the placemat. I think that the pink plaid is quite chic. <br />
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I was just happy with the pink plaid placement but when I moved my cutlery and saw the picture, I loved it!! I love fashionable chic drawings abd have notepads and magnets with this design. There must be a proper name for such drawings. Anyone know?<br />
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My friend's meal came with Hong Kong Style Tea. It's a strong tea with evaporated milk or condensed milk. Some say that the proper milk tea is made using a silk stocking to filter the tea. The tea has been filtered many times to make it strong. <br />
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My friend ordered Minced Pork and Preserved Olive Leaves Fried Rice (木欖肉碎沙炒飯). It was very tasty. It had good wok flavour, meaning a nice high heat was used. Couldn't taste the olive leaves though nevertheless it was good. <br />
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We ordered House Pan Fried Oyster and Egg (金牌煎蠔). It is a pancake that has oyster and egg. A few years ago, you could get this on the street in Hong Kong. I loved it very much because it was very tasty and it was fun eating on the streets. I haven't been to Hong Kong in a while, so not sure how things are now. <br />
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I did not like this pancake at ABC Restaurant. It should be one big pancake but here they made into small pieces. I'm guessing that it's too hard to flip one big pancake than a small one. Another reason I didn't it was that it was OVER fried. In other words almost burnt. <br />
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I also ordered Oyster with Minced Pork and Soup (蠔仔肉碎泡飯). I thought this was good. The broth had a seafood taste from the oyster and dried shrimp. There were many oyster pieces...maybe too many, especially when you just recovered from a flu and everything is a bit nauseating. My friend ate all my oysters.<br />
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I will have to say that not everyone will enjoy this. The flavour is a bit bland for some and the seafood taste is too subtle. The funny thing is that even though I liked this dish, I won't be ordering it again. Why? The thought of oyster right still makes me like I have the flu again. I'm not sure I'm ready to eat oyster boiled in a soup. I can still eat raw or pan fried oysters though. <br />
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Some may not like the texture. It is like mixing rice with a broth. I like it because that's how I eat my rice sometimes. <br />
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Lastly I HAD TO order the souffle as a suggestion of the comment in the blog. I didn't know what flavour to order. They had vanilla, orange and chocolate. I asked the server what flavour she'd suggest. She said that vanilla or chocolate are popular. I decided chocolate. <br />
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It came with a chocolate sauce which you can pour on top of the souffle. <br />
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The texture of the souffle was really good. It was light and foamy, the way a good souffle should be. I should have taken a picture of the middle so you could see the individual bubbles from whipping the egg white. They did an amazing job preparing the souffle. <br />
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In terms of taste, I thought it was ok. The chocolate sauce wasn't chocolatey enough. It was a bit like water down NesQuik milk. The souffle wasn't bad but had an eggy taste. I love eggs but don't like my desserts having an egg taste. My friend really enjoyed it. He couldn't believe how light and fluffy it was! I'd order it again and try vanilla. Just thought that chocolate wasn't chocolate enough for me. <br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b>Final Thoughts:</b></span><br />
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I would DEFINITELY come here again. I thought the size of the dishes large for the price, the service was very friendly and genuine and the food delicious.<br />
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The decor was deceptive because it looked like a 50s diner and felt like you should be ordering shakes and burgers. Instead they served Chiew Chow food and Hong Kong style dishes. <br />
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Go there and try their stuff. I enjoyed it. I'm glad a reader suggested it because I would have never walked in that restaurant. <br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonePARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-50129969449194634692011-11-27T09:07:00.001-08:002011-11-27T09:07:47.401-08:00The OneAfter supper, I was very thirsty and didn't want to go home. So where did I go??? Bubble tea!!!<br /><br />Went to a place called The One Restaurant (美味x係-can't replicate 3rd word)<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/27/1825.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/27/s_1825.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/27/1826.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/27/s_1826.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><a name='more'></a><br />In the waiting area, they had these round pillows. I thought it was so cool!! Lucky they were not on sale or else I wouldn't know which one to buy... I couldn't decide which one I liked best.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/27/1827.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/27/s_1827.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I ordered my usual lychee green tea. I thought it was too sweet and wanted to pour water in it to dilute it but unfortunately I wasn't served water. I guess when you go to a bubble tea restaurant, they don't serve you water or tea. Kinda makes sense. <br /><br />My friend ordered taro milk tea and it was really good!! It had fresh taro in it. It was sweet but not too sweet! Very yummy. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/27/1828.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/27/s_1828.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/27/1829.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/27/s_1829.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I decided to order a deep fried bread (銀絲卷). I don't know the English name as every restaurant translates it differently. I saw on google that some people call it Man Tou (漫頭). I think or I assume that man tou is just the plain steamed bread not this bread. This bread, regardless if steamed or deep fried is usually layered. <br /><br />It is usually served with condense milk for dipping purposes. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/27/1830.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/27/s_1830.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I thought that this done very very well. First, you can see the layers in this bread. This is how it should be. At some places, it looks like regular bread that been deep fried. In other words, the centre has holes created by yeast. Another thing is that it's deep fried with a very crispy and thin skin on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. I think it that it was prefect in texture. The taste (without the condensed milk) is very slightly sweet. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/27/1831.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/27/s_1831.