Random Thoughts of a Quirky Blogger
  • ~ Home ~
  • ~ What I Think ~
  • ~ What I See ~
    • Events
    • Food
    • People
    • Places
  • ~ What I Make ~
  • Blog Series
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Disclaimer

Out & About #672 | Week #32 Quarantine Update Feat. Halloween Cookies

10/25/2020

0 Comments

 
​With cooler weather upon us, it is only natural to drift in the direction of warm, cozy lattes and steaming mugs of cider. Naturally, cold brew production has also lessened, either being substituted with pourovers hot espresso-based beverages or acting to supplement mid-day cookie cravings.
​The opportunity has, in turn, enabled me to try my hand at microfoam art, yet again witnessed with minimal success.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Remnants of the previous week's Oatmeal Bread and Pigs in a Blanket were devoured promptly. A Coconut Cream Einspänner reared its head in response to leftover AROY-D, much to the approval of orangecane.
Picture
CoCo was acquired from the location nearest me. New masks were tested by Larry.
Picture
Picture
Halloween fast approaching, I took upon the mission of obtaining black cocoa powder for undecided creative endeavours. Any previous attempts to locate Dutch press cocoa powder at the local grocer had been in vain; seeing that Amazon seemed even less economically-prudent for the ingredient, I sought out a local wholesaler in the east end of the city.
Picture
​McCall's was further from any POI than I could have anticipated. Firmly nestled in a series of brick-and-mortar commercial buildings, which were, interestingly enough, not that far from the paintball destination of nearly two years prior, was their extremely modest side entrance and "parking lot".
​Truth be told, the selection neither fulfilled my checklist nor offered significant savings. I departed without black cocoa and without almond flour, and instead with a box of parchment paper rolls and single Wilton piping bag. Needless to say, I did the math for these items.
Proceeding with more errands eased us into the early afternoon hours. The demand for sustenance led me to Mississauga's very own Koreatown.​
Picture
Picture
​The hankering for steamed 왕만두s had yet to be satisfied. As the clock struck 11:30 AM, I pulled into the parking lot of Myungdong Kalguksu Shabu Shabu. The transaction then occurred at 11:35 AM, and thereafter we were advised to wait outside. Within ten minutes, we were presented with a neatly-packaged set radiating the most enticing of aromas. There was the option of dining on the makeshift patio, though conditions proved too chilly to be enjoyable.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
​Once home, we unveiled the goods: six pieces of Steamed Dumplings, a medium Bossam set, and a large container of Kimchi to go. The restaurant had even included bonus mask straps!
Picture
Picture
Picture
​The meal was everything we could have hoped for, and more. Savoury and peppery yet sweet, and fantastically fermented, Myungdong's kimchi has always succeeded in leaving a strong impression - both figuratively and literally in form of garlic breath. Two small containers accompanied the Bossam set: one predominantly cabbage and the other a radish and carrot blend. Fresh romaine leaves, cucumber sticks, and peeled garlic cloves had been placed in a separate container ssam-making. Finally, lining the bottom of the bossam tray were a handful of luscious green chives, stalks removed. The combination made for intensely pungent albeit incredibly succulent ssam wraps.
Picture
Picture
Picture
​And, as always, one can never go wrong with perfectly plush Steamed Dumplings. Despite the opportunity to gobble down several in one sitting, I resisted the urge and opted to savour them slowly over the course of several meals for maximum gratification.
Picture
​During our wait, we had also ventured into the adjacent independent European market. The shelves were lined with unfamiliar products adorned in foreign descriptions. There was but a handful of labels in English. Nonetheless, we agreed on two chocolate bars - similar to the ones tasted in past office sharing sessions () - and a two-pack of two-dollar Tiramisu.
Frankly, the chocolate bars proved tastier than the cakes themselves. Sampled objectively, the layered rectangular desserts were quite delicious as cakes; that said, they bore zero similarities to the Italian signature.
Picture
Picture
​1) Purple Rice Dessert Soup w/ Red Bean Jelly and Glutinous Rice Balls
​
​
- all made from scratch, of course.
Picture
Picture
Picture
2) Sweet Potato Bread

