Tye dye cupcakes

Its true people, these are tye dye cupcakes. I wouldnt lie to you about something this serious! How did I do such a thing you may ask? Well it was simple, and also amazingly fun.
Check this out! How cool! All I did was make a simple vanilla cake recipe and split it up into 4 bowls, then I added a good amount of food coloring to each bowl. I used the gel food coloring, Ive heard nifty things about it, and it proved to be true! Bright colors people!
I made a chocolate buttercream frosting to pipe on top of the cupcake, they look beautiful, it makes me so happy. I was literally giddy. My friend thinks im weird.
Sorry the pics are a little dark, I do most of my baking at night. Thats were the party's at.
Cupcakes like these make the world a better place, trust me.

BAM! tye dye! AWESOME! Sorry, I got a little excited. It happens a lot :]

OMG new post.

Wow people, I just dont know what to say! I know that It has been a while since I have posted... and for that I apologize. Where to begin...where to begin. Hmmm ok so I made these cupcakes! and let me tell you, they were amazing. Spectacular even.Now, these may seem like just regular old cupcakes, do not be fooled. I made vanilla cupcakes, and then I was pondering how I could jazz them up. Dont get me wrong, vanilla cupcakes are amazing, but I was bored. When im bored, I inject things with chocolate, so thats what I did! I took a piping bag and filled it with chocolate ganache and injected it into the center of the cupcake.

Did I mention that I ordered colored cupcake liners off of bakeitpretty.com? They are changing my life guys. I think its love.

Ok so back to the cupcakes, I made a simple vanilla buttercream frosting and piped them onto the cupcakes, which convienently hid the chocolate injection mark. Then to top it off...I sprinkled the tops with edible silver disco dust.
SO PRETTY. It did however get all over my hands..table...floor..and my face. Not quite sure how to explain that one hahaha. So if your looking for a recipe or questions on any of this, I would be absolutely delighted to respond to your comment!

Vanilla cupcakes
The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

(This recipe makes 12 cupcakes, but I doubled it to make 24)

1 cup of flour

scant 3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

3 tbs butter at room temp

1/2 cup whole milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or use a handheild beater and beat on slow speed untill themixture is sandy consistance and everything is combined. Gradually pour in hald of the milkd and beat untill the milk is just incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla, and remaining milk together in a seperate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating untill just combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins, dividing between the 12 cups. Bake for 20-25 min or untill light golden brown. Make sure to let cool completely before frosting.


Chocolate Ganache

12 oz semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream

Bring the heavy cream to a boil, then remove from stove and pour over the chocolate which should be in a bowl. Whisk untill smooth. I then set it in the fridge so it would get thick.

Then I took my cooled ganache and put it in a piping bag with a round tip. I took each cupcake and injected it with some of the chocolate.

Vanilla frosting

I always make this without really doing much measuring

1 stick of butter softened
1 tsp of so of vanilla
approx a little less than a bag of confectioners sugar

I just put the butter in my stand mixer and beat it with a cup of powdered sugar so it is all combined and you can tell that the butter is smooth. Then i pour in most of the bag and oput the mixer on low, then I eventually raise it to full power so that the frosting whips. I try some...and add more powdered sugar till it gets to the right consistance, usually i use 3/4 of the bag. Im sorry that this isnt very scientific haha.

Then I just took the frosting and piped in onto the cupcakes and voila! Vanilla cupcakes injected with chocolate ganache topped with vanilla buttercream frosting! (dont forget the glitter :])

Pizzelles

After deciding that I was going to bake something, I went on a search for something interesting. I think that may be one of my problems. Im compulsory, I decide something, and then im like ...ummmm now what. But eventually I find something that I wanna make, and I make it. Right then.

Making Pizzelles is very similar to making waffles, but a little more labor intensive. But it is worth it, ohh yes. After taking the pizzelle off the hot iron, it is flimsy, and you can shape it into like a waffle cone, or press it into a cup to shape it as a bowl for ice cream or fruit. I kept it simple this time and just left them flat, and sprinkled them with powdered sugar.

Oooo and I remembered to put all the ingredients in this time ; )

Pizzelle

3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
8 tbs butter
2 tsp vanilla (or almond extract)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder

-> In a mixing bwol, beat the eggs and sugar untill light and yellow and think ribbons fall from the whisk, 203 minutes. Add the melted butter, vanilla and lemon zest., and beat untill blended.

