The Starving Artist

Chocolate Covered Bacon & A Bittersweet Goodbye

2011-04-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

Hello Food Bloggie Friends,
i know ive been MIA for the past couple weeks, ive been busy with work and some personal issues, and blogging seems to be the last thing on my mind lately.
This will be my last post ; a goodbye post,
tagged along with an interesting sweet-treat
(i mean c`mon this IS still a food blog, right? haha).

But this isnt permanent, who knows when ill be back!
maybe ill get over this bump in the road and come back as soon as next week!, so this isnt fare-well yet.
im sorry ive missed out on all of your delicious food posts, i wish i had the time or the energy to look through the weeks and weeks of amazing food ive been missing out on.. but instead i will leave you with a simple, unique and surprisingly delicious recipe.

Ready to find out what it is?
- Cue the drum-roll maestro! -

.... CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON !

now .. before you throw-up a little,
the pairing of "salty & sweet" is not an alien combination. As food-bloggers you know how often these two flavors can combine into something magical.
if youre curious as to how it tastes... TRY IT !
honestly, its not as bad as you might think, its actually quite interesting and i found it fun to nibble on. i made a bowl-full of these and although my family was a little skeptical to try it out, once they got past the first crunchy, salty, sweet bite, they automatically went for seconds.
& honestly.. who DOESNT love bacon?
or even CHOCOLATE for that matter?!
Heres how i did it :

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Recipe ;

- "Thick Cut" slices of bacon

- Chocolate Candy Melts.

To keep the bacon from curling, place a few strips of bacon
on a large plate, with a few sheets of paper towels.
Place them in the microwave and cook them in 40 second
intervals, being careful to flip them ; so the edges dont curl
inward.
Youre looking for fully cooked, CRISPY bacon slices.
otherwise,
imagine biting into a squishy fatty piece of bacon covered
in chocolate... ew .

Cut the bacon into 1.5 - 2 inch pieces.
*Tip : be sure to press on paper towels to
soak up excess oils

Melt a small bowl of Chocolate Candy melts in the
microwave.
(Careful to not burn the chocolate, i found that it helps to
let it melt in the microwave in 30 second sessions & to stir
and repeat until completely melted.)
Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil & stir until its completely
incorporated into the chocolate.

Have fun dipping !
( i dipped my bacon pieces about 1/3 of the way,
i think showing a little peek of the bacon underneath
gave it a bit more character)

Lay them out on a cookie sheet to harden.
*Tip ; to prevent them from drying on stuck, cover your
cookie sheet with some plastic wrap & then place the
bacon pieces on top to dry, it'll be much easier to peel
them off

& Theyre done already !
i used a bit of the extra chocolate i had to dip a
few strawberries as well, yummmm.

SO.. my last message,
My sleepy doggy; Coco & i will miss all of you.
who knows! once in awhile i might just pop in & check out
some of your lovely recipes & ill be sure to leave you guys
encouraging and awe-struck comments.
Dont forget about me! (:
love you all!

Baked Egg Lasagna ? ;

2011-04-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

its funny how i find myself turning to my blog & blogger-friends when im having a bad day, it seems whenever im having a not-so-great day, the hours pass by as days, so slow.. and all i want is the day to be over with.
i know i havnt been writing in my blog as much as i use to, but having early morning working shifts at Puma has tired me out,
and besides all the "downer" things going on now, a really good "hobby" i picked up is RUNNING !
i try to run 2 miles every day, or atleast... every other day. & my dog Coco loves the exercise as well~
My goal is to run about 10 miles a week, which isnt too bad,
im planning to just keep it at 2 miles for a while, until i can jog the whole thing without stopping, then ill push it to 3.
sounds reasonable right?

Anyway, to the topic of food,
i just recently found out theres such a thing as Baked Eggs.
i know i know... its like i live under a rock sometimes, haha.
this dish was inspired by Meg at Cooking in College, check out her blog !
its packed full of healthy & delicious food. & when i saw her recent post of her "Herb Baked Eggs" i knew, i just had to make this. But i added a bit of a different twist of my own.~
i dont know if this dish actually has a name... if it does can someone please tell me?
Because i just combined these ingredients by impulse, no recipe whatsoever, haha.
& it turned out DELICIOUS!
(please excuse the cruddy quality of the photo, it was dinner time & i was just too lazy to grab my camera, so i just snapped a quick shot with my cell phone, i just couldnt wait to try out "baked eggs" for the first time! haha)

Baked Egg Lasagna?
it had the flavor of lasagna, minus the pasta sheets...
twas` delicious! haha

Recipe ;

- 1/2 cup tomato/spaghetti sauce

- 1/4 cup spicy sausage, cooked.

- 3 tbs chopped onions

- 4 slices of thick cut tomato

- 2 large eggs

- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- salt, pepper, parsley flakes, &

basil flakes to taste.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Add the tomato sauce into a small baking dish.
(i used a medium sized baking dip-dish).

Layer the tomato slices, onions, & cooked chopped sausage,
on top. Then, carefully crack the 2 large eggs into the dish,

(dont break the yolks theyre the best part!)

sprinkle the herbs, salt, & pepper for taste,
& bake until the egg whites are cooked completely.

Enjoy the jelly-like yolks with bread sticks or

better yet, garlic bread!

Green-tea Panna cotta ;

2011-03-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

it feels like its been forever since my latest blog entry,
ive been so caught up with friends, movies & work, i guess i either got too tried or lazy to write a blog entry. (im sure you've all gone through a point like that, one time or another.)
Anyway! im glad to be back with a delicious new recipe; Green-tea Panna cotta !
it took me about 2 tries to get it right, the first batch came out too watery / creamy, when it was suppose to have a similar consistency to mousse or like flan .. ? i realized my mistake on that was the lack of gelatin. i was reading a basic recipe for "pannacotta" online, and it said to add 1 1/2 tbs of gelatin, but when it didnt "gel" i looked at my package of gelatin & i guess it just needed more.
On my box package it said 1 packet of gelatin for 1 cup of liquid. *facepalm*. i should of read the box first.
My mistake; it happens !
Anyway, although i didnt add 1 whole package to the cream, (because i wasnt looking for a Jell-o consistency); i added half for each cup, and it came out wonderfully, so just remember to READ the PACKAGE first before using! haha.

Now before i post the pictures, i want to say...
i LOVELOVELOVE anything thats GREEN TEA FLAVORED !
whether its just plain tea itself, ice cream, mochi, cakes, cookies, whip cream, custard, green-tea infused drinks; such as boba/tapioca drinks.
(i always get the Passion-fruit Green-tea's in tea stores) yum yum!
i recommend heading over to your nearest asian store RIGHT NOW and buy green tea mochi icecream !
Actually, ive seen them selling these in local American markets as well, theyre getting very popular~
so give that a try the next time youre in the freezer section of your nearest grocery store!
they come in a variety of flavors; vanilla, chocolate (yummy), strawberry, & green-tea (my favorite).

Is anyone else a die-hard fan of certain flavors?
Chocolate-addicts perharps?

Honey Vanilla Panna cotta w/ Green-tea Topping

Recipe ;

Pannacotta

- 3 cups whipping cream

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- pinch of salt

- 1/3 cup Honey

- unflavored gelatin

Topping

- 1/4 cup honey or sugar

- 1/2 cup whipping cream

- 2 tbs green tea powder

- whip cream (optional)

- raspberries (optional)

For the Pannacotta portion;

Combine the cream, vanilla, salt, & honey in a

large pan, & heat on low heat until warm, then

add gelatin (according to box instructions, i used

1/2 a serving package, others might require a few tbs).

Mix thoroughly until gelatin is completely dissolved.

pour into individual serving cups or bowl & refrigerate,

until "gelled".

