{Another Crrruummmbbble!}

Yes, I made another crumble.

I really liked the apple one, but I wanted to make something different this time. I actually had some bananas in the kitchen, but they were getting very overripe. They had brown spots everywhere and felt really mushy, so I decided to use them now (I really don't like wasting food). The recipe is very similar to the apple crumble recipe. The only difference is that instead of apples, I added some cinnamon and three sliced bananas. If you want to the recipe, click here. I am very busy right now in school, and I am sorry if I do not post as much recipes as I usually did before. I hope that I can get some free time soon to bake more!

{Apple Crrrummmblle}

Something I dream of being able to wake up to the smell of something baking everyday, like a batch of freshly baked gooey chocolate chip cookies or fudgey chocolate brownies, followed by a quick hurry to the kitchen, and searching hastily until I pinpoint the treats waiting patiently for me to eat them.

I found myself wanting to eat this crumble all the time - the first treat I lay my eyes on everyday, a simple snack after a tiring day at school, and for something sweet to eat after every lunch and dinner. The apples that I purchased were juicy and firm, and I was delighted when I got my first slice of the apple crumble. The apple pieces turned very soft, and there was even more juice seeping out! I absolutely adore the crust - it was crumbly and sweet with a hint of butter.

I was fortunate to purchase one of Ina Garten's cookbooks, and my eyes are always glued to the TV whenever her show is on. I got the her recipe for this crumble from the Food Network website, but I hope I get to use one of her other recipes from her cookbook soon! Banana Crunch Muffins, Chocolate Buttercream Cake, Pecan Shortbread, Raspberry Tarts - I am going to have a complicated time deciding what I want to bake next!

While waiting 40 minutes for this crumble to finally be ready to consume, I was getting ravenous by the minute. Cinnamon wafted all around the house, but I attempted to distract myself to avoid dashing into the kitchen and taking the crumble out of the oven too soon. It's astonishing how fast time flies. Before I knew it, the crumble was ready to be eaten, hot and served with some freezing vanilla ice cream. I guess I could compare it with life a bit. Sometimes I feel as if just a week ago I was ready to experience what being a kindergartner was like. A few days ago I experienced for the first time what it was like to have a locker and learning what Day A and Day B were, and now I am finally getting used to high school. Before I know it, I'll be sitting in an unfamiliar classroom in a university, anxious and exhilarated before the lesson starts!

Crrrummmmbbllyyy

If you would like the recipe for this delicious crumble, click here. I highly recommend trying this - it can be eaten at any time of the day, and all you need to do is heat it up in a microwave before you consume it. I altered the recipe by adding more cinnamon and using apples into of peaches and blueberries. You can experiment with different fruits, but I felt like using four diced apples instead of peaches and blueberries.

Note: Instead of using ramekins, I used a Pyrex glass dish.

Oh-so-delicious crust

{A Very Simple French Toast Recipe}

I remember one morning when my mother made french toast for my siblings and I during breakfast when we were younger, and I have always wanted to try and make them ever since. They are really easy to make, which is why you can make them anytime you want whenever you feel like it (since most of us usually have the ingredients from the recipe lying around in our kitchen).

A few years ago my family members and I started eating wheat bread instead of white bread. Wheat bread is better for you, and I actually like the taste of wheat bread more.

Ingredients:
2 to 4 pieces of bread (I used wheat bread, but you can use other types of bread, like white bread)
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
Cinnamon for sprinkling (optional)

1. Beat the egg in a bowl. Add the milk and vanilla extract and stir until well combined.



2. Dunk each piece of bread in the egg mixture, and make sure that both sides are covered.

(For this recipe, I toasted the pieces of bread before dunking them because the bread would become less soggy and would absorb more of the batter. This is why a lot of people make french toast when they have stale bread.)


3. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Cook the bread until both of the sides are light brown. This will take 3 to 5 minutes (while I was frying the bread, I sprinkled some cinnamon on top).


You can put a lot of different things on top of your bread, like cinnamon, powdered sugar, jelly/fruit, or maple syrup.

{Craypays... er, I mean Crepes}

When I wake up, I instantly head towards the kitchen to whip up something yummy for breakfast, whether it is something sweet like pancakes, crepes, and mini choco chip muffins, or other traditional breakfast food such as eggs and bacon.

To show you what my morning was like today, here is a never-before-seen preview of my new play entitled "The Big Sister Who Asked Her Little Sister What She Wanted For Breakfast, and The Little Sister Who Did Not Make Any Sense When She Said A Word That Her Big Sister Thought Was Made Up And/Or In Another Language."*

*Disclaimer: I am just joking. This is not a real play, and if it were, it would not be too successful. Not everyone thinks that a little sister mispronouncing a word is hilarious.

CAST

Big Sister
Little Sister

Mother

Act 1, Scene 1

(Little Sister goes into the kitchen and sees Big Sister peering into the fridge.)

Little Sister
What are you looking for?

Big Sister
I don't know what to make for breakfast. I'm looking for food to eat.

(Little Sister's face lights up)

Little Sister
I know! Remember before when you made something like pancakes, but it wasn't
pancakes?

(Big Sister looks perplexed and thinks, What is that? Pancakes but not pancakes...)

