apple pie cookies, aka mini apple pies!

I love food. And I love baked goods even more. And on top of that, I love miniature things! Pi day (March 14, aka 3.14) came and went, and pies were everywhere! And so, I have been craving pie like craazy lately. Naturally, I decided I should make these apple pie cookies from Smitten Kitchen.



I have made them before, about three years ago with one of my housemates, but this time I put a little bit more apple in, and did most of the work myself. J did help, he peeled the apples and helped construct some of them. So I guess I just made the crust on my own. That in itself I would say is quite the feat. Crust requires great patience. And it's worth it. Be patient. Chill the dough.



These mini apple pies have a higher crust to apple ratio than usual apple pie, so if you are like me and love crust, these are for you! They are also super transportable, and you don't feel as guilty eating a "whole" pie by yourself :)

Not to mention, there's still a bunch in my freezer for another day...

52 hand-lettered project: 8 | 52

[ 8 | 52 ] things that soothe

I'm not sure if I get stressed out easily, but I do get stressed out a lot. I guess that comes with the territory of being a student. With tests, assignments, extracurriculars, and responsibilities galore, these things keep me centred.

Also, the background image I chose is of a sandwich I had from Art-Is-In Bakery this past summer. If you ever find yourself in the Ottawa area, you must go! Hands down, my favourite bakery. Just thinking about their food soothes me.. Mmm...

summer highlights.

I haven't blogged my summer at all, so here are some highlights from this summer! As told by my phone's camera roll - no photo, no memory of it! Jk. But I am a lazy photographer.

Got a new Magic Bullet at home, and my family loves it. Having a ball making our first smoothies together, hahaha.

Tried the new ramen place in Chinatown (Ginza) and it's really really yummy.

Click through for more photos!

brussels, the food.

Beer. Fries. Waffles. Chocolate. Mussels.

The best fries you will ever have, ever. If you go to Brussels, please please please visit le Friterie Tabora, it's not far from Grand Place. And so worth €3.

Based off of online reviews, Maison Dandoy has very high ratings. And the waffle and cappuccino were definitely amazing. Noms.

Guys, I should be a food photographer. Haha. So many more photos after the break..

pictures: food.

This new semester is proving to be much more challenging and much busier than last semester, so I have not been blogging much at all. I'm sorry! I will try to pop by every so often and share some photos when I can. In this new semester I am prioritizing personal relationships (whether they be via email, coffee dates or whatever other form they take), so I would gladly take the time out of my day to chat with you! Just send me an email, seriously.

Here are some of my favourite meals/food items of 2013, so far.

Guacamole and bacon grilled cheese sandwiches, and crunchy potatoes. Need I say more?


The cutest cupcakes, for my DG girls' January birthdays! Idea from Oh Happy Day.


In addition to normal egg omelettes, I've started sometimes having chinese green onion pancakes + egg for breakfast. I learned this combination from my Taiwanese housemate last year, and love it! The cheese is all me - cheese doesn't really exist in chinese cuisine, haha.

In addition to these three, this my all time favourite recipe right now: Budget Bytes' Chicken in Peanut Sauce. It is not the most photogenic food, but it is relatively easy to make, and oh-so-delicious. Oh, it makes my tummy happy. I eat it over either rice or noodles, and it works either way.

chili lime pork loin.

Usually, when I make something for the first time I am a) super nervous and b) super excited!! I was definitely both when I made pork loin for the first time. I have never in my life made a giant chunk of meat. The largest piece of meat I have cooked has been a single chicken breast. True story.

This week at Metro, pork loin was 1/2 price at $2.99/lb so I decided that I should go ahead and try it out! So tonight for dinner I made chili lime pork loin from this budget bytes recipe! It is super simple but I did not plan ahead enough, so I ended up eating my dinner at 9:30. Haha. I made a loot of meat, I hope it will last me for a long while!

Doesn't it look delicious??

