u/PleaseJazmine

i referenced shio pan recipes by Okonomi Kitchen aka Lisa Kitahara, as well as Erin's Cozy Kitchen, & i love the results! got some nice browning, crispy bottoms, & a soft + fluffy interior- though mine ended up with butter 'crescents' lol (instead of the intended, neater, butter holes) ┐(シ)┌ gotta practice more.

also, i did not have pretzel salt or rock salt, so i used flaky salt instead, since i almost always have it at home (usually to put on top of cookies). all in all, this is a cute & indulgent bread.

i'd like to post a video to show the crispy bottoms ASMR style :0) maybe in a separate post.

thanks for reading!

base recipe by Hailee Catalano (cafehailee). after boiling, the yolks are mixed with salt&pep, kewpie mayo, lemon zest+juice, dijon mustard, smoked paprika, garlic fried in EVOO, & Calabrian chilis. i used some of her recommended garnishes: chives, fried garlic slices, & more smoked paprika.

my modifications: i stained the eggs with pickled beets, & added some extra garnishes: pickled red onion, lemon zest :0)

these were flavor bombs that i believe turned out quite pretty~
thanks for reading.

for the past few years, i've been making cookie boxes to give out to my friends. here's what was in mine this year:

chai macarons (crowd favorite)
jasmine shortbread flowers
earl grey butter cookie bows
thai tea condensed milk swirl sugar cookies
matcha pocky (my favorite)

using tea in cookies was a learning curve (i find it easier* to incorporate tea into cake & frostings), & i'm really proud of how these bakes turned out!!

also, i love the colors & had a lot of fun photographing them with my tea ware :0) my favorite shots are definitely the group photo (my arm was shaking from holding up the saucer, surprised i got a clear photo lol), the pocky "pour" photo (my vision really came to life), & the swirl cookie in cup photo (bc it fit almost perfectly!!!).

thanks for reading~

radishes, sugar snap peas, cucumber, salt, a LOT of butter, on sliced + toasted focaccia :0)

my go-to focaccia recipe is by Alexandra Stafford aka Alexandra's Kitchen / alexandracooks. my focaccia isn't very visible here but just wanted to give credit anyways!

i also follow a cultured butter recipe by Elien Lewis aka Baking with Butter.

i cut into the radishes as neatly as i could lol & put them into ice water while i prepped all the other stuff, to give them time to spread & achieve that flowery look.

an incredibly simple snack with high cuteness potential since the colors are so beautiful. i love the textures & flavors here. crispy, crunchy & refreshing, peppery, vegetal, sweet; rich, soft, creamy, & just salty enough.

thanks for reading!

i made a carrot cake recently that used a LOT of carrots, so i was left with a good amount of carrot top greens & peels! i used them up within four simple meals :0)

first the greens:

1. tempura: carrot top greens, enoki, soft boiled egg, & shrimp that i didn't cut to stay straight lol- all tempura fried. i think the greens look so cute when fried like this! i served this with simmered konnyaku, shiitake, carrot peels, tofu, & enoki (again, just so i didn't have to fry it all). dipping the tempura into the simmered broth was nice (dashi, sugar, soy sauce, mirin).
2. ditalini pasta: i blended carrot tops & kale together to make a loose green sauce, then mixed in some mascarpone. then i started heating olive oil & garlic from cold in a pan, kept it on low to infuse, & then sautéed the shrimp with shallots & crushed red pepper flakes. i removed the shrimp & added peas, chopped asparagus, & the al-dente ditalini to the pan to finish cooking, followed by the sauce mix. when it was all smooth & coated, i finished it off with butter & parm reggiano.

then the peels:

3. yubu kimbap using the rice paper (bánh tráng) 'hack': carrot peels sautéed with sesame oil, salt, sesame seeds; spinach boiled, squeezed, then seasoned the same way; yubu aka aburaage is store bought, but i boiled, squeezed, rinsed & then sautéed them with soy sauce & sugar; egg omelette; & store bought pre-cut pickled radish (danmuji) & braised burdock (ueong). all rolled in rice paper & seaweed, & finished with more sesame oil+seeds. rolling with rice paper is SO much easier than with rice, i approve this internet trend :0)

4. gỏi cuốn summer rolls: bánh tráng again, mint leaves, cilantro, cucumber, romain lettuce, bean sprouts, carrot peels, spinach; hoisin & peanut sauce (hungry huy's recipe); fried tofu, & boiled shrimp (seasoned with sugar, shaoxing wine, white pepper, salt). i was making CHONKY rolls.

it was satisfying using all parts of the carrot. i'm still training myself to waste less* food. :0)
thanks for reading!

toppings: gajar ka halwa with pistachios, candied carrot curls, some edible mums petals, carrot caramel

frosting: cream cheese butter frosting with milk powder

filling: carrot caramel

cake layers: my favorite carrot lover's cake recipe by sugarologie

used ~1.5kg of carrots :0) wanted to incorporate as many carrot elements as possible. the carrot caramel was surprisingly bright not only in color but flavor! the candied carrot curls were satisfying to make: thin pieces cut with a peeler simmered in sugar water syrup, wound around steel chopsticks, & dried by baking on a low temp.

some photos included of the carrots & stages of the cake batter because i think they're beautiful.