Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Curd

My roommates officially think I'm crazy.

I'm currently living in an Airbnb with two close friends for the summer while we transition apartments. The previous Airbnb was super cute, but the kitchen was lacking: a hot plate, mini fridge, and a toaster oven were all we had to work with for two weeks. This second place at least has a full kitchen and boasts around 20 different pots and skillets; but oddly at the same time, it has almost no other kitchen tools. And so the improvising begins.

The other day I made a delicious jar of homemade lemon curd--gold, I tell you!--and obviously, I had to make something worthy of spreading such a delicacy on.

Enter, ricotta pancakes. Light, tender, melt-in-your-mouth good. An ideal vessel for lemon curd.

I had all the ingredients except ricotta, which I promptly bought. That night, lying in bed dreaming about the pancakes, I suddenly panicked. What makes the pancakes so light and tender? Whipped egg whites. And not simply whipped, but whipped to stiff peaks. Oh no.

No stand mixer. No handheld blender. Not even a whisk.

The next evening, I assessed the kitchen situation. I would have to whisk the egg whites by hand...with a fork. And with a blender bottle insert held with tongs. Oi.

I separated the eggs, let them come to room temperature, and added cream of tartar to give myself as much of an advantage as possible.

Then I began to whip. And whip. And whip.

It was hard work, but I did see progress. After 10 minutes, the egg whites were not only frothy, but starting to gain some volume.

And then they didn't. They started to deflate. That was when I realized that the back of the fork was hitting the egg whites and deflating the poor, delicate things!

I switched to the blender bottle-tong contraption. Definitely not ideal. But after 20 more minutes of whipping as fast and hard as I could, switching hands when needed, I had soft peaks! Good enough for me--it was 80º in the kitchen, with no AC.

From there it was smooth sailing, and I cooked up a whole pile of pancakes to eat in the following mornings. I was relieved they tasted good after all that hard work!

If you're interested in these recipes, here are the ones I used (I highly recommend NOT whipping the egg whites by hand haha):

Ricotta Pancakes from Food 52

https://food52.com/recipes/24533-cottage-cheese-pancakes-with-creme-fraiche-and-seasonal-fruit

Lemon Curd from Sally's Baking Addiction

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/how-to-make-lemon-curd/

Egg Casserole

This recipe may seem pretty average and unexciting...but let me tell you, there is nothing boring about the flavor at all! Somehow, the simple ingredients of eggs, milk, cheese, bread, meat and a few flavorings all come together to create something delicious.

We've been making this casserole for years at home, but recently, I paired it down to a single-serving to fit in my mini cast iron skillet. Perfect, since it's just me here! It was ooey-gooey, cheesy, and delicious, and I burned my tongue about a million times because turns out 350º cast iron is a great insulator and I had no patience. But you should do this immediately. It was SO cute and fun and delicious. No sharing with other people or my future self required!

Sausage Egg Casserole
Serves: 3-5

6 slices white bread, cubed
1 lb. bulk pork sausage
1 cup shredded cheese (sharp, Swiss, or mixed)
6 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper

dash of nutmeg


Brown sausage in frying pan; drain grease. Place bread on bottom of greased 9x13 pan or baking dish. Sprinkle on sausage next, followed by cheese. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Bake 350°F for 45-50 min.


Customizations:
-Replace sausage with cubed ham
-Change up the cheese (eg. mozzarella, smoked gouda, swiss, pepper jack)
-Add chopped vegetables (just sauté in oil before adding to casserole to make them a little softer)
-Refrigerating for at least a few hours is recommended, but if you are short on time, you can put it straight into the oven.
-Single-serve: I think I made 1/3 or maybe 1/4 of the recipe, which was a big serving but I most definitely devoured it all myself.

Soft Pretzels Buns and Sugar & Spice Pretzel Bites

It's like the last 9 months up until now was practice for being quarantined. As a freelancer and an introvert, I spent a lot of time at home (where I live alone), so I had a daily routine down, learned how to fill up my time, and how to (more or less) motivate myself to be productive.

Now, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, I get to put all of those skills to good use. Although relatively little has changed in my life compared to other people's lives, quarantine still sucks. There's less work, less freedom, less social time, and as time goes on, a growing feeling of apprehension.

I've found that for me, apart from being active and facetiming with friends and family, one of the best ways of dealing with, well, everything, is baking. So the other night I had a friend over, and we had a baking and bingo night. On the menu: sloppy joes on soft pretzel buns, and sweet and spicy pretzel bites.

