Lemon sour cream muffins with lemon icing

The first time I baked a sheet cake with lemon zest, I was so disturbed by the aroma that I promised myself not to bake with anything lemon-y ever again. I even wondered why so many bakers out there seemed to be in love with that scent.

But I seemed to be easily influenced. I saw many recipes, in which people wrote that lemon cakes/ loaves/ bundts were lovely. Even my elder kid said that he loved the scent of fresh lemon zest. Then magazines said that the citrus scent could help reduce stress. So I decided I'd give lemons a second chance. And believe it or not, now I'm one of those who would buy some lemons every time I see them in the supermarkets, because, honestly, I love the scent of lemon zest :).

What I'm trying to say here is, i believe in second chances.

This recipe for lemon sour cream muffins sounds really simple but it got many good reviews. Apparently everyone who has tried it loves it. I decided to add some lemon icing and it felt so right. So if you do give this recipe a try, I recommend you make some lemon icing too, as the muffins have just a small amount of sugar. The lemon icing is tangy and sweet, it goes perfectly with the muffins.

Mission failed at a traditional bakery

A while ago, the local TV channel introduced an old bakery where traditional cakes were sold. Not being a fan of traditional cakes but I was interested in it, mostly b/c I'm interested in vintage things and I'm a foodie who always want to explore new places for food.

The first time I tried to find the address mentioned on TV, I failed. There were so many street numbers *the same* as the number stated on TV (strange, isn't it?) and none of them was a bakery. Mission failed, and I felt like I was fooled. Forget it, I told myself.

Recently I happened to hear about that bakery once again. this time I also got to know that it was in a small alley. Keeping my eyes wide open, I could find the bakery this time. Yes, the bakery was true to the words. Several kinds of traditional cakes are sold there. The older people must really like this place b/c there are the cakes that have been so dear to them since they were young, especially the cakes made from some kinds of leaves that the younger generation might have never heard of.

Here it is - the old bakery

Anyway, what I expected most from this bakery was not the cakes but some stories behind the cakes or behind the store. This bakery is much older than me. It was opened around 1940s so there must have been a lot of things to talk about.

When I first stepped in the bakery, what I heard was a old woman, who was the seller, yelling at the phone: "How many [cakes]? Where are you? Remember the delivery fee will be on you too!". Her voice sounded cold and angry and I never knew why b/c it was in the morning and the bakery was not so crowded. So what irritated a woman that early on the morning?

The irritated woman in her bakery

Many mini versions of traditional cakes, which are both cute and good

My donut balls with sesame seeds, 10 for 1USD

Western pieces of cakes. Prices are fair.

After she finished yelling, I said I wanted some traditional donut balls (donuts rounded like small balls with green bean filling) and with quick movements, she put them into a brown bag for me. Thinking this was my chance, I started: "I saw your bakery on TV and...". The irritated woman said nothing and her cold expression didn't change either, which was most likely to mean "I'm not interested, understand? Take your donut balls, pay then leave!". I did. I took some more small cakes, I paid then I left. I wasn't angry at all but I couldn't help but wondering why that woman became so annoyed at customers, whose money would become her salary. Angry - no. But disappointed - yes. So I didn't get any stories out of that woman. Mission failed once again.

The cup that the bakery got for its good quality

Anyway, the donut balls and cakes were good. I still hope that next time when I go to that bakery, I'd see someone else with better attitude who would spare a minute or two for some good old stories about such an old bakery. Or at least, a story about why that woman was so irritated - I'm even all ears for that :).

Movie review: "Another Earth"

What if there's another YOU out there? Like when you look at the mirror, it suddenly breaks and that YOU in the mirror just step out and you realize that "that YOU" has been a real human in another world all the time. What will you feel? Will you be delighted, or will you freak out? Then after those first intense reactions, what will you do? What will you say to that you? What advice will you give? Or will you just listen to learn from them? To me, the main idea of the movie is like that, but built in a much better story. Our Earth, the only planet we knew that supports life, has been duplicated sometime in its long, long history. Now we know, and even see, another planet, not too far from us, let's call it Earth 2, on which there's life. And what's more, there are us on it too. Everyone of us. There's you and there's me. Now do you want to go there and meet that you? Will it be a good idea or a bad one?

