Green Tea Cookies

Good morning everyone, I'm back from the fantastic spring break in sunny Florida!

So sorry that I haven't updated my blog when I was traveling, but I did make some cute stuff last night as you saw what was in the picture - my favorite green tea cookies!

As i said before, 2011 is Rabbit Year according to China's Lunar Calendar, so rabbit is my birth animal since I was born 24 years ago, as you can tell I'm growing old rather than growing up, haha~

Back to the topic, I just used the recipe from "LOVESCOOL" (http://www.lovescool.com/archives/2007/05/15/best-bakery-recipe-finalist/) and followed the steps until got these cute rabbit cookies, which was quite easy but fun.

However I still have a problem, that is, I also used granulated sugar for coating, but it seemed to be melted since I can merely see the tiny tubes on the cookies, and I just posted a comment on the recipe's author's web to see if she can give me some suggestion. 

Hope you enjoy the whole day with something sweet! :)

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Cake Pop

Well, I have to say Starbucks is really smart to release this 3-day promotion for its petite cakes in the afternoon.
So, each 3:15, at which time when i feel a little bored and hungry, I would step into Starbucks and order a cup of coffee since I'm really attracted by this cake pop...
Actually it's just chocolate dipped brownie right? But the look is really cute, I would tolerate the over-sweet taste and get a cup of coffee for it.
Would some customers keep on buying it after the short promotion? I won't do that since it's neither that tasteful nor starving filling, but some of my girl friends really want to since they just like the feeling when biting it like a soft lollipop, haha!

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Panda Bread

Haha, i knew most girls woul scream when seeing this cute panda bread, so would I!

Well, if you take a closer look of the picture, you'd find that it's a pity that we will probably have no chance to have a taste of it, since it's only sold in Japan!

As one of my favorite Chinese blogger is now living in Japan, she always introduces some interesting topics happening in that country. Just as this picture shows, it's the No. 1 best seller in Japan as this country just rented 2 pandas from China and exhibit them in their zoo to gain more tourists, and a bakery comes with an idea of selling such kind of bread since they know Japanese are crazy with pandas, so they succeed!

Emmmmm... It's weird, but the first time I saw pandas is last year in San Diego Zoo, and it's so irony for a Chinese, haha~ But you know, pandas are precious as they're facing specie extinction, and our government is trying to protect them by breeding them in the most comfortable condition with ample bamboos, fresh air and warm sleeping zoo, so they become even lazier to meet people standing out of the glass wall.

Anyway, i'd like to make one if I have enough time after spring break. :)

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Sweet Crepes

Hey guys, how are you doing in the new week?

I enjoyed the weekend so much,  joining the party at a friend's home, competing tennis skills on wii, and shopping around in Natick Mall, even my parents who used to video chat with me in weekends complained that they couldn't see me cuz i was too busy hanging out with my friends, haha~

And i think last week was filled with surprise, one of which is the new spot we "explored" - Melt cafe. Li, one of my Chinese friends, lived in Italy for 2 years pursing her first master's degree before coming to Boston, strongly recommended us to try Melt's sweet crepe when we were considering about shopping together, and i have to admit that it's the most important reason that i decided to put my assignments aside and join them, lol~

So, this dessert seems to be easy making, and we can see the procedure from the small hub's glass wall. They put a small amount of flour mix, and then flip it to make both sides a crisp, then some chocolate syrup was drawn onto the thin crepe, and the second round of syrup was  added after it was folded like a napkin. 

In the beginning I wanted to try some combo type since the basic crepe was too simple with only syrup and cream, but it turned out to be sooo classic and unforgettable, since my tongue was totally overwhelmed by the hazelnut flavor of the chocolate syrup as well as the creamy taste of the crepe!

After the happy moment enjoying this dessert, i began to consider that if i could make it at home, and I thought i could since the ingredients were not difficult to find, but i was wrong. The key step of making crepe is the flour mix, and I made it as a pancake rather than soft wrap... 

