JasMart Find # 527

I know, i know... i buy so many snacks,
& you read about them so often... 0_o"

ANYWAY... i love JasMart! : D
& these goodies are excellent ; )

Top to bottm, left to right:
- Sparkling Fall Apple Soda
- Fresh Apricot Jello Cup
- Creamy Lemon Biscuits
- Yuzu Soft gummi
- Vanilla Bean flavored KitKat

hehe who'd like to try them with me? ; )

My #1 Bread Pudding

Happy Valentine's Day! : )

Since i don't believe in the common notion:
heart-shaped things = LOVE,
i'll offer you a slice of BREAD PUDDING instead : b



I have never tried bread pudding in my life,
EVER, until 3 weeks ago...
at the Whole Foods Market @ Columbus Circle.

When i was roaming around their cooked food
aisles in leisure (& in circles, coz everything
looked so delicious but expensive 0_o),
i heard the Warm Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
calling out to me... [insert Dreamy / Intrigued face]
Seeing that it's warm and overflowing with raisins,
i held back no more and took the chance,
i meant, i took a big scoop : D

I took a bite out of the pudding,
thinking to myself, "Eh... it's ok."
But then i was unable to control my fork
digging it into it, again and again,
despite my desire to save some dessert for later!

0_o" I wasn't hungry at all
when this incident took place.
Hence the conclusion:
I MUST LIKE BREAD PUDDING then!

So what's a girl to do?
Make it at home... DUH! : D



To be honest, neither goh goh nor i are
super enthusiastic about bread --
which explains the abundance of the
leftover Trader Joe's Cinnamon Apple
Raisin Bread, despite its good flavor combo : 0



Fear not, Bread!
You'll be put to GOOD, GOOD use ; )



Sliced & Diced bread, filling my 10x10 pan : )



The magic ingredient that makes everything tastes
10 times better: BUTTER!



"DING!" : )
Melted in the microwave,
then drizzled over the bread.



Meanwhile, crack some eggs : )
Now that's a beautiful sight, yay?



The recipe calls for milk,
which we don't have in the fridge 0_o
so i improvised and used evaporated milk instead.



That can of E. Milk wasn't enough,
so i added some more Heavy Whipping Cream.
Haa! this GOTTA taste good now,
don't you think? ; )



Add some vanilla extract + cinnamon +
Whisk Whisk Whisk : )



Pour the mixture in... Going into the oven : D



WOWWEEEEEEE!
Golden Brown & Risen ; )
I was getting dizzy at the sight & smell of this...



After it cooled down (& shrank),
i cut a piece and it was satisfying &comforting!

YAY! My new favorite dessert!!!

Semi-Failure: Beef Pot Roast

YAY! New Toy : )
Do you know what this is?



The Japanese call it "Shuttle Chef,"
which in essence, is like a slow cooker
minus the electricity : )

Fafa recommended using it to make soup / congee,
but i was in an adventurous mood the other day,
so i decided to test it out & make a pot roast.

Originally, i set out to buy a pork pot roast '_'
But somehow Stop & Shop doesn't have it that day...
so i got Beef instead, thinking i can improvise...
(hmm but that might have been the fatal error...)



Aromatics / Veggies: Potatoes, Onions,
hmmm and i don't know why i used an apple also.


Everything diced up : )
you can see the garlic being diced at the corner, too!


then i marinated the pot roast with
salt, pepper, garlic powder & onion powder : )


Brown it, baby!



I skipped a few steps in the pics coz i was busy:
1) take the roast out of the pan,
2) pour the veggies into the Shuttle Chef pot,
3) put the roast back in,
4) cover it with diced garlic,
5) pour a can of chicken broth into the pot,
6) bring to a boil,
7) pour a can of cream of mushroom in also,
8) stir!



BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE...



Then i put the heavy hot pot into the Shuttle Chef,
leave it in overnight, and in the morning...

VOILA!

But then... this post is named
'Semi-failure' for a reason. : /

I guess due to the nature of Beef,
the pot roast came out quite tough,
and for those that like their steak RARE,
i'd have probably killed the cow like 10 times, in their opinion.

The sauce came out really well, very flavorful,
and so was the roast & veggies.



i made macaroni to go with this : )
& Fafa suggested slicing the roast REALLY THIN,
to make up for the toughness : b
while goh goh suggested cooking with red wine next time,
to break down / tenderize the meat texture.



Yay! it's all good : )
No successes could be achieved without mistakes, right?

Dessert Only

One day, goh goh and i got home after work,
and neither of us feel like cooking...

What did we end up eating for dinner?





Yup. All desserts!
Cheesecake, Loaf cake, Chocolate truffles,
Vanilla Fudge Ice-cream, Chocolate covered Almonds...


As if to make ourselves feel HEALTHIER,
we had some apples / Korean pears afterwards.

Don't you wish you live with us? : )

Deboning Session

We caught Zach in action again...
HAVING A FEAST eh, little buddy? : )

Yes, we created these BONELESS monsters again...
as requested by the Chins : )


Although, this time --
i hosted a deboning session with 2 participants--

Student #1. Donna


She's dicing some tilapia, which we were going to use
to stuff the chicken wings : )


TAAA DAAAA! Such a beautiful sight... *_*
I then, proceeded to marinate them with:
sea salt, white pepper, lime juice, garlic, rosemary...


Stuffing #2: Marinated Minced Pork with Mushrooms
(Marinated with: salt, black pepper, sesame oil...)


YAY! There you see Student #2, Nick!


According to Nick, deboning chicken wings
make his hands 'Chickeny';
& he called this thumb-in-wing action "Chicken Finger."


There, you see us putting Chef Nick at (more) work,
dicing up the mushrooms : )
This boy is growing up to be ladies' ideal man!


Meanwhile, Donna's friend Nancy came by,
and made very yummy guacamole *_*

i wonder if i can find a way to stuff chicken wings
with guac one day... that'd be something i can eat ALL DAY!

These are worth 2 hrs of hard work yo!!
(Totaling over 70 wings!)


After that, Donna had more fun with some chicken breasts...
Fajita in the making : )


Meanwhile, i sauteed the minced pork with the mushrooms.
Note: They're not fully cooked!
I just cooked them to about 70% done.

Then, we sauteed the fish also,
let them cool a lil bit,
then start stuffing! : )


Left: Minced pork/mushrooms;
Right: Apple / ham.


Goh goh seemed quite troubled,
when Donna suggested him to don an apron.


Pan-fried goodness : D

MMmmmmmMMm... O-I-L-Y.




A close-up shot of the apple & ham wings : )

After adding honey & bbq sauce,
they're put into the oven,
then transformed into these juicy, crispy beauties!



Yeahhhhhh! Such was our perfect Sunday dinner
with the company of friends & families! LOVELY! : )