Simple eatin'

This is one of those "cheap, lazy dinners," I bought all the ingredients for $5.27 and only used 1/3 of the tofu. I think this is good if you're by yourself and you want something pretty healthy that doesn't require a lot of thought. From leaving the house at 8:06 pm, I went to the store, meandered, came home, cooked, and ate before by 9:00. Not bad?

Easy dinner of tofu, sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts

Serves 1

All ingredients

1 block firm tofu

1 Sweet potato

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg

Olive Oil

However many Brussels sprouts you think you will want to eat

Grapeseed oil, or a different oil that has a high smoke point and neutral flavor
Any marinade, I like BBQ sauce

Step 1 - Press Tofu

Cut 1/3 - 1`/2 block of firm tofu, store the remainer in water in the fridge. Put tofu on a plate with a lip, put another plate on top, then add weight to the top plate to press the tofu. 

Step 2 - Sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. If you want to peel the sweet potato first, do that, I peal them after I have cut them into rounds, about a 1 cm or to 1/5 inch thick. Put all of the rounds into a bowl with 1 tbsp of olive oil and toss. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and a sprinkling of nutmeg and toss again. Spread the rounds evenly onto the baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.

Step 3 - Prep your brussels sprouts 

Cut the stems off the sprouts and remove any leaves that look like they are too beat up. Cut the brussel sprouts into thirds so that each get a small about of stem to hold them together. 

Step 4 - Marinate your tofu

You can really marinate the tofu in anything to taste like anything you want it to. It's one of the nice things about tofu. 

Step 5 - Cook your brussel sprouts

Heat a pan on high and add about 1-2 tbsp of grapeseed oil. You can use olive oil in a pinch, but your pan might smoke so be careful. Place the brussels sprouts in an even layer so they aren't too crowded. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until they are nice and brown. Don't flip them too much. You might need to 

Step 6 - Cook your tofu

Add another tablespoon or so of grapeseed oil to the pan, lower the temperature to medium-high heat and add the tofu. Cook for five minutes on each side, or until golden.

Tahini Chocolate Loaf

Originally a cupcake recipe, I made this as a loaf cake and thought it was great. The original recipe has oil in it, which I omitted by accident, but I don't think you need it with the amount of tahini. If you are super on the ball, once the cake has set but before baking is over, topping with sesame seeds would be very lovely.

Yield • 24 cupcakes (or one loaf cake!)

1 1/2 granulated sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons of tahini

1 tablespoon vanilla

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

1. Preheat convection oven to 350 degrees or conventional oven to 375 degrees.

2. Whisk together eggs, milk, tahini, vanilla, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda. Add flour and salt. Whisk in boiling water just until combined. The batter will be watery.

3. For cupcakes: Pour batter into two 12-cup muffin tins fitted with paper liners, filling the cups barely half full. Bake until a tester inserted into a cupcake comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes in a convection oven or 25 to 30 minutes in a conventional oven. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
For loaf: Alternatively, bake in greased loaf pan until a knife pulls out clean. About 45-55 minutes.

Note: I will try this again with less cocoa, more tahini.

Adapted from an adaptation of a recipe from New York's Magnolia Bakery.

Simple Salsa

Better than canned!

1.5-2 medium tomatoes, diced with the seeds removed
1/4 jalapeno (seeds in for extra spice)
1/8 cup red onion, small diced
1/8 cup cilantro leaves
1 small clove of garlic, minced
pinch of salt
Juice of 1/2 lime (or more)
1/5 tbsp sherry or white vinegar

Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulse until the desired consistency. Taste to see if it needs additional salt or lime, then let sit for 10 minutes before serving.  Makes about 2 cups.

Procrastin- I mean, the Beauteque May 2016 BB Bag

So, today I'm procrastinating a bit. I'm supposed to be studying (which I will commence soon. promise.), but first I'm going to write a bit since I'd rather do that and I have a hard time navigating things like reddit.com/r/asianbeauty when it comes to things, well, Asian Beauty. No, I'm not Asian, but I love the appeal of the Korean and Japanese beauty industries and I think they are just so neat. Being that it's hard for me to get out of my house/to a place where I can try products in person besides Sephora I decided to look into subscription boxes to become initiated with the types of products available since many of them are foreign to me by more than nationality (Example: peeling gels). 

There are a few different options for subscription boxes, but I have chosen the Beauteque BB Bag. It is not the cheapest (about $26/month after tax), but I have some solid reasons to like it...

1) You get full sized products which means if you like something, you have a lot of it.
2) You get to try a wide variety of products. In each bag they include a mix of skincare, hair car, body care, tools, and makeup. They also have a wide variety of products within those categories so you get to try all kinds of things
3) They help you become initiated and get the ball rolling
4) You get to try products you would probably NEVER purchase on your own

Some of the negatives are that you end up filling up your cabinets fast, it isn't the cheapest, I don't see a HUGE variety in brands, and I don't think you get a lot of the higher-end brands that you may see if you did a sample subscription bag. I've been doing the BB Bag since... March? And I like it, though I'm probably going to call it quits soon because I have so many things!

