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 love enoki mushrooms, and when I saw them at H-Mart this weekend, I decided to make this dish.  Once you prep all of the ingredients, the cooking time is quite short. Soak 2 oz dried black mushrooms in warm water; when soft, drain and cut into slices.  Separately, take a package (about 14 oz) of enoki mushrooms, cut off the roots, separate into small clusters, then parboil until tender, drain, and set aside.  Parboil 4 oz bean thread noodles, then drain and set aside.  Heat 2-3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil in a wok, then add 2 scallions chopped, 3 Tbsp microplaned ginger, and 3-4 minced garlic cloves until fragrant.  Add black mushrooms and 1 can chopped water chestnuts (drained and cut into half-moon slices), and sauté for a few minutes. Add the enoki mushrooms and bean thread noodles, mixing well, then add 1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock if making vegetarian), 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, and a dash of salt.  Stir well, and season to taste (I added a tsp Marukan rice vinegar, 1 tsp chili soya bean, and a dash of fish sauce). Serve immediately.  This recipe is from Simply Vegetarian by Wei-Chuan Publishing, with
    modifications (addition of water chestnuts and seasoning to taste).  (Feb. 2014)

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  • We made Andrea Nguyen’s recipe: https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/10/caramel-sauce.html Before you try making this, make sure you have a clean sink that you can fill with water. (Mar. 2014)

    Source: Andrea Nguyen, author and teacher, Vietworldkitchen.com.

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  • Cream 1 stick butter (room temperature) and 1 cup sugar, then add 2 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract until lightly beaten.  Separately, sift together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp each baking powder and baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ½ tsp.  Little by little, fold the dry mixture and 1 cup sour cream (here, 7 oz plain Greek yogurt and 1 oz milk) into the batter, alternating between the dry mixture and sour cream.  When the batter is well-mixed, fold in 2 pears (here, Anjou), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch dice.  Pour the batter (it will be thick) into greased loaf pans (here, we used 4 mini-loaves).  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until knife comes out clean (about 45 mins).  This recipe is from Quick Breads by Beatrice A. Ojakangas, with modifications (omitted the cinnamon nut topping by accident).  (March 2014)

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  • This was my first attempt making carrot cake, which is one of my husband’s favorite desserts.  Recipe is here:  http://busycooks.about.com/od/sheetcakes/r/bestcarrotcake.htm (Apr. 2014)

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  • Cut 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make 4 cutlets.  Sprinkle lightly with salt, then place 3 fresh sage leaves on the top of each cutlet.  Separately, line up 4 thin slices (2 oz total) of pancetta (or prosciutto de Parma) and slice in half, lengthwise.  Wrap each chicken breast with 2 pancetta strips each, securing the sage leaves tightly.  Heat a large pan with olive oil, then add the chicken cutlets (I cooked two at a time).  Brown on each side, making sure each piece is cooked through.  Set aside the cutlets.  

    Mix ¼ cup lemon juice, 1/3 cup chicken broth, and ½ tsp cornstarch, then pour mixture into pan to create a sauce.  Scrape the browned bits from the pan and let the sauce heat for about 1 minute.  Serve the sauce with the cutlets.  This recipe is from Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca,
    available on Cooking Light’s website:  http://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/quick-easy-italian-recipes/lemony-chicken-saltimbocca-recipe.  (Apr. 2014)

    Note: We often increase the pancetta/prosciutto to full slices, wrapping 1 or ½ thinly sliced sheets to enrobe each cutlet and a few sage leaves. For 4 cutlets, you would use ¼ lb pancetta/prosciutto.

    Note 2: When pan-searing, heat the pan (we use a large metal All-Clad, high-walled sauté pan), add enough oil to cover the surface, and wait for the oil to heat (you can tell when the oil looks a little swirly). Place each enrobed cutlet, backside down (the side with untethered ends of the pancetta), and using your hand, gently swirl the cutlet against the pan surface (this will prevent the protein from stick to the pan and ensure enough oil to lubricate). By cooking the backside first, you “seal” the wrapping on the cutlet. Once the backside has browned (you can tell when the bottom edge of the cutlet looks white), gently flip the cutlet and gently swirl it in the pan again to ensure it won’t stick to the pan (you can use tongs this time).

