DIY Felt Xiao Long Bao

My family loves eating xiao long bao (soup dumplings).

I recently thrifted a bamboo steaming basket (xiao long), which my mom has always wanted, and thought it would be cute to give it to her filled with felt xiao long bao. I cut 6 circles of off-white felt, and pinched around the top while sewing the flaps down, to make little dumplings (bao).

They look (almost) good enough to eat! Though they are filled with stuffing instead of meat and veggies.

<3 Mandy

Meyer Lemon Custard Tart

For Pi Day (3/14) this year, I wanted to bake a pie to bring to work to celebrate. I love lemons and decided to make a meyer lemon custard to fill a tart, following this recipe!

I made the pastry dough by mixing 1-1/2 sticks of butter with 1/2 cup of sugar with an electric hand mixer, and added a splash of vanilla. In a separate bowl, I mixed together 1-3/4 cups of flour with a pinch of salt, and then slowly mixed it into the butter and sugar mixture. After shaping the dough flat, I pressed it into a large pie tin and chilled it for an hour.

I used mini pie tins to use the remainder of the dough and filling. To prep the pie shells, I buttered aluminum foil (buttered-side down) on top of the pastry dough, and baked it in a 350º oven for 20 minutes under the weight of some rice. I removed the rice and foil, poked the pastry with a fork, and baked for another 20 minutes.

Meanwhile... the filling!

I made the batter by zesting a lemon and using an electric hand mixer to cream it with a stick of butter and a cup of sugar. I added in 4 eggs, one at a time, and squeezed in 1/2 cup of lemon juice and added a dash of salt.

After all was mixed together, I heated the lemon mixture in a small pot over low heat while stirring constantly to make a curd. It is very important to keep mixing so that the mixture does not boil. It took about 15 minutes to cook until the curd was thick enough, I love the creamy yellow color.

I poured the curd over the baked pie crust and let it set overnight.

I'm glad I had enough leftover mixture to make mini pies. I love their cute little shapes! And they make the perfect bite-sized snack.

Here's the finished pie that I brought to work:

Have a delicious pi day!
<3 Mandy

DIY Holiday Gifts

For the holiday season, or for birthdays, I always enjoy making handmade gifts for friends. I decided to make a Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowman for a Secret Santa gift, and a stuffed elephant ornament for my housemate who loves elephants.

Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowman

To make these snowmen, I got 2 small Mason Jars and filled one with hot cocoa mix and the other with marshmallows and chocolate chips. I glued the jars together. Using velvet cloth and a piece of cardboard paper that I rolled into a tube (you could also use half of a toilet paper roll), I formed a hat. I sewed fabric to the round metal piece of the Mason Jar lid so that it would look more like a hat. I used small circles of velvet to make buttons, made an orange triangle nose, and wrapped him in a striped scarf. I also glued on two googly eyes.
 

Twin Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Snowmen

♥♥♥

Stuffed Elephant Ornament

 I sketched a rough elephant shape onto cardboard to make a template, and then cut out the following pieces:
-2 light pink body
-2 light pink ears
-1 dark pink H for underside of legs
-1 light pink tail

I sewed the pieces together and filled the elephant with stuffing. I also embroidered 2 little ball eyes. 

 

Kissing Elephant  Twins

<3 Mandy

Avocado Cheddar Quesadillas

Now that summer is coming up, I am in the mood for eating summer fruits and berries and other delicious vegetables in season. The farmer's market has begun selling avocados, and I wanted to try out a new mini-recipe.

Whenever I'm hungry for a little snack, a tortilla heated and slightly toasted over the stove and sprinkled with some grated cheddar cheese always just hits the spot. I tried slicing a bit of avocado over the shredded cheddar and jalapeño cheddar cheese while on the stove, making for a delightfully creamy melted quesadilla.

Looking forward to more tasty summer recipes.
<3 Mandy

DIY Sugar Scrub

For my skincare-loving roommate's birthday, I made her this DIY sugar scrub.

I mixed together raw organic sugar, extra virgin olive oil, and clover blossom honey into a consistency that was neither too sticky, dry, nor oily. The sugar is a great natural exfoliant, and the olive oil and honey help to moisturize the skin.

I filled a small jar half-way with sugar, then added 2 parts honey and 3 parts olive oil (enough to fill the jar about 3/4 of the way full). Rather than using a recipe, I tested out what I had as I went along and adjusted the proportions until I felt the scrub had a good consistency.

I also made a batch for myself, which I treat my skin to once a week.
<3 Mandy

Sharpie Mugs

At school, we had a floor event of decorating plain white ceramic mugs called "Mugs and Hugs". After drawing on our designs with Sharpie permanent markers, we baked our mugs at 350°F for 30-45 minutes. The colors slightly changed, with the yellow changing to a burnt brown color, for example, but I don't mind the different look; I actually think it makes the mugs look more homey and less preschool-scribbly. We washed the mugs with soap and hot water, and even scrubbed with them with a sponge, but the designs still held out. Here are some of the designs my friends and I drew!

Here are two mugs I made:

 

 

  

 
Christine:

 

Amanda:

 

 

 
Sequoia:

 

We love sipping tea from our handicrafts, as it feels especially special to put something we made to good use.
<3 Mandy 

Homemade Cheesecake and Peppermint Bark

My suitemate's and hallmate's birthdays fell over winter break, so I wanted to bake a cake for them when we returned to school. The last time I made cheesecake I was in 7th or 8th grade, so I decided it was about time to make one again!

I even had enough leftover cream cheese and graham crackers to make a second cake...

The only downside to making cheesecake is that it takes a LONG time to set. It already takes a few hours to prepare, and on top of that, it has to cool down and then rest in the fridge for another few hours. While a long process, however, I do believe the end product is well worth the effort.

 

♥♥♥

Inspired by the holiday season, I also wanted to make some peppermint bark. Though I had never made it before, this treat was extremely quick and simple to prepare. I just microwaved a (large) handful of semisweet chocolate chips, spread the melted chocolate onto a foil sheet, and crushed peppermint candies to sprinkle on top. After allowing the chocolate sheet to cool in the fridge for two hours, I broke the bark into smaller pieces.

Here it is wrapped with a bar of Godiva peppermint chocolate, which I gave to my suitemate who likes peppermint.

<3 Mandy