Pork Dumplings

Since my birthday is coming up, I didn't feel like cooking... So, I pulled out my frozen pork dumplings that I made awhile ago and instead of panfrying them, I boiled them for 7-8 mintes tonight. They are super delish! It's gotta be one of my favorite dishes during the winter.

om nom nom nom nom

4 layer bday cake

For my birthday this year, I had a hunkering to make my very own 4 layer cake with strawberries, blueberries and mangoes for the layers in between the cakes. And I baked two cake mixes from a box into two 9"x11" pans. This is how it turned out...

the yellow stuff is custard we made from the leftover egg yolks 

(the cake mixes only required the eggwhites)

ideally, i should've just stopped here, but i really wanted four layers!

the strawberries started to spill out from all the weight...

i tried to make white cake frosting... maybe should've just stuck with a chocolate ganache?

Anyways, we weren't done here. We actually somehow got my cake into a square pot and we squished it down. Then, we placed it into the oven to cook some more. It ended up more of a cake crumble with fruits in it somewhere...

Happy Birthday to ME! :D

We also bought ice cream too!!

the Castaway

For my first birthday weekend, we went to the Castaway for my birthday brunch. It's a buffet and so we stuffed ourselves silly. The food was delicious, but it seems like there wasn't that many variety of entrees. They had breakfast options, including an omelette man, a line for pasta, loads of salads and a meat lady and a seafood spot. I think that was it... They did offer many kinds of desserts though so that's a plus on birthdays! :D

I apologize for the poor quality of pictures as it was a gloomy day and we didn't have much lighting where we sat... But it was happy day for our tumtums :D

Salami Sandwich

Picked this salami up at Smart & Final. It's sooooooo delicious! We munch on it by itself all the time or eat it with cream cheese and crackers! So yumsters!!!

if only i had pickles too....

toast the bread!

slather on mayo and sprinkle with black pepper

add lots of slices of salami

i like to break up my sliced cheese so that way it's more distributed, but that's just me...

add a touch of green lettuce

Top off with other sliced bread (could also add more mayo and black pepper if you want). If I had tomatoes and pickles on hand, it would make this sandwich even more savory!

So there you have it, a sandwich worthy of being bought at a deli but for way cheaper :D

Banana Nut Bread Comparison

The top banana nut bread used honey, the bottom slice used brown sugar. I'm gonna stick with honey from now on since it looks more appetizing to eat. It was also more moist and soft compared to the brown sugar loaf. But, the brown sugar was a bit dry because I used the same recipe as the honey loaf minus the honey. I had forgotten to add more oil. If I run out of honey and need to used brown sugar, I'm gonna be sure to add more oil so it won't be all dry and crumbly next time. 

Btw, this stuff tastes amazing toasted and topped with butter or jam.

Hot Pot

rice noodles, seaweed, cauliflower

hot pot with tofu, cilantro, cauliflowers, and fishballs already cooking

ribeye slices, more fish balls and pork slices, glass of water, more cilantro, raw eggs

The best thing about hot pot is that we don't have too cook standing up and it lasts awhile :D

Omnomnomnom

Salmon and White Fish

We forgot to make veggies...

But the fishes and pasta was yummy :)

http://foodiestuffers.blogspot.com/2012/11/white-fish-with-butter-white-wine-sauce.html

http://foodiestuffers.blogspot.com/2012/09/salmon-in-white-sauce.html

Burger Salad

Literally, a burger patty atop a salad. :)

Burger patty made with fresh ground beef, salt and pepper, then topped with mayo and black pepper and a dollop of guacamole!

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