Chocolate Chip Muffins

If you like chocolate chip cookies, you will love chocolate chip muffins! I love to eat these in the morning for breakfast or for a late night snack. These delicious muffins are packed with chocolate chips and walnuts. If you do not want to use walnuts, pecans will work just a well

Chocolate Covered Strawberries (:

These are possibly the easiest and yummiest things to make in the world. The two best things in life, strawberries and chocolate, come together to form complete bliss.
You can also add white chocolate too. A twist on the original chocolate covered strawberries, but still tastes delicious!

Lemony Lemon Loaf

This lemon loaf recipe is very simple and straightforward. The most important aspect of a lemon loaf is the tart, zingy lemon flavor. The combination of the freshly squeezed lemon juice, freshly grated lemon zest, and slightly sweet lemon syrup accentuate the lemon flavor that complement the sweet lemon glaze.

Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars

Deceptively looking like regular old chocolate cookies, the stream of sweet caramel that flows out when you bite into them is a welcome surprise!

Scrumptious Crepes

This is what my sister and I had for dinner. We didn't really want the typical Indian food my grandma had made, so we secretly made some crepes once everyone went upstairs. These crepes are light and yummy and can pretty much be stuffed what whatever you want! Two of my favorites are chocolate/nutella strawberry and powdered sugar with lemon juice (sounds weird, but I love it).

Recipe

Brownies

Today, I had a pretty bad day. Well sort of. But to make up for my semi-bad day, I made myself and my brother and sister and mom brownies. They were yummy. They were delectable and delicious.
Recipe

Blueberry Cream Cheese Tarts

The first recipe I tried from this book my mom got were this dainty blueberry cream cheese tarts with graham cracker crust.
Of course, you can always substitute the blueberries for any fruit of your choice but I like to stick to the original the first time.The cream cheese custard is soft, airy and melts at the tip of your tongue and pair so well with the sweet-tangy blueberry compote – perfect for spring (:

Recipe

Yummy Truffles!

Truffles. My favorite type of chocolate. Although these come in a pack of four for $14, they are so worth it!

Tuiles

These tuiles took me forever to learn how to make too because they took so much time. Once you know how to do it, it's pretty easy though! you can really choose whatever filling you want...you don't even have to have filling if you don't want to. It's entirely up to you. That's what I love about these: you personalize them (:

Recipe

Is it Chocolate or is it a Smore?

I tried making these delectable Chocolate Graham Cupcakes with Toasted "Marshmallow." It's a lot easier than it looks, although I burnt the first few cupcakes using the torcher.
My brother showed me how to use the torcher since he's an expert. The results:
So? What do you think it is? Is it chocolate or is it a smore?

Recipe

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In lieu of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to put up all the yummy (well most of them are yummy) green foods that I could think of:

1. KiwiKiwi's are one of my favorite fruits. I could eat them one after another, only if they're sweet with a hint of tartness. (And of course, I ALWAYS put kiwi as one of my froyo toppings!)

2. Green TeaEvery morning, I start my day off with a nice cup of steaming hot green tea. Not only does green tea naturally contain antioxidants, it tastes yummy too!

3. Guacamole
Nothing tastes better than fresh guacamole with tortilla chips. I used to hate guacamole, but if it's made right, guacamole can be quite delicious (:

4. Leafy Vegetables
No one really likes to eat their vegetables, but I do! Surprisingly, I LOVE eating leafy vegetables. With the right combination of ingredients, boring leafy vegetables can turn into an delicious and colorful salad! (My favorite green leafy vegetable is spinach)

5. Limes
My mom makes limeade. It's the best possible use of limes that I can think of.

6. HoneydewI just happened to be eating honeydew and realized it was green, so I put it up here. (:

7. Split Pea Soup/Peas
I've never actually had Split Pea Soup. I've heard both extremes -- either really good, or really disgusting. Personally, I'm scared to try it because I don't really like creamy foods. BUT, I do like peas. I actually love peas. I'm weird.

Nutella Hot Chocolate

What could be better than a nice cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day? Even though it's not winter anymore, it was a bit chilly today and it's ALWAYS colder in my house. I was craving hot chocolate, so I made it....with a twist!

Coconut Raspberry Cupcakes

Coconut Raspberry Cupcakes...
It's always nice to bite into a cupcake and find a surprise in the middle!

p.s. click on the picture to get the recipe!

I Really Wanted to Make This....

But unfortunately, there is no recipe! So instead, I just stare at these pictures. It amazes me how much talent and creativity bakers can have. This picture is a chocolate biscuit with chocolate mouse and chocolate shavings around, garnished with strawberries.

