Saturday, May 26, 2012

Banana Bread Biscotti?

When life throws you lemons ... you make lemonade.

When life throws you ripe bananas ... you make banana bread!!

So last week I bought 2 bunches of bananas.  This morning, I was left with two that had enough black dots on them to make me not want to eat them by itself.  There's nothing worse than eating mushy, ripe bananas that can bring others to a misophonic state.  I truly HATE that sound.

I'm looking at the bananas and one thing pops in my head.  Banana bread!  I've never made them before so I thought this was the perfect time.  I pulled up a few recipes and was surprised by how simple it was to make this bread.  So simple that I had all the ingredients in my pantry!  As for all the tools ... I say nay!  I was missing a loaf pan, so there was no way that my banana bread would come out looking like a loaf of bread.  I followed my recipe of choice, which can be found here, replacing the sugar with Splenda granulated sugar, and poured the batter into my baking pan, trying my best to shape the mixture into a loaf form.  I checked on the bread every 15 minutes and decided that I had to cut the time down to 30 minutes since the bread would most likely cook faster in a flatter pan.  And I was right!  I took it out in 30 minutes and the bread was perfectly baked.

This is no loaf!   =(
However, my attempt to shape the bread into a loaf failed ever so badly.  The bread ended up looking like biscotti after slicing, but on a good note, they were SO DELICIOUS!!  I also loved the pattern that was formed.  Bananas never looked this beautiful to me lol.

Banana bread biscotti!!
Pretty patterns and so yummy!

I had the bread for breakfast and it paired pretty nicely with a cup of coffee.  I will surely make banana bread again.  But first, I have to get myself a loaf pan =D

Monday, May 21, 2012

Hot Stuffs

So who is ready to witness William Levy take home this season's mirror ball trophy??  I am!  That guy is sizzling hot and he can move his hips!  Dizzaammmn


On a side note, look at Usher in his sharp suit at the Billboard Music Awards.  This color is REALLY trending now isn't it?

Sunday, May 20, 2012

A Congee for Your Libido!

I made this for breakfast this morning!!  Congee with dried oysters, dried scallops & dried shrimp!  This is probably one of my favorite congees to make and eat.  First of all, congee is very simple to make, especially if you're boiling it with dried ingredients like I did.  No need for washing, chopping or getting your hands dirty ... besides washing the bowls and pots afterwards obviously.  Simply have all the dried ingredients soaking in water until they soften, then dump the entire thing (water included) into a pot with washed rice and additional water, enough to produce your preferred thickness and consistency.  Don't forget to keep stirring to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot or burning!!  Flavor, you ask?  A touch of salt is all you need because the dehydrated ingredients create enough flavor to satisfy your taste buds.

Look at the fat oyster ...

I love love love dried oysters and scallops.  Not only are the oysters good for your libido, they have such a distinct taste that differentiates itself from any other seafood ... or any other food for that matter!  Likewise, scallops are good, but dried scallops, in my opinion, taste nothing like a scallop.  The dehydration process, whatever that entails, gives it so much more flavor.  Together, they make a perfect bowl of congee.  Yummayyy

Disclaimer:  If you're a spoiled brat who enjoy food drenched with sauce or food jam-packed with "flavor" from sodium and artery-clogging ingredients, this may not be a dish for you.  You may find congee to be bland or mild.  Oftentimes, they are, but there are some who are appreciative of such natural & subtle flavors!  I am one of them!!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

M&M's

Munching on classic M&M's at 11pm at night?  Not good, not good!  But a little chocolate wouldn't hurt would it?   Muahahaha.  I couldn't resist these, they were only $1 at Rite Aid!


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Watercress Soup

Enjoying a bowl of hot watercress soup with chicken, carrots, red dates, onions, dried wolfberries and a pinch of salt while watching Food Network Star!!  Who is gonna win?  Too soon to tell but I think the blonde 50's girl has got something goin on!

Friday tomorrow!  Woohoo!


Monday, May 14, 2012

Jessica Simpson Launches Maternity Line

So Jessica Simpson recently gave birth to her baby, Maxwell Drew, and soon after announces that she will be launching the Jessica Simpson Maternity line.  With the success of her current shoe & clothing line, I believe her maternity line will do just as well ... maybe not equally, given that it is, after all, a maternity line ... but I think it will perform well FOR a maternity line.  Bravo to her for the birth of her new baby and her forever expanding fashion empire!!!

May I add, I fell in love with these shoes from the JS collection the moment I laid my eyes on them.  But Jessica!  Why'd they gotta be soooo damn high???  These shoes were NOT made for walking!!  (Love the song though!)
Gorrrgeous!  Just Gorge!
Being that it IS a day after Mother's Day, and in support of Jessica and her new line, I thought it would be cool to do a post on the hottest mommas with baby bumps.  Here are my selected few.  Ironically, Jessica Simpson was not included (Sorry!).  Just thought she gained a little too much weight.  She's still sexy though.

Adrianna Lima, sexiest VS model
Forever beautiful Beyonce
Jessica Alba and her glowing skin

Kate Hudson, ever so cute
Angelina Jolie, enough said!
Miranda Kerr, so sexy!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!

This is true!

I wish all mommas a Happy Mother's Day!!  It's so gorgeous out today, the perfect day to treat your mommas to something nice!

Although my mom is no longer with us, she is always remembered and present in our hearts.  My mother was not only a great mother, she made the perfect wife and was just a genuinely caring person.  She was funny, hardworking, beautiful, all in one package.  Truly missed and forever remembered.  Mommy, I love you <3

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Good Girly Reads

I was never a reader.  Books I've read were either assigned for a book report or required to ace a class.  I was a good student, oftentimes hard on myself to pull straight A''s, so I did what I had to do to see A's and only A's on my report card or obtain a GPA of nothing lower than a 3.6.  I was ecstatic after graduating from college, upon completion of nearly 16+ years of education, because I truly hated studying, homework ... and reading!  (I didn't mind math, however, which decidedly means I chose the right profession... maybe.)

