ambrosia

Soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

2013-05-19T12:28:00.001-04:00

This is the first post I write in a very long while where I don't really have anything else on my mind. I mean, I do have other things on my mind, I guess, but they're small things: go to the gym, do laundry, pack, find a chance to go to the Met one last time, etc. Nothing major, really, and it's so nice! It's so great to have no other papers, assignments, or projects to think about. Ahhh, the joys of being finished with college! I've been able to take it easy ever since Wednesday, and I've done almost nothing. Really. I've taken naps when I've gotten sleepy, and I haven't had to feel guilty about it; I had a picnic in Riverside Park, just because it was a beautiful day; I've taken my time at the gym, since I don't have to rush my workouts to squeeze them in in-between classes. Being done with college feels so good.

And then, there's the part that does not feel so good. That thing called commencement? It's happening, this Tuesday and Wednesday, to be exact. That thing called packing and moving back home? It's happening way too soon. That thing called REAL LIFE? I don't even want to think about it! I'm not ready, neither physically nor mentally for any of it. It's not that I'm not excited about graduation and entering "the real world,"it's just that I've had such an amazing four years at Columbia, and there's so much I wish I could have done had I had the chance. I wish I could have taken a few more crazy classes outside the architecture department, just for fun; I wish I had eaten more slices of Koronet's pizza and had more of Tom's famous milkshakes; I wish I had made more of an effort to visit new up and coming museums, and I wish I had learned to drink coffee earlier in my college career, so that I could have stayed awake and been more active in all of my classes, because damn, I was really fortunate to have taken classes with incredibly smart and interesting classmates and professors, and I sometimes feel like I missed out on truly learning what was being taught. In the end though, I loved every moment of college (even if I didn't know it at the moment, aka, the weekend before every design studio final review), and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've made amazing friends, met inspiring professors, grown into my own person, and affirmed my love of New York City and Columbia. As excited as I am to excited to see what comes next, I think that for now, I'm going to continue to live in this mini panic mode of "oh-my-god-I'm-graduating-the-day-after-tomorrow-wtf."

Quiche Lorraine

2013-05-11T05:04:00.000-04:00

Hello, again! I'm back already, and I have yet another delicious recipe that is perfect for Mother's Day to share with you. Yes, I know it's Saturday, and that Mother's Day is tomorrow, but you know me. I leave everything to the last minute and am then always in some kind of major panic mode with my brain scrambling to frantically pull things together. Today is no exception. I have two more assignments left in my college career. They're due in only a few very short days, and I'm not even close to feeling comfortable enough to say that I'm ready for them. Sleep deprivation from portfolio season made me skip/fall asleep in one too many Japanese architecture lectures, so now I'm stuck with incomplete notes and a mega pile of 275 flashcards to memorize (this is not a joke), and my independent research project...sigh. I can't do it! I just can't bring myself to write up the final report, because I just want to be finished with work, and I'm so close! But anyway. My last exam and last presentation in college have had me working nonstop since Tuesday, since I literally can't put off my prep-work any more than I already have.

I've found all kinds of ways to put off doing work though, regardless of how soon my deadlines are. I've done my laundry; I've cleaned my room; I've started packing; I've taken naps; I've gone to the gym. I'm even writing this blog post, which I had been hoping to publish a few days ago and then decided to simply post after Mother's Day due to lack of time, as another attempt to avoid doing the work that's looming over my head. Yep. I'm that desperate. But I mean, Mother's Day and quiche are legitimate reasons to put off doing work, right? I think so.

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French Toast with Mixed Berry Syrup

2013-05-09T11:48:00.000-04:00

Guess what guys. At this exact time (10:56 AM) in exactly two weeks (May 23, 2013), I will be officially moving out of college...for the LAST time. I will also have a real Bachelor's degree. It's a bit crazy, and I don't know if I can handle those thoughts just yet, so I will be pushing them aside (again), and talking about something else, something that I know everyone can relate to. My mama! Ok, maybe you can't all relate to my mom, but you all have your own moms that you can think about. Mother's Day is quickly approaching, and as always, I'm a few days behind on my posting. I had two Mother's Day related posts in mind, but then life got in the way, and I had a final studio review that lasted until 9 pm, after which I promptly went to bed because I physically could not keep my eyes open any longer, and two full 9-5 days of work followed by senior dinners and events. Classes may have ended on Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday I was the busiest little bee. But anyway, back to my mama!

