football seasons starting...

now, im not too much of a professional football watcher; but i will hit up some college football every now and then. yes, im all for miami hurricanes. i made some miami hurricane cupcakes before (look at older posts) and now that i look back on it...i am so not pleased with how they turned out. ewwww. hahaha, so instead of making miami cupcakes...im going to make...you guessed it!!! a MIAMI HURRICANES CAKE!!! and just football cupcakes. oh yes, i have it all planned out. i wont be starting this cake till october though. so we can call it..."operation hurricane." (: i always make layouts of how i want my cakes/cupcakes to look on paper. i write down everything from flavors, to colors, to the way the icing is piped. it makes things a lot easier. anyways, i just had to make a post on it because it was on my mind. i think i might take a quick 3 hour nap and then get ready to go look at some more baking supplies. i def will be making a cake in the next month, so keep posted.

shrimp and vegetable shuumai :)

i go to philadelphia every year, and there is this restaurant called saigon maxim that serves dim sum. they roll around with their metal carts and point to cylinder containers filled with foods you've probably never seen in your life. from bbq chicken feet to sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves...yes, they have it all. but theres always that one cart that has pork shuumai...and shrimp shuumai. i never get the pork, so instead? the shrimp shuumai. one word: DELICIOUS. shrimp shuumai is the best, and healthiest type of dumpling ive EVER tasted. it was so light and full of flavor, and i literally have these once a year. craving them latley, i decided to make my own. i found a recipe online, but it used pork; i needed a substitute, so i used some fresh vegetables.

here is what i used to make them:
* 18 pieces of shrimp, peeled, head off
* 1 large portebella mushroom cap, finely chopped
* 2 T frozen or fresh corn, chopped small, not minced though
* 1 T shaoxing chinese wine
* 1 T sesame oil
* 1 T soy sauce
* salt & pepper
* 1 T chopped scallions (green onion)
* 2 T of white onion, finely chopped
* 1 small bag of "petite" or "baby" peas (frozen)

also, you'll need a steamer. i have a pot that came with a steamer seperate that i had to put on top, so i used that. i also used a cuisine art mini prep plus chop/grind machine (aka, food processor. but i dont call it that!). first, i used the chopping machine to finely chop the mushroom cap (of course, dont put the whole cap in the thing, you'll break it! chop it up into smaller pieces first) and i sauteed it and put it in a bowl. next, i chopped up the corn, then the added the scallions. next, i added the liquids; the sesame oil, shaoxing, and soy. after that, i chopped up my shrimp. now i chopped HALF with a KNIFE, so id have nice chunks of shrimp, then the other HALF i put in the chopping machine so it would be kind of a paste. with the shrimp, paste and chunks in a seperate bowl, i put the cornstarch in with the vegetables and liquids. you may need to add more than 2 T...depending on if the mixture isn't pastey enough. then i added the shrimp, mixed it in, and then the chopped onion.

i used dumpling wrappers, instead of shuumai skins because i couldnt find them. shuumai skins are square, and dumpling wrappers are in shapes of circles. with a spoon, place a spoonfull of the mixture into the middle of the dumpling skin. with your fingers, shape the skin around the mixture so that it can stand up on its own and place a pea in the middle. repeat.

oil the bottom of the steamer so it doesnt stick, and place 4-5 shuumai in at a time. steam for about 10 mins. repeat.

oreo cupcakes.

i absolutley hate oreos, hahaha. theyre super chocolatey crunchy cookie outsides embracing a white powdery creamy filling? ewwwwww!!! but, i wanted to do something different, so i made oreo cupcakes. im always willing to try new things, and im more likely to eat something i dont like when its incorporated into something else. for example, i LOVE sushi. but, some sushi has nasty veggies in it...like tomatoes....sweet potatoes...anything!!! but you know what, ill eat the whole thing as long as it has fish in it. :] i used pre-made products, like cake mix and icing and basically added oreos to them.

st. croix, u.s.v.i. cake.

wooooo!!! this was the st. croix cake i made for my boyfriend. it was my first time working with fondant, and i think for my first time i did pretty well. i got all the supplies to make this cake from a.c. moore, a local arts & crafts store. food coloring, fondant, cake pans, etc. i think i spent about... $60 total? yea, probably. i didnt add any flavoring to the fondant, but the actual cake was french vanilla. it was pretty fun, also time consuming. baking in general requires a lot of patience. its not like cooking in a restaurant...you dont just jump back there and send out plates by the minute. you create, you bake, and then you wait. i started at 2 pm and ended roughly around 6, having to rush at the end because i had to be to work at 6:30.

