home cafe...... "jeje"

a cafe called "jeje", a minute walk from our new home is what's new~ this place is so close to home and becoming a comfort place.



the owner even gave us free refills (i love freebies!), i guess we've become quiet a regular already^^



the owner lady is really nice to begin with and she's an award winning barista!
with coffee gadgets all over the store..and beans roasting on the corner area.. yep, they roast their own beans and all~ i love their coffee~ look at that color~



we decided to try their "morning bagel" for a late sunday breakfast
and to our surprise, it was delightful!!



it came with egg, bacon and cheese!
actually thought it was just going to be cream cheese~
i have yet to try their variety of coffee drinks, cake and cocktails!

love this cafe~ it's quiet & serene and so close to home.
me don't likely loud cafes..

with sun shining through the window..



this new neighborhood is getting pretty sweet.. :)

custard tarts

i baked my first custard tarts earlier this week~ and it was a success!



i got the recipe from pastrystudio.blogspot.com~ (recipe below)



with a little bit of patience and diligence in my part, it been fun baking my own sweet treats~ :)



Custard Tartlets
Makes 12 tartlets

Pâte Brisée

1 1/4 C flour
1 t sugar
1/4 t salt
4 oz (1 stick) cold butter
1/4 C cold water

Pastry Cream

1 C milk
1/4 C + 2 T sugar
3 yolks
1 T cornstarch
1 t flour
1/2 t vanilla
1 t rum
1/2 T butter

For the dough, place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and combine. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add. Pulse a few times just until the butter is in small pea-sized pieces and the mixture resembles a very coarse meal. Add the cold water and pulse just until the mixture starts to clump. Pour the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gather it into a ball. Wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Place the dough on a piece of parchment or work surface lightly dusted with flour. Let it sit for a few minutes to take the chill off. Roll out to a thin sheet, nearly 1/16" or so. Cut out a dozen 3 1/2” circles and tuck each into a standard muffin pan. Chill while you make the pastry cream.

Place the milk in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until combined. Add the cornstarch and flour and whisk thoroughly.
Pour about half the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the remaining milk and combine thoroughly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly for a couple of minutes until thickened and smooth.
Take off the heat and add the vanilla, rum and butter. Stir until smooth.
Place a piece of plastic on the surface and let cool.

Preheat the over to 375 degrees.
Prick the bottom of the tart shells with a fork. Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes or until slightly browned and crisp.

Remove from the oven and scoop the pastry cream into the pastry shells.
Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes.

for a day like this.. rice pudding

waking up to a kind of gloomy sky.. blah! at least it's saturday and it's the wkend! after a hefty korean lunch meal at home (kimchijjigae - sausage banchan - mushroom omelet - veggies & ssam) ^-^ our bellies are happy but still no sun shining out and through the windows. (with Andrew's busy weekdays, we try to spend saturdays at home and sundays to get some sun~ being outdoors/soccer/hiking/..we just started this routine last wkend~ hopefully we will keep it up^^)

i needed some kind of dessert even after a wholesome lunch.. i always have room left for sweets! something comforting sounded good with this cloudy weather.. and i had milk expiring today.. rice pudding. it is.

never cooked one before. i love the internet. found a recipe in a jiffy. i actually wanted to make indian rice pudding called, "khee".. but i didnt have cardamom or know what it is. next time~

tells u how much of a noobie i am, didnt realize rice pudding had egg in it. i actually contemplated in adding it, since ive been having so much eggs lately and i probably smell like one.. after whipping egg whites to make meringue couple days ago.. i still havent left that experience.. i whipped and whipped those egg whites until i whimpered from my aching arm... (but i attempted this bc in Le Cordon Bleu, you have to do everything by hand..practice!)


(egg whites and sugar..)

ok, back to my rice pudding~.. i followed the recipe, but not exactly.. i didn't have enough milk..so i added some water... it's not as milky and rich, but def. comforting to my tummy :) i love the raisins in it..



actually just reminds me of how much i miss indian rice pudding^-^ and indian food... and thai food... (i cant believe im talking about food after just having lunch)





Rice Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of whole milk
* 1/3 cup (66 grams) of uncooked short grain white rice
* Pinch of salt
* 1 egg
* 1/4 cup (50 grams) dark brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
* 1/3 cup (40 grams) raisins

Method

1 In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, rice and salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

2 In a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg and brown sugar until well mixed. Add a half cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, a tablespoon at a time, vigorously whisking to incorporate.

3 Add egg mixture back into the saucepan of rice and milk and stir, on low heat, for 10 minutes or so, until thickened. Be careful not to have the mixture come to a boil at this point. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from heat and stir in the raisins and cinnamon.

Serve warm or cold.

Serves 2-3.

bella praha - cafe in Edae

for one reason or another, we decided to trek off our usual path. we were itchin' for something new~~we needed to be refreshed with the unfamiliar and unknown. ready or not edae, here we come!

seriously, does life get much cuter than this? absolutely not~!

wandering aimlessly is the best way to go~~ with no final destination in mind, nor a specific path to follow. ahhhh, there's a cute little hole in the wall, and there, and there! and that's exactly what we were doing when we found this little lovely abode.

spring finally!!

spring is finally here!!