For the Topping ;

In a mixing bowl, combine first 3 ingredients &

whip until fluffy. (the end result should be slightly

bitter from the tea, yet sweet from the cream & honey.)

Add a large spoonful of topping onto each serving cup,

add a dollop of whip cream, & top off with a raspberry.

ENJOY !

A Perfect Single Serving
isnt it pretty?

"American Classic" Breakfast ;

2011-03-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

>> Before i begin with my food entry,
i would like to thank Chry sta for the give away prize !
and Dee pa Pravee n for The Lovely Blog award !
Thank you both, for these gifts~
--- - - - - - - - - - - -
Now, i just started working at Puma, and i guess the morning shifts VS my sleeping schedule is really getting to me,
i normally stay up until 7am ! but work requires me to be AT work by 8:30am.
So, you can imagine how that would be difficult to adjust to, haha, but i noticed that having a big filling breakfast usually perks me up enough to get through the day.
i was in the mood for an "American Classic" breakfast; so thats exactly what i ended up making, with a side of fresh cut mangoes
(since im still craving for them like crazy).
But, unlike most health-cautious people, a protein shake just doesnt cut it for me, i need to feel crunchy, savory, hot, or spicy FOOD between my teeth to feel full & satisfied. its just how i am, anything otherwise sounds depressing .. haha.

A Huge Hearty Breakfast
gotta indulge once in a while right?

- 1 Slice of Toast, halved

- 1 Over-easy Egg Fried

- 2 Strips of Bacon

- 1 Sausage Pattie

- 1 Mango Sliced

Oh, and an update with my baby plants;
The Baby Tomato plant hasnt shown any signs of fruit yet, but it has shot up like a weed! its over a foot tall now, when it was only about 7 inches tall when i first bought it a couple weeks ago.
The Strawberry Plant however, is growing MORE fruit, & what was once green berries are now almost ready for picking, as blushing red berries. i cant wait !

Strawberry Plant

Tomato Plant

Oh, and another hobby i just got back into is Drawing, this time i drew my best friend, Tiffany.
Its an old picture of us, but its one of my favorites, it was right after we ate at Red Robbins a couple years ago, we grabbed a couple of their balloons that they always had floating around their restaurant,
as we left; and continued to walk around the shopping plaza, we were sucking the helium out of the balloons and talking to each other in chip-munk voices, cracking up at the ridiculous high pitched noises that were escaping our throats.

Me & Tiff
Ahh, Tiff, im sorry if this looks terrible,
im just starting to get back into drawing
so bear with me. haha
(atleast this looks better than my previous
drawing of Kevin, (post below.))
haha

& a note to kevin's mom ;
PLEASE, SPANK KEVIN FOR PICKING ON ME !
he keeps telling me to shuuut up :'(

Vegetable Soup ;

2011-03-19T03:58:00.000-07:00

i know ive been a bit laggy with the food updates,
ive been a bit under the weather lately,
which gives an excuse to make soup, right?

Vegetable Soup
its really simple to make

Recipe ;

- 2 large tomatoes peeled & halved

- 1 small onion quartered.

- 1 cup chicken or beef broth

- 1 carrot, sliced into small pieces

- 1 clove garlic

- 1 cucumber peeled & halved

- 1 tbs olive oil

- salt & pepper to taste

(When it comes to recipes like this, you can get

really creative with it, feel free to use any sort of

your favorite vegetables & herbs for this soup.)

Place everything in a large pot, and boil until all

veggies are tender. Carefully, pour into your blender,

& blend until smooth.

Enjoy.

Ah ..
words cant describe how nervous the news makes me. .
i live 15 minutes away from our nearest beach, and the "Redondo Beach" they're referring to is less than an hr drive away from my home.
So besides this earthquake / tsunami warning
AND the radiation that MIGHT be coming our way;
it seems im in a pickle.
i really hope this is all media bull shit,
& this "ring of fire" pattern stops before it hits California.

SOooo, to get my mind off a few things,
ive decided to pick up drawing again,
but damn, i havnt held a pencil in years.. and ive lost my touch.
oh well... practice makes perfect right?

oh god, i hope he doesnt get

offended when he sees this.

haha

i havnt drawn in 5 years!

haha !
my next attempt will be my best friend Tiffany. ♡

A Plateful of Sunshine ;

2011-03-15T02:16:00.000-07:00

With the catastrophe going on in Japan, the world has seemed to have dimmed in color a bit..
parts of California has been affected by the Tsunami as well,
and im hearing about the major issues in Japan's Fukushima Neuclear Power Plants;
There is radiation that has been detected in Japan, and the radiation cloud could drift over here as well.
Sigh..
im in "coward mode" right now, and not looking up any more information on the topic,
i just want some color back into the world, or specifically, MY world.
Here are a few sparkling tid-bits of my life.
1. ive been craving Mangoes & Strawberries like its nobodies buisness ! Atleast theyre very colorfully pretty & healthy right? Not to mention, absolutely delicious !

Heart Shaped Pancakes with Mangoes & Strawberries.
check out my Vanilla Pancake Recipe by clicking here .
eating a plate of sunshine to start your day really chases away
the gloom blues.

2. i have contributed a donation into the RED CROSS, to help aid Japan.
3. ive just recently been hired to work at Puma, the Athletic clothing store (with the helping hand of Brandon) and the thing thats so great about it, are my co-workers, theyre such happy, easy-going individuals. and better yet, Puma supplies me with FREE clothes & shoes, every.. season i believe? to keep up to date with their latest fashion, AND in addition to that, i also get a 60% discount on all store items! yay.
4. My baby Tomato & Strawberry plants are growing healthy & happily!

The Strawberry Plant
its finally showing fruit !
5 little green berries, can you see them?
i cant wait till they start turing a pretty ruby color ~

5. & i wanted to specifically thank Kevins mother for a very generous & heart felt offer, & to let her know coco is actually completely useless in warning me with worldly catastrophes.. haha, but he says hello !

My Dog; Coco & His Squished Face
adorable, aint he?

Food LOLs ;

2011-03-12T23:32:00.000-08:00

All my fellow blogging friends are older than 18, so it seems okay to post a few Food Funnies that do contain some sexual content.
all out of humor though, so no harm, haha.
i found some of these to be ridiculously funny and i laughed till my stomach hurt.
The video is from YouTube, called "Macho Salad"
(its not in english, i believe its in swedish actually.)
& the conversational texts are from a website called "DamnYouAutoCorrect.com"
its basically conversational errors caused by auto-correct
during text messages. most of these are from the iphones.
(Check it out, it made me laugh till i cried.)

You Want Jalapenis with that?

Awkward Love

Masturbating Cherries

Baby Pirates with Garlic

Secret Ingredient? Crap.

Really Want Crispy Dick

Lettuce Pants

Lil Wayne Meets Rosemary

Live by the Crack pot, Die by the Crackpot

Eating Slaves with Rachael Ray

Moms Porn

Sexual Shopping

Cooking Boogers

Do Mexican Scrotums contain lead as well?

