Satay Beef with Ong Choy

 

I love this dish so much. Sometimes I just crave the flavor of it and I just really want to eat a bunch of it, with fluffy white rice. Documenting the recipe here, so I don't ever forget how to make it. Note that the "satay sauce" is Taiwanese barbeque sauce, and not the Thai satay sauce. Bullhead is my favorite brand.

Satay Beef with Ong Choy

Serves 4

Marinade:

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1.5 tsp soy sauce

1.5 tsp satay sauce

8 oz thinly sliced beef, pork or lamb

10 oz ong choy / water spinach

3 cloves smashed garlic

3-4 Tbsp satay sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1 chopped red chili pepper

Combine the meat with the marinade ingredients. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Add in 1 tsp of oil before cooking, so the meat separates more easily while being cooked.

Heat a wok over high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Add garlic for about 10-15 seconds, then add meat and stir fry until almost fully cooked. Remove from wok. Add in ong choy and stir cry constantly until the leaves are dark green, which happens very quickly (within 1-2 minutes). Make sure to mix constantly.

Return the meat to the wok, add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine well. Taste and add more satay sauce, if needed.

Hoppin' Beans

 

I've been listening to the Recipe Club podcast, and finally found a website where they publish all of the recipes that they talk about! This is fantastic, because I don't have to spend a ton of time searching for everything. Recently, they talked about "Daniel Reasor's Hoppin' John" recipe, which came worked perfectly a few weeks ago during the start of June gloom.

The recipe calls for black-eyed peas so it could be eaten on New Year's Day but I've never had those before so I got pinto beans instead. Excited to maybe try it with dried beans next time.

Luckily, I got some chunk ham from Vons for a really good price; they were having a sale. The recipe definitely says that this soup lives and dies by the ham and they're right. Do not use sliced deli ham! The final product was just on the edge of salty so I've adjusted the recipe below to account for that next time.

Hoppin Beans

Adapted from Recipe Club

Serves 4

24oz canned beans (or dried beans, soaked overnight)

12oz canned diced tomatoes

3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 cup water

12 oz ham (smoked would be good)

2 Tbps butter

3 tsp molasses

1 sweet onion

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

Chop ham, bell peppers and onion into 1/2" cubes. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and then add the ham, onion and red bell pepper (save the yellow for later). Sautee on medium-high until browned and dry. You need a sauté pan instead of a pot for this, for the surface area.

Add canned tomatoes, beans, chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Stir in molasses.

Cover pan and simmer for an hour, covered. Taste and add salt if needed. Stir in the yellow bell pepper and simmer covered for 20 more minutes.

Cool covered for 5 minutes and serve over rice.

Lions Head Meatballs

 

I loved lion head meatballs as a child. The sauce was oftentimes thick and sweet, which provided a great component when I mixed it all into my rice. Now that I'm older, I'm also very into the napa cabbage that cooks with it as well (always napa cabbage > bok choy).

One of the recipes had a great tip to forming the meatballs, because the meat mixture is pretty soft and runny. After portioning it out (eyeballing it) into six portions, I scooped the portion out and put it into a rice bowl for formation, and then into the oil. No messy hands!

I did a shallow fry on it because I didn't want to deep fry. Am I trying to be healthier? Maybe. My friend told me that she bakes hers sometimes but I feel like the oil makes it taste better haha. Even if it's a marginal amount of oil.

I cobbled two recipes together for this recipe, and added enoki mushrooms because I had them. I think I'll make adjustments next time; the Shaoxing wine taste was strong. My mom said that just smelling the meat made her feel drunk LOL.

Lion Heat Meatballs

Adapted from Woks of Life

Adapted from Red House Spice

Ingredients:

2 stalks scallions, chopped in 1-inch pieces

1-inch piece ginger, sliced

500g ground pork

1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine

2 Tbps light soy sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 large egg

1 Tbps cornstarch

60g canned water chestnuts, minced

Soak scallions and ginger in 7 Tbsp hot water, set aside to cool. After about 20 minutes, remove the ginger and scallion, set aside for the soup.

In a bowl, mix together all other ingredients, minus the water chestnuts. Stir constantly with 4 chopsticks (bundled together in your fist) in one direction. Add the scallion ginger water a little at a time while stirring, until fully absorbed. Whip together for at least 3 minutes, ideally 10 minutes. Once the meat is sticky/jiggly, add the water chestnuts.

