Strawberry Mille-Feuille (Napoleon) 草莓拿破崙

The summer season in Southern California never seems to end.  I was planning to share some Fall recipes with you but my palates and tummy (and my heart, too) are telling me to go with strawberries instead of pumpkin spices!  Plus, my kids don’t seem to appreciate pumpkin spices just yet.  So, I guess I’ll hold off to those Fall recipes until we really get some cooler temperatures.  Today, I want to share with you our family’s latest favorite, Strawberry Mille-Feuille! 



Mille-Feuille (also known as Napoleon) is a French pastry made up of layers of puff pastry, alternating with pastry cream or whipped cream.  The traditional version usually consists of three layers of pastry.  But as you can see, my Strawberry Mille-Feuille was already sky high with just two layers!  Maybe it’s due to the extra fluffy strawberry cream and fresh strawberry slices that I put in between the layers?  Who cares, all I know is that it tastes awesome! 



The puff pastry is crispy and flaky,  packed with buttery aroma.  The strawberry cream is silky, creamy and fluffy.  I added some mascarpone cheese into the cream to add some body and richness.  The cream is only slightly sweetened and compliments the sweet and tart strawberry slices beautifully.  This Strawberry Mille-Feuille is so refreshing and yet, very decadent.




Check out my step-by-step video tutorial below to see how to make it.






I hope you enjoyed watching my video tutorial.  If you haven’t done so, please subscribe to my YouTube channel here.  You’ll be the first to know when I have new video tutorials published.
Until next time, please stay tuned for more easy recipes and fun giveaways.



 
 
 
Ingredients and props used:

Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat (click here for more information)
Calphalon Baking Sheet Pans (Click here for more information)
Mikasa Something Borrowed Salad/Desert Plates (Click here for more information)
Pastry Bags (Click here to see similar product)
Large Round Piping Tip (Click her for more information)
Flower Shaped Cookie Cutter (Click here for more information)
Puff Pastry (Click here for more information)
Mascarpone Cheese (Click here for more information)
Organic Heavy Whipping Cream (Click here for more information)
 

Broccoli with Egg Whites and Crab Meat 賽螃蟹

My Kids are finally back to the school routines.  We sure have a busy schedule this year, from soccer practices to ballet classes, and volunteering at their school; kids are keeping me super busy.  There’s only a limited time for me to prepare dinner every night and I love to keep things simple.  This Broccoli with Egg Whites and Crab Meat 賽螃蟹 is one of our favorite entrée for the weeknights.  It’s quick and easy to prepare and packed with wonderful flavors.  It’s a pretty light, yet decadent dish to enjoy.



Broccoli with Egg Whites and Crab Meat is a very popular Shanghai dish.  Although the Chinese name of this dish, 賽螃蟹, included the word crab; the traditional recipe doesn’t involve real crab meat at all.  Here’s the story/history about this dish.  According to the Chinese Wikipedia, Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧太后) was craving for crab one day.  However, the palace in Beijing is far from the ocean and the royal chef didn’t have any fresh crabs to cook for the Empress.  Instead, the chef improvised by using egg whites to imitate  crab meat (such a brave and clever chef!)  The Empress ended up loving this dish and the recipe was passed to different places including Shanghai, and it became very popular there.



I guess I am eating even better than the Empress as I do have access to fresh crab meat whenever I want!  If you prefer the traditional approach, simply double the egg white portion and omit the crab meat.  I personally love having the real crab meat in it, that just feels and tastes more luxurious, in my opinion.  Either way, I know you’ll enjoy this dish just as much.  However, the traditional recipe calls for a raw egg yolk on top.  If you have concerns about consuming raw egg yolk, simply use pasteurized eggs in this recipe for the peace of mind.  Last but not least, this dish is usually serve with red vinegar, or you can use the Chinese black vinegar instead.  The acidity really cuts through the richness of the egg whites and the yolk, which rounds out the flavors of this dish perfectly. 




Please click on the video below to see how I made this dish.





I hope you enjoyed watching my video tutorial.  If you haven’t done so, please subscribe to my YouTube channel here.  You’ll be the first to know when I have new video tutorials published.

Until next time, please stay tuned for more easy recipes and fun giveaways.


Ingredients and props for this post:
Bamboo Placemats (Click here for more information)
Crab shape Chopstick rest (Click here for similar product)
Wood Chopsticks (Click here for similar product)

Almond Cranberry and Macadamia Protein Bars

How are you all adjusting to "back to school" life thus far?  For us, I guess we’re doing alright.  (I am hanging in there!)  For some reasons, it seems that my kids are adjusting way better than I do.  My body is not quite willing to adjust to the super early wake up time!  Plus, I miss them terribly during the day….and dealing with homework after school isn’t all that fun!  Shhh….don’t tell them though.  If you need to pack your children (or grandchildren’s) lunch and snack boxes like I do, that’s another level of challenge!  It’s not always easy to keep things interesting and healthy!  Today, I have a solution for you on the snack box!  Say hello to these Almond Cranberry and Macadamia Protein Bars!



