re-do

The first time I tried this recipe, I didn't know what I did wrong. But as I surfed around the web, I had a feeling that I may not have creamed the butter well.

So, this time around, I made sure that I creamed the butter well.

But when I added the flour...it was still really dry.

Not as crumbly as my first attempt but dry.

I followed some of your tips and added some milk working it in and the dough came together.

Then chilled the dough for awhile and baked them off.

They were looking kind of pale while baking, so I baked them for quite a while longer than the directions stated.

I think these came out better than my first attempt, though I probably wouldn't make these again.

At least I know that it probably was due to the creaming step, now I can move on to something else.

Have a good week, we're supposed to have warmer temps but rain and clouds!

salvaged

I had a recipe for pecan nib cookies bookmarked for some time now.

Since the weather was bad on Tuesday, I decided to stay indoors and tried it.

I cut the recipe back because I didn't need 48 cookies around. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what I did wrong, but the dough came out to crumbs, I tried to press it together into a log, but it just fell apart.

After letting it rest in the refridge (part of the directions), the dough was still crumbly, so I pressed everything into a round baking pan and baked it according to the directions.

When it came out of the oven, it was still REALLY soft.

I tried to take it out of the pan, but it just crumbled.

In the end, I used a butter knife and cut it into triangles (like scones), then let it cool in the pan...I managed to salvage about 8 pieces like this. The rest were crumbs, which was nice on ice cream.

I liked the crunch from the nibs and pecans and the cookie was really, REALLY flaky.

I'll definitely try this again, so I can at least figure out what I did wrong.

lemon chocolate nib muffins

Sorry for so many muffins this week, I had some butter that I wanted to use up.

Anyway, before we went to Palau, I also had some lemons that needed using, since I knew I wouldn't get around to using them before we left, I zested, squeezed and froze them.

Then yesterday, I prepared the batter according to the following recipe (it is similar to the muffin recipe I just posted with a few changes)...

Lemon Chocolate Nib Muffins--makes 6

150 grams flour
6 grams baking powder
1 medium egg
80 grams sugar
50 grams butter, measured then melted
50 mililiters lemon juice
20 mililiters milk
zest of lemon
60 grams chocolate chips
handful of cacao nibs

Sift the baking powder, flour and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
In another bowl, beat the egg and sugar for about 2 minutes.
Add the milk and melted butter, beat for another 10-15 seconds.
Add the lemon juice, zest, nibs and chocolate to the the sifted dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture.

Stir with a spatula and mix until just incorporated.
Fill 6 muffin papers as evenly as possible.
Bake for 25 minutes.

NOTES: The original lemon muffin recipe says "juice of one lemon". I didn't know if I should add the lemon juice plus the full amount of milk in the basic recipe or even out the liquid to match the amount of liquid in the basic muffin recipe. In the end, I decided to even out the liquid, for fear of having too much liquid in the batter. These were puckery. The chocolate I used was 60%. I think if I used a chocolate closer to milk chocolate, it may have balanced things out. Still, I liked these---really moist, chocolatey and very lemony.

It is Friday...Saturday starts a 5-day weekend here...hope you have a good weekend!

chocolate zucchini nib muffins

I saw this recipe on La Fuji Mama and had to try it...well, I used her idea but turned it into muffins instead of cake.

I thought, instead of making a whole cake, making 6 muffins would be somewhat "figure friendly".

So, I went to a basic muffin recipe that I normally use and added chocolate chips, cocoa powder, zucchini & some cacao nibs.

The results was a fairly moist muffin.

Chocolate Zucchini Nib Muffins--makes 6

6 grams baking powder
140 grams flour
10 grams unsweetened cocoa powder, I used Droste
1 egg
80 grams sugar
50 grams butter, measured then melted
70 mililiters milk
40 grams grated zucchini
20 grams chocolate chips
1 handful of cacao nibs

Sift the baking powder, flour and cocoa, set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
In another bowl, beat the egg and sugar for about 2 minutes.
Add the milk and melted butter, beat for another 10-15 seconds.
Add the zucchini, nibs and chocolate to the the sifted dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture.

Stir with a spatula and mix until just incorporated.
Fill 6 muffin papers as evenly as possible.
Bake for 25 minutes.

NOTES: Maybe I should have added more zucchini because you can't taste the zucchini at all. (Or maybe you aren't supposed to be able to taste it?) It is a great way to get your veggies in and it makes a perfect snack or breakfast on the run. I would definitely make this again.

matcha nib muffins

We've gone into the rainy season here. Apparently it is 20 days early. Guess the weather will be wet for a couple of weeks. They predict the rainy season will end sometime in the middle of July.

Since I was still hankering for matcha, I decided to try a matcha muffin recipe. I used the basic recipe which I used to make these.

Instead of the 150 grams of flour, I used 140 grams of flour and 10 grams of matcha powder.

Adding a handful of nibs gave the muffin a nice texture, but added more bitterness to it.