The pretzel dough is a relatively quick yeast dough, although it is very hands-on as there are a number of steps involved. Keep in mind that not only are these pretzels delicious, so you'll want to eat all of them as soon as you make them, but you should eat all of them immediately because they taste best fresh!

Using the pretzel roll recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction, we split the dough in half. From one half, we shaped six rolls, and from the other half, we made pretzel bites by rolling ropes, cutting them into pieces, and rolling the pieces into little balls.

After boiling, we baked the pretzel rolls per Sally's instructions.

After boiling the pretzel bites, we baked them for 10 minutes, then brushed them with melted butter and rolled them in a half recipe of the sugar mixture before baking for 5 more minutes. Below is the recipe for the sugar & spice topping, and the link for Sally's recipe. Enjoy!

Sugar & Spice Topping

1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs butter, melted

Boil pretzels per Sally's instructions. Bake for 10 minutes; remove from oven. Brush with melted butter, then roll in sugar & spice mixture. Bake for another 5 minutes.

*Note: This mixture is enough for the full pretzel recipe from Sally. If making half of the dough into rolls and half into pretzel bites, only use half of the sugar & spice topping.

Sally's Pretzel Rolls
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/easy-pretzel-rolls/#tasty-recipes-67648

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins

This weekend I had a hankering for some pumpkin cheesecake muffins, so I set out to make the perfect fall treat. My high expectations for the first recipe were sadly not met. However, I knew this idea had a ton of potential, so I found a promising new muffin recipe, combined it with my all-time favorite streusel, and crossed my fingers. Some fall magic happened, and I could barely stop myself from eating a second muffin after the first!

The muffins are fairly moist, well spiced, sweet on top, and have a little tang from the cream cheese to balance it out. The tang from the cream cheese plus the sweetness from the cinnamon honey butter are especially good together.

And now excuse me while I nibble a warm muffin and enjoy the first snow of the year.

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Honey Butter

Muffins
12 Tbs (3/4 cup) salted butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups flour (can replace a little bit with whole wheat flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Streusel
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbs cold salted butter, cubed
4 oz cream cheese, cut into 16 cubes*

Cinnamon Honey Butter
4 Tbs salted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line muffin tins with 16-20 paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the eggs, and mix. Add pumpkin and milk; beat until smooth and creamy. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix until just combined; do not over-mix.
3. Make the streusel. Combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and crumble with your fingers.
4. Divide the batter among the prepared tins. Push 1 cube of cream cheese into each muffin. Sprinkle on the streusel, pressing into the tops of the muffins a little bit. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Make the cinnamon butter. In a small bowl, combine the butter, honey, and cinnamon.
6. Serve smeared with cinnamon butter.

*Cream cheese can be doubled if you like a lot of cream cheese. If you want more of a cheesecake filling, mix together 6 oz room temp cream cheese, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 3 Tbs sugar. I would recommend sticking to the plain cream cheese if you do the cinnamon honey butter, otherwise it will be overwhelmingly sweet.

Muffin and butter recipe from: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/pumpkin-coffee-cake-muffins/

French Onion Soup: The Master Recipe

It's been awhile since I've posted, and life has taken a few turns...

I'm living in New York on my own now, and my favorite part is getting to cook all the time (gotta eat, after all!). To make it even better, my parents surprised me with an Instant Pot, which I've been wanting. It's opened up a whole new world of cooking to me!

The Instant Pot was a little intimidating at first--I imagined hitting the wrong button and the pot exploding from the pressure. But luckily, it's designed better than that (thank you modern technology). Ever since I got it, I've been playing with some new recipes, especially ones that are also cheap and small batch.

Last week I looked at the giant bag of onions in my fridge and knew that it was use them or lose them--I couldn't wait any longer. Not many recipes use up onions like good old French onion soup, so  out came the knife, the onions, and the tears. A few hours later...soup!

I call this recipe the master recipe because it's is based on a bunch of recipes I've seen--it combines them into one set of guidelines so that you can make French Onion Soup based on how you personally like it, and the ingredients and time you have. There are directions for a simple version, but of course, the more time and ingredients you put into it, the better it will taste. Note that fully caramelized onions, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, and gruyere cheese are the most traditional options. Honestly though, it's hard to go wrong as long as you top it with a generous amount of toast and cheese at the end!


