Arpor's 90th Birthday

My favorite memories of my maternal grandmother (Arpor) revolve around her birthday. I seem to always visit Thailand in the summertime when it just can't get any hotter, and about once a decade, we celebrate Arpor's birthday in a big way with a family reunion. I don't know what your family reunions are like, or if you even enjoy them, but these reunions have always been a real treat for me. We feast on great food, and Arpor sits back as we perform endless acts of music* and dancing for our beloved grandma.
























Flashback to 1991's family reunion. Oh boy.

I want to share with y'all some pictures from the latest family reunion celebrating Arpor's 90th birthday on July 3, 2010. These are mostly professional photos from the celebration in the Novotel Bangkok in Siam Square. Those who came numbered 200, making it a bigger party than my wedding. And as you'll soon see, we showered Arpor with our love through our musical acts.
























Meet my dear grandma Sumitra Boonsermsuwong, or as I call her, Arpor.
























The tables were named after her kids as they were all given tables to seat their own friends and family.

















This is a fun fact I love telling people. Can you believe my grandmother gave birth to 11 children?! Here they are, happily reunited. Oldest to youngest from right to left. 7 live in Bangkok, 3 in the USA, and 1 is in Hong Kong.

















And here's the entire family. Each of the 11 got married and had children. Some of those children got married and had children. In total, there are 69 of us in the family, spread throughout 5 different countries.
























My beautiful cousin Dara performing a traditional Indian dance.

















Some of the granddaughters join together in a hip-hop-fan dance.

















My dad and Tim played Jim Croce's Time in a Bottle while food was served.

















Singing to Arpor is a must-have act.

















Three generations of daughters danced to the Girls' Generation HaHaHa song, choreographed by cousin Jent.

















A 90th birthday is well-deserving of a tiered cake and mantou tower.

















Birds' nest soup is a popular present for the elderly, believed to be a health tonic.

















My paternal grandmother (Khun Ya) even came out, and I don't know what my oldest uncle is doing, but that's just classic behavior of our crazy uncle.

















If you're wondering where the food pictures are, then you might be missing my point. While some memories involve food, this is about family itself. If I didn't snap this picture of the menu, I wouldn't have known what we ate that night. I know it all tasted great, but experiencing this kind of love beats even the best steamed garoupa [sic] in Bangkok.

*Wondering why the big emphasis on music and dancing at our family reunions? My grandfather had a deep love for music and performing, having led a big band for many years, and he sent his children to music lessons. He passed away in 1997, but we continue to honor him by displaying the love for music he passed down to all of us.

Grandmothers

Over the weekend, I attended the wake of our Poh-Poh, Ing-Fen Hsu Jeng, who died January 15, 2011 at the age of 85. Technically she's my husband's sister's husband's Poh-Poh (maternal grandmother), but I'm calling her Poh-Poh because she was a woman who loved everybody as her own family. I didn't know Poh-Poh terribly well, but I see and know the fruits of her love through her family. I'm thankful I had the chance to attend her and Gong-Gong's 60th wedding anniversary a few years back, and it was the sweetest celebration to join in, especially as a newlywed at the time.

A snapshot of their 1948 wedding.

One after another, family and friends relived stories about what a big heart she had towards others, and some of her grandchildren shared how they always found it weird that Poh-Poh never cooked for them (the cooking was Gong-Gong's job). Hearing these stories made it so sad to say goodbye, but we pray with great hope that God's mercy has brought her and Gong-Gong together again in eternity.

After coming home from the service, I immediately thought about my own grandmothers, and how fortunate Tim and I are to still be able to talk to and Skype with all four of ours today. And how happy were we to visit Thailand last summer to celebrate Arpor's (my maternal grandmother) 90th birthday and Khun Ya's (my paternal grandmother) 92nd birthday with them!

Having lived my whole life in the States with most of my extended family residing in Bangkok, I only saw my grandmothers once every 3 years at best. Still, I have many fond memories of them, and food plays an important part of those memories. I'll be posting a few of those memories (as well as new memories from this past trip) in a mini-series to come. In anticipation of those posts, I'd like to ask y'all...

What are some of your fondest memories of your grandmother(s)? I look forward to reading your stories!

Chocolate Banana Loaf

We had a wonderfully tiring weekend, visiting friends from all over. We drove over 700 miles, stopped in 5 different cities and met adorable baby Joseph, played with a bunch of little kids, chatted with a handful of college friends, had dinner with my old church small group, and even saw a few friends from our high school days. There were many more we wish we could have seen, but we're saving them for another trip.

I made this chocolate banana loaf for Jon, one of the coolest friends we have. Thanks for hosting us and for treating us to some great soondubu! Glad you were able to eat some Sunday morning, and I hope you've enjoyed more since. :)

Among all the catching up, we were asked how our families are doing, and we heard some great compliments about our family members. Specifically, we heard from Tim's high school buddy how he recalls my mother-in-law, Mama, being the sweetest person he's ever met. Mama, I hope that you're reading this and that you realize you've touched many people's hearts with your love and kindness. Happy Birthday to my dear mother-in-law!

Chocolate Banana Loaf

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
4-6 ripe bananas, mashed well
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt)
4. In another bowl combine the wet ingredients: bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
5. Fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake about 60 minutes until bread has risen and a cake tester comes out clean.
7. Let cool slightly, remove loaf from pan, and serve warm.

