http://en.kokotaru.com Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 12 Jan 2010 06:56:58 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The KunMing lake was all frozen. The main gate to enter the Summer Place Roads outside leading to the main gate. It was very windy that morning. I almost got frozen from toes to head. Though it was windy and very cold, the sky was still deeply blue with golden sunlight.   Rocks with special ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2010/01/the-summer-palace/ We were absent from our blog for the last 10 days as we went on our honey moon trip to China. It was a very wonderful trip with lots of interesting stories to tell. China, for so long, has been mentioned with many world's largest or longest or greatest heritages. This ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2010/01/trip-to-the-great-wall/   This has been my very very new experience: pears cooked in red wine and flavored with spices. Though I don't drink much and very often, but I like wine. I feel excited whenever I try a glass of wine and it tastes good. I've never read much about wine and ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/12/mulled-pears-with-ginger-and-brandy/   I first heard of saffron when I watched TV shows on cooking competitions, seeing great chefs using saffron as special spice in their dish. I was so curious about these tiny red threads and I searched for more information about them. Then I decided to buy a box of saffron ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/12/lemon-risotto-with-saffron/ It's been quite a time I haven't cooked or baked anything to update this blog. I was too busy preparing my wedding and I just cooked simple dishes for meals. In Vietnam, it is a tradition that the wife follows the husband when she gets married to him and the new ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/12/lemon-bars/   Dear friends who have been visiting our Little House blog so far, You might have wondered what have happened to us recently that caused us unable to update our blog regularly as we used to. Yes, the reason was we were busy preparing our Wedding. The wedding party took placed last ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/12/an-important-and-happy-event-to-annouce/   Ripe tomatoes are so easy to be made into simple yet delicious soup. I followed the recipe in my cookbook of Party Food and Appertizers. In fact the recipe calls for sun-dried tomato paste so that the soup has intense flavor. However, I didn't have that kind of tomato paste ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/11/fresh-tomato-soup/ I felt in love with red velvet cake the first time I made it, which was more than a year ago. So far I've re-made it several times, following the recipe on Joy of Baking website, for my home parties. Most my friends loved it as I did. This time, I ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/11/red-velvet-cake-balls/   It's been very cold in Hanoi these days, and I felt like having something hot and crispy, not minding if it is greasy as any dish of this kind is so suitable for these days' weather. And it is greater to enjoy a bowl of this sweetcorn fritters with my ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/11/sweetcorn-fritters/   My first time making savory tart - however, i wished I had baked them a bit longer so that they got more brown, which would have offered better flavor. Anyway, I could say it was a success for the first time as these tartlets not only looked cute but also ... http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/11/onion-and-leek-tartlets/