Heat a large pan with about 1/4 inch of vegetable or canola oil (something neutral, so not olive oil). Divide the meat into six portions, shape in the bowl and add to the oil after each shaping. Fry over medium high heat until they develop a golden brown crust, and remove to a plate. Do not crowd the pan!

1 small head napa cabbage

Previously soaked ginger and scallions

6 large dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in 500 mL warm water for at least an hour

1 bunch enoki mushrooms, trimmed

1/4 tsp salt

Ground white pepper

Remove shitake mushrooms from water, squeeze out excess water into the soaking cup (you want to retain all that flavor!) and slice mushrooms.

In a large pot, layer the bottom portions of the napa cabbage. Add meatballs over the top, then the sliced mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, scallions and ginger. Season with salt and white pepper. Pour in the mushroom soaking liquid over the top, ensuring not to pour in the solid bits at the bottom of the liquid.

Bring the soup to a full boil, then turn the heat to low. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes, then remove the cover and put the leafy part of the napa cabbage over the top. Continue simmering for 5 more minutes, then stir to submerge whatever possible in the soup. Simmer for 5 more minutes, then garnish with finely chopped scallions and serve! Warm rice is a must.

Three Cup Mushrooms

 

Every time I get take-out pho now (cause we're still in this pandemic, guys - get vaccinated please), I always have a bunch of basil left over. But now, I just use it to make three cup mushrooms! It's a great way to use up the extra herb instead of throwing it away. And Thai basil is key; the Italian basil just doesn't give the same punch/effect.

I tried making this in a cast iron Staub and the sauce was thick and reduced, but when I tried making it in a regular pot, it just wasn't the same. The mushrooms leeched a lot of liquid - but that may also depend on the type of mushroom used? In any case, if that happens, boil vigorously at the end over medium-high until the liquid reduces.

Three Cup Mushrooms
Adapted from Rasa Malaysia

2 lbs assorted mushrooms (I've used sliced king oyster plus shimeji and baby king oyster plus shimeji - but the sliced king oyster was the one that had a lot of liquid with the pot. Must experiment)
2 Tbps dark or toasted sesame oil
1 inch chunk of sliced ginger
6 cloves peel ginger, left whole
1 Tbps soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbps dark sweet soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbps Shaoxing wine
Handful of Thai basil leaves

Heat sesame oil in a heavy bottom cast iron pot (or clay pot, ideally) over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic, cook until lightly golden and aromatic. Add mushrooms and mix thoroughly.

Add the rest of the liquids and mix again to comvine. Cover the lid, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Once cooked, add the basil leaves and stir well. Serve hot with rice.

Notes: You can substitute the 2 lbs mushrooms with 1.5 lbs dark meat chicken. Cut into bite sized pieces and rub them with 1/2 tsp baking soda. Marinade for 10 minutes and then rinse off completely. Pat the chicken dry and then continue the recipe method above.

Hong Kong Oxtail Borscht

 
There's Russian borscht with beets and Hong Kong borscht with beef/tomato/cabbage. I abhor the first and love the second. My old co-worker used to try to get me to eat the Russian borscht whenever she brought some in for lunch and I always refused.

However, I find HKB very comforting. Sometimes they give out little cups of it at Hong Kong cafes, though those are mainly broth and a few wisps of cabbage. If you were truly lucky, you'd get a random tiiiiiinnnyyyyyy slice of beef.

No matter how much I've scaled this recipe down, it is a COMMITMENT. Like, soup for 8-12 people, depeding on if it's eaten as a meal or as a side. Considering how much time is spent preparing it though ... makes sense to make a lot.

Hong Kong Oxtail Borscht
Adapted from Christine's Recipes

Serves 8-12

Large pot boiling water for blanching
Approx 5 lbs oxtail (can use strips beef brisket or beef bones for soup)

1 can beef broth (approx 2 cups or 500ml)
10 cups water

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 stalks celery, 1/4 sliced
3 medium red potatoes, 1/2" cubed
1 onion, 1/2" diced
3 tomatoes, 1/4" diced
1 carrot, sliced into coins
1/2 head small cabbage, 1/2" cubed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
10 to 15 white peppercorns
3 bay leaves
3 Tbsp tomato paste
Zest from 1 lemon

Lemon juice/zest, sugar, kosher salt, white pepper to taste

Heat a large pot of water over high heat. Once boiling, blanch oxtails (or whatever beef you're using) in boiling water for approximately 3 minutes to remove blood and impurities. Let cool slightly and trim any fat away from the meat.

