A Day Off

I started this post back in Nov 2019.  I had a day off from work...all to myself.  It had been such  a long time since I had a day all to myself.  I didn't do anything special, just stayed at home, enjoying the stillness.  This is such a contrast from today, where working from home and caring for the kids is the new normal and there is very little quiet time.  In all honesty, although it can be quite the struggle, there is much to be thankful for during this time at home.  It is a time for us to be together, a time for me to spend more time with the kids doing different things, and a time to potty train my youngest (lol, this one we've been putting off)!  I'm also not commuting the 3 hours a day, have access to my tea collection throughout the day (a big bonus!) and I'm doing more cooking and baking.

I have thought about taking more pictures during this time, to remember it, to keep in mind that this time will pass and we'll be back to going our separate ways each day and packing the weekend with must do things.  So I thought, I must post this first!

So traveling back in time to November...the forecast was calling for snow. Since I haven't been blogging, I decided to take the time to snap some photos of food and tea that day...

9:15 am

Breakfast after taking the kids to school.  Pineapple, spinach and arugula smoothie made with soy milk.  Gluten free banana cake (made for my little one), boiled egg, and edamame; leftover from lunch prep.

12:30 pm
Lunch.
Leftover chow mein noodles from the weekend and homemade pickled cabbage.

1:45 pm
Tea time!  Decided to brew a compressed white tea.  This was white2tea's 2018 Nightlife.  Quite different from loose white tea and more suited for colder days like today.

Tea with a small dessert, homemade red bean filled mochi covered in shredded coconut.

5:00 pm
Late afternoon tea before the kids are home...it gets dark quite early now so not much natural light at this time.
Doing some reading and brewed a small leaf black tea from Taiwan.  Sweet, delicate, and non-astringent, it was perfect to just brew a large cup and sip it while reading.  A very nice ending to a quiet day to myself.

This was the first snow of this winter.  Staying at home, watching the snow fall, drinking tea, and having time to think, I ended up writing something...just a snapshot of a moment this morning.  Very roughly written I thought I'd share anyway.


As It Snowed

Hat, coat, snow pants, and boots.
As the snow begins to fall, we make our way
They marvel at the falling snow
Tongues out, trying to catch a taste
How funny they look!
But completely happy
We continue to walk.

I've forgotten my hat
The snow gently settling on my hair
Turning white by the minute
I've taken them where they need to be
The rest is up to them
Alone now, I turn to go
To begin my own day.

Tea from Wistaria and some personal thoughts

Wistaria - Signature Dong Ding Oolong

I've been mulling over what is to become of my little blog and whether "a" it was still a worthwhile endeavour and "b" whether I wanted to focus this blog a little more or leave it to be a mixture of things in my life.  I actually wrote this back in the middle of summer when I had several posts to write but never finished writing for various reasons.  And after writing I wanted to sit on it.  We'll,  I guess I sat for a very long time!

I do still think it's worthwhile for me to continue writing in this space but the focus part is the hard thing. I have thought about the type of content and when I first started blogging, I had a tea focused blog.  Then I gave that blog up and started this blog and one of my goals was to share things about my hobbies and what it was like living in Toronto through eating and social events.  But that quickly went to the wayside when soon after starting, I became a mother and priorities changed.  

I now realize I had too many hobbies and could not focus or really put my whole heart into them.

A pic from the past: Sewing coin purses and needle felting were among my hobbies.

I needed to come back to the initial reason for blogging. What I am really after when I think about blogging?  It was a space to practice writing and an opportunity for me to learn and share something.  

I came across a post on Medium about making 7 figures in 3 years and most of the time I ignore these types of titles (although a little more $$ is always nice, lol!), but I decided to skim through it because of a quote in the subtitle:

“Don’t be addicted to money. Work to learn. Don’t work for money. Work for knowledge.” — Robert Kiyosaki

Learning is something I enjoy doing (sounds kinda awkward to say, I know).  I'm the first to admit that I can be lazy at times because who wouldn't want to just sit back and drink tea all day?!  :)

But, I'm the little girl that wanted to go to kindergarten full day when it was only half day kindergarten and the school had to tell my mom to keep me home.  I took summer school to gain extra credits despite taking enough during the regular year.  I know, a little bit of a geek.  Today, it's much harder to learn when the reality of being an adult and parent doesn't allow for much personal learning aside from learning to "parent" or what might be needed for your job.  That type of learning never stops, but that type of learning is not solely for yourself.  The learning that I strive for is what grows me as a person and satisfies my innate need for something "new".

If you do read the above mentioned post, it talks about learning by teaching and I firmly believe it is a quick way to learn something and is how I often find something gets committed to my memory. 

So, here is where this blog comes in.  I continually try to gain time for TEA.  Learning about tea, preparing tea, and drinking tea.  I've also become much more attuned to the "tea experience" in which, tea accessories, tea snacks/desserts, flowers and plants, poetry and art all have a role in how we experience tea.  

