What's Beverly Cooking?

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

2010-03-05T18:31:00.004-05:00

Salted caramel + cream cheese frosting + dark chocolate cupcakes to celebrate a lovely lady's birthday earlier this week. Happy birthday, Liz!

Cream Puffs

2010-02-27T19:29:00.006-05:00

Cream puffs with chocolate ...does that make them mini eclairs?

Carrot Cupcakes

2010-02-15T19:58:00.005-05:00

For Rei: raisin-free carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

and topped with carrot hearts!

Holiday Baking

2010-01-03T20:58:00.010-05:00

I was a busy baker during the holidays, but not so with the blogging...

Rum-soaked raisins, apricots, cranberries...

...to make Panettone, my mom's favorite bread (recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)

Blueberry coffee cake (recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)

Cranberry apple butter jam cookies (I used a shortbread cookie recipe with a quick cranberry apple butter reduction for the filling) (photo: Jessica)

Maple pecan oatmeal scones with a maple syrup glaze (photo: Jessica)

Cream scones with dried cranberries, made by my sister Jessica (photo: Jessica)
(both scone recipes are from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T20:45:00.015-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for being home and being able to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for my family.

I like fruit that still has the leaves attached =)

Frosty cranberries from the freezer

This became cranberry-persimmon sauce (recipe from Once in a Blue Moon blog)

OM NOM NOM

My brother joined us for dinner via Skype (he was still at school).

Garlicky green beans amandine

2 lbs green beans, trimmed, washed and blanched
A handful of sliced almonds
A small pat of butter
6 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Toast the almonds in a hot skillet. Add the butter and stir until it smells good and nutty. Transfer the almonds to a plate. Pour some olive oil to the skillet and when it's hot, throw in the garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Add in the green beans, sprinkle some salt to taste, and cook until done. Mix the almonds back in and serve.

Pan-roasted asparagus with Parmesan cheese (recipe from America's Test Kitchen Complete TV Show Cookbook)

Mandatory gravy - this is the only thing that I did not make (gasp! it's from Trader Joe's)

My mom made pan-fried yellow fish

And she also made sticky rice - oh so delicious! This is a must for our Thanksgiving dinner, every year.

Mashed potatoes - it's relatively healthy, but still nice and creamy, with only 2 tablespoons of butter, milk, and sour cream (this recipe came from the ATK Best Light Recipes cookbook)

Wine-poached pears for dessert (recipe adapted from Angela's Food Love blog)

Instead of the mascarpone filling, I mixed together a cup of rice pudding and a spoonful of honey and folded it into some freshly whipped cream.

That's it! I think this was my longest post yet.

Salmon Cakes

2009-11-16T22:43:00.005-05:00

Pan-Fried Fresh Salmon Cakes -- with Parmesan cheese!

(Recipe from The New Best Recipes)

Mango Mousse Tart

2009-11-12T20:15:00.001-05:00

A mango mousse tart for my mom - happy birthday, ma-ma!

Mousse recipe adapted from Passionate About Baking

I found that the ratio of the mango mixture and the cream was best left up to personal judgement since the 2 mangos I used yielded a lot more puree than what the recipe intended.

It's super fun making the wavy design on top; all you need is a toothpick!

Thai Curry Chicken

2009-11-08T20:10:00.006-05:00

Thai Curry Chicken

10 oz coconut milk
14 oz chicken broth
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 large Japanese sweet yam, cut into chunks
1¼ pounds chicken breasts, cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick strips
6 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
A handful of chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Bring the coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce, curry paste, and sugar to a boil. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes.

2. Add in the yam and simmer, covered, for about 8-10 minutes until tender. Add the chicken and green beans, cook for another 5 minutes.

3. Sprinkle in the basil; season with salt and pepper. Serve with white jasmine rice

Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen 30-Minute Suppers (Winter '09)

Apples

2009-10-12T22:39:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was perfect for apple picking: chilly - but sunny - weather and the trees ablaze with color...

Fresh apple cider doughnuts!

Cortland apples

What to do with all these apples?

Bella smells... apple pie!

Mini apple pie (baked in muffin tins - recipe adapted from Weevalicious)

Still lots of apples leftover: cook up with some cranberries, sprinkle a quick streusel mix (oatmeal, sugar, flour, cinnamon, butter) on top, bake, and we have:

Cranberry apple crisp!