My family doesn't usually do anything overly elaborate for Mother's Day. We usually go to a family potluck-style brunch at my cousin's house for some relaxed Mother's Day fun, or well, at least that's what I've been told. I've had to miss the last three Mother's Day celebrations because I've had final exams to study for and papers to write (actually, now that I think about it, I had an exam on Mother's Day my freshman year...yep, I had a final exam on a Sunday...). This year, however, will be different. I only have one exam to study for, and one independent research project to finish (FREAKING out about this one, as I'm still so behind, but that's obviously nothing new), so I'm going home to be with my family on Sunday, and I'm so excited! I'm going home on Saturday, and my mom is going to make my grandma's super famous arroz con verduras for dinner, as per my request. Ahh, gotta love mom for that! I'm very excited to go home and spend some time with my mom and all the other important moms in my life, and of course, I'm equally excited for brunch. Did I ever tell you guys how much I love brunch? No? Well, guys, I'm slightly obsessed with brunch. It's true.
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Mini Orange-Chocolate Chunk Bundts

2013-05-03T07:47:00.002-04:00

I'm a bit frustrated at the moment. It's 6:45 AM, and I'm just starting to write this post, because I "Instagrammed" (because that's a verb now), a photo of these lovely orange chocolate chunk bundt cakes with chocolate ganache (more on those later), and said they'd be on the blog today (which they are, because I like to keep my promises). I'm writing this post at 6:45 AM out of frustration because I've been up all night working on my final for my studio workshop class that's due on Monday. Sure, I have plenty of time until then, but I have other things to take care of this weekend, and that fact that I've been working all night and am still not happy with how my design looks is just annoying. So, I decided to stop for a bit, and write about cake. That should solve all my problems..or at least distract me for a bit.

These next two weeks are going to be so hellish, I can feel it. I'm SO close to being done with classes and college in general, but it's just so hard to force myself to stay focused. I can literally count using the fingers on one hand the number of things I have left to do before officially being done with all of my classes and finals (one more lecture, one more studio pinup, one final, and one independent research project to go), and while I know that 2 out of the 4 things that remain will be complete by Monday night, it still feels like that is too far off. I just want to be finished already, I'm exhausted! I need a nap, both literally and physically. Ugh.

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Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

2013-04-27T14:43:00.000-04:00

It's April 27, and I'm starting to freak out. Well, not really, but just a little. There's so much for me to do, and I just don't want to do anything. Yep, senioritis has kicked in, and I feel like I've been fighting with myself to get all the work I have to do done. It's terrible, because I need to look for a job so that I can hopefully enter the real world once I graduate, meaning that I have to work on my online portfolio and research/apply to every firm ever in hopes of getting at least one phone call back for an interview. That kind of work isn't too bad though, it's just my school work that is starting to finally get to me. I'm feeling uninspired for my studio workshop, lazy about my independent study (even though my research has gotten really interesting lately), and just blahhhh about my Japanese architecture class. I mean, I still think that everything is interesting, but working on my blog and looking for a real job just seem more interesting and important. Basically, I'm just over all this work I have to do. Can I just graduate now, please?

It still boggles my mind that graduation is so soon...it's only like three and a half weeks from now! Where did the time go!? As much as I'm ready to get out of here (believe me, I am, these past four years have been ridiculously stressful at times), I still wish I could stay for another couple of semesters. There's so many random classes that I would have loved to have taken if I had the time! Womp. But in any case, it's still crazy. Next week is my last full week of classes, with the following Monday being my actual last day of undergraduate classes...ever. Once that happens, I will be one exam and one research paper/presentation away from being completely done with everything ever. It sounds too good to be true! I'm a definitely excited for these next few weeks that are coming up, but I'm also a little nervous. Times like these call for comforting sweets. How does some homemade cookies and cream ice cream sound?

Sounds pretty comforting to me...and yummy!
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The Best NY Crumb Cake Ever

2013-04-22T04:30:00.000-04:00

There's been many a night where I have found myself typing away at my computer writing a 10-page paper the night before it was due in Butler library (thank you, Contemporary Civilizations). I've never been very good at planning ahead, especially when it comes to writing papers. I usually spend more time than necessary thinking of what to write before I look at the time and realize that it's already midnight, I have class at 9, and I've only written 2 out of 10 pages. Or, in more recent situations, I've looked at the time and realize that it's already 3 am, and I've somehow managed to only complete 1 out of the 3 renderings I had been meaning to make progress towards finishing. Even more recent, aka, right now, as I sit typing this blog post, I've looked at the time, seen that it's 4 am, and have decided that I better get on with writing that blog post that I had been meaning to publish the day before. This is my life, unfortunately. I sometimes get easily distracted, and usually spend way too much time over-thinking things and being indecisive to be as productive as I'd like to be. But anyway. I had a point to make, I promise.

