I Am... Sadaharu Aoki’s Matcha Azuki: a Recreated Recipe
This matcha azuki cake was amazing! I mean, how could it not be with six layers of deliciousness? I'm no baker, but there's something exciting about taking on a project, especially in the fall. So, even though I absolutely thought this would be a disaster, I went forward and decided to bake a matcha azuki entremet. I'm so happy that I did because it was surprisingly EASIER than baking a classic round layered frosted cake. And it was incredibly good.
Read More →I Am... Maine Travel Diary 2017
We drove the New England Coast and absolutely LOVED it! It's always been an absolute dream of mine to summer in New England and it didn't disappoint. I'm so obsessed that I want to go back. Totally dreaming of being one of those families who has a summer home and goes every year to the same clam shacks and beaches. New England was dreamy in a way that I didn't know it would be. Everyone was really friendly and there was a definite on holiday kind of feel.
Read More →I Am... Friday Finds: 9.8.17
Fri-YAY! How is it the second Friday in September already?! I'm loving the (slightly) cooler weather and all the back-to-school feels. Call me a geek, but I love wandering the school supply section and seeing what's new and reminiscing about those familiar old school notebooks that they still sell. I may have even boughten some new pens, because everyone needs pens, right? Anyway, I'm extra excited about this weekend because it's my birthday! I'm kind of getting to the age where you shouldn't make a big deal out of it, but it's still nice to celebrate.
Read More →I Am... Hong Kong Style Egg Tart Recipe
Do you ever pass by a Chinese bakery and are enticed in by the delicious smells wafting out the door? For me, what gets me every times is the tray of Hong Kong style egg tarts – cheerfully golden yellow egg custard in a crisp shortbread shell. Or, even better, when you're at dim sum and you order a fresh plate so they're warm and custardy and all the good things in life wrapped up in one handheld treat.
Read More →I Am... Wagyu Beef Shawarma Kebab Recipe
It happens more often than not: me and Mike, stumbling and hungry at some random time of day or night, following our noses towards a shop selling delicious smelling meat tucked into a pita. There are always the usual suspects: meat slowly turning on a spit, sliced onions, tomatoes, and a God-knows-what's-in-it but give me more addictive white sauce. At that point, we don't care much because our stomachs are about to digest themselves, but if we did stop to think, we totally don't know anything about those addictive sandwich-y pockets of happiness.
Read More →I Am... Carolina Style Ribs with Sichuan Peppercorn Recipe
Labor Day long weekend vibes! What is it about the last long weekend in summer that makes me so absurdly happy and sad at the same time? Is it that in the early morning, I can feel that tell-tale fall chill in the air for about 5 minutes before the sun burns it off? Or is it that it's still hot out but some people are trying to rock the cozy sweater look? Whatever it is, it reminds me that fall is coming, and I've got to take advantage of every last second of summer.
Read More →I Am... Risi E Bisi Recipe (Rice and Peas!)
I'm on a roll with the camp posts! I figure I should post them all before summer is over, since summertime equals camping. But, then again, Mike just suggested going camping sometime in September and seeing how we're having a very warm late summer, it just might be something that we do.
Read More →I Am... Camp Cooking: One Pot Pasta Puttanesca Recipe
Mike and I spent the summer camping across Canada and America. The greatest thing that I learned is: East Coast mosquitoes are killer. I felt like I was being eaten alive, every single time I was anywhere that wasn't the tent. The other thing that I learned was that, even though we had the best intentions, cooking while camping didn't happen as much as we wanted it to.
Read More →I Am... Tonkatsu Burger Recipe
Bon Appetit has named the simple cutlet the dish of 2017 and I have to agree. What's not to love about a crispy, crunchy fried piece of meat? What makes them even more lovable is the fact that they come in so many incarnations. There's Southern chicken fried steak, Swiss/German/Austrian schnitzel, Italian milanese, and, of course, my all time favorite, Japanese tonkatsu.
Read More →I Am... Sunday Brunch: Crème Brûlée French Toast Recipe
Sunday Brunch is back! I kind of sort of fell off the Sunday Brunch wagon for a little while, but I'm back and holding on they way kids hold on to those last few days of summer vacation. Speaking of the last few days of summer, can you believe that it's almost September? Insane right? What is also insane is this crazy delicious french toast.
Read More →I Am... Creamy Lobster Pasta Recipe
Yesterday Mike and I watched the total eclipse and it was amazing. Words cannot express how beautiful it was. The moment totality arrived and we were able to take off our eclipse glasses and look at the moon in front of the sun, with its corona blazing was truly awe inspiring. It was like nothing I've never experienced – I felt it viscerally. It felt almost wrong, the way the world went from warm, bright and airy to chilly, dream-like, dark and dusky. It was equal parts incredibly beautiful and terrifying.
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