if you could only smell how amazing this box of carefully crafted, sugary-carby goodness is. i think i huffed it for a full 2-minutes at least! please no judging, as a reminder this space is a judgement free zone. 

a fairly new bakeshop which popped up in the same suite that retro bakery used to occupy. if you’ve been reading my blog (or would like to use the search function) you probably have seen my prior post/s about the beloved cupcake bakery. 

same, same but different. i recognize the space but blooming buns bakeshop has entirely different vibes than the former occupant. 

down to business.

let’s take a peek at the goods, the baked goods.

a few savory options if you are craving an everything “bagel” option.

a whole army of brionuts, which are doughnuts made from brioche dough.

the ube coconut cream brionut is out of this world! such a delicate, light and fluffy filling which i happily devoured in about 3 motivated bites. 

their cookies are so thicccc they gots buns.

SO many ube options makes my filipino heart happy, it’s hard not to take one of everything even though i basically did..

what did come home with me you ask?

iced intelligentsia mocha, naturally.

a selection of brionuts and cookiebuns.

ube bread pudding? yes, absolutely. 

its rad getting to enjoy ube in 4 different ways from one single bakery haul. they are also known for their honeycomb candy that they make, a local ice cream shop uses it in one of their ice cream flavors (which yes, happens to be an ube flavor). 

don’t forget to follow this tasty bakery on instagram for updates.

happy eating!

xo

rita 

what can i say, i am a woman of few words- well, one of few blog posts that’s for sure. i sometimes wonder who ends up reading these periodic internet rants of mine. if you’re out there, hello you. thanks for tuning in, i appreciate ya!

i often hear people speak about these last few years being extremely difficult. what with all the unprecedented times and what have you. for me everything was different after february 23, 2020 to be exact. right before the entire world shut down. nothing and i mean nothing has been the same since then. i’ve learned all of the faces of grief during that time and i know so have a lot of other people. but with healing comes kindness, towards others but most importantly starting with yourself. i hope i do a better job of spending active time practicing that. 

i haven’t been sharing much on instagram these days and if ‘best nine’ is still a thing that would basically encapsulate my entire year of posts. don’t get me wrong, i still take plenty of photos. i really cannot stop raving about how good these iphone cameras are getting, dlsr who? but social media wasn’t really my jam last year.

2021 was a year that i don’t quite have the right words for so? i am going to recap the best way i know how, with food of course. let’s take it from the top.

fat ass deli sandwiches are mine and my sis’s comfort food. 

first dish in the wok my mom gave me. shrimp diane.

corned beef topped with eggs and served with garlic fried rice.

my mama’s classic side dishes. spinach adobo + stir fried eggplant.

breakfast in bed via my wonderful sister.

korean hot dogs help make sad days better. look at them! (CrunCheese Korean Hot Dog)

cooking is therapy for me. more of my mama’s filipino dishes. monggo with shrimp and pork bagoong. 

i can never resist poke nachos. i like to eat them with extra seaweed.

at home werk lunch.

one tray dinner. baked salmon and asparagus topped with parmesan cheese.

st. patty’s day leprechaun sized dinner. oven baked corned beef + roasted brussels sprouts + smashed garlic potatoes.

a solo leftover dinner.

breakfast for two.

it was a full morracan service that started with a table side rose water hand wash. what a delightful dining experience this was. (Marrakech Vegas) 

sushi take out (yummy grill & sushi)

ube ice cream topped with macapuno strings + nata de coco. filipino midnight snack.

french pastries and a croque monsieur. (La Belle Terre Bakery & Cafe)

vodka + calamansi juice is a perfect combo.

friday night sushi take out + marvel in bed. i lean towards tuna with my sushi choices, if there is garlic - even better! (Sapporo Revolving Sushi)

hong kong street style matcha waffle.

classic pot roast dinner. 

breakfast on the go go.

leftover pot roast stroganoff for werk lunch.

oven baked salmon + parmesan roasted asparagus + white rice is a meal i eat fairly often. i usually finish with a few dashes of ponzu. it goes great with salmon!