Ok, so it's not really too much of a point, but my initial reason for bringing up my poor procrastination habits in Butler is actually relevant, and not because it is an analogous situation to the one taking place right now, as I write this post at 4 am on Monday morning, when most normal people are sleeping in their beds (thank goodness my first class isn't until 1 pm!). You see, Butler, and I guess most of the cafes on Columbia's campus have this one very delicious looking snack that I've always wanted to get: crumb cake. Now, I know that crumb cake isn't really anything over-the-top, or something to obsess over, but there's just something about those crumb cakes that have been drizzled with chocolate in the glass displays at the Butler cafe that makes me want one SO badly every time I see one. It's kind of ridiculous. I've managed to use all the self control I have to avoid getting a piece in these past couple of years, which is a pretty amazing feat, considering that the majority of the time I walk into the Butler cafe it's 2 am and it's about to close and I'm sleepy and am getting my last coffee that will hopefully hold me over until morning. There's always a piece of coffee cake when I go to the cafe, and it always tempts me. It's like it knows that I'm in a vulnerable state of existence or something.
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Mini Strawberries and Cream Eclairs

2013-04-17T19:17:00.001-04:00

I woke up on this lovely spring morning (so happy I can finallllyyyy say that), with a plan. I had planned out the night before to wake up early, run to the library, and sit myself down to do work for three hours on my independent study project. Then after that, I was going to get lunch, grab a coffee, and go to class. During my time at the library, I was supposed to write this blog post about strawberries and cream eclairs, and learn a thing or two about prefabrication. Note that I used the word "supposed." I use that word because, of course, my plan didn't actually work out. I did wake up early, and I did get to the library right when it opened, but then that's where the plan fell apart. After I did my fifteen minutes of online procrastination (you know, Reddit, Foodgawker, etc), I kinda just lost it.

I kinda lost all the motivation I had to do work and be productive. My productive spark just died, and I could feel it. I developed a splitting headache while sitting at the library, and no matter what I did, I just couldn't focus on anything or read the several books that were sitting in front of me. My body just wouldn't let me, as much as I was trying to force myself to do work. So then, I decided that the only thing to do was to try to sleep this headache off. Rather than walk back to my room and sleep in a bed like a normal person, my laziness (and also my desire to eventually get some work done) got the best of me, and I decided to just take a nap right where I was, right at my desk in the library. Yep. I was the girl who was passed out in the library, and it was only 9:30 AM. #senioritis
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Rocky Road Cookies

2013-04-13T18:46:00.003-04:00

One of the nice things about going to school at Columbia is that I'm not too far from home. I know, I know, lots of people might find that weird, but I like knowing that I'm still close by. I'm far away enough from home that I can feel like I have my own separate life that runs independently from my family, but it's nice that home is still only about an hour's commute from Morningside Heights. It means that I can swing by for weekends away from the business of school, make it to family events like birthdays and holidays, and of course, do all my baking and photographing. Plus there's certain advantages- my dad will every now and then agree to drive me back up to school, meaning that my mom will send me off with about a full week's worth of groceries from Trader Joe's and whatever other things I might need. Yep, there are definitely perks to living close to home!

Since I actually do go home relatively frequently (about once a month for a few days), I like to bring my parents back something every time. It's nothing big, but it's something we all love. My parents and I are big fans of the roasted peanuts from the Nuts4Nuts carts that are scattered about the city, and we've been this way for as long as I can remember. Every single year we'd come to see the Christmas window displays we'd get peanuts and every time my mom and I drive around Queens with the windows open in the summer, we end up smelling them from wherever we are, and we always buy a bag. Every time I walk by a cart I have to resist the urge to buy some, but sometimes, I can't resist and I just have to get a bag. They're just so good! Fortunately for me, this lack of willpower doesn't affect me too much, as I have a terrible habit of never having cash on me, so it's not like buying cart peanuts is usually an option anyway (yes, yes, I know, this is a really bad habit). BUT ANYWAY.
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Banana Caramel Cupcakes

2013-04-09T01:31:00.000-04:00

Geeeeez, it's been a while since I've written anything on this little blog, or even taken the time to take a glance at it. I've been unbelievably busy these past two weeks. You see, my senior portfolio was due yesterday, at 5 PM, so in these past two weeks, I was literally in the architecture design lab every spare second I had. I had an obscene amount of work to do to get my portfolio finished, and there were definitely moments where I thought I was just going to lose it. Like I said in my last post, I did a pretty awful job of documenting my files from my early studio classes, so figuring out how to represent those studios in my portfolio was a bit of a challenge. That, along with more sleepless nights than I'm willing to admit to, too much take-out for dinner, too little exercise, and the stress of having to produce something that I could be proud of in the end was driving me (and I know all my classmates were probably thinking similar thoughts) crazy! In the end though, it was all worth it. I learned a TON of new Photoshop tricks when preparing my renderings, I feel way more comfortable working with InDesign, and produced a portfolio that, given the circumstances, I'm actually very proud of. There's definitely things I wish I could improve about it, but for my first portfolio, I think it came out beautifully, and I love it. I also learned a very valuable lesson: DOCUMENT AND ARCHIVE EVERYTHING. Seriously, what was I thinking back in sophomore year!?

