These are some of the cool things that I’ve tried out making!

Baking Homemade Thin Mints with How2Heroes

So,  I’ve been doing some cooking for a really cool website called www.How2Heroes.com.  They have home cooks (like me!) and then some really famous chefs who show you how easy it is to make just about anything.  Lynne is the owner and she’s really nice.  I’ve learned a ton so far and been able to share some of my best recipes with others.

another fun shoot!

Some of my friends and I came together and baked treats for local nursing homes and visited the residents with our baked goods. It was so interesting to learn about what the elderly people’s lives were like when they were our age, and I really think that it was a bright spot in their day!

Ingredients

Makes 32 oz (serves 4-6)

• 3-4 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 3 tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
• 2 cups seltzer water
• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup sugar
• fresh mint leaf chiffonade (thin ribbons)
• ice cubes

Special Equipment

• juicer
• 32 oz pitcher

How-to

1. In a 32 oz pitcher, add seltzer water, orange juice, plain or unfiltered water, sugar, lemon juice, lime juice. Mix well
2. Add thin ribbons (chiffonade) of fresh mint leaves and mix again
3. Add ice and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving
4. Pour into individual glasses and garnish with more fresh mint (optional)

video and pictures courtesy of www.how2heroes.com

My dad had to go to Vietnam for business, and I was lucky enough to be able to go with him.  When we were in Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City), we got to take a cooking class at the Culinary Institute of Saigon. We made spring rolls, homemade tofu, egg drop soup and caramel chicken.  They use a lot of fish sauce! It was really cool to see how they put a special plant in the rice to make it scented. Yum!

When I was in 2nd grade, I was Chef for a Day at my elementary school.

Going to the Mariposa restaurant every Christmas vacation used to be one of our favorite traditions. We’d get all dressed up and I’d dust off my patent leather mary-janes for the occasion. I remember the first time that we got a chocolate snowball for dessert. It came in mini-version…dense and chocolatey cake with a hint of coffee peeking out from under big billows of whipped cream. When I was invited back into the kitchen one afternoon to check out how Letty Flatt, the pastry chef, did her magic I quickly rushed out to buy her cookbook and try my hand at her treats at home. I have to tell you that there is absolutely nothing that compares to Letty’s Chocolate Snowball during the long and pastry-free days of Passover. It’s really very easy to make at home, and so fabulously decadent.  My mouth is watering as we speak.