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!