China Daily Life Food Yunnan

Rainy week homemade dessert

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Don’t these peanut erasers remind you of mameshiba?


It’s been a good week of rainy day activities at home. I’m finishing/starting some new projects, filling envelopes with little paper goodies for my snail mail friends, working on a Kate Bush cover, and planning a weekend trip to the Tibetan mountains.

Meals Lately


A big bowl of rice noodles at Mama Fu’s: topped with minced beef, ground peanuts, pickled veggies, scallions, and a chunk of homemade soft tofu. It’s a strange mix, but so addictive.

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A typical simple Yunnanese meal for two: grandma’s spicy mashed potatoes, grilled mushrooms, dry-fried Yunnanese ham, some veggies, and steamed rice.


I’m not on the best continent for this, but I love dark beer packed with flavors, especially some Delirium Nocturnum.

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AΒ photo of Tibetan prayer flags by kdriese.

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My province borders Tibet to the northwest, and I live near quite a few Tibetan restaurants in town. I had no idea what to expect when I ordered a jug of freshly churned Tibetan Yak butter tea, but it was deliciously nutty and creamy. I’m planning a trip up to Shangri-la for the upcoming weekend.

Irish Fifteens Recipe

(altered fromΒ allrecipes)

b2

Ingredients:
15 large marshmallows, chopped
15 digestive biscuits or graham crackers, crushed
15 red candied cherries, chopped
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coconut flakes

b1

b3

Directions:
1. Combine the chopped marshmallows, crushed crackers, and cherries in a big bowl.
2. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk until the mixture becomes evenly moist.
3. Use your hands to roll the mixture into little balls and coat them with coconut flakes.
4. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for 2-3 hours before serving.

b4

I made a big batch of Irish fifteens, and brought them to class to share. I’d actually never heard of fifteens before, but they’re Irish refrigerator cookies with candied cherries and marshmallows. They’re traditionally rolled into a log-shape, coated in coconut flakes, refrigerated, and then cut into fifteen slices before serving. I just decided to make them into little balls, because I really liked the small bites of the cookie coated in plenty of coconut flakes!

P.S. Do you know any other non-baked dessert recipes? If so, please do share! I’m living without an oven for a few months!

35 Comments

  • Reply
    Felicia
    September 24, 2011 at 8:34 pm

    That looks so delicious ! I’m totally trying out that recipe soon .
    I’m not really familiar with any non-baked dessert recipes, sorry ! D;

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 2:11 am

      It’s super easy, and delicious! πŸ™‚

  • Reply
    Lindsey
    September 24, 2011 at 11:45 pm

    Mmm, it all looks scrumptious. Got me craving beer too (luckily I picked some up earlier today haha). Those fifteens sound delicious too, I really need to give that recipe a shot πŸ˜€

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 2:13 am

      Haha, a cold beer is a good thing to have in the fridge. Fifteens are really easy to make, and the ingredients are really simple. But actually, it took me days to find all the ingredients here and lots of trips to small foreign grocery stores. I’m secretly excited about having Trader Joe’s near me again.

  • Reply
    Isobelle
    September 25, 2011 at 1:03 am

    woo! Kate Bush is one of my favourite singers!

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 8:12 am

      She’s really great, isn’t she?

  • Reply
    catarina
    September 25, 2011 at 2:30 am

    i love this post, why is that?
    thank you!, things are all setled down now, i’m so happy!
    have you received your envelope already?
    hugs.

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 1:46 pm

      Aw, that’s exciting! I’ll check on Monday. Mail tends to take some time to get here, but who knows?

  • Reply
    Eileen
    September 25, 2011 at 3:03 am

    I am not a beer person. I tend to be very picky but I do like dark beer! I usually just get hard liquar straight up. (turns red)

    Huh?!? There’s a restaurant in South Florida called Mama Fu’s. =O hahaha. Coinsidence? Probably. πŸ™‚

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 1:48 pm

      I used to not enjoy beer all that much until I studied in Prague. Oh my, I got totally hooked on dark beer. You and hard liquor! Too cute.

      Mama Fu’s is a good name!

  • Reply
    Kailey
    September 25, 2011 at 3:05 am

    Gorgeous blog! *___* Kate Bush is one of my favorite vocalists of all time :3

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 1:50 pm

      Thank you! Ah, she’s so great. I’m still working on this cover in tribute to her..

