CHINATOWN, MINGWO & SUN YAT SEN GARDEN

Have you been to Vancouver’s Chinatown recently?

EGGBALL (GAI DAAN JAI) WAFFLE IRON, WILLIAMS SONOMA

Eggball Waffles, a popular Hong Kong street food.  Visit the Night Market in Richmond or Vancouver’s Chinatown and you’ll find these made fresh in front of you.

DISNEY FOODIE GOODIES

  
Apologies for such a long absence—but I have been enjoying my holidays in Disneyland! 

We had a blast! It was my first time and the first time for my daughters too.  We told Bebe that for her 7th birthday she wasn’t going to get a birthday party or cake made by mommy this year.  She was going to get 5 days in Disneyland! What a deal!  She didn’t complain at all.
Fortunately, Bebe surprised us with her resilience.  She vehemently retorted that she didn’t need a stroller at all and she walked everywhere and anywhere we went.  We were up early for the Magic Mornings (7am entry!) and stayed up really late to catch all the shows and fireworks at night.  Bib was short about 2 hours of sleep everyday but fortunately she napped a bit in the early afternoon before we headed out again at dinner and in the evening.  We stayed at the Grand Californian and Bebe received a birthday button/pin the day we checked in.  Reception told her to wear it everyday.  Boy was that a good thing!  Everywhere we went, people wished her a happy birthday.  She received freebies like a birthday beignet with candle and singing at the Cafe Orleans and she had a free brownie and candle at Ariel’s Grotto.  She was getting birthday cupcakes and happy bday songs left right and centre. 

Bib spotted this baby Eeyore at one of the Disney stores and had to have it.  I admit, he has a very fetching expression, doesn’t he?  He looks like he wants some cake, but is a tad sad he can’t have any ‘cause he’s on a diet. 

Knowing me, you  expect me to come home with some Disney Foodie Goodies, don’t you?  I must admit I was a little disappointed.  I looked high and low for the Mickey waffle iron but the Disney people told me I should try online.  They don’t carry it anywhere on the grounds anymore.    So I consoled myself with purchasing as many Mickey and Disney foodie things as I could fit in my luggage.  I bought the red silicone Mickey ice cube tray above, the cookie cutter, fried egg mold and red silicone pancake mold.

I also purchased a few bags of Mickey shaped pasta and some other Mickey shaped foods.  Those were eaten pretty much immediately so I don’t have pics for you of those.  Imagine goldfish crackers and pretzels in the shape of Mickey’s head.

We were missing Japanese food pretty badly at Disneyland.  There wasn’t any sushi to be had.  How sad.  They need to rectify that.  I was surprised they didn’t have any sushi there at all.  Instead, you could get pizza, chicken strips and mac ‘n cheese pretty much everywhere.  My kids aren’t really into those foods so Bebe was eating Caesar salad and roast chicken and more adult fare from our plates.   We had the forethought to bring along some instant cup noodles in our luggage for those lunches when you just wanted something salty soupy in your hotel room and grabbed fresh fruit cups and milk around the site. 

When we got home, we went to Japanese restaurants in Vancouver 2 days in a row because we were in sushi withdrawal.  Funny how you don’t realize how good it is when you can have pretty much any ethnic cuisine you want in Vancouver.  I was hankering for some Greek food too--roast lamb and Greek salad!  Stomach of course wanted dim sum.

Eeyore did finally get to plunge his muzzle into the Vanilla Bean chiffon cake I baked today.  He got crumbs all over but that’s okay.

VANILLA BEAN CHIFFON CAKE
(adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Master Recipe for Chiffon Cake)

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 1/3 cups plain cake flour (measure unsifted)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 7 large eggs, 2 left whole, 5 separated (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract (I added the seeds of  a whole vanilla bean pod in there too)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup water

