LilyAnette

Orange & Almond with Cranberry Mini Bundt Cakes with Strawberry Glaze

2013-05-16T13:10:00.000-04:00

I adapted this recipe from here to try out the new 12 portions mini bundt cake pan that I bought on Mother's Day. I used all the ingredients except for the water stated and almond extract. I grated rind from 2 oranges and added chopped slivered almonds and dried cranberries, about 1/8 cup of each to the batter. The perfect oven temperature for baking is 350F for cakes this size and for about

Rhubarb & Strawberry Frangipane Tart

2013-05-02T10:35:00.004-04:00

"Is that Red Celery, Mom?" asked my son. That was how I really perceived Rhubarb when I first seen it in the grocery store 10 years ago. I have never heard nor seen one in Asia and little did I know what it tasted like. Its tart tasting crunch reminds me of biting into a fresh cranberry fruit, raw and crunchy. Definitely some ingredient to cook with but not eaten on itself! Rhubarb is

Tofu Pan Fried

2013-04-25T22:49:00.002-04:00

This is the simplest of all simple recipes! All you need is the extra Firm tofu, this Vegetable sauce , chopped scallion and toasted Sesame seeds. And about 2 to 3 Tbsp of cooking oil plus salt and pepper to season. The only waiting part is the pressing of the tofu to rid excess water. For this, remove the soaking water, place the tofu block on a large plate, place a small plate on top of

Bento Days

2013-04-23T10:01:00.002-04:00

I finally found the right size Stainless steel lunch box for my 6 year old boy. A bit pricey but fits the purpose. Kids go through different phases of appetite, probably in a period of 2 months, they eat alot and always come home from school asking for bigger snack portions and there are certain times that they just don't eat much, leaving portions for me to eat up! I love Rice paper

Spring Strawberry Cake

2013-04-18T15:33:00.000-04:00

Ah...the smell of Spring air. Although the nights are still chilly, the daylight sun is just lovely everyday this week. Daffodils and Forsythia spouting out their vibrant yellows, iris and pansies proudly poking out in purple, trees finally regaining their branches with spots of green popping here and there. Migrating geese over and above in the skies, cardinals and frogs are busy with their

Morello (Sour Cherry) Clafoutis

2013-04-16T23:52:00.001-04:00

I made these for a small pizza dinner party last week. Ramekins are very useful when there are more guests around and rather than baking in a large dish pan, I pour this recipe batter into 10 individual ramekins. Trader Joe's Morello cherries in the jar is great for baking and I use them often. First I poured the cherries out from the jar into a strainer and let the juice drip off into a

Ham & Chive Quiche with Thyme

2013-04-12T10:37:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite dish to make during Spring and Summer is Quiche. Besides it being pretty with its bright yellowish and creamy egg and cream filling, it is also very adaptable and versatile with all sorts of other additional fillings, from summer vegetables of sweet pepper, asparagus to shredded chicken and ham. Whether taken out for a picnic or party or perhaps a little special treat for

Tofu Puffs with Minced Pork & Peas

2013-04-03T19:34:00.001-04:00

As Spring weather is gradually taking over the left over tail of wintry nights, the appetite prefers more lighter dishes with lesser meat and thick gravy. Simple cooking is good and the lesser ingredients, the better. There are many types of Soy products in the market. Tofu being the most versatile and comes in various texture from silky soft to very firm can be cooked quickly and served

Coconut Cherry Brownies

2013-03-31T22:29:00.003-04:00

I don't think I ever made Brownies from scratch but only from box mixes and everytime I did that, it always failed! It was either burnt or hard as a rock and I have no idea why. Melting chocolate is not a thing I like to do and so I put off ever making Brownie for any occasion. That was until this Easter, I was short of time to prepare any dessert for my Easter dinner party and wanted

Bento Lunches for March 2013

2013-03-27T14:14:00.001-04:00

It is quite hard to kick myself back into cooking and baking mode again. Not that I was not cooking all this while but to create something out of the norm takes a bit of brainstorming these days. Or rather, my attention has shifted too much to sewing and there is just not much to entice me to spend time in the kitchen. I used to be able to multi-task but ever since I moved house to my current

2013 and Things to come

2013-03-05T10:08:00.002-05:00

X'mas 2012 and New Year 2013 celebrations have all passed! What have I been doing away from my Blogs? I have not much recollection except the winter was harsh with so much snow that I couldn't find my Buried Shovel at times, and with weather going all down to -15'C, there wasn't much fun happening at my end. Every New Year, I make one wish of many Wishes that I always secretly hope.... the

Cranberry Sauce Oat Finger Cakes

2012-12-02T20:23:00.003-05:00

December started with a snowfall at my place. Nothing major but it was enough to let my kids dressed up in their snow attires and enjoyed the coming of winter. The X'mas tree is up and decorations on the way. Amidst the joys of the season celebrations, I always feel a bit sad to see another year ending. 2012 has been particularly fast in my opinion, the months just came and went like days and

Cranberry and Peach Pie

2012-11-23T22:49:00.001-05:00

This year's Thanksgiving celebration felt a little bit too early. The reason is that this American celebration of Thanks is usually assumed and celebrated on the very last Thursday of November but the fact is it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November. Oddly, this year's November has 5 Thursdays and so November 22 was the actual date instead the one I assumed on November 29.

