Dad

Ahh yes, my father the electrical engineering, Silicon Valley nerd. Does he not look the perfect part? The glasses, the (not 1, but 2) pens in the pocket and is that a short sleeve dress shirt?? Who woulda thought that little Asian baby belonged to this man? Well... he's my dad. And there's no doubt in anyone's mind that we share the same blood. I get the same dumb-as-a-doorknob look on my face when I'm fascinated with something: an unfortunate trait from Dad's side of the family. At age 8, I wired my doll-house with lighting after he drew me a schematic. I was one of the only women writing code in my IT group when I started work out of college. I'm pretty diplomatic and reasonable (umm... not always a Chinese trait). Dad gave me so many things for which I am truly thankful. One of the most important, of course: double eyelids!

We decided years ago that Father's and Mother's Day need not be about gifts of material items and instead make it a day that we spend with Dad or Mom doing whatever they'd like. So lucky for me, I am sitting down to the computer now after bidding my family good night. As we did for Mother's Day - we spent most of the day together and topped it with a nice dinner and dessert. I really cherish my time with my family. Happy Father's Day to my dad, to your dad, to your husband, to you... I hope it was very special.

It's time

Those of you who are close friends to me know that I had a best friend named Calli who passed away almost 5 years ago. I loved her dearly. And she loved me unconditionally whether I was in a bad mood or good, whether I spoke to her with impatience or kindness and whether I ignored her or showered her with attention. The day she died was, to date, the saddest day of my life. And I'll never forget the days after she died which I spent alone in my darkened room; unable to work, unable to talk on the phone, unable to even see my family for the risk of breaking down into uncontrollable, heart-wrenching sobs was absolute. Calli was my dog. My dog; my best friend.

Just a few months old - back in 1991

I used to have this theory that my dad's father, "Da" made me a lover of dogs when upon my 2-week birthday, he arrived in California ready to meet me and bearing the gift of a small stuffed puppy. I realize now that I was likely always meant to be a dog lover and the gift was merely a coincidence. But for some reason, as a child, I'd always ask my mom if Da's gift was the reason I loved dogs so much. She had no answer. What she did have for me, after I left that childhood - was a story of how instead of imaginary friends, I had an imaginary dog. She recounted how around the age of 4, I'd trot through the kitchen, pause about halfway, stop and turn, bend over a bit and pat*pat*pat my knee and call for "Toto". I apparently did this enough times that Mom actually remembered it (she has so few stories of our childhoods due to her self proclaimed "poor memory".)

Likely the only picture you'll ever see of me in a swimsuit - so enjoy!

Mom and Dad finally gave in to my incessant begging for a dog when we moved to a house with a yard that was not "all pool" as our first one had been. Calli became like a sister in our family. We hardly ever left her at home. She joined us for family walks to the park. She'd ride in the car to pick up carpools. She lay next to us during dinner and slept next to us while we watched TV. She growled at other dogs who dared run up to Dad while out on their jog. She happily joined us for trips to our cabin in Tahoe every time we'd go. She promptly scooted out her dog door to keep our large yard free of all cats and would suddenly perk up on high alert should she ever hear us utter that bad word ("cat"). About halfway through her life, Calli had to undergo surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed. She arrived home that evening looking pretty battered and very worn out. Mom slept downstairs with her that night - just in case she needed anything. And as Calli aged and started having trouble eating her dry dog food - Mom would cook her stew and serve it over rice. Calli was, without a doubt, the third child in our family.

This was her favorite afternoon napping place - with the perfect spot of sun

After Calli died the only thought that could console me for the following year was the idea of getting another puppy to ease the pain and the void. Logistics just weren't right though. I didn't yet have a place of my own and Mom & Dad had just begun their "Golden Years" of jet-setting from here-to-there so were no longer in a position to have a dog. I swore I'd get a dog as soon as I bought a place.

And then I bought a place. Had a ridiculously crazy social life. Was always here or there, or out and about. Traveling and working and making friends and meeting men and I too - was not in a position to have a dog.

Yes, the pants are pegged. Get over it - I did. ;)

But (as this blog demonstrates) I've finally slowed down. I find myself baking on Saturday nights instead of party-hopping in San Francisco. I come home after work to make dinner and relax instead of going out for drinks and fancy food until the restaurants close. My friends are mostly married and some are having families. Top it all off with my oldest friend ~ one of 28 years ~ Tracey, the professional dog trainer/professional doggie daycare manager swearing to me that I can own a somewhat notoriously energetic Labrador as long as I commit to exercise and training (wait is she just trying to get me in shape?)

