Sunday, September 2, 2012

Vegan cupcake with cream cheese icing

Hello everyone!!!

I can't believe it's already September, and see how long I haven't updated this blog! Excuse me.

Will try to update as much as I can before my folder "waiting to be uploaded" will be too full and too late to figure out what to do with them :D


One day, I found clear baking cups at a store near by. I've never seen baking cups like these, and wasn't sure if they work or not in the oven, but the explanation on the package stated that they will be good up to 400F, so decided to give them a try.

As a result, they are pretty cool looking, and yes, the cupcakes baked pretty well.

The cupcakes I baked in the photo are vegan ones with a few Macademia nuts hidden in each of them.


Thought they will go well with my favorite less sweet cream cheese icing, so even though this icing will make the cupcakes not vegan any more, I've decided to pipe it out.

Don't they look elegant and nice?


To add a touch of sweetness, finished them up with sprinkling some pink pearls on the top. I loved this look, and so did the people who ate them at the farewell party I handed the box to my friend. Unfortunately, I had another plan already and couldn't make it to the party, but at least my cupcakes did, and succeeded to make the guests happy. Thanks everyone for the kind and happy comments!!!

A vegan cupcake with cream cheese icing. Thanks for visiting everyone, and please enjoy the long weekend!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Carrot cake for BBQ gathering

Hello everyone :D

It's been really hot for the past several days. Not only hot, but a bit humid for Southern California that makes us feel even more hot.

My husband and I were invited to a poolside BBQ during this hot weekend, so made some carrot cakes and took it with me. 

Instead of spreading out the icing on the top, piped it out, and sprinkled sugar confetti that I made a little while ago. 

Everyone seemed to like it, so I was very happy! The BBQ was really tasty and was good to get together with friends I haven't seen for a while.

Time to go get some dinner. See you soon everyone!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Summer veggies from the farmer's market

Good evening everyone!
The olympics has been pretty exciting, and I've been enjoying the ones I'm interested in on TV :D

The temperature has been pretty hot in Southern California for the past few days, and I wanted to eat something healthy and not too heavy.



Using the colorful vegetables from the local farmer's market, the first dish I prepared was a bowl of cold udon noodle.

Boiled and washed cold udon with cold broth, topped with sauteed kale and corn, pork stewed cooked in black tea soy broth, fresh sliced tomatoes, lime, and a little bit of mayonnaise with a dash of cayenne pepper.


Oh, don't forget a good quality toasted sesame oil. This was a gift from a friend, and it's so flavorful! A little drizzle of this oil after squeezing the lime.

It was light and healthy, but still filling enough for the lunch time.

Loved the summer color of the veggies :)
With the other veggies, I made a batch of Ratatouille. After this photo was taken, I still kept cooking it for a while, and it turned into a beautiful tasty ratatouille.  By the way, I liked the animated movie "Ratatouille" a lot.

After my husband and I enjoyed this ratatouille with cooked quinoa, we still had a little left, so added some more ingredients and turned it into a curry. Extra bonus!

Have a good evening, and see you soon again :D

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Sweet Birthday

Good evening everyone :D
Another birthday of mine has arrived a few days ago. It was a very sweet day for me, receiving many phone calls, e-mails, and gifts from the people I love.


My husband gave me pretty flowers and a card, and took me our for a nice sushi dinner. The birthday tart I made for my husband turned into my birthday cake as well!






Speaking of a tart, I prepared extra tart dough and almond cream when I made the mousse tart, so I could make a few small tart for my friends.


I baked them with the plum sauce used for plating the mousse tart and some blueberries.


One of my friends sent me hand collaged wrapping bags, so used a couple of them to wrap these tarts with herb tea.


Wrapping them like this turned my tarts into pretty nice gifts. Thanks to my thoughtful friends. The girls who received them enjoyed both the tarts and the wrapping :)


Even after the actual birthday, my birthday week has been continuing, and I am very grateful for that.


Every year, birthday for me is a day to thank people around me. Without the ones supporting me, I am not being able to feel this happy.


Thank you so much everyone!!!


Have a good Sunday, everyone :D

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Belated Birthday Dessert for hubby

Hello everyone :D


My husband's birthday was in July, and we kind of celebrated it in NY, but I haven't done much this year, and wanted to make a BD dessert for him. Right before July ended, I finally got the time to make it, so here it is!


My husband requested "a plum dessert", so I've been thinking what I should do with plums for a while, and this is what I did.


Almond tart with plums on the bottom. This almond cream is made with egg white with an unique method.


Then follows the red dessert wine mousse. Then layered some sauteed plums on the top, coated with white wine gelee.


Looks like this from the top. 
Plated with plum sauce and sauted & caramelized plum wedges.


