earthy · toasty · spicy

Lunar New Year & Chinese Almond Cookies

2012-01-27T07:21:00.000-06:00

The lunar new year is possibly the biggest Chinese holiday of the year. It is a huge family holiday, and families travel far and wide to be together during this happy, auspicious time. My mom told me that, traditionally, the new year was observed for two weeks and people went home to be with their families. Nowadays, overseas Chinese typically take anywhere from 2-7 days to celebrate the new year.

While there is a lot of overlap in how the new year is observed, each province and village celebrates the holiday in its own way. Because my father’s family is from Guang Dong (southern China), and my mother’s family is from Taiwan by the way of An Hui (northern China), I was raised with a mix of traditions.

My mom told my sisters and me that everything you do for the first week of the new year sets the tone for the rest of the year. The Chinese culture is chock full of superstitions, and most traditions have a reason, story, or symbolism behind them. Avoid fighting and stress, which includes no working and no major cleaning – everyone eats, relaxes, socializes, and plays games. You aren't supposed to use a broom, because you might sweep out the good luck. You aren't supposed to use a knife or scissors, because you might cut your good luck. Before the first day of the new year, everything in the house is cleaned top to bottom to chase out any ill-fortune that might be lying around and give the new year a clean start. We all wear something new that is red, because red symbolizes good luck.

In many homes, the word fortune is hung upside-down, outside on the front door. This is to symbolize good fortune pouring down on you.

This is fortune, right side up.

While most people take the word down after awhile (just like any holiday decoration), I keep 福 (fú) on my door all year-round. I don’t think you can ever have enough good fortune!

We also give hong bao, which are little red envelopes decorated in gold and filled with money. Traditionally, adults give hong bao to children. Interestingly enough, you are a “child” until you are married. Once you are married your parents no longer have to give you hong bao and the giving is reversed (you give hong bao to your parents and grandparents, and to children). In my family, on new year’s day morning, my sisters and I used to go to my parents’ bedroom and bow three times to them, wishing them good health, prosperity, and a happy new year. Then, they would bless us with good wishes and give each of us a hong bao. To properly receive hong bao, you accept it with both hands as you bow to the giver in thanks. After receiving our hong bao, we'd bow and say, "gong xi, gong xi" which means congratulations. My grandparents also gave us hong bao, and all the grandchildren would line up in front of them to bow, and give and receive blessings.

Hong bao. There are tons of variations though; you can even find hong bao with Mickey Mouse on them!

The Chinese culture is very superstitious about numbers. For this type of thing, I’d look to a place like Wikipedia for all the number combinations that are good or bad. There are so many, it takes real effort to memorize them all. The worst number is 4, which is a homonym of death. You want to avoid giving money beginning or ending in 4. Generally, the other odd numbers are good, while 2, 8, and 9 are particularly auspicious: 2 because good luck comes in pairs, or the desire to double your fortune; 8 because it is a homonym for prosperity; 9 because it is a homonym for long, thereby symbolizing longevity and a long life. Some provinces celebrate the birthdays ending in 9 the way Americans emphasize the celebration of decade birthdays. Some provinces believe celebrating on the decade birthday ending in zero is not fortunate, because zero symbolizes emptiness. When giving money, it's okay to give whole numbers ending in zero because it's the first number that counts. Don't ask me why. My mom’s favorite number is 168, which is one of the luckiest number combinations: 168 (yi liu ba) sounds like 一路发(yi lu fa), which roughly means long-lasting prosperity, or prosperity all the way. The cash given in hong bao is traditionally nice, new and crisp, fresh from the bank. Fresh money, fresh fortune.

Good gifts to give during the new year? Food! Oranges and other citrus fruits symbolize good luck, wealth, and a sweet life. They are similar to the color gold, which is a good luck color. You also can’t go wrong with chocolates and candy, to wish someone sweetness in his or her life. Plants are also good gifts, but make sure you do your homework and get the right type! This year a good friend gave me a jade plant, which I’m thrilled about. Jade symbolizes friendship, wealth/prosperity, and good fortune.

This year, I made my first lunar new year dinner by myself. It was exciting on one hand, but it also filled me with longing for my mom and sisters. When we all lived in the same city, we gathered together to make food, talk, and laugh together. My mom’s egg rolls are to die for, and she made everything taste delicious. Every dish symbolizes some kind of good fortune or blessing for the new year. The six basic types I’m familiar with are good fortune, wealth and prosperity, good health, longevity, happiness, and abundance. For more, you can check out this site for a brief, though not complete list. I’m only one person, and a novice new year’s cook, so I went with a soup, three entrees, one side dish, and a dessert. In this post, I share how to make the dessert: almond cookies!

Also, I got a really lucky surprise new year's eve: I got to see both my sisters!! Their flight was delayed and they ended up with an overnight layover in Chicago! I was so, so happy. We hung out for eight hours eating cookies, laughing, and talking the night away. It was the best.

The Year of the Dragon New Year Menu!

Chicken Soup
chicken, ginger, shitake mushrooms

Roast Chicken
brined whole chicken, bacon fat, olive oil, cracked salt and pepper

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
bacon fat, chicken fat, cracked salt and pepper

Steamed Salmon
soy sauce, sherry, ginger, garlic, scallions

Shrimp Fried Rice
rice, green peas, eggs, shrimp, scallions, garlic

Almond Cookies
recipe below!

Besides being delicious, almond cookies symbolize wealth and prosperity. So eat up, eat up!!

Recipe

This recipes makes about 36-46 cookies.

1 c. whole wheat flour
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
3 tsp. almond extract
1 egg
Whole almonds (36-46)

1 egg (for the wash)

Pre-heat the oven to 350°.

1. Mix together the flours, baking soda and salt.
2. Cream together the butter, sugar, almond extract, and one egg.
3. Combine the flour and butter mixture together until it looks all pebbly.
4. Form 1 tablespoon balls of dough. Gently flatten the top with your fingers and press a whole almond into the center. Alternatively, place an almond inside the tablespoon and pack it with dough. Then, flip it over so that the cookie looks like a little dome.
5. Beat the second egg and brush it over the top of the cookies. Bake for 15 minutes.

新年快樂! 恭禧發財!

Xin Nian Kuai Le! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Vegetarian Chili

2012-01-16T15:06:00.001-06:00

As a card-carrying omnivore, this is the only vegetarian chili I’ve made that’s been worthy of a post. Even my dad – who “has to have” his meat – enjoyed this chili.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m an avid omnivore. While meat represents a small percentage of my food pyramid, I love meat and appreciate it deeply. A perfectly cooked steak, strips of bacon, the crackly skin of a just-out-of-the-oven broiled chicken – all make me close my eyes and smile with quiet joy. Knowing all that, you might be shocked that I’m posting a vegetarian recipe for chili. Well, with all the above being said, I also love my veggies. A coarsely salted roasted brussel sprout, the juicy leaves of garlicky stir fried kale, and the often overlooked baked potato are a few of my favorites. Eating a huge bowl of vegetables is wonderful for your mind and body, so what better way to do that than in a chili.

While I don't claim this to be a “legit” chili recipe (I can hear hollering from the South that no self-respecting chili has beans), it is a form of chili. If this country is allowed to bastardize Chinese food and call it “Chinese" food, then I have the right to call this chili. Your turn, Counsel.

In addition to the health benefits of eating lots of vegetables, my lazy cooking brain loves how easy it is to make. After washing the vegetables, all you do is dice, turn up the heat, and then eat. It really is as simple as that.

Recipe

1 small onion
Garlic – as few or as many cloves as you like
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
1 package of mushrooms 2 small cans of beans (I like kidney, cannellini, butter)
1 small can corn (unsalted)
2 small cans chopped tomatoes (fresh tomatoes work great, of course)
Dried oregano (about 1/2 teaspoon)
Dried basil (about 1/2 teaspoon)
Chili powder, a few pinches

Dice all of the ingredients into a pot while it is on medium high heat. You don’t need to add any oil. Stir and bring the chili to a boil; simmer for 30 minutes.

The Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich

2011-11-08T23:40:00.000-06:00

Grilled cheese sandwiches are underrated. They're often forgotten. How many times have you wondered, what should I eat, while you had bread, butter, and cheese sitting in your kitchen? Yup, that's what I thought.

I'm almost embarrassed to post this since it is so elementary... but I've had the unnecessary experience of eating a sad grilled cheese sandwich. The perfect sandwich requires understanding of how to cook what, and when. Once you've got that down, you can do it in your sleep. The way I cook this sandwich ensures a crisp and toasty exterior, with a hot, gooey, cheesy center. I hate it when the bread is really crunchy and scrapes the roof of my mouth. Don't you?

I wholeheartedly encourage you to get fancy with this sandwich. What doesn't go well with melted cheese? Add slices of tomato, bacon, caramelized onions, whatever you like. The recipe below is the foundation for your perfect grilled cheese. I love pairing it with tomato soup, aka grilled cheese's match made in heaven!

Mmm, cheesey goodness.

Recipe
2 slices of sandwich bread
1-2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard (optional)
2 tablespoons of butter
Cheese, sliced (amount is up to you)

(1) Heat a pan to medium. If you're adding mustard or any other condiment, slather it onto one side of each slice of bread.
(2) Add butter to the pan and, once it has melted, add both slices of bread (condiment side up). Swirl the bread around the pan until all the butter is soaked up.
(3) Add the cheese to one or both slices. If you're adding other ingredients (such as tomatoes, bacon, etc.), put it on top of the bread now. Let it toast, as is, for about one minute. Lower the heat, and then flip one slice of bread onto the other and let toast for one minute.

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Apple Pie with Whole Wheat Butter Crust

2011-10-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

I recently had the BEST pie crust I have ever tasted: it’s buttery, it’s flaky, it’s crisp, it’s perfect…. It makes me want to make more and more pies!!

Every pie crust recipe I read says that the key to flaky crust is to keep the butter and water cold, including an approximate one hour chill time after the dough’s been formed. However, I am not the most patient cook and I don’t want to chill the dough for an hour. This is my “quick” pie crust recipe, and it’ll give you a delicious, flaky, buttery crust that will have you running back for more. Best part is, it’s easy to make, and doesn’t require extra chilling time. This pie is best if eaten within 24 hours of cooling.

Recipe for the Crust
Adapted from Dana's recipe
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of cold, real, unsalted butter
ice cold water

Recipe for Filling
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
5 large apples, chopped (about 6 cups)
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions for the Crust & Pie Filling

(1) Stick a bowl of water into the freezer. Dice the butter and add it to the flour and salt. Incorporate the butter and flour together so that it looks like sandy/pebble-y crumbs. I use my hands! Get in there! Don’t worry about not keeping it freezing cold, I promise, you’ll be fine. Once the flour/butter/salt is the right texture (see below), put the bowl in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

Sticks of butter, right before the final dice. I actually looked at this and thought… “f*ck yeah.”

“Sandy/pebble-y crumbs”

(2) Peel and core the apples. Chop them into 8 wedges, and then chop each wedge into 4 pieces. Once you have six-ish cups of chopped apples, mix in the lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Set aside to let the fruit marinate. Now, preheat the oven to 425°.

(3) Take the ice water and crust mixture out of the freezer. Sprinkle a tablespoon of ice water into the mixture and use your hand or a spatula to start folding the mixture into itself. Keep adding water until the entire mixture is sticking together (I used about 5 tablespoons).

