Macaroni Salad

I finally got around to making this macaroni salad recipe from 101 Cookbooks! It's been on my list for a while and I'm pretty happy with the result. The green onion is a nice flavor with the macaroni and the apples add a nice crunch and a touch of sweetness. I wasn't able to find arugula on its own so I used a mix of baby spinach and arugula instead and it worked out fine :) One thing to note is that 1lb of pasta is a huge amount so definitely have a HUGE bowl to use when tossing everything together, use multiple bowls (I used two) or halve the recipe.

still alive!

I've been getting lazy at home and cooking simple one pot/one pan dinners for myself so it hasn't been too exciting. However, I did get a chance to try out a grapefruit pound cake recipe for a potluck this weekend!

I used the recipe from Homesick Texan and used two loaf pans instead of a tube pan. I'm pretty happy with the results but the grapefruit flavor is quite faint so next time I will probably up the amount of zest I put into the batter. It also came out a little lighter than the dense pound cakes that come from the freezer aisle of the supermarket which would make it a nice cake to pair with ice cream or tea :)

Okonomiyaki Party!

Well, to be honest it was more like an okonomiyaki (also known as "Japanese pizza" by some) making party for me, and games and socializing for everyone else lol. I can't help but enjoy my time in the kitchen while listening to people having a good time in the next room.


Anyhow, I decided on making okonomiyaki for our gathering of friends after Thanksgiving because I selfishly wanted to make something comforting but Asian after making a big traditional(ish) Thanksgiving dinner a few days before. Surprisingly okonomiyaki is incredibly easy to make and I am a little sad I didn't get any other ingredients to mix in. Perhaps next time I'll get some mochi and mentaiko or cheese :) I think adding in the grated nagaimo is definitely key as it made the batter pretty gooey which translated into some good texture when eating. I also made a big pot of tonjiru (literally pork soup) to go with dinner. Tonjiru reminds me of the fall and I remember having bowls of it outside at some community event at the Board of Education back when I was living in Japan. Again, comforting, nostalgic, and tasty. Can't go wrong with that combination :) I'm sad I didn't take a photo of the entire table as others also contributed to the gluttony that happened yesterday. We had King Egg Rolls, muddy buddies, a giant smoked turkey leg, biscuits, and cake! I also appreciated how my friends finished off the last 1/3 of my apple pie that was in the fridge as well. I look forward to Christmas now and the next excuse I have to turn my kitchen inside out and cook up a storm :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Once again this year I cooked Thanksgiving for my family! It was lots of fun prepping and cooking for just about 1.5 days straight and I look forward to doing it again next year :) I'm still quite fond of the roast turkey recipe from Simply Recipes and made my first full sized apple pie from scratch! The recipe for deep dish apple pie in Cook's Country Blue Ribbon Desserts was a big hit and the crust was also pretty delicious! I think I'll be making that pie again sometime. That and also Honey Cornbread recipe from Cook's Country. The cornbread came out dense and rich and rich and really went well with the flavor from the cornmeal.

The full menu from tonight was:

- Roast Turkey

- Rice Stuffing

- Regular Stuffing (from the box- we had some in the cabinet we needed to get rid of...)

- Pan fried brussel sprouts

- Roasted carrots

- Fried Smashed Potatoes

- Honey Cornbread

- Cranberry sauce from the can

- Apple Pie

- Spenda Pumpkin Pie

- Roasted Whole Sweet Potatoes

 

Needless to say I am suffering from a major food coma. My brother is also passed out from too much food lol. I think that's a sign we had a good Thanksgiving :)

Kale and Potato Soup

Even though the weather outside still can't decide if it's summer or fall, I have deemed it soup season in my kitchen lol. That and soup is just so easy to make in a pinch at home. Today, I went with a kale and potato soup that my mom read about in the newspaper back when she lived in Tucson. I think she said it was called something like "Portuguese  Kale Soup" but I'm not too sure of the ethnic origin of the linguica, kale, and potato combination so I'm just going to leave out the Portuguese labeling. Speaking of my mom, this soup will always remind me of how my dad likes to recount how my mom went in search of linguica at the supermarket and when she asked a store clerk to help her out she completely confused him by asking him for help finding the "Leticia" sausage. What I found even more amusing was my dad said he thought nothing of it until  a few minutes later when he realized "Leticia" is a woman's name, not a sausage lol. Also, thank goodness the store clerk figured out linguica from Leticia otherwise we would have been in trouble for dinner that day.

