Peanut butter granola bars

By now, you've probably realized that in a fearful way, I worship Martha Stewart. I didn't realize this until one day, I signed up for her daily newsletter. I also keep going back to her site for her recipes (note: I always tinker, but her recipes require minimal tinkering).

Case in point: granola bars. I'm a fan of granola bars but I never know what goes in them - plus store-bought ones tend to not be filling (or so I think). So in my quest for a granola bar recipe, I turned to Martha once again and found this recipe.

The recipe worked out really well, though if I were to attempt it again, I would leave out the vegetable oil. The oil in the peanut butter is enough to prevent anything from sticking to the parchment paper. I would also reduce the sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/3 of a cup.

After the granola mixture baked and cooled down, I had to cut the bars and package them (many of you also know that I rarely eat what I bake) to give away.
Like actual granola bars, I packaged each one in saran wrap and then placed them in a tin takeout box. The  fit was snug, and I was afraid to just shove them in the box - so I game up with a solution a la Martha: a pull tag!

All I can say is that I'm extremely proud of this.  Oh, and the granola bars were extremely yummy too.

New Korea Restaurant

Tucked away in the T&T Supermarket Food Court located at 5661 Steeles Avenue East in Scarborough is the New Korea Restaurant, a modest food stall offering exactly 10 menu items: one of them being spicy pork bone soup. Not knowing what to expect from a food court restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised at how perfectly spicy and delicious the soup was. The pork literally fell off the bone.

I was first introduced to pork bone soup by a friend (who is now back in South Korea). Fragrant, spicy and awesome for a cold winter day, I was surprised that something so simple could be so flavourful.

Boiling hot for a cold winter day

Now, I'm no expert on Korean food, but I have to say the soup I had today at New Korea Restaurant was good for this foodie's soul. Served with white rice (which I skipped) and a side of kimchi, the meal was really well priced ($8.95). The fact that it's easy-on-the-wallet is a definite bonus.

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.  (Not that I think you'd need it - the soup really does consist of a spicy broth).

Cinnamon sugar cookies

Earlier this week, I mentioned Big Oven, a collection of recipes contributed by fellow foodies. One recipe in particular caught my eye: Mrs Fields' cinnamon sugar cookies. I followed the ingredients and instructions almost exactly, but tinkered with different cooking temperatures and times.

When I followed the recipe at 300 F and baked them for 18 minutes the cookies turned out very cakey.  According to the recipe photos, it's supposed to be cakey, but I' m not a fan of cakey cookies (haha).

So I started to tinker.  I baked the second batch at 350 F for 12 minutes - the texture was a little harder, but not quite there.  So I reviewed the recipe again.  

The recipe calls for 2 eggs - which is a lot. This most likely contributed to the cake-like texture. I think I'll try baking with 1 egg next time.

Overall, it's a tasty cookie, and one that I would make again.

Hangover foods

As I write this post, I am waiting for the butter to soften so that I can bake cinnamon butter sugar cookies - a recipe from Big Oven. A friend recently shared this site with me, and I'm eager to check it out. Said friend is also nursing a bit of a hangover (me too, but that's another story), which got me thinking about the best hangover foods.

Personally, I'm a fan of greasy foods, like bacon, eggs and something made from potatoes. A burger could be good too. Throw in some coffee, a couple of Advil and half a dozen glasses of water, and I'll be ready to rejoin the human race. But I know hangover remedies can vary from person-to person. Greasy breakfasts seem to be the norm, but I know some folks who like soup, congee, and even oatmeal (I love oatmeal, but the thought of oatmeal when hungover is well...disgusting).

I remember being at breakfast once and seeing a friend of mine eat a baked tomato with cheese. I'm not a fan of baked tomatoes on a good day, and when I saw that while hungover...ugh...let's just say I made a beeline for the bacon.

What are your hangover remedies?  I'd love to hear from you - feel free to Tweet or add to the comments section! Thanks in advance!

T&T Chinese gourmet bun festival

I love Chinese buns. Not the Westernized kinds (though those can be good too), but the traditional Chinese buns - white dough stuffed with delicious fillings - sometimes sweet, sometimes savoury (I personally prefer preserved vegetables with pork and ginger).  But sweet can be good too.

I was at T&T Supermarket today and saw an impressive and beautiful display of Chinese buns, or bao.  The display is part of their Chinese Gourmet Bun Festival. I recognized many of the baos, but there was definitely one that caught my eye: the pumpkin bun. 

Shaped to look like pumpkins, and filled with pureed pumpkin, I was definitely intrigued. (Pumpkins aren't native to Chinese cuisine, so it's always interesting to me when I see this item on Chinese menus). But I do have to admit that the biggest motivation to me buying the bun was the way it looked (yes, I too can be shallow when it comes to food).  

Lucky for me, the bun was tasty. The pureed pumpkin was mixed with...I'm not sure what...perhaps a lotus paste, and it was GOOD. The bun was freshly steamed and hot to the touch (I basically burnt myself on the first bite!)  The texture of the bun was a good balance of softness and elastickiness (yes, I just made that word up).  

There were lots of other buns available to eat, but since I am watching my waste line, I only ate one.  But I do urge you to try the buns - I'm not sure how long the festival runs, but it's definitely something to try before it's gone. (Note: the dried vegetable and pork buns looked yummy too).