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325°F. Whisk sugar, flour, baking powder and salt together in large bowl (at least 4-quart size). Whisk in two whole eggs, five egg yolks (reserve whites), water, oil, vanilla pod seeds and extracts until batter is smooth.
2. Pour reserved egg whites into large bowl; beat at low speed with electric mixer until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar, gradually increase speed to medium-high, then beat whites until very thick and stiff, just short of dry, 9 to 10 minutes with handheld mixer or 5 to 7 minutes in standing mixer. With large whisk, fold whites into batter, smearing any blobs of white that resist blending.
3. Pour batter into ungreased large tube pan ( 9 inch diameter, 16-cup capacity).
4. Bake cake on lower middle rack in oven until wire cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 55-65 minutes. Immediately turn cake upside down to cool. If pan does not have prongs around rim for elevating cake, invert pan over bottle or funnel, inserted through tube. Let cake hang until completely cook, about 2 hours.
5. To unmold, turn pan upright. Run frosting spatula or thin knife around pan’s circumference between cake and pan wall, always pressing against the pan. Use cake tester to loosen cake from tube. For one-piece pan, bang it on counter several times, then invert over serving plate. For two-piece pan, grasp tube and lift cake out of pan. If glazing the cake, use a fork or a paring knife to gently scrap all the crust off the cake. Loosen cake from pan bottom with spatula or knife, then invert cake onto plate. (Can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature 2 days or refrigerated 4 days.)

SHOPPING SPREE AT GOURMET WAREHOUSE

It isn’t often that I find myself at the Gourmet Warehouse on Hastings Street in the East side of Vancouver.  However, since we had to head over to the Mikado Martial Arts supplies store on Hastings for some hand wraps for Bebe, I thought we ought to stop on by while we’re in the area.  It’s been over a year since I’ve visited the store.

Btw, Bebe earned her green belt in Karate recently.  She was also named “Top Student of the Term” and that’s a pretty big achievement for a 6 year old.   

Anyway, time was short and I rushed around looking at all the goodies.  I didn’t even get to see 1/4 of the stuff because I stalled at the Soda Making machines and decided to finally purchase one.  I’ve been eyeing the Penguin for a while (since a year ago) but hesitated because I heard the CO2 cartridges are hard to come by.

I drink tons of soda water and this would be hopefully a good thing for the summer too!  I can make my own soda drinks without sugar and experiment with flavours too!  


I have yet to make soda from my deliciously clean, free tap water (I filter it usually).   I’ll be trying it later on in the evening.   Vancouver’s tap water is fantastic and I don’t buy bottled still water at all. 

Sometimes I drink mineral water because I love bubbles, but for regular drinking purposes the whole family drinks tap water.  It’s such a waste to buy bottled water in our neck of the woods.    Did you know that B.C. tap water is rated as the BEST in the World?  no foolin'...check it out here!  In fact, Vancouver tap water is safer and cheaper to drink than some bottled waters.  You can see an article about this from the news here.  Now, I can put bubbles in my tap water, I don’t think I’ll be buying any club soda, Perrier or San Pellegrino anymore!

The SodaStream kit comes with 2 glass bottles for storage and they are specially designed to fit this particular machine.  You have to buy their bottles.  You can’t use just any ol’ bottle.  The CO2 cartridges can be returned to the store and exchanged for new ones or refilled ones.   The starter kit comes with the Penguin, 2 bottles and one CO2 cannister.  The cannister I was told would last 60 litres.  That should keep me for a while until they get more stock on the cartridges.  They had 3 different starter kits with 3 different prices.  The cheapest model used plastic bottles and was lighter (and not as pretty), the medium priced model was a tad better looking and the Penguin was the higher end model.  They are all made by SodaStream.  The Penguin starter kit was $299.99.

The SodaStream is touted as being environmentally friendly since you don’t waste money and resources on bottles and cans.  You save money in the long run if you drink a lot of soda water and it’s healthier if you opt to make sugarless drinks with juices.  Soda Stream Penguin Water Carbonator


Hit the jump to see the rest of the contents of my shopping bag!

SILENT SUNDAYS: MOTHER’S DAY HAUL

gerberas…my favourite


my favourite knife…the SantokuShun Classic 7-Inch Santoku Hollow Ground Knife

CHOCOLATE OVERDOSE FROM T ROOM BAKERY!

Seeing as I was battling the H1N1 at home with the two girls…both came down with it early in the week…and they’ve been cooped up at home, I thought it prudent to fight the virus with chocolate. Okay, they’re both on Tamiflu, but the chocolate is for me. I mean, I needed some chocolate as a pick-me-up because I was hoping it would cheer me up and help my body resist the icky germs that must be flying in my face every day from the girls.