I really enjoy this soup with a side of crusty bread for dipping. The linguica is key to the flavoring of the soup as is the chicken stock and the kale some texture to the soup as well as color. This is pretty versatile and I can imagine putting other ingredients into it as well but today I went with linguica, kale, potato, onion, and white kidney beans.

Easy comfort food

I have to admit I do tend to make more Japanese food than others and I'd like to say it's because I really cooked for myself when I lived in Japan....but that's really only part of the reason. Japanese home cooking has always been a comfort food for me since I interned in Japan waaay back in the summer of 2003. That introduction to what Japanese food is beyond sushi rolls, tempura, and miso soup was something I'm eternally grateful for. That summer marks my fateful meeting with nikujaga, among so many other dishes, which is now one of my favorite dishes to both cook and eat! I use the recipe I got from my one of my favorite recipe books I bought in Japan. The title literally translates to "dishes you want to make again and again."

I love flipping through this book but I haven't had time to sit down and actually cook all that many of them. However, I can definitely say the nikujaga and karaage recipes are big hits with me and also my family. My dad couldn't stop eating the nikujaga and he firmly believes (and I do too most times) that the onions are the best part. Not the beef or the potatoes, despite them being the namesakes of the dish lol. Today I just added the last carrot I had in the fridge to give some more color to the table and a lot of times I'll add either shirataki or chunks of konnyaku in as well add in a different texture to the plate. You could also decorate with some snow peas or just leave it as meat and potatoes. So versatile, and yet so yummy!

It's finally feeling like autumn

It was rather sudden but it's definitely feeling like fall now. The temperature has dropped down to the 50s in the morning and I finally had to put on a sweater this week at home. Though I do miss the crisp fall air that I experienced once in Michigan and twice in Japan. However, one thing is the same regardless, it is the season of apples!

Apples were my favorite fruit when I was a child and now they still rank pretty high for me. Fuji apples are definitely my go to apple but when I can get my hands on them I love a good honeycrisp or empire. There's just something so very satisfying about a good crunchy apple! That being said, I also enjoy trying any new apple I might come across at the market and this time, I discovered Envy apples. They're apparently a hybrid of gala and braeburn created in New Zealand. I won't lie and say the "New Zealand" also piqued my interest since lately running away to New Zealand has suddenly risen up in my hypothetical escape plans when I get stressed out at work. I've only had one so far and there's this wonderful sweet note that you get with each bite that makes it hard to stop wanting more. Sadly the apple I had was a bit grainy, but I'm not sure if that's the texture of the apple or if I just happened to pick out an older one. Regardless, I think they're definitely worth a try!

Tonight's dinner..

Yakisoba and pea shoots! When I was living in Japan, there were two different opinions about cooking yakisoba in my English conversation class. One adamantly said the noodles are much better if you don't add water and the other said you have to add water or the noodles won't come apart. I'm still debating between the two myself, but I think I do enjoy the chew of the noodles sans water a bit more than the ones that have water added to it. Pea shoots are one of my favorite vegetables but are so easily over cooked (sadly I overcooked them a bit today D:) but I love the slight crunch and the flavor that a little salt brings out of them. I think pea shoots definitely rank high for me, right up there next to on choy and spinach :)

Quick and Easy Steamed Eggplant

I don't remember exactly where I found this recipe but I think I did a search for steamed eggplant on google and it came up somewhere. This is super easy and always a hit with my family when we need an extra side dish at dinner. Simply cut the eggplant into about 5cm pieces and steam the pieces until soft, about 7-8 minutes. While steaming the eggplant, mix together about 3T soy sauce, 1T black rice vinegar, 1T sesame oil, 1T chili oil, 1.5T chopped garlic, and a pinch of salt if necessary. These are ballpark figures, I typically eyeball the amounts and then adjust things to taste. Once the eggplant is done, let it cool before mixing with the sauce.