In the largest pot you have (and I mean largest), combine oxtails, beef broth and 10 cups water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté garlic until aromatic. Add onion and cook until translucent, approx 5 minutes. Add celery and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and sauté until softened, approx 15-20 minutes.

After the 90 minutes, combine all the vegetables into the stock. Add tomato paste, whole white peppercorns and bay leaves. You can tie the peppercorns into a cheesecloth for easy removal, if desired. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for another 60 minutes.

Grate lemon zest into the soup. Season well with kosher salt, sugar, white pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Split Pea Soup (the best!)

Split pea soup might not be the sexiest of soups but it's the one you want to crawl into bed with on a cold, cold winter night. You know, winter in Los Angeles and the "cold snap" of this week - high of 65degreesF, low of 42degreesF. SO CRAZY COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE MIDWEST OR EAST COAST. Hey, we pay a "weather tax" for this glorious-ness.

Split Pea Soup
Serves 6
Adapted from Ina Garten

1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
Glug of good olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups medium-diced carrots
1 cup medium-diced red boiling potatoes, unpeeled
1 pound dried split green peas, rinsed
8 cups chicken stock (low sodium if possible)

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, dried oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, approx 5-7 minutes. Add the carrots, red potatoes, split peas, and chicken stock.

Bring to a boil, then skim off all the foam that rises to the top. Place a wooden spoon across the top of the pot to keep it from boiling over (I have no idea why this works). Simmer uncovered for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom – really don’t ignore this step! It'll look super watery at first but as it cooks it gets super thick and creamy. 

Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Fresh Tomato & Almond Pasta Sauce

I wasn't quite sure what to think when I came across a recipe for a fresh tomato blended pasta sauce. But I had a ton of basil left over from my Thao Family Farms CSA box and wanted to do something with very little cooking in this heat. And optimally, as little dishes as possible (even though I don't do dishes in this household).

Don't let the photo fool you, this sauce was fantastic! And required just a food processor and a pot.

Fresh Tomato & Almond Pasta Sauce

Serves 4

1 lb pasta of choice
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 pint small tomatoes, any kind (I used grape)
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1/2 cup fresh basil (you can mix basil and parsley)

1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 olive oil

Optional (since you'll need another pan): toast the almonds in a dry pan over low heat until they're golden and smell good. It bring out the flavor of the nuts more and adds to the dish.

Cook pasta according to package directions. While it's boiling, put the tomatoes, almonds, herbs, salt and Parmesan cheese in a food processor and puree. Scrape down the food processor bowl and turn it back on; then slowly drizzle the olive oil into the spout until the sauce comes together. Taste for seasoning and add extra salt, if necessary.

Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Garnish with additional Parmesan and shredded basil.

Rigatoni with Eggplant and Tomato Puree

Just for the record, I did not put the pasta into this bowl - that's why it looks so messy. But the taste of it was fantastic. We all loved it and 100% would make it again. The sauce consist of pureed eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and basil. Different than usual tomato sauce and so much flavor!

Rigatoni with Eggplant and Tomato Puree
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 4

1 medium Italian eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
1 lb rigatoni pasta
1/2 cup basil leaves, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup basil leaves, julienned

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

 Spread the eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, 2.5 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper out in an even layer on the baking sheet; toss thoroughly to combine. Roast in the oven until the vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden and slightly charred, about 35 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just before al dente, approximately 8-10 minutes depending on the pasta. Reserve one cup of pasta water, drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor or blender. Add the basil leaves and 3 Tbps olive oil. Blend until almost smooth. My food processor is small, so I had to do this in two batches, splitting the olive oil, basil and vegetables in half each time.

Mix the pureed sauce and 1/2 cup pasta water with the rigatoni thoroughly and cook everything together over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add more pasta cooking water if necessary to loosen the sauce, about 1/4 cup at a time.

Turn off the heat and mix in the Parmesan and additional basil.

