Thai tea during the summertime is LIFE. I am an avid coffee drinker, but during the summertime, I like to sometimes sub my coffee for an ice cold, refreshing glass, of this Thai iced tea. Kick it up a notch by adding in some homemade boba (tapioca pearls). You can find that recipe here. INGREDIENTS:
4 cups of water
1 cup of Panthai Iced Tea Mix
3/4 cup of brown sugar
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
half n half or milk of choice
INSTRUCTIONS:
Boil 4 cups of water in a medium sized pot. Add in your Thai tea mix and brown sugar. Boil for 3 minutes. Turn off, remove from heat, and allow the tea to steep for an additional 40 minutes. Strain tea leaves from the tea. Pour into tall glass with ice. Add in your "creamer" of choice and drink immediately.
NOTES:
Don't walk away from your tea while it's boiling on the stove. If your pot is too small, your tea may boil over!
Homemade boba aka tapioca pearls taste amaaaazing!! My husband, who isn't a fan of boba, loves the homemade version! I can literally eat it, on its own, when it's soaked up in some vanilla syrup! It's that good! And why am I using so many exclamation points! Does it sound like I'm yelling?!? LOL.
Into a saucepan, add in your water and sugar and bring it to a boil just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and stir in your vanilla. Set aside and allow to cool down before using.
TO MAKE THE BOBA:
Boil 6 cups of filtered water. Add in your tapioca pearls. Boil your boba until they've all floated to the surface (should take 2-3 minutes,tops). Turn heat down to low, and cook for an additional 20 minutes (making sure to stir every 2-3 minutes to prevent your boba from sticking to the bottom). Turn the stove OFF, cover the pot with a lid, and allow the boba to cook for an additional 25 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this time. Once done, remove lid, stir, and check for doneness. If not cooked to your liking, cover with lid, and cook for additional 5 more minutes. Strain in colander, and run some cold water through the boba, using your hands to lightly separate them. Place boba into a bowl, and add in your cooled down vanilla syrup. Allow to soak for 2-3 hours.
I LOVE to add boba into my Thai iced teas! Click here for the recipe!
NOTES:
You must use filtered water for the best boba! Using unfiltered water will make your boba clump together, and they won't separate well. Only make as much boba as needed, per day. Once refrigerated, the boba hardens and loses its chewiness. This recipe makes enough boba for approximately 6-8 tall glasses (more or less depending on how much boba you add per glass!)
As much as I love Asian food, I can also survive, alone, on bread and butter. Homemade bread is such a lost art these days; if you want to impress anyone, then this recipe is the way to go! It's perfect for a big family dinner, church potluck, or plain JUST BECAUSE. Even for a novice baker, this recipe is pretty fool-proof. Try it out, and see for yourself! :)
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
1/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of lukewarm WHOLE milk
4 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
8 ounces of mashed potato (about 1 large russet potato)
2 teaspoons of salt
6 Tablespoons of softened unsalted butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
FOR THE EGG WASH:
1 egg plus 1 Tablespoon of water
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
some vegetable oil
cooking spray
foil
13x9 inch (preferably aluminum) pan
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Wash and scrub your potato. Pat it dry. Using a fork, poke holes all over the potato. Place your potato into a microwave-safe dish, and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Flip your potato over, and microwave the other side for 3 more minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before touching. Once cooled, remove all of the skin. Mash up your potatoes using a fork, and then using a kitchen scale, weigh out 8 ounces of mashed potatoes. If you don't have a kitchen scale, then measure out 1 cup of lightly packed mashed potato.
2. Heat up your milk in the microwave until lukewarm. (In my microwave, it only takes about 30-40 seconds) Make sure it isn't too hot, or else you'll kill the yeast! Sprinkle in your yeast and sugar. Mix well and set aside until foamy (about 5 minutes).
3. Into your stand mixer (or by hand), add in your all purpose flour, salt, mashed potatoes, butter, and eggs. Once your yeast mixture has bloomed, at that in as well. Using your dough hook attachment, turn mixer to "stir." Mix until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, about 4 minutes.
4. Dump your dough onto a clean work surface. Knead with your hands until you've formed a smooth ball. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, toss to coat, cover with saran wrap, and allow for it to double in size. Could take you anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hour.
5. Fit your baking pan with some aluminum foil. Spray generously with some cooking spray. Set aside.
6. Once your dough has doubled in size, place it onto your clean work surface, gently deflate it, and begin to roll it out into an 18 inch long log. Cut out your dough into 18 equal pieces (cutting them 1 inch apart).
7. Roll out each dough, one at time, into a nice smooth ball. Cover any pieces that aren't being used, with a clean towel, to prevent drying. Place your rolls into your greased pan, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow for them to rise until doubled in size.
PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350 DEGREES F.
8. Coat each roll with your egg wash and bake for about 15 minutes. Rotate your pan, and bake for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until golden brown on the top.
9. Remove your dinner rolls from the oven, and then turn them out onto a wire rack.
10. Serve immediately!
NOTES:
-This recipe makes 18 large dinner rolls. Feel free to make the rolls smaller to feed little mouths.
-Freeze any freshly made dinner rolls to enjoy later. I wrap each dinner roll, individually, in saran wrap and then just thaw them out on the counter before eating.
-Aluminum baking pans bake your dinner rolls more evenly, but you are free to use whichever kind of pan you have on hand.