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />My friend order a shaved ice. It had a herbal jelly called Grass Jelly. It's an acquired taste that I'm starting to enjoy. Chinese medicine believes that food have heat and cooling properties. Grass Jelly has cooling properties. The shaved ice also had red bean and condensed milk. <br /><br />This dish looked impressive that when they served us, everyone was looking. I only enjoy shaved ice desserts if it is really hot (eg 25c or warmer). Shaved ice is ice that is grounded to a fine powder. It is really refreshing on a hot day, like slurpees are. I liked the ice here as it was so fine, it just melted in your mouth. However, I thought the toppings were just too sweet for me and it had no special flavour. I think I'll have to pass on this. Only thing this dish will do is bring attention, if that's what you're craving. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/27/1832.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/27/s_1832.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br /><br />I would come again to try their food. I was impressed with their deep fried bread and looking at other tables, their food looked good for a meal or a snack. <br /><br />In terms of bubble tea, will have to ask them to make it less sweet because I didn't enjoy mine. I know sweetness is the taste of the beholder but I have never had a concern about the sweetness in my lychee green tea - I order this practically every time I have bubble tea. <br /><br />Service was pretty ok. Getting to the table, the service didn't stand out. However taking orders was good. He was pretty friendly and offered my friend water because she didn't order a drink (didn't require my friend to ask). <br /><br />I'd go again. <br /><br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-81254573867004050572011-11-25T10:51:00.001-08:002011-11-25T11:03:00.152-08:00Why is Christmas Pudding Considered Rich?I was just talking with a co-worker and she said her husband makes the most awesome and rich Christmas pudding. I love Christmas pudding. Every Christmas, it is a treat that my dad heats up (no he does not make his own) and makes a custard sauce to go with it.<br />
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My co-worker described it as "rich". Many people have described it the same. I have always wondered how or why it was considered rich? It's filled with dried fruits, shouldn't it be health? Is dried fruit rich or unhealthy?<br />
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I tried looking at recipes to see why it was rich. Is it because it uses a lot of butter? I've seen variations of 1/2 cup butter to 1 cup butter. But cakes also use that much better. OR because of the eggs? But the recipes I looked at required 2 to 4 eggs. Cakes and creme brulees use way more eggs. Some traditional recipes use suet which is beef or lamb fat. Not many recipes I saw used it. But if it did, I guess that would make it rich, right?<br />
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<br />OR is because it is typically served with a custard or hard sauce? That is rich. My coworker's husband serves with an alcohol-spiked butter sauce. That would also be very rich! Is this why Christmas pudding is rich, because of the serving sauce?<br />
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Why is Christmas pudding considered rich? Does anyone know the answer?<br />
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Just a rambling from the mind. (ps. It's so much nicer to blog using a computer than an iPhone!)<br />
<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-49669859587993354592011-11-24T23:26:00.001-08:002011-11-25T11:05:58.509-08:00Mr Zhang's Karaoke RestaurantInitially I wanted to have Chinese hot pot for supper but when my friends and I saw that the price was $25 per person, we decided it was too expensive and tried this new restaurant. <br />
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It seems that Northern Chinese food is quite popular. I'm not sure if it's because there are a lot of new immigrants from China and not from Hong Kong or it's a trend but many new restaurants are popping up that serve this type of food. <br />
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It was a bit chaotic when we walked in. The hostess/server asked us for "how many?" 3 times. That made me worried that she would serve others before us. She did tell us to sit in their waiting area but we didn't for a two of reasons...1) I was worried we'd lose our spot. The hostess never took our name, as she did for others so I was worried she'd forget us. 2) the room had no lights, so you sat in the dark and had boxes all around it. It look like a storage area. <br />
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We ordered salty shredded tofu with spicy sauce. I didn't like it very much. It was like taking a block of tofu and cutting the sides off then julienning and marinating it. <br />
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We also order beef tripe and tendon in spicy sauce (I like the Chinese name. It's husband and wife. 夫妻x片 - I can't see that word so can't replicate it. Maybe someone can give me the full name). That was really really good. A bit salty but acceptable. I like the tendon pieces as they were large enough to enjoy the texture but not so much, you get sick and nauseated. <br />
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In the background is the tofu shreds and foreground is the tendon dish. <br />
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We also order Country Style fish. I really like this a lot. I really enjoy seafood so fish makes me happy. I wasn't sure if you were suppose to eat everything, including the head. I looked around and others did, so I did too. Wouldn't know that you were eating the head since it's deep fried and crunchy. BUT, I didn't like eating the eyes because it was like biting glass-not that I've eaten glass before. <br />
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You probably wonder why I ate the eyes. I was curious. When my mom was very very young, remembered staying with her grandparents and enjoying fish eyeballs as a delicacy. Well now my mom can't stand it and any food that is too exotic but I thought I'd give it a shot. Nope, I won't be enjoying fish eyeballs soon. I guess it'll have to be one of those knowledge/tradition that gets lost. <br />
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This next dish was called Sichuan chicken (sorry, I can't remember the name). Anyways, it tasted good if you like eating chicken bones and onions. This dish had no meat. I felt it was a total rip off. How can you call it chicken when it's mainly bones!!!! I'm sure they used the meat for other dishes. Too bad I don't remember the name you stop you from having this dish!!<br />
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Then we ordered Beijing Fen Pei or Mung bean salad. It was good but not the best. The mung bean noodle had a nice chewy texture and sauce was ok. It was a little bland. <br />
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This next dish sounds disgusting but probably the best that night. It was Spicy sichuan Fried Pork Intestines. Yes pork intestines sound disgusting, but what do you think proper sausage skin is made from? Pork intestines!! Anyways it's deep fried so its all good. Plus the spicy seasoning and crunchy celery made it enjoyable. <br />
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But, Sichuan peppercorns are a killer. <br />
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Sichuan food is known to be spicy. It's a type of spicy known as numbing (麻辣). It's really is numbing if you had too many peppercorns. Your tongue and lips feel as if you dentist just you a needle to numb your mouth. The first time my friend had real authentic Sichuan food, he thought his mouth was having an allergic reaction!!<br />
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Anyways here's a picture of the Spicy Pork Intestines. <br />
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I thought it was cool that the restaurant had flags outside. It reminded me of Beijing and China. <br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></span><br />
