Long time no see...

It's been a long time since I've updated my little blog.  I didn't bake much, so didn't have much to share.  However, I was inspired on my trip to Hong Kong and Thailand.  Mango tarts I made this weekend...inspired from a trip to the Mandarin Cake Shop.

Mini Mango tarts

Summer is coming!

Summer is slowly creeping up on us.  We got lucky and were blessed with some amazing weather on our first “fun run” on Saturday.  It was to up to cottage country, Muskoka.  I can see how beautiful it would be in the fall.   Still trying to figure out my camera…I think the pictures are improving slowly!

Happy New Year!

My first post of 2011 is a little late but it’s been so crazy at work; I’ve had no time to do much of anything.  My New Year’s resolution this year was to not be so lazy.  I definitely haven’t been lazy; I even went into work on New Year’s Day!  Yet, the work seems to be never-ending.    I think work has slowly taking over my life.  I need to work harder to balance it out again.  Even though I worked some crazy hours this week, I somehow managed to make bake twice, and all in one night!  I made banana loaf for Tomy and bittersweet brownies for myself.  I’ve experimented with various brownie recipes and still think this one is the best…8ozs of 70% bittersweet chocolate.  How can you beat that?  The recipe comes from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert. 

Bittersweet Brownies Adapted from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert

Ingredients (makes sixteen 2” brownies):

8oz 70% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped – I used Lindt
3oz unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
3 large eggs
150g sugar
Scant ¼ tsp salt
1.2oz all purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F and line 8” square baking pan with parchment
1. Place chocolate and butter in heatproof bowl and set over a pan of almost simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted, smooth and quite warm. Remove and set aside.
2. In medium bowl, beat eggs, sugar and salt until eggs are thick and light coloured.
3. Whisk in warm chocolate and fold in flour.
4. Scrape batter into lined pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool on a rack.


Enjoy!

Pretty things...

Wait - there's an explanation for my absence!  An unexpected event resulted in us flying back to HK for a few weeks.  When I got home, I was totally jetlagged and exhausted from work...I barely cooked, let alone baked.  When I did back, I was too lazy to take pictures.  Ok, enough with the excuses, let me share some pretty things I bought yesterday. 



I was looking to get some more delicata squash at the farmer's market yesterday when I spotted this squash.  Yes... it's the kuri squash or as the French call it, potimarron. 

Besides scoring this squash, they finally had oxtail from Green Gate Farms; ok, I basically asked them to save me some as I've been getting to the market too late to get some before they sell out. Apparently, they only get oxtail every two weeks. Right now, the oxtail is simmering on the stove for tomorrow night's dinner! :)

Some more pretty things purchased this weekend:

 from Coco's Closet

from Lemon Park

It's been years since I've gone to the One of A Kind Show and it's much bigger than I remember and with more food products for sale. I guess that's what attracts the crowds as there was much more people than I remember.

I was debating between the two pieces but decided to get both as they would go with different outfits.  I'm pretty excited and happy about my purchases.  

Menaggio

It’s been a hectic quarter end that’s not quite over.   I wish I could wake up tomorrow to this amazing view.  

My Pefect Weekend

My perfect weekend starts off with going to the farmers market for fresh produce.  This is what I got yesterday along with some naturally raised meats. 

Although we've been lazy, we should be enjoying this nice weather by being outdoors.  We drove out to Niagara for some hiking and much needed exercise.  The leaves have started to change colours but I think it'll be at its peak in two weeks.  Have to go back to take some more pictures.

Sunday is my lazy day!

King of Mangoes

Having missed the season last year, I’ve been keeping an eye on local blogs for this year’s crop of Alphonso mangoes. I came across this blog and concluded that they’ve arrived. A call to Kohinoor Foods confirmed they had them in stock. After enjoying the nice weather by biking down the DVP trail, we headed down to Little India in search for mangoes. It was an interesting exchange at the store, nevertheless, I got what I was looking for. I left the store happily with my box of mangoes, excited to eat the King of mangoes.

I’ll have to say, I’m not sure what the hype is all about. It was ok, not what I was expecting. The mangoes which I had in Thailand are way sweeter. It’s probably the difference with having something fresh versus shipping overseas.

Happy New Year!!!

All the best to everyone in 2010! I’m not one to make resolutions but there are a few baking related items I hope make and perfect in 2010. There are still too many recipes I have been unwilling to try for fear of failure but hopefully I would have the courage to try in 2010.

I also hope to perfect my macaron recipe as it’s still giving me mixed results. The lemon macarons which I thought turned out well did not end up with the right texture. The texture I want is like the strawberry macaron pictured here. It should be delicate; thin enough so biting through is effortless. I was pleased with this result but decided it was a little too high, so I figured I had to fold it a little more the next time.



So when I made the batch of lemon macarons, I folded it a little more until the batter was a little flowier. Appearance-wise I was pleased with this macaron but the shell wasn’t delicate enough. It took a lot of effort to bite in and was too chewy.



I guess I need to tweak this recipe a little more to get the right texture and right appearance. I’ll probably take a break from macarons as I don’t need more egg yolks in the freezer.

Goodbye 2009...

2009 was full of ups and downs. Even my last baked good of the year was with mixed results! The macarons turned out but the buttercream gave me tons of trouble. As 2010 approaches, I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone all the best for 2010.

Little things to brighten our day...

Sometimes it’s the little things that brighten our day. I’ve been looking for freezed dried fruit ever since I read Aran’s raspberry macarons. I unsucessfully tried Helen’s instructions to prepare strawberry powder . I had just about given up when I saw them at the supermarket yesterday morning. I picked up a bag, yes only a bag although I am planning to go back for some more. Some egg whites are aging in the fridge...hopefully my macs would turn out as nicely as theirs.

What makes me happy...

New 3" high square pan and tart rings

When I bake, I forget everything around me, no stress or worries. I just hope that my creation turns out!
May has been a bad month for me, so I went downtown today to pick up something that would make me really happy...tart rings. I’ve wanted to buy them for the longest time but have been too cheap; however I decided to splurge a bit today.

Pierre Herme

Will they still be there when I go? I’ve been dying to get my hands on one of them since I saw the Lipton tea giveaways last year. Now they’ll be at his store. I wonder how much I need to spend to get the one I want!