a straight up smol bucket of coconut milk tea. generally i add egg pudding and only once in awhile boba. (Easy Life Boba)

chocolate + reese’s pb chip cookies. 

a trip to trader joe’s. what are your favorites? i always try to have their chicken tikka samosas, wild mushroom & black truffle flat breads and chicken chile verde burritos in my freezer. 

biscuits n’ gravy + guava mimosas is a great way to sunday brunch at home.

a love/hate relationship with crumbl’s weekly changing menu. i love trying new cookies but i hate that i can’t get my favorites whenever i am craving them. (Crumbl Cookies)

bbq chicken pizza for a weekday dinner? you betcha.

instant pot chicken alfredo. i’ve experimented doing a few noodles dishes in the instant pot and this was one was added to the repeat offender list. (Recipe)

on occasion i like to get pho’cked up. (Pho Rose)

orange chicken, just add rice.

i keeping changing how i cook my steaks at home. most of the ways involve a cast iron skillet though. i tend to start top side and searing both sides before finishing in the oven. the very best homemade steak i have ever eaten was cooked sous vide and then finalized with a proper searing in a cast iron skillet (duh). i haven’t dived into the land of sous vide but some day that will happen, i am adding it to the kitchen bucket list. 

brunched. buttermilk waffles + breakfast sausage + extra crispy bacon

potato salad how my mama taught me. no funny business, i hear there are people out there adding raisins, RAISINS! please explain yourselves. gold potatoes + a few chopped hard boiled eggs+ mayo + minced yellow onion + sea salt + cracked black pepper + thinly sliced green onions + smoked paprika on top. 

i finally have my gravy recipe perfected. homemade biscuit or the kind that explode from a can, whatever the quality of the carb in use the gravy is the main star. all that AND crispy bacon too swoon 

my chicken-less chicken noodle soup + grilled cheddar wurst with (2) types of mustard and diced sweet onion. another successful werk lunch.

saturdays mean fresh thai food at the bangkok market. if ya know, ya know and well i guess by reading this you do too. eating in thailand was tastebud bud training course. in most thai restaurants in the US you will notice that the dessert section of the menu is rather tiny. this is misleading AF! sticky rice with mango is delish but it’s only a taste of what is out there. i don’t know if most americans wouldn’t be receptive to some harder to find sweet treats but if you have a gluten allergy (i don’t but its fun to point out food compliant accidents) and love coconut i am telling you, you have to get your hands on some off the books thai treaties. (Bangkok Market)

balance, one fat bastard salad and air fried crispy potato goodness.

green curry instant noodles + pork & chive mandu + braised bamboo shoots.

give me ALL the cookies. the s’mores ones were to DIE for drools (Insomnia Cookies)

special delivery: assorted macarons. yes, there was a cheesy flavored one. (Makarohn)

tuna poke bowl. i told you, 100% not joking about my love for tuna. (Paina Cafe)

toasted cinnamon raisin bagel. 

half: irish butter, half: pb + nutella - try it.

soft scrambled eggs + crispy bacon + cup of coffee. 

i used to hate scrambled eggs until i figured out how to make it perfectly how i like it. 

scrambled eggs tips n’ tricks: use a dash of water when whisking your eggs together (i often whisk in a smol sprinkle of mushroom bouillon), use a plastic baking spatula, a generous amount of butter and low heat. move your eggs around often using your spatula, cook until no longer runny/wet but be careful to not overcook.

sometimes you just need a box of freshly baked krispy kreme doughnuts. i love scoring a freebie OG hotty. (Krispy Kreme)

shiitakes for this bowl of ramen.

have you seen the movie waitress? if so, this is my version of naughty pumpkin pie. 

pasta carbonara. normally this dish doesn’t include mushrooms but any opportunity i have to sneak some in, i will do just that.

a trip to saint honoré. top tier las vegas doughnuts. it is dangerous that they are located in my neighbor, it isn’t a lot of effort to make a weekend visit in. (Saint Honoré)

old bananas? no problem a banana bread can’t solve.

