MOVING --->

back to tumblr! i seriously missed tumblr. i just couldn't get used to blogspot, sad to say.

please visit me here, friends! :) i will repost my recipes & other reflections on this new blog, too, so i don't lose anything. continue having delightful christmas breaks! three more days until 2014 o_o !

Taking a break... And baking up a storm!

HALLELUJAH, I HAVE ONE MORE PAPER LEFT TO WRITE! *insert happy dance here*

I just turned in my two final essays for one of my film classes, and while it's still a little too early to rejoice (I have one last paper left), I could not be happier. Papers written on films typically require me to watch a film more than once, even twice, and sometimes more than thrice; and by the end of writing a paper, my eyes usually hurt from having stared at the screen for several hours on end. Don't get me wrong, I love films. I particularly am very grateful that I only have papers and no finals to study for this quarter, but having to write papers on several movies can be a pain... Such as is the case now. So you can imagine my joy that I have only one more papers-worth of movies left to watch! Amazing sauces! BUT ENOUGH OF THAT. The point of this blog is not to rant (forgive me), so let's get to the good stuff!

I still had a can and approximately one cup of pumpkin puree left, but didn't want to make cookies as there have been an abundance of delicious cookies from generous people lately -- especially at study hall -- so I scrolled through foodgawker once more. And lo and behold, I stumbled upon this recipe for Gingerbread Cake! I made a few adjustments to the original recipe, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I hope you enjoy!! :)

No-Frosting Pumpkin Cake

Adapted from Healthy Recipes

Makes ~12-16 squares

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup molasses (I skipped this because I didn't have molasses)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk (I always use full-fat instead of reduced-fat or non-fat)

1 cup and 2 tbsp pumpkin puree

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. I just buttered mine because I didn't have cooking spray. (If you choose to do as I did, make sure to keep an eye on your cake while it bakes as the bottom will have a higher chance of burning because of the butter.)

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and cocoa powder.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together butter and sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time and the milk until just combined.

4. Slowly add the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until well-combined and smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and continue to whisk until combined. Make sure to get all the dry ingredients from teh bottom of the bowl and scrape off the batter along the sides of the bowl as you whisk.

5. Transfer your batter to the prepared pan.

6. Bake the cake for ~35-45 minutes or until the top of the cake is just firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool. (I left my cake in the pan because I don't have a wire rack, but if you do, go ahead and cool your cake on the wire rack.) Cut cake into squares and eat! (Nom, nom, nom!)

**My review: It tastes less pumpkin-y than it does ginger-y, but I'm liking the spiciness. The cake is a little on the dry side, so I might add maybe 1/4 cup of plain yogurt or so next time. Otherwise, I like it! :) I also remembered to take pictures, so yay! Making this was super fun and it made my apartment smell like Christmas while it baked in the oven. Nom, nom, nom indeed!

Happy studying and baking, friends!

Hymns and Finals

It's finals week.... Which means three things:

1. Instant ramen
2. All-nighters
3. Songs on repeat

Yeah, I probably shouldn't be updating my blog like this, but it'll only take five minutes out of my time, right? Hopefully...

Anyway, a friend once recommended listening to the "Hymns" station on Pandora two summers ago. I remember playing it somewhat on blast at my previous job after five, when everyone (or most everyone) had already left for the day. It would put my mind at ease and allow me to work efficiently. I completely forgot about that station, mostly because I switched over from Pandora to Spotify, but since I temporarily deactivated my Facebook and cannot use Spotify, I switched back to Pandora; I've been listening to hymns since yesterday.

There's something calming about hymns. Maybe it's the lack of excess noise from other instruments -- like the banging of the drums that's pretty common in tracks nowadays; or maybe it's the simplicity of the guitar and voice combo; or even the simplicity of the lyrics that proclaim what Christ has done. I'm listening to Pandora as we speak and the song that just ended was "Jesus Paid It All". I love the lyrics of this song; here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin has left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.

What glorious truth that Jesus has indeed paid for all the sins of many! How sweet His blood that was shed on the cross to wash a wretched sinner like me white as snow! Oh, to rejoice in Christ fully, regardless of my circumstance!

