Miso-Maple Glazed Japanese Eggplant

Here is yet another fabulously easy go-to no-recipe recipe! 

Roasted Cauliflower Steaks

Um. Do we even need a recipe?

MINI STICKY RICE WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAVES "Joong/Zongzi"

Toisan Pork and Chinese Sausage Joong (Zongzi)

My kids are carb-addicts.

CONDENSED MILK POUND CAKE WITH ORGANIC GROUND VANILLA

Condensed Milk Pound Cake with Organic Ground Vanilla

That Organic Raw Ground Vanilla was very expensive.  Like $54. I had plopped it into the basket when my husband wasn't looking.  

PAPRIKA-GARLIC CHICKEN OVER SWEET KALE MIX

PAPRIKA-GARLIC CHICKEN BREAST ON A BED OF SWEET KALE SALAD MIX

Itty Bitty Lemon Meringue Tartlets!

Mini Lemon Meringue Tartlets

Pucker up! Mini Lemon Meringue Tartlets for the New Year!

Wishing you all a healthy, happy, delicious 2016 full of laughter and good times!

CONFETTI CORN FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER

Confetti Corn made better with Bacon!

Hey hey peeps! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Very Merry Totoro Christmas to You!

I regret that for the majority of my life I had not watched the movie My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) the 1988 Japanese animation written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and produced by Studio Ghibli.  Just last year my kids and I watched it at home and thereafter I was smitten.

Birthday Pie! Flaky All-Butter Crust Apple Pie

Birthday Pie

Organic cold unsalted butter sliced in 1/4 inch pieces in my food processor, along with only 2/3 of the flour mixture...ready for pulsing.

Several years ago, my friend confided to me that he doesn't like birthday cake (gasp!)
I remembered that.

Garlic Scapes Potstickers

Garlic Scapes! My fave ingredient for amazing home-made potstickers

These are Garlic Scapes.  They are not hollow like scallions or chives but have a solid core.  They are very mild in flavour and a wonderful addition to homemade potstickers.  I threw in a few stalks of green onion also (can you spot them?) because they just happened to be in the fridge too.

London Fog Pots de Crème

London Fog (Earl Grey) Pots de Crème with candied Cocoa Nibs

Upon Her Turning 12: Mini Crême Brûlée Birthday Cheesecakes (gluten free)

Birthday Cheesecake.

Say what? 

You want me to make Mini Cheesecakes for your birthday?

Mini Matcha Mochi Doughnuts (gluten free)

Mini Matcha Mochi Doughnuts (gluten free) baked by my 8 yr old, Bib

Homemade Fizzy Grape Kombucha

Homemade Fizzy Kombucha

This Kombucha experiment was anxiety-ridden and exciting and most importantly economical! Do you struggle with paying almost $5 for those bottles of effervescent flavoured kombuchas too?
I failed somewhat in trying to grow my own SCOBY from a bottle of store-bought GT Unflavoured Raw Kombucha.  I don't think I had the right ph balance and I never got anything beyond a translucent scoby that was a few millimetres thin.  When I found out that a local shop was selling scobies I practically went there the next day.  Interestingly, there was a kombucha workshop running that day but I didn't stay for it.  I knew what I wanted and after purchasing some other supplies (at a pretty reasonable price!) I went home to try and make my own kombucha.

BC SPOT PRAWN FESTIVAL! Stir-Fried Ginger Scallion and Soy Spot Prawns

It's BC Spot Prawn Season! yay!

The season lasts from May to June and after seeing friends' Spot Prawn pics posted on FB I had a yearning too.  I sent the man down to T&T supermarket where they were on sale for $15.99/lb until May 18.

A photo posted by Cake Brain (@cakebrain) on May 16, 2015 at 6:28pm PDT

The Spot Prawns were lively in their plastic bag.  These guys have pokey antennae and sharp spear-like tails and heads.  You have to buy the Spot Prawns with the intent to eat them within a few hours.  I kept them in the fridge for an hour before I was ready to prep them.  I am squeamish and even with rubber dish gloves to protect me from their sharp pointy bits, I couldn't handle how each prawn would squirm and hop out of my hand.  In the end, I held a prawn with tongs in my left hand and worked the scissors in my other hand. It gave me the willies...but I was not deterred enough to stop because I knew these prawns had to be cooked quickly to maintain their freshness.  After they die, the prawn flesh becomes mushy...bleh...inedible.  When cooked fresh, they have a firm 'n bouncy texture and they're sweet and juicy.  They do not require much fuss in terms of cooking.  

SPARKLY COCOA NIB CHIP BUTTER COOKIES

Happy Holidays!

On Holding the Line with GF Condensed Milk Pound Cake and Raffi

GF Condensed Milk Pound Cake (see recipe below)

Ayoub's Dried Fruit and Mixed Nuts

love the chandelier in Ayoub's

If you love nuts and dried fruit, you'll have to check this place out.  Ayoub's first of all is beautiful. It's like walking into another world.  The white shelves, silver urns filled with fragrant spiced nuts and the huge candelier hanging in the centre of the room make for an impressive first impression.

Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen and Sushi Bar, Vancouver

Carrot butterflies atop my wasabi. Details are so important

Crackle Crème, Vancouver

Duelling my 7 year old for the crackle!