Vanilla Pancakes with Fruit & Cream ;

Haha, this pancake dish has got a funny story behind it.
basically, my friend Bao had a funny " dreaming experience " .
apparently he felt like a pancake .
Yes, a PAN-CAKE .
he then proceeded to tell me that he felt blueberries & kiwis
on top of him as well.
& after awhile, some whip-cream.
HAHA !
& better yet? he was a FLYING PANCAKE .
and he even came up with a dance to show me how a
flying pancake would look like.
- - - - -  -   -   -   -
How to do the Pancake Dance in 3 easy steps:
1. link fingers together.
2. keep hands vertical
3. & do the wave.
There ya` have it . the Pancake Dance. & the story behind this photo.

Dedicated to Bao
come over for some pancakes one day !

Vanilla Pancakes with Fruit & Cream
i made pancakes form scratch for the first time!
& these taste alot better than
the mix that comes in a box.
sorry Bisquick .

Recipe ;
-1 1/2cups all purpose flour

- 3 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 tbs white sugar

- 3 tbs vanilla

- 1/3 cup milk (add a bit more for thinner cakes.)

- 1 egg

- 4 tbs melted butter

- whip-cream (optional)

- your favorite blend of fruit (optional)

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. 

(Sift through the flour for more softer pancakes)

Then add the egg, melted butter, & milk. Mix well &
cook over medium-high griddle,
until brown on both sides.

*Serves : 4

Epic Food Craves ;

okay, so heres the FIRST FOOD POST, featuring something i didnt prepare myself,
but i just had to post this anyway, because tonight was filled with such yummy food.
---- - - -  -    - 
So, ive been having intense cravings for sushi, bakery breads, & sweet drinks for
the past week.
i swear, i`ve had sushi 3 times in 7 days, and i`ve gone to the bakery to get
Korean Grapefruit Green Tea & bakery breads for atleast 5 of the days, out of 7.
& no ...... im not pregnant . haha !
---- - - -  -    - 
But since last night, ive been reallyyyyy craving Pho as well.
so after i picked-up my little brother from his kick-boxing class, i took him along on my food journey.
(he was completely stoked to go, btw)
Heres what we ate :
- Small bowl of Pho for me & a large for him. $13.00 (Pho Bac Ky)
- Revolving sushi $11.00 (Kula Revolving Sushi Bar)
- 2 Blueberry cream bread & Korean Grapefruit Green Tea $5.00 (85 degree bakery)
Having a great time with your little bro ? Priceless .
(okay well actually the total was around $30s + tips.
but thats not bad at all! )

Pho Veggies
 i always ask for extra lemon & sliced onions,
which i drizzle with sriracha sauce
(im in love with that stuff)

My Bowl of Pho (Craving #1)
i order the regular Pho Tai ( rare steak), with the meat on
the side. i add a ton of lemon & sriracha on the meat &
soup, finishing off with a handful of bean sprouts
& basil leaves~ ahh, perfection in a soup bowl .

The Perfect Spoonful
i usually dip my raw steak into my hot soup for a few
seconds before i eat it with a big spoonful of noodles, soup,
& onions. YUM !

Revolving Sushi (Craving #2)
i love this place, i mean, the sushi isnt the BEST but its
definitely good enough, and each plate is only $2 !

Tuna ( My Favorite )
eh, i like tuna. simple, good ol` tuna. its not that im
close-minded towards the more exotic sushi plates,
but tuna just always came out on top, for me~
Did i ever mention my dad owns his own sushi restaurant?
haha yep, hes the owner & chef in Richmond, Virginia .
he owned a few restaurants here in cali as well~
i miss HIS sushi.. 
the spicy tuna salads & salmon skin hand-rolls he
use to make for me ; yumm.

Crunchy Rolls (my little bros favorite)
Daniel tends to enjoy the more sweeter rolls, while i like
 the raw & more savory sashimi types.
we had a ton of fun laughing at each other, from the super
spicy wasabi that they serve here.
Wooooo weeee~
it definitely made my eyes water & nose burnnn .

Finished Plates
haha we finished 6 plates, because we still had to
save room for my 3rd craving!