It's feeling like fall...

It's kind of amazing how in the course of a week we've gone from 80 degree weather to below 65. This is definitely a sign the season is changing. Though, it's not the same as having the crisp fall air of the midwest and east though! Today was definitely the first day I felt a little chill on my way home from work so I looked up a quick lentil soup recipe and tried out cooking lentils for the first time today. I definitely need more work with timing how long to cook the lentils but this was a pretty quick and adaptable recipe I'll be trying again. I'm sure it'll be even better once I remember to buy salt. It's pretty delicious with some crusty bread too!
Here's the original recipe: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/lively-up-yourself-lentil-soup-recipe.html

Alive again?

Here goes...the third? attempt at blogging what I make lol. Now that I've finally moved out on my own again, I anticipate cooking more often but we shall see!

Tonight's dinner is one of my current go-to one pot/pan mixture of whatever's lying around. I've fallen in love with the chewy bite of Israeli couscous and any combination of that with chopped sausage and vegetables and beans simmered in low sodium chicken broth has been a lifesaver when I need to make something fast. This is also great for me since I always have enough left over to take for lunch! Paying rent once again coupled with no longer working within walking distance of 4-5 different lunch options really forces me to think about what I can make that will stretch for lunch for at least one or two days!

Today's mix is Israeli couscous, a can of black beans, a can of diced tomatoes in juice (no salt added), 1 green bell pepper, 1 sm. yellow onion, and sundried tomato and mozzarella chicken sausages. In my eagerness to get to eating, I managed to put in a little too much chicken stock so it's a little soupy today but still good :)

3 desserts and 2 hotpots

My friends and I gathered for a holiday hot pot last night and it was quite the event. 2 hours of eating a seemingly endless amount of beef, pork, lamb, mushrooms, noodles, vegetables, tofu, etc etc all around one extended table! Winter is definitely the best season for hotpot :) Of course, I made desserts to go with the hotpot. Sticking with the Asian theme of the evening, I made almond jelly and a jasmine panna cotta. I also brought chocolate souffle cupcakes from a recipe I got from smitten kitchen I fell in love with the panna cotta and most loved the cupcakes as well so all was good :) Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos once again but I'm sure I will make these desserts again in the future!

It's been a long time...

Finishing school, moving home, and starting work completely took over my life and before I knew it, I've ignored this blog for over a year! ...which also means I've ignored the kitchen and my bountiful baking supplies for quite some time as well. Work has definitely taken over my life and it's definitely been difficult for me to work out a good work-life balance, but I am slowly trying to change my habits. Sadly, that old saying is pretty true. "Old habits die hard." (=_=) However, when the holidays roll around, there's always a little time to enjoy some quality time with the oven :) This year I made a pumpkin pie with Splenda since my dad is diabetic and I also made the super delicious Bolzano Apple Cake! Sadly, no really good photos this time, since I took them to my Aunt's for Thanksgiving, but please visit the sites for recipes and photos! I highly recommend the Bolzano Apple Cake!

Caramelized Bananas

There were 4 very overripe bananas sitting on my kitchen counter when I finally had time to take a breath and spend some time at home this weekend. At first, I was going to make banana bread out of them, but having just made zucchini bread, I kind of wanted something different. H suggested caramelized bananas, so I thought, why not? It's easy to make, delicious, and I had vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Perfect! Of course, being the only one home at the moment, meant I couldn't make all 4 of the bananas into caramelized bananas...just half of one :( The rest got chopped into large bite-sized pieces to be made into chocolate covered banana discs later :D



Caramelized Bananas

Bananas
Sugar
Butter
Cinnamon

1. Cut bananas into 1/4 inch discs

2. Coat bananas in sugar

3. Melt a pat of butter in a pan, enough to cover the bottom

4. Place bananas in pan with one side down, in one layer. Fry for 3-5 minutes over medium heat, until the bottoms are golden brown.

