To have and to hold

Friends are special. And while finding the really special ones seems to be hard, I find that keeping them close to you is even trickier. I've had a few times when I met someone and my heart was instantly drawn to them and life seemed suddenly a bit more beautiful! But how many times have I let those friendships whither away? To be honest, I'm not a very good friend and it roots from my childhood. Since I was a little girl, I was always solo. And I loved being solo. I had a handful of playmates I would have fun with, but the real imaginative and creative in me would come out when I was playing by myself in a little corner. Naturally comfortable with being alone, and also very capable to socialize when need be, I never really felt the need to have many friends. It also had a lot to do with the fact that I was always moving around the globe and keeping in touch with long distance friendships was a very hard thing to do for me.



At the same time, I always did have a partner. Whether it was my first boyfriend (who also happens to be my first kiss!) of age 5, or my elementary school girlfriend who was attached to me at the hip; my twin, as they would call us, during junior high because we were so close, or my wonderful boyfriend right now, I had a few key people in my life that I really cherished everyday. But as I grow a little older and find that there seems to be less and less opportunities to meet new friends, I realize how important it is to keep my old ones.




Friendship truly takes a lot of commitment and investment in order for it to grow, like anything really valuable, I suppose. And just as much as Andrew is a great partner in my life right now, I continually find the need to have friends to live life with me as well. Friends are support systems, they're tissues, they're comedians, and if you're lucky, they're the best teachers too. So to all my friends, I love you deeply and I'm so thankful for you! I promise I'll do better and I'll call/come out more often. Heehee. Thanks for being a part of my life, no matter how meek of a state it is in, and for accepting me any how. You guys are truly something special to have and to hold!




Wait, have you noticed the beautiful photographs up here? Of course you have! They are all from a wonderful blog called To have and to hold (hence my title inspiration...). Two special friends decided to put their passion in design and weddings and all things beautiful to good use and started a small wedding invitation adventure! They marked their first month a week ago, but the blog is already so full with wonderful resources and goodies to be inspired by. Please have a visit – it's not only great for brides-to-be, but just beautiful design in general. Okay, and here's another reason why I'm so excited for them! THESE LADIES HAPPEN TO BE MY SPECIAL FRIENDS. Hehe! You ladies are so talented and so inspiring and I'm so proud of you!! Keep it up!!

Late Night Gratification

Friday nights are my late nights. They are the nights where while all my loved ones are fast asleep, I am up in my cozy room with a cozy light, determined to stay awake. They are really the only nights that I can stay up late since I get to sleep in late tomorrow. No matter how long my day, how much my bed calls for me, I am committed to this special night that only comes once every week. From pointless perusing on the world wide web, to finally uploading the pics from my camera; from catching up on fashion news to checking out my friends' status' on Facebook, Friday nights are precious "ME" time that I so dearly hold on to — no matter how heavy my eyelids are (which are closing as we speak right now).



So what do I have to offer tonight? Why, of course, a cupcake! ...who is just as indulgent as my late night enterprises! A rich chocolate cake crowned with a creamy deep peanut butter frosting, showered with some dark chocolate shavin' lovin', this cupcake is anything but a sleeper. Peanutbutter-love is an acquired taste to some, but I'm sure any one will love to take a bite out of these after smelling the rich peanut-y goodness. Well, whatever your "Friday Late Night" or "Peanut Butter Cupcake" is, do one good thing for yourself every now and then. Everyone is entitled to it!! Happy baking, everyone! :)

"Peanut Butter Cup"-Cake

recipe from Hershey's Kitchens and Food Network
makes 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes

ingredients

chocolate cake
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (add 1 tbsp of white vinegar to milk to equal 1 cup)
1 cup strong black coffee OR 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

frosting
2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used organic)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup heavy cream

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line pans with cupcake paper.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
3. Bake 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
4. Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. Frost as desired.

Us

Hi y'all.
Quick update.
It's us! :)

We went to a marvelous wedding last weekend and we had such a blast. Having a free photo booth didn't hurt. Hehe. Just thought I'd share a cheesy moment with you! :D

One second!!

Okay okay okay.
I know the blog looks a little empty and bland right now but please give me a moment! Revamping is still underway! Please be patient with me? It's just that it's a new season now and I really needed to get rid of the flowers!! Yet, I don't have a lot of time, so the process is going quite slow. Sorry, it's been a while, huh? I should take a bit more care of my blog, I know. Hmph. Oh, and why do I have a picture of the cutest girl you've ever seen up there? Well, let's just say it's a form of sucking up to ya while my blog is under construction. How coul you not forgive that beautiful smile?

Anywhoooo, hopefully by the end of the transformation, you'll still love my milk and honey cafe. Hope you know that I'm grateful for each and every one of you!!

Love,
sarah the baker yoon.

To come full circle

Okay guys. This is going to be speed-blogging. I'm at work and I got ten minutes until it's 9 am. I know I shouldn't really be doing personal stuff here, but gosh darnit, it's been too long since I've put anything up here! And I've got two perfectly fine pies waiting to be posted up. So this is going to be quick and dirty: two pies, two successes.



This season was my first time to try pies. Can you believe it? After calling myself sarah the baker yoon for quite some time, it was quite embarrassing to admit that I've never tried pies. I never understood why they have the saying "Easy as Pie!" 'cause it seemed like such a challenge to me. I guess it was always the fear of failure but I've finally come full circle in my pie-angst and I've dealt with it. And what a great dealing it was.



Of course the challenge with a great pie is inevitably the crust. Fillings don't seem to be such a big deal, but when it comes to the crust — we get quite sensitive. It can't be soggy or stiff or breaking apart or tough. It needs to be perfectly flaky and buttery and crusty in order to be received with much love. But I found that with just the right recipe, a few video tutorials, and a careful touch, it's really quite simple to make the right pie dough.




A few tries wouldn't hurt either, but with luck on my shoulder, I made two great pies for the first time. My apple pie was for Thanksgiving dinner (yes, us Canadians have our Thanksgiving early October) and with a perfect scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream, all I heard was mmmmmm's and ahhhhh's. The second was for my parents' guests and they were so proud of me as all of them devoured the pie together. Now my mom keeps asking "So... Just wondering... how about that pie again?"




After trying to find the perfect recipe, Joy of Cooking, Allrecipes, and Dorie's recipes were in consideration, but in the end I was convinced by Cook's Illustrated video tutorial and decided to go with that. And what a great choice it was. They explain scientifically why their dough works and made me a believer. Their secret ingredient in the pie dough is VODKA. A solution to easier rolling, but preventing a tough dough from over-worked gluten from too much water. The vodka burns away in the oven and is tasteless afterward.



Also, they give an option for those who don't own a food processor, like me! They have a foolproof way of keeping the butter chunks balanced perfectly with the flour and you can use your stand mixer! The procedure is quite different than of the usual cutting method, but it works wonders. It's the science behind it I guess. So I thought I'd give you a visual step-by-step guide to making a foolproof crust. I always questioned "what exactly do you mean by pea-sized to cheese-curd-sized butter chunks?" So if you were struggling to visualize that, here it is! :D



Anyways, I don't have much time (yikes! It's 12 after 9!) So please enjoy the photos for now, and I'll post the recipe when I have the time! Happy pie baking, everyone!!