Streusel me this...



Sweet blueberries with a crunchy cinnamon streusel on top!



Dear Chase:

I've noticed lately that I have been making a lot of chocolate goodies...from your birthday party to other friends birthday parties. There were endless amounts of chocolate cupcakes, whoppie pies and chocolate chip cookies. I mean I like chocolate as much as the next gal but there are so many other desserts that are just as tasty and easy to make. One of them being this blueberry crumb cake you see in picture above. So last night, I was digging around our freezer and found some frozen berries that would be perfect for this light and flavorful cake. This particular cake is very light and flavorful when you have the cinnamon and nutmeg infused streusel on top. Streusel- is a German term, meaning something scattered or sprinkled on top. The topping is usually made up of butter, flour, sugar and various spices; then sprinkled on top of muffins, cakes and even baked fruits. There are many other spices you can use in streusel but I like to use cinnamon and nutmeg as well as organic sugar cane sugar.

Here is the recipe, give it a try and enjoy!

1/2 c. Unsalted Butter, softened
2/3 c. Sugar
3 Eggs
1tsp Lemon Zest
1/3 c. Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 cup Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen)

Streusel Topping:
1/2 c. Butter
1/3 c. Sugar
1/4 c. Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 c. All Purpose Flour

Directions:

Mix butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. (about 2 minutes). Then add eggs one at a time and mix until fully combined. Next, add lemon zest, sour cream and vanilla and mix until blended. Then, take all your dry ingredients and sift them together (flour, baking powder and baking soda). On low speed add your flour mixture into your egg mixture just until the flour is combined. Do not over mix or your cake will come out tough and dense. Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature ..as this will make all the difference in how light your cake will turn out. Then fold in your blueberries.

Streusel part: Take 1/2 c. Butter and melt it down, let cool. Then, take your sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour, add melted butter and mix well. The mixture should start to form a crumble and just sprinkle it on top of your cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. It is that easy.... :)



















New Moon

Mommy didn't make these but they look delish!

Dear Chase:

Every year on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate "zhong qiu jie." My mom use to tell me this story of the moon fairy living in a crystal palace, who comes out to dance on the moon's shadowed surface. The legend surrounding the "lady living in the moon" dates back to ancient times, to a day when ten suns appeared at once in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill that would make him immortal. However, his wife found the pill, took it, and was banished to the moon as a result. Legend says that her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon festival. There are so many stories and tales that you will hear as you grow up and you can choose the one that resonates with you the most. This story has always made me felt magical and wondrous compared to other tales that I heard of throughout my childhood. Fiction or not...if the thought makes you feel good and you believe it to be true...then it will be in your heart.

Today, we celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with dances, feasting and moon gazing. Not to mention moon cakes. While baked goods are a common feature at most Chinese celebrations, moon cakes are inextricably linked with the Moon festival. One type of traditional moon cake is filled with lotus seed paste and some others are filled with red bean or an array nuts. I personally like the lotus seed paste but without the egg yolk. It has the perfect texture and sweetness, that makes these cakes pretty hard to resist.


My family tends to celebrate this day with a nice family dinner and a slice of moon cake for dessert.  The New Moon is also a time when I reflect on the year so far and to think of all the positive things that I want towish upon those around me. I look forward to this night every year. It is sort of a new beginning for me before we actually reach the New Year. Last night, I looked outside our window in search of the bright and beautiful moon but I couldn't see it beyond the fog and yet I knew it was there. So, I collected my thoughts, had a small piece of moon cake (very yummy) and made a wish!

The Next Steps....

Dear Chase:


Countdown...we are officially 5 days away from celebrating your one year milestone. I can't even begin to tell you what a journey it has been for your daddy and I and how happy I am that this day is just around the corner. You are an amazing little baby and we are just so proud of you. You know....people always say that the first year will just fly by and before you know it; they will be walking and talking. As much as I want to hold you in my arms for as long as I can, I know that the day will come when you will be waving at me from a distance rather than pulling yourself up to tug at my knees. The selfish side of me wants you to always need me and come to me for anything and everything but with each passing day and with every new skill you learn; you will come to need me less and less. However, the non-selfish side of me wants you to learn and accomplish as much as your little heart desires and the more you learn the better I feel about myself as a parent. I remember the very first time you held your own bottle or started to feed yourself those little Gerber crackers, I started to feel the dependence shift a bit and it is only going to continue to shift as you get older. I guess I am trying to say that I love you so much and I miss every part of you that changes everyday. The next phase is the walking and talking part and I wonder what you first words will be? The classis Ma-ma or Da-da or will it be something totally orginal? As I said your party is in a few days and we have been working hard at putting everything together. You won't remember that day but just know that we made it so very special and one day I will show you pictures of when you blew out your first candle.