Almond & Cranberry Tart

2012-11-04T13:02:00.001-05:00

The wrath of Sandy was terrible. I count my Blessings for being spared the big damages as suffered by the folks down in New Jersey and New York . Other than toppled trees and alot of mess outside in the yard, nothing terrible nor devastating around my neighborhood area. Another Halloween day ruined like last year, carved pumpkins rotting away and Trick or Treat postponed to a later date...

Cranberry and Toasted Coconut Muffin

2012-10-25T10:11:00.000-04:00

The Fall Season has so far been erratic. One day cold and the next two days warm, three days wet with rain and four days windy warm! Being first time single house owners, we have to put our inexperienced minds and hands to deal with plenty of foliage waste and it is like a forever task till the first snow comes and cover them all! I was pretty bumped that I missed the Cranberry Festival again

Green Tea Mousse Cheesecake

2012-10-08T23:11:00.002-04:00

I have been in our new place for almost 2 months now. Amidst the many activities of my kids and the getting used to living in a bigger space, I am still very eager to try out new things with my baking and sewing. As I write here, plans are swirling in my mind on how to attempt the sewing of the Halloween costumes that my kids have requested and also the planning of another small dinner party

Pear Vanilla Cake

2012-09-23T18:09:00.003-04:00

I have been wanting to bake with Pears for sometime but apples and berries seem to always overflow in my shopping basket and preferred by my family. The fact is we seldom eat pears and the only way we use it is by steaming it with yellow rock sugar for more than an hour to get it soft and sweet. This particular Chinese way of preparing pears takes time and patience but it is said to heal dry

Apple & Fig Cinnamon Sugar Tartlet

2012-09-15T22:56:00.000-04:00

The Cool and crisp Autumn air is here and the joy of baking begins. Apples, figs and pears quickly overtakes the aisles of berries and peaches while hearty stewed dishes comes to mind and feed the palates. Saying goodbye to another summer can be hard but before we hit the bone chilling beginning of winter, autumn always promises a burst of warm colors from mums, pumpkins and foliage and also

Bento Days

2012-09-05T16:55:00.002-04:00

School started last week. To get back into making Bento early in the morning is not easy and I started the first week with snack boxes and sent my kids buying lunches instead. The art of Bento has attained so much attention and interests these days and to browse for ideas and inspirations after a break of almost a year can be overwhelming. This year I will try to make simpler Bento designs that

Hello Again

2012-09-05T15:38:00.003-04:00

It has been about 6 months since I last posted and blogged. When I opened my Blogger account again this morning, it took me almost 3 hours to re-learn the whole concept and idea of blogging again. Yes, 6 months means half a year but not blogging, cooking nor baking for that kind of period of time resulted me in being rusty, almost to the point of losing patience re-learning the whole technology

Honey Citron Custard Tartlets

2012-03-22T10:27:00.000-04:00

And I thought I was not ever returning to this Blog! Phew...what a hectic time since my last post. Disappointment, Frustration and Tiresome all bundled up and filled those days and still on going with my next Home search. Never did I realize that this House Hunting process can take up so much of my time and even Sundays are spent somewhere looking besides baking. Easter will be here soon and

Bento Days

2012-02-12T14:23:00.000-05:00

February kicked off busier than January. As kids grow, priorities changed, and now I need to look for a bigger house and this time I am definitely sure that the biggest room for the new house shall be the Kitchen! When I first moved to my present house, never had I imagined that cooking and baking will take up most of my time and if jotted down and recorded, the time I spent in my kitchen far

Bento Days

2012-02-02T12:55:00.001-05:00

Welcome February. I am finding less energy to do cute Bento and trying to keep it simple this year. My daughter seems to socialize more now and busy chatting away during her lunch time at school, sometimes only finishing half of the content of the Bento. My only choice is to use a smaller size lunch box for her and trying to squeeze in everything neatly. Small and mini cookie cutters together

Chicken Wings in lemon & Oregano

2012-01-30T20:33:00.001-05:00

RecipeIngredients:6 chicken wings, dissected to 2 parts; Juice of 2 large lemons; 5 pip of garlic (grated); 1 small knob of ginger (grated to yield 1 tbsp); 1 tbsp dried oregano; 1 tsp cornflour; 1/2 cup water or lemonade; white pepper; Kosher salt Method: Marinate the chicken wings with the lemon juice, grated garlic & ginger, Kosher salt, white pepper and oregano. Leave it in the fridge for 2

Black Vinegar Braised Pork Hocks

2012-01-29T16:58:00.001-05:00

Without realising it, January is almost coming to an end already. Is it me or the same with everyone else that the days and months seem to fly by so fast that I feel like I am always trying to squeeze in time for everything here and there and never have enough rest even during the weekends! While I long for Fridays to come by when Mondays start, the fact is I haven't even time to laze around