You know me: I always have to overdo it. I carry sanitizing gel with me in my pocket, I wipe and spray surfaces and I wear gloves. I wash my hands after every contact with the girls, and at night after helping Bib get back to sleep, I keep the gel next to my bedside if I’m too tired to go wash my hands. I even bought one of these toothbrush sanitizers, the Zapi, with the ultraviolet technology to get rid of potential germs flying around my bathroom. I’ve been taking Red Reishii capsules, probiotics and been drinking green tea daily. I’m doing everything short of putting out cut onions around the house, which I don’t think does much other than make your house smell of raw onions…and that’s a waste of onion in my opinion, when you can be making it into something nice like a caramelized onion dip. mmm.


Silly me. With all this, I still have a feeling I’m going to get it. What’s a mommy to do? I’m not eligible for the flu shot yet because they’re still only immunizing all the at-risk people and now schoolchildren are eligible today. Oh well, too late for us. But, don’t you think chocolate ought to help? The doc said to get plenty of rest so I don’t get run down caring for the girls. I took it to mean to also treat myself to something indulgent. Any excuse.

I headed off to T Room Bakery and Kitchenware. I hadn’t visited in a while, but I know I wouldn’t be disappointed by perusing all the neat kitchenware and goodies on display. Looking at kitchenware and little French cakes always cheers me up. One side of the shop is dedicated to kitchenware and the other side is the tea room/cafe. They also have other rooms tucked away in the back and facing a little courtyard garden. In the centre of it all is the pastry display where the resident bakers get to make whatever strikes their fancy. On one visit, I noticed macarons! Today, they brought out a freshly baked rum cake. There was so much rum dripping off of the warm cake and pooling onto the platter that the cashier was overwhelmed by the fumes. That’s gotta be good.

Today I felt like chocolate and I really couldn’t decide, so I chose a Sacher, a Marjolaine and another chocolate layered cake with chocolate mousse, feuillitine and enrobed in ganache (I forgot the name) but you can see the pic I took below. And yes, in sticking with my over-the-top attitude, I overdid it again by buying 3 sinfully chocolate cakes instead of just one.


T Room Bakery & Kitchenware
4445 W 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC
(604) 677-2579‎
Check out my previous post on T Room here

EASTER BROWNIE POPS

an Easter Bunny Brownie Pop

Everything tastes better when it's on a stick!

Corn dogs, fudgsicles, lollipops, candy apples, shish kebabs and the like have a good thing going. Who can resist food when you impale it?

It's fun. Kids love it. You can't be grumpy or sad holding stick food.

One of the few difficult words my 2 year old can say is "lollipop". Well, actually she calls them "yawyeeepops". She doesn't really get them very often at all but for some reason, she knows the word.

On a recent excursion to Michaels with my 40% coupon, I discovered Wilton Brownie Pop molds. The tray makes 8 pops and is made of silicone. I think that when another coupon comes along I'll have to get another tray because one tray isn't sufficient to bake a full brownie recipe. I had to wait until one tray baked and cooled to make the second batch. A full brownie recipe makes 16 big brownie pops. I suppose you could make more pops...you just make them smaller. Mine were pretty big though.

I used Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownie recipe and since there was no leavening agent, there wasn't a problem with leaving the batter to sit on the counter waiting for the first tray to be done. The brownies held up well and didn't fall off the sticks...and they even dipped well for me: no crumbs in my white candy melts!

I used the Wilton melted white candy melts to make bunny ears. On parchment paper, I used a small rubber spatula to smear ear shapes...and allowed them to cool. I used a sharp pointed knife to make "ear-holes" at the top of the brownie pop so that I could insert the dried ears in carefully. They're delicate but it worked!

I even used the candy melts to help anchor the right-side up brownie pops onto a disc of unmelted white candy; creating a little pedestal. This kind of looks like a basket but I was too lazy to pipe basket handles from royal icing. Instead, I dipped the top of the basket in more melted white candy and sprinkled it with green sanding sugar to look like "grass"; then I plopped some candy-coated chocolate eggs on top. They kind of look like baskets. I know that green-tinted dessicated coconut would have made for better grass but I hate the texture of dessicated coconut in my food.

Easter Baskets of Eggs made using Brownie Pop molds

I love coconut flavour and coconut milk but don't want something stringy bothering my taste buds. Go figure. I'm complicated.

