Posts Tagged ‘Birthday’

  1. Where I’ve Been…

    September 16, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    Tomorrow marks my 27th Birthday. Eek. Wasn’t I just 19 yesterday? This year will also mark my Daddy’s 60th birthday in October so it’s a year of great changes, great strides.

    Here’s a peek into some of my favorite moments. In this digital age, going somewhere without your camera is like leaving your purse behind, but it happens. More often times, it’s that my tummy is rumbly and takes precedence over all things and it’s carelessly been left behind. Here is what I did manage to capture.

    Venturing into the city that never sleeps for the girl that never sleeps. The city is a mirror image of what it’s like in my head. All.the.time.

    D.C. made me so very aware of the large spread homeless community. It’s my dream to battle this, starting in my city-spanning out to yours. Ultimately, I hope to take my efforts overseas where there’s an even greater need. D.C. humbled me.

    Horse back riding in Jackson Hole–I wanted to take Lola home but didn’t think she’d fit in my luggage. Lola made me appreciate wide open spaces. I felt like a blot amongst the wide open fields and shock of sky.

    Florida. It was nothing like Spring Break. These were flowers I picked for myself (I don’t think you’re suppose to). I was very lonely here.

    Niagara Falls made me feel close to Him. There’s such power in the crashing water.

    Toronto. As is the mass misconception. Just like “regular” people, there are sweet Fuji Apples, and sour Crab Apples.

    Hawaii. This place made me see that all my rushing-dashing-racing-whirling just really made a blur sometimes (if that makes any sense). Everyone here is as relaxed as the Canadians were friendly ;)

    I’ve done a million and one shoots to date but this one is probably one of my favorites. Not only did my good friend shoot these, it was both fun and delicious!

    Speaking of, this was one of my last shoots before I “retired.” This makes me remember that I spent a lot of energy into something that my heart never agreed with. I will remember in my 27th year to do what makes me happy. Always.

    Baby brothers show that placed him in first place!!!

    Texas. My home state. Where it all began.

    I don’t just cook & bake.

    This was a special day. Someone I loved dearly was going through the toughest time ever. It was an impromptu trip in an effort to create some smiles.

    Last year, I was so poor that I was eating Ramen and sleeping on the floor. This was one of the first times I scrubbed the dingy window and saw something beautiful. The last performance of The Nutcracker.

    I suppose I never grew up completely. I was completely captivated by Twig and would be as equally mesmerized by an Ariel.

    Family dinners are always the most special for me and the smell of Meuntang always makes me think of Daddy.

    So, you’ve been on this journey of where I’ve been. This is where I’d like to be going. In my old age, I hope to have a life long lover to hold onto the shopping cart together with.

    I wholeheartedly intend on making this next year the best year ever!

    Happy Birthday to all you Virgos & Libras!

    Love & Well Wishes,

    Your Squishy Monster ^.~

    Categories: Life | 42 Comments

  2. Cake & Lightning

    August 2, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    …bc that’s just how we roll in this house, lol.

    The first of August always marks Mama’s birthday (that is, if you conveniently ignore the fact that technically, her Korean Birthday is selected on a new and different day each year according to the Lunar Calender).  Koreans consider the gestation period as the first year and age is referred to in terms of Sal 살.

    Yesterday was also subject to one of the craziest lightning storms ever.  Of course me and my friends thought it’d be brilliant to go swimming.  (Mind you, right after a large meal + the baby stages of a booming lightning storm).  Needless to say, we hung out by the lounge chairs and allowed mosquitoes to dine at an all-you-can-eat Squishy buffet.  I think there was conversation and music in the background.  I can’t say because I was waging a futile battle with the mosquitoes and I lost… my poor arms and legs look like sheets of angry red button candy.  Remember those?

    Ah, I digress.  I can’t help it.  Currently, I’m scratch-scratch-scratching, making the situation worse and as I peer into a mirror, my suspicions are confirmed HAHA.

    …but as I was saying, let’s rewind a bit.  We fused east with west and had the traditional Korean Birthday Soup and afterwards, Mama had her cake and ate it too!

    On the left, you’ll find it in it’s dried form.  Rehydrate and about 15 minutes later, you have glossy, streaky ribbons of Seaplant/Sea Mustard/Seaweed for soup OR, this salad.