-> Sift together the flour, and baking powder. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, fold untill just blended, add remaining flour and fold again until just incorporated.

-> Heat the pizzelle iron. Brush lightly with butter and place about 1 tbs of batter on iron. The excess batter that may ooze out should be cut off immediately. Bake until colden brown. Roemove and cool on a rack.

-> Repeat with remaining batter to make about 25 pizzelles. Straight after being taken off the iron, you can shape them before the cool and harden.

-> sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Wow it is good to be back. After not baking for a long time, I had forgotten how much fun I have been missing! Yeah I know, im that much of a loser ; ) lol. But seriously, these were actually kinda fun to make, even though I somehow managed to get flour & coco powder ALL over me.
But, this recipe was definitely a keeper. It had a really nice coco flavor, and the hazelnuts worked really well pairing with the chocolate. If I were to change anything in this recipe, I think that I would increase the chocolate chips a little bit because, who doesn't like more chocolate? : )
The perfect way to start off your morning: Biscotti and a hot cup of coffee : D

Chocolate hazelnut biscotti
Cafe Fernando

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 egg white
1 cup hazelnuts, chopped
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Method
Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time and beat until incorporated.
Add flour mixture gradually and mix until combined.
Add the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate and mix with a wooden spoon.
Flour your hands (the dough is quite sticky) and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut in half and shape each piece into a 12 inch log.
Place them onto the baking trays and flatten them slightly.
Lightly beat the egg white and brush the logs. Sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake the logs, rotating trays half way through for 25 minutes. Transfer the logs onto a cutting board and let cool for 20-30 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300 F. Cut the logs crosswise to half an inch thick slices. Place on a wire rack and bake for 30 minutes.

cupcake cookies of love

Now, I like cupcakes as much as the next person, but cookies are definitly of a higher calling. ; )When you combine the flavor of a cupcake with the form of a cookie, you have an instant winner. I got this recipe from my tennis doubles partners mom. She is like an amazing baker, and brings cookies to almost all of our matches. So when she made this, I had to have the recipe. They are so simple to prepare, I doubt that anybody could mess them up.
Oh, and they're addicting. Really really addicting.

Cupcake cookies of love

Yes, they do use a prepackaged mix, and yes, I generally would never use a pre mix, but it was just so dang simple! Oh, you could also substitute the vanilla cake mix for other flavors such as chocolate...or lemon...the possibilities are endless.

1 package of yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup of oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Mix together, and scoop small balls of dough onto the cookie sheet. Bake for aprox. seven min(more of less depending on your oven), or until golden brown.
Enjoy!!

Oreos

Oreos!! Arn't they the best? When it comes to eating pre-packeged cookies, oreos are definitly on the top of my list. So when I saw a recipe for the homemade version, I was really excited!
I don't know if its just me, but when I see a recipe that I want to make, there is like nothing that will stop me. Its like a have tunnel vision, I can only see the recipe that I want to make. So as soon as I spotted this recipe, I printed it out, and got all the stuff out, and started to mix things. Then I realize that Im missing the eggs, butter, and shortening. Lol. So then I had to beg my moms to go to the store and get the stuff. : )
Life will definitly be easier when I can drive and get the stuff I need, which will be pretty soon... my birthday is on wednesday!!! : D Haha, EVERYBODY WATCH OUT!!

So anyways, the cookies were a huge hit! They were very rich and chocolatey, and the frosting in the middle was just perfect.

I have a feeling that you will be seeing an assortment of cookie recipes being posted, because my tennis season has started, and cookies are a staple!

Oreos
Smittenkitchen

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies
For the chocolate wafers:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt1 to

1½ cups sugar*

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

For the filling

:¼ cup (½ stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

¼ cup vegetable shortening

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375 degrees.

2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Pickles

Hey everyone, I'm back!! Besides a six hour car trip, I'm all right ; ) lol. Sorry for no posting in the last week or so, my good friend Liz experienced some technical difficulties hehe. But anyways, Maine was totally amazing. Wile we were camping, me and Gwen made ice box cake, and challah, but mostly we hung out at the beach.

But let me tell you, the seagulls in Maine are as bad as the squirrels in new york city. My brother was eating a sandwich just standing around, and a seagull swooped down and grabbed the sandwich right out of his hand!!

There was also this stone pier that you could walk out on. It was so cool, even though my cousin Gwen was a little uneasy with the situation. Good times ; D lol.

