giveaway delivered ^^

so last month, i had a snail mail giveaway where i promised to give one reader mailed dessert.

it's been a crazy holidy month...and although it took a little longer than i wanted,

the packaged dessert crawled on its way over to the winners house.

well pictures are in and i thought i'd share them with you.

i placed the truffles in this little box. prior to putting it into a bubble envelope for mailing.

(i'm glad it arrived in one piece)whew.

i sent over a variety packet of coconut covered truffles, almond truffles, toffee truffles.

thank you Alice for the pictures :)

happy new years eve my friends.

i cant believe 2010 is already over.

i must do a recap of this year.

its been amazing ^^

truffles

a couple entries ago, i shared the hot chocolate on a stick

well with the left over chocolate from the recipe,

i decided to make truffles.

i wanted to try a couple different kinds.

not the most flattering pictures (esp the ones just covered in cocoa powder)

but they were delicious and it melted in your mouth. yum

the cocoa powder covered ones had either toffee in the center OR almonds.

after a couple of those, i decided to just coat the rest with toasted coconut ^^

they're cuter and cleaner i think.

packaged and ready for delivery.

see you soon!!

christmas dinner

Every holiday, I cook enough to feed maybe 10+ people but in reality theres only 5 of us.

this Christmas, we decided to try for a smaller menu.

one that was fitting for the family of 5.

start off with a cup of sparkling apple cider.

then a bowl of homemade french onion soup.

i used tyler's recipe

it was pretty good.

its definitely a soup that tastes better after its been cooked for a long time.

baked some potatoes.

(potato, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil)

sourdough garlic bread

sliced up steak.

(seasoned with thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, butter)

simple plate for a simple family.

Merry Christmas everyone!

hot chocolate...on a stick

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

thought I'd share something that seems fitting for this holiday season.

hot chocolate... on a stick.

i found this awesome recipe on whipperberry

its an amazing idea and it makes for a cute gift.

heres some pictures of the making process.

place the stick in a cup with hot milk and you've got a nice fresh cup of hot chocolate :)

homemade marshmallows are awesome.

they taste good and they instantly melt in your hot chocolate.

in case you dont like marshmallow OR want to eat extra marshmallows, i left them solo.

now that i know how to make homemade marshmallow, next step: make a smore cupcake and use my torch.

hope everyone had an amazing christmas with your family and friends ^^

gt2: green tea coconut macaroons recipe

one thing i love baking : coconut macaroons

they're super easy to bake and its pretty quick.

last month, i baked a dessert bar for my friends for their wedding.

i found out that they werent able to try any of the desserts...

i decided that i would surprise the couple (more so the bride) with her own batch of macaroons.

i scooped out some regular coconut macaroons...

i then decided to make half of the batch green tea coconut macaroons.

the flavor is really nice i think.

its a sweet green tea flavored party in your mouth.

they're so cute together.

perfect for the holidays.

i packed hers in a box and had it packaged for hand delivery

(forgot to take a picture of the box and bow.)-oops

i found a new function on my camera.

it takes 16 pictures super duper fast.

i'll try using it again another time...

i didnt really know what it did until i uploaded my pictures onto the computer.

i packaged them in threes to pass them out to friends.

nice and clean holiday gifts.

people will love it.(whats not to love?)

its not a useless gift...they can eat it...if they dont like it...they can regive it.

green tea coconut macaroons recipe

-1 bag of shredded coconut (14oz)

-1 can of sweetened condensed milk

-2/3 cups flour

-1/4 tspn salt

-1 tspn vanilla extract

-1 1/2 tspn green tea powder

~preheat oven 350F

~mix coconut, flour, salt, and green tea powder together.

~add condensed milk and vanilla extract and mix together.

~scoop out onto parchment paper with 1tspn scooper

~bake for 12 mins

gingerbread cookies part 2

a couple entries ago, i shared with you my cookies and a recipe.

remember? if you dont...i posted a picture ^.

well....i left my cookies out and told myself that i'd come back to them to frost...

every night something ALWAYS came up..

after a couple days, i came back to my cookie station and all i found was 6 cookies

i guess people slowly just ate them all.

(which is fine)

i'm not the best froster but just thought i'd bring these cookies to life.

you know...give gingerbread men a face...

i think the wreath was my favorite.

that is all.

5 more days til christmas my friends

cookie jar

with christmas only being a couple days away, i've been thinking of what gifts to give.

i personally think that i am a horrible gift giver.

