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!

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!

California Blue Sky

Hello everyone :D
I've been having a hectic time after returning from NY, but it's a good thing for me, so enjoying it.


I got my stitches out at the doctor's and back to normal. Another happy thing!


The weather here has been very good for the past few days. The sky by the beach is very pretty blue.


Now is the time to truly enjoy the Southern Californian weather.

 Over the weekend, there were many people under the sun at the beach.
Too bad that the Southern Californian water is rather chilly, but still fun to enjoy the water.

My husband took a walk around the beach neighborhood, and then enjoyed reading books we took with us with really nice cup of coffee and latte.


Can't wait for another good weekend :)


See you soon everyone, and enjoy your summer, too!

NY,NY,NY!!!

Good morning everyone :D
I know I haven't updated for a while, but guess where I was at???


Yes, New York!!!!!!


I had to visit ER the night before we left, and for a moment, I wasn't sure if I could make it to NY, but　ended up getting some stitches with permission to fly, so here are some photos to share!


During this trip, my husband and I kept walking, walking, and walking which we usually don't get to do here in LA.


Walked over the Brooklyn bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

Walked through Central Park and got lost, so we could walk more :)

Walked through the city and saw some  neat street arts.

Of course, ate lots and lots of good stuff. I will try to make a list of the things we tasted during this trip in another post.

We didn't use a cab during the stay, except for the transportation from the airoport. Only four rides of Metro in five days. We did a good job, right?

The hotel we stayed at was a great choice, too. Thanks to a friend who told me about this place. Not too expensive either.


Everything went so well that I could forget about the long and tiring ER experience.


Still happy from the trip, and now ready to get back to our normal life here in LA. Happy to be home as well.


Will write you more about NY in my next post.


Thanks for visiting, and hope to see you soon :D

Farewell Gateau au Chocolate

Good afternoon, everyone :D


One of my best friends in LA and her family are moving to another state, so we held a farewell party for them.


I remember that the kids liked my chocolate cake over regular sponge cake, so here it is! A Gateau au Chocolate, a chocolate cake made with real chocolate.


Kept the decoration simple with four cute patterns with confectioner's sugar.

 Placed it on one of my new vintage plate, and ready to invite the guests.


I'll write about the farewell party with lots of tasty dishes in my nest post.




Enjoy your weekend and thanks for visiting this blog :)

A gift from a winery

Good evening everyone :D


I've been finding pretty flowers in interesting colors this month, ant that's making me very happy.


These Gerberts were one of my favorites. They brightened the dining area when I used them for the center piece.


Tonight, I would like to introduce you a tasty souvenier my friend couple gave me from their trip to Santa Barbara.

"Chocolate Hazelnut Melrot Truffle Fudge" from Gainey Vineyard.


I was told that my friend's husband tasted this and said "Wow, this is a perfect gift for Ako!" Yes, it really was because I cannot stop eating it when I spread it on crackers with cheese. It is light and creamy, easy to spread, and tastes exactly how its name explains :)

I had toasted English Muffin with this fudge spread, and also a confiture my friend sent from Japan.


This confiture is awesome, too. Fig with mint and vanilla. Doesn't it sound very attempting? It goes so well with cheese that you will want to start drinking some wine. It's a shame that I have such a low tolerance to alcohol, but maybe it was a good thing. Oh, well.


Anyway, both of them are tasty, and made me very happy. Not only because they taste good, but the fact that my friends thought of me when choosing them makes me feel very special and happy. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!!


Time to go to sleep. See you tomorrow :D

June Table Setting with Antique Cups

Good evening everyone :D


I found some interesting looking tulips, so brought them home. Pink and pretty.


I usually try to change the table center monthly, so I used these tulips this month with my favorite antique cups.

 The items on the right are the things I used for this month's table.

After a while, I had to change the flowers, so chose bright reddish orange Carnashions. They were quite pretty as well :)


Another favorite part of this setting is the Federal cup I purchased at an Antique market a little while ago. I have a special memory for this pattern.




When I was a little child, used to sleep with a large towel with this same pattern on it, and could not let it go until it ripped at the end and had to get a new one. This pattern was my mother's favorite, too.

Usually I like using the antique dishes and cups in everyday life, but since this one means a lot to me, and is in a great condition, it will be displayed in my dish cabinet for a while.


June is about to finish already, so now trying to come up with a new setting for July.


Good night everyone!