Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Mini Peach Tart

For Peach Week, I like to find simple, quick desserts that can be done quickly. 

Thanks to this recipe, this is one of them.
 Go to the Frozen Foods section and grab a box of puff pastry.  Thaw and unroll.  I went ahead and used a fork to poke some holes for the heat to go out.
Sliced up 2 cups worth of peaches.  Then put some nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar and tossed it.   Yes, I skipped the vanilla... just felt like a lot of sugar in an already sugary fruit.
Lined them all up like so.
 
Whatever juice I have left in the bowl for the mix, I pour it back on to the tarts.
 After it being in the oven, it all came out nicely... not pretty but nice.
Look at that puff... yum!  The black stuff you see there around the pastry is the juices and the sugary mix we 'marinated' the slices with.  So once it gets cooked and burnt, you get those.  All you have to do is to pop it and it'll have a clean break from the tart.  

Easy and quick, and yummy too!





Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Peach Cresant Roll

Continue on with Peach Week.  We did a Crostata yesterday, but I have left over peaches.
 And then I found this in Pillsbury's own recipe bank
Basically a turn-over type dessert.  I rolled the already 'marinated' peaches in the crescent rolls. 
This time, I sprinkled pinches of plain cane sugar on top.  Next time, I think I would add more because the dough itself is made for dinner rolls, so it's a tad buttery to start. 
I won't like, a couple of these with a cup of coffee, it's a great start for the day!  Of course, these are great for snacking too.



Monday, June 15, 2020

Peach Crostata

So the Peach Truck was in town form Georgia.  Decided to go in with a friend and split a box.  So this will be Peach Week

As you can see, a box is huge.  That's about 25lbs per box.  If you imagine about 5 medium peaches equals 1 pound, that's a lot of peaches.

They came ready to eat after a day or two.  Which means let the baking fest, begin!

I used this Crostata Recipe for my Crostata.
 I needed something simple and quick.  You really just need to buy a premade pie crust from the grocery store.  Unroll and it's ready to go.
The ingredients that goes with the peaches can be as simple as just mix with lemon juice to bring out the taste, or add nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla extract...etc.  It can be as fancy or as simple as you wanted it.  

I do regret not putting some turbinado sugar (aka sugar in the raw) on top.  It would've made it look prettier.  But tasted pretty good.  Worth a try.

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Gelato Cup

Was running errand in Chinatown, and saw a parking spot open in front of Gelato Cup, thought it's serendipitous. 
They serve Chinese style dessert as well as gelato.  Basically all encompassing desserts.
They've got sesame soup, which doesn't sounds it, but it is yummy.  It's nice especially during winter. For summer, the Sweet Tofu is a good pick.
Taro & Ginger soup are good for all seasons.
My favorite of all time is Sago.  I'm too lazy to make them myself but happy to eat them when I see them!
They have 2 cases of gelato, so plenty to choose from.
Back to my Sago.  This is Fresh Mango with Sago in Coconut Milk.
Here's the sago (which is very much like tapioca) and mango chunks.  When served cold, it is super refreshing for a hot day.  The coconut milk with the sago together is nice and smooth.  So good....

Gelato Cup
9889 Bellaire Blvd
#108
Houston, TX 77036
713-271-1082
http://www.gelatocuphouston.com

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Milk & Cookies

Going to Milk & Cookies, is becoming more a weekly activity.
I like the walk-up nature of the set up.  People who work there and the customers know the drill.  Everyone gets ample social distance, there's no awkwardness about it.  Got my latte to go.
First time trying their Kouign Amann.  I've tried the one at Common Bond, and this is very different. It's definitely flakey and layer filled like the other, but it has less heights.  Definitely sweet and buttery.  I feel like I'm eating a croissant but then it's not.  Eh, it's yummy, why not?!

Milk & Cookies
3636 Rice Blvd
Houston, TX 77005
713-352-3086
https://tinyboxwoods.getbento.com/location/west-university/

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Aka Sushi House

Sometimes, you just need a little something something...
I was having an urge to have sushi... so here we are, do a quick pick up from Aka.

Got couple hand rolls, takoyaki, and vegetable tempura.  Since it was before 6pm, (it was my lunch) it's on Happy Hour price.  So, feel free to order more for your family.  Highly encouraged.

I ordered ahead.  The pickup was right on time.  The staff has everything ready.  The only thing I have a minor complaint about is that they still need you to sign the tab.  I think they need to adopt what a lot of places have, and that is, if your tab is under certain amount, you don't need to sign.  

Aka Sushi House
2390 W.Alabama
Houston, TX 77098
713-807-7875
http://www.akasushi.net



Monday, June 8, 2020

Koffeteria

Social Distance got you down?  Head on over to Koffeteria!
Been meaning to check them out for some time, finally made time to stop by.
Cute menu set up!
Lovely pastry display.  Urm, one of each please.
Specialty drinks is their specialty. 

That's my drink: Tiger Uppercut, which is Thai Tea with a shot of espresso.  It does get strong, I'm not going to lie.  So, you've been warned!  However, if you like it enough, they sell them in a $10 jug.
Social Distance got you down?  Don't be...
 Their backyard seating is huge and everyone can have 10 ft or more social distance if you want.  There were several families sitting there, wasn't able to get a good shot for you.
Ok, what did I get:  I got a Ham and Cheese croissant.  I will say that the ham to cheese ratio is a tad off, and I still prefer the Milk & Cookies ones, which you can taste cheese every ham bite you take.  I missed their Beef Pho Croissant and too chicken to get the Hot Cheeto Croissant.  If you got one of those, let me know what you think.
This is their Peach Cobbler Bread Pudding, it has both of my favorite dessert, how can it go wrong?  I didn't go wrong.  As a matter of fact, a tip the barista told me was that you heat it up 30 sec before eating, and that did the trick!  Nice, warm, gooey and yummy.
Last but not least their almond croissant.  Pretty good, super flakey and guarantee a messy good time!

The place is cute and I'm sad that because of Covid their indoor seating is closed.  But like I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of space in their backyard.  You can have more space than to know what to do with.  They also have a side entrance to the backyard, in case you don't want to go inside.   What you do is, before you arrive, order online, and tell them when you pick up, and grab a seat on the outside.  Perfect for an early morning coffee.  By the way, they are cashless, so whether you order ahead or pay there makes little difference.

The whole experience was great, the staff were super friendly.  We were down the street taking pictures of all the amazing Murals.  The only pain to get here is the parking.  There is a gym next door and if you happen to arrive during class time, parking is not easy.  Please make sure you read all the signs, they do have patrols - even on a Sunday, to check meters.

Koffeteria
1110 Hutchins St
Ste 102
Houston, TX 77003
https://www.koffeteria.com