pear mascarpone muffin talk

Let's talk about muffins. If you follow me on Instagram you previewed my obsession one early morning. I love them. I honestly am not sure how anyone can not love muffins because essentially they are heartier healthier cupcakes, and if you can't appreciate and fall in complete love with the subtle art of baking bread in cup shapes then perhaps you are missing out. i digress. My point is that muffins have the potential to take such a variety of flavors, components, and sizes that my adoration has been solidified. Needless to say, when I came into mascarpone and beautiful pears my heart knew the direction that this combination would take: MUFFINS.

After much scouring I found a recipe for ricotta and pear muffins which sounded amazing, but ricotta is no mascarpone. For those who aren't aware mascarpone is like Italian style cream cheese with a slight sweetness and saltiness flavor. Whereas ricotta is a different variant of cheese that also has a slight sweetness but is used more for lasagna or mixed with other creamier cheeses like mozzarella. After slight tweaking of the recipe, I present :

Pear and Mascarpone Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. Mascarpone
- 2 large pears
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c. butter (melted)
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- brown sugar for sprinkling atop

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cream together mascarpone and eggs.
3. Peel and cut pears into small cubes. Then add to mascarpone-egg mixture.
4. Add melted butter to pears-mascarpone and combine well. Then add white sugar and mix well.
5. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients (flour+baking powder+baking soda+salt)
6. Combine dry ingredients and pear-mascarpone until all dry pockets are gone
 **be sure not to over mix or muffins will turn out hard and not as fluffy**
7. Dole out batter into muffin pan & sprinkle brown sugar atop to create crust.
8. Bake for 15-20 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.
9. Then take out of oven and rest for a few minutes before devouring them with jam :) enjoy!

I am going to try to do a short DIY gift post for those of you that have not had time to go shopping..like myself. Have a beautiful Saturday!

lots of lovee

livin' the dream

This is my friend Michelle. 

She is doing what I have dreamed about doing: studying abroad

It's only been 4 months since she left for Shanghai but she has already established herself as a karaoke master and a part of China's workforce. 

Recent skype chats despite the time difference has revealed how much I miss this girl. 

Looking forward to your return! I have ramen and ridiculous stories waiting for you. 

lots of lovee

ain't no mountain high enough

Tell me you're not singing/humming/dancing to that song after reading the title of this post. Okay maybe just me. Marvin Gaye might have been talking about the obstacles of love but I'm talking about the physical obstacles that we faced hiking the Japanese Alps.

Due to rainy weather my sister and I along with a friend were limited to only hiking 2 of the 12 peaks in Toyama, but make no mistake that we were dying by the end. The endless elevation of stairs and steep hills was only abated by the breath taking natural scenes that we were allowed.

The top of the first peak, which featured a graffiti decorated rest area, rusty abandoned play area, fields of tall grass, and a gusty wind to cool us off.

The second peak was smaller but the greater elevation that we gained provided an amazing view of the entirety of Toyama prefecture as well as the outline of the next prefecture over.

On the return hike we were hit by unexpected downpour and took brief shelter until the rain let up. Definitely one of the most memorable events from this trip and after anticipating it for so long I can say I was not disappointed at all. This hike was the beginning of my sister's vacation time and the start of my second week there. What a way to begin vacation... sore and exhausted, but in full awe of God's creation!

Next up on the recap lineup: Nara!

lots of lovee

{photo diary} Party of One

Phase two (and the bulk) of my trip to Japan took place in my sister's city, Kanazawa-shi. For the first week that I was there I was able to explore ktown freely on my own during the day while my sister was at work. Honestly I expected the capital of Ishikawa prefecture to be a little larger than it is, but I came to love how convenient the city is laid out. Sights, shopping, and eating were all within a 15-20 minute walk from my sister's apartment situated close to the awesome Omi-cho fish market and M'za shopping center.