(4) Flour your surface, divide the mixture in half, and roll out the dough for the bottom crust. The dough is large enough when it’s about 1.5 inches larger than your pie pan. Once the bottom crust is in the pan, remove extra dough from the outside of the pan with a knife. Then roll out the top dough. Add the apples to the pie pan and cover with the top dough. Use the flat part of a fork to cinch down the sides of the pie, and then remove excess dough with a knife.

Now, my dough never comes out in a perfect circle, but there’s a “quick and dirty” way to get it perfect. My mom taught me to just cut off weird edges and roll them into the spaces that are needed. To easily transport the dough to the pan, I recommend rolling it out over parchment and then flipping the parchment over the pan, dough side down. With all-purpose flour crusts, you can fold the crust into quarters, but the whole wheat crust doesn’t seem to like that and rips. My first crust actually ripped almost entirely in half when I folded it, and I had to do some fixin’.
I also like to use the extra dough to cut out shapes for decorating the pie. Or, I shape them into little cookies and put them in the oven 15 minutes before the pie is done. They’re so good by themselves, or with peanut butter, or preserves.

Ha… you can actually see my wine bottle/rolling pin in the corner.
Wine bottles work great as rolling pins!

(5) This crust is flaky and crisp at the same time, so I suggest cutting vents into it along the shape of the pieces you want. Otherwise, the crust will break up when you cut it. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 375° for 30 minutes. Allow it to cool for a few (2-4) hours.

Can you see how thick that crust is? It’s my and my family’s favorite part of the pie.

Mmm, flaky layers of delicious whole wheat crust….

Potato Lentil Soup

2011-10-14T02:29:00.004-05:00

Though I'm a summer baby, I love autumn. Autumn means the holiday season, cozy sweaters, hot cocoa, and COMFORT FOOD!

This is a super easy, healthy, delicious soup that’ll warm your bones and have you coming back for more. It only takes 30 minutes’ cooking time, and besides spices, you only need TWO ingredients: potatoes and lentils. Can it get any easier than that? I don’t think so.

Well… okay, no soup can beat egg drop soup in regards to fast, but this potato lentil soup is still pretty darn fast. This soup is especially perfect if you have last-minute guests coming over. Grab some butter and a baguette, and you’ll have a feast in a snap!

I prefer not to peel my potatoes since the skin houses so many awesome nutrients. My mom also taught me to eat/use everything possible, so I’m reflexively adverse to throwing food away. Potatoes have gotten a bad and incorrect reputation as a “filler” food – they’re actually great for your body. If you’re not used to it yet, try keeping the peel on this one time. The peel gets super soft in the soup and adds a nice consistency.

I used golden potatoes, but any type of potato will do.

Recipe
6 cups of water
1 cup of lentils
4 cups of chopped potatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

(1) Add the water and the lentils to a large pot and bring it to a boil. While it’s heating up, chop up the potatoes and add those to the pot. Peel and smash the garlic, and add the garlic, thyme and bay leaf to the pot. Once the water reaches a boil, lower to a simmer.
(2) Simmer for 30 minutes, then add salt and pepper. If you like, mash a few potato pieces with a fork to thicken the consistency of the soup.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies with Almonds

2011-09-25T20:48:00.003-05:00

I was really bored the other day and had a sudden hankering for chocolate chip cookies. This is big news in my world. I haven’t liked chocolate chip cookies in ten years. I can hear your likely reaction now (how can that BE???), but it is what it is. Most chocolate chip cookies are just gooey, sugary dough with pockets of hardened chocolate inside. While that may sound great to some, I think it’s a sad excuse for a cookie. The texture is all off (hard chips in goo? no thank you), and there is so much sugar that the chocolate doesn’t shine through at all.

I went to the fridge to see what I had on hand and found a bag of chocolate and peanut butter chip morsels. Score. Chocolate + peanut butter = my favorite! I'm also loving whole wheat flour and have been using it in every recipe calling for all-purpose flour. I substitute it in a 1:1 ratio and do not increase or decrease anything else to "accommodate" the whole wheat flour. Some sources say to increase the liquids, or only substitute up to 50% of the flour, but I haven't listened. I've been happy with every product made this way and love the wheat flavor that comes through.

The following recipe is adapted from the Nestle’s bag, and I’m thrilled with the results. THRILLED. These might very well be my new favorite cookie. This recipe makes 50 cookies. Have a tall glass of cold milk on hand! I enjoyed these cookies while nestled in with a good book and a cup of hot coffee.

Recipe
2 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips
1 cup of chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375°.

(1) Combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
(2) Beat together butter (room temperature is best), brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well until creamy. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts.
(3) Drop 1 tablespoon of batter onto ungreased cookie sheets for each cookie. Flatten each cookie before putting them into the oven. They will barely spread, so don’t worry about crowding. Bake for 9-11 minutes and then allow to cool. Or enjoy a treat and sneak one in while they’re warm – they’re oh so good that way!

Potato Pancakes

2011-09-18T12:42:00.000-05:00

Not sure what to do with those leftover mashed potatoes? Potato pancakes, baby. They're fast, easy to make, and a yummy way to eat those leftovers. K loves making these for breakfast.

Recipe

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/3 cup of flour
salt and pepper to taste
butter for the pan

(1) Beat the egg and combine it with the mashed potatoes. Add the flour and salt and pepper to your taste, and mix until just incorporated.
(2) Heat the frying pan to medium-high. When the pan is hot, add butter.
(3) Pour 1/3 cup of batter into the pan, slightly flattening it with your spatula. Cook each side about 1 minute until golden brown.

You can keep the cakes hot in the oven (atop a cookie sheet or whatever you have handy) at 200°.

Feel like adding a another flavor dimension to your potato pancakes? Consider adding:

Cheese (grated; add to the batter before frying)
Scallions (chopped, then sauteed; add to the batter before frying)
Shallots (diced, then sauteed or caramelized; add to the batter before frying)
Onions (diced, then sauteed or caramelized; add to the batter before frying)
Garlic (diced, add to the butter in the pan)

Homemade Granola

2011-09-13T17:32:00.000-05:00

It turns out, granola is really easy to make. After you try making it once, you’ll be hooked. No more shelling out ridiculous dollars for a wee bag of granola. You’ve got the best thing: homemade!

I’ve wanted to make my own granola for awhile now. I finally decided to give it a go, but only using ingredients I had on hand. This would prove to be an interesting adventure, since I didn’t have all of the ingredients of any one recipe. I ended up reading at least eight recipes and going through four cookbooks, and then going through my cupboards to see what I could use to make do. Here is my crazy, I’m-not-making-a-trip-to-the-grocery-store granola. And if you ask me… it’s freaking delicious. Lesson of the day? Granola is very forgiving. Add or subtract what you like, and feel free to substitute honey with maple syrup, or oil with butter. I didn’t have sliced almonds on hand, but I did have whole, raw almonds. So, I stuck a cup of almonds into a large freezer bag and smashed them to bits with my wine bottle (how versatile that wonderful things is!).

I’m a raisin-lover, so if I have raisins chilling in my kitchen next time, they’re definitely going into the mix. Several recipes advised adding dried fruit to the granola after it’s done baking though, so take heed. America’s Test Kitchen noted that dried fruit (like raisins, specifically) get burned and hard as a brick if you put bake them into the granola. In my next batch, I’m going to eliminate the sugar altogether to see how it tastes. I try to avoid refined white sugar because it’s processed, not a real food, and has zero nutritional value. That being said, I don’t avoid it like the plague. I certainly have a bag of refined white sugar in my kitchen, and I’m not going to feel guilty about it!

I asked my sister, a professional cook with a degree in culinary arts and a background in molecular gastronomy, what the shredded coconut did to the baking goods. She said it adds some texture and sweetness. Also, if you toast it, it adds a caramelized note. Yummy. You had me at “caramel.” Shredded coconut, she said, also adds moisture to baked goods and you can't taste the coconut flavor. She doesn't like coconut, but adds it to her cookies and no one - including her - can taste it. It adds some behind-the-scenes oomph, so try it!

I added cinnamon and nutmeg because I’d recently baked a pie, and I love the way those spices mingle together. I also learned, through taste testing, why every single recipe recommends regular, good old-fashioned oats rather than, say, quick 1-minute oats. The 1-minute oats still taste delicious, but they aren’t as chewy as regular oats since they’re already chopped up. If you are also in a I’m-not-making-a-trip-to-the-grocery-store mood, feel free to make a batch with the 1-minute oats. You’ll be fine.

All in all, I’d guess that a bare bones granola only needs oats, vegetable oil, and honey (if you like it sweet). Try mine, or make your own batch! I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the results.

I burned my first batch (oops, 375° is too high!), but the second batch came out perfectly! I baked them at 300° for 30 minutes.

Recipe
3 cups of oats (regular is best, but 1-minute oats are okay in a pinch)
1 cup of smashed almonds
1 cup of chopped pecans
3/4 cup dried, shredded coconut
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300°.

(1) Mix the oats, almonds, pecans, coconut, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in one bowl. In another bowl, mix together honey, oil, and salt. Thoroughly combine the contents of both bowls and spread the granola evenly onto two baking sheets.
(2) Bake for 15 minutes. Take the baking sheets out of the oven and stir the granola. Switch the top sheet to the bottom rack, and vice versa. Bake for another 15 minutes.
(3) Once the granola is done, do a final stir while it’s still warm. This ensures that the granola doesn’t adhere to the pan. Allow it to cool.

Before…

…and after.
GET ME SOME MILK!

Tahini Soy Salad Dressing

2011-09-08T14:28:00.001-05:00

My mom "Chinese-izes" almost everything she makes, which means somehow or another, soy sauce finds its way into the recipe. One thing she likes to do is use soy sauce as a salad dressing base, so I took a cue from her and ventured out to make my own salad dressing. My desire to cut more and more non-real/non-whole foods out of my life is growing stronger. And, making your own food can save a lot of money! I toss this dressing with my current favorite salad: kale leaves, cucumber, carrots, and grape tomatoes.

Recipe
4 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 medium garlic cloves

6 tbsp cold water

(1) Shake together all of the above ingredients. Refrigerate to chill prior to use if desired.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Nest Cookies with Chocolate Eggs

2011-09-03T11:40:00.000-05:00

This is a late night munchy inspired by my special Maine family; the recipe is modified from Fondly Optimistic. K got the ball rolling because he's always hungry; S's genius was adding chocolate eggs; J's formation of the dough made us think of nests!

This is the first version of this cookie - it was kind of a haphazard throwing together of this and that, I didn't really follow the directions and was actually certain that the cookies I made would taste really gross. I was seriously about to throw all the batter away until my Maine Mom said I should just make them anyway. Next time, I might adjust the next batch to 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and see how that works.

The cookies don't have any sugar in them, but you can add them if you'd prefer a cookie with some sweet. As is, these taste pretty wholesome/granola-y and are yummy with a cup of coffee or cocoa.

Recipe

4 Tbsp butter (real butter)

2 cups oats

2 bananas (mashed)

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1.5 cups of whole wheat flour

Chocolate of your choice, about half a chocolate bar (chopped small or use your fingers to break into little pieces)

Turn the oven on to 350°.

1) Melt butter in a pan on medium heat and add oats. Stir to coat the oats and let "toast" for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and let the oats hang out.

2) In a bowl, beat together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda.

3) Add the oats to the banana batter and mix thoroughly. Then add the flour and mix thoroughly.

4) Use a big spoon to roll small balls of batter (about 2 Tbsp each) and place them onto a cookie sheet. They don't need to be spaced far apart because they will barely spread. Flatten the center of each ball with your thumb to form a "nest." Place chocolate pieces into each nest.

5) Bake for 15 minutes and let cool.

