Cinnamon Rolls

Lately, there's been certain things on my mind that have been frustrating and slightly irritating (for being frustrating). Often, when things like this come up, I like to amuse myself with other distractions that usually prove therapeutic and stress-relieving.

One of these past times has always been baking. I'm really not big on sweets, and the only baked good I will go completely nuts over is bread (which I am desperately trying to tone down now in an effort to be healthier), so I usually don't have many excuses to bake. But this time, I really really wanted to...I just needed a reason to do it and an idea on WHAT to make...

I'm not sure what exactly inspired me to make cinnamon rolls, but I do remember it was a very long and convoluted thought process that I won't go into. As for who I would make these sinfully delicious rolls for...well there was always our Church family group every Wednesday, and I know from experience that that bunch will literally eat anything loaded with sugar and fat.

Overall, judging by people's responses (and the smells wafting out of the kitchen for hours afterward), I think the cinnamon rolls were a success. The only problem is that the first batch came out a little burnt on the bottom because I underestimated how quickly they would bake. Oh, and I guess I could have added a little more glaze if I really wanted to get them right...

In other news, my dad has hinted that he may POSSIBLY MAYBE HOPEFULLY buy me a DSLR????? (OMG!!!!! I WOULD BE FOREVER INDEBTED), so I need to start thinking of the type/model I would want IF such a wondrous event should occur...

I wonder which is better for food photography? Nikon or Canon?? I guess most of it depends on the lens, rather than the actual camera. Here I'm using my house-mate's camera, which is a Canon and has a great lens for close-up shots. The pictures come out super crisp, which is absolutely amazing. Having used a point-and-shoot for more than a year, I'm not used to being spoiled with such rewarding shots. I mean, look at the glaze on those rolls!! Doesn't it make you smell the cinnamon right out of the computer screen??

Chickpea Pancakes

So I have officially decided to start updating my blog again. At least that's what I'm going to aim for. Things are a little easier in my schedule now, partly because I somewhat have this medical school business down (somewhat) and partly because we are in Physiology and Microanatomy, supposedly the easiest block in the 1st year curriculum.

I guess one of the biggest updates I can write about here is that I've signed up to run the San Francisco FULL marathon this summer! It's going to be extremely long and painful - more painful than I can even imagine now. I've been training for the past 3-4 months, and I'm only up to 13 miles so far...halfway there!  My biggest concern now is just watching out for my knees. During my last half marathon, I got a case of runner's knee and ignored it - big mistake. It got to the point where I literally couldn't walk anymore before I got it checked out in China. If it comes back now...I really don't know what I'll do.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Mmm...nothing beats a kitchen scented with the aroma of cinnamon baking in the oven...

It's almost time for me to leave for Philadelphia and medical school (4 days!!!), and I've limited myself to only making foods that use up any leftover ingredients in the pantry. So this morning, I figured Mom's probably not going to find any use in the leftover raisins from my granola, or the small jar of cinnamon from God knows when. Luckily, the two pair together pretty well, and it wasn't long before I narrowed down my options to reach (can you guess it) cinnamon raisin swirl bread! Plus, I had leftover bread flour, and Dad is a sucker for French Toast (back when I used to work at Panera Bread, I used to bring back leftover cinnamon raisin bread loaves home all the time for that alone).

The bread itself is really not hard to make. I think in general I've found that the more fat content is in the baking, the more baker-friendly it usually is. More savory things like sourdough or French baguettes are far harder than your average sweet-tooth quick bread.

Banana Bread

Mom has this thing with bananas. She eats them religiously...so whenever we go to Costco, she buys bags and bags of them until our shopping cart looks like it belongs to a family of monkeys. Personally, I'm not as crazy about them. Don't get me wrong - they actually taste great and anyone who runs knows the value of bananas and potassium, but somehow they just seem to disappear too fast. Take apples, for instance. You have to bit your way through the entire fruit, turning it consistently and working at your share of the flesh. Same with berries or small fruit - you have to pick up each individual fruit to eat it. Even stone fruit are a hassle because you have to do some tongue acrobatics to fish out the pit inside. Anyway, my point is that I prefer fruits that are a little harder to eat because it sort of makes the reward of eating the fruit more fulfilling, whereas the banana is simply too easy to eat (and where is the fun in that?). Or maybe I'm just weird (again).

Anyway, Mom had 2 leftover bananas that were turning black and literally falling apart. Definitely not good eating. Solution? Banana bread!

