Wednesday 25 July 2012

early morning oatmeal

An early start today with freshly baked cookies :) The girls are coming over to finalizing our trip planning, so why not take this opportunity to bake? I cheated though.. I prepared the dough last night and just rolls them into balls and popped them in the oven. It made it so much easier (and a lot less dish washing in the morning). While making the dough last night, I realized how thankful I am having a stand mixer at home. Although I don't use it to make muffins, I don't think I'd bake as much if I didn't have one. It just makes the whole baking process sooooo much easier (and they also come in awesome colours too..).

Fresh out of the oven by 8 AM
I've always had a soft spot for oatmeal. I went into an odd oatmeal phase during CA school, especially for overnight oatmeal. I was pretty hyped about using chia seeds (the same one for the chia pets!), but I thought it was a little weird to eat porridge cold. Anyways, because of that, I bought a lot of oatmeal, a bag of around 1.5 kg. Actually, it was an oatmeal mix with flax seeds and wheat germs in it. I thought it'd have a more noticeable impact on the cookie's taste and texture, but I couldn't really tell... maybe Mike would. It does have quite a bit of sugar in it though, so that might mask its taste!

Monday 23 July 2012

macaroni and cheese gratin

Counting down the days to my trip! 6 days already and I'm off to Europe! Time just flies by! It feels like ages ago that I was still in school, talking about this trip with my friends as though it was going to be in forever. I'm slowly starting to pack up my stuff seeing what I'll need (as well as what I need to buy in Europe ;)). It's hard to believe that July is ending soon already.. On another note, tonight was game night at our home! We haven't played in ages just the family.

are you the "saboteur"?
Instead of baking today, I decided to make a mac & cheese gratin with Mum. It's not your ordinary KD and it took a looong time to make, much longer than any of my other baking projects... It did require using the stove, her specialty. I've never realized how much preparation was required to make this. Especially that our macaroni had a surprise layer in it: Swiss Chard, straight from the garden. My parents love to garden, but unfortunately I dislike this hobby of theirs. Whenever they leave on vacation and leave me to water their plants, it's always a nightmare.... but fresh veggies is always so awesome :) it's always ready in the backyard and fresh!

Thursday 19 July 2012

pancake madness

I've always had a sweet tooth when it comes to meals, including breakfast. One of my favorites to eat in the morning would have to be pancakes. They are so fluffy and light! And when they are soaked in maple syrup.. ahh so yummy! Who can say no to pancakes?! Definitely not Jan Di from Boys Over Flowers (go to 1:19 to see what I'm talking about)!
Can you spot them?
Anyhow, even though I love pancakes very much, I have always had a problem when coming to making them. It has always been a challenge. I'm not sure if it's the amount of batter I'm putting on the skillet or my actual recipe. I really can't tell! You can see a few burnt pancakes in my pile of pancakes. Actually, I think some of them burnt because I was drinking a glass of OJ while they were on the stove... I guess I was slightly distracted. However, most of them turned out pretty nice! And on top of that we have blueberries at home.. <3

Tuesday 17 July 2012

when pancake and crepe meet.

With two extra ripe bananas in the fridge, I didn't seem to have the time to make my morning oatmeal, at least I was not in the mood. It'd be a lie if I said I didn't have the time. Being on vacation, it seems that I lost track of it! It's hard to even remember what day it is. Everyday sort of feels like a Saturday.

Banana Crepes
Anyhow, I decided to make my mom's signature banana crepes or pancakes. It's not thin enough to be a crepe, but not thick and fluffy like a pancake. I guess that means this is a hybrid. It tastes very banana-y. I wish I had more bananas.. I only got a dozen out of two bananas. I find it funny how it doesn't look very appealing on one side as the picture below. The other side looks much nicer though!

Monday 16 July 2012

macarooner.

Sesame streets seems to be a very good inspiration for baking. I saw Cookie Monster's audition for SNL (if you don't want to watch all of it, you can fast forward to 1:37 to see what I'm referring to) and I thought it was good opportunity to bake some macaroons.

Coconut Macaroons
Don't be fooled by the names! These are not "macarons", but "macaroons". The additional "o" makes a big difference. I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of coconut, but my dad has also been talking about making some for a while now. So what better than to do it during your vacations!

Thursday 12 July 2012

a fresh beginning.

If you are reading this, that means I have officially decided to start my food blog. It feels like just last year that I was telling Cars how much I wanted one. So why did it take so long? I didn't have a blog name. I know whatever name I pick, it doesn't matter, right? The whole point would be to keep track of my lovely adventures in my kitchen. So, yes, it took me an entire year to get this thing figured out.

How did I come up with the name? In fact, I didn't. It's actually my brother's idea. He was joking around saying how I should call it Delices de l'Ile Maurice (a Mauritian restaurant in Verdun) as well as other silly names related to my childhood. He then came up with "aux caprices des délices". I love the French touch in a name. I think it's something about the language that gives it that hint of sophistication (or maybe it's just me). Anyhow, it turns out that Aux Caprices des Délices was some B&B somewhere in Quebec. So, I decided it was best to stick with Délices et Caprices. I love things that rhyme anyways.

Today marks a very important day: the first of my summer vacatioooons! And for the first time in 5 years, I'm not working this summer and I'm free as a bird. So what better than to celebrate by baking! :)

Snickerdoodles