Since I did not modify the recipe in any way, I will just share my pictures, and if you want to recreate it, just visit the original recipe link! :)

The marinade, pre-mixing.

I actually added 4 tbsp of oil, instead of 2 because I clearly fail at reading :( It diluted the lime taste a bit, but was still tasty in the end.

The meat after searing it on a frying pan.

I actually burned myself from splattering oil while searing this. Ouch!! Be careful!

Lookie here, we be roasting the pork loin on my makeshift roasting pan!

Mmmm, all done. Delicious looking meat. Noms.

I have to say, there are a few things I don't understand. Like why I made all of it at once, instead of freezing half the meat. Does anyone know why I did that? It doesn't make sense to cook this much meat all at once when you're only cooking for one. Oh, who knows.

This whole process takes some time, but most of the time you are just waiting. Lesson learned: plan ahead.

instagram in the kitchen.

I've been having a little fun in the kitchen lately, and capturing it all on instagram!

There's been soup making (my first time!) and cupcake eating à la Pinterest style (useful life skills are learned on Pinterest, I tell ya!)


Ice cream melts pretty instantly in coffee, so delicious. Here's a birthday cake for one of the girls in my small group!


And a small collection of other snapshots of the craziness that happens in the kitchen!


Oh, and I guess this wasn't in the kitchen. But I went to Queen's Pub with my housemates for a celebratory/midterm break dinner and drinks this past weekend!


We're a lovely bunch :)

canada day cake.

Both Canada and the United States celebrate their national holidays over the same weekend, with Canada Day falling on July 1st, and Independence Day or the fourth of July being on, well, July 4th. There is a wealth of patriotic American themed crafts, prints, food, etc. but very little Canadian content!!

And so, here is a long overdue Canada Day cake. Red velvet, creamcheese frosting and strawberries. Mmm mmm, good!

I kept forgetting to post this (I blame Bluesfest), but here it is at long last! When my friends came up that Canada Day weekend, we made this cake to celebrate.

Happy (waaaay belated) Canada Day!

gluten-free cooking challenge.

Last week, Rosemarie challenged me to create a gluten-free dish for her potluck, as one of the guests has dietary constraints. To be honest, I have never ever thought about gluten.. what is gluten anyway? (Ahem, gluten is a protein in wheats and grains that give them elasticity and make the final products chewy. The word gluten comes from the Latin word for "glue". If you read that in a british tv documentary voice, then you are spot on.)

Last week I posted a link to this site that can sort recipes by diet type. It was super helpful when it came to finding a gluten-free recipe to make. It was while browsing that site that I found a recipe similar to the chicken, kale and chickpea pasta dish I made two weeks ago. Turns out, if I replace the pasta with rice, this dish is gluten-free!

Since my family doesn't like chickpeas but love rice, this was the perfect recipe for both the potluck, and my family. That night I made a lot of food, enough to feed an army (well, I would estimate 12 servings in total? Some for my family, and some for the potluck).

I was in too much of a rush cooking that I forgot to take many pictures. I forgot to take a picture after cooking so I really only have a picture of leftovers for you. Whoops. I'm awful at this picture taking business.. I should really add "camera" to my list of materials/ingredients whenever I cook, and then I'd be sure to not forget it!!

Ingredients:
12 chicken thighs
bunch of kale, torn from stems and chopped
pack of white mushrooms, chopped
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup white wine
2 cups rice
2/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Cut the chicken thighs in half or in thirds and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the pan and in a few batches, fry the thighs on medium-high heat until golden and crispy. (Why I would ever eat chicken any other way after cooking them like this is beyond me.. delicious! You could finish right here and I bet everyone would be very happy.)

While the chicken is cooking, you can start preparing your vegetables and put the rice in the rice cooker (if you don't have a rice cooker, go get one now!!! Best investment you'll ever make). You don't want to flip the chicken too much, so keep an eye on the chicken but don't be tempted to flip it every 2 seconds like I am.. it takes a little longer than that to cook!