ANYWAY! That being said, I have noticed there are times when I don't understand a product or its directions and I've had a hard time finding individual product reviews online so I thought I would start doing that. I'm starting with the May box because I had a bit of a problem getting it (it got lost in the mail) and only received it today, a month later, along with my June box. 

I'd like to also say this in regard to Beauteque's customer service: Call them. I have sent emails to them in the past and I never heard back. After my May box was late, I gave them a rang and spoke to someone immediately. I ended up having to call back because they wanted to give the package a bit more time to show up and again I had a great experience with the woman I spoke with. They also got a replacement bag to me in two days. Go Beauteque. 

Anyway On to the May BB Bag...

I did not receive the info card with this box (poop), so I'm flying blind! 

What I Got...

1) Super cute chevron bag that isn't ridiculously small *cough* Ipsy *cough*
2) PRELAB Toning Peeling Tap - gonna try this one out later. Also, the Beauteque peeps say this is a rinse off product, but what I have found elsewhere on the interwebs say it is a leave on product. It also says "No wash" on the container? I will investigate further (and yes, the container says "tap")
3) A'Pieu Glow Nail Touch in PP05 - I immediately put this on my nails without base coat. It is really pretty lavendar that is leaning heavily on pink notes. It has good coverage (one coat may actually do you)and dries quickly. I will do a proper manicure and see how it goes. Oh, and it doesn't smell to strong. At roseroseshop these are $1.75. That is one of the big Beauteque drawbacks, they tend to charge a lot for products. 
4) The SAEM Fresh Bamboo Soothing Gel 99% - I don't know what the 99% is for. Is it 99% bamboo? Is it 99% Soothing? Is it 99% gel? What is the other 1%? There are a shit ton of ingredients so... Whatever, it's a soothing gel. It feels like a cooling gel. PLUS! it comes in super cute packaging that my American sensibilities would laugh at and never buy if I saw it in a store. I actually really like it and will probably end up going through it.
5) Kinepin Nail Set? - I don't know what the "real" name is for this. ALTHOUGH, it's super cute. That blue thing is a folded up 4-sided buffer block! It smartly has the filing side on the inside. This is one of the things I like about the Beauteque bag though, they don't give you a nail set and call it a day. They make sure you have some polish to use with it. 
6) Milky Dress SOS Blemish cream - I will talk more about this below.
7) The SAEM Healing Tea Garden Green Tea Cleansing Tissue - Makeup removing wipes. I want to wait to open it so the questions that remain are: will it make my face break out? Will it smell terrible? Will it burn? Also, note how I have two the SAEM products this month. I also had one last month. June has a SAEM product too.

OKAY so what am I actually reviewing today? Lucky #6.

This is a blemish cream that is supposedly " calms sensitive skin and clears the skin tone which will give a whitening effect." That's from the beauteque website. I'm not really sure if this is a cream you'd want to put on a pimple or if it is really intended for post-pimple redness... or both. 
I am sad to say I've heard mostly negative reviews on products aimed at acne from the Asian markets. Even though I am prone to the occasional breakout I tend to stay away from products marketed for the treatment of acne. That being said, what I do get are hormonally related cysts that creep up once or twice a year and inflict mayhem onto my face. These are not treatable by creams or magic potions, but require prompt dermatologist visits. If I am unable to get into the derm... It's the plastic surgeon. So, after spending much of my early twenties until now (the late twenties) really hating my skin I have decided to try and do something about the redness left on my face. Anything whitening - GIVE IT TO MEEEE. So yea, I have decided to see how this guy works on my active little pustules versus those resilient red spots to see what it actually works on. 
(I would have posted more pictures, but the little tube is apparently under pressure and I had to put the top back on before I lost any more product. Currently most of my face is under a coat of blemish cream, heh.)
The cream itself is almost pink, but goes on clear. It has a bit of a smell. It is very faint, but I still washed my hands after. The closest smell I can think of is Calpico, or a yogurt lassi. Kind of that fermenting milk smell. It's not the best. On the bright side I can't smell it on my face.
I did notice a short burning sensation a few minutes after putting it on. That's gone now and my face hasn't had a negative reaction to it yet. 
I can't read Korean so I have to go with whatever is written on the package. The package tells me that the blemish cream is for use after your basic skincare routine and that it contains calamine. Alright! I decided to rip open the packaging and found an English list of ingredients. From what I can tell the only whitening ingredient is niacinamide. There is no indication of concentration.

Alright! I will update this post with more a wee bit later. 

Rum Cake

No idea where I found this, but it's very good. 

