Picture this.

What my life feels like right now.

Crazy but beautiful.
Chaotic but wonderful.
Uncertain but bright.


(I'll be back soon, everybody. Trust me. Miss you!)

Cravings

Have you ever had a crazy craving? Like one of those seemingly "out of no where" yet so "deeply rooted" cravings that haunts you until it is satisfied? Well I had one of those. One day I was innocently walking down the hall of my studio building and BAM! I got a delicious whiff of a sweet, tangy, tart smell that reminded me of the perfect lemon square. Double the lemon on top of a buttery short bread. Mmmmmm... Lemon... mm butter. Anyways, that smell lingered with me the whole week until I finally decided to bake me some good lemon squares for the weekend.



The only thing that made me hesitant about baking them was the fact that I already posted twice about lemon squares on the blog, neither being very successful. I've been baking lemon squares since the early beginnings of my baking adventures and although I don't think you can really go that wrong with them, I hadn't found the perfect "aha!" recipe. So I had to do some serious searching.



With the lemon square, I like them super tart super sour. Not painfully sweet, but definitely needs the sugar rush punch. The cookie must not be soggy or too hard, but perfectly crispy on the outer edges, soft and crumbly in the inside. And so after the rigorous and painstaking search, I found it at last, on the great website called epicurious.com!



I was convinced at the author's own description of her lemon butter bar: "This classic cookie combines two of my favorite sweets: buttery-tender Scottish shortbread and satiny lilting English lemon curd." Lilting. Wow. Good word. Also with all the great reviews and ratings, I knew this was the recipe. The recipe requires a tad bit more work than the typical recipe you'll find, but it's worth every stir you make on that stove. The result is simply glorious! And YES, it definitely hit the spot.

Let me reenact it for you.

sarah baker the yoon: [In the kitchen, cutting up the bars to serve to friends, sneaks in a test taste] Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm~~~~
[Cue silent yet violent happy dance for 2 minutes]



That's right. It really is that good. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

The Ultimate Lemon Butter Bar

recipe from epicurious by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Below recipe is written by Rose, not me!)
make 1 1/2 dozen 2 2/3-inch by 1 1/3-inch bars

ingredients

Shortbread Base
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (soft) (5 ounces = 142 grams)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar (0.5 ounce = 14 grams)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (0.75 ounce = 25 grams)
1 1/4 cups bleached all-purpose flour (dip and sweep method) (6.25 ounces = 180 grams)

Lemon Curd Topping
4 large egg yolks (2 full fluid ounces = 2.5 ounces = 74 grams)
3/4 cup sugar (5.25 ounces = 150 grams)
3 fluid ounces (use a liquid measuring cup) lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 2 1/2 large lemons) (3.25 ounces = 94 grams)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened) (2 ounces = 57 grams)
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest (finely grated) (4 grams)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar for dusting (0.5 ounce = 14 grams)

directions

Equipment
8-inch by 8-inch by 2-inch baking pan, preferably metal (if using a glass pan, lower the oven temperature 25°F.), bottom and 2 sides lined with an 8-inch by 16-inch strip of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Electric Mixer Method or by Hand
In Scotland, it is said that the best shortbread is mixed with the fingers and that each woman's fingers lend something distinctive and special to the finished cookie. I find that the texture is more delicate when the dough is mixed with the fingers rather than in a machine. For either method, use superfine sugar for the best texture and be sure to soften the butter.

Shortbread
1. Place 1 oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. With your fingers or with the electric mixer, mix in the flour until incorporated. If using the mixer, add the flour in 2 parts.

3. Pat the dough into the prepared pan. Use a fork to prick the dough all over. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the top is pale golden (do not brown).

While the shortbread is baking, prepare the Lemon Curd Topping.

Lemon Curd Topping
1. Have a strainer, suspended over a bowl, ready near the range.

2. In a heavy noncorrodible saucepan, beat the egg yolks and sugar with a wooden spoon until well blended. Stir in the lemon juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 6 minutes, until thickened and resembling hollandaise sauce, which thickly coats a wooden spoon but is still liquid enough to pour. (A candy thermometer will read 196°F.) The mixture will change from translucent to opaque and begin to take on a yellow color on the back of a wooden spoon. It must not be allowed to boil or it will curdle. (It will steam above 140°F. Whenever steaming occurs, remove the pan briefly from the heat, stirring constantly to prevent boiling.)