Set the chicken aside and using the same pan (with all the stuck-on chicken stuff), lower to medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Once softened, add the kale and mushrooms, and watch it all shrink!

I am so fascinated by how much kale shrinks, so I took a picture here. A little useless if I don't show you the after picture, to see how much it actually does shrink. But you can use your imagination because I did add more to the pan after this!!

Once the vegetables all fit in the pan and are soft, increase the heat a little and add the wine. Stir everything to get all the chicken stuff (what else can I call it?) off the bottom of the pan and let it sit so the alcohol can cook off (2-3 minutes).

Hopefully your rice is done cooking by now, so take that out and mix it in the pan with everything else. Add the cheese and mix together. Put the chicken back in the pan and cover to heat.

Dinner is served!

recently, in the kitchen.

Weekends for me consist of a lot of time spent in the kitchen. I cook and bake a LOT, and I love it! Things taste so fresh and delicious. How I ever survived off pre-packaged, instant and frozen meals, I'll never know (though they still make great meals in a rush). Here are some of the things I've made recently. Feast your eyes!

110 meatballs; now in the freezer.

12 sushi boxes; makes delicious lunches for the entire family.

A delicious chicken, kale and chickpea pasta; dinner for 2 + leftovers

Apple crisp, pre-baking (did not take a picture after- too eager to eat, of course)
Note: if you want to write directions on the cling wrap, STRETCH it out!! Makes life a million times easier.

A delicious avocado and egg breakfast sandwich using Art-Is-In's Potato, Onion and Dill baguette bread
To those of you from or visiting Ottawa, if you haven't ever tried Art-Is-In bread, I highly recommend it! Absolutely delicious! The sandwiches at their bakery are amazing too!

vancouver, part 2: the food

Oh, the food. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water! (To read part 1 of my trip to Vancouver, click here)

There is no rhyme or reason to this post... because when it comes to food my brain melts and I just want to share ALL of it, all at the same time. And pretend I was eating it again. It's pretty hard to give the food highlights of an entire week's trip, when all of the food was so good. I'll try my best! Also, I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos.. Hunger and excitement outweighs my patience, and ability to take nice photos.

The Pelican, Dim Sum Adventure: I got the chance to put my very sparse Chinese skills to a test. I didn't know how to order some of the food because a) I can't read Chinese, and b) I don't know what things are called in English. So Rose and I checked off all the things we recognized, and I called a waitress over and got her to help me. It was kind of embarrassing, and I am very thankful nobody at my table could understand my broken Chinese. It all worked out in the end, and we got lots of shrimp (not surprising as it is a seafood restaurant), and everything came in such large portions! Everything was 1 and a half times bigger than I was used to!! (Translation: AMAZING).

The Famous Warehouse: After rock climbing, Rob took us all to a restaurant on Granville that sells everything for $5..!! And it's not like they were skimpy on their portions or anything either. Though the guacamole was kind of expensive, comparatively. I would definitely go back, and just not get guacamole, haha. It was also neat because the waitress told us that they make all the furniture themselves, so the tables and benches weren't of amazing calibre, but they were functional and definitely had personality! Neat-o.

Broadway Station Sushi: Cheap sushi, but good for its price. Quite excellent for its price, really. I think I got Lady Dragon Roll and Dynamite Roll. I can't quite remember what the first one is called - I waited too long to write this post! In any case, it had a lot of avocado on top, and was therefore so delicious. The menu was quite overwhelming, and I wanted to try just about everything they offered.. next time!

Granville Island Market: You can never go wrong with eating at a market. Fresh deliciousness. I got a couple of gala apples (my favourite) for snacking on. Wax-free, you could actually taste how much better it was! No shiny stuff. For lunch I had a yam salad (image at the top of this post) and it was oh-so-delicious. I don't even know how to describe it, just look at it! Yum!