Straight up--If I was an inmate on death row, my one and only last meal, would be chow fun. Sounds crazy, huh? Chow fun is, and will always be, my most favorite thing to eat on the planet! Beef chow fun, shrimp chow fun....I LOVE ALL THE CHOW FUN'S IN THE WORLD.
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds of fresh rice noodles (may use dried noodles: follow the directions on the packaging)
8 ounces of sliced beef (I like to use tri-tip)
1 small bunch of sliced Chinese broccoli
3 scallions cut 1 1/2 inch in length
half of a white onion, sliced
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of corn starch
garlic powder
fish sauce
oyster sauce
FOR THE SAUCE:
3 Tablespoons of double black soy sauce (or dark soy sauce)
2 Tablespoons of light soy sauce
2 Tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 Tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of Mirin
1/4 cup of water
black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start off by making your sauce: place all of your sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and bring it to a quick rolling boil. Stir just until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside for later use.
2. Separate your fresh rice noodles. If using dried noodles, follow the directions on the packaging. Set aside.
3. Marinade your beef with 3 Tablespoons of your reserved sauce. Add 1 teaspoon of corn starch. Mix well. Set aside.
4. Into a hot skillet or wok, add in a bit of water. Add in your sliced Chinese broccoli, pinch of salt, and black pepper. Stir, cover with lid, reduce heat to medium, and steam for 5 minutes. Remove lid, stir, and place into colander to remove any excess liquid. Set aside.
5. Into the same skillet on medium-high heat, add in a bit of oil. Add in your marinaded beef slices. Add garlic powder, fish sauce, and oyster sauce to taste. Cook just until no longer pink. Set aside.
6. Wipe down your skillet before using. On medium-high heat, add in 2 Tablespoons of oil and chopped garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add in all of your noodles, making sure to separate them in the process. Pour in the rest of your reserved sauce, sliced onions, and sliced scallions. Cook on high heat until the noodles are well coated. Remove from heat and serve immediately!
NOTES: *I've only used this sauce recipe with fresh rice noodles. If using cooked, dried noodles, I would recommend using only half of the sauce, at first, and then gradually adding more sauce to taste.
*Do not cut the sauce recipe in half. If you plan on using only 1 pound of noodles, then use only half of the chow fun sauce. Store the other half in an airtight container, and place it into the fridge for later use. :)
I don't discriminate--I love cake of all sorts. BUT I must say...lemon cake with lemon icing is the way to my heart (well, at least at the moment, it is!). This cake has the perfect balance of sweet-to-tartness that will tickle your taste buds. It's soft, not overly-sweet, and has a very soft crumb. Your family and friends will go nuts over this one!
INGREDIENTS:
6 EXTRA LARGE eggs (separate the egg yolks from the egg whites)
2 sticks (1 cup) of softened unsalted butter
2 cups of caster sugar (may sub for granulated sugar)
2-4 Tablespoons of lemon juice
(I use about 1 1/2 lemons for this)
A bit of lemon oil
Pinch of salt
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
A 10-inch aluminum tube pan
a skewer or something to poke holes with all over the finished cake
softened butter to grease pan
INSTRUCTIONS:
PREHEAT OVEN TO 325 degrees F.
1. Butter your tube pan all over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Generously coat the whole pan with cake flour and then tap off the excess. Set this aside.
2. Sift your cake flour, salt, and baking soda together. Set this aside.
3. Separate your eggs; place your egg yolks into a small bowl.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add in your egg whites along with some cream of tartar and beat until stiff. Set this aside.
5. In your stand mixer, cream together your butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
6. "Stir" in your sour cream just until combined.
7. Alternate adding in your flour mixture and egg yolks until fully combined with your creamed mixture.
8. Add in your lemon oil, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.
9. Fold in your egg whites (by hand) just until combined.
10. Pour cake batter into your tube pan, give it a little jiggle to evenly disperse the batter, and bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes. Check after 1 hour for doneness using a skewer.
11. While the cake is baking, make your syrup. Place sugar and water into a small saucepan, bring it to a quick rolling boil, and remove from heat. Add in your lemon juice. Mix well and allow this mixture to cool down.
12. Make your lemon icing: place sifted powdered sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Add in your lemon juice. For thicker glaze, start off with only 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and add more from there. Add in a small squeeze of lemon oil. Mix using a wire whisk. Add more or less powdered sugar to control consistency. Cover until ready to use.
13. When cake is done, allow it to rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen up the cake from pan and set it on a wire rack.
14. Using a skewer, poke holes throughout the whole cake. Using a spoon, slowly pour the lemon syrup all over the cake.
15. Once the cake has cooled down, pour your lemon glaze all over the cake. Allow for glaze to set (about 15 minutes). ENJOY!
NOTES:
-For best results, use extra large eggs.
-To make caster sugar, place white granulated sugar into a food processor and pulse until smooth.
-Love pound cake? If you do not separate the eggs and just beat them in whole, the cake will be much denser and taste like a pound cake!
-If you do not separate the eggs, the cooking time will be a bit longer.
-Add a little lemon zest to the lemon glaze for a little kick!
-I highly recommend purchasing some lemon oil (I use the Wilton brand) if you can find some! I found mine from my local craft store, Michaels. If you really want to splurge, Lorann makes a good lemon oil, as well.
