Zinfandel Grape Juice

For non-alcoholics only. 

I don't know about you, but I absolutely abstain from buying bottled juice such as Welch's. I just like everything fresh and made from scratch. I prefer to drink juice that I know does not require preservatives to remain fresh. Hence, I blended some Zinfandel (or I think they are, or maybe Merlot or some other cousin... they all look alike!) grapes which are meant for wine, but hey, I haven't gotten interested in wine tasting just yet, and secondly, I want to stay sober for morning breakfast.

Anyhow, here's what I did. I blended on high setting a plate full of grapes. You're probably thinking, there are a bunch of grape seeds and skins blended all together! I purposely kept the seeds and skins because of the high antioxidant content, and I personally believe it's a better choice than grape seed extract. Although the juice had a fair level of crunchy bits of seeds, it was actually quite tolerable when chilled with ice and paired with a snack. Well, cheers to a good morning!

Mini Hubbard Squash [Pumpkin] Pies

Same recipe as the Fresh Hubbard Squash Pie, but I decided to make miniature pies because they are easier to serve (I don't have to eyeball the size of the pie slice while serving, or who gets the bigger piece... equality for the win!) Oh yeah, I decided to eliminate the 1/4 tsp of ginger... too spicy for my liking, and I baked for 25 minutes. Anyways, pie says, "Mini me!"

Fresh Hubbard Squash [Pumpkin] Pie

My auntie gave me a huge 10-pound squash that she grew in her backyard, and I was like, how should I consume 10 pounds of squash?! I didn't even know the name of this squash (I thought it was just a bizarre-looking giant pumpkin from another planet), and I didn't know how to look up recipes because I couldn't even get the name right. After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that it is similar to a hubbard squash; I might have been wrong, but the squash needed to be eaten soon. Since, it's October and pumpkin season, might as well try to make a "pumpkin" pie out of it. The unnamed squash finally got its name.

Ingredients for the Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, sliced

1/2 cup ice cold water

How to Make Pie Crust:

1. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. You can do this by hand.

2. Add butter.

3. Add ice cold water.

4. Mold together into a ball.

5. Put the dough in the refrigerator (or freezer).

Ingredients for the Pie Filling:

1 3/4 cup hubbard squash

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 egg

1 cup evaporated milk

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

How to Make Pie Filling:

1. Slice a hubbard squash in half.

 2. Place half a hubbard squash onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour.

3. Let the squash cool completely before processing in a blender.

4. Then, pour the squash puree into a strainer over a bowl. Cover and let drip in refrigerator overnight.  

5. Combine 1 3/4 cup hubbard squash and the rest of the pie filling ingredients in a mixer.

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6. Take out the dough and roll it out on a floured surface. Use your pie pan as a stencil to cut out the dough. Mold the dough into the pie pan.

7. Pour the pie filling into the pie crust.

8. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 50 minutes.

Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

I had a two-pound bag full of San Francisco Bay French Roast grounded coffee beans. I wanted to get rid of it after drinking the same hot coffee with milk over and over again. After reading this post, http://www.putaringonannie.com/2013/08/cold-brew-iced-coffee.html#more, I knew just how to get rid of the coffee. Yes. Cold brew is my new obsession. It tastes way better, since it is less acidic and more sweet than hot brew (in which the hot water causes a chemical reaction in the process that makes the coffee more bitter). And the steps are really easy to follow:

Ingredients

1 cup grounded coffee beans

2 cups cold water

How to Make

1. In a lid container, pour the 1 cup grounded coffee beans and 2 cups cold water. Stick it in the fridge and let soak overnight.

2. Place a coffee filter over a sieve. Pour the grounded coffee beans + cold water mixture through the sieve into another container.

3. Let drip. (This takes a while, so be patient!)

4. Serve with ice, milk, etc.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Double the chocolate! Easy to make!

Ingredients for the Cupcakes

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 tsp salt

4 1/2 tsp butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

How to Make the Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix butter and sugar.

3. Add vanilla and egg.

4. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt into the batter and mix until incorporated.