I'm actually not too terrible about documenting things in other areas of my life. For instance, I have all my blog photos perfectly organized and stored on a giant external hard drive. They're organized by month, and each recipe has folders for the original, unedited photos that make the cut to be posted on the blog, Photoshop files, web files, and web files that have been cropped and resized for submitting to sites like Foodgawker or Tastespotting. Even all my academic work for school is perfectly organi...wait. Why am I talking about my archiving tendencies. That's boring and irrelevant and completely unimportant when banana caramel cupcakes are the topic of today's blog post, and this cupcake is staring at you in the face. Just because I'm still sleep deprived doesn't mean that I can lose focus of my priorities. Moving on to cupcakes!

Easter Egg Meringue Nests

2013-03-30T21:20:00.000-04:00

Time for a super quick post (again). I feel like I say this a lot, and every single time that I say I'm going to write a super quick and short post, I end up writing wayyy more than I meant to, and the post ends up being as long as any of my other posts. But this time, I actually really, really, REALLY mean it. I'm super busy, and super behind on work, but I couldn't let Easter pass me by without one more cute dessert idea.

In the meantime though, let me tell you about why I'm super busy. My senior architecture portfolio is due a week from Monday, and I still feel like I'm not even close to finishing. There's just too many drawings to edit, too many new drawings to be made, and too many options for layouts, and this, in conjunction with my horrible indecisiveness, is giving me a lot to stress over. I've been working in studio nonstop, every chance I can get, working late nights, and drinking tons of coffee, yet I always feel like there's still so much left for me to do. Part of it is my own fault, for not being organized with my past work (I literally just can't find a lot of the work that I've done, so I've had to redo some of it), but regardless, portfolios just take so much time to put together! It'll be worth it though, and I can't wait until it's finally printed. That will be such a happy day. However, there's still a week left until that happens, and there's only a couple of hours left before Easter, so let's get back on subject!
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Hot Cross Buns

2013-03-25T01:31:00.001-04:00

It's officially spring, Easter is less than a week away, and the current weather forecast for New York states that today, Monday, we will be experiencing more wintery mix. What. Is. Going. On. Seriously. I had to wear my puffy winter jacket and scarf all weekend, and like most other New Yorkers', I'm so over this cold weather! There are signs of the promise of "real" spring though. I was in midtown this weekend, and the planters that lined the sidewalk outside of Macy's actually had green things growing in them. Yes. GREEN THINGS WERE GROWING. I have no idea what was actually growing in the planters, but there were little green plants sprouting out of the soil all around the little evergreen trees (or bushes maybe? I have no idea what they were).

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Easter egg hunts were probably one of my favorite things about the holiday when I was little, and Easter candy is just the best thing ever, and I know that in the coming days I'm going to be getting at least three bags of Easter candy (hopefully, I won't consume all the candy by myself...). Aside from Easter candy, I can't really say that I love "Easter food." I mean, sure it's delicious and all, and I love getting to have lighter, more "spring-like" dishes, but I just don't think any of the things I tend to eat for Easter dinner really stand out. I always associated only Easter candy as the best Easter food, but that was only because I had never actually had a hot cross bun. But, now that I have, and because I'm now older and wiser, I am switching things up, and hot cross buns are officially my new favorite thing about Easter. Why did it take me nearly 22 years to try a hot cross bun? I seriously wonder what's wrong with me at times.
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NY Style Birthday Cheesecake

2013-03-20T00:05:00.000-04:00

Exactly one year ago, I published a post where I documented one of my very first experiences with deep frying. I made a batch of classic, old-fashioned yeast doughnuts, fried them up, dipped them in a chocolate glaze, and then covered them in rainbow sprinkles. I called them Birthday Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts, and they were published for my little sister's birthday, as per her request. Today, my little sister is definitely no longer that little, as she's turned 18 (holy crap, she's an adult too now...I suddenly feel so much older...). To continue with this sudden "tradition" of dedicating a birthday post for her, she requested nothing less than mini everything bagels, to be photographed in an assortment of styles, ranging from a mini bacon egg and cheese sandwich, to being sandwiched with homemade strawberry cream cheese. Now, I'll give her that this would have been such a fun project to work on, and the photos could have looked really awesome with all the different ways I could have used the mini bagels, but really...mini everything bagels? Homemade strawberry cream cheese? Multiple photo sets and sandwiches?

Ain't nobody got time for that. I certainly don't, at least.

