WORDPRESS!

0 comments Posted by Jasmine at 10:42 AM

using blogger was giving me a headache! so I switched to wordpress, which actually works better with my macbook =)  visit my new blog address: 


 

Pineapple Oats...

0 comments Posted by Jasmine at 8:45 AM

I woke up this morning thinking that I need to find something new and interesting to do and eat today... I was reading Lindsay's blog For the Love of Oats, I really wanted to know how she made her pumpkin Oats - she sent me a really sweet e-mail giving me detailed instructions and advice.  Just one little problem, I didn't have any pumpkin! I wish I would have thought about buying some at the grocery store last night.  

Anyway, I still wanted to get kind of creative with my oatmeal so I made creamy pineapple oats:


to make my pineapple oats I used:
  • 1/2 cup milk & 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 3 pineapple rings, chopped,  from a can
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • crunchy granola for sprinkling on top
I combined the milk, water, oats, and pineapple in a pot over med-high heat.  Once everything started to boil, I turned down the heat to just a simmer and let the flavors some together while the oats cooked.  Right before they were just about finished I tossed in some vanilla extract, then I sprinkled some crunchy granola on top for a texture contrast. 

Overall, I was really pleased with my experiment.  My oatmeal wasn't too too sweet, but at the same time it wasn't bland and boring either =)  I still want to do something interesting today - I looked at my gym's class schedule and there a 7:00 pm pilates class that looks like it could be kinda fun.  Hopefully when 6:00 rolls around I will still feel so eager to go!

 

vegetable pasta with meatballs =)

0 comments Posted by Jasmine at 9:07 PM

spent most of the afternoon napping, and then visited my grandmother - who made me eat some fruit. I came home starving, so I cooked some vegetable rice pasta, to which I added some pasta sauce and four leftover meatballs.


It was absolutely delicious, and what makes it even better that my dinner actually had some protein in it! I often don't eat meat with dinner, not really by choice but more because of convenience and the fact that raw fleshy meat often grosses me out. I am really exhausted, so I am headed straight to bed =)

 

Nassau, Bahamas recap!

2 comments Posted by Jasmine at 1:04 PM

I just went on a 16-night trip to Nassau, Bahamas, thanks to my Uncle who graciously invited my boyfriend and I to come stay in his empty oceanfront condo! At first I didn't actually think I was going to take him up on the offer because Bryan (my boyfriend) works full-time and I didn't want to go alone, but he was able to get time off work - so off we went!

we played golf...


spent a couple days at The Atlantis...


took a ferry to Harbour Island...

walked around marinas looking at the gorgeous yachts...


walked on the beach...


and ate a lot of delicious food!...
I really spent a lot of time just thinking about what I want to do with my life when I got back. I am not working right now and I'm taking a semester off from my pastry program to recover, so I have a lot of time on my hands to get healthy, eat well, and start working-out again - which is part of My New Year's Resolution! My blog is going to be centered around my newfound healthy lifestyle, including a lot of my meals as well as my work-outs. Of course I will still be doing a good deal of baking, so I will still be posting recipes and pictures of my baking ventures.


I started this morning with simple bowl of oatmeal:
-1/2 cup oats
-1/2 cup milk & 1/2 cup water
-2 mini bananas
-cinnamon
-a few golden raisins



I had a late breakfast, so I managed to find some things in my refrigerator to throw together. I ate a pita sandwich with turkey, lettuce and cucumbers; I also had another piece of turkey, pita slices, cucumbers to eat with the hummus.


 

Vacation

2 comments Posted by Jasmine at 4:57 PM

...I won't be in my kitchen again until Dec 29th because I am on vacation in the Bahamas!  I can't wait to get back to my dog and baking.

 

Fresh Fruit Tart

2 comments Posted by Jasmine at 5:05 PM

This past Saturday my family got together for dinner, so I decided to make one of their favorite desserts...a fresh fruit tart filled with traditional vanilla pastry cream - they love anything made with fresh fruit.  It was delicious, but since I didn't have any gelatin on hand to stabilize the pastry cream, it kinda ran out the sides of the tart when we sliced it.  Personally, I would prefer to make individual sized fruit tarts because it preserves the visual presentation of the tart... the larger tart is really not the same after its been sliced.


...and for the recipes

Paté Sucrée
1 # butter, softened
8 oz sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
2 eggs, room temp
24 oz AP flour
1/2 tsp salt

1. cream butter and sugar on low speed
2. add vanilla and lemon zest
3. add eggs, one at a time
4. sift dry ingredients, add to bowl and mix to bring everything together
5. knead the dough on the table, shape into a block
6. rest the dough in the refrigerator, about 3 hours or overnight

Pastry Cream
1 qt milk
8 egg yolks
10 T cornstarch
8 oz sugar
(vanilla)
(2 oz butter)

1. bring most of the milk to a simmer
2. whisk the sugar and the cornstarch together
3. place the eggs in a stainless steel bowl
4. slowly whisk the sugar/cornstarch mixture into the yolks
5. add the simmering milk, making sure all the sugar granules melt
6. pour the batter back into the pot and boil for several minutes until the pastry cream thickens significantly and the starchy taste has dissipated
-continuously stirring with a whisk
7. take the pot off and add the butter
8. strain the pastry cream in a sieve to remove the chaleaze
9. cool in an ice bath


 

Magnolia's cupcake recipe & a baby shower cake!

0 comments Posted by Jasmine at 5:06 PM


Its been an incredibly long time since I have posted any recipes or experiments, but I have been baking.... a lot in fact.   My sister's friend is pregnant, so in an effort to get more practice making celebration cakes - I offered to cater her baby shower.  I always wanted to try the infamous vanilla cupcake recipe from Magnolia's Bakery in New York City, so I gave it a go...and omg this cake was insanely moist and tender! Best of all the recipe was sooo simple, it would be hard to mess up these cupcakes.
side view of one of the cupcakes...
all the cupcakes and the cake...
...and for the recipe:

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes
  • 1.5 cup self-rising flour
  • 1.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
1. cream butter until smooth
2. gradually add sugar, mix on med speed until fluffy (about 3 min)
3. add the eggs one at a time
4. combine the all-purpose and self-rising flours
5.  alternatively add the wet and dry ingredients, in 3 additions
6. fill cupcake liners 3/4 full, bake at 350* until tests clean with a toothpick and springy to the touch
7. cool in cupcake tins for about 15 min, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely
8. enjoy!



....as for the frosting, I made Italian Meringue Buttercream, flavored it with vanilla extract and then just added pink food coloring.

 

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