They are quick and easy to put together and oh so good.  They are crunchy, chewy, slightly sweet and a little salty at the same time.  These bars are the perfect thing to pack into the snack boxes for school or office, or when you are on the go.  You can simply grab one and take it anywhere with you!  I made them gluten free with the brown rice crisps cereal and brown rice syrup.  If you want to make a vegan-friendly version, substitute the honey with an equal amount of agave and you’re good to go (please see details on the recipe at the bottom of this post). 
 


There are quite a few advantages of making these bars at home.  The obvious ones are that you can control what ingredients you add into them and the cost is cheaper than packaged protein bars from the market.  Another reason for making them yourself is that you can cut them into any shapes and sizes you want!  I cut some of mine with a small heart shaped cookie cutter (see picture above).  Not only they are super adorable, they also have the perfect portions for the kiddos.  Ready to see how I made them?  Please click on the video tutorial below!







I hope you enjoyed watching my video tutorial.  If you haven’t done so, please subscribe to my YouTube channel here.  You’ll be the first to know when I have new video tutorials published. 




Thank you for reading.  Please stay tuned for more fun recipe and giveaway in the near future.


Ingredients and Tool used:
Roasted and salted almonds (Click here for more information)
Dried cranberries (Click here for more information)
Macadamia nuts (Click here for more information)
Organic Brown Rice Crisps (Click here for more information)
Organic Brown Rice Syrup (Click here for more information)
Organic Honey (Click here for more information)
9 by 13-inch baking pan (Click here for more information)
Small sauce pan (click here for more information)
Parchment paper (Click here for more information)
Heat proof spatula (Click here for more information)

Taro Coconut Smoothie with Taro Boba (新鮮芋頭椰汁波霸冰沙)

Still remember the classic Boba Milk Tea and Strawberry Rose Rainbow Boba Milk Tea videos that I shared not long ago?  If you’ve miss those recipes, simply click here and here to check them out.  Today, I want to share another boba drink recipe with you, Taro Coconut Smoothie with Taro Boba (新鮮芋頭椰汁波霸冰沙).  I made this taro smoothie using fresh taro roots.  The texture of taro roots is similar to sweet potato, which is very starchy.  But taro root is less sweet compared to sweet potato; it has a unique fragrant and taste that you can’t get from other root vegetables.  With the fresh taro root in this smoothie, the taro flavor is undeniable and very delicious.
 


This drink is inspired by a very popular Asian dessert, Taro Coconut Tapioca dessert soup (椰汁芋頭西米露).  But instead of the tiny tapioca pearls, I used some taro boba (see picture above).  The taro boba are so pretty and unique.  They turned into these translucent purple jewels after they are cooked!  Best of all, they are ready in just 3 minutes.   They have a subtle taro flavor as well. I will list the ingredients and tools at the bottom of this post for your convenience.  This smoothie taste exactly like the traditional Taro Coconut Tapioca dessert, but transformed into a fun and exotic smoothie instead.  It’s easy to prepare and so much fun to drink.  Ready to check out how I made this Taro Coconut Smoothie with Taro Boba?  Click on the video tutorial below.






I hope you enjoyed watching my video tutorial.  If you haven’t done so, please subscribe to my YouTube channel here.  You’ll be the first to know when I have new video tutorials published. 






Ingredients and props for this post:
Boba Straws: (Click here for more information)
Ninja Blender: (Click here for more information)
Bamboo Placemats (Click here for more information)
Organic Blue Agave (Click here for more information)
Taro Boba (Click here for more information)
Fresh Taro Roots (Click here for more information)
Tall Smoothie Glasses (Click here for more information)
Long Cocktail Spoons (Click here for more information)

Ultimate Origami for Beginners Kit Giveaway Winner Announcement

 
 
Thank you everyone who participated in The Ultimate Origami for Beginners Kit giveaway.  Special thanks to Tuttle Publishing for providing the prize.  We have selected a winner through Random.org!



The winner is Ellen Mae Barrientos who siad,
”I've tried it when i was in college. but that was a long time ago”
Congratulations, Ellen Mae!  I’ll be in contact with you soon.

If you didn’t win the giveaway, you can still purchase a copy of the Ultimate Origami for Beginners Kit here.

It’s a wonderful kit not just for Origami beginners but for everyone in the family to enjoy.  My kids love this kit so much and we had fun working on different projects.

Thank you all for reading.  Stay tuned for more fun recipes, video tutorials and giveaway soon.