Blueberry Bread
these are super popular at the 85 bakery. some people are
even willing to wait the 25mins for a fresh batch to come
out. and this place is ALWAYS packed.. lines that reach
past 4 neighboring stores. totally worth it.

Sweet Breads & Tea (Craving #3)
im addicted to this bakery, especially their
Korean Grapefruit Green Tea (cold). yum!
it was a great way to end the night.

Midnight Snack 2

As said before, on a previous post, i have a habit of eating past midnight.
its not a very healthy habit, i know, but i cant help it.
its been this way since i was little. i couldnt sleep unless i ate~
haha,
well tonight i made a simple sandwich, and it ended up tasting delicious!
a fried egg in a sandwich always makes it 10xs better !

A Simple Pastrami Sandwich
ingredients were simple, i didnt feel like taking too much
into making a quick midnight snack, since i was eager to
go back up to my room and finish a movie (The Town;
good movie, i recommend.) But heres the list of ingredients
anyway.

Recipe ;

- sliced tomatoes

- pepper jack cheese

- fried egg ( i like mine medium)

- lettuce

- pastrami

- mayo

- mustard

- sour dough bread

- pinch of salt over the egg

- pepper

while i prepped the veggies, i put the 2 slices of bread in the

oven for a few mins, just so they`d be toasty & the cheese

would be bubbly & melted.

The only other thing i need to mention is ; Peppering your

mayo after you've spread it over the bread makes it taste

quite different. i LOVE it. try it!

As for the rest of the ingredients, just pile it on like a normal

sandwich & enjoy ~

Bibim Gooksu ( Korean Mixed Noodles ) ;

I think this is my first korean food entry,
its a pretty simple dish, and its usually eaten during the summer time.
its a cold & spicy noodle dish. with requires no cooking at all !
(well.. except for cooking the noodles of course.)
----- - - -
This dish gains its spiciness from the " Gochujang " 
(Which is a korean fermented red chilli paste).
Its sure to make your mouth come alive with the tangy zest of vinegar,
& the pickled crunch of kimchi. 
the sesame oil & seeds will give a soft savory tingle,
and the satisfying crunch of the freshly cut vegetables, will add great
texture~

Bibim Guksu ( Korean Mixed Noodles) (Cold dish)
this dish manages to be spicy AND refreshing, odd isnt it ?
which makes it the perfect summer dish,
believe me, its delicious.

Recipe ;
- 1 pack of very thin korean wheat flour noodles (white)
(a pack should consists of many single portioned bundles)
- 2 tsp sesame oil

- 1 1/2 cup chopped Kimchi
(the fermented napa cabbage kind)

- 1 large cucumber (jullienne cut)

- 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Sauce ;

-  3 generous spoonfuls of the korean chili paste

- 2 tsp sesame seeds

- 3 tsp vinegar

- 2 tsp sugar

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl, &

set aside. Boil the noodles as directed on the package,
5 bundles of it should be enough to comfortably
* Serve 4 people. When noodles are ready, drain, &
arrange 1 servings worth on each plate. Add 1/4th
of all vegetables onto each plate, and add desired
sauce amount. (i recommend they should be saucey
as shown in the picture above) Drizzle a tiny amount
of sesame oil over the top, & mix !

Enjoyyy !

The Big F#%k You ;

Theres a certain someone whos been getting on my nerves lately.

hiding behind the word "inspiration" when the REAL crime is plagiarism .

Any real artist could tell you that any art form in its entirety includes
its medium, as well as its message.

Bottom line? Art is PERSONAL.

Dont hide behind the word "inspiration", when INSPIRATION is just gaining an idea,

As as ARTIST it should be your job to change that idea in a way that
makes it uniquely YOURS.

its completely disrespectful to do EXACTLY what the original artist has done,

and to do it in FRONT of their face?! really?

That just makes it easier to question your abilities as an artist,

"is that your own creativity?  or did you steal these ideas from someone else too?"

i cant stretch the fact, how personal art is

Art is a way of expressing ones self, through talent and soul.

Its an idea that comes from within the creator,
and it includes choosing the proper medium for expression,

whether its dance, writing or music.

and because of its intimacy, art in its entirety needs to be respected.

