Do you feel like immersing yourself in a world where everything is British? Do you want to feel this way when you walk into a room, or when you take your first bite of a dessert that seems as enchanting as a fairy tale?
If I tell you that I was enchanted a couple of nights ago by a bowl of slightly-steaming bread pudding generously drizzled with a hot flow of the warm yellow hue of custard, you'd probably guess that I'd rather be in a British world when I'm eating something...Not that I wouldn't like to be surrounded by all things British as well, but there's nothing like entertaining your taste buds with the soft, deliciously mushy texture of the sweet bread that's subtly hiding some juicy raisins the way precious jewels are hidden, as the grand finale can come to your taste buds by the form of an extreme rush of sweetness of the custard, all putting you in a state to think that everything in the world should be just as sweet. When I took that first bite of the bread pudding, I forgot where I was. I could almost hear the voices of people who were sitting around me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Those sounds just seemed so distant, so far, as if I traveled to a land far far away...Now I have the strong urge to speak in a British accent as I talk of a fairy tale about an average girl who falls in love with a bread pudding and they end up marrying and living happily ever after, in this 'far away land'...But I won't, to save my sanity just a bit. I would post a picture of the extraordinary mini volcano of deliciousness, but I'd rather have you imagine this come-true fairy tale yourself, using your lively taste imaginations and foodie-magic lodged somewhere inside you. ;) Have a sweet, custard-filled day today, and enjoy the sunshine of bread pudding (or just sunshine if that's what you also like...)! ~~MC
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8/11/2011 1 Comment Heart Stolen by a CupcakeIt feels almost like an eternity since I last wrote a MC blog post, even though it really has been a few days...Either way, it feels great to be back! :)
I must begin by declaring something that will strike you as slightly over dramatic, yet nonetheless true, within every word: My heart has been stolen...by a cupcake (with some green-lemon loose tea washing it down with its herbal deliciousness and warmth). I walk into the Cupcake Royale shop that sits like a mini castle ten minutes near my house...and I say 'mini castle' not only because of how much I adore the place, but also because it literally reminds me of a castle--the building used to be an IHOP, until the pancakes were scooted out of the now-white abode and replaced by floating puffy clouds of iced, decorated heaven. After gazing at what were various definitions of 'the perfect cupcake,' all delicately crafted and sitting quietly behind the glass begging to be enjoyed by someone who's just walked into a sparkling aura difficult to resist, I chose the Lavender Cupcake...it was the cupcake that instantly wooed me. (Yes, I just once again referred to a cupcake as if it were the subject of a passionate love story.) One bite of that cupcake (okay, obviously no longer a passionate love story...), and I was whisked away to a place filled with more sparkles and enchantment that made me question whether I had ever tasted a true cupcake in the past. The frosting exhibited a light purple that glowed underneath the casual ensemble of sprinkles of the same color; and, looking at the cupcake, you would think that the slightly hardened texture means the frosting will break your teeth within contact, but it actually melts like a traditionally made meringue you can't get enough of. What especially surprised me was that the actual cake part of this yummy treat showed a strong resemblance to angel food cake, by its creamy-white hue as well as the thick yet fluffy texture that takes you even further into this cupcake fantasy! And as I take in the perfectly sculpted ensemble, I tell myself in the surest tone that this is the most delicious cupcake (or is it even a cupcake anymore? I'd rather call it an edible cloud of a masterpiece) I've ever tasted. http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150283686734450&set=a.10150278886384450.347832.815939449&&theater (I couldn't post the photo here for some reason, so here is the link) So if you ever find yourself in the near-death situation where you need a cupcake but have trouble figuring out where is the best place to get one, don't even hesitate to take yourself on an enchanting vacation at the nearest Cupcake Royale. :) ~~MC 8/5/2011 2 Comments Giant Flowery Scone I might have subtly mentioned this in several previous Foods for Fantasizing posts, but this time I must say it straight out: There's something extremely comforting about baking, something about the smell of freshly-baked goods that have come straight out of the depths of the oven and into the gooey center of your heart. ;)
During the times I don't feel at my best, the only thing I actually feel like doing is baking...And so today I grabbed an adorably-packed scone baking mix that my mother recently bought from World Market, ripped open the bag (not really 'ripped'...I used scissors) to allow the spicy-sweet aroma to fill the atmosphere around me, and commenced to performing the most comfort and warmth-inducing task of the history of mankind...Baking. Baking, baking baking baking, I cannot say that word enough! I took the steaming set of puffy lemon ginger scones out of the oven literally 10 minutes ago, and yet the smell still lingers all around the house like the perfume every person wants. If you were standing in my kitchen peering over the little piece of heaven, you could see that these baked sweets have traveled out of the bag and straight into a cakey goodness that almost seduces you...Even though I feel strange calling it "these baked sweets" when it really looks like a giant mass of...one baked sweet. Come to think of it, it actually looks like a giant, slightly-warped flower, though it is still a lovely flower. :) What foods comfort you? The obvious answer may be sweets or baked goods such as this ginormous flowery scone, but it can really be just any food whose very first scent or taste in the mouth causes you to second guess any rough times you may have encountered during the day, and instead prompt you to take in the moment and relax towards a new beginning you will enjoy. So take a baking mix of something you yearn to create, and craft your own sense of comfort! ~~MC 8/3/2011 0 Comments 'Get Happy.'Earthy, organic rooibos gets an infusion of fresh, fruity lemon and lush peach flavors in this satisfying blend. Enjoy it hot or splashed over ice.