During my partyofone days in ktown I visited the famous sights including Kanazawa's Castle and adjacent Kenroukuen Garden, which was snug in the center of town; Oyama Jinja shrine, famous for the stain glass windows atop the shrine's highest tower; and Myoruji Temple, a temple famous for it's hidden staircases and trap doors. My favorite of them all was definitely Myoruji Temple, also known as Ninja-dera(Temple), with all of it's secret passageways and perfectly translated tour, it was an excellent 45 minutes well spent.

One of the mornings my sister guided me to Higashichaya on the outskirts of town. Kanazawa is known for producing 99% of the gold to Japan, so naturally everything in that district was covered in gold, gold leafed, or had flakes of gold in it ... even the bread. It's also famous for their self produced soy sauce, and one of the things that they have incorporated it into is ice cream !! Naturally we had to have one at 10 am.

The last highlight of my partyofone adventures in Ktown was their street festival for the Obon holiday. The event included group dancing competitions, singing, fencing demonstrations, taiko music, and food vendors lining the 6 city blocks through downtown that hosted the festival. Thanks ktown for an awesome time and some killer food!

 Have a wonderful Labor day! Mine is spent relaxing, eating, family time, and more eating. CHEERS!

lots of lovee

down to Urth

The Sunday that I left on vacation to Japan some girl friends took me out to brunch at Urth Caffe before church. Since it first opened I have been curious to go could it possibly live up to all the hype but I had yet to venture out and try it because I am a poor college student. However I was delightfully impressed with their fresh menu choices and strong coffees. On their sustenance side, I recommend their heirloom breakfast potatoes, paninis, and brioche bread with jam. As for their coffee I was very pleased with their Thai Red Tea Latte and Divine Spice Chai.

After being in Japan for the past 3 weeks I am still trying to recover from jetlag, which has offered time to download all of my photos. Sadly the heat induced sleepiness laziness has taken away my energy to sort them, but with unforeseen rain and the weekend I am now ready to share my trip with you all. Anticipate!

lots of lovee

LOVE update

If you follow my Twitter then you saw this picture that I took a while ago of my new JewelMint L.O.V.E. separate rings. Since I received them they have been in regular rotation with the rest of my ring collection, and although they would seem inconvenient with their protruding appearance they are quite simple yet eye-catching.

While we are on the subject of love I am pleased to announce... that I am t-minus 7 days until my trip back to Thailand! (i bet you thought i was going to say something else. hah!) Currently my feelings leading up to this trip have been a broad spectrum of excited, nervous, frantic, and tired. Nevertheless God has been/ is so good!

Now I would love to go relax and hangout with friends! Until next time!

lots of lovee

p.s. thank you to those who participated in the giveaway! Winners will be notified and sent prizes soon :)

{food diary} eat with me

1. Mother's day annual eating at Senor Fish 2. First stop in SF: Boudin for chowder bread bowls

 3. Bi-Rite Creamery in SF 4. Lavendar Honey &Salted caramel; Strawberry Balsamic&Creme Fraiche; Sorbet 5. Food truck reception: TheChairman's pork belly & duck confit steam buns w. coconut water 

6. visit to Tartine Bakery 7. tempting almond tarts

I suppose you could say I eat well, but in reality I eat well on the weekends. May has been filled with celebrations! Mother's Day, my mother's birthday, trip up to SF for a wedding, and this weekend I will be in Vegas for another birthday. MADNESS. All this coupled with finals fast approaching I have gotten backed up with all of the things I want to blog about. Get real time news on my Twitter of all these events and more :)

Have an excellent rest of the week!

lots of lovee

show some clavicle

Some people think that legs are attractive. Others think hands are attractive. I personally think the clavicle is attractive. What the hey is a clavicle?  The clavicle, otherwise known as the collarbone, is that bone that juts out a little near your shoulders and neck. Of all of my features I think my clavicle is what I am most proud of. It has the least injuries or blemishes near my arms.