This is not to say that I won't ever make mini everything bagels and photograph them in different applications. Not at all. I love everything bagels, in all sizes, and I do love a good photo challenge, so these will definitely grace the blog at some point, just not when I'm trying to be an efficient baker and bake up a decent sized batch of recipes to bring back with me to school. I explained this to her, and she reluctantly agreed, instead suggesting that I make her a NY style cheesecake, as seen on Smitten Kitchen, but with a strawberry sauce instead of cherries. Even though I'm not a huge fan of cheesecake, I agreed, as this seemed like a much more reasonable request. I knew exactly which cheesecake recipe she was referring to, as it was one that we had both been eyeing for at least two years. Yes, two years. It took me two whole years to finally agree to make this recipe for my sister, and while it may have initially started out as only a way to appease her for not making her bagels, I'll be the first to say that this recipe may have changed my mind about cheesecake. Maybe not about cheesecake in general, but I'm now going to be willing to eat NY style cheesecake a bit more often. This recipe was life-changing, if we want to be dramatic. If we want to be a bit more down to earth, this recipe was just really damn good, and was able to make me, a non-cheesecake loving person, consider taking a second slice.

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Healthy Jam-Swirled Silver Dollar Pancakes

2013-03-18T01:12:00.000-04:00

There are certain things about being home that I love, and don't love. There's mostly good things, I promise though. I love being able to cook in a fully equipped and fully stocked kitchen, I love being home for delicious home-cooked meals, driving my dad insane with my sister, and getting to take a break from the hustle and bustle of school and Manhattan (although after a couple of days, I do start to miss it pretty terribly...). Being at home is great, but it does come with its downsides.

Number 1- I never get any school work done, because baking, taking photos, and editing photos is time consuming, and just plain more interesting.

Number 2- My eating schedule gets a little wonky. You see, I like to wake up early and get my baking started literally the second I get up. I can't be wasting precious moments of daylight, inspiration, and creativity on making myself an omelette (although it probably wouldn't hurt if I took ten minutes aside to make myself some breakfast), and then there's the inevitable necessity of sampling of my less-than-healthy (but delicious and hard to resist) food....

Number 3- I get lazy about working out, which is a problem. I love working out, and at school, I have no problem with fitting in 5-6 good workouts a week, but when I come home...that's a whole other story. I just have a hard time getting myself to exercise on my own when I'm home for some inexplicable reason that is completely beyond me....ugh.
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Frozen Hot Chocolate with Baileys

2013-03-15T22:02:00.000-04:00

I'm officially on spring break! Woo! Finally! Time to relax and take it easy right? NOPE. I wish that were the case. I have so much planned for this break, it's kinda crazy. I didn't go away anywhere, but I am home for a few days, meaning that I have lots of baking projects planned out (they are perfectly organized on a sticky note and a massive last minute ingredient shopping list has been made) and I'm really excited to tackle that list. Aside from my ambitious baking plans, I also need to get a decent amount of work done for my independent research project and my portfolio, the deadline for which, is rapidly approaching. Oh boy...

Regardless of how much I am somehow supposed to get accomplished for school during spring break, I'm definitely most excited for the baking part of my days off. I have such great things planned, and the three other recipes I've managed to prepare and photograph in the day I've been home...let's just say I'm very excited to get to share them with you in the coming days! But first things first. This frozen hot chocolate with Baileys is something you should definitely make soon, especially since St. Patrick's day is coming up this weekend! The recipe was inspired by David Lebovitz's recreation of Serendipity's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, which is seriously one of the best frozen drink creations I've ever had. If you haven't had a chance to stop by Serendipity 3 yet, you should definitely put it as a destination point on your list of things to do in NYC! It might be a little cliche and overdone, but I love it, almost as much as I loved this version of their frozen hot chocolate. Read more »

Irish Soda Bread

2013-03-12T13:49:00.000-04:00

There's a funny story behind this Irish soda bread recipe. Actually, it's probably not funny at all...at least not any of you guys. It's probably only silly to me. Basically, this is what happened. Years ago, when my sister was in kindergarten or something like that, her class had a "heritage day" or something of sorts. Every kid was supposed to bring in something that described their culture, and if possible, some type of food specific to their culture for everyone to try (and hopefully like!). For this event, my parents took obleas (these are reallllyyyy thin big, round wafer-type cookies that are sandwiched with a thick layer of dulce de leche. This is actually my favorite dessert EVER), and envueltos (I'd describe these as a type of corn cake, although they don't really have a cake-like texture at all, but they're delicious). One of my sister's classmates brought in Irish soda bread as his culturally-relevant food, and my parents got to try it. Ever since that day, they have not been able to stop raving about that Irish soda bread and just how amazing it is. Eventually, a class cookbook was conceived, with each student bringing in a favorite family recipe to add to the cookbook. The recipe for the ever-famous Irish soda bread was submitted, and my parents couldn't have been more thrilled. They made the soda bread several times, and yes, that soda bread was pretty damn good.

This recipe I'm sharing with you today is NOT that recipe from my sister's elementary school class.