honestly, fondant is probably one of the toughest things i had to cut through. but, i managed to do it. i love baking, and i will definitley keep doing it. and i WILL start using fondant more often.

fondants, cakes, and cupcakes.

yesterday i made a u.s. virgin islands cake, in favor of my boyfriend. His dad was from St. Croix, so of course we all know he has a little bit of island in him, lol :) i will post pics of it later on because my mom left the camera at our restaurant. the cake...is also there. hahaha, but it was SO fun making this cake. i got all the supplies from a local arts & crafts store, but ill talk about that later!

im on my way to get some cupcake supplies...well really one thing but whatever. im basically on a icing tip hunt; looking for the perfect tips to ice my cupcakes with. my dad gave me fresh ideas on what to do with cupcakes, so you will be seein a lot of them since they are small and easy to do, with the fact school starts in 1 week for me. so i will post another blog later showing pictures of my U.S.V.I. cake!

mango bread. yum!

i made this mango bread for my boyfriend, who is just head over heels for MANGOES!!! so here is the recipe for this delicious bread.

supplies:
3 large eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 to 1 1/4 cup diced mangos from 1 large peeled and pitted mango

1 cup grated apple from 1 granny smith apple

grated zest form only 1/2 of a lime

whisk oil and eggs together in one bowl, then in another mix the dry ingredients. combine and mix until thick and blended, free of lumps. then, add the mango and zests. bake in the oven for about 1 and 1/2 hours. i like to use smaller bread loaf pans, but thats just me.

ducklings...

(these were a picture of my ducklings the week i got them. its been about a month now and theyre not this small) i had to write a post about my children (ducklings, lol). before i ordered these ducklings, i actually made an incubator (which i wouldnt recommend doing) and i had about 18 eggs. they all didnt make it. first, what a waste of eggs. second, what a waste of time trying to make that incubator!!! i ordered my ducklings from mcmurrayhatchery.com, which sells geese, chickens, ducks, and more. i started off with maybe...11 duckings. yep, it was 11. now im down to 6. theyre about as big as a shoe now, and running freely in my enclosed backyard. chasing bugs, swimming in a kiddie pool, and crapping on concrete instead of the grass. but anyways, im really glad i ordered them. theyre so fun to watch and play with, and just overall raise. ducks are waterfowl; they need to have access to water 24-7... because they drink alot of it. i love them all, and i have my biggest duckling, whom i call "child," lol, who is my favorite! hes growing feathers and his squeaking is gradually turning into quacking. just a update for this month. ill post pics later... :)

by the way, thanks mcmurray hatchery!!! if you ever think of ordering poultry, mcmurray hatchery is your number one stop.

miami hurricanes cupcakes.

mmmmm,yum! i made these miami hurricanes cupcakes in favor of my boyfriend :) theyre delicious, and easy to make!

supplies:
* chocolate cake mix
* any small tub of premade frosting. i made sure mine was milk free!
* wilton color mist food color spray in orange and in green
* sprinkles!

directions: (soon to be posted)

cinnamon peanut butter cookies.

i hate peanut butter. but when blended with sugar, it tastes...better. hahaha. that silly peanuty taste is overpowered by the sugar and the vanilla extract in this recipe. these are great for kids!

supplies:
* 1 c peanut butter
* 1 1/3 c sugar or just 1/3 if youre not to well with sweet things...
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* ground cinnamon (youll be sprinkling it over the peanut butter fingers before they go in the oven)
* parchment paper

in a medium sized bowl, with a mixer on low speed, mix together the peanut butter, sugar, and the egg. when thoroughly blended, add the vanilla extract and mix again. put the mixture in a zip-lock plastic bag (a large one) and let cool in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

after the mixture has cooled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. cut one of the bottom corners of the bag as big as you need to so you will be able to get the desired thickness of the cookie you want. squeeze the peanut butter through and make them about 2 inches long. do the same for however many can fit on the pan. after this, sprinkle cinnamon ontop of the finger shaped cookies and put in the oven until golden brown and firm, but not hard, to the touch. your cookies will expand from the shape they looked like on the pan into ovals. good luck :)

when youre not cooking, you should read :)

ahhhh, over the weekend i ordered like 7 books, hahaha. reading is a must for me. i just got this book today, eyewitness auschwitz. i didnt start it yet because i was too busy baking, but i will right after i type this. please, if you dont read, youre killing yourself. slowly. if what you consider "reading" is glancing at your friends' updates on facebook or myspace, then i dont know what to do for you. hahaha. thats just sad. im not saying go read a newspaper, but theres alot of interesting things out there to read about. i like to read through cookbooks, and LOADS of history books. history is great. it doesnt matter if its about the us or spain, its interesting! personally, i like to read books on islam, the middle east, the civil war, the holocaust, slavery, and WWI and WWII. take advantage of reading! some people werent allowed to...and some people never learned. remember, things are and were NEVER free. everything is a privilage in this world.