Hmmm... This restaurant was ok. I liked it and wouldn't mind going agin but I think there are other places that are better. Plus so many new restaurants with the same type of food, I think I'd like continue trying new ones. <br />
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I will say that the service by all the staff except one was excellent. Even the hostess, despite being a little chaotic was very friendly. I don't see such good service often enough in a Chinese restaurant. For reason of service, I actually would go again!<br />
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Why it's called a Karaoke Restaurant is unknown. I think the "waiting room" was a karaoke room but no one was using it or singing. Plus I can't imagine me eating the fish head while singing nor would it be too nice to be eating while belting out tunes. Though, I know Asia has lots of them. <br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonePARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-90949001945797639872011-11-05T22:06:00.001-07:002011-11-05T22:06:04.664-07:00Bel CafeGeorgia Hotel finally opened up their cafe. Prior to their renovations, they had an amazing cafe with extraordinary desserts. It was called Senses. After they closed, I haven't found many comparable to that. I would describe their desserts like eating a cloud...that luxurious!!!<br /><br />So when walking home, I saw Bel Cafe opened and walked in to see their desserts. I was disappointed with the selection since there were only 5 items....cheesecake, various pound cakes, lemon tart, dark chocolate hazelnut raspberry vanilla mousse and white chocolate something coconut. And macarons. <br /><br />I bought a pistachio macaron. It was ok. I think I've had better. It didn't have enough pistachio taste compared to what I had from other bakeries. <br /><br />I've started to develop a taste for macarons. Though a bit sweet, I love the airy texture. My favourite is pistachio. Actually it's the only one I've tasted since I find it too expensive to try all the flavours and end up always picking pistachio. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/05/4344.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/05/s_4344.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><a name='more'></a><br />I didn't get the pound cake because I recently made my own and know that pound cake is quite easy to make so wasn't interested I trying. I didn't buy cheesecake because I've lost interest in cheesecake nowadays. I wanted to buy the lemon tart but the other 2 choices interested me more. Plus I didn't want to spend over $25 just for dessert. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/05/4345.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/05/s_4345.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here is the dark chocolate raspberry vanilla mousse. It had a long name that I'm not sure what it is. It just seemed to include all the taste as part of the name. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/05/4346.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/05/s_4346.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Here is the inside. It was an amazing crunchy wafer like crust on bottom. Then a dark chocolate hazelnut cake. In the middle is vanilla custard or pudding like texture. All around the thing is chocolate mousse. It's covered with chocolate ganache and topped with a dark chocolate ring. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/05/4347.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/05/s_4347.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />It had a wonderful mixture of texture of crunchiness with the smooth mousse and cake. The taste was good too. You would think that it might have been too many flavours but it worked well. I enjoyed it, though, it wasn't like eating a cloud. <br /><br />What I didn't like was the chocolate ring. It was too hard so when you push down with your fork to eat, you had to push hard because of the ring. The results is that the rest of your dessert gets squashed. I don't like that. I like eating my dessert as one piece so I can try all the flavours in my mouth at once. <br /><br />The other thing I bought was a white chocolate something coconut. I don't remember what the something is, as it's a foreign word or uncommon word. Made me realize that names of your food is important. If people cannot remember it, how can they recommend it to others??<br /><br />The cashier told me that she really enjoyed this so I was looking forward to it. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/05/4348.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/05/s_4348.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here's the view of the middle. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/05/4349.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/05/s_4349.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />The bottom layer was a shortbread cookie crust. Then a layer that seemed like a coconut pound cake and lemon or lime curd in the middle. It is surrounded with a white mousse. I'm guessing the white mousse has chocolate in it but I couldn't taste it. <br /><br />I wasn't really impressed with this. I found the lemon too tart to be combined with the cake and mousse. I found the cookie crust too hard and didn't match the rest of the dessert's texture. I wouldn't buy this one again. <br /><br /><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b><br /><br />I'm mixed about this place, as it wasn't the best but it was also pretty good. I wish there were more dessert choices to choose from, as 5 is too little. The dark chocolate dessert was good but the white chocolate thing wasn't very well combined in both taste and texture. <br /><br />I'll try this place one more time before I can make a final decision. When I do, you'll know more about it. <br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-51769069671074994982011-11-01T23:39:00.001-07:002011-11-01T23:39:26.274-07:00Hot Pot RiceOne of my favourite food when I visited Hong Kong in winter is hot pot rice (煲仔飯). I like it when they cook the rice outside the door of the restaurant. Here's a close-up of rice pot made in HK that I found on the Internet. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/01/4064.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/01/s_4064.jpg' border='0' width='259' height='194' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Tonight I went to Agnes Chiu's class and we made hot pot rice. <br /><br />We made three types of hot pot rice. It was very yummy and very easy to do. I'll be trying to make one of them this Friday. <br /><br />We made Chinese mushroom with Chicken and Fish Maw Hot Pot Rice (比菇棉花雞煲仔飯). Fish Maw is fish stomach or swimming bladder - to help the fish float. For Chinese it is consider a delicacy and can be quite expensive. Here's the <a target="_blank" href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swim_bladder">wiki info</a> on this. <br /><br />So here is our rice pot. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/01/4065.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/01/s_4065.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />We then made Minced Beef and Egg Rice Pot (窩蛋牛肉煲仔飯). All the rice pots made today were easy to make but this particular one was amazingly easy. The only hard part was mincing the meat. Mrs. Chiu does not buy minced meat but minces her own meat with a cleaver - that to me is the hardest part of this dish. I think if I make it myself, I'll just buy minced meat. <br /><br />This dish requires a raw egg mixed hot rice. However, Mrs. Chiu prefers to fully cook the egg fully for safety reasons. I agree with Mrs. Chiu but I love a raw egg on extremely hot rice so will have to learn to curb this pleasure. We fried the egg and put it on the rice. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/01/4066.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/01/s_4066.