But I digress.

Get yourself some of those cool shaped sprinkles from the cake decorating section of Michaels...or whatever store you frequent and use 'em for eyes, feet, noses, beaks etc. The Wilton sprinkles worked fine for me. I used the little pink discs for rabbit noses and used a food-safe black "gourmet writer" to draw the lashes, eyes and mouth. The Gourmet Writer is cool. It works exactly like a felt-tip marker. I bought this at Michaels too.

In no way am I affiliated with Michaels, people. I just like to use 40% off coupons. I clip those coupons from my flyers (or get 'em online) and go every time I have one. I'm loathe to buy something there full price. Cheapie me. I know.

It's gettin' late and I'm heading to bed. My next post will include Medrich's brownie recipe along with my Brownie Birds on a stick...and I'll show you what my lolly stand and brownie pop tray look like too. update: click here for the recipe and a look at the chicks

MINI VANILLA BEAN CHEESECAKES WITH FRESH BERRIES

School's out!

Yay! And kids think they're happy to get out.

Where's the first place I headed right after school on Friday afternoon?

Williams Sonoma. I thought that if I drove down Granville Street on the way home, and there "happened" to be a parking spot, it would be some sort of karmic thing and it was meant to be that I go shopping. I wasn't going to cheat either by circling the block a few times. Just one shot.

Lo and behold, I found a spot off of Granville on a little side street with shady trees. I only had to walk one block and I didn't even have to cross any streets. Zowie. That's baking karma.

on the back of this box is a recipe for cheesecake that is supposed to fit the capacity of this baking tin. i ended up having about 1/2 a cup extra cheesecake filling.

I zeroed in on the bakeware section first as usual, to see if there was anything new. I saw some really neat baba molds. The charlotte molds were so cute too. What caught my eye though was a single box left of the mini cheesecake molds. I thought these would be more versatile.

these nonstick mini cheesecake molds have a removable base. they even provide a dowel for the purpose of assisting unmolding.

I was hoping to find some nice plates. I've been eyeing the French-made Pillivuyt line of dinnerware: the rimless white dishes made of porcelain. I haven't yet been able to legitimize buying a set of these dishes, though I yearn for them each time I go into this store. You see, I have a perfectly fine set of white IKEA dishes. Yes, Ikea. The thing is these Ikea dishes are so darned resilient. I haven't broken or chipped any and I'm beginning to wonder how I'm ever going to break them all require a new dinnerware set.In the end, after circling the aisles a couple of times, I settled on this ceramic ivory cake stand with ruffles. It was so adorable. I hardly ever make cakes this small. But, now that I have this cake stand, I really do need to start!

I was very happy with the performance of the mini cheesecake pan and in the future, instead of a baked cheesecake, I may do a refrigerated one using gelatin instead so I can incorporate fresh fruit into the batter: like mango! As well, I was thinking of making other pastries and desserts with this nifty pan. I was thinking of making mini mousses using a biscuit joconde for the base, flavouring that with some syrup and then topping that with chocolate mousse. I'll have to see if that idea is feasible for these tiny molds.

i grated dark chocolate on the cheesecake tops before topping them with fresh seasonal berries

MINI VANILLA BEAN CHEESECAKES WITH SEASONAL BERRIES

adapted from Williams Sonoma recipe on the back of the bakeware box

For the Crusts:

• 1 cup (114 g) chocolate cookie or vanilla wafer crumbs [i used digestive biscuits]
• 2 T sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 T unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

• 16 oz (500 g) cream cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
• 1/2 cup (125g) sugar
• [i added a vanilla bean, split; seeds scraped out and added to the cream]
• pinch of salt

For decoration:

• I used fresh seasonal raspberries, strawberries and pitted bing cherries
• dark chocolate shavings

1. Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350degreesF. Lightly coat the cups of the 12-cup cheesecake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. To make the crusts, in a small bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs, sugar and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. Divide the mixture evenly among the cups and using your fingertips, press it evenly into the bottom. Bake until the crusts are set, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Reduce the heat to 300degreesF.
3. To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the cream cheese on low speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cream and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and salt and beat until incorporated, about 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Pour the batter into the crusts, dividing it evenly among the cups. Bake until the cheesecakes are set, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours beore unmolding.
5. To unmold, insert the dowel into the hole in the bottom of each cup. Gently push up to remove the cheesecake from the cup. Use a small spatula or butter knife to remove the cake from the metal bottom. If the cheesecakes are sticking to the pan, gently run a toothpick around each cheesecake to loosen it before pushing it out of the cup. Makes 12 mini cheesecakes.

