Leli Wiggins

Christmas!!!

2010-12-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone, it came so fast that I still feel like I need a real Christmas!! I did not feel any excitement on Friday... I had work and then I went to do some errand that by the time I got home, it was already dinner time. I did not get to dress up or finish wrapping presents. Our record player was broken so we did not hear any Christmas songs and it was such a small gathering that it felt like any other weekend. I miss my big family. I miss having all my cousins, aunts, and uncles, all sharing a meal. Telling jokes and playing games... I miss having gift exchanges and sharing stories. I hate growing up. I hate family feuds. I hate that Christmas no longer feels like Christmas. Times like this I really miss my grandfather. He knew how to keep the family together. He was the center of our family and I miss him. Its been more than five years since he has died, and I still feel like I talked about to him a couple of weeks ago. If he were still alive, there would not have been a feud between uncles and aunts. We will all get along an he would be proud of us for being such a close family. But no, they are all acting like children. Since there is no longer a parent figure, they are all throwing tantrums and ignoring people's calls.

Okay, enough of all this and more on good stuff. These past few weeks I have been in a baking frenzy, I have bakes a lot. Here are some of them:

I took pictures of all of these, but when I went to Disneyland in December 13, I left my camera on a bench. I was very excited 'cause I had just gotten a call for an interview for a teahing position.. That I left it there... So now I am camera-less and with no picture to post. So I am posting the links of the sites in which I got the recipes from.

Fall!!

2010-11-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

Well it finally feels like fall in southern California. What is the best way to celebrate? Well by making a large stack of crêpes and a hot pot of English breakfast tea!!!!

Hamlet: Facebook Version

2010-10-03T18:51:00.001-07:00

So I was juts browsing the NPR website when I found this poem by Sarah Schmelling about what the Hamlet story would look like today.

Hamlet (Facebook News Feed Edition)

By Sarah Schmelling

- - - -

Horatio thinks he saw a ghost.

Hamlet thinks it's annoying when your uncle marries your mother right after your dad dies.

The king thinks Hamlet's annoying.

Laertes thinks Ophelia can do better.

Hamlet's father is now a zombie.

- - - -

The king poked the queen.

The queen poked the king back.

Hamlet and the queen are no longer friends.

Marcellus is pretty sure something's rotten around here.

Hamlet became a fan of daggers.

- - - -

Polonius says Hamlet's crazy ... crazy in love!

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet are now friends.

Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.

Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent.

Ophelia removed "moody princes" from her interests.

Hamlet posted an event: A Play That's Totally Fictional and In No Way About My Family

The king commented on Hamlet's play: "What is wrong with you?"

Polonius thinks this curtain looks like a good thing to hide behind.

Polonius is no longer online.

- - - -

Hamlet added England to the Places I've Been application.

The queen is worried about Ophelia.

Ophelia loves flowers. Flowers flowers flowers flowers flowers. Oh, look, a river.

Ophelia joined the group Maidens Who Don't Float.

Laertes wonders what the hell happened while he was gone.

- - - -

The king sent Hamlet a goblet of wine.

The queen likes wine!

The king likes ... oh crap.

The queen, the king, Laertes, and Hamlet are now zombies.

Horatio says well that was tragic.

Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, says yes, tragic. We'll take it from here.

Denmark is now Norwegian.

Fall!

2010-09-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and its time to start baking! yay! This morning the sky was cloudy with some rays fighting to heat up Earth. Leaves are turning from green to a orangy red color. I even saw leaves falling from the trees as I drove to school. Fall is my favorite season. It means I can wear scarves and sweater. I can drink tea anytime of day. I can bake and no one will scowl me for heating up the house. So to everyone, Happy Fall/Autumn!

Day Thirty

2010-09-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

Dear reflection in the mirror,

You are in my past, did you know that. Your image is a few milliseconds younger than me.

I see you every morning; some mornings you are my friend and other times you are my enemy. Who I see in the mirror is not me. You do not look like that person I believe I am in my mind. Years back people used to go their entire life without looking at their reflection, and here I have the opportunity to see you every day, and I can't. It is a reminder of many possibilities of who I could be. A reminder that I am real and that I must live my life to the fullest. I would like to be honest to you. It should be easy to tell one's reflection the truth but I can't. Of all the people I've lied to, you are the only one that I have been the most dishonest to.

~Leli

Blogs

2010-09-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

Every morning I check my email, my facebook, and then a series of blogs that I follow. here are just some of my favorites:

foodgawker.com
pinchmysalt.com
crepesofwrath.net
poiresdechocolate.blogspot.com
undejeunerdesoleil.blogspot.com
sandrakavital.blogspot.com
breakfastatanthropologie.blogspot.com
effortlessanthropologie.blogspot.com
thefreshloaf.com

the thing that grab my attention is that they have really great photography.

