Something for the Fourth

Ina's Pound Cake with my addition of berries and cream.
This was made for my friend Heather's Fourth of July bbq party.
What is it about whipped cream and berries?
I'm gonna keep eating this until the weekend is over. Yes, I'm still celebrating!

BLT with Poached Eggs

This one is so basic and so freakin' good.
Eggs: As eggs should be, poached in a little vinegar, with salt and pepper.
BLT: Bacon, lettuce, tomato, (salt and pepper). Of Course. But with Charlie's special touch of WASABI MAYO. Crunchy, crispy, salty, and spicy.
SO YUM!

Tomatoes from my Garden

These are two tomatoes from my window sill garden that started growing the end of last month.
I obsessively watch them everyday to see how fast they're growing. Unfortunately, these babies are regular sized tomatoes so let's hope they can hang on til they're ripe. Otherwise, the courtyard gets them. :(
These will go so well with the basil I'm growing!

Chinese Almond Cookies

2-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of lard, crisco
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon almond extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds, ground coarse
1/2 cup roasted almonds

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325°. In food processor mix flour, sugar, butter, lard, salt, and baking soda until it forms little balls. Add eggs and extract. Roll dough into balls, flatten into cookie shape. Place on cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place almond in center of each cookie. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Semi Homemade Upgrade

I was walking around in my neighborhood last weekend and found a store that AMAZINGLY had puff pastry. I was very excited to make something with them. But what...? Hmmmmm.....Well, since I had made this recipe before with some crescent rolls, I thought I'd try it with these fancy puff pastry squares. They turned out so crispy and currilicious! I ate way too many of them.

Lovely Basil Sprouts

I'm growing my own basils from seed this year. This is genovese basil, in Italy it is considered a sign of love. I'm also growing holy basil, this herb is revered and worshipped in many parts of the world and is considered a sacred herb with healing qualities.
Both herbs, a total pain to grow. It is slow going...

A Solemn Brunch

My Uncle recently passed away. There was a traditional Chinese funeral/wake for him in Chinatown. He was then taken to be cremated and was to be taken back to Toisan, where he is from. After a funeral, Chinese people have a funeral banquet to celebrate the deceased's return to heaven.
Afterwards, leftovers were taken, this solemn brunch was made.