Mixed Berry Oatmeal Crumb Bars

May 20, 2013 2:12 am ⋅ 8 Comments ⋅
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It’s always nice when family comes to visit and stay over.  Our lil guy had a blast with Baby E and has kept asking for her ever since they left to go back to the city.

Luckily I had just the treats to cheer him up and get his mind off of Baby E and his auntie and uncle.  The lil guy loves berries so I decided to make him some Mixed Berry Oatmeal Crumb Bars.  These bars were similar to a crumble but in a bar form.  The bottom layer had lots of oatmeal, white whole wheat flour, cinnamon and brown sugar filled with a cooked triple berry (strawberry, blueberry and blackberry) mixture and topped with more of the oatmeal crumble mixture.

If you are a berry fan, you will absolutely love these bars. They are the best thing ever. Trust me. You have to make them. And if you are not a fan of berries, then feel free to substitute the mixed berries for peach, mangoes, apples – the options are endless. They will still be fabulous.

These bars are so easy to whip up that you will want to make these over and over again for yourself or to bring to all those summer parties coming up or to distract your little one from missing his adorable 9 month old cousin.

Hope these will sweeten up your day!

Mixed Berry Oatmeal Crumb Bars

Yields 24 squares

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of quick-cooking oats

  • 2 cups of all purpose flour or white whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened

  • 1 cup light brown sugar

  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the mixed berry filling

  • 2.5 cups mixed berries (frozen or fresh)

  • 1/2 cup turbinado sugar or cane sugar

  • juice from half an orange

For the slurry

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch,

  • 1 tablespoon of water

Instructions:

  1. Bring mixed berries, sugar and orange juice to a boil in a medium saucepan on medium high heat stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and let the berry mixture simmer until it has softened and thickened up.

  2. In a small bowl, whisk corn starch and water together creating a slurry. Add to the berry mixture stirring constantly until thickened. Pour into a container with a lid or a bowl covered with plastic wrap and cool completely in fridge for at least an hour or the next day if making ahead.IMG_1904.jpg

  3. Once berry mixture has cooled, stir together the oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking soda in a large bowl. Stir in vanilla extract. Cut in the butter and mix with fork or hands to form a crumbly mixture.

  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  5. Grease and line a 8x8x2 square pan.

  6. Pat 2/3 of the oatmeal mixture on the bottom of the baking pan pressing down to even out mixture.IMG_1901.jpg

  7. Pour the mixed berry mixture over the base spreading evenly.IMG_1906.jpg

  8. Sprinkle the remaining oatmeal mixture over the berry mixture evenly.IMG_1909.jpg

  9. Bake in preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes until light golden.

  10. Cool in pan for 30 minutes before removing to wire rack. Cool completely before cutting. Serve along or with your favorite ice cream.

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Posted in: Dessert, Pies / Crumble / Crisps, Recipes ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

Finger food Friday – Korean Beef Short Rib Tacos

May 17, 2013 8:12 am ⋅ 8 Comments ⋅
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Yikes! We certainly had some wild weather in my neck of the woods this week. It went from sunny seasonal weather to downright cold temperatures with frost and freezing rain. I had to quickly bring in some herbs that I had already planted outside.

Now I understand why the experts say to wait until mid May to start planting in the garden around Southwestern Ontario, the weather is so unpredictable that you never know when you’ll still get frost in the ground. Meanwhile, me being impatient and stubborn, thought that Old Man Winter had left for at least 4 months and did not heed the advice of the experts so I started working on the garden about 2 weeks ago already. Fortunately, I was able to save my dear little herbs since I brought them inside for the week.

It’s a good thing that the temperatures today are back to seasonal because we had some overnight house guests visiting from the city. Our lil guy’s aunt, uncle and cousin, baby E (who has the most adorable 9 month old smile) came yesterday. It’s fun watching our lil guy play with baby E, he is so gentle with her and is actually willing to share a lot of his favorite toys with her.