3. When the curd has thickened, pour it at once into the strainer. Press it with the back of a spoon until only the coarse residue remains. Discard the residue. Stir in the lemon zest.

4. When the shortbread is baked, remove it from the oven, lower the temperature to 300°F., pour the lemon curd on top of the shortbread, and return it to the oven for 10 minutes.

5. Cool the lemon curd–topped shortbread completely in the pan on a wire rack. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes to set the lemon curd completely before cutting into bars. Place the powdered sugar in a strainer and tap the strainer with a spoon to sprinkle a thick, even coating, entirely covering the lemon.

6. Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the pastry on the 2 sides without the aluminum foil. Use the foil to lift out the lemon curd–covered shortbread onto a cutting surface. Use a long, sharp knife to cut the shortbread first in thirds, then in half the other way, and then each half in thirds. Wipe the blade after each cut. The powdered sugar will start to be absorbed into the lemon curd after several hours, but it can be reapplied before serving.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the refrigerator or freezer.
Keeps 3 days at room temperature, 3 weeks refrigerated (individually wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent drying), or 3 months frozen.

Sweet Vindication

Hello everyone. As you know, it's been a while. But this time I have a pretty darn good reason why. She's probably the cutest and sweetest excuse I can ever profess and I think all of you will understand why. ♥

Folks, meet my brand new, infinitely-adorable, unequivocally-THE-cutest, most precious little niece of mine: Chloe Joowon Lee.



I realized I haven't talked about my sister and brother in law on my blog much. That's very surprising given that they are so important to me and are such a big part of my life. I realized that I haven't even told you that my sister was pregnant 9 months ago! (I have a lot of catching up to do, I know.) But nonetheless, they are so dear to me and I knew that their little girl would demand a whole new kind of love from me.



And that she did. It's unbelievable – the kind of intense love that comes from your heart unconditionally. It's this instinctive desire to protect and care for that makes you feel like you could and would do anything for the child. And she's just my sister's baby, I wonder how it would be if she was my own! It probably helps that my sister is such a precious person to me that I feel so close to her child. I dreamed about her all the time when she was still in the belly and the moment I saw her in the hospital I cried like a baby (It was quite embarrassing, actually).



Aside from the inherent bond with my niece, it also probably has to do with the fact that she's cute as a button, darling as a peanut! I can just watch her sleep all day!! Leaving her is so hard... if only I could just play with her all my waking hours! :) She'll be two weeks old tomorrow and already she's such a big part of my life. She's such a lovely baby too. Barely cries, rarely winces. Just so peaceful. But I know, things might change any day. I'll update you on that later too. We'll see if I still want to be with her all day. Teehee.



Our little Chloe is very healthy even if she's on the smaller side. She was born at just 5.6 pounds. But we all know she's going to suck with all her might and get bigger in no time! Her mommy is very healthy as well. She's a BEAUTIFUl and strong mother and I'm sooooo proud of her. If only I can be like her later. :) The three are such a blessing to my life and I am forever grateful to God for them.



So for those you are still thinking "Yeaaaaah but you still haven't posted up anything in two months" – it's coming it's coming. I've done some exciting things over that time (baby shower, wedding cupcakes, etc) but haven't had the time or mental space to really blog about it. :( I apologize, everyone, but I assure you that I'll whip up something realll good. In the mean time, enjoy the beautiful summer days that are fast approaching!


love,
sarah the baker yoon

Got 5 minutes?

Then you can make this delicious and easy dessert! (Watch me publish this post in 5 minutes!)





VOILA!



Easiest recipe ever. But what a heavenly dessert. The warm, fragrant banana combined with the cold, smooth ice cream will make you sway. Guaranteed. (It also happens to be one of Andrew's favorite desserts. And that's saying a lot, 'cause he's had a lot of my recipes.)