French Onion Soup
Serves: 4

Caramelized Onions:
2 lb. sliced onions (yellow, red, sweet, or vidalia)
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. butter

Broth:
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups water, beef broth, or chicken broth
4-6 slices French or artisan bread, toasted
3/4 cup shredded cheese (gruyere, swiss, mozzarella, provolone, gouda, jarlsberg, emmental, comté)

Optional additions for flavor:
1 bay leaf (step 2)
Sprig of fresh thyme (step 2)
1 - 2 Tbs dry sherry, dry white wine, or red wine (step 3)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (step 4)
Red pepper flakes (step 4)

Stovetop directions:
1. Melt butter in large pot. Add onions, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for 10 minutes.
2. Stir onions. Leave 10 minutes, then stir again.
3. Cook onions for 40 more minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. If onions start to stick to pan, add a little water or the wine.
4. When onions are finished caramelizing, add water/broth, salt, pepper, and optional additions.
5. Boil; reduce heat. Simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
6. Remove bay leaf and thyme. Ladle soup into bowls and top with toast and cheese.


Instant Pot Modifications:
Step 1-3: On Sauté mode, melt butter, then caramelize onions for 10 minutes. Add wine, if using, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring.
Step 4-5: Add remaining ingredients and optional additions; pressure cook for 20 minutes on high; natural release (takes about 15 minutes).


Notes:
*If you are short on time: Cover onions and cook on stovetop for 10 minutes until they are tender. After adding broth, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
*Remember, the longer the onions are cooked, the longer the soup simmers, and the more flavorings you add, the better it will taste.
*Beef broth tastes best, but water or chicken broth are fine as well. Water is only recommended to use if you are fully caramelizing the onions, otherwise flavor will be majorly lacking.

Peppermint Pretzel Marshmallow Fudge

I'm sure you already know that I'm a chocoholic. The richer the chocolate, the better. But until now, I've never made fudge...in fact, I rarely get the chance to eat it! *gasp*
When I see fudge in shops—you know, those giant blocks of homemade fudge in all kinds of flavors—my eyes get wide and I hang around, hoping for a sample.
When I see fudge at parties, I go straight for it, ignoring any casualties which may be an effect of my extreme focus on that fudge.

But now I have made my very own, very chocolatey, very Christmasy fudge. It's good. So good that I cut it into unusually small pieces so that I can eat two (or more) pieces with less guilt.

This fudge is perfect for Christmas. And yes, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "Maddie—isn't Christmas over?"

Yes, yes it is. But you see, I made this fudge on Christmas Eve. Then I had to wait all the way until Christmas Day to take pictures and eat it (torture), and since then, I haven't had time to write about it. I've had cats to feed, games to play, babies to babysit...you get the picture.
But so what? It's still December, so I can still justify eating and blogging about this oh-so-yummy fudge. Plus—peppermint is always a good thing, right? Yes? Then make this fudge!

As you can probably tell from the pictures and the name (yes, I know it's a bit of a mouthful, but no ingredient here should be understated), this fudge has peppermint, pretzels, and marshmallows in it.
The peppermint pieces are what make this fudge perfect for Christmas. The sweet little chunks pair perfectly with the chocolate, complimenting the chocolate's richness with its bright flavor—the two were made to be together.
The pretzels bring a crunchiness that balances out the smoothness of the chocolate and the ooey-gooeyness of the marshmallows, and a saltiness that calms the intense burst of sugar from (again) the marshmallows and the chocolate.
The marshmallows take this fudge over the top. Not only are they sprinkled throughout the fudge, but they are METLED INTO IT. So yeah, the marshmallows make the fudge extra sweet and extra good, reminding me of hot chocolate (another winter thing that I am in love with); marshmallows are the essential gooey factor.

One more thing—I think that you will be happy to know that there is not one, but two peppermint-pretzel-marshmallow layers. Yum.


Peppermint Pretzel Marshmallow Fudge
Recipe from: http://joythebaker.com/2014/12/peppermint-pretzel-marshmallow-fudge/

Garlic Parmesan Kale Chips

Today, it's -12ºF, feels like -36ºF. Just in case you're wondering how us midwesterners are faring. Luckily, school is cancelled, so I get to stay home and play in the kitchen.

The other day I bought some kale, planning on eating it in salads. When I looked in the fridge, I didn't like my dressing options, so I ended up coating the leaves in strawberry jam to take away the bitterness. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad tasting--but it did kinda defeat the point of kale. Today, I decided to experiment with the rest of the kale. It turned out great, so I now present to you...garlic parmesan kale chips!

