Category Archives: Lunch

Tomato, Kale and Orzo Soup w/ Turkey Meatballs

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Soup by

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Hi all! Sorry for being MIA. I feel so apologetic all the time on the blog since i haven’t posted very much, and I keep telling myself I want to write more and learn to code. Haven’t done this New Year’s Resolution yet, but have worked on the other goals for the year. I have a great feeling that 2016 is going to be a great year for my friends and I. Change is coming (and has already as I moved a month ago) and I am SO ready.

Btw, it has been raining for 5 straight days in Northern CA. I know this year is going to be a great year because even through the rain, I am still out and about and in a great mood to be spending time with friends and family. Also, it has been a great time to make hearty soups. I am very fond of orzo, but had a un-love affair with orzo for a long time. I think I just hated the fact that it literally soaked up every ounce of liquid in everything. But for some reason, this time, I was actually craving those little morsel pastas.

Also, I have my hands on some real Burmese fermented tea leaf paste. I plan to make tons and tons of tea leaf salads in the future. Will post here once I do. Can’t wait!

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Buffalo Turkey Meatballs + 2016 New Years Resolutions

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch by

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Happy New Year Everyone! I wish everyone a wonderful 2016. I have a feeling this will be a great year. I don’t normally make cheesy statements like that, but I really do believe 2016 will be the year for me, my family, and my friends. I can’t wait to actually see what this brings, and as always, I want to remember to take the time to appreciate time, and the daily happenings. I refreshed my memory on glaciers, and looked up the age of the Sierra Nevada – the granite that we see today was formed 100+ million years ago. Humans are on this Earth for a minuscule amount…take the time to enjoy every millisecond!!!

My 2016 New Years Resolutions:

  1. Improve upon my blog. The look, the feel, learn some basic blogging coding. I know it’s a long shot to actually be one of those beautiful long time bloggers making a ton of money, but I want this to be my life’s work/creation. Even if no one appreciates it, it is still something I wish to leave in this world for millions of years later.
  2. Become better at makeup. I gotta stay young and beautiful if I want to be in the running for a husband.
  3. Get a facial. Will be my first time!!! My sister just threw shade at me for only cleaning blackheads every three weeks; she does it 4 times a week.
  4. Get abs/get skinny. I start Monday.
  5. Be more solid financially and independently. Although I have a job, a lot of things are still paid for by my family. I want to turn the tables.
  6. Understand the types of investments out there. Investing is a vast vast, deep deep hole that you can go into and one thing leads to another, and before you know it, everything gets confusing. The terms derivatives, liquid alts, swaps, CROs, etc. I learned some of the terms while studying for a failed Series 63 exam, but I would love to know MORE, just to build a solid foundation as I continue to work in the industry.

What are yours!!!

To jumpstart 2016, we will begin with some healthy turkey meatballs in buffalo sauce. Light and friendly snack.

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Spicy Sriracha Chicken Wings

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch by

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I am increasingly bothered by the lack of Thanksgiving this year. Before we even crossed Halloween this year, news articles started talking about Christmas – whether it was retailers focused on this Christmas shopping, or food news articles skipping the Turkey, and going straight to Christmas cookies and yule logs. Starbucks has even stopped serving “Thanksgiving” blend before Thanksgiving even started! They’ve moved onto “Christmas” dark and blonde blends. Thanksgiving has not happened people!!!!!! What happened to the Thanksgiving that we Americans have celebrated since we were pilgrims? I am afraid to ask what they teach kids in elementary school right now – do they still have a craft day where we made turkeys by tracing our hand on construction paper? Do they have dress up day where kids dressed as pilgrims or silly turkeys? I sure had that in my childhood and it engrained in me the importance of Thanksgiving. Why are we in such a rush to Christmas? Why are we in such a rush to end the year? Does it have anything to do with all the horrific things we encounter in the world that we just want to turn the page and look to the future? Well my take on it is why don’t we just slow the way down, hug our families and friends when the world is so crazy, cherish those moments where we gather around and eat turkey and cranberry and stuffing, and embrace the spirit of the holidays.

Last night, I was able to do so with some of my friends for Friendsgiving. I am thankful for those times where we can get together, eat, laugh, be ourselves, when we are apart for most of the year. These moments occur less and less after we place ourselves in the real world. All the more important to get together and spend quality time with each other! I made these spicy sriracha chicken wings for the dinner and I am so happy with the results!

I challenge you to skip the Peppermint Mocha at the moment, and enjoy a Pumpkin Spice Latte until Thanksgiving is over.

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White Peach Salsa!

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, Paleo by

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Since this year was a hot hot hot year, with little rain, and an early summer, the peaches on our tree ripened so quickly so early in the year. We used to wait until about mid-july or august for harvesting, but we ended up harvesting them in mid-june this year!! So I learned this year that fruit trees bear delicious, juicy, sweet fruit every other year consistently. So one year it will be large and sweet and delicious, and the next will be smaller and less sweet, maybe even sour. Also, after the peach flowers have bloomed and it starts to form the fruit, on the same branches, you have to pick off some of the fruit so the other fruits on the same branch will have enough nutrition to form these big and yummy peaches!!! Darwin’s rule!! Funny how nature works and I have definitely noticed that with our fruit trees. Anyway, we have a ton of peaches so we needed ways to use them up. We made jam and peach salsa. The jam can go on homemade bread and jam cookies during Christmas! I am so excited.