Oddly, as you begin to age, things seem to reverse.  I haven't lost my youthful mindset yet, but in addition to that, I also seek some serenity and some quiet time to myself.  Part of that has been satisfied by music, and a good read.  After I passed my CPA exam, I wanted to pick up a book so badly, one that I can leisurely read and enjoy.  I went on Amazon and purchased 6 books, most of which fell under the same genre, plus The Hunger Games on the side, which I am excited to open!  (If you're wondering why I remember to underline book titles.  English/Language Arts was one of my favorite subjects!)

So out of the 6 books were these 2, Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin and Pratice Makes Perfect by Julie James, which I finished in 2 weeks!  OH EM GEE.  I remember how I use to hate reading so much that I would skip paragraphs to finish a book sooner.  Now I'm finishing a book in a week, a little more or less. That is besides the point, which is I LOVED THEM!!  They had me LOLing, which is kind of hard to do for those who know me.  Another reason why I loved them was the modern writing styles and lingos used by the authors.  Highly recommended if you enjoy a romantic comedy/chick flick.  I am officially a nerd *snort


Sunday, May 6, 2012

BAD DREAM & CAKE!

Woke up at 8:50am on a Sunday morning.  That's very unlike me to wake up before 11am on a weekend.  But I had to do it, for survival, for my life!  I had a horrible dream this morning that nearly made me choke in my sleep.  I felt my heart pounding.  I felt my nerves.  I was trying to take the last part of my CPA exam in a "classroom-like" environment with a man sitting in front of me who was out to get me!  He was holding a grudge against me for something I've done in my dream (mind you, this man has recurringly appeared in several of my dreams, holding the same grudge ... very scary) so he was bugging me the entire time, distracting me from my test.  I got so fed up I told on him to the proctor (childish of me eh?) and started cursing him out.  The proctor arranged for me to sit somewhere else, but my mind was so boggled up due to seeing the man in the corner of my eye, that there was no way for me to focus and pass.  Fearing this, I forced myself up from my dream. LOL.  I feel like a kid again.

On a brighter note, my boyfriend got me these mini cakes from Financier Patisserie =).  It's a tiramisu on the right and a cheesecake on the left, two of my faves.  They were so yummy.  Not too sweet for cakes, which I like, and there was an apparent use of high quality ingredients.  Lady fingers in the tiramisu were soft and the amount of coffee you taste with every bite was just perfect.  The cheesecake was actually a moussey one, with a satisfying amount of cheese, topped with fresh raspberries.  LOVE!


Saturday, May 5, 2012

Restaurant Review: Polonica

I've been wanting to try Polish food for a while now.  I've heard many raves about it, but never understood why because photos I've seen of the cuisine never defined what "good food" meant to me.  I finally discovered the reason behind this after having dinner at Polonica Restaurant in Bay Ridge, a boutique restaurant with one waiter and a little more than a handful of tables.

We walked in and waited a couple of minutes to be seated because there was only 1 wait staff in the entire restaurant, which was probably more than enough given the size of the restaurant, but a bit understaffed if all tables were full on a busy night.  It also took a while for us to finally get some water on our table, which was greatly needed at the time because it was a humid night and the restaurant wasn't too air-conditioned.  Nonetheless, these issues didn't bother my boyfriend and I because we're not demanding and we understood the circumstances.  All we cared about was the food!

Now for the food!  I have to say, Polish food probably isn't the most aesthetically appealing food to eat.  I don't often use shapes to describe food, but other than the lack of color in their dishes, odd shapes and the lack of garnishments also played a major role in its unattractiveness.  However, it was something different for our taste-buds and the unique combinations & cooking styles definitely make the cuisine note-worthy.  

For appetizers, we ordered the mushroom pierogi and Polish kielbasa.  Again, they're not photogenic but they were pretty tasty!  The pierogis, or Polish dumplings, were filled with potato and mushrooms and accompanied by some sour cream.  It was a unique combination and unlike the usual Chinese dumplings that we order out or make at home.

Couldn't stop cracking up after taking this pic ... but it was good!
This is one of those days when you want to kick yourselves for trying to be "health conscious" and go for boiled instead of fried.  I think the sausage (kielbasa) would've been more appealing to look at if it was fried, but what can we do.  We ordered the boiled one and ... well ... you can see for yourselves in the pic above.  LOL.  Don't be fooled by the pic though, it was homemade and actually quite good sided with the mustard.

For the entrees, we ordered the Hungarian pancake with meat (recommended by my boyfriend's Polish coworker) as well as the stuffed cabbage.  The pancake resembled a big hash brown, which excited my "healthy" bf lol.  He liked it so much he ate nearly 2/3 of one before trying anything else, and was full by then.  The smart one on the other hand (no need to mention names ... LOL) had 1/3 only and had room to taste AND enjoy the other dishes.  The stuffed cabbage resembled a healthier version of a burrito.  It was filled with pork and rice and topped with a tomato based sauce.

 

One of my favorite dishes of the night was this side salad for every party.  It was sooooooooo appetizing!  When they placed it on my table, all I thought of was Korean banchap, except it was yummier!   The red cabbage and carrots were picked and the beets were just delish!  Coleslaw and sauerkraut I've had before so I kind of just pushed them to the side, but oh-em-gee the carrots, red cabbage and beets were uh-mazing!

There you have it, our first Polish meal.  We cleaned our plates into our expanded stomaches.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012