Asian


I love watching funny romantic comedies, don’t you? My favorite down time activity is a date night with myself.  I like to grab a pint of Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream, one spoon, a comfy fleece blanket, and a large Diet Coke on ice before plopping down on the couch for the evening to watch a romantic comedy chick flick.   For two hours I get to laugh and scream into my pillow as cheesy love scenes play out right before my eyes.  It’s how I prefer to unwind and enjoy a nice reprieve from my own life.  I only wish I watched movies more often than twice a year which seems to be all I have time for.

I also love reading books. There is something about the feel of the printed word in my hands.  Flipping pages, sometimes highlighting passages I hope recall later, and folding dog ears to bookmark where I finish reading for the night and where I hope to pick up the next day. The anticipation of reading a page here or a chapter there when I find tiny pockets of free time gives me something to look forward to especially if I’m vested in the book I’m reading.

Many years ago my sister introduced me to chick-lit books after the birth of my second daughter, Mimi. She assured me it would make the long stretches of nursing a newborn baby go so much faster. She was so right. Reading the Ashley Tinsdale series by Kristin Billerbeck had me in stitches, laughing out loud, and almost peeing my pants.

After ordering six books in the last six months and having them neatly organized (cough.. thrown on top of one another) on my nightstand, I came to the sad realization I would not be able to enjoy any of these books anytime soon. With my dad’s passing, mom moving in, kids crazy schedules, blogging, and writing for PBS, the concept of “free time” is not something to be had in this season of my life. One of these books I purchased was The Pioneer Woman – Black Heels to Tractor Wheels love story by Ree Drummond. [click to continue…]

Pin It      
Updated

{ 28 comments }

How to Microwave Salmon

by alice on February 28, 2011 · 28 comments


Take a good look at the lunch I made over the weekend.  Isn’t she beautiful?  Best part is… it only took me 5 minutes to prepare from start to finish.  I have no problem admitting that I like cooking food in the microwave. It is an essential kitchen appliance I use multiple times throughout the day from heating up hot water for tea to steaming left over frozen rice for a quick meal. I like the convenience it offers as well as the reduced cooking times, especially when I’m cooking just for myself. [click to continue…]
     
Updated

{ 28 comments }

[donotprint]
Would you believe there are as many teriyaki restaurants as there are Starbucks in Seattle?  Well, maybe not as many but certainly there are a ton.  In fact, there are five of them within 2 miles of my house compared to three Starbucks.  Although teriyaki is Japanese most of the teriyaki restaurants in town are owned by Koreans.  Most of them use similar recipes for their teriyaki sauce and you wouldn’t believe how ridiculously easy it is to make at home.  I should forewarn any purists out there that this recipe is Korean restaurant style and not an authentic Japanese version.  My uncle used to own a deli and we would prepare teriyaki for the lunch hour.  This is where I learned to make teriyaki sauce.  Its sweet in flavor and is a great finishing sauce for any grilled meat or vegetables.  I would also like to disclose right now that this recipe uses garlic powder- I can hear the virtual gasps happening right now as you read this. It is what it is.  [click to continue…]

     
Updated

{ 21 comments }

Vegetarian Jap Chae

by alice on April 12, 2010 · 21 comments

I’m excited to share with you one of my favorite Korean noodle dishes, jap chae.  My mother taught me how to prepare jap chae the Korean way.  She learned from her mother, my grandmother, who owned a Korean restaurant near the demilitarized zone (DMZ)  in Korea before immigrating here in the 1970s.

Jap chae is one of the more common and widely recognized dishes in Korean cuisine.  It is not only beautiful in presentation but comforting to eat. Commonly made with thinly sliced beef, today I’m sharing with you a vegetarian version.  This version is also vegan and gluten-free when using San-J Wheat Free Tamari soy sauce. [click to continue…]

     
Updated

{ 21 comments }

Mushroom Hot Pot Recipe – Kinoko Nabe

by alice on November 8, 2009 · 27 comments

mushroomhotpot2

I love my friend and fellow food blogger, Jennifer Perrillo. In September we were roommates for BlogherFood09 in San Francisco.  During our time together she was so kind to give me all sorts of wonderful things to bring back to Seattle.  This included a copy of Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat. I was so thrilled because I had been looking through it in our hotel room asking questions about it.  During my flight home I scanned through each recipe.  With every turn of the page my appetite for hot pot grew.  Browsing through the book one can’t help but notice the stunning food photography -the photos are beyond beautiful. The first recipe I tried was Kinoko Nabe a.k.a. Mushroom Hot Pot.  And fyi, I’ve made this 4 times since reading the book! [click to continue…]

     
Updated

{ 27 comments }