I was busy prepping the house to make their stay more comfortable and was trying to decide what to make for our house guests to munch on when I remembered watching the Food Network one day and seeing this fabulous Korean Food Truck based in L.A., Kogi Korean BBQ, and I couldn’t get their popular barbecued Korean short ribs taco out of my head. These Asian fusion tacos seem to be getting more popular and there are now food trucks and restaurants opening in various cities over America.

I decided to try making some of these tacos for our house guests since we won’t be able to visit any of these cities anytime soon.

Although I have never tried Kogi Korean BBQ or any of these fabulous restaurants that serve Korean tacos, our house guests loved every bite and declared that there was no rush to visit these places anytime soon:)

Aaaw, that compliment and watching our lil guy give baby E a kiss on the cheek just made my heart smile a thousand times:)

Enjoy your Friday and weekend everyone!

 

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Korean Beef Short Rib Tacos

Serves around 4-6

Marinade for Short ribs

  • 4-6 Flour tortillas or taco shells

  • 3 lbs of Korean or flanken style short ribs

  • 6-8 cloves of garlic, minced

  • 1 medium onion, minced

  • 2 stalks of green onions, finely diced

  • 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, minced

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce

  • 1/3 cup Asian cooking wine or Mirin

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar or honey

  • 1 teaspoon of black pepper

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil

  • 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds

  • 1/2 teaspoon of korean red pepper flakes

  • 1 Asian pear or 2 ripe Bosc pears, chopped and pureed

 

Slaw for tacos

  • 2 cups Napa cabbage, washed, finely chopped

  • 1/2 daikon, finely chopped or grated finely

  • 1 cucumber, sliced thinly

  • 1 carrot, finely chopped or grated finely

  • 2-3 stalks of green onions, diced

  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

  • 1 lime, juiced

  • 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon mirin

  • 1 tablespoon chili garlic pepper paste or Sriracha sauce


Instructions

  1. In a large container with a lid, mix together marinade ingredients. Add short ribs and marinate in the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight for best results.

  2. After the ribs have had time to marinate, prepare the slaw by mixing the Napa cabbage, daikon, green onions, cucumbers, cilantro and carrots together in a large bowl. Whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, Mirin and chili garlic pepper paste and extra virgin olive oil. Pour over slaw and toss together mixing well.

  3. Heat grill on medium high heat and grill meat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and set on plate ready to assemble.

  4. Place tortilla or taco shells on plate, add some slaw, then add the short ribs. Add Sriracha Sauce or Chipotle Mayonaise and serve immediately.

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Posted in: Appetizers and Snacks, Finger food Friday, Korean, Recipes ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

Meyer Lemon Curd Ruffle Layer Cake for Mother’s Day

May 12, 2013 7:39 pm ⋅ 11 Comments ⋅
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Happy Mother’s Day! Today is a day where we celebrate all the moms and mother figures in our lives and I am very fortunate and thankful that I got to spend today with both my mom and my dad who play an integral part in my life as well as the lil guy’s life. They adore him to pieces and vice versa and he always has a great time whenever he sees grandma and grandpapa. Despite the whacky freezing rain and cold temperatures, today was definitely a great day spent with loved ones:)

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For me, this was an extra special day because this woman is not only my mother but my best friend, my confidante, my shoulder to cry on, my voice of reason, my support system and I would not be the person I am today without her. It wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I truly understood how much mothers give to their children. It is also then that I realized that no matter how old I am, I will always be my mother’s baby.

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My mother is the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful and patient woman I know.

Even though my brothers and I grew up from very humble beginnings, we never felt deprived because our mom gave us more than enough love. She is such a strong woman that has been through so much throughout her life (her life could seriously be made into a movie) but she always had a big smile on her face to let us know that everything would be okay.