3 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 eggs plus 1 yolk
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup dark rum (Tortuga)

Optional
Powdered sugar for dusting cake(optional)
Chopped chocolate truffles*
Additional rum for sprinkling on cake

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; stir until blended. Beat in the lemon zest and then add the rum. Gradually add the dry ingredients, alternating with the heavy cream and ending with the dry ingredients. Blend until the mixture is well combined. Pour batter into a well greased and floured 10 cup tube pan and bake for almost an hour. Test doneness with a skewer inserted halfway between the sides of the pan and the tube. Cool, turn out and dust with powdered sugar or additional rum.
It is a good idea once the cake is cooled to cover with some sort of plastic wrap. The cake will be more moist and have a great texture. 
*A good addition to this is chopped French style chocolate truffles like the kind sold at Trader Joe's. Fold them in before baking.

Berry Cinnamon Chip Muffins

NOTE: It might be worthwhile to change up the oils for textural changes in the muffin. Canola could be a good choice and other neutral oils will probably work.

Two recipes were used.
Makes 10-15 muffins depending on the size of your pan

Muffin Mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cinnamon baking chips
1⁄2 cup chopped pecans
3⁄4 cup milk
1⁄3 cup grapeseed oil
1 egg
3/4 to 1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed and drained (go crazy)

Streuesel Topping 
1⁄4 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup flour
1 tablespoon water
1 1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon
1⁄4 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line a muffin or cupcake pan with liners. I think foil look great.
Toast the chopped pecans if not already done. Add all of the pecans to a dry pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until they are nice and toasty. Your kitchen should smell like toasty pecans. Even if you burn them a bit they will turn out fine for the recipe.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; stir in sugars, then cinnamon chips, and nuts.
In a small bowl, combine the milk, egg, and oil. Stir into dry ingredients, then fold in raspberries.

For the streusel topping, mix all of the dry ingredients in a small bowl then add butter and water. Combine with a fork until crumbly.

These muffins won't rise a ton so go ahead and fill the cups, sprinkle a nice helping of the streusel topping on top then and bake for 12-15 minutes. Depending on the size of your muffin tin the total baking time may be longer.

Brioche Suisse

For the brioche

• 2 cups cake flour, though all-purpose may have to do
• Heaping 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp active dry yeast
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter at room temperature

For the pastry creme

• 1 ever-so-over-the-level-of-a-cup of milk
• 1 tsp butter 
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar (preferably castor or a superfine)
• 1 tbsp +1 tsp Cornstarch
• 1 level tsp of flour

Garnish and Glaze

• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1 whole egg
• 1 egg yolk

1. To make the brioche dough :
Combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the three eggs and knead the dough 2 to 3 minutes at a slow speed to until it comes together densely. Incorporate the soft butter and knead again, slowly increasing the speed up to medium. Knead at medium between 5 and 10 minutes until the dough becomes very elastic. The dough will be very sticky, don't add flour. Take a large bowl and grease with butter then dust with flour. Transfer the batter to the bowl. Cover with a cloth then let rise at room temperature for one hour.

Flatten dough into a rectangle and place i the the refrigerator for at least 40 minutes (2 hours is ideal) and then 20 more minutes in the freezer.

2. While the dough is setting, prepare the pastry creme :
In a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat, combine the milk, one tsp of butter and the vanilla extract. If you are using a vanilla bean, slice it in half and grate it before adding. 

In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Then add the corn starch and flour - make sure to combine thoroughly with the whisk. Before the milk reaches a boil (remove vanilla bean here!), remove from beat and slowly pour hot mixture in with eggs WHILE WHISKING!!!!!!!! 

Again, without ceasing in whisking, move the entire mixture back into that heavy bottom saucepan. Return to medium low-medium heat until the creme thickens. Once the creme is cooked, move to a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap such that the plastic touches the creme to avoid forming a film and place in the fridge to cool.

3. Put it all together :
Flour a working surface (cold is preferable). Remove the brioche dough from the freezer and flatten into a rectangle with a rolling pin until it is about 4-5 mm thick (a little less than a 1/4 inch). Place this rolled out dough back into the freezer for a few minutes. 

Remove the pastry creme from the refrigerator and work with a whisk until it becomes smooth and supple.  Take the dough out again and spread the pastry creme with a spatula in order to cover half of the rectangle (you're going to fold it over!). Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the creme. With your rolling pin, lightly roll over the chocolate chips to reinforce them into the dough. Fold the plain half of the dough over the chocolate chip half and smooth with your hands to get rid of any air bubbles. Once smooth, with a clean, sharp knife cut strips from the rectangles about 2-3 inches wide. Place the brioches with a decent amount of space on to a baking sheet covered in parchment. Delicately cover the brioches with plastic wrap and allow them to rise at room temperature for 2.5 hours.

20 minutes before the brioches are done rising, preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Prepare the egg wash glaze by whisking an entire egg with one egg yolk. As soon as the brioches are done rising, coat the brioches with a pastry brush. Bake 10-12 minutes until they have a nice brown color. 

*Original recipe: http://perleensucre.com/brioche-suisse-aux-pepites-de-chocolat/ There are some great pictures of the whole process here! She also posts a recipe for the same pastry with pralines instead of chocolate chips.