The day before we left, some Canadian hippies moved in next to us! They had this hilarious Scooby Doo van!So anyways, just some advise for the people who are the the level of crazyness that I am at: don't try to make watermelon juice. Just don't.

I spent quite a long time chunking, and blending a whole watermelon, and putting it through a fine mesh sieve. Personally, I hate eating chunks of watermelon because it is usually grainy or something. So me, being the genius that I am decided to make juice out of it. At first taste, it was good. Then it tasted completely nasty. Like it left such a foul aftertaste that I almost spit it in my dogs face.

So, like ten minutes ago I made pickles. My moms garden is overflowing with zucchini, squash, and cucumbers. It took me like 15 min. with my mandolin. No lie. Its nice because you don't have to cook or boil anything, just mix the stuff together and pour over pickles, and stick in the fridge.

Easy sweet pickles

• 7 cups thin sliced cucumbers
• 1 cup sliced onions
• 2 tbs salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tbs celery seed
• 1 cup vinegar

Mix salt, sugar, celery seed, and vinegar until dissolved. Place cucumbers in a jar. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumbers. Let sit in the fridge for at least a day.

Idiot cake

I know what your thinking. . . idiot cake? Yes this is an idiot cake, but the best I've ever tasted! It is so simple, that only an idiot can mess it up! Its only four ingredients, so believe me, if there was any way to fail, I would have found it.
So, usually I don't make cake, because I'm pretty crappy at it. But last weekend, by brother wanted chocolate cake, and I caught him almost making a box mix! I shudder at the mere thought of it! Its like my brother doesn't even know me at all! So I stopped him, and searched for a chocolate cake recipe. The thing is, I don't like chocolate cakes that are spongy, and flavorless, some are even bitter tasting. The only way I can cough down a piece is when it is covered in thick chocolate frosting. But then again, I will eat *anything* covered in chocolate frosting.

Making this cake was a so simple, and the results were stunning. It didn't have a cake consistency either. It was velvety, not dry or cakey. Its like a mix between decadent brownies and fudge, but its not dense. It had the most rich amazing chocolate flavor too. The higher quality chocolate you use will yield a better taste, because the chocolate is the main flavor. I garnished the slices of cake with some whipped cream flavored with cappuccino liquor.

I also wanted to show you guys this picture of a mushroom that I took : ) I was so proud of it because-look, how cute is that mushroom?

Then I also took a picture of this really pretty flower, look how vibrant it is! So, I'm leaving tomorrow to go on a trip to Maine, with my favorite cousin Gwen!! My best friend Liz is going to post about our latest culinary adventure some time next week!

Chocolate idiot cake

David Lebovitz

10 ounces (290 gr) ScharffenBerger bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

7 ounces (200 gr) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup (200 gr) sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F (175 C).

1. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan* and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. If you suspect your springform pan isn't 100% water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or microwave), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
You'll know the cake is done when it feels just set, like quivering chocolate pudding. If you gently touch the center, your finger should come away clean.
5. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.

Can last 3-4 days in the fridge.

Meringues Chantilly

**Phew** It worked!

You see, I have never really had any problems with merangue. It always worked out perfectly, sort of. Except for last time me and Liz were bored. We were going to make these merangue cookies, that I have made countless times. I thought they were fool proof! Except they weren't. I couldn't get the merangue to a stiff peak, even though I had beaten it for like...forever. So We gave up, and tried to bake them. Lets just say that we nicknamed them "moon craters" Bleh. They were nastly. lol.

But then I watched Barefoot Contessa. I had to make these merangue things. They were just so cute and elegant! It was decided then. But, I was really scared to make the merangue, especially because it used 6 egg whites. If this dessert took a nose dive, my mom would be none to happy. But thats the perils of baking I guess. Luckily it all worked out great. I made the merangues the night ahead, because they have to sit it the oven for at least 4 hours. I thought that they looked like little bumper boats. Haha.

I was smooth sailing after that. Until a I had to get the berries. My mom flipped when she rung everything out. Berries are expensive! But it was definitly worth it! This dessert was searously good. The contrase of textures between the merange and whipped cream was awesome, and the berries balanced out everything nicely.

