i dont know why, but lately, ive reallllly wanted to try:
-prosciutto+figs combo. i mean cmon, doesnt that look DELICIOUS?!! one time i saw someone eat some figs and i was THIS close on asking them if i could take a bite.

-ive also been a bit obsessed with cheese. well, i guess just brie and gouda. man, they are so yummy. i think i can eat a huge chuck o’ brie plain and be the happiest person in the world (also probably the gassiest).

AND LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND:

holy moly..a brie+figs+prosciutto panini.

i think ive just found the key to happiness in life.  wow o wow o wowwwwwwwwwww!

but whenever i try a new cooking recipe, the thought of it turning out bad/un-edible NEVER crosses my mind. never. ever. seriously.

i dont know why, but i just never really feel that intimidated whenever i try out a new recipe–of course i try to keep it within the range of my cooking abilities + a bit more challenging, so im not talking about slow roasting some huge piece o’ meat for 6hrs and then making some crazy stuff to go along with that meat or..something..complicated like that?…err…that didnt really sound difficult, but basically i stick to the ingredients that i have in the house. ie. chicken, veggies, etc.

of course when it comes to baking, i am always on my tippytoes because baking is just plain finky sometimes…

anyway, 
so last night i decided to try out this new recipe: 
crispy chicken in a garlic mushroom sauce pasta 
(uh, ignore this person’s blog’s profile picture, and believe me that this recipe is bomb)

now when i embark on a new recipe, i basically read the directions over and over again until i can visually see myself going through all of the steps in my head without actually doing it….
kind of weird huh?
well that is so that i dont have to constantly look at the recipe to see what the next step is…and in whenever i cook, i dont follow the recipe exactly. i dont measure out how many mushrooms, i like mushrooms so i just add a buttload because i know that in the end, it’s okay going to okay… i mean you cant go wrong with a few extra mushrooms right? and instead of using chicken thighs, i switched to the breast (haha.breast…okay, not funny?)
and i feel like cooking recipes are kind of vague in itself, there never really is a correct amount of time on how long to cook chicken…err maybe there is and i just havent figured it out yet…

ANYWAY,
i gotta say, everything turned out pretty darn good.
the garlic mushroom sauce was my favorite part–although i should have made more. the sauce was made in the same pan as the crispy chicken so you were able to taste the yummy chicken-y seasoned parts, and the roux was perfectly thick enough to pour over the pasta…mmmmm i do like me a meannn roux!

 unfortunately, the chicken wasnt really crispy b/c i had to let it stay warm in the oven and it kind of just….got a bit soggyish. BUT THAT’S OKAY BECAUSE THAT CHICKEN BREAST WAS THE BEST CHICKEN BREAST I HAVE EVER COOKED–EVERR!!
why?
1. i defrosted/soaked it in a salt&water cold bath. thanks for those who told me about this tip!
2. im just the best?… (just kiddinggggggggg)
but that chicken breast really was pretty tender, and muchhhh better than what i expected. and normally my chicken breast turns out … strange.

anyway, that was all for that night

ugh, this italian parsley was nothing like what i expected. i should have just stuck w/ basil -__-

duh final resultttttt

 
my favorite graces

our asian slave

mmm poppysicle…

because the nearest frozen yogurt place (yogurtland) is about a 1min walk from where i live, i am always venturing over there whenever i have time/money to do so.

i like almost all the flavors in yogurtland, but i gotta say that there are some that simply outshine the rest.
this is the compiled list of what i believe are the more outstanding than others…

1. strawberry banana: if you like that combo of strawberries and bananas, you will seriously love this flavor. i seriously love this flavor… and it’s supposedly 99% sugar free. i dont really taste any sugar/sweet difference, but all i know is that i am in love with this flavor. it tastes like strawberries and bananas (and it’s not a seasonal flavor, it seems to be in most yogurtland places all the time)

2. lychee tart: this is one of those flavors that come in and out of shops. i remember when it appeared in the yogurtland i normally go to, i went almost everyday because i knew it wouldnt be in the store for long. everyone who tasted this flavor has agreed with me that it is quite delicious. it is not too sweet, but it tastes like lychee with a kick of tart. mmmmm….

3. green tea: need i say more? IT’S GREEN TEA! it’s not too sugary like the ice cream, rather cool and refreshing. i dont think i even sampled it before i bought it because i knew that nothing could be wrong with this frozen yogurt. and nothing was. sometimes i like just getting green tea and mango because the two combination is quite delicious.

4. pomegranate raspberry tart: i think this is a recent flavor. i just got it today, and ive been going crazy over this flavor. again, not too sweet, and not too tart. it seriously tastes like pomegranate and raspberry (then again, i feel like those two fruits are quite similar in taste sometimes..).  thiis is a flavor that everyone should watch out for…

again, all the other flavors at yogurtland are good, but they arent this good.
it’s like a crazy circus on my taste buds!

this was taken last year. i look really dark. i was really dark. now i am not.

this past year, ive been having  a strange relationship with baking.

with cooking not so much. i mean, most everything i cook/make ends up coming out eatible and pretty yummy (to me at least).

however, not with baking. in high school and beginning of college i was a pretty decent baker. i mean, most of the stuff that i made came out quite delicious and i prided myself in making things from “scratch”.
but the past few baking adventures have been quite a Debby Downer.

i made simple chocolate chip cookies, while they were delicious once out of the oven (still all warm and gooey), once it cooled down they became hard as rocks.
i made blueberry muffins. the blueberries taste like nothing, but the bread wasnt too bad. BUT IT WAS THE STRANGEST THING TO EAT.
i made pumpkin cookies (something ive been making since foreverrrr) and this too came out…bland.
i made apple muffintops (my sister got me a muffinTOp tin, instead of just a muffin tin b/c everyone just likes the tops of the their muffins/cupcakes..) and while it was actually not too bad in taste and texture, the apple muffintops were still a bit of a disappointment the next day.

now im kind of hesitant to bake anything sweet and fluffy because i am scared that it turn out terrible…

i guess this is a sign that i shouldnt be a baker when i grow up. that is one more dream to cross off on my list of “dreams”. hahaha

bytheway, ive noticed that it has seriously been EVERY girls dream to open up their own cutesy cafe/bakery.
and here i thought i was being original on what i wanted to do when i grew up…
(yeah im not grown up yet)

i normally dont really like a lot of food with apple in it. except for apple pie and apple juice. but other things such as: apple scones, apple crisps, apple muffins, apple bread, apple stew (never had it, i just kind of made it up, but im sure there is such a thing…)

but, today i made apple muffin tops. (my sister gave me a muffin TOP pan, not a muffin pan. so instead of eating the rest of the muffin, you can just eat the muffin top! the part everyone loves best!)
anyway, i used it to make apple muffins. i doubled the amount of apples that i used to put in the muffins (makes it more moist, flavoring) and it still didnt come out as well as i had hoped for. but it was still pretty gosh darn good. heh

to me, the rest of the apple food products do not have enough of that “apple” taste. it just ends up tasting somewhat bland or way to over powered by the sugar and cinnamon used to hide the lacking apple flavor.
one time i made apple bread. or, it was some type of dessert apple bread type thing. it was eehh. maybe it was my poor baking skills or something like that, but it didnt taste like an apple.

i just think that the apple does not have a strong flavor whenever it is cooked/baked in anyway (except for veryyyyy few exceptions).
mmm…apple muffin tops for breakfast tomorrow…