Thursday, May 29, 2014

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake



Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

When I was in college, I would crave sweetness and desserts in the middle of the night (yes, I have an insane sweet tooth). When I didn't have anything in the fridge that I could munch on that would satisfy my sugar-loving taste buds, I looked up recipes on how to make a simple and easy cake. Yes, it had to be simple enough that I didn't have to run out to buy groceries at 12AM and easy enough that I wouldn't be spending the entire night slaving away in the kitchen.

And lo' and behold, I found the mug cake. It's a phenomenon that's been all over Pinterest, baking blogs, and recipe websites. Basically, the main attraction is that it's very simple and easy. No eggs. No oven. No worries whether it'll be fully cooked or not. Not (very) messy. Not many ingredients. What results is a mini cake that fits into your mug that you can easily transport with. No slicing the cake and all that mess! Saves so much work and satisfies your cake cravings without overindulging! How great does that sound?

Although I started experimenting with this a year ago, I'm still working on perfecting the recipe. So far, here's what I've come up with:
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 1.5 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • a pinch of salt (1/8 tsp)
  • Optional: a spoonful of peanut butter or a handful of chocolate chips
Add all ingredients in a mug and microwave for 2 minutes. Allow to cool.

Tips:
  • Mix the dry ingredients first! Then add all the wet ingredients in.
  • Too much baking powder will make the cake explode and leave an extremely bitter taste. Too little will result in a flat cake. Disappointing either way. 
  • Adding too much salt also makes the cake very bitter. I tried this once and had to throw out the entire cake. 
  • Too much oil/liquids make it soggy and makes it look undone. Too little will make it dry (you want a moist cake!)

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Veggie Egg Muffins

Veggie Egg Muffins

I've always wanted to make egg muffins! They're popular among the fitfam community and not as well known outside of it. Here, I used three eggs, green onions, and green veggie leafs and poured the mixture into a tin foil muffin tray filled with colored cupcake liners. I put them in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the toothpick from the center came out clean. I also made a yolkless egg muffin (pictured in the far corner), which explains why it's not as yellow as the three in the front. :)

Super easy to make and great to give to friends and family! Once they're done, wrap each of them individually in a plastic food wrap and store them in the fridge until they're ready to be eaten!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Farfalle "Bow-Tie" Pasta in Miso Ginger Soup

Farfalle "Bow-Tie" Pasta in Miso Ginger Soup And a Thorny Pink Rose

Ingredients:
  • Farfalle "Bow-Tie" Pasta (from Trader Joe's)
  • Miso Ginger Broth (from Trader Joe's)
  • Chopped Baby Carrots
  • Bok Choy
  • Cherry Tomatoes (halves)
  • Seasonings: chopped dried onions, grounded garlic, pinch of salt

Made this after having a runny nose (from allergies) this week! It was yummy and I definitely helped myself with seconds and thirds (and fourths). :) I decided to go with the pink floral mat this time because I wanted something to match and compliment the pink rose!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Matcha Green Tea Waffles

Matcha Green Tea Waffles

This is my second attempt making matcha green tea waffles. The first time I tried to make these, several months ago, I turned on the waffle iron way too long before I put any oil on. I also didn't put enough oil on the grids, which made it difficult to remove the waffles from the iron when it was done. I ended up using a fork to scrape up the excess waffles and ate it straight from the iron!

This time was a lot easier. The waffles were also very tender and tasty. I actually wanted to eat more (my mom ate one, and I gobbled down the rest). They're healthy too -- composed of only 2 natural ingredients -- compared to the high flour and sugar waffles that can be found in cafes. I also added strawberries, strawberry jam, and vanilla yogurt. Yogurt is definitely a healthier alternative compared to whip cream or ice cream that often accompanies waffles. I'm actually surprised how tasty this turned out. Usually with healthier alternatives, you lose a bit of the sweet and yummy factor. But the natural sugars from the strawberries and honey helped satisfy my sweet tooth. Not sure if it's noticeable in the photo, but I am pouring honey onto the waffles while simultaneously capturing this picture!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Overnight Oats with Strawberries and Grapes


Haven't made overnight oats in a while! Trying to get back into that healthy diet scene. Been eating out a little too much (oopsie!).

Overnight oats are great because I believe the best way to eat healthy on a regular basis is to prepare your meals in advance. This saves time and money, since grocery shopping for fruits and vegetables are often inexpensive compared to eating out at restaurants. It's important to eat a healthy and filling meal the moment you wake up, and let's face it, many of us don't have the time or energy to prepare an elaborate meal. For me, overnight oats are life-changing. You simply prepare the oats, milk, and fruits in a jar or bowl (a mason jar provides the most visually appealing option) the night before and stick it in the fridge overnight. It's that simple.