Day Twenty-nine

2010-08-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Dear person that I want to tell everything, but am afraid to,

I want you to know everything about me, I really do.But I feel that if you ever actually get to know just a bit about me that you will just turn around and leave. Me acting more like myself around sometimes makes me feel like you do not like me as much. I feel like you getting to me, and listening to everything, you'll see that I am a disagreeable person. So perhaps I should keep everything to myself, to make life so much easier.

~Leli

Macarons!

2010-08-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

I am going to see a play by the Independent Shakespear Company at the Griffith Observatory in a couple of days, and I want to make something that we can snack on. French macarons have been in my baking list of thing I want to make. When I actually started looking for recipes there were so so many of them. Since I do not eat anything with chocolate that weeded out majority of the recipes. Here are some of my favorite:

Vanilla Cranberry Macarons

http://lifesafeast.blogspot.com/2010/06/chocolate-vanilla-macarons-cranberry.html

Peach Macarons

http://onevanillabean.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/amelie-peach-macarons/

Lavander Vanilla Bean Macaron

http://une-deuxsenses.blogspot.com/2010/08/lavender-vanilla-bean-french-macarons.html

Day Twenty-eight

2010-08-26T02:38:00.000-07:00

Dear someone that changed my life,

Everyone I met has made an impact in my life. I am more outgoing because you were outgoing and it was fun to be like that. I've made an effort in learning math because you told me that that is what was important in life. I am learning french because you always made it sound fun; and I am becoming a teacher because you were a great teacher who cared about all her students, even the ones like me that did not talk a lot. You who made me live life to the fullest and remind me to not dwell in thing that cannot be fixed. All of YOU I thank you.

~Leli

Day Twenty-seven

2010-08-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

Dear friendliest person I knew for only one day,

You started talking to me because we were stuck standing at the back of the class. You were such as nice person, that i took an immediate liking to to you. You told me about you experiences in Lake Cuomo, and how to be a good international relations representative. We were so engrossed in our conversation, i completely forgot to do the assignment.

~Leli

Day Twenty-six

2010-08-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

Dear last person I made a pinky promise to,

Surprisingly I still remember, or maybe is just that you mentioned it so often that that memory has been ingrained in me. I do not know how I came to promise what I did. I think you are the one that said it. Well anyways, all of sudden you said 'pinky promise me', and I just agreed saying sure; while thinking,this is not really going to happened anyways. But you told everyone about it. Now a couple years later I can still remember that I made that promise and I know that I can never fulfil that promise, so I am so glad you have forgotten. It had something to do with you watching a Harry Potter movie. Anyways you are the first and last person I've pinky promise, and it'll probably be the last time cause I do not like that there is promise which I cannot keep.

~Leli

Day Twenty-five

2010-08-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

Dear person I know that is going through the worst of times,

I know that you are going through a tough patch right now. I feel like you cannot trust me enough to let me help you. You give me that secretive smile every time I ask if you are okay. But I feel that behind that secretive smile, there are unshed tears that want to come out. There is a saying that I like: 'Tears are to the soul as soap is to the body.' If you need to talk tell me. I will try to just listen and not do what I did last time, I promise. Everything gets better after a while, remember in a year things will be different.

~Leli

Day Twenty-four

2010-08-22T00:45:00.000-07:00

Dear person who gave me a favorite memory,

Every time I am down or sad all I have to do is think back to that moment and i'll find myself smiling. You might not know it but it really has made it as one of my top ten favorite moments. Thank you!

~Leli

Day Twenty-three

2010-08-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Dear last person I've kissed,

I do not really remember you much anymore. We had our moment and the sun has already gone down.

~Leli

Day Twenty-two

2010-08-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Someone I'd give a second chance,

As long as you do not hurt me or kill me, I'll will always give you a second chance.

~Leli

Day Twenty-one

2010-08-19T02:00:00.000-07:00

Dear someone I judged by their first impression,

My first impression of you was that you were antisocial and had a dry personality. You were someone whom I could not carry a conversation. I'm sorry that because my impression I was cold to you, but you were just shy. Sorry.

~Leli

p.s. you are now one of my closes friend and you turn out to be a cool guy. Glad I ignored that first impression.

Day Twenty

2010-08-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

Dear person who broke my heart the hardest,

I hope I would never meet you. I do not know you but I know you are lurking in my future.

~Leli

Day Nineteen

2010-08-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

Dear someone that pesters my mind,

Get out of there, let me be. I can't really understand why you are there.

~Leli

Day Eighteen

2010-08-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

Dear person that I wish I could be,

I seriously do not know that would be.

~Leli

Day Seventeen

2010-08-15T00:17:00.000-07:00

Dear someone from my childhood,

Growing up I always envied you, I still do. You are so much cooler and knowledgeable. You were also my one constant friend ( that wasn't family), in my childhood. I regretted that we lost touch for a bit in high school, each following our own path. But it is so nice to see you now. Though you are now married and have your own responsibility we can still hangout like all times. You are like another sister part of our family, you and your whole family.

