Sweet red bean& bitter green tea: I guess that is life; both are treasured.

I've been feeling a little bit blue these days, I guess part of which is due to a natural cycle of mood. I can make myself feel less uneasy with this excuse, but I know there are some reasons: 1. I came to this country, stepped on the glorious island approximately 1 and 1/2 years ago; I've been enjoying the many goods Manhattan offers me, but sometimes I do feel lonely in my 8th floored small apartment, especially when here come Christmas, new year and Chinese new year. Sometimes I do want to be cuddled in some reliable arm, which could be extremely hard here! Sometimes my girlfriends and I came to the conclusion that the only way to survive the busy metropolis is to enjoy a "Sex and the city" lifestyle- sigh... OK, enough for the dreamwords, a more reasonable excuse for my blueness is a friend of mine finished his master degree here and is going back to China. It's always so hard for me to say words like goodbye.

We held a small farewell party for him, as food is just the ultimate comfort for all the sorrows. As usual, I brought the sweets. I chose a green tea jelly roll with red bean cream this time. The combination of green tea and red bean never disappoints you! The cake base is a chiffon cake- simple steps to make but surprisingly good texture! The recipe is adapted from 福田淳子 (a Japanese baker and blogger, I don't know her English name LOL). I have to admit that the Japanese certainly can bake and they have their own way of delicacy~

The jelly roll was not perfect (more practice deserves for the rolling); it was only my second trial after all. But it was so popular in the party! Let the bitter aromas and sweet flavors infuse in your mouth- alas, that is life!

Last but not least, the recipe (I replaced the green tea flavored filling with a red bean one) http://www.xiachufang.com/recipe/1095364/

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A touch of Claire- baking, cooking& life

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