Chicago!

I just got back from a few days in The Windy City of Chicago (actually wasn't windy at all... occasionally a little breezy but mostly just really humid and hot, with a tiny bit of rain). My travel buddy and I went to some museums, ate at interesting restaurants, went and saw some live jazz, went to a movie, and just walked around a whole bunch and enjoyed the sights.

A little glimpse of downtown from our hotel room on the 12th floor.

Food-
Exchequer Restaurant and Pub- our first meal when we arrived that night. We just had to try some Chicago style pizza, and it was delicious. So innovative to have sauce, toppings, then more cheese, or however it is they did it. There was lots of cheese.
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria- More pizza, we ordered a pizza here one of the other nights. It was slightly better than Exchequer's pizza, in my opinion at least. Pizza at this place was like, toppings, cheese cheese cheese, sauce on top. Maybe some sauce snuck in with the "toppings" too (which were not really "topping" the pizza per se since they were bundled in with the other layers). Every time we passed by this place the line was out the door so we just ordered, picked it up and took it back to our room because we knew it had to be good but didn't want to stand in line for half an hour and then be crammed into a restaurant stuffed with people.
Grahamwich- A cute little sandwich shop, very reminiscent of San Francisco. Really sunny, seating was "family style" with comfy leather ottomans pulled up to a simple wooden table, with chalkboard drawings of vegetables on the wall. They had super healthy fruit juices, and a variety of tasty sandwiches and salads. I got the pastrami sandwich, very fresh tasting and filling.

Russian Tea Time- We had a light dinner here on our last night of some beef and potato dumplings and a lamb samsa, all served with leafy green salad, carrot salad, and rye bread.
Berghoff Cafe- got a tasty lunch here, a pulled pork sandwich and a bottle of their own house brewed root beer. Very classy little cafe below ground level, with stained glass windows.

Toni Patisserie and Cafe- a delightful little French cafe where we got brunch one morning. I got a slice of quiche lorraine, an iced mocha, and some macarons.

Each table had pretty flower arrangements, like this one.

Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique- Here we got a dozen mini cupcakes, with fun flavors like banana, strawberry, pumpkin, chocolate, vanilla, mocha.. all with just a few decorative dollops of frosting on the top so they weren't too sweet.

Museums-
Smith Museum of Stained Glass- a pretty little museum at the Navy Pier, where you could walk down hallways and little rooms to see different scenes depicted in stained glass windows.
The Field Museum- A pretty neat museum of various aspects of natural history. We saw exhibits on creatures that glow in the dark on land and under the sea, the original Native American tribes, ancient wall paintings discovered in France, and mammal and bird exhibits too.

Etc.
Jazz Showcase- We caught the last hour of a show here at half price, and it was more than worth the money. Excellent musicians on the trumpet, piano, bass, an instrument kind of like a xylophone, and a full set of drums. Each of them were really into their instrument, given solos that were met with a wave of applause each time.

Millenium Park-  A vibrant community park, home to The Bean, some lovely plantlife, and a big fountain where kids love to cool off on humid summer days.

The Bean, a truly awe-inspiring work of art.

This fountain was really interesting, different faces would show on these LCD screens on these brick structures on each side, while water sprayed down the sides and onto the street to make a little pool that kids could walk on. 

Despicable Me 2- Went and saw this movie at an AMC theater near us, very funny and cute. I actually hadn't seen the first of the series but the movie stood well on its own. 

Random observations-

Gambling is totally not ok on the trains. They mentioned this several times over the intercom on the train. No soliciting, either.

Kids everywhere, but hey, I guess that's how it is in a touristy place.

The Shedd Aquarium has the longest line all the time.

Humidity is kind of exhausting, important to drink water all the time and take breaks every few hours to relax in an air conditioned hotel room.

So it was a really fun few days, always something to do and see. The city is a bit noisy, trains constantly passing by overhead, lots of people... but, it was cool to see what Chicago was like!

