veggie stir fry and oudewijvenkoek

04 Dec 2014

Today for dinner we have an asian themed veggie stir fry. signature flavors and ingredients include onions, cilantro, tomatoes, fish sauce, lime juice and chili flakes. Other veggies include carrots and cabbage. served over rice.

lastly here is a photo of a recipe i tried out. oudewijvenkoek. looks like a large bagel haha.

Chicken risotto

03 Dec 2014

Tonight dinner was extra fancy. With chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper, fried in bacon dripping to crisp up the skin then roasted in the oven to finish. risotto fried in bacon fat prior to adding and simmering water. The risotto was spiced with garlic, sage, and italian herb mix and added with mushroom to give it a smoky flavor. The heavy smoky risotto and chicken were counteracted with light and tart pieces of apple.

Tricolor israeli couscous

02 Dec 2014

Today we had some israeli couscous, also known as pearl couscous. Unlike the farro from yesterday which were more grain shaped. These couscous remind me of fun tiny tapioca. The focus of this dish was not the bacon but rather the aromatic fennel and carrot combination. The savory portion of this dish were mainly from the tomato and bacon pieces.

Festive Farro

01 December 2014

Festive Farro

Today for dinner there was the most colorful farro dish I have had. The farro was simmered in chicken broth. The dish had sweet potato, pomegranate, kale, and bacon. Although there were two sweet ingredients, the farro and kale toned back the sweetness and the smokey bacon was accentuated.

Garden salmon spaghetti and coconut panna cotta

06 October 2014

Garden salmon spaghetti

Great plating today with equally good flavor in this dish. With kale and spinach our green, we have tomators and salmon as the red. The dish has walnuts and alfredo sauce with black pepper and chipotle to add some heat. Each item in this dish adds freshness to the dish and sprinkles of spicy every now and then.

Coconut panna cotta

coconut milk, heavy whipping cream, sugar and gelatin in the white layer, mango juice and gelatin in the yellow layer, embedded with mango chunks, kiwi slices and passion fruit pulp.

Ground lamb pastitsio

30 September 2014

Ground lamb pastitsio

I could not remember the name of this dish and had to research it for a bit. According to wiki this is a baked pasta dish with typically ground beef and bechamel sauce. Luckily, our chef is more adventurous with the meat selection and worked with lamb instead. This was like a mac and cheese meets meatloaf kind of creation.

Three way cauliflower flounder

29 September 2014

Three way cauliflower flounder

These veggies, done three ways. Steamed, blanched and baked. My favorite of the three was probably the baked, with little singed bits of extra flavor. The flounder itself was not the greatest cut of fish, so it was lacking in body. The seasoning was good on the fish. This was served over mashed purple cauliflower. Pretty colors all around. I feel to recover the body the fish itself lacks would be to make this a gratin with cheesy mashed potato plus cauliflower, mixed with bits of fish.

Grilled eggplant couscous and key lime cheesecake

27 September 2014

Grilled eggplant couscous

This dish was lovely in its presentation. Very restaurant grade. Felt like there was an abundance paste on the eggplant. Texture wise the eggplant was done well, with a savory smokey paste. The eggplant is served with couscous and an outstanding veggie mix of tomatoes, bell pepper, green pepper, mushroom, and tofu.

Keylime cheesecake

These days I preslice my cakes to make serving easier. Cutting cakes while maintaining their form is quite some work. Key lime is so small and hard to work with *frowns*

Spinach paneer

24 September 2014

Spinach paneer

This dish felt so authentic with the mixture of spices and flavors. When I ate this I thought this was the best indian food I had in Indiana. This dish has a lot of ingredients seasoning wise, but has basically tomatoes, spinach, chickpeas, paneer. What made it great was most definitely the consistency and flavor. It was just the right thickness and dense in flavor. Simply amazing.

Butter basmati and balsamic strawberry

22 September 2014

Butter basmati

This dish is SO aromatic, but in a good way. Complex in the color assortment, but relatively easy to prepare. This dish contains fennel seeds, cashews, green onion, red onion, pineapple, pepper, star anise seed, and bay leaf.

Balsamic strawberry

strawberry, balsamic vinegar, sugar, passion fruit syrup, black pepper. weird combination in my opinion but delicious nonetheless.

Southwestern salad and roll cake

18 September 2014

Southwestern salad

Smoky and spicy with hints of sweet from the corn and sweet potatoes. This meal consists of red onions, corn, zucchini, sweet potato, tomatoes, and smoked sausage.

Roll cake

forgot to mention my attempt at roll cake. this is the second try.. the first one was unsuccessful.

Pesto egg noodles

17 September 2014

Pesto egg noodles

One of the most fragrant italian dishes I have had. This dish contains simple and fresh ingredients like olive oil, onions, basil, pinenut, garlic, black pepper, and tomatoes, topped off with cheese.

