Really Pretty Cupcakes

im gonna do it one day.
soon. :)

loooooooong over due

my goodness. it's been a while since i've updated this, hasn't it?
well, i guess it hasn't been thaat long actually, but it FEELS like its been a while.
a LOT has been going on for me so i feel like a lot has changed since i've posted a blog!

YES STILL i think i'm going to properly update later, and so for now, i just want to post up some food pics i've taken during my europe trip. there aren't many...really disappointed in myself! and i call myself a foodie! but oh well.... :P



creme brulee from paris.
unfortunately i mustve gone to the wrong creme brulee place because it wasn't very good at all... i ventured to the famous cafe "the Two Windmills" from the movie Amelie and was sorely disappointed. it wasn't at all like in the movie, but hey at least I can say I was there! and so i ordered the creme brulee and thought i'd get one that looks like the one Amelie eats, but again, I was disappointed. it's alright tho. i was still happy.



now this was NOT disappointing at all. i had a very special meal while in Rome and it was fantastical. beautiful scenery, beautiful food, and beautiful friends. :)
mmmmmmm. i wanna go back!



i ordered this DELICIOUS "Crazy Butterflies" pasta: farfalle with this yummy sauce. i realllly want to recreate this here, but i honestly don't really know what the sauce is made out of.. but i shall figure it out one day. +) anywho. probably the best pasta i've ever eaten.



prosciutto and melon. SO delicious. yum yum yum yum yum.



ahhh.. bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. so delightful. and the vinegar and oil is so much more tastier when it's the real deal in italy, ya kno?



italian gelato. and let me tell you, it was one of the most refreshing moment of my life. florence was just scorching hot and i was poor so i only had a few euros to buy either water or gelato. hehe. and i chose right. :D i never knew that cooling your mouth off would cool your whole body! anywho this was canteloupe and yogurt gelato. it's not the same anywhere else man.



prosciutto and mozzarella on italian baguette. i actually wanted something else, but i ordered this one. hehe. but it was TASTY so no complaining! i dont usually like prosciutto that much, but this was delicious. and the baguette is awesome.



enough of italian food? this is from AMSTERDAM! their famous belgian frites that are deeeply fried and smothered in their famous mayo. we actually just asked for the sauce on the side, but it was very delicious. but felt kinna greasy afterwards. keke.



famous GERMAN PORK KNUCKLE. i had this in the famous munich hopfgarten. it was veeeerrry fun. hehe. let's just say that.



my friend michelle tackling the pork knuckle.



people here drink beer by the liter! i could only take a few sips! but it was fun watching everyone else pour themselves with delicious german beer!



and.... that's it!
i know, its horrible isn't it? i went to europe and that's all the food photos i have! but as disappointing as it is, it was really sad for me while i was there, because i truthfully didn't get to eat a lot of good food. a lot of my meals were at service stops and 3 star hotels.. so yeah. let's just say, next time i go to europe-- SOMEONE will be spending a lot of money of food. :)

leaving on a jet plane

to see a whole new world!!






tomorrow i will be flying to europe!!
i am sooo very excited and expecting a lot of great things.
i am pretty tired from all the packing, so this is going to be very short.

here is a list of things i am looking forward to:

1. european accents
2. great food
3. beautiful sights
4. beautiful smells
5. freedom
6. finding unique things in unique places
7. architecture
8. florence
9. spending time with God
10. coming back refreshed and renewed


i am sort of worried about the pace and amount of traveling we will do, but maybe the new air will give me some extra energy. :)


for me, more than just famous sights and grand monuments, i'm excited to see just how beautiful this world can be. and how wide! and how universal! but so diverse! what a beautiful world we live in. :)


see you in a couple weeks!!

i need a peace of mind

Oh deaarrr.
I feel quite stressed out right now.
My school stuff is in a jumble and i feel like I've messed up. But I can't really do anything about it right now but wait.. So..
In the midst of this, I decided to bake. haha.
To ease my mind, perhaps? And I am going to meet some friends who I haven't seen in a while, so I wanted to surprise them with some baked goodness.

These are pretty famous cookies from Doris Greenspan's book "Baking: From My House to Yours". I'm sure most avid bakers have heard of them. They're called Korova Cookies, also known as World Peace Cookies. She adapted the recipe from Pierre Hermé, a Parisian pastry chef who's neighbor was convinced that a daily dose of Pierre's cookies is all that is needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness.

So here there are,

World Peace Cookies

Makes about 36 cookies
from Doris Greenspan's "Baking: From My House to Yours"

ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

directions

part one
1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

3. Turn off the mixer. Pour in the dry ingredients, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don't be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

4. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you've frozen the dough, you needn't defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

part two
5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

6. Using a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you're cutting them — don't be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won't look done, nor will they be firm, but that's just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

new set of eyes

ohhh
it's so beautiful out today.
i'm feeling great.

the europe trip is slowly approaching,
i just bought a brand new camera,
and things are sorta brightening up nowadays.

i'm thankful to my Heavenly Father.. so faithful, even if i'm a mess.


anywhoo.
i haven't done ANY baking lately. so bad.
but i've been busy. and strangely, i haven't really felt like it.
i just want to post up some photos i took with my new camera.
i can't wait till i take photos of europe!! they're gonna be great!!