Sweet Life and Strawberry Margarity Mousse Tarts

Strawberry Margarita Mousse Tarts

It has been another busy week! As the quarter ends, I hang out with friends for one more time before the summer of 2012. What better way to enjoy this time than with the company of friends? I was invited to a small dinner party with great food, great music and, most importantly, great friends to hang out with. The menu at the party consisted of Asadero Con Chorizo, Chicken Sausage and Corn Chutney Tacitos, Mini Tostadas, Melon and Cucumber Agua Fresca, Chile Verde and Strawberry Margarita Mousse Tarts. Everything was super delicious. Let me tell you. Every single thing at this dinner party just made your taste buds tingle. I had learned something new about my friend that day. My friend is a fantastic cook! The Strawberry Margarita Mousse Tarts were so cute! The mouse just melted in your mouth. (Learn how to make this wonderful dinner party menu from the blogger of Hey Daddy-O What’s Cookin?)

My college years have come to an end. Trotting on, I get to decide where to go and what to do. After 18 years of college, it’s strange to think that next year I won’t be going to class. It’s exciting to think I will be working in the field in which I have been studying for all these years. Time to put my hard work, long nights, and good grades to work! Now it’s time to venture into the land of success, failures, life and money. I plan to travel the world. There is so much to see. There is so much to do! I can’t wait to get started! 

Cheers everyone! Here is to the great journey ahead!

GIVE ME THAT BUBBLE TEA!!

Homemade Bubble Tea

I crave a cup of bubble tea every now and then. Ok. The truth is I crave it practically every week. If there was a good bubble tea place in walking distance from my apartment, I would be sitting there writing this blog. One sad part about leaving California to go to college in Rochester, besides leaving my family, was that there wasn’t an amazing bubble tea café I could get to until this year. I’m not talking about the one on RIT’s campus that people are raving about. They never have milk tea, even though they have it on the menu. Plus, the tapioca is very bland. Yummy Garden has the closest thing to good milk tea that I have tasted. It’s not the same as California bubble tea, but it hits the spot when I want some bubble tea.

When I can’t get out to Yummy Garden, I make bubble tea at home. I bought the bubble tea powder from the Asian market. I add some honey syrup, ice and water. Then, I shake it up and drink. It’s pretty good.

However, nothing is as good as the bubble tea from back home. There are many bubble tea cafés in California. My favorite cafés are Eggettes and Quickly. When I go to Eggettes, I get a Banana Oreo Freeze with tapioca. When I go to Quickly, I get Jasmine Milk Tea with tapioca. Oh man. Telling you all about it makes my mouth water. I really want bubble tea right now. Eggettes and Quickly also have good snacks and lunches. My classmates were surprised last year when I said, "I’ve never had a Poptart before." Who would eat a Poptart when you have amazing cafés like Eggettes and Quickly to go to?

Banana Oreo Freeze From Eggettes

Stress, Trash, and Cookie Crumbs

Here on a Friday night, and there is stress. Something is very wrong with this picture. It’s tough, and the road is only going to get tougher. On the midst of all of this, what can I not resist?!

Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino

I don’t know about you, but I can hear that espresso machine working and that blender sound ringing in my ear. You’ll never guess who gets the last gulp. My trashcan does. It will swallow the discarded cup of my sweet, delicious Grande Java Chip Frappuccino.  Yes, Starbucks is in the air. Mmm mmm mmm. I can just imagine the succulent taste of flavored syrup, chocolate chunks, espresso, milk, and ice all blended together. That is really all it is, but in short it’s a Frappuccino. 

Fresh Cookie Dough Going
Into The Oven

That’s not the only evidence that lingers in my garbage can. The sweet smell of baking is in the air. A good old-fashion, homemade chocolate chip cookie is the best way to put a smile on someone’s face. And if you’re me (or have read in my previous post), baking helps release that stress. Don’t ask me why. That is just how the cookie crumbles.

Fresh, Homemade Cookies Straight From The Oven

Sliced Oranges

Don’t worry, there is more. There are more lingering smells that combine in my poor black trashcan. What is it? It is the poor remains of my orange’s skin. Why yes, I did say my orange’s skin. All the juice and insides were devoured by my festering munchy craving that has come from this stress.

And last but not least, the final cherry on the cold, calorie filled ice cream sundae. You guessed it. It’s ice cream. I snuggle up in bed to a big, 1.72 liter of Chocolate Panda Paws ice cream. After a few bites (I should say chomps), I unfortunately have to get up and put it back into the freezer so the rest of it doesn’t melt. Ta-ta for now my yummy Chocolate Panda Paws ice cream. Until we meet again my Panda Paws or let’s call that Saturday Night. 

Fun Distractions

My Desk Distractions

When trying to tackle my homework the other day, I kept getting distracted. I don’t know why. The TV was off and my apartment was quiet. I took a look around and realized all the cute, fun distracting things on my desk. Let us take a tour through my distractions.

Rubiks Magic and Slinky

• There is the Rubiks Magic puzzle, which makes really interesting shapes. I’ve never solved it, and I don’t think I ever will.

• Who can resist a Slinky? Slinkys are so simple, yet so amusing. I just love motioning it back and forth. Plus, I find a Slinky falling down the stairs really cool. Have you seen the 1960 slinky commercial? Slinkys are so awesome!

• Have you guys ever been to Kid Robot? I’ve only been to the one in San Francisco, but there is one located in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and London. I bought two toys from Kid Robot’s POP! Super Shiny Mini Series. Kid Robot toys are so addicting to buy because you never know which toy you are going to get from the series.