Grounded Black People

Devils Food

Better Butt Flavor

The Lovely Blog Award ;

2011-03-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

Thank you Sonali, from Only Fish Recipes for my Lovely Blog award ! im flattered that you thought of my blog, as you were picking your "15 lovely bloggers", and i tip my hat to you for having a blog that is completely dedicated to fish & seafood dishes!
- - - - - - - - - - -
Now, the rule for accepting this award is to simply just pick 15 "lovely" bloggers & to leave a message on their blog asking them to pick up the award, but i thought id add a little "something something" & write a little about each blog. Im sorry i could only pick 15..
i do have a ton of fantastic bloggers on my list, and you guys will def. have an award coming your way, the next time an award pops into my blog ♡
- - - - - - My Lovely Blogger Picks - - - - -
1. i can honestly say that Katerina was my first active "blog friend", shes always so generous with her thoughts and comments, and through her, ive met a lot of other bloggers which became our mutual friends. Katerina, i know youve gotten this award so many times but id just like to say thank you for being my first active follower ♥ Check out her blog, at Culinary Flavors, its where all the cool kids go ! haha.
2. Rebecca is one of the most creative & compassionate people ive met in the blogworld, she has such a natural way of writing that makes it enjoyable to all her posts. Not to mention, her pictures are always fun to check out as well, shes a fantastic craftsman and a wonderful friend to everyone who knows her, Click on Hopewell Creek Designs to check out her heart felt blog.
3. Meg Smith in Cooking.in.College has such a great personality, she presents delicious & healthy food into all of her posts, and i find myself wandering over to her blog ever so often to browse through them all !
4. Bento Bird has such BEAUTIFUL & colorful pictures of her bentos, she was kind enough to give me few tips on improving mine as well, which im really grateful for. Thank you for your help, its helped me to have a better blogging experience~
5. Being Suzy Homemaker is a great blog, filled with foods that i consider to be wonderful "comfort foods", shes great at describing the recipe & is always helpful with the tips, overall her blog is SO YUM !
6. Tante Kiki is a wonderful greek blog, filled with a ton of home made desserts & entrees. Shes a very active "poster" and is constantly posting her food pictures, a real busy bee ! you'll never get bored while following her~
7.Oh, Megan from Muncher Cruncher, is one heck of a super-woman. Not only does she post "healthy AND delicious" food, but she also adds on the nutritional facts for them as well, i think she could kick Jillian Michael's ass any day of the week, and twice on Sunday!
8. My name twin, Stephanie ! From Thorns Have Roses has a very colorful blog, filled with funny, conversational topics anyone can join into. i``ve only recently started to follow her, but i find her blog entries to be very fun, you'll probably find me posting on them quite often!
9. "CG" from Cooking Gallery is yet another bento blog! i enjoy watching her funny little bentos, and admire her hard work WHILE keeping a full time job, you go girl ! i vote that we should pick a character together, and build a bento together ! haha
10. OH my goddd, Honest Vanilla why are you such a Goddess with your photographs?! it makes me jealous! hehe, actually, i loveee your work & your recipes, they look jaw-droppingly delicious ALL . THE . TIME . !
11. Talk about Fancy living, Design Wine and Dine is always posting mouth watering food, that looks SO elegant and delicious, every time i go visit her blog, my tummy grumbles its reluctance. (i think it doesnt like the fact that it can SEE the food, but not eat it, poor thing.)
12. Mari's Cakes is THE blog for all people who have a huge sweet tooth, shes very innovative and creative when it comes to her sweets, i mean, did you know you could make delicious pineapple juice with the pineapples tough, leathery, rind ?! can you say brilliant?
13. Tastes of Home is another blog that i have recently started to "follow", but im in love with it already! i LOVE chinese food, the real traditional stuff, not the crappy kung pao orange chicken from panda express, nonono , THIS is the real deal, and she manages to describe the recipe in such an easy-to-make way, its almost impossible to not give it a try.
14. For some yummy indian dishes Deepapraveen is the place to go, she posts delicious food, and is super descriptive with her recipes. & shes always so helpful when it comes to questions for her dishes~
15. Indie.Tea is a BEAUTIFUL blog in a class all its own. Her pictures are so simple, but they manage to hold on to the feel of comfort, by using solid, earthy, natural tones. im completely in love with her blog !

Fruit Kabobs ;

2011-03-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

i smell spring !
dont you?
the days are getting warmer, which is great news for me because i cant stand the cold!
i know California is one of the warmer places in the states, especially during winter, but for someone whos teeth chatter uncontrollably in the freezer section of a grocery store.. its painful!
i still sleep with 2 THICK blankets in 55 degree nights.
Oh, im trailing off..
i ment to bring up some *special news ;
I HAVE NEW LEAF BABIES !

yayyyy !
i have just recently adopted 2 little fruit plants~
one is a strawberry & the other is a "super sweet 100 hybrid" baby tomato plant !
i cant wait till they start poppin` their fruit !
i love vegetable / fruit gardens, and i admire anyone with a green thumb.
i havent cared for any plants since... i was really young, living back in Texas.
i use to help my mom raise lettuce & lots of jalapenos (which would grow to be HUGE ! some even managed to grow 6inches.)
we had very impressive peppers, and they were very easy to grow, if i remember correctly.
But me being less than 10 years old at the time, i guess it doesnt really count for a green thumb, haha.
Although ive only had my plants for a week, i can already see a few little green strawberries beginning to grow !
(nothing yet from the tomato plant though, boo . )
Anyway, since spring is in the air,
i was in the mood for some sweet, fresh, & colorful fruit.
First thing that came to mind was Fruit kabobs with some lightly powdered sugar. Mmm!

Use whatever fruits youre craving that day, no need to
follow this recipe exactly~

Recipe ;

- 1 mango, cubed

- Strawberries, halved & sliced

- Banana, sliced

- Blueberries

- Skewers

- Powdered sugar (optional)

Just skewer them in any order & sprinkle some

powdered sugar if you like .

A Presentable Mango
Whenever guests come over, id usually serve some
fruit as dessert, & mango are my personal favorite!
isnt this such a cute way to present a mango?

Directions ;

1 mango *Serves 2 ;

Cut 2 slices of mango off from the flat sides, to

avoid cutting into the large seed within.

Carefully, make 3 lines going across horizontally &

3 lines vertically, (try not to cut through the skin.)

Then, Just press from underneath and "pop" it up!

Assorted Fruits
(i just cut off the squares from the mango picture up above)

Roasted Chicken & Vegetables ;

2011-03-07T03:40:00.000-08:00

An American Classic amiright ?

But, first, let me tell you this,

i have NEVER had a juicier, more tender chicken IN MY LIFE.

This has got to be one of my top 10 favorite recipes for Chicken.

& thats saying a lot .

This smelled wonderful even BEFORE it went into the oven, and dont even get me started on how my kitchen smelled during the roasting.

MMmMM!

i would say it was "breathtakingly" amazing, but its quite the opposite,

i found myself doing deep breathing exercises instead! haha

it was such an addicting smell, it has GOT to be illegal to inhale this much good stuff !

But it wasnt just the chicken that was delicious, but the vegetables were SO full of flavor !

i have never enjoyed eating JUST vegetables this much before.

i ate 3 servings of vegetables alone ! and ate 1/4th of the Chicken, hehe

Can you say Happy Stomach ?

Overall, this Roast Chicken was a 10 in my book. AHHH SO GOOD .

But you know what the best part of the day was?

Enjoying my time in the kitchen with my Best-Friend, Tiffany.

Its always fun having someone cooking with you, isnt it? haha

Tiffany and i had a great laugh when it came to her having to stick her hand into the chickens... backside, haha !

BUT it was done for the sake of good food! & Boyyyyyyyyyyyy, was it good !

Oh, and we had fun playing Twister & baking Peanut butter centered chocolate cupcakes as we were waiting for the chicken to cook !

Ugh, i think we're starting to get old, at the tender age of 20.

Tiffany and i were laughing at each others pain during Twister, and then we had to suffer with sore thighs & legs afterwards. Haha !