Lesson of the Day

2011-07-14T17:45:00.004-05:00

A lesson from Commercial Paper.

You Know You're Studying For The Bar If...

2011-07-11T20:34:00.015-05:00

A break from our regularly scheduled program….

You Know You’re Studying For The Bar If…

1. Things that normally wouldn’t piss you off now seem like personal affronts.

2. “Freaking out” is in the standard rotation of your daily emotions.

3. You think this would actually be a very convenient time for the world to end.

4. You are definitely, totally, unequivocally addicted to caffeine, your barista knows your drink by heart, and you don’t care if you need to drink two 5-Hour Energy drinks back-to-back, because you’ll do whatever it takes.

5. You get Tourette’s and curse-out inanimate things like your non-working cell phone or model answers that include ridiculous, obscure nuances and exceptions that weren’t covered in the lecture.

6. Days have blurred together – you can’t distinguish yesterday from the day before and you have absolutely no idea what day of the week it is.

7. You can’t remember what a “gym” looks like.

8. You Google things like “how to pass the bar” and actually look to see if there is advice that might help.

9. Making interesting or vulgar acronyms for legal tests is the highlight of your day.

10. You feel incredulous when non-bar takers invite you to fun events, or say things like “you deserve a break” – do they not understand what you are going through??

11. You want to scream when answer choices include any one of larceny and/or/but not if/unless burglary/robbery. WHY DOES IT MATTER – that shit got JACKED. PERIOD.

12. You can’t have meaningful conversations with anyone not preparing for the bar.

13. People say things like, “You can take the bar again” or “It’s just a test” or “You’re really smart, you’ll be fine,” and you want to stab them with a fork.

14. You question whether you really want to be a lawyer and fantasize about all the other jobs you could have pursued that don’t require taking the bar exam.

15. You want to punch anyone who conveys Blackacre beyond his or her grandchild.

16. You read fact patterns and wonder if you can tie all these idiots together and push them out to the middle of the ocean.

17. Your inner circle now consists of all those idiots: lazy painters and shady owners, non-complying merchants and breaching buyers, incompetent criminals, thrill-seeking minors, unreasonable manufacturers, stupid tortfeasors, overeager cops, people who NEVER follow the speed limit, and that fucking asshole who won’t record his fucking deed!!

18. The hottest action you’ve gotten lately involves “touch and concern,” “firm offers,” piercing veils, commingling, and fertile octogenarians.

19. Routine conversation starters like “what’s up” and “how are you” leave you tongue-tied. Should you tell them about your aching joints, sore muscles, eye twitches, muscle spasms, nightmares, and general inability to do normal everyday things because those brain cells are now reserved for memorizing rules like how to perfect a security attachment on an oven (which you will now, always and forever see as a “fixture”)…? Or just say “fine.”

20. A friend tells you about an upcoming vacation/party/anything else a normal person would look forward to and all you can think is: I hate you.

21. Shaving isn’t a priority anymore, and for that matter, neither is changing clothes or trying to look good at all.

22. You have trouble sleeping or have developed a drinking problem.

23. You’ve cried at any point because you bombed a practice test.

24. You’ve cried.

25. You dream of revenge and want to intentionally inflict emotional distress upon the bar exam, until you realize you can’t because your tort would fail the IIED test. And then you want to shoot yourself for actually running your fantasy through the proper legal test.

26. Any inhibition you might have had about categorizing your “doctorate” as a true doctorate as opposed to a master’s degree has evaporated – you've totally earned this shit.

NOW GO OUT THERE AND KICK SOME BAR EXAM ASS!!

So Easy My Fiancé Can Make It Mac ‘n’ Cheese

2011-06-21T16:32:00.005-05:00

I’m studying to take the bar exam.

Among other things, this means I have less time to cook. My awesome partner-in-crime has taken over the kitchen, for which I’ve been grateful. Sometimes things go awry, but for the most part, it’s been an interesting culinary adventure.

While I consider myself a “lazy cook” (my eyes glaze over when there are lots of instructions or ingredients), his patience in the kitchen is even shorter. He can work out for five hours, I kid you not; but put a frying pan in his hand, and his eyes glaze over.

With that in mind, we’ve simplified what we eat while still trying to eat real food. Possibly the greatest result of this adventure is that he’s picking up on cooking logic! While making this dish, he made a suggestion based on eyeballing the ingredients together, and it turned out he was right. I was very, very proud.

Every Sunday, I usually make a lot of food to get us through the week. Homemade leftovers are perfect for packed lunches and evenings when you are too tired or busy to cook. This is a perfect “Sunday” recipe. It’s tasty, there’s a lot of it, and it’s so easy my fiancé can make it!

I’d like to dedicate this recipe to all my friends who are also studying for the bar. This baked mac ‘n’ cheese recipe is ridiculously easy to make and – surprise! – there are vegetables in it to kick up the “good for you” quotient. Best of all, it tastes so good. It has that perfect, creamy texture you hope for in a mac ‘n’ cheese, with the added yumminess of a toasted cheese top.

Recipe
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
8 oz. shredded cheddar
8 oz. shredded mozzarella (set aside 1/2 for topping)
8 oz. plain yogurt
16 oz. frozen vegetables (I used the carrot/peas/corn mix) – his awesome idea to double the amount of vegetables
Salt (to taste)*

Preheat oven to 350°F.
(1) Follow the pasta box’s instructions and cook pasta to al dente.
(2) Thoroughly mix everything together in a big bowl (including the frozen veggies).
(3) Put the mac 'n' cheese in a 9x13 glass casserole dish, then top with the rest of the mozzarella.
(3) Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

That’s it! You can easily double this recipe since the portions sold are usually twice the amount needed here.

*A note on “to taste.” I’d try ≈ 1/4 tablespoon of salt. It’s always better to under season than over season because you can add more salt if needed, but you can’t take it away. I also prefer to pour the salt into my palm and use my fingers to sprinkle it in. This gives you more control as you can actually see how much salt you’re putting into a dish.

Fruit Crisp

2011-04-10T15:56:00.004-05:00

I love cobblers, crisps and pies! How can you go wrong with baked fruit, butter, and some oat crunch? And surpri-ise… this recipe is fairly healthy for you. I cut out refined sugars and added a “secret” ingredient: brown rice. It lends a lovely texture to the cobbler. The downside to using brown rice is that it takes forever to cook. However, since I always make more rice than I need for a meal, it’s ready to go when it’s baking time.

You can use almost any combination of fruit that you like. If you use blueberries, you’ll want to add some starch to soak up the juices. Otherwise, the crisp will be liquid-y and goopy. If you don’t use blueberries, I find that starch is unnecessary. For this recipe, I like to use a combination of blueberries, strawberries and apples. In total, I use 4-8 cups of fruit and adjust the other ingredients accordingly. If you use apples, I find that the flavor is more complex and rich if you use at least two different types of apples.

Recipe

Serves 6.

Topping
6 Tbsp. unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. butter cut into 1/2” pieces
Honey, optional (I eyeball this… maybe a 1/4 cup?)

Filling
4 cups of fruit
4 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca (if you are using blueberries)
2 c. brown rice (or however much you like)
1/2 tsp. grated zest
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

(1) Heat oven to 375°.
(2) Mix together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the butter and, with one or both hands, squeeze the mixture inside your fists. Rub your thumb along your fingers to sift the mixture back into the bowl. Eventually, the mixture should look like tiny pebbles. It’s okay if there are little chunks of butter throughout. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
(3) Prep the fruit – wash, slice, etc. as needed. Fruit should be bite sized – 1” or smaller. Zest a lemon and squeeze fresh lemon juice.
(4) Toss together the fruit, tapioca (if you’re using it), brown rice, zest and lemon juice. Pour the fruit mixture into an 8” or 9” baking pan.
(5) Cover the fruit mixture with the chilled topping and bake for 40 minutes. Turn the heat up[ to 400° and bake for 5 minutes more to get a nice golden crust.

The picture in this post shows a two-layer crisp. After baking, I simply put half of the crisp onto the other half.

Beef Stew

2011-03-26T01:18:00.003-05:00

Everyone’s idea of comfort food is different. In my dictionary, comfort food is food I grew up eating and loving. It’s food that makes you feel like… you’re home… and everything is going to be alright.

Beef stew is one of my comfort foods. There is something wonderfully comforting about a whole pot of food happily bubbling away on the stove.

Like many Americans, my family consulted The Joy of Cooking when cooking American dishes. My mother ultimately Chinese-ized the non-Chinese food we ate, creating a delicious cuisine that defines a special category of comfort food for my father, sisters, and me. My family and I eat beef stew with rice and it really hits the spot.

This recipe is a variation of my mom’s. It will warm your bones, leaving you deeply satisfied on a cold winter’s night. It’s also pretty economical. A whole pot cost me about $12 and resulted in 16 servings! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does.

Note: while I think it makes complete sense to write recipe ingredients according to chronology, I also like to write recipes so that it makes sense shopping-wise and preparation-wise. Ultimately, I think it’ll all make sense.

Recipe
rice (make as much as you need, whatever type you like)
2 lbs of stewing beef such as chuck, short-rib meat, or bottom round (1"-2" cubed)
4-6 stalks of celery (1/4 cup of 1/4” dice; remainder slice into 1" sections)
4-6 carrots (1/4 cup of 1/4” dice; remainder slice into 1" sections)
4 medium sized waxy potatoes (slice into 1" sections)
small onion (1/2 cup small dice)
garlic (2 Tbsp. minced)
flour (1/2 cup)
dried oregano (1 tsp.)
dried rosemary (1 tsp)
dried thyme (1 tsp)
salt
pepper
2 bay leaves
cornstarch or tapioca starch (optional)

(1) Cook the rice.
(2) Rinse and pat beef dry, and put into a bag. Season and dredge with:
          1/2 cup of all purpose flour
          1/2 tsp each of oregano/rosemary/thyme/salt/pepper
(3) Heat oil, medium-high, in a large stewing pot. Add the meat in batches until all sides are browned. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add more oil as needed. This process seals in the juices of the meat making it more tender and flavorful. If a crust from the beef is created at the bottom of the pot, leave it as this will make the stew richer.
(4) Once all the beef is browned and has been put aside, lower heat to medium and add:
          1/4 cup celery
          1/4 cup carrots
          1/2 cup onion
          2 tbsp garlic
Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened (about 5 minutes).
(5) Add the beef back into the pot and fill the pot with enough water to just cover the meat. Also add:
          2 bay leaves
          1/2 tsp each of oregano/rosemary/thyme/salt/pepper
Stir and bring to boil. Once boiled, reduce the heat, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
(6) Add the rest of the vegetables:
          celery
          carrot
          potato
Add some water to barely cover the food. Cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes more.
(7) Once done, taste and adjust any seasonings. I usually add more salt at the end, maybe some pepper. If you'd like to thicken the sauce, add cornstarch or tapioca starch to cold water. In a separate bowl, mix:
          1-2 tbsp of starch with equal parts cold water
until thoroughly mixed. Add to pot while stirring. Add more cornstarch/water mixture if desired.

Serve hot over rice. ^_^

Turkey Sausages

2011-02-21T23:55:00.001-06:00

Who likes meat with their breakfast, show of hands? (Me: bouncing up and down in my seat, hand raised high.) And who orders sausage with breakfast, regretting it afterward? (Me: sad face; hand raised.)

It’s time to put a stop to post-sausage regret, folks.

Sausages, while delicious, are often heavily processed. Usually after eating them, I pay for it with a stomach ache. I recognize that I don’t have the stomach for most processed foods (case in point: every time I eat at McDonald’s, I get sick), but that doesn’t change the fact that sausage, generally, just isn’t that great for you. For years now, I very happily eat bacon instead (sigh!). But sometimes, I wistfully think about sausages and the rift between us.