I like to share my baking plans for the blog with my parents and my sister, just to get some feedback and suggestions. As soon as I mentioned that I wanted to make Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day, my parents were ALL over the idea. They thought it was great! The only condition was that I HAD to post the infamous Irish soda bread recipe from my sister's childhood cookbook. Knowing that the recipe was, in fact, quite delicious, I agreed, except that there was one tiny problem: the cookbook had mysteriously disappeared. My parents were in denial that it was missing, and both of them claimed to have, "just seen it, right there on the kitchen counter!" I was positive that we had lost the cookbook in the general shuffle of events that is life, but there was no convincing my parents that that had been the case. Nope. My mother promptly stopped whatever she was doing at the moment, and took out literally EVERYTHING she saved from her children's elementary school years, and sat on the floor going through every last article of both me and my sister's childhood. My dad did the same, only he looked in other random places, convinced that the cookbook was still in our possession. Yup, this cookbook was just that important. Both turned up empty handed, so I decided to just use the powers of the Internet to find a new recipe, because, well there had to be other good versions of Irish soda bread in this world. My parents, very reluctantly, accepted the fact that the cookbook no longer existed in our household, and that they would have to settle for a potentially inferior quality Irish soda bread. I told them, in as nice a way as I possibly could, to get over it. This new Irish soda bread would still be delicious!

And delicious it was, indeed...or at least I thought so.
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Guinness and Pretzel Truffles

2013-03-09T10:37:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, and happy weekend! Hopefully your weekend is off to a much more fun and exciting start than mine. My plans for this weekend include nothing but studying for a Japanese architecture midterm on Monday, and working on my portfolio, which is officially due in LESS than ONE month. "OMG" is right. That's what went though my mind when I read the email sent out to all the seniors in the architecture department reminding us about all the senior requirements that are due at the beginning of April, because, hey, we're GRADUATING. What is this. This is nuts, that's what it is.

I have been proactive though at least. Lots of studying has been done, and an obscene amount of flashcards have been made (seriously, 200 flashcards to memorize is just ridiculous). I actually woke up early today and am currently drinking coffee (this has become the story of my life), and having some orange juice and frozen blueberry waffles with Aunt Jemima syrup as I finish up writing this post. It's a perfect way to start off my day, but then there's the thought that I'm going to be immersed in Illustrator, Indesign, and Photoshop for the rest of the day looming over my head, and then I just get sad. Sigh. This madness will be over soon, at least!
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Homemade Samoas

2013-03-04T13:36:00.001-05:00

Let's start this post off by me saying that I was never a Girl Scout when I was little, and I could probably count my experiences with actual, real-life Girl Scout cookies on one hand. Yep. I'm a deprived human being, I know. I think Thin Mints and Samoas are the only Girl Scout cookies I've ever tried, but from what I've gathered, they're also the most popular, so I guess what counts is that I can vouch for the two most popular cookies. They are deeeeliiiciouss.

Given that I have little first-hand experience with eating Girl Scout cookies, it's pretty obvious that I also have little experience with the actual selling of the cookies too. This is actually just fine, because if there was one thing I HATED having to do when I was little/in high school was go around selling things for fundraisers. I was a shy and awkward kid, and I transitioned into an equally shy and awkward teenager, so going up to people, even if I knew them, to ask if they wanted to buy whatever I was selling seemed like some sort of really cruel punishment. Funny story time- the symphonic band I was in in high school always had one thing or another to fundraise for (the two biggest fundraisers we held were for a commission by a Juliard-trained composer and for a performance we were playing in at Carnegie Hall...big stuff!), and the method of choice for raising money was selling chocolate bars. This was a terrible thing for me, because not only was I a shy and awkward teen at the time, but I was (and obviously still am) a major chocolate fiend. Guess who ended up buying most of the chocolate bars I was in charge of selling? If you guessed me, you are correct! But anyway, I digress. Back to TOTALLY DIY, HOMEMADE SAMOAS.

This is exciting stuff, so get ready.

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Chocolate Birthday Cupcakes

2013-02-26T13:11:00.001-05:00

Ok, first things first. Oscar night, it needs to be discussed...although there really isn't too much to discuss here. I was very happy with all the winners of the night. I thought Christoph Waltz, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Day Lewis, and Jennifer Lawrence all played their roles in their respective movies fantastically, and I couldn't have been happier that Argo won Best Picture. I was literally on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time I was in the theater watching it, despite knowing that everything would work itself out in the end, and I loved that. If a movie to which you already know the ending can still get you that pumped up and excited, it means it must be good! Like I mentioned in my last post, I actually watched all the movies nominated for Best Picture, with the exception of Life of Pi. This movie kept winning and winning and winning more awards, and with every award it received, I kept getting more and more annoyed with myself for NOT having seen it...oh well. Looks like I know what I'm doing this weekend!

But now, we move on to more current and relevant issues...chocolate birthday cupcake issues, of course. This is always a pressing matter in my opinion.