Every time I find something that really gets me excited to bake, I am always disappointed to find no recipe. I've always wondered why bakers do that. What if someone really wanted to bake what was in the picture? (Like me, for this picture.) So I guess until I find the recipe to this amazing chocolate creation, the pictures will have to do.

Whenever I go to a fancy restaurant or stumble upon decadent desserts, like this one, I'm always envious of the bakers. How could they create something so beautiful? But most of the times, I'm too afraid to eat it. I don't want to mess up the beauty of the dessert by digging in greedily with my spoon!

Mmm...Banana Bread

YUM bananas! I LOVE bananas, and any baked good with bananas in them. But, my favorite baked good with bananas would have to be.....banana bread! I've been in love with banana bread forever! After trying nearly every type of banana bread out there, I've come to a conclusion that I don't like the ones that are visibly greasy. Also, I tend to like homemade, FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN bread. Seriously, it's one of the best feelings ever: eating hot homemade banana bread (:


p.s. click on either picture for recipe!

My Latest Obsession

My latest obsession....froyo! Being the froyo fan I am, I have tried quite a few froyo place in Silicon Valley....

Red Mango:
Red Mango is one of the original frozen yogurt places, but honestly, I'm not too keen on this place. The yogurt is extremely creamy (something I'm not a huge fan of) and it's really heavy. The portions are small for the price and the toppings are just average. The one time I went there, the yogurt tasted really off. I made sure I never came back!

Pinkberry:
MY FAVORITE. Hands down. The yogurt is a wonderful consistency, not too creamy, not too icy. The toppings there are WONDERFUL. The fruit is always sweet, no matter what. It's quite amazing. Although the amount of topping depends on the person serving you your froyo. The price is about the same as Red Mango, if I remember correctly, but it's worth it. Every spoon of delectable Pinkberry makes me smile (:

Tutti Frutti:
My first impression on this little store in Vallco was: "Looks like every other froyo chain." And sure enough, it is. There is nothing too extraordinary about this place. They have a variety of flavors you can put youself, same for the toppings. It's priced exactly the same as Yogurtland, but I think this place is a bit better than Yogurtland because their froyo is not as icy.

Tartini:
This used to by my favorite before I discovered Pinkberry. I love their Lychee Tart. It's the main reason why i liked this place so much. Also, the froyo is not icy at all, and once again they are a self serving store. Another aspect that appealed to me was the decor. The whole place is blue (even the cups!), which is one of my favorite colors. And since I liked the surroundings, I guess the froyo just appealed to me more than usual.

Yogurtland:
Yogurtland was my very first froyo encounter. Being a noob, I tried all the sweet ice-cream like flavors, not knowing what I was getting into. Upon my first bite, I was amazed at how good this place was! But as I started to find more and more froyo places, I realized that Yogurtland is icy and, in the end, not that amazing. Although, it would suffice for my random froyo cravings.

Froyo?:
This place struck me as unique because the yogurt is put for you but you can put as many toppings as you want (that's where all your money goes!). I really liked this place; I have no complaints about the yogurt. But like any other froyo place (besides Pinkberry), the fruit is always a risk. I never know whether or not the fruit will be sweet enough!

Frutti Gelato and Yogurt
Frutti is located relaly close to my house; therefore, that is how I found out about it. I was extremely impressed by this place because their portions are HUGE. They give tons and tons of yogurt and toppings for a reasonably good price. Although, they do not have as many flavors as yogurtland or Tartini. They always have Original Tart, Vanilla, and Chocolate, but the other three change daily. I went there recently where they have started a new way of putting the yogurt: they put some yogurt first, add some toppings, add more yogurt, and then MORE toppings. When I put that spoon full of froyo + toppings in my mouth, all I could say was YUM.

YoSwirl
This store is located in Fremont, a bit far from here. However, I still managed to try it. My first time going there was a success: great yogurt and great toppings. But the second time I went there, I was sadly disappointed. The yogurt wasn't tart; it was more bland and very icy. Since I had a good experience the first time, I loaded up on the yogurt (this is a self serving place), but when I dove in, I really didn't enjoy the yogurt at all. BUT, there are TONS and TONS of toppings...from animal crackers, to cereal, to fruit, to chocolate..this place has it all!

McBerry'z Frozen Treats
A small store situated next to Johnny Rockets in Westgate. Personally, I hated it. The froyo was terribly grainy and I didnt enjoy one part of it. Luckily though, I tried a sample before I actually bought it.

With all my froyo experience, I would have to say my favorite would be Original Tart with Kiwis and Mangos (sometimes substitute with Mochi)

froyo+simi = happiness <3>

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

It may not seem black or white, but underneath all that colorful frosting sits a wonderfully moist white vanilla cupcake. This recipe is an adaptation of New York's famous cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. Btw, my old phone is in the background (:

p.s. click on the picture for recipe!