People often think that cooking and eating real food is more time consuming and costly than eating processed food. But, that isn’t always the case: it is often cheaper to make your own food than buy what a factory has put together for you. If you make an effort to cook more often, I think you will discover the following:

1) You will have more money in your wallet.
2) You will be eating better.
3) You will feel better because (a) you’re eating better and (b) you have more money in your wallet.

For brunch this past Sunday, I decided to make my own sausage patties. I served them with milk, coffee, buttermilk pancakes, and strawberries and apples dipped in dark chocolate. The sausages were DELICIOUS. I loved that I didn’t get a funny taste in my mouth, and my stomach felt great! Friends commented that they were “delicious,” “clean tasting,” “not greasy,” and “savory.” The cherry on top? The sausages, altogether, came out to about $2.80, so each sausage cost $0.20. That’s a deal that’s hard to beat. I hope you try making your own sausages!

When forming these sausages, I took two tablespoons of meat and free-form mooshed them between my palms. If you want them to be flat instead of domed, make an indent with two of your fingers in the middle of the sausage. To drain them, I put the patties in a sieve placed over the sink.

This recipe makes 14 sausages.

Rice Porridge aka Juk, Jook, Xi Fan, Congee…

2011-01-29T17:55:00.003-06:00

Juk is one of the easiest one-dish meals you will ever make, and it is incredibly versatile. Rice and water make up the base of juk, but it is easily complemented by almost anything the palette desires. I enjoy it with soy sauce, salted peanuts, pi dan (preserved duck eggs), ro song (dried, shredded pork), chili bamboo shoots, or luo buo gan (spicy preserved turnips). Juk is especially delightful when accompanied by you tiao (deep fried dough, also called a “Chinese donut” in America) or cong you bing (scallion pancakes). It is a great go-to food when you are feeling sick, particularly when made with chicken soup! Most Asian cultures have some version of juk.

The recipe is so simple, you could make it in your sleep. After you cook bone-in chicken, duck, or any other meat, save the bones for juk. If you’re not planning on making juk within a couple days, you can refrigerate or freeze the bones. If you’re craving juk and don’t have meat/bones on hand, you can use stock or bouillon for flavor (ahem... I have been known to do this). My mom makes a huge pot for our family reunions. I encourage you to take liberties with flavoring and make it your own!

Leftover juk can be stored in the fridge. When you reheat it, you will need to add more water.

This makes 5 cups.

Cocoa Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free)

2011-01-24T20:36:00.001-06:00

If you haven’t noticed yet… I am in love with peanut butter. Do I eat peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon? You bet I do! And what could be more perfect than the pairing of peanut butter and chocolate? Heaven! Since I have a lot of unsweetened cocoa on hand (I love a mug of hot cocoa during the wintertime), I decided to mess around and find out how it’d pair with my peanut butter cookie recipe. Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier?!

As it turns out, the combination is wonderful. I made two batches – a “mini” cookie and a “small/regular” cookie. The recipe is very forgiving, so you can easily halve, double, or whatever to your heart’s content. As to type of peanut butter, I prefer Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter, but I believe any natural peanut butter (without hydrogenated oils) will do.

Cookie Tip! Have a glass of cold water handy when pressing tine stripes into the cookies. If the dough starts to stick to your fork, dip the fork into the water.

Chocolate Caramel Apples with Nuts

2011-01-18T10:34:00.003-06:00

Food makes me so happy, and caramel apples don’t fail me in that department. This past Halloween, I couldn’t think of a treat I wanted more than a caramel apple. Wishing for a little more flavor complexity, I added chocolate and nuts.

The first time I made this delicious treat was for a Halloween party. They turned out great, except for two little hitches.

Family, Food, and The Fun Game

2010-12-02T20:21:00.006-06:00

Alright folks. If you’re not down for holiday cheer and lovey dovey sappiness about family, stop here. You’ve been fairly warned!

I love the holiday season – particularly, Hallowthanksimas which spans from October through December. Halloween throws open the door to winter festivities with sweets and costumes, ushering in my two favorite holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas because those are times that my extended paternal side of the family – all 31 of us – try to make it back to the northwest corner of the U.S. to be together, catch up, give hugs, and EAT.

Food is a common way my family shows love. I am fortunate that my family boasts a number of fantastic cooks who love to cook and bake from scratch. They don’t mess around when it comes to food. This year, we had an incredible Thanksgiving spread to feed 24 people: brined roasted turkey, succulent roast beef, ham with crisp blackened skin, steak with mushroom sauce, three different types of gravy, roasted cauliflower with bacon, squash with a delicious gouda sauce, caesar salad, cranberry walnut bread, challah bread, wild rice, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, baked sweet potatoes and yams, tofu and avocado in a soy/sesame sauce, pumpkin cheesecake, jello cheesecake, peanut butter pie, apple pie, jello jigglers, homemade whipped cream, wine, coffee and milk! I was so pleasantly stuffed, I had to be rolled out of the house.

~ Thanksgiving spread ~

Desserts

I feel very lucky and thankful to have such a wonderful family. Because of my grandparents’ strong family values, my extended family is quite close even though there are a lot of us and some of us live far away. In addition to cooking, eating and gabbing, we also love to play games. Two nights in a row this Thanksgiving holiday, we were up past 2 AM playing and hanging out. We play enthusiastically, we play to win, and there are usually tears rolling from laughter. (You guys should see my sister act out a “tank” – it was awesome.) One of our favorite games is The Fun Game. I’m including the “recipe” below, as well as a few more pictures from the feasting that occurred. I hope you all have had a lovely, relaxing holiday season so far!

The Fun Game

You need:
- 4 or more players, divided into at least two teams
- Two bowls or containers
- Pens and paper
- A timer to time one minute

Set up: Divide people into teams; how many members per team is up to you. Cut the paper into small pieces and dole out the pieces to each player. How many pieces per player is up to you. For four people, I’d recommend 10 pieces each. Anywhere from 30-50 pieces, total, is a good number. Each player writes down a noun, folds the paper in half and drops it into one bowl. Proper nouns are okay. Once all the paper is in one bowl, you’re ready to play.

How to Play: The Fun Game has three stages, but can be played with four or more depending on how creative you’re feeling. In Stage 1, each team has one minute to guess as many slips of paper from the bowl. To get your team to guess the word, you can say anything except for the word on the slip of paper. Once one minute is up, tally your points and pass the bowl to the next team. The bowl gets passed from team to team, with each team getting one minute to guess as many slips of paper as it can. Once the bowl is empty, the next stage immediately begins. Pay attention to all of the answers, because in Stage 2, all rules stay the same except now you can only say ONE word. Continue as before, with one minute for each team. Once the bowl is empty, the next stage begins immediately. In Stage 3, all rules remain the same except you can’t speak or make sounds – you can only act, like charades.

Suggestions for more stages: Puppet: each player chooses a player from another team to be a puppet. The puppet doesn’t move except when controlled to do so by the player. No talking or sounds. Drawing: draw out the answer on the slip of paper without using numbers, symbols, or cues (such as an “ear” to signify sounds like or dashes/boxes to signify how many words, etc.).

All players have to get their team to guess answers at some point – no passing!

How to Tally Points: A team gets one point for every piece of paper that it guesses correctly. If a player truly does not know the noun written on the paper, the player can skip without penalty. If a player starts to talk or act and the team doesn’t get it, the player can skip, which results in minus one point. If the player breaks a rule (e.g. says more than one word in Stage 2), discard the paper, continue playing and take one minus point.

The night I returned home, I found my sister made blueberry turnovers from scratch… no biggie.
They were freaking delicious.

Some of Mama’s home cooking!
(L-R, T-B), steamed taro root with pork belly, stir fried garlic green beans, garlic and ginger stir fried sprouts, bamboo shoots with pork belly and tofu, ginger soy chicken with shitake mushrooms.

Oh… did I mention that my sister is a professional cook? She’s amazing.
She’s also a total brainiac. Both my sisters are – they’re ridiculous.

Dim sum!

Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes)

2010-11-22T23:59:00.008-06:00

L-R… Cong You Bing / Rolling up the scallions in the dough / inside view of the bing

Living in Chicago and being far away from Chinatown means that I can’t easily spoil myself with my Mama’s home cooking, or simply eat out at my favorite Chinese restaurant. While this has made me a little sad, there is also a bright side. (Team Glass Half Full: win!) The bright side is, I’ve had to start making a lot of my favorite food from scratch. This has been a wonderful way for me to eat healthier and preserve parts of my Chinese culture.

This past weekend, I had two dear friends over for xi fan since they’ve never had it before. For those who aren’t familiar, xi fan* is rice porridge that is common in virtually all Asian countries. (Xi fan is also known as congee, juk, zhou, etc.) I didn’t feel I could serve guests xi fan by itself, so I decided to make cong you bing,* aka scallion pancakes, to go with it. And guess how I learned to make it… from a Chinese cooking show someone uploaded onto YouTube! I watched the whole thing, pausing it to stop and write down instructions, and then had a go at it with my own little modifications the next morning. They were so delicious – hot and chewy with multiple layers of goodness; perfect dipped in xi fan, stuffed with soy sauce scrambled eggs, or on their own.

Dao Si Pai Guet (Black Bean Spareribs)

2010-11-17T19:28:00.006-06:00

Oh my goodness, this dish is soooo goooood ^_^

Dao si pai guet, aka black bean spareribs, is one of my all-time favorite dishes! If I got to choose my last meal on earth, this would be it. Just thinking about it is making me drool. Chinese black beans (dao si in Cantonese or dou shi in Mandarin) taste very different from the black beans you might be used to eating. Dao si is fermented and salty. (I’ve only found them in Asian food stores and recently discovered you can buy them online). Part of the allure for me probably lies in the fact that it’s hard to find really good dao si pai guet. Instant dao si in grocery stores is not the real thing. And forget about finding a restaurant to try this delicious dish. Ninety-nine percent of the time they don’t have it, or if they have it, it’s not worth eating. Restaurants’ dao si is usually immensely watered down.

The strangest part of not being able to find good dao si pai guet at restaurants is that it is SO VERY EASY to make. So… I’m going to share my mom’s family recipe with you (my paternal grandmother’s recipe is a little different). If you want to experiment, please do so by all means. But with this dish, I personally think that less is more. This recipe yields very tender meat with bold and fragrant flavors. It will make you close your eyes and smack your lips. I love popping a bite into my mouth, stripping the bone of its meat and sucking out all the marrow. And the sauce – oh my goodness, don’t even get me started! I can eat a salad bowl full of hot, freshly made rice drizzled with this sauce all over it. NOM NOM NOM….

I make dao si pai guet with small and big pork ribs. If you want small ribs, ask the butcher to cut the rack into 1” strips, lengthwise, then cut it up further into 1”x1” chunks. Sometimes I do that last part myself. I especially love getting fatty pork ribs (they say southern style on the package) and making this recipe. What a treat!! I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as my family and I do. ^_^

This recipe serves about 6.*

Doo doo doo, nothing to see here, just a bunch of beans and garlic cloves hanging out ^_^

Recipe

1 lb of meat (can use pork, beef, etc. I've even tried it with oxtail)
1/4 cup of fermented black beans (dao si)

2 medium to large cloves of garlic

1 cup of water

(1) Rinse the meat and cut to desired size, if needed.

(2) Blend the beans and garlic into a paste. Adding a little bit of water helps. I like to use a mortar and a pestle, but you can use a food processor or blender, too.