Sauteed Vanilla Bananas with Ice cream

Add 2 tbsp of unsalted butter onto a non-stick pan. When completely melted and bubbly, add vanilla seeds scraped from one vanilla pod. Quickly add 4 quartered bananas, cut-side down. Flip bananas when golden and cook other side, about 3 minutes. Serve with your favourite ice cream – I used Häagen-Dazs caramel cone ice cream. YUM. Serves 4.

Now, go make it!

“Nice”

Case 1: I was at a eatery downstairs at my work. A new girl, she seemed to be, was ready to serve me. I politely asked for two kinds of salads: a beet/avocado salad and a pasta salad. I'm never satisfied with just a leafy salad, so I was banking on the tuna and pasta to fill me up. I guess the girl didn't hear me properly, because when I went to go pay, I noticed that she gave me a romaine salad instead of the pasta. When I was just about to alert her, I saw her boss walk by. She looked so nervous. I didn't want to embarrass her, so after a brief moment of hesitation, I just smiled and took the leafy greens. I was hungry again in 1 hour.



Case 2: It was 10:15 pm. I was just leaving my office after a looong day of work. I was exhausted and yearning to be in my bed. The next bus that takes me home was at 10:40. I knew I wouldn't be able to catch it via walking or street car, so I decided I would take a quick cab ride to the station. I rushed down to the street and flagged a cab. 10:25. I quickly asked to go to Union station while he's yapping away on his bluetooth head set. 10:29. We're almost there but he seemed to be taking his time. I asked myself whether I should tell him to hurry up a bit. I concluded that maybe it wasn't nice to rush the driver. 10:33. Felt nervous, but thought 'I can get there on time. I can just run out when he takes me to the corner.' 10:36. There were 3 cars in front of him making turns, the right lane was empty but he wouldn't take it. "Do I ask him to hurry it up? Do I?" 10:38. SHOOT. 'I'm going to miss it I'm going to miss it'. He was still taking his time. I finally decided to speak up. "I'm trying to catch a 10:40 bus. Could you please hurry a little bit?" He finally heard the urgency in my voice and quickly dropped me off by the station. 10:41. I watched my bus ride home drove away in front of me. Next bus came at 11:40.



Feeling frustrated yet? Unfortunately, I have many many more instances of being too "nice", which makes me think if it's actually me being genuinely genial or me just being incompetent in speaking up. And I'm not just talking about little things like salads and taxi rides – but bigger things, like with relationships or the working world. In some ways, I feel that it's actually an act of benevolence: I'd rather feel discomfort than impose that on someone else. Sometimes I take the blame or stay quiet, believing that one way or another the truth will surface. But in other ways, maybe I'm just plain wimpy to stick up for myself.



Truth is, it's a bit of both. I'm sort of a "big picture" person, so I often easily persevere little things when I see the greater good in it. I know that even if it feels a little unfair or disadvantage me right now, somehow it will benefit me or someone else in the end. On the other side, truthfully, I am scared. I know that when I speak strongly about something, that means I need to take responsibility for the consequences. It's not always easy to stick up for yourself, you know. If you're going to challenge something, you better be ready to fight. And when it comes to fighting, I'd rather lose to avoid it altogether.




So am I a saint for being able to stomach personal discomfort for the benefit of someone else or am I a loser for being completely non-confrontational? Hmm.. I guess it comes down to balance. I think it's about developing confidence and assurance in myself, while being considerate and attentive of others' needs too. In the end, it's about finding my own voice, while also being able to harmonize with the people around you too. I think that's where my solution lies. :)



Speaking of balance, let me tell you about a perfectly balanced cookie. This cookie is a solid combination of chewy and crispy and soft and dense. The delicious cookie dough is matchless with the abundance of chocolate chips. The recipe, carefully crafted by Food Network's Alton Brown, was specifically engineered to be the "CHEWY" cookie, using bread flour (additional gluten), melted butter, higher ratio of brown sugar, and extra drop of moisture from milk. Pop the dough into the fridge before you bake it, and it really is the perfect chewy cookie. I made these at a cottage with friends, and they couldn't stop raving. They couldn't stop moaning with delight. Now, that's nice.

The Chewy

recipe from Food Network
yields 2 1/2 dozen

ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

3. Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.