This one shoulder ark & co. dress shows my clavicle. I like it a lot. It cost me $3 at one of my favorite thift stores. People kept telling me I look like a Greek goddess..debatable. My love for the brilliant beaded shoulder detail on this dress... is non-debatable. Mother's Day yesterday was the perfect excuse to throw it on :)

The weather forecast of this week is looking lovely. Have an excellent week!

lots of lovee

{recipe attack} sweet potato cake

Say hello to my little DINO friend! He would like to share his enthusiasm about a recent cake recipe that came his way. While preparing to celebrate a birthday he decided to make a cake for that person. 

Knowing she loves sweet potatoes (고구마/ サツマイモ), he searched far and wide to find a recipe and finally came across this recipe! After converting the measurements from metric, a few adjustments, mashing, and 2 hours later...the birthday cake was finished!

adapted recipe from GreenCilantro:

ingredients...
-2 small sweet potatoes*
-2 eggs
-2 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
-2/3 c. milk (I used 1/3 2%milk + 1/3 soymilk) 
-1/4 c. flour

directions..
1. Cook sweet potatoes to soften and remove skin while hot.
      -->2 options: steam/roast them & remove skin after perfectly soft OR peel & cube the potatoes then simmer in water until soft then drain
2. Preheat oven to 330 degrees F while sweet potatoes cook.

easiest way to roast/steam them: in foil sitting in your preheating oven. may take half an hour cut in half

3. Mash the hot sweet potatoes. When desired smooth/chunky consistency is reached, add milk and mix well.
4. Then add sugar and eggs to the mashed potatoes&milk. Once incorporated, sieve in flour to the batter.
5. Coat springform pan in butter and flour well.
6. Pour batter into pan and bake for 35-40 min. (depending on thickness of cake) ** Once done remove from oven and let chill in refrigerator or enjoy warm with fresh fruit or whipped cream on top!

 *not the orange type often confused with yams. Can be found at Japanese, Korean, or Chinese markets
** depending on intensity of your oven check on cake every 10 min. after 20 min. has passed with clean knife test.

Let me know if you try this out yourself and make any improvements to it :) Have an awesome Friday everyone!

lots of lovee

{attack the senses} transitional

 

 

Who else is fed up with this bipolar SoCal weather? *RAISES HAND* Last week was blazes hot and this week we  are afraid of spontaneous rain fall. I'm tired and my wardrobe is in a big transitional mess. With all this trouble i have truly learned to embrace and appreciate the power of layering. Allowing me to stay warm in the cold mornings and peel off layers as the day goes on so I'm not sweating like a monkey the while day. (not attractive)

What do you do in transitional weather? Is this what "spring" weather is?

lots of lovee

(creds: style-arena.jp, brigit, Karla's Closet, tumblrz, DropTokyo) 

chemistry like apple and cinnamon

Honesty time: we all love Utada Hikaru's english album somewhere deep in our hearts. We also love to think that adding fruit to a dessert makes it breakfast worthy...I am one of those people.

This past weekend I had a staff meeting and a sunday school class to make light breakfast/brunch items for and recently I went back through my older recipes and bread pudding caught my heart eye again! Wanting to make it "healthier"/ influx of them in my house, I added apples and raisins to my original recipe and cut the chocolate chips & half the sugar.

Step 1: chop up 2-3 of your fave apples into wedges and again into thirds (*used red delicious but any will work)

Step 2: In a deep pan melt down 1 tbsp. butter & add apples to cook down. After 1-2 minutes sprinkle 2-3 tbsp. sugar (*depending on sweetness of your apples to begin with. red delicious=2 tbsp. granny smiths= 2-3 etc.) Let it cook down for another 5-7 minutes until soft & then let cool.

Step 3: Spray deep baking dish and line with 1 layer of bread on hand. **Using wheat or whole grain bread adds a nice crust and density to the pudding that helps hold it all together**

Step 4: Pour cooked down apples & sprinkle desired amount of raisins. Cover with a scattered layer of bread to create crust on top on bread pudding.

Step 5-7: Follow the recipe with a few "breakfast" changes:
--> 1. Reduce sugar amount to 1/2 c. sugar added to milk &eggs
--> 2. Soy milk is a perfectly good substitute to milk
--> 3. Increased to 4 eggs and 3 c. milk
--> 4. Bake at 350 for at least 35 min. and let cool & set in fridge.