(3) Brown the meat in a big pot, then add the bean paste and water. Stir it all together. Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to simmer for 40 minutes. Make sure the sauce is simmering and bubbling over the meat. If it isn't, turn the meat over at the 20-minute mark.

My mom says: each stove is different. If there isn't enough sauce, you can add starch and water. Mix 1 tablespoon of starch (corn or tapioca) with 1 cup of cold water. Mix it well. Stir the meat while adding the starch mix to get an even mixture.

Campfire Coffee + Mocha

2010-11-05T16:46:00.008-05:00

Courtesy of Julius Schorzman.

A few weeks ago, I realized my coffee press was cracked. It faithfully served me delicious cups of coffee for two years. I tried making coffee in it anyway, but it leaked immensely. So sad! K's father told me how to make coffee around a campfire, and I tried it at home. It worked like a charm. I made a huge, soup pot full of coffee and we (K, his parents and I), enjoyed chilled glasses of coffee with milk and brown sugar, with a side of freshly baked banana bread and butter. YUM!

I ordered a new press, but have been using the campfire method for a few weeks now. I love it! It is ridiculously easy to make coffee this way. I almost feel that coffee makers are unnecessary purchases. On top of it being a money saver, I was doubly happy because now, when I go camping, I can still have my coffee without bringing anything but a pot. Sweet! I really hope you try it.

The recipes here serve 2 cups (8 oz. each) of coffee.

Salt and Cracked Pepper Encrusted Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

2010-10-04T19:03:00.043-05:00

This is a really easy, delicious and foolproof recipe for roasted potatoes!

Spiced Ice Cream Cocoa

2010-10-04T18:09:00.022-05:00

Really good hot cocoa warms the soul and never fails to put a smile on my lips.

After a brisk autumn walk under fiery trees, I wanted nothing more than a mug of hot cocoa to warm my tummy. Though I have unsweetened cocoa powder, I was inspired to punch it up a little. I share with you: Spiced Ice Cream Cocoa. It may be the best hot cocoa I've ever had.

Marrow: Delicious, Divine Butter

2010-10-03T13:36:00.009-05:00

If you’re not hip to it yet, marrow is delicious and you should try it. Though it’s generally fallen out of favor in the U.S., lots of folks still enjoy it. Anthony Bourdain touts “roasted bone marrow with sea salt and toast” as a favorite comfort food and calls marrow “God’s butter.” I have to agree. I’ve grown up eating it, and it is fantastic! Not only is it tasty, it’s a wonderful and rich source of protein and good fats, and it melts in your mouth.

The industrialization of food in the U.S. has created a chasm between humans and the sources of our food. Mainstream culture expects food to be pre-packaged in neat geometric forms, as far removed from (and resembling as little as) the food source itself. As a result, the average American stomach has gotten quite soft, in more ways than one. What is considered delicious in many places in the world is (sadly) perceived as unpalatable here.

Really Easy Guacamole (with a Side of Manners)

2010-09-27T04:44:00.008-05:00

My goodness, guacamole is delicious. If you ever want to bring something to a party* that is homemade and easy to make, I suggest guacamole and chips. It's a crowd favorite, and once you realize how simple it is to throw together, you'll never go back to factory-made guac. This recipe strips guacamole down to the essential ingredients for yumminess.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

2010-09-16T05:05:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago, I made a chocolate peanut butter pie as a gift for a friend’s birthday. I browsed a few chocolate pie recipes and peanut butter pie recipes with the aim of mashing the two together into some kind of sublime, chocolately, peanut buttery heaven. It turned out pretty well. The pie set and maintained its shape (for the most part), but I did think it was too sweet. I should’ve halved (at the very least) the sugar. I forgot that Oreo cookies and peanut butter chips already have sugar.

Sesame Crackers

2010-09-06T20:54:00.011-05:00

Nom nom nom!

I couldn’t sleep the other night after reading Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France. The book is absolutely fantastic, and I recommend it whole-heartedly to everyone. The only thing is, after I finished reading, I felt inspired, not sleepy!

I surrendered to my insomnia, grabbed a sweet nectarine from the kitchen, and plopped down on the couch with Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.

I love reading cookbooks – they are as interesting to me as any fiction novel or non-fiction book. I randomly picked a page and, after wandering through cow, lamb, pig, squid, lobster, I entered the land of baking. Guess what I found.

Egg Soup

2010-08-27T10:21:00.019-05:00

This is a soup my mom used to whip up for us when we were feeling sick, needed a snack, or just wanted something yummy to warm the tummy. Egg soup is my go-to when I’m starving, need something nutritious and filling, and am too tired to actually cook something.

There are so many variations of this soup (a.k.a Egg Flower Soup, because that is the literal translation from Chinese, or Egg Drop Soup, because you are dropping the egg into the water). This is the basic, unadulterated recipe. The most important key to success is the technique - once you add the egg into the boiling or simmering water, you must be fast. Swirl quickly and remove from heat asap. Otherwise, instead of pretty, light ribbons and wisps of egg, you will have scrambled egg clumps. It's still good to drink, it just won't be as pretty, or tender.

If you’re feeling creative, go forth and add whatever you like! Cooking is a science, but the ultimate result should be the sensation of pleasure. Experiment, and enjoy.

Recipe
Serves 1. Increase egg to water ratio depending on the number of people you are serving.

1 c. water
1 egg
Soy sauce (to taste)
Scallions, chopped (optional)
Salt or pepper (optional)

1. Bring water to boil in a pot.
2. In a bowl, lightly beat one egg until the egg white and yolk are combined.
3. Once the water is boiling, use chopsticks, a fork, spoon, or whatever you have to stir the water quickly in a circular motion, like you're creating a whirlpool. If you're adding scallions, you can add them now. Steadily pour the egg into the center of the whirlpool while constantly swirling. Once all the egg is added, immediately pour the soup into a bowl to remove from heat.

Add soy sauce, salt, or pepper to your taste!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

2010-07-20T20:53:00.009-05:00

Grab a glass of cold milk. It’s cookie time!

These are my new favorite cookies, and I’m not even a big cookie lover. They are so chewy, so flavorful, so comforting, so perfect and delicious… I cannot wait to make another batch!

Kiel’s Midnight Cookies aka
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins and Almonds

The other night, around midnight, I got a bizarre craving for chocolate chip cookies. It was bizarre because, about nine years ago, I stopped liking chocolate chip cookies. Now, before you throw your hands up in the air with surprise/disgust or cross me off your friend list, hear me out. You have very little choice as to what you like and don’t like to eat. Your taste buds decide for you. Now it’s true that your tastes evolve based on what flavors you’ve been exposed to growing up, but short of psychologically conditioning yourself to like/dislike A, B, or C, you’re pretty much stuck with what your tongue tells you.

So, back to the chocolate chip cookies…

Capellini Pomodoro

2010-07-11T19:44:00.013-05:00

I love a simple pasta dish. The first few times I tried this recipe, I was unhappy with the final result. While the flavors were delicious, the parmesan cheese made the pasta sticky and, as the pasta cooled, clumpy. This meant that I had to eat it quickly, and leftovers were a very strange consistency. I’d take the pasta out the next day and it would be hardened into a noodle sculpture. This would not do.

Pan Fried Salmon

2010-07-01T11:01:00.005-05:00

For me, salmon is like steak from the sea. It’s a real treat, and I love how good it is for you. I grew up eating it steamed with soy sauce, ginger and rice wine, but I’ve started getting into pan frying it. Although it means a little more work, the result is worth it because of the delicious, crispy skin. Oh my goodness. I love brushing the skin with olive oil, salt and pepper, and crisping it in the pan. It is the best!

A lot of U.S. Americans I know take the skin off and I’m constantly surprised by this. I remember the first time I served salmon at a dinner party – a friend asked me if he could eat the skin and I said, “Yes, of course!” You just have to make sure you scale it before you cook it. There is nothing wrong with eating the skin! Someone once told me that I shouldn’t eat it because of mercury… but I have been eating it all my life and have always gotten a clean bill of health (knock on wood). Many cultures all over the world eat fish skin and they’re fine. So there. Be a good boy or girl and eat the skin. Throwing it out is like throwing out bacon – don’t do it!

So how do you scale fish? It’s quite simple. Just take a knife and scrape the skin at a sharp, less than 45 degree angle. See the pictures below. In the picture on the right, you can see the difference between de-scaled skin, and scaly skin. The skin right under/around my thumb is shiny because the scales are still attached. Right next to the shiny part is a darker part – that has been de-scaled.

Serves 3 to 4.

Peanut Noodles

2010-06-26T02:40:00.013-05:00

There are so many things I love to do on a hot summer day. Beyond the nice weather, summer signals freedom, and I savor it. This week, I packed a book, blanket, and a small picnic consisting of cold water, sweet green grapes, fresh french bread, aged raw cheddar cheese, and crunchy pickles. I took my mini feast outside and laid my blanket out on the grass, under a tree. Peacefully, I read for hours until the sun set and fireflies lazily blinked around me. I could not have been a happier girl.

Many of my favorite things to do involve food in one way or another. This is also true for many of my favorite memories. In college, I loved to sit outside and enjoy a bowl of cold, peanut noodles, washed down with a chilled bottle of beer. For years, I've tried to find a peanut noodle recipe that compared to the one I found in New York. Eventually, I found a great recipe on Epicurious, shared by Gourmet magazine.

Though it may not seem as though there is enough sauce, don't fret your pretty (or handsome) head. This is just the right amount of sauce. You don’t want the dish to be too soupy – the sauce should cling to the noodles, coating them. I find that mincing the garlic and ginger obviates the need to use a food processer to purée the sauce. I just whisked the sauce with chopsticks (surprise, surprise!).

For some extra kick, sprinkle with red pepper flakes or chili oil. This dish is especially delicious with cold julienned cucumber or carrots, sliced chicken, tofu, and/or sesame seeds. Whatever you wish to add to the noodles, prep and set aside in separate bowls so that you and your guests can help yourselves.

Serves 8 as a main dish and 12-14 as a side dish. Adapted from Gourmet magazine.

(L-R/T-B: Peanut sauce; cucumber matchsticks; ginger ginger ginger!)

Snickerdoodle Cookies

2010-06-20T13:50:00.009-05:00

Snickerdoodle cookies – Exhibit A, chillin’ on the window sill before going into my tummy.

A little thanks to my Dad on Father’s Day…

Dad… circa 1973.

When I was about six or seven years old, I wrote to Santa and asked for a Barbie car. My neighbor had one, and I enviously watched her play with it. For years, before and after that Christmas, my wish list was pretty predictable:

Salty, Crispy, Broiled Chicken

2010-06-05T10:02:00.006-05:00

This recipe is inspired by my mom. I’ve used the same ingredients and just tweaked a couple of the cooking instructions. I love how simple this is to make. The way my mom cooks it, the skin always comes out crispy and close to (but not) burned. The skin is salty, extra crispy, and… wow. YUM. And the meat comes out so juicy. I’ve actually had a friend bite into this and say, “F*** this is good!”

Though I haven’t had problems getting crispy skin, I’ve heard a lot of tips for it and decided to try cutting slits into the skin to see what would happen. The logic is that cutting the skin helps drain/render the fat, making the skin crispier. The skin came out crisp, but not as crispy as my mom’s, so I’m going to skip that step next time. You can try it on a few pieces and see which skin you like better (with or without slits). Slits or no, the meat in this recipe comes out ridiculously tender and juicy, as you can see from the pictures.

