March 6, 2015
What is your idea of a perfect breakfast? For me, that would be a nice, crispy slice of buttery toast, smothered with a thick layer of jam on top. So when Tiger (aka the hubby) asked me to make something with all the countless mandarin oranges we have lying around after Chinese New Year, this homemade mandarin orange jam seemed to be the logical choice!...
March 4, 2015
Thanks to Chinese New Year, we always ended up with a lot of mandarin oranges lying around the house. I’ve also received several requests from BNF readers asking for ways to use them up. Hmm, first thought that came up to my mind was orange cake. But there’s only so many (which is not a lot) mandarin oranges you could use in a cake. I quickly strike it off from my mental checklist...
February 27, 2015
Chinese New Year is a major holiday for the Chinese. It is the most important festival for us and during this period, indulging in festival food is a MUST for many of us. But as Shakespeare’s wrote: “Too much of a good thing...”.
February 25, 2015
Mashed potatoes is a classic American side dish that is no stranger to anyone in this world. But the question is, could you differentiate between good and bad mash? I’d like to think so. The texture of a good mash should be smooth, velvety and almost instantly disintegrate into a sheer bliss of buttery goodness once it hits the back of your tongue. The additional use of garlic gives this dish an elevated oomph...
February 17, 2015
Chinese Sesame Cookie Balls (Siu Hao Zou in Cantonese) was one of the quintessential CNY goodies we had in our household during my childhood years. Sadly, I haven’t had the chance to savor them anymore in the recent years. Being brought up in a typical Cantonese household, the traditional CNY goodies we had were Kok Zai (Mini Peanut Puffs), Jien Duy (Glutinous Sesame Balls), Nien Gou (Sticky Pudding), etc. Most of them were handmade by either mom, Godma or neighbors but they turned up their aprons long ago...
February 13, 2015
Accordingly to Chinese Astrology, the lucky colors for people born in the year of Sheep/Goat this coming Lunar New Year are green, red and purple. Hmm, it’s kind of tricky for me to carry off any green outfit, unless I’m competing for a Grinch look-alike contest. If I can’t wear ‘em, I might as well eat ‘em! Haha, does that make any sense at all???...
February 11, 2015
While my baby girl (technically she’s turning 14 soon, but still my baby) and I were doing grocery shopping one day, she grabbed a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and enthusiastically suggested we should make something out of it. Well, that was random I thought. I couldn’t help but to smile a little inside...
February 9, 2015
May I confess? Prior to making this sinfully delicious icy treat, I’ve never eaten Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream before. Chocolate chip in ice cream I get it, but uncooked cookie dough? I’ve heard and seen of it but was just not compelled to try it. Perhaps, I’ve finally outgrown the inner child in me?? Gosh, I hope not...
February 6, 2015
Tiramisu means “pull me up” in Italian. This Italian dessert definitely “pulls” my senses in every positive way. Espresso-soaked Savoiardi (Italian sponge biscuits) laced with a hint of marsala wine, sandwich in between layers of smooth luscious mascarpone cheese, dust with a rich, dark cocoa powder...
