Easy Bake Oven?

Easy. Bake. Oven??? No, I'm not on crack (trust me). I've just always been fascinated by this contraption that all these little kids have so much fun with because I've never had one. NEVER. No Schoolhouse Rock, no Easy Bake Oven...boy was I a deprived child. I guess this also can account for the insane amount of enthusiasm I had tonight while I baked yummy desserts with my cousin (with the Easy Bake Oven...duh).

The night started off in the typical fashion was a post-dinner, "Chantelle, do you want to do something with me today?" For the last week or so I've responded with a, "Sorry, I've got homework" or "I'm kinda tired today. Maybe tomorrow" but today I responded with a, "Shootz! Let's do something!" So out came the Easy Bake Oven and a recipe for Shortbread cookies jotted down on a scrap piece of paper. At first I was skeptical about how things would turn out since all we had was the oven, two small round pans and a list of ingredients where "flour" was spelled "flower" and "sugar" was spelt "suger" but everything (well, almost everything) came out better than expected.

The recipe my cousin wrote down led to a "dough" that resembled a crumble more than cookie dough, resulting in some experimentation with the capabilities of this plastic and metal baking machine. I thought a mini strawberry crumble pie would be a cool thing to try out since we had a crumble and a jar of strawberry jam in the refrigerator. Here's my cousin spooning on the strawberry jam!


In addition to the mini strawberry crumble pie (which was super yummy, by the way) we made regular shortbread cookies, a peanut butter and jelly crumble (chunky peanut butter mixed into the crumble mixture for the base), and a cranberry galette (pictured below. It tastes better than it looks ^_^).

Overall, it was an awesome night full of Easy Bake Oven fun. I really wish I had one of these this past year since I was in a dorm with no kitchen *tear*. Oh wellz. At least I know there's a mini oven always ready for me to bake crazy cool mini desserts in. ^__^

So what was the lesson of the night?

Keep an open mind when it comes to food. At all times. Even the cheapest of "appliances" can yield some pretty fun food. ^__^

La Palme D'or Review

I'm the type of person that only indulges in the finer things in life for special occasions. So when I decided to treat my friend Carly, out to a special dessert for the second part of her birthday present (the first part can be seen on my other blog http://niraipatisserie.blogspot.com) I chose to take her to La Palme D'or. I found it a couple weeks ago as I was strolling around Ala Moana Shopping Center with two of my high school friends and it immediately went on my "To Visit" list. With just a quick glance into the store you know the desserts are of the finest quality and it's no surprise that they are since Chef Goto (a former challenger on the original Iron Chef) is the owner.

Once Carly saw the desserts in the showcases, she immediately got excited. She had a hard time choosing which one she wanted, but she finally chose the La Maccha, which is duet of Matcha Green Tea mousse and Dark Chocolate mousse with a moist chocolate cake for the base. The whipped cream, dark chocolate and white chocolate decorations, and the light powdering of Matcha powder makes the cake a sight to behold (obviously).



Even though the dessert was for her, she insisted that I have a bite of it, which I, of course, didn't turn down. The Dark Chocolate Mousse hits you first, masking the Matcha Mousse, while the cake adds complexity to the smooth texture of the mousse. At first, I was a little disappointed by the lack of Matcha flavoring since it was named, "La Maccha" but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was the star of the lingering taste left in my mouth. I definitely approve of this cake. None of the elements overwhelmed my palate, allowing me to experience a delightful balance of flavors.

I would definitely recommend the desserts from La Palme D'or. Even though I've only sampled one of their desserts, I'd bet money that the other desserts are just as good. The only downfall of this patisserie would have to be the service. We were the only ones there and both of the employees paid us no attention. It took a good five minutes of me standing with my wallet out before one of them asked if they could be of assistance. The only time they showed any true enthusiasm was when I placed my money on the counter to pay for the dessert. I guess they believe the quality of their product is enough to make up for the lousy service.

Okinawan Soba

I know it's been a really long time since I last posted anything here, but being back home has been more "fun" than I expected. First off, I didn't realize how expensive things in "paradise" AKA Hawaii have gotten so the amount of baking and cooking I can do has been severely affected by it. But that will not stop me from making things when I get the opportunity to!

Recently, after getting in touch with a friend in Japan and saying goodbye to two friends who are going to spend part of their summer in Japan, I got a little homesick for Okinawa. I wasn't born or raised there (even though at times I wish I had been) it become somewhat of a second home for me after spending three weeks there in 2006. Since I can't afford to make a random trip to Okinawa I decided I'd make some Okinawan food for old times sake. ^__^ AND HERE'S THE PRODUCT!!!


Okinawan food is basically a mixture of Chinese and Japanese food (huge generalization but it's true in many respects). I love the simple flavors of Okinawan cuisine because they are bolder and pack more of a punch than most Japanese cuisine. This dish can be prepared like yakisoba (as shown below) or in a broth. Today was a little too hot for me, so I opted to make it the yakisoba way. ^__^ It was my first time making it so I'm quite happy with the results. Next time if there's a decent cut of pork belly available, I'll make some rafute or soki to go along w/ it.

OKINAWAN SOBA

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
1 teaspoon ginger, minced*
1/2 cup diced meat of your choice
(I used turkey since that's what we had on hand...but I'd recommend pork since it's a must have in Okinawan cuisine)
1 tablespoon dashi soup stock
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon shoyu
Okinawan soba noodles
Green onions for garnish
Pepper

In a large saute pan on medium-high heat, saute the onion, carrot, bean sprouts, and ginger until the vegetables are soft. Season with pepper (salt isn't necessary since you'll get enough sodium from the dashi and the shoyu). The meat I used was precooked, but if you aren't using precooked meat, remove the vegetables before cooking the meat, then add the vegetables back into the pan once the meat is thoroughly cooked. After the meat is warmed through/cooked, add the dashi which has been dissolved in the 3/4 cup water. Since the noodles came with dashi soup stock, I used about half of what was provided since I didn't want the noodles to be too salty. Then add the noodles and cook until all the dashi soup stock has been absorbed by the noodles. Finally, add the shoyu (this amount can also be changed depending on how the noodles already taste). Garnish with green onion and then ENJOY!!!

Easy right? I'll keep playing around with this recipe. There was a little something missing that I can't put my finger on....

*I know that some people aren't a fan of ginger, but I really do think it is necessary for this dish. The bite of the ginger gives the depth of the noodles more depth and a bit of freshness. So for those who aren't huge ginger fans (I can be like this at times) just grate the same amount of ginger and use the juices from the ginger to flavor the noodles. ^__^

~CaKeTenDer Chan