Halloween Helpers

The Quatchis were eager to give out candy to the wee ones this Halloween! About 25 kids knocked on our door, which doesn't seem like a lot, but is normal for our neighbourhood. We overcompensated with the amount of candy we bought. Please swing by so we're not eating it all ourselves!

Happy Halloween!

Road Trip with Mini Q

Mini Q joined me on a road trip to Ithaca. I was visiting a few friends that I met in China two summers ago. These friends have met Q before but not Mini Q. Q stayed home this time around to hold down the fort. Mini Q was excited to go on his own adventure!

Here's Mini Q crossing the border. We were just approaching the Canada-US divide at this time. Don't worry, I wasn't driving while taking this photo. It was stop and go, stop and go, all the way to the gates.

Cornell is very picturesque! The setting was exceptional with the rolling hills, the leaves changing colour, and the lake below. I was impressed.

Mini Q checking out the famous clock tower.

Inside the A.D. White Library (Uris Library) - the oldest library on campus. It's also opened 24/7.

Gearing up for spicy hot pot. We ate for two hours! I was in a food coma afterwards.

On the way home, my friend took me for a tour of his school - the University of Buffalo. This is North campus.

 

Mini Q (and Alex's hand) with the school's official mascot. Naturally, it's a buffalo.

Mini Q made some new friends! We then had buffalo wings for dinner. I've had buffalo wings before - my first time in Buffalo. They were messy as all get out (hence, no photos of Mini Q - my fingers were too sticky), but they were worth it. Yes, they were definitely worth it.

Thanks Shuai, Yufei, and Alex for a great weekend! It was a long overdue reunion. I'm happy we made it happen!

Keeping in touch

While I was in Asia this past summer, I made a lot of great friends. One of them is from New Zealand. Even though he's across the globe, we still manage to keep in touch fairly regularly. I always look forward to our bi-weekly Skype dates. We usually talk for hours on end.

Q and Mini Q also made a good friend while in Taiwan and HK - Cabbie! They really enjoy Skyping with her, and can't wait to see her again one day.

Big shout out to our NZ friends! Wo men xiang ni men!

Getting our bake on with blueberry cake

The Quatchis are really getting the hang of this baking gig. We've been in the kitchen a lot lately. 'Tis a good thing too because we're behind in our monthly baking.

My mum had a bunch of ripe blueberries that she wanted me to use. I found the following recipe and thought, ooooohhh, this is gonna be a good one!

Melt In Your Mouth Blueberry Cake

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup milk

2 egg whites

1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.

Cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Separate eggs and reserve the whites. Add egg yolks to the sugar mixture; beat until creamy.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and baking powder; add alternately with milk to egg yolk mixture. Coat berries with 1 tablespoon flour and add to batter.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake for about 50 minutes.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Aberfoyle Antique Market!

My go-to cookie recipe

This recipe is not new, but I wanted to share it with you anyway. It's been tried, tested, and true to my family. It's also a hit with my friends. We baked yesterday because my dad had a huge craving for cookies. He's the cookie monster out of my family, hands down.

Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, melted, cooled

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

102 g box instant vanilla pudding mix

2 tablespoons milk

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon each: baking powder, baking soda

2 cups milk chocolate chips

In large mixing bowl, using wooden spoon, mix butter and sugars until creamy. Stir in pudding mix and milk, then eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and baking soda; stir until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoonful on non-stick cookie sheets (about 12 per sheet). Bake, in batches, in preheated 350 F oven 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container. Makes about 36.

Source: Originally from the Toronto Star but also available here

Foodies

On Sunday, we celebrated my bro's birthday at Kaji. The Quatchis are such foodies so they had to come along. This was already a few courses in. Yum!

This is the sashimi course. The Quatchis loved it because it was the perfect size for them. This course was followed by assorted sushi, soup, noodles, and dessert. We were stuffed at the end!

Monkeying Around

We recently held a big BBQ at our house for the Chan fam. Everyone was there, including My Friend (the monkey with the toque). The Curious George sitting with the Quatchis is a recent purchase by my mum. He's for my cousin, who has quite the Curious George collection. The Quatchis love making new friends, and had a fun evening hanging out with the monkeys!

Strawberry Cake

Our first cake! At last! We have baked a cake! And the best part, it was so easy! The Quatchis and I are so pleased how it turned out!

Strawberry Cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pie plate

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 10-inch pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.

Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Transfer batter to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack. Cut into wedges. Cake can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, up to 2 days.

Source: Martha Stewart

From Taiwan to Hong Kong

Taipei is a beautiful place! I really want to go back one day. Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall was very cool. Too bad we missed the changing of the guard!

One afternoon we visited Bo-Pi Liao. It consists of well-preserved streets and traditional shop homes from the Qing period, as well as buildings from the Japanese occupation and early post-war periods. The Quatchis took time out to play a game with my friend, Ben.

On our last night in Taipei, we did what the Taiwanese do - KTV!!!

We sang from 11 at night until 4 in the morning!

We stayed in Hong Kong a few days after Dragon100 to visit friends and family. We really lucked out with the weather. It was hot and humid, which is standard for Hong Kong, but it didn't rain once. I love taking the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour! I have done it many times, but it never gets old.

The Quatchis in front of the Clock Tower in TST, Kowloon. It is the only remnant of the original site of the former Kowloon Station on the Kowloon-Canton Railway.

At the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the prized artifact is the Jadeite Cabbage. Everything in the gift shop replicates the cabbage. I even bought my brother a cabbage bottle opener. My friend, Yik, purchased a plush cabbage which he fondly named, Cabi. She quickly became friends with the Quatchis. They all joined us for dim sum one morning.

Q has been to Kuntsford Terrace but Mini Q has not. We grabbed an ice cream to cool off.

We are so thankful for the Chan fam for letting us stay at their condo while they were here back in Toronto. The Quatchis have never slept in such a big bed! Thanks again, Aunt G and Uncle H!

Overall we had a fantastic trip to Asia! We will be returning soon, I'm sure!