Welcome

  • I cook as a hobby, and I maintain this blog primarily to keep track of recipes that my family has enjoyed over the years. I started blogging back in 2015, in response to requests from friends for recipes they had seen me post on Facebook (but that I couldn’t easily catalog). My original blog was on another platform that became less user-friendly over time. I migrated my blog to WordPress earlier this year, and I’ve spent more time than expected reformatting the migrated posts.

    This blog is and always will be a work in progress. For example, I currently provide Tags for posts, but I have not coded for Categories. I also generally try to share the recipes themselves in my posts, but in cases where the recipe is not available online, I try to identify the source (e.g., the cookbook title and author) as needed. In some cases, such as where a family has shared their recipe with me but hasn’t authorized me to share it widely, I post a photo of the dish with that proviso.

    I recently added a Search widget to this blog. On the desktop version, the Search bar appears prominently on the left hand side. But for some reason, it is hidden on the mobile app. If you’re on your phone, tap on the SHOW tab at the top left of the home page. That will reveal another screen with the Search bar.

    I hope you enjoy exploring my blog and find some recipes to try.

  • I grew up eating S&B Japanese curry, but in the past year I learned about Ottogi Korean curry, which is a cut above. We made this recipe while on vacation: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/curry-rice In this recipe, Maangchi calls for 100 g of Korean curry powder, which is the standard packet size for Ottogi curry powder. We used the spicy version.

    Our modifications: for the meat, we used 1/2 lb of hand-shredded roast turkey breast from last night’s dinner. For vegetables, we added 1 Russet potato, 2 small-medium carrots, 1 medium onion, and we tossed in a handful of baby spinach towards the end of cooking. The next time, we may try reducing the veggies and protein by 1/2 cup to have more liquidly sauce to drizzle over rice. We served the curry sauce over jasmine rice. (Apr. 2024)

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  • As very late converts, we recently purchased an Instant Pot. For our first attempt with this new device, we tried one of our favorite stovetop recipes, Shubhra Ramineni’s black-eyed pea curry. We followed the Instant Pot instructions here: https://pipingpotcurry.com/instant-pot-black-eyed-peas-curry-lobhia/ but we used the ingredients from Shubhra’s recipe. Our only prinary modifications were to use uncooked peas (based on our vacation pantry) and 2 cups water (instead of 1.5 cups bean liquid).

    First, soak 1 dry cup dried black eyed peas in water overnight in the fridge. The following morning, rinse, drain, and set aside (this will yield the equivalent of 30 oz drained, canned beans, except these soaked peas will be uncooked).

    Second. set the Instant Pot on saute – high, then heat 3 Tbsp vegetable oil. Add 1.5 tsp minced garlic, 1 Tbsp microplaned ginger, and 1 small onion (or regular-sized shallot), shredded on a large-size grater. Saute until slightly browned, reduce to saute-low heat, then add 1 medium tomato (cut into quarters). Cover loosely with the IP lid, periodically mashing the tomato until it becomes completely soft (about 5 mins) and is intermingled with the onion-ginger mixture. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/8 tsp cayenne (or 1/4 tsp Kashmiri pepper, which is low heat), 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Saute uncovered for about 6 mins.

    Add the drained black-eyed peas plus 2 cups water. Change Instant Pot setting to pressure cook – high for 12 mins, lock lid, and let cook without disruption. Once cooking is complete, let the contents do a natural release. Garnish with minced cilantro. Serve with basmati rice. (Apr. 2024)

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  • We are away from home, without access to my beloved rice cooker. We followed this stovetop recipe for basmati rice, and we are impressed how well it turned out: https://www.recipetineats.com/how-to-cook-basmati-rice/

    Our modifications: first, we did rinse the basmati rice a few times and soaked for a few minutes (this is based on great tips from NYT Cooking). Second, we used 1 dry cup basmati rice with 1.5 liquid cups water. We placed them in a medium-large pot (heeding the RecipeTinEats blogger’s warning about using a too-small pot). Third, after taking the rice off the heat, we wrapped the pot lid with a clean dish cloth before closing it (in order to capture excess moisture). Finally, after letting the rice steam for 10 mins, we lightly fluffed the rice with a fork. The basmati turned out beautifully – not water logged, with grains tender and separate. (Apr. 2024)

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  • We made this recipe using jasmine rice: https://www.funfoodfrolic.com/dal-khichdi-recipe/

    At the end of natural release after pressure cooking, we folded in about 2 oz of baby spinach to the kichdi. The flavors were strong and it was tasty, but we found the rice mushy. We garnished with fresh cilantro. (Apr. 2024)

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  • I am a big fan of beans and rice in many forms, and I love trying new recipes exploring this combination. We made this recipe: https://fatimacooks.net/chana-pilau-pulao-pakistani-chickpeas-rice/ We followed it very closely, and it yielded a delicately seasoned dish that we inhaled.