first thanksgiving frying a turkey and used an infrared fryer to be specific. i don’t think i will ever go back to an oven cooked bird! i can’t tell you how nice it was to have a free oven to get all those sides finished. 

i made it all! mashed potatoes, mac n’ cheese, collard greens, green bean casserole, mushroom sausage stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie and crack pie (recipe via milk bar).

a breakfast palette cleanser if you will. standard issue.

a lot of holiday baking was completed in my kitchen this season. many were christina tosi inspired treats and some christmas baked good staples. pandan cookies, snickerdoodle truffles, oreo truffles, corn cookies, iced oatmeal cookies and my shortbread christmas bars. i also made super dark chocolate cookies (i used black cocoa!) and blueberries & cream cookies too. i gifted these out to my loved ones and it was pretty neat hearing all the different feedback on which everyone’s favorites were. 

my aunt gen’s spinach dip.

pork and shrimp lumpia shanghai.

pancit! i am still not yet a pro.

shrimp diane. 

humba, if this filipino dish isn’t present at christmas welp, it ain’t christmas - not for me.

first time making prime rib at home. 10/10 would recommend, it was not nearly as scary as i anticipated. i was always super hesitant at the idea of possibly ruining $100 worth of beef. also used the infrared fryer, only took about 2 1/2 hours!

this year might not have felt like most of my past christmases but this plate of food is like a christmas hug from my family. i am not even sure how all of these dishes started being apart of the holiday but they are and each year they will be at my home. 

the thing about the crack pie recipe is, it makes 2 and these pies freeze beautifully. lucky for my snazzy planning one was present for thanksgiving and at christmas. 

i fell in love with this candy bar when i lived in berlin. i don’t doubt that the ritter sport flavors are endless, especially since i remember there being special holiday/limited editions bars, but for whatever reason yogurt or should i say “joghurt” is my very favorite one. 

having cookie dough on hand in the fridge is a holiday super power. you can impress your friends by baking off a few fresh cookies for guests that pop by. most importantly you can impress yourself by having fresh cookies available when YOU need them. 

new year’s eve. i know i live in vegas and like most locals i avoid the strip like the plague ESPECIALLY on NYE. most years consist of a charcuterie spread, dark chocolate brownies and lots of bubbles. this year’s charcuterie line up included a puff pastry wrapped wheel of brie. defrost one sheet of frozen puff pastry, roll the dough out and fold over a full wheel of double cream brie. whisk one egg and brush the outside of the entire pastry, bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheated 400˚oven. serve with tasty, good quality jams or preserves. 

ended with doughnuts, hey there 2022! (Saint Honoré)

there you have it, 2021 a year in food. i have already started another album in phone “noms ‘22” so i will keep collecting as many of my eats as possible in there. maybe not a yearly recap though? i can’t commit to monthly but perhaps at least a quarterly update. at the end of the day these posts are really for myself. i love to journal and blogging is an extension of that but with more photos. this year i am attempting to bullet journal digitally on my ipad and have been able to incorporate more photos in the few days we have had so far in 2022. so far this year has already forced me to be kinder to myself and take it easy but i have a lot planned for the coming year and can’t wait to start destroying some goals. 

happy eating!

xo

rita



 

I'm constantly wondering how this space will evolve and maybe one day eventually end.
social medias have taken over because its faster, more to the point and honestly easier to engage with people on. 

who reads blogs still anyways? I'm not even a real blogger.

but still I always find myself wanting to capture, reflect and share parts of my little life. I'm a Virgo who likes words too. I enjoy instagram and do not use facebook but even that hasn't very enjoyable for me lately. . I usually over think these blog posts and would never even dream to use iPhone 11 photos. but 2020 has been rough for everyone so I am going with the casual approach because I can’t think of the last time I picked up my DSLR.

I have two recipes I want share but right now I thought I'd go with a September (mostly food) photo recap.. birth month wasn't the worst even though yes, we are still very much in the weirds (pandemic).

THE  cheesiest, smoothest mashed potatoes, one beautifully poached egg  + toasted baguette slices were out of this world. the crispy potatoes are a must, trust me.