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Lastly we Spare Rib Chili Black Bean Sauce Rice Pot (豉椒排骨煲仔飯). This was also yummy. It had chili which gave a nice spicy taste. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/01/4067.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/01/s_4067.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br />This class was very popular. There were 20 students in the class. Apparently one of Mrs. Chiu's past student came 30 minutes early in hopes of getting into the class. <br /><br />Well, the food was so easy to make that I'm planning to make it this weekend. I would like to make it earlier but busy this week so will have to wait. I can't wait to try and eat this!!! Yummy!!<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-38139539593596114342011-10-31T23:04:00.001-07:002011-10-31T23:04:52.162-07:00Lin Chinese RestaurantI went to a Chinese Restaurant for lunch. I've been here a couple of times and have always enjoyed the food. Strangely, I've never been there for supper, only lunch. The restaurant is called Lin's Chinese Cuisine and Tea (林餐館).<br /><br />Usually this restaurant is so busy that you have to wait for a seat but this time, we got a seat right away. Maybe it's a Sunday. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/4547.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_4547.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><a name='more'></a><br />I ordered all the things that I liked at this restaurant. I ordered hot and sour soup, Xiao long Bao, Beijing Fenpai and Shanghai Chow Mein. <br /><br />Their hot and sour soup (酸辣湯)is pretty good. Not the best hot and sour soup in my life but still good. The soup this time tastes ok but too much cornstarch. The flavour was not sour enough but I think it the texture that made it unenjoyable. It kinda tasted gloppy feeling. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/4548.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_4548.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I ordered Xiao long bao (小龍飽), sometimes translated as dumplings with soup or Shanghai soup dumplings. The literal translation is 'little dragon buns'. It's little pork dumplings that have soup inside. To be made properly, it should have a very thin skin and lots of soup inside. Apparently, the perfect dumpling should have 18 pleats. <br /><br />This restaurant previously competed in making Xiao long bao but I can't remember if they won. Usually their dumplings are good but today, very disappointing. Okok it wasn't the worst but when you are expecting tasty food and don't get it, it's probably worse than eating bad tasting food. <br /><br />The problem with the dumpling was the skin was soggy inside. What this means to me is that the dumplings was either overcooked and soup allowed to soak in the skin OR after it finished cooking, it was left waiting before serving to us. I think that it was left waiting because it wasn't very hot but just warm. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/4549.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_4549.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I ordered Beijing Fenpei (mung bean) salad (北京涼粉皮). This restaurant won an award as the best fenpei dish in the past and that's how I discovered this dish. <br /><br />Fenpei is a noodle like sheets made from mung bean or green bean. Its suppose to be healthy and recently has become very popular in Chinese cuisine. I never grew up with it so I wonder if this recent popularity is from the influx of Mainland Chinese. Can anyone confirm this?<br /><br />Fenpei has a chewy texture which I love. In the past, I really enjoy this salad. Like I said, I like the chewy texture but the flavour was good. The salad has a peanut sauce with chicken and vegetables. <br /><br />Well this time, the texture was still good but I didn't like the taste. It tasted like there was lots of oil or something. I'm saying something because you can't see the oil but you can feel the oil as it enters your esophagus. Haha I know it sound strange but it's how it feels. I didn't like that feeling so didn't eat much. Plus there was way too much sauce and not enough fenpei, chicken and vegetables so that also made it not very good. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/4550.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_4550.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />It looks interesting though, doesn't it??<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/4551.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_4551.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I also order Shanghai Chow Mein (上海粗炒) or sometimes known as Shanghai Fried Noodle. It's a thick noodle (I think its wheat noodle) that is pan/wok fried with pork and cabbage. In this restaurant, they fried it with spinach. <br /><br />It was too salty and sweet for my taste. I know it sounds strange but I'm sensitive to sweet taste in my savory food. Weird, eh? I didn't eat much of this. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/4552.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_4552.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br />I've always enjoyed my meal here but this time, I'm very disappointed. I know that my comments above seem like I'm petty or very picky with food. I am! I'm the type of person who can appreciate the food for what it's worth, so if I'm at a grungy greasy spoon place, I expect grease and salty food and can accept bad service, if it happens. If I'm at a high end restaurant, then I expect subtle highlights of the food (and amazing service). <br /><br />I didn't talk about service because it was mixed service. There is 1 female server who has a sour looking face like she really hates this job and doesn't want to be here. She served exactly how she looked, cold and unfriendly. But there is a young male who was very polite, friendly and helpful. So both cancel it out, making the service neutral. <br /><br />I don't have a recommendation or no recommendation for this place. It's ok to eat, especially it's near downtown. For myself though, I was disappointed in this restaurant because I've had the same food from them and it was better. It makes me wonder if they are less busy because they are not so good. Well, I'll try them one more time before I right them off. <br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-89450206202212835242011-10-31T00:18:00.001-07:002011-10-31T00:18:30.846-07:00Cake PopsI bought Cake Pop recipe book over a year ago (before my New Year's resolution). I've been wanting to try it but timing didn't work. It's got great pictures that I love looking at the pictures. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/24.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_24.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='234' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><a name='more'></a><br />It's by a blogger name Bakerella. Check out her <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bakerella.com/">blog</a>. It's got great ideas for baking and lots pictures. <br /><br />Since Halloween is my favourite celebration and year I won't have an interesting costume (plus too much pressure from work to have an amazing costume since my past ones wowed coworkers), I decided to make cake pops instead. <br /><br />I bought Betty Crocker cake mix since it's what suggested by Cake Pop. I bought extra moist since I thought it would taste better. However I later read that extra moist cake is not suitable since it does not work well for cake pops. I think it makes it too sticky. Doh!!!<br /><br />I made the cake according to the package instructions. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/25.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_25.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />And baked it as quickly as possible, which is using a big pan. