Wanna See a Magic Trick?

Of course you do! Need to impress friends, family, or significant others? Blind them with the power of SCIENCE!

So here's what you need. A deepish plate, food coloring, Q-tips, dish soap, and whole milk, 2%, half and half, something with fat. 

Drop yer food colorings near each other in the middle of the dish. Then, take a Q-tip, dip it in some soap, and touch the colors...

Whoa!

Egad!

Inconceivable! 

So why does this happen? Dish soap contains stuff that's supposed to break down proteins and fats...substances found in milk. The soap also contains something called surfactants, which lower surface tension, making things more spready. The reaction between the soap and the fats and proteins, combined with the lowered surface tension, causes this swirly effect! 

This is fun to do with kids. And college students. Hope you enjoyed this little lesson in food + science!

Milk Muffins

My family was here but they left me. Boo.

If you're wondering how I can make so many things

 in my dorm, it's, uh, because of this.

Um, sometimes I'm weird. Obviously. So I assembled these incognito muffins in my room. They're easy. So. Easy. Honestly, if you don't botch anything, they shouldn't take more than 25 minutes, prep and bake time.

Have you ever had Chichi Dango? It's a Japanese dessert often made for White Day (which is coming up March 14, I encourage boys to participate, haha). Well, uh, anyway, these muffins taste vaguely like chichi dango. Just lightly sweet, great with a cup of tea. 

If they aren't sugary enough for you, drizzle the leftover sweetened condensed milk on top. Hooray! I'm a bit iffy about the cooking time, since I made large muffins instead of minis like the original recipe, but I'd start anywhere from 11-15.

Milk Muffins

from La FujiMama

Makes 20 mini muffins or six normal muffins

Makes 20 mini muffins

1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder,
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 20 mini-muffin cups with mini paper liners.

2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the egg, sweetened condensed milk, and milk until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder, then add it to the egg-milk mixture, and whisk together. Whisk in the butter. The important step here is not to overmix the batter (overmixing will overdevelop the gluten in the flour which will cause a tough muffin with tunnels and a compact texture). Only 10 to 15 strokes are needed to moisten the ingredients. The batter can still be lumpy—don’t worry, the batter will continue to blend as it bakes and the lumps will disappear.

4. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin cups. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. The muffins are done when the top springs back when gently touched with a finger and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.