 

She has always been there to give me hugs whenever I fall, given me guidance and hope whenever I needed it. She is my best friend, the sister I never had, my lil guy’s grandma but most of all my mommy and I can only hope that one day, I can become even half the woman and mom she is.

Here’s to you mom – I love you with all my heart and am very grateful that you are my mom.

 

If you made it through all of my ramblings, then you definitely deserve a slice of this

Meyer Lemon Curd Ruffle Layer Cake I made especially for my mom. She is not usually a fan of heavy or rich tasting desserts so this lemon curd layer cake was perfect because it is nice and light with the perfect hint of lemon.

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This cake would be great for any Mother’s Day brunch or Spring/Summer Party. And who doesn’t like the refreshing taste of lemons? Especially Meyer lemons which I have finally been able to track down in my neck of the woods for the first time this year.

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Because I got a little bit too excited about finding these Meyer lemons, I decided to turn these babies into lemon curd, Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, lemon cream cheese frosting, lemon buttercream and lemon whipped frosting. Hehe, I know crazy wasn’t it? But in my defense, I was trying to test out which combination went the best with the lemon cake and with the help of my hubby, we decided to frost the cake and fill one cake layer with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream and fill the remaining layer with homemade lemon curd and lemon buttercream.

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This cake was out of this world with just enough lemon without being too sour or sweet.

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and thank you for everything that you do :)

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Frosted Meyer Lemon Curd Layer Cake

For the Meyer Lemon Curd:

Source: Sweetapolita

Ingredients

    • 2 Meyer lemons

    • 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks

    • 1/2 cup turbinado sugar

    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

    Instructions

    1. Remove zest from 2 Meyer lemons and set aside on parchment paper.

    2. Squeeze juice from both Meyer lemons into a stainless steel bowl.

    3. Whisk in whole egg, egg yolks and sugar into the bowl until smooth.

    4. Place bowl on top of saucepan filled with 1″ of boiling water over low heat.

    5. Whisk mixture until smooth. Add the butter cubes to the bowl letting it melt without stirring..

    6. Cook the curd until it has thickened stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for about 8-10 minutes until the butter has melted and the curd is thick enough that it coats the back of the wooden spoon.

    7. Strain the curd over a bowl using a fine-mesh sieve and then stir in the zest. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer to a container with a lid and refrigerate until cooled or for no less than 2 hours.

    For the Meyer Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

    Ingredients

    Source: Sweetapolita

      • 5 egg whites

      • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into cubes

      • 3/4 sugar

      • 1/4 cup Meyer lemon curd

      • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

      • 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure lemon extract

      • Pinch of salt

      • Few drops of gel food coloring (I used Wilton’s Lemon Yellow)

      Instructions

      1. Using a paper towel and vinegar or lemon juice, wipe the bowl of an electric mixer to remove any traces of grease. Add egg whites, sugar and salt, and simmer over a pot of water hot (not boiling) whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 160°F, or if you don’t have a candy thermometer, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

      2. With whisk attachment of mixer, begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels neutral to the touch (this can take up to 10 minutes or so). *Don’t begin adding butter until the bottom of the bowl feels neutral, and not warm.

      3. Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low speed, add butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated.

      4. Increase mixer speed to medium and whip until it has reached a silky smooth texture (if curdles, keep mixing and it will come back to smooth). *If mixture is too runny, refrigerate for about 15 minutes and continue mixing with paddle attachment until it comes together. Add lemon curd, vanilla and lemon extract, continuing to beat on medium speed until well combined. Add yellow soft gel paste colour until desired shade of yellow is achieved.

      For the Lemon Cake

      Slightly adapted from Beyond Buttercream

      Ingredients

      • 3 eggs, room temperature

      • 2 cups of cake flour, sifted

      • 1.5 cups of sugar (I used turbinado sugar)

      • 1/4 cup of butter, room temperature

      • 3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

      • 1 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

      • 1 teaspoon of salt

      • 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

      • 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

      • 2.5 teaspoons of pure lemon extract

      • zest of 2 Meyer lemons

      Instructions

      1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease and line the bottom of 3 8 inch round cake pans with parchment paper.