This muffin was perfect with morning coffee.

odds & ends

In Japan, they have different types of strawberries. This one is called Amaou.

Not sure if this is what is called an acrostic, but the name comes from A: Akai (red)
Ma: Marui (round)
O: Ookii (big)
U: Umai (delicious)

These guys were definitely big, round and delicious! Perfect for dipping in dark chocolate. (Mom says that this is an acronym not an acrostic...thanks Mom!)

So, without butter, I used only olive oil for these banana nib muffins. As I baked the muffins, I realized I didn't put in any eggs or vanilla extract either! They came out a bit dense, but they were really moist, probably because of the bananas.

Some "old-fashioned" bacon that I found. Only 6 slices in a package...won't tell you the price. Of all the brands I've found, this one cooks up the crispiest! With a brand name like, Butz, I wonder if there is some kind of hidden message? (Maybe?)

A new brand of candied yuzu (citron). Saw a segment on television where they were making these. It takes about 6 months to make a batch. They soak the citron peels in sugar water for several days then, air dry them r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y, then add more sugar.

These peels are so delicious! Makes your mouth pucker because they are so sour. They are brownish, because they don't add any coloring.

Well, they have finally started building. It looks like it will be 3 (or probably 4) new houses on the lot next door. All I know is that the scaffolding is as high as our building (3 stories)! If you notice the 2 cement slabs, each is for a house.

The newest macaron flavor at Starbucks is lemon. A bright yellow outside with a tart lemony gel filling. Delicious!

I had lunch with my host-mom the other day. I like having lunch with her, it gives us time to bond and she always tells me about the newest food trends. I wanted to share what she told me...egoma oil. Egoma is in the same family as shiso (perilla/beefsteak plant) and the leaves are found in Korean cuisine, maybe the oil too? She said that if you have high cholesterol, this oil will help bring it down and is better than olive oil. The only thing with this oil is that it is expensive and has a very short shelf life.

Hope you have a nice weekend, next week is Golden Week here.

earl grey nib muffins

I love Earl Grey tea! The citrusy aroma while sipping a cup is very relaxing and comforting to me.

I was excited to try a new recipe for Earl Grey Muffins.

This recipe comes from a muffin shop in Tokyo, they just came out with a cookbook and as I flipped through the book, the recipe for the Earl Grey Muffins jumped out at me.

Here is the recipe if you'd like to try them. If you can weigh your ingredients to the metric, it will be more precise than the US measurements I have on the side. I added cacao nibs to it because I wanted a bit of chocolate and nuttiness in there.

Earl Grey Nib Muffins adapted from "She Knows Muffin" makes 6 muffins
150 grams flour (about 1.17 cups)
6 grams baking powder (about 1.3 teaspoons)
1 medium egg
80 grams sugar (about 0.62 cups)
50 grams butter, melted (about 3.5 tablespoons)
70 mililiter milk, room temperature (about 0.29 cups)
contents of 1 Earl Grey tea bag (about 10 grams or about 2.5 teaspoons)
1 handful of cacao nibs

In a bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg and sugar together until almost fluffy.
Put the butter and milk into the egg mixture and stir.
Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and add in your packet of tea and nibs.
Mix well.
Divide evenly into 6 muffin holders.
Heat your oven to 180C (350F). Bake for 25 minutes.
Check the 2 middle muffins for doneness with a toothpick.
Enjoy!

NOTES: these muffins were so light and airy! The citrusy aroma from the tea is just right and the nuttiness from the nibs give it a nice crunch. If you have loose leaf Earl Grey, run it through a mill or food processor before adding it to your batter. The recipe only makes 6 muffins--which is perfect for us. If making 6 muffins is too much of a pain for you, please double or triple the recipe. I hope to try more recipes from this book soon!

pumpkin nib muffin

Thanksgiving is coming up, though we don't celebrate it here. And if you look at the decorations at most stores, they are all set for Christmas. (some actually had Halloween and Christmas decorations up at the same time and they started selling O-sechi (the boxed meals for New Years) at the beginning of October!)

My Aunty and her friend are visiting, we'll be meeting up next week, and we just received a box from her, mostly with stuff that my mom gave her to fill the box with, but it was filled with all kinds of goodies.

One of the gifts from my Aunty was a cookbook. It is from her friend's church and has a collection of all sorts of recipes. (Thanks Aunty!)

For Halloween, I wanted to make some kind of pumpkin treat, but didn't get around to it and have had the can of pumpkin puree sitting and waiting for me.

And with Thanksgiving coming around the corner, the blogosphere is filled with pumpkin/squash recipes and delicious photos of them too.

So, as I flipped through the pages of the cookbook, a recipe caught my attention. "Kara's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins". Perfect. Pumpkin + chocolate + muffin = yum! Plus, it sounded easy.

I didn't have pumpkin pie spice and wasn't about to buy some, but that's the good thing about the internet, I found several recipes online and luckily had the spices to put some together.

