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