East Coast- Restaurants

Hi! I am back from the East Coast where I had the opportunity to visit some great and interesting  restaurants in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Among them:

American City Diner in D.C. for burgers and an outdoor movie,
Crumbs for birthday cupcakes in L'Enfant Plaza (D.C.) (chocolate dulce de leche for me--- and it was so big, I had to finish it the next day),
Graffiato in Chinatown (D.C.) for my birthday (hip Italian-style tapas-- we got the lemon risotto with rock shrimp, the flatbread with pepperoni sauce, lamb, and panna cotta for dessert-- and it was so neat sitting at the bar because you could watch them plating everything and cooking pizzas in this big wood oven),
Busboys and Poets on U Street (D.C.) for a mellow brunch-- I got the Oaxaca omelet (black beans, avocado, pico de gallo, and cheddar-- very tasty),
My Brother's Place for lunch after a visit to the Conservatory and Botanic Gardens (I got a nice chicken pesto panini),
Elephant & Castle after visiting some Smithsonians (where I also got a chicken pesto style panini... what can I say, it's one of my favorites),
Chutzpah (Fairfax, VA) while Friend was getting his hair cut (an authentic New York style restaurant and deli with a Jewish attitude where I had a very tasty pastrami sandwich and potato salad), and...
El Rancho Migueleno (Arlington, VA) for tacos one night (because we couldn't think of anywhere else and didn't want to travel far-- odd ambiance, to say the least-- the lighting was super dark and they were playing this loud South American music while a telanovela played on TV.. and no one else was there.. yeah, a little spooky, haha).

I read about American City Diner on the internet somewhere, and it looked like they were pretty much the only place in D.C. that was still showing outdoor movies at that point in the summer. Plus-- buy dinner and watch a free movie-- can it get any better? We ordered burgers, fries and a milkshake, and enjoyed watching The Hustler (1961). Every night is a different movie, many of them classics. They had really fun decor, too.

In the parking lot, they had a neat mural showcasing a bunch of different Hollywood stars. Humphrey Bogart, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor...

Elvis Presley...

and Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra.

More homage to movie stars inside.. James Dean and Marilyn Monroe on the restroom doors.

They played the movie on a screen in the outdoor deck area so people could watch the movie as they had dinner.

It was fun to see the neon sign all lit up once it got darker by the end of the night, too.

So, needless to say, the East Coast has an awesome food scene! Next time I will share more about the other places I went. :)

St. Patrick's Day!

I'm really on a roll here with updating my blog. The St. Patrick's Day cupcakes are done so I thought I'd post a picture before they get eaten and I get too busy to bake something for a while until maybe the next holiday.

A cupcake is a cupcake, as long as they're baked properly, and I used a somewhat fudgy recipe, which is actually what I prefer, rather than something that's too dry. Maybe they just turned out this way because I cut down the sugar by half a cup, used soymilk and also Ghiradelli hot chocolate powder instead of unsweetened cocoa powder. My coworkers are sure to love them.

I'm sure you've noticed that I added a fun new feature to my blog. As a future librarian, I couldn't help adding "tags" to each blog post so that most posts are now in categories: "cupcakes," "holiday," "pasta," "travel," "cute party foods,""cookies,"and "cakes." I may come up with more categories over time, if more subjects present themselves.

My Birthday Party

So I had a very nice birthday party last weekend. I invited my three closest female friends and we had a tea party like last year. We giggled and talked about girly things, and had tea, cupcakes, meringues, strawberries, cucumber sandwiches and crackers. Then we looked at a selection of fabrics from which I chose for my fashion major friend Tiffany to make a skirt for me. Can't wait to see how it starts to turn out! :)

I made chai cupcakes with a honey buttercream frosting, and they were very nice. To decorate them I used some sugar crystals and candy pearls.

Everyone loved my meringues, and I was so glad I was able to actually somewhat succeed making meringues, unlike the first time I tried to make them maybe a year ago and vowed never to try again. It's a good thing I gave it another shot.

I just love strawberries. They are so summery and refreshing. I had a whole bunch of strawberries before my party too, and I used them for a strawberry coulis to go with a previously made pound cake, plus I had some with crepes.