5. Bake for 15 minutes in a prepared or lined muffin pan. Let cool completely before decorating.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp butter, softened

1/2 (4-oz.) cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp milk

How to Make the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer.

2. Add the unsweetened cocoa powder and butter.

3. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.

Green Tea Cake

Birthday cake for my mom! I fashioned the green tea cake into a pumpkin shape to celebrate the season.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

½ tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 Tbsp matcha powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

How to Make

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix the butter, eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla.

3. Then mix the all-purpose flour, matcha powder, and baking powder.

4. Pour batter into a prepared cake pan.

5. Bake for 1 hour and let cool before decorating.

How to Decorate

I made a cream cheese frosting for the outer pumpkin layer (orange) using the recipe from 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-Cheese-Frosting-II/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=cream%20cheese%20frosting&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1. 

To get an orange color, add 2 drops of red food coloring per 3 drops yellow food coloring. Keep on adding drops until you reach an orange shade you like.

For the pumpkin stem (green), I used an electric mixer and blended 180 g heavy whipping cream and 20 g sugar on high setting. I added about 10 drops of green food coloring. I placed a cylinder in the middle of the pumpkin so that the frosting was molded into a stem-like shape.

Crème brûlée

I made crème brûlée! Exciting that I accomplished this after one failed attempt, where I ran out of heavy cream and instead substituted evaporated milk + whole milk. BIG MISTAKE! I thought that the high fat content of evaporated milk + whole milk would make the crème brûlée set, but I was wrong- it looked and tasted like eggnog. The lesson learned: heavy cream sets the crème brûlée. 

Given I did not have a kitchen torch, I had no other choice other than to use the broil function of my oven. I was afraid of broiling the crème brûlée, thinking it could overbroil and start a fire. But I really wanted to make a legit crème brûlée, so I ended up broiling it to create a nice sugary crust on top. The end result was fantastic.

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 tsp vanilla

3 egg yolks (separate the eggs)

3 tbsp sugar (for the crème brûlée)

1/2 tbsp sugar (for each crème brûlée ramekin)

How to make:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Medium-low heat the cream and vanilla until simmering (not boiling because you don't want to cook the eggs later when you mix it in!)

3. Whip the egg yolks with the 3 tbsp sugar.

4. Strain the cream.

5. Add the cream while whipping the egg yolks on low setting.

6. Prepare hot water bath (fill the pan halfway with water) and place ramekins.

7. Bake for 30 minutes.

8. Refrigerate.

9. Take out the cooled crème brûlée and lightly spread 1/2 tbsp of granulated sugar on top of each ramekin. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet or baking pan.

10. Broil on high setting for about 4-5 minutes. (I put the pan of ramekins on the second to top oven rack). Watch the oven carefully to avoid overheating. Do not leave the oven unattended.

Coconut Melon Juice

Melon + coconut juice is delight.

I recently bought a 9-pack box of young coconuts at 99 Ranch for $10 dollars. Such a great deal! So after I sipped all the yummy coconut water, I didn't want to waste the coconut flesh inside. I decided to incorporate the coconut flesh into the melon juice, and it is such a great treat right after a run in the summer heat.

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 (1-inch) slices of honeydew melon

1 young coconut meat

How to Make: 

1. Scoop out all the coconut meat from 1 young coconut.

2. Blend the coconut meat first.

3. Then, add the honeydew melon, blending on high variable setting.

Enjoy!

Mango Pudding with Real Mango [真正的芒果布丁]

My first cooking video ever! (I apologize for the camera shaking... I recorded the video while making the pudding :) Anyways, I love the authentic taste of this pudding, and it's really easy to make- it takes only 3 MINUTES (just kidding, the video itself is ;). One time I made mango pudding with mango jelly-- it came in an instant packet-- and it tasted too sugary for my liking. Another time I tried substituting Kern's Mango Nectar for the purée, and it also tasted overly sweet and artificial. Then I made the pudding with mangoes I bought from 99 Ranch Market, which were super cheap this year- about $6.99 for 8 mangoes. So finally I learned my lesson... just get a real mango!