Egg Sammie. 

my peanutella + PB n’ J cookies travelled (frozen) to a different state but of course I needed to do a taste test bake. delish, and peanut butter cookies aren’t even in the top five for me.


A LOT of avocado toast this month.

surprise doughnut delivery from my favorite person..

thai tea brûlée slush from Tea Maison. 

Chinatown adventures. what’s your favorite treat at 85°? I ADORE their egg tarts but I always pick up something new with each visit.

special birthday delivery from a special friend who understands my deep love for cookies + Christina Tosi. 

day/night lewks.

throughly obsessed with the short rib fried rice fried from Le Thai.

downtown (mild) shenanigans.

coffee + cake (buttermilk blueberry lemon breakfast cake. recipe coming!)

kale caesar salad with salmon + homemade sourdough croutons. SUPER yum and definitely would repeat this first time meal. I used Shutterbean’s recipes as a guideline for the Caesar salad dressing & croutons.

told you.

What a trip to the Korean grocery store looks like. I love Asian snacks everything.

homemade monggo with chicharron + shrimp. one of my Filipino favorites! I’m so happy to have an adaptable recipe that is so super easy to make. doesn’t even take long to cook and keeps extremely well in the fridge for leftovers.

work is easier with cookies.

mr mama’s breakfast outing. happy birthday Sam.

furry friend round up!

super cute lunch date at Sweet Honey Dessert + a quick pit stop to Tea Maison.

lobster balls (and other snack use) from Easy Life.

breakfast fried rice. the best way to use leftover rice! garlic, bacon, egg + green onion. staple in my house.

chicken salad for easy workday lunches. deboned a hatch green chile rotisserie chicken from Sprouts added mayo, salt n’ spice, diced red onion + lemon juice.

last September I had a wedge salad at Flemings, changed my life and never looked back. I think I ate like 6 wedge salads this past month.
iceberg lettuce + halved cherry tomatoes + crispy bacon + blue cheese crumbles + sliced red onion + blue cheese dressing. pro tip, salt and a splash of red wine vinegar on the sliced onions.

September 2020 was challenging, like how I said earlier this whole year has been. I guess I don’t need to really remind anyone of that. we’ve all been experiencing our own battles and a couple of shared ones. stress & anxiety might be running high but this is my reminder to stop and have some conscious gratitude for the positive moments in life. it can be alarmingly easy to lose yourself when things are harder but there is a ton love when you pay attention. 

maybe that’s what this space is going to be for, a reminder to pay attention. 

be kind to yourself, god knows I’m trying.

- rita 

 

i haven't always been a fan of lemony desserts.

lemon cookies, squares, tarts and cakes definitely did not make an appearance in my filipino mom's kitchen growing up. in fact the only real memories i have were seeing rows and rows of plated lemon meringue pie at the dessert bar in casino buffets. when you're a kid in vegas everything at a dessert bar is spectacular but i always ended up with something chocolaty or creating a very overloaded ice cream sundae making sure to use ALL available toppings, including the whipped cream! you can't forget the whipped cream.

in recent years though, i have come to truly enjoy lemon baked goods. i'm delightfully surprised that i grew into this newly acquired taste but it has a lot to do with how lucky i have been to have tasted properly prepared citrus desserts that were created with a lot of careful and deliberate thought. 

this recipe, however, does not require a whole lot of thought. it's a pretty reliable straight forward type of cookie. no games!

i realize i often gravitate towards creating (and eating) baked goods that are more on the sturdy side and even though they are petite these babies are no exception. a cookie that'd hold up well if you packed them to go along for a picnic or my personal favorite.. sneaking them into a movie.

a little secret trick i learned, now i do this as often as possible when working with any citrus fruit, is to combine the sugar in the recipe with the zest. in this case, its lemon zest but doing this small extra step is really beneficial to the overall finished product and allows for a more full bodied flavor. 

i can't wait to keep finding things that make me change my mind about a preconceived preference or way of thinking i have had. its refreshing to know you can always learn new things, you can always change your mind..you can always continue to grow. that's kind of some of the best parts about life. if you think something is permanent, it's not or at least it doesn't have to be if you allow yourself to keep an open mind. 

i love recipe sharing, if there are any links or personal favs of some lemony baked goods that make your heart feel good.. hmu

until then..

happy eating!

xo

rita

 

Petite Lemon Cookies

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unlimited samples is extremely problematic. 