Roast Chicken & Vegetables

Recipe ;

- One 5 pound Chicken

- Bundle of medium sized asparagus

- 1/2 pound snow peas

- large handful of grape tomatoes

- 2 red onions halved & cut in 3rds

- 3 Large potatoes cut in large chunks (1.5 inches)

- 3 Medium sized carrots cut in 1 inch pieces

- 1 whole garlic bulb halved

- 4 garlic cloves roughly cut

- 2 lemons

- 5 tbs olive oil

- 1/2 cup oyster sauce

- Kroger Chicken Seasoning

- salt, pepper, & garlic powder for taste

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Clean & take out insides of chicken, pat dry. Place

the chicken in a large baking/casserole dish, (with

enough room for the vegetables.) (if there are extra

vegetables, roast them in a separate pan, season

them the same as the ones with the chicken.)

Squeeze 1 lemon over the chicken & drizzle

2 tbs of olive oil over the chicken, rub until

completely oiled. Sprinkle Chicken Seasoning

over entire chicken, this will add flavor & help

give you a beautiful golden brown color.

Squeeze half a lemon inside the chicken

and place both halves of the lemon inside,

also stuff the halved garlic bulbs as well.

Drizzle 3 tbs of olive oil over the all vegetables

and add the 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic,

& mix. Sprinkle salt, pepper, & garlic powder
over the veggies.
Place most of the potatoes under the chicken

(it will prevent the chicken from boiling in its

own juices, which you want it "roasted" not

boiled. Plus, it will add amazing flavor to your

potatoes!) In a separate bowl combine the oyster

sauce and snow peas & mix until covered. Layer

the snow peas and asparagus at the bottom of the

casserole dish (since theyre thin veggies, they tend

to burn easier, placing them at the bottom will

prevent that.) Place the rest of the vegetables

(except the grape tomatoes) in the casserole dish,

around the chicken. & bake for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven

& with a ladle, drizzle the chicken drippings over

the chicken & vegetables (this will prevent the

chicken from drying out.) At this point, add in the

tomatoes into the dish as well. Sprinkle a bit more

of the Chicken Seasoning & place back in the oven

for another 40 minutes, or until completely cooked.

*Tip before serving, ladle the juices over the

chicken again to give it that "glossy" look & to

keep your chicken moist~ ENJOY the yum !

Stuffing the Chicken
Adding my lemon halves & whole garlic bulb inside my
chicken.

Sprinkling Chicken Seasoning
i used Kroger's Chicken Seasoning,
real yum stuff ! i love it!
i even sprinkled some of this on the side of my plate,
and dipped my chicken into it while i was eating.
totally recommended !

Chicken Rub-down
After rubbing the lemon, oil, & seasoning~
my poor casserole dish was too small, even though this was
my largest one..
Soooo, i just baked the rest of my veggies in a seperate
baking dish. hehe~

Placing Potatoes Underneath the Chicken
Placing most of my potatoes underneath my chicken to
give it a little height, so it doesnt boil in its own juices.
but also adds amazing flavor to the potatoes as well.
MmMmmm ~
ahaha ! Tiffany holding up the Chicken,
isnt the tail flap so adorable?!

Sliced Red Onions
This is how i cut my onions, but i would probably
cut them a bit thicker next time.
They do shrink during the baking process.

Layering My Vegetables
i laid out my sauced snow peas & asparagus over the
potatoes that were underneath the chicken.
Layering the thinner veggies at the bottom will help
prevent them from getting burned.

My Extra Vegetables
i roasted the extra vegetables along with my chicken,
they were done by the first 40 minute session of cooking.
So i enjoyed munching on these with Tiffany, as we
waited for for the chicken to roast.
OH ! and can you believe my little brothers LOVED these
veggies? yes, JUST veggies.. their exact words were
"Dude, these vegetables are BOMB."
haha !
You know somethings good when teenage boys are
fighting over them !

Ready to Bake !
This picture was taken right before it was placed in the
oven, for its first 40min cooking.
Along with my extra pan of veggies.
(which were ready to eat after the 40 mins.)

Side Dish Pasta
As the chicken was in the oven, i had 40 mins to spare,
so i decided to add a side dish to go along with my roasted
Chicken & Veggies.
This is a quick & simple fix-dish. with some left-over
vegetables, specifically the asparagus, and tomatoes.

Recipe ;

- asparagus sliced in half, length-wise &

chopped in 2inch pieces

- baby tomato quartered

- parsley roughly chopped

- turkey sliced thin

- 2 cupsbow-tie pasta

- 1 clove finely chopped garlic.

- 2 tsp olive oil

- 2 tbs balsamic vinaigrette

- salt & pepper for taste

Cook the pasta as directed on the package, Drain and place

in a mixing bowl. Cook the asparagus & tomatoes with

1tsp of olive oil, garlic, pepper & salt. Cook just for 2 mins.

Combine the rest of the ingredients with the pasta, mix &

Enjoy.

After 40 mins of Cooking
After the first 40min. session, Tiffany added the tomatoes
& as we set the timer for another 40mins, we munched
happily on the delicious vegetables .
P.S Thanks Tiffy for being my hand-model, haha

FINISHED ROASTED CHICKEN & VEGGiES !
isnt it the most beautiful chicken you've ever seen?!
it tastes just as great as it looks. i PROMISE.
This 5 pound chicken easily *Serves 5 people.
i also sprinkled some extra Chicken seasoning as i ate
my chicken~ Mmm, i think im addicted to that stuff.

Special Thanks to Tiffany, for helping me cook.
Youre the bestest friend anyone could ask for, & i just
adore cooking with you! ahhhhh i love ya Tiffy !
Lets hang out again soon, okay?
Miss ya already! ♥

National Pancake Week ;

2011-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

i forgot to post pancakes for National Pancake Week,
so im posting a few pictures now.
i honestly dont like pancakes very much... im more of a Waffles kinda gal.
but i DO like french pancakes (Crepes) !
or, well.. in this case " Swedish Pancakes".
My step-father is a swedish man, and he doesnt enjoy pancakes much either,
especially when he has the option of having crepes instead.
hehe.
So a typical Swedish pancake is a thin crepe-like pancake, & instead of adding syrups, fruit, or whipping cream,
lingon berry Jam is used, with maybe a small scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Swedish Pancakes

w/ Lingon Berry Jam & Vanilla Ice-cream

Recipe;

- 1 1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour

- 2 eggs

- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar

- 3/4 cup water

- 2 tbs vanilla extract

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 2 tbs melted butter

- spoonful of lingon berry jam

- spoon ful of vanilla icecream
- powdered sugar to sprinkle (optional)

Combine the first 7 ingredients together, it should

be a watery batter. Add a little butter in your large
non-stick pan, (you dont want soggy pancakes)
over medium high heat, & Pour a ladle-full of batter.

Spread your batter by moving your pan in the air

to distribute the batter over the surface area.

Once it starts to crisp, flip it.

(The other side doesnt have to cook for long.)

Once both sides are browned, ENJOY ~
*Makes about 4-5 crepes

Swedish Pancake
w/ Lingon berry jam, Vanilla ice-cream & blueberries

*ON A SIDE NOTE
i sent Kevin a container of home-made Chocolate Chip
Pancake Mix (his favorite). All he had to do was add
the liquid ingredients & cook.
Buuuut... he ended up mixing the batter for like 20 mins
to get "rid of the lumps" & ended up melting the chocolate
chips. HAHAHA ! oh hes so funny~
His first attempt at making pancakes !
(during national pancake week nonetheless)
Lets give him a hand!
(i personally think this looks more like a steak..)

Healthy ice-cream ?! ;

2011-03-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

For all the ice-cream lovers out there,

im sure you've heard the phrase "i wish i could have icecream for breakfast"

right ?

Well, heres a healthy breakfast ice-cream !

