Bake and Cake

The past few weeks I have been craving a nice fluffy piece of decadent cake.  Usually when my cake craving comes a calling, I can take out my mixing bowls and spoons and whip up something in the kitchen. However, being a working woman now ;) I don't have too much time for baking.  So this past week when I found out a new Asian grocery market open up near by that had a bakery, imagine my delight!  I guess my cake craving was contagious because Nhat started craving cakes too. And so we ofcourse made a visit to the new grocery store and picked up a cake.

We decided on a Ube cake.  I love that the cake was very soft but it was a little too dry for my liking.  The ube frosting however, was delicious.

Our cake craze didn't stop there.  Nhat has been talking about a bakery that one of his doctors constantly rave about, Porto Bakery.  This past Saturday we decided to make the 40 minute drive to give it a try. I got a Cubano Sandwich and Nhat got a Slow Roasted Pork Sandwich and Chicken Empanada (spelling?).  

Slow Roasted Pork Sandwich with Fried Plantains

 

 

 

Cubano with Fried Plantains.

We also took a Mixed Berried Milk Cake home.  Too bad our milk cake melted on the drive home, but it was still good.  The cake was moist and frosting was delicately sweet.

Busy Weekend

What a great way to start the weekend.  Cupcakes!  It's a shame that they weren't that great.  But they were still pretty nonetheless. =)

Why I love weekends...
Catch up on errands.
Time to relax.
Spend more time with Basil.
Time to cook a more satisfying meal.
Simpsons 8pm every Sunday.

And what a lovely and productive weekend it was.  I wrote down a list of everything we needed to accomplish this weekend and each one was crossed off =).  I have a few highlights and lowlights for the weekend. Highlights include trying out a delicious Korean restaurant, watching Toy Story 3, roasting a tri tip.  Lowlights: Basil getting attacked at the doggy park. But she's okay. Thank goodness for that.

During the busy week I barely have time to cook a well thought out meal. But the weekend is my time to getting my culinary fix.  Having to eat chicken and fish most of the days for health and budgetary reasons, I was really craving some red meat.  Tri Tip popped into my mind instantly.  The Tri Tip recipe I used was not great, it needs some some tweaking. The side dishes, on the other hand, green beans and mash potatoes turned out great.  Simple flavors to compliment the flavorful meat.

Green Beans
Wash and trim green beans
One shallot diced
2 cloves garlic sliced
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Blanch the beans: In a medium sized pot of boiling salted water throw in the green beans for 2-3 minutes.

Shock the beans: In a bowl of ice water quickly submerged beans in the ice water to stop cooking.

Drain and set aside.

Over medium heat, add about 2 tbs of olive oil on a skillet.  Add shallots and garlic, some salt and pepper.  Stir and let brown.

Add in green beans and stir to mix all the garlicky oil!

A hearty meal to prepare me for another week.

Another Week, Another Day, Another Dolla.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween.  And if you don't celebrate Halloween, then I hope you had a great weekend.  Despite the weather supposedly going into the 90s this week, the chilly mornings are a still a reminder that we are in autumn.  I've even had to wear a scarf on my morning walks with Basil.  Once the weather starts getting cooler and October comes around, there are a few items in my cupboard that are a necessity to help me enjoy the cooler autumny wintery weather:  hot Apple Cider, hot Chocolate, teas of all kinds.

Missing: Green Tea!

With the holidays less than a month away, I know I need to be more health conscientious of my eating so that I don't feel guilty when Thanksgiving comes rolling around!  This morning I had a healthy breakfast with low-fat cottage cheese, fruit, and a little sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. You can buy cinnamon sugar in the store but it's so easy to make and probably cheaper also. You basically just mix cinnamon and sugar in whatever ratio you prefer.   Sweeter? Then just add more sugar than cinnamon.  You can store it in an air tight container for a very long time.  I think I've had my cinnamon sugar mixture for months.

You can use whatever fruit you have available.  I usually like berries also.