Strawberries, Honey & Caramel

Things that we did with our strawberry loot from Kam Tin Country Park...

We dipped the strawberries with a bit of local honey bought from the country park. The honey's from strawberry flowers, super super fragrant! I love it.

We also had the strawberries we caramel spread.
OMG.
Perfect. Match.

We had a lot of fun picking the berries. 

The perfect weekend activity.

Go before the weather gets too hot and all the strawberries are gone.

There were lots of things to do too. Super fun for kids. 

This year OB's big enough to feed the animals on his own. I totally enjoyed schooling the animals not to fight for the food :) 

Hey cutie little bunny...

Now OB is also old enough to ride this orange elephant on his own.

Mommy wanted to ride this too!

Extra treat! Pretty sunflowers bigger than my head!

For more tips and how to go to Kam Tin Country Park,
Check out this post.

How To Make Easy No Bake Chocolate Pots de Creme with Fresh Berries And Fruit Compote

A super duper easy dessert to make. Totally right up my alley.

Luscious chocolate, a kick of tartness from the compote and fresh summer berries.

Perfect.
Recipe
(adapted from May's recipes Chocolate Pot De Creme)
Serves 6 (but I made this into 4 bigger portions)
The chocolate
- 100g dark chocolate
- 1/2 tsp instant coffee
- 250 ml cream
- 30g white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp whiskey (omit if making for kids)
- a pinch of sea salt

Chop chocolate, place into mixing bowl.
Put cream and sugar into saucepan, add vanilla and salt. Bring to almost boil.
Pour into chopped chocolate, add instant coffee & whiskey. Set for 1 minute, beat until smooth and shiny.
Pour into ramekins, let cool, chill for at least 5 hours.

The fruit compote (optional)
- a handful of berries (I used 3 strawberries and 7 blueberries)
- a tbsp of water
- 1 tsp sugar
Chop berries, place in sauce pan, cook using low heat. Keep cooking until fruit became softened and produced some liquid. Add a bit of water if needed. Add sugar bit by bit until you achieve balance between tartness and sweetness. Let cool, add into chocolate pot de creme with fresh fruits...

...or eat with toasts, or croissants, or bacon... the sky is the limit really.

Now... dig into that luscious pot of chocolatey fruity goodness.

Happy summer!

Weekend Fun - Strawberry Picking, Kam Tin Country Park Hong Kong

Need something fun to do this weekend? Try strawberry picking! We went a couple of weeks ago and it's awesome! 

Tip #1: Go early, or all the huge red ones would have been picked up by the early birds.

French strawberries cost HK$60 per lb, Korean ones HK$90/lb. Most people picked Korean ones, including us. I don't know why... for me, well because I am a K-pop fan. Heheheh. I know, I know, irrelevant.

Tip #2: Whatever you do, DO NOT do this!!!

For each strawberry you ate on the field, you'll be fined HK$100. I repeat, HK$100 per piece of strawberry eaten. Marcus just could not hold himself... he grabbed one big red juicy one and put it straight into his mouth... without washing T_T

Tip #3: Strawberry picking is only available until late March. Better check with them before going.

Pretty strawberries in colors I've never seen on a strawberries before....

Very pretty!

And cute strawberry flowers...

Here's our loot...

Exactly 1 pound of juicy & fragrant strawberries.

You can also buy fresh local organic produce there.

You can go for a BBQ or have lunch there. We noticed that many people brought their own lunch, which is clever. Marcus scored a few skewers of pineapple and sausages from fellow strawberry-pickers at our table.

And of course, he ate his sausages in style.

There are lots of activites for kids there, like cookie baking (HK$80).

We just did cookie decorating (HK$30)

Sweet KODAK moment... what did they make?

MASTERPIECE!

There are also some balloon type of playground which Marcus loves very very much (HK$20/10 minutes).


He loved it so much, he refused to leave and cried like heck when we dragged him out of it.

 Oppps.

We took this fun ride for HK$40 per round. Oh yeah, everything costs money.

And after a bunch of activities, fishballs, fish siumai & Vita chrysanthemum tea never tasted so good...

There are many more activities which we didn't get to try. 

Check out their website for more info (it is in Chinese, but you can use google translate & see the pictures).

