G is for Good

Today I feel like making a random list of my favorite things that start with the letter G. Please feel free to add to my list!

Green
Grapes
Gum
God
Greece
Gym
Giraffes
Gadgets
Galaxy
Games



Ghandi
Gateaux (french for cake!)
Gentleman ;)
Get-togethers
Giant Cookies (okay this one doesn't really count, but still)
Getty Images
Gifts!
Girly Stuff (now and then)
Glamizons (wooo)
Griffin Family
Guitar
Gyros Pita
Green Tea
Green Tea Cookies, speaking of which, is what we see below! :)



I found this recipe online which is a recipe that won an award or something. I'm sure lots of ppl have encountered the recipe before. But anyways, I was really excited about it cuz I bought some really nice (and expensive!!) organic matcha powder (Japanese green tea powder). It's a beautiful bright green and it was so much fun to work with. This green tea/ avocado green colour is my most favorit-est colour in the whole wide world. I have lots and lots of things that are this colour, including one of my bedroom walls! It's funny when I look around my house and see how many green things I have. Anyways. It's an easy recipe and they taste great. It's not too sweet and it has a nice note of green tea. Great for the adults. :)

Green Tea Cookies

makes about 2 dozen
recipe from Lovescool

ingredients

3/4 cup (2.25 oz) Confectioners sugar
5 oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz) all-purpose flour
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tbsp Matcha (powdered green tea)
1 cup Granulated sugar (for coating)

directions

1. Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and green tea together in a bowl.
2. Add the butter and green tea/sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until smooth and light in color. Add the flour and mix until well combined. Add the egg yolks and mix just until the eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms.
3. Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).
4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
5. Roll the dough out to ½” thickness. Cut the dough with a cookie cutter. Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat.
6. Place the sugar-coated cookie on a parchment lined pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Strawberry Fields forever. - The Beatles



Hmm.. unfortunately, I believe that most things are real and there are lots of things that we do get hung about, but today, I just wanted to say that despite all that, there is so much to celebrate! Like my friend Helen's birthday! Life might not be strawberry fields forever, but there definitely are sweet moments to delight in!



Happy birthday to Helen! She's so special to me because it's not about the outwardly appearance or words that make our relationship, but the heart-to-heart connection. We've gone through a lot over the years, and she's blessed my life in lots of ways. It wasn't the good times that brought us closer but the tears and hurts that let us open up. I think that kind of friendship is so precious and priceless.



So in light of that, I've baked some cupcakes for her--I guess I've sorta made myself the designated baker for parties. She loves my strawberry cheesecake, but I hadn't had enough time to bake it, so I went with strawberry cupcakes. It was a compromise: it had strawberries and cream cheese in it! I found a FANTASTIC recipe from speedM on Flickr. The icing tasted literally like Strawberry Haagen Daaz ice cream, or Strawberry Pocky!



It was simple to make and just gorgeous! I'm actually a huge non-fan of strawberries. I don't like em at all. I love fruits but strawberries--blegh. But these cupcakes were great. I'm glad I tried this recipe! You should too! As for decoration, I didn't want to do a typical strawberry topping, so I did a modern looking chocolate piece. I just melted the white chocolate and spread it thin, dusted some cocoa powder on it, then froze it, then broke it into pieces. It was nice against the pale pink of the frosting.

Strawberry Cupcakes

makes one dozen

ingredients

STRAWBERRY SAUCE
2 cups of fresh strawberries, cut in half and stem removed
sugar to taste

CUPCAKES
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup strawberry sauce
1/4 cup milk

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
8 ounces or 1 package of cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
approximately 1/4 cup of strawberry sauce

directions

STRAWBERRY SAUCE
1. Soak strawberries with about 1-2 tbs sugar for 15 minutes. Put strawberries in a small saucepan and heat under medium heat with lid on. Cook strawberries for approximately 15 minutes till strawberries cook down and become soft and saucy. Adjust sweetness with sugar until you get the desired sweetness. With a blender, puree until you get the desired smoothness or chunkiness. Cool before using in recipe.

