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Madhatter cake photos
I shared this post about a Madhatter cake that I made for my friend Meera’s Bridal shower. Here are some amazing photos her photographer Diana Rothery (www.dianarothery.com) took of the bride and her cake. Check out her site! Me & Meera (the cake was displayed in a gorgeous vintage birdcage) She looked absolutely stunning! Proof we ate it! (Cutting the cake)
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Brownie bites
My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew just came to California to visit, so I wanted to make them something cute. Brownie bites are fun because they are so easy to snack on and can be shared without much hassle. They also travel well if you are looking to mail someone a package. It’s really unfortunate that my nephew is too young to eat real food yet, but I figured he could appreciate looking at them 🙂 Below is my favorite brownie recipe… It’s eggless and uses yogurt to keep the amount of oil/fat to a minimum. Makes really chewy brownies! Ingredients: 2 C flour 2 C white sugar 3/4 C cocoa powder 1/4 C choc chips…
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Face blindness
60 minutes recently did an interesting piece on Prosopagnosia (face blindness) which I think gives a really interesting perspective on both the science of the condition and its emotional effects. It also has some interesting interviews with Nancy Kanwisher (MIT) and Oliver Sachs (who knew he’s prosopagnosic himself?) http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7402685n&tag=contentMain;contentAux (part 1) http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7402689n&tag=contentMain;contentAux (part 2) They are two short (~12 mins) clips. Definitely recommend checking them out!
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A good book
My friend Karthik sent me this article from the NY Times (attached below since you have to log in to NYTimes online to be able to access it.) I am a huge huge fan of fiction books and really enjoy reading vivid stories that come to life on the page. Speaking of which, I am SUPER excited to see the Hunger Games movie at midnight tomorrow! I have never really considered how reading fiction may affect our sensory systems, but this article seems pretty logical to me. The fMRI studies this article cites discuss something we all have experienced, though maybe on a much less “scientific” level. When I read…
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A Madhatter Cake!
This weekend I attended my friend Meera’s Madhatter themed bridal shower. She asked me to make her a whimsical and fun cake incorporating floral flavors in green, pink, and black. Here is the final product: The green & black layer is Lavender-Lemon cake and the pink layer is a rose cake. Both are covered with a vanilla buttercream frosting and vanilla fondant. Decorations are in buttercream and fondant except the feathers which are not edible. (Recipes to follow…) To assemble the crooked cakes, I used the 10 inch and 8 inch Mad Dadder’s crooked cake pans. I highly recommend them if you are looking to create this effect. After the 10…
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Review: Calafia (Palo Alto)
I’ve been to calafia a few times, so I thought I should write about it. I’ve heard it was started by the ex-head chef of Google. Very Bay Area nerdy cool. Brunch Items: 1. Eggs chiapas without bacon and with poached eggs instead of fried. The tostada and eggs were well made. I wish the rojo sauce had a little more spice to it, but I asked for some hot sauce and it did the trick. 2. Blue Max without ham sub mushrooms. I love love love poached eggs with a good hollandaise and this did not disappoint. 3. Two Eggs with Biscuits and vegetarian Mushroom Gravy. LOVED this dish.…
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Text health?
Interesting article (via MobiHealthNews.com) about health care plans adopting texting and mobile apps as a way to communicate more efficiently with subscribers. I definitely need to look into whether or via Palo Alto Medical Foundation has an iPhone app. Prescription refills on the go? I like that.
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Review: Tamarine (Palo Alto)
I recently visited Tamarine in Palo Alto. This Vietnamese place has been on my “To Try” list for a long time, so I thought I should check it out. We ordered: Banh Mi Roti —> Really amazing, soft roti with a great panang curry dipping sauce. Could have used a bit more spice in the sauce, but it was scrumptious as is. Chili-Lime Aubergine —> I really love eggplant, so I had high hopes for this dish. It was just ok. I felt that the temperature was a little off and scallion shreds on top had a weird texture. Panko Crusted Pressed Tofu —> Wow! This dish was absolutely amazing.…
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St. patty’s day fudge (made with bailey’s irish cream)
When I was in middle school, I absolutely LOVED going to Great America (our local theme park) and riding all the roller coasters. At the end of every day, I would get a big piece of fudge and eat it in the car on my way home. I remember the fudge shop having many many different flavors, though I tended to be a pretty loyal fan to the thick, rich chocolate fudge. With St. Patrick’s day soon approaching, I wanted to make a slightly more adult version of this sweet treat. Here is my recipe for Bailey’s Irish Cream Fudge! Ingredients: 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate 8 ounces sweetened condensed milk…