I haven't worked out too much about what I'll be posting on and in some ways I think I have a fear of boxing myself in. I've even considered starting a whole new blog. However, for the time being I'm going to leave things as is with the goal to focus more on documenting my tea experience if it requires more than what I'd want to post on Instagram...whether it is just a collection of photos of a tea session, a post about a book I read, a recipe for something to go with tea, or maybe a more informative piece on tea, like tea and health.  My instagram @tiantiantea is already a tea based account so this would likely be more an extension of that - living a life of tea - are words that I've been thinking about.

While thinking about this blog, I enjoyed this Dong Ding Oolong tea from Wistaria Tea House in Taipei. They started taking online orders this year so I jumped at the chance to order a few items. Mmmm, thinking back I have to brew it again this weekend!

Beautiful colour and clarity

Large leaves, slightly oxidized.

After brewing, you can see how slightly agitating the leaves during production to create browning at the edges of the leaf creates such beauty.  I also came across a post on defining oolong tea as more than just mid-oxidized teas which is often what I would say to someone new to tea, but really, oolongs are about the gentle process as described here. So much more to oolong tea than just the oxidation level!

Till next time!

Tea and shades of purple

A few weeks ago sampling some sheng (raw) puer tea.

And trying to capture the afternoon light.

The young tea leaves

One morning this cherry plum tree stole my attention with it's blossoms. 

Enjoying the blossoms with a lightly oxidized oolong from Alishan...

...And used a plum blossom motif tea cup I bought on a whim prior to moving into our new home.

Some tiny ground flowers that sprung up 

Some started to wilt after several days.

I was never a flower or plant person...

..maybe it's age, 

maybe it's looking at life differently, 

maybe it's the surprise beauty and the uncertainty of when they will wither that makes me take time to admire them...

but I've come to think of them as "nice to have" these days.  

Especially with tea.

Finding time

I'm always looking for time...time to do daily chores, time to spend with my family, time with friends, and time to enjoy tea.

-------

Sunday...a couple of Sunday's ago, it was such a beautifully sunny day.  I could have been doing some chores like cleaning but instead, I spent 30 minutes drinking tea (Alishan Jin Xuan oolong which was perfect for my mood) and admiring a new plant I had purchased from Kim's Nature the day before.

How enjoyable it was!

----------

Sometimes in this world where information is transferred at a click of a mouse, news can spread across the world in minutes and people can weigh-in with their opinion on just about anything, I wonder about the future of blogging.  Blogging used to be a snap-shot of someone's life and thoughts at a particular moment but now each post is carefully crafted and some are drafted days or weeks in advance.  Myself included, I have many posts drafted but for whatever reason, I never posted.  Blogging also has become more time consuming that more people opt for something quicker with a greater reach like Instagram and Twitter or whatever other app that is popular now.  Many of the blogs I started reading are no longer updated as people move on...life happens, life changes priorities. I also think younger people don't start blogs anymore....at least not in the general sense...the younger generation start websites.

Anyway, I do think about my blog and how little time I spend writing here.  My lifestyle has also changed and I feel a change is needed.  Not sure exactly what I want this blog to evolve into but I feel it's time.

A New View

Farewell 2017

For a good part of the year we were home hunting.  I say home instead of house because we planned on finding a slightly bigger condo and never even considered a house due to sky rocketing housing prices in Toronto and our own lifestyle choices...but as fate would have it, we found a house.

Despite the lack of furniture, walls still to be painted and a host of other things, it's a good house.  It's home.  It felt like home very early on.  The first morning after we spent our first night at the house...family of four on one bed...I looked out the window and it was no longer rows of buildings and people bustling along, but a row of trees and a substantial pine tree in our backyard.  It felt right and I knew then we had made the right decision.

Last year turned out to have much uncertainty, be quite disruptive and we had to re-think a lot of things.  I also think I made some bad decisions and didn't do as much of the things I hoped to have done nor improved on things I had a chance to do again. The year wasn't all bad as I still ate well 😆 , watched my children grow and spent time with family.  But I think 2017 will be remembered as the year we found our home or forever home as some would say.  Our agent had much patience with us and we learned the process was much harder than we anticipated.  We are definitely glad we didn't settle for something early on and through luck or some divine intervention, we weren't successful with getting some other places which was actually a blessing.  I'm glad the year is done though. 

Despite much work ahead in 2018, I'm looking forward to all the work and also the challenges that have come with parenthood.  Much of this was sparked by becoming more settled into the house but also by a passage in a book I was gifted for Christmas.

I love receiving books as gifts and I especially love tea books!  Thankfully, my partner got me the book Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic by Jinghong Zhang.  I got a chance to start reading it and it is a wonderfully informative book!  There is so much to say about it  but one section early in the book stuck out; how Puer tea from the town of Yiwu was essentially revived by tea connoisseurs from Taiwan.  Upon a pilgrimage to Yiwu in 1994 to get more aged Puer, they found the town was run down, not what they expected and knowledge of aging Puer tea seemed lost..."the Puer tea industry had been inactive there for almost half a century" (pg. 42).  However, they didn't give up and persisted in working with the local government and had samples of the aged tea to guide them in their pursuit. Eventually the industry was revived.

Upon reading this right before the start of 2018, I knew 2018 was going to be a year of hard work and persistence.  PERSISTENCE being key as there are a number of things in my life right now that make life challenging, but instead of giving up or feeling down, I know it is time to pull my energy up and deal with these challenges and work hard for the things that I want to achieve.