The whole movie "Another Earth" develops from that idea. The thing I don't like about it is that the story moves quite slowly that sometimes you will want to stop it. But if you have time, or you never mind the slow pace, or you're very patient, then you'll find some beautiful and interesting bits in it.

I like the part when the girl named Rhoda, played by Brit Marling, revealed to the musical composer John that she wanted to travel to Earth 2.
John: why do you want to go? You don't know what's out there.
R: that's why I wanna go.
...
R: if no one wanted to travel to the unknown places, then we'd still believe that we are the center of the universe, that the Sun revolved around us.
John: don't we now? We call ourselves earth 1 and them Earth 2. Do you think they [up there] call themselves number 2?
(the quotes above are not exact b/c I wrote just what I remember)

This part really impresses. B/c many times in life, we really still think we are the center, even w/o knowing it. We want others to play by our rules. We set our own standards and we trash others'. And we don't even realize what we are doing. And if we realize that, will we stop?

Another remarkable quote I've got from imdb:

Richard Berendzen: Within our lifetimes, we've marveled as biologists have managed to look at ever smaller and smaller things. And astronomers have looked further and further into the dark night sky, back in time and out in space. But maybe the most mysterious of all is neither the small nor the large: it's us, up close. Could we even recognize ourselves, and if we did, would we know ourselves? What would we say to ourselves? What would we learn from ourselves? What would we really like to see if we could stand outside ourselves and look at us?

Somewhere in the movie, they also said that we as humans actually are talking to ourselves all the time, every day, but we just don't realize that. But now, when that idea of talking to ANOTHER YOU becomes so visible, what will you think? What do you think you will say to that you? For me, I'm wondering if people see themselves as loveable people? Will they want to be friends with themselves? Maybe not many people can answer those questions honestly.

As I said, this movie moves quite slowly so if you are the kind who enjoy action-packed or fast-paced movies, you're not likely to love it. But if you're patient enough, then some gems will be revealed to you through out the movie. Some more information: Ms. Marling, who played the female lead Rhoda, is also the script writer and co-producer. And she's very young. A very admirable girl.

Watch this movie if you have time, and you'll find yourself reflect on your own image after that.

I guess I'll give this movie 7 stars out of 10.

Dedicated to Michael Learns To Rock

It's been forever since I posted on my blog. Time really flies and I don't know what I've done with all that time. Or if I've done too much. I do miss my blog these days and I want to post something, though I don't know if anyone ever reads it :). So I changed the blog's design a little, just to get some inspiration. I made it look simpler, to be exact. Maybe simpler is better. Or, as a slogan of a product that my favorite Chinese actor once was the model for, "simple is cool".

Right when I wanted to post something, I checked the website www.mltr.dk and saw something new. FYI, that's the website of the Danish band Michael Learns To Rock. They've been my favorite band forever. I've listened to their music since I was a high schooler. Now I'm married with kids and I'm still in love with their music. Actually, I'm not a music fan. I prefer movies and books. I'm not really interested in any kind of music. But I love MLTR's songs. Basically because of their simplicity. The tunes are simple and the lyrics are too. But those simple words are incredibly beautiful. And they always, always have some meanings. If you're in the US, you may not know this band, but we in Asia are so familiar with MLTR's lovely songs like "Sleeping Child", "Paint My Love", "That's Why" etc. I grew up listening to those songs, which must have been 10-20 years old. Many years have passed, but until today, I sometimes still find myself humming the tunes of their old songs like "Judgement Day", "Love Will Never Lie", "Complicated Heart", "The Actor" and so on. Sometimes in this busy life, I don't think of them as much as I used to. But MLTR forever has a place in my heart and every time I hear their songs somewhere, I still can't stop smiling. It's so nostalgic and and sentimental to hear their songs sometimes in some stores I walk in. That really brings up a lot of memories and believe me, MLTR's songs always make your walk a little slower so you can enjoy the simple beauties around...

