Matcha Sablés - KissmeOrganics Matcha Powder Review

Anyone who took even a small effort to take a look at my post page would probably notice that most of them contain the world matcha or green tea in it. (Clarification: matcha is a type of green tea.) Yes, I'm a little bit obsessed with matcha. How can one resist the temptation of matcha's ability to balance the overly sweet stuff into bittersweet? 

Matcha is the ultimate excuse to eating "healthy desserts", I guess.

Thank you to those who did recognize this obsession and sent me little support packages. Thanks to Maria, I've received a great opportunity to review Kissme Organics' Organic Matcha Powder. After finding my "perfect" matcha powder earlier (see the soufflé post) I had doubts of whether I can accept another brand again. However, Kissme Organics did exceed my expectations. The matcha aroma was there - not too strong or too bitter. 

The powder can be used in many ways - matcha lattés, in yogurt (a spoonful boost to your digestive system in the morning), or in your personal baked goods (seriously, matcha-anything taste pretty good). 

In my example I've used the powder for these cute little matcha sablés, perfect for a studying snack or presents for friends and teachers. You can purchase this powder here , which would also come with an e-book of amazing matcha recipes!

Richmond Night Market 2014 (River Rock)

WARNING: Serious drool-worthy photos contained.

With its increasing popularity every year, the new Richmond Nightmarket (there's also an "old" night market, or the International Summer Nightmarket) blooms with visitors every non-rainy weekend (maybe rainy weekend too for desperate ones). As a group of two we saved our appetite for the big trip. Let's take a look at some of our finds in this year's night market: 

EAT! Vancouver 2014

EAT! Vancouver has been one of my favourite foodie event in Vancouver for the past few years.

After my last visit (2 years ago) I've always been longing to go since I couldn't go last year with all the school band's music festival stuff. 

So, what is EAT! Vancouver and why are Vancouverites (and other tourists from all over the country/world) attracted by it every year?

EAT! Van is known as the biggest food and cooking festival in Vancouver, the "ultimate consumer food expo" featuring local restaurants, cafes, wineries, celebrity chefs, cooking tool suppliers and other businesses in presenting the current trend in the industry. 

People can purchase cooking tools, try out new foods, taste some wine, attend cooking lessons and even meet their celebrity chefs in real life (yes). 

As a second-timer I did somewhat know my way around BC Place but there are still some changes that I've felt this time I went. Here's EAT! Van from the perspective of a second-timer student (in other words, did not get to try wine due to age ._.)

Hazelnut Linzer Cookies

Time flies too fast - next week is the last week of senior year, followed by finals, provincials, commencement and prom. Even with all this stuff compiled I'm still procrastinating in the posts (oops)...but I'll try my best to update as much as possible before summer. There are just so many things to make with so little time!

Traditionally, linzer cookies are made with ground almonds to give its nutty aroma and pale colour. However I found some toasted hazelnuts left around in the house, so I "recycled" them for good use. We all know how aromatic these nuts can get (Hazelnut latte from Starbucks anyone?). These nuts proved their "talent" as soon as you take the first bite - like Nutella but the more nutty kind. 

Matcha (Green Tea) Soufflé

It is this dish that made me realize the importance of a good matcha powder.

Before this recipe, I've made my matcha-infused baked goods with random brands I found on internet - not authentic for sure, but I bought it because it was cheap. 

As obvious as it sounds , but please don't be cheap when it comes to stuff like this! 

The powder I've used for this one is a $5.99 (50g) pack I bought from a Japanese supermarket in San Francisco during Christmas. The powder is from a family tea garden in the Kagoshima area, and the flavour can be tasted with just a little bit in amounts. (Back when I used the cheap matcha powders I use to think that lots of powder is needed for flavouring!)

Now enough blabbing....

DIY Mother's Day High Tea

The full high tea with mom's newly found Victorian dish set

Loving the royal tea pot!

 Mother's Day these days is becoming more and more like a competition to see who can spoil his/her mothers the best...(at least in my area that is). 

Even prior to the day, my social network has been filled with Mother's Day news feeds:flowers, cakes, more flowers and cakes.........

Come on. One has ought to have more creative ideas than flowers and cakes.

Since this is the last year I'll be spending Mother's Day with my mom before heading to college (hello internet shopping gifts...), I thought - why not make this time the best one yet.

My mom has been really into tea sets lately. This Victorian style tea set pictured in this post (only some parts, the whole set has about 73 pieces) was found on Craiglist (really mom) for $1000. I first had doubts on this idea of buying vintage dishes on the internet but when she brought the whole set home I was amazed by the intricate details on these dishes - they were lovely indeed! These dishes were pass-downs from the seller's great grandmother and since most dishes those days are either sold in pieces or missing, the whole set was hard to find.

Now, let's take a closer look at the menu....