Hope 2018 is energizing for you all!

Hello 2018!

P.s. I recently subscribed to receive emails from Nicole Gulotta, author of Eat This Poem and it's been awesome!!  Not only does she write well, but she also provides links to other great reading material.  Check her blog out here.  Her most recent email tells us of her word for 2018, SPACE, which I also really like as I've been thinking about space and having space to myself.  Anyway, lots of good stuff from this author!

 

Reading - Thoughts from a year ago

I had stopped blogging for a while and also stopped reading, but I came across a post about a collection of shorts (almost mini-documentaries) on bookstores in Taiwan.  I love bookstores for some reason.  I haven't read a lot, but walking through a bookstore and just browsing the books gives me some feeling that I might stumble upon something unique or great.  So, after watching a couple of these "mini-docs", it indirectly introduced me to a Taiwanese drama called "Lovestore at the Corner" 巷弄裡的那家書店.  I don't usually watch Taiwanese dramas as they usually are not that great (same kind of story lines, acting is average at best), but this one was intriguing.  It uses poetry and quotes from books to enhance what the characters are feeling or to convey a thought.

The drama I know is not for everyone, but I liked it except the ending (I won't spoil it)...It was just disappointing, it really wasn't a satisfying ending and although it tried to convey one last message, it screwed the feelings you have for the rest of the story.

However, despite the ending, this really got me inspired to read again...but not non-fiction like I have been reading, but fiction and more specifically, literature.  Haruki Murakami is mentioned several times and he's an author I've been meaning to read but did not.  Not until now.

I've come across Murakami several times before and have just never gotten around to reading his books or shorts.  I first came across his book IQ84 in the bookstore at the airport several years ago.  I thought it was so interesting that this Japanese writer had his novels translated to English (as it doesn't happen very often) and is well received.  I thought to myself that upon getting home I'd check it out at the library but never did.  Then years later through one of the bloggers I read, she wrote an amazing post that incorporated an excerpt of one of his stories and then again was intrigued.  In the end, I didn't pick up a book.  Then, the drama references his books and it makes me think.  Something is telling me to pick up a book of his.  If you have ever read The Alchemist then you know what I mean when I started to feel like something in this world is telling me something.

I picked up the Elephant Vanishes from the library, a collection of short stories as I thought that was a good place to start since each story wouldn't take too much time rather than investing a lot of time on a novel I might hate (plus, I didn't want to wait for one of his more popular books).

The stories are very unique and most have kept my attention from beginning to end.  To be honest, some stories just go over my head, but there was one called "Sleeping" that I thought was quite good.  It broached the question of routine, expectations of a wife/mother, and the internal conflict we may feel.  When a female gets married, there may or may not be a change to how much time we spend on ourselves.  But, when a female has a child there is often change...change in that the female gives up her own desires and life for her family - or at least puts it on hold.  For those that have not experienced this, it may sound strange and it's not in every case, but many of the mothers I know give so much of themselves that we forget to take care of ourselves, forget to do the things that we once enjoyed, forget to do the things that make us happy aside from making our family happy.

Don't get me wrong, I love having a child, but your life slowly revolves around their well-being.   To have dinner by 6pm so you can get them to sleep by 8 which means no late nights out, no midnight drives to a Chinese restaurant for food, no going to certain restaurants because it's not kid friendly.  Sure, you can hire a babysitter, but then how many people can you trust?  At what age?  How often?  Now, those that have parents they can leave their children with do not know how lucky they are...to have a night out with your significant other is amazing!

Even the food you eat is dictated by your child unless you decide to make 2 separate meals all the time.  I had thoughts that I would feed my child a variety of foods and flavours and textures but you know what...it didn't always work out that way.  She would take one bite and spit it out.  She would look at it and not even want to try it.  You spend an hour making something and she doesn't eat it...then you got to find something else, a back up.  Meal time takes longer than expected.  She eats certain vegetables but if the texture is not right, she doesn't want it.  You decide, fine, don't eat but as a mother you know she'll be hungry later and then what?  Say to a hungry toddler, no, there is nothing you didn't eat dinner?  You serve fruit and then it is bedtime...but then you worry she didn't get enough protein or nutrients...(This is my own experience and maybe just me, but I definitely applaud those parents that have a less stressful experience.)

The list goes on...

But, having a child has rewards that are unquantifiable and I would never give it up. However, at some point you start to realize...I used to do this...or we used to enjoy doing that...or you wonder, what makes you YOU?

Most often when you meet people for the first or second time, people will often ask what you like to do...there would be lots of things I would come up with and I'd be actively doing those things.  But now, I could tell people I still like those things but just don't do them now - other priorities.  When we define ourselves, how is it that we define ourselves?  By what we do as a living?  By what we like to do in our free time?  How about what inspires us?

Anyway, I wrote this about a year ago. 

Life has gotten more challenging and many of my hobbies are still on the back-burner, but it's all about balance.  One thing I'd like to say is this year I've come across some poetry and in various and surprising places, the praise for writings by Marcel Proust.  So, I thought it was high time I published this post just to share something a little more personal.  I'm currently reading another non-fiction book called Flavor as food and science always interest me, but reading fiction and poetry is something I think I need more of these days.

