rice crispy treats

I can never get the spelling quite right... In any case, this is another part in the bridal shower series. I made the easier dessert ever--rice crispy treats! They're so, so simple, but so satisfying. I used Smitten Kitchen's salted brown butter crispy treats, and oh my goodness, did the salt and browned butter make all the difference.

The most basic rice crispy treats only use rice crispy cereal (I used Trader Joe's new rice cereal!), marshmallows, and butter. Some people even omit the butter, but I wouldn't--especially when you brown it, it gives the treats a wonderful nutty flavor. Even the proportions are up to the cook: if you like yours more gooey, then more marshmallows, more crunchy, then more cereal, more taste, then more butter.

Yes. This is DEFINITELY my kind of "baking."

Lastly, the touch of salt that Deb adds in her recipe really heightens the flavor of the treat. However, if you aren't a fan of sweet savory combinations, omitting the salt is fine.

Pictures of the treats and the whole table spread! Courtesy of N, Connie and Tammy:

time to eat...

So I've decided that I am done with my Taiwan-ness. If you want to see more of my fattyness or experience...moral of the story: go to Taiwan. It's impossible to live vicariously through me because you get absolutely no satisfaction from it.

Onto other things...Jen's bridal shower. Yes as m mentioned, I made fruit tarts.

I used the same exact recipe as last time so you can refer here if you want the recipe. The only difference is that I made mini fruit tarts...its a bridal shower after all, so I used a mini muffin tin to make the crusts. Actually this was SOOOOO time consuming, because first of all, I have two 12 cup mini muffin tins (they're from Jen) and I needed to make at least 30, so yeah...and second of all...my oven was NOT usable! I baked in different places...thanks tammaymay and jwoo. I bought lots of fruits: kiwis, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries. I had trouble figuring out how to cut the kiwis and strawberries to make it pretty...

They're pretty ugly actually...but no matter. It was successful, as was the bridal shower.

Super cute stands for the desserts...maybe m will talk more of this...but it's cute right? (Oh I had a lot of fruit leftover, hence the mound of fruits)

EDIT by m: Sorry guys, just had to post another picture of these amazing tarts. :] Courtesy of Connie!

taiwan madness: japanese eat till you're full

So these places are super popular in Taiwan. It's kinda like a buffet, but instead of going and getting them yourself, they give you a menu and you order what you want. You can keep ordering, but if you don't finish the food that you order, they won't bring you more food.
Pictures are self-explanatory...
Really good fish.

Okay so this is like a chicken roll or something like that...they had a lot of random beef and pork ones...meh, they're alright.


Omgggg. These are super yummy. I really like them. Willie had like 6 of them. Haha

Okay...so I didn't eat these...but I dunno, my cousin seemed to like them.
Duuuuuuuude. The tofu was soooo good. It was just super yummy.
Uhhh yeah, chicken heart? I did not eat that.
There was a lot more...but yeah. So full just looking at the pictures. They also have ice cream and drinks that you get yourself. Super popular in Taiwan and super worth it.

Soto 日本家庭料理

811台灣高雄市楠梓區後昌新路38號

http://www.soto16888.com/

ice cream break...

I couldn't resist inserting this post in the midst of the bridal shower posts, because seriously, who can resist ice cream? For Friday night fellowship activity night, we all trekked over to Fenton's for some good, old-fashioned ice cream.

Now, I do think that Fenton's ice cream isn't the best out there (too much sugar, and sometimes overkill on flavors), but their portions are HUGE (as are their prices, sadly). You go more for the experience, I think; it's loud, crowded, but still retains the charm of an old-fashioned ice cream soda shop.

We shared the Black and Tan. It's toasted almond ice cream with vanilla ice cream, fudge, caramel, whipped cream, and a cherry on top!

Tim had the challenge, where they give you a massive amount of ice cream with all the fixin's on top for you to finish in 15 minutes. Tim did it in 7.

See how happy we are? (No we didn't eat this between the two of us...there were four of us sharing!)

Fenton's Creamery
4226 Piedmont Ave
Oakland, CA 94611-4749

Pictures courtesy of Tammy.

it's about time...

Okay, so part of the reason for the severe lack of posts, aside from the usual commencement of school, busy work schedules, etc, is that our friends, Jen and Peter are getting married. Really, really soon. It's insane! But so, so fun. We threw a bridal shower for Jen last weekend, and it was so much fun.


I'm going to do this in installments, especially because I didn't make all the food, and I'm sure N wants to add something since she made her famous fruit tarts (!). First off, the drink.


Hege lent us her HUGE jar, and while it was pretty, I didn't realize how ginormous it would be. I had bought only 2 cans of raspberry lemonade frozen concentrate and as I mixed the water into the jar, I was painfully aware that it wouldn't even be enough to fill up to the sprout. I panicked, called Jess and Megan, who bought me two 2-liter bottles of Sierra Mist, and the contents rose to a barely acceptable level. Crisis averted.



Panic aside, the drink was refreshingly delicious. It was a good amount of tart, sweet, and fizz, and the added lemon slices added just a touch of charm. What's more, there's really no need for a recipe; everything can be made to taste.

I also made Smitten Kitchen's Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats, so that's next up...unless N beats me with her mini fruit tarts!