brownie cupcakes with banana cream cheese frosting.

i made these cupcakes with ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix. yum. sorry about the quality of the photos...i take most with my camera. below is the recipe to make these :)

supplies (for the brownie mixture):
*1 box of ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix
(follow instructions on the back of box)
* 1 egg
* vegetable oil
* water

look on the back of the box for liquid (veg.oil and water) measurements.

supplies (for frosting):
* 1 8 oz tub of cream cheese. only use 1/2 the tub by cutting it down the middle. (i used dairy-free cream cheese. my boyfriend cannot have products that have cows milk.)
* 3 cups of confectioners'/powdered sugar
* 1 1/2 tsp of banana extract
* 6 T of softened margarine (stick is prefered for easy measurement)

i made the banana cream cheese frosting first. in a large bowl, with a mixer at low speed, beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until blended. after blended, add the banana extract and beat the mixture again with the mixer to make sure the extract is thoroughly dispersed in the frosting. beat until smooth and fluffy, which is about 1-2 minutes. makes about 2 1/2 cups.

fill mini cupcake cups with the brownie mixture halfway. put the oven on 350 degrees F. i would say to leave them in for about 15-20 mins. the trick with baking is that you need to check the firmness with either or toothpick, or your finger (i promise its unlikley to burn yourself). i check with my finger, and when they have risen, and are firm, but not hard to the touch, i take them out and let them cool. after they have cooled in the cupcake pan, then take them out and put them on a plate. repeat until brownie mixture is gone, and frost when they are cool, not warm/hot.

i decorated mine with strawberries, but you dont have to :)

to buffet? or to not buffet...?

well, im not too fond of buffets. hahaha. but, i think with the china buffet on market street in wilmington, north carolina, i can make an exception...ONLY for ONE reason!!! and its because of the delicious shrimp. oh gosh, i went for lunchtime with my boyfriend one day last week and guess what? they didnt have them!!!

oh, and how angry i was. furious. i told my boyfriend i just wanted to leave hahaha. and then i thought...why not ask for them?

as everyone knows, buffet food isnt guaranteed to be hot and fresh. the chicken wings have probably sat on the hot food bar for 3 hours, and the salad bar hasnt even probably been touched. oh and by the way, going to a buffet that doesnt change their bar foods regularly are subject to time and temperature abuse. so think about that when youre on the toilet later!

but anyways, these shrimp are SO good. im guessing theyre lightly deep fried...and thats it really. there were chopped scallions scattered all over them, and the heads were on :) you may think its something simple and easy to make, but its not. theres just something about the way asian people make things that make you only want it from them. if you want to try it out, go there at dinnertime, when you dont have to try and explain to the lady at the counter what it looks like :)




China Buffet
3606 Market Street
910.762.9868

chocolate covered strawberries.

these chocolate covered strawberries were pretty simple and easy to do. in order to melt chocolate properly to reduce scroching, it is helpful to have a double boiler. i dont have one, so i used a see through, medium sized glass bowl and placed it ontop of a pot halfway filled with water on medium-high. i adjusted the temperature on the stove as the chocolate started to melt. i used almost a full bag of nestle semisweet chocolate chips. when i had the bowl ontop of the boiling water, the chocolate started to melt, but it seemed like it was taking forever! so, i finished it off in the microwave. remember, it doesnt matter if you are melting youre chocolate over the stove or in the microwave, you MUST constantly stir the choclate to prevent scorching.

when the chocolate has fully melted, be sure to have a large pan lined with parchment paper ready. take the strawberry and start with its side, and coat it; turning it slowly all the way around in the chocolate. gradually do this with however many strawberries you desire. i coated about 9 strawberries and had extra chocolate left over. do not do this when you are in a rush!!! making chocolate covered strawberries takes time and patience. place pan in refrigerator and let cool for about 1 hr and 30 mins. good luck! :)

supplies:
* 1 bag of semisweet chocolate
* 1 double boiler, or 1 pot and 1 medium sized wide bowl
* rubber spatula
* 1 large pan
* parchment/wax paper