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  • Using an electric mixer, beat 32 oz cream cheese (or, to reduce fat, 16 oz cream cheese and 16 oz Neufchâtel cheese) until fluffy, then add 2 tsp pure vanilla extract and 2 cups sugar (here, I used homemade vanilla-infused sugar). Slowly mix in 4 eggs, one at a time. Separately, place 24 cupcake liners in two 12-cup cupcake tins, then place a Nilla wafer (I used low-fat), flat side down, inside each cupcake liner bottom. Pour the cream cheese mixture into each cupcake slot, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 mins. Let cool completely, then top with your favorite pie filling (here, cherry). Paula Deen recipe here: https://www.food.com/recipe/cream-cheese-tarts-paula-deen-114580 Note that I doubled her recipe to make the most of the pie filling. (Apr. 2014)


    Variation #1: We used a 2:1 ratio of citrus-infused sugar (recipe here: https://cookingadventures.blog/2018/05/13/citrus-sugar-we-tried-this-recipe/) and plain white sugar for the cheese cake batter, and we topped it with a homemade blueberry pie filling (recipe here: https://cookingadventures.blog/2019/03/17/homemade-blueberry-pie-filling-we-tried-this/) (Mar. 2019)

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  • Combine 2 cups Kashi 7-grain puffs, ½ cup each cashews and pecans, and 1 cup chow mein noodles (the crispy, twiggy, bad for you kind, not the Whole Foods flat noodle version). Separately, melt 10 oz chocolate chips in 30 second intervals (Mika, note that I increased from 10-15 seconds), stirring between heatings. When chocolate is nearly melted, fold in ½ cup almond butter and then microwave for another 20 seconds. Mix well, then fold chocolate-almond butter mixture into the dry mixture, coating well. Drop spoonfuls onto parchment, then refrigerate until hardened (about 30 mins). This recipe is loosely based on Chocolate Haystacks from Kashi. (Mar. 2014)

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  • I had not planned to make ginger candy; rather, this sprung out of my attempts to salvage sugar water from a failed attempt to make Vietnamese bittersweet caramel sauce.  First, boil 1 part sugar and 1
    part water.  When the mixture gets viscous, add 1 part peeled, sliced ginger.  Let simmer for about 30 minutes to make a ginger syrup; this syrup can be used for ginger tea.  Once you use all of the syrup, dip the ginger slices in granulated sugar and bake in a 200 degree oven until dried out (about 4 hours).  This recipe is based on “Ginger Syrup” by Ming Tsai (http://www.ming.com/food-and-wine/recipes/simply-ming-season-4/ginger-syrup.htm), one that I had made several years ago and was lucky enough to track down last night.  (Apr. 2014)

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  • This dish, which I learned from my friend Amy, involves three components.  First, the filling:  mix ¼ lb minced pork with 1 tsp Chinese cooking wine, 1 ½ Tbsp water, 1 ½ tsp cornstarch, 1-2 cloves garlic (minced), ½ tsp microplaned ginger, ¼ small onion (minced), and a dash of salt.  Second, the egg mixture:  mix 4 eggs, 1 ½ tsp cornstarch, and 1 ½ tsp water (add more water if mixture seems viscous).  Finally, the seasoning broth:  combine 1 ½ cups chicken broth, 1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce, ¾ Tbsp Chinese cooking wine, ¼ tsp salt, a dash of sugar, ¾ small onion (sliced), 1-2 garlic cloves (minced), ½ tsp microplaned ginger, and about 5 whole black peppercorns.  Place the seasoning broth ingredients in a small pot (I use a 3-4 quart) on a back burner, letting simmer on low heat.  Leave cover off.  In the mean time, heat a small skillet with a little oil.  Pour 2 Tbsp of the egg mixture, spreading it so that it forms a little crepe.  Add 1 tsp of pork filling, trying to spread it on a vertical line in the center of the crepe.  Fold the crepe in half, then flip and lightly brown.  Place the filled crepe into the seasoning broth (which should be directly behind the skillet).  Repeat until egg and pork mixture are done.  Gently stir the dumplings in the broth (so that the newest arrivals can get covered in broth), then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with jasmine rice.  This recipe is from Amy​, with some modifications (addition of garlic, ginger, onion, and black peppercorns).  (May 2014)

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  • When I made this dish, I thought of the time my friend Sarah made this for me many years ago in Chicago.  Preheat oven to 425.  Cook ½ lb egg noodles, then drain.  While still hot, stir in about ½ cup
    shredded cheddar cheese and set aside.  Separately, in a large skillet, saute 1 chopped onion, 4 minced garlic cloves, and a few sprigs thyme (leaves only) in some oil.  Season lightly with salt and black pepper.  Then add 2 chopped celery, and when slightly wilted, add 8 oz sliced white mushrooms until they release some liquid.  Add ¼ cup flour, mixing well so that all lumps are gone. Pour in 3 cups low-fat milk, 1 cup chicken stock, and 1 1/3 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce, bring to a boil and stir often, then reduce to a
    vigorous simmer.  Once sauce has reduced by ½ cup, add 10 oz each frozen broccoli and peas.  When vegetables have partially defrosted, add drained tuna from four 6-oz cans and the cooked pasta.  Mix well, then pour into a 9×12 baking dish.  Sprinkle generously with unseasoned bread crumbs, then bake for 25 mins.  This recipe is based on a healthier version of this dish by Elie Krieger, with additional seasonings from a recipe by Sunny Anderson; both are available on Food Network.  (May
    2014)

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