~Leli

Day Sixteen

2010-08-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

Dear someone who is not in my Country,

How are you??? I am so excited that you'll be back soon!! Though I did not really talk to you these pass few years after high school, I always felt you were reachable, but when you decided to spend this past year in Spain, I was when can i talk to you?? But I so hope we can hang out soon.

~Leli

Day Fifteen

2010-08-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

Dear someone I miss the most,

I just want to say I miss you.

~Leli

Day Fourteen

2010-08-12T03:37:00.000-07:00

Dear someone I've drifted away from,

We were very good friend, we had some really good times where we laughed and had fun. But those days have long pass. I took this path and you took that path. When I hang out with you, its like old times, but I know that the person I act around you is my high school self. You have not yet left high school, you are still in that state, while I have moved on. Its nice to remember high school, but I do not wish to go back. You on the other hand have stayed there, with no thoughts of leaving yet. Call me when you have left high school, and then we can enjoy each others company again. We will always ' death food' though :)

~Leli

Day Thirteen

2010-08-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Someone I wish could forgive me,

Unfortunately I don't think you would never read this because you said you'll never speak to me again. So I think If you did read this, I hope you can truly forgive me and know that I did it because I did not want to hurt you. If I did not do it then we both would have been more hurt later on. I know it is unacceptable now, years later but it better later than never right?

~Leli

Day Twelve

2010-08-09T23:29:00.000-07:00

Dear person I hate most,

You could have left me alone, but NOOO you have to pretend you cared and you just did it cause someone ask you too. Why did you decide to do this. That is not such a nice thing to do.

~Leli

Day Eleven

2010-08-08T23:38:00.001-07:00

Dear deceased person I wish I could talk to,

Abuelito i miss you so much, especially these past few days as we are reminiscing about you. It almost going to be six year since you pass away, but i still feel like it was only last year that i played cards with you, or listening to all your childhood memories. Oh how i loved just sitting at the kitchen table and listen to you talk. I still regret that you never made it to see me walk after high school and now college. I try and be a good person so that you could be proud of me. And I hope you and mi abuelita are really looking down at all of us and see that even though we have all separated, that we all love you, and we all miss you. Ignore how your children are acting, they seemed to have lost sight of the meaning of family, but i know that with time, we will all be on Big happy family.

~Tu nieta, Leli

Day Ten

2010-08-08T01:32:00.000-07:00

Dear people I don't talk to as much as I'd like,

I see you often and we get along well, and it seems like we talk a lot, but we don't. We don't have as meaningful conversations as i wish we could. Sometimes we only skim the top part of what we should talk about but i think its me who does not try to plunge into real feeling. It takes courage and guts and I guess i am just a wuss.

~Leli

Day Nine

2010-08-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Someone I wish I could meet (future me),

I have so many questions to ask you. Are you happy? Are there things you wish to tell me so that I can make an even better you? I can picture you, being happy, going to work everyday, and coming home to a loving family. But what I cannot imagine is which road am I suppose to take in order for me to get there. It's like I know what I want but I don't know how to get there. I seem to have lost that piece of paper where I wrote all of it. oh, and if time travelling is invented yet, send me a sign (lol the nerd in me can only hope it can happen)

~Leli

Day Eight

2010-08-06T00:55:00.000-07:00

Dear favorite online friend,

Okay. You're my favorite because not only do I speak to you online, but I also speak to you in person.

~ Leli

Day Seven

2010-08-05T01:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Ex,

When I think back all I can see is your angry face. Things weren't going well and still when it came at the end you were surprised, angry, mad. Because of that, I carry no fond memories.

~Leli

Day Six

2010-08-03T23:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Stranger,

I went into McDonald's to eat and I came out having a great conversation with you a stranger; and being told that I had what was needed to become a good teacher. Thank you.

~Leli

Day Five

2010-08-02T23:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Dreams,

Best night sleep is when I don't remember you. What I have remembered of you, you are just full of emotions, and why can't I see faces, huh? So please let me forget you before I wake up.

~Areli

Day Four

2010-08-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

To my sisters,

I just want to tell you that you will always be my sisters, and if you need anything I'll always be there. I hope that even though we are always arguing and from the outsider view we are really mean, that you know we are arguing because that is who we are and we are actually having fun. I hope that you'll never take it anything seriously. I'll always criticizing because I want you two to become much better people than me. I know I'm can be sometimes mean, and you two are scare of me sometimes.I know I cannot change, I know that. Just bear with me.

~ Areli

Day Three

2010-07-31T23:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents,

Thank you for being such good parent growing up, but can you please tone it down just a bit now. I'm already 23 years of age and you still treat me as if I am still ten. I know you do everything because you love me but still come on, you have an adult child. I feel that since you always hovering in my life that you are not letting me experience being an adult. Many times I find myself missing opportunities because I still feel that you wont let me.

