Mellie Dee ♥

Lifestyle | Food | Travel

Recipe | Honey Poppy Seed Cake

by 5 Comments

How is it already AUGUST?! Summer, please stay a bit longer!

Sunday, after Skyping with Sissy and BIL, Mum and I felt like baking. I’m sure it had to do with the fact that they were cooking dinner and we wanted to eat as well.

Honey Poppy Seed Cake 1

Honey Poppy Seed Cake

Ingredients:

  • oil or melted butter, for greasing
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup superfine sugar
  • 6 Tbsp honey
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a loaf cake pan.
  2. Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add in butter, sugar, 4 Tbsp of honey, eggs, and vanilla extract.
  3. Beat until mixture is smooth. Stir in poppy seeds and lemon juice.
  4. Pour mixture into the pan and smooth the surface. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until risen and golden brown. (Ours baked for a little longer about 1 hour and 10 minutes until it set. So all ovens vary. Trial and Error!)
  5. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes, then turn out carefully and finish cooling on wire rack. To serve, warm remaining 2 Tbsp of honey and drizzle over cake then cut and serve.

Honey Poppy Seed Cake 2

I cut you a piece! Come and have tea and cake with me! I’ll be waiting.

Recipe | Nutella Swirled Fudge Brownies

by 2 Comments

I’ll be seeing Rose and her family, along with Michelle H., soon and I wanted to bake some brownies for them. Brownies because I have a box of mix sitting around. But I did something different to them.

Nutella Swirled Brownies | Fudge Brownie Mix

I am a billion and fifty percent sure I did not make this up. I am certain a lot of people already do this. Add Nutella.

All I needed were eggs, oil, and water. Easy Peasy!

Nutella Swirled Brownies | Eggs in a Well Mix

After mixing it all together I added a big heap of cinnamon and poured the batter into a 9×13 pan.

Then I swirled in a bunch of Nutella. Yum!

Nutella Swirled Brownies

This is what came out of the oven. I promise there were better swirls in there!! I love when brownies have a crackle on the top. Hopefully, it tastes better than it looks.

Hope you guys are having a great Friday!! 😀

Happy Daddy Day!

by 1 Comment

I woke up with a text from Sissy that consisted of purples, yellows,and blues. She and Brett are out of town for a couple of weddings. Can you guess what the picture was?

When I asked if she had caught the bouquet, her response was that “It hit me in the face!” That would happen to her. I doubt she was meaning to catch it so I guess it’s meant to be! Now we wait for a proposal. 😉

Now that we’re done with that story, Happy Father’s Day!! Dad got this day off work so we can celebrate and have family time. With Sissy gone and Brudda in Dallas I was all that was left along with Mum and June. Since Dad’s birthday was just a couple of weeks ago we always buy a big present for his birthday and nothing for Father’s day. This time was a new laptop which he loves and has used daily.

Dim Sum King | Houston, Texas

We had brunch at Dim Sum King.

Dim Sum King | Houston, Texas | Dim Sum

The ten dishes we ordered. Mmmm … this is a pretty good dim sum place and clean. They are a tiny little restaurant, especially in the front where people walk in. When we have to wait for seats, I feel like we are packed sardines.

They have wonderful service – attentive and no mistakes.

Dim Sum King | Houston, Texas | Check

On the left is the breakdown of all the foods we ordered. Each dish represents a cost and that’s how they track how much we pay at the end.

There’s a tea fee. (Say that ten times fast.) But everything is reasonably priced.

I would suggest you come here and try their dishes. I hope they relocate to a bigger place. They would make so much more money!

Yannick Cafe Bakery | Houston, Texas

In the same shopping mall is a DVD/magazine place that my parents went into while June and I opted to go into Yannik Cafe Bakery.

Yannick Cafe Bakery | Houston, Texas | Desserts

Look at the array of desserts they sell. Yum! And they are so beautifully decorated.

Yannick Cafe Bakery | Houston, Texas | Egg Tart

Egg Tart | $0.80

We stood in line for our egg tarts and I could taste the buttery flavour of the flaky crust and smooth custard. Sadly it wasn’t as flaky as other egg tarts but it was still good.