The recipe called for chocolate chips, but I only have the Ghirardelli 60% chips and they are quite large (see the big black blob?), so I put a handful of these chips and added several handfuls of nibs. (If you don't have nibs, but have the smaller chocolate chips, add 3/4 cup.)

They came out great! Very moist and the spices just right. It doesn't beat mom's pumpkin pie, but it is still comforting.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make up a batch for your holiday brunch or gathering.

Pumpkin nib muffins adapted from "Flavors of the World"

Mix the following in a bowl:
1 and 2/3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (recipe to follow)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon cardamom

Whisk together in another bowl:
2 large eggs
1 cup plain pumpkin puree
1/2 cup melted butter (about 100g)

Stir in 1 handful of chocolate chips and 2 handfuls of nibs into the egg mixture. (If you don't have nibs, add 3/4 cup chocolate chips)

Fold egg mixture into dry ingredients. Scoop into lined or greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350F (180C). Makes 12 muffins.

Enjoy!

blueberry-nib scones-updated

As I was flipping through an edition of "Donna Hay" that I had bought in Hawaii, I came upon a recipe for blueberry scones. By now, I think you know that I love scones, so you know that I just had to try this recipe.

As I started making them, I realized that they didn't print how much of the blueberries should be added. Should they be dried? Preserves? Did I read the recipe wrong? Nope, I needed to ad-lib. I came up with...

Blueberry-nib scones adapted from "Donna Hay--Issue 29"
2 cups (250g) flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
50g chopped unsalted butter
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup cacao nibs
1/2 cup milk

Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together, cut in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the blueberries and nibs and mix a little more.
Add the milk and mix until just combined.
Let rest for 15 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and with your hands press out to about a 1 inch thickness.
Using a 2-inch round cutter cut out 8 scones, re-molding dough to cut as needed. (If you use a smaller cutter, you can make more scones.)
Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 180C (350F) for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

These were great. The nibs gave it a nutty flavor . You can eat it with marmalade like I did or by itself. I had mine with coffee, but I think a black tea (not the flavored type) would go well with it too, maybe with a splash of milk/cream.

UPDATE:received an e-mail from Donna Hay Magazine, it should be 1 cup of blueberries. (thank you!) received another e-mail from Donna Hay Magazine, it should be 250g of fresh blueberries (thank you!) I guess you can either use fresh or dried :)

happy easter!

Today is Easter, but they don't celebrate it here in Japan, or at least the stores don't...no easter candies, no chocolate bunnies, no decorating egg kits...sigh.

Yesterday, Satoshi's teacher gave him a little "easter basket" filled with all kinds of yummy easter candies. I know they are yummy because we tasted a couple this morning before he had to go to work and it brought me back to my childhood.

On Easter morning, we would get up early to color hard boiled eggs. Then after coloring them, we would have the adults hide them and we would go to look for them. There were also plastic eggs with candies inside of them that were also hidden. After the hunt was over, it was fun playing "egg fight" to see whose egg was the strongest. Followed by the days with pink and blue egg salad sandwiches and macaroni salad...those were the days.

I had some quickly ripening bananas to do something with. I decided to try making muffins. The recipe I used was by Tyler Florence.

The recipe was pretty easy, the only part I kind of wondered about is how big are normal muffin tins? One of my tins only make 6, but I think this recipe makes more than 12 muffins. Still, hot out of the oven, they were delicious!

NOTES: I only used 2 bananas and added about a handful of cacao nibs to the batter and then sprinkled a little more on top of each muffin.

Hope you enjoy your Easter with family and friends, have a great week!

hilo (part 2)

One of the fun things I like to do in Hilo is to visit the Farmer's Market downtown. There are many vendors selling organic fruits, vegetables, flowers and other food items.

The flower vendors are there everyday. On Wednesdays, some of the fruit and veggie vendors come out, but Saturdays are the best days to go--packed with vendors and buyers there is excitement in the air as you wander the little market. Parking is tight, so go early!

Shark's Nuts not only sells homegrown coffee and mac nuts, but also hand roasted or raw cacao. I got 8 oz. for US $10.

This is the best place to buy papayas too--6 for US$1.00! You won't find this price anywhere.

This woman was choosing a pineapple.

Here, another woman was picking out warabi (fern fiddleheads)

There was also mangoes and fresh organic rambutan--inside these prickly red compartments are juicy white fruits.

If you plan to visit Hilo, make sure to visit on either a Wednesday or Saturday! It is a nice place just to wander, you may even run into someone you know or make a new friend!

navitas

While browsing in the health food store, Down to Earth, I found a brand called Navitas--which means "energy" in Latin.

They sell the popular goji berries, maca and also cacao. I got a 16oz package of cacao nibs.

For those of you who don't have a health food store nearby, you can also find these on Amazon.com.

I can't wait to make something using these nibs!