Sweet & Sour Pork

Yes, this week is pork week... pork has got to be my favorite meat... so versatile, different cut and seasoning can make completely different dishes... all of them tasty...

Cheesy Pretzel Dogs

I am addicted to Auntie Anne's Cheesy Pretzel Dogs but 2 for $6 is too expensive (that's promotion price too) so I looked up some pretzel recipes and made my own.  The pretzels are not as soft as Auntie Anne's but they were yummy nonetheless :)

Pork & Green Peppers with Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Another quick and easy meal. 

Ingredients:
4-6 oz pork, cut into bite size
1 green pepper, cut into bite size
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp of Black Bean Garlic Sauce (can find at any Asian grocery store)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in wok, add chopped garlic, add Black Bean Garlic Sauce.
2. Add pork and cook until medium rare, add green peppers.
3. Cook until medium and place the meat and peppers in a shallow plate.
4. Boil water and steam #3 for 15 minutes.

Mario Cooks!

Mario Batali is one of my favorite chefs so when I saw his an app for iPhone, I got it.  I mean, who else can teach me how to cook Italian food better than him.  The app was only $5 and there were 60 recipes, technique videos, how to stock an Italian pantry, etc.  Just the fact that he pronouces the dishes in Italian sounds like a good deal to me (more reasons for me to love my iPhone!!)  I am not suggesting you need to go buy the app, I am just giving my opinion.

Tomato Shrimp

Clearing out my fridge in preparation of my trip.  I have some leftover shrimp from making wonton the other day... a quick and easy (and tasty way) is to cook it with tomatoes...

Traditional Cheesecake

My mom's favorite - this recipe is actually from a friend of hers.  She makes me bake one of these almost every week and literally eats the whole thing herself when she visits... She doesn't even share (and her the weight gain is not proportionate - life is unfair)... even though all I want is a tiny little piece... (she gives me a piece in the end... a really tiny piece...)

Potato Bites

love love love potatoes... it's definitely one of my top comfort food... almost as bad as devil eggs for me :)

Ma Po Tofu

Super easy, quick and probably very healthy :)

Ingredients:

3-4 oz pork

1 box soft tofu 

garlic

green onions

1 tbsp Guilin chili sauce

dash of soy sauce and sugar

Directions:
1.  Thinly slice pork, marinate with a dash @ of sugar, salt, pepper, MSG, and 1 tbsp @ of soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil.
2.  Cut tofu into big cubes.
3.  Finely chopped garlic and green onions.
4.  Heat oil in wok, add garlic and Guilin chili sauce.  Add a dash of sugar (optional).
5.  Add pork when you can smell the chili. 
6.  Add tofu when pork is about done.
7.  Gently stir and taste.  Add a dash of soy sauce (optional).
8.  Add green onions.  Gently stir and ready to serve.  Best with rice.

Kimchee Pork Stir-Fry & Wakame Soup

On my personal computer, I have a dedicated favorites' folder that I save all the foodie blogs I read and enjoyed.  I remembered I was looking for a red bean / green tea recipe and I stumbled on his blog... I  have been a fan ever since... so when I saw him post this recipe the other day, I was determined to try it out and I am very glad I did!!!

Homemade Guacamole

I was down in San Antonio for work this past week and one evening we went to have dinner at Boudro's on the riverwalk.  The food is awesome and I have been craving fresh guacamole ever since... it is not hard to make at all and it is so yummy!  (although the prep works took longer than I thought... those cursed peppers...)

Salty Eggs

When you can't find them and you crave for them, you make your own!!  The salty eggs I found in the States are usually cooked and they are expensive... and they are ridiculously cheap to make (and more importantly easy)

Scones

I went to Portland, Maine in July (my 2nd time there) with a friend and we visited a place called Stonewall Kitchen.  I have seen their stuff at grocery stores before but I have never tried their stuff.  Anyways, I bought this Traditional Scone Mix and the Wild Maine Blueberry Jam and I finally made them this morning.

Dumplings

(2/11/2015 Update: I decide to give this post a make-over.  With better pictures, updated routine, etc...  This post is still a work in progress at the moment... I will update when I have suitable pictures and/or video to add...)

Dumplings has got to be my all time favorite food... because I am so picky about them, I prefer to make everything from scratch (except when I am too busy...)

here's an updated picture of what I made recently
you will notice this is a different wrapping style than the ones below
this is better if you are hungry and just want to boil them

Very Simple Spaghetti

After helping my friend pack yesterday, the nightmare of packing came to haunt me... so I decided to jump start my personal summer clearance event... after a day and a half's hard work... I threw away bags of trash and have bags of stuff ready for my local Goodwill/Salvation Army.  (Although I am actually not ready to part with some of the items, I made up my mind to donate them since it's not like things I actually touch on a regular basis... e.g. dolls...)

Vietnamese Style Curry Beef Stew

wow... so the entire month of June went by with zero update... oh well, i was barely home and traveling for work... the same scenario is actually going to happen again in July and August... but since i am cooking tonight, i might as well post what i am making...