Kid Robot Toys and Wilson from Cast Away

• Do you remember the movie Cast Away that came out in 2000? Wilson was the friend that Chuck created from a volleyball that washed up on the shore in a FedEx package. Even though Wilson never had a line, he was one of my favorite characters in the movie.
• Then there is Rilakkuma’s friend. Rilakkuma is a Japanese bear character that is famous in Japan.

Rilakkuma's Friend, 20 Questions, and Pink Piggy Bank

• Twenty Questions is another fun distraction. The game usually always guesses what I am thinking.
• My little, pink piggy bank that my friend gave to me for Christmas.

• And lastly, my stress squeeze toy shaped as my school mascot, Richie. I don’t really squeeze him when I’m stressed, but he’s just so cute. 

Richie

What distracts you at work or what distracts you from homework?

Yummy Banana Bread!

Freshly cut banana bread

Hello Everyone! Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have been extremely busy since Easter. There have been projects, tests and due dates to meet. You know how it is when that peak in the quarter or semester hits.

A stress relieving method for me is to bake something. Banana bread was the stress relieving baked good of choice. I was craving it for weeks. I usually get banana bread at the Rochester Public Market, but I haven’t had a chance to go. I was a bit bummed out because there is a stand that sells great banana bread for only $3.00. 

Well, there is a first for everything. Right? I went online to find a recipe. I’ve been skeptical about taking recipes online because they never turn out quite well for me. This time, I gave it a shot and took a look online. I was surprised to find a Betty Crocker Banana Bread Recipe. I figured if it was a Betty Crocker recipe, than it had to be legit.

I was excited! Banana bread here I come!

Freshly cut banana bread

I mixed all the ingredients, and I added some Nestle Chocolate Chips in there because I could. (Nestle has some really fun baking recipes on their website. I might check them out next time I bake.) I put it in the oven at 350° and checked it at 40 mins. I did the toothpick trick, but it still needed time in the oven. Twenty minutes after that it was finally done. It didn’t look like the picture when I took it out of the oven. It actually looked like I had left it in the oven too long. 

I worried for nothing because it tasted AMAZING! What a sigh of relief. 

Yay for banana bread baking success! I had so much fun baking and then taking pictures of it afterwards. Now back to homework I go.

Freshly cut banana bread

Happy Easter!

Easter is here and that means, eggs, tie-dye, bunnies, and baked goods! To get into the Easter spirit I decided to do some baking. I had bought all these baking supplies and hadn’t had the time to bake a thing. I whipped out the usual baking supplies and ingredients: mixing bowl, whisk, baking pan, wax paper, eggs, flour, butter, rice krispies, marshmallows and a pack of sugar cookie mix that my friend, Susie, had given me. As the oven heated up to 350°, I melted some butter and marshmallows in a pan and mixed it with the Rice Krispies. I transferred that to a pan and was ready to make the cookies.

Rice Krispie Treats

When I make cookies, I usually drop cookie dough on the pan. This time I wanted to try and roll out the cookie dough and cut out bunny and egg shaped cookies. I had limited supplies, but I was going to give it a shot.

Tips and Tricks I learned…

• When flattening the cookie dough, make sure there is enough flour on the dough, so it isn’t as sticky.
• Don’t have cookie cutters? You can simply use a knife and cut your own shapes right on the dough; or you can make your own cookie cutters from those heavy duty disposable pans. I learned this trick from Miss Strawberry in her Making of Delicious Kpop Battle video. (Thanks Miss Strawberry!)
• If dough is freshly mixed and soft, don’t throw the scraps away after you cut out the cookies. You can easily mash the extra dough together and flatten it back out to cut out more cookies.
• When placing a cut out bunny on your baking pan, make sure to spread out the bunny’s ears, so the ears won’t get stuck together as it bakes.
• Let the cookies cool off before you decorate them. You don’t want your cookie icing to melt.
• Have fun decorating! Don't be afraid to get messy.

Decorative icing I used

Here is how my cookies turned out!

Easter cookies

Happy Easter everyone!

Some knitting indulgence for myself

Ever receive a knitted scarf? Have you seen people knit and wished you could knit? I had always wanted to knit, but never sat down and learned until Christmas break 2011. Oh boy, did I not know what I was getting into. I went to my local Joann’s; I bought a “Learn How to Knit in One Day” book, some yarn and a pair of knitting needles; and then I went home and started to learn how to knit. Once I got the hang of things, it was a breeze. I had learned later on that the smaller the knitting needles, the more knitting I would have to do.

The type of yarn I used to knit
 my first scarf

I had the ambition of knitting two scarves for my friends’ Christmas presents. I thought three weeks would be a piece of cake to knit two scarves, but I didn’t quite think things through. I picked a really thick, fuzzy, Joann Sensations type of yarn to knit my first scarf. It was so hard to see where the knits were for this type of yarn. When I finally got that scarf done in February 2012, I was able to start my second scarf. This type of yarn was much easier to knit and only took me three days. When those scarves were done, it was hard to give them to my friends because I worked so hard on them. In the end they loved them!

Since I had some extra yarn left over, I decided it was time to knit something for myself. I decided to knit a bow and it turned better than I thought. Now I have something I knitted that I can wear, and someone else may be the one thinking, “I wish I knew how to knit.” If you are that someone, here is the site that really helped me (because the book wasn't as hands on): Knitting Help.

My knitted bow 

I put a clip on the back so I can wear it in my hair.