    I will definitely be making a video on this but until then, here’s how I made mine for last nights dinner:

    Korean Seaweed Soup
     
    Save Print

    Prep time

    Cook time

    Total time

     

    Author:

    Ingredients
    • 5 c soaked Miyuk (re-hydrated dried Seaweed)
    • 5 quarts of fresh, filtered Water
    • 3 tb Sesame Oil
    • 4 cloves of crushed Garlic
    • 3 tb Fish Sauce
    • 1 large sliced Onion
    • ½ c Clams/Mussesl/Shrimp
    • Kosher Salt
    • Freshly Ground Pepper

    Instructions
    1. Plunge your dried Miyuk in room temperature-warm water for 15-20 min. Drain and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
    2. In a large pot, heat up your Sesame Oil and begin to soften your crushed Garlic.
    3. Slowly add in your Seaweed, sprinkle over your Fish Sauce, S & P and stir. Then, pour in your water with Onions and allow it to come to a bubble. Cook at medium heat for about 20 more minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
    4. Lastly, add in your Seafood.

    Notes
    You can sub out the Seafood for any other protein if you’d like. Beef Brisket is a traditional choice as well.

     

    Pulling the flavors of Summer together, I decided to bake Mama a Lemon Layer Cake, stuffed with macerated Strawberries, frosted with a fluffy, Lemon scented Whipped Cream.

    This is this Cake revamped with Meyer Lemons, instead.  There’s a lot of Lemon lovin’ going on.  I pulled back a half cup with my dairy and made up for it with fresh Lemon juice and sprinkled in a heavy dose of Lemon zest.  I opted out of a heavier Buttercream and infused the Whipped Cream with plenty of Lemon zest too.  I created a bit more height and a refreshing and summer-y layer with macerated Strawberries (I used 2 tb Sugar + 1/4 c Limoncello)

    and the big bang to the night….!

    I think I must have sat there in between bug bites, starring at this silent and wondrous sky for at least an hour.

    Crazy, huh?

    Cake & Lightning,

    Love,

    Your Squishy Monster

     

    Categories: Health/Healthy Health/Healthy Korean Food Korean Food Life Soups Soups Veggies or Vegan Veggies or Vegan | 23 Comments

  3. 4th of July Layer Cake

    June 28, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    My baby brother did his entire dorm room in patriotic Red, White and Blues.  We all celebrated with an American feast when Mom and Dad got their citizenship.  We’re a family that’s proud to be American.  Though, the bittersweet irony of this post in relation to my last post can be pointed out.  :(

    Le sigh, I digress.

    In the South, we take our BBQ pretty seriously so while everyone else focuses on the coming carnivorous feast (sorry veggies), I’m always the designated dessert-bringer.  I’ve always thought that sugar cookies encrusted with hardened “frosting,” embedded with miscellaneous shards of pointy triangles that were once part of a star were blasé, so I took to bringing cakes to celebrate.  Confession #765, I’ve never had a birthday cake, but in my mind, cake = celebration.

    Now, of course you can enlist the help of fondant to create a neater presentation but golly do I hate fondant (oh, was I not suppose to admit that)?  Admittedly, it looks great but I’m more interested in how something tastes.  A good friend of mine who now lives  upstate works in a bakery and churns out fondant cakes regularly for clients weddings, showers, etc but for her own wedding, she scrapped the play-doh and slathered her tiers in good, old fashioned buttercream.  If ya’ll completely disagree, just let me know and I will consider doing a fondant tutorial.

    For the past 3 years, I’ve done a variation of this cake whether it be in cake or cupcake form so if you’re not looking to wait around for its assembly, be my guest to take the individualized portion route instead.

    Red White & Blue Cake

     

    To watch the assembly of a different kind of cake:

    Fresh Strawberry Layer Cake

     

    Red White & Blue Cake
     
    Save Print

    Prep time

    Cook time

    Total time

     

    Author:

    Ingredients
    For the Cake:
    • 2 sticks + 2 tb soft, unsalted Butter
    • 2 c Sugar
    • 2 ts pure Vanilla Extract
    • 9 room temperature Egg Whites
    • 3 c unbleached Flour
    • 4½ ts Baking Powder
    • 1½ ts Salt
    • 1½ c room temperature whole Milk
    For the Buttercream:
    • 4 sticks soft, unsalted Butter
    • 6-8 c sifted Powdered Sugar*
    • 2 ts pure Vanilla Extract
    • 1/s ts fine Salt
    • 2-4 tb Cream

    Instructions
    1. In your first bowl, cream together your butter and sugar. You want to cream for at least 5 minutes and reach a pale, fluffy blonde color.
    2. Tip in your vanilla and slowly stream in your eggs.
    3. In your second bowl, sift in all of your dry ingredients. Slowly add this to your first, “wet” bowl.
    4. Alternate with milk but begin and end with your dry bowl.
    5. In a third bowl, break up your butter with your mixer and slowly add in your sugar (1/2 c-1 c at a time). Add in your vanilla and salt and cream as needed.