Having secured ultra-sweet Japanese yellow yams on sale, it seemed fitting to re-purpose the remainder of the bag once we had consumed our fair share of the slow-roasted specimens. 
Picture
Picture
​Adapted from Bake for Happy Kids' Potato Bread, I had been betting on the innate sucrose compounds of the sweet potato to foster a frothy reaction, omitting the refined sugar entirely. The results were disappointing, to say in the least, for while the loaves were soft and plush on the day of baking, moisture gradually diminished over the course of 48 hours. The slices no longer stood tall, but rather shrank and shriveled.
I had, in fact, proofed double the amount of yeast required for the project, and ultimately resorted to frozen pizza dough with SPAM slices.
Picture
Picture
3) Slow-Cooked SPAM Omelette, served alongside blanched kale and purple rice
​4) 雪耳番薯杞子糖水 / Sweet Potato Dessert Soup with Snow Fungus and Goji Berries
Picture
Picture
Picture
5) Pecan Banana French Toast Bake

Constructed in an attempt to restore appeal to my Sweet Potato slices - while simultaneously making use of very ripe bananas - I commenced the weekend by roasting a heaping handful of pecans (inspiration derived from SK). They were then blended until smooth in my ever-trusty food processor and combined with an eggy milk mixture to form the base of the French toast blend.
Picture
Picture
​Both pans were slightly overbaked, as evident by their blackened surfaces. In spite of this visual hiccup, the layers were actually quite nice when served alongside a cup of joe and golden corn syrup.
​6) Chinese Apple and Pork Soup
​

​Tradition recipes tend to rely on pork ribs for this dish, however home cooking is built off the concept of practicality. This can be - and should be - interpreted as using only the ingredients on hand, nixing the need for outsourcing specific components to complete an equation.

7) Tofu Doenjang Soup - made better with soft Chinese tofu!
Picture
Picture
Picture
​8) Halloween Cookies
Picture
Picture
Picture
I love festive holidays. I also love cookies (no surprise there).
​Festive cookie decorations are another story altogether. I tried my best though, having secured black cocoa powder at bulk barn a few days after the fruitless trip to McCall's.
Picture
Picture
Amongst my top choices are rollout cookies, otherwise referred to as sugar cookies - hold the icing, though. Classic for the Christmas season, SK's formula was adapted to accommodate a dark chocolatey-ness. An attempt at orange-tinted cookies with citrus zest and red food colouring returned questionable, yet nonetheless fragrant.
Picture
​Besides the plump, tie-donning black cats, the benevolent Jack Skellington pumpkin design was my favourite.
Picture
Picture
Wishing all a safe, spooky Halloween!
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Who Am I?

    Formerly an avid owner of several interest-based portals, Random Thoughts of a Quirky Blogger presents precisely the elements expected. From experiments in the kitchen to miscellaneous musings, from IGOT7 reflections to developments in transportation infrastructure, it's all consolidated here. Welcome to the raw, unfiltered side of Quirky Aesthetics.



    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013


    Categories

    All
    Ahgabond Adventures
    Ahgase
    Arctic Aquarium
    Atlantic Canada 2018
    Barrie
    Beauty
    Birthday Buddy
    Chinese New Year
    Conquering COVID 19
    Daily Randoms
    Eyes On You World Tour 2018
    Food
    Friends
    Hallyucon
    Hamilton
    Hong Kong
    Iron Ring
    J Movie
    K Drama
    K-Drama
    Korean Beauty
    K Pop
    Los Angeles 2017
    Macau
    New York 2018
    Ottawa 2019
    Pilates
    Random Rant
    Restaurant Review
    Seoul
    Shopping
    SSMC
    Taiwan
    Vacation
    Vancouver 2013
    Vancouver 2014
    Vancouver 2015
    Vancouver 2016
    Vancouver 2020
    Vancouver 2022


    trazy.com

    RSS Feed


WHAT DOES "QUIRKY AESTHETICS" MEAN?

Quirky =  a term that commonly refers to something/someone distinctly different and unique
Aesthetics = the visual aspect of things



Together, Quirky Aesthetics refers to the things, events, and happenings seen and perceived by this blog's creator - quirky perspectives in a visual form.

Contact ME

​Subscribe

Join our mailing list today!
Join Now
© Quirky Aesthetics. All rights reserved. Last modified: August 10, 2015.