Caramel Apple Crack

Not something I can cook, but something I really like: Starbucks' Apple Crack!

I don’t know if the Starbucks in China has this, because I was too busy slurping up all the real-bean coffee and then getting the jitters. I don’t know what’s in it, either. I asked Stick and he thinks maybe it’s sunshine and rainbows and highly addictive chemicals.

Note: This is not a paid advertisement, but if Starbucks would pay me I would totally advertise the Apple Crack. In fact, I’d even call it by its proper name.

Via Simpson’s Paradox » Blog Archive » Thanksgiving

Mario and Princess Peach

Another geeky gem from Cake Wrecks. What is it about the combination of sugar and gaming that makes these cakes so perfect?
Yes, it's a Mario wedding cake. (With a cake like this, I bet the bridesmaid dresses weren't too bad!) And here is the fondant duo that replaces the usual (LAME!) cake topper.

Go over to Cake Wrecks to see more amazing photos.

Soy Sauce And Garum

I saw this today on Fussy

From Larousse Gastronomique

Soy Sauce

The
following is taken from a traditional Chinese recipe. Boil 2.5 kg (5
1/2 lb. 13 cups) soya beans in water until they are reduced to a puree.
Add 1 kg (2 1/4 lb. 9 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour and knead well to
produce a thick dough. Leave in a cool dark place for 2 days, then hang
the container in a draught for a week. When a yellow mould appears on
the dough, place a jar containing 5 litres (8 1/2 pints, 5 1/2 quarts)
water and 1.5 kg (3 1/4 lb. 5 2/3 cups) salt in a sunny place. When the
water is warm to the touch, put the dough into the jar. Leave this
uncovered for a month, pounding the mixture vigorously every day with a
stick. The mixture will turn black as it ages.

Leave for 4-5
months without stirring or covering the jar, unless the weather is bad,
in which case the jar should be covered. Decant and store the sauce in
hermetically sealed bottles.

Who the hell thought this up,
is what I want to know. Who thought, Hmm, I need some salty black
delicious liquid to dip my dumplings in, maybe I'll just punch some
dough with a stick and then leave it out back until spring? Well,
whoever it was, whether individual or collective, I do thank you.
Because we're having sushi tonight.

I have to wonder if that's what garum would have been like.

Via Fussy

Cashew Chicken Curry

I started with this recipe for Chicken Curry with Cashews from Epicurious.com, but then started to modify the ingredients

* 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
* 2 medium onions, finely chopped (2 cups)
* 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
* 3 tablespoons curry powder
* 2 teaspoons salt -- I used garlic salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
* 1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces
* 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes -- I used tomato paste since I don't like the texture of tomatoes. Odd, I know.
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 3/4 cup cashews (1/4 pound)
* 3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt


* Accompaniment: cooked basmati or jasmine rice
* Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro

Saute onions, garlic, and ginger,
in butter, in a wok.  (note to self: am I able to cook anything w/out a wok?)

Add curry, garlic salt,
cumin, paprika and cook, stirring.

Add chicken, chopped mushrooms, 1/2 a potato, cilantro and stirfry.

Then add tomato paste and yogurt, simmer until it looks like curry.

Serve over rice!

Via Chicken Curry with Cashews Recipe at Epicurious.com

Sushi Proposal

I saw this today on the Engrish Brog:

I recently received this cute email from a happy woman named Christin

My boyfriend proposed to me last
weekend after 7 years - we frequent a local sushi restaurant in our
area a few times a month (sometimes more), so it was very fitting that
he popped the question at the sushi place.  The miss-spelling only
added to the charm of it all, I just had to share.

Let’s happy marriage!

I would have said yes, too. Sushi and jewelry, what's not to love? Plus I could tease him about the misspelling for years to come!

Via An Engrish Engagement… | Engrish Brog

Staying Fit My Way

My Usual Workout Routine

10 Go to the gym

20 Overdo workout in an attempt to cancel out unhealthy lifestyle

30 Go home achy and sore

40 Skip the gym because my stupid workout hurt me

50 Feel bad about not going recently and resolve to do a really good workout

60 Go to line 20

Via Simpson’s Paradox : Line 70 is “Become Smoking Hot”

What is Kohlrabi, anyway?

 Orangette has “The Y Chromosome Salad,”  a recipe for kohlrabi. 

Cooking With Booze... ok, screw the cooking part!

Booze and China, from the awesome Heather, who was our neighbor in Yihai:

i met up with two other foreign teachers on Saturday at the mall, so we could have some shopping time together.
and we did, but even more exciting was the Baileys Promotional tent , complete with couches and tables and chairs, we ran into as we were heading over to a different mall.