I really appreciate that hymns focus more on the lyrics, because personally, they help me to evaluate my heart before God and if I am singing such words merely for the sake of doing so, or if I really sing in thanksgiving to God for everything that He is and everything that He's done. Listening to these hymns while studying not only helps me to concentrate better by putting my mind at ease, but they serve as reminders of the sweet eternal Savior who has claimed victory over sin and death! And then, the eternal reward of seeing Him becomes that much more sweeter, and the temporary rewards of doing well on a final become less attractive. It may sound dramatic, but hymns help to remind me to keep an eternal perspective; I study for the sake of honoring God in my heart of worship before Him.

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock
of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
[Psalm 95:1-7] 

Look at this kitty... NOW GO STUDY! :)

Pumpkin and Fall Updates

Pumpkin season has come and gone and I guess, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, now's the time to bust out ingredients for apple pie (or cranberry pie.. o0o0o0oh). But I'm still in my pumpkin phase -- mostly because I didn't really have the chance to make anything pumpkin-flavored before October ended, so I guess I'll save apple pie for later. Time lent itself generously to me last week, so I made not one, but two pumpkin-flavored goodies! I'm only going to share the recipe for one of them, especially since I'm still a newbie to this whole recipe-blogging business, but hopefully this will be the start of my recipe-blogging adventures!

Anyway... Time seems to be flying at bullet speed these days. I feel like I'm riding one of those bullet trains in Japan that reduce travel time from 8 hours to 2 or something crazy like that. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it's my last year in college, but I really can't believe it's already week 8! This quarter has been pretty busy; I am taking all upper-division writing classes and absolutely need to pass all of them, so I've been reading and writing a whole lot more now than I've ever done in college. I'm thankful though because I always complained that I didn't have much time to read for leisure anymore, but God has provided in this way... Although I can't say it's all leisure reading, haha. But so far, so good! Just gotta keep working hard and fighting for joy despite feeling extremely burnt out. Merh.

Thank God for His new mercies and sustaining strength every day! And for Starbucks/coffee shops in general :)

I love this design for Starbucks' holiday cups! Credit here.

But let us move on to the actual pumpkin goodness! I was craving something pumpkin-flavored sometime last week, but I didn't want to make pumpkin pie or pumpkin cheesecake, and coincidentally, there was so much bread left-over from fundraiser lunch at church that I managed to take home 2 Costco-size bags of unopened hot dog buns. I ate hot dog bun toast for breakfast every day for one week, but eventually grew tired of it, so I decided to make pumpkin bread pudding instead. I found a recipe I liked on foodgawker, so that's what I will share with you. I tweaked the recipe a little bit to fit my own taste preference and the ingredients that I already had at the apartment, but not so much that I went out of my way to change everything. A couple of friends have tried the finished product and provided positive reviews, so hopefully you'll like it too! I enjoy it cold with milk or warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top :)

Photo from Use Real Butter since I forgot to snap some photos of the one I made

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Adapted from Use Real Butter
(Makes one 8.5"x11" pan)

Ingredients (I doubled the measurements):

3 cups whole milk (I use Vitamin D milk)

1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks (save the whites for something else later!)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin spice

12 tbsps. (3/4 cup) butter, melted

10 cups stale hot dog buns, sliced into 1-inch cubes

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven 350ºF with the rack in the middle.

2. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Depending on your microwave, you might have to heat it for around 30secs~1 min.

3. Toss the hot dog buns in the melted butter. Try to get every cube soaked in butter. Set aside.

4. In another large bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, milk, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice together until just mixed.

5. Transfer the soaked hot dog buns into an 8.5"x11" pan and pour the pumpkin custard over it. Coat the buns in the custard as evenly as you can. If you have more custard than your pan can hold, leave the buns to soak in the custard then add the rest.

6. Bake 30~35 minutes or until the custard sets. Let cool and enjoy! :)

Simple, Sweet Reminders

It has been a pretty uneventful, but in the exciting kind of way, week. I came down with a slight fever mid-way through my first week of senior year and got better a couple days later, only to come down with a high fever out of the blue on Sunday. I fell in and out of sleep with my pastor's voice in the background during service and had to leave early because of all the feverish symptoms that seemed to hack at me all at once... Since then, I've been home having consumed numerous bowls of soup daily, breezed through several tissue boxes and rolls, and drank six bottles of Gatorade (and not the small ones). Oh, and sleeping 12++ hours each day. Praise the Lord that I am fully recovered now! I'm praying and hoping that sickness won't decide to visit me anymore throughout the quarter.