Hello March: I'm Dreaming of...

The wonders of technology!

I did not draw or paint the above picture.  Rather I took a picture on my camera and with a free app converted it to the above sketch/watercolour.  Absolutely love this app.  Of course hand sketching or hand painting would be even better but I really don't have those talents, nor can I spend time cultivating them

...maybe in a decade or two :)

So what does this have to do with March?

Well, my thoughts for March began with this rare picture I took.  Most of my pictures are up close of food or tea.  But there were a few times recently where I would have to stop my tea session and do something else and while at a distance I began to admire my tea setting from afar. 

I love every piece there.

As I drink more tea, a good tea drinking experience is one of the things I'm after...the tea, teaware, and your surrounding setup are important.  Doesn't mean I don't just drink tea as a beverage because there are days where a mug of tea is great.  But every tea lover has their own philosophy on tea drinking and I think I'm still developing mine.  Before I focused on only the tea, then I started to really think about my teaware. I love acquiring teaware but if I just had these pieces I would still be happy.  Even a simple five dollar gaiwan is fine if that's all I had, but teaware is a luxury I've come to appreciate and will save for pieces I adore.

So now comes the surrounding setup.  I don't have a special room or table...this is just the dining table.  The bamboo tea tray is useful but I've been considering using a tea cloth (chabu) to change things up.  Besides this, many people will also have some sort of greenery to enhance the atmosphere.  I'm really, really bad with plants so I never thought of it or never aquired vases because they would be empty if I did.  But the mandarin oranges on the table was a pop of colour, an element of freshness that I liked.  

So, with signs of Spring often showing up in March, in March: I'm Dreaming of... 

Something green to add to my tea space.

Kim's Nature is a place I recently was told about and plan to visit since they look like they have a great selection of plants, particularly succulents and bonsai.

I'm not capable of owning a bonsai, but for those that are looking for some inspiration and for some really lovely pics, here is a new kind of bonsai, aqua bonsai.

For more inspiration, I've found it through various Instagram pics

...@a.light.thing...all are great but here are some recent ones I like: this one dated march first and one feb twenty-third.  She sometimes matches a quote or poem to her picture which I love.

...@pekoeandimp for the consistently lovely setup

...simple outdoor tea setups like here.

There are so many more and propably people I don't know about but thought I'd highlight a few.

Making my own chabu/tea cloth.

I have a hobby of making little coin purses and have acquired a bit of fabric.  Most are small pieces of fabric that are actually too small for this project, but I have a couple that might work.  I'm not certain if this will be doable but that's what this series is about isn't it :)  

Starting My Puer Tea Journey

I got my package of Puer tea from Bitterleafteas on Friday!  Very excited!   

My teas of choice have been Taiwanese oolongs and I'll still be drinking these, but I've been trying to branch out more.  Puer is a type of tea that is considered fermented and most people I know of Cantonese descent that go to "yum cha" or dim sum will know it as "bo lei cha" the dark tea that is earthy and sometimes undrinkable depending on where you go.  That is how I knew Puerh tea when I was under 20. 

About 10 years ago I bought my first cake of Puer from a tea shop in San Francisco Chinatown.   I was not educated at all, didn't know anything about it and don't remember the random shop I stopped  into.  I'm SURE I overpaid, especially being a tourist!  I was actually looking for an oolong that would resemble the natural cooling - menthol like feeling I got after having an oolong tea at Ten Rens Teahouse.  The man did not know what I was talking about and we ended up tasting Puer and that was how I ended up buying a cake.

The Puer tea cake was a ripe puer (there are ripe and raw puer teas) and it was smooth and earthy and I did enjoy it.  But afterwards I drank more oolong and feel in love with oolong teas (and began my never-ending oolong tea journey).

Fast forward several years and I had my first raw Puer experience and was surprised by how different it was from the ripe.  It was quite bitter as it was young, but I still thought it was pretty unique as there was more to it than bitter.  However, I think I was scared off pursuing Puer because I didn't know how to judge whether I was getting the real thing, whether I was over paying, how to store it, and there were not as many Puer sellers in North America at the time - online sales were not what they are today.

Then came the blog reading last year...

Somehow I came across a number of bloggers that border on 'obsessive'...I mean one blogger who I now faithfully check in with almost daily has a stock of over 500 teas!!  And this post from a blogger who was nominated for a Saveur blog award is an example of the complexity of tea knowledge that I only hope to have one day.  I've also started to follow a few on Instagram like @boychik2989, the variety of tea and teaware that gets posted will really inspire you to explore different teas.  The only downside...my wallet tends to get a little lighter as I start to buy more tea and teaware!

Here is a munchies.vice article on a gathering of wine and tea drinkers and here is one reddit thread that followed.  The main point...how is flavour judged and is it paramount in whether a tea is good or not?

Initially, first thoughts is flavour is extremely important and people would question why that is even a question.  But, when you dig deeper into the experience of tea drinking there is also the component of fragrance, mouthfeel/body, aftertaste (or huigan), and what sparked the discussion, "how it makes you feel". 