 The whole spread... and me in the background getting something I guess, haha.

Yay, more presents :). 

The table was kind of similar to last year, but it was nice to try new treats to eat and share. My friends are the best. :)

Hope everyone's enjoying their last few days/weeks of summer! Winding up my summer has been busy but nice. I saw a bunch of family today for my grandpa's memorial service (mom's side), and tomorrow's a family reunion with my dad's side of the family. As we all used to say at the Montessori school where I worked... "we are thankful for our food, friends and family!"

Pretty Cakes

Time for another update, so I'm going to share some pretty cakes I've had the pleasure to enjoy recently.

This is the cake from the wedding I went to. It was a lovely yellow layer cake with custard filling.

So pretty on the inside, too :)

Caramel Macchiato cupcakes JoDee and I made.

We made these Tres Leches style with sponge cake and layers of soaked in cream and coffee/bailey's (or non-alcoholic bailey's irish creme flavored cream for those who didn't want the alcohol kind). Then a vanilla buttercream frosting and caramel sauce drizzled ontop. I liked them a lot. 

My birthday is in 3 days, starting to get excited! :)

Utah and Cupcakes

I'm back from my 10 day group of vacations out of town, and I had a great time. I visited lots of fantastic restaurants everywhere I went, and in Utah I got to visit three lovely cupcake shops, which I will share in this first post.

One of the shops I visited, which I learned about through some other blogs I read, is The Sweet Tooth Fairy. I visited their Provo location, which was quaint and lovely.

I knew I would have to get at least one of their macarons, as macarons are wildly popular in the blog world and I had yet to actually try a macaron.

The kind I got was raspberry lemon, and I loved it. Sweet, tart, with a delicately crisp outside and a delightfully chewy inside. Also pictured to the side: some cake bites, which were pretty good.

My friend and I shared a strawberry cupcake, which was also very good, with a perfectly moist texture.

It was quite a big cupcake, so I'm glad I had someone to help me eat it!

Next, we visited The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe, also in Provo.

-Photo from their blog.

There, I got the raspberry mango cupcake, which was also quite good, but with a texture that was not quite as smooth and moist as at The Sweet Tooth Fairy's. Still, it was a treat to get to the raspberry bits at the bottom of the cupcake. 

I also got the Pink Lady Italian soda, which I loved. It had such a fun, bright color to it, and it was the perfect way to quench my thirst in Utah's hot 90s weather.

Last, in Orem, I went to Cupcake Chic.

There, I got a strawberry lemonade mini-cupcake, which was perfect in every way: perfect size for me, perfect moistness of texture, and adorably decorated.

I loved their table decor, too: this gerber daisy in its little vase was very cute.

So, that's it for the sweets... next post I'll share about the restaurants I went to, in Utah and in the bay area. :)

More June things...

1. I made Pasta alla Vodka from The Pioneer Woman. It was just as good as she said it would be. Creamy, rich, and you can't even taste the vodka but you can *feel* it. After one serving I felt like I'd had a drink, but in pasta form. Might just make another batch tonight :)

2. I also made some blackberry muffins using the wild berries that have been growing in my yard. Simple and delicious. :)

3. My best friend JoDee and I went and got cupcakes from KK's Gourmet Bundt Cakes at their Santa Maria, CA location.

I got the strawberry cheesecake and red velvet. 

They were so pretty I almost didn't want to eat them...

but I knew they would taste just as good as they looked.

Just look at that red! The chocolate chips on top were a nice touch, too.

Before July, I'm going to try to make some rosemary shortbread cookies. Not sure how they will turn out, but apparently they're a classic from the Victorian era, so I'm intrigued. :)

Sweets!

An anime convention isn't complete without some Asian candy/sweets... and that's one thing I enjoy the most. I certainly enjoyed my share of them this time, along with some other sweet snacks.

Blueberry pocky. I've seen strawberry pocky before... chocolate.. vanilla... but not blueberry. I can't actually try this kind of pocky because I'm mailing it to my friend, but I am sure it's amazing.