As these were baking, everyone (I'm currently staying with a friend at her parents' house) wondered what the nice smell was. But when I pulled kale chips out of the oven, Emmie was not happy that it was just a flavored "bush." But it's a healthy bush, I reminded her! That did not help.

In the end, I'm the only one that liked the chips. But honestly, what's not to like? They're lightly crispy, quite garlicky, and very healthy. I literally ate half the pan before I had to force myself to put the rest in a box for later!

So, you'll just have to decide yourself. Are you team nasty bush or tasty bush?

Garlic Parmesan Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

Fresh or dried parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a jelly roll pan with tin foil.
Wash, dry, and de-stem the kale; rip into 1-inch sized pieces. Pour a little olive oil over the kale, and mix with hands until all of the kale is lightly coated. Do not drench.
Spread kale evenly in one layer over the pan. Sprinkle on garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. If using fresh parmesan, sprinkle it on now. If using dried parmesan, sprinkle on after removing from oven.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until slightly crispy. Do not let brown.

Cooking Liberian Fish and Potato Green Soup with Dorothy

I have been in Monrovia, my parents' new home, for less than a week, and have already had many little adventures--quite a few of which came from our cooking experience with our local house help, Dorothy, who kindly agreed to teach us how to make a traditional Liberian dish.

We started out by taking a kee kee (pronounced kay kay) to the food section of a local market called Waterside Market. The kee kee drivers both to and from the market were very confident of their ability to squeeze through small places, and multiple times our kee kee brushed against a wheelbarrow and, to the dismay of its owners, started dragging it with us down the street. At one point we stopped, and a car got a little too close to the back of our kee kee. There was a great commotion, and come to find out, the car was caught on our kee kee! We had to evacuate the kee kee amidst much yelling in order to fix it. But what surprised me most about the streets was that there are essentially no traffic lights. I was absolutely astounded, just like when I experienced Vietnam's lack of pedestrian traffic lights. To say the least, intersections here are chaotic affairs!

Dorothy was very concerned for our safety, and made sure that we were holding our purses correctly so that they wouldn't get stolen. She took the lead, haggling for various ingredients, and we accumulated a large bag filled with potato greens, crawfish, three types of fish, and various little packets of seasonings. Besides knowing the necessary ingredients, it was nice having Dorothy doing the buying because she got local prices.

Back in the peace and air conditioning of our kitchen, Dorothy started doing the cooking while we looked on, lending a hand when we could. I tried to take detailed notes of the recipe, which I've included below. Dorothy worked from memory, making the soup as her mother taught her. She cleaned the fish, set a pot of ingredients to simmer into a flavorful broth, fried the fish, and cut up the potato greens. We tasted along the way--everything was quite fishy! Finally all of the components were mixed together. The end product had an extremely strong fish taste and smell. We all had a taste and agreed that the fried fish itself was quite tender and tasty, but the soup was just too fishy. We had such a fun time shopping and cooking with Dorothy, though!

Liberian Fish and Potato Green Soup

Broth:
2 Liberian fish (smoked)
4-6 Crawfish
2 cubes of shrimp bouillon
1-2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 small onion, sliced

Put ingredients into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Add smoked fish. Remove from heat and let sit. Strain. Remove meat from crawfish and add back into strained liquid. Add 3 fresh peppers (they are really hot) for mild hotness.

Fried Fish:
Clean 2 fresh Liberian fish and season with fish seasoning & pepper. Deep fry in sunflower oil until dark brown and slightly black (5-10 min on each side).

Greens:
1 tsp baking soda (to make greens tender)
6 cups potato greens, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion chopped

Sprinkle baking soda over potato greens.
Pour the leftover oil from frying into a large pot. Sauté half of the onions, all of the greens, and 1/2 cup of water together. Mix in 1/2 tsp baking soda and the rest of the onions. Cover and boil, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, add half of the strained broth (including the peppers and crawfish). Add another shrimp bouillon cube. Boil 10 min, stirring occasionally. Pick the meat from the bones of the smoked fish and put meat in remaining half of the liquid. After a few minutes, add the liquid and fish to the greens mixture. Dry 1/4 cup little shrimps for a minute in the microwave, then crush into powder with a mortar and pestle. Add to the simmering greens mixture.
Add fried fish to the greens mixture one by one, covering each fish with soup. Remove peppers. Boil 20 min, scraping bottom of pot, being careful not to break up the fish chunks. Add some black pepper to season.

