I was really excited about my 100th post, so much so that I made alfajores to celebrate. I have been meaning to makes these for quite some time. I’ve always wanted to try Matt of mattbites.com’s version because his photos look so scrumptious I want to eat the screen! But of course I can’t find store bought dulce de leche here so I had to make my own. I did it the cheater way 
simmering a can of sweetened condensed milk submerged in water for an hour and 45 minutes gives you delicious dulce de leche. I’ve always wanted to try that method! Sure the can could explode and I could possibly suffer burns but that’s the fun right? Okay to be honest I was scared the whole time. But the key is to keep the can completely submerged so it doesn’t explode. I used the biggest pot I could find and filled the entire thing with water… just in case!
So Alfajores… a delicious latin treat with two biscuits and dulce de leche in the middle. And then of course powdered sugar on top! I actually really liked the biscuit by itself with just a little sprinkle of powdered sugar. They’re a little cakey and not your usual cookie crunch. Almsot like a little pancake… in fact the house smelled like pancakes the whole time. Mmm I’m going to have another one now.
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: Other, baking, food, mmmm, random, recipes, travel
Tags: baking, cookies, cooking, food, latin, recipe, recipes, snacks, sweets
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YAY! This is Vanilla Latte’s 100th post! Well to be specific, this is Vanilla Latte now as a food and travel blog’s 100th post, I deleted the ones that were irrelevant from 5 years ago. So for such a celebration, I would like to share one of my favorite mac and cheese recipes. Now this isn’t the one I normally make for dinner parties that involve 5 cheeses, that one will have to wait. This version is an attempt to be slightly healthier… I threw in spinach! Okay it’s not that good for you. Anything that starts as a roux and involves adding milk and cheese always ends with ooey gooey goodness that can’t be that good for you. Ah well, that’s why it’s a celebration!
I’ve used low fat milk, low fat cheese, and spinach. Little ways to make sure this delicious dish won’t cause a heart attack. But feel free to live on the edge, use full fat milk and cheeses! MAN my mouth is watering as I’m writing this. So delicious and easy to make. And really good leftovers with a splash of Tabasco. Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm
Tags: american, baking, cheese, cooking, food, pasta, recipe, recipes, spinach, vegetarian
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That’s right everyone, homemade wontons! I always thought they were incredibly difficult to make, especially as a vegetarian option, but it wasn’t difficult at all. I think what put me off from making these is that my mom always used to say what a treat it was to find vegetarian wontons at a restaurant. She made it seem like they were so difficult to make and it was special occasion to have them. Now I realized she was just lazy. They are incredibly time consuming but not difficult at all. I’ve been craving veggie wontons ever since we went to Hong Kong 4 months ago. So I decided, it’s about time I called mom and asked her how to make her wontons!
I made two versions, a vegetarian version for me and a traditional pork & shrimp version for Vini. That meant, double work for dumpling fillings, double work to make stocks, and a very strategic way of cooking everything. I made a vegetarian stock for my soup and made a traditional chicken stock for the meat option. And when it came down to cooking everything, I had pots everywhere! One for the veggie stock, one for the chicken stock, a big pot of boiling water to blanch the greens and the noodles. Ladles and spoons and chopsticks everywhere… okay, I can see why my mom doesn’t do this often.
Everything said and done, it was well worth it, DELICIOUS! You don’t see vegetarian versions of this often so it’s nice to know you with a little patience, you can just make it at home! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes, soups
Tags: asian, chinese, cooking, food, noodles, recipe, recipes, soup, vegetables, vegetarian
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The name of the dish should really be “Meaty Roasted Squash Moroccan Stew on Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Green Onion Garlic Couscous” but it’s a bit long so I shortened it. It’s got heaps of veggies and spices, a very hearty dish and perfect for winter dinners. Hmmm might even go nicely as a pie filling!
Now when I said “meaty” I mean whatever choice of meat you want to put in it. I used a delicious soy meat, but you can use steak, chicken, lamb, whatever you want! Just make sure it’s cut into cubes around the same size and the rest of your veggies. I made this dish vegan but you can of course add meat to your liking for a carnivorous version. Season up the “meat” with salt and pepper and then brown before adding to the stew at the end. If you can find some flavored sausages, it would go really nicely as well!