But anyway, while I was at home, I had a lot of time to evaluate my heart and where it is before God. Suffice to say, the condition of my heart has left me pretty discouraged. It has been this way for a while, but the reality of it didn't fully hit me until this week. I'm thinking maybe that's why God allowed for me to be sick -- to pause all the other activities that clutter my life and check my heart before Him. In doing all this, I'm reminded of a poem by CT Studd (CT stands for Charles Thomas, in case you were wondering) that I came across in my sophomore year of college and has been one of my favorites ever since simply because it reminds me that my one ephemeral life exists for the purpose of glorifying Jesus Christ.

It's quite long (in addition to my two-paragraph introduction above, I apologize), but I hope you'll read it to the last period. Be blessed! (:

"Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life's busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last. 

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet;
And stand before His judgment seat;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last. 

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God's holy will to cleave;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last. 

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
Living for self or in His will;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last. 

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last. 

Give me, Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true whate'er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last. 

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last. 

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, "Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call,
I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last. 

--extra-- 

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I'll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee." [C.T. Studd]

Honduras 2013: to remember that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

First of the Last

There is seriously so much to be thankful for!

1. Celebrating the beginning of a new school year with CCM brothers & sisters by going bowling.
2. Celebrating a dear sister's 21st birthday, God's 21 years+ of faithfulness to her, and trying (but failing) to be sneaky in order to surprise her.
3. The first day of Fall (my second favorite season!) this past Sunday and ushering in sweater weather, scarf season (yeee!), and all foods pumpkin, cinnamon, and brown sugar flavored.
4. Today is the first day of classes back at UC Irvine and campus is bustling with life and energy as clubs continue to booth and students scurry on to their respective classes.
5. But probably most exciting of all is (drumroll, please): today is my last ever first day of undergraduate life! Praise the Lord that I was able to wake up early and spend some time in prayer and His Word before the day started. I am incredibly nervous and excited (but more so nervous) for what this year will bring and what God will do. 21 MORE WEEKS BEFORE I GRADUATE! o:

And to celebrate such wonderful happenings, I baked some chocolate chip cookies and brewed some of Trader Joe's amazingly delicious Pumpkin Spice Coffee! No more running to Starbucks or Peet's for Pumpkin Spice Lattes and shelling out at least $4 per drink -- yay for yumminess and frugality!

I am looking forward to many things this year, one of them being that I might take full advantage of being surrounded by non-Christians on campus and share the Gospel with them. In my first class, I was able to share with my introduction partner about going to Honduras while we shared our recent summer vacations. How cool, right? I can already see how God is making available countless opportunities to share His love and it's only the first day! I pray that I might grow a greater heart for UCI this year. There are so many lost souls that desperately need to hear of God's great love and mercy! I hope to not take such opportunities for granted and really take the time to invest in my non-believing friends. Please keep me accountable! :o)

"Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!" [Psalm 65:4]

Pre-Senior Year Whathaveyous

School starts in about a week and a half...

If you asked me how I felt about that fact a week ago, I would have jumped up and down out of sheer excitement.

If you ask me now, I might (probably will) give you a look of fear, apprehension, uneasiness over the uncertainties that will come after my last two quarters.

Like most people, I've been going to school for most of each year of my life. It's kind of surreal to say that this year will be my last "mandatory" school year, but it's also quite nerve-wrecking. The reality of school and life afterward hit me in the past hour or so that I've been scrolling down ZotLink looking for internships. I found a couple that caught my eye and I know I would enjoy (not to mention, the huge potential for growth), but at the same time, I caught myself questioning my qualifications and my "attractiveness" as a potential intern to these companies.

The go-getter in me cheers me on, but the doubter in me simultaneously, well.. doubts. My abilities, my dreams, and even if this is truly the area where God can thoroughly empty me of myself and use me. To be honest, I do not really know why I chose film. I remember, in my sophomore year, having quite dreamy fantasies of what I picture myself doing later on -- making documentaries to raise awareness on issues that are dear to my heart; making films that offer more than just entertainment; working a pretty hectic and unpredictable, albeit exciting schedule as part of the production crew; the list goes on. But as I am about to begin what could be the last school year of my life, and am literally just months away from having to join the working force, these dreams grow bleaker by the minute.

I don't know that I'll be doing any of the things I picture myself doing... I don't even know if I'll end up in this particular(ly) competitive field. I don't know, because I'm not even guaranteed tomorrow.

But with all that, may my heart find rest in the Lord. May my heart find peace in obedience to His leading. Wherever I end up, whether it be in the film-making industry or somewhere completely different, I know it'll be because that is where God will be most glorified, where I will be most emptied to be of use to Him.