Baked cheesy shirmp bread 奶油焗烤麵包

We were running out of food, including baby formula. Looked like I needed to pay a visit to BJ's. My husband told me that he didn't see some of the items on the shopping list. I knew he didn't look carefully, so I have to go there myself. We asked my mother-in-law to come over and watch the twins with my husband. I was on my way to BJ's. It's nice to get out of the house and take a break from the baby-sitting. I bought almost $300 worth of groceries! Maybe I was in an excellent shopping mood. My husband said it's dangerous to let me go shopping by myself. I bought a baguette. I made some garlic bread with it, but I was thinking how to use up the rest of the baguette. If I don't use it soon, it will get as hard as stone. Carol has this really nice recipe, so enjoy it.

Dinner rolls 奶油餐包

Today is Christmas. All grocery stores are closed. However, I suddenly had a strong craving about dinner rolls. Ah~ I am so tired of cooking, but I don't know any magic either. So I gave in to my craving, and I started to make some dinner rolls. It only took 3 hours to make, from beginning to finish. When they're fresh just out of the oven, they are slightly flaky on the outside and soft in the inside, just the way I like it. I also put a small amount of butter inside for taste, but it's optional. Worth the try!

Banana walnut bread 香蕉核桃麵包

Recently we had such beautiful fall weather. Not too cold, not too hot, and the sun and the breeze are just lovely. It is so nice to talk a walk outside after lunch. We went grocery shopping after work. The sum of the price for all the things we buy at the end is always astonishing. Every single item is inexpensive, but they do add up. I wonder if we really save any money. However, one thing I often check is banana. I love bananas. They are sweet and filling. Good for breakfast, snack and any time you want a sweet boost.

Bruschetta

I first learned about Bruschetta is in the movie "Julie and Julia". There was a scene of Julie making bruschetta for dinner. It was only as short as 1 second, but I was deeply attracted by the beautiful colors and the golden brown bread. I tried to make it at home and also take advantage of my in-law's beautiful tomatoes -- bright read and bright yellow!! The baguette, when grilled to golden brown, is so crunchy! This is so easy and delicious!!

Green tea red bean bread 抹茶紅豆吐司

Thank God it's Friday! I have been feeling so lazy lately, maybe it's because the weather has been lovely. Low 80s or high 70s during the day, and low 60s at night. It's really hard to get out of the bed in the morning. This weekend is tax free weekend, so we will definitely take advantage of that. For some reason, I am not as excited about shopping as I was when I was single. Now my husband is more into shopping than I am. He was very happy to hear that I planned to go shopping this weekend. :-)

Deep dish pizza 厚片比薩

We love pizza! For some reason, such simple ingredients yet taste delicious! Cheese, pepperoni and the crust please my taste buds very much! I like to make pizza at home, because I can be very generous with the toppings and not worried about extra charge. We love UNO's deep dish pizza, and we also visited the original deep dish pizza, Gino's East, when we were in Chicago two summers ago. Now I attempt to make it at home. Luckily I can follow Carol's instructions. It tastes wonderful!

Chocolate marble bread 巧克力大理石吐司

This is another baking fun in the evening. I first learned this idea on Carol's blog, and I've been wanting to make this bread ever since. I finally got to make it today. I've got all the ingredients in my pantry. Chocolate is my all time favorite, you'll see. The final product looks a little different from Carol's, that's because I added too much chocolate! Not because I love chocolate, it's just out of convenience. The BAKER'S chocolate square is 30 g each, and the recipe calls for 50 g. I thought it's only a difference of 10 g, it wouldn't make a big difference, so I added 2 squares (60 g). The chocolate filling just wouldn't set! How am I going to wrap it in the dough? So I added more flour and corn starch. However, it did set beautifully after refrigerated for 30 minutes. So my bread has more marble pattern than others... Maybe it's not so bad?

Milky streusel bread 奶酥菠蘿吐司

This bread is commonly seen in Chinese bakeries, but it's nothing Chinese. It has a milky and creamy filling with streusel topping. Again, this is another childhood favorite. I remember this was a "must-buy" every time we were in a bakery. The smell of milk is REALLY strong when it first comes out of the oven, filling our whole house with the wonderful smell. We don't have a big house, but I love it very much. We put in a lot of time and effort to improve many places around and inside the house. It's where we build our dreams and life together.

Scallion buns 蔥花麵包

This is a savory buns that I liked very much as a kid. The style and flavor is very simple, yet it's very delicious. The buns are very soft and doughy inside, topped with chopped scallions mixed with some black pepper, just to give you a little spiciness on the tip of the tongue. It's great for breakfast or afternoon snack. I was so happy that I could reproduce this snack from childhood.

Seafood salad subway 海鮮沙拉堡

The warm weather continues. Everyday is blue sky, making me want to fly. You can smell summer in the breeze, oh, this is so exciting. I planted more flowers yesterday. It says "easy grow, germ in 10 days" on the box, I hope it's true! I've planted many flowers and shrubs around the house this year, and I am making my rounds everyday in the morning and after work. I hope I will have a beautiful garden this year.

Blueberry bread pudding 藍莓麵包布丁

I never liked "bread pudding". Mainly because my first memory related to "bread pudding" was not good. It was from my landlord when I was in graduate school. She baked a bread pudding and, I'm sorry to say, it didn't look good nor did it taste good. Even since then, I stayed far away from it UNTIL yesterday. Boy! Who knows that first memory can ruin my chance with bread pudding for such a long time! 

I watched the Katie Brown show on TV yesterday, and they were baking this bread pudding. It caught my eyes right away, because it looks gorgeous and incredibly easy. This has totally change my impression to bread pudding. It smells great already when it's still in the oven. The best part: it is crunchy on top yet so soft and smooth (just like pudding) inside. Two different textures in one bite! Serve when it's warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream -- also two different experiences in one bite! Enjoy!

Going to the zoo! 烤餅乾, 鮪魚三明治

Lat Friday was Good Friday and also the last day of school vacation. I thought it's the perfect day to take my little niece to the local zoo. She is two and a half years old, and this is her first time in the zoo. I thought to see live animals in front of her (rather than in a book) would make her excited.