the east.

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i will travel to the east in a few short months [the side of this country i love]. four destinations: new york, ny - new haven, ct - providence, ri - boston, ma.

the most exciting part about this trip is getting to ride the train to each city. i guess this trip will be a personal retreat for me in many ways. haven't had one in a very long time. plus, i sort of need a holiday [away from los angeles]. i'm looking forward to the trip. a lot.

Posted by : Grace J. Lee
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all things pumpkin.

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This Thanksgiving was the first time I made turkey - my very first one! I've always been afraid of cooking the turkey (in fear that I might ruin it), but not anymore. I overcame my fear and the turkey turned out delicious!

It was also my very first time baking pumpkin cheesecake a couple days ago. It wasn't anything fancy, just something really simple and fast. I didn't have to use flour or eggs - just canned pumpkin, cream cheese, cool whip, sugar & cinnamon. After combining the ingredients, I dumped the mixture into a 9" graham cracker crust and popped it in the refrigerator for three hours. And, the result? The most amazing pumpkin cheesecake I've ever had. Here's the recipe:

2-step Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Serves/Makes: 6 | Difficulty Level: 3 | Ready In: 2-5 hrs

Ingredients:

1 package (8 oz. size) cream cheese, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 container (8 oz. size) cool whip
1 prepared 9" graham cracker crust

Directions:

Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl with wire whisk or electric mixer until smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon into crust.

Refrigerate three hours or until set. Garnish as desired.

Pumpkin bread is next on my list of things to bake. I'm going to make the rest of this year pumpkin-themed. Haha.

Posted by : Grace J. Lee
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cookies for the jetplane...

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a pastry chef + author living in paris, france. david lebovitz. he's an inspiration for this blog, actually. :] i'm a novice blogger, but aspire to be like david one day. maybe i can also live in paris one day...
packing a snack for your upcoming flight takes diligence. if you have time a few hours before your flight - make some chocolate chip cookies! maybe you can make some for your travel buddy. :]

Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup(130 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Adjust the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 300F (150C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Make about 20 cookies.

[recipe: courtesy of David Lebovitz]

Posted by : Grace J. Lee
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i love this tree.

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that's all.

Posted by : Grace J. Lee
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leaving it up to Him.

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a series of recent events in my life have freaked me out a little. some of it is due to my negligence - but, i guess there's no use in worrying about such things...

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" [Matthew 6:25-27]

so, i will not worry about tomorrow (literally). i will leave the results up to Him and celebrate my newfound confidence with frozen yogurt. :]

Posted by : Grace J. Lee
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i'm your hero.

breakfast...just around the corner.

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i LOVE good food and, i've recently discovered breakfast to be very enjoyable and gratifying. it has been a rather expensive exploration.

growing up, breakfast was boring. milk and pop-tarts. that was it. but, now - a countless assortment of pancakes and omelettes make breakfast interesting. so, in honor of breakfast (the most important meal of one's day) - this entry is a tribute to different cafes in orange county that offer wonderful AM food. here are a few breakfast-serving locations on my "must eat" list.

i'll start with plum's cafe & catering. the dungeness crab omelet with fresh asparagus & dill hollandaise sounds especially mouthwatering. how can anything with crab be bad? it has to be amazing. i have great expectations for this dish. the blueberry brioche french toast at old vine cafe looks the most appetizing right now. i eat blueberries with everything. and, at rooster cafe - the two egg breakfast (three strips of bacon or five pieces of portuguese sausage, red potatoes or brown rice and toast) will probably win because two strips of bacon is not enough. i really really love bacon. :]

i hope you will visit one of these cafes (or, have the desire to do so) upon reading this entry. that is, afterall - the point of all this rubbish. haha.

Posted by : Grace J. Lee
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