Serve over rice.
Keeps for up to a week in the fridge.

Swedish Rice Pudding

Today I'm excited to share with you a recipe that was been in my family for generations. I just love making something that, so many years ago, and in another land, my great-great grandma used to make for her family. As a girl, I remember eating it at my grandma's house in her bustling kitchen, and at my aunt's house with all the cousins. It was so satisfying to break the slightly crunchy golden top with my spoon and dig up layers of sweet custard and rice.

Now that I've actually made this rice pudding myself, I've discovered that there's actually another layer to it—magic. The pudding goes in the oven all mixed together, with only a little cinnamon sprinkled on top, and out it comes, all layered and fancy. It's so cool!

You may have noticed that I've mentioned it as 'custard', even though it's named 'rice pudding'. Well, it should be called 'rice custard', because it has eggs in it, but that doesn't have quite the same ring as 'rice pudding', does it? Not all rice puddings have eggs, and so the name 'rice pudding' is sometimes appropriate. Side note: there are countless variations of rice pudding, as almost every area of the world has their own—this recipe is Scandinavian. Anyways, because this recipe does have eggs, we'll be using a water bath to cook the rice pudding in. But don't worry, it's not hard! The first time I made this, I didn't even know what I was doing. I thought the recipe was crazy, but I just followed the instructions and it turned out great.

What is a water bath, and why use it? A water bath is just a pan of water that the baking dish is placed in, while in the oven. The water bath insulates the custard, distributing heat evenly. It prevents the custard from cracking, being rubbery, drying out, and having the eggs curdle.
For the water bath, you want to use a pan that is about an inch bigger than the dish you are using to bake in. Set the baking dish inside the water bath pan in the oven, then fill the water bath halfway up the sides of the baking dish with hot water.
This Food52 article is a great reference if you're still unsure about using a water bath.

Vanilla If you want to make this rice pudding even more flavorful, you can use vanilla beans in place of vanilla. You'll have beautiful little seeds of flavor dotting your pudding! We do this sometimes when we have leftover beans after using up our homemade vanilla.

Rice Pudding
Serves 10-15

3 cups cooked rice (1 cup uncooked)
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups scalded milk
2 tsp. vanilla or 1 vanilla bean*
Raisins (optional)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling

1. Combine eggs and sugar in blender.
2. Slowly pour in scalded milk while blending so that eggs do not cook.
3. Pour into a big casserole dish, preferably glass or porcelain with high sides (not metal, as the custard will burn more easily). Add rice.
4. Sprinkle surface with cinnamon until covered.
5. Place rice pudding dish in a water bath in the oven. Bake 350ºF for 1 1/2 hours. When the timer rings, do not open the oven, but leave the dish in the oven until completely cool, about 5 or 6 hours. This helps prevent water separation.

*For vanilla bean: Sauté bean in milk for about 1/2 hour, then remove bean and scrape seeds into milk. Beans left over from homemade vanilla work perfectly for this.

Chicken Chow Mein

Living in Taiwan, we were bound to acquire a few Asian recipes—which we were happy to do, of course! Chicken chow mein is a more recent favorite in our house. We make it in large batches, because second helpings are an obvious necessity.

Chow mein originated in Northern China, and is commonly found in Chinese restaurants in America. "Chow mein" means stir-fried noodles, and it's just that: noodles stir-fried in a wok (or frying pan, if you don't have a wok—which you totally should!), made delicious with chicken, veggies, and flavorings.

Chicken chow mein is, of course, best eaten with chop sticks. I'm just not sure there's any other way to do it. If you don't know how to use chopsticks, now is a fantastic time to learn! It's really a very useful skill—I mean, what if you find yourself in the middle of Asia, with not a fork in sight? Not speaking from experience or anything...
But remember, when using chopsticks, never leave them sticking straight up out of your food! It's bad luck. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you ;)

If you need to clean out your vegetable drawer, here's your chance. Chow mein is a very versatile dish. Switch out the chicken for pork, beef, or fried tofu, or try it with some of these other vegetables:

-Bamboo shoots
-Bok choy
-Carrots
-Broccoli
-Snap peas
-Cabbage
-Scallions
-Mushrooms

I love having a variety of vegetables! My plate is always a mountain of chicken and veggies, with just a little bed of noodles. I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does!

