Jennifer & Ronald

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_wrapped_cake

One of my favorite Chinese pastries is the "paper wrapped cake" (zhǐ bāo dàn gāo) so I searched for a recipe online and decided to try this one out. You can find the full
recipe here. Since I only had 3 eggs, I had to alter it a bit, basically cut most ingredients by half since the recipe calls for 5 eggs.

INGREDIENTS

30 g all purpose flour
8 g cornstarch
45 g sugar
3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
30 g butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line standard 12-cup muffin tin with parchment paper. Squares 5x5 inches seem to work well.
2. Sift flour and cornstarch together.
3. In separate bowl, beat egg yolks with 15 g sugar until fluffy until lemony colored. Beat in melted butter. Sift in flour mixture and beat until smooth. (I did this step by hand).
4. In another bowl, whip egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar. When you can see trails from your beaters, beat in the remaining 30 g sugar. Whip to firm peaks. (I did this step with my stand mixer with wire whisk).
5. Stir in spatula-full of egg whites into the yolk mixture. Gently fold in the rest of the whites.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, about 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 400 F for 5 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I was able to make 10 cakes.

Smelled delicious while baking and tasted just like they are supposed to. Of course these are much shorter than the ones you buy at the bakery but a good little snack (and probably just the right size for my carbohydrate portion allowance).

The only thing I find inconvenient is having to weigh out ingredients. I know this is probably the most accurate way to make a delicious cake but I'm so used to using cups and teaspoons and tablespoons. But I would definitely make this again if I can't find a Chinese bakery to buy them.

I still want to attempt to make my own egg tarts (dan tat) but most recipes use lard for the tart which is a bit daunting.

Hmm... so yummy, thinking of having another one... but must resist until my next snack time.

Link: http://www.parksconservancy.org/our-work/crissy/

Yesterday, we went out for a picnic lunch at Crissy Field. It was quite windy so we ended up eating in the car then taking a walk on the trail and along the water. It was the first time walking down there for the both of us and we're glad we finally had time to explore the area.

It was still really windy even though the sun was out so we had to head back to the car before we got too cold.

Counting down the days until Baby Chung makes his appearance!

Things I look forward to eating and drinking again with less restriction (in no particular order):

Pho/Ramen/Noodles
Fruits
Donuts/Cupcakes/Cookies/Cake
Cereal
Milk
Ice Cream
Juice
Breads/Croissants
Pancakes/Waffles/French Toast
Pizza

If you know me, I love to eat fresh fruits and it's been so tough to just eat small pieces of fruit. I just want to eat a big fruit salad!

I love baking and it's so hard to restrict myself to half a cookie or half a cupcake plus I've been really craving a donut especially after watching a show about Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon where they have a huge donuts and a delicious looking apple fritter.

Surprisingly I'm not craving candy or chocolates...

But these are just a few of the things I've been missing out on the last few months. I'm getting tired of carbohydrate counting but I have learned a lot about eating better so after I get it out of my system and eat my fill, I may go back to the low carbohydrate diet. It's probably overall better for our health and will help to prevent me from developing type 2 diabetes later on.

Link: http://www.koipalace.com/default.htm

Last weekend my dad had his company dinner for Chinese New Year. We always have a wonderful dinner, karaoke, raffle prizes, and enjoy good company. This year it was held at Koi Garden in Dublin.

Just one picture to share that I took with V and my round belly!

I hope everyone had a good Chinese New Year!

I am trying to use up a carton of buttermilk so came across this Food Network recipe for Buttermilk Pie. The recipe didn't have a crust so I decided to try making it with a graham cracker crust.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
* 1/3 cup white sugar (reduced to 1/4 cup)
* 6 tbsp butter, melted
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional so I did not use)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix all ingredients together then press into 9 inch pie tin (I used a 9 inch springform pan). Bake for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Buttermilk Pie INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups sugar (used 3/4 cup sugar)
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 cup biscuit mix (recommended: Bisquick) (used 3/4 cup Bisquick)
* 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter, melted
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend all ingredients together with electric mixer or hand mix with a wire whisk. May be poured into a greased 9 inch pie pan or on top of some sort of crust. Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. May be served after cooling for 5 minutes or after refrigeration.

It smells and looks delicious. I can't wait to try it. I hope I didn't overcook it and that it still has its custard-like texture. I plan to top it with some fresh fruit, maybe some strawberries and bananas.

Had a slice this afternoon and it ended up more like a piece of cake rather than a custard. Next time I would probably reduce the amount of biscuit mix and increase by 1 egg instead. The graham cracker crust was a bit too sweet so I would reduce it to maybe 1/8 cup of sugar. I topped it with a sliced banana and strawberry which gave it a fresher taste.