Dad, you are always invading my privacy, going through all my stuff, cant a person have some privacy, have some secrets? Mom, I know we are so similar and that is why we argue a lot. Always wanting to be in charge and wanting things to be our own way; but please, I don't bother you when you do thing differently from me, so please be considerate and not complain that I am doing things wrong, when in fact I am doing just as I feel is correct. There are different ways to do things.

~Leli

Day Two

2010-07-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

To my crush,

To all my crushes; past, present, and future crushes. I am talking to all of you who I have liked. You who have had no idea that I liked you. You have become in my eye all the leading guys in TV and in movies. You have become something more in my mind. Being the prince in every book I've read. Knowing that you can only stay in my imaginations and dreams. I see your name everywhere I go, whether it is in a scrap of paper or in movie credits. You, who I cannot approach with these feelings because I know you do not return the sentiments. I don't want to be a fool again. You have no idea that I like you and that's okay. Don't expect much. Crushes are for little girls who are bored. Crushes do not lead to anything. They are just there to torment me, of what I cannot have. In the end you'll just become someone completely different in my mind, that the real you, I'll stop 'crushing' you. Maybe its not a good thing for you to be my crush. Maybe you can become someone that I can actually approach and just like you. To have a real connection and not just an idealize relationship in my mind. Maybe, just maybe it can happen.

~ Leli

Day One

2010-07-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

To my Best Friend, my Soul mate,

I have not been a good friend these past few months. You have been away for almost a year and I have not contacted you one to really talk to you, to see how you are doing in China and in Indonesia. These past few months have been such a blur that looking back I do not have much to report. I remember those nightly 30 minute phone calls, back when talking on your cell phone

and driving was still legal. How much we exchange about our day. Oh how I miss them. But you know me, I tend to be silent for long periods of time and you know I need them. I know that once all these life problems we are having are long past, we would once again get together and start conversing once more.

There are many times when I want to tell you everything that has happened, but I stop myself and tell myself I don't want to bother you. And because of those thoughts, that I am not being a good friend. I'm sorry. Hope I can start talking to you more. I really cannot wait until you get back to the States. It should be anytime right, from July to November.

~Leli

30 Day Letter Challenge

2010-07-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

So I have been MIA from my blog for the last few months, neglecting to write the recipes I tried. While I was gone, I have been reading and following other blogs, and trying out the recipes. I am going to try and write frequently now. There is a 30 day letter challenge going on and I will like to connect it to cooking. So bear with me these 30 days.

http://letterchallengetumblr.tumblr.com/post/670539707/the-30-day-letter-challenge

Blueberry pancakes

2010-01-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

Basically this whole week I have been cooking and baking a lot, cause what else can you do when you don't have a job and there are no places to go when it is raining. The only reason I have not posted the recipes is that I haven't uploaded the picture for them. This morning I woke wanting to eat some blueberry pancakes. And since it's my sister's birthday, I decided to treat myself (cause of course I need an excuse). I was going to make my traditional pancake mix but then I'll be making 20 pancake just for me. I search online for a recipe for one and I found one that sounded good. I got it from this other blog CupcakeMuffin but of course I altered it a bit. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1/3 c plain yogurt

1/3 c blueberries (fresh)

1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

1/3 c vanilla soy milk

1. Whisk together the dry ingredient is a bowl.

2. In another bowl mix the egg, yogurt, berries, and oil together with a spoon (so you do not pop the berries).

3. Combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl. Add the soy milk.

4. Heat up a skillet with some butter. Pour 1/3 of the batter and gently spread the batter to create a uniformed layer ( you can add more blue berries at this time if you want). Flip the pancake when bubble appear on the surface of the pancake. When underside is golden remove from skillet onto plate. Recipe makes three pancakes.

To make blueberry syrup. Heat up 1/8 c of maple syrup and a handful of blue berries in the microwave for 30 second. Pour over the pancakes and you'll have a wonderful breakfast for one.

Oatmeal Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

2010-01-22T00:52:00.000-08:00

Today was dad birtdhay and I wanted to make something to sort of celebrate his birthday, even though I am not there celebrating his birthday with him in Mexico. I had this oatmeal cookie craving so I look for one that was chewy and crunchy and delicious. I wrote down the recipe and a freind of mine actually did the cookies. They turned out quite delicious.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 c butter

2 1/2 old fashion oats

1 c light brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 c dried cranberries

1 c unsalted pistachio, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

3. In another bowl cream together the butter and sugars. Mix in the eggs. Then add the honey and the vanilla. Mix into the large bowl.

4. Add the cranberries and the pistachios. Then mix in the oats into the batter. Place dough into the freezer for fifteen minutes.

5. Scoop cookie dough with a small ice cream scoop, 2 inches apart. Bake in the oven for 9-11 minutes.

6. Let the cookies settle in the sheet for a minute of two then transfer them into a cooling rack.

Enjoy the cookies with a nice cold cup of water or some milked tea.