CUPCAKES
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pans with cupcake papers. Whisk flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Measure out milk and strawberry sauce together. Set aside.
2. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
3. Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine. Add about one third the milk/strawberry sauce mixture and beat until combined. Repeat above, alternating flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture. Scoop into cupcake papers about half to three-quarters full (depending on whether you want flat or domed cupcakes). Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add half of the sugar, beat until combined. Add strawberry sauce until you achieve the right color and flavor, making sure not to add too much or the frosting will be too soft. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Snickerwhat?

Here are Snickerdoodles fer ya. They look more like chicken nuggets at this point, which is the pre-bake point, but boy do they look scrumptious afterward! They are for a special occasion. No, not exactly for the big obvious one of celebrating the Inauguration of USA's new president Obama (I give him big ups and am so happy he is the new Prez. Although he's gotten more attention from me than any other Canadian politician, I still don't know much about him. I do feel bad that this blog is not about him at all so all I can really say is CONGRATS!! and GOD BE WITH YA!!)




Okay so on to my own mini occasion. Today is my sister Jenn's bridesmaids' first get-together! I am, ahem, the maid of honour, being, of course, her best friend for over 22 years. Heeehee. So I think I've mentioned it before but yes, my sister is engaged and set to marry her lovely fiance Kevin in May! And she's asked her 6 best friends to be at her side on the special day. Today we'll be meeting up, sans Jenn, and discussing about, oh you know, fun things like bridal shower, bachelorette party and gifts!



Aside from the parties, my sister getting married is really exciting, you know. They're an excellent duo and I've gotten the best brother in law EVER! But I won't discuss the bittersweet-ness (more sweet than bitter) of my sister leaving me to become his wife, today. I just wanted to say that I've baked these little babies for our get-together today and I think the sweet and cinnamony cookies will suit the occasion just right!



So I found this recipe from the blog nosh with me after a long search for the right one. I needed a recipe that I can make right away, none of that refrigerate for 7 hours nonsense, and looked good in a picture. Haha. I was going to use another recipe but ended up with this one. But I realized AFTER I've baked them that this recipe doesn't use the traditional cream of tartar snickerdoodles use. I wonder if that makes a huge difference. I really like the cookies, but wasn't exacctly what I expected. These cookies are delightfully cakey and light, and the cinnamon sugar is excellent! But I was expecting a sort of airy inside and crunchy outside cookie... am I wrong? This was my first snickerdoodle ever, so I'm excited to try more recipes. All in all, though, they were delicious! Not too sweet, but in no ways plain.

Snickerdoodles

makes about 45

ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
3. With a handheld or standing mixer, beat together the shortening and butter. Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.
4. Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the dough, by hand, into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar. Flatten the balls into 1/2-inch thick disks, spacing them evenly on unlined cookie sheets. Bake until light brown, but still moist in the center, about 12 minutes. Cool on a rack.

The Sunny and the Rainclouds

Tonight I really feel thankful for a lot of things. I should be thankful always, really, because there are so many things that I am blessed with. A joyful family who loves me just the way I am. Loving friends who are just where I left them when we finally meet again. Being part of a church with so much love and excitement to see one another grow! And even the everyday and not so everyday gifts I have in life.



But being thankful isn't just about the good stuff in life. True thanksgiving is even about the rainclouds and thunderstorms. Because by those moments, it shapes who we are now. So I am thankful for them too. I realized today that during the times that are harder, I am actually more lucky. The fact that during those difficult moments I can have faith in myself, in God, in the people around me, is more meaningful and incredible than having an easy and happy life. So I am ever grateful that I am still standing, no matter the circumstance.






Today I would also like to celebrate my friend Minsoo's birthday! Happy Birthday, baby! You'll always have a special spot in my heart! ;) I hope you have an exciting year with lots of adventures and victories! Love you and I'll be praying for you!