Happy autumn; keep warm =)

P.S. Is it just my computer, or do the photos look quite desaturated to you? Blogspot just makes everything look ill. Maybe I'll switch over to tumblr instead - no color issues there.

Sixteen

2009-09-07T23:49:00.005-04:00

Happy birthday, Jessica

Mint chocolate chip ice cream cake.

Newman O's organic mint chocolate cookies - crumbled on top

Mint chocolate chip ice cream from the store - no ice cream maker yet :(

Brownie cookie base - recipe, halved, from A Dash of Sass

(this lovely photo taken by the birthday girl)

三杯雞 (San Bei Ji)

2009-09-06T23:21:00.009-04:00

Tonight, my mom and I had a fun cooking competition. I had been wanting to make this delectable Taiwanese dish called San Bei Ji ever since I had it in a restaurant in Atlanta. Since there was a bunch of spare basil left over from making pizzas earlier this week, San Bei Ji was a great way to use it up. San Bei Ji is literally translated into "Three Cup Chicken." The name comes from the three main ingredients (besides chicken): soy sauce, wine, and sesame oil. Usually chinese rice wine is used, but we substituted it with some nice white wine.

Cooking with clay pots keeps the flavor in.

This is my pot of San Bei Ji. I kept it to the essential elements of the recipes: chicken, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sugar, and basil.

This is mom's San Bei Ji - she went easy on the soy sauce and put in shiitake mushrooms and a hot chili pepper, smart lady, for an extra hit of spice.

We gave my dad a blind taste test of our two versions of San Bei Ji. He preferred my mom's version with the spicy kick, but my two sisters liked the deep flavor of my dish. Everyone had a delicious meal of San Bei Ji.

三杯雞 (San Bei Ji) Recipe

Half a chicken, bone in and some skin on, cut into 1" pieces
10 slices of fresh ginger
10 cloves of garlic
About 1/4 cup each of soy sauce, cooking wine, and sesame oil
A spoonful of sugar
A handful of fresh basil
Shiitake mushrooms, optional
Hot dried chili pepper, optional

Heat up the sesame oil in a large skillet, throw in the ginger and garlic to build up flavor. Then add in the chicken, brown for a little bit, and add the rest of the ingredients. Give it a good stir and transfer to a clay pot if available (if not, just keep cooking in the skillet, no problem). Cook on low until chicken is cooked and sauce is reduced by a third. Serve with white rice.

Pizza Night

2009-08-30T23:28:00.004-04:00

My little sister, Jessica, has recently taken up an interest in photography, and she has a pretty good eye for it. Jessica has been helping me take photos as I cook. So why not also try her hand at blogging?

Jessica here.

Tonight, we decided to make pizzas for dinner and each of us customized our pizzas to our individual likings. I chose to make a margherita pizza, because that's one of my favorites. (Too bad I didn't know that margherita pizzas don't have tomato sauce.) My 'margherita' pizza ended up with the extra ingredients of ham (another favorite pizza topping) and mushrooms, because we needed to use up all the ingredients we chopped, and tomato sauce. Of course, I also made sure to add lots of mozzy cheese! (Pronounced like "mott-see". That's mozzarella, in Jessica-speak)

Here's my pizza fresh from the oven.

That would be Jenn's pizza. Hers was super special.

For those of you who are gravely concerned about Beverly's lack of updates, no worries. I will be bugging her often.

Hors d'oeuvres! (That is my way of saying goodbye.) A bientot!

A Happy Birthday Cake

2009-07-24T11:00:00.004-04:00

Happy birthday to my best friend.

Triple layer chocolate cake with chocolate raspberry ganache

Made with lots of love and lots of chocolate

Recipe from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes via 17andBaking

Fresh Berry Gratin

2009-07-23T14:49:00.008-04:00

Adele, this one's for you.

Delicious.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

The leftover sauvignon blanc made a great sangria!

1 750mL bottle Sauvignon Blanc
1/2 orange, sliced
1/2 orange, juiced
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
1-2 apricots, halved and pitted
A handful of grapes

Mix sugar, orange juice, orange slices, and Grand Marnier together. Muddle the orange slices a little with a wooden spoon. Add the apricots and grapes and wine. Give it a few good stirs and chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours.