Chicken Chow Mein
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
Chicken & Vegetables:
300g (11oz) skinless chicken breast fillets, sliced into strips
1 red pepper, sliced
150g (5oz) bean sprouts
1 large spring onion, sliced lengthways

Noodles:
150g (5oz) dried yellow shi wheat flour noodles, or medium egg noodles*
dash toasted sesame oil

Marinade:
dash dark soy sauce
1 tsp. five-spice powder
1 tsp. chili sauce (optional)
1 Tbs. cornflour

Seasoning:
1-2 Tbs. peanut, sunflower, or vegetable oil
2 Tbs. light soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Slice chicken and vegetables.
2. Marinade chicken: Coat chicken with dark soy sauce, five-spice powder, and chili sauce, if using.
3. Boil noodles until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop further cooking. Toss with sesame oil to prevent sticking.
4. Mix cornstarch into the chicken to seal in the juices.
5. Swirl groundnut, sunflower, or vegetable oil around a wok (or frying pan) to coat sides of pan. Heat oil.
6. When oil is hot, add chicken. Cook until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.
7. Add hardier vegetables first, cooking for one minute. Mix in more delicate vegetables (spring onions, bean sprouts). Stir in noodles.
8. Mix in light soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper.

*You're looking for noodles that are yellow and curvy. These noodles go by a few different names; you might see them as Egg Noodles, Ramen, or Canton Noodles, among others. Fresh or dried are both fine. Spaghetti will also work in a pinch.

Recipe from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BxiR7gDDNU&feature=youtu.be

Thai Cooking Academy - Bangkok

Up until last week, I hadn't seen Tal, one of my closest friends, for 2 1/2 years. She lives in Israel, and I in the U.S., so it's not easy to get together. However, her family just moved to Thailand, and mine is finishing up their post in Taiwan, so this Christmas we grabbed the opportunity to make the relatively small hop to see each other.

Her family knows me so well. While I was visiting them, they signed us up for a cooking class at the Thai Cooking Academy! We had a really fun time learning some new Thai dishes and making new friends.

We met our group and teacher at the metro station, then walked together to a nearby local market where the teacher explained some Thai ingredients to us. I hadn't realized before how many ingredients were so specific to Thailand! Replicating some of these dishes will be a challenge.

After seeing the market, we walked a few minutes down the road to the Thai Cooking Academy. We had already picked out the dishes we were making, and they had the ingredients waiting for us by our stations, ready to chop up. We each made five dishes, and there were about four options to choose from for each dish. I made massaman curry, pineapple fried rice, stir-fried vegetables, coconut chicken, and mango sticky rice. All of the dishes I made were beyond delicious--except the coconut chicken (granted, I don't really like coconut and I'm not really sure why I chose to make it).

I was afraid that all nine of us making five different dishes would be chaotic, time-consuming, and confusing. However, the teacher named each dish and which ingredients to chop up as we went along, so it was clear what to do and we were busy most of the time. A few ingredients the cooks helped us cook or chop to save a bit of time as well. While chopping, we had plenty of time to chat with the other people taking the class, which was fun because we had a very international group.

Once everything was chopped, we went over to the cooking stations and made our dishes. The desserts we mostly watched how to make. It only took a few minutes to fry everything up, then we got to eat! We made so much food, some people opted to take leftovers home, but I was starving and lacking self-control after a few hours of chopping and smelling food. I devoured everything I made, except, of course, the coconut chicken.

All in all, I would do this class again in a heartbeat. The teacher had good English, was very helpful and knowledgeable, and it was an organized and fun class with lots of different dishes to choose from. Not to mention good food! The dishes were fairly customizable to individual tastes, and we were given the recipes afterwards. It ended up being about three hours total, and required only basic skills. Hopefully I'll be able to replicate some of these dishes at home!

Thai Cooking Academy Links
Official website: http://bangkokthaicookingacademy.com
TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293916-d2037980-Reviews-Bangkok_Thai_Cooking_Academy-Bangkok.html

Almond Poppyseed Bread

How has your summer been? Hot? Sunny? Full of trips to the lake or pool? Lots of eating ice cream out of the tub while no one's looking?
I hope so!

I've had a great summer. Super-duper-uber busy (which is why I haven't blogged in awhile...) and full of successes and fails, but great all the same.

Successes include learning how to say "go to the fingerprinting window" in Chinese, biking an hour to work in Taiwan's intense heat a few times, and surviving my trip to Japan (which was my first trip abroad in which only my sister--no grown ups--accompanied me, and which we planned ourselves).