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/26.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_26.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I let it cool. I was suppose to let it cool completely but I couldn't wait. Mistake ...because it made the cake crumbs a little sticky (though I'm not sure if it's because it's not cooled completely or because it's extra moist cake). So I left the crumbs alone to cool overnight hoping it would be less sticky (it made no difference!)<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/27.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_27.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />The next day I mixed with Pre-made frosting. I chose chocolate frosting for chocolate cake. I mixed the cake crumbs and frosting together. I think might have put too much frosting because it was quite sweet but also too soft. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/28.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_28.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Then rolled into balls and put in the freeze for about 30 minutes. We don't want the balls to freeze but to be firm so that it's easy to work with. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/29.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_29.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />While waiting for the cake balls to become firm, I melted some chocolate wafers in the microwave. It was very thick so I added vegetable oil but still was very thick. I didn't want to add more oil since I didn't want to affect the taste. <br /><br />When the balls were firmed, I shaped them into ghost like shape. Then I dipped a lollipop stick in the chocolate and pushed it into the cake ghost. I then dipped the ghost into the chocolate and let it dry. <br /><br />It was hard to dip cake pop into the thick chocolate evenly so the ghost had the thick layer of chocolate. The result was the ghost didn't look so nice. Also I was stupid to use chocolate cake with white chocolate.... made it look quite shoddy. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/30.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_30.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />After, I pasted candy pearls as eyes. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/31.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_31.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Then I used an edible marker to make the pupils and mouth. Disaster!!! It didn't work!! The pen wouldn't write. I went on the Internet and found many many people had problems with Wilton edible pens. One person returned theirs right away. I'm going to do the same thing. Why keep something that doesn't work?<br /><br />In this picture, the ghosts look ok with the markers but in reality, the black didn't look black and looked very amateurish. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/32.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_32.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I was quite upset because I didn't know what to do. I decided that I would pipe the details with a dark chocolate on my ghosts and Frankenstein. <br /><br />I started working on Frankenstein. Since I expected the wafer to be thick, I added lots of oil before melting. It resulted in a consistency that was easier to work with. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/33.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_33.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I then tested my piping skills and made Frankenstein hair since the edible markers didn't work. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/34.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_34.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I piped the eyes, mouth and scars. I was going to make a emotionless mouth but decided to make it a friendly Frankenstein so made him with a smile. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/35.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_35.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Here are the finished products, both Frankenstein and ghosts. Notice Frankenstein's screws?!?<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/36.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_36.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Since I'm planning to give them away, I put them in a plastic bag and put a ribbon. I forgot to buy treat bags at Michael's so had to use sandwich bags. Actually that worked out well, especially price wise, since sandwich bags are cheaper than treat bags. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/31/37.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/31/s_37.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br />Hmmm.... The cake pops are too sweet for me. The recipe book suggested to use cake mix since can control the amount but you can use your own cake. I might do that in the end since it was too sweet from the cake, frosting and chocolate. <br /><br />I'm disappointed with Wilton products. First their chocolate wafers are quite thick. Of course this is not a fault of theirs, as that consistency might be suitable for making chocolates but not for cake pops. Second, which is a big surprise is their edible pen didn't work at all!!! It wouldn't write. I even tried to write on a cracker, it still didn't work. I thought I was the only person experiencing the above but both were common complaints by other bakers!!!<br /><br />Because of the above two problems, it took longer than expected to make the cake pops. It also discouraged me because I didn't know what to do. <br /><br />Lucky I came up with idea of piping details, it not, I would be stuck. I dreaded piping, as I'm not good with piping but had no choice. It worked ok. <br /><br />The results wasn't too bad. I would try to make this again but not with Wilton products. I'm going to special order my pens and see if I can but the chocolate wafers from a candy store or colour white chocolate myself. <br /><br />In terms of the recipe book, great pictures and ideas. In terms of the recipes, I think it's not necessary to buy the book, as ALL the details can be found in her website. The book doesn't provide great instructions for making the cake pops, though it's easy to make. I just like looking at the pictures often. <br /><br />Anyways, time to sleep. Happy Halloween everyone!!!<br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-56364019812030430252011-10-26T23:46:00.001-07:002012-04-19T00:21:05.782-07:00Fall Bavarian Apple CheesecakeAfter posting on my Facebook that I was willing to bake anything for anyone, as long as they pick it up or it's on my way to where I'm going, my coworker requested a cheesecake. <br />
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I decided to make this cheesecake as it's easy and one of my favourites. I've made this many times for potluck. One person commented that she's never liked cheesecake but she really enjoyed this one. I believe her because I've seen her decline cheesecakes before at other parties. <br />
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This recipe is from Kraft recipes from their <a href="http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/fall-apple-bavarian-cheesecake-83378.aspx" target="_blank">website</a>. Here is their picture of how it should look like. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4204.jpg"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4204.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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To make the crust, I mixed melted butter and graham wafer crumbs. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4205.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4205.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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After mixing, it should be crumbly texture. <br />