For me, how a tea makes me feel partly is determined by my mood.  There are times where some teas although taste great may not be great for the mood I'm in and I opt for something else.  There are also times that this one might have notes of peach and this honey...I like both flavours so is one better than the other?  Of course it then depends on other things you look at.  Finally, it could just end up being how you feel after drinking the tea and the act of brewing tea.

Getting back to puer specifically, here is a final post about puer tea collecting which I think was really good in articulating what it means to be a collector of puer tea and touches on the fact that this type of tea is living, it is still fermenting.  It also makes me want to buy some puer too!  (I caved and ordered some puer tea from Bitter Leaf Teas as you can see!)  It also references back to the munchies.vice article mentioned above.

Anyway, for those looking to expand their tea knowledge please do take a look at these blogs.  There is always something to learn.  And now it begins...

Instagram- @tiantiantea

I have an instagram account I set up a little while ago, but I haven't been using it to post pictures. I've been following others, mainly foodie accounts and some tea ones...none of whom I know personally; hope that doesn't sound too creepy!?

Why so late to the party?

Well, to be honest, very, very few friends I know use Instagram and I knew the amount of time people spend perfecting their Instagram pics was not something I wanted to find myself caught up in (since I think I spend way too much time on blog photos already!). So, I didn't post anything when I got my account.

Why now?

Well, there are numerous reasons. Since I've been refocusing on tea lately, I have intentions to challenge myself to improve my tea photography and to photograph tea in different ways. Instagram seemed like it would keep me taking those pictures.  Another reason is the same reason  many other bloggers use Instagram - because it's a fast way to put out a picture or info when you just don't have time for a blog post or really doesn't warrant a blog post.  A picture can also start a conversation which sometimes ends up being very helpful.

I'm now posting my daily teas and tea related pics (like desserts and tea) on Instagram under the name @tiantiantea.  I decided I wanted something different than my blog name since I really wanted it to be focused and to limit my time posting.


Tiān tiān for 天天 meaning daily.  

I also chose to use the pinyin of tiantian because it could also be: 
tián tián for 甜甜 meaning sweet.  

Loved the possibility of a dual meaning! 

Oh, and I haven't figured out how to add a link to my feed on my blog...will get to that...eventually.

Happy New Year!

Hello, it's been a while.

2016

Goodbye to an eventful (and stressful) year and soooo thankful for my family and friends for being there!

2017

HELLO to a challenging new year!

I recently welcomed my second child, hence my absence from this space.  So aside from feedings, diaper changes, taking care of my first child, sleeping, and online Christmas shopping I haven't had a chance to think about this blog.  Actually I've thought about it lots, but haven't had a chance to post anything.

Looking back, I've had some great meals and glad to have read some interesting books.  I posted on tea a few times and that is where I've actually been spending most of my extra energy on these last couple of months. However, I don't know if it's because I'm not as focused or congestion for part of the time has muted my taste buds, but I haven't had the tasting experiences I've expected.

Only in the last two days, the last two days of the year, was there a glimmer of promise...

2017...looks to be a very promising year, for tea and I that is.

Yesterday I had a chance to re-read some passages in one of my tea books from Taiwan and there was an intro written by one of their well known tea experts/enthusiasts.  He summed up tea drinking or "the way of tea" with these 2 words:

歸零

The first word means "return or back to" and the second word is "zero", so essentially return to zero.  I took it to mean a reset in a way.  Every time you drink tea, the act, the experience is like a reset.  You spend the time to brew the tea and taste the tea, calming your mind and revitalizing yourself.  Even the physical change that the leaf goes through as you brew the tea mimics these words; the dry leaves unfurl with the heat of the water and what you end up with if using whole leaf tea is the shape and likeness of the leaf prior to the processing...a return back to the original state (somewhat).

In some ways, the end of the year and beginning of a new year for some is like a return to zero...you think about what you've done the past year, your successes and failures and then start to think about your future self.  How you may do things differently or plan new beginnings.  As I write this, I'm quite looking forward to 2017 as I focus on balancing the needs of my expanding family and challenges I plan to put upon myself.

Happy New Year!!

September: I'm Dreaming of...

Figs have been more readily available this September so one early morning I made a fig/honey white bean mochi.

Ahhh, September...the transitional month from summer to autumn.  Again, I'm late with this post.  I started writing on the first of September but didn't finish it until now.

For some people I know autumn is their favourite time of year, but I love the early sun of summer, the sky on warm summer evenings and everything in-between that it's hard to say "til next year' - but I know we must.  Autumn is upon us tomorrow!

So, this September I've been Dreaming of...

Getting up early to brew tea - quality me time...
the last few months I've been pretty sporatic with my tea drinking and brewing habits 

Making mochi...
I've been experimenting with different methods and hopefully I'll be able to post on what I've experienced soon

and 

Baking with chocolate...

A while ago I picked up the Mast Brothers Chocolate Cookbook but only had time to flip through it.  Most of the pictures are brown and shadow-y because, well, chocolate is brown.  Anyway, nothing really caught my eye at the time so I left it for another time to read through.  Well, earlier this month I read through the cookbook and part of it is a baking/cookbook and part of it tells their story; the story of how they started their bean-to-bar business and their ethos.  It was quite interesting.  I knew part of their story from reading the book Small Batch but there is much more detail and I'm in awe of the drive and determination.