Baba's Mantou 饅頭

Happy Birthday Baba! It's my father-in-law's birthday today, and I'd like to take some time today to share one of his recipes with all of you. I had the pleasure of visiting Fort Wayne, IN for Christmas, and I was delighted to help my father-in-law makes these for the big Christmas Eve gathering their church held at their home. Christmas Eve is just one example of my in-laws' hospitality towards their community. I hear many stories of their lovely home gatherings, inviting over church friends, neighbors, as well as students from North Side High School (where my mother-in-law teaches), and I was blessed to participate in one of their parties during Christmas.



































For our Christmas dinner, we doubled the recipe below and made close to 80 buns! I certainly pulled my weight in eating them up as I must have eaten at least a dozen during our time there. Thanks for sharing your recipe with me, Baba, and I hope to learn many more recipes from you!




































Baba's Mantou 饅頭
makes around 40 buns

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon baking powder
12 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup red bean paste
40 - 2" squares of cut wax paper

Directions:
1. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the the warm water, let stand for about 30 minutes until yeast bubbles.
2. Meanwhile, mix together flour and baking powder, and cut shortening into flour mixture.
3. Make a well in the flour mixture, pour in yeast mixture, and start mixing to form a dough.
5. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth, then cover with moist paper towel and let stand for about two hour in a warm place until the dough doubles in size.
6. Punch down dough and knead one more time and let stand for another 20 minutes.
7. Prepare steamer and begin to boil water.
8. Knead dough to shape into long rolls and cut across the roll to form mantou.
9. To make red bean paste filled mantou, roll one section of dough into a flat circle, put 1 tablespoon of red bean paste in the center, and pinch dough closed, forming a bun.
10. Stick one square of wax paper to the bottom of each shaped mantou and cover with damp paper towel until dough is used up.
11. Place mantou carefully in steamer, leaving enough space in between. Steam mantou for 10-12 minutes.

Alice's Tea Cup Cookbook Giveaway Winner

As you may have guessed, this post's purpose is to say, we have a winner for the Alice's Tea Cup Cookbook Giveaway! I modified my random dish generator to tell me who the lucky reader is. (That's the little spreadsheet I wrote to give me dinner ideas when I'm fresh out)

And the cookbook goes to...










Congratulations Michelle! You'd make a wonderful breakfast companion, and I hope you enjoy your copy of Alice's Tea Cup Cookbook! Please email me your mailing address at talidabakes at gmail dot com, and we'll send your copy out.

Thanks to everyone who participated this giveaway. I realized I have many favorite breakfasts as I read through each comment; I guess I don't discriminate when it comes to this much-loved meal.

Alice's Tea Cup Peppermint Stick Scones and Cookbook Giveaway!

Like many others living in the New York area, I love Alice’s Tea Cup. I love their selections of scones and tea, I love the flavorful potato-chicken hash, and the sense of whimsy I feel each time I visit. When I read through Alice’s Tea Cup Cookbook, I was even more charmed to learn that many recipes incorporate tea as key ingredients!

*















I shared these peppermint stick scones with my in-laws while visiting Indiana for Christmas. They were the perfect biscuit for the holiday, and I’ll take any excuse to have candy for breakfast. I’d also love to share a copy of this cookbook with one lucky reader! Just leave a comment on this post, telling me your favorite breakfast to share with others. You have until January 9, 2011 at 11:59PM, EST. A winner will be picked at random. One entry per person, and giveaway is limited to US residents only.

*These may look more like doughnut holes than your typical scone because we shaped and baked them in mini-muffin pans. Following the cookbook’s recipe below will give you a classic scone shape.


Peppermint Stick Scones
makes 10-12 scones

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup crushed Brach's peppermint Star Brites (or similar candy)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream (for brushing)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. With clean hands, work the butter into the dry mixture until it is thoroughly incorporated and has the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add 3/4 cup of the crushed peppermint candy and combine well, so that it is evenly distributed throughout the dry mixture.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the buttermilk and vanilla extract into the well. Combine the ingredients until all the dry mixture is wet, but do not knead!
5. Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and gather the dough together. Gently pat the dough to make a rectangle about 1 1/2 inches thick. Using a dough cutter, cut the scones into wedges measuring about 3 1/2 x 4 inches, and lay them on a nonstick baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough together lightly to cut out more scones - just don't knead the dough too much.
6. Brush the top of each scone liberally with heavy cream, and sprinkle them with the remaining 1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy.
7. Bake the scones for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.

FTC Disclaimer: I received free copies of Alice's Tea Cup Cookbook to review/giveaway from HarperCollins Publishers.

Happy 2011!

And just like that, it's January 1, 2011.

*






















In addition to wishing y'all a Happy New Year, I'd like to take a moment to wish this little blog a Happy 4th Birthday. Or are we calling them blogiversaries? Whatever we're calling it, it's been 4 years of documenting my baking adventures with lots of breaks in between. I've said this before, but my resolution for the year is to blog more. And this year I really mean it. I want to share more kitchen creations as well as food experiences with y'all. I love the food blogging community, and I want to stay active among a great group of people. I still have a pile of posts from last year to publish, so I'll be working through those first.

I'll spend the next couple days organizing my thoughts and photos, but I plan on kicking the year off with an exciting giveaway tomorrow, so stay tuned!

*Tim and I didn't really celebrate this blogiversary with a cake; that was one of his birthday cakes from this year, and the photo was taken by Josh, an old Texan buddy of mine who's living in NYC for the year!