How to Make Iced Boba Milk Tea 冰鎮波霸奶茶

If you’ve been to Asia or any Asian community in the States, you might have seen or tried an Iced Boba Milk Tea in the past.  Boba Milk Tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink.  It is usually a tea-base mixed with milk and chewy tapioca balls.  Unlike the regular tiny tapioca (such as these), those used in Boba Milk tea are way bigger in size, it’s dark brown in color and quite chewy.  They are called Boba (波霸), hence the name Boba Milk Tea.



Nowadays, this Boba Milk Tea comes in many flavors in some cafes; such as matcha green tea, mango, coconut, strawberries, coffee, even taro, etc.  I’m a big fan of Boba Milk Tea and probably tried most of the exotic flavors out there. But I found myself always going back to the original flavor, time after time.  Simply because in the traditional milk tea, you can taste the slightly sweetened, earthy aroma of the black tea, and the silky smooth cream/milk that rounds out the drink and gives this drink the perfect flavor and texture.  Since I moved away from the Asian community for many years, I’ve been making this Iced Boba Milk Tea at home for quite some time!  Today, I’m sharing my recipe with you on how to make this authentic Taiwanese drink.  It’s so simple and way cheaper to make your own than getting one at the cafe.  Best of all, you can adjust the sweetness in your drink.   



Here is the video tutorial on how to make Iced Boba Milk Tea.







As I said, super easy, isn't it?  I hope you’re inspired to make your own Iced Boba Milk Tea at home.  hm…since I haven’t been to a Boba Tea shop for a while, I wonder if there’s any new and exotic flavors out there?  Feel free to share with me in the comment section below.  I can’t wait to hear from you. 





Ingredients and Tools used in this post:


Instant Boba (Click here for more information)
Boba Straws (Click here for more information)
Tetley Premium Black Tea Bags (Click here for more information)
Organic Blue Agave (Click here for more information)

How to Decorate Easter Eggs in 1 Minute

Are you ready for Easter?  I certainly am and can’t wait to go Easter Egg Hunts with my Kids!  If you’re having a party or gathering, you've got to check out my video tutorial on "How to Decorate Easter Eggs in 1 minute!" video clip.  Aren't these decorated eggs gorgeous?  Let me tell you a secret (or 2)!  These beautiful decorated eggs are super easy to make and there’s no real eggs involved!  Shhhhh….no one has to know that they are so easy to make.  Hey, I always say I’m not a crafty person!  But if I can make these gorgeous eggs, so can you!



So, here are a few things that you will need for this project.  First of all, the Dyeable Craft Eggs, of course (see picture below).  I got them from a local craft store and they are super realistic!  The shells’ texture really feel like the texture from the real eggs!  Honestly, I thought of making these decorated eggs with the real eggs by emptying the egg whites and yolks from the shells, clean up, dry out, etc.  But, the real eggs shell are so fragile and probably won’t last as long as these craft eggs.  So, craft eggs win!  Also, you’ll need a few floral printed paper napkins, a pair of scissors and some decoupage glue.  The decoupage glue that I used already comes with a brush attached inside the cap, so convenient!  You can also get a nest from the craft store to put the eggs in, but that is totally optional.  These eggs will look just as beautiful in your Easter baskets, or anywhere, really!



One more tip, when you choose your floral paper napkins, try to get one that has the white background.  They will come out seamlessly when you put them on the egg shells.  Here we go, check out my video tutorial below on how to make these gorgeous eggs!





Super easy, isn't it?  My Kids also helped me to decorate some of the eggs.  We had so much fun.  I can’t wait to make more with them over the weekend.  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.



I want to wish you and your family a fun and blessed Easter Holiday!  Stay tuned for more fun recipe, crafts, video tutorials and giveaways!


Tools used in this post:
Decoupage Glue (click here for more information)
Floral Paper Napkins (Click here for similar product)
Natural Twig Bird Nest (Click here for similar product)

Origami Butterflies Book Giveaway Winner Announcement

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



The winner is cristina gaspar who said ”I had a class on origami, in the Museum of Japan, but it was about 10 years and we had no materials to take home, so I have no idea how to make origami anymore, I can always go to youtube and learn, but the book looks really great :) Plus, doing origami is really relaxing, I prefer to read instructions than to listen to youtube!”  Congratulations, Cristina!  I’ll be in contact with you soon.