Love,
Mommy :)

Seattle- 2nd Best!

Gorge, Gorge, Gorgeous!!!

Dear Chase:

As I unpack our bags and reflect on our recent family vacation/wedding, I am once again reminded of the pleasant and short plane rides, the comfort of our accommodations, the joy of another family reunion to the many memories that I will forever cherish of all the new experiences we had in the mere 3 days that we were in Seattle. We were definitely the tourists last weekend and as I look back on the different parts of Seattle that we visited, I would have to say that Pike's Market was the most enjoyable and most highly recommended by friends and other family members. They had everything from the original "Starbucks", to several different artisan bakeries, to their fresh seafood, fruit and vegetable stands to the largest flowers selection that I had ever seen. The most beautiful bouquets you can imagine and all for a mere $5-10 dollars each. I was so impressed and taken away by the colors, price and selection of each picture perfect arrangement....check out the picture below and you will be too. Next, there was the hotel that we all stayed in. Normally, I do not  consider myself a hotel expert by any means but I do know good service from not so good service but I can honestly say that I do not have a single bad thing to say about "Marriott Residence Inn". To my total surprise, this hotel was not only clean and accommodating but they exceeded every single one of my expectations. Let me give you an example, when I called down to ask for more towels, they delivered right away, they serviced our room by request only and the complimentary breakfast every morning was a very nice touch. And...I don't mean just coffee and muffins with some fruit on the side. I am talking about a full on breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash browns, french toast, pancakes, waffles, fruit, yogurt and an assortment of pastries and cereals.I could go on and on about the selection but let's move onto the next impressive act. On my last day at the hotel, I was enjoying breakfast with you and I suddenly realized I didn't have enough zip lock bags to carry all my make-up on the plane. I asked around to see if any of our family members had an extra one to spare but sadly no one did. Your daddy suggested I ask the front desk to see if they had any to spare, I was skeptical but nonetheless desperate. I remember telling your dad that if they had complimentary baggies for me to take then I would have to mention them in my blog. I'm sure you know what happened next because here I am commending their level of service and yes, the front desk agent happily gave me (4) baggies to take with me...now that is exceptional service from an unexpected hotel. At that moment started to change my once solid perspective of what really constitutes a five star hotel. Most places would charge for all of the amenities we received but the hotel took care of us just for being their guests. I will now be on the search for future "Residence Inns" as we continue our travels as a family in the months and years to come.

As the last day approaches and we have toured as much of the city as our time will allow, we give a rating of how we feel about the city of Seattle. I would have to say that I enjoyed Seattle very much but more so because of the company and our reason for being in there. However, I do find many things about Seattle very comparable to San Francisco, such as the weather, the culture, the attractions are all somewhat similar to San Francisco but on a smaller scale. Seattle is a foodie town with much to see and do as well as a city of fashion forward trends and designers. Although Seattle may not be the city people think of first but it definitely comes in at second place.

Lastly, I do find it not only a joy but my job to search high and low for a cupcake place that represents that city. In Seattle, I would have to say the search ended at "Wink Cupcakes" in Queen Anne. A very cozy little neigborhood in Seattle. The cupcake store is relatively new but their take on cupcakes are pretty darn tasty. I had the jumbo red velvet and the chocolate Oreo cup. They were both delicious but I am partial to chocolate so the Oreo cup was my favorite. It was a classic chocolate cake with a light but flavorful Oreo vanilla frosting.

The store front of Wink Cupcakes.

A delicious display of Wink Cupcakes...the Oreo one is my favorite

                     

My favorite arrangement that day, great fall colors.

The Remix...

Dear Chase:


As you may or may not have noticed, I have been working overtime on my vanilla cake recipe and it goes to show that 3 times is a charm. The first time the cake came out super dense with an intense vanilla flavor but not anything I would want to serve. The second batch was better but still not as light and cake-like as I had hoped but then the 3rd time, I changed one of the ingredients and added one more so now I can now proudly say, I've done it! The perfect vanilla cupcake in taste, flavor and texture and the frosting...OH my the frosting. (so so good!) The cupcake pictured above is the remix of the vanilla cake my mom use to make me but hers was a bit lighter and more spongy than cakey. I like my cupcakes similar to the box style cakes such as Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker but at the same time...even though it is easy and taste pretty good, I cannot bring myself to bake a cake from a box when making it from scratch taste 100% better in my cookbook. So, Chase I will be making 4 dozen of these cupcakes for your birthday party and hopefully all your guests will enjoy them as I have. You know I have been baking for quite some time now but I have never been able to fully share them with you. But in about 2 weeks, you will get a taste of your first cupcake. Baby's first sugar is what people say but the fact that I baked it...makes it all the more sweeter for me :)