Wasn't she gorgeous? The "golden-est" yellow lab there was!

So it happened. One day last week - I think perhaps last Wednesday. Almost like an early birthday gift. We were talking and suddenly - we'd decided to get a puppy!! We couldn't think of any truly bad reason why not! And by Wednesday of this week I found myself already on a waitlist! There's no guarantee that I'll get this particular puppy - I'm being rather particular and requesting a yellow female (Labrador) and I'm 3rd on the list for a litter of blacks and yellows. So if the pregnant mama decides to birth only blacks or only yellow boys or heck, even only 2 yellow girls...it'll be on to my next breeder. But essentially - the hunt is on!

Why do you just keep laughing? Let me in!

And here's where I'd love your help! Please help us pick a name! Please feel free to leave name suggestions as a comment to this post too! This is the fun "no hard work yet" part of getting a dog.

Yes, I did speak to my dog in a baby-voice. My apologies.

Calli was there for me on my darkest days. She'd let me hug her and would lie in my lap as if she fit. The worst part of losing her was not having that sweetheart to hug during those dark, dark times. Oh and let's not forget how cruel the day was when a cat ventured into our yard full of confidence and cockiness.

"My sweet Calli-girl, I'll always love you and I'll always miss you and I'll never forget you... But I'm ready, and I think it's finally time..."

A birthday worth remembering

Whew! What a [long] weekend!

I honestly don't say this every year - but this birthday was absolutely one of the best I've had. I realize one's perspective of what a good birthday is will change as they age so that's perhaps why I more often than not enjoy my current birthday. But regardless - this year's birthday was fantastic!! I stated earlier what it is that I love so much about my birthday. It's not presents or cake or *gasp* getting older. It's friends and family spending time with me. I thrive off of this. And this year was definitely no exception. I spent my entire birthday with friends, from morning til... well morning!

The day started off as all fantastically special days should. With a scrumptious breakfast - made by someone else. Well, with no other cooks around other than myself...Tracey took me for pancakes at the Original Pancake House. Dutch babies to be exact! I've been wanting to try making these ever since Mom and I dined on them last summer. So it was very necessary to return to OPH to study them so that I could come home and try the what seems to be a very simple recipe. The hardest part is manipulating a gigantic cast-iron skillet. So the picture is those made by the restaurant - but stay tuned and I will attempt these very soon.

Next stop with Tracey was to get spa pedicures at my favorite local spot. This place is awesome. They spend a full hour on you!

Soaking and..
scrubbing and..
massaging and..
hot waxing and..
moisturizing and..
painting.

All the while you relax in a cushy massage chair which... isn't half bad!


After a perfect morning - my evening held all kinds of even better festivities:


A classy dinner with a small group of close friends.

A birthday party with 20-some additional friends.

Eating sweets and drinking cocktails.

And lots and lots (and lots) of laughter!

Mom and Dad had me over for dinner later in the weekend. Mom attempted homemade Napoleons (mille feuille) but she did it with shortcuts *GASP*! She used store-bought puff pastry shells. Pressed them together and then cut them into squares before baking them and sandwiching with vanilla pudding. Oh and dinner? (why must I always prioritize the sweets?) Fondue... it's perhaps not really a summer meal - but it's something our family loves. So simple yet so delish! We cook the veggies after dipping them in tempura batter...mmmmmmm!

Mom's bday dinner for me - beef fondue and homemade Napoleons!

Thank you to anyone out there who had anything to do with celebrating my birthday! Your cards (and thoughts) are being held very close to me. And I'll hold tight to them from now through to next year.

Thank you to all my friends!

Thanks to Mom (and Dad)

For bringing me into the world *cough*years ago today! In fact I believe it was roughly around this time of day (morning)...




And thanks to Deb for whatever exactly goes down this evening! Love to you!



Let the birthday festivities begin!!

Composing

It's been a slow week. BUT it's leading up to my birthday which makes it a bit exciting! I still have such a little kid attitude when it comes to my 2 favorite days of the year: Christmas and my birthday. Now don't get misled here - I'm not the greediest person on the planet (maybe just in the Bay Area - kidding!) The reason I love these holidays is for different reasons. Christmas has always been a magical time of year for me - a feeling created and still fed by my parents. It's all about love and giving and generosity and being with family and friends.

