birthday cupcakes

My niece & nephew had their joint birthday party this past weekend. The big one! And since their mommies take on so much the aunties came to the rescue helping with the party invites, paper goods, food, desserts and babysitting :) My contribution included invite design, paper goods design, rolling egg rolls and baking cupcakes. Here is a little picture recap of the party.

The Candy Bar / Food Table / Dessert Table

Mini Donuts / Vegan Vanilla Baby Cakes / Coconut Macaroons / Shortbread Cookies / Rice Crispy Treats / Chocolate Macaroons 

Strawberry Cupcakes & Cream Cheese Frosting / Lemon & Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting / Chocolate Kahlua (recipe below) & Coconut Frosting

Chocolate Kahlua
1 package Swiss chocolate cake mix
1 small package chocolate pudding
1 pint sour cream
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
6 oz chocolate chips
1/3 cup Kahlua

Mix ingredients together and bake at 350 for about 15 mins.

Happy Birthday Malia & Myles!

mother's bistro & bar- portland, or

For some family time and Labor Day weekend, J & I ventured back to my hometown of Portland, OR. On our drive down, we started talking about how we default to the same handful of Portland restaurants. So in an effort to get out and explore my home-city, we turned to Yelp and off to Mother's Bistro we went.

Given it was a holiday weekend, we knew we'd there would be a good wait. We waited about 45 mins and it went by rather quickly, with lots of sunshine, self-serve coffee & my niece to keep us on our toes.

On to what we ordered....

Crunchy French Toast with Bananas. This was my perfect french toast- crispy exterior, a smooth center and all lightly sweet. My personal choice & favorite :)

Seasonal Waffles- Fresh Oregon Blackberry Waffles. The berries were huge and super sweet. The waffles were so incredibly light & fluffy, they were like pancake-waffles!

Pork Apple Sausage & Cheddar Cheese Scramble. I didn't try this one, but everyone who did seemed exceptionally pleased.

Omelet du Jour- Cajun Scramble. Straightforward & done well, the roasted breakfast potatoes definitely hit the spot.

All in all we had an amazing meal and experience at Mother's. The staff was extremely friendly, the food was perfect and the prices were great!

ginger garlic rubbed chicken with honey drizzle

I got this recipe from Week of Menus but made a few modifications to suit what I had on hand and my preferred method of cooking. It’s so simple but so flavorful! A perfect dinner idea when you don’t know what to make with chicken :)

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoons rice vinegar

Directions:

Mix garlic, ginger, paprika, salt, and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well. Add chicken and rub well so that the mixture coats all the chicken evenly. Let stand for about 30 minutes (Week of Menus didn't specify to marinate, so you can proceed if you’re pressed for time).

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a cast iron pan on medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, drizzle with olive oil then add chicken. Sear about two minutes per side, then finish cooking in the oven for about eight minutes. Remove from heat, brush with honey-vinegar and return to the oven for another minute or two. Place the chicken on a serving dish with the honey sauce on the side. I served our meal up with rice and steamed baby bok choy with oyster sauce.

chicken lettuce wraps

I love lettuce wraps! It’s one of my summer stables for a light, quick dinner. My usual recipe includes clear bean thread noodles but I decided to switch it up and make a meatier PF Changs-inspired one. This is by no means a copycat recipe for their lettuce wraps, but still yummy none the less. The shrimp dish pictured with the wraps is simple pan fried shrimp with bell peppers and onions. I’ll post that recipe later.   

Ingredients:

½ head of iceberg lettuce

20 ounces ground chicken

2 cloves minced garlic

1 red onion -- chopped

¼ cup chopped toasted almonds, optional  

2 cans (8 ounce size) water chestnuts, chopped

½ cup shitake mushrooms, chopped

½ green bell pepper, diced

Cooking Sauce:

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

¼ cup hoisin sauce

½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 tablespoon mirin  

1 tablespoon sambal olek  

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Optional Dipping Sauce:

¼ cup hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon water

Directions: 

Rinse lettuce, keeping it whole. Set aside to drain.

Heat the wok over medium high heat, add a splash of oil, and then add onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until slightly translucent. Add chicken stirring often to break up the meat, then add shitakes. While chicken is browning, mix sauce ingredients together then add to the wok. Cook for about seven minutes until meat is cooked through and well combined. Add water chestnuts and bell pepper to warm through, about two minutes. Plate and top with toasted almonds. Serve with lettuce and additional sauce if desired. 

happy birthday lica!

A very Happy Birthday wish to my favorite co-blogger Miss Lica! Cheers to an amazing birthday-week :)

the waffle window

A few weeks ago we headed down to Portland for a baby shower and squeezed in some time to try a tiny restaurant called the Waffle Window. I found this place a while back and had been wanting to try it but never had the opportunity. Finally we got our chance and it was delicious! There are plenty of options as the menu changes nearly weekly with fresh local ingredients. From savory to sweet or just plain they've got you covered. I'm a waffle person, so this was my spot :) Here's what we had...

Summer Vibes: fresh peaches marinated in a lemon verbena syrup, served with blueberries, whipped cream & berry coulis

Blueberry Lime: fresh blueberries, blueberry-cinnamon compote & lime curd  

Berry Bliss: fresh raspberry, strawberry, blueberry and blackberries topped with whipped cream & berry coulis

The Whole Farm: pepper bacon, roasted red peppers, spinach, sauteed mushrooms & brie 

and Banana Rumba: fresh sliced bananas, caramel sauce, whipped cream & granola crunch 

They were all tasty but my favorite was the Summer Vibes, the peaches were so fresh and full of summer flavor! J's favorite would be the Banana Rumba, but he's really a sucker for anything banana caramel. I'm sure we'll be revisiting the little waffle window in the future, as my sisters' have told me about a raspberry coconut waffle that is heavenly. We'll just have to wait and check back the next time we're in town. 

craving the islands- kalua pork

Lately it feels as though everyone's been talking about Hawaii, whether it's heading there for vacation, wishing they were on vacation or talking about their favorite island foods. With all this talk, it got me missing Hawaii and one of my favorite dishes- kalua pork. Kalua pork is just one of those things that hits the spot, its warm, its smokey, its salty and its delicious. Since I couldn't jet off to the islands or build my own imu (in my apartment) I found this easy recipe and made a few modifications. With only four ingredients and a slow cooker, this recipe couldn't be more simplistic. 

Ingredients: 

3 lb pork shoulder blade roast (mine were sliced because that's all the store had)

1 tbsp liquid mesquite smoke

3/4 tbsp coarse sea salt

1/4 head of cabbage, shredded

Directions:

Place pork in the crock pot and stab it all over with the tip of a knife. Rub sea salt all over pork. Drizzle the liquid smoke all over and set crock pot to high; cook for about 10 hours. Until the meat falls apart when probed. 

Turn off the slow cooker and shred pork with tongs or two forks. Then heat a pan on medium high heat and add shredded pork, pan fry for about two minuets then add a few handfuls of cabbage. 

Mix together and cover for 3-5 minuets, until cabbage is tender and slightly translucent. Depending on the size of your pan you may need to do this in batches.

Remove from heat, plate, serve with steamed rice and enjoy a little taste of the islands!