Brown Sugar Coconut Bubble Tea

I have an unadulterated love for chewy things. Chewy bread is my first love. Chewy desserts are second up and probably the reason why I navigate myself towards tapioca pearls and mochi cake.
I saw this recipe and I made it immediately, mostly for the fact that it reminds me of one of my favorite Vietnamese dessert/ drinks called "Suong Sa." It's basically a lightly sweetened coconut milk based drink filled with grass jelly and tapioca pearls. That's probably why I love tapioca pearls so much, because a LOT of Vietnamese desserts use tapioca pearls and I grew up chewing on the stuff and now it's my crack!

See how pretty they are? Glassy, gelatinous and chewy. This drink was really good, and almost exactly like my favorite Vietnamese drink! I really loved it. Next time, I'll probably add some grass jelly to complete it. The coconut milk makes it really smooth and rich, so the fact that it's lightly sweetened is smart, because it could get very heavy, very easily.

Mmmm, rich & refreshing!

Brown Sugar Coconut Bubble Tea

Yields: 2 servings

Adapted from here.

1/2 cup large pearl tapioca

1 tbsn. honey

2 tbsn. brown sugar

1 cup black tea, cold

1 cup ice

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup almond milk, or regular milk

Cook the tapioca pearls according to the directions on the package, drain, then stir in the brown sugar and honey. To make the bubble tea, combine the black tea, coconut milk and almond milk. Divide the ice and tapioca pearls (along with the syrup) among two tall glasses, then top with the tea. Add more sugar if desired.

Guava-Orange Margaritas

I'm heading to Cancun this Sunday and even though it will not be an escape from this wretchedly hot weather we've been having in Southern California, at least I'll be greeted with crystal clear waters and the luxurious amenities of an all-inclusive resort. All I can say is, I'm going to be drinking a lot of girly, tropical drinks and no, I'm not ashamed to admit it. You know what they say... when in Rome, or in this case... when in Cancun.

Anyways, I can't wait for bottomless margaritas and pina coladas, and hopefully they'll be as tasty as this margarita here ;)

Guava-Orange Margaritas

Yields: 8 1/2 cups

Adapted from here.

2 cups orange juice 

2 cups tequilla

1 cup grand marnier

3 cups guava puree

coarse sugar, such as turbinado, for rims

Combine everything in a large pitcher. Refrigerate until chilled. 

Mint Lemon Drops

Gosh, I just don't know what's up with me! I just haven't been in the mood to blog much lately, and cook/ bake really either. I mean of course, I've been cooking and baking, but mainly out of necessity and even then, I haven't had the chance to photograph any of it - for months! Hopefully I'll be out of my slump soon, but until then, I have a couple backlogged posts that will be showing up.

To me, mint and lemon is the perfect summer combination and whether its summer or not, this cocktail is so simple that it's the perfect porch sipper. It's January for peet sakes and we've been having uncomfortable warm weather - uncomfortable mainly for me because I'm longing for a cold, rainy winter  where I can don scarves and boots. But might as well make the best of it with something like this to sip on!

Mint Lemon Drops

Yields: 1 serving

2 shots vodka

1 large lemon, juiced

1 tbsn. sugar

1 bunch of mint leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra for serving

lemon wheels or twists, for serving

In a shaker filled with ice, add the vodka, lemon juice, sugar and mint. Shake vigorously for about 1 - 2 minutes until very cold and combined. Strain into a martini glass. Top off with a lemon wheel, twist or fresh mint. You can also sugar the rim, if desired. 

Summer Tequila Coolers

Friday marks the start of the weekend... so you know what that means! C-O-C-K-T-A-I-L time!

I love this because it's super easy to whip up. Just throw everything together and the ingredients are pretty low-key. Every time I see a delicious cocktail I want to try out, it ends up having endless amounts of liqueurs that I don't have on hand of exotic ingredients that I don't even know where to find. Pineapple juice is almost always on hand since I keep some cans in my pantry and you can literally throw any kind of fruit you want in these! Add a stipey straw and I'm ready for a fun weekend...

Summer Tequila Coolers

Yields: 1 cocktail

Adapted from here.

3 oz. fresh pineapple juice

2 oz. blanco tequila

1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

fresh fruit (I used peaches but raspberries, kiwi or mango would be lovely)

Combine the pineapple juice, tequila and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Add some ice, shake, strain into rocks glass full of ice. Garnish with spear of pineapple and some fresh fruit.

Lychee Martinis

A little libation for your Friday?

Lychee martinis are one of my ultimate favorites. If you've never heard of the lychee, it's a fruit that comes from Asia that's sweet and a bit floral-y. Besides the mango, it's one of my favorite fruits ever! Please enjoy your Friday with one of these - sure makes them go by faster :)

Lychee Martini

Yields: 2 servings

Original recipe here

.