I love my birthday for different, perhaps more selfish reasons. I LOVE my family and friends. I thrive when I'm surrounded by people I care about. The reason I love my birthday is because it's the one day of the year I feel that I can ask my friends and family to spend time with me and they will make it a slightly bigger priority than usual. The best birthday for me is a big party - no frills - just friends. The older we get - the less we see each other - the more my birthday means to me for getting together with people.

So while I attempt to calmly anticipate seeing so many of my best friends this weekend - I will share with you some photos I took a few weeks ago around my parents' yard. This is a brief lesson on photo composition. Before the camera type, before aperture size, before shutter speed - the fundamental of a good picture is composition. How you choose to frame up your shot. This is what I believe truly makes a photographer an artist. And this is what I was practicing in the yard that day.

My biggest pet peeve - PLEASE NOTE (whether you know me or not!) - is when I ask someone to take a picture of me with someone else and instead of composing the photo around our group - they center the photo on our faces. Usually this cuts our bodies in half and includes a whole ton of boring wall/ceiling in the shot. Example from Liz's birthday weekend:

Poor composition; Better composition

Usually I end up doing some fancy cropping when situations like this arise. Anything to make it look a little better! And usually that's why I'll opt for a tri-pod to take my photo and kindly turn down the generous offer of someone passing by. You just never know who'll have a good eye or not! (I know - I'm so stuck up...)

Geraniums and Pansies

These pots actually looked pretty gnarly overall. Half the flowers were dead and dry and overgrown - ready to be pulled out. But by re-composing my shot to a much tighter frame - they're decent photos, yah?

It never hurts to have some colorful and beautiful subjects to photograph does it? Maybe a post in the future will need to create those blueberries into something yummy and blog-worthy! But this quick break from rich, sweet food has been nice.

Easy as - strawberry rhubarb

Contrary to what you might see represented on my blog as of late, I am not a big fan of cakes. There are a few cakes I LOVE and for which I will go out of my way, but on the whole I prefer fruit pies. This is no doubt due to the fact that my family - Mom and her 4 sisters to be exact - love to make pies and are EXCELLENT at it. There is a homemade pie on the dessert table at every family get together. And by homemade pie, I mean a store-bought crust has never seen the inside of any family member's home. Apple, peach, apricot, black bottom, custard, fresh strawberry, pumpkin, pecan, banana cream, lemon meringue, blackberry, pumpkin-chiffon, strawberry-rhubarb... Heck, the story my father tells about his first experience meeting my mom's family even has to do with pie:

Dad has very recently been introduced to Mom's sisters, Betty and Fran
Scene: Betty's Kitchen

Fran: [forks and tastes her first bite of Betty's homemade apple pie. Pauses; continues chewing; pauses again] "Betty - this is the WORST pie I've ever eaten."

Dad was completely floored at the blatant honesty and sat back to wait for fireworks - bracing himself for a fight, argument, raised voices in defense...

Betty: [waving a dismissive hand] "Oh I know - I shouldn't have even served it."

And Dad, shockingly relieved, lived to tell the story...

My absolute favorite pie is a strawberry-rhubarb which I believe originated (in my immediate family) from my Dad's mother - that's right we get it on both sides! I've been wanting to make my first strawberry-rhubarb pie of 2008 ever since I saw those bright red stalks of rhubarb appear in my local grocery store sometime in the last few weeks.

Cutting shortening into flour & salt; Such simple ingredients make something so wonderful!

We have a barbecue at a friend's place tonight and I volunteered to bring a dessert. I started rolling out the dough and realized that I would most definitely have extra - now, I don't feel bad throwing out extra dough, but what I can't throw out is extra strawberries and rhubarb already cut and mixed with sugar and flour for the filling. Fortunately I bought those little tart pans last week. Made for a perfect sampling to "make sure it tasted okay" before taking to the BBQ! ;)

I get bored of doing the same plain top crust with each pie I make so I decided to try something new after seeing a similar style on an episode of Martha Stewart months back. It took a while but was really a lot of fun and almost felt like a craft project!

Cut little fluted rounds and "glued" to the top with egg wash

It was fantastic! The familiar flavors of my absolute favorite pie that I've been eating as long as I can remember. But fancied up just the perfect amount!

Oh my...

I could eat this pie every day - and fully intend to make more of them before this summer is up. Thank goodness for rhubarb and strawberry season!

I tackled and completed an Opéra

This is a very exciting (and warning: long) post for me. Many of you will probably not understand the excitement. But excitement, I have! This is my first official Daring Bakers post! I mentioned the Daring Bakers briefly before, so please reread that post for an explanation.