    Our modifications: first, we sliced a medium red onion along the grain. Second, we used all of the whole spices, but we reduced salt to 1 tsp (and we later seasoned with a little more salt at the end of cooking). Third, we used 14.5 oz no-salt chick peas (approx. 411 grams). We may double the amount next time, but we were reluctant to do that this first time in case it throw off the water-to-rice ratio. Fourth, we added 3 cups boiling hot water, and let the rice, chicken peas, and water boil vigorously together without a lid. When the liquid was largely absorbed, we wrapped the lid with a kitchen towel (as recommended) and reduced the heat to the lowest setting possible to steam (15 mins). We found that the kitchen towel absorbed excess moisture and resulted in fluffy rice.

    Finally, before serving we removed the whole spices to avoid biting on them. We also garnished with minced cilantro. (Apr. 2024)

    Note: We definitely recommend leaving the three bird eye chili peppers whole. I cut into one to eat with the finished meal, and it was extremely hot.

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  • This is an easy shortcut that mimics a BLT: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024442-furikake-tomato-sandwich?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share. Very tasty. We applied only a thin layer of mayo. (Apr. 2024)

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  • My husband loves potato-leek soup. We decided to try this straightforward, relatively healthy SkinnyTaste version: https://www.skinnytaste.com/potato-leek-soup/ This soup was delicious and satisfying. (Apr. 2024)

    Note: We recommend this method to thoroughly clean leeks: https://www.wellplated.com/how-to-clean-leeks/

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  • We first tried these no-bake cookies at ClubMed, and they are addictive. We made a half-recipe on a whim based on pantry ingredients, which we converted into 7 Tbsp Ghirardelli (100 g) semi-sweet chips, 2.5 Tbsp unsalted butter, and 2 cups cornflakes. We brushed the inside of two mini-muffin pans (12 wells per pan) with ghee, and once we formed the cookies in their well, we lightly sprinkled each with kosher salt. We placed the filled pans in the fridge to harden the cookies. (Mar. 2024)

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  • We craved homemade lentil soup, and I remembered Ina Garten’s recipe from many years ago. Unlike in the past, I followed the recipe almost exactly: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lentil-vegetable-soup-recipe-1948822. We slightly reduced the salt to 2 tsp and used 1 3/4 Tbsp barrel-aged red wine vinegar. This is a delicious and comforting plant-forward soup. (Mar. 2024)

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  • When I was menu planning for the week, my husband requested we make chicken tortilla soup. We tried this recipe by Chef Rick Bayless: https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/tortilla-soup/ This soup is an ingenious and hearty way to use leftover cooked chicken and tortillas.

    Our modifications: first, we couldn’t find dried pasillo chiles, so we used a total of three dried ancho chiles — 2 for the soup aromatics, 1 toasted and crumbled for the garnish (see Note below). Second, instead of canned fire roasted diced tomatoes, we used 15 oz canned diced tomatoes supplemented with 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. We also used 1/2 tsp dried epazote (and thus had no physical sprig of epazote to remove).

    Third, for the chicken broth we used 1 quart (4 cups) no salt chicken stock plus 2 cups Better Than Bouillon (i.e., 2 tsp dissolved in 2 cups hot water). Fourth, following Chef Bayless’s tip, we used shredded rotisserie chicken (we used meat from 1 breast, 1 thigh, and 1 wing). We also followed his instructions on making crispy tortilla chips and a crisp dried whole chile, and they turned out well.

    Finally, at the end of cooking we tasted the soup and balanced it out with salt (about 1/2 tsp) and sugar (1/4 tsp). We garnished each serving with sliced ripe avocado, crispy tortilla strips, minced cilantro, crumbled toasted dried chile, lime wedges.

    Note: we used kitchen shears to cut the dried chiles for both the soup aromatics (uncooked) and for the garnish (after toasting). (Mar. 2024)

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