MATCHA CUPCAKE SURPRISES FOR MOTHER'S DAY & CUP-A-CAKE HOLDERS

organic matcha cupcakes for mother's day: these have hunks of cream cheese filling and are topped with matcha buttercream and buttercream or icing flowers

It's high time I made some cupcakes. I've been experimenting with recipes and today I decided to make some floral cupcakes (using my tried and true Wilton techniques). Instead of relying on fakey food colouring for dying my cupcake batter, I used high grade organic matcha. Oops, that's only because it was the only kind I had at home; I don't bother drinking the icky cheap stuff because it's too bitter--kind of pricey and a bit of a waste for baking...but hey, it's mother's day.

daisy: not my favourite looking flower. i think the petals suck. next time, i'll use a 140 tip

a wilton flower (okay, a reasonable facsimile of one because I fudged the number of petals)

a pink wild rose. not as pretty as the wilton rose

The colour of my organic matcha is way more vibrant and bright green than the cheap matcha. The surprise I hid in each cupcake is a chunk of cream cheese. I was trying to figure out how to maximize the filling in my cupcakes with the piping bag--a real pain in the you-know-what--but decided to throw in a cold cube of cream cheese instead. It was way easier than trying to pipe stuff in after baking. Besides, having tried the matcha cream cheese combination before in a brownie recipe, I was smitten.

gerbera: use a Wilton#104 piping tip with the wide side of the tip facing away from you, pipe the petals drawing the tip towards the centre.
a royal icing lily: no, the stamens are not edible
buttercream violet drop flowersHere's my original recipe for these matcha cupcakes. Decorate with a matcha buttercream base for a grassy look and top with piped buttercream flowers.

The cupcakes stay moist because of the veggie oil. You can freeze these cupcakes (frosted) up to a month.

MATCHA CUPCAKE SURPRISES (makes 12 cupcakes)

1 cup & 2 T sifted cake flour

1/2 plus 2T sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

1 T organic matcha
4 T cold cream cheese, cubed

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 12 muffin pans with paper cups
• In your mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and matcha until thoroughly combined
• Whisk together the oil and milk and add to the dry ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed
• Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat again for 2 minutes on medium speed
• Divide the cold cubed cream cheese evenly between the 12 lined muffin pans. Pour the batter over the cubed cream cheese, filling at least halfway.
• Bake for approx. 20 minutes, until the cakes test done
• Remove the cupcakes from the pan and allow to cool on a rack.
• Decorate with Matcha Buttercream

the matcha crumb is tender and the cube of cream cheese a pleasant surprise

MATCHA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 T milk

a few drops almond extract

1/2 t organic matcha, or to taste.

nb: You can divide your buttercream, setting aside some for the matcha flavouring and colour the rest of the buttercream for flowers.

• Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl
• gradually add the confectioners' sugar a little at a time to the butter, beating continuously. continue until all the sugar is blended in
• Beat with the mixer until the icing is pale and fluffy
• Beat in the milk until well combined
• At this point, you can divide your buttercream for your green matcha base and buttercream flowers. Leave what you need for the green coloured buttercream in the mixing bowl. Add the matcha and beat until well combined.
• Use gel food colouring to colour the rest of the buttercream for the flowers.
• Decorate with drop flowers, polka dots, vines, daisies, etc.

ANY LEFTOVERS?

a cupcake in my favourite cupcake holder

there's no danger of smushed cupcakes while you're travelling

Bring cupcakes to work in these nifty Cup-A-Cake holders. Make sure you fit the cupcake against the plastic prongs instead of simply plopping the cupcake on the base of the holder. I made that mistake initially and squished the top of the cupcake. The cupcake is supposed to "float" in mid-air, held by the prongs. I used large cupcake liners and there was plenty of room between the cupcake and the base.
I purchased these at Williams Sonoma in Vancouver.

Williams-Sonoma

2903 Granville Street

Vancouver, BC(778) 330-2581