How to get there?

Take MTR West Rail to Kam Sheung Rd Station, and take a short taxi ride to Kam Tin Country Park 錦田鄉村俱樂部

Opening hours: 10am - 6pm
Tel: +852 2442 0909

ENJOY~!

Fruity English Muffin Breakfast

I'm a huge savory girl, especially for breakfast. I just can't have sweet muffins for breakfast. No matter how sweet it will make my day...

So. I made these as the "dessert" of my breakfast. The savory version's the one with smoked salmon & cream cheese.

Don't you love English muffins? They're wonderfully chewy and even more delicious when buttered and toasted!

Even when I do sweet version, it needs to have a bit of savory touch, so here we go.. the vulgar shot!

What's in this sinful breakfast?
"Recipe"
Butter and toast English muffins, slather generously with peanut butter, add hazelnut spread (e.g. Nutella), add fresh berries (I used strawberries and blueberries), dust a bit of icing sugar, and serve. I like mine with black coffee or unsweetened tea.

I still have more English muffin combos... please bear with me ^_^
I bought a pack and there are only 3 of us, so we had to eat them a few days straight. Not that we're complaining. We love English muffins!

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust and Strawberry Compote

Finally! Something I baked that SC likes!

I baked this white chocolate cheesecake to celebrate SC's birthday, and I am sooo happy he likes it! (Normally he doesn't like my baked goods...I like things fluffy and he likes things...exactly the same as what we can buy from Hong Kong bakeries, and I am no Hong Kong bakery...)

Anyway...it's really easy to make, and it's yum.
Rich, creamy, buttery white chocolate + savory-ish cream cheese + chocolatey oreo + sweet & tangy strawberries and sugar = fantastic...
It's almost as certain as 1+1 = 2, right?
I'm so good at math, it's scary.

Recipe
Oreo Crust
- 1 pack of Oreo cookies
- 3 tbsp butter
Throw everything into food processor, pulse until smooth, pour into greased pan, level it with spoon and push them down until packed. You can pre-bake this before adding cheesecake batter at 180C for 5 minutes, but I didn't bother...

If you don't have a food processor, place the cookies in a glad bag and bang em good.

White chocolate cheesecake
- 1 bar of Lindt white chocolate (100 gr), chopped into chunks
- 1 box of cream cheese (250gr), chopped into chunks
- 5 tbsp cream
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp corn flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
Pulse everything in food processor until smooth and mixed well, taste and see if you need more sugar (the white chocolate is already sweet though), pour into greased cheesecake pan, onto the oreo crust, bake in a 180C preheated oven with over a water bath for about 30-40 minutes or until it's just a bit wobbly in the center. Let cool and refrigerate. Bring it back to room temperature before serving.

Again, you can totally do this without a food processor. Soften the white chocolate and cut the room temperature cream cheese into smaller pieces. Just mix 'em smooth using a hand mixer or a whisk.

Strawberry compote
- 1 cup strawberries, halved
- 3 tbsp caster sugar (or more, if needed)
Pour strawberries and sugar in a sauce pan, cook on low heat until you see some strawberry juice and it thickens a bit. Keep tasting and add sugar if you want it thicker and sweeter. Add some of the compote when serving the rich and creamy cheesecake.

My apologies for these crappy "recipes", I really normally just adjust as I go along T_T

My Bastardized Sangria

I could really use some of this right now.
Red wine, diced strawberries, peaches, pears, sprite and ice.
Cheers!

Strawberry Choco Chip Cookies & Cute Cookie Press 士多啤梨朱古力脆片曲奇 & (曲奇噴射器<-一個很有霸氣的名字..)

Today's post is bilingual, my crappy English meets SC's dubious Chinese. Heheheh.
It's SC's debut interpreting my posts into Chinese or writing the Chinese version in his own style. Please give him a warm welcome~!

大家好, 大家有睇開Rita個Blog都應該知道我係邊個.

冇錯, 我就係SC(SOUS CHEF), 一個唔係太識煮野食既副廚.

由今日起, 我將會為大家寫個中文版, 希望大家鐘意.

小弟英文唔好, 中文又唔好, 如果有D咩寫錯, 請多多包涵!!

Look at these cuties. Aren't they the most adorably shaped cookie dough ever?