My Frozen Banana with Yogurt & Cereal
& since today is national pancake day,
heres my link to my Vanilla Pancake Recipe.

My Frozen Bananas !

These were delicious!

Naturally sweet from the yogurt & fruit.

and a fun way to have my breakfast~

First Steps

Recipe ;

- 1 banana (cut in half)

- 2 lollipop sticks

- 1 cup of yogurt (any flavor)

- 1 cup of cereal (your choice)

Carefully insert the lollipop stick into the banana halfway.

With a spoon, gently & evenly spread your yogurt over the

banana completely. Sprinkle or Roll your banana over

cereal pieces. & Place in freezer for 20 mins.

Enjoy your guilt-less ice-cream breakfast!

Rainbow Fruitloop-sicle.

i used 3 different types of cereal;

Fruitloops, Lucky Charms, & Honey Nut Cheerios.

My little brothers love Fruitloops & Lucky Charms cereal,

while my parents enjoy Cheerios.

Making a Stand
This step isnt necessary, but instead of
freezing them on a plate, i had some
styrofoam lying around from making
my Gingerbread & Cake Lollipops
last Christmas, so i used this to keep my
bananas upright.

Frozen Bananas

Here they are, 20 minutes later, completely frozen.
Yum !

30 Seconds Before it Disappeared
i managed to take 1 more picture before these babies
were devoured.
Breakfast Frozen Treats? A SUCESS !

Baked Potato with a "Grate" Cheese Topping;

2011-02-27T02:16:00.000-08:00

2 words.

Cheese & Potatoes.

Okay, now that i have your attention,

can i say that THIS IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS ?!

i ate 2 whole potatoes just for breakfast alone. MMmmMmm..

Actually, just looking at these pictures again makes me want to make another,

can you say Midnight Snack? haha .

You know that moment,

when you see your baked potato during its last 5 seconds of perfection, right before you stab your fork in it?

When you see the bubbly melting cheese oozing over the skin, and all the toppings piled high on that potato, hiding that starchy goodness within.
Ooh~ and that moment you put your fork in it and you purposely lift that bite a bit higher than your lips, JUST so u could see all that yummy cheese stretching?
Yes. that is what this dish provides.
Comfort, Major Deliciousness . & Satisfaction Guaranteed !

Prettiest potato ive ever seen!
Definitely makes me drool, haha

The Perfect Baked Potato

Recipe ;

- 2 Medium sized Potatoes, Baked

- 1 cup Montery Jack Cheese

- about 3-4 Branches of broccoli chopped

- 2 tbs chopped red onion

- 2 tbs chopped picked peppers

- Bacon bits (optional)

- Salt & Pepper to taste

In a bowl combine ingredients 2-5 & microwave for

1 minute, or until cheese is completely melted.

While microwaving the cheese, cut the potato in half &

(* TIP: pinch the sides of the potato while pushing inward,

it`ll help give that "overfilling" look.)

Spoon insides a bit to make the potato "chunky".

Then, just spoon on the Cheese topping, sprinkle some

salt & pepper over the top, and enjoy this yummminess!

*Serves 2

Valentines Day Cookies ;

2011-02-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

i know its a bit late to be posting for Valentines Day,
but i couldnt expose what i made until everyone that were sent cookies, received them.
anyway these lovelies have a pretty long name.
They are.... (drum roll please) *
Heart Shaped Cinnamon Short Bread Cookies Covered with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts, & Almonds.
whew.
yea... that didnt really fit in my title box for this entry. haha
Anyway, by the feedback given to me by the receivers;
theses were apparently a big hit!
So, not only are they yummy, these cookies look absolutely elegant as well.
Making it the perfect thoughtful Valentines Day gift~

Heart Shaped Cinnamon Short Bread Cookies Covered
with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts, & Almonds.
they literally just dissolve in your mouth~

To Prepare the Dough

Recipe ;

- 2 sticks unsalted butter (1cup)

- 3/4 cup powdered sugar

- 1 tbs vanilla extract

- 2 cups sifted all purpose flour + more for dusting

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 1/2 tbs ground cinnamon

With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla.

Then (in low speed) slowly add in flour, cinnamon & salt,

until dough forms.

Wrap the dough and store it in the fridge for at least 2 hrs or

over night.

Handling The Dough

Once you remove the dough out of the fridge, knead until

dough is soft enough to work with.

if its too hard, then put it in the microwave for 15 seconds,

and continue to knead with hands.

Flour your table, and continue to roll out and flatten with

a rolling pin, until desired thickness.

*Reminder : these will not expand, due to the lack of

baking soda.

Cutting Out Shapes

Since it was Valentines i used my heart shaped mold,

but feel free to use any you like. Flowers, Leaf, Circles

would be lovely as well.

Be careful when handling these though, with all that butter

in the dough, these turn very soft easily. It helps to handle

them with a floured table top.

*Tip :try not to get any flour on the top of your cookies,

it will dull the look of them.

Preparing the Oven & Cookies

Lay out your cookies on an ungreased baking sheet &

Preheat your oven to 300 Degrees.

Place them on the middle rack & bake until edges begin

to brown.

*About 15-20 mins.

Preparing the Nuts

I bought whole toasted almonds and hazel nuts.

& i roughly ran my knife through them and lightly toasted

them in a pan. i avoided buying Pre-chopped nuts, so i

could have a combination of large & small pieces to

sprinkle atop of my cookies. But feel free to mix-up your

choice of nuts & "choppiness" !

Melting The Chocolate

i used Dark Chocolate Candy melts as my dip, but

once again, use any sort of candy melts you'd like.

When my cookies were just a few minutes away from being

done, i began to melt my chocolate, by pouring them in

a bowl (deep enough to dunk half of a cookie into) &

melting them in the microwave in 15 second intervals,

while mixing in between. Once it is completely smooth &

melted, add 1 tsp of vegetable oil into the chocolate and

mix until fully combined.

(add more for thinner chocolate)

Cooling Cookies

See how pale they still are?

This is how you want your cookies to be, just SLIGHTLY

browned around the edges.

Once theyre out of the oven, be sure to let them

cool completely before dipping.

Dipping Cookies

i dipped my cookies in sort of an angle,

You do not need your bowl to be completely full of

chocolate to dip, just dip your cookie & move it back &

forth in the chocolate until desired area is covered.

"Nutting" Cookies

Place your dipped cookies down on a cooking rack or

wax paper & sprinkle your chopped nuts on top.

They dont have to be perfect,

i love that home-made touch they leave behind~

Let them dry at room temperature, or pop them in the fridge

for a few minutes for quicker results.

FINISHED COOKIES!
yay!
i was able to find a clear plastic container at my local crafts
store, which i thought were perfect for these cookies.
i also bought a lacey red ribbon to tie around them as well.
when i stacked these cookies, they couldnt help but lean..
which i will remember next time to drip HALF my cookies
on the right side & the other half on the left side, hehe.
but either way these came out beautiful, and anyone who
tasted them can agree, that these were amazingly yum !

isnt it the most prettiest box of cookies youve ever seen ?

Notes in a Pill Capsul

im sure many of you havnt seen this before,

its a cutesy korean bottle of love notes.

Yes, inside these pills there are strips of paper,

that have been rolled up and tied with a small golden ring,

All contained in a single pill. SOOooOo ADORABLEEE!

This bottle contains 31 love notes (as you can tell by the

giant 31 on the bottle) haha,

im completely in love with these, theyre such a creative

& fun way to send & receive notes !

Perfect to pair off with a pretty box of cookies.

Dont you agree?

Spam Musubi ;

2011-02-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend i was able to track down some bento supplies!

im pretty excited to use them, and i might be ordering a few other supplies later~

Anyway, one of the items i bought is a rice press,

& with that i made the most perfect spam musubis !

