Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

Last Friday, March 26th, was my parents's 27th wedding anniversary. My dad wanted to celebrate it at his trusted Blue Mango Thai restaurant, but I had other idea. Being a vegetarian, it's difficult to find a good restaurant. And since we almost never go out to eat, I don't even know any restaurant that I would want to go. I suggested that I would cook instead. I saw this recipe while watching Giada's Everyday Italian last December with my grandma and have been wanting to test it since.

Spring Pasta Salad

If given the choice between moisturizer and foundation, what would you choose? I would go for the moisturizer without a second thought. It's too much of a hassle to put on makeup every time to feint a flawless skin. Besides, I have always been an advocate of beautifying skin from the inside. After all, isn't it true that you are what you eat? Such nonsense... Because.. if only the things that will make you look beautiful can also satisfy your cravings.. So for lunch today I tried to whip up something healthy, good for skin, and tasty all at once!

March Daring Baker Challenge

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

It's that time of the month again! The reveal date of the Daring Baker challenge... and I am one day belated yet again. I only finished this month's challenge last Wednesday after much doubts about my ability to complete it. For some reason this recipe really intimidated me, so I tried to put it off as long as I could. I was intimidated by the seemingly complex steps necessary in yet another layered dessert.

Pain de Mie (Part Deux)

This has been the longest gap since I last updated. Work..paid or unpaid.. has been keeping me incredibly busy in the last few weeks. And my guitar practice takes up the rest of my free time, therefore I was left with very little time for baking. In fact, I just barely completed Daring Baker's March challenge yesterday... two days before posting is due! So stay tuned for the DB posting on the 27th! But here I bring you my second attempt at pain de mie.

Swedish Princess Torte

I'm literally in awe of myself right now after spending almost a full day in the kitchen since 9 am. I've always been curious about this particular type of cake for a long time mainly because of its elegant beauty. And the other day at Ikea, when I saw that they are selling tiny princess cakes in a box in the freezer I almost got one. But really,who wants their first princess cake to be from a furniture store (line stolen from a fellow blogger).

February Daring Baker Challenge

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

I've made tiramisu many times in the past, but I've always used store-bought mascarpone cheese and lady finger. This month's challenge required that we make both mascarpone cheese and lady finger from scratch. I never knew that it was possible to make cheese at home!