Word

Ephesians 3:7 (NIV)

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.

:) mm-hmm!

I Heart Boston

I went to Boston for Canadian Thanksgiving! And was it a trip! :)
I went with my sister Jenn and brother in law to be, Kevin, and it was a great time of just relaxing and enjoying ourselves. We stayed at my sister's bestfriend Juliana's house and so she and her boyfriend show us around town. I really loved Boston. The streets, buildings, people, sounds, smell. And the bbbeaaaauuutiful weather probably helped a lot. :)



I don't have much time to write about it right now, so why don't I just post the photos of the highlights. :)


inside Quincy Market


wonderful outdoor Haymarket






my beautiful sister Jenn and wonderful Kevin


Jenn and Jules on Friend street. :)


Jules and Jesse.


Juliana's beautiful rooming house.


Stone walkways.


hanging out.


famous newbury street. walking and a'shopping.



OKAY
now food.










breakfast time!


the best blueberry pancakes these lips have ever tasted!! at mckenee cafe in dorchester.


sweet cupcakes, boston.
i was soooooo excited to visit this cupcakery. i was half impressed i think. they were pretty delicious but not THAT notable. hmm they all said that it wasn't worth $3.75 a cupcake. pretty expensive!!


nice interior.


but they had pretty cute packaging. here my sister is the cupcake model.




i was soo happy. :)




i think that's it for now.
it was an awesome trip. i want to live there one day. ;)



check out my flickr for more photos!

when life gives you lemons...

make lemon pound cake!

sorry.. i know that's totally cliche, but it's so true. what's better than lemonade? a soft, slightly tangy, moist pound cake! and it makes your whole home smell so delicious! well, that's a valuable lesson, isn't it? making the most out of what you have. although.. i think lemons are perfectly fabulous.



i have another lesson learned from this delightful pound cake! mistakes are a "portal to discovery"! the first time i made this recipe (from williams-sonoma.com) i made a mistake by adding THREE too many tablespoons of lemon juice into the pound cake. but it actually turned into a super discovery! i love MY mistake version of this cake. it's up to you if you want to try it! :)

Lemon Pound Cake

serves 8-10
adapted from williams-sonoma.com

ingredients

1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbs. cake flour
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
9 Tbs. unsalted butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

directions

1. Have all the ingredients at room temperature.
2. Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 325°F. Line with parchment and grease loaf pan.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30 seconds. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. (Please do the full 4-5 minutes because this makes the cake really light and fluffy.) Increase the speed to medium-high and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla and 2 Tbs. of the lemon juice. (Here, I added 5 instead!)
5. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, beating each addition until just incorporated and stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the lemon zest.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool upright in the pan for 15 minutes.

making the lemon glaze (I actually omit this glaze because I don't like it too sweet. So instead of the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice here, I put it in the cake)
7.Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the remaining 3 Tbs. lemon juice and the 1⁄4 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper, invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the warm cake with the glaze. Let the cake cool completely before serving.

my big debut

Okay.. maybe it's not much of a BIG DEBUT, but still I've had a very exciting moment in my life! It was my first cater order for cupcakes! After a few months of waiting for a call, I ecstatically received my first bridal shower order. It was for such a lovely friend too, so the pressure was on as well! She had a lot of trust in me-- don't want to let her down!



She ordered 36 cupcakes: which offers a choice of two cakes and two frostings. She chose vanilla on vanilla and red velvet with cream cheese. And her colors were purple, orange and silver. I thought this would be my chance to try some different decoration techniques (since I always just do the usual swirl, and occasional sprinkles). After much much much scratching the head and debating what I should do, I thought I should try out royal icing flowers to put on top of each cupcake. And that's what I did! I guess it was easy for an easy flower... but I think it would be a lot more challenging to make it super nice. Next time I'm going to adventure even more in cake decorating.



It was a lot of fun although I'm not sure if I made that much money off it. My friend was kind enough to give me more than I charged, though!! I wasn't expecting that at all!! Overall, this cupcake catering will probably be more of a hobby than a lucrative business, but that is A-O-KAY by me! People around me have been really supportive so I'm soo very thankful. My friend Alicia even got me a CUPCAKE STAND as a "first order" congratulatory gift!! I'm sooo lucky! So, I'm just going to be joyful in all I do!