      2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a large bowl.

      3. In another bowl, whisk eggs lightly to break up the yolks.

      4. In an electric mixer on medium, cream together sugar and butter for about 3 minutes until lightened in color.

      5. Lower speed of mixer and add the flour mixture to the bowl beating until incorporated

      6. Pour in buttermilk and sour cream and beat on medium high for about 2 minutes until combined, scraping sides of bowl halfway through and at the end.

      7. Add the eggs in two additions, mixing for 30 seconds and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Beat on medium high for another 10 seconds at the end.

      8. Stir in lemon extract and lemon zest with a silicon spatula.

      9. Pour into cake pans and bake until cake tester comes out clean or for about 32-40 minutes depending on your oven.

      10. Let cakes stand in pans for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting or torting or wrap in plastic wrap and store in freezer for longer term.

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      Posted in: Cake, Family/Personal, Recipes ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

      Finger Food Friday – Rice Paper Salad Rolls

      May 10, 2013 5:01 am ⋅ 6 Comments ⋅
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      Since Mother`s Day is on Sunday, I thought I would share these cheerful and colorful salad rolls that would make a perfect appetizer or finger food for any Mother`s Day brunch.

      Like tacos or tortillas, rice paper salad rolls are so fun to eat and super easy to whip up.  They are so versatile and you can pack them full of raw veggies and tropical fruit or add some meat/tofu and top it off with cilantro or mint.  The possibilities are endless!  Because they are served at room temperature or cold, it`s so easy to bring them along to a picnic or a spring/summer party.

       

      To prepare the rice paper rolls, simply dip them in large bowl of hot water for 2 seconds then lay them on a flat service to soften them up and get wrapping with your favorite fillings.

      Happy wrapping and hope you have a great Mother`s Day weekend

      Rice Paper Salad Rolls

      Makes 10 rolls

      Prep time: 20 minutes

      Ingredients

      • 10 Round 8 1/2 inch Rice paper rolls

      • 1/2 fresh pineapple – very thinly (mangos would work beautifully too)

      • 2-4 ounces (1/4 – 1/2 cup) of cooked pork tenderloin, diced thinly) (feel free to omit the meat and add cooked tofu for a meatless version)

      • 4 ounces (1/2) cup vermicelli, cooked and drained

      • 2 small carrots, peeled and julienned

      • 1 ripe avocado, very thinly sliced

      • 1 cucumber, julienned

      • 2 cups of green leaf lettuce, shredded

      • 1 cup of spinach, shredded

      • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

       

      Instructions

      1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil.  Add rice vermicelli and cook according to package instructions (about 5-7 minutes).  Drain and rinse with cold water.

      2. Fill a large bowl (enough to cover an entire rice paper roll) with warm to hot water.  Dip one rice wrapper in the hot water for 1-2 seconds to soften.  Lay wrapper flat and wait about 30 seconds for it to soften and become pliable.  You can dip a few more rice wrappers and leave them on a tray or separate plates so you have a few ready to wrap while you wait for the other ones to soften.IMG_2182.jpg

      3. Fill softened wrapper in the center with a small handful of noodles, lettuce, spinach, 1-2 pieces of cucumbers, 1-2 pieces of pineapples, 1 piece of avocado and a little bit of cilantro being careful not overfill.IMG_2177.jpg IMG_2186.jpg IMG_2190.jpg

      4. Bring the lower bottom edge over to cover the ingredients then fold in the two side flaps, and then roll the entire thing up wrapping tightly as you go.  Repeat with remaining ingredients.IMG_2191.jpg

      5. Serve salad rolls with your favorite hoisin, peanut or chili vinegar sauce.

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      Pad Thai Stir Fried Noodles

      May 8, 2013 1:33 am ⋅ 10 Comments ⋅
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      Ty and I used to love going out for Thai food a lot before our lil guy came along. Thai dishes are known for their spicy but yet aromatic dishes that combine savory, sweet and sour sensations in each and every bite. The complex Thai flavors are what keeps my taste buds intrigued and craving for Thai food at least once a month. These complex flavors can be found in their world famous Thai Stir Fried Noodles – Pad Thai.