Chocolate Pasta

2009-07-23T14:36:00.005-04:00

I finally made the chocolate pasta that I bought at Pike Place Market from my trip to Seattle. I threw together a berry sauce and reheated the leftover chocolate ganache to serve with the pasta. The pasta itself doesn't have much flavor to it even though it certainly looks chocolately, so the chocolate sauce really helped boost the taste.

Caramel deLites Cupcakes

2009-07-15T14:59:00.007-04:00

Happy birthday, Wojty!

Caramel deLites (not Samoas) cupcakes for my friend Ben W.

The cast: brown sugar butter cupcakes, chocolate ganache, caramel, toasted sweet coconut topping, and toasted coconut flakes.

Caramel filling

Chocolate ganache poured on

Plenty of coconut topping

Recipe from cupcakeblog.

Pizza Bites

2009-07-15T00:01:00.005-04:00

Clank Works has been busy getting their store/apartment ready for move-in. I usually like to join in the fun with painting, putting up drywall, and spackling. But today, I thought it would be nice to make a hearty dinner to keep them fueled, since they often start right after their day jobs and work late into the night. Pizza bites were a perfect option: easy to transport and no utensils required.

Recipe adapted from Tastefully Done.

I made my own pizza dough, used fontina in addition to the mozzarella, and substituted the pepperoni with Trader Joe's chicken sausage (a much tastier - and healthier? - variation, in my humble opinion)

Before. Parsley/parmesan/spices mix to sprinkled on top.

After the oven. So tasty with marinara sauce!

Stuffed French Toast

2009-07-09T22:38:00.004-04:00

Cream cheese and strawberry jam stuffed french toast topped with fresh strawberries

(recipe from Minimally Invasive)

This is what I made for breakfast one morning for a hungry group of nine at the beach house. D and I went out to pick up some missing ingredients, including the star of the show Challah bread, but the first supermarket that we went to had no Challah bread to offer! So we went across the street to the brand new Harris Teeter to try our luck. Oh, were we lucky. They had exactly two fresh loaves of Challah bread about to come out of the oven, so we wandered the aisles for a bit while the bakers prepared the steaming hot loaves for us. How heavenly it smelled during the car ride back... well, the blessing of fresh bread turned out to be a bit of a curse as well when it came time to make the french toast. Soaking the slices of Challah in the egg mixture made it soggy as hell. Cooking the french toast made the outside nice and golden brown, but when I cut a piece open, a soggy mess of cream cheese, jam, and bread. So, in a last ditch effort, I popped them in the oven to try to dry them out. Either it worked, which I'm pretty sure it did (at least for the piece I ate) or I was in very very polite company =) Lesson learned: let the Challah bread dry out a bit before making this recipe for soggy-free french toast!

Spaghetti Hot Dog Squids

2009-06-20T23:15:00.006-04:00

I saw this awesome idea posted on Apartment Therapy: The Kitchn, and had to try it.

Before cooking...

Ready to eat!

Can't go wrong with spaghetti and hot dogs. I was worried that the part of the spaghetti that were inside the hot dogs wouldn't be cooked thoroughly, and they didn't, but it was okay since it was cooked enough that there wasn't any what would have been very unpleasant crunchiness. It was fun to eat them like this... and practical, too, since you can just spear a piece of hot dog with the fork and a perfect portion of noodles comes with it.

Next time, I would like to try them with sausages, as suggested by a friend.

Mmm... steak.

2009-06-20T22:38:00.014-04:00

I was in Maryland the past couple of days with D visiting his family. I offered to make dinner on Thursday evening; it's always such a pleasure to cook for everyone, and this is what we ate:

Dry-rubbed rib-eye steaks *drools*

(recipe from Well Fed blog)

D handled the actual grilling part and some picture taking.

This is the mixture of spices for the rub: ancho chili powder, ground cumin, dried coriander, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. I also added a shake of garlic powder, just as an extra boost.

(This photo also by D)

Rice with yellow bell peppers and green onions (recipe from Masa Assassin). I used jasmine rice instead of long grain rice, which worked just as well.

My plate: steak, avocado, fresh salsa, rice, grilled corn and grilled peppers.

Chocolate Lime Cheesecake

2009-06-15T21:02:00.004-04:00

Chocolate lime cheesecake (recipe from Nigella)

I used 250g of Trader Joe's Chocolate Cats cookies (no, they aren't cookies for cats, just cat shaped) for the base, and increased the amount of butter to 90g... this way, I got TWO cheesecakes (18cm and 20cm) instead of just one :D

Happy Cake

2009-06-14T17:14:00.005-04:00

Well, that's not actually what this recipe is called... but D pointed out that it had a big smiling face, so now it's happy cake. And if you eat it, you will be happy, too. I just love how yogurt makes it extra moist.