Fails include making frosting with cornstarch instead of powdered sugar (sooo not tasty), milk not curdling during an attempt at homemade ricotta, going waaay past our bus stop resulting in a taxi ride, aaaand not writing any blogs.

All in all, it could have been worse.

But what's always a success is this poppyseed bread. It's a family recipe--we've been making it for years. Last summer I made it for dessert when some guests came over, and they were just amazed that 1) we served bread for dessert and 2) that it tasted so freaking fantastic!

I think what makes this poppyseed bread stand out is the combination of the almond extract in the bread and the orange juice in the glaze. It makes for such a surprising but tasty combo!

So, without further ado, here is the recipe for what is definitely one of the best poppyseed-filled foods I have ever eaten.

Almond Poppyseed Bread
Makes: 2 loaves

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup + 2 Tbs. canola oil
1 1/2 Tbs. poppy seeds

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp. melted butter

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and beat with an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes, or until combined.
Pour into 2 greased small loaf pans.
Bake 1 hour at 350ºF.
Cool for 10 minutes in pans while making glaze.
Remove loaves to wire rack and pour glaze over loaves while still warm.

Basic Hummus

Happy New Year!

Actually, I don't really like New Years all that much. Shocker, I know.

It's just that it's an entire holiday revolving around staying up late, loud noises, and crowds. And if you know me at all, I can't stand any of those things. This year, I stayed up just late enough to go up to the near-empty roof of our apartment and watch fireworks go off at midnight, then I went to bed. That was enough to satisfy me.

Also, last complaint, it's pointless to make resolutions just to break them. Do you know how many people do that?! Plus, is one big decision to change really going to be very effective??

Ok, I'm done ranting. And I've got a recipe for those of you who made the resolution to eat healthier: hummus!
In case you haven't heard it before, this mediterranean food has fantastic health benefits including—but definitely not limited to—being high in fiber, protein, and iron, helping lower cholesterol, and even helping prevent some cancers. But remember, all things in moderation: it's pretty high in calories (I definitely don't take my own advice on this point...).

Hummus is surprisingly easy to make—basically, you just toss all of your ingredients into the food processor and BAM you've got hummus. This is a simple, basic hummus recipe that my family really likes. We've tried some more elaborate recipes that just weren't as good. But that's our tastebuds—yours may be different, which is why it's such a great thing that hummus can easily be adjusted to spice it up! And, have extra hummus? Just throw it in the freezer.

Plus, it's super versatile. Here's some ideas on what to eat it with:
-Dip pita bread, pita chips, or veggies in it
-Spread it on a sandwich or wrap
-Dollop it over your salad
-Put it on a burger

I've used Smitten Kitchen's whole wheat pita bread recipe a few times before, and it's turned out pretty tasty every time. Ours didn't puff up as much as the pictures, but that is probably because we skimped on a lot of the rising. We probably rise it for about an hour in a very warm place, then pretty much completely skip the second and third rises after they are shaped into disks. To bake, we use a baking sheet, sprinkle them with water, and do not let the oven reheat each time we open it. I don't have time to wait for pita to puff...so they may not be perfect, but they are tasty!

Isn't hummus just about the perfect food???

So, whether you've made a resolution to eat healthier or not, hummus is a good option!

Hummus
Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 2 1/2 cups

Notes:
-I have successfully used limes instead of lemons in this recipe.
-I have also successfully used homemade tahini (sesame seed paste) in this recipe.
-Do not confuse Mediterranean sumac with poisonous American sumac.
-There is a way to use dried chickpeas if you have those on hand.

Recipe from: http://altonbrown.com/hummus-recipe/

Nutritional information from: http://www.naturalnews.com/049453_hummus_iron_fiber.html

"Nem": Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

The week leading up to Christmas my family spent in Vietnam, as I mentioned before. Three days in Hanoi, three days on a cruise in Ha Long Bay. The cruise was amazing--it was so peaceful to sit up on the deck of our boat and watch the rocky islands rise out of the mist and loom by. We had ample time to sit and enjoy as there were only a few activities planned: rowing around a floating fishing village, kayaking among the islands, touring a pearl farm, and making spring rolls.

The spring roll-making demonstration took place before dinner on both nights, and we learned how to assemble Vietnamese nem (spring rolls). We made fresh spring rolls, so that we could devour them immediately. My spring roll-making-skills definitely improved on the second night!