  • Reply
    Kelly
    September 25, 2011 at 9:00 am

    looking at all that glorious food is making me hungry again even thoug I just ate, oh well!! Coconut and macadamia cake here I come!!

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 1:55 pm

      I love/hate how food photos do that! I love reading food blogs, but I’ll start craving all sorts of food even when I’m not hungry at all. πŸ˜›

  • Reply
    Cristy
    September 25, 2011 at 9:17 am

    Those Irish fifteens look scrumptious! I’ll try that recipe when I have the time.

    Also, the stickers look so cute! πŸ™‚

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 1:56 pm

      πŸ™‚ I can’t wait for my mail to arrive at your place!

  • Reply
    Estelle
    September 25, 2011 at 9:39 am

    I can’t wait to see your pictures from Tibet, It’s a dream for me to go there someday…

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 25, 2011 at 1:57 pm

      Ohh I’m already imagining horseback riding and hot yak butter tea. I hope I get some good photos!

  • Reply
    Ashley
    September 26, 2011 at 12:51 am

    That bowl of noodles looks SO good, holy moly. and those little peanut erasers are the sweetest!

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 26, 2011 at 10:02 am

      πŸ™‚ I bet you guys have good Yunnanese food in California! You should totally check on yelp.

  • Reply
    valerie
    September 26, 2011 at 11:17 am

    aw thanks for your sweet words,u should come visit taiwan more often then!lol i enjoy reading your blog a lot!great photos and awesome style!woop!

    xxxx

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 27, 2011 at 3:22 am

      I’ve actually never been, but there’s quite a few Taiwanese restaurants here. I mean, doesn’t the bubble tea come from Taiwan, too? πŸ™‚

  • Reply
    claire - mamaushka marie
    September 26, 2011 at 5:40 pm

    kate bush cover!? i hope to hear this! she is my favorite …and those little fifteens look so cute and bite sized!

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 28, 2011 at 2:00 pm

      The mini fifteens are so good with lots of coconut flakes!

  • Reply
    anne
    September 26, 2011 at 9:49 pm

    so cute stuffs! What’s on the first pic?I love the design

  • Reply
    Omar
    September 26, 2011 at 10:59 pm

    Beautiful shots, as usual. Really like the one of the prayer flags. Have fun in Tibet!

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 28, 2011 at 2:03 pm

      They’re little deco stickers. An entire page is full of cute Korean expressions. :]

  • Reply
    Rina
    September 27, 2011 at 2:25 am

    Yay for projects! I have to find something to do to keep myself busy when I don’t have school and work. hahaha
    Look at all that yummy food!! You eat like a Queen!
    Oh! There is a wonderful recipe for a RAW strawberry pie. No oven needed!
    It’s so much fun to make, and it’s so yummy. And it’s 100% vegan!
    Check it out!
    I think you’ll really like it. Let me know what you think!
    xo

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 28, 2011 at 2:08 pm

      Haha, I love keeping busy! I definitely have to work-a-holic tendencies, and I have to often remind myself to just RELAX. πŸ™‚ Ohh thanks SO much for the strawberry pie recipe! ! I’m soo excited. It might just be my weekend project!

  • Reply
    Kit
    September 27, 2011 at 4:44 am

    Oh how delicious! P.S. Your blog is lovely. Thanks for your comment on mine πŸ™‚

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 28, 2011 at 2:08 pm

      πŸ™‚ Thanks for coming by!

  • Reply
    Jenny
    September 27, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    I would have never guessed they were erasers!

    The only no-bake cookies I know are the peanut butter oatmeal drop cookies from my childhood. Super easy but riiiiich.

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 28, 2011 at 2:10 pm

      They’re so fun to erase with. :] Ohh I’ll look up a recipe for that online. I love peanut butter AND oatmeal.

  • Reply
    Johanna Tagada
    September 28, 2011 at 1:19 pm

    I read this post on sunday morning and click on the “mameshiba” link, I didnt know it! Then I couldn`t stop watching more & more on youtube, my boyfriend took a chair and sat close to me and we watch mameshiba for about 20mn! It was really funny ..
    So thank you! <3

    And all those pictures of your meals… it always makes me hungry! Even if I just ate.
    xxx

    • Reply
      Sewon
      September 28, 2011 at 2:13 pm

      Hahah, I love it! I’ve seen just about every mameshiba episode. Why are they so addictive? :]

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