(or its really hard to me to figure out what i need to buy for people)

something i'm better at doing:

making personalized gifts for people.

the only problem about handmade gifts is that sometimes, people dont see the value of it...

or they just dont like it.

regardless, i decided that i would go this route and make some personalized items.

cookie mix in a jar.

ingredients all ready and measured out for you.

perfect for nonbakers who wish to make homemade goodies.

its also a nice way to share your recipes with people

ap flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt on the bottom.

oats

christmas colored m&ms

brown sugar

white sugar

some more m&ms to fill the top

add instructions~~> ribbon jar up ~~> ready for lift off 

Review: spicy kimchi

blogging on a daily basis is mighty hard....

pat on the back for people who do.

after thinking all day about what to blog, i made up my mind and decided to not blog....

i got in bed and while playing with my phone, i realized i had some pictures in here.

then i thought...i wonder if i could write my ntire entry with my phone. 

i went to spicy kimchi in diamond bar a couple days ago.

when this little restaurant first opened shop, i thought it was a store that solds kimchi...

i was wrong.

i wish i knew how to use this better...

but lets see.. first picture was of their handmade dumplings.

second was of their lahbokgi

this final picture is the kimchi fried rice.

this place provides u with all the comfort korean foods.

yay to me and my very first entry via phone  yahoo

review: honey pig

i went to Honey Pig in Buena Park with a group of friends.

they cook everything on top of a stone top which is fun.

its best to go with smaller crowds so that you're not crowded around a small table.

 they turn the fire on and place the bean sprouts and kimchi along the bottom of the pan.

the flavors mature and it starts to taste better the longer you wait.

side items are provided to assist you with your eating

and in comes the meat

they first butter the top and then add the meat on top.

the meat juices slides down through the bean sprouts and kimchi (makes it bomb)

.

delicious in my mouth. yum.

once you're done, they come with a bowl of kimchi, lettuce, gghenyip (no idea what this is in english), and rice

they mix it all together and you get this:

not the best picture but its fried rice.

the longer you let it sit and cook, the better it tastes.

the rice that hits the pan gets a little crunchy and it add more flavor and texture.

little note: kimchi is what makes or breaks your fried rice.

(of the 3 tables, 

review: ahbum jeep

 right as i opened the door to my house, my mom welcomed me with : "lets go eat".

we went to a near by joint called "ahbum jeep"  not really sure if they have an english name.

my mom was craving one dish from here to we decided to meet my father there.

a bit hesitant to tell me what we were having, she just repeated the title of the dish:

"yumsoh jung gol"

she then told me that it was goat....

started off with some side dishes. 

the bottom 3 were my favorites.

then the meal came out.

for a party of 3, we ordered enough for 2 people.

they bring out the portable stove tops and allow your meal to boil while you eat.

can you see the meat?

in all honesty, it tastes like super tender beef.

it was pretty good.

they also gave us this sauce to dip it in.

at the end, they leave some of the soup, add rice and vegis and mix it for you.

super good.

(my favorite part i think...i just like fried rice)

i'm craving some sandwiches....i think i need to go search for a delicious sandwich shop.

ginger bread cookies + greentea cookie recipe

decided that it was the perfect time for some gingerbread cookies.

...i'm super sad that i cant find my gingerbread recipe... 

(its no where to be found)

so i decided to look for a new one...while watching the food network, i came across an eps where Guy goes to disneyland with his family.

i decided to look up a disneyland recipe 

i decided to test this batch. half the batch i made according to the recipe (added a little vanilla extract), and the other half, i decided to turn them into green tea cookies.

dusted both with flour and wrapped.

placed inside the fridge overnight.

i decided to try the green tea batch first.

i rolled it out, cut out shapes (mostly trees and leaves)

and placed them on a baking tray with parchment paper.

soo....according to the recipe, the oven should be set at 400F and the cookies should bake for ~10 mins.

....................

at around 6 mins, i checked them and i quickly took the cookies out.

the lovely green color disappeared and my "supposed to be" delicious cookies burnt -_________-

i was a little upset and angry. 

a bit sad that my house was now filled with the smell of burnt cookies rather than gingerbread.

i took them outside in hopes of sending the smell away and rolled out my next batch.

i lowered the temp to 350F and baked for 11 mins

they came out super cute and perfect.!!

i had to squeeze in this picture of the stocking.

didnt it come out cute??

not enough time today BUT tomorrow i will show you the final product of these cookies (the piping)

green teabread cookies

-10 tbsn unsalted butter

-2/3 cups granulated sugar ( i'm going to try and use less next time)

-1/2 cup corn syrup

-1/3 cup milk

-14oz flour

-2 1/2 tspn green tea powder (use more if you want stronger green tea flavor)

-1 tspn vanilla extract

--boil the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and milk in a pot until everything comes together.

--sift dry ingredients and mix with boiled ingredients.

--add vanilla extract while mixing.

--wrap and place in fridge overnight (or a couple hours to harden)

--roll out into desired shapes, bake in oven at 350F for 10-12 mins