Cheesecake Factory: In Seattle my mom and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch one day. I hope some of you watch The Big Bang Theory, so you can appreciate this.. our waitress' name was Penny! Hehehe! The food was great, but the cheesecake was just to die for.

White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake @ The Cheesecake Factory, in Seattle

Stepho's (Greek restaurant): I have never really eaten Greek food before, and when I have, I was never the one to order. I had no idea what to get! I played it safe and got a pork souvlaki. The portions were HUGE! And the food was delicious.

Already half eaten, hahaha. So yummy!

Japadog: I'm sure you've heard of it.. they were all over the place during the Olympics in Vancouver! They offer a variety of hotdogs with different sorts of Japanese toppings. It seems like a really strange concept, but is surprisingly good! I got a really safe variety though.. I think it had teriyaki sauce, mayo and nori on it (Terimayo hotdog). A tourist experience worth trying.

A traditional hotdog with Japanese dressings is strangely appetizing..

Rogue: A restaurant within the Waterfront Station. It actually looks super fancy and classy inside, and is located in a beautiful transit station, so I thought it would be a little overpriced, but it isn't! It's quite reasonably priced, actually. Rose and I went here after seeing an SFU grad dance show, and we shared a pitcher of lemonade (the special that day!) and a dessert. The restaurant itself is quite large, and quite loud and busy, but you also feel like you are in your own world and have some privacy because of the table arrangements and different areas. We also had a really quirky waiter. What a wacko, but so amusing at the same time. I had a GREAT experience here! And so many good chats with Rose, ending my trip off with a flourish.

Reese's peanut butter cheesecake. It tastes as good as it sounds.

chocolate peppermint shortbread cookies.

Sounds delectable, right?

I had a sudden urge to bake, and could not find my vanilla extract but I did find my mint extract. I'm starting to wonder if I left my vanilla extract in my old apartment in Kingston, along with my baking soda.. I was intent on making chocolate chip cookies but was missing those two ingredients. I was not feeling adventurous enough to try substituting things, so instead I turned to Google and found this recipe from Land O Lakes!

I am not going to repost the recipe because I didn't make any changes.. but I did want to share it with you because it is a) easy, b) tasty and c) looks very pretty.

I love pretty much mint anything, so this recipe is a big success in my books. This is a keeper!

I skipped the drizzle part, and I'm sad that I did because I think it would make the cookies look that much fancier. But they are very cute as is.

Feast your eyes!

I didn't have my wire rack so I used chopsticks instead. Asian style cookie cooling!


I tried to style my photo a bit.. not sure if food photography is my cup of tea, but how's this?


Or is this one better?

Which of those shots looks better to you? I am going to try to present my photos better from now on, even if it means I have to wait to eat..!

quesadillas

This post is long overdue, as I made these well over a month ago.. but next up in Simply Steph's recipe book is *drumroll*...

..Quesadillas!!

Yeah, I'm sure you already figured that one out from the title of the post.. But anywho, here is what they look like. Mouthwatering good, right?

They were super easy to make, and are inspired by Rosemarie's constant talk about the quesadillas she made from Budget Bytes. Inspired meaning very loosely inspired. I don't think I actually used any of the same ingredients.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast
Cheese, shredded
Hummus
Two tortillas
Spices
Sriracha (optional)

Directions:

1. Wrap the chicken breast in aluminum foil and bake it for 20 minutes at 400F. Lower the oven's heat to just 200F once you are done, or if you do the next steps quickly just turn the oven off and keep the door closed.
2. Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred using two forks.
You just kind of scratch at it, and the chicken shreds come off really easily that way. Try to go with the grain.
3. Mix in any spices you want.
I just put in pepper, Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning and Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy seasoning. I really love that Mrs. Dash seasonings are salt-free!
4. Lay a tortilla on a baking sheet and spread some hummus onto it. Spread the chicken mixture and sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly on top of the chicken. Cover with the other tortilla.
Looking good!

