Hello dear readers! My new bake shop site is up and running at www.aliensbakeshop.com
It's a simple design and doesn't have many fancy shopping features, but I think it's a start, no? Browse around and let me know what you think!
Also, I've made a few changes to the ordering process. You can now use Paypal (you don't need a paypal account, just a credit card), but you can also still do Korean bank wire transfer- whichever is easiest for you. The price for shipping and handling has also changed to a flat rate of 4,000 won, regardless of order size. Additionally, I've included the option of same-day delivery, so you can enjoy baked goods that are as fresh as possible. :)
Oh, and guess what! The Thin Mints are baaaack~!!! After numerous requests, I've decided to temporarily put them back on the menu, even though there's the risk of the chocolate getting a bit melty in the summer heat during transportation. I've mailed some out already and they seem to do okay. Just pop them in the fridge or freezer once you get them because these babies are definitely best enjoyed cold for the ultimate cool-mint sensation!
And here's something super cool. This blog and my mini bake shop got featured in an About.com article entitled "Vegan Resources in Seoul, South Korea" ! Waaaah, awesomesauce! What happened was that just before I went off to Paris last month, I got a cookie order from Doris who mentioned she was visiting Korea and would like some cookies mailed to her hotel. I had no idea she was a writer for About.com- I was just happy to provide a visitor with some vegan treats during their travels. And then last week, Doris surprised me by sending me this article she wrote, with such kind words about my blog. Let's just say, it totally made my day~
So now moving onto some random recent eats:
Bibimbab
Bibimbab again. Gosh, I love Korean food. I'll never get sick of bibimbab!
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of hanging out with ex-coworker Rebecca. We went to De Chocolate cafe and she bought me my first patbingsu of the year! :) The 'Original' patbingsu has dairy milk in it, but we asked them to leave that out, and I just happened to have some soy milk on me, so we poured that in instead for a bit of milky goodness. Worked like a charm.
Icy cold slush, syrupy sweet beans, thick chewy ddeok, and crunchy almond slices. For reals, is there anything better than a bigass bowl of patbingsu on a hot summers day? I think not!
Speaking of icy cold treats, lately, I've been eating tons of frozen fruit scoops!
I'm hesitant to call it ice cream because I don't make it creamy enough, but it's not sorbet either because it's not pure fruit. They take a little advanced preparation and patience, but the process itself is so easy, I'm sad that I haven't been doing this all my life. My freezer is now filled with various fruits to create all kinds of frozen concoctions. My latest flavor was yellow melon and banana. I usually end up eating this stuff straight out of the container. In the middle of the night. When no one (Bunny) is looking. However, this time, I decided to actually use my ice cream scoop to plate it up, and also sprinkled on a handful of chopped walnuts.
Only three ingredients went into the making of this deliciousness. You can add sweetener if you like, but I found that the melons and ripe bananas gave all the sweetness needed.
3 smallish yellow melons
2 medium bananas
1/2 cup soy milk
1. Peel and chop your fruit up roughly and place in a container. For the melons, I scraped out some of the inner seeds and pulp but left about half of it in there for added texture and natural sweetness. You can leave or remove it all if you want, depending on how much sweetness you want.
2. Freeze the fruit for several hours or overnight.
3. Blend the frozen fruit with the soy milk (I used an immersion wand). You may have to wait for the fruit to defrost slightly if it's too hard to blend.
4. Transfer the blended fruit into a container and freeze again, about 2-3 hours, or until it is firmly set but not rock solid. If it's too frozen to scoop out, just leave it out on the counter for about 10 minutes and it will soften up. Plate up and enjoy with whatever toppings you desire.
Ok, that's all for today. Hope everyone has a great start of the week!