The recipe looks long and complicated but it really isn’t that bad, definitely worth the extra effort! This dish is incredibly flavorful and jam packed with veggies. The roasted mushroom adds a great texture and taste to the whole dish. Top with some cilantro and there you have it, a delicious hearty meal! You know, a dollop of Greek yogurt on top would be great as well….next time! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: cooking, food, recipe, recipes, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian
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I absolutely love hush puppies. Little cornbread poppers, deep fried. I could almost eat them more than fries. Almost! For those who don’t know, hush puppies are deep fried cornbread balls. Served with whipped honey butter or a remoulade. Great for appetizers at a dinner party or just as a snack. I made these with my po’ boys the other day and they were the perfect addition to the meal.
Now I add in a bit of corn, jalapeños and onion in my recipe because I think it gives it a better texture and adds to the taste. You can of course spice it up even more by adding more jalapeños or spice. The buttermilk gives it that smooth consistency once you bit through the crunchy exterior. Mmmmm my mouth is watering just writing about it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: american, Cajun, cooking, food, recipe, recipes, snacks
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We’re pretty far from Southern food in Sydney but this po’ boy recipe is pretty darn close to something you can find in New Oreleans… or maybe just a Cajun restaurant in LA. I even made hush puppies to go with it! (recipe coming soon!) A po’ boy can come in all forms, most traditionally it’s a French bread sandwich, with lettuce, tomatoes, and a fried meat or seafood… usually shrimps or oysters. But the most important topping is the remoulade!
It’s all about the SAUCE! The remoulade really makes this sandwich. I could use it on everything, in fact I used it as a dipping sauce for my hush puppies YUM! This remoulade recipe is a teeny tiny bit spicy but pretty mild by cajun standards. Be sure to add more heat if you want a bigger kick! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: american, Cajun, cooking, food, recipe, recipes, sandwich, seafood
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I used to always buy those packets of seasoning that you just mix into a tub of sour cream. In fact, I love that stuff! French Onion was my favorite flavor. And since I can’t seem to find the same thing here, I thought I’d make my own!
It takes a little more effort than just cutting open a packet and mixing but it’s well worth the extra 15 minutes of work. Please note, time estimated does not include chopping of vegetables… cause that takes time! This dip is great with cut vegetables but my favorite is with Ruffles chips (or equivalent), YUM! Ooo this would go really well stuffed in baby peppers too.
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: cheese, cooking, dip, food, random, recipe, recipes, snacks
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I made a cheesecake!!! A very patriotic red, white & blue cheesecake to be exact. Okay so it’s more like yellowish instead of white but you get the idea. Now for a disclaimer: I generally don’t like cheesecake. I usually only eat the crust and the little bit of cheesecake that touches the crust. So that said, I actually liked this cheesecake! Biased? Well of course because I made sure the crust was nice and thick and there was enough berry topping to balance the cheesecake-ness.
This cheesecake was made with a graham cracker crust, the most important part! Note, for the Aussies that read this, you cannot find graham crackers here! Although I think a good alternative would be crushed up Anzac cookies! Definitely going to try that soon. I actually had my mom ship us some graham crackers so I can make this. Well worth the extra shipping and handling. I adapted this recipe from Martha’s Blueberry Topped Cheesecake. Now this cheesecake is note quite as cheesy as a traditional New York style cheesecake and it’s also not as tough. It’s got a bit more lemon to it as well. Hmmm might be why I liked it? Hope you like it too!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: american, baking, cheese, cooking, dessert, desserts, food, lemon, recipe, recipes, sweets
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Happy Fourth of July!!! I can’t think of a better dessert than apple pie to celebrate independence day. (Actually that might be debatable, I will post the red white and blue cheesecake I made as the other dessert option in a bit.) But really though, there’s nothing that speaks more American than the traditional apple pie, it’s right along there with baseball, red white and blue, bbqs, stars and stripes, and the pledge of allegiance.
To make sure I had enough, I bought an extra large pie dish just in case. I made mine a day before serving so the juices had time to settle but if you want to serve the same day, I suggest letting it cool for a few hours. The juices won’t be piping hot but it’ll still be warm on the inside. And you must serve with ice cream, it’s the only way.
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: american, apple, baking, cooking, dessert, food, pies, recipe, recipes, sweets
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