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

2010-01-20T03:27:00.000-08:00

Days like these, raining all day and having no place to go, I feel like taking out all my baking supplies and take note on all the things I have; and then I search all my books and online websites for that right recipe to quench the need to bake. That is what happened to me: I had all the ingredient to make this bake good( found on thefreshloaf). I had everything but the blueberries but i was able use berry jam instead.

Here is the recipe:

2 c all-purpose flour

1 c sugar

1/2 c cold butter

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon zest

3/4 plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

2 large egss

6 oz cream cheese

1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 F. Butter a 9- inch round pan or an 8x8 inch pan.

2. First Layer:

1. Mix flour and 2/3 cup of sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter. Put aside 1/2 cup of the mix. Mix in baking soda, baking powder, and lemon zest.

2. In another bowl, mix together the yogurt, vanilla and one egg. Add the mix to the large bowl. Pour onto the baking pan. This is the first layer.

3. Second Layer:

1. In a bowl mix cream cheese, lemon juice, one egg and 1/4 cup of sugar until it has a creamy consistency. Pour over the first layer in the pan.

4. Third Layer:

1. Mix in a 1/2 cup of jam with 1/8 c of cold coffee. Pour over the cream cheese layer.

5. Fourth Layer:

1. Mix the saved 1/2 cup of flour/sugar/butter mixture with 4 tbs of more butter. Working your finger to create a crumbly consistency. Sprinkle over the third layer, concentrating around the edge.

6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Making sure to rotate the pan halfway through. Take out and let the cake settle for fifteen minutes. Enjoy.

Dead blogs...

2009-12-17T00:32:00.001-08:00

Surfing the net, I come across many blogs in which the writers haven't written in months or even years. Makes you wonder, what happened to them? [I was one of them once. I had this blog for a year and I remember I stopped because I lost interest in writing about my life. Then I decided to write about other interesting stuff other than my life] Question such as what happened to them? Did they forgot their password? Or did they died??? come into mind.

Many people die, but they leave their unfinished business in the internet. There should be a job for someone to collect or clean out what ever is lost and never be use again. When I read the last thing they wrote, I think to myself, 'was this what they wanted to write or where they planning on editing some more later?'

All these questions where brought on by a book that I am reading. A woman writes to her best friend about her day and how she misses him. As she send the email, her best friend dies in a terrorist attack. That last email is lost in that man's inbox. There will be no one to open it and read that letter. That letter is lost. That email account will forever be lost, too. That letter was unknowingly her last letter to him, and he never got the chance to read it. Lost words. Lost message...

Okay I am just rambling.

Pistachio-Cranberry Biscotti

2009-12-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

Pistachio-Cranberry Biscotti

So here is the recipe of these wonderful biscotti. I made another batch last night with my little sister. I got the recipe from Martha Stewart, though slightly altered. Here it is:

Ingredient:

1/2 c dried cranberries

1/2 c boiling water

2 1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp soften butter

1/2 c white sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar

3 large eggs, plus one egg lightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp cold brewed coffee

1/2 c mix of roughly and fine chop unsalted pistachios

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the cranberries is a small bowl with the boiling water, set aside for 15 minute

s. Drain, ans set aside.

3. In a bowl shift flours, salt, and baking powder.

4. In another bowl cream together the butter and the sugars together. Add the eggs (only three), one at a time. Then mix in the vanilla and the coffee.

5. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet

ingredients, in small batches.

6. Fold in the pistachios and the cranberries. In a floured surface, turn out the dough. Knead to incorporate the pistachio and cranberries better.

7. Divide the dough in half and make two logs of equal size (about 16x2 inches). Place onto the baking sheet. With the palm of your hand gently press down, flattening the logs. Brush the logs with the beaten egg. Sprinkle generously with sugar.

8. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch ( remember to rotate the baking pan halfway through).

9. Place to cool in a cooling rack for 15 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 300 F.

10. Cut the logs into 1/2 inches slices. Place in a greased cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn off oven and let the biscotti in for 15 minutes. Then bring out of the oven and enjoy.

2009-12-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

My sister's tea party went well. There were only two of her friend due to the incoming dreaded finals week. The menu was the following:

-Cranberry Pistachio Icebox cookies,

-Raspberry mini cheesecakes,

-Mini brownies,

-Honey and Walnut biscuits,

- Thin cucumber sandwiches,

-pineapple cupcakes;

but after contemplating on the menu, I changed some of the items. Instead of making cranberry-pistachio cookies, I made biscotti. And instead of raspberry cheesecakes, I made strawberries cheesecakes with tiny heart made from the strawberry sauce [funny thing happened that a few of the cheesecake crack, the crack ran across the hearts, what a bad omen!!!]. I did not have time to make the cucumber sandwiches because my sister wanted to make Chilaquiles ( a mexican dish that she had just learned to make herself) to show off her cooking skills :) I made the honey walnut biscuits with whole wheat flour (was rying to be healthy) Bad idea. I did not like how they tasted or how they smell. I am going to stick with white flour for now until i have the courage to try another 'healthy' recipe.