Here are the items I used...

Ingredients:
  • rolled oats
  • almond milk
  • red, green, and purple grapes
  • vanilla yogurt
  • strawberries
  • chia seeds

I love how you can be as creative as you want with overnight oats. You can add anything you like; there are no limits! I will continue to add more photos of different variations in the near future!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day!




Pink tulips for the most beautiful woman on Earth. Blessed to have a mom and a best friend all in one.

Happy Mother's Day!

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I went to go pick up flowers late Sunday afternoon, the day of Mother's Day. There were many others who were frantically running around in search of a lovely bouquet -- last minute -- just like I was. For roughly 30 minutes, I searched the entire aisle and section back and forth in hopes of not just a batch of great looking flowers, but the perfect one. Yes, it had to be perfect. I'm quite picky when it comes to finding things I like. I know what's pleasing to my eye and what isn't, and I don't like to settle for anything less (most of the flowers were already withered and brown however -- a lesson for next year to come earlier for a fresher batch). A good chunk of the flowers were roses, which I avoided. Don't get me wrong, roses are beautiful, but I think they're a bit unoriginal and worn out. Tulips, however, caught my eye. I ended up picking out the rich pink tulips, as pictured above, and soft yellow tulips, and ended up going for the former. I'm happy with my selection! They really do pop out in pictures!

Friday, May 9, 2014

Speculoos Cookie & Cocoa Swirl Spread


First time trying Trader Joe's cult favorite Speculoos Cookie & Cocoa Swirl spread! It's a combination of the cookie and cocoa spread, mixed into one. Amazing. I love how you can see the two different spreads in a vertical pattern in the jar! Trader Joe's original creations are the cookie butter and the crunchy cookie butter. I've tried the crunchy cookie butter before, which has small cookie pieces in a peanut butter-like consistency with hints of gingerbread, nutmeg, and cinnamon flavors. Yum!

Speculoos is actually a product of the Netherlands, which is not surprising considering that the term speculoos is a type of ginger shortbread biscuit traditionally eaten on St. Nicholas' feast in the Netherlands and Belgium. These biscuits have some sort of image pertaining to the holiday and are made of many spices: ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and pepper. Trader Joe's cookie butter is basically spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, and a whole lot of sugar. I'm glad that it does not have too many spices in it since I'm not a fan of high spiced snacks, such as gingersnaps.

Apparently the cookie butter is so high in demand that it's not always available at your local Trader Joe's, although I haven't frequented the store enough to confirm this. I also heard it's really popular in the Philippines and Singapore and it's been such a food craze that Trader Joe's had to limit one per customer. Yikes!

If you don't live near a Trader Joe's, you can also buy these on Amazon and Ebay! They, however, will be more expensive compared to the in-store retail price of $3.99 per jar.

Also, it doesn't rank high on the health scale so be careful -- because you won't be able to put your spoon down once it hits the jar! :)

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Man Rowing a Boat


"Man Rowing a Boat"

Using only 4 ingredients:
  • 1 slice of whole wheat bread (man, hat, rain, fishing rod)
  • Cashews (clouds)
  • Chia Seeds (fish)
  • Slice of mango (boat)

I made this on a whim! I saw a slice of mango on the kitchen table and thought it resembled a boat. I grabbed other ingredients (bread, cashews, chia seeds) and quickly formed a man fishing while rowing a boat. The cashews form the clouds and the outer white grains from the bread crust are used for the rain.

I love how you can create something amazing with just a few simple ingredients that anyone can find at home. It's incredible what kind of art you can create with food. The possibilities are endless. I'm always on the look out for inspirations for my next creations.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Oatmeal with Blueberries



Ingredients
:
  • 5 tablespoons rolled oats
  • almond milk
  • blueberries
  • almonds
  • pistachios
  • cashews
  • chia seeds
  • cinnamon
  • honey

Made a quick breakfast this morning. So yummy!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Apple Swan


What do you do when you have an apple and a knife?

Eat it?

Nope, you carve a swan!


This was surprisingly not as complicated as it looks. It took roughly 30 minutes to make, including washing it and taking photos. All you really need is one apple and a knife! Out of a whole apple, I ended up using only 3/5ths of it to make the swan. The rest of the 2/5ths pieces of the apple are leftover pieces you can eat. The eyes are the seeds from the center of the apple (not edible because apparently apple seeds are poisonous). The swan is a bit yellow, though, because I didn't have any lemons at home (lemons help prevent apples from turning brown!) -- so the swan started to brown rather quickly.

Apples have all sorts of health benefits, such as having a high level of antioxidants and fiber while helping to delay and/or prevent disesase. There's a reason why there's the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"