So, I baked a chocolate cupcake.  It was good but because I was serving it to my toddler, I cut the sugar just a bit and didn't make the ganache that topped it.  So, if I did as the recipe instructed, I think it would have been an awesome cupcake.

In the past I've stayed away from baking many chocolate things because usually it doesn't go well and secondly, I actually just like eating chocolate on it's own more than in a baked good.  But chocolate baked goods are usually crowd pleasers so it's good to know a few good chocolate recipes.

After I finished reading about Mast Brothers, I came across a post about Dandelion Chocolate in Japan.  Dandelion Chocolate is another American bean-to-bar chocolate brand that had expanded to Japan.  The post mentions a flight of brownies that you can purchase, each using a specific single-origin chocolate.  Definitely would love to try these out (but, actually my partner already makes the best brownies I've ever had) or attempt making various chocolate desserts using various single origin chocolates, but the cost would be quite prohibitive!

Enjoy the rest of September!

August: I'm Dreaming of...

Hello August.  Ok, mid-August.

I can't really say there is anything that I'm particularly dreaming about these days.

I've been reading again.  Finished 2 books in just over 2 weeks, Pen and Palate and The Elephant Vanishes, if you're interested.  Both books I'd recommend, but Pen and Palate is a biography geared at 20-somethings and The Elephant Vanishes is considered modern literature so may not be suitable for everyone.

I've baked some really simple things like the above butter cake dotted with sour cherries or a peach bread pudding because the peaches were bruising and I had a little leftover bread.

But really, I'm just trying to enjoy August (with a glass of iced tea).

However, I have been thinking more about that cafe.  I know, strange for August when most people think about the outdoors and sun, but here I am thinking about cafes.  I'm always on the look-out for that cafe though.  That cafe that has everything you want in a cafe.  Now, everyone has their different take on what their perfect cafe is or truthfully, I don't know if there truly is a perfect cafe.  I just like to think that there is one and that one day I'll find it in Toronto and love going with friends or alone.  I would prefer to say that tea room, but in all honesty, when I say tea room, the vision of bubble tea places pop up.  Not that they're bad (I have my favourites), and I probably frequent more bubble tea places than cafes, but tea rooms overseas are just different from bubble tea places here.  Also, the word cafe is just more encompassing.

Anyway, if you love "looking" at cafes, here is a blog that has many, many posts on cafes in Taiwan (and Japan); I was inspired to write this post after seeing the pics on this particular post as the place gives off such a mood!

I haven't come across too many blogs that focus on cafes in Toronto but I had started to like this one called Latte with Me but it looks like they have stopped posting.

Enjoy the rest of August!

July - I'm Dreaming of...

After weeks (or maybe even months) of not baking, a strawberry pastry cream tart was my reintroduction to a whisk.

Hello.

It's been a while...

Life has gotten busier and a lot is changing...change is usually good though.

Just wanted to pop in and say I'm still here and have some food reviews I've been meaning to post but I'm hoping to get to them sometime in July.

I haven't been checking out my usual blogs as much, but I recently checked them out again and just want to say I'm still loving them!  Despite not being able to travel for a while, I still love reading about one of my favorite places to visit - Taiwan.

Here are 2 bloggers from Taiwan that I'm I fan of...

Curating Cuteness - film photography, love her points of view and vintage finds
Partie du Champagne - travel and photography, she recently posted on her trip to Africa (English version is not as updated but there is a link to see only English posts)

and just because, here is a summary post by Sugared & Spiced on her two-day trip to Tainan, Taiwan.

The month is almost half over so...what have I been dreaming of?  

July - I'm Dreaming of...

Simple things.  

- a clear kitchen table 

(maybe with exception for a tea pot and cups)

- fruit slushies/smoothies
(loved the papaya one I had a Pho Viet Express at Bathurst & Steeles)

- watching a movie again 

(a few weeks ago I was struck with what seemed like carpal tunnel in both my hands/wrists and my forearms were numb so I couldn't do very much...so I watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and it was great despite the circumstances)

April: I'm Dreaming of...

L: end of March, R: beginning of April!

What an interesting start to April!

After the first week of wintery weather, I can't help but want to brew hot tea after hot tea.  But I just know warmer weather is almost here so I'm really dreaming about all things Spring.

Spring time often means flowers and lots of rain, but I'm definitely thinking about flowers more.  And I've recently seen a lot of posts with sakura flowers (cherry blossoms).  Sakura flowers are a sign of Spring and for the past couple of years I've looked forward to checking out the sakuras in high park but I've also been thinking about them in food; check out this sakura latte recipe at Thirsty for Tea or this Sakura cheesecake here.

I've never been one to decorate my home with flowers or greenery because well...I'm just not good with such things.  But, I'm starting to appreciate them more and more, especially since I see more and more lovely pictures of simple to elaborate flower arrangements or how they can add such charm!

So this April, I'm dreaming of...

adding a little bit more greenery to my life
增加綠色植物在我生活

brewing some cold tea like this
(you can skip to 2:38 to just view the brewing)

冷泡茶用這個放法

and

making floral shaped cookies
做花型餅乾
or if I can get my hands on some salted sakura flowers I'll try to make some sakura cookies!