Instead of pineapple cupcakes, I made flour-less chocolate cupcakes, for a friends grandmother who is glucose-intolerant from Martha Stewart book, Cupcakes . They had a chocolate mousse texture, mi mom said they taste a bit weird, so I ate one, as as you know chocolate makes me sick, but when i tasted them they were not bad, as long as you are not expecting the classic cupcake taste of chocolate bread [I had a bad stomachache that night but i had to make sure that they were ok]. I serve these flour-less cakes with sliced strawberries, which were called the "pièce de resistance" of the whole treat :) Unfortunately I did not have the chance to take picture but I will post the recipe for each of these treat when I make them again and I will post the photographs along with the recipe. I will probably invite anyone who read this to cocme and eat them.

Tea Party

2009-12-03T00:49:00.000-08:00

My sister is having a tea party on Saturday, and she has ask me if i can make her all the pastries. She wants a large variety. Some of the treat I am thinking of making are the following:

-Cranberry Pistachio Icebox cookies

-Raspberry mini cheesecakes

-Mini brownies

-Honey and Walnut biscuits

- Thin cucumber sandwiches

-pineapple cupcakes

All accompanied by White temple Tea, from A.C Perch's Thehandel (Best tea shop for all tea

lovers, can be bought online, but the experience of going to this store is phenomenal. Its

an old family own shop were they use different metal weights and a 1800's balance and an even older cash register. The service was great too, they are friendly and they are happy to give as much as of their time as needed; though there is always a long line to get

service.)

I'm going to try and just make 1/4 of each recipes, to have a few of each. I'll post pictures once I make them on Friday evening.

Cooking books

2009-11-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as I got home, my neighbor was waiting for me. He wanted to know if I wanted any cooking books. His wife had just passed away and he was cleaning out her stuff. So as I was sitting in her neat living room skimming through books after books I felt that I was getting to know my neighbor. I learned that she loved Italian food and she was a song writer. She would write song and compose on her Yamaha piano and send them out to different companies. My neighbor told me that she loved to go to book stores and new books about cooking all the time. It sadden me that it had to take her dying to get to know her. What I heard was that she really enjoyed the treats that I send her: some home made Krispy Kreme style doughnut, cheesecakes, hamburgers, etc. But thanks to my neighbor I know have a larger selection of recipes to draw upon.

Eggplant Parmigiana

2009-11-19T23:14:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, Veteran's Day I tried to make eggplant parmigiana from a recipe that my friend gave me. I had been craving it for weeks and i did not want to ask my friend to make it for me so I attempted to do it myself. This was one of my biggest disasters ever, [it looked good but was way too salty] word of advice when adding salt keep trap of how many type you added salt. I was in making dinner and writing my analysis paper for class, and for some reason i did not remember how much I added salt to the sauce. I tasted the eggplant when i was done frying it but i did not taste the marinara sauce. When the dish came out it was way to salty and nothing, not even unsalted pasta could take away the saltiness. My poor family pretended it was good and ate a little, but in the middle of the night we were not feeling good. Too much salt in your system make you feel nauseous and get a bad headache. Next time I make this wonderful dish I am going to write down the amount of salt used or just ask my friend to make the sauce herself. Hers is awesome.

Here is the recipe, keep track on the amount of salt (this reminds me of another incident when I was young, I'll write about it later on).

Eggplant Parmigiana

Ingredients

2 Medium eggplants, cut into 1/2 inches thick round slices

As needed All-purpose flour

15 oz. Italian breadcrumbs

6 large Eggs, beaten

2 tbsp whole milk

As needed Vegetable oil, for frying

As needed Marinara Sauce

2/3 c Grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb Grated mozzarella cheese

Marinara Sauce

3 tbsp Olive oil

8 oz onion finely diced

5 garlic cloves, firmly chopped

2(28 oz) canned tomatoes

2 fresch thyme sprigs

2 fresh sprigs of basil

to taste salt (********to taste, very vital words)

to taste ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F

2. For eggplant:

-place flour nad breadcrumbs each individually in a container. In a bowl, wh

isk the eggs and milk together.

-Dredge an eggplant slice in flour, then dip it in the egg mixture, and finally dredge it in the breadcrumbs. Shake of any excess breading and transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet. repeat with the remaining eggplant.

-In a large skillet/fryer, pour the oil to depth of 1/2 inch. Heat th eoil over th emedium heat, until it reaches 375 F.

-Working with small batches, fry the eggplant slices, turning

once, until golden brown. Using tongs, transfer to a paper-lined baking sheet and season lightly with salt. repeat with the remaining eggplant.

3. For sauce:

- Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.

- Sweat the onion, until translucent and then add the garlic, and cook for about 1 minute.

-Add the tomatoes, and herbs; bring to a boil.

-Then lower the heat to simmer, cover, for 20 minutes.

-Remove and discard the sprigs.

