Homemade pizza with spinach, mushroom, & mozzarella on basil/garlic/tomato spread. I always use this recipe for the crust and tomato base and then switch up the toppings depending on what I have in my refrigerator/freezer. Only drawback is that I have to prep the dough and tomato puree about an hour and a half in advance, but there’s something so comforting about making pizza with friends. :)
I’ve gotten so lazy with cooking lately. Really not sure how I’d survive without the help of frozen dumplings from the Asian mart and bags on bags of bok choy.
Made beef + vegetable pad thai last night (with the help of a prepared spice pack so really not that impressive). There’s sunlight past 7 PM now! :D
Spring potluck! Chocolate crispy treats, eggplant Parmesan, banoffee pie (highlight), fruit & cheese skewers, deviled eggs, savory mini-quiches. My social life… pretty much revolves around food. I should probably try to add some new hobbies for summer.
Avocado spaghetti with carrots & cucumber! Am I the only one who gets stressed waiting for an avocado to ripen? I always cut it too early or too late. This time was almost perfect, though I probably could’ve held off a day more.
Lunch for this week: black bean noodles with beef, onions, potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. I sauteed the vegetables and meat in vegetable oil + garlic, boiled the noodles in water with a tablespoon of sesame oil, and then combined with two big spoonfuls of fermented black bean paste. Basically all I cook is variations of noodles + sauce/broth, and I’m totally okay with that.
Working with rice flour is such a nightmare!!! It sticks to everything and as soon as I managed to scrape a small piece off, another huge chunk glued itself to my fingers. Felt like I was washing my hands for hours. Red bean mochi is definitely not for beginners. :( I managed to make around 6 mochi cakes after an hour of fighting with the dough but not before wanting to break down in tears, so. At least now I know how tangyuan are made. Not a recipe I plan on revisiting anytime soon…
Kimchi update! It’s been exactly a week since I made it, and the flavor changes a little every day. I opted out of using fish sauce because M. was over and he’s a vegetarian, but now I really wish I had substituted with soy sauce at least because while the flavors have all blended together, I can tell there’s a layer missing. My favorite way of eating it is with congee. :9 Tomorrow! Red bean mochi!
Obsessed with baby bok choy lately. I can’t get enough of it! Tossed it in some miso stock with tofu and noodles the other night and then mixed it tonight with cabbage and egg for the spiciest but most satisfying dumpling soup ever.
Made kimchi yesterday thanks to Maangchi, my new favorite cooking guide. Isn’t she so adorable? I spent an hour marathoning her videos and now there are so many recipes I want to try. Red bean mochi! Grilled mackerel! Sweet pancakes! Eyes bigger than my stomach syndrome. :(
Had dinner at M.’s house and was treated to a full course experience - pasta starter, main course of veal masala with vegetables, a cheese plate, and mocha tiramisu, served with a glass of red wine and finished off with an espresso after dessert. Despite my socially lethargic ways, this week has been full of evening obligations and mixers that had me waking up groggy every morning, so I’m taking advantage of this rainy Friday night to crawl into bed…. now. With a peanut butter whoopie pie and my kindle. (Can’t even contain my excitement right now.)
Spicy tuna onigiri! Food tastes better when you get to play with it first.
Saturday morning: strawberry pancakes with nutella. TREAT YOURSELF.
The most cloyingly sweet pecan pie & vanilla ice-cream @ Highland Kitchen for V-day with girlfriends + miso noodles with seaweed, tofu, mushrooms, and a softly poached egg. Learned over the weekend that I live about 10 minutes walk from a Korean supermarket, so I came home with soybean and chili paste, extra soft tofu, and rice cakes. Dukbokki on my weekend radar~ :)
Congee with pickled vegetables, one of the few “safe foods” in my apartment right now. Thought I got rid of the stomach bug weeks ago but I started throwing up late Monday night, leaving me bed-ridden and nauseous for days. Finally started eating solid foods again yesterday after the worst 48 hours where any attempt to eat was immediately thwarted by my stomach, which only re-emphasized the correlation between my life satisfaction and food intake. Living by yourself when sick is the worst.
