janicebakes

In The Kitchen [Recipe] Multigrain Milk Bread (Tangzhong Method)

May 6, 2020 janicebakes

Milk bread or “pai bao” 排包 is a light, fluffy bread with a slight sweet, buttery taste. It’s one of my childhood favourites and I can eat it all day! This recipe has a few basic ingredients and has quickly become a staple in our home. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and from everyone quarantine baking) I was only able to buy multigrain bread flour, but it turned out to be a great modification to the milk bread with an interesting texture (and I guess healthier!). The tangzhong method is an Asian bread technique which refers to adding a water/flour…

In The Kitchen [Recipe] Dalgona Milk Tea

April 26, 2020 janicebakes

Dalgona coffee is an iced latte topped with a sweet, whipped coffee foam. It’s been a huge sensation all over the web lately and after trying it, I wanted to experiment with other flavours. Some other variations I’ve tried are dalgona matcha, dalgona hojicha, dalgona ovaltine and dalgona mocha, but I just bought some instant milk tea mix so why not try dalgona milk tea as well? For dalgona coffee instant coffee, sugar and hot water can simply be whipped together, however for the non-coffee dalgonas either whipping cream or egg whites must be used so the topping can stay…

Fitness Race Recap: My First Half Marathon (Toronto Marathon 2018)

May 7, 2018 janicebakes

This half marathon has been a long time in the making. I started running in May 2013, almost exactly 5 years ago, with a simple goal of being able to run a 5K race. At that point I wasn’t even able to run to the bus stop without wanting to throw up 🤣, but I wanted to set a goal and train towards it. My very first run was a 2.67km loop around my old neighbourhood and it took me over 21 mins (about 8min/km). I think I stopped at least 10 times and I was huffing and puffing 🤣 Over the…

Fitness Biking the Big Apple: The New York Five Boro Bike Tour

August 21, 2017 janicebakes

From the first time I heard about the TD Five Boro Bike Tour in New York City, I made it a bucket list item to participate in the event. The Five Boro Bike Tour is a 40 mile (64km) ride through all 5 boroughs of New York on closed roads – Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island – and across 5 major bridges. Over 32,000 cyclists participated in the event this year! Even though I’m pretty terrified of biking after falling off a bike and breaking my elbow (resulting in 2 surgeries and 8 months of physio), I decided this…

In The Kitchen [Recipe] 5 Minute No-Knead Bread using Whey from Instant Pot Yogurt

June 2, 2017 janicebakes 7Comment

One of the best creations from my Instant Pot has been greek yogurt. It’s extremely smooth, creamy and I can control the tartness myself. However, I always have 6 cups of whey left over after straining the yogurt! I used to throw it out but it felt like such a waste. Recently I found a super easy recipe for homemade whey bread and the results were shocking. It came out beautifully in my dutch oven; I’ll never buy bread from the store again! The dough took a mere 5 mins to combine. I let it rest in the fridge overnight with…

In The Kitchen [Recipe] Instant Pot Pork Bone Soup (Gamjatang)

April 11, 2017 janicebakes 6Comment

Pork bone soup, or Gamjatang, is a Korean stew made with pork bones, potatoes, and vegetables. Living in Toronto, the Korean food scene is constantly growing and there are many great restaurants that serve pork bone soup. It’s one of my favourite dishes to come home to after travelling; it’s warm, comforting and not too heavy. The hubby bought an Instant Pot during last year’s Black Friday sale, even though I was completely against the idea of buying another appliance that wouldn’t fit on our limited counter space. But good thing he still did, because I’m completely in love with it…

Travel Winterlude in Ottawa

March 11, 2017 janicebakes 2Comment

Ottawa is our home away from home. Hubby studied there for University and I visited countless times throughout our long distance relationship and worked there for a few months as well. Besides seeing old friends, there is ONE thing that we MUST do every time we go to Ottawa: eat at Shawarma Palace. One time we even brought back multiple take out boxes home, stinking up the car on the 4 hour drive back 😂. In February we decided to visit Ottawa again and take part in the Winterlude activities. This year is Canada’s 150th anniversary, so there were even more festivities…

In The Kitchen An Edible Bouquet for Valentines Day

February 21, 2017 janicebakes

Hubby and I don’t really celebrate Valentines day, mostly because things get marked up for this occasion, but also because we end up spoiling each other throughout the year anyway. However, since it’s our first Valentine’s day as a married couple, I decided to bake something a little special 🙂 I baked a batch of chocolate cupcakes and some swiss meringue buttercream frosting, and then tinted the frosting in shades of light pink and peach. I originally wanted to keep some white frosting but it slipped my mind when I was adding the colouring. I love the taste of swiss…

Travel A Food-Filled Weekend in Montreal

February 10, 2017 janicebakes

I took a short work trip to Montreal in early February, and it was the perfect opportunity for hubby to tag along the weekend before and do some exploring (mostly eating). We usually visit Montreal once a year since it’s only a 5 hour drive from Toronto, and there’s so much great food in Montreal that we never have time for. On Friday after work we headed out and arrived in Montreal around 11pm. The drive was surprisingly easy (thanks to hubs for driving the whole way), and we were able to find parking right outside our Airbnb. Our Airbnb…

In The Kitchen Christmas Gifts 2016: Assorted Cookie Jars

December 28, 2016 janicebakes

Every year, one of my best friends and I collaborate on Christmas baking as gifts to our family and friends. We may not always end up baking together, but I love bouncing ideas off of each other and getting a bit creative! This year we went with the tried and tested assorted cookie jar, and I chose 4 types of cookies to bake: chewy chocolate, cranberry white chocolate, matcha white chocolate, and rosemary shortbread. Including initial testing of the recipes, I think I made over 500 cookies (probably closer to 700!) within the month of December. The challenge was not…