Junior's [New York] Cheesecake [紐約芝士蛋糕]

I really miss New York and the Junior's original cheesecake I tried there, so I made the cake. Let's be honest, it's NOT the exact Junior's cheesecake slice. There are many variations I added such as baking in a small loaf pan (hence, the slice came out rectangular and the bottom layer so thick), not wrapping the pan with aluminum foil (whoops, forgot to follow the instructions!), and using regular sized eggs (not extra large). I ended up making a double layer chiffon + cheese cake! Nonetheless, it was so yummy and not too sweet. It was truly a taste of New York all the way in Cali.

Anyways, here's what I did. I wanted a smaller cake so I halved the recipe and added some variations:

Ingredients for Thin Sponge Cake (bottom layer)

1/4 cup sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 drops pure lemon extract

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Part A. How to make the Thin Sponge Cake (bottom layer)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl.

3. Beat the egg yolks in an electric mixer on high for 3 minutes, gradually adding the 1/4 cup of sugar. Continue beating until thick light-yellow ribbons form in the bowl, about 5 minutes more.

4. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extract.

5. Stir in the flour/ baking powder/ salt. 

6. Blend the butter.

7. In a separate bowl using the electric mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high until frothy.

8. Gradually add the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

9. Stir about 1/3 cup of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining egg whites.

10. Place in pan.

11. Bake for about 10 minutes, until center of cake springs back when lightly touched.

12. Cool the cake while making Part B, the Cheesecake Filling (upper layer). Do not remove cake from pan.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Filling (upper layer)

(2) 8 ounce packages cream cheese (regular with fat, preferably Philadelphia brand) at room temperature

½ cup + 1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

½ tablespoon (1 1/2 tsp) pure vanilla extract

2 extra large eggs

6 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Part B. How to make the Cheesecake Filling (upper layer)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the baking pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with foil, covering the bottom and extending up the sides. 

2. Place one 8-ounce package of cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp cornstarch in a large bowl.

3. Beat with an electric mixer ON LOW until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.

4. Beat in the remaining one 8-ounce package of cream cheese.

5. Increase the mixer speed ON HIGH and beat in the remaining 1/2 cups of sugar, then beat in the vanilla.

6. Blend in the eggs.

7. Blend in the heavy cream.

8. At this point, mix the filling only until completely blended. Don't overmix.

9. Place baking pan in a hot (not boiling) water bath- fill a larger pan than the one you're baking in with hot water about 1 inch deep (or about half the height of the baking pan).

10. Bake for about 1 hour or until light brown. (the recipe tells you to bake until the center barely jiggles when you shake the pan).

11. Cool outside completely before placing in the refrigerator. Let cool overnight before serving.

Flan

I finally got to make this flan! So smooth, fragrant, and yummy!

I followed the recipe on http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spanish-flan/ but added a hot water bath for baking the flan.

Ingredients:

Group A:

3 eggs

1 can evaporated milk

1 can condensed milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Group B:

1 cup white sugar

Directions:

1. Mix Group A (3 eggs + 1 can evaporated milk + 1 can condensed milk + 1 tbsp vanilla extract) together in an electric mixer or a blender for the flan mixture.

2. Heat Group B (1 cup white sugar) on a stove, medium heat to make caramel layer.

3. IMMEDIATELY pour caramel into ramekins/ ceramic bowls/ glass bowls before the caramel hardens.

4. After the caramel hardens, pour the flan mixture into the bowls.

5. Prepare a HOT water bath in a larger baking pan that can hold all the bowls like this:

*Pour hot water about 1 inch deep. (I used a large casserole pan).

6. Place in oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 50-60 minutes. (Mine was done in 50 minutes).

7. Remove from oven and INVERT the flan- may need to run a knife along the edges of the flan to invert it easier. Serve hot or place in fridge.

Next time, I want to learn to make "Impossible" Cake, or Chocoflan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teaW5-8CmUE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJHK9sm6WLY