If you didn't win the giveaway, you can still purchase a copy of the  Origami Butterflies here.  It’s a wonderful book to own and the techniques from the book are really inspiring.  I always look forward to making more origami with my Kids.  

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

How to Make Fresh Orange Jello Slices with Video Tutorial

As some of you might know, I got the privilege to enjoy the fruit from my In-Law’s wonderful garden.  They have Meyer Lemons, Kumquats, Figs, Tangerines, Red Dates, Pomegranate, Guava, etc.  Okay, I probably missed over 5 or 10 of them!  The list simply goes on and on.  One of the fruit that my whole family loves are the super sweet oranges that we get to hand-pick whenever we visit.  Or better yet, we sometimes get a special delivery from my In-Laws when they visit us.  I got a few bagful of these gorgeous oranges a while ago and couldn’t finish them all at once.  So, what do we do with them beside sharing some with the neighbors?  Of course, turn them into Fresh Orange Jello Slices!



It was around the time when my Baby Girl had a class presentation to do, they called it the Star Student of the week.  One of the things that the Star Students share with the class is what they like to do in their spare time.  My Little Girl loves cooking with me, and so she helped me make these Orange Jello Slices the day before her presentation and share them with her class.  With many allergies and restrictions in today’s classrooms, these Fresh Oranges Jello Slices were perfectly safe and fun to share!  After all, there are only 2 ingredients in the recipe!   Yup, you read it right.  Two ingredients!  These oranges were so sweet that I didn't even need to add sugar to sweeten them up at all.  The kids at school loved them so much and many went for seconds.



Come watch the video tutorial and see how I made them.




Super fun and easy, isn't 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.  I hope you’ll give this recipe a try.  Hm….come to think of it, these Fresh Orange Jello Slices would be perfect to “trick” your friends on April’s Fool Day!  But I can guaranteed you, no one will get upset with a tasty and healthy treat like these!      


 
 

How to Make Flower Garden Cookies with Video Tutorial

I adore spring.  It’s one of my favorite season of the year.  I love seeing my newly planted herbs starting to sprout; the longer day light extended till after dinner; the cute (or more often creepy) Easter Bunny at the photo booth in the Mall; and the excitement in my Kids’ eyes when they go for the Easter Egg hunt!  It’s a season to play, enjoy and celebrate.  So, to celebrate this lovely season, I created these Flower Garden Cookies to share with you.



The base cookies themselves are similar to the texture of sugar cookies, and I flavored them with dried and grounded lavender buds, lemon zests and rose extract.  They are packed with the elegant floral aromas with a hint of refreshing citrus.  I top the cookies with some white chocolate mixed with Matcha green tea, which acts as “glue" for the bunny as well as mimicking the “meadow in the garden”.  Then, I decorated each cookie with a dressed up chocolate bunny, a chocolate egg, lavender buds, a dried tea rose, and some rose tea petals (broken apart from the tea roses).  Please see the ingredients list at the bottom of the post for more details and where to buy these ingredients.



I packaged these Flower Garden Cookies individually and shared them with some of my my Baby Girl’s classmates as a way to say thank you for their kindness.  The kids loved them and I was so happy that they enjoyed these cookies so much!  You can use these gorgeous cookies as party favors, center piece for your spring party, a place card holder (between the bunny and the egg) for your next Easter gathering, or just because.  These cookies are great for desserts and afternoon tea.  Interested to see how I made them?  Here’s the video tutorial with the step by step instructions.  Check it out!





Pretty easy, isn't it?  I hope you enjoyed 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 and exciting video tutorials published.  I added a list of ingredients and tools that I used at the bottom of this post.  You can leave me a commend if you have any other questions.  I hope you enjoy today’s post and video tutorial.  Stay tuned for more fun recipes and giveaway.




Props, ingredients, and tools used in this post:
Lindt Mini Chocolate Bunny (Click here for more information)
Dry Lavender Buds (Click here for more information)
Dry Rose Tea Buds (Click here for more information)
Matcha Green Tea Powder (Click here for more information)
White Chocolate Chips (Click here for more information)
Easter Candy Coated Chocolate Eggs (Click here for more information)
Daisy Flower Sprinkle for Bunny (Click here for more information)
Rainbow Nonpareils (Click here for more information)
Flower Shaped Cookie Cutter (Click here for more information)
Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat (click here for more information)
Calphalon Baking Sheet Pans (Click here for more information)
Oval Shape Wood Board (Click here for more information)