Okay okay, now that I got the ooey-gooey stuff and birthday shoutouts done, let's talk about these red velvet cupcakes. It's a new recipe: I thought it was about time for me to try another one. I saw this on Martha Stewart a while back where the guest was famous in the South for her red velvet cake. She actually doesn't put any cocoa powder in it at all -- she likes it brilliant red. Plus instead of butter, she uses vegetable oil, which I think gave it a pretty fluffy texture. Great!



BUT! These cupcakes are proof that I am still such a novice baker. Everything was really easy and great except: these babies aren't so cuppy-sized at all!! I made them ginormously giant-sized. And totally my fault. When I was diving the batter, I used my usual ice cream scoop but the batter being more watery, it seemed to scoop a lot more than usual. So most of the cups were filled like 90% to the top! It should be around 2/3 full, and even though I knew it looked very wrong, I just went with it anyway. Bad idea. They turned out huge, awkward and with big crusty muffin-tops. Hahaha!



I also tried to be a little rebellious and decided to squeeze in some cocoa powder... which I don't think was the best idea. I used dutch processed cocoa (cuz that's the only kind I had at home), but apparently dutch processed cocoa isn't good for red velvet cakes because of the counter acidity and such and such.. which just means that it results in a less brilliant red. The cake in Martha Stewart's recipe is a bright deep red, but mine was a blotchy pink. Heeehee. Hey but it's all about experimenting and learning, right?



But don't get me wrong. They tasted wonderful and it had a great crumb. I will definitely use this recipe again. The people at the party loved it and once again I somehow made it look like I was an expert baker. :P No way! I've got such a looong way to go and I'm enjoying every bit of it!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 dozen normal sized cupcakes
from Martha Stewart

ingredients

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole buttermilk
2 1/2 tablespoons red food coloring
Cream Cheese Frosting

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla. With an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until flour has been incorporated. Slowly add buttermilk. Add food coloring, and beat to combine.
3. Divide batter among cupcake tins; each about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Remove the pans to a rack to cool.
4. When completely cooled, frosting with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

for 2 dozen normal sized cupcakes

ingredients

1 stick butter
8-oz cream cheese
3 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

directions

1. In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until well mixed. Add vanilla extract. Sift in 1 cup of confectioner's sugar and beat until combined. Then sift in the remaining sugar and mix until consistency is smooth and thick, about 7 minutes.

Whimsical Winter & Summer Memories

Okay okay. So here is a new wintery look for milk and honey cafe!

Just a few new changes: a new color scheme, a simple new banner, and a new photo of me! Hehe. The whole picture is actually a very silly picture of me. It was when I visited London, England during the summer. I look VERY happy, don't I? Well, I was! And I can't wait till I go again. I've been thinking about traveling again and it's making me excited! Europe, wait just a little longer for me!

But until then, I thought I'd just post some photos up of the trip this past summer!
Sorry for the not-too-descriptive captions. Oh and you'll find some fun and larger than life photos aka "Silly Michelle across Europe" Series.


venice, italy


venice, italy


on a gondola, venice, italy


venice, italy


rome, italy


rome, italy


vatican city


vatican city


st peter's basilica, rome, italy


best pasta in my life, rome, italy


rome, italy


rome, italy


new sunglasses, florence, italy


florence, italy


florence, italy


florence, italy


florence, italy


i forget which city, switzerland


swarovski factory, austrian alps


our contiki tour bus


tour de eiffel, paris, france


notre dam, paris, france


musee dorsee, paris, france


paris lights, france


munich, germany


best bike tour ever, munich, germany


famous massive Alster (half lemonade half beer), munich, germany


so cool how people can think of these things, in the middle of the city, munich


munich, germany


bus stop, germany


amsterdam, netherlands


amsterdam, netherlands


amsterdam, netherlands


london, england


london, england

phew! that took a looong time to put up!
hope you enjoyed it! :D