望落去就好似日本既櫻花一樣, 尤其用左黑底焗爐盆襯返出黎, 真係Sakura Sakura~..

Do you have a kitchen gadget that has been sitting around idly in your kitchen for a couple of years (!), lonely and unused?

I surely do. 

I got this cookie press as a birthday gift from a good friend, Sir A, a couple years ago. I kept promising myself to find a suitable recipe, and only managed to finally use it...yesterday evening. 

Procrastination is my first name, middle name and also last name :D

唔知大家屋企有冇D買左都未用既廚房用具呢? 我就咁啱咁蹺有一個. 係我既一個好朋友Sir A幾年前送比我的生日禮物. 我成日同自己講一定要揾到一個好正既曲奇食譜先去用佢, 無謂失禮嘛

攪到琴晚, 終於的起心肝試吓啦. 冇辦法啦, 我個名係叫做慢吞吞嘛..XD

It's supposed to be so easy to use...

望落去好似好易用..

...and it makes 12 different shapes of cookies! All cute and adorable!

仲可以整出12種唔同既形狀, 有D整到出黎仲好攪笑..

SC and I fiddled with it for a while and failed to produce good looking cookies numerous times! I almost gave up, but SC...being persistent as always, kept trying until he finally pressed beautiful looking flowers on the baking sheet.

我同SC試左好多次都失敗..(其實係因為大家都懶得去睇說明書..). 最後我都頂唔順, SC話比佢試吓. SC憑住無比既耐性 (其實佢頂唔順走左去睇說明書..). 最後都整到個好靚既櫻花出黎!!!

After finish baking...

焗完出黎後

Super duper cute pink cookies!
These ones don't have any chocolate chips though, the chocolate chips won't go through the cookie press.

真係好鬼可愛!

哩D係冇朱古力脆片的, 因為D朱古力脆片唔可以係個曲奇噴射器度噴出黎..

The strawberry cookie dough with chocolate chips were made into my favorite shape...

哩D冇用曲奇噴射器既就可以落朱古力脆片, 哩個曲奇塔係我最鐘意整既...the amoebas!

別名: 阿米巴變形蟲塔..
I used a random choco chip cookies recipe I found online, omitted the walnuts and vanilla essence, added strawberry essence and a touch of pink food coloring. These cookies are melt in your mouth, but I find them too sweet. The strawberry essence gives them this weird "artificial" flavor. Since they're not really good, I am not sharing the recipe here. Let me know if you have a good idiot proof cookie recipe ;)

我係求其係網上面揾到哩個曲奇食譜的, 自己改左小小野, 冇落合桃同雲呢拿香草精. 因為屋企有, 所以落左士多啤利香草精同紅色既食用染料. 整左出黎係入口即溶, 但係就甜左少少. D士多啤利香草精比左D曲奇士多啤利味, 但D味有D怪. 最後由於唔係咁好食, 我都係唔係度出食譜啦…最後, 如果大家有D咩好味曲奇食譜, 記得話比我知, 等我試吓.
The cookie press can be bought online from Amazon or you can also try finding it in kitchen/baking gadget shops around you.

個曲奇噴射器可以係Amazon 度買, 或各大廚房用具店都應該有

Strawberries & Balsamic Vinegar, served with Toasted English Muffins & Peach Sherbet

Vinegar = Piss.
That's what I thought, classic me.
During my first year in Hong Kong, I was so busy trying to avoid vinegar, which is really popular in wonton noodles shop, and naturally, I always mistakenly poured some on my food instead of soy sauce, thanks to my ignorance.

Maybe that's how I got kinda "trained" to appreciate vinegar now.

Balsamic vinegar is a whole other thing.
I bought a bottle out of curiousity.
Blame it on me watching too many Jamie Oliver's shows.
Balsamic here, balsamic there...so I bought a bottle and instantly fell in love with its fragrance.
I use it making salads, roasted potatoes, meat, etc etc etc...but of course, would never use it for something sweet.

But I heard how everyone said that strawberries + balsamic vinegar = top notch!
I heard it, you've heard it, we've all heard it.
Again and again and again and again.
That's it. I gotta give it a try.