1/2 oz. dry vermouth

3 oz. gin or vodka

2 oz. lychee juice, strained from pureed lychees (optional)

2 oz. lychee syrup, from canned lychees

2 whole lychees, for garnish

Fill a cocktail halfway with ice. Add the vermouth, gin/ vodka, lychee juice and lychee syrup. Shake thoroughly until well chilled, strain into two chilled martini glasses and garnish with the whole lychees.

Spicy Bloody Marys

I love me a good spicy bloody mary. I usually hate, hate, hate vodka but for bloody marys, I make the exception. For bloody marys, I love, love, love vodka! Oh, and I'd never thought I would say that... ever. Vodka + tomatoes + spices just seem to make the loveliest concoction don't they? 

See, above and below; the combination of vodka + tomatoes just works. In all situations, at all times of the day! That's why bloody marys are offered alongside breakfast. It's just a well known fact that when you add tomato juice and spices to vodka, it completely negates the fact that you're drinking alcohol in the wee hours of the morning... or at least that's what we'd like to tell ourselves huh?

If you're still doubtful about drinking vodka in the morning, just think of the bloody mary as a well balanced meal! It's full of nutritious tomato juice, sinus clearing horseradish, and crunchy celery. Actually vodka itself is considered great for blood circulation and debatably, a shot a day is therapeutic - but the jury is still out on that one!

For things that I don't like (vodka and tomato juice), I'm pretty surprised by how much I love bloody marys. So, if you are doubtful, I urge you to at least try it before knocking it. It's deliciously tangy, spicy, and has this kick that makes you crave for more!

Loving my 'limited edition' glass ball looking Absolut Vodka bottle. Makes drinking all the more fun!

The Perfect Bloody Mary

Yields: about 8 - 10 servings

Adapted from here.

For the bloody mary:

1 quart (4 cups) tomato juice

1/4 cup + 1 tbsn. cream style horseradish

1/4 cup + 2 tbsn. worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp. salt

 1 1/2 tbsn. tabasco (any hot sauce will do though)

1/4 cup + 2 tbsn. lime juice

1/4 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tbsn. fresh grated fresh onion

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 cups vodka

For garnish (all optional):

kalamata olives

cocktail olives
blue cheese stuffed olives - my favorite

celery sticks

sliced jalapenos

lime wedges

cocktail onions

pepperoncini

cornichons 

Mix all the ingredients in a large pitcher and pour over ice in a cocktail glass. If you want to make this ahead of time as a mix, combine everything except the vodka and store in a closed container or jar. When ready to use, add the vodka and serve over ice. Add a stick of celery, slice of jalapeno and/ or olives to garnish.

As you can see, I had a little toooo much fun with my chalkboard poster board.

It's the simplest + cheapest food photography prop ever! Just a can of chalkboard spray paint + a large posterboard and you've got an instant blank canvas for whatever your mind thinks up!

Strawberry-Lychee Aguas Frescas

When there's a good deal, it's human nature to just jump on it. So when I saw strawberries at my local market for 99 cents a pack, I kind of just went crazy and bought a couple. They looked pretty red, firm and fresh but when I brought them home... they were just meh. Not sweet and definitely not the best tasting strawberries. I couldn't eat them and I definitely couldn't bake with them... so what's a girl to do?

Since I've kind of been obsessed with green monster smoothies, I wanted to make some kind of delicious drink with the berries. If you've never had aguas frescas, find yourself some immediately! Or, at least make yourself some - it's super simple. I threw the berries, some lychees and some lychee syrup into a blender, along with some water. A couple whizzes and it was all done! A simple, slightly sweet juice - perfect for the hot weather we've been having.

Strawberry-Lychee Aguas Frescas
Yields: about 4 cups


2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and roughly chopped
1 cup canned lychees
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 - 1 cup lychee syrup (reserved from can)


In a blender, combine the strawberries, lychees and water. Blend until completely smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the lychee syrup and blend to combine. Taste, and depending on how sweet your strawberries are or how sweet you want your aguas frescas to be, add more lychee syrup to taste. Chill in the refrigerator until cold. Serve over ice.

Green Monster Smoothies

I'm sure I've mentioned before in this little space that I like to call home that my dad has diabetes. For a while, he didn't even know he had it since he's led such an active life to balance out his tendencies towards ice cream and pound cake (often combined -___-). But since then, it's been a constant struggle for him to keep his blood sugar at the appropriate levels. Drastic measures have been taken in the form of daily injections; ick, which I might add: have not been helping whatsoever! I bake a lot of devilish, completely moreish things here at my humble blog, but other times, I really love to dabble in healthy cooking and baking.

I don't believe at all that things that taste good can't be good for you. I've been on a mission lately to find these things and I can say, happily, that I am well on my way to finding great alternatives for my dad. The thing is, he's a picky fella - he refuses to eat leftovers and gets bored easily, which, I must say, is okay by me since I like to reinvent, reinterpret and try new things anyhow. 

