Happy Valentine's Day!

There may be only a handful of you guys, but I love you all dearly! I don't think I've ever thanked you guys but it's a damn shame because all of you are wonderful, enchanting, hilarious and incredibly sincere. I could keep complimenting but that list would take the whole screen!

It always helps to know that somewhere, out there, someone is rooting you on, despite your failures or triumphs; and when I had a not-so-nice encounter with a certain someone, you guys all outpoured your loving support and it made me happy beyond words. My heart literally smiled, cause ya know... hearts can do that right?

So this Valentine's day I want to dedicate to you guys! Because after all, I ♥ You!

OH, and happy Chinese/ Vietnamese New Year as well :)

And if you happen to be in need of some last minute & easy treats, try these:

The simplest and most effective treat? Chocolate covered strawberries of course! Why not jazz them up a little by coating them in your favorite nuts? Mmmm.

And how about a little bubbly buzz to go with those strawberries? The perfect drink would be these Champagne Raspberry Fizzes. Sweet, decadent and luxurious.

Looking for some good clean fun? Perhaps a nice Valentine's day with the kids or just something to warm you up? Homemade spicy chai; deeeelicious. And how cute are these? Just cut out a heart into a piece of paper and use it as a stencil for cocoa powder or cinnamon :)

And just to spice up your night a little more: some spiced chai snickerdoodles, for your snickerdoodle at home. With these, you'll be impossible to resist. Go get 'em tiger!

Arabic Tea

I am a very big tea drinker. And by very big I mean drink-every-morning, drink-to-enjoy, drink-hot-or-cold, drink-with-a-smile-on-her-face tea drinker. I love tea. I love trying new kinds of tea. When I went to San Francisco, I had the opportunity to try Arabic tea at this place calledKan Zaman. It was ahhhhhmazing! Like nothing I'd ever tried before and so beautiful to look at because of the mint leaves floating about.

After much googling, my friend found how to recreate it at home, and now I'm showing you guys! This isn't traditional, traditional Arabic tea but this is a way to recreate the flavors at home even if you can't find the real deal. It's delicious and if you love tea, please try this recipe!

Arabic Tea

Yields: 2 servings

3 cups water

2 Lipton 'Yellow Label' tea bags

10 - 15 mint leaves or sage (I haven't tried this version yet)

Sugar, to your liking (I use 1 tsp. per serving)

In a large measuring cup, add the mint leaves and tea bags. Boil the water and pour over the tea bags and mint leaves. Let steep for 5 minutes. Add sugar to your liking and enjoy!

Basil Limeades/ Soda Chanh

This recipe is a twist on the traditional Vietnamese drink called Soda Chanh, which is essentially a carbonated lime-ade. At the restaurant I work at, they add some torn basil leaves on request and it's really delicious.

Don't be thrown off for a loop! I was kind of shocked about the idea too... basil in my lemonade?! Sounds kinda weird to me, but I was intrigued, took a sip and what do you know? I actually liked it, I really, really liked it! I think you guys will like it too! The basil flavor is just a subtle note in the background that adds great depth in flavor. Mint would work well as too, I'll have to try that next time. I love this drink especially in Summer because it's so refreshing but since it's never quite Winter in California, I can enjoy this baby all year round!

Basil Limeades

Yields: about 4 servings

Printable Recipe

For the simple syrup:

1 part water

1 part sugar

1 part simple syrup (1/2 cup)

1 part fresh lime juice (1/2 cup)

5 - 6 parts carbonated water (2 1/2 - 3 cups)

small bunch of basil leaves, torn

To make the simple syrup, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until all of the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and store in a container (simple syrup is essentially a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar, so you can make as much or as little as you want). To make the limeades, mix everything together. Serve over ice and enjoy!

Sweet simplicity at its best:

Mango Lassi

According to Wikipedia, a lassi is popular drink originating from North India. It's traditionally made with yogurt and spiced with cumin or cardamom but I made mine with buttermilk, since I had some left over from the Red Velvet cupcakes. I've always wanted to try a lassi, so I just tossed everything into a blender and it was yummmy in my tummy in a split second. Slightly spiced and super creamy!!

Mango Lassi

Yields: 1 serving

Printable Recipe

1 cup of diced mango, about 1 large mango

1 1/2 cups of buttermilk

1 - 2 tbsn. sugar

pinch of cardamom

pistachios, chopped and toasted (optional)

fresh raspberries (optional)

Blend everything in a blender until well pureed. Serve and enjoy! I like to serve mine with fresh raspberries, but some chopped pistachios would be great also!

The easiest way to cut mango for me is to cut around the seed, then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Don't forget the flesh around the seed too, there's a lot left over!