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Chocolate and Salted Caramel Cookies

2013-02-20T00:47:00.000-05:00

Here we go again, it's time for another quick/brief/short/hastily-written-at-1-am kind of blog post! Why, you ask? I've fallen behind. Believe it or not, I have a bright aquamarine sticky note stuck to my desk outlining my schedule for blog posts, and these chocolate and salted caramel cookies were supposed to have been posted yesterday, not today. Oops. You'd think the bright color of my sticky note would have been striking enough to catch my attention, but I guess that when that bright aquamarine sticky note is sandwiched in between a bright purple and a bright pink sticky note for several weeks, you just sorta become accustomed to fluorescent colors, and they no longer have any effect on you. That makes sense right? If not, I'm going to keep telling myself that anyway. Moving on!

I'm not only behind on my pre-scheduled blog posts, but I'm also behind on life in general. My independent study project has moved to the back burner for now, and my portfolio production is so far behind that it's not even in the kitchen anymore, let alone near the back burner. Up until now, that is. Yes. Tonight, as in, within the next fifteen minutes, I'm going to open up Indesign/Illustrator/Photoshop (obviously not all at the same time, as I seriously doubt my little Macbook pro can handle that kind of stress) and get work done. Forrealz. It's going to happen. I don't have class until 1:10 pm tomorrow (today?), so it's not like I have to wake up early or anything. It's time for an all-nighter!
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Chocolate Waffles

2013-02-13T00:11:00.002-05:00

Waffles, again! I know, I know, this is the third waffle recipe I'm posting on the blog, and the fact that there's only been two pancake recipes and absolutely zero recipes for French toast (whattt...???) might suggest that I am a bit of a waffle fanatic. This is, by the way, a totally true statement. I've brought you guys classic Belgian waffles and spiced brown butter waffles, and now, I'm presenting to you what I think is the most special waffle so far. It's indulgent, delicious, and super special. I mean, how good does a chocolate waffle drizzled with chocolate syrup and topped off with fresh berries sound? It sounds pretty good to me!

I know I've mentioned before that I used to eat frozen waffles every single day before school for YEARS. It was my favorite option for breakfast, and I liked pretty much every waffle variety that Eggo came up with. Chocolate chip and banana were my favorites, but I still loved plain waffles with good old syrup (and when I say syrup, I don't mean maple. I mean Aunt Jemima's butter-flavored syrup). My dad always worked nights, so he would be home in the mornings and would stay up long enough to get me and my sister to school, and he'd always make us breakfast. Sometimes, my dad would like to make breakfast feel just a little more special by placing my waffles on a big plate, pouring over a really intricate drizzle of chocolate syrup, and finishing the waffles off with a dusting of powdered sugar. It might not have been the healthiest breakfast, but I loved it regardless! It seemed so fancy back then, and it always looked so pretty!
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Red Velvet Roulade

2013-02-06T17:32:00.000-05:00

Oh look! A recipe for something red velvet with cream cheese frosting! What a surprise! I'm sure that if you're an avid stalker of Tastespotting or Food Gawker (which I am, of course- I pretty much always have at least one tab open to either of these sites, if not one for each), you'll be seeing a red velvet version of almost everything around this time, whether it's in cake form, cupcake form, pancake form, and even cinnamon roll form (I'm slightly upset that this thought never occurred to me...). In any case, I hope to add one of my own photos to these food-porn galleries in the form of this red velvet roulade with cream cheese frosting. I haven't seen too many photos of one of these on the galleries!

It's February 6, and I'm sure the reason for recent increase in red velvet baked goods is pretty obvious- Valentine's Day is quickly approaching! I've always found the holiday to be a bit silly, but that's not to say that I find Valentine's Day goodies to be ridiculous as well..in other words, let's closely analyze the food trends of the holiday, shall we? There's chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate, strawberries and other red berries are everywhere to be seen, desserts are often presented in mini form, normally white desserts are magically turned pink, and great care goes into making all foods, even savory ones, seem just a bit more special. There's nothing wrong with these trends, at least in my opinion! Maybe heart-shaped pancakes and waffles are a bit much for me, but that's really the only thing that seems a little overdone. Other than that, bring on the chocolate-covered strawberries, pink macarons, and mini trifles, because I'm ready!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

2013-02-01T03:41:00.002-05:00

My mind is in a whirlwind. I've spent too much time in the past couple of days reading about Japanese architecture, some things about darkness and space (I don't exactly remember what those were about...), attempting to fabricate a physical model depicting "structured cacophony" (we've been assigned to create a model in response to some really, really, really crazy music samples), attempting to learn the dictionary in preparation for the GRE's, finish laying out a publication that should have been completed last semester, and researching affordable housing policy and design in the US for my independent study. Sounds like a lot right? Good thing I've been putting Gossip Girl on the very top of my priority list! Yes, I know, the show is over, and I'm only several years behind, since I'm only halfway through season 3, but that's ok. It's my sister's fault, really.