How can anyone lack the basic human decency to respect a
fellow artist's creative process?

if it were me, id honestly be feeling guilty, ESPECIALLY if the original artist

expressed their anxiety towards what i was doing.

This just proves my point that girls are all the same, but then again,

maybe its just because i havnt met the right set of people to change my mind.

Either way, i just needed to let out this rant.

i love blogs. ♥

F#%CK YOU
(made from nori)
Sometimes, plain & simple is the best way to send out a
message.
oh look, a manicured acrylic nail ~

Rainbow Bread & Spinach Dip ;

Hmm.. not bad for my first time making bread.
it tasted like the inside of any regular loaf, without crust. haha
i just thought trying this out, would make for interesting touches for my
future bentos.
But if anyone has a good recipe for bread, id love to try it.
just contact me personally, or leave me a comment on here .
i loooovee asian bakery sweet breads,
i wonder if ill be able to find a good recipe for it..

Rainbow Bread

the most simple and basic bread, with a colorful twist.
great for sandwich subs, or just  toasted with garlic butter!

(see below)

and the great part is? since YOURE the one making the

bread, you can make it as thick or as thin as you want.

thicker for more plushy soft bread, or as thin as a crunchy

bread stick !

Recipe ;

- 1/14 cups warm water

- 1tbs sugar

- 1 tsp salt

- 3 1/2 cups flour

- 1 1/4 tsp yeast

in a large bowl, add in the warm water & sugar. once its

dissolved, add in yeast & let it sit for 10 mins. You should

be able to see the yeast start to grow. Then, add the flour &

salt, and mix thoroughly for a couple minutes, (it will help

reduce kneading time) continue to add flour by 1/2 cup

portions until the dough is smooth, & no longer sticky.

Once the dough is done, divide the dough into portions of

desired color (i used 3, so i cut mine into 3rds). i added

about 8 drops of food coloring to each dough ball ( red,

yellow, & blue) and kneaded until the colors were solid

through-out. (it might take a bit of man-power if you`re

planning to do this by hand). Then i rolled out my dough

into long ropes, and wetted the edges as i braided, so each

rope would stick. Once youre done, place the dough on a 

greased & floured baking sheet & let it sit for an hour

(more rising time will produce a lighter bread.)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F, and bake for about

25 mins. Bread should make a hallow sound when tapped

on bottom if done.

Dip & Rainbow Garlic Bread

yum yum, the recipe for the "4 Cheese Spicy Spinach Dip"
is below, but using your own garlic buttered bread to eat
with dip is amazing!

Recipe ;

- 1/2 stick butter

- 1 tbs garlic powder

- 1 tsp dill

combine all 3 ingredients, and spread over thin sliced,

toasted bread. (the thinner, the more "chip-like" it`ll be)

yum ! enjoy~

haha, had to ask for a hand model

"4 Cheese Spicy Spinach Dip"

so good ! warm, bubbly, gooey spinach cheese dip?
marvelous !

Recipe ;

- 8oz cream cheese (1 reg sized package)

- 3/4 tsp garlic powder

- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

- 3 tbs pepper jack cheese

- 2 tbs spicy red pepper, finely chopped (canned or jarred)

- 1/4 cup onions

- 1/2 package of frozen chopped spinach

- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

- pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 Degree F. Combine all the

ingredients into the cream cheese, one at a time, & add

mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle the pinch of cayenne

pepper over the top, & add the grated cheddar as well.

*Serves 4

use Club Cracker or greek pita chips for dipping !

Domo-Kun Bento box ;

Domo-kun ; is a "strange animal that hatched from an egg",
with a large saw-toothed mouth that is locked wide open, he
speaks in low-pitched grunts.
He loves eating Potato-stew, but has a strong hatred for apples,
due to an unexplained mystery in his DNA. & passes gas
repeatedly when nervous or upset.
haha !
i`ve been wanting to make a bento of Domo for awhile now,
& after a trip from Las-Vegas, i was inspired, & ready to handle
the deep-fryer ! quite litterally ~

Domo-kun !
Frankie won the 2 Domo dolls in back, at Circus-Circus;
(a hotel in Vegas, that has a carnival game room,
where you play & compete to win dolls as prizes.)
The tiny cubed Domo at the bottom, was given to me
years ago, by him as well~

Domos (Box #1) breaded & fried pork cullet (recipe below)

along with curry & rice.