French style orange yogurt cake from Baking Cottage blog

Guinness Cake and Cupcakes

2009-06-14T16:27:00.005-04:00

I made this cake for my friend Eamae's birthday near the end of May (yeah, I know, slow with the postings, I'm working on it). I wanted to make a cake with Guinness in it because one of my good memories of Eamae was when we met up in Boston over winter break and stopped by a bar in Central Square for a drink: he had a Guinness, but I can't remember what my own drink was. I tried a sip of his, and, for once, didn't make a face of distaste (FYI - I like beer, I just don't like drinking it). And I love the elegant colors, which translate over to cake and frosting very well. If I make this again, I would like to try serving it in some pint glasses - fool anyone? Since there was a lot of batter left over, I made a batch of cupcakes to bring to work. Recipe from Nigella Lawson.

Rosemary + Apricot

2009-06-08T12:29:00.005-04:00

Rosemary shortbread cookies with apricot filling

(recipe from Tartlette)

This is the first time I've made cookies with herbs... and I must say I quite like the taste! The cornmeal gave it a nice "rougher" texture so that they weren't too wimpy or delicate. One thing I didn't expect when making these cookies was how inconsistent the heart shapes turned out: some were thinner, some wider, some were just outright asymmetrical, which gave me quite a challenge just trying to match them up for sandwiching. My guess is that both the rolling of the dough and transferring them to the baking sheet gives the cookie a "grain" so when they are baking, each one will have a tendency to stretch out in its own direction. Next time, I will try just leaving the cutouts as they are on the Silpat and removing the scraps to see if that improves anything.

Catching Up

2009-04-26T18:08:00.007-04:00

So I have been really bad at this posting thing, huh? Since the previous post, I have enjoyed an many foods: some homemade, some at cooking and baking classes, and some during my travels. Now it's time to play catch up and try to share the highlights of my culinary adventures. So without further ado, a sampling of the results of last semester's baking class (in no particular order).

Opera torte with layers of joconde sponge cake, coffee swiss buttercream, dark chocolate ganache, and topped with peanut brittle.

Chocolate ravioli with a cannoli filling, topped with chocolate sauce and raspberry sauce

Raspberry marscapone tart with raspberry sabayon, chocolate sauce, and a hartmund florentina garnish

Fun with making florentina flowers!

Tiramisu

Stay tuned for posts and photos of foods from my kitchen, the west coast, and down south.

Apple Strudel

2009-02-08T17:38:00.008-05:00

This week in baking class, we made apple strudel with pecan ice cream, honey sabayon, and almond nougatine.

The pecan ice cream really tempted me into considering buying an ice cream maker.

Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

16 fl oz. milk

16 fl oz. heavy cream

7 oz. sugar

1 oz. glucose syrup

¼ tsp. salt

1 vanilla bean pod

10 oz. egg yolks

A handful of pecans

1. Combine the milk, heavy cream, 3.5 oz of the sugar, the glucose syrup, the pecans, and the salt in a saucepan.

2. Split the vanilla bean, scrap the seeds into the pan, add the pod, and bring the mixture to just a boil over medium heat.

3. Remove from heat, cover the pan, and let steep for 5 minutes.

4. Remove the vanilla pod and return the mixture to a simmer.

5. Meanwhile, blend the egg yolks with the remaining 3.5 oz sugar.

6. Temper by gradually adding about one third of the hot milk mixture, whipping constantly.

7. Return tempered egg mixture to the remaining hot milk in the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (180°F).

8. Strain the ice cream mixture into the ice cream bowl and follow manufacturer's instructions to make delicious pecan ice cream!

Dessert!

2009-01-31T14:12:00.006-05:00

Hello again. It's been a while... but I have not forgotten about this blog. I have a pretty loaded schedule this semester, which does not allow much time for culinary pursuits. But my classes do include a cooking class and an advanced baking class with the lovely Julianne Bierwirth! Last night, my baking class made something so delicious I wanted to share it here.

Feast your eyes on this!