"Let's check it out" was my urging.

Which resulted in a solid hour sitting and consuming free Baileys samples, having my photo taken no less than 700 times, having three separate videos shot of myself enjoying free baileys samples.

after the sixth sample (apparently there was no one sample limit), my one friend insisted that the photographer show her the photos, which turned out to be ok. A lot of close-ups. Some with strategically placed Baileys.

Three foreign women enjoying Baileys.

I wonder if I will become a part of their next advertising campaign?

I can't wait to see lovely blonde Heather having free shots on  Chinese billboard. Stories like this make me really miss China... I think I'll go drown my sorrows in some Baileys!

Via where is heather??: NaBloPoMo Day # 11 - Stares into space like a dead china doll

Mario and Princess Peach

Another geeky gem from Cake Wrecks. What is it about the combination of sugar and gaming that makes these cakes so perfect?
Yes, it's a Mario wedding cake. (With a cake like this, I bet the bridesmaid dresses weren't too bad!) And here is the fondant duo that replaces the usual (LAME!) cake topper.

Go over to Cake Wrecks to see more amazing photos.

Arcade Cupcakes

I saw this on Cake Wrecks: Sunday Sweets: Cupcakes! They were posted by hello naomi to Flickr, so maybe she should get the credit, and not Cake Wrecks? Not sure how the etiquette goes here, but I'm really glad they came to my attention. How cute are these game cupcakes?

See, now this is the way to do a cupcake-cake: don't ice them all together, and reference an 80's video game!

Another example:


I call dibs on the green mushroom!

Via Cake Wrecks: Sunday Sweets: Cupcakes!

Pokemon Cupcakes

A recent post on Cake Wrecks combined two things I love, cupcakes and geekiness.

Since I'm more of the Garfield generation, I don't claim to know who any of these Pokemon characters are:

Since I'm a big nerd, I would probably let these cupcakes go stale waiting for them to evolve into giant layer cakes.

Via Cake Wrecks: Sunday Sweets: Cupcakes!

Raw Cookie Dough

I saw this today on Priscilla's Baking Adventures: Already At #2?? and it made me so hungry for cookie dough. I'm posting this partly to bookmark a tempting recipes and partly for the fantastic substitution of condensed milk for eggs to make raw cookie dough safely edible. I don't mean that I don't eat eggs-in cookie dough, but I always eat a spoonfull or too and then think Aaaah! Salmonella! and then look longingly at the rest of the bowl.

"Cookie Dough Truffles"
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1-1/2 pounds semisweet candy coating, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating, allowing excess to drip off; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, remelt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 5-1/2 dozen.
**I dropped the balls by a tablespoon onto the waxed paper in the size of 1-in. and then froze them. Once I froze them I then made them into balls and dipped them. So much easier!**

Via Priscilla's Baking Adventures: Already At #2??

Orangette's Aubergine

I have had this post from Orangette bookmarked forever. I thought her recipe for spiced eggplant with peas and yogurt would be a great China dinner with a few tweaks, but I didn't get round to trying it before we had to go home.

Rugelach

The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch has a post on baking Rugelach. These are those rocking raisin/phyllo rolled tarts. (Say it with a Yiddish CH.)

We have to polish off the election day banana cake first but I wanted to bookmark this to make myself.

Election Day Cake

1) Take a package of yellow cake mix, and begin to prepare according to package directions.

2) Notice 2 overripe bananas between kitchen and PC news feed.

3) Use nervous tension to smash bananas to pulp.

4) Everyone on Twitter shouts something about hologram coverage.

5) Add honey. (I always add honey and/or vanilla to package cake)

6) Put cake in oven.

7) Smell happy banana cake smell as you anxiously refresh CNN, NBC, Twitter.


How was your election day?

Freezer Storage

I saw this today on Catherine Newman Weekly Blog - Wondertime which used to be Dalai Mama and is now a recipe column.

 

Leftover
tomato paste? Scoop tablespoons of it onto a waxed-paper-lined baking
sheet, freeze until solid, then store the frozen lumps in a (labeled!)
Ziploc freezer bag. Or else let it get moldy in the fridge and throw it
out later. Either way.

Dear Catherine, just because I'm blogging this does not mean I have forgiven you for abruptly no longer writing about Ben and Birdy. No. I haven't. I'm still mad. I followed the adventures of your family since before Birdy existed and then one day you drop "Hey, I'm writing a cookbook now!" and stop.

Via Pot Roast - Catherine Newman Weekly Blog for 10/20/08 - Wondertime