Box #2 : (Left portion) upside-down stemless button

mushrooms with peas, leafy greens, & half cut boiled egg.

(Right) ; arrangement of tomato slices & apples.

& a side serving of Tuna Salad.

Recipe ;

- 2 pork cullets

- 2 large eggs, beaten

- 2 cups bread crumbs

- garlic powder, salt & pepper for seasoning

- 1 cup flour

- large frying pan or fryer

- & just enough vegetable oil to submerge the pork slices.

Season the pork with the garlic powder, salt and pepper, &

let it sit for a minute. Place the pork in the bowl of flour &

bread them completely. Then, gently(one at a time) place

them in the bowl of beaten eggs, be sure that all sides have

been covered. Now, bread each one with the crumbs & fry!

Be sure the oils hot, and flip them to be evenly browned on

both sides.

i recommend eating these lovies with tonkatsu sauce or

some home made curry & rice ~

Gingerbread & Cake Lollipops ;

so i was surfing thru the web, and i found pictures of "Cake Lollipops" !
which i decided would go GREAT with my original plan for gingerbread cookies.
it also gave me the idea of turning my gingerbread into pops too !
Basically "cake lollipops" are decorated balls of cake , on a stick. 
simple , brilliant, and SO cute !
then again any food on a stick is pretty friking awesome, amiright?

Red Velvet Cake
its just instant cake from a box, it can be any cake of
your choice, but since its christmas, i decided to go with a
pretty red colour ~

Baked Cake
heres how it looks, fresh out of the oven

Crumble the Cake

- Let the cake cool completely, before crumbling the cake
into tiny pieces & remember its important to
NOT have big chunks, so sift through the crumbs carefully,
and take your time with it.

- Also mix 3/4 of a can of cheese cake frosting into

the crumbs. it`ll help act as a glue, for when you roll up

your cake into balls.

Cake Balls

- Take a small bit of your cake crumbles, and roll them
into a ball. if you ball has a hard time keeping its shape, try
adding a little more frosting into your cake.
- The cake balls should be the size of an average lollipop,

or as wide as a quarter.

- Set them out on a large baking sheet

- Let them cool in the fridge for a few hrs, until firm. or put

them in the freezer for an hour if youre in a rush.

(dont let them be ROCK hard, you just want them to be

firm enough to keep their shape, as youre inserting sticks

into them & decorating them)

Cake Lollipops

- Once your cake balls have been firmed in the fridge,

gently insert lollipop sticks, half-way into them.

White Chocolate
i used melted white chocolate for this one, since it seemed
to go well with the red cake & its Christmas theme.

- melt your choice of chocolate in the microwave, in 15 second

 intervals. Be sure to heat & mix your chocolate until it has a

smooth and creamy texture. You will be using this to dip &

drizzle your cakes !

- (Tip - it helps to always keep your bowl of melted candy

atleast halfway full, it makes it alot easier to dip your cakes,

in & out quickly.)

Drying Cake Lollipops
i used a large sheet of styro-foam, that
i bought at my local crafts store, to
help me cool my decorated cake pops.
i also bought a bottle of dragees
(edible balls of colored sugar)
(mine were a silver blueish color),
for additional decoration.
(Tip - it helps to keep half of your cake
balls in the fridge, as your working on
decorating the other half, because it
gets harder to decorate your cake balls
when they start melting & softening up.
They tend to slide down the stick or
crumble, when you start to dip them)

Making Gingerbread
(i sort of messed up on this picture, i wasnt suppose to add
 the brown sugar together with the spices, but luckily i was
able to carefully scoop out the sugar and use it properly.)

CAREFUL! i used this recipe to make almost 40 cookies, 

since i was using them for my gift-baskets, so if you dont

want a bunch of cookies on your hands, cut this recipe

in half!

- 6 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour

- 1 1/2 tbs ginger powder

- 2 tbs ground cinnamon

- 1 tsp ground cloves

- 1 tsp ground nutmeg

- 1/2 finely ground black pepper

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

mix together these ingredients & set aside.