      Over the years, I have tried a few recipes but something always seemed to be missing and didn’t quite hit the spot the same way our local Thai restaurant did.

       

      Last year, I found an excellent authentic Pad Thai recipe that I adapted just a bit and have made it more times than I can count. It is fantastic and I am happy to report that I no longer miss the local Thai restaurant.

      On this particular day that I decided to make it, I was missing a few ingredients. Sometimes when you’re thinking about a dish and have to make it at that particular second – there is just NO time to run out to the grocery store to pick up those missing ingredients.

      The great thing about stir fried noodles is that you can swap out some of the meat and vegetable ingredients to what suits your family’s taste. Feel free to omit the meat if you want this to be a meatless dish and use whatever vegetables you have on hand instead. I didn’t have any bean sprouts and had used up all my carrots for another recipe and didn’t have time to pick up any before preparing this dish so I omitted them from the recipe and added some chopped up broccoli and these noodles still tasted great.

      I also had to use different type of noodles which were were wider than what is normally used for Pad Thai. The dried rice noodles that are usually used in Pad Thai dishes are about the size of linguine noodles. Feel free to use whatever rice noodles you are able to find or have on hand.

      The important thing to remember when trying to recreate authentic tasting Pad Thai Noodles is that whatever you do, try not to sub out the Fish Sauce and Tamarind Concentrate used for the sauce. These can usually be found at an Asian food mart but I have also spotted them at some large chain supermarkets in the Asian aisle.

      I know these ingredients may seem intimidating to a lot of people which is why I’ve seen a lot of Pad Thai recipes that use Ketchup instead. Ketchup can only mimic some of the flavors you taste in Pad Thai but if you want authentic tasting Pad Thai, I urge you to try and find these two crucial ingredients.

      Trust me, your taste buds will thank you :)

       

       

       

      Pad Thai Stir Fried Noodles

      Slightly adapted from: Savory Sweet Life

      Serves 3-4

      Ingredients

      • 8 ounces dried linguine-width rice stick noodles (I actually used fresh Sa-Ho Rice noodles since that is what I had on hand)

      • 2 cloves garlic, minced

      • 1/2 tablespoon of fresh ginger, minced

      • 1 shallot, minced

      • 1 cup thinly sliced beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, or tofu (I used beef and tofu)

      • 1/4 cup green onions, diced

      • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

      • 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh basil leaves, chopped

      • 1 lime wedge

      • 2 eggs

      • oil for stir frying

      • **optional – 1 fresh thai red chili, seeded and minced

      Sauce

      • 1/3 cup fish sauce

      • 1/2 cup palm sugar or brown sugar (I used palm sugar)

      • 1/2 cup tamarind concentrate

      • 4 cloves garlic, minced

      • dash of white pepper

      • ** 1-3 teaspoons of garlic chili sauce (optional and to taste depending on how comfortable your spice tolerance is)

      Optional Vegetables and Garnishes

      • 1/2 broccoli, blanched and diced

      • 2 cups of bean sprouts (I didn’t use any since I didn’t have any on hand)

      • shredded carrots (I didn’t use any since I didn’t have any on hand)

      • 1/3 cup of chopped peanuts (I didn’t use any since my son may be allergic)

      • 1 lime, sliced into wedges

      Instructions

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      1. In a small saucepan on medium low heat, combine all the sauce ingredients cooking until boiled and/or the palm sugar is dissolved. Adjust seasonings (the flavor should be spicy, savory, sweet and sour at the same time). Remove from heat and set aside. IMG_2097.jpg

      2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles for 4-5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Set aside. (Omit this step if using fresh noodles).

