With rain pouring nonstop outside, there’s really nothing to do. Except bake moist, delicious chai cupcakes and then slather it with honey ginger swiss meringue buttercream. (Yep, this was the ONLY option)

Chai Cupcakes
Recipe from Une-deux Senses
Note: I halved the recipe and got about 14-15 cupcakes.

1 1/3 cup milk
6 chai tea bags
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups cake flour (I used all-purpose flour)
2 cup sugar
4 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line your cupcake trays with cupcake liners.
2.) In saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add the tea bags. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes.
3.) Remove the bags and squeeze out the remaining milk. Let the milk cool completely.
4.) In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, vanilla and 1/3 cup of the chai milk.
5.) In the bowl of a mixer sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Beat on low for about 30 seconds, then add the butter and remaining chai milk. Mix on medium low speed until light and fluffy.
6.) Next, add the egg mixture in three additions, making sure to scrape the bowl well after each. Divide the batter among the cupcake tins, about 2/3 full.
7.) Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

I wouldn’t exactly call my swiss meringue buttercream successful… it didn’t set up properly so it turned out to be more of a glaze than a frosting. But it was sweet and spicy and it did perfectly accent the chai flavors in the cupcake. I guess I’ll just have to keep practicing!

Sweet, sweet failure.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a fan of raw carrots. There’s something about its crunchiness that isn’t satisfying to me. But ironically enough, this slaw features carrots as its main ingredient. Following my train of thought yet? …Me neither.

There is no real recipe for this. Just grate up some (or a lot) of carrots, slice up some cabbage, dress with a little scallion, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper and then drown it in rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, and and a touch of honey. Let the veggies soak up the goodness and enjoy.

First thing’s first – you need to make the sweet tart dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Once that’s ready to go, roll it out into your trusty tart pan and then freeze it for at least 30 minutes (needless to say, the longer, the better!). Bake it off, make some vanilla pastry cream, throw on a few pounds of fruit and voi la! Instant fruit tart! (Okay… so maybe it’s not that simple…)

Decorating the fruit tart is like making that macaroni picture frame from second grade.

Prettifying with a little smackling of glaze.

Hello, wondrous tart of goodness.

I cannot wait until you get in my belly.

Rich, buttery crush. Smooth, decadent vanilla cream. Fresh and sweet but slightly tart berries. In one bite? Yes, please.

Sweet Tart Shell
Recipe from smittenkitchen
Makes enough for a 9-inch tart (if you have an 11-inch pan like me, just make a second batch and freeze the leftovers)

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tbsps) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg

1.) Pulse the flour, sugar and salt together in the bowl of a food processor. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in. (You’re looking for some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas.) Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses–about 10 seconds each–until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change–heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing. Chill the dough, wrapped in plastic, for about 2 hours before rolling.

2.) To roll the dough: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Roll out chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper to 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to free from paper. (Alternately, you can roll this out between two pieces of plastic, though flour the dough a bit anyway.) Using paper as aid, turn dough into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, making double-thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork.

Alternately, you can press the dough in as soon as it is processed: Press it evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the tart shell. You want to press hard enough that the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that it loses its crumbly texture.

3.) Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

4.) To fully or partially bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. And here is the very best part: Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 20 to 25 minutes.

5.) Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake the crust about 10 minutes longer to fully bake it, or until it is firm and golden brown, brown being the important word: a pale crust doesn’t have a lot of flavor. (To partially bake it, only an additional 5 minutes is needed.) Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature, and proceed with the rest of your recipe.
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Vanilla Pastry Cream
Recipe from Back to the Cutting Board

2/3 cups sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 eggs or 4 egg yolks
2 cups cream, half and half or whole milk
2 tsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla

1.) Mix together eggs/yolks and cream. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk every minute or so at first, but as it heats up and starts to boil and thicken, you will need to whisk constantly. This should take about 10 minutes.

2.) Turn the heat to low/medium-low so that mixture bubbles gently and cook until it coats the back of a spoon, or when you can draw your finger through it and the line stays there. Stir in the butter and vanilla.

3.) Strain through a fine-mesh sieve/strainer. It’s possible I cooked mine until it was too thick, but I had trouble getting it through. I wound up using different strainer (less fine) and pushing it through using pressure from the back of a large spoon.

4.) Set aside and let cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate it for a few hours if you make this ahead of time, but make sure to lay plastic wrap directly on top of the cream or else a skin will form on it.
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You can FINALLY assemble the fruit tart! Pour the pastry cream into the tart shell and smooth it out. Decorate your tart with the fruit and design of your choice. Feel free to dive right in if you can’t wait just a little longer but if you want that shiny finish, heat up ½ cup of apricot, strawberry or raspberry preserves (or any other you want, really) and mix in a tablespoon of water or lemon juice to thin it out. Brush the glaze on and let it set in the refrigerator for a little bit.

Now, cut yourself a nice, large slice and marvel at your beautiful creation.

1.) Cook your choice of pasta according to the directions on the box, but make sure to under cook it a little bit because it’ll be cooked a little more once it’s mixed with the vegetables.
2.) Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Slice sausages into ½ inch disks and when the oil is heated, place the sausages face down into the skillet. Let them brown, about a minute to a minute and a half, and then flip over. Let them brown for about a minute and set the sausages aside in a separate bowl. Pour ¼ cup of water into the bottom of the pan and gently scrape to de-glaze the goodies stuck to the bottom and then switch off heat.
3.) Roughly chop the garlic and onion into ¼ inch pieces and set aside. Then, slice the zucchini into ¼ inch thick discs. Heat the pan that you used to cook the sausage on medium low and add the garlic and onions. Sprinkle with a little salt and give it a stir and let the onions cook for a few minutes before adding the zucchini. Cook until all the vegetables are tender (around 5 minutes).
4.) Add al dente pasta and return sausage to the vegetables in the pan. Slice cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and that and spinach to the pasta. Mix well.
5.) On low heat, season the dish with basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Grate lemon zest and squeeze lemon juice in as well. Toss, mix, and most importantly, taste!
6.) Turn off the heat and add about a tablespoon of olive oil to finish off the pasta. If you have some parmesan cheese, be sure to grate some over the pasta.

Savor the aroma wafting around in your kitchen and enjoy!

Five Guys Burgers
561 US Highway 1 # A7
Edison, NJ 08817

Apparently, this year is lunar leap year, meaning the lunar equivalent of May is happening again, also meaning that there’s a second Dragon Boat Festival, meaning more zongzi for me to eat. Yay!

When your entire family comes home for the holiday weekend, it’s cause for excessive amounts of eating and sitting on your bum for long periods of time, “bonding and catching up”. It was a marathon of gluttony, to say the least. Buffet? Sure, let’s go. Dim sum? Oh yes, please. Hot dogs and hamburgers? Heck, the more, the merrier. My digestive tract just worked overtime. My double chin is about to give birth to a third one. My muffin top is overflowing with bounty. It’s time to start eating a little healthier. First up, Kashi, yogurt and strawberries.

Eating something with a face on it, especially when they have tiny googly eyes staring at you, is kind of morbid. But there’s nothing like creamy chocolate innards to wash away the guilt.

Adzuki Red Bean Paste
From Vanilla Garlic

1 1/4 c red beans
3/4 c sugar
2 tbsps vegetable oil

Steamed bun/baozi dough
From Just Hungry

400g (a little more than 3 cups) all-purpose flour
1 packet (2¼ tsps) active dry yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
220ml (a little less than 1 cup) warm water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
extra flour for rolling out

Although these are still tasty the next day, they’re definitely the best right out of the steamer!