Talida Bakes

Happy Mardi Gras! In honor of Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, I made beignets straight from the box! Even though it’s from a box, I assure you this is completely legit stuff since I brought it back from New Orleans just last month.

On my recent visit to New Orleans, I sampled some great eats, including my own tasting of beignets from Cafe Du Monde and Cafe Beignet. Maybe it was the time of day of the visit that made the difference, but Cafe Beignet’s beignets were immensely better than those of Cafe du Monde. That made it easy for me to choose whose mix I would bring back to make at home.

Beignets aren’t hard to make nor even time-consuming, so I wonder why there aren’t more beignet offerings up here in the north. Now I can make them whenever I get the craving, and whenever my stash of beignet mix runs out (probably not too long from now), I’ll follow up with a beignet recipe made from scratch.

[continue reading for beignet recipe]

Happy Valentine’s Day. There, I said it. I admit, going against the norm appeals to me (I have “uniqueness syndrome” from having such a unique name), and it’s partially why I don’t typically celebrate this day. I’ve become a very practical person, so I avoid crowds and enjoy saving a buck whenever possible.

But I do have something to say about love. Love is the very reason why I bake for others, and therefore the reason why this blog exists. It motivates me to stay up all night cooking and baking to show what is sometimes hard for me to put into words.

It’s also why I love weddings and will do almost anything for friends on their big day. So on this day celebrating all kinds of love, watch this endearing video of Sooji and Albert who wed last July on Liberty View Farm in Highland, NY. I had the honor of being their wedding planner, and I’m happy to share this snippet of their love story with y’all today.

Sooji + Albert’s Wedding Teaser (Same-Day-Edit) from Albert Cheung on Vimeo.

A huge thanks goes out to those who took the reader survey! I appreciate all the feedback you gave, and I will do my very best to implement your suggestions this year.

And now, the winner of the matcha giveaway is…….. Judy from Boston! Judy, I will email you to get your mailing address so I can send some matcha your way! I hope whatever you end up making with it turns out wonderfully!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Today is the last day to enter the matcha giveaway by taking my reader survey! One reader will be chosen at random to receive two tins of my favorite brand of matcha.

Imagine all the possibilities with that much matcha! What would you make if you won? Here are some matcha recipes from the archives for inspiration.

Matcha Profiteroles

Matcha Icebox Cookies

Matcha Macarons

Matcha Cupcakes

Matcha Cheesecake

Don’t forget to take the survey to enter! The drawing closes tonight at 11:59PM PST.

Sunday marked 5 years for this site, and it’s the perfect time to ask for your feedback in the form of a survey! I want to grow and improve this site to make it a valuable resource for y’all, but I need your help in giving me honest and constructive feedback.

And to include a little incentive for you, I’m going to give 2 tins of my preferred brand of matcha, Maeda-En Culinary Quality Matcha, to one survey participant! The survey below will be open indefinitely, but you must submit the survey by Thursday, January 12, 11:59PM to be entered into the drawing. One entry per person.

[continue reading Reader Survey and Matcha Giveaway!]