My Bag Full of New Bento Items !

YAY !
2 new bento boxes, picks, rice presses, sauce bottles,
silicon cups, sausage cutters, tri colored sushi haran.

My First Attempt at Making Spam Musuabi!
i thought it was delicious, but i think the next time ill try
making the sauce a bit thicker.
The runny sauce managed to spread-out through the rice
and ended up flavoring the entire mitsubi. YUM !

How to Make the Sauce:

Recipe;

- 1/4 cup oyster sauce

- 1/2 cup white sugar

- 4 tbs low sodium soysauce

feel free to change it up with the measurements according

to preference. The sauce should be sweet & savory.

Making Sushi Rice
i bought korean seeweed sheets, (theyre toasted & crunchy
with oil & salt) theyre a lot more flavorful & easier to bite
into VS the regular sushi sheets.

Recipe for sushi rice ;

- 3 cups of cooked white rice

- 1/3 cups rice vinegar

- 3 tbs white sugar
- 1 tbs salt

mix all ingredients together

Using the Rice-Press & Layering

- Cut the Seaweed sheets in half,

- place the rice press in the middle,

- add about 2 large spoonfuls of rice & press down,

fully submerge the cooked slices of spam into the sauce &

- place on top of the first layer of rice,

- add another 2 large spoonfuls of rice & press down.

Remove the rice-press carefully
& wrap tightly.

To seal edges, wet the edges & press down until sealed.
flip over.
Feel free to cut off the extra seaweed off the edges or fold
like you would a gift, heh.

Bag Full of Spam Musubis !
yumm ! i packed these lovlies for family & friends.
i also made a large container of Miso Soup as well.

This is really a great way to enjoy a simple handheld
snack. i recommend you try itttt !

Astro Boy & Chocolate Covered Strawberries ;

2011-02-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, i have never seen a single episode of Astro Boy in my life,
but it was requested by a very talented Artist ; Arlyn.
Hes an AMAZING artist and creator of Ogre Shop
(click the link & check out his amazing work !)

Astro Boy
Requested by & Dedicated to: Arlyn
i hope i didnt mess up on his face too much!
his facial features took me forever to cut out
- insert crying noises here-
So Astro Boy is resting on a mushroom omelet, with a tiny

little heart stuck on a pea. (hoho)

The top left corner is a flowered zucchini sushi roll,

& the right is filled with red onion lace, Peas & Carrot mini

skewers, sliced strawberries & a zucchini checked slice.

- - - - - - -
On another note, this morning i also had a very delicious out-of-the-ordinary breakfast.
Besides devouring Astro Boy, i also made CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES!
They were delicious !
i normally dislike sweets, and i dislike chocolates ..
that is... until my "monthly" comes by, then i get chocolate & sugar cravings..hehe
SOoo, being in the mood for something sweet,
i found a few sad looking strawberries in my fridge, that were on the verge of becoming over-ripe,
i melted some dark chocolate Candy melts & some white chocolate chips & tada!
There were perfect 7 strawberries, just the same amount of house-members i have at home.
so i made one for my 4 younger brothers, my mother & step-dad, they disappeared in seconds!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
haha you can see the process of me starting off with my
first one the Left,(which looks like total crap).
To finishing off with the far Right one & getting better!
i guess Practice does make perfect, haha

Big-Ass Chocolate Covered Strawberry
Not bad looking for my first time eh? haha
Making these are simple & oh-so-very delicious.

Recipe;

- Strawberries ; Washed & Dried

- Dark Chocolate Candy Melts

- White Chocolate Chips

slowly melt the Chocolate Candy Melts in the microwave

in 15 second intervals, until completely melted.

Do the same with the white chocolate chips, and spoon into

a corner of a zip-lock bag, cut a TINY bit off the corner,

(you'll be using this to drizzle your berries).

Tip: Wet Strawberries will not allow chocolate to stick,

be sure to dry them off completely with a paper towel

before dipping.

Then Dip, Decorate, let it sit in the fridge for 5 mins

& ENJOYYY !

Pikachu Gets Cheeky ;

2011-02-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

Once again, here is another Pikachu.

Showing his more erm.. cheeky side ;

(honestly, i think the bunghole is adorable. haha!)

So heres to all the pokemon fanatics!
Any kid born during the 1990's HAD to love pokemon,
it was a requirement of childhood!
Digimon, Yugi-oh and all those other junk-shows were biters,
i will forever be a pokemon kid .

Requested By & Dedicated to;
a "crazy-ass" friend of mine,
Ariles.
(This pikachu is actually no bigger than my pinky!)
very mini ~

i would also like to thank Ann @ ApplesAndTwinkies,
for my "Stylish Blogger Award"
shes got a great blog goin`, & i love the way she pictures all the ingredients,
before she writes the recipe. a cute touch !
& for accepting this award im suppose to announce 7 facts about myself,
& pass this award on to 10 other bloggers.
< here it goes - - - - >
Facts ;
1. i did an ad for " Got Milk? " when i was a child
2. i am terrified of the dark, butterflies & humming birds
3. i do not know how to burp (they sound like hiccups)
4. i was found & hired by a farming & food magazine (Hobby Farms) as their freelance photographer. i was found through Facebook, and i had no past experience & training as a photographer.
i guess having a cooking/picture hobby on Facebook can really get you lucky! (thanks to Peter)
5. i do not get along with females. All the friends i hang-out with are Dudes.
but, my best friend is a girl, named Tiffany, who i only get to see every 3 months or so .. (hate busy schedules!)
6. i have trouble pronouncing the word " Caterpillar ", and even though i was born in the USA, i was put in an ESL class because i could not read "The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar" in the 1st grade.
7. i dislike wonton soup because of previous food poisoning.

10 Dedications ;

i know i have to dedicate this to 10 other people,
but since i just recently started blogging, ill add these dedications on later.
So for now,
i nominate all the awesome, creative, friendly, & helpful bloggers out there!

Citrus Salad

2011-02-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

This morning, i was in the mood for some fruit.
so i decided to try out a citrus salad recipe.
i admit, it was a bit odd to have a "salad" without any sort of lettuce,
it seemed more like a bowl of fruit with a little bit of seasoning/dressing.
Regardless, it was enjoyable, & the combination of fresh fruits was
a great way to start off my morning~

Grapefruit & Orange Salad
let me warn you first,
if youre not a fan of the bitterness of a grapefruit,
then dont follow this recipe.

instead try using blood oranges, mangoes

or perhaps even sweet strawberries, paired with oranges~

Recipe ;

- 1 grapefruit ; with peel cut

- 1 orange ; with peel cut

- few slices of onions

- 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

- 2 tbs balsamic or red wine vinegar

- 3 Olives pitted & diced (optional)

- Sprinkle of chillie or cayenne powder

- Sprinkle of sea salt

Cut the peels off the fruit with a sharp knife,

& slice them horizontally. Add the rest of the ingredients,

& youre done! Enjoy ~

The Classic Peanut-butter & Jelly;

2011-02-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Ah ~
the classic PB&J, always makes for a yummy snack.
i usually prefer mine with crunchy peanut butter, strawberry jam,
& a tall glass of ice-cold milk
but unfortunately it seems ive run out of the peanut butter chunchies ..
so its creamy brother was used instead.
no worries, still delicious !