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      3. In a large wok or frying pan, add some cooking oil on medium high heat and cook meat/shrimp/tofu for 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside in a small bowl.

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      4. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil (or enough so the noodles do not stick) in the wok and add garlic, onions,  minced ginger (**and Thai red chili if using) sautéing until fragrant.IMG_2113.jpg IMG_2115.jpg

      5. Add the drained noodles (or fresh ones if using fresh) and stir fry for 1 minute, tossing gently.

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      6. Add the cooked meat/shrimp/tofu back into the wok and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

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      7. Push the noodles to one side of the wok/pan, add the beaten eggs and cook until it is halfway done then add the green onions, cilantro, basil and any other vegetables you are using.

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      8. Add the sauce and gently toss everything together (being careful not to soften or mash the noodles too much) incorporating the sauce into the noodles for another minute. Squeeze some lime juice from one lime wedge over the noodles.  Adjust seasonings to taste adding more fish sauce or chili sauce.

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      9. Plate noodles onto a serving plate. Top with cilantro and optional fresh vegetables (carrots and beansprouts) or chopped nuts (I used toasted sesame seeds).

      10. Add fresh lime wedges to squeeze over each portion.

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      Posted in: Beef, Mains, Pasta, Recipes, Thai ⋅ Tagged: , ,

      Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes with Matcha Green Tea Whipped Frosting

      May 6, 2013 1:43 am ⋅ 9 Comments ⋅
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      Hope you all had a great weekend and if you celebrated Cinco de Mayo, I have a nice and light recipe here for you to recover from your feasting festivities :)

      I made these green tea cupcakes for my very good friends who came to visit us this weekend.  I don’t get to see them very often anymore since we moved 1.5 hours away from the city and it’s kind of a long trek for them since they are new parents to a 9 month old cutie patootie so they’ve had their hands full.

       

       

      Once they got here, there were was lots of oohing and aahing over how cute eachother’s lil one’s were and how much they’ve grown since the last time we saw them.  It was great to see how our lil guy was so gentle with their precious bundle of joy and even shared all of his toys with him.

      Then the feasting started along with great conversation and catching up.  It was definitely a good time had by all.

       

       

      Since there was so much food, I kept dessert nice and light with these chocolate cupcakes topped with green tea whipped frosting and green tea cupcakes.  The green tea cupcakes were a light spongy cake infused with matcha green tea powder and I topped them off with a light green tea whipped frosting.  They were a hit and our friends even requested to take some home which I gladly obliged.

       

       

      Besides the fact that these cupcakes were deliciously light and fluffy, Matcha green tea powder is also rich in nutrients, fiber and antioxidants so if you eat more than three in a row of these babies, you won’t feel as guilty -  at least that’s what I had to tell myself :)

       

       

       

       

      Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes

      Yields approximately 12 cupcakes

      Slightly adapted from Amy’s Food Adventures

      **** NOTE: You will notice in the pictures that the cupcakes are a darker greenish brown instead of a light green.   The color depends on the brand of matcha green tea powder you use and where it’s from.  I bought mine from a local Ten Ren Tea shop which is from Taiwan hence the darker green color. 

      When I have used a higher quality matcha green tea powder from Japan, the cupcakes DO turn out lighter green.  I decided not to add any food coloring gel to this particular cupcake batter but if you want your cupcakes to turn out a lighter green color then feel free to mix some food coloring gel to the cupcake batter at the end before baking in the oven.

       

      Ingredients

      • 2/3 cup cake flour

      • 1/2 cup of organic cane sugar (or white cane sugar)

      • 1/4 cup of melted butter, cooled to room temperature

      • 3 tablespoons of milk

      • 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder (I bought mine at a local Ten Ren Tea)

      • 1 tablespoon of oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

      • 1  teaspoon baking powder

      • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

      • 4 large eggs, whites and yolks separated

      • dash of fine salt

       

      Instructions

      1. Preheat oven to 350 °F and line muffin tin with paper liners.

      2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and set aside.

