food cataloging...

these dishes were made at the beginning of the year.  photos were taken, and all the food was eaten.... it's time to start cataloging some of the foods i've made and will make... so that it becomes easier to come up with a menu when we have gatherings...

cold tofu with tomatoes

eggplant parmesan

baked asparagus

spinach and onion

garbonzo beans for sticky rice

vegetarian sticky rice

latest food craves/creations/modifications

thai drunken noodles (no worries-no alcohol)

cream of broccoli soup

vegetarian scallops with veggies for grilling

napa cabbage & mushroom soup

no... not craving for bananas... but i made 3 variations of banana baked goodies with these not so good looking bananas

banana nut muffins with flax seeds- healthier =P

my regular moist banana bread- i always use one extra smashed banana

using half cup of what was left over from the first banana nut muffin ingredients and the left over of the banana bread mixture, these yummy, moist banana muffins were created!

cake update: 1 vs 2

(tried posting pics to make sense of it all, but it's gonna take a while before i get them all posted the 'correct' way....)

In an effort to make a "perfect" cake, I decided to give it another try....

Goals: 1. beat the "meringue" out of the egg whites. 2. make cake less spongy, a little softer. 3. decorate the cake to make it even more yummy looking. 4. to enhance the taste by changing up some ingredients.

ROUND 1:  

cake 1- no meringue

cake 2- yay meringue!

ROUND 2:  

cake 1- spongy chewy, greener too =P

cake 2- somewhat spongy but softer (see less holes than cake 1)
changes made:  used cake flour instead of all purpose, eggs in room-temp, coconut milk instead of cow milk

ROUND 3:  

cake 1 fruits and custard before 2nd layer

cake 2 before 2nd layer  & you can see part of my kitchen!

ROUND 4:   

cake 1- final appearance =)  not too bad for 1st try, right?

cake 2 in progress... with 2nd layer

cake 2 final look from up top. For my own memory sake, there are coconut flakes in this one too!

cake 2- final look....the side didn't look too good =(

Results:
goals 1 & 2 (success!);
goal 3 (failure) Reddi whip just doesn't do the job, especially in hot weather When the whipped cream flopped, it looked like i made a cake screaming " i'm~m~m~m m~el~t~innng!"
goal 4 would have been a success had it not been a mistake made with goal 3...
So, the overall taste judgment is..... up to the fortunate people who tried them both! ^_^