Dining at the Airports

When I think of eating at the airport, I usually frown... because your choices are usually limited to fast food... there are a few exceptions and here are some of my favorites.

Breakfast This Morning

So a while back, I bought a packet of the Korean pancake mix (?) without knowing a word it says on the instructions... (I don't even know what it is...) but since I love Korean food and I was feeling adventurous, I just bought it...

Finally I decide to make it last night for dinner but I soon found out they were sweet and I really don't like sweet things as my main meal... so I opted for ramen noodles instead... anyways, they became my breakfast this morning (and many more mornings to come...)

Dinner the Other Night

I usually cook a lot right after I do groceries... and I usually do groceries when I am hungry... haha... the result - I usually bought too much and cook too much...

Oyako-don

While I was thinking what's for dinner tonight with my limited options (aka chicken + coughing), I brain-stormed with a friend and this is what I ended up making - fast and yum! 

I didn't really follow the recipe, just because, but this is what Google found and I just throw it here... 

Garces Trading Company

I spent the weekend in Philadelphia instead of flying back to Chicago for the weekend... I think I have fallen in love with the city.  It's has so much more to offer than I had originally anticipated...

While walking around on Friday, I passed a restaurant that looked really cool so I took a mental note and told myself "I need to check this out tomorrow"  (yes... I take note of these kind of things... otherwise, I won't be a self-proclaimed foodie...)  So on Saturday morning (if you can still call it morning at 11:45 am), I decide to eat my brunch there...

Steamed Chicken with Fungus

So the Purdue chicken family pack I bought from Costco lied... it says every sachet contains 5 wings... I used 3 bags already and each of them only have 4 wings... oh well...

Pumpkin Cheesecake

So it was my bro's birthday yesterday and he came home so I made him a cake today... I have made this before and he liked it... because I am trying to watch calories and I really don't like my dessert too sweet, I cut all the sugar listed below by 50% and I used non-fat cream cheese... I can't find a non-fat butter so yeah... well, maybe if you don't eat the crust... but still, it should still be a whole lot less calories than what was listed...

Curry Chicken

You know we all have that one dish that screams "MOM"? At least I do... Curry chicken is that dish for me. I don't remember if it's because I have said it was delicious in some distant past but she makes it all the time... or was it the fact that this is one of the very few dishes that I would eat leftovers and wouldn't give her a hard time... I've tried to replicate it over the years but there was only 1 time when I thought... "ok, this taste like hers". So I have my mom wrote down what she does... yet, mine taste nothing like hers... it's still good... just different...

Hot Wings

It is so cold and gloomy this weekend... I didn't feel like doing anything at all... but laying in bed all day is not going to make my tummy satisfy... My brother suggests I eat some crackers or chips if I am so lazy to cook... well... I haven't sink that low yet...

Inari Sushi

When I woke up this morning, it's already almost noon (the usual - I actually woke up before 8am but opted to sleep some more).  The weather is gorgeous and it's just a perfect biking weather.  So to enjoy the day without spending too much time on my brunch, I opted to make some sushi!

Afternoon Tea

What’s America’s idea of food? After years of living in this country, my conclusion is breakfast, lunch, and dinner… that’s it! And to this date, I can’t think of anything else that reminds me more of America than a hamburger…

Tentsuke

Tentsuke is a Japanese groceries store w/ a food court that's packed at lunch every single day.  It's located in Elk Grove Village, IL and it's one of my favorite place for a good, quick, and cheap lunch. 

Congee

Not feeling peachy at all today… in fact, I am quite sick… Headache, stuffy and runny nose, sexy voice, achy body, I might even be burning a temperature... so I took advantage of one of my “work from home” days this year… and yes I did work! I just didn’t drive to the office, spread germs, and endanger the lives of the people on the road…

Radish Cake

I have been craving this one for a while now... and they only have them at the "yum cha" places here... and it's really not that difficult to DIY... and once you learned it, you can put the same formula to Taro Cake, Sticky Rice, etc.

Banana Banana Bread

I checked my fridge earlier today and saw the bananas I got from the week before is starting to get mushy... So I tried out this recipe... not bad :)

Foreword

After Freshman 15, Sophomore 20, and the forever expanding waistline ever since I started working (I blame my job)... I have to stop myself from eating and start thinking... this can't go on forever... I love to eat too much... there is no way I can survive those apple and cabbage soup diets... but I don't want to weigh 300 pounds...

Not eating and chewing celery sticks is never an option... just the thought alone is repulsive... but I have to start somewhere… so I take the matter upon my own hands… I cook almost everyday when I am not travelling… I am never keen on spending that $10 at fast food joints that I know I won’t enjoy and I just can’t afford eating that $30 meal at nice sit down restaurants. So cooking not only helped me save $, but I also control exactly what I put into my food.

My new approach to eating (or food) now is "if I have to gain weight, I will only eat things that are worth it!" and "everything in moderation". I indulge but I exercise… so hopefully I won’t become that 300 pounds person that I dread to be…

As for this blog, I am just sharing my tried and true recipes… and in a way, I am still working towards that food critic goal...

Bon Appétit!