My sister got me into watching the show over Thanksgiving break, and it's become a guilty pleasure of sorts. Instead of pretending to be interested in upcoming football celebrations, I'm allowing myself to be entertained by other things. Am I watching the Super Bowl on Sunday? Psh no way. I have a model to build that's due on Monday. Will I have the commercials on in the background? Probably not. Will my laptop have Netflix playing what remains of season 3 of GG? Most likely. I seriously need to get my priorities in check. I have homework to do! I have things to research! I have things to bake and photograph and write about! Ah!!! Sigh. One step at a time. Let's start with these. Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars. Yes, I think that would be a wonderful place to start.
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Mini Corn Dog Muffins

2013-01-28T23:18:00.000-05:00

Looks like one of the biggest weekends in American culture is soon to be upon us, Super Bowl weekend! Let's be perfectly clear that football and I just do not mix. Forrealz. It may be totally un-American of me, but I'm sure I'm not alone in my sentiments. I've just never taken the time to sit down and attempt to understand the rules of the game, and my memories of the football games that I have seen are both limited and unpleasant. I've only attended football games in high school and at this past year's homecoming, and both types have been underwhelming. In high school, our symphonic band (which was a fantastic band) was ~~forced~~ strongly, strongly, strongly encouraged to participate in the school's pep band. Attendance was required at a minimum of three home games per season (or something like that), and I dreaded going to each game. I just wasn't into it! My disdain for this American pastime continued into college, and I have only attended a single football match, and it was at this year's homecoming (and I only stayed for about fifteen or twenty minutes of the game). What can I say, I got bored!

For me, I look forward to the Super Bowl for three reasons: the commercials, the half time show, and Super Bowl snacks. Buffalo wings, chips, pretzels, all kinds of dips, and most Super Bowl food items tend to come with bacon in some form or another. These are all good, wonderful things. I figured I needed to supplement my favorite Super Bowl foods with a treat of my own, and these mini corn dog muffins were at the very top of my list of things to make.
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Two-Bite Cheddar Bacon Scones

2013-01-24T01:57:00.000-05:00

I'm currently back at school. I've attended all my classes for the week, and have gone back to my internship. I've also been freezing my butt off while at school because for some reason, my dorm building has no heat and the weather in NYC is like 15 degrees F or something like that. The 20-minute walk to work the other day was horrible. Womp. I'm happy to be back at school, don't get me wrong. My classes this semester are really interesting (I'm taking a seminar/workshop called "Darkness and Architecture," how cool does that sound???), and my schedule works out so nicely (my earliest class when I don't have work is at 1!). My last semester at Columbia seems like it's getting off to a great start, but still...womp. Winter break was just so nice!

Winter break was perfectly perfect (aside from getting sick every now and then). I did nothing, nothing, nothing (aside from the occasional baking project, of course). It was so nice to just take a break from a crazy end to a semester, along with the fact that it is probably the last time I'll ever have four consecutive weeks of vacation again. Sigh. I spent my winter break mostly watching movies. That might sound like a normal, very ordinary thing for most people, but for me, it's something completely different. I've always had a hard time getting into movies, or just watching them in general. I'm too restless, and I guess my attention span is too short. My boyfriend says I'm culturally deprived when it comes to movies, and he's totally right. I've missed out on pretty much all the movies that have made it onto "the-most-important-movies-to-see-before-you-die" lists, so his goal for this break was to help bring me up to speed. We watched one or two movies every night, and you know what...I somehow grew to actually like watching movies! It's like I'm a member of normal society or something! Crazy how that happened.
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Grapefruit and Lime Sorbet

2013-01-17T21:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a funny story. Today did not go according to schedule. What should have happened today was my dad driving me to an oral surgeon's office. No, don't worry, it's nothing serious. I was SUPPOSED to get all four of my wisdom teeth removed today, but due to events out of my control, that didn't happen...although I'm not really complaining. As someone who has never been through any sort of medical procedure or gone under anesthesia, or even broken a bone, the prospect of this surgery, regardless of how simple and routine it would be, was a bit intimidating. Fortunately for me, I don't actually feel any of my wisdom teeth yet, so coming down with a light cold last week saved me from having my wisdom teeth removed...at least for now. I know they're going to have to come out eventually, but for now, I am not going to think about it. Nope, not going to.

In preparation for my post-wisdom-teeth-extraction, I prepared some yummy, chew-free snacks...mostly Jell-O. I happen to be a huge fan of Jell-O, so having an assorted variety of flavors available was perfect. In addition to Jell-O, I also prepared some sorbet. What could be better than eating sorbet while stuck in bed recovering from surgery?!

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