Small but Powerful: blueberries!!!

“I've tried it on, like, twenty Oompa-Loompas and each one ended up as a blueberry. It's just weird!” - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Violet turned into a blueberry! hahaha, I love the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory story! It is one of my favourite books! I loved Johnny Depp in the movie. Oompa-Loompas are kind of scary though! haha

Blueberries are one of my favourite fruits. I think it would be my #2 since banana is #1 ... YUM!! I always loved blueberries; they are so cute, nice in colour, and most of all they taste so good. I could eat handfuls of blueberries anyday. They are the best snack too! I remember saying before blueberries are liars... why? because they look purple to me, well I suppose it's outside is a dark blue-purple, but it definitely has purple juice colour that comes out.

You can say, the best things come in small packages, which is very true when you refer to blueberries... and short, little me too =P haha. Why are blueberries so awesome? Well they have many super health benefits. They are antioxidant rich, which I said before is good for your body because it fights off those bad free radicals, which in turn help with reducing the risk of diseases. Next, they are high in vitamin C, which is good for your immune system. For a tiny little berry it is full of nutrients ranging from folate, iron, and manganese. Blueberries also contains fibre, which is good for you, because we all need some more fibre in our diets! Some research has even shown that blueberries are good for the brain; in animals, blueberry extract has improved memory, coordination, and balance. (WOW... I should definitely eat more blueberries, since my memory is horrible!) I could go on and on about the health benefits of blueberries, but you would be reading for a while, so just
know that blueberries are really good for you! Go grab some fresh blueberries while they are in season!

In the last few months, I have made a few blueberry treats! Way back in the beginning of the year, I made blueberry cupcakes. Then blueberry tarts. Then blueberry muffins!

... Go on read more for recipes & blueberry results.

“You sold us a bad batch of hash brownies!” – Eurotrip (2004)

hahaha… okay these are not hash brownies, but remember in the movie Eurotrip, when Scott and Jenny, went to the bakery in Amsterdam and they thought they ate a plate of hash brownies, and started acting crazy, when it was just regular brownies? LOL Here’s a little reminder:

Scott: You sold us a bad batch of hash brownies! You're a bad, bad Rastafarian.
Rasta Waiter: These are not hash brownies.
Scott: ...what was that?
Rasta Waiter: We do not sell hash brownies here, we are simple Dutch bakery! Now put your clothes back on, white boy!

hahahaha

I made these brownies a while ago for a dinner party because the recipe seemed very convincing of how delicious they were…

… read more for results & a SURPRISE!

You’re such a peach!

One of the great things about summer is the summer fruits!!! I forgot my love for peach until I took a bite out of one a few weeks ago. It was like sweet bliss, so sweet, juicy and succulent. However, for my brother who was sitting beside me did not enjoy my loud slurps from trying to keep the juices from dripping down my chin, but whatever, it was so yummy! I LOVE PEACHES!

In my family, I am the dessert girl, but I hardly make any dessert for dinner, because usually we get really full from the actual dinner one and… I’m kind of lazy especially when I’m hungry… haha So one day, with my peaches in hand & dinner almost starting, I decided to quickly whip up this french dessert, called “clafoutis.”  Plus I saw Anna Olson do it easily on her show, Fresh with Anna Olson, the week before, so I thought why not. She used plums, but I just used peaches.

… go on, take another bite & read more

Pretty Please with a Cherry on Top :)

Hey everyone! Sorry I been away for almost 2 months :( I have been quite busy with everything (a wedding (not mine’s of course), vacations, work & just living life), but I didn’t stop baking, I made a few things during this time. So I’ll be blogging about these little baking adventures within the next week :) I’m back in full force!

Every year around June, I get bags of cherries so I try to make something with cherries (last year I made super mini cherry pies). This year I found “Cherry coffee cake”. I couldn’t pass up trying this recipe because 1) it was simple 2) I love coffee cake 3) it incorporates my huge supply of cherries.

Cherry trees are the one of the first fruit trees to ripen in North America. The peak season for cherries is SUMMER, which is now! So I suggest to go cherry picking with a lover, a friend, or anyone that loves cherries or FUN =P haha
What’s so good about cherries anyways? Well they are SO PRETTY! They remind me Vegas, cause of those slot machine with the cherries, haha… But on a serious note, tart cherries provide us with the mighty antioxidants (which are fighters against those pesky free radicals in our bodies which reduces many health risks like cancer… basically they fight off bad guys so they don’t do bad things, such as leaving garbage in your body!) More specifically, the antioxidant that cherries provide are called, anthocyanins, which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties and research state that it helps with pain relief in joints; some studies state it helps inflammation more than ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc). Lastly, the darker the cherry is, the more anthocyanins there are.

... go on read more ;)