Lychee pocky-- another intriguing flavor. Which I am giving to a different friend. I've really got to start getting my friends non-edible souvenirs so I'm not tempted to eat them myself.

Cappuccino pocky-- this one I did try. I think I actually bought about four boxes of this kind because it is amazing. It's a cocoa cookie covered in cappuccino cream.... alliterative and delicious!

Japanese Kit Kats! They have milk chocolate and white chocolate.

The white chocolate was pretty good. There were also cheese flavored Kit Kats but I did not get that kind because I thought it would probably be sort of weird.

I went walking for a little while and found this adorable little gourmet cupcake shop...

...and got a creamsicle cupcake, strawberry, fleur de sel (the caramelly one), chocolate with red velvet frosting, and classic red velvet. Each was very good. 

So, that was a lot of fun... can't wait to go back and try even more!

Update

Well, my two-week cooking courses are over... and I'd say they went pretty well. We made a whole bunch of healthy kids snacks, some of which include the following: "ants on a log," applesauce, berry muffins, turkey rolls, basil tomato pasta, strawberry banana smoothies, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and fruit and yogurt parfaits. In the older kids class we also learned about several kinds of herbs. I hope everyone came out of the class more informed about nutrition and empowered with the tools to cook healthy foods for themselves and others.

 I was so excited about teaching the kids about herbs that I bought some of my own herbs from Osh last weekend to plant in my yard. I will post a picture of them when they start to grow more. I am just really excited about the idea of having fresh herbs available to cook with whenever I want.

Speaking of green, St. Patricks day at school was lots of fun. I made the kids cupcakes and they loved them. They were so fun to make, too.. especially putting on the frosting.

So, things are pretty good here... looking forward to the next holiday to celebrate! :)

♥ Baking ♥

California weather is weird. Sometimes it's really sunny and warm, in the Winter time, and sometimes it's really cold and windy. In the Winter time. It's been pretty cold, windy and rainy for the past few weeks... which has inspired me to stay in and bake.. when I'm not working, of course.

Super cute banana Reese's-chunk cupcakes. The batter didn't turn out as fluffy and cupcake-like as I expected, but they were still fun to decorate. :)

I guess you can kind of see the ridges... it was the first time using my frosting bottles which make frosting application so easy and fun. There are different shaped tips too so I will have to use those sometime.

Made these cookies the other night to share with friends and just snack on whenever.. 

the batch must have made at least 4-5 dozen, but some of them are pretty small.. literally bite-size.

So, fun times :)

Party Time Cupcakes

I made some cupcakes a couple weeks ago or so, because I was craving something sweet and chocolatey and I hadn't baked for about a week since that's how long I'd been on vacation and didn't have access to an oven. Chocolate cake, vanilla frosting and... this is a surprise... pixy stick powder ontop of the frosting. Might sound a little crazy, but it was actually really good. It gave the cupcakes a wild burst of color and a flavor that really wakes up your taste buds. Top it off with a cherry and you've got cupcakes pretty enough to bring to a party, or even just to enjoy by yourself on a night in.

Party Time Cupcakes

  Makes at least 20 cupcakes

Cake Recipe: courtesy of Une-deux Senses : Black Magic Cake

Frosting: any basic buttercream will do, or even storebought vanilla frosting if you want to save time and don't have a lot of butter/etc.
Several pixy stix- variety
Sprinkles
Small jar of cherries.

Instructions: 

1. Bake the cupcakes as per the instructions.
2. Wait about 15 minutes for them to cool.
3. Frost them thickly with the frosting, making a well in the center for the cherry.
4. Pour different flavored pixy stick powder around the frosting in a circle- one stick per cupcake, or mix and match colors.

5. Sprinkle on the sprinkles.
6. Enjoy, and refrigerate covered the ones you don't finish.

So this is kind of a lazy post, the cake mix was fantastic but you could really use any kind of cake mix you want-- even a box mix. The main thing for me was the fun, luxuriously thick, tart, sweet frosting.... and I hadn't made cupcakes in a while.