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.

  • We love this recipe with freshly cooked jasmine rice. We often serve this dish with Javanese pickle (see Note 2 below).

    Mince 1/2 small onion (or 1 shallot). Heat a large wok, then add 3 Tbsp neutral oil and saute the onion on medium heat until fragrant. Then add 1 lb minced pork and saute on medium heat until pork starts losing its pink color, then add 2 Tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp bittersweet caramel sauce (mine is homemade), and 1 tsp sugar. Increase heat, stirring until pork crisps up, then reduce to medium. When pork is fully cooked and crisped to your liking, add 2 chopped scallions (green parts only), then turn off heat. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes, then serve with jasmine rice. (Mar. 2015)

    Note 1: We often double this recipe, using 1 lb minced pork and 1 lb minced chicken. We cook the pork in one large nonstick pan and the chicken in another pan, using the same ingredients and technique in each pan (3 Tbsp oil, 1 shallot, 2 Tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp bittersweet caramel, and 1 tsp sugar). Before the final step, we pour the contents of the minced chicken into the minced pork pan and then add chopped greens from 4 scallions. (May 2026).

    Note 2: The Javanese recipe is here: https://cookingadventures.blog/2015/03/25/javanese-carrot-shallot-and-anjou-pear-pickle/.

    This mince recipe is from Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors (Ten Speed Press, 2006) and Andrea Nguyen’s Vietnamese Food Any Day (Ten Speed Press, 2019).

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  • This is simple, delicious, and utterly reliable side dish that complements entrees such as soy-marinated salmon.  Preheat oven to 425.  Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil, then add asparagus stalks (cleaned and trimmed).  Spray the stalks with olive oil, then lightly salt and pepper.  Roast for 10 minutes, then serve.  (Mar. 2015)

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  • We first had spanakorizo at a restaurant and had a surprisingly difficult time finding a recipe for this dish. We like this recipe a great deal: http://www.afamilyfeast.com/greek-rice-spanakorizo/. (Mar. 2015)

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  • We enjoyed a delicious harira at a local restaurant called Jerusalem. We felt inspired to try making it at home. Recipe is here:  http://www.jewishrecipetrader.com/display.php?recipeid=335 (Mar. 2015)

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