Raymond Lam | Let's Get Wet Concert

We headed into the DVD/music store my parents were at and ended up picking up Raymond Lam’s Let’s Get Wet concert. I still listen to Chinese music even though I immigrated here when I was four and a half. Fluent Chinese speaker right here! He’s not the best singer but my favourite song from him is on it.

Mellie Dee | Knitted Hat

Parents then headed to the optomitrist so June and I went to various stores to goof off. Like this gem – a cute, little knitted hat.

Tapioca House | Houston, Texas

They took longer than anticipated so we chilled at Tapioca House.

Tapioca House | Houston, Texas | Milk Tea

Milk Tea Tapioca | $1.99 + $0.55 (for large)

The regular sized is June’s and the large was for me so that I could share with the parentals. Tiny tapioca balls are better than the regular and the drink was perfect for such a hot day. Dad drank it all before Mum even got out of the eye exam room!

We went home to relax and unwind. Dinner was coming up. (Our family goes crazy eating when it’s a special day.)

Lei Lai Restaurant | Houston, Texas

Hours later we drove back out to Lei Lai Restaurant. So much driving.

Lei Lai Restaurant | Houston, Texas | Dinner for Four

Dinner for Four [Crab Meat Soup with Fish Maw; Salt Baked Chicken (half); Fillet of Sole (steamed) with Mixed Vegetable; Salted Pepper Squid; Garlic Vegetable; Pan Fried Noodle with Soy Sauce] | $39.50

Lei Lai Restaurant | Houston, Texas | Eggplant with Beef Clay Pot

Eggplant with Beef Clay Pot

Horrible picture but we added in the clay pot since it’s everyone’s favourite. We usually take it home and Mum puts in more eggplants to make it a bigger dish since there’s so much sauce.

Lei Lai Restaurant | Houston, Texas | Tapioca Dessert

Tapioca Dessert | free

Everyone came home doing their chores and such and now only Mum and I are awake. I love winding down after such a busy day. Night!

Dim Sum King
9160 Bellaire Blvd #B, Houston, TX 77036  |  (713) 270-6788  |  Yelp
Yannick Cafe Bakery
9110 A Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036  |  (713) 773-2977  |  Yelp
Tapioca House
9104 Bellaire Blvd #B, Houston, TX 77036  |  (713) 272-6468  |  Yelp
Le Lai Restaurant (Inconsistent naming …)
9600 Bellaire Blvd Ste 103, Houston, TX 77036  |  (713) 988-6888  |  Yelp

Recipe | Apple Crumbled Pie

by 2 Comments

I had a leftover pie shell from the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie I made last time so I thought it’ll be perfect to use it with the girls before I left school for the summer. Since I had some apples, Apple Crumbled Pie seemed like the safest bet.

Apple Crumbled Pie

Apple Crumbled Pie

Ingredients:

     Pie:

  • 1 unbaked pie shell, 9-inch
  • 6 cups peeled apple slices
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp salt

     Topping:

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preparation:

  1. Fill pie shell with apple slices. Combine granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; sprinkle over apples.
  2. Combine topping ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over top of pie. Bake at 400° for 45-50 minutes, until apples are tender and topping is browned.

Again, no walnuts or pecans were added since someone was allergic. It came out really juicy and everyone loved it!

Recipe | Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

by 1 Comment

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie | Before

Before Picture of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

On the 26th of March, some of the FSA Families got together for pictures and decided to do a potluck. Everyone wanted cookies so I figure they wouldn’t mind a new take on it.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 unbaked pie crust, homemade or store bought
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter softened (1 1/2 sticks)
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preparation:

  1. Beat eggs in a large mixer until foamy. Add in flour and sugars. Beat until well blended.
  2. Beat in softened butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. (I didn’t put in nuts since I had friends that were allergic.) Stir.
  3. Pour into pie crust (thawed). Bake at 325°F for about 50-55 minutes. Let cool before eating.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie | After

After Picture of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Mine came out a little undone in the middle but a lot of people reminded me that pies are that way in the middle and they gobbled it up regardless.