ESPECIALLY when they are handcrafted teeny (beautiful) spoons of delicious ice cream.

i remember watching a program on viceland and it featured an amazing human making a bone marrow, smoked cherry flavored ice cream. whaaa?! i didn't quite understand why i wanted to try it so much.. i mean i have watched enough iron chef episodes to know not everything tastes good as an ice cream. (i'm talking to you morimoto!) BUT for some reason watching him make and explain this insane flavor of ice cream as well as his process had me completely mesmerized. i was about it! i wanted to go to there, i wanted to say hello and explore all of the beautiful ice cream ASAP

basically ever since then salt & straw was added to my must visit list for portland. 

i have a fantasy foodie list for many cities, its a little fun thing to do and who knows if i'll ever go but if i do then i'll have some places to start with.

if i walk into an ice cream shop and the first thing i smell are freshly made waffle cones.. i know they mean business. truly, the real deal.

*waffle cone scented heaven*

that wonderful waffle cone smell does nothing to help narrow things down with the flavor decision. the menu was nutter butters AND it changes seasonally because of course it does.

okay reminder on that bit about unlimited samples. 

they will literally let you try every single flavor they have if that is what your heart so truly desires. i have MAD food indecision so i was basically that person and tried super hard not to annoy the kind lady who graciously was spooning me sample after sample. i was very appreciative of her, she was my ice cream angel.

i decided on not deciding and went with a 50/50 split between the sea salt with caramel ribbons and cinnamon snickerdoodle. 

zero regrets.

portland, i fkn love you. 

xo

rita

most hopes come with the best intentions. it starts with a dream or idea that you can't shake off and you decide you must have it. the longer you think about it the more you want it and so you make a plan. put pencil to paper and start jotting down notes and building the pathway to what you want that keeps itching at you. even though it scares you, you put yourself in motion and start gathering what you need. preparing. with each action you trustingly get closer and closer to bringing that dream of yours to fruition.

baking absolutely like that. particularly to me and i'm sure to some of you out there too.

just a tasty idea itching to be brought to life at the back of your brain.

for me there is always a strategy, a list of ingredients, the proper preparations and precautions.

everything in there places please.

its a dream so you went an extra step, always trying to make it that much more special.

you can make sugar more special.. use a fork to mix it with citrus zest - ooh la la. for this bundt cake i went for the hat-trick and used orange, lemon AND lime. whoa.. i know. being bold is necessary though.

see ..how magical?

sometimes the most important is laying out the proper groundwork ..its totally the most important part. remember this part.

grease, flour and prep every nook of your pan. not kidding, do it right.

your work is done, you've put in the effort and you're almost at that finish line that you've been envisioning.

and then you fall flat on your face..

sometimes things turn out ugly and get messy - all your hard work feels wasted and you can't help but feel defeated.

the only thing left to do is scrape together the pieces of yourself and try again. find a new method, take a moment and learn from what happened.

but there are also always new dreams to dream too.

life isn't always pretty but it's worth a try every time. when you expect something to go one way and it doesn't that's when you have to remember that the crumbs are just as scrumptious as the whole cake.

xox

rita

 

Citrus Bundt Cake

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I know you saw the sign.. that's right it's PIE time!

as i come to a close with my kansas city trip posts it's making me a little sad not having my biff around. especially today, her birthday! i miss and love her dearly.

our visit to the upper crust was such a delight and going through these photos it made me crave a sweet carby outing with my friend who is so dang far away.

i don't think i have ever been to such a charming pie bakery and this one has set the bar for future bakeries. it was cold day out and the shop couldn't have been any more warm and inviting. and the smell! oh my goodness. butter baby, glorious buuutter.

heavenly. heaven smells like butter.

