it's a new year!

New Year's Eve is one of those events that never seem to live up to the hype. I've done the club scene, the countdown outdoors and even abroad, but nothing beats spending the last few moments of the previous year, and the beginnings of the new one, than with your family and friends in an intimate setting. Especially when you throw in sparkly dresses, good food and a lot of drinks!

P.S.- why is Kathy Griffin ALWAYS hosting the Times Square countdown?!


k.

happy holiday!

It is about -10 to -20 degree here in Edmonton,

thus I spent most of the time at home or at the mall.

I love holidays. 

Food, Sleep, Relax, Fun, Shopping and more food ...

It just passes by too fast

So what's Christmas for me

Part I Home

Chinese version of Christmas dinner

We had friends over for Christmas dinner and my mom cooked lots of Chinese dishes, the photo above only have the 8 cold dishes such as beef and seafood. I love Chinese food but cooking is very time-consuming. We spent two days preparing all the food.

beautiful handcrafted ornaments I discovered at a friend's place

cute sparrows

Part II Friends

Rather than going out for dinner, we decided to cook together for the first time. They were all vegetarian dishes with whole wheat cupcake plus ice cream as dessert. 

We attempted to bake but were lacking white flour, so we used whole wheat flour. It tasted very different but still good with ice cream.

Part III Food

I have heard of Olive Garden for their great Italian food  about four years ago, finally I get to try it for the first time. Unfortunately they don't have Risotto which I had a craving for. The food was a bit salty but it was still good and the portion is big.

tea time, party time.

Ever make believe "tea time" as a kid? To be honest, I never did. I was a tomboy- Pokemon cards, building forts, and generally causing havoc outside was much more me. Playing "tea" was way too girly for my tastes, and good luck to anyone that tried to put me in a dress.  Funny how things turn out, isn't it?

 I met up with one of my best friends at the Park Hyatt hotel for high tea. It was my idea. I loved the dainty tea cups, petit fours and the girly atmosphere of it all. 6 year old me would be both shocked and disapproving.

 Maybe the Lobster Brioche Grilled Cheese would have changed her mind?

What I wore:

Top: Zara

Bracelet: Pandora

Pants: Vero Moda

Boots: ?

k.

macarons are hard.

Macarons are a finicky bunch. Temperamental little creatures. Mix the batter too much, too little and it's a fail. Ingredient measurements a little off? Failed. The oven temperature is too hot or not hot enough? Fail. There are countless ways for these delectable treats to turn out all wrong. And they have- many times.

But maybe the macaron gods were looking favourably on us (or we simply followed instructions better) but whatever the reason, these turned out perfectly.

Gather ingredients...

Make the batter look like this.

Success! Can you tell we were shocked it all worked out?

Mmmm.. tasty stamp of approval.

This is a basic recipe for macarons. You could add flavourings, change up the almond flour for a different nut flour, whatever you'd like once you master this base!

Macaron Recipe
3 large egg whites 
1/4 cup white sugar 
1 1/2 cups icing sugar 
1 cup and 2 tablespoons almond flour
pinch of salt
Optional: food colouring

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat egg whites till it holds soft peaks, and gradually add in white sugar until it forms stiff  peaks (aka you can hold it upside down without it falling on your head!)
3. In a separate bowl sift together almond flour, salt, and icing sugar.
4. Add sifted mixture gradually into egg whites, FOLDING into the whites. (it should be molten, but DO NOT OVERMIX). Optional: Add food colouring.
5. Pipe circles onto parchment paper and let them dry out for 15-20 minutes. (till you can touch the top without them being sticky)
6. Bake the macarons in the oven (WITH THE DOOR SLIGHTLY AJAR**) for 13 minutes.
7. Fill your macarons! You can use buttercream, jam, nutella, whatever you'd like!


Fingers crossed they'll work for you too! If not, curse under your breath, eat the still-delicious failures and try, try again.

Good luck!

k.

family + friends + food = christmas

I've been in a self-imposed solitary confinement for the last month. The days were filled with nothing but the same four walls, countless books and papers, a mess of coffee and the ever-present glow of my laptop screen. Human contact? Socialization? Unimportant. It was exam season, you see.

I'm making up for lost time now that exams are behind us. T'is the season for catching up with friends and family over good food, classic movies, and girl's nights.

Festive disco nails and singing along to the Sound of Music. We're dorky and we love it.

Source

Anyone else geek out this hard with their love ones? I highly encourage it. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

k.

sunday mornings.

Breakfast time is my favorite time of the day. Everything tastes amazing in the morning and I know that I have the whole day to work it off! I'm always conflicted as to if I should eat a large or small breakfast.

Personally, I prefer a light breakfast- like a smoothie or fruits. Whenever I eat too much, I get sleepy for the rest of the morning!

Although I try to avoid big breakfast, I went to Cora's. They have amazing, ENORMOUS breakfasts.

Bacon, bacon, bacon!

Fresh whipped cream, fruits and a Belgian Waffle.

The portions were huge but I still enjoyed it.

On a normal day this is the kind of breakfasts I would have- grilled cheese sandwich with sunny side up egg and chicken bacon, with a side of strawberry soy milk.

Let us know what you think, do you prefer a light or heavy breakfast?

R.

winter = chocolate cupcakes + oreo cheesecake truffles

It's winter and I'm not leaving the house. I'll leave the partying and frolicking in the snow to everyone else. Today, I'm hibernating in my kitchen with chocolate. I'm putting on my coziest socks and pjs and baking up a storm.

Chocolate Cupcakes (Recipe from Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups white sugar 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs 1 cup strong brewed coffee 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.
3.	Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin. Pour into cupcake tins.
4.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost as desired.

Oreo Cheesecake Truffles (Recipe from Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided 1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese, softened

2 (8 ounce) packages BAKER'S Semi -Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.
2.	Dip balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.
3.	Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Is there anything more comforting than a warm kitchen, heavy with the scent of chocolate?

k.