The later songs of MLTR are also very good, like "Take Me To Your Heart" or "Blue Night", but unfortunately I've never had time to listen to them as much as I did with their old songs. I even listened to Jascha Richter's solo album "Planet Blue" (Jascha Richter is the lead vocal of the band) for a while, but as I said, I listened to the songs not much enough to let them remain in my heart like the old ones. You can't believe how much I listened to their old albums. I listened to them all day, all night. Thousands of times, I guess. I remembered every tune and every word in their old albums "Michael Learns To Rock", "Colours", "Played on Pepper", "The Greatest Hits". I love each member of the band too. Jascha, to me, is always the shy guy. A private family man. He's so artist-y and he's the genius, who I've been admiring a lot. I always think that he's the one who loves to stay alone in a room to think and create; and it'd be a sin if anyone tries to disturb him. I don't know if that's true but that's what my imagination tells me. Kaare Wanscher is my favorite type of guys with his lovely smile to everyone. His smile is so bright and it can light up a room. He seems to be friendly, down-to-earth and nice, the one that can bring joy wherever he comes. I read that he's now also working as an advocate. That's amazing. On stage, Kaare is always the one who stays a bit behind because he plays drums. But Kaare, you don't know how much attention you've got, though you always take the farthest place on stage :). Kaare looks like he's always passionate and enthusiastic about what he's doing. I do really love him. Mikkel Lentz, the guitarist of the band, is the cool type. He's so very friendly too and I think the talents come to him so naturally. It seems like he never has to try too hard because he's a natural artist. I mean, it's like he was born with talents. When he plays his guitar, it looks like he puts all his mind, heart and soul into it. I really, really love this trio and I do wish the best for them always. They deserve that.

Back to "something new" that I found on the website of MLTR. They've just released a new video with their new song "Any Way You Want It". If you have time and want something fresh, please head over this address (their official YouTube channel, I think) to see the video: http://youtu.be/mJ_eFOvFeRs
There you can enjoy some great music and, if you want, you will see the three great guys I wrote about. And you may fall in love with Kaare's smile too :).

One of the wonderful things about this video is that there're some images of Nepal, an attractive country to me. I read some bits about this country in the book "Into Thin Air" (Jon Krakauer), one of the best books I've ever read. It's about the disaster on Mt. Everest and Nepal was mentioned a bit. Not much at all, but it did make me feel that Nepal is appealing in a mystical way. Seeing a MLTR's live concert in Nepal? Oh, that should be a beautiful experience. Yes, I saw MLTR-in-concert once (NOT in Nepal of course), a very long time ago, and I do hope to do that once more. Never know if I can see them in person ever again, but let's keep hope alive anyway :).

Butter cake with raisins – the best butter cake recipe

Long time no postings. Family issues have stepped in and required all my attention. I’ve missed the "online kitchen", but sometimes we cannot do everything we want to…

Back to baking…

Shame on me, I don’t even know the difference between a pound cake and a butter cake. Maybe a butter cake recipe calls for more butter? I’m not sure, but I’ve always thought that they are the same: dense and a bit dry. But I have to admit that sometimes I like baking pound cakes because they are not difficult to put together.

Then I happened to see this recipe… What the author at Rasa Malaysia had to say about this butter cake made me eager to bake it. The making seems simple but the result seems satisfying.

And the result was, in fact, really satisfying. I baked it today. The cake looked lovely, and when served warm just out of the oven, it was so soft and fluffy and buttery. It smelled great too. The whole kitchen was filled with butter and vanilla aroma, fantastic.

I baked 2 mini loaves (20cm x 7cm each) and gave one to a poor old lady. So, that loaf warmed my heart too.

Recipe (source):

      -  2 and 1/3 stick (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 7 oz (200g) plain flour/all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 7 oz (200g) castor sugar (I used 180g)
- 4 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tablespoons fresh milk (I used 60g, I didn’t even know for sure if 60g milk is equal to 4 TBSP or not)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/4 cup raisins + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (to coat the raisins) (I used 50g raisins, but next time I think I’ll use some more)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly grease the pans with some butter.
3. Mix the flour and the baking powder and salt together and sift.
4. Use an electronic beater to mix butter and sugar until well combined or pale yellow in color. (Note: Sugar has not dissolved yet).
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beat well after each addition.
6. Scrape down the sides for even mixing.
7. Add in vanilla essence and mix well.
8. Fold in ½ flour mixture, and mix well.
9. Add in all the milk then the rest of flour mixture. With a spatula, fold in the raisins. Mix well.
10. Pour the mixture into the greased baking pans. Shake them lightly to distribute cake mixture evenly.
11. Bake until golden brown and cooked, about 45 minutes. Use a cake tester to test if it’s cooked.
12. Remove it from the oven and let cool on the wire rack for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Sweet Juillet apricots

The box, after all the apricots have been eaten, is thoroughly washed and used to hold a couple of pieces of cake :)

This summer marked the first time I saw and knew about sweet Juillet apricots. I've always known the big and tart apricots from the US, which I always use to bake fruit cakes because they're not sweet enough to eat raw.