That's all for now :) Perfect for dessert or brunch! Have a fantabulous week!

lots of lovee

{inspiration}

While purusing my daily blogroll reads the other day, I came upon Margaret Zhang's coverage of Prabal Gurung's Fall collection at NYFW, and she credited Bon Duke for her backstage pass that day. Curious-me dug a little deeper clicked on the link and discovered the treasure pit that is Bon Duke's site and works.

Instantly falling in love with his humor (banana vid) and ability to capture flowing movement of the pieces, I tried to find out a little more about this NY fashion based photographer & found this interview of him. As if this aesthetic wonder couldn't get any more inspiring, his take on eating was so refreshing to hear!

After a long week I needed some fresh inspiration.

lots of lovee

{homemade} cheese crackers

Let's be brief: I love cheese. Though not as snooty as that might sound, I love shredded mexican cheese blends as much as the creamiest mushroom brie or fresh parmesan. I just don't have the financial resources to afford nicer cheeses all the time.

Anyways, the point is when I saw smitten kitchen's recipe for essentially homemade cheezits I decided in my life it needed to be tried. The first time I used a regular block of american cheddar and they were okay, but this past attempt I used shredded mexican cheese and whole wheat flour and they were gooood!

ingredients: {yields around 40, depending on thickness)
-8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 16 pieces
-1/4 lb. (~1 c.) grated cheese
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/8 tsp. white pepper
-pinch cayenne
-1 c. & 2 tbsp. flour*

1. butter+cheese+salt+pepperS go into a food processor. Pulse until small curds form.
2. Add increments of flour to the curds to form larger, moist curds (or until everything is moist).
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it comes together.
4. Form the dough into a disk & wrap it in plastic wrap to chill in the fridge. Chill for 1 hour or at most 3 days. If chilling for longer than 1 hour let it sit at room temp 15 minuted before working with it again.
5. After chill time, while the dough is resting at room temp., preheat the oven to 350 F
6. Roll out the dough disk between plastic wrap until the desired thickness is reached.
7. Use any cookie cutter to create the cracker shapes and place on parchment papered cookie sheet.
8. Bake 14-17 min. or until golden brown. Take out & cool & store in airtight container.
*All purpose flour works but I preferred whole wheat flour to give the cracker a better consistency.


Enjoy your snack! Have a good week!

lots of lovee

Ephesians 3:19

poladroid me, captain!

Happy Tuesday all! Wanted to share my most exciting recent purchase: these Target riding boots! Can you guess how much they were? ...only $13 including tax! whaaaat. I asked myself the same question. Since purchasing them Friday they have been on rotation nonstop and are perfectly comfy for all of this strange cold weather SoCal has been having.

That's all for now friends :) Have a lovely rest of the week!

lots of lovee

Ephesians 3:6-12 

h a p p y a n n i v e r s a r y !

Can you believe it's been a year since the inception of this blog? Of course not! I can barely believe it but I am so happy what this blog has done and become for me.

With this momentous occasion I treated myself with this:

...not really :) I just used at as an excuse to buy these brilliant rings from JewelMint!

This blog (&dear readers) have seen me go through every season. From my very first post about why I decided to start blogging; the amazing things God has done in my life; to my evolution of outfit posts; some of my greatest cooking feats (1,2,3,4); my mission trip to Thailand (photodiaries ichi,ni, san); and all throughout my current time in Uni.

Thank you for being a part of my life for the past year.

lots of lovee

John 14:27

the w e e k e n d e r.

 

trip to Museum of Contemporary Art; quality friend time; 

super yums thai food @TheRusticSpoon in Hollywood; chill backyard bbq 

This weekend felt so laid back even though I was driving everywhere with a million things on my mind. Spending quality time with far away friends was an extra bonus :)

Have a wonderful start of the week!

lots of lovee

(creds: @themichmak #instagram)