Peanut-butter & Jelly Sandwich
(requested by & dedicated to Hilary)
yet another mini food!
i took a square cookie cutter &
cut-out 4 squares out of 2 loafs.
The result? adorable dainty little sandwiches ~

A Good Sandwich & Even Better Shake ;

2011-02-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

i opened up my fridge today, and i found a whole ham inside.
So, since i was in a sandwich-y mood, i decided to try a different take
on your typical "ham sandwich".
& to pair with that ? a freaking AVOCADO SHAKE !
okay, before you wrinkle your nose at the thought of an avocado in "Shake Form",
its simply, fucking . delicious .
& no, dont excuse my french.
i mean it ! this stuff is awesome !
its popular in Vietnamese Areas, and you can usually find them selling these
at vietnamese sandwich shops.
But i personally like making my own better. & its the only shake i drink.

Ham-Salad Sandwich
ah, the sandwich. A classic hand-held lunch time meal.
i love sandwiches! theyre so great .
easy to make & so yummy~

Recipe ;

- 1 cup chopped ham

- 1 stick celery, finely chopped

- 2 spoonfuls mayo

- 1 tbs chopped

- sprinkle of pepper

- 2 slices of toasted sourdough or potato bread

- spring mixed greens

- sliced tomatos

- dijon mustard

- sliced avocados

Recipe ;

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl

& arrange like any other sandwich! yumm

Freaking Delicious Avocado Shake

This shake is truly a great way to enjoy

the nutritious fruit of the avocado.

its my #1 favorite shake to drink ~

3 words of advice ?
try. it . NOW.

Recipe ;

- 1 avocado, pitted

- 1/4 cup sugar (add more if needed)

- 2 1/2 cups milk

- 1 cup ice

- whip cream (optional)

(cream or vanilla yogurt can be used

as well for a more thicker shake,

just add with less milk. you can even
substitute the sugar & milk for
condensed milk, just add little milk by
the tablespoons. your shake
will be much stronger in avocado flavor
and it will be thicker .)

blend the first 4 ingredients together.

& feel free the adjust the recipe

according to desired thickness/sweetness.

Add whip cream over the top, & enjoy !

Homemade Food Event

2011-02-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

During the last Sunday of January, i hosted a "Homemade Food Event"
Invited guests were advised to bring a dish, whether its a drink, appetizer, snack, dip, anything!
but it had to be HOMEMADE , & made by themselves.
& for those who didnt know how to cook, or just didnt have the time to make a dish,
they helped chip in a few $dollars to someone who was, just to be fair & to help out ~

Anyway, the event went pretty well, but i guess i picked a bad weekend to host it,
it was the week before mid-terms & some of my friends pick sunday night as their "finish homework night".
But i didnt want to move it to another week because ive already had to postpone it twice.
So , the next time i host another Food Party, i shall pick an empty Saturday night ~

Back to the topic of food,
so since i was the host of this event, i felt i had to put a little more on the table.
i avoided main course meals, since majority of the guests were planning on brining heavier meals, such as Korean BBQ, Steak Kabobs, Pastas, etc.
So instead i made 2 snack appetizers, 1 drink, and 1 dessert.
Heres what i made :

Ingredients for My Mini Skewers

Recipe ;

- Toothpicks

- Mozzarella

- Basil

- Salami (feel free to use any other dry meats)

- Baby Grape Tomatoes

Tomato, Basil, Salami & Mozzarella Skewer
i love these single appetizer bites!
simple to make, & super yummy.
combine them in whichever way you want,
i went with sort or a swirled-layered pattern ~

Spicy Potato Wedges (before the fryer)
these are actually small yellow spuds you can find at any
local grocery market.
ive noticed i tend to find "mini food" alot cuter than
the normal sized foods you usually see everywhere else,
it also gives it a little more of a "special & personalized"
feel, haha.

Spicy Fried Potato Wedges
honesty, who DOESNT like potatoes ? especially if theyre
in fry form?!
these were absolutely delicious, straight out of the fryer.
spicy, crunchy, hot, starchy food of the Gods!

Recipe ;

- yellow mini potato spuds, sliced.

- cayenne pepper (add alot if u like it spicy!)

- parsley flakes

- garlic powder

- pepper

- salt

- dill

(sorry i have no measurements for the seasoning, its super

easy to just combine these spices according to preference.

but be sure to make enough of the spice mixture, since

you will need to coat the potatoes, twice.)

After you have prepared your seasoning, you add

your potato wedges & half the spice-mixture into a

large mixing bowl & toss them until theyre coated.

Drop them in the fryer until theyre golden brown.

As soon as theyre out of the fryer toss them back into the

bowl and sprinkle the spice mixture & toss again, until

fully coated. Enjoy~

Preparing the Watermelon Citrus Drink
i used the watermelon shell as the punch bowl itself.
i cut off the top of it & also a thin slice of the bottom, so it
would be able to stand on its own.
be careful to NOT cut too deep into the flesh of the fruit,
or you will have leaking issues.

Hollowing Out
so as soon as i got it to stand, i started hollowing out
the fruit. Once again, be careful to NOT puncture through
the bottom of the fruit.

Finished Punch Bowl

Mixing & Blending Process
look how much fruit i got out of that melon !
okay, so during this process is where i added the other
citrus fruits into the bowl.

Recipe ;

- 1 Watermelon

- juice of 1 Grapefruit

- juice of 3 Oranges

- juice of 1 lemon

- Sugar (if needed to be sweeter)

- 2 liter Fruit Soda (i used pineapple)

puree the fruit mixture in your blender, fill the watermelon

halfway with the mixture, & fill it the rest of the way up

with the fruit soda. Save the remainder of the fruit mix in

the fridge for later, when the bowl needs to be refilled ~

Watermelon & Citrus Drink
i needed the extra sweetness from the sugar, since its the
middle of winter & watermelon isnt in season... hehe~

Baking Yellow Cupcakes (buns)
this was actually a cake mix, since the grocery store
didnt have a very wide selection of cupcakes,
i had to gamble a bit with this, but luckily these worked
just the same!
these yellow ones will be used as the "buns" or our
AWESOME cupcake creation.
if youve never baked cupcakes before, BE SURE TO ONLY
FILL UP THE CUPS 2/3rds OF THE WAY.
they WILL expand !

Baking Chocolate Cupcakes (hamburger meat)
you wont need as many chocolate cupcakes as you did
for the yellow ones, since you will be slicing these
horizontally to use as the "meat" portion of
your cupcake burger.
(1 choco cup cake = about 3-4 slices)
so feel free to indulge on the left over chocolate cakes~
if youve never baked cupcakes before, BE SURE TO ONLY
FILL UP THE CUPS 2/3rds OF THE WAY.
they WILL expand !

Cutting the Cupcakes
okay, heres the hardest part of making your
burger cupcakes. The red portion are the parts that you
dont need. which is the center slice, & the edges of the
muffin top. (just cut along the black dotted lines.)
The easiest way to remove the edges is to remove the
middle piece first, then flip the top upside down &
cut off the edges while rotating the top.
(it`ll be easier to understand if you look at the finished
product.)
Be sure to cut off the edges of the chocolate cupcake too,
& a bit off the top, to flatten it, so that the top bun can rest
more easily on the chocolate cupcake "pattie" .
be sure to slice the whole chocolate cupcakes into
equal even/flat slices.

Cupcake Burger !
is this freaking adorable or what?!
haha, this was a big hit amongst my friends,
they loved it !
it fooled my parents & friends, they really believed it was a
mini burger , haha

Recipe ;

- Coconut Shavings

- Green, Red, & Yellow food coloring

- Sesame seeds

- Sliced yellow & chocolate cupcakes

- White Frosting (i made mine from scratch)

if you want the recipe for simple frosting, "click here"

For the "Lettuce" portion of your burger, add a few drops

of green food coloring to shaved coconut & mix.

Divide your frosting into 2 bowl & add red food coloring

for the "Ketchup" & yellow to the other for the

"Cheese / Mustard" portion of your cupcake burger.