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Fiery Jalapeno Kiwi Salsa!

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian by

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For some reason I have always thought of kiwis as an all season fruit – it’s in my house all year long and they seem to be in Costco, always fresh, year round! With the summer abundance of fruit, I have been looking for ways to use them! As decoration (see Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Tart) or as more savory options, like this spicy jalapeño kiwi salsa!

Kiwis have a unique history – surprisingly, they are native to China, where it used to be called Chinese gooseberry. No idea where the goose came from (although there are red core kiwis according to Wiki). Then the cultivation journey of the kiwi fruit went to New Zealand, where there are birds that are called kiwi birds…LOL but New Zealanders named these bright green fuzzy fruits the kiwifruit, and it stuck!!!

This salsa only takes 4 ingredients and can be used as a chips and dip or a topping for fish!!!

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Oven Roasted Brisket!!!

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Paleo by

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Mmm brisketttt!!! I don’t normally touch complicated meats, as I leave the complicated meat and seafood stuff to my dad when I am at home, but this was a MDW project for the both of us where we bonded over our love of cooking and excitement over BEEF. We have been talking about kobe and wagyu beef a lot lately and are excited to someday go to Japan to try real kobe beef, as the marble is incomparable to “kobe style.” Anyway, since it was MDW, we were deciding between the tri-tip or brisket cuts of beef to make. Both of us have never made brisket before but have definitely eaten it before and have heard of the famous texan beef brisket where people wait in lines for. So we went to Raley’s and the meat cutter who brought out fresh cuts was like “go for the brisket today! and here is a recipe on the sticky for you! have fun!” So we set out on this project, which turned out to be relatively easy, but you just have to be patient and give it the slow roast that it needs. Half-way through the roasting process, and after poking it a little, it didn’t seem to soften and I was afraid it was going to be tough like some people said online. So we lowered the temp and let it roast another 2 hours. WHEW did it turn out perfect. And the sauce was an amazing pair. Slow and steady wins the race!

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Jalapeno, Cheddar, and Hot Dog Corn Bread!

Posted in Appetizer, Bread, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch by

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It’s the middle of May and SUMMERRRR is almost officially here!!!! You know I am most alive during the summer months when the days are longer and the sun is shining! Being that I live in SF though, I gotta get out of the city to get this sunshine, so I will take whatever chance to this summer! Since I basically had zero, nada, summer last summer, well except maybe the weekend of July 4th fun, I want to make this summer the best summer ever since 2013!!! My plans this summer are to go to vegas, go camping for the first time, go to another national park, hike more hiking trails, run more trails, eat at a Michelin star restaurant, and explore more of SF! I owe it to myself to be a worldly person and that begins today.

Check out this yummy, easy cornbread I made for the Fight of the Century!!! It’s perfect for summer BBQs or camping trips 😀

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Standard Pizza Dough!

Posted in Bread, Dinner, Lunch, Vegetarian by

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Totally unhealthy post this time! Made this pizza awhile ago with homemade pizza dough and waited this long to share it. I figured since pizza is a warm, comforting food, it is perfect for any season. I do have to say that this is a wonderful homemade dough, that captures the dough-chewiness to normal pizza, like Round Table or Little Caesars. I sometimes like a little chew and dough to my pizza – it isn’t always about the NY Style ya know (although I do love it and will post on it later). Pizza dough is very easy to make – only 4 ingredients. I wish I did have a stone oven/stone pan where I can emulate more of the slight crunch on the outside and doughy on the inside texture. But this will do. And I have to say I loved it!

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It’s Pumpkin Time!!!

Posted in Bread, Dinner, Lunch, Soup, Sweets by

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It’s Pumpkin Time!!! Finally! My favorite food season is upon us! Happy October 1st ya’ll! Trader Joe’s has rolled out their plethora of pumpkin goodies – did you know they have Pumpkin Bagels and Pumpkin Mochis? This world has gone pumpkin crazy! I love how pumpkin has gone to super duper mainstream in the recent years – I mean look at Starbucks – they rolled out their Pumpkin Spice Latte a month or two ago! Everyone is getting creative with pumpkin nowadays, and you should too! There’s definitely more to pumpkin than pumpkin pie – trust me.

These are 4 of my Pumpkin recipes that I enjoyed making last year! I can’t count how many times I have made this pumpkin bread – you know it’s great when even I make it again and again – my go to recipe for pumpkin bread. This year, I hope to post up some Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Pumpkin Pie, and some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! Stay tuned for those in the coming weeks! I LOVE PUMPKIN!

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Tonkotsu Ramen!

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What came over me to make this tedious, yet delicious masterpiece? An intense craving after seeing countless Instagrams over the weekend of big bowls of ramen! Have wanted to make it since last year, when I made the Japanese Miso Ramen, but was too lazy to boil the bones for so long. This was definitely a tedious dish to make, a 12 hour project, but honestly, with time and patience, you too can make it. It is a standard tonkatsu broth with only salt added. The condiments in ramen, combined with the rich sticky broth, is what makes the dish. The meat and the egg were also meticulously made to compliment the dish. Fried garlic in sesame oil was also made to enhance the dish. In addition, when you are single and basically eat by yourself, you have a ton of leftovers in which it is easy to freeze the soup base and the noodles for future consumption. I am super happy with the way it turned out and I know if you follow the steps and ask yourself for patience, you can do it too! Please let me know if you do it! I will applaud and cheer for you!

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