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Press into a spring form pan. I don't own a spring form pan. Usually I use a Corning Ware plate but this time decided to try using a removable bottom tart pan. I hope it works!!!<br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4207.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4207.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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To make the filling, add 2 blocks of soften cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and mix. <br />
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Once it is blended, mix eggs one at a time. <br />
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It should look very smooth and creamy. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4210.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4210.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Put the filling in the pie crust. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4211.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4211.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Smooth the filling. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4212.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4212.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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I sliced one apple in thin slices and put it on the pie. I ate the leftover apple pieces and it tasted like garlic. I was pissed off because I know my friend used my cutting board to mince garlic. I guess I'm picky on my baking stuff cos I'm willing spend money for good quality baking products, both food and equipment. I hate my cooking equipment get ruined, especially when I'm very careful taking care of my own stuff properly...arrggghhh!!<br />
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So I had to remove all the apples I placed on my cheesecake and sliced a new apple and placed it on my cheesecake. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4213.jpg"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4213.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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Then I mixed sugar and cinnamon together. <br />
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I sprinkled it on top of the apples. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4215.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4215.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Then I sprinkled almond slices and baked for 50 minutes. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4216.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4216.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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While baking, it smelled really nice like apple pie. When it finished baking, it looked and smelled nice. I think the colour looks better than Kraft's website's picture. <br />
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<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/26/4217.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/26/s_4217.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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Like I said, it looks and smells good. The thing I realized is that my pan is too small so I don't think I will use removable bottom tart pan again. I'll either buy a spring form pan or use my usual Corning Ware plate. My crust and cheesecake almost overflowed!!<br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b><ins></ins></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Zapfino;"><b>Final Thoughts:</b></span><br />
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I have always consider this as one of my favourite cheesecake recipe because it's easy to make and delicious. My cheesecake repertoire consists of 3 recipes. <br />
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In the past, I used to search on Kraft's website for recipes and I saved the recipes on their website. However their website constantly erased my saved recipes so I stopped using their website because I got too annoyed. Well it was during that time that I discovered this recipe. <br />
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One thing, it's important to refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 3 hours, though overnight is ideal....it tastes a lot better!!!<br />
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Anyways this recipe is good and a go. Go to Kraft's website for this recipe!!<br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonePARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-28815266889580393702011-10-23T20:29:00.001-07:002011-10-23T20:29:44.748-07:00ThermomixI had a Thermomix class with Agnes to make some Exotic Snacks. It was a very good class as it demonstrates what the Thermomix is a capable of.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/4461.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_4461.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><b><ins>Background of Thermomix </ins></b><br /><br />The Thermomix is a German designed and French produced kitchen appliance. It was initially designed to make baby food, as it was healthy, safe and quick/easy to use. However, others decided to apply it in other parts of their cooking and have een very successful. Chinese have now used it to stir-fry, steam and make soups. Even professional chefs are using it to make mousse, puddings and other difficult dishes.<br /><br />The Thermomix replaces many applicances including blender, grinder, blender, food processor, stand mixer, ice shavers, juicers, slow cookers and probably a lot more. The only thing that it cannot do is deep fry and bake. Actually, that's not the only downside. The downside is the price...however if you do not have a lot of kitchen appliances, and plan to buy, this will be perfect since you will only need ONE machine and it will take up less space than owning 2 appliances. Plus many of my classmates who have bought this machine have started to use it regularly and all vouch that it's a great appliance to have at home.<br /><br />Here are some links praising it. Honestly, the only negative feedback with this machine is price. <br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2010/4904/buy-thermomix-in-canada.html">http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2010/4904/buy-thermomix-in-canada.html</a><br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/412015">http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/412015</a><br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="Http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/the-thermomix-23-appliances-in-1/article1792353/">Globe and Mail's view on Thermomix</a><br /><br />This last link is from Anna and Kristina's Grocery bag. It's a blog so was not on their show.<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.annaandkristina.com/?action=d7_article_display&Join_ID=451847&template=tp-bag-blog-article.htm7">Anna and Kristina's view of Thermomix</a><br /><br />It cannot be bought at the store but by a dealer directly. It is a very popular applicance in Australia. If you do any search on it in English, you will find many users in Australia and ways they have learned to apply in their daily lives.<br /><br />Here's a picture of Thermomix:<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/4462.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_4462.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />So back to the main topic <b><ins>Exotic Snacks using Thermomix:</ins></b><br /><br />As with all my classses, I do not take pictures of each steps since I'm learning in the class and also it's hard because there are other students around. I only take the final product. However, when I do replicate the recipe at home, I will definately show you my steps. In the case of Thermomix, I can only do that when I have access to a Thermomix.