That is what I read on the brightly hued container of what I am now gleefully sipping in my London tourist-y mug: a caffeine-free tea called 'get happy,' as only from World Market. There is a rich taste that I am taking in right now as I hold my warm, comforting beverage; a subtle punch of the fruity tone entertains my taste buds, surrounded by the quiet notes of herb in the background the way that the deep blues of a night sky background hug the noticeable figures pictured in the center of a glistening oil painting. I recommend this tea not because it will make you think of lovely oil paintings that calm you just as much (or maybe that's just me...), and not because just looking at the tea container covered with sweet and optimistically written descriptions will lift your spirits in the effortless way that a breeze lifts a leaf from the ground...Perhaps I recommend the tea because each and every sip of this warm potion of serenity gives you an additional reason to sit back, relax, and 'get happy.' :) ~~MC P.S. Did you know that rooibos is pronounced 'ROY-boss'? I had always pronounced it as 'ROY-boos' but I guess I was wrong! Recently, my dad came back from his trip to London, England...And he brought a feast of dark chocolate for me to lose myself in.
...Those who know me are well-aware that dark chocolate means Christmas morning, the best day of your life, and the perfect sunset mixed and fused into one small square of rich dark cocoa. :) Every time I've taken a bite (or five) out of the block of my 'Christmas morning' (by the way, the remnants of that dark chocolate aren't shown in this picture of course, the other square of chocolate is ;) ), I am pleasantly surprised by the power of contrasts ingrained in this little, simple food--The dark chocolate's taste is sweet and bitter, hard and soft, solid and yet easily able to melt in your mouth like a slow rush of thick volcanic lava surrounding your inner being with a total sense of comfort and, of course, enjoyment of the flavor that has just taken over you. With the adorable illustration on the box accompanied by a phrase that reads "Where the Sun always shines," I can say those are the exact words that echo whenever dark chocolate comes to my mind, especially this specific chocolate from London. And while I am of course looking forward to enjoying the authentic English tea my dad also brought from London, I can't wait to sink my teeth once again in this deliciously aromatic, dark volcanic-like set of sparks that contain a taste that I can't replace with any other. ~~MC 7/24/2011 0 Comments Life's Natural SweetnessSometimes the best thing to eat on a hot, smoldering day is what's most simple and effortlessly satisfying, what only your most natural senses can truly enjoy...and that is fruit. :)
Fruit is easy to find, like at grocery stores and farmers markets, yet they are easily set aside in the common situations for this time of year--like where ice cream trucks stroll by, as TV commercials seem to advertise for nothing but fast food apple pie (yes, I'm referring to McDonald's apple pie...) and other unhealthy treats... But when that day comes in the summertime when you feel your mouth craving for something sweet with equal parts refreshing (instead of sweet and murky or sticky, like man-made food), and you want that something that you eat to make the rest of your day full of just as much easy comfort, stick to the bright colors and varied palette of throwing things onto your plate such as succulent, true red strawberries, and apples with that tang of flavor that makes the taste of food exciting! ;) So grab yourself a plastic bag (or tote bag, whatever you like...) and rush to the farmers market before Summer's over, because there's nothing like sinking your teeth into the natural sweetness of life! ~~MC 7/23/2011 0 Comments Out-of-This-World Ice Cream...Two days ago, I immersed myself in what I call a weekly celebration of all things delicious and simply heavenly...In other words, I went to the farmers market in town...not only was I exposed to the locally grown, blissfully ripe cherries accompanied by booths of deliciously green vegetables, in addition to the seemingly floating hills of textured, softly baked bread whose scent was hovering delicately in the colorful air at the market--I was even more drawn to the bright blue Molly Moon's ice cream van (in the picture above).