-Season to taste.

-Pass through the blender/food mill.

4. To assemble:

-Lightly brush a baking dish with olive oil. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with 1/3 of the marinara sauce. Scatter half of the eggplant over the sauce.

-Cover the eggplant with another 1/3 of the sauce.

-Scatter half of the parmesan cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese over the sauced eggplant.

-Repeat with remaining eggplant, sauce, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese.

-Bake until hot and bubbly. Just when its beginning to brown, about 30 minutes.

Crepes

2009-11-04T00:09:00.000-08:00

Ever since I had crepes for breakfast every morning in Paris,France, I have loved these treats. I make these once in a while and when I do, I am eating them throughout the day. They are so light and delicious and while you can refrigerate them and eat them later, they are best right out of the skillet. With a dab of melting butter and sprinkled sugar, it is so delicious (just thinking about it makes my mouth water). My sisters like them with Nutella spread. Here is the recipe, it is a very simple recipe as long as you are patient while cooking them.

Crepes

3 eggs

1 c whole milk

2/3 c water

1 c all purpose flour

4 tbsp melted butter

1/4 tsp salt

1. Mix everything together with a blender until it has a creamy consistency. Cover and refrigerate for 30 to overnight (this is make sure that the butter thickens up the batter).

2. Heat up a nonstick skillet over a medium heat. Lightly grease the skillet with some butter. scoop 1/4 cup of batter starting in the center and pouring in a circular motion to the sides of the crepes, also by tilting the pan to get a thin layer of batter. After a minute or until the edges curl flip the crepe carefully fro 30 seconds.

3. Place on a plate and spread Nutella; or butter with sugar or strawberries and whipped cream or...

use you imagination. Anything can go with crepes even tuna salad or eggs. They are great on their own too.

The crepes in Paris are huge you can't see it here but these are about 3-4 feet in diameter. One is a whole meal. Small ones are nice and easy to make at home but making these huge one requires having the right tools and lots and lots of skills. And these guys make them in front of you and I never saw them mess up. (not my photograph)

Thanksgiving Turkey

2009-11-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

Last year my sister was in Denmark and she wrote me to email her the recipe on how to make a Thanksgiving dinner. She wanted to show her host family a traditional dinner. Here is what I send her with some new tricks I learned last Thanksgiving. Every year I learn new ways to improve.

TUrkey

INGREDIENTS

1 turkey, approx. 15 lbs.*
Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Olive oil or melted butter
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
Tops and bottoms of a bunch of celery
2 carrots
Parsley
Sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme

[* Need help figuring out how big a turkey to get? Butterball has a turkey calculato r that helps you figure out just how many pounds you need. In general, plan for:

12-15 lb turkey for 10-12 people
15-18 lb turkey for 14-16 people
18-22 lb turkey for 20-22 people]

METHOD

1 First defrost the turkey, if it is frozen, you will need to defrost it in the refrigerator for several days first. Allow approximately 5 hours of defrosting for every pound. So, if you have a 15 pound turkey, it will take about 75 hours to defrost it in the refrigerator, or around 3 days. Then the night before, first remove the neck and giblets (heart, gizzard, liver). Place the turkey in orange juice, coke, and rose wine, and spices (anything that the family likes).Place in the refrigerator over night.

The next day place the turkey outside and make sure it is room temperature.

*Handle a raw turkey with the same amount of caution as when you handle raw chicken - use a separate cutting board and utensils to avoid contaminating other foods. Wash you hands with soap before touching anything else in the kitchen. Use paper towels to clean up.*

2 Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

3 Drain out the turkey of the brine (orange juice and stuff). Pull out any remaining feather stubs in the turkey skin. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Lather the inside of the cavity with the juice of half a lemon and then cover the turkey with butter, making small holes on the skin so the butter is inside the skin. Take a small handful of salt and rub all over the inside of the turkey.

4 In this method of cooking a turkey, we don't make the stuffing in the turkey because doing so adds too much to the cooking time. For flavor, put in inside the turkey a half a yellow onion, peeled and quartered, a bunch of parsley, a couple of carrots, and some tops and bottoms of celery. Close up the turkey cavity with either string (not nylon string!) or metal skewers. Make sure that the turkey's legs are tied together, held close to the body, and tie a string around the turkey body to hold the wings in close.

The neck cavity can be stuffed with parsley and tied closed with thin skewers and string.

5 Rub either melted butter or olive oil all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle salt generously all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle black pepper over the turkey.

6 Place turkey BREAST DOWN (very important to have a juicy trukey) on the bottom of a rack over a sturdy roasting pan big enough to catch all the drippings. Cooking the turkey breast down means the skin over the breast will not get so brown. However, all of the juices from the cooking turkey will fall down into the breast while cooking. And the resulting bird will have the most succulent turkey breast imaginable.

Add several sprigs of fresh (if possible) thyme and rosemary to the outside of the turkey.

