Top Posts + 2013 in Review

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! I can't believe that tomorrow is going to be a New Year. 2013 went by so quickly!

My top 3 posts for 2013 are:

Tangyuan

Chinese Sponge Cake

Traditional Chinese Prosperity Cupcakes

And, for my 2013 in review, here is a list. I don't want to add pictures because it would make this post have too many pictures.

• I can't believe I visited Stanford in March! 
• I started interning for FoodCare, Inc in May 2013. 
• I went to visit Hearst Castle with my grandparents in July 2013. 
• I ran my first half-marathon on October 6, 2013.
• I made it through my semester of 19 units. 
• My group did well on our project about Nepal in my Social and Cultural Aspects of Food class. 
• Visited the U.C. Berkley campus

Oh, before I forget. This is going to be 100% unrelated to 2013 in reviews

At an Asian bakery near Berkely, I saw this Mocha Cream bun. It looked delicious! 

And at Target, I saw these Siracha Chips. 

Instead, I bought these Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips. 

and these:

• Botanics Tinted Lip Balm: Guava Sheer
• Botanics Matiffying Day Cream Shine Away Sunscreen 
• Cover Girl's Mocha Lip Balm  (hey, it was on sale for just over $2)
• And a brush. 

And, I guess that's it!

 My 2013 wasn't too eventful. I am happy that I did run my first half-marathon. And, it was my first race too! Boy, when I do something, I go big. 

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! 

Remember to head over to my new blog tomorrow. Hevil's Healthy Devil.
Also, follow me on my new twitter: @hevilhelen

New Year's Resolutions

Every year, many people make New Year's Resolutions. People want to become a better person. They want to lose weight. They want the New Year to be a fresh start for them.

I have to admit, I am one of those type of people. I love setting goals for myself. I love the feeling of accomplishment. So, I am going to post my New Year's Resolutions (related to nutrition and fitness). 

• Take one rest day a week. It can be an active rest day. It's important for your body to recover. 
• Be more diligent on creating meal plans for the week. I will have my breakfast and snacks planned, at the least. My dinner will consist of brown rice but the rest of the stuff will depend on what my parents make. My lunches will either be brought home (brown rice, sandwiches on 100% whole wheat bread) or things bought on campus. 
• Meal prep every Sunday, no matter how busy I am. I will be even busier during the week. 
• Get up every 10 minutes and do jumping jacks, push-ups or squats for one minute. It's just to keep me moving throughout the day. If I am in class, I know I won't be able to do it. But other than that, I will be able too! 
• Try to incorporate pilates and yoga into my workout routine. I hear pilates does wonders to the body. It works the muscles differently than weight lifting.

That's it for now. 

Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? 

If so, share them in the comments below.

P.S. Just a reminder that I will be moving over to my new blog on New Year. I'll post the link on the 31 of December. I can post it now but you guys won't be able to see it until then. It's still a work in progress!

Happy New Year! Top 3 Recipes of 2011

大家好！新年快乐！ This past year has been quite a year. I can't believe that it's 2012! So, here are the top 3 recipes of 2011. There was a tie for 3rd place, so, there will be 4 recipes instead of 3. I can't wait until the next year!
But, before I continue on, here's a song. :)

Top Recipe:Chocolate Crinkles

2nd place goes to: 
Arroz Con Leche 

Tied For 3rd place: 

Red Bean Mochi 糯米糍  

AND

Chinese Hot Dog buns and Bolo Bao (菠蘿包)

Thank you guys so much for a great year. 谢谢你们！ I look forward to posting more recipes! Email  me if you have any requests. Have a happy and prosperous 2012!

新年快乐！发糕recipe 很好吃。 ：）

恭喜发财!今天是中国的新年. It's the year of the 兔. It's so exciting! What's more exciting is that this is my first blog post! Welcome to my blog, Hevil's Special Delights! I've decided to start my blog on the New Year, just for the symbolism. For one thing, it's a New Year.  New blog, on a New Year. Yes, I know it seems strange, but that's me. It's also easy for me to start off the blog by posting one of my favorite Chinese New Year desserts. Well, they are more like sweets, but let's call them desserts. Before I get into that, I'd like to introduce myself.

My name is Helen, and I am an ABC, American Born Chinese. Now, you maybe have an idea why my blog name has Hevil in it. It's a nickname my cousin gave me.I love singing. I play the cello, violin, and a little bit of viola and string bass. I am in my school orchestra. Recently, I have started learning to play the saxophone. It's quite different and, bit challenging for me. I am also taking Spanish. Be prepared for posts that are randomly in Chinese and Spanish. I love both of these cultures and I'd like to post some recipes about them.                                     
  So, where was I? I got sidetracked. Oh yeah. How did I get into baking and making food? Well, it started 2 years ago, when I was looking through yahoo news, and I happened to find a video about making a clone of a Twinkie. I went to that website, printed out some recipes, and I decided to try baking some chocolate chip cookies from a recipe I found there. That's how I started baking, and that's when my love of baking began. I love baking foods and have other people enjoy eating them. It makes both people happy. Just like how my family loves eating the food I bake, and I love that they enjoy it.                    

    I am writing this as my mom is preparing the first meal of the New Year. Usually, on the New Year, the family gets together and the first meal doesn't contain any meat. It's vegetarian. Besides that, red envelopes are handed out to the children (money!). There are sweet treats that we can eat also. One of my favorites are the Prosperity Cupcakes. They are steamed cupcakes and they have a flower look to them. These cupcakes have "petals". Here's a picture:

So, as you can see, there are "petals". The more the petals have blossomed, the more prosperous you will be and the more wealth you will obtain in the New Year. 

    Earlier today, I steamed some of these 发糕, and they are quite delicious, if I say so myself. My little brother loves them. He always says, " I wish I can eat all of them." He loves eating sweets, which is typical for a young child. 
Finally, here's the recipe. I got this recipe from my aunt two years ago at one of the family gatherings. I modified the recipe to suit the tastes of my brother and sister. So, here it is. I hope you guys enjoy it. 

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix (18.25 oz)  any other flavor is fine  
• 1 cup Glutinous Rice flour 糯米粉
• 1 cup Rice Flour 米粉  
• 1 1/4  3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

 
Directions

1. In a mixing bowl,  combine the cake mix, sugar and both the rice flours. 
2. Next, mix in the water. oil and eggs.  
3. Boil water in a wok or steamer.
4. Fill the cupcake pans. 
5. Once the water has boiled, put the pan into the steamer or wok, cover it, and steam for 15 minutes. Once 15 minutes has gone by, take the lid off. 
6. Take it out of the wok, take out the cupcakes, and repeat until all the batter is gone. Wait until the cupcakes cool down before eating them. Enjoy! There is no need for frosting. :) 

If you want to steam them in a round cake pan, grease the pan, and steam for 30-35 min.