    Notes
    *6-8 c depending on how sweet you like your Buttercream (pay attention to consistency as well). Remember to measure it out after you sift it, not before.

    Now for those of you that are concerned about food colors, here are a few alternatives to consider:

    Natural Food Dyes: the only downside to these are that I found them to be a bit pricy and I went through mine in a couple months.

    Homemade colors can be extracted from natural sources.  The only cons for me: sometimes, it takes more to attain a brighter depth of color but this can possibly be taken care of with produce that is naturally richer in pigment and “stain” effortlessly (like beets) and sometimes this can impact the consistency of my batter/frostings not to mention, I always get paranoid about the taste bleeding in.  This can sometimes be combated by utilizing a juicer to expel it’s liquid instead of blitzing them in a processor.

    Red/Pink Options: Currants/Cranberries, Pomegranates, Cherries, Raspberries, Beets, Hibiscus Flowers/Tea, Red Wine

    Blue/Purple: Blueberries, Blackberries, Acai, Grape Juice

    Green: Kale, Spinach

    Orange/Yellow: Carrots, Turmeric Powder, Saffron

    There are other options, but these are just what I’ve experimented with before.  Additionally, crumbled, freeze dried fruits are nice to work with but again, can be expensive.

    I realize that it’s a bit early to be thinking about the 4th of July but what am I if not a bit of an overzealous Squishy Monster? ;)

    Love Always,

    Your Squishy Monster

    Categories: Cakes/Cupcakes Cakes/Cupcakes Holidays Holidays Sweets Sweets Videos | 38 Comments

  4. Baby Brother’s Birthday Weekend!

    February 20, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    I’m sure all (er–most) siblings are fond of each other, despite any sibling rivalry or what have you that may exist.  In our Family, I was a sort of “Mommy” to the most amazing little Brother’s.  I have no clue how Mom and Dad were able to support a Family of 5 battling Language and Cultural Barriers all while maintaining their own Small Businesses.  I have such a profound respect for them.  Despite these hardships, we all pulled our own weight and made it work.  Today, my one Brother works for a large Corporation in Seattle, and the other one is now finishing off his Freshman Year at College.  They’re not so little anymore but somehow, I still see them (in my mind) as rambunctious little boys, one or the other terrorizing each other, their cheeks flushed from running around and one or the other always with a great smear of Chocolate (or Mud, lol) across their faces and their tubby little bellies poking out coming to me for all of their little emergencies that needed tending to.  When I think about growing up in our crazy house and the Strange and Beautiful Family that God blessed me with, it makes me smile and tear up at the same time.

    My Brother in Seattle won’t be here to eat any Cake that I want so badly to bake for him on his special day.  I can’t, even for a second absorb the realization that he is now a man.  So autonomous he is that again, it makes me want to tear up.  I’m so very proud of him and his accomplishments and then I also realize that Seattle is across the entire Nation, so very far from where we are.  I don’t know if personally that I would have established myself so well so far from everyone and everything I grew up with.  I love you Daniel!!!

    Did I mention that their Birthdays are a single day apart?  Crazy, huh?

    My Baby Brother actually came up to surprise us this past weekend.  I seized the opportunity to fatten him up.  We ate our way through the weekend, lol.

    Blackberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

    Blackberry Push Pop Cakes to share with his friends

    “Birthday Cake” Oreo Ice Cream Cake
    I love you, David!

    I dropped him back off at school today :(

    and of course, it started snowing.  I captured the calm before the storm here.  Prettiness captured above lurched into a monstrous Beast during the drive back home.  The lonely long stretch of highway tested our Faith—you couldn’t see anything in front of you it was so dark and the Snow (of course, lol) had to beat down fat flakes towards the car.  From my estimation, there were about a half dozen cars trapped in the icy snow on either left or right shoulder–lots of accidents and blaring Ambulance sirens :(

    but it didn’t bother this man onnnne bit!

    or me (3 hours before)

    idk what I’m doing here.  If I weren’t me and I saw this picture, I’d guess that this person was doing half jumping jacks in the snow bc she’s excited about the first snowfall of the year.

    Makes me want Snow Cream!!  ^.^

    Missing my Strange and Beautiful Family together
    …amidst Snow Flurries,

    Love,
    Your Squishy Monster

    Categories: Life | No Comments

  • 1

    Welcome to The Squishy Monster!

    Here, I'll share the stories of my on going love affair with food as well as step-by-step tutorials/cooking videos featuring original recipes. I'm a firm believer that despite our differences, our one commonality as humans? Food.
    I'm 100% Southern & 100% Korean. My name is Angela and my friends call me The Squishy Monster.

  • Recent Posts

  • Support "Pack Away Hunger"

    		•