One of my main principal is, if everyone likes it, I probably will too.
I'm pretty mainstream really :)
...and not much of a pioneer either :D

So I did.

This is again, an almost non-recipe.

(adapted from here)
- 1 cup of strawberries, cleaned, removed top, halved
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup of caster sugar
Mix everything in one bowl and let it be for at least one hour, max 4 hours.

That's it, after one something hour, I gave it a taste and...
I swooned!

This is THE perfect treatment for those mediocre, el-cheapo, not-so-sweet strawberries!

I am not much of a scientist, but all I know is, this combo does amazing things to my blah strawberries. They now taste fan-freaking-tastic! I could've just consumed the whole bowl of sweet, syrupy strawberries myself, but I had a leftover of half an English muffin (that's right, half), so I did this...

Butter (salted) and sprinkle some sugar on English muffin, place it on a hot pan. It will sizzle and you'll get this gorgeously golden, buttery toasted muffin with a hint of sweetness....Now, we're gonna bring it to the next level, and all you need to do is...assembling.

Top toasted muffin with an ice cream of your choice (I only had Dreyer's peach sherbet), place balsamic vinegar strawberries on the side and drizzle with the sweet and sour syrup from the strawberry "marinate".

It looked so glamorous, I almost felt bad I consumed this with bare hands~
Almost ;)

Shrimps and Strawberries - Will You Drink THIS Coffee?

Shrimps and strawberries? Don't they look good together? To me, they look more gorgeous than Brangelina on Oscar's night. Plus, they are more than just a pretty face, they taste fantastic. Ehm, I am sure Brangelina taste fantastic too..but they are just too unattainable, while this combo is easy to achieve ^_^

Shrimps and Strawberries

I was inspired by a modern Chinese dish I've tried in some Hong Kong eateries. Normally, they serve strawberries with deep fried pork ribs or chicken. I want it quite light, fresh and spring-ish, so I replaced the deep fried meat with fresh shrimps, and add fresh strawberries to the otherwise just-strawberry-jam sauce.

Recipe
- 1/2 lb shrimps, peeled, deveined, butterflied
- 4 cloves of shallot, thinly sliced, or you can use half an onion
- 1 cup of fresh strawberries, halved
- olive oil, salt, white pepper, strawberry jam, white wine, lime juice, lime zest

Marinate shrimps in lime juice, lime zest, salt and pepper while preparing other ingredients. Saute shallot in olive oil until fragrant, add shrimps until they started to change color, season with salt, white pepper, add strawberry jam, a shot of white wine, taste, adjust if necessary, the flavors should be sweet, savoury, and tangy. Add fresh strawberries at the very end, and try not to cook everything for so long to avoid overcooking the shrimps.

Will you drink THIS Coffee?

I know that for food and drink looks doesn't matter that much....flavors are more important...blablabla...but would you drink coffee from a machine that says "POO"? Well, that's the coffee machine in my work place. Not very appetizing, innit?

Fizzy Strawberry Drink - A Touch of Spring

I came from a country where the weather were either hot-hotter-hottest or rainy-flooded. I was so ecstatic moving to Hong Kong, as they have 4 seasons! OK, Hong Kong doesn't snow, but still, it has hot, cold and everything in between.


What do I love about Hong Kong's spring?
- The perfect air-conditioned-like 20-25C temperature
- How it gets really bright early in the morning
- How it stays bright when I get off work
- All the new flowers which get planted in parks
- I get to wear my colorful summer dresses without looking like a fool
- All the fresh produce which are imported from other places (no space in HK to grow some...so sad)


What don't I like about Hong Kong's spring?
- When the air gets real humid and stuffy
- When it rains and really cold
- The idea that the 35C humid summer is coming. Arrrgghhh
- Saying goodbye to my fabulous boots (see you next winter my lovelies...)

Now back to love. I love seeing strawberries being sold everywhere, naturally except the day that I want them, they were nowhere in sight (culinary Murphy's law).

Fizzy Strawberry Drink

It's the perfect drink for spring/summer. A mix of icy cold sparkling rose wine, sprite and chunks of strawberries. Light, slightly sweet, fizzy, with something juicy, sweet and fragrant to munch. Yum!


Cheers to spring! Summer, bring it on!


Sharing this with the folks at Click, enjoy!