This dish is best served immediately, but you can also make this ahead and refrigerate it for future consumption as long as you don’t mind that the skin won’t be crispy anymore. I love cold chicken – it’s great for my favorite picnic meal: cold chicken and potato salad! It’s also delicious as a leftover in general. For lunch this week, I sliced up the chicken to make some very full-flavored, delicious sandwiches.

When you buy chicken, save yourself money and ensure the best flavor by choosing thighs or quarter legs, with skin on and bone in. Chicken breasts dry out very easily. The chicken skin helps ensure that the meat stays juicy (think of it as a protective shield from the heat) and the bone, in my experience, makes the meat more flavorful. In any case, I eat marrow, so I also choose bone in for that reason. If you’ve got to use other parts of the chicken, I highly recommend brining it before cooking. Nothing ruins a meal as quickly as dry or tough meat.

Broiled chicken serves as a great center piece for an endless amount of marinades and rubs. Experiment with your favorite types!

Serves 6-8.

Yum… look at all that juice!

Stir-fried Squash

2010-05-29T02:13:00.010-05:00

The easiest vegetable to cook, in my opinion, is summer squash. Yes! Now there is no excuse to not eat your vegetables! There is very minimal prep work, it’s so fast, and this lazy cook (i.e. moi) loves that. I got this from the grocery bag to the table in less than 10 minutes. I like to mix yellow and green squash for some nice color variety. Also, I just looked up squash and found out from Wikipedia that it’s, technically, a fruit. Interesting. So now I guess there is no excuse to not eat your fruit!

My main issue with many of the vegetables served these days is that they are overcooked. The more you cook those veggies, the more wilted, saggy, lifeless and sad they become. You basically drain those veggies of all their delicious flavor when you expose them to heat for a long time. Most cooked vegetables should retain some of their crisp. I say most, because leafy vegetables, for instance, are exempt. For lack of a better reference, cooked vegetables should be “al dente.”

As your squash cooks, it will start to turn translucent. Save it well before it becomes clear. As they cook away in the pan, you’ll be able to see them transition, becoming softer and clearer. If you’re feeling nervous about the consistency, rescue one from the pan at about 2-3 minutes and bite into it.

Serves 4.

Chocolate Apple Pie

2010-05-24T18:08:00.014-05:00

Hello, World – meet my friend, Chocolate Apple Pie.

This pie is my brainchild, my baby. A few weeks ago, I was talking to a friend on the phone. She told me she was going to bake an apple pie for her husband, and I oohed with delight. She, on the other hand, wasn’t as excited. “I’m not really an apple pie person,” she explained, “He loves apple pie, but I prefer chocolate.” I sat there for a few seconds before realizing that my brain was sending me a very excited telegram. Apple pie… you love apple pie… chocolate… you love chocolate. Hello-oh… apple… plus, chocolate… plus, pie. What does that give you. Put it together. Put it together, right now. I literally shouted, right then and there, into the phone, “Chocolate Apple Pie!” And then I was on a roll. How come I’d never heard of this? I asked people I knew, friends, family, and no one had ever heard of a chocolate apple pie. By golly, I was going to make one! But, where to start?

Roasted Potato Fries

2010-05-17T02:50:00.011-05:00

I love potatoes in pretty much every form I’ve come across: sweet, fried, baked, twice baked, mashed, scallopped, roasted, salad, chips . . . .

Here is a very easy recipe for roasted potatoes adapted from a recipe shared with me by my friend, c is for cindy. I make them in wedge form, but you can cube them or leave them halved, if you like. I prefer using Yukon potatoes – they’re so creamy – but you can also use red potatoes. Any potato with low starch (e.g. waxy potatoes) are a good choice because they’ll keep their shape.

Taiwanese Pork and Potato Stew

2010-05-08T23:35:00.016-05:00

In honor of Mother’s Day . . . .

{ Christmas, 1983. L-R: me, my mom, and one of my sisters. }

My parents were my alarm clock growing up. While my dad would pull boyish pranks to get me out of bed – grabbing my comforter, for instance, and whisking it out of the room – my mom used more gentle persuasion: bacon. No matter how tired I was, my consciousness swam through layers of sleep and immersed fully piqued whenever my mom decided that bacon was on the menu for breakfast. I would awake to find my mom sitting on my bed, waving a piece of bacon under my nose. She would feed me a small piece. “Qi chuang. [Rise out of bed.] There’s more downstairs.” Getting up was easy when there was bacon on the horizon.

I think I was twelve when I realized that my mom is a Superwoman. She met my father in Taiwan and, after ten years with him, fearlessly agreed to move our family to the United States where she knew no one. She raised my two sisters and me with a firm hand. We may have run wild sometimes, but never outside of the home. Strangers would approach our parents to compliment them on how well-behaved we were. Seemingly tireless, my mom cared for my dad and my sisters, held a job, and always made it home in time to greet us from school. She made our meals from scratch and we learned to appreciate where our food came from. She had her own vegetable garden and taught us how to compost. Through her traditional Chinese cooking and teaching, we developed a wide, diverse, and adventurous palate. By her example, we learned to value the animals that died to sustain us, and avoided being wasteful. We didn’t bat an eye at drinking shrimp and crab “brains,” or eating marrow. My sisters and I can all efficiently take apart a lobster and eat everything that can be eaten.

My mom had the magic ability of never making my sisters and me feel like we were interrupting her when we had a new cut on our knees, gum in our hair, or just wanted to be around her. She still has that magic. She taught us the multiplication tables and how to pick crisp apples and sweet blackberries. She encouraged us to study hard and even gave us extra homework to do. When we were sick, she fed us her wondrous chicken soup. We never doubted that she loved us, or was there for us.

I gain strength from my mom. She exemplifies the ideals she believes in. She is a sharp, organized, intuitive, unflappable woman who can cook, sew, sing, dance, tell stories, fix computers, and find the best bargain on anything. My mom is very practical, and a fast learner. She speaks four languages fluently. She is so perceptive that, when she listens to you, she can hear the things you aren’t saying. She has a wonderful sense of humor, and a sweet sense of propriety: her version of road rage is calling the other driver “buddy.”

My mom doesn’t just believe in the power of the family, she has defined our family. While my dad worked long and demanding hours to support us, my mom was at home making sure we didn’t turn into criminals. If my dad couldn’t be home for family dinner, my mom packed dinner, my sisters and me up, and we’d have dinner with him at work. Throughout my life, she has nourished our family with her food, sound judgment, patience, and love. She is also one of the wisest people I know. When I’m feeling perplexed or uncertain, I consult her like a Magic 8 Ball. Somehow, she always knows what to say to give me clarity and perspective. She is fair, direct, and honest, and the world is better for having her in it.

Today I’m sharing one of my mom’s recipes, and a family favorite: Taiwanese Pork and Potato Stew. This is a classic Mom recipe because it has just a few ingredients, requires minimal labor, and is extremely inexpensive. This dish serves 5-6 people and it cost me $4.23 in groceries. The secret ingredient is love. I hope this dish becomes a family favorite for you, as well.

I love you, Mom.

Serves 6-8.

* If the stew isn’t thick enough to your liking, mix cold water and corn starch in a 1:2 ratio (start out with 1 tablespoon of water) in a bowl. While the stew is simmering, pour the corn starch/water into it and stir simultaneously.

Chicken Parmesan and Chicken Marinara

2010-05-01T15:41:00.009-05:00

As with all of my recipes, I had to fiddle with this a few times before I got it right. Once, I got a little pepper zealous and the dish came out too spicy. I could barely eat it. What's worse, I was hosting a dinner party that night! Oops. Sorry, friends! Luckily, they still come to my table when invited. What good sports.

The "secret" (aka unlikely) ingredient I add is Dijon mustard. It lends a delicious dimension of flavor. I absolutely refuse to make Chicken Parm or Chicken Marinara without it. For me, that's like trying to make this dish without the chicken.

This recipe serves 7-8 people. For Chicken Marinara, simply leave out the cheese.

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken breasts
4 cups tomato-based sauce
Bowl 1, Mustard Mix:
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Bowl 2, Dry Mix:
1 cup bread crumbs
1 1/3 cup parmesan
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons melted butter

{ mixing bowl 1 }

{ mixing bowl 2 }

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line baking sheet(s) with tin foil. Place rack in middle of the oven.
2. Mix the Dijon mustard and black pepper in one bowl. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, mix breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and black pepper. Pour the melted butter into the bowl and thoroughly mix. Set aside.
4. Rinse off and cut chicken to desired portion size. Pound until they are all approximately 1/2" high (I use my fists, muahaha). Lightly coat a piece of chicken in the mustard mix, then dip it into the dry mix. Coat both sides. Push the breadcrumbs into the chicken, gently shake off the excess, and transfer to the lined baking sheets. Repeat with all pieces.
5. Put the baking sheets next to each other so that all the pieces cook evenly. If you have to put them on separate racks like I do (teeny oven!), switch the baking sheets with each other half way through. Cook for 15 minutes.
6. While the chicken is cooking, heat up the tomato-based sauce. Serve with the chicken.

Zee cheeken... before and after:

Manual Labor is a Good Workout, Or Why I Refuse to Buy a Mixer

2010-04-28T02:52:00.020-05:00

I love my laptop. I love Netflix, the internet and my cell phone. But, I won't buy an electric mixer. Not even a handheld one. Whenever I have to mix, stir, whip, mash, or knead, I use a handy dandy fork, spatula, or pair of chopsticks. I love to knead dumpling stuffing with my hands. (Ooh, which reminds me... I'll have to post that recipe this summer.) And when my army of forks and chopsticks can't get the job done, I turn to my mortar and pestle. Yes, I actually own a mortar and a pestle. And no, I do not work in an apothecary.

Why is this? Why do I embrace some forms of technology but refuse an electric mixer? There are lots of good reasons. I'll give you six, in no particular order.

1. I'M FRUGAL. My forays into the culinary world began after college when I was living in NYC, waiting tables and doing other odd jobs. I subsisted on cereal, milk, crackers and fruit. When I actually made something of substance in my kitchen-the-size-of-an-elf-closet, I wasn't about to go out and buy fancy equipment. First, I didn't have the money. Second, I literally didn't have the space. So I made do with what I had, and I'm quite used to not having an electric mixer now.

2. IF MY GRANDMA COULD DO IT, SO CAN I. People didn't always have electric mixers. They used to have to do everything by hand. Well, if they can do it, so can I! I'm not going to buy a $200 "Fancy Ooh Ah Brand Name" mixer when I've got the equipment already attached to me. (I'm talking about my arms, folks.) Additionally, and this overlaps with Reason Number One, let me throw out an imperfect hypothetical. Say the average person bakes 4 desserts in a year and buys a $200 mixer. Not calculating tax into it, that means that one dessert cost that person at least $50 to make. That is ridiculous. In order to get what I subjectively think is a good return, you'd have to make at least 400 desserts to get your equipment costs down to $0.50 per dessert! You already own at least 4 forks, I'm presuming. Pick one up.

3. LESS DISHES = YAY! It doesn't hurt that less dishes means less water used. Hurray for a positive environmental side effect! I'd be lying though if I didn't admit that washing those freaking electric mixers is also a pain in the butt. Take a blender, for instance. My lord. There are all these funky parts that I have to disassemble and wash, not to mention the blades with their nooks and crannies. How annoying. That's at least 7 more dishes I have to wash! No thank you. I'd much rather wash a fork than disassemble machinery. I'm a cook, not a mechanic.