Happy April!

Why the occasional duplicate sentence written in Chinese?  

One of my goals starting in 2016 is to improve my Chinese language skills so this is one way I'm going about it.  
Please comment if you noticed I've totally messed up!  Thanks!

March: I'm Dreaming of...

Stewed buttercup squash and lima beans

Hello March.
哈囉三月.

It's been a couple of months since I did a post like this.  I've go so much on my mind that it's hard focusing on what 'I'm Dreaming of' for March.
有幾個月沒寫這種文章了.  我有太多事在腦裡,難以集中我的精神.

The sun is rising earlier and the days are getting longer.  I feel spring is just around the corner (even with the snow storm the other night, lol!).  Part of what preoccupies my thoughts right now are recipes.  Recipes for vegetarian meals, recipes for healthier meals, recipes for using leftovers and being mindful of waste and as always, recipes for tea and tea sweets.

March is also Nutrition Month - lots of great tips for those looking to improve their eating habits. There are a number of Toronto registered dietitians (RDs) that have their own websites/blogs that provide good nutrition info; here are some RDs gaining notoriety, Words to Eat By and Abbey's Kitchen to name a couple.

So, in March, I'm Dreaming of...

creamy vegetable soups like this one at 101cookbooks

homemade cashew milk for milk tea at home

rye cookies to go with my tea

making this easy and tasty lentil dish by ottolenghi again

baking bread or olive oil loaf cake...

...and then using leftovers to make french toast or bread pudding

Have a healthy and happy March!

Why the occasional duplicate sentence written in Chinese?  

One of my goals starting in 2016 is to improve my Chinese language skills so this is one way I'm going about it.  
Please comment if you noticed I've totally messed up!  Thanks!

New Things for a New Year: New Washi Tape and Tea Set

Happy Chinese New Year!  新年快樂!! I was going to write a Chinese New Year post but then I was too busy cleaning, making things, and eating out.  So now I have a ton of food posts to write, but since it's the new year I decided to share a few of the new things I started the year with: my new washi tapes and new tea set :)

I've loved looking at washi tape for years but I knew that if I bought it it would stay virtually unused because I didn't want to waste it...kinda like when I was a kid and realized stickers were expensive, I just didn't waste them on anything.  Anyway, I finally purchased a bunch from Yozo Craft and I love them!  Great colours and designs and quite affordable for 10m rolls.

 

Most will be used in my notebooks since I'll be holding on to them and some for card making.  And maybe, just maybe I'll let my child use them...but she'll just stick them everywhere (including my nose) without a second thought!  Like how my friend so aptly mentioned to me today, love how children eat foods (like cookies) without guilt.

I love getting anything tea related, whether it's tea leaves or teapots or tea cups.  Although I already have two other clay teapots, I couldn't resist buying this one.  (Some people buy new clothes for Chinese New Year, I like to buy new tea or teaware.)  My new tea set is a pear shaped purple clay tea pot made in Taiwan (from Taiwan Tea Crafts).  It's a nice little set and pours really nicely.  I used it to brew a lightly oxidized oolong tea from the Aowanda area in Nantou, Taiwan. The clay will enhance the flavours of certain teas and if you continue to brew the same tea in the clay pot, you are in a way 'seasoning' it so future brews become more flavourful.  Over time, you could get tea from just pouring hot water into the pot without leaves!  With any unglazed clay pot, it's best to use only one type of tea so the hardest part for me is now deciding which tea to use in the pot.  Hopefully this is the hardest thing I'll have to do this year, lol!

Hello 2016



Some reading material I purchased last year

Happy New Year!

I hope everyones start to the new year has been good.  A new year almost always calls for new goals. Some of the things I've been thinking about are really about making life a little more simple and I want to continue with some of the goals I made last year, but I have one new one that is going to be a bit challenging (and possibly make things more complicated) ...

Start making this blog bilingual:  English/Chinese.

我在 2016 年希望能開始寫雙語的部落文章.

I don't intend for this blog to be 100% bilingual and I think some posts will just be too time consuming to write in both languages, but if one day down the road it is, it would be amazing!  I can definitely read more Chinese characters than I can write, my reading capability is probably that of a grade 1 student though, but I'd like to try.  The start might be popping in the Chinese character here and there, or writing a sentence or two. Like any language, if you don't use it, you lose it so by trying to post in English and Chinese, it'll definitely force me to use it.  I'd like to practice speaking more too but for now, the written language will have to do.


Why did I set this goal? 

Here are just a few reasons...

• In 2009 I spent one year in Taiwan studying Mandarin and feel it slowly slipping away...last year it was disheartening when at times I found myself not as competent as I should have been at various Mandarin speaking opportunities.
• I also would like my child to learn either Cantonese or Mandarin or both so I'm trying to get a head start....Sometimes I think there are are things I strive to improve in myself so my child could benefit or can take on those same good habits - does anyone feel the same way?
• Going back to Asia - travelling back to Taiwan or China with better language skills definitely will help with connecting with locals and make travelling just a wee bit easier. Tea is my drink of choice and a vacation to Taiwan most surely includes a visit to tea houses and gardens where English is not very common.