Moussaka

14 September 2014

Moussaka

According to wiki, this is an eggplant and/or potato-based dish. Today's moussaka contains both.. and more. Ingredients include ground lamb, tomato, eggplant, potato, and bechamel sauce with a nice cheese crust. This was piping hot right out the oven and so fragrant with the seasoned lamb. The eggplant was braised and peeled to create a soft mushy texture and layered with tomato sauce, sliced steamed potatoes and creamy bechamel on top. This picture makes the crust look heavier than it is - a nice light crunch. Couldn't help but burn my tongue on the super hot dish... doh!

15 September 2014

Moussaka take two

Seared cod with polenta

12 September 2014

Seared cod with polenta

There's something wonderful about eating balanced foods, it's harder to explain than i thought... but it's here in this dish. with earthy shitake mushroom, sweet tomatoes, fragrant celery, zesty fennel, creamy polenta, and this smoky cod.

Mushroom burger and blueberry cheesecake

11 September 2014

Mushroom burger

Home made patties turned out a little bit mushy(room?) Avocado and chipotle pepper sauce (not shown) made it a great dinner. The patty looks so dense in this picture like solid beef haha. Buns were grilled for that toasty goodness and the creamy avocado was finger licking good!

Blueberry cheesecake

Made this for work. I am pleased with this cake for the most part. Things to improve on: visual contrast, texture.

Tomato soup with cornbread

10 September 2014

Tomato soup with cornbread

A zesty and hearty homemade tomato soup served with skillet fried cornbread. So many herbs went into the soup, with ingredients like carrot and red onion, heavy whipping cream and Serrano pepper, chipotle pepper powder, and garlic. My favorite part of this dish is the texture of the soup with all the ingredients. The sweetness of the cornbread and the tomato soup goes well for a filling dinner.

Tofu fried rice and snickerdoodles

03 September 2014

Tofu fried rice

A light and healthy dinner with pan fried tofu, sunny side up eggs, broccoli, onion, tomato, and chives over brown rice.

Snickerdoodles with golden raisins

Turned out pretty decent considering it was my first batch of this type of cookie. Conclusion: improve on design with either cookie cutter or spice swirls. and more raisins.

Shiro's sushi

31 August 2014

Shiro's Sushi - Seattle, Washington

Chorizo mac and cheese

26 August 2014

Chorizo mac and cheese

A great dish made with the fresh corn, chorizo, herb goat cheese and cilantro. The smoky chorizo works well with the cheese and nicely balanced with the sweet corn and cilantro.

Sauerkraut and sausage

21 August 2014

Sauerkraut and sausage

Sauerkraut was one of the foods I was wary of due to other people's suggestions, but after trying it i realized it was pretty similar to kimchi, but different flavors. This dish reminds me of topdog from berkeley. Mildly sour, but refreshing with a decent cut of sausage.

Lasagna

19 August 2014

Lasagna

Look at that... its almost been a month since my last post... guess I need to catch up a bit.

Mmm.. fresh mozarella, fresh basil, fresh tomatoes. Can't get enough of this, seconds please!

Corn soup

18 August 2014

Corn soup

I've gotten to like posting large pictures so I can admire the food as well. Today's dish was the result of good fortune, receiving a lot of corn from work. This corn soup is dangerously vivacious with bright colors, yellow, red, green! Fresh sweet corn, smoky sausages, basil leaves provide the beautiful visual effects as well as different attributes to this dish. Ingredients include poblano peppers and potatoes. I cant pinpoint the exact spices that went into the soup base, but the texture is not quite chowder-y which would probably have made it too heavy. This soup is smoky/spicy with bits of sweetness from the corn. This culinary perfection is definitely a highlight of my day.

Pearl couscous

17 August 2014

Pearl couscous

This tasty concoction is made with kale, mushrooms, rotisserie chicken, and spring onions cooked with a nice tangy sauce that reminds me of hoisin sauce that made the couscous more interesting. A very balanced meal with an earthy herbal tone from the spring onion and mushrooms.

Chicken salad

15 August 2014

Chicken salad

A nice light dinner with lettuce, rotisserie chicken, tomatoes, pine nuts, croutons, and bell pepper. Tossed with a light coating of ranch dressing. Healthy eats!

Mushroom beef stew

13 August 2014

Mushroom beef stew

 Before I saw this dish, there was a heavenly aroma floating around the house. A stew (my favorite comfort food) made by slow cooking beef overnight in beef broth. On the second day added with bacon, carrots, mushrooms sauteed in heavy cream, seasoned with all spice and black pepper, italian seasoning (basil, oregano, majoram, thyme, sage, rosmary), and star anise. This delicious stew was served with some egg noodles, which were great for balancing out the spiciness from the black pepper.