(i dont like having too much frosting on my cakes, so i

drizzled the frosting around the edges only)

Once youre done stacking the "burger" sprinkle a few

sesame seeds over the top & enjoy your creative desserts !

Vanilla Pancakes with Fruit & Cream ;

2011-01-28T14:47:00.000-08:00

Haha, this pancake dish has got a funny story behind it.
basically, my friend Bao had a funny " dreaming experience " .
apparently he felt like a pancake .
Yes, a PAN-CAKE .
he then proceeded to tell me that he felt blueberries & kiwis
on top of him as well.
& after awhile, some whip-cream.
HAHA !
& better yet? he was a FLYING PANCAKE .
and he even came up with a dance to show me how a
flying pancake would look like.
- - - - - - - - -
How to do the Pancake Dance in 3 easy steps:
1. link fingers together.
2. keep hands vertical
3. & do the wave.
There ya` have it . the Pancake Dance. & the story behind this photo.

Dedicated to Bao
come over for some pancakes one day !

Vanilla Pancakes with Fruit & Cream
i made pancakes form scratch for the first time!
& these taste alot better than
the mix that comes in a box.
sorry Bisquick .

Recipe ;
-1 1/2cups all purpose flour

- 3 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 tbs white sugar

- 3 tbs vanilla

- 1/3 cup milk (add a bit more for thinner cakes.)

- 1 egg

- 4 tbs melted butter

- whip-cream (optional)

- your favorite blend of fruit (optional)

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.

(Sift through the flour for more softer pancakes)

Then add the egg, melted butter, & milk. Mix well &
cook over medium-high griddle,
until brown on both sides.

*Serves : 4

Epic Food Craves ;

2011-01-24T23:53:00.000-08:00

okay, so heres the FIRST FOOD POST, featuring something i didnt prepare myself,
but i just had to post this anyway, because tonight was filled with such yummy food.
---- - - - - -
So, ive been having intense cravings for sushi, bakery breads, & sweet drinks for
the past week.
i swear, i`ve had sushi 3 times in 7 days, and i`ve gone to the bakery to get
Korean Grapefruit Green Tea & bakery breads for atleast 5 of the days, out of 7.
& no ...... im not pregnant . haha !
---- - - - - -
But since last night, ive been reallyyyyy craving Pho as well.
so after i picked-up my little brother from his kick-boxing class, i took him along on my food journey.
(he was completely stoked to go, btw)
Heres what we ate :
- Small bowl of Pho for me & a large for him. $13.00 (Pho Bac Ky)
- Revolving sushi $11.00 (Kula Revolving Sushi Bar)
- 2 Blueberry cream bread & Korean Grapefruit Green Tea $5.00 (85 degree bakery)
Having a great time with your little bro ? Priceless .
(okay well actually the total was around $30s + tips.
but thats not bad at all! )

Pho Veggies
i always ask for extra lemon & sliced onions,
which i drizzle with sriracha sauce
(im in love with that stuff)

My Bowl of Pho (Craving #1)
i order the regular Pho Tai ( rare steak), with the meat on
the side. i add a ton of lemon & sriracha on the meat &
soup, finishing off with a handful of bean sprouts
& basil leaves~ ahh, perfection in a soup bowl .

The Perfect Spoonful
i usually dip my raw steak into my hot soup for a few
seconds before i eat it with a big spoonful of noodles, soup,
& onions. YUM !

Revolving Sushi (Craving #2)
i love this place, i mean, the sushi isnt the BEST but its
definitely good enough, and each plate is only $2 !

Tuna ( My Favorite )
eh, i like tuna. simple, good ol` tuna. its not that im
close-minded towards the more exotic sushi plates,
but tuna just always came out on top, for me~
Did i ever mention my dad owns his own sushi restaurant?
haha yep, hes the owner & chef in Richmond, Virginia .
he owned a few restaurants here in cali as well~
i miss HIS sushi..
the spicy tuna salads & salmon skin hand-rolls he
use to make for me ; yumm.

Crunchy Rolls (my little bros favorite)
Daniel tends to enjoy the more sweeter rolls, while i like
the raw & more savory sashimi types.
we had a ton of fun laughing at each other, from the super
spicy wasabi that they serve here.
Wooooo weeee~
it definitely made my eyes water & nose burnnn .

Finished Plates
haha we finished 6 plates, because we still had to
save room for my 3rd craving!

Blueberry Bread
these are super popular at the 85 bakery. some people are
even willing to wait the 25mins for a fresh batch to come
out. and this place is ALWAYS packed.. lines that reach
past 4 neighboring stores. totally worth it.

Sweet Breads & Tea (Craving #3)
im addicted to this bakery, especially their
Korean Grapefruit Green Tea (cold). yum!
it was a great way to end the night.

Midnight Snack 2

2011-01-24T00:50:00.000-08:00

As said before, on a previous post, i have a habit of eating past midnight.
its not a very healthy habit, i know, but i cant help it.
its been this way since i was little. i couldnt sleep unless i ate~
haha,
well tonight i made a simple sandwich, and it ended up tasting delicious!
a fried egg in a sandwich always makes it 10xs better !

A Simple Pastrami Sandwich
ingredients were simple, i didnt feel like taking too much
into making a quick midnight snack, since i was eager to
go back up to my room and finish a movie (The Town;
good movie, i recommend.) But heres the list of ingredients
anyway.

Recipe ;

- sliced tomatoes

- pepper jack cheese

- fried egg ( i like mine medium)

- lettuce

- pastrami

- mayo

- mustard

- sour dough bread

- pinch of salt over the egg

- pepper

while i prepped the veggies, i put the 2 slices of bread in the

oven for a few mins, just so they`d be toasty & the cheese

would be bubbly & melted.

The only other thing i need to mention is ; Peppering your

mayo after you've spread it over the bread makes it taste

quite different. i LOVE it. try it!

As for the rest of the ingredients, just pile it on like a normal

sandwich & enjoy ~

Bibim Gooksu ( Korean Mixed Noodles ) ;

2011-01-22T00:08:00.000-08:00

I think this is my first korean food entry,
its a pretty simple dish, and its usually eaten during the summer time.
its a cold & spicy noodle dish. with requires no cooking at all !
(well.. except for cooking the noodles of course.)
----- - - -
This dish gains its spiciness from the " Gochujang "
(Which is a korean fermented red chilli paste).
Its sure to make your mouth come alive with the tangy zest of vinegar,
& the pickled crunch of kimchi.
the sesame oil & seeds will give a soft savory tingle,
and the satisfying crunch of the freshly cut vegetables, will add great
texture~

Bibim Guksu ( Korean Mixed Noodles) (Cold dish)
this dish manages to be spicy AND refreshing, odd isnt it ?
which makes it the perfect summer dish,
believe me, its delicious.

Recipe ;
- 1 pack of very thin korean wheat flour noodles (white)
(a pack should consists of many single portioned bundles)
- 2 tsp sesame oil

- 1 1/2 cup chopped Kimchi
(the fermented napa cabbage kind)

- 1 large cucumber (jullienne cut)

- 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Sauce ;

- 3 generous spoonfuls of the korean chili paste

- 2 tsp sesame seeds

- 3 tsp vinegar

- 2 tsp sugar

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl, &

set aside. Boil the noodles as directed on the package,
5 bundles of it should be enough to comfortably
* Serve 4 people. When noodles are ready, drain, &
arrange 1 servings worth on each plate. Add 1/4th
of all vegetables onto each plate, and add desired
sauce amount. (i recommend they should be saucey
as shown in the picture above) Drizzle a tiny amount
of sesame oil over the top, & mix !

Enjoyyy !