Meringues Chantilly

6 extra - large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar Kosher salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whipped Cream with Orange Liqueur, recipe follows

Stewed berries, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass and a pencil, draw 6 (3 1/2-inch) circles on each piece of paper. Turn the paper face-down on the baking sheets.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a large pinch of salt on medium speed until frothy. Add 1 cup of the sugar and raise the speed to high until the egg whites form very stiff peaks. Whisk in the vanilla. Carefully fold the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar into the meringue. With a large star - shaped pastry tip, pipe a disc of meringue inside each circle. Pipe another layer around the edge to form the sides of the shells.
Bake for 2 hours, or until the meringues are dry and crisp but not browned. Turn off the heat and allow the meringues to sit in the oven for 4 hours or overnight.
Spread some of the sauce from the stewed berries on each plate. Place a meringue on top and fill with whipped cream. Top with berries and serve.

Whipped Cream with Orange Liqueur:

2 cups (1 pint) cold heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange liqueur

Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar, vanilla and orange liqueur and continue to whip until the cream forms stiff peaks. Don't overbeat, or you'll end up with butter!
Yield: 4 cups

Stewed berries:

1 half-pint fresh blueberries

3 half-pints fresh raspberries, divided

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon orange zest

2 teaspoons framboise (raspberry brandy)

Combine the blueberries, one-half pint of raspberries, 1/3 cup water, the sugar and zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. The juice will become a syrup and the berries will be slightly cooked. Off the heat, stir in the remaining raspberries and the framboise. Set aside.
Yield: 8 servings

Banana cookies

Do you remember your first blog experience? I do. It all started with an extra bunch of bananas. Yes, bananas. It was like two years ago that I firse stumbled upon a blog. I had extra bananas around, and I didn't feel like making banana bread. I wanted cookes. Who ever heard of banana cookes? Not me. But you know how you can find almost anything on the web! So I went into google, and did a search on banana cookies, and found a link for them in the blog baking bites. I was so utterly amazed at the blog, never having seen one before. It was like a huge cookbook, free for the looking! It was full of recipes, then I found links to other amazing blogs. It was like my eyes were opened for the first time!
So anyways, back to the cookies. These are amazing. Not only are they the most delicious amazing *awesome* cookies ever, they are somewhat almost not that bad for you. Since bananas give them that extra moistness, you dont have to add that much butter. But oh geeze are these cookies good.

I like these cookies best with chocolate chips, but if your crazy like my mom you can add raisins, or nuts, or anything else that makes you happy.
In regards to my camera delima, I think that it has found a round-about solution. My dad has struck up a deal with me. He will buy me a nice camera if I give him X amount of dollars, and do 7 hours of hard labor. . . bleh. Anything for a new shiny camera!

Banana oatmeal cookies
Baking Bites

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, very soft
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup mashed banana (1 small/medium)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in egg and banana, followed by the vanilla extract. Gradually, on low speed or by hand, add in the flour mixture. Stir in the oats (either whole rolled oats or “quick cooking”) and chocolate chips.Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.Bake for 11-14 minutes at 350F, until set and lightly browned.Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan before transfering them to a wire rack to cool completely.Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Icebox Cake

So it all started with the quest to find chocolate wafers. These elusive little chocolate cookies are very hard to find. I gave up and thought that I would never be able to make the legendary icebox cake. So when I was on spring vacation, I was happily shocked to find them in the food lion grocery store. I was so excited that I picked up like six boxes of them(not sure when I would ever get these cookies again) and put them in my moms shopping cart :D But then this week wile doing to weekly shopping, I found that my grocery store sells them too. Oops. Well thats ok, one can never have enough icebox cake! But oh my gosh was this cake good. Not just good, but crazy good. It was just so creamy and chocolaty and addicting. Even my dad (who hates chocolate) loved this cake. Say hello to the power of whipped cream and chocolate wafers! I have to say that It was actually fun making this cake. It was like assembling building blocks. Layer upon layer of goodness.Then you can top it off with some shaved chocolate. You have to let it chill in the fridge over night so that the cookies absorbe some of the whipped cream and get soft.I have never really been a cake lover, but this is the most amazing cake I have ever eaten. I like this cake better than cookies! Well this cake is technically made of cookies, but you get my point : ) My advice- Go make this cake...Now!!