5. Flip bananas over and let the other side brown for about one minute.

6. Turn heat off and sprinkle cinnamon over bananas and mix slightly to distribute the cinnamon.

7. Serve over ice cream and enjoy!

Bacon and Chocolate Cookies

That's right. Bacon. F found the recipe and we were feeling daring, so on one of her trips back up to the Bay F, H, and I proceeded to test out the assertion "bacon makes everything better" by making these cookies lol. The cookies came out pretty good, just don't let them sit around too long. Then they're....not so good. I believe, however, the consensus was we would have liked the cookie without bacon even better :X So there you have it. At least for the 3 of us, bacon, sadly, does not make everything better lol.



Bacon and Chocolate Cookies
adapted from recipezaar

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 lbs bacon, cooked and crumbled (about 2 cups)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugars, extracts and eggs until creamy. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir together.

2. Dough will be slightly soft. If you want a more cakelike cookie, add another 1/2 cup of flour. Mix in chocolate chips and crumbled bacon. Stir until well integrated.

3. Place dough on a sheet of wax paper and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F.

5. Remove dough from fridge. Pinch off 1 ½ -inch pieces and roll into balls. Set dough balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls in the center slightly with your fingers. Bake about 10 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

I came across this recipe, and had to try them. I never saw, heard, or even knew black bottom cupcakes existed before this! I was definitely missing out :( The combination of the chocolate cupcake and the cream cheese filling is amazing. Amazing. I love the mini chocolate chips in the filling too! I think the only thing I need to be careful of in the future is not over filling the cupcakes..some of mine turned out with a very tiny "black bottom" when cut open. Oops. (^^;)



Black Bottom Cupcakes
from Baking Bites

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese Filling
16-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tbsp sour cream, room temperature
1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips (not full size*)

Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, make filling. Beat together cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth.

3. Beat in egg whites and sour cream. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.

5. Make a well in the center and add in sour cream, water, butter and vanilla. Stir together until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.

6. Divide cake batter evenly among 24 cupcake liners. Top each portion of batter with 1 rounded tablespoon cream cheese mixture (It is ok to have a little left over).

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the side (cake only part) should come out with a few moist crumbs on it. Rotate pans halfway through baking if you are using two racks.

8. Cool in pans for 5 minutes. Cream cheese filling should sink slightly in this time. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

*Full-sized chocolate chips will sink to the bottom of the cupcakes, while miniature chips will remain suspended in the cream cheese center.

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

These...are...delicious! I made these at least 3 times last year and I always found it incredibly hard to stop eating. There are just enough oats to give the cookies texture, and the amount of white chocolate and pecans are just right to make these cookies a sweet treat that you can't stop eating...well me anyway. lol. I am looking forward to making these again someday soon :)

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
from allrecipes

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the rolled oats, white chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Fudgy Brownies

This recipe turned out quite well for me. I think I made these twice last year! The only caveat for me was that they were just right bite sized otherwise I found the sweetness too much to handle..of course in general I'm finding I can't handle sweet in large doses anymore (darned aging!). So far, I don't think I've found a brownie recipe that tops these (yet!). Although I'm still looking to try out more. I think what I'm missing now is the right time/temp to make a chewy brownie. Mmm..so much to experiment with when I finish institute in August!





Fudgy Brownies
from Baking Bites

Ingredients

8 tbsp unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 400F and line and 8-inch square metal baking pan with foil.
Melt the butter and the chocolate together, on top of a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring often until smooth.

2. Stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add eggs one at a time, followed by flour. Stir until very smooth, about 1 minute. Add nuts, if using.

3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake at 400F for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare a water bath. Fill a large roasting pan with water and ice about 1 inch deep.