This is two layers of chocolate cake and chocolate sabayon mousse (with a hint of delicious blackberry brandy in the mousse!), topped with a citrus cream, all enclosed by a dark chocolate cage, and plated with caramel sauce and dark chocolate crumbs.

Still Summer

2008-10-08T17:14:00.004-04:00

Nectarine, marscapone, and gingersnap tart (recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

New Ingredients

2008-09-30T10:32:00.010-04:00

Since the summer is long past, and there are plenty of people around to help eat whatever I may fancy cooking/baking, this blog doesn't have its original purpose to serve anymore. But it would make me a bit sad to just abandon it; it has been a good experience and I still get asked occasionally if I'm going to update and keep it up (by which I am quite flattered that you are still looking at this, thank you).

And so I think I will work on being a more diligent blogger... but the content will be changed up a bit. Instead of posting what I'm cooking/baking on a regular basis, I will share the more exciting recipes I try. Posts will probably be even less frequent, but I hope that you will be patient with me.

Also, my friend Ben and I are trying to cook together more often and perhaps have a dinner party every other weekend if our schedules will allow it. I am happy to write that we just cooked our first successful dinner party this past weekend. If you are so inclined to join us in the future, let us know; we would love to have new guests =)

Ben, the Connoisseur of Cheese, made a fabulous blackberry chutney to accompany the array of cheeses: Asiago, Havarti, Edam, Fontina and a smoked cheddar.

(chutney recipe from Recipezaar)

In the lower left corner is a wedge salad of iceberg lettuce, apple slices, and bacon bits drizzled with asiago peppercorn dressing and some fresh asiago (this salad was influenced by my summer housemate; thank you, Richard!)

Jambalaya stuffed peppers (recipe from Made Healthier)

"Farm Stand" Corn Bread - with whole corn kernels! (recipe from Baking and Books)

Cheers!

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

2008-09-30T10:24:00.003-04:00

An extremely belated post, I know. I made these mint chocolate cupcakes near the end of the summer for Christine's birthday. Her favorite flavors are chocolate and mint, so I thought that this would be a great recipe to try. They turned out well, especially the chocolate part -- so dark! -- and I just wanted to post and share the recipe... if anyone is still checking this blog at all... anyone?

(recipe from The Repressed Pastry Chef)

2 Things

2008-08-03T17:23:00.005-04:00

Tonight, I will be making 2 things:

1) Eggs and tomato, served with white rice

and...

2) Strawberry sour cream muffins (recipe from Boston.com)

Spanakopita

2008-07-29T18:23:00.003-04:00

Yooo hooo, I'm making spanakopita again :D

Wontons

2008-07-13T14:34:00.004-04:00

Wontons with shrimp, pork, napa cabbage, shittake mushrooms (recipe from my mom)

and a really yummy dipping sauce!

By the way, did I mention that Tastespotting is back? :D

Meatballs

2008-07-12T16:20:00.003-04:00

Pineapple meatballs (recipe from Blog Chef)

Cake

2008-07-10T19:44:00.004-04:00

Marbled banana bundt cake (recipe from The Hungry Housewife)

Except I'm not baking it in a bundt pan

Cup in a Cup

2008-07-07T19:13:00.003-04:00

Peanut butter cup cupcakes in 2 flavors! Chocolate (recipe from RazzleDazzle) and peanut buttery (recipe from Cream Puffs in Venice)

Pop!

2008-07-06T21:40:00.006-04:00

This is a belated post, but I had to post a picture because this time the photos were done by a very talented photographer: Drew : ) Take a good look at the picture because it's the best one ever posted on this blog!

The idea for these "firecrackers in your mouth" cupcakes came from Noble Pig but I left out the crazy color sprinkles and opted for a classic vanilla recipe from Amy Sedaris instead. I was soooo excited with anticipation for making these for the Fourth of July but had to contain myself so as not to spoil the surprise ingredient of the Pop Rocks. Oh, I could just pour that stuff into my mouth all day. I ended up making 38 cupcakes in total over 2 days... and I hope that those who had one/some of these cupcakes enjoyed eating them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Muffins

2008-06-30T20:48:00.001-04:00

Banana raspberry swirl muffins (recipe from Seven Spoons)

Bread!

2008-06-30T19:07:00.005-04:00

Brioche (recipe from Professional Baking textbook)

and Sweet Bread (thank you, Bert!)