Creaming the Butter

- With an electric mixer, cream 3 sticks of unsalted butter.

- Add 1 cup of dark brown sugar, and beat until fluffy.

Adding Molasses & Eggs

- Add 1 cup of unsulfured molasses & 2 eggs into your

fluffy butter mixture.

- Gradually add in the flour mixture, and mix on a

low speed. (you may need to knead the last bit of flour with

your hands, since the dough will get harder to mix.)

Ginger Bread Dough
heres how my finished dough turned out~

Dividing Dough

- Divide the dough into balled thirds.

3 Balls of Dough

- Wrap each third in plastic, and let cool in the fridge for

atleast an hour or over night.

- Before rolling out, be sure to let the dough sit at room

temperature for 10 minutes, if its still too hard to

handle, heat the dough in the microwave for 15 seconds, &

knead with your hands until it softens.

- Or if the dough is too soft even after refrigerating, work in

a little bit of flour until its in a workable constancy.

Cutting Out The Gingerbread Cookies

haha! i couldnt help eating the one on the right, 

poor guy... no head or arms .

- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

- Place a dough third on a lightly floured counter-top and

roll out your dough into desired thickness.

(Remember that these cookies will almost double in

thickness when baked!) i had to make mine a bit thicker

since i needed to insert lollipop sticks into them.

- Use a cookie cutter to cut out gingerbread shapes.

- Feel free to decorate them with chocolate chips, raisins,

or candy if desired. (personally, i enjoy mine plain)

- Carefully insert the lollipop sticks into them, BEFORE

baking. (dont worry, the sticks wont burn~)

- With a careful hand, transfer them into ungreased baking

sheets, & bake until crisp, not darkened. about 10 minutes.

Make Your Own Royal Icing !
i never thought making my own icing would be so easy~

Recipe ;

- 1 egg white
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice

- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the eggs, lemon juice, & vanilla extract with an

electric mixer. Gradually add the powdered sugar until

stiff peaks form. (feel free to add more sugar if needed)

Pour the icing into a corner of a sandwich zip-lock bag,

and cut off a tiny portion of the edge. You will be using

this to decorate your gingerbread!

Decorated Gingerbread

i liked decorating only a few of my gingerbread cookies,

i the look of the natural plain ones ~

 too many faces & buttons seemed a little too hectic

for my taste. heh

Arranging the Finished Product !
oh my god.. as fun as it was baking all of these, it did take
a while~ , but they ended up looking so pretty! i love it!
i bought cute little Christmas baskets at a crafts store to use
as my gift baskets, they`ll usually have some on sale,
ranging from $1- $3 (for the bigger ones) not bad!
i bought the bigger baskets as group gifts, & Christmas
themed to-go boxes for individuals.

- to keep the gingerbread & cake lollipops standing, i cut
out pieces of styro-foam, to fit inside the baskets.
- i used shredded green paper to cover up the styro-foam

and for decoration purposes of course~

(you can buy shredded paper at a crafts store as well, or you

can use a shredder at home, if you own one)

they`re surprisingly pricey for just shredded paper....

Close-up of a Basket
this one was for Frankies Family~

Finished Gift Baskets !
i used a post-it note to write my "To's & From's" &
bought clear wrapping paper to wrap, but if you`re
planning on using the same sized baskets for all your
gifts, buy the ones that are already pre-sized.
i also bought (flexible-wired) red & silver trimmed ribbon
to tie these up ! Arnt they beautiful? hehe

These were made for the people who
mean the most to me,

Ho Family - (Frankies family & my second family)

Tiffany - ( my best friend since `05)

William & Lyn (my "brother" & his new girlfriend

(shes super sweet))

Josh (who is now a bastard, for being too busy to

pick these up!)

&

"The Group"(that attended the Christmas,

White Elephant party)

Jerry, Steven, Charles, Vivian, Jill, Andrew, Thomas,

Spencer, Danno, and whoever else was there! haha~

i hope you all enjoyed these lollipop`ed cakes & cookies~

i love you all & best wishes for the New Year !