5. When the brownies are done - and they will look a bit dry on top - take them immediately from the oven and place in the water bath. Add more ice to the water if necessary. Allow to cool completely in the bath before removing the pan and cutting the brownies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Gougeres

This was my first attempt at making these tasty cheese puffs! I found the recipe on David Lebovitz's blog and it looked so simple and he included lots of tips for troubleshooting so I couldn't wait to try :) I used a combination of gruyere and parmesan as my cheeses and seasoned the puffs with some black pepper and lemon thyme. mmmm. Sadly, I soon realized I need a lot more experience working with choux pastry... My puffs deflated pretty quickly after they came out of the oven. They were tasty, but not "puffs" which might have been due to underbaking :( Sigh. I think I also had issues with how much batter to put out for one puff. These turned out about half the size of what they were supposed to, judging from the original recipe.. I'm definitely going to give these another shot and conquer choux pastry! These and also cream puffs...mmm cream puffs... but those'll have to wait another few weeks until I have an oven to work with!



Gougeres
adapted from David Lebovitz definitely hop over and visit his site for tips and more :)

1/2 cup (125ml) water
3 tablespoons (40g) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into cubes
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few turns of freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 cup (70g) flour
2 large eggs
1 to 2 teaspoons minced fresh lemon thyme
1/2 cup grated gruyere
1/4 cup grated parmesan


1. Preheat the oven to 425F (220C.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

2. Heat the water, butter, salt, and pepper in a saucepan until the butter is melted.

3. Dump in the flour all at once and stir vigorously until the mixture pulls away from the sides into a smooth ball. Remove from heat and let rest two minutes.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring quickly to make sure the eggs don't 'cook.' The batter will first appear lumpy, but after a minute or so, it will smooth out. (You can transfer the mixture to a bowl before adding to eggs to cool the dough, or do this step in a food processor or electric mixer, if you wish.)

5. Add about 3/4s of the grated cheese and the thyme, and stir until well-mixed.

6. Scrape the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a wide plain tip and pipe the dough into mounds, evenly-spaced apart, making each about the size of a small cherry tomato.

7. Top each puff with a bit of the remaining cheese, the pop the baking sheet in the oven.

8. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375F (190C) and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until they're completely golden brown.

Eats around A2, part 3

And the final installment of my eating adventures in Ann Arbor!

R, C, and I had a farewell brunch at Cafe Zola which was amazingly delicious. I believe R said she liked both Cafe Zola as well as Angelo's and C and I hadn't tried Cafe Zola before we marked that as our destination for the day :) R and C both had the strawberry and banana crepe and I had the Istanbul omelette. The crepes sounded so tempting but savory wins over sweet for me when it comes down to brunch. The omelette was delicious, there was eggplant and other vegetables inside the fluffy egg, topped with a chunk of feta cheese. mmm...so good! Needless to say, if I were still in A2, I'd be going back there :)


Istanbul Omelette


Inside the omelette!


Strawberry and Banana Crepe

The RF research team and I had a farewell lunch at Sadako during my last week in A2. It was somewhat fitting since I think the first time I visited A2, my cousin and her family took me out there for dinner! I had the U of M lunch set which was 3 pieces of salmon nigiri and 6 pieces of California rolls topped with salmon. Mm I love salmon.. it was decent and pretty good for the price, also much more filling than it looks, as sushi always is. Sadako is definitely a decent alternative from Za's, Jimmy John's, and other places around S. University, and E. University.



On my very last night in A2, E was kind enough to respond to my distress call and come over after lab to help me clean my apt. We were at it for a good 2-3 hours! Thank goodness for friends is all I have to say :) To close out the night, at 11pm we ordered a bacon, chicken, and pineapple Sicilian deep dish pizza with a cajun butter crust from Cottage Inn. I couldn't leave A2 without trying pizza from the chain that first opened there! Pizza after working hard at scrubbing the bathroom, kitchen, floors, etc tastes divine... We had great fun sitting on the floor of my kitchen/dining room, using the pizza box and paper towels as plates, huddled around my comp listening to music and looking at my old photos. I like that when I have pizza, it usually comes with that laid back and relaxing atmosphere :)



I must say, looking back on it, I had a pretty good time in Ann Arbor, despite many stressed-filled nights and the incredibly long winter. I only wish I got to explore more of the eats while I was there!