Whole Wheat Buns

[Edit] Mom liked them so much that I decided to make another batch of these. We ran out of sesame seeds this time, so I just applied an egg wash without any topping. I also had the chance to improve my props and background too :)

As a continuation of my healthy whole-wheat obsession phase, I decided to try out a recipe from WildYeastBlog for Whole Wheat Sandwich Rolls/Burger Buns. Okay, to be honest, they came out a little small for burger buns, so I'll settle for them as cute little dinner rolls. Hush. They came close.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited because this was one of the few and very VERY rare times when Mom actually seemed genuinely pleased with the end product. Usually, whenever she seems me in the kitchen, all hell breaks loose and the entire day consists of angry mutterings and sullen glares. So like I've said, when Mom actually gives her nod of approval, I know that I've definitely hit the jackpot.

The recipe is pretty time-consuming, I have to admit, but like most breads, if you are planning to spend the day at home, the dough is pretty easy to handle, and if you make one big batch from the start, they can last you a very long time. Plus, now you don't have to buy those mega-packs of dinner rolls from Costco anymore!

Good for You Granola

So in a fit of boredom yesterday, I finally drove to the local public library and started browsing through a few more cookbooks (hopefully they will yield the next few upcoming posts). As I started heading back to the entrance, my eyes caught sight of a list of books along a random shelf. Somehow, I had found my way through the diet section (eh, I'm not a believer of diet fads) and into...the nutritional department!

Now, you have to understand: I'm not exactly a normal person. At least not for my age. Nutrition is one excellent example of that. I'm obsessed with nutrition. I love learning about the health benefits of food, exercise, lifestyle, etc. In fact, of all the classes I've taken as an undergraduate, nutrition was by far the most interesting (as in leaning on the edge of my seat interesting). I'm also very averse to meat (I actually started off college as a vegetarian, but the limited options of the school cafeteria actually led to me being quite badly malnourished by Christmas break, so I had to stop), and I can literally eat 4-6 servings of fruits in a day (and that's not even counting the vegetables). Actually, though, I think most of it ties back to the fact that I run a lot. I guess when you engage in a sport that's as taxing as running, every little boost in health makes a difference.

Dorayaki with Green Tea Cream Filling

Today was one of the slowest days I've had in a very long time. I hadn't slept well last night and woke up pretty early for no particular reason...after all, it wasn't like I had any pressing issues to address. Anyway, I woke up, ate breakfast (I think I'm starting to OD on fiber, what with FiberOne cereal for breakfast and lunch, and dinner consisting mostly of purple rice and vegetables), and decided to pass the morning making Japanese dorayaki, or sweet pancakes.

Traditionally, dorayaki contains a filling of adzuki (red bean) paste, but Dad doesn't really like it, and we didn't have any in the house. Oh, did I mention that the temperature sky-rocketed to about 95F today? I didn't really feel like leaving my front door, never mind driving to the market. So, anyway, I did some research, and apparently, people have started putting all kinds of fillings inside - peanut butter, custard cream, even nutella! I found a recipe for the custard cream and decided to tweak it a little with our leftover matcha (green tea) powder.

Father's Day Part III - Bread Pudding Breakfast

And so, we come to the final part of the Father's Day trilogy. Sunday is supposed to be the REAL Father's Day, so I left dinner to the Big Leagues (Mom). Of course, it HAD to be steak, accompanied by leftover appetizers from Saturday and finished off with my all-American apple pie. I'd have to say that red meat is not very much my thing. I'll eat a little to keep my mom and her rants about me being malnutritioned at bay, but a big ol' hunk of steak is a bit too much for me. But I did eat a little, and I have to say that Mom sure knows how to cook her cow.

So anyway, I managed to secure my position in arranging breakfast...and I thought I'd try my hand at bread pudding. My dad usually loves French toast, and it was what I was aiming for, but in the end, it turns out the pudding didn't taste much like French toast. But oh well, at least it got rid of some of the giant bottle of rum Dad bought me long ago (I used to get away with not making him tiramisu by claiming that we had no rum in the house). And it was actually what I had been saving my braided brioche loaf for from last week. I'd have to say bread pudding takes a while to bake, but other than that, it's incredibly easy and great for getting rid of leftovers. Chances are you'll always have the ingredients on hand (except maybe the rum?), and it's actually very hard to really mess up.

Chocolate-filled Brioche

So I just came back from San Diego...and I'm officially a member of the UCSD Alumni and the owner of a Bachelor of Science degree! Woohoo! Of course, the excitement is much tempered by the fact that I still have 4 years of medical school and God knows how many years of internship waiting ahead of me. Sigh...like my friend Moonjung's dad said, "sounds more like slave labor than education". Agreed.

CARB FIEND ON THE PROWL

Bagels are my guilty pleasure. Especially when they're just out of the oven with that heady aroma and that golden brown skin. Mmm...you should watch me when I first pull them out. I know I'm going to get burned, but I can't help just digging into one as soon as I can get my hands on them safely (or even before). So for the first five minutes I'm spending half the time with this look of epic joy on my face and the other half swearing as my fingers get scorched. Ah, the joys of life.

Continue for the recipe...