Stir Fry

yellow squash + red pepper + broccoli + green pepper + soy sauce + sesame oil + garlic + rice

Six years ago (wow! time flies!), in sixth grade, when I first started cooking, I loved recipes that spelled out every step. It gave me a sense of security. If everything was listed out, I couldn't possibly mess up, right? Now I use recipes as a guideline and improvise as I go. I've gained confidence over the years, and I'm more comfortable deviating from the recipe. So above is just a guide. Stir-fries are easy, really! Add a bit of oil to a wok (or skillet), throw all the veggies in, add soy sauce/a little bit of water, and stir! Then serve over rice. Feel free to add in other ingredients too (chicken, anybody?). 

Smoked Salmon + Cream Cheese + Toast

smoked salmon + cream cheese + toast = my type of brunch

real smoked salmon > salmon flavored cream cheese

simple + little clean up = even better

The Cat in the Hat Cake

I made this cake over spring break! It's a Cat in the Hat cake! I thought of this idea two years ago, and I finally made the cake. It's a three dimensional cake, with a fudgy brownie base (for extra support). There's three more layers of cake on top. I covered everything in fondant (I succumbed to buying already made fondant after multiple failures with its homemade counterpart). Then, I piped black icing where the red and white fondant met to make the colors pop. This cake took me a night of baking and a whole day of decorating! (Let's not mention the dishwashing, shall we?) And of course, I was stupid and kneeled on the kitchen floor while decorating. Um... pretty sure that's why chairs were invented! 

Thankfully, the dowel I inserted through the cake helped keep the cake in one piece while it was in transportation! And thanks to my friend J. who gave me the idea of putting a figurine on top. I had no idea how to decorate the boring red top! I sculpted a small figure of Thing One and inserted a few toothpicks to keep it together and stuck it on the cake.

I made tons of mistakes with this cake (it's my first fondant-covered cake). And thankfully, alcohol (I'm pretty sure you're supposed to use vodka, at least from what I see from all those bakery shows, but I just used what my grandma had stashed in her room - gin) erases food coloring streaks. I spent tons of time dabbing Q-tips soaked in gin over all my piping mistakes! Luckily, I didn't make a mistake with the sign. I freehanded the words with a toothpick dipped in food coloring! 

And the sweetest part of this cake? Getting first place for it at a cake decorating competition!