<br /><br />We made three items in this class. <br /><br />The first item was Green Tea Pudding. It was very nice and smooth pudding. The flavour was subtle but you can play around that by adding more sugar or green tea powder. Thermomix was used because when heating milk, this machine will keep the temperature constant so you don't need to have a thermometer. If you have ever made pudding, it's not always easy because you have to constantly stir to prevent burning and two you have to control temperature so the milk and cream doesn't boil over. With Thermomix, just put your ingredients in, close the lid and turn on the setting and after 15 minutes, your mixture is ready to be put in the fridge.<br /><br />I liked it but I don't know if I'll make it again. I'm not a pudding person and if I had to eat extra calories that pudding has, I would probably prefer a different dessert. Here's a picture with Japanese red bean topping. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/4463.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_4463.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />We then made Spinach Corn Muffin. It was so easy to make this. Just put spinach and grind. Then add other ingredients and done. If you look at <a target="_blank" href="http://parasite8.blogspot.com/2011/10/bakings.html">my blog,</a> I recently made this with a blender and a mixer. It was such a mess, even though the recipe is great. I green liquid from the spinach spilling out plus i had to pulverize my spinach numerous times because the blender blades were not as powerful as Thermomix's blades. I really like the muffin because of the green colour which would be great for Halloween but also because it was healthy!! It tasted good as well. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/4464.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_4464.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Lastly, we made a traditional Chinesse dessert called Chinese Birthday Steamed Cake (賀蕁紅粿) Wow! I loved this. I really loved the filling. It was amazing!!! I know that there is NO way I can make this without Thermomix. If I had to make this without Thermomix, I would probably not bother. As well, to make the red colour, we grounded up a beetroot, so the colour is natural plus you get the nutrients of the beet. <br /><br />Without Thermomix, you can probaly use a food processor and a pot afterwards to cook the beetroot. In this case, I didn't need to use another equipment, just Thermomix mixing bowl.<br /><br />Here are some pictures. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/4465.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_4465.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/4466.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_4466.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins> Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br /><br />I enjoyed this class. It was a great way for me to see even more the potential of Thermomix. I am planning to buy one for myself, as I can see myself using this for at least 2 of the above items. Also, many of my classmates who already have this machine say that they often cook their rice, soup and steam veggies/fish all at the same time so they are able to have a full meal within 15 minutes. How great is that for someone who doesn't like cooking like me?<br /><br />I tried the spinach corn muffin at home and it worked really well. It was harder to make without the Thermomix but doable. The Chinese Birthday steam Cake might be a challenge without the right equipment. I will make this though!! The pudding was good but not my thing. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />PARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519321492236156612.post-7803743911933194992011-10-23T01:14:00.001-07:002011-10-23T01:25:01.681-07:00Muffin, Cake and BrownieTonight I felt like baking so I baked. If I had a big freezer and ingredients at home, I'd bake more things. Actually ingredients is no problem since Safeway is opened til 12am so my problem is storage. I don't like wasting food, that unless it is eaten, I can't make more. <br />
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Tonight I made three items but will only blog on two of them. I made a pound cake, spinach corn muffin and brownies. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/184.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_184.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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I'm not blogging the brownie because it's the same recipe I used before called <a target="_blank" href="http://parasite8.blogspot.com/2011/06/baked-brownie.html">Baked Brownie</a>. It was the best brownie I ever made and this brownie has been voted best brownie by O Magazine. I'm not blogging about it since did that previously plus I didn't use good quality chocolate this time - I just used Baker's chocolate not Callebaut like last time. <br />
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<b><ins>Pound Cake</ins></b><br />
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I wanted to bake a layered cake. However, I won't be going to work until Tuesday so no way to dispose of the cake (ie bring to work for coworkers to eat) and I can't eat a full layered cake myself. So instead, I made a pound cake. <br />
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Pound cake is a very old cake. I know in the late 18th century it was commonly made since it was easy to make and stores well for a period of time, making it available for sudden guests. It's easy because the recipe called for 1 pound sugar, 1 pound butter, 1 pound butter etc., hence the name <b>pound</b> cake. Anyways, very rare are the recipes just a pound of everything. I think people have refined it to suit our modern taste buds and modern ingredients. <br />
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I used a recipe from my <i>America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book</i>. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/187.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_187.jpg' border='0' width='300' height='300' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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First I preheated the oven and prepared my baking pan by greasing it and covering it with flour. <br />
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In a mixing bowl, I added flour, baking powder and salt. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/191.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_191.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
I'm suppose to use a food processor for the next step. The recipe said blender was ok so I used that since I have no food processor. I have no intention to buy a food processor because I plan to get a Thermomix. <br />
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I put sugar, vanilla and 4 eggs in the blender and mixed.<br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/192.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_192.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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When it finished blending, it smelled nice.<br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/193.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_193.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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I melted the butter and made sure it was hot. I poured the butter while my blender was still running. <br />
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This is what it looks like after mixing. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/195.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_195.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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I slowly added sifted flour into the egg butter mixture in thirds.<br />
