Ever since seeing The Food Librarian’s epic 30-days-of-bundts posts from last year and this year, I was determined to bake a bundt this year in honor of National Bundt Day. Armed with a basketful of persimmons (our persimmon tree was especially abundant this year again), I decided to bake some form of a persimmon cake. [...]
The perils of taking photos at night when you’re standing in the kitchen with your contacts out: Blurry shots. Way back in July, my mom gifted me with a cute mini-deep fryer for my birthday. I was simultaneously excited and apprehensive at the same time; would I succumb to deep-frying anything and everything that I [...]
By now, y’all know that I dislike anything mochi or mochi-like (I know it’s uncharacteristically un-Taiwanese of me to not like mochi), but I think I’ve finally found a mochi recipe that I actually enjoy! I present to you: Mochi Brownie Two-Bites! Granted, you put chocolate in anything and I’ll eat it, but that’s beside [...]
Busy busy busy! Sister is home and family and friends are visiting, half of the family is sick with the flu and cough (first it was my mom and me during Thanksgiving, now it’s my Dad and my sister’s turn), so between the coughs and the visits I’ve hardly had time to cook or bake. [...]
Sigh. Let’s talk, Mister Donut. I want to like you, I really do, but every time I’ve tried one of your cutesy bubbly donuts, I am inevitably disappointed. There are two camps of donut lovers, those who like the fluffy raised donuts and those who like cake donuts. You see, I’m a cake donut girl, [...]
Oh, autumn, how I love thee. Despite having the time of my life and eating wonderfully here in Taiwan, I totally missed that glorious transition from summer into fall. Apparently in Taiwan, it’s a hot, humid summer all year round (ok, I have been informed by my relatives that it does get cold sometimes during [...]
We’re in the midst of Mid-Autumn Festival (otherwise known as 中秋節 or Autumn Moon Festival) here in Taiwan; besides Lunar New Year (which occurs between the end of February and the beginning of March of every year), Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the biggest and most important holidays here in Taiwan. It’s a time where [...]
One of my favorite Taiwanese confections are 杏仁餅 (almond chess cookies; or, as I like to call it, almond-flavored crack), a sort of marzipan-flavored candy with a crumbly, sandy, shortbread texture. They’re slightly sweet, buttery, with a salty backnote, and pair perfectly with a nice cup of hot tea. However, it’s hard to find these [...]
In my ongoing quest to clean out my pantry, I had planned on using up a bag of vegan carob chips that I had bought; however, I had forgotten exactly when I had bought them (first sign of bad things to come?). I had bookmarked this lovely chocolate olive oil crinkle cookie recipe at Nook [...]
If honey, caramel and nuts are your thang, look no further. Modified from recipe for Pine Nut Honey Squares from Baking Obsession. Feel free to substitute any other nut or seed for the cashews in this recipe. Honey Caramel Cashew Bars Makes one 8″ square pan, or 64 1″ squares. What you’ll need: your favorite [...]