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 tried this recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/skinny-italian-meatballs-turkey-1-p/ We made the following modifications: (1) we first sautéed 1 medium onion (chopped) in olive oil, then added the crushed garlic cloves and sautéed for a minute before adding the crushed tomatoes and herbs; (2) we replaced half (28 oz) of crushed tomatoes with 29 oz chopped canned tomatoes that we puréed in a hand-held food processor; (3) for the meatballs, we combined ¼ cup plain breadcrumbs with some fresh herbs (marjoram and rosemary) and spices (¼ tsp each dried onion and dried garlic); (4) we used grated grana padano in lieu of parmesan reggiano; and (5) at the end of cooking, we added some sugar, red wine, and red wine vinegar for balance. For the breadcrumbs, we loosely followed this recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/seasoned-bread-crumbs (Oct. 2016)

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  • We had extra chayote and decided to try this one-pan meal: http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/braised-chicken-and-chayote-27664 First, heat a large sauté pan for 15 seconds, then pour in a little oil and spread it so that a sheen of oil covers the floor of the pan. Once the oil starts shimmering, place the chicken, skin-side down, in the pan. Immediately move the chicken around once to make sure the skin does not stick to the pan, and then leave the chicken alone so that the skin can crisp up. After 20 mins, you can turn over the chicken pieces. Otherwise, you lose the crispy skin aspect of this dish, as we did this time. We found that the last step of cooking took about 25 mins, and we increased the amount of lemon juice from a half-lemon to a whole. (Oct. 2016)

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  • We tried this recipe:
    http://www.daringgourmet.com/2013/08/27/doro-wat-spicy-ethiopian-chicken-stew/ but made a few modifications. First, instead of 7 Tbsp unsalted butter, we used a mix of butter, olive oil, and grapeseed oil (6 Tbsp total, reduced from 7). Second, we used one large red onion and sliced in along the grain. Third, we used 10 skin-on, bone-in drumsticks in lieu of chicken thighs or breasts. Fourth, we shortened the cooking time for step 2 to 30 mins and step 3 to 20 mins. Finally, we increased the number of hard-boiled eggs from 4 to 5, following this recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-boil-eggs-perfectly-every-time-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-202415 After peeling the hard-boiled eggs, we used a salad fork to prick each egg several times so that it would absorb the sauce, then gently placed the eggs into the stew. We served this with potato and carrot alicha and jasmine rice. (Oct. 2016)

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  • Place a whole chicken (4-5 lb) in a stock pot, then add 2 cups celery (about 3-4 stalks), 1 cup cilantro (about 1 bunch), ½ cup each parsley (about ½ bunch) and spearmint, 1 roughly-cut tomato (about ½ cup), 1 large onion (rough-cut), 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon (here, Better Than Bouillon), and pour in enough water to cover (about 14 cups). Bring to a boil on high heat, skim off scum, and then reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 1 hour. Remove all solids from the pot, setting the chicken aside to cool and disposing of the remaining solids (herbs and vegetables). Separately, peel and cut into 1-inch chunks: 2 cups carrots (about 3 carrots) and 3 cups potatoes (about 3 medium); peel and cut 1 large chayote into 1 ½-inch chunks; and cut 2 cups zucchini (about 2) into 1-inch rounds. Using two forks, shred the chicken meat into large, bite-sized chunks (you can save the wings and drumsticks for garnish), discarding the skin and bones.

    Heat the broth, then add the carrots, potatoes, and chayote, and cook for 5 mins on high heat, uncovered, and then lower heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for another 10 mins. Then add the zucchini and chicken to the pot, cover and cook for an additional 10 mins. Season to taste with salt, then serve. This recipe is from Delicious El Salvador by Alicia Maher, and this time we followed the recipe pretty closely (Oct. 2016).

    Note: We have added ½ of a large cassava root (about 1 lb) and reduce the potato to 2 medium. We peel, de-pith, and cut the cassava into 2×1″ wedges. Because undercooked cassava can be toxic, we added the cassava before the other vegetables cooked it on medium-high uncovered for 5 mins, then reduced to a simmer covered for an additional 5 mins. Then we add the potato, carrot, and chayote, increase heat to medium-high uncovered, and then resume the instructions above. (Feb. 2019)

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  • We tried this Ina Garten recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/plain-pound-cake-recipe.html but reduced the sugar to 1 ¾ cups and salt to ¾ tsp. This recipe yields 2 regular loaves, or 1 regular loaf and 3 mini-loaves (one of which is depicted). Fill the loaves only ½ way, as the batter expands while baking.

    During my childhood, I grew up eating Sara Lee pound cake, but freshly baked is so much better. (Oct. 2016)

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  • We tried this recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/penne_pasta_with_meat_sauce/ Our modifications: first, we used 28 oz crushed tomato in lieu of chunky tomato sauce, which we added immediately to the cooked garlic-onion mixture and let simmer for while we browned the ground beef separately and cooked the pasta. We also doubled the amount of garlic. Second, we used fresh marjoram, oregano, rosemary, and thyme in lieu of Italian seasoning and other dried herbs. Finally, we seasoned to taste with a splash of red wine, balsamic vinegar, and fruit-infused balsamic vinegar. (Oct. 2016)

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  • We had leftover small-curd cottage cheese, so we tried this recipe:
    http://thedairydish.com/easy-scrambled-eggs-cottage-cheese-recipe/ The recipe wasn’t particularly precise, so we heated the butter in the pan first, then scrambled the eggs before adding them to the pan. We garnished with minced garlic chives. We served this with sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, fruit-infused white balsamic vinegar, and a dash of salt and black pepper. (Oct. 2016)

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  • We followed this recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/182-slow-roasted-fall-vegetables but made the following modifications: for vegetables, we used 5 parsnips, 1 large rutabaga, and 4 carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut into ½” sticks. We tossed the root vegetables with 6 peeled and rough-cut shallots, 8 peeled and whole garlic cloves, ¼ cup olive oil, a few sprigs each thyme, marjoram, and rosemary, and salt and black pepper to taste. We oven-roasted them (on a sheet pan and a small roasting pan) at 325 for 1 ½ hours. We cooked this at the tail end of slow-roasting a beef brisket, placing the vegetables in the rack below the brisket pan. We made this for Rosh Hashanah. (Sept. 2016)

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  • We tried this Pioneer Woman recipe for Rosh Hashanah: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/passover-brisket-i-think/ For our 5 lb brisket, we combined 20 oz Ketchung Signature Sauce (an artisanal ketchup with Korean flavors available at http://www.ketchung.com), a packet of onion soup mix, and 1 cup of water. After poking holes in the brisket with a metal skewer, we poured the marinade over the brisket and let refrigerate overnight. We then oven-roasted it in a foil-covered roasting pan at 275 for 5 hours, then raised the temperature to 325 for an additional 1 ½ hours (we did this in order to roast some root vegetables on another rack). (Sept. 2016)

    Note: We also have used 20 oz Sweet Baby Ray’s Award-Winning Barbeque Sauce instead of Ketchung.

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  • We made this savory version of kugel to prepare for Rosh Hashanah. Details here:
    http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/browned-onion-kugels-231507 Instead of dicing the onions, we cut them into ¼ inch vertical slices along the grain. This recipe yielded 12 large muffins and 1 mini-loaf.

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