Icebox cake

Smitten Kitchen

Magnolia bakery cookbook

3 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (you could use different extracts to get a different flavor)

2 (9-ounce) packages chocolate wafer cookies

Unsweetened cocoa (or chocolate shavings)

In a large bowl, beat cream, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.
On a flat serving plate, arrange 7 cookies side by side in a circle, keeping 1 cookie in the center.
Spread with 1/2 cup whipped cream, making a 7-inch circle. Repeat with remaining cookies and cream, making 11 layers of cookies and ending with a layer of cream (there will be a few cookies left over). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To serve, dust top lightly with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings.

Chinese take-out party!!

I got invited to partake in a Chinese take-out party hosted by Rita of mochachocolatarita! Her blog is totally awesome, and has great recipes. Her posts are also really fun to read! So when she invited me to make chinese food, I was really excited, but had no clue what to make. Having no experience with making chinese food, I just made a stir-fry recipe,but before that marinated chicken in some hoisen sauce, then cooked it before, and added it back in later. What is so great about making your own chinese food, is that you can make it healthy, and flavor it to your tastes! This was the first time that I had used fresh ginger. And wow is it strong stuff! But what really completed this chinese dinner was homemade fortune cookies!!!

Can you say *amazing*? I would have never thought that It were possible!!! And the crazy thing was that they were simple to make, and importantly, they actually tasted like fortune cookies!! What was really cool,was that me and my friend Liz made our own fortunes for the fortune cookies. We even looked up specific ones for each family member. It was really funny.

All in all, this dinner was a huge success! For the fortune cookie recipe, watch this on youtube. Have fun!

Stir fry chinese chicken and veggies
Food network/my brain

4 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1/2 red onion, trimmed and cut into 4 wedges, layers separated trimmed,
1/4 pound Chinese broccoli, stems and leaves separated, each cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 pound Chinese long beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 scallions, trimmed, 5 cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces,
1 thinly sliced and reserved separately
2/3 cup good-quality chicken stock or broth, vegetable broth, or water, heated
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
As much chicken as you want
Hoisan sauce to marinate chicken.


Marinate chicken and set aside. After marinated, cook chicken in wok. Take out and reserve for later.
Heat a large wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the ginger, garlic, and chili flakes and stir-fry just until they are aromatic, about 30 seconds. Scoop out the aromatics and set them aside.
Add the remaining oil to the wok. When it is hot, add the onion pieces and stir-fry until they turn glossy and bright, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the bok choy and the Chinese broccoli stem pieces. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes more.
Add the long beans and the 1-inch scallion pieces. Continue stir-frying until they are bright green and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Add the Napa cabbage and the Chinese broccoli leaves, along with about 1/3 cup of the hot stock and the reserved aromatics. Continue stir-frying until the vegetables are all tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more. Add the remaining stock, soy sauce, and cornstarch mixture and stir-fry until the vegetables all look lightly glazed with sauce, about 1 minute more.
Add chicken back into the wok, and let re-heat.
Transfer the stir-fried vegetables and chicken to a heated serving dish. Garnish with the sliced scallions and sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Blondies! Plus and award!

Blondies made by a blondie : D These are the most amazing blondies ever. They might even be better brownies! Ahh what did I just say? Is that possible? Yes, yes it is. And the best part is that these are the easiest thing to make. Ever. I don't really know how to describe them. They are like a chocolate chip cookie in brownie form. They are soft and chocolaty and slightly chewy.
I made these blondies again, because I was bored. So when they came out of the oven, I was still at a loss of what to do, because these blondies hardly took any time to make. So with my extra easter candy, I melted down the chocolate, and made chocolate stripes with white and milk chocolate.


Everybody went crazy over these blondies too. My mom went especially nuts because she doesnt want me to make baked goods. Because then she can't help but eat them. And she thinks that she can stop me from baking stuff. Ha! Like thats going to happen.

So if you are ever in a need for some super sweet baked goods, these blondies are totally the way to go. They are so quick to make, and since the recipe is pretty basic, you can jazz it up any way you like! Like nuts? Add them. Espresso powder? Chocolate chunks? Different extracts? Go for it!

Im also super happy because I got the Arte y Pico award from Recipe Girl! Thanks Recipe girl!
Ok so then you select five blogs that you think excell in creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
Im having a serious trouble deciding who to pass this along to, because I think that there are just so many great blogs out there! I guess Il pick. . .

Elle's New England Kitchen

Noble Pig

The Kittalog

Food Stories

Mochachocolata-Rita

Blondies
Smitten Kitchen

8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Butter an 8×8 pan
Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth.
Beat in egg and then vanilla.
Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting them.