When first seeing sweet Juillet apricots, I doubted the word "sweet". But the box was just too in inviting so I decided to buy one [box]. There were 7 apricots in every box. The apricots looked very "summery" and clean and they were the same in size. I thought one more apricot cake would be baked.

But of course I wanted to eat one first to know how sweet or how tart this kind of apricots were. And the apricot impressed at the first bite. It was juicy and really sweet, so sweet that I decided that I and my son would eat them all instead of putting them in a cake.

Aren't they beautiful? I have also taken a close-up photo, but something went wrong when I resized it, and it vanished :(

Now I know that this kind of Juillet apricots are only grown in Washington (the US) and only available in July. Such a great kind of fruits. Those sweet Juillet apricots really don't disappoint.

Yes, life gives you apricots, which are sometimes tart and sometimes sweet, beyond your expectation, imagination and prediction, but eventually, life doesn’t disappoint. I do hope so.

Milk buns

I'm baking buns and breads these days. Breads and buns are well served as breakfasts and suppers for my elder son. I owe my thanks to my bread maker, which helps me do the kneading and first rise job. Without my BM, I don't think I would make that many buns and breads, because:
- my arms would be really hurt from kneading and there would be no way I could still sit here typing this after all the kneading :).

- I wouldn't have enough time to do all the process as my daily schedule is pretty tight with 2 little kids always needing their mother's attention, and then my work requires time too.

Back to the milk buns. They were so very good. No, not just good. They were amazing. They were soft, fluffy and great-smelling. I don’t think anyone can resist that aroma of newly baked breads and buns. Even when the buns hadn’t been ready to get out of the oven, the wonderful aroma filled up the whole room.

My bread maker my great helper. It was bought at a discounted price

The below recipe is originally from here. It’s indeed a keeper.

Ingredients:

- 150ml milk

- ½ egg (beat an egg and use 1/2)

- 30g caster sugar

- 5g salt

- 250g bread flour

- 5g instant yeast

- 40g unsalted butter, room temperature

I always used butter to grease the pans/tins. But I've just bought this. It makes the greasing become much faster, and I think it helps save money too

Method:

1. In the BM’s pan, put the ingredients in this order: milk, egg, sugar, salt, flour, yeast (yeast should not touch the liquid). Choose “Dough” then let the cycle complete (my BM takes 90 minutes).

2. Punch down the dough to let out the air bubbles. Divide the dough into 7 equal pieces. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

3. Roll each piece of dough round. Arrange them in a well-greased 20cm round cake tin: one piece of dough in the center, and 6 around. Cover and let the dough proof for about 35-40 minutes.

After 2nd rise...

Some milk ready to be brush over the buns

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 190^oC for 30-35 minutes. My oven seemed to be too hot, so the surface of the buns got pretty brown after 15 minutes. I covered with a sheet of foil and let it be baked for another 15 minutes (30 minutes in total). Now the small buns stick together to make a big bun, which looks like a cute chubby flower. I just wanted to pinch it because it looked so lovely :). By the way, the bun was a bit over-brown, but my family like it that way, because the crust was crispy (thin though), but the inside was still really soft and fluffy, not dry at all.

Cute, cute...

So soft and fluffy and delicious

5. Take the bun out of the tin right away. Let cool on a wire rack.

Update: My younger son, who is quite “hard” on food (mind you, he’s still very little :)), seemed to like this bun too. He ate a couple of slices, which is really a compliment to me :).

Another update: Only one piece of the bun was left the next morning. I ate it and it was surprisingly good with obvious buttery flavor.

Will I bake this again? Definitely yes.