Chicken Green Chile Stew

I made this stew a while back for one of my SoupGroup meetings. I seldom try new recipes for SoupGroup because of my fear of failure. The stew is a variation of my green chile sauce. The potatoes and corn makes a pretty hearty meal. I like to top it with shredded jack cheese and serve with a tortilla...

Read More

Dried Longan Drink with Agar Agar "Noodles"

I know this drink doesn't look very appetizing. The brown color from the dried longan makes the liquid a cola brown. I used to order this drink in Vietnamese restaurants back home but I don't see it on menus out here. Vietnamese restaurants have the best dessert-drinks. You will usually find three-color...

Read More

Bread Machine Buttermilk White Bread

I tested out my favorite buttermilk bread recipe (Peter Reinhart's recipe for white bread using the buttermilk variant) in the old bread machine last Friday. For the first go around I decided to follow the recipe exactly and see if any adjustments were even necessary. I tested the bread with the new...

Read More

Laotian/Northern Thailand meal: Isaan Sausage, Papaya Salad, and Sticky Rice

The great thing about growing in southern California was the variety of ethnic food available. I grew up eating not only my family’s style of asian cooking but also the cooking styles of other various groups. My family is from Xishuangbanna prefecture of Yunnan province. Because of the proximity...

Read More

Post Blizzard Breakfast: Sourdough Buttermilk Pancakes

So we finally got the snow that I have been waiting for. It wasn't bad in the AM so I decided to go to work. The ground has been so warm that the snow initially melted as it hit the ground. We monitored the roads throughout the morning and they didn't look so bad. After a few hours, the ground cooled...

Read More

Oven-Braised Beef Stew

I’m still cooking meals for the new parents. I wanted to make something that reheats well and tastes better as it sits and the flavors meld together. I was talking to a co-worker and she swore by the Barefoot Contessa’s beef stew recipe. She said the recipe is called “Parker’s Beef Stew” but there...

Read More

Whole Foods Tuna Salad with Sun-Dried Cranberries and Lemon - revisited & tripled

My good friends welcomed a baby boy a few days ago and I've been trying to help the new parents by coordinating and cooking meals for the family. Co-workers and friends have all been eager to help with meals. Yesterday I dropped off the food and they were so thankful. My friend delivered via cesarean...

Read More

Quick Monday Night Dinner - Pulled Chicken Sandwich

Weeknight cooking has to be quick and easy. It is just not worth it for me to work all day and then come home and slave over the kitchen for several hours especially since I cook for one. Weekends are a different story. I cook for two and I usually have time to mull around the kitchen. Dinner had...

Read More

Israeli Couscous Soup

It looks like we will have winter temps tomorrow. I’m so excited! Temps have been in the 70s lately. I feel like I have been cheated out of a winter. The precipitation levels are quite pathetic. The mountain resorts have really suffered. Some winters we have so much snow that it takes up all the...

Read More