Author / princesshotflash

by princesshotflash

The Big Yellow Beast

The Big Yellow Beast aka the giant weight machine has gone to a new home. Who knew it would take so long to find a new owner.

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It took C’s Dad and me a half day with no instruction just a printout of what it should look like from the company’s website. It was like a jigsaw puzzle. Here’s the post of the it being set up.

This time it only took 2 guys about 1/2 hour figure out what to take apart and move it of of the space. I was able to also find a home for fig tree #2, my girlfriend, sister of the new owner of the Big Yellow Beast. Now I have half empty garage that I need to find a home for a thread mill, gardening tools and all the miscellaneous that still resides there. Not too bad.

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Donation boxes filling up the space the Big Yellow Beast stood

In the meantime, I wanted to share a recipe with you. I thought I’d random post about my new adventure and post a recipe at the same time. This way I can start filling my recipe page.

Tanaka Bars

It’s kind of a blondie, an old family recipe, Tanaka Bars. Not sure what the back story is I’m assuming the recipe is from Mrs Tanaka, but I don’t know who she is or I just don’t remember. Been making since we have been baking at my parent’s house. It was part of the Christmas cookie line up.

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This were a little well done but still had a great taste.

Tanaka Bar

1/4c butter, melted

1c brown sugar

1 egg

1t vanilla

1c flour

1t baking powder

1/4t salt

3/4c chocolate chips (I like bittersweet)

3/4c chopped nuts (I use walnuts)

 

Pre heat oven to 350º. Combine sugar, egg, and vanilla to warm melted butter, beat till fluffy. Shift dry ingredients. Add to the sugar butter mixture. Mix to just come together, don’t over mix. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Spread mixture evenly into a 8″ or 9″ square pan, greased•. Bake for 30 minutes, golden brown or when knife comes out clean. Cut into while still warm.

• I line my pan with a sheet of parchment paper so it comes out of the pan easier and it easer cut up into the squares.

Now back to the house. sigh . . . .

by princesshotflash

food pictures 01 . . . .

Wow! I just cleaned out my old laptop to make room for my new one. My pictures were crazy–especially my food pictures. I don’t know how I did it. I wanted to reshare with you the pictures and the recipes that went with them. I’ll keep posting them until I don’t have anymore to share.

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pear cake

This is a favorite of my friend, Steve. He always talk about it. It’s so moist from the many juicy pears. If you love pears or happen to have a bunch of ripe pears to use up this is a recipe for you: original or my testing on my old blog

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frying up some sweet potato rice doughnuts

These are so good, taste and looks. not to oily because of the rice flour. After it’s fried up it gets rolled in a cinnamon sugar and a great orange-y color from the sweet potato. Here’s my old post with the recipe and more pictures.

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My Strawberry Layer Cake

This cake has been tweak a bit since the beginning. It still one of my favorite during strawberry season. I love layer cake and this is quite beautiful. I add cinnamon to the batter because I think it brings out the sweetness of the strawberries. I came up with proportions because all the other recipes had so much powder sugar which was so sweet. I like the tanginess of the cream cheese to show up.

April’s Strawberry Cake
Bake: 325º
Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
2 loaf pans or 2 9″ round cake pans

2 cups of cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream, buttermilk or yogurt (I like buttermilk the best)
1 cup strawberries, slice half and mash the other half (you can use frozen strawberries)

Sift together dry ingredients, place on the side. Cream together butter and sugar to light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to butter/sugar mixture. Making sure egg is mixed in well, then add in the vanilla. Mix dry and wet (sour cream or buttermilk or yogurt) ingredients alternately in 3 addition ending with dry to butter, sugar and egg mixture. Be careful not to over mix. Fold in your strawberries by hand. Pour into loaf pans or cake pans. Bake for 45 min.–1 hour. Cake test should come out clean. Cake should be totally cooled before if frosting.

April’s Cream Cheese Frosting
For a 2 layer cake or 18- 24 cupcakes

2 8oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 c powder sugar, shifted

Mix cream cheese and butter blend and smooth. Add in vanilla then powder sugar slowly to blend well and smooth. If the frosting is too soft, put it in the refrigerator till it firms up.

Please note: I’ve flavored this frosting dried strawberries that I grind up to a power and added to frosting and mix well. It turns the frosting this pretty speckled pink with subtle strawberry taste. Worth the try.