My very first Daring Bakers post - Meyer Lemon Opéra Cake:

I just love looking at the side view of this cake

My first challenge was perhaps one of the more challenging assigned to the group. At least that's what it sounds like from reading through all the forums. But I welcomed and completely looked forward to doing this challenge. Its intricate, detailed, lengthy but thorough instructions are just the type of things I love to tackle.

Daring Bakers founders, Lis and Ivonne along with fellow DB members Shea and Fran chose this "elegant and polished French dessert that is believed to have been created around the beginning of the 1900s." Opéra Cake is traditionally flavored with darker flavors like coffee and chocolate, but the hosts this month ~ in honor of spring ~ asked us to keep the flavors and colors light. Beyond that we were free to do whatever we liked!

Oh yes - this moonlighted as Mother's Day dessert too

An Opéra Cake is made up of the following components - my "creative" flavor adaptations in the parenthesis:
-jaconde, aka French sponge cake, made with ground almonds (as called for by the recipe)
-syrup to wet the jaconde (Meyer lemon syrup)
-buttercream to fill the layers (Meyer lemon buttercream)
-mousse/ganache to top the layers (Meyer lemon mousse)
-glaze to cover the mousse (as called for by the recipe)

We were given recipes for all components (recipes based on Opéra Cake recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion) but were also given the option of using different recipes as long as it didn't break any of "the rules" about keeping the colors light. Once I'd decided I was going to make this for Mother's Day - lemon was the quite obvious flavor for me (for Mom). And even easier - my cousin Stacey lives perhaps a mile away from me with the most bountiful Meyer lemon tree one has ever seen. So my first ingredient only cost me a few macarons which I left with her and her family!

The "Mom" was piped in white chocolate - so it moved around ;)

This was perhaps the most complicated single food item I've ever made. I spread the work out over 3 days and started Friday night in order to have it done for Mother's Day dinner on the 11th. Read on if you actually have the time and patience. :)

Friday night:
1) See the picture below? Mmhmm, I did algebra to start this challenge. Since I halved the (serves 20) original recipe I needed to figure out how to make 3 equal sized layers of jaconde out of 1-11.75"x16.5" jellly roll pan. This could perhaps be the first time I've used algebra since Junior High!
2) Mixed up and baked the jaconde. Cut and wrapped it up for storage overnight.
3) Made Dorie Greenspan's buttercream from the Perfect Party Cake in Baking: From My Home to Yours flavored with lemon juice
4) Made a batch of lemon curd that I'll use for my lemon mousse tomorrow

Algebra in baking?---------Cooling jaconde

Wrapping up the cake for the night--- Lemon curd and lemon buttercream

Saturday afternoon:

1) Finished the lemon mousse by folding equal amounts of homemade lemon curd into stiffly whipped cream
2) Made lemon syrup with sugar, water and lemon juice
3) Assembled the layers: jaconde, syrup, buttercream, jaconde, syrup, buttercream, jaconde, syrup, mousse
4) Allowed it all to set in the fridge overnight

Working on the 2nd buttercream layer-------Topping with th lemon mousse

All done just needs to set---------Setting in the fridge

Sunday morning:
1) Candied some lemon slices
2) Made the white chocolate glaze
3) Finished the cake and decorated it

Candying lemon slices----------Topping with the white chocolate glaze

All that's left is trimming the sides!

~~Voilà! Opéra Cake!!~~

I love how you can see the flecks of lemon zest in the mousse!

Overall... sadly?... I didn't really like eating this. But I blame it ALL on the white chocolate. Before this challenge I was pretty sure I didn't like white chocolate. After this challenge I'm now certain that I really hate white chocolate. I should have done some type of a lemon gelatin glaze instead. Would have made it WORLDS better! But I'm still celebrating. Yay - my first Daring Bakers challenge down. Can't WAIT for the next!!

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There are some truly beautiful Opéra Cakes out there in Daring Baker Blog-Land. They'll be popping up all over the place today on most of the blogs listed here. Here are some of my favorites I've already spied:

Helen at Tartelette never ceases to amaze me. Here she did an orange, vanilla and lavender cake.
Anita at Dessert First is another Bay Area girl with a beautiful blog to boot. Lemon and lavender cake.
Baking Obsession is another truly beautiful blog (can you see a pattern here?) Grapefruit cake.
Gabi at The Feast Within made a fabulously decorated cake covered with edible cherry blossoms.