Anyway, i can go to Melt though I can't make it by myself, and this is the only reason that I can use to comfort myself. :)  

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Coconut Milk Pudding

Morning everyone! Happy weekend begins~~~

Here's what I made last night, I spent just 15 mins, boiling the coconut milk with some cane sugar, beating 2 eggs before adding it to the mix with some whipping cream, and I pour this creamy liquid into a small bowl, waited for a loooong 30 mins since at that time I was quite sleepy!:P And then, I put this small bowl in a backing jar with some water in it, and then waited for another loooong 30 mins, waiting for the oven to bake it with 160F... So when i pull it out, i was really "unconscious" so I put this almost made pudding into the refrigerator until this morning!

Here is the last step, an absolutely baby step, i just made some syrup using some brown sugar, and added it on the top... So the coconut milk has been perfectly served as the picture showed!

It's sweet, smooth, and healthy! Don't you wanna try that at home? :)

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Cinnamon Muffin by Nana

Haha, this is my friend Nana's product - cinnamon muffins!

I don't think we use cinnamon to do some cooking in China, but I've been in love with this special flavor since the first time I tried a cinnamon bun, and it was so tasteful!

So Nana is a girl who's also passionate with cooking, and she has invited me to her home for dinner for several times, and made lots of delicious dishes for us at the party.

The amazing part is, she's from Beijing, the capital city that is located in the northern part of China, so she's got the talent in making many kinds of snacks using flour and baking soda, and we'd always feel moved when having these cute steamed breads and fried pancakes, since they recall the taste we used to enjoy when we were in our hometown...

And... she told me that she's going to make some fried "box" with vegetable and meat stuffing, so i'm waiting to try this classic snack in the northern region, haha~

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My Dream Chocolate

So, this is the picture i saw on my favorite blogger's microblog, with a simple comment saying "I just bought a chocolate model and made some unsweetened ones for my daughter", but i couldn't help thinking about this even though i knew it would be really difficult to find the same mold here since she's living in Tokyo!

But I'm a girl who's always stick to online shopping, and I came to open a promotion email from Amazon and checked the recommended items there, u know what, I found it in the kitchen section!!!

Then I thought, well, i got the right mold, and I got the right dark chocolate, so I would get the perfect product! Sadly, this dream has come true, since the chocolate couldn't be melted totally, and i couldn't put it into the mold to form the pattern, and after cooling in the refrigerator for one hour, all the cutties looked like monsters! :(

So i talked to one of my friends, who's really good at cooking, and he told me that i should have used cocoa powder and vegetable oil to make the mix instead of melting the already made chocolate bars... 

Well, I will try the next time, and take a picture for them by myself!

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Cranberry Jam

This weekend seems to be so stressful since i've got lots of reading to deal with before writing my assignment... So I got up early in the morning and opened the refrigerator to grab something for breakfast, and i noticed a little jar... OMG that's the cranberry jam i made several months ago!

By opening the little cute thing, my memory was recalled from October 2010. At that time i just arrived here as a foreigner, and I was so curious about some traditions here, one of which is making fruit jam at home, haha~

So I bought a bag of cranberries home and tried one, soooo sour and bitter as a snack, so i washed them and put all into a small pot with hot water and sugar... When the water started boiling, these cranberries broke like small bombs! And i was so scared that i used a pot lid just as a shield in case they would jump out of the pot, that's really stupid i have to admit, haha~

After all the fruits were totally melted in water, I put these liquid into a small jar, and the second day when i opened it and got some as spread on my toast, the taste was amazing!

Maybe that's the beginning of my way to the kitchen, haha~

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Stewed Hock Feet

Don't blame me since my roomies have already done that, and recently i've been soooo passionate about making dishes that i got up at 8AM in the morning to prepare for this dish as our lunch.

Here's the ingredients that i used: 6 pieces of hock feet, a pack of dried bamboo, some dried mushrooms brought from China. I put them altogether into a huge pot with lots of strange Chinese seasonings, and kept them broiling for almost 3 hours before adding some soy and cube sugar to make the look even more attractive... 

So when each of us got a piece in our plate, we held it carefully, and bit it carefully... But We couldn't help yelping! That's exact the flavor we expected for Chinese food! Even one of my roomies, who is not at all interested in meat,  said to me seriously, "Well, i think u can consider about opening a restaurant after going back to China." U know that's the most honorable words for cooking! :P

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