To make fresh nem, first you need rice paper. Handmade rice paper is best because it is easier to use. You simply lay it on a damp washcloth while preparing the spring roll so that it becomes more pliable. If the rice paper is handmade, it will have a pattern on it from the mold. Rice paper that is not handmade has to be soaked in warm water for about 20 seconds before using, which makes it stickier and more difficult to roll.

There are many things that can be put in fresh nem, but whatever ingredients chosen, it is best if they are in strips so that the spring rolls are not as bulky and have fewer air pockets. Any meats or eggs should, of course, be pre-cooked. We used carrots, lettuce, strips of scrambled eggs, shrimp, and special Vietnamese pork.

For a dipping sauce, they had a special homemade sauce which cannot be found in stores. They casually listed the ingredients while explaining the spring roll process, and I had to frantically write them down. So, since it is a simple list and I have not yet tried making it at home, I'm not sure of proportions. When I make it, I'll update it. However, you can experiment with it as you like! It may be worth trying because the sauce on the boat was really tasty and perfected the spring rolls, in my opinion.
Here are the ingredients, and let me know how it goes if you use them to make a sauce!

Spring Roll Dipping Sauce
2 parts water
1 part fish sauce
1 part rice vinegar
Garlic
Chilies
Lime juice
Sugar

To assemble the nem, you lay a piece of rice paper on a damp washcloth, then you make a small pile of ingredients near the base of the rice paper. You do not want to use too many ingredients!! We saw a lot of people load them to bursting, and lets just say that their spring rolls were, I'm sure, yummy but not pretty. Also, it is easiest to put all of the ingredients in a pile on the rice paper, not in a carpet across the paper. Once all of the ingredients are on the rice paper, start rolling it up very tightly. When rolled halfway, fold the edges into the center, and finish rolling. Then, rub a little water on the edge of the rice paper to glue it down. Or, you can lick it, and, as our guide explained, no one will steal your spring roll. Finally, dip your spring roll into the sauce for a few seconds so that the sauce seeps into your spring roll. If you do a quick dip, it won't have as much flavor and will be more difficult to take a bite of.

This is a really fresh and simple treat, and is fun to make. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins

How was your Christmas?

Ours was wonderful. I'm in Taiwan with my family, but we took a week before Christmas to vacation in Vietnam. It was amazing! We tried a lot of ethnic food, which did some pretty sketchy things to our stomachs--fried corn, pho, fish stir fry at a restaurant which Obama ate at, and more seafood than I've ever eaten in my life. We're ok though, so no regrets. We spent a few days on a boat cruising through Ha Long Bay, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The rocky islands rising out of the mist are surreal.

We came back to Taiwan on the 24th and three minutes after we stepped foot in the apartment, my mom and I were in the kitchen, making breadsticks, zuppa toscana, and peppermint ice cream for our Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas Day was filled with monkey bread, cookies, steak, wrapping paper, and Christmas music.

Now it's Boxing Day, as they say in New Zealand. A day to relax, enjoy the new presents, and do a little more baking. Pumpkin muffins are an easy and tasty treat if you're looking for something to make today, like me. They're tender, not too crumbly, and just a little bit sweet. I love the seeds and the crumble because it gives them more yummy flavor and texture. The raisins too, except that we usually leave them out because SOME PEOPLE who shall not be named do not like them. *Ahem* But we devour these muffins at every opportunity--breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, snack, dessert, midnight snack... They're healthy enough that it's justified. Right?

This is a recipe that is always in our fall-winter recipe rotation. They're just so warm and comforting! I actually took these pictures a few years ago and have been meaning to share the recipe with you ever since, but that's neither here nor there. So, you'd better make up for lost time and get baking! Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin Crumble Muffins
Makes: 18 regular muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk*
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
3 Tbs. raw green (hulled) pumpkin seeds (pepitas), divided

Crumble Topping, optional:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. butter, softened

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF with rack in the middle. Butter muffin pan or use muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Gently stir in raisins and 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds.
5. Evenly divide batter among prepared muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining pepitas.
6. Make crumble topping: Combine ingredients in small bowl. Cut butter in until crumbly. Sprinkle onto tops of muffins.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove from muffin tin and cool on a wire rack.

*To make 1 cup of buttermilk substitute: 1 Tbs. vinegar or lemon juice + just enough milk to make 1 cup. Let sit for five minutes before using.