Frozen (partially defrosted) dragonfruit

Ever had frozen grapes? You should try frozen dragonfruit! I had never eaten dragonfruit this way, but it is a really nice treat! My parents bought a large case of dragonfruit when it was in season and on sale. There were too many in the box to finish, so they froze some. Dragonfruit is not as sweet as other fruits, but is very good for you and refreshing!

Directions are simple! Take a frozen dragonfruit, let it defrost a little bit until it is soft enough to dig in with a spoon. Enjoy!

A few things I tried

I bought the durian chips which I had blogged about earlier.. It was about $3 for one container. The chips contain dried durian and palm oil, and are quite crisp. The chips don't smell as strongly, but there is still that unique smell. They're okay (I'm not so crazy about the palm oil.). I prefer the fresh stuff!

I tried a couple Chinese recipes. Both are pretty simple recipes and only require a few ingredients. I'll try to remember to take pictures next time! The linked web pages below contain pictures already though, and mine turned out similar, although maybe not as perfectly round. :)

The first is a scallion flatbread. It's kind of like scallion pancake, but not as thin or as oily. See here for the recipe. I like rolling and flattening the dough (like playing with playdough!)

The second is a dessert - glutinous rice balls in a ginger-sugar syrup with crushed peanuts and sesame seeds sprinkled on top. (It's known as tangyuan, but this version is not served in a soup.) See here for the recipe.

Durian chips

I saw these durian chips at CMart in Boston's Chinatown this past Sunday. I've never seen them at the local Asian grocery store before! I thought about buying some to try, but forgot to pick some up. I'm curious and will have to get some next time. They look like they might have been freeze-dried.

And, no, these packaged durian chips were not odorous!

Chinese New Year red bean gelatin

When I was in college, I got really into Jello. I just found it really interesting and neat. I tried making different things - such as a tri-layered coffee/chocolate/milk gelatin. I once even put egg in my jello (was trying to go for an artistic effect but it did not turn out well) and also made jello beans.

I was looking for a dessert to make for an early Chinese New Year dinner and came across this red bean tri-layered gelatin that looks really cool (check it out!), and thought I'd try giving it a shot.

I added an extra layer of cherry jello (4 layers total,) just to have another of layer of red (it is Chinese New Year of course.) It turned out pretty well. :) I didn't get to snap a picture of it, but next time!

Raw chocolate pudding

I came across this very different raw chocolate pudding recipe on allrecipes.com.

It won't taste exactly the same as your typical Jello pudding, but it is pudding-like and quite yummy. Its main ingredients are banana and avocado, which give it the texture. I also used unsweetened almond milk, lime juice, agave nectar to sweeten, and cocoa powder. (Once, I added shredded coconut and used cacao nibs instead of cocoa powder, which gives the pudding a crunch to it.) Then, blended it with a hand blender.

(One of these days I will try a durian pudding!)

It is quite rich, delicious, and nutritious!

Some durian recipes I'd like to try one day

(...when I'm at my parents' home and have the right taste testers.)

Sticky rice with durian and coconut milk - recipe
Durian mousse crepes - recipe
Durian cream puffs - recipe

Green tea muffins

(There is no durian in this recipe.)

Over Christmas break, I was in a muffin baking mood and probably baked 100+ of them - banana, banana with pecans, banana with durian filling, green tea, green tea with nuts, banana durian blend, no sugar banana with durian filling, and chocolate chip banana.

This was the first time I made the green tea muffins. My mom bought some matcha powder from the grocery store and I just had to try it.

Ingredients:
(Dry)

• 2 cups wheat flour. All-purpose flour works fine. I used the Korean wheat flour below.
  
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons green tea matcha powder (or more if you like)
  

(Wet)

• 1 cup white sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup milk 

Ingredients: (makes about 14 muffins)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin pan with paper muffin liners. 
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and matcha powder, and sift.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until light. Add in the sugar and eggs and mix again. Add the flour mixture and milk. Mix just enough until ingredients look mixed. Don't overmix!  
4. Scoop into muffin liners until about 2/3 full.
   
5. Bake in the preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean. It was about 15-16 minutes for me.
   

I added nuts to some of the muffins. I probably should have taken them out of the oven like 30 seconds earlier. Next time I'd like to try mixing in some sweet azuki beans. (I saw a green tea with red bean cake at a Chinese bakery.)