I'll be posting in traditional characters as that is what I'm most familiar with. For those of you that can read and write Chinese, please do comment if I'm using a term incorrectly or if I've totally made a mess!!...It'll definitely help my learning :) Thanks!

Wishing everyone a joyful and healthy 2016!

Looking back at 2015

A few picutres from December 2015

2015
It's been a good year. 
Not everything was great, there were ups and downs but overall, I'm thankful for a good year and for all the people in my life. 

Wrote more on this blog

 (115 posts compared to 41 in 2014!  Eating lots of good meals!)

Baked more

(cookies, cakes, and other interesting treats like the sesame pear muffin in Dec)

Read some interesting books

(about Ramen, French country-side living, and Chinese food in America)

Drank more tea

(at home and at the numerous tea shops that have popped up in Toronto)

Cooked more

(like Jamaican style oxtail...which I have yet to post a recipe for...)

Ate wonderful sweets

(at Petit Nuage and Soma to name a few)

And most importantly, enjoyed more precious memories that my toddler and partner have bestowed upon me.

Thank you to those that have taken the time to read my little space in the blogging world!

December: I'm Dreaming of...

Hot chocolate at Maman Toronto :)

December started out a bit rough for me but I'm glad to have finished writing this post!

 

Christmas shopping, party planning, baking shopping lists have all started.  December is usually when I spend huge amounts of time shopping, baking and eating and it'll likely be the same this December.  However, this December, in the midst of everything festive, I'm Dreaming of...

 

- de-cluttering before the year ends. 

Is that even possible?!  I recently bought a bunch of reading material and plan to add more shortly so I am in immediate need of space!  Hopefully I can de-clutter more than I'm expecting to buy, lol!  But in all seriousness, I tend to hold onto things because I think I'll need something later, but really I should start thinking about what brings me happiness, what things I'll use regularly and what things I use on occasion but will use for mamy many years.  It's probably a good time to donate things too.

 

- an array of side dishes.

I have always looked forward to side dishes at Korean restaurants and about a month or two ago I came across two blog posts (here and here) highlighting places with side dishes that looked so healthy and yummy.  Perfect for balancing out all the sweets and treats this season.  Side dishes are not meant to be time consuming but do take organization to pull off.  Hoping this December I could be just a little bit more organized to make a few!

 

- looking to embrace the coming winter. 

I usually hate the coming of winter because of the cold, snow, slush, and ice.  I was watching an episode about bento boxes and it mentioned that Japanese people take pride in the fact that Japan has 4 distinct seasons and they embrace each season.  This is not a new philosophy and I'm sure not every Japanese person feels that way, but I thought to myself, yes...winter is a season that I should embrace and not lament over the cold.  A lot has to do with perspective.  There is beauty in winter and I love sipping on hot tea while it's cold out; just makes the tea even better!  (Or hot chocolate, coffee, or even hot soup!)

 

Enjoy December!

November: I'm Dreaming of...

Fall is a beautiful time of year and I always feel like apple picking, but this year I didn't make much of an effort to plan an outing.  I've been too obsessed about a few things...one being a milk frother.  I've mentioned before that I've wanted one but the brands I looked at were a little too pricey for me and in the past I tried a battery operated handheld one that didn't work. Then I came across Kuissential and eventually I couldn't resist and bought one off Amazon. 

 

Why a milk frother?  Well, I've always had the desire to make tea lattes and it's perfect for the cold weather that is with us for many months out the year.  And yes, you could just use warmed milk from a saucepan but I want that extra element of froth and the ability to froth cold milk as well...something I've wanted to do ever since seeing some iced tea/coffee drinks in Taipei that look like this:

 

@ La Douceur Patisserie in Taipei - very cute space and the pastries were well made!

 

So, with my new kitchen gadget in hand, I'm dreaming of...

 

...many tea lattes and frothy milk iced tea drinks.

 

And, while I'm making these said tea drinks, I'm dreaming of...

 

...capturing the beauty of the tea leaves. 
I haven't taken pictures with a DSLR for awhile.  I had borrowed my sister's camera once for a few weeks and these were the results:

 

 

 Like them but I remember taking forever!  Hopefully, I'll be able to spend some time practicing my photo taking.





 

Something a little off topic, this month I'm still reading the book 'My Day' The Best of Eleanor Roosevelt's Acclaimed Newspaper Columns, 1936-1962 which is quite a departure from the usual books that interest me. My partner is more knowledgeable on the political scene in America than I and I thought it would be good to do some learning, plus, I liked the aspect that she wrote these columns daily, almost like a blog today, but included her thoughts on political and social issues.  It has been quite interesting as there is so much about American politics during that time and WWII that I never spent too much time learning about before now. Eleanor Roosevelt is definitely a woman that was amazing. 

 

So, I'm thinking of reading other books that differ from my usual.  Maybe about Madame Chiang Kai-Shek who was mentioned in 'My Day'.  Or maybe short stories from Haruki Murakami who's name I came across on 2 different occasions in the last 6 months, one being here, at TheThousandthGirl. I'm definitely going to be on the look out for something else to read after I finish 'My Day'.  Hope it will be just as interesting.

 

Enjoy November!