Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

Blueberry muffins are one of my favorite things to make because they are so easy to make.  I thought.... since there called "Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins", that they had coffee in them. But then I tried one..  there was no coffee! I LOVED IT!!!!

      Ingredients (Adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

        Makes 16 muffins

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stemsDirections

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

Potato Chips

These chips are amazing! I ate half of them in less then 10 minutes! They are the best chips I have ever had which is big because I am a big fan of CHIPS! This recipe is super easy and I hope you try it. :)

frying my potatos!!! :) 

Ingredients (adapted from Aaron McCargo Jr.)

• 1 pound medium potatos
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Preheat oil to 350 degrees F.

Thinly slice the potatoes and place in a bowl.
In a large bowl, combine the paprika, salt, pepper, and set aside.
Add the potatoes to the hot oil. Fry in batches until golden brown and crispy, about 2 to 4 minutes.
Remove the chips from the oil, drain on paper towels and toss in the bowl with the seasoning.

Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! :D

What isn't better then  chocolate chip cookies?? NOTHING!!! I (nina) decided to make chocolate chip cookies because I was at home watching "Sugar High" on foodnetwork. Duff Goldman  was eating a chocolate chip cookie so I started to crave it!!!! and that was when I got the idea.

adapted from the foodnetwork kitchen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

  Evenly position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. (on convection setting if you have it.) Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets. (If you only have 1 baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches.)

Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted. (Alternatively melt in a small saucepan.) Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
 Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

Brownies go Blonde ...

It was Sunday afternoon when my aunt, Co Nam, asked us what we wanted to make. Since our grandpa's 70th birhtday was right before, we thought "Not cake, not cupcakes, not pie. What should we make?" We decided on the brownie, but didn't want an original brownie, so a blondie it was! A little while later, a bit of this, a bit of that, a wahlaa! A blondie is made!

(Adapted by FoodNetwork)
Ingredients:

1-1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of light brown sugar
2 large eggs ,beaten
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup of chocolate or butterscotch chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

In a small sauce pan melt the butter. Put the light brown sugar in a large bowl, add the butter, and stir to combine. Cool to room temperature. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing just until a smooth batter is formed. If using the chips, stir them into the batter.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned and toothpick inserted in the center come out clean, about 20 minutes.
Cool the blondies in the pan slightly before inverting them onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.

SUCCESS!

     Doing the bake sale was 100% fun. Although while going home we thought "I bet we just made like $200"
Wondering and hoping we got at least $200, we dumped all the money out from our bins and earned.... DRUM ROLL PLEASE! $548.37! Yup! Thats right. With everyones help and just a little hope, we almost trippled our earnings range. Thankyou to all the people who participated in the bake sale and hope that next time we do this again, there wont be a disaster involved, which means "Hope theres no more disasters"! Well, for atleast a few years. Good Job everybody and..... THANKS!

We handed these out to everyone in our Neighborhood

Me and Hester taking a 5 minute break.. Haha

        Nina and her friend selling away

        

Tsunami in Japan! POP! Solution!

 "Kon'nichiwa!" or " こんにちは！" You might recognise the first word... Anything POP up like "Hello!"? Both of those words are ways to say "Hello" in Japanese.

      You may have heard that a few days ago Japan has had a terrible earthquake, then tsunami, and now nuclear explosion. Many people in Japan are having very hard times trying to get food, find a shelter, and get clean water to drink. But all of those need one thing first, and thats money. You see, almost everything in Japan was destroyed, burned, and swept away from the horrible accident which leads to almost no one having money. So, to help get food into all there bellies and fresh water into their systems, my sister , Nina, and I are having a Bake Sale on Saturday, March 19th.  So, help spread the word about The Bake Sale 4 Japan! All the money earned from the Bake Sale will be donated to The American Red Cross . Hope to see you there and thanks!

Info 4 The Bake Sale 4 Japan :

When: Saturda, March 19th
Location:  across from Cedar Grove Park, Tustin, CA 92782

Amount: Everything will be your requested price over $1

We'll Have: Cookies, Cupcakes, Brownies, e.t.c

From: 11:00 am - n/a

What to look for : A lot of 10-13 year olds jumping around with signs... haha....J.K...Maybe...

Red Cross Member looking for survivors... Hope he finds all

of them... So Sad! :(

        The tsunami wave taking anything in its path along with it.

Doesn't it look like a movie image? Its so :(

     I wanna just cry. :(

Coconut Macaroons

 

                 What screams coconut-ty, flaky, sweet, and just plain delicious? Ah... yes. Macaroons. On a Wednesday afternoon, I came home from school wondering what I was mouth watering and craving for. While I was flipping threw America Test Kitchen Cook Book, I found an easy, yet delicious looking recipe for Coconut Macaroons. About 60 minutes later, BADA-BING BADA-BOOM! And we have Coconut Macaroons! Perfect for a cold day with hot chocolate. Enjoy!

Coconut Macaroons

MAKES: about 2 dozen cookies

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour plus cooling time

Be sure to spray parchment paper lightly with vegetable oil spray or the cookies will stick.

     5     cups (20 ounces) sweetened flaked or shredded coconut
     8     large egg whites
     1/2  cup sugar
     1/2  teaspoon salt
     1/2  teaspoon almond extract

1) Pulse the coconut in a food processor until finely chopped, about 15 seconds, and transfer to a large bowl. Process the egg whites, sugar, salt, and almond extract in a food processor until light and foamy, about 15 seconds. Stir the egg mixture into the chopped coconut until combined. Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture is thick, about 30 minutes.

2) Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and coat lightly with vegetable oil spray. Using wet hands, roll 1 tablespoon of the mixture at a time into balls and lay on the prepared baking sheets, placed about 1 inch apart.

3) Bake until the macaroons are light golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking. Let the macaroons cool completely on the baking sheets for 30 minutes before serving.

Our Dream...

        Nina   and    Stephanie      

      

                 

               Hi! We're Stephanie and Nina. We decided when we were about 5, that we wanted to be Chefs and Proffesional Bakers. We always dreamed of having our own restauraunt.  We decided that it would be named, The Sea Turtle. I, Stephanie would be the Manager, Cashier, Waitress, and Co-Chef and Nina would be the Chef. Now that we're a few years older, we agreed on a more realistic job but still won't entirely  give-up our dream. So, after lots of encouragement from family and friends, we decided to make a food blog. Although, this is not an ordinary food blog. We're making a blog to encourage kids our age to cook meals almost entirely by themselves.

                 Our baking and cooking genes originally came from our inspirational grandma. When we were young, she would always make her famous secret family dishes that sometimes even family couldn't know. She always inspired my mom, my aunts, and my uncles to cook great food and only choose certain spices and best ingredients. Then, my mom passed that on to me and my sister. So, we would like to share our experiences with you. Enjoy! :)

Our Grandma, Stephanie, Nina, and Our Aunt