Friday

It was my friend L's birthday last week and we took her to The Manhattan Beach Post. Chef David at The Post used to be the chef at the Water Grill for many years.  We were so busy devouring the food and chatting away that I didn't take any pictures.  Everything from the bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits to the spiced apple hand pies with salted caramel sauce was delicious!  I can't wait to go back and try some of the other things on their menu.

the menus are in this envelope, going with the postal theme

On the garden front...

I was at the garden store and saw this poor plant on the clearance rack...

my new plant, now i just need to find a new container for it

In the kitchen...

I needed a new saute pan and there was one on sale at Sur La Table. 

my new saute pan

Jams

I love jam on a piece of toast.

Bonne Maman

INNA jam

jam

Stonewall Kitchen

Blue Chair

Valerie Confections

Happy Friday

I am thankful that I have a good group of friends and I am especially grateful that a small handful of them live near me.  It makes me miss my friends who live out of state or in Northern Ca (you girls know who you are!).

Recently Le Pain Quotidien opened nearby

french toast

my pot of coffee

I made banana bread this week.  I have used the same recipe for many years and for some reason I decided to play around with my recipe...maybe because it was midnight and I was feeling a little crazy.

Banana Bread

Yields: one loaf

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter at room temperature 

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

2 large ripe bananas pureed

Preheat the oven to 350

1. In a bowl sift the dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, salt) and set aside.

2. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugars together.  Add the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla. Finally add the pureed bananas.

3. Add half of the sour cream and then half of the dry ingredients.  Repeat.  

Bake for about 40 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

zucchini bread

In the oven....

Zucchini Bread

adapted from Sunset magazine

makes 2 loaves or one bundt loaf

3 cups of whole wheat white flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon  of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

3 large eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups of grated zucchini 

1 teaspoon of vanilla

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

  

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease 2 loaf pans (9 in.). 

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add sugar, oil, zucchini, & vanilla.  Mix well.

Add flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nuts. Stir until just combined.

Pour batter into pans. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of each loaf 

comes out 

clean, 50 minutes.

On the table...

new puzzle we borrowed from my friend L.

This is the colonial dress I made for my niece...I didn't know if I could pull it off (it's 3 pieces...skirt, top, and apron), but I even surprised myself :)

my niece picked out the fabric and trimmings

my lovely niece ready for colonial day

Buchu kimchee

Still tweaking the recipe...my first batch came out a little salty.  The second batch came out a little too sweet. I will post the recipe once I get it right!

 

Milk bread

Happy Friday!
When things get a bit hectic I start baking.  Nothing better than letting your stress out by kneading dough.

I've been wanting to make milk bread for a while now.

yeast, milk and sugar

letting the kitchen aid do some of the work :)

not quite there

proofing the dough

right out of the oven...i skipped the egg wash

This is the recipe I used....Japanese Milk Bread 

I didn't make any adjustments except that when kneading the dough I added more milk because the dough was so dry and tough.  

The bread was good right out of the oven or toasted.  I'm still looking for a better recipe.

It's Wednesday!

On the gardening front

For the last 3 years, I started planting seeds instead of buying plants.  This year I decided to mix it up. I also decided to plant more flowers this year since I am not sure of my summer plans.

from left to right: nasturtium, sweet peas, chives (2 different varieties), morning glories, cucumbers (2 different varieties), sunflowers

My amaryllis

They finally bloomed!

Sewing

My niece has colonial day at school this week. All the 5th graders have to wear clothes from the colonial days. I decided to try and make her outfit for her. We went to Jo-Ann's and she chose her fabric. I am planning to hand sew it since I don't own sewing machine that works. Wish me luck!

Saturday Outing

We had some cafe time at Pappa Rich in Old Town Pasadena. The worker at the counter told me that it's a big chain in Korea called Pappa Roti. It's a Malaysian Korean Bakery. A enjoyed her warm bun and my coffee was nice and dark. If you want to know more about it....here is a link to Jonathon Gold's LA Times review.

Then off to The Griffith Observatory.  The weather was perfect! 

Passion Fruit

Wondering what to do with them...any suggestions?

Pickles Part 2

I am still adjusting this recipe.  It wasn't as tangy as I liked it. But the first try was too tangy. The recipe below is not the final recipe.  It's just for my notes since I am cleaning out my recipe book at the moment.

Recipe (still in progress)

12 pickles quarters and then cut in half

1 Tablespoon of kosher salt

1 cup vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/3 c plus 3 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 jalapeno sliced

1. Throw pickles and 1 Tablespoon of salt in a bowl for an hour.  

2. After an hour there will be a good amount of liquid, drain it out.

3. Dissolve sugar and salt in the vinegar. Add the water.

4. Throw the pickles and liquids into a jar or a ziplock bag.  Add the jalapenos.  Fridge for at least 12 hours.

Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Happy Friday! 

I made these fresh strawberry cream cheese muffins for a friend's birthday. They were really good.  Next time I am planning on adding more than the Tablespoon of cream cheese than the recipe suggested.  Also, I could have been more generous with the raw sugar as well. 

 

all the ingredients ready to go

fold in the strawberries

on the left: cream cheese mixture on top of the batter and then add a dollop of the muffin batter on top of the cream cheese mixture.

lastly, add some more chopped strawberries on top and sprinkle with raw sugar

right out of the oven

Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

recipe adapted from Jane's Sweets and Baking Journal

Batter

2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped into very small pieces (set 1/2 cup aside)

 

Cream Cheese Mixture

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature (I used low fat bc that's all I had)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions:

Preheat over to 375F. Line  muffin tin with muffin liners.

 

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Set aside.

In a bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and eggs until incorporated.

Then add the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Do not over mix. Add one cup of strawberries into the batter.

Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, fill each muffin cup about half full. Then top it with a Tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture and on top of that a Tablespoon or two of the muffin batter.

Lastly, add some pieces of strawberries on top and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they’re light golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.