Oops, I did it in a different order. But that's okay, doesn't really matter in the end haha.
5. Now, put the quesadilla into the oven to melt the cheese. About 10 minutes, depending how hot your oven is now.
6. Once the cheese is melted, take your pan out and cut them however large you want. I cut 6 pieces kind of the same way I would with a pizza.

If you are a fan of sriracha (I put it on almost everything!), squirt a little on top of your quesadillas and enjoy! Let's take a closer look.. yummmm!

my childhood summed up in one dish.

I have lots of favourites from home, but if you had to ask me what my absolute favourite, and most memorable dish from my childhood.. it would have to be this. I don't actually know what to call it in English though. Minced beef on rice, I guess.

At home, I call it meen tze nguw fan (免治牛飯?). My chinese is so great that I had to google that and I still don't even know what that means! Haha. The last two words are beef and rice, so I'm hoping the first two words mean minced or something along those lines.

Anyway, it's the simplest dish ever, and I can't believe I didn't make it all year, until just recently!

DIRECTIONS: Fry ground beef. Add soy sauce and salt to taste. Serve on steamed rice.
And there you have it! Easy peasy, right? You can also add in whatever vegetables you want. Usually I have peas and mushrooms but I didn't have either in my fridge on that particular day, so it is looking rather plain.

This is also the only dish where I add a LOT of salt, because I am used to eating it that way. I try to avoid adding too much salt to anything, if I can. But this dish is meant to be salty! Don't hold back! And don't eat often.. Watch yo sodium levels, kids! Haha..

Anyway, I don't know how adventurous you are, but for me, this dish is not complete without a raw egg mixed in. This is absolutely essential, and is what defines this dish for me.

Mix it all up, and voilà! Ready to eat.

drink of choice.

Hello my long lost dear friends! Here I am, finally emerging from my hectic student life! These past two weeks have been absolute madness, in the greatest possible way. But today marks the first day in a while, that I am not hiding myself away in the library, or in my room. I finished my last big paper, until exam period. Hurrah! I also have a dance recital today to Saturday.. cannot wait to dance my cares away!

Anyway, in the past month or so of hard hard work, and very little sleep, I have developed a dependency on coffee/caffeine. I used to hate coffee, even despise it. I only started drinking coffee (with hot chocolate though!) last year, but would still only rarely drink it. Now I'm getting to the point where I'm a little groggy and not so functional before I have any coffee.. caffeine dependence!! Yay, I'm a real university student now!

To celebrate finishing my midterms, essays, papers and the like, and also to welcome the surprisingly warm March weather we are experiencing (~15 degrees or above for the past week..!), I went to Starbucks and got myself an Iced Caramel Macchiato today. Sadly enough, I found it unsatisfying. Since it is an iced drink, the caramel syrup does not melt or incorporate itself into the drink, so it just tastes like iced coffee with sporadic caramel syrup interludes. Yeuch.

Also, I still have not found a coffee drink that I really like, and that works for me. I used to get half hot chocolate, half coffee, from Tim Hortons, but found that the hot chocolate never really fully mixed with my drink and was overly sweet. So I switched to half white hot chocolate, half coffee, and that was great!! The two drinks mixed perfectly, and the white hot chocolate isn't as sweet as the hot chocolate, but still masks the bitterness of the coffee. For a while this was the best thing EVER... but now I don't get the caffeine effect anymore. How unfortunate! I don't have a new drink yet.. I might have to stop putting hot chocolate in my drinks, and just suck it up and handle the bitterness.

My love for tea will never die, and I don't think I will ever replace tea with coffee. For a little ECON love, here's my indifference curve when it comes to coffee and tea..

Where t is tea, and c is coffee.
I am willing to give up some tea for a lot of coffee, or willing to give up a lot of coffee for just some tea.

While tea is my first true love, it simply cannot satisfy my caffeine needs. Sad sad days!!

So here I am, on a journey to find a drink that has the right balance of not-too-sweet, not-too-bitter and sufficiently-caffeinated.

#studentproblem