      3. Whisk matcha green tea powder and milk together in a separate bowl.  Add oil and combine.  Set aside.

      4. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites with 1/4 cup of sugar until soft peaks form.

      5. In a separated large bowl, whip together egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until the eggs have doubled in volume and the mixture is a light yellow.

      6. Fold the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture.

      7. Fold the flour mixture into the whipped eggs mixture in two additions.

      8. Slowly add the green tea/milk/oil mixture into the flour mixture but folding quickly to incorporate.

      9. Fold in the melted butter in two additions.

      10. Pour or scoop batter into prepared muffin cups filling about 3/4 full.

      11. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

       

      Matcha Green Tea Frosting

      Adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s Best Frosting I Ever Had

      Instructions

      • 1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar or white cane sugar

      • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

      • 1  1/2 cups milk

      • 1/3 heavy cream

      • 1/3 cup flour

      • 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder

      • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

       

      Instructions

      1. In a medium saucepan, whisk the flour, sugar, and matcha green tea powder together.  Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened.

      2. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour until mixture cools to room temperature but not cold.

      3. Beat the butter in a stand mixer on high for 2 minutes.  Add the room temperature flour mixture to bowl and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and mix until everything is incorporated.

      4. Frost cupcakes as desired.

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      Greek Yogurt Avocado Shake/Smoothie

      May 3, 2013 4:38 am ⋅ 4 Comments ⋅
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      Since the weather was so beautiful in our neck of the woods yesterday, I took the lil guy outside to play in the yard. He was happily running around and pushing his toy lawnmower while I tried to clean up our garden. After spending most of the morning outside in the heat, it was clearly time for a nice refreshing drink for the both of us.

      I realize with Cinco de Mayo coming up this Sunday, there is an avocado recipe everywhere you look nowadays on all of the social media sites. But if you’re a fan of avocados like me, you don’t want to miss trying this creamy delicious avocado shake packed with loads of buttery goodness.  This shake is based on the Sinh Tố Bơ, an Avocado Shake that is are served in Vietnamese delis and cafes except I used less condensed milk and added in Greek yogurt, vanilla extract and honey.  It will leave you feeling so refreshed from a hot day outside and the best part is that it takes no time at all to whip up.

       

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      Happy Celebrating Cinco de Mayo this weekend!

       

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      Posted in: Drinks, Recipes ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

      Sun-Dried Tomato Fettuccine

      April 29, 2013 8:59 am ⋅ 8 Comments ⋅
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      I always find weekends fly by when you get to see family.  We had such gorgeous weather this weekend in our neck of the woods and it made for a nice drive to the city to visit family.  The lil guy got to see his cousins again and they played outside laughing and chasing each other – no heavy jacket required :)

      After all the running around, this Sun-dried Tomato Fettucine dish from Julie @ Table for Two Blog would have been perfect to feed these hungry little mouths.  Her Cheesecake Factory copycat dish looked like the perfect fix to satisfy our hungry lil guy’s mouth from an afternoon of running around.   Plus it used Greek Yogurt instead of cream for the sauce which helped to lighten the dish up.  I love reading Julie’s blog because she always comes up with creative dishes that are delicious and her photos are fantastic that make you want to drool over all the food.  She also just got married this Saturday which was why I wanted to honor her by posting one of her great recipes for a Meatless Monday or any other day.

      Congratulations Julie – wishing you and your husband a lifetime of happiness!   Hope you had a wonderful time on Saturday and your wedding was as gorgeous as you had always envisioned :)

      And let me tell you, this pasta did not disappoint.  It was a satisfying creamy dish with a whole lot of sun-dried tomato goodness in every bite :)

       

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      Posted in: Italian, Pasta, Recipes, Vegetarian ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

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