Attempt #2

2008-06-28T13:11:00.004-04:00

Edit: Yay, this second batch came turned out pretty well :D I made a lot so please come and feast on chocolate covered things

So yesterday's chocolate dipped strawberries came out okay... it tasted quite delicious (because it is chocolate and strawberries after all) but from a tempering standpoint, I didn't get the temperatures quite right, which resulted in a bit of blooming.

I went down to the Strip District to get some more strawberries today, and will be having some more dipping fun with those, as well as with almonds, pretzels, apricots, and whatever else I can scavenge in the kitchen.

I will also be trying my hand at brioche today =)

Strawberries...

2008-06-27T20:21:00.005-04:00

...dipped in dark chocolate

I'll be dipping strawberries this evening. Come over and we can have a dipping party! Feel free to bring something to dip :D

Beef & Snow Peas

2008-06-24T19:43:00.005-04:00

Beef and snow pea stir fry (recipe from SuperCook)

Spunow

2008-06-20T17:56:00.003-04:00

I know this post is not about something that you can come over and eat right now, but this story is just made my afternoon.

Popeye's favorite...

2008-06-18T18:20:00.003-04:00

Spanakopita! (recipe from Epicurious)

Goodbye, Dear Tastespotting

2008-06-16T21:12:00.008-04:00

During my lunch break today, I discovered, to my utter dismay, that Tastespotting is out of operation. I will miss this site incredibly; it was my portal to the food blogging world, my go-to whenever I needed a recipe whether it be a quick dinner or a fancy dessert. I could always trust it for quality recipes and ideas. What will I use now?? While Food Gawker is not quite the same as Tastespotting, I admire the food blog community for coming together and keeping the spirit alive with almost 200 posts in one weekend!

Well, after weeding through some terrible recipe sites on my own (with no photos, or worse...) I decided to give this banana yogurt bread recipe a try. I substituted half of the chocolate chips with dried cranberries -- one can never go wrong with dried cranberries.

Muffins!

2008-06-12T22:26:00.005-04:00

Mango raspberry muffins (recipe from Get Baked)

and Apple chocolate chunk muffins (recipe from The Crepes of Wrath)

Thai Fried Rice

2008-06-10T21:17:00.003-04:00

Thai Fried Rice (recipe from Real Thai Recipes)

Heads up: muffins later this week

Noodles and Rice

2008-06-08T15:36:00.006-04:00

Sesame noodles with bok choy, red peppers, mushrooms, and snow peas (adapted from Adventures in Shaw)

Cucumber salad (recipe from Veggie Paradise)

[Sorry, no pics of this]

Black rice pudding with coconut milk (recipe from RecipeZaar)

I actually cooked all this yesterday evening for dinner with Eamae - who was visiting for the weekend - Caryn, and Krosendale. It was a lovely dinner with lovely people.

There's still some sesame noodles and plenty of black rice pudding (I made a huge batch) waiting to be eaten! They're both really good chilled, so it's perfect for a hot, lazy Sunday.

Strawberries in Squares

2008-06-06T20:11:00.005-04:00

Strawberry oatmeal squares (recipe from Kathleen)

Why am I using the oven when it's 90 degrees outside (and almost 90 indoors)...

Edit: ahhhhh, the silicone pan twisted around itself when I was taking it out of the oven. Now it's more like strawberry oatmeal pile instead of squares. Oh well, it's still quite tasty!

Behold! A specimen of strawberry oatmeal pile.

Thyme for Tilapia!

2008-06-05T19:18:00.004-04:00

Lemon Thyme Tilapia (recipe from 28 Cooks)

My good neighbors Sandy and Judy gave to me my very own pot of thyme, so I have fresh herbs to use for this recipe! Having fresh thyme definitely makes up for the little bit of freezer burn on the filets =)

Thai Chicken Sautee

2008-06-04T19:13:00.006-04:00

Thai chicken sautee (recipe from Elle's New England Kitchen)

no cilantro or limes... will try lemons?

Dinnertime

2008-06-01T16:16:00.003-04:00

Garlic beef with broccoli [and shittake mushrooms] -- served with white rice

(damn, can't find the shittake mushrooms)

edit: I found the mushrooms hiding behind the tortilla chips!

Ricotta This, Ricotta That

2008-06-01T14:05:00.002-04:00

1. Lemon ricotta pancakes with sauteed apples (recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

Photo by Beverly

2. Strawberry ricotta muffins (recipe from Taste.Au.Com)