Little Sister
Remember? It was thin and we put chocolate and syrup on it? What was it called? Hmmmm..... (thinks for a few seconds) Oh! I know now! They were called craypays!

Big Sister
(stifles a laugh) What!?

Little Sister
Craypays? Creepeys? I forgot how to say it, but they were good!

Big Sister
(finally gets it) Oh! You mean crepes! (Bursts into laughter) What are... (giggles) craypays?

Little Sister
(smiles sheepishly) Oh! Ooops! Sorry, I meant crepes....(giggles)....craypays.

(Both sisters stare at each other until they start laughing hysterically on the kitchen floor, which is where they still are when their mother arrives)

Mother
What are you doing on the floor?

Big Sister
We're having craypays for breakfast.

Mother
What's a craypay?

End Scene

Ingredients
1 1/3 C milk
1 C flour
3 Tbs sugar (use less if you want to make savory crepes)
2 Tbs canola oil
2 eggs

To Make the Batter

1. Mix the eggs, oil, and sugar together.
2. Gradually add the flour while you are whisking. You need to have a batter with absolutely no lumps.
3. Keep adding flour until your batter is at a point where in it is thick and hard to whisk. Add milk bit by bit and whisk until all the ingredients in the bowl are mixed. The result will be a very thin batter.

Unlike other batter, like that of waffles and pancakes, you need a very thin batter for crepes.

To Cook The Crepes

You can use a crepe pan, but it is not necessary. You can also use a normal non-stick skillet. You need to make sure that your pan is hot before pouring the batter in. Also, before you pour the batter on the pan, grease it with a bit of butter.

Remember not to use a lot of the batter! All you need is enough batter to be able to fill the bottom of your pan (you can move the pan with one hand in a circular motion). Place your pan back on your stove and wait until the edges of your crepe have browned a bit. The time varies depending on the amount of batter you have, the heat of your pan, and the type of pan that you are using. It might take 30 seconds to cook one side of the crepe, but sometimes it may take more. If you are able to place a rubber spatula under your solid crepe, this means that it is cooked. Flip it so that the other side of the crepe is cooking.

Once you are finished cooking a crepe, you can serve it immediately or place it on a plate so that after you have finished cooking all of your crepes you will have a stack of them. Repeat these steps until you have used up all of your batter.

A crepe with chocolate sauce... yum!

Before I started making crepes, my mother reminded me not to make the crepes too thick, and I have to agree with her. I think that crepes taste better if they are thin, and not thick like a pancake.

After you have made your crepes you should look around your kitchen to see what you can out on top of your crepes. Let's face it, who enjoys plain crepes?

For people with a sweet tooth:
Fruit like strawberries, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. You can use any of the fruit pie fillings or jam for crepes, like peach, cherry, and blueberry. If you want your crepes even sweeter, you can try sifting some sugar on top. Another kind of topping that I like is chocolate sauce. Try peanut butter, whipped cream, or maple syrup with some butter. You can even add some finely chopped nuts, like walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.

If you are not really fond of sweet crepes, than you can try some savory crepes.

For people who prefer things savory:
Scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, ham and cheese, and mushrooms and cheese

These are just some suggestions. Look around to see what you like - you might come up with a new delicious topping for your crepes.

{Mmmmini Choco Chip Muffins}

Recipe Adapted from Bakerella

This morning I woke up and felt like baking something for breakfast. I have made pancakes and crepes in the past (I will post something about how I make my crepes soon), but I have a soft spot for these mini muffins because they are so minuscule and adorable and I could not help myself to just one.You can even bring them with you whenever you go somewhere so that you always have a little snack on hand (I can just pop them in my mouth).


Some of you may find them sweet, and I can see you crinkling your noses when you imagine adding even more sugary goodness to these mini muffins - maple syrup. It is so sweet, but I always find myself reaching for it whenever I devour breakfast food like pancakes, waffles, or crepes.

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2/3 cup buttermilk*
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (and more if you want to drizzle it on top of your mini muffins after they are finished baking)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (these can be the miniature kind if you prefer)


*After a few minutes of searching online, I quickly found out that you can make a buttermilk substitute if you do not have any buttermilk. The ways to make the substitutes sound interesting, but I have never tried making a buttermilk substitute. If you like using these methods, you do not have to run to the grocery store just to buy buttermilk!

If you want to try and make a buttermilk substitute, all you need are milk (slightly less than one cup) and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice

1. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to the milk.

2. Let this stand for five minutes.

(Yes, that's it! It is that easy)

Also, you use plain yogurt or sour cream instead of buttermilk.

If buttermilk is not available at your supermarket, you can try and search for powdered buttermilk. All you need to do is to add water to it.

1. Set oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees Celsius).
2. Mix the first five ingredients together (the dry ingredients) in a bowl. Set aside.

Make sure you have greased mini muffin pans nearby.


3. Mix the egg, milk, vanilla, and butter, and then pour this mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients.





4. Mix until they are well incorporated.



5. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into your mini muffin pans.




6. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.

A lot of them looked plain on the outside, but it was okay since you can taste all the chocolate chips that were hidden inside.

I hope these give a fantastic start to your day!