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 followed this NYT recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6609-manicotti-with-cheese-filling-and-bolognese-sauce?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share As a shortcut, we used 2 ½ cups of premade bolognese sauce (24 oz Rao’s bolognese sauce). To reduce sodium, we used 1 oz finely chopped prosciutto (down from 2 oz). We also used 12 jumbo shells, which we parboiled for 10 mins; the 12 stuffed shells filled a 9×12 casserole dish, but we still had about ¼ of the filling unused. (Nov. 2019)

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  • When defrosted, these will become tofu crumbles – and good vegetarian substitutes for ground pork – in recipes such as vegetarian ma po tofu or vegetarian dan dan noodles. We tried this method by Andrea Nguyen: https://www.thekitchn.com/leftover-tofu-freeze-it-for-later-167830 We used Whole Foods extra firm tofu. After handpressing the 14 oz tofu brick with paper towels, we cut it into 12 even pieces (2×1″) and then placed, spread apart, on a foil-lined quarter pan. Then we placed the tofu-filled pan in the freezer. Once the individual chunks had frozen, we stored them in a gallon freezer bag for later use. (Nov. 2019)

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  • We made this recipe: https://www.wholefoodbellies.com/garlicky-quinoa-and-spinach-brunch-bowl/ At the end of cooking, we found the quinoa-spinach mixture a little flat, so we added 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (white vinegar or white wine vinegar also would work), ¼ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp each coarsely ground Aleppo pepper and black pepper. We also accompanied each serving with a fried egg; the runny yoke was great dressing. (Nov. 2019)

    Note: To cook the quinoa, we followed this recipe (but we halved the portion to ½ cup uncooked quinoa and 1 ½ cups chicken broth, omitting salt): https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016491-basic-steamed-quinoa?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share If you use vegetable broth or water, this dish would be vegetarian.

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  • We tried this NYT recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012899-stracciatella-with-spinach?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share We left the spinach leaves whole. Prior to adding the spinach to the simmering broth, we added 1/3 cup tiny star pasta (pastina) and let it simmer for a few mins. Then we added the spinach, followed by the egg-parmesan-semolina mixture. We also added ½ tsp crushed red pepper to the broth. We found it quite delicious and easy. (Nov. 2019)

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  • We followed this recipe from Faye Levy’s Feast from the Mideast, which is also available online here: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-11-fo-1350-story.html We followed the book recipe, which called for 1 1/3 cup (not 1 cup) dried lentils. We increased the cumin from 1 tsp to 2 tsp. We also set aside only 1/3 of caramelized onion as topping. (Nov. 2019)

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  • We tried this recipe from Faye Levy’s Feast from the Mideast, an online version can be found here: http://www.eilee.net/recipes/vegetarian/chick_spin.html Although this is a vegetarian recipe, we used 1/3 cup chicken broth instead of chickpea liquid, but we found that was insufficient liquid to help the stew boil. We found the originally quite bland, so we made substantial modifications: added ½ tsp each cumin and coriander, 1 tsp McCormick curry powder, a dash of Aleppo pepper (coarsely ground), ½ tsp sugar, and the juice of one lemon. (Nov. 2019)

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  • We tried this recipe for 5 leftover white corn tortillas: https://houseofyumm.com/cinnamon-tortilla-chips/ We served this with vanilla ice cream. (Nov. 2019)

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  • We seasoned the minced beef with chipotle in adobo. We followed this recipe: https://cookingwithshazia.com/beef-tacos-with-chipotle-peppers-in-adobo/ We garnished with tomato, cilantro, shredded cheddar, and lime wedges. (Nov. 2019)

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  • We made this recipe on the fly using some leftover canned chipotle in adobo sauce in our freezer. (We defrosted 1 chipotle and some attendant sauce.) We whisked 4 large eggs, 1 Tbsp half and half, and chipotle in adobo sauce (1 chipotle halved to remove seeds, then rough chopped, with about 2 tsp adobo sauce). We melted 2 tsp butter in a nonstick frying pan and then prepared the eggs following Smitten Kitchen’s scrambled egg technique: https://smittenkitchen.com/2010/05/scrambled-egg-toast/ We served the chipotle scrambled eggs with tortilla chips for an easy breakfast. (Nov. 2019)

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  • We tried to recreate this local favorite from a recent vacation. We loosely followed this recipe: http://cookingtheglobe.com/loco-moco-recipe/ Our modifications: first, for the meat mixture, we used ½ cup plain breadcrumbs and 1 tsp soy sauce instead of panko and salt, respectively. We also added ½ tsp dry mustard. Second, for the sauce we first sauteed ¼ cup (1 small) shallot a little oil in the pan before adding the butter. After making a roux, we added 20 grams (0.7 oz) dried Polish mushrooms (which we had reconstituted and drained, setting aside the mushroom soaking liquid). Instead of 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, we added a dash each of soy and Worcestershire instead; this made the sauce a bit salty, so we diluted it with ¼ cup of the mushroom soaking liquid. Finally, once we finished thickening the sauce, we added the four cooked patties back in to make sure they would be fully cooked; we covered and simmered for 5 mins. Separately, we fried the eggs in another frying pan. We served this dish with cooked jasmine rice. (Nov. 2019)

    Version 1: Instead of reconstituted dried Polish mushrooms, we made a mushroom gravy with 8 oz sliced fresh cremini (baby Bella) mushrooms. After cooking the patties and placing them on a platter, we heated the same cooking pan, added ½ medium onion (finely minced, about ¼ cup) and 8 oz cremini mushrooms (cut into ¼” thick slices, without stems). After they softened (about 2 mins on medium heat), we added 2 Tbsp butter and sauteed. Then we added 2 Tbsp flour and made a roux (2 mins) before stirring in the 1 ½ cups beef broth and 2 dashes Worchestershire sauce. We added the four patties back into the sauce, covered, and simmered on low for 10 mins. We served each patty with rice and a fried egg on top. (May 2020)

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