4. I'M GETTING READY FOR BATHING SUIT SEASON. Okay, that's not really true, but it could happen. Using your hands and your body is good for you. Any physical activity you can add to your day is good for you. This includes doing chores! By using your own manual labor, you burn calories and, depending on how committed you are to mashing those potatoes, you tone your arms and your abs. Now, I'm not pretending by a long shot that cooking replaces actually working out or exercise. (I can see K's eyes widen in disbelief right now... I'm always finding ways to wriggle out of exercising.) But it doesn't hurt. That's all I'm saying. You're going to relish that piece of cake even more when your right arm is burning from churning. (And if you're really concerned about eating too much dessert, s-h-a-r-e. Desserts are a wonderful, homemade, inexpensive present.)

5. FANCY EQUIPMENT DOES NOT A GOOD COOK MAKE. Nor does a big kitchen a good cook make. I'll let Mr. Mario Batali handle this one: "Only bad cooks blame the equipment. I can make almost any dish in my restaurants on four crummy electric burners with a regular oven—as can just about anyone else who cares to."

6. I CAN'T STAND CLUTTER. There are few things I'm attached to... my books, for instance. They are dear friends of mine. Gold earrings - it's a strange weakness I have. But otherwise, I like to clear my space of clutter. Six months ago, I donated three boxes chock full of stuff to Brown Elephant. With summer around the corner, I'm intending to donate even more. Just think about all the things you have in your home that you don't use or wouldn't even notice if they were missing. Get rid of it! It's good for your chi, and good feng shui. Besides, it's not good to be attached to things. True and long-lasting wealth and happiness come from intangible things. :)

Pancakes - Classic, Banana, and Orange Juice

2010-04-26T13:00:00.040-05:00

I love pancakes. They're so easy to make. Whenever I see boxed pancake mixes, I shake my head with dismay. Make your pancakes from scratch, I beseech you! Home cookin' is always better.

This isn't the simplest pancake recipe in my repertoire, but it's my favorite. Thumbs up to America's Test Kitchen. I simply added bananas to their already perfected recipe.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
2 cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted butter + 2 tablespoons butter
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ripe bananas (optional to add bananas; ratio = 2 bananas: 1 cup flour)

Directions
1. Mix lemon juice and milk together. Set aside.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
3. Whisk egg and melted butter into the milk until combined. Set aside.
4. Mash bananas with a fork, then slowly stir in the egg mixture.
5. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients in the bowl and pour the milk mixture into it. Whisk gently until ingredients are just combined. You want the batter to be lumpy. Do not overmix or the pancakes will come out rubbery.
6. Heat a pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add a small pat of butter and pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan. When large bubbles appear and pop on the top of the pancake, flip. Cook each side for 1-2 minutes.
6. Serve immediately or keep the pancakes warm on a cookie tray in the oven at 200 degrees.

- For Classic Pancakes, leave out the bananas.
- For Banana Pancakes, follow the instructions above.
- For Orange Juice Pancakes (they really are delicious and you should try them), replace the milk with equal parts orange juice and leave out the lemon juice. These, by far, get the best reviews from my friends. :)

{ mash those bananers! }

{ bananas after mashing }

{ little lone pancake }

{ time to eat! }

Rainy Day Birthday Cake

2010-04-25T22:00:00.023-05:00

This is a cake with basic ingredients that anyone can throw together at the last minute. The bonus is that in addition to the few number of ingredients, it's very fast and easy to make.

Today, K and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary (or birthday, as I like to call them) one day early. We were discussing what to have for dinner - one of my favorite conversation topics - and getting excited about all the possibilities when, at the end of the discussion, I blurted out, "And chocolate cake for dessert!" His eyes gleamed and he exclaimed, "Hell yeah!" This was all well and good until I remembered that I'd decided that I wasn't going to leave the apartment for the rest of the day. Hmm. Problem. What if I didn't have all the necessary ingredients?

I pored through my cookbooks and did some research online. I'm not a pro baker, but I figured I could gather the basics of a cake, and whip something together. It didn't have to be a show stopper, just a good, basic, yummy cake. Essentially, a lazy cake, or as I've named it, a Rainy Day Birthday Cake. (Yes, it was raining outside.) I had to forgo the chocolate since I didn't have any on hand, but that's okay. K loved it. I did, too. Happy birthday, honey.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons of real butter, softened
1/3 cup of white granulated sugar
1/3 cup of packed, dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3/4 cup of whole milk

Directions
1. Turn oven on to 300 degrees.
2. Whip the butter until smooth and creamy. (Mind you, I am stubborn and still do all my mixing, whipping, creaming, etc. manually, but you are welcome to embrace technology and use an electric mixer. You're also supposed to leave the butter out and let it get to room temperature, but I'm an impatient, last-minute cook. I microwave the butter for 30 seconds to get the right consistency. You want to be able to press your finger into the butter and be able to make a small indent. You do NOT want liquid butter. That will totally change the consistency of your cake.)
3. Add the sugar to the butter and whip until it's light. Once the mixture is light, beat in the egg, and then the vanilla extract.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the wet mixture bit by bit, alternating with the milk. Keep stirring until the batter is smooth.
5. Pour the cake batter into a 9" round metal pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. When you stick a fork in it, a couple crumbs should hold onto the fork. If the fork is totally clean, the cake may be overdone and dry.

{ baked to a golden brown perfection :) }

Honey Butter & Cinnamon Sugar Butter

2010-03-08T17:01:00.026-06:00

Mmm, flavored butters are so delicious and easy to make. You've got to try it! Honey butter on fresh, hot rolls or cornbread... cinnamon sugar butter on hot toast... it makes my mouth water.

Ingredients for Honey Butter
1 cup Butter
1 cup Honey
(You want a 1:1 ratio of each.)

Directions
1. Soften the butter - I use the microwave. You want to be able to make a dent in the butter when you press your finger into it.
2. Add honey to the butter whip the ingredients together until fluffy. You don't need any fancy equipment - I used a fork.
3. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate.

I made cornbread muffins and topped them with honey butter for last year's Thanksgiving - it was delicious!

Ingredients for Sugar Cinnamon Butter
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 tablespoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
(Enough for 2 slices of toast.)

Directions
1. Melt the butter, sugar and cinnamon together. You can dissolve it over a pan, or microwave it like I did.
2. Stir the melted butter and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so if you want to eat it soon. Otherwise, you can put it in the fridge. If you make more than 1 tbsp of butter, you'll have to let it cool for longer. Once the butter is almost hardened, take it out and mix.
3. Serve, or cover and refrigerate.

Perfect for pancakes, hot rolls (cinnamon rolls!) or good ol' toast and tea. :)

{ cinnamon sugar butter }

A Love Letter to Seattle

2010-02-14T12:57:00.008-06:00

{ local produce at a farmers' market }

Born in Taiwan, I've lived in eight cities since birth, including both U.S. coasts and the Midwest. Seattle, by far, is my favorite city. Hands down. Not only is there city-wide recycling, there is city-wide composting. It's so cool. My mom used to compost in her garden, and I'm a huge supporter of finishing nature's cycle, rather than taking from the earth and returning garbage.

Seattle is ideally nestled between the Puget Sound and Lake Washington. There are trees everywhere. From downtown Seattle, you can see water and mountains. You are within a two hour drive from all sorts of outdoor activities - hiking, kayaking, skiiing, you name it. Restaurants boast delicious food and fresh seafood. There is a very diverse demographic of cultures and people. Many Seattle streets have dedicated bike lanes. Farmers' markets boasting lush, local produce and local wares dot the city. Drivers actually wave to say thank you when you allow them to go first or merge into your lane. Public, low-income housing communities have access to free tutoring for their children! I could gush on and on.

Can you tell that I'm in love?

I spent the most recent winter holidays in Seattle, and I took a few photographs while I was there. If you ever visit Seattle, check out my personal guide to the city. I'll post it sometime this summer. If you read this before I post my guide, feel free to leave a comment requesting it, and I'll email it to you.

{ lake washington at sunset }

{ pioneer square }

{ a coffee lover's siren song }

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Kiss Cookies

2009-11-23T22:34:00.029-06:00

I can't decide what to call this cookie... I vary between: Crispy Kisses (because they're crisp, not chewy), Lazy Kisses (because the recipe is so simple), Peanut Butter Poppers (because the cookies are small enough to pop into your mouth), and Peanut Butter & Chocolate Kiss Cookies (self-explanatory).

One of the joys of the holiday season is the increase in baked goods. The amount of processed sugar in most baked goods decrease their health rating, but I think it's a little silly to be extremist and avoid baked goods altogether. Balance is key in most things and a little bit of sugar isn't going to tip the scales.

Whatever you call this cookie, this little treat is a great way to share home baked goodies with loved ones and office mates. Since this recipe makes 65 cookies, you can share them with a lot of people. If you want to hand them out as party favors or presents, this recipe takes care of at least thirteen people (if you divvy out five cookies per person). And all it takes is one hour! I know the spirit of the season is generosity, but I sure do appreciate efficiency. :)

I love this recipe because it's so darn easy to remember and doesn't take long to make. It also combines two of my loves: chocolate, and peanut butter. This recipe is floating around the internet and all over the place. Now I share it with you. :)

Ingredients
1 cup of granulated white sugar
1 egg
1 cup of peanut butter
65 chocolate kisses, approximately (also more popularly known as Hershey's kisses)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix all of the ingredients together and put the mix into the fridge for 10 minutes to set the batter. This will make it easier to roll the batter.
3. Roll the cookie batter into one teaspoon balls and place on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake in the oven for approximately 8 minutes.
5. When you take the cookies out of the oven, place a chocolate kiss in the middle of each one.
6. Transfer the cookies to a cold baking sheet to cool.

Chinese Chicken Soup

2009-10-11T14:17:00.045-05:00

This is a delicious, healing, soul-satisfying recipe that is originally my mother's recipe. Many times, I have recreated it from memory with some of my own touches. It's a wonderful soup that I crave when I need comfort food or am under the weather. Since this recipe has been orally passed down on both sides of my family, I have no idea what the measurements are and eyeball everything. Thus, all the measurements below are estimates. Feel free to add things to your taste!

The essential ingredients make a wonderful chicken stock that you can freeze and use later. The prep time is very little, but you'll need a couple hours of simmering so that the soup has a robust, full flavor.

Essential Ingredients
A large stockpot - at least 5 quarts
Chicken - 2 lbs approximately, preferably thighs or legs (tastier), bone in and skin on
Water - about 4 quarts
Salt

Optional Ingredients
Ginger (highly recommended) - 10 to 15 slices depending on how you like it
Garlic - 3-5 cloves, crush under a knife
Soy sauce
Scallion
Shitake mushrooms, dried (but fresh will work too)
Rice or Pasta
Vegetables - Napa cabbage, carrots, celery, and more....

Directions

For basic soup, follow the directions below. The instructions for the optional ingredients are in parentheses.

1. Rinse the chicken and put it in the pot. Turn the heat on to medium and cook the chicken with some salt. (Add soy sauce and chopped up scallions.) Occasionally stir the chicken until all of the outside is cooked and browned.

2. Add cold water to about 2-3" below the rim of the pot. (Add the shitake mushrooms and garlic.)

3. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat to simmer and scoop out any foam from the top. Cover the soup and lightly simmer for at least two hours. (Add 10-15 slices of fresh, unpeeled ginger 15-20 minutes before you turn off the heat.)

4. Once the soup's done bubbling away, I like to bring it to a boil again and scoop out any more foam from the top. Add salt to taste. (If you want to get rid of the fat, the best way to do it is to refrigerate it. Any fat will rise to the surface and harden, making it easier to scoop out. I keep it in though; animal fat is good for you!)

