The Little Ruby – Crochet. Art. Photography. Food. Life.

Chocolate Chip Mocha Cookies

February 12, 2022

These chocolate chip mocha cookies are my new favorite and are everything I love in a cookie. They’re the texture of a cookie and not like a brownie. If I wanted a brownie, I would make brownies. These cookies have the chew and crisp edges (if eaten fresh) of cookies that I look for and are loaded with chocolate flavor. I replaced the vanilla extract in this recipe with my homemade chocolate extract and coffee extracts. The chocolate extract gives the cookies a huge boost in flavor ...

Food, Recipes

Homemade Extracts (Chocolate and Coffee)

February 1, 2022

These homemade extracts are extremely simple to make with only 2 ingredients. No heating, just waiting. For vanilla extracts, there are plenty of methods out there on how to make homemade extracts including using heat in a pressure cooker to speed it up (also risking exploding glass that way), but I wanted a “cold” extraction (no heat) to reduce any loss in flavor from being heated. Some manufactures believe cold extraction is best for vanilla, while some believe heat is ideal. ...

Food, Recipes

The Best Baked Char Siu Baos (Baked Chinese BBQ pork buns)

February 16, 2021

I was on a very long search for the perfect baked char siu bao recipe (baked Chinese BBQ pork buns). The best that I’ve ever eaten was from a Chinese bakery in Richmond, BC Canada. We would order boxes of them to bring back home to enjoy throughout the week. Unfortunately, they have been closed for years and I have never found any pork bao as delicious as theirs. I’ll rarely eat the ones at dim sum places, because the ones I truly love are from Chinese bakeries. After years of ...

Food, Recipes

Churro Waffle

January 25, 2021

Last weekend I really wanted a churro (crispy fried dough covered with cinnamon and sugar) but I don’t love deep frying things at home and Disneyland is completely out of the question during these times. Then I had an epiphany. With a proper waffle batter that produces a crispy exterior and soft, fluffy interior, I could maybe brush on butter all over it and quickly coat in cinnamon and sugar. But that would be too messy and blotchy with the cinnamon/sugar coating. After looking ...

Food, Recipes

Pork and Bok Choy Noodle Soup

March 22, 2020

Amidst these crazy times and staying home all day, I find solace in something I can control (and devour). This super easy and simple pork and bok choy noodle soup really hit the spot. The broth is intensely flavorful (with the addition of a tiny bit of fish sauce) and is now a favorite in this house. Share this post:

Artwork

Miniature Bubble Tea Keychains

November 20, 2019

Good news! My Etsy shop is finally open! Visit my shop for realistic mini bubble tea keychains: thelittleruby.etsy.com Crafting is something I get from my mom. As a kid, I’d always watch her in the kitchen hot gluing and assembling all sorts of cute small things that she would sell at private invite-only craft shows that were hosted at friends’ (and friends of friends’) houses. I remember wanting to help her glue, but she warned me hot glue guns are too hot for kids to ...

Food, Recipes

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

October 23, 2019

Taiwanese beef noodle soup consists of braised, tender slices of beef, boiled vegetables, flavorful beef broth, and noodles. Although it seems simple enough, I have a hard time finding a really good bowl of beef noodle soup at restaurants. Here in the Seattle area we actually have plenty of Taiwanese restaurants (Din Tai Fung included) that are my favorite restaurants and they have really good food, but from most of the places I’ve tried around here, most of their Beef Noodle Soups ...

Drinks, Recipes

Taiwanese Milk Tea

May 1, 2019

What do you do when the nearest good milk tea place is a good 20 minutes drive from your house and you have a pretty frequent craving for it? Learn to make it at home. Although in the past I’ve tried various recipes and methods from using instant milk tea and combining with extra tea bags, to brewing fresh tea and adding milk, but I couldn’t get consistent results nor were they anywhere near as good as the good milk tea places. I finally found a legit recipe and tastes just as ...

Food, Recipes

Coffee Jelly

October 5, 2018

If you ever need a quick dessert to serve for friends coming over or just for yourself, this is a great little caffeine fix in the form a super delicious dessert. This is incredibly easy to make and make sure not to skip the sweetened heavy cream — it makes this dessert much more luxurious. Unless, of course, you are making this as a topping for homemade milk tea, making it even more delectable. After a few trial and errors, this being my first time using agar agar powder, I have found the ...

Food, Recipes

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

May 2, 2017

Seattle has finally started warming up for the summer and in perfect time for tomato season. It’s the best time to get those heirloom tomatoes and savor the amazing taste of what tomatoes are supposed to taste like. I’m tired of eating the mealy, grainy, bland tomatoes from the stores. Now that they are in season, it’s time for my favorite way to eat fresh tomatoes — bruschetta! In the 2009 movie Julie and Julia, there is a scene where Julie’s husband ...

Chocolate Chip Mocha Cookies