Strawberry Season!

I love strawberries! It's a habit for me to check their prices every time I go to the supermarket. Every time the price drops, I buy enough to last me days. But as time gets closer to Valentine's Day, I know strawberries will go on sale, and indeed it did the week before Valentine's Day! Yup, so I bought myself a big box! A week and half later, I bought myself another big box! I put them in yogurt, I put them in salad, and I eat them after dinner. Ah! They are heavenly!
Anyhow, so like every February, I will buy and make some sweet treats with strawberries. Last year I created a cream filled Strawberry cupcake, the year before that I made chocolate dipped strawberries. This year, I decided to make cupcakes again, but this time, I came across Sprinkle's recipe and got super excited!

 I like how fluffy Sprinkle's cupcakes at the shops are, but I always think that their frosting are too sweet. Before I try their recipe, I read comments on how the cupcakes turned out to be...I realized a lot of them said the cupcakes came out moist but super dense. Stupid me, I made it anyways, and indeed it turned out SUPER dense but moist. I didn't like how dense they are. But asked for the frosting, it was fabulous! I will definitely make that frosting again! I think I need to retry the recipe, or alter it to make it less dense.
Here is Sprinkle's recipe. If you are going to try making them, tell me how they turn out!

Sprinkle's Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients for Strawberry Cupcakes

Makes 1 dozen

• 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
•  Sprinkle's Strawberry Frosting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Ingredients for Sprinkle's Strawberry Frosting

Makes enough for 1 dozen cupcakes

• 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

Baked Buns

I'd been meaning to make Baked BBQ Pork Buns because it's something both my mom and I enjoy eating when we go tea houses together. It's funny because we both don't like the steamed ones but we love the baked ones. I wanted to make them and surprise her one day, so today I tried to make some, except it was kind of late of the day to go get some pork. I decided to go ahead and substitute it with chicken in the mean time.

Oh yes, I also got adventurous and made some with Italian-style fillings with mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, spinach and turkey.

I just took some chicken breast and minced it myself. Then I also chopped some napa cabbages and red onions into the mix. Then, I seasoned it and cooked it.

The buns turned out pretty good. The only thing I didn't like about it is that I let it baked too long after the egg wash. So it got a little more brown, but not burnt. Next time I'll just bake it less. Also, I find it very entertaining watching the buns rise and bake in the process. It's mesmerizing for some reasons.



I will make this again, but with BBQ Pork next time. I should present them to my mom and see if she thinks it's store bought.

Cupcakes!

After going to a bar with some friends one night in Little Italy of San Francisco. My bff and I stumpled upon a teeny tiny cupcake shop on Columbus Street. The shop was hidden, but the brightly-lighted cupcake sign attracted my attention. Like that bright sign, the cupcakes at this shop were all brightly colored.

The cupcake shop is like a drive through window. You see these cupcakes on a window of display but when you order it, you have to order it through this tiny window with the guy behind it. He then gave us the cupcakes from the window too. But those cupcakes were some of the best I'd ever had! Moist and not overly sweet at all. Unlike most cupcakes I had, which I only take a few bites of, I could eat the whole cupcake from this shop myself!

With its green color, the Lilly Pad was the first cupcake that got my attention. It was a green tea cupcake with a jackfruit frosting. It was very unique and delicious! The cake was very, very moist even though I didn't eat it until the day after I bought it. The frosting didn't taste much like jackfruit but it was fruity and not overly sweet. And hey! What other cupcakery uses jackfruits? Brilliant!

By flavor, the mango cupcake was my second choice. This was everything mango, and I couldn't asked for a better mango cake. It tasted exactly like it. The cake was also very moist and delicious. It's the only cupcake place so far I know that has mango cupcakes.

I would definitely go back to this place again if I am in that area and can find parking! I would definitely love to try their other unique and colorful cupcakes.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

So for Lunar New Year, I made some oatmeal raisin cookies for my boyfriend's parents. I'd made this cookies a couple times before and both his parents enjoyed it. So I wanted to go "bai nin" with something and not arrive with empty hands.

This cookie is super duper easy to make, considering I followed the Quaker Oat box but just changed up the sugar content myself since cookies made with exact box recipe was too sweet for me. I learned that on my very first batch.

Quaker Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (modified/less-sweet version)

~makes 4 dozens

1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 + 1/8 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned)
1 cup raisin

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2.  In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
4. Combine and sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and add into wet mixture.
5. Mix in oats and raisins.

6. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

8. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Let cool.

La Mar Cebicheria Peruana

Pier 1 1/2
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 397-8880
 
Who loves sashimi? I do! It tastes even better when it's in a sauce, ceviche style! My friend and I went to La Mar for lunch one Saturday afternoon on a bright and sunny day. The atmosphere of La Mar was fabulous! The restaurant is super clean, spacious  and modern. It contains a large patio overseeing part of the bay. With patio tables and umbella, the scene makes a sunny Saturday afternoon very relaxing and divine.
 

Upon seated, the waiter brought out a basket of complimentary freshly made chips that consists of taro, yam, plantain and potato. By the way, it was the best chips I ever had! It wasn't too oily and it was filled with  flavors. It also comes with three housemade dipping sauce.

La Mar is known for the ceviche, so my friend and I ordered a ceviche sampler since we couldn't decide among the long list.

Starting from top left, the sampler contains ceiche nikei, which is ahi tuna in a Japanese tamarind sauce. The on top right is my favorite, cebiche chifa, which is yellowtail with peanuts in a sesame ceviche sauce. The bottom right one is cebiche mixo, which is contains mahi mahi, calamari and octopus in a ceviche sauce made with cilantro, red onion and habanero. Lastly, bottom left is cebiche clasico, which is Caifornia halibut in a classic lime and pepper sauce.

We also ordered a pan con lomitos chimichurri, which is a sandiwch that's made with Peruvian style skirt steak strips, with tomato, avocado, onion gouda cheese and chimichurri sauce on an ACME roll. The meat is so, so tender. The gouda cheese was delicious, very smokey yet doesn't cover up the other flavor.

La Mar is on a pricer side of a restaurant but I highly recommend it, especially on a sunny day. Sit at the patio, sip on their famous pisco sour cocktail and of course, eat some ceviche and chips...oh yea...my kind of relaxing Saturday!