Less than one week until his due date. I had an appointment with my NP this morning and she said she wanted to put me on the induction schedule. Her supervising MD said to be safe, she rather not let me go too far past my due date because of the gestational diabetes. Partially afraid that the baby may grow too big and make delivery difficult for me.

The only available times they had were either tomorrow (!) or next Thursday March 4th. We chose March 4th, I was a bit caught off guard and definitely not ready for it to be tomorrow. But I hope he'll want to come out by himself and won't have to go through the induction process.

So otherwise, all is going fine. I'm still having non stress tests twice a week. Yesterday I finally got the chance to see him exercising his diaphragm to get ready for breathing outside the womb, aka fetal breathing. I'm looking forward to having him take his first real breath.

Link: http://www.blisstree.com/breastfeeding123/free-pattern-to-sew-your-own-nursing-cover/

Since I finally have some free time, I decided to work on my project of a homemade nursing cover. One of my co-workers had one of these and said they were very useful for breastfeeding your baby in public.

You can purchase a commercial one made by Bebe au Lait and it is known as a nursing cover or Hooter Hider, which sells for about $35.

I found instructions here for a homemade one which can be as inexpensive as $8. If you buy the fabric on sale, it can be even cheaper.

For full instructions, click here but the basic supplies you need are:

1 yard fabric, cut into the following:
26 x 38 inches (1 pc)
3 x 31 inches (1 pc for long strap)
3 x 10 inches (1 pc for short strap)
8 x 8 inches (2 pcs for pockets, optional)

2 D-Rings (I bought 2 inch but 1-1/2 inches should be enough)
1/2 yard (18 inches) corset boning (1/4 inch wide)
Matching colored thread

I wasn't as talented as the person who put together the instructions so I ironed all my hems before sewing (per the instructions, she didn't pin them, just held them as she sewed).

My completed one:

The neckline so you can see your baby while breastfeeding:

I added pockets to both inside corners to tuck in a tissue or washcloths as suggested.

Now I'm having fun making them so I have a few more fabrics so will try to finish them up before the baby comes. These may become gifts someday soon as I don't think I'll use more than one.

Let's see if I can get some more baby projects done that I've been wanting to do...

It's actually been a busy few days but during some down time today, I decided to bake. Taking a recipe from my favorite cookie book, Big, Soft, Chewy Cookies, I made the oatmeal cinnamon cookies and added some milk chocolate chunks from a candy bar, used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, and used a mix of white and light brown sugar.

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp dark molasses
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup milk chocolate chunks

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 F
2. Combine oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together egg and sugars. Add butter and continue beating. When completely blended, add molasses and milk and blend again. Stir in the oat mixture, pecans, and chocolate.
4. Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop level amounts of dough and drop 2 1/2 inches apart onto an ungreased gookie sheet.
5. Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and let them set for 1 minute. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to a rack and let cool.

Cookies may be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to three days.

Makes 14-20 cookies.

The kitchen smelled delicious as the cookies baked, cinnamon and nutty. I let them bake a little more than 15 minutes because I like it a bit more crispy on the edges. Tastes like breakfast, great with a glass of milk or coffee.

These are different than the Tartine Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Cookies since they are more cake-like. The Tartine recipe makes thin and crispy cookies so it will depend on what I'm in the mood for because I like these cake-y cookies too.

On my last day of work, I had a very BIG surprise from my coworker. He's been warning me all month that I'd better have Ron come to pick me up on my last day because I couldn't ride the bus home with what he was going to bring me. In the last few days I've been wondering what in the world it could be.

Well, here it is:

It's called a Biggie Pooh! and boy, is it big! The baby will probably only be the size of Pooh's paw. It'll make for a very cute picture once baby can sit up. Until then, I have no idea where we are going to store it... it's so huge!

Thanks Herb! It's a really sweet gift.

Now the countdown begins... today is my first day off of work and I am enjoying relaxing at home and finally updating our blog. I have a few things planned for the next few days but I just really want to relax a bit before the baby decides to show himself as after he is born, I'm sure I won't have much time to rest so want to energize myself now so that I can take good care of him.

In walking downtown, Ron and I came across this new heart in San Francisco. There are a lot of these scattered around town and looks like this one was installed on Feb 11th, 2010.

Walking has been getting harder for me especially on the hips. I think it's partially because he is dropping down so the weight distribution is different. My feet have been swelling a little more easily too which makes shoes uncomfortable. I had to remove my toe rings a few weeks ago because they were getting too tight. I hope my feet will eventually return to normal.