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I gently whisked, even if the flour wasn't fully incorporated to prevent over mixing. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/197.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_197.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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After all the flour was whisked in, it was ready to be poured in the baking pan. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/198.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_198.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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And put into the oven to bake. <br />
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Here is the final product. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/202.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_202.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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The cake was too sweet for me and I had already reduced the sugar from recipe by half a cup. The texture was nice but I like my pound cake denser. I would use this pound cake to make a layered cake because it had a soft moist texture. I will have to try my mom's pound cake recipe which uses sour cream. I like that texture more. <br />
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Hopefully you can see the texture of the cake from the picture. It's very soft like velvet. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/205.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_205.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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<b><ins>Spinach Corn Muffin</ins></b><br />
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I got this recipe from Agnes Chiu's class on Thermomix. I don't have a Thermomix because I bought one for my mom and will have to save up to buy one for myself. <br />
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First I washed and drained the spinach. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/206.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_206.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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Since I don't have a Thermomix or a food processor, I had no choice but to use my blender. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/207.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_207.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
That was such a mess and took forever since blenders only grinds things on the very bottom. <br />
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After a long time and green juice mess, I finally finished. I guess chopping would work but it wouldn't create enough liquid to make the muffins green. Chopped spinach below. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/209.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_209.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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I added sugar and butter and mixed. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/211.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_211.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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Even though the butter was room temperature, butter didn't cream and incorporate. I think it's because the spinach was cool. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/213.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_213.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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Agnes Chiu suggested to use this baking powder, as it makes the muffin rise very well. It is true, my muffins were really fluffy. I guess you could use this for other bakings but it's pretty expensive so I'll probably stick to just muffins or fancy cakes. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/215.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_215.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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I added baking powder, eggs, flour, milk and parmesan cheese. Again I mixed. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/216.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_216.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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The batter turned green. I think that it's a very nice green for Halloween treats. What's cool is that it's natural colouring from spinach not food colouring. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/217.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_217.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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I then folded corn niblets but reserved some for the muffin's topping. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/220.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_220.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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I used my new muffin pan by Chicago Metallic. I saw this pan and was impressed by the weight of the pan. It really felt like a commercial pan and not like Nordic Bakeware and Wilton's Commercial baking pan, which are very light. Also, I like the muffin size. I bought it and washed my pan. After it finishing drying, I saw rust like stains. I emailed Chicago Metallic customer service and after one correspondence plus emailing pictures, they will send me a new one. Very good customer service!!!<br />
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Anyways, I still wanted to use what I had but because of the rust stains, I didnt dare use it without paper liners. Here's the picture of my muffin pan. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/221.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_221.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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I bought a ice cream scoop and wow... It made filling the muffin pan so easy and mess free!!! Imagine all these years using a teaspoon and the clean up I needed to do. Anyways, after the batter was scooped into the pan, I topped it with corn niblets. <br />
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<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/10/23/222.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/10/23/s_222.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />
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After baking, they looked like this. Look how nicely they rose. <br />
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I'll be having this for breakfast for a while. <br />
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<font color="purple" face="Zapfino"><b><ins>Final Thoughts:</ins></b></font><br />
I really enjoyed the spinach corn muffin that learned in class and had to make it right away even though I didn't have the correct equipment. It was still worth it. I think if I was to make again, I might use more cheese or a stronger cheese. I like cheese so would be nice to have stronger cheese flavour in the muffin. <br />
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As for pound cake, I would use this recipe again but reduce the sugar, as it's too sweet for me. Though I like denser pound cake, this cake had a nice soft/fluffy texture that many will enjoy. <br />
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I'm still in the mood to bake but I guess since I have an early morning, I should go sleep and think about baking tomorrow. I might have a request for a cheesecake. Wonder how serious that request is??<br />
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonePARASITEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15653937691045663597noreply@blogger.com0