What would a birthday be without a tummy full of yummy eats? We celebrated Whitney’s 15th birthday weekend with family and friends and no shortage of delicious foods!
On Saturday, she requested Asian food, so we had a Korean lunch at this restaurant on Broadway Ave., which had mostly good reviews online. We were all very impressed with the appetizers we ordered – agedashi tofu, a favourite of the kids and chicken karaage, a sort of super fried chicken nugget.
From the appeal of the appetizers, Whitney was excited to try her Katsu Bento, while Matt and I were looking forward to the Bibimbap we had ordered. Matt made a scrumptious version at home last year so he was curious as to how a restaurant one would compare. Unfortunately, we were all a little disappointed by Oreno’s version, as it turned out to be way too sweet. There wasn’t much relief from the over-sugared components in the bowl besides the egg and avocado, both of which I did not eat and Matt finished way before the other things. In our homemade version, there was sautéed spinach, cucumber and wood ear, all of which were savoury or plain and served over plain rice. Because the beef is marinated in such a sweet sauce, you need that contrast with the other elements. Thankfully we had ordered some plain rice for Blythe and Brighton and there was a bit of salad that came with the chicken karaage.
Still, the food was decent enough and we wanted to save room for the tiramisu we picked up from Costco and had at home. Although Whitney had originally wanted a quiet birthday celebration with just our immediate family, she changed her mind and was happy that she did. My sister’s family and our parents came over Saturday after lunch and stayed late into the night – a usual for my side of the family – playing various games and Rock Band.
I made dinner for a change and served salmon from this recipe I came across recently, though not in a bowl and with Caesar salad instead. It was well received, but a note for next time is to start cooking the brown rice MUCH sooner! It’s been ages since we cooked any that we forgot it would take nearly two hours to cook.
The next day, Whitney had a quiet but cute party at home with a small group of friends. Before they arrived, she helped put up some decorations and set up the charcuterie board – a great benefit to having a teenager. Since there were a few friend groups meeting for the first time it was slightly awkward at first – one disadvantage of being a teenage. But they spent most of the party crafting and chatting together as Whitney had come up with the idea to journal.
She did not let me take pictures of them journaling, but here’s a shot of some of the supplies she had.
Here she is, pre-party.
While she and her friends were journaling, I had to finish decorating her cake. This year, she asked me to make this Jellycat Birthday Cake after this very cute but expensive plushie. The previous week, she and a few friends made a similar but smaller version at our house, as a practice test. They used five smaller 6″ pans and raspberries instead of strawberries and it turned out delightfully light and yummy! Since there would be more people at the party, I doubled the recipe and used two 9″ pans.
Thinking we had enough white sugar, I did not get any when we were at the grocery store. Of course, the recipe called for a bit more sugar than we had, so I had to use a little bit of coconut sugar. That’s one of the reasons I think it came out darker. It was also a bit denser than the one Whitney and her friends made and this could have been due to the flour I used.
Nevertheless, it was still tasty and eaten by everyone at the party, so not an epic fail. If I were to make it again, I would try using the smaller and taller 6″ pans like the ones in the recipe, and doing a better job with the decorating. My whipping and piping skills could use an upgrade!
Post-birthday and weekend, Whitney managed to get sick again. Too much partying and yummy (tr)eats? We have nearly polished off the cake and speaking of, it’s time for my afternoon coffee…
and cake!
Happy Wednesday to you! Sending good vibes out to all!