Hope you have time to try out one or two of these recipes. People will love you when you recipe test. Haha.

by princesshotflash

Beginning of Dad’s Blanket

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Dad is always cold. Remember he lives on the west side of Oahu, not the coldest place in the world. Here’s an example, last August when I was back for a visit, it was hot. My parents have an window air condition in the dining room/living room, which my dad kind of controls. It is only turn on when it is really hot to him or when he feels sorry for his youngest child.

I guess he was felt sorry for me and turned it on that day. It was on for a little while but suddenly noticed that I was feeling really hot and sweat was beading up on my face. Now  I know that I’m Princess Hot Flash so I did wonder if I was having one of them but I turned to my mom and she has sweat beading up on her face, too.

I kind of whisper to her (dad is hard of hearing)  if the air conditioner was working.  And she said, “Dad turned it to fan because he was cold” while motion me not to say anything.

What!! I turned to look at him and he has his fleece vest on.

So this is why I’m making my dad that lives on the west side of Oahu (the dry hot side of the island) a double strand merino wool blanket. Hopefully this will keep him warm.

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Pattern: Compy Blanket designed by Linda Daley

Yarn: Merino Wool from Morehouse Farm; Originally Oat’s Sweater

Status: Row 13

by princesshotflash

Repurpose, Restart, Happy New Year!

Decided to frog (rip apart–knitting term) the first sweater I ever made. It was for Oat and made with 2 strand of super soft merino wool from Morehouse Farm in NY. I decided to make a throw for my dad who is always cold in Hawaii.

2691399216_bca0487d38_oHere’s Oat wearing the sweater in Prague in 2008. This is the beginning of my Mr. Handmade.

My little Orange loved helping me with frogging the sweater.

He’s exhausted from all his hard work.

Ollie knows better to get involved with the yarn. Sleeping on my leg is his job.

This is what I’ve been doing. Trying to repurpose things that meant something to Oat. Repurposing his knit hats into shawls and wraps for Wrapped in Love. Hawaiian shirts will be turned into a patchwork quilt. And hopefully I can turn his old jean into an interesting project.

I hope this help me with a restart in 2018. Lots of changes and more to come.

Happy New Year to everyone! Hope it is good one for everyone.

by princesshotflash

Recipe Testing: Holiday Office Party Cake

How I got on the Party Planning committee, I don’t know. Someone suggested my name? Maybe? It’s been 2 years on the committee and 4 party. This maybe my last one as I’m soon to be off to Hawaii working remotely.

We always have dessert potluck for the party. This year I wanted to test out Lemon, Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake recipe that found on pinterest. It looked really beautiful and I knew there were a few gluten-free people so I thought I’d try it out.

Ingredients

I used meyer lemons instead of regular lemons (had them in my fruit bin for some curd) and just the zest. I used zest of 3 lemons. Then eggs, separated and ricotta and almond meal. I also use vanilla extract instead bean because I didn’t have any. Sugar I used slightly less–1 1/4 instead of 1 1/3 because I read some of the comments that it was a bit sweet.

Mix up

I whipped the butter and sugar for a really long time as I cleaned up my kitchen. The butter/sugar mixture was really light and fluffy. Added zest, yolks and vanilla, blended well. Looks like a lot of zest but that is all the lemon flavoring in this recipe and that’s why that amount is needed. It kind gives the mix a yellowish color.

Then folded in the almond meal. It was kind of dense but I figure the egg white would lighten it up. I heated the egg whites and sugar to stiff peaks then fold it into the mix. And yes, it did lighten up the mixture, it was light yellow with fleck from the almond flour.

Ready for the oven

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Once it mixed well, (please don’t over mix the egg whites and deflate them), I added the mix to prepared 9″ springform pan. The pan isn’t greased to help with the rise like a angel food cake, so you have to line the bottom and sides pan so it would come out easier. Well that’s what I think since there isn’t any leavening besides the egg white. Then I sprinkled sliced almonds on top.

Voila

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Finish product. Baked 20 minutes longer than the recipe called for. I baked it till it was golden brown on top and firm to the touch in the center. I let it cool overnight in the pan and the parchment paper really help getting it out.

Everyone loved the cake at the party. It disappeared in no time. I think it’s a nice cake for the holidays because it isn’t too heavy, looks great and very quick and easy to make.