But all in all, this is just me saying that there will be a lot more things on this blog rather than decadent sweets. But, again, this is me saying that I will always be committed to delicious food. So if it doesn't taste as good as it is good for you, then it will be sent back to when dinosaurs roamed the earth!

Anyways, onto this green monster smoothie. You've seen it; you might have cringed a bit at the thought of it. It's green and healthy and has spinach in it and has all the signs that tell you to click out of the page and wander off to find a cookie somewhere. This is where I tell you to take a deep breath, allow the thought to cross your mind, and let it settle there. This magical world that we live in has found in its right mind to allow the combination of spinach, orange juice, pear and honey to be something so, so incredibly delicious. Make it, drink it, love it - just like I have been for the past week (and my dad too)!

Green Monster Smoothie

Yields: 2 servings

2 heaping cups of baby spinach leaves

1 ripe bosc pear, cored

1 1/2 cup orange juice 

1 tbsn. honey

In a blender, combine the everything and blend until no large spinach leaves remain and everything is well combined. Add more honey to taste if desired. Serve over ice!


* Option 1: Add a fresh or frozen, ripe banana and forget the honey! The sweetness of the banana is more than enough for the smoothie.


* Option 2: Add 1 - 2 cups of water. Sometimes I like drinking my smoothie more as a juice/ water!

Matcha Green Tea Slushie with Boba

Lord knows, I love matcha. I drink tea almost every day of my life. It starts my day and when I'm feeling a bit droopy, it invigorates me. I try to mix it up though, which probably explains why I have 20+ boxes and canisters of tea in my cupboard. I know, it's a bit excessive. Till the end of time, though, my heart will always have a deeper, special spot for matcha. 

When I saw this recipe, I immediately knew I had to make it. It was a simple recipe which I happened to have all of the ingredients for, score! I love when that happens. Anyways, this slushie was exactly like any other matcha green tea slushie you'd get from a tea house! It was perfect: icy, smooth, filled to the brim with matcha flavor and just perfectly sweet. Of course, those little chewy balls of starchy goodness are always welcome too. One ounce of sweetener is the perfect amount - it was just enough to balance out the bitterness of the matcha. 

Matcha Green Tea Slushie with Boba

Yields: 18 oz. (1 - 2 servings)

Original recipe here.

16 oz. cup filled with crushed ice

milk, soy milk or almond milk

1 1/2 tbsn. matcha green tea powder (such as these: Enzo USDA organic matcha powder)

1 oz. Ghiradelli white chocolate syrup (or 1 oz. 1:1 simple syrup)

1/4 cup boba, cooked per package directions

Pour the milk over the ice in the glass until full. Empty the contents into a blender, add the matcha powder and white chocolate syrup. Blend everything until it looks like slushie. Place the boba in the bottom of the glass and top it with the slushie.

Uh oh, it's all gone!!

Magic Coffee

This is an ode to coffee. I'm having an affair. I love tea, I do, but sometimes I need that extra little kick, that richness in flavor that only coffee can subside. Especially now that my days are longer with school and all, coffee can do things that tea can't even dream of... most namely: keep me awake during night class, oy vey!

The key to great coffee is great beans. You really must use beans you love! If you can, try to grind it just before using. But, being that most of us are lazy (ahem, me) and we don't always have the time to grind our coffee fresh, I recommend grinding in small batches, which is what I do. It's easier to find the time to pre-grind for a week than to grind every day and to be honest, I can't taste much of a difference (shhhhh - don't tell)!

This coffee is cold brewed and has a bit of cinnamon and brown sugar added, which makes it incredibly warm and comforting. The cold brew method is super easy even though it sounds complicated. Just throw everything into a container, let it meld overnight, then the next morning, strain all the grinds out and enjoy! It really is magic.

I got these new measuring spoons from Chef Toys. Aren't they gorgeously minimalistic? I had a variety of measuring spoons in my house ranging from plastic, to Hello Kitty themed, to horrific. I decided to throw them all out and stick to these. I think I made a good choice.

Coffee grinds:

The finished product ready to be enjoyed:

Pour over ice:

Add milk (vanilla soy was my choice) and enjoy!

An assembly line of sorts:

Magic Coffee

Yields:

Original recipe here.

2/3 cups coarsely ground coffee

3 cups water

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsn. dark brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

Put all of the ingredients in a quart jar and stir. Cover and refrigerate over night. Before serving, pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and then pour back into whatever container you'd like to store it in. For each drink, fill a tall glass halfway with ice. Pour in the coffee until 3/4 full and add milk/ half and half/ cream to taste.

Here's a peek into my morning life: 

Just got the Macrina Bakery cookbook, so far it's love.