I was in Korea for a week last month. Fall in Seoul was just so beautiful and perfect!

so much yumminess 

too adorable to eat

went on a 3 hour hike

on the way home

For A's birthday I took her (plus her cousin and a close family friend) to get their nails done.

My living room is always covered in either Lego's or puzzles.

I made chocolate chocolate chip cookies for A's teachers and aides for the first day of school.

This was SO good.

My neighbor gave me a bag of tart peaches.  I turned them into peach bars.

summer part 1

A has a summer birthday and she is now 11. Where did the time go?!

It was plum season and I made a batch of plum jam. Unfortunately, the plums did not have that much flavor.

 tide pools

donuts & waffles

I've been trying to improve my donut recipe. I took a break and tried a recipe from Baked Explorations.
I was a bit disappointed with the recipe because the donuts turned out too cakey and not buttermilk cakey like dense cakey.

I also made Joy the Baker's lemon poppyseed waffles. They were pretty good so I made them twice in one week.

carrot raisin cookies

I found 2 recipe on the web (can't remember the sites) and decided to try them. The banana chocolate chip cookies were gross. The blogger raved how good they were...I threw mine out. Blech!

banana chocolate chip cookies

The carrot raisin cookies were good. They weren't that good the day after. If you make them, try to consume them all on the day they are baked.

Summer has been busy.  A has been taking swim lessons to learn how to breathe. It's been 3 weeks progress is slow but good.

Carrot Raisin cookies 

2 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups of oat

3/4 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350.

1. Sift all the dry ingredients (including the oats) in a bowl and set aside.
2. In the kitchen aid, cream the butter and the 2 sugars. Add the eggs and the vanilla. Mix well. Then add the dry ingredients until just mixed. Then add the carrots and raisins.
3. Bake for 8-11 minutes depending on the sizes of the cookies. The edges should be golden brown.

Weekend Fun

Have you tried Mendocino Farms? It was pretty tasty. I split the ham and mac grilled cheese. It was good. I wish they had fries though. Why don't sandwich places have fries or even better onion rings?!

mine is on the left.

Then we went to Handsome Coffee. It's pretty serious in there. No pastries. Luckily, I had donuts in my bag. Yes, I carry donuts in my purse when I can. 

Michael Phillips was there that day. Did you know he was the first US barista to win the World Barista Championship in 2010?

There is Michael Phillips brewing coffee. He was very nice and explained the 2 different blends for the day.

Then at church on Sunday Martin Smith was there to lead praise.  A pretty great way to end the weekend!

4th of July

We had a nice bbq at my friend L's house. 

I made blueberry lemon cheesecake squares a Tyler Florence recipe. These are the changes I made. I used one large lemon instead of 2, I doubled the amount of crust, I only used 1 cup of blueberries, and I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla. 

After a nice day of eating and lounging we went out to watch fireworks!
A loved it!

Big Sur 2013

We went to Big Sur again for our annual camping trip. It was so nice to get away! A did a hike which wasn't so easy. I was so proud of her! Can't wait for next year. 

our campsite

our kingdom 4

evening walk 

celebrated my 15 anniversary

hanging out and catching up with friends!

apple maple bread

Black and White Cheesecake Squares

I had to try Myung In dumplings after I saw Anthony Bourdain's koreatown show. We met up with some friends and chowed down! 

Spending lazy afternoons doing puzzles and riding the scooter around the neighborhood. Now we just need to teach her how to ride a bike.

We also went to Balboa Island to walk around on Sunday.

balboa bar with toffee almond

I ripped this page out of a Martha Stewart magazine long, long time ago (I think an '09 issue) but never got around to make it. It got great reviews from everyone who tried it.

Martha Stewart Living

Yield Makes 24

ingredients

• Vegetable oil, cooking spray
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
•  2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

cheescake mixture

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line dish with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both long sides, then spray parchment.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Cream butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until smooth. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture. Increase speed to medium; beat until incorporated.
3. Reserve 1 cup of dough; cover, and refrigerate. Press remaining dough into bottom of prepared dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake until base is set and edges are puffed, about 25 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack.
4. Mix cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and remaining egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl. Spread over cooled base; crumble reserved dough on top. Bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in dish on wire rack, then lift out using overhang. Cut into 24 squares.

*I did not fridge the dough for 30 minutes. I just threw it in the oven.

Fire Chicken!

Who doesn't love donuts?!

I made kimbap for dinner one night

ready to be planted outside

A started piano lessons this week

kimchi quesadilla for snack

Mother's Day brunch at Blu Jam Cafe

Last night I tried to make bool dak (korean spicy fire chicken) for dinner

cabbage, onions, perilla leaves, korean peppers, carrots, and korean sweet potatoes

It was quite spicy,I also added rice ovalettes to the mix. 

Next time I will add more sugar, ginger & perilla leaves.

sauce

2 T gochujang

1 T sesame oil

1 T sugar

1 1/2 T red korean pepper flakes

2 T mirin

1 T soysauce

1/2 t ginger grated

6 garlic cloves minced

1 pound of chicken (thighs)

1 1/2 cup cabbage

1 medium onion sliced

1 small korean sweet potato sliced

1 small carrot sliced

3 green onions  cut

1 bunch of perilla leaves cut  

1 cup rice ovalettes

Make the sauce in one bowl. Chop the chicken into cubes or slices and put it into another bowl. Add a spoon of the sauce and mix in with the chicken. Set aside.

Start chopping all the veggies. Set aside.

Add 2 T of oil to a pan (big enough to cook all the veggies and chicken in) and add the chicken. After a few minutes, add all the veggies, rice ovalettes and the rest of the sauce. Cook until the chicken is done and you can poke a fork smoothly through the sweet potato.