take home non-edible cuteness right upon entry.

it's true. pie can fix quite a few problemos.

regular sized and a bunch of littles.

soft spot for the non edibles..hrm i wonder why. more accessories and i went home with a few buttons that expressed my love for baked goods.

thank you SO much to the gracious people of Upper Crust who let me go photo stupid in their pie haven. i had too good of time trying to capture your cozy corner of kansas.

my biff and i ended up sharing a little brambleberry pie and strawberry rhubarb pie. we popped by a frozen custard place and got some vanilla to a la mode the heck out of our crusty fruity treasure.

pie and vanilla custard are best friends.. the BEST friends.

p.s. their shortbread cookie changed my life like whoa. it's the damn butter, gets me every time.

happy birthday biff! i hope this makes you smile and reminds you of all the fab times we've had and will have. love you for forever.

xox

rita

I know its not quite yet fall but for me it so totally is.

my birthday is september 1st and as far as i'm concerned its now time to shift the brain into fall mode. which just so happens to my absolute favorite season.

best temperature, best clothing options, and another change of the food season. food sure as hell have seasons.

one of the simple things that helps me kick start fall is getting to enjoy the return of the pumpkin spice lattes! i know its silly, but its the little things that really count. granted it still is a little warm outside, like low 90s warm but that's not going to stop me from ordering my pumpkin spice latte every damn birthday. and thanks to my starbucks gold card that latte is usually free. sigh, i love september-so good. this most recent birthday i was especially lucky with an overcast rainy morning, thanks for help setting the mood.

but before we go getting full pumpkin crazy, because i get it.. i'm a little early excited. i thought we could ease in to this amazing season with a spiced carrot cake. that's it ..we're just slowly dipping our toes in.

change is best served with cake.

caution juicing can lead to dessert:

juicing is wonderful and its something i think i'm still fairly new to but really want to be better at. the only problem is they don't mention the part where when you juice for too long you may have pastry daydreams. like a real giant case of the cake crazies. you think you're totally fine enjoying your yummy fresh juice cocktails feeling all healthy and then bam! it just happens. full on carb hallucination.

for me it happened when i was cleaning out my juicer after making a generous amount of pressed carrot juice and there was all this leftover carrot pulp and what? all this orange goodness was just going to go in the trash?

uh hell no, that's going in a CAKE!

and that's when i started gathering ingredients.

i opted to switch things up and use olive oil for slight flavor change. apple sauce helps keep the cake moist.

sifting together your dry ingredients keeps things lighter. these spices are really going to remind you of the holidays ..but just a little. baby steps.

most carrot cakes have raisins and walnuts, but we're not doing that. this just isn't that kind of cake. instead we're using sweet coconut shreds and dried cranberries with the perfect amount of tartness.

because this carrot pulp came from my juicer, i did add 1/3 cup of juice back in to increase the moisture level a tad. with grating carrots you wouldn't need to do this step.

action shot.

properly preparing your cake pans is super important. don't let all of your work and promising batter go to waste because of an under greased pan. i used parchment paper but enough butter/crisco with a generous sprinkling flour should usually do the trick.

be fair and even.

clean toothpick ready from the oven and now the cakes need to relax and cool.

meanwhile we start the frosting.

i have been trying to think of a reason to explain why brown butter? but i just keep thinking always.. always brown butter. when in doubt brown butter it out. it seriously is a flavor secret weapon and now you all know if you didn't before. and also know that i'm going to keep talking about it too.

i have made a lot of different frosting but this one easily makes my top 3 favorite, it's goood.

once you have removed the fully cooled cakes flip them so that you have a nice flat surface when you begin frosting.

with a two layer cake i stick with a 60/40 frosting ratio, using most of the frosting on the bottom cake and mid section. then finish with the remaining on the second cake, remember flat side up!

fully frosted.

and just like that you have cake.

i hope you feel a little better about saying goodbye to summer and hello to fall.

should you be juicing and daydream of cake, know you are not alone. it happens.

xox

rita

 

*Recipe*

 

olive oil carrot cake

olive oil carrot cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting

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