Banana, ooh na-na
All day I dream about banana, ooh na-na
So I made this bread of banana, na-na-na
Oh, but my home smells like banana (ay)
There nothin' wrong 'bout this matter (uh huh)
Banana, ooh na-na (uh)

Today was one of those days in June when you still need to wear a long sleeved or a cardigan. There were not much activities can be done (comfortably) outdoor because the heavy cloud kept hanging above my head and ready to rain anytime. However, I went lake kayaking for a couple hours and got back home when the sky went dark and cloudy. I really can't wait for summer to starts.

I went to my favorite grocery shop last week, they were having special price for bio fruits, including banana. So I bought a few too many. Why? Do I like banana so much? not really. Because it was bio? no, definitely not, I don't even know what is bio banana. Was it because its on special? heck no, you know how bio products tend to be overpriced, so even if they were on special, they would never be that cheap. So why was it then? Simple answer; it was because I was HUNGRY. I know I know, people said you shouldn't do grocery shopping when you are hungry. And they were right. I shouldn't. 

I was only going to buy the ingredients for my dinner that day, but I ended up buying the ingredients for dinner, breakfast, and lunch....enough for the next three months... #sigh. 

As we all know, banana goes bad fast. I had few overripe banana to do something with. Something easy and simple. So don't be surprised if the few upcoming recipes are about bananas. I am going banana for these bananas.

When I think about putting banana in a recipe, the first thing come to mind will be banana bread. Especially the one from my favorite coffee shop around the corner. They have this amazing sweet-smelling and moist banana bread with walnut. It just yummy. Overpriced, but yummy. It goes awesomely with my coffee. It tastes more or less like this recipe I am writing. It is not the shop's secret recipe tho, instead I use this recipe here, and give it a tiny little twist.

When I was visiting the Chinese district in Montréal, I came to a pastry shop that sells beautiful fluffy pastries with different filling.  The sweet smell of fresh pastries when I open their door was unforgettable. They also have an amazing choices from savoury to sweet pastries, from bite-size to lunch size. One of my favorites was their red bean bun, light fluffy bun filled with sweet, moist and chunkless red bean paste. Unfortunately, there's no such pastry shop in my town. The only way to satisfy my craving for this bun is to make one my own. I remembered I have a recipe for a fluffy bun. I made a bit of adjustment and I used a store bought red bean paste. The outcome was pretty awesome, I am proud of myself.. hihihihi.. 

Nothing beats a warm, fluffy, fresh-out-of-the-oven red bean bun for my afternoon tea break!

Who doesn't love meat buns, you can have it fried, baked or even steamed! Its delicious and filling. You can have it as a snack on a rainy cold days or even for the kids lunch the next day. Very practical, dont' you think?

Tonight cooking theme was what the french calls touski: 'le tout ce qui a dans le frigo' a.k.a whatever is left in the fridge. I managed to gather some bits and pieces to make myself a tasty and decent salad for supper. I even found a proper drink to go with it :) 

Quick and easy home made pizza dough

My first attempt using tangzhong mix and it was not disappointing at all! What I love the most about it is how fluffy it turned out.

Okay I must admit the picture isn't the sexiest pic ever, I don't have the chance to take a better picture for the subject, but I kid you not, this is the key for making a fluffy and moist bread!! Its super easy and it helps your bread turn out to be patisserie-bought bread. 

Ingredients:

50 gr flour

250 gr water (or milk) 

1. In a pot, whisk together the water and flour until its lump free.

2. Turn on the stove on medium heat while stirring constantly. After around 2-3 minutes, it will thicken to an almost pudding like consistency as shown on my humble pic.  

3. Once its evenly thickened, remove from heat and let cool. You might want to cover it loosely to prevent from drying. 

4. Your tangzhong mix are ready to use!

Happy cooking!!

PS: This mixture made around 150 gr. If you need less or more, the ratio flour with liquid is 1:5 ( one part of flour with 5 part of liquid), so please adjust to your need.

My first attempt using this tangzhong mix is uploaded right after this page :)