Plums are in season, and the ones I got from the local farmer's market were really tasty!!!


Without using any sweetner in the sauce, it was sweet enough from its natural flavor.

My husband really liked it, and I was happy, too. Glad that I at least could make it before August has arrived.


Happy happy belated birthday hubby :D


Have a nice day everyone :D





Sunday, July 29, 2012

Light Tiramisu on vintage snack set

Good afternoon, everyone :D


Have you been watching the olympics? My friends in UK are pretty excited, and my husband and I are enjoying some of them on TV.


Today's dessert is light and creamy tiramisu. Everyone's favorite.
I usually make them in a square mold and cut them into pieces when serving to the guests, but this time, I used my favorite vintage snack set plates. It looks cool in glasses, fun to look from the sides as well.


A line of pretty desserts are fun to take photos of, too :D


Have a happy Sunday evening everyone :)

Friday, July 27, 2012

Caramel Mousse Dessert

Good evening everyone:D


Here is a good dessert for the summer season. Caramel mousse dessert in glasses. Mango vanilla on the bottom, then caramel mousse, followed by tea crystals. The flavor matches very well with fresh raspberries.




Plated with wine sauce and some crunches.


Looked pretty on the table, too :)


This dessert not only looks cool, but also tastes cool in this hot summer weather. 


Have a good weekend everyone. The olympic has started, and I'm excited! :D



Thursday, July 26, 2012

[dine LA] BD dinner at BOUCHON Beverly Hills

Good morning everyone!


Tomorrow is the last day of this term of dine LA. We had a birthday girlfriend this week, so went to celebrate at "BOUCHON Beverly Hills" for dinner.


The epi (bread) and pistachio were nice to start our dinner. The menu are cute, too, and the servers were very friendly :D

Salmon tar tar and fresh oyster as starters.






 Main courses were tasty, too, especially the steak. We tried all three dishes, enjoying our fun conversation, and then came the dessert time.




Happy birthday AYU!!!


We ended up staying for a while, talking, eating, drinking coffee, and left with big smiles.


Thank  you for the fun time girls :)


Have another nice day everyone :D



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

July Summer Table

Good morning everyone :D


It was pretty hot last week in Southern Caifornia, but it seems like its now back to the usual comfortable weather this week.


The July's table theme is summer, so used Sun Flower as the main flower. They brighten the table, and I think it's a good way to express the summer theme.


Also placed some sea shells. Wish they were the ones I picked, but no, they're not. I tried, but couldn't find enough pretty ones, so just bought them in a package. Still nice and soothing, don't you think?


Added some blue color for the coolness, and pink candle and vase are for the warm feeling.


Overall, the table turned out bright yet calm and gentle, just the way I like. My guests have been enjoying them. That makes me happy as usual.


The table for July.


See you tomorrow! (I'll try :D)

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Fresh wild blueberry pie

Good afternoon, everyone:D


We were invited to a friend's BBQ party, so I've decided to bring a dessert using blueberries since I found a jar of handmade blueberry jam my mother in law made with the wild blueberries she handpicked in MI.

This blueberry jam is less sweet compared to the ones you get in stores. It has a very natural flavor.


First baked a pie shell with little acorns on the edges.


Then heated up the jam, added bloomed gelatin, followed by fresh blueberries. Before the fresh blueberries are cooked through, removed from heat, and poured into the pie shell.


Done!!!


The strength of the gelatin was just right that it held its shape when I cut into it, but still let the blueberries fell in pieces when eating with folks.


Accompanied with lightly whipped chantilly cream with vanilla beans, everyone really enjoyed it after the delicious and fun BBQ dinner.


Thanks for visiting, and see you soon!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Thin Apricot Pie

Good morning everyone :D


Another beautiful morning, and it's a weekend, so double plus!!!


At the local farmer's market, the stone fruits are in season. 


Plums, peaches, and apricots.
When I visited one of the markets, the apricots were very sweet, so I got some, and decided to bake with the last couple of the apricots after I enjoyed eating the rest of them fresh :)


I searched in my freezer and found a frozen pie sheet, so made a loose almond cream with less egg yolk with drizzle of rum. Spread it over the pie sheet, then lined up some wedged apricots, and it's ready to be baked.


Done. Pretty color, isn't it?
Ready to be enjoyed by my friends and one of the friend's mother and her friend who were visiting from Japan.


I plated them on vintage snack plates purchased recently after searching for them seriously.



Everyone liked the pie, and loved the snack set as much as I do. So cute aren't they?


Paired with Mariage Freres's "Marcopolo Verde", a green tea with very fruity aroma. We had a nice tea time with lots of smile :D :D :D


Well, time to go. I will be making a blueberry pie today, and will tell you about it maybe next time.


Enjoy your weekend everyone!