7 Chop up the turkey giblets (gizzard, heart, liver). Put into a small saucepan, cover with water, and add salt. Bring to simmer for an hour or so to help make stock for the stuffing

8 Put the turkey in the oven. Check the cooking directions on the turkey packaging.

-recommended cooking time of about 15 minutes for every pound.

For example for the 15 lb turkey, start the cooking at 400 F for the first 1/2 hour. Then reduce the heat to 350 F for the next 2 hours. Then reduce the heat further to 225 F for the next hour to hour and a half.

If you want the breast to be browned as well, you can turn over the bird for the last 15-20 minutes of cooking, at an oven temp of 300°F. (Oven must be at least 250°F for browning to occur.)

Start taking temperature readings with a meat thermometer, by inserting deep into the thickest part of the turkey breast and thigh, a half hour before the turkey should be done. The dark meat in the thigh should be about 175 F. The white meat in the breast should be 160 F to 165 F. If you don't have a meat thermometer, spear the breast with a knife. The turkey juices should be clear, not pink.

9 Once you remove the turkey from the oven, let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Turn the turkey breast side up to carve it.

Stuffing

Ingredients

1 Onion
3 carrots
2 potatoes
3 stalks of celery
Turkey stock (cook the gizzard and the neck in 4 cups of water with a little bit of salt, in medium heat, for 30 minutes)

For the stuffing, it there is no box for stuffing bread, then you need a day old French bread. You can cut it into small dices. Then you can cut into tiny cubes, celery, potatoes, onion and carrot. Steamed cook these vegetables, and then when the potatoes are soft, place them in with the diced bread in a small baking pan. Put enough turkey stock to cover half of the bread and vegetables. Cover, and bake for 30 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees F.

Photographs

2009-10-21T23:49:00.001-07:00

Looking at the previous post. I just noticed that the Photographs are really horrible. I need to start taking pictures with something else other than my phone camera. I wish i had a good camera so i can have good picture like other blogs.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2009-10-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

I was searching last week a recipe, I don't even know what it was that I was looking for for, but it took me to this food blog, pinchmysalt.com, that had on its front page a wonderful photograph of bite size pumpkin cheesecakes. For two days I went back to that page just to look at the photograph, so when Friday came I decided to make these wonderful looking treats. (I remember now, I was looking at Red Velvet cake recipes) I made one batch and it was way too sweet for my liking so I decided to make another batch, less sweet. Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust

1 c crushed graham crackers

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp melted butter

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Filling

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 canned pumpkin

1 egg plus 1 egg white

1/4 c packed brown sugar

1/2 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

Topping

1 c heavy cream

1/4 c powder (confectioner) sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F

2. Butter small muffin tins, set aside.

3. In a bowl mix all the ingredient for the crust and scoop 1 tbsp of the crust into the bottom of the small muffin tins. Press the crust with you fingers so as to have a smooth even surface.

4. In a large bowl, cream together well the cream cheese and the canned pumpkin. Once it is well incorporated, add the eggs and the brown sugar, mix well. Add the maple syrup and the spices.

Mix well.

5. With an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into each muffin tin 2/3 of the way.

6. place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. Remove from oven place in a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Afterward let the cheesecake set for 1 hour to overnight in the refrigerator.

7. Slowly remove the cheesecake from the tin.

8.For the topping, use a electric mixer to whip together the heavy cream , powder sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until you have soft stable peaks. Scoop a generous heap of topping on each mini cheesecakes.

9. Serve while still chilled and enjoy.

Banana Nut Muffins

2009-10-06T23:28:00.000-07:00

Okay so I really did not want to do my reading for today so last night I baked some banana nut muffins. They were really good; they were moist but not too rich, with a great caramel-y top. I got it of TheFreshLoaf, but I altered some stuff. Here it is:

Banana Nut Muffins

Batter:

3/4 c butter

8 oz. cream cheese

1 c brown sugar

1 c white sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c mashed riped bananas

1 c chopped walnuts

Topping:

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c finely chopped walnuts

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp melted butter

1 tbsp brewed cold coffee

1/4 c uncooked oatmeal

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instruction:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. In a bowl cream together the butter and the cream cheese. Add the sugar and mix until fully incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time. Finally, add the vanilla. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

3. In a large bowl fully mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Add the butter mixture into the flour slowly.

4. Add in the mash bananas and bananas gently.

5. Spoon the batter into greased muffin pans, filling about two thirds.

6. In a small bowl mix all the ingredients for the filling. Scoop topping on top of the batter just in the center.

7. Place the muffin pans in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

8. Let the muffins cool for 15 minutes and remove from pans.

9. Enjoy with iced cold milk or hot English breakfast tea.

*I tried this again for a friend's birthday and I did not have cream cheese but I did have cottage cheese and plain yogurt so I use 16 oz of cottage cheese (strained with a cheese clothe) and 1/4 cup of plan yogurt instead. They came out really good and since they were 'healthier' more people tried them and like them.