Hello there!

To my buddies who check this space, i've max'd out my free photo memory capacity, so this space won't be updated for awhile......hehehe.

If i'm not lazy, i'll start yet another blog. will post the link here......

:)

"Hostess" Babycakes

due to a fire on tuesday, there are power outages in Copley, so my neighbor & i've been work'n/rot'n @ home the past 2 days. hehe. so we took walks around the block, separately. then Eman & Snickers decided to grab cupcakes from Babycakes, in which neither of us have try'd.

Eman got 2 "Hostess" cupcakes, coincidentally: a chocolate one & a "Twinkies" one. they were both yummy! i loved how airy the frosting was on the "Twinkies" one & how dark & moist the chocolate one was. guess we'll be "regulars" soon enough! :)

Spring Festival in Boston :)

SO EXCITED ABOUT THE SPRING FESTIVAL in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Kyoto's gift of Sakura Cherry Blossom Trees to Washington DC! :)

The event is taking place 2 days before we fly to Asia. WOOHOO!!! :)

more info here: http://japanfestivalboston.org/

Happy Girl's Day! 祝ひな祭り!

March 3rd is Girl's Day in Japan. it's a day when families celebrate their daughters' youth & pray for their health & happiness. traditionally, when a baby girl is born, she is gift'd with a set of ひな人形 Hina Dolls. i bought myself a non-traditional set last year, featuring none other but Hello Kitty & her beau Dear Daniel :) 

i took the excuse of Girl's Day to bake a Hinamatsuri-themed cake. it was too exciting to miss out baking something pink, white & green! i remember all the beautiful Hinamatsuri cakes i saw in Japan when i was there in 2007 & 2010. the pink, white & green ones were the most memorable cos the colors were wayyyyy too pretty to miss! of course, i couldn't miss the "sparkling" strawberry cakes, Matcha green tea everything & all the Mont Blanc chestnut desserts!!! MMMMMMM!!! DROOL'n just think'n about them. can't wait to go back to Japan!!! SOOOOOOO look forward to pig'n out @ Sweets Paradise!!! (will write a post for this!)

back to my Hinamatsuri cake. I baked a souffle sponge from Okashi, the moistest sponge ever! i half'd the batter, add'd green tea to half & dehydrated strawberry powder & pink food coloring to the other half. the cakes were sandwich'd with strawberries & whip'd cream. for the peach tree, i piped the tree w/ melt'd chocolate, then dot'd the branches with pink whip'd cream to resemble peach blossoms :)

Hello Kitty's 2nd Curry Bath

there's skinny-dip'n...then there's curry-dip'n. Hello Kitty prefers the latter. :P

i was craving Korean curry & of course i couldn't resist Hello Kitty-fy'n it up again. hehe.

i cook'd up some OTTOGI brand curry (오뚜기카레) with chicken & potatoes. YUMMY! i buy OTTOGI curry in 2 forms - powder'd (just add water & veggies) or the 3-minute (3분) boxes with chunks of potatoes and carrots (just heat & serve). think i prefer the box'd one, seems to taste better. i usually sautee some ground pork & heat the box'd curry with it, then serve it over rice. READY TO ENJOY IN MINUTES! :)

curry, curry, curry. Thai curry, Japanese curry, Korean curry, Chinese curry, Indian curry. i love 'em all :)

homemade sushi

last night's homemade dinner

手巻き (temaki/handroll) - salmon, avocado, cucumber, tobiko, scallion & spicy mayo (sriracha & mayonnaise) w/ rice wrap'd in seaweed :)

アボカドサラダ (avocado salad) - avocado, imitation crabmeat, cucumber, tobiko & spicy mayo :)

Soy Chai Tea Latte Chiffon Cake

i always loved the smell of Chai Tea Lattes! the taste, however, i wasn't ever too fond of. work'n as a Barista @ Starbucks for 6 yrs, i never really drank anything aside from whole milk w/ peppermint & vanilla syrups, apple juice, soy hot chocolate w/ almond syrup, Tazoberry (long-gone frozen sugary berry drink) & when Starbucks brought the Green Tea Latte, all i ever drank from then on was soy green tea latte :)

back to Chai! i indeed always loved the smell of it! and i always somehow loved Chai lattes made w/ soymilk, it just seem'd to be a perfect blend. but i never drank it, or enjoy'd it. LOL!

but recently, after buy'n a mini-fridge w/ a freezer, to solely make ice & house beverages (and ice cream, and butter), now i have 24/7 access to ice cubes, so all the possibilities of drink'n cold drinks at home became realities. within the endless list of cold drinks, soy chai was one of them, along with thai iced tea, bubble tea, strawberry lemonade, iced espresso drinks, etc. happy happy joy joy!

i start'd slow with soy chai's, add'n a splash for taste to my glass of soymilk. then i start'd craving it here & there. then i made chai cupcakes, twice! once for a baby shower & once w/ cinnamon cream cheese frosting. today, i made 2 mini chiffon cakes :) i had want'd to make these for a whole month now. had want'd to make it for Helen's bday, but i got lazy & distract'd. i still owe her one. think i'll send one her way today :)

i frost'd them w/ vanilla whip'd cream & pop'd on some fondant flowers. i made 2 tablespoons of fondant!!!

Soy Chai Tea Latte Chiffon Cake

2 eggs, separated
60g granulated sugar
95g flour
1t baking powder
1/2t salt
30ml soymilk
30ml Tazo Chai Tea concentrate
1/2t vanilla extract

1. preheat oven to 350F.
2. in a bowl, whisk yolks & 30g sugar until pale, add soymilk, chai concentrate & vanilla extract. mix.
3. in another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder & salt.
4. in a clean & dry bowl, beat egg whites until foamy, sprinkle 30g sugar in, continue to beat until meringue is very stiff
5. fold in half of meringue into the yolk mixture, fold in half the flour mixture. repeat. do not overmix. when batter is blended, pour batter into pan(s) & bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

i used 2 4-inch mini chiffon cake pans. after the cakes are done baking, turn them upside down in a bowl to prevent sinking.

Homemade Marshmallow Fondant

1 bag of mini marshmallows (10.5 oz bag)
8 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup water
cornstarch

microwave marshmallows on half-power for 2 minutes with the water. mix. microwave longer, in 30 second intervals, as needed, until no longer chunky. add all the sugar. mix well. it's gonna be STICKY!!! dump mixture on a clean surface dust'd with cornstarch & knead until it's no longer sticky. wrap with saran wrap, leave at room temperature for 1 hour. knead to use. color. cut. cover cake. let dry. etc.

for the 2 tablespoons of fondant, i used 20 marshmallows, 1/2t water & 10t powdered sugar. kinda wing'd it. then i knead'd it with cornstarch. :)

ENJOY!