Food: chinese bread with dry pork floss 肉松面包

I know I should be reviewing ppt for my defense, but I HATE studying before an exam, so why don’t we talk about something else?

I asked my mom what she wants for breakfast? She said 肉松面包. That is chinese style bread topped with dry pork floss. So I made it for her 😉 I love love cooking for my mom!!! 😆

To made the bread:

• 150g milk
• 25g sugar
• 30g butter
• 1 egg
• 270g flour
• 30g vital gluten
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp yeast

once the dough is ready, separate the dough in 8 portions

roll it as to make a hot dog

let it rise again (~60 min) in a warm place.

brush with beaten egg

bake at 360F for 16-18 min

cut in half and brush with 1 tbsp of mayonnaise

and top with dry pork floss

My mom had two for breakfast this morning and LOVES IT!!! “it’s just like what I buy from 85C (a famous bakery in shanghai)!” 😀

Recipe: Whole Grain Pumpkin Bread

On Sunday while Star took nap, I made a new bread 😉

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients to put into the bread machine in this order:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp oil (I used coconut oil)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
• 2 cups WW flour
• 1 cup oat flour (oatmeal grounded + oat bran)
• 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
• 2 tsp yeast

Once the dough is read, transfer it to a baking pan

use the microwave steam method (put a glass of water and microwave for 3 min at high, take out the glass and put the dough. The steam from the hot water creates a good environment for the fermentation.

30 min later… look how it has risen

bake at 375F for 30-35 min

It de-puffed a little bit

remove from the pan. let it cool and store at the freezer for 15 min before slicing it

The texture is like bread, not the pumpkin-bread-cake like texture which is cakey. It’s dense, a bit of chewy, a touch of pumpkin bread flavor and it’s WW!!! 😀

The next morning our breakfast. Star had PB cookies with tea

I had toasted bread with multi-bean milk

love the color 😉

one with LC and the other with PB (I think I’ll make almond butter next time… PB is just not my thing 😦 )

Other eats: sauteed chinese greens with smoked pork belly and dry chili

Star’s lunch

I had another stir-fry (it’s my safe meal now! I am having one of these everyday ;), just love love it!!!)

this has iceberg lettuce, mushrooms (I think I’m eating almost 5 pounds of mushrooms every week!!!), bamboo (obsessed! A tutorial soon), vegetarian chicken, green peas, sauteed with olive preserved olive leaf, soy sauce, brown sugar and white pepper (another obsession!)

served with a steam corn (all time obsession! ;))

Okay, ladies, I’ll be posting more fashion and beauty related things in the future, because I’m reading a lot of fashion/beauty blogs lately and I feel inspired! 😉 Yesterday I spent the whole afternoon reading/watching this sweet petite-girl~~~ 🙂

Q1: What’s your must-have makeup item? Lipstick

Q2: Latest food obsession? Fresh bamboo

 

Mr. Charming’s Bday party

It was one of my best friend’s birthday, and he’s the most charming person I’ve ever met. Why I say that? Because it was his birthday party, which was amazing, with 16 amazing people and tons of amazing food, BUT, he didn’t do a thing!!! 😯 He delegated all the cooking and preparation tasks to his friends!!! And what’s the most incredible part? Everyone really enjoyed doing it! Woooo!!! You need to be gifted to be able to do that. I guess that’s a quality of any successful leader: make everyone really wants to work for you!!! 😆

What was my task? BREAD obviously 😉

someone made a lebanese appetizer: asparagus rolled in bread with cheese filling. YUM~

bruschetta

 

someone made sorrentinos! AMAZING, homemade pasta!!!

served with a blue cheese and walnut sauce

or tomato sauce

or a mix of the two

let me present you Mr. Charming 😉

and a chocolate mousse cake

I made two kinds of bread and both hit the spot! Everyone loved it and I’m really proud of me 😉

#1: Olive Loaf

• 3 cups (500g) all purpose flour
• 1 cup (200 ml) water
• 1.5 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 oz. olives chopped

after the dough cycle, rest in a warm place for an hour

ready to bake

at 350F for 30-35 min

It was like those breads served in restaurants, incredible moisture and taste. 🙂

#2 French bread

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups all purpose flour
  

after the dough cycle, make two cylinder shape loaf and let it rest in a warm place for 45 min

ready to bake

bake at 425 F for 20 min and 10 min at 350F

This bread has a soft, compact crumb with a crispy crust. It is not chewy as baguette but it’s a perfect companion for a dinner. I really like it! 🙂

Q: Do you know any charming person? What do you learn from them? I learn from my friend that is really important to make everyone around you feel relaxed and comfortable, pay attention to each person’s feeling and be generous with compliments.