...Even though I had been to their ice cream shop numerous times, I still felt magnetically drawn to the alluringly unique flavors that were sitting in the truck, as if they were various hues of a mysterious potion waiting to be served to and devoured by instantly satisfied customers like myself... And so, with a smile on my face as bright and wide as on a child who just woke up on Christmas morning and sped to the mountain of gifts, I practically dragged my family to the truck and asked for a kid's size cup of honey lavender ice cream (I asked for kid's size because it's already a large size for me...and because I felt generous enough that day to share the ice cream with my brother :) ). Out of all the flavors you'd discover at Molly Moon's, I personally think the honey lavender flavored 'potion' brings out the best of MM's...Its full, rich taste of the most naturally pleasant scent you can imagine, touched lightly by a sweetness that's out of this world...you can't resist digging ravenously through the grand mountains of its creamy texture in order to enjoy every last bit of it. And so the next time that I am walking in the neighborhood and am pleasantly interrupted by a crowd of lavender plants swaying effortlessly in the wind, I will have to try to suppress my urge to mistaken the heavenly aroma for the honey lavender ice cream (that is, the urge to actually eat the plants! ..which would evidently be horrible particularly if the lavender were sitting on someone else's property). ~~MC 7/19/2011 0 Comments A Basket of France...Yesterday was quite a lovely day in Seattle--the Sun was shining, the sky was clearing up, people were strolling in the downtown area as they seemed magnetically drawn to areas right by the water that was shining brightly underneath the sunlight...And I was sipping on my hot tall decaf latte with a foam design shaped like a heart in the center. :)
After pretending to be tourists at admiring every part of Pike Place Market (with the imperfect yet somehow still perfect stone tiling on the ground path...the boiling enthusiasm of the men tossing fish all over the place in the fish market...the bustling crowds among the small shops that sold things ranging from freshly plucked flowers to bottles of flavored olive oil...), my family and I sat in our favorite cafe in the area...Le Panier, and all the French aura and stimulating coffee drinks that come with it. You can already tell from the second photo that this cafe is a little piece of France in itself, a world that shelters itself from the piece of Seattle that occurs on the other side of the row of windows. As you walk down the short flight of stairs to the cafe and step out of the street of the market, you are welcomed by the subtle acoustic French music that blends as nicely with the voices of the customers as does a shot of espresso with the mug of freshly steamed milk, that fuse together into the latte I ordered and lost myself in (in the first photo); the gleaming yellow lights, the lovely display of French tartes and pâtes that look like they were made just minutes ago, and the black-and-white photos of all-encompassing angles of Paris...these other little things about Le Panier may also put you in a trance. Their lattes are finely crafted, as they never cease to please you with foam designs made with heart...which was why despite the 75 degree weather, I ordered a hot latte instead of iced. I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to lose myself not only in the latte but also in the decoration sitting on top of it. Le Panier translates from French to "the basket"--And to me, there is no other way to see that than as a basket of pastries and authentic drinks, a basket of France that sits among the bustling shops and aura of Seattle, waiting for you to step inside and be absorbed in a place that's another world away. ~~MC 7/19/2011 0 Comments Guess the Flavor!Hello!
This is probably the first time that I've done this in a Foods for Fantasizing blog post, but I am going to for once NOT describe the way a food has tasted (except in the caption above)...Because I am interested in knowing what you think the flavor of this gelato is. :) I normally would go on about how crazy I went over the deliciousness of this dessert, and I guess I still could do that even if I were leaving out the part telling you what flavor the ice cream was..except that I just want to try something new with this blog, so here it goes! What do you think is the flavor of the bowl of gelato? And just to give a subtle clue, it's not as obvious as it seems... ~~MC Two nights ago, as my family and I sat down to watch a movie (The Golden Compass, in case you were curious), I decided to craft and serve this healthy Summer dessert. :)
It's called Berry Pudding Cake, and the 'pudding' part of the name comes from the thick, slightly gooey texture of the batter in which the berries seemed to have melted while sitting in the oven...So in a way, you're getting the taste of a rich, berry-infused pudding tickling your taste buds, even though the ingredients are very simple and ones that don't tie very much to the typical pudding recipe. I actually found the recipe on the Yahoo! website in an article titled "Healthy Summer Desserts." As soon as I saw the headline, I immediately took myself to the numerous pictures and recipes of these delectable, healthy-yet-they-look-unhealthy-in-these-pictures-what-is-this-madness?-oh-wait-it's-not-madness-because-this-is-actually-a-good-thing!, simple presentations of pleasure. And when I came across the Berry Pudding Cake recipe (not to mention the picture next to it...), I couldn't help but imagine myself devouring the entire plate of dessert all by myself, taking in all the various tangs of the berries paired up with the smooth, subtle, delicate taste of the pudding...But of course, when I actually made the dessert two nights ago, that image didn't really come true..entirely. ;) Here is the recipe for Berry Pudding Cake; I hope you will be able to welcome to your Summer this delicious orb that contains nothing but brightly-beheld strawberry fields and the smells of bakeries, as I hope to hear from you on what you think of the dessert!
2. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until light and frothy. Whisk in milk until combined. Add flour and baking powder; whisk until smooth. 3. Divide berries among prepared quiche dishes. Pour batter over berries. (Batter will not cover berries completely.) Bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm. If desired, sift powdered sugar over each serving. Makes 6 servings. ~~MC |
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