5. Shred the chicken in the pot with a knife. It'll be so soft, it'll come right off the bone.

Soup's done!

How to prepare the other optional ingredients:
- Rice: Time the rice to cook so that it's finished when the soup is finished. Rice takes 20-30 minutes, depending on whether you use the stove or a rice cooker. Add to individual bowls when you serve. Never add to the soup directly; if it's not eaten right away it will absorb the soup and turn into mush.
- Pasta: Make pasta in a separate pot and add to individual bowls when you serve. Never add to the soup directly; if it's not eaten right away it will absorb the soup and turn into mush.
- Vegetables: Cut everything so that its bite-sized and stir fry it in a separate pan; garlic and salt are optional. Add to individual bowls when you serve. If there are leftovers, you can add the vegetables to the soup pot.

There are a few ways you can keep leftover soup:
- Keep it on the stove. The soup is even better the next day. Just make sure to boil it once a day! The soup will be good for about five days.
- Keep it in the fridge. Keep the soup in the pot or ladle it into containers. The soup will be good for about five days. If you boil it every third day, it'll keep for even longer.
- Freeze it. Put the soup in (a) nonstick muffin tins, (b) ice cube trays, or (c) quart-sized plastic bags. If you put the soup in muffin tins or ice cube trays, place the blocks of soup in plastic bags once they're frozen.

{ In this version, I cooked three chicken thighs with soy sauce and scallions, and added ginger and shitake mushrooms. When I served it I added rice, chopped celery and chopped carrots. }

BLT? BAT, please.

2009-08-03T08:24:00.014-05:00

Nowadays, I find myself cooking for two. I love cooking for other people, so I cook even more often. These last few years of zoning in on real food has cleansed my palate and helped rewire my brain and taste buds. My body is much more sensitive to processed/fake food and my mouth, or stomach, can tell pretty much right away when something doesn't agree with my body.

As a cook, it's not always easy for me to plan meals too far ahead. Oftentimes, I have cravings and I need to heed those. I do believe that the human body, in its natural state, knows what it needs and will ask for it. We are animals, after all. I think there are many reasons why people are out of tune with their bodies - not everyone should follow their cravings. I like to think that I'm in tune with my body. If I have a craving for a pork chop, my body may need protein (one 6-oz serving of a pork chop gives you almost 1/3 of the daily recommended protein); if I crave brocooli, my body may need vitamin C (one serving, about 90 grams, gives you 135% of your daily recommended dose of vitamin C). I eat when I am hungry and only then. This means that I usually eat five times a day.

The other day, I had a craving for bacon. And avocado. So I decided to eschew the traditional BLT and make a bacon, avocado and tomato sandwich for dinner. It turned out to be the perfect meal on a lovely summer day. I hope you will enjoy it, too!

For two sandwiches:

Ingredients
1 avocado
1 medium tomato
6-8 slices of bacon (depending on how much bacon you want)
4 slices of bread
condiments of your choice

Directions
1. Slice up the avocado and tomato so that everything is ready to go once the bacon is ready.
2. Cook the bacon your preferred method (instructions for pan or microwave cooking are usually on the package).
3. When the bacon is done, or just before, toast the bread.
4. Once the bacon is cooked and the bread has been toasted, spread the bread with your condiments of choice and layer on the bacon, avocado and tomato. DELICIOUS.

{ not the best lighting... but it still found its way to my mouth }

Omelet

2009-04-22T18:09:00.014-05:00

How can you go wrong with an omelet? I can eat one for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Wait. I would eat anything for any meal. Steak for breakfast? Yes, please!

An omelet can be a great source of nutrition. It is easy and fast to make, and it can be a complete meal. Yet, omelets are easy to mess up. The trick is getting the egg cooked thoroughly and I'm going to share my trick with you.

Ingredients
Filling (your choice)
Two eggs
Butter (1/2 a tablespoon)
Milk (1/2 of 1/4 cup)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Heat a small frying pan to low-medium heat.
2. Prep all the stuff you want in your omelet by chopping/dicing/grating into desired size. All pieces should at be least bite-sized. For this meal, I chose tomato, cheese and broccoli, but I've also used ingredients such as diced lunch meat and frozen vegetables. An omelet is versatile and it's a great way to utilize leftovers!
3. Stir-fry any ingredients that need to be cooked and set aside all of the filling.

4. For one person, break two eggs into a bowl, add approximately 3/4 of a 1/4 cup of milk, and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix the whites and yolks lightly so that the mixture is yellow and there are big bubbles on the surface. You don't want to mix it into a froth because it'll make the eggs come out tough.

5. Melt some butter in the pan. Butter is good for your body. (I'm not kidding. Butter is a great source of real vitamin A, D, K, E and protein. Butter substitutes = ew and bad for you.)
6. Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Now here is the trick to getting the egg cooked through: As you see the edges harden, use your spatula to gently pull the edge toward the center of the pan and tip the pan so that the wet egg fills in. Continue doing this all around the edges until there isn't any wet egg left to fill in the edges. The surface will still be moist.

7. If you are using cheese, spread it all over the egg. Put the rest of the filling onto one half of the egg and use the spatula to fold the egg over the filling.

8. After a few minutes, take the pan and flip it over onto a plate. Voila! Done.

Coffee

2009-03-08T13:49:00.020-05:00

I love coffee. I used to drink it with cream. Lately, I've been going without it. The flavors of a good, delicious coffee don't need to be tampered with, in my opinion. I'm a purist when it comes to tea and a part of me is becoming a coffee purist as well.

The only way I make coffee at home is with a coffee press. The coffee press is a wonderfully efficient and smart invention. I confess that I used to be intimidated by it. Now, I'm a convert!

Extolling the Virtues of the Coffee Press:
1. A good, basic coffee press is not expensive. It's a one-time purchase (unless you break yours) so it's good for your wallet.
2. One cup of coffee takes six minutes to make. It's fast!
3. A press takes up very little space on your counter top and can be easily tucked away in a cabinet.
4. Coffee from a coffee press tastes better because you're forced to clean it after every use.

Don't be disheartened by number four because it's key. Coffee has oils in it. When you don't clean out your coffee maker, be it a percolator or a press, those oils build up and become rancid. If your coffee ever tastes sour, you can safely bet that the culprit is a build up of rancid coffee oil. It won't kill you, but it is not tasty!

For non-rancid, non-rotten coffee, clean out that coffee maker! I think it's a lot easier to do (and to remember) when you're using a press. I've read various cleaning solutions for percolators and have seen pre-made cleaners in stores... why not bypass all of that and simply buy a press? A press needs water and soap. Done and done.

This is how I make coffee in the morning. You need:

1 coffee press
1 cup of water (8 oz.)
1 tbsp. of ground coffee

1. I microwave the water for two minutes (for every cup, add another two minutes).
2. Pour the coffee grounds into the press and add hot water.
3. Wait for four minutes.
4. Slowly press. You want to go slowly so that the grounds aren't stirred up. This way, they are gently pressed to the bottom of the press.

If you want to add cream, don't let me stop you. Once in awhile, I like to make hot chocolate and mix it with my coffee for a sweet treat.

Oh, another plus - I've read that coffee presses are green (but have yet to find an explanation as to why). In some ways, I'm a luddite. I still don't own fancy kitchen gadgets (a mixer??) because a part of me thinks...
- People used to bake and cook without this, why can't I?
- I don't want to spend the money on a machine when I can use my hands.
- Mixing, kneading, etc. is a good arm work-out. :)
- I live the rest of my life at a speedy rate; this is one thing that I do that allows me to chill out.

I hope this persuades you to buy a coffee press. It's very easy to use, good for your wallet, takes up little space, and I think the coffee tastes better. The press is a wonderful little invention. I think that everyone who brews coffee at home should look into it!

{ brew, my pretty.... }

{ muahaha... I am going to drink you, coffee! }

Banana Cake

2009-03-01T11:23:00.023-06:00

This is a very easy cake recipe requiring little finesse, time and attention. I loves it.

Ingredients
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup of white granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs (preferably room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 medium bananas - ripe (with brown spots), frozen, thawed, and coarsely mashed

A note on bananas... I always freeze the bananas when they're ripe (they'll have brown spots) and thaw them the day that I'm ready to bake. When I set the bananas out, I also set out the eggs. The bananas won't be pretty and will turn black due to oxidization, but don't worry - that's normal.

Bananas - Before and After

A note on flour... for a long time, I wasn't sure as to how to measure flour - do I pack it to get as much as possible? The answer is no. I learned from King Arthur Flour Company that you shouldn't pack flour when measuring. A good way to ensure that you get the proper amount is to scoop flour into your cup and shake so that the flour stays fluffy and loose. Scrape off the top with a flat edge so that it's flat.

Now, for the baking!

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter a 9x13 glass pan and lightly coat with flour (this ensures that the bottom of the cake doesn't stick to the pan).
3. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Whisk together vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract - add and whisk into flour mixture.
5. Mash and then thoroughly stir in bananas.
6. Pour batter into the 9x13 glass pan and put it into the oven.
7. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. Check doneness by sticking a toothpick or knife into the cake. If it comes out with any wet batter on it, put it back into the oven for a few minutes.

Cake - Before (as batter) and After (as delicious treat to put in your tummy!)

Allow the cake to cool. You always see recipes saying this and it's for good reason. The goods need to set. But I have to be honest with you. I often can't wait and this time was no exception. I cut into the cake while it was still warm and I was happily rewarded. Heaven! I love fresh out of the oven baked goods. Very little can beat that. :)

Yogurt, Granola and Honey

2009-02-14T16:40:00.024-06:00

This is one of my favorite snacks... it's filling, tasty, fast to throw together, and it's good for you. I start out with three delicious ingredients:

1/2 cup of yogurt
honey (to taste)
granola (to taste)

Steps 1 and 2: Pour in the yogurt and swirl in honey.

Step 3: Top with a layer of granola, and done. How easy is that?

My favorite granola, Bear Naked, is a bit pricey in the granola family, but I think it's important to eat healthy even though I'm strapped for cash. Your health is a valuable investment, and if you skimp on the good stuff, your body will pay for it, as will your wallet (think: poor health = medical bills = sad person and sad bank account).

Have you ever noticed that the food that's not so great for your body is often the cheapest food? I try to outsmart that by limiting my grocery items to what is on sale. When my favorite items go on sale, I buy double. The things I make exceptions for are meat, seafood, bread, eggs, and dairy items.

Buying on sale is good for a few reasons. One, it keeps your food costs down. Two, it pushes you to try new things. Three, it varies the types of food (and nutrients) you put into your body. Variety is good for your body (and your wallet).

I also try to stick with whole yogurt. Dairy fat is good for you, and it's DELICIOUS!

Teriyaki Chicken

2009-02-08T18:25:00.003-06:00

My mom has a delicious and ridiculously easy teriyaki recipe that never fails to satisfy. She is the resident cook in the family and she kept a family of five happily fed with food made from scratch, while also juggling a job. A superwoman, that one. One of her tricks was to create recipes that involved little actual work. Here is an example of one of them. As a testament to her skills and palate, I don’t like teriyaki, but I’ll eat hers in a heartbeat. Most teriyaki sauces are cloying and overly sweet. You can barely tell that it’s chicken you’re eating. No thank you.

When you get to the “bring to a simmer” part of the recipe, make sure that the sauce is bubbling over and covering the chicken within a minute or two. (See the picture, bottom row, right side.) This ensures that the chicken is marinating in the sauce the entire time. Don’t worry about the chicken being overdone or dry. Once the chicken is finished cooking, the meat is so tender it practically falls off the bone. :)