* optional to add ricotta salata instead of Parmesan and/or 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Crispy Chickpeas, Summery Squashes, Garlic Yogurt, Herbs

There is a lot going on in the world right now. In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the police brutality/violence that senselessly killed George Floyd has taken the world by storm. Protests against systemic racism abound in the streets, which are long overdue - both from people around us and from law enforcement and government.

The only thing we can hope is that real change will come about from this. I've already donated to the ACLU and am researching other organizations to donate to as well, so we can do our part to push this movement forward.

Crispy Chickpeas, Summery Squashes, Garlic Yogurt, Herbs
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 2

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 large garlic clove, grated
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, zested and then halved
2 small summer squash, thinly sliced (or zucchini, or both)
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint, basil, parsley, or a mix

Pat chickpeas dry on a few layers of paper towels, making sure you roll them around. I generally do this early and leave the sitting out so they can additionally air-dry. Stir together garlic, yogurt, and a couple pinches of salt. Spread to cover most of bottom of two plates.

Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas and cook until golden and crispy, stirring to ensure they color evenly, about 7-8 minutes. Transfer them to a paper towel to drain briefly, then season while hot with lemon zest, sea salt, and pepper.

Heat the last tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high in the same pan. Add the squash/zucchini and leave it there until browned underneath (it takes a few minutes), turning occasionally and repeating the don’t-move-until-browned pause until the squash/zucchini is tender. Season well with salt.

Slide zucchini onto prepared yogurt. Drizzle hot squash/zucchini with lemon. Distribute half of chickpeas on top of each squash/zucchini portion. Finish with a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

Sesame Miso Donabe

The weather is quickly warming up for Southern California but it's been difficult to stop making this sesame miso donabe! IT'S SO GOOD. We started making it when COVID-19 shut the entire world down and we ordered a CSA box to help some local farms who had lost their restaurant contracts stay afloat. The leafy greens were perfect in donabe.

That box was $25, which is a steal for how fresh the vegetables are! When I buy greens from the market, they usually last about a week. One of those Bloomsdale spinach bundles lasted THREE WEEKS before I got to it and it wasn't rotting at all!

This donabe (or you can make it in a regular pot) is totally adaptable with whatever vegetables or thin-sliced meat you have on hand (or seafood). Most of the time when I've made this, it's been totally vegetarian because it was the easiest, and we wanted to use as much of the CSA vegetables as possible. The most important thing is the soup base.

Sesame Miso Donabe
Adapted from Just One Cookbook
Serves 4

3 Tbsp white sesame seeds
6 cups water
1 Tbsp Hon-dashi
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 dried shitake mushrooms
3-4 Tbsp miso paste

Vegetable suggestions:
Spinach
Bok choy
Tokyo turnips
Daikon
Green onions
Assorted mushrooms
Tofu, fish (cut into 1" chunks), shrimp, any shabu shabu meats

Toast the white sesame seeds in a small pan over low heat (no oil or anything required). Make sure it doesn't burn! Grind with a mortar and pestle, not too fine.

Boil the water with the Hon-dashi, garlic and dried mushrooms. Add the tofu and hard vegetables (daikon, carrots, turnips, etc), simmer for 5 minutes. Add leafy greens and quicker cooking vegetables (green onions, mushrooms, spinach, etc), simmer for two minutes.

At this point you can serve hot with ponzu sauce as an option. If you have any seafood/meats, add them now and simmer for three minutes, then serve. The seafood/meats will continue to cook in the hot broth.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Olives, Onions

Braising chicken thighs is amazing easy AND one-pot, which is awesome at a time like this when we're stuck in a quarantine. I never realized how many dishes I used when I'm by myself at home. How did two people use five cups throughout the day, just drinking water? What's wrong with us!?

Once you have this recipe down, it's so easy to interchange ingredients to make a whole new dish. Put potatoes or carrots instead of olives! Maybe de-glaze with white/red wine vinegar instead of lemons for acidity. Add cherry tomatoes. The possibilities are endless.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Olives, Onions
Serves 4-6

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
A bunch of garlic cloves (10, 12, you choose)
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds discarded
2 Tbsp tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
1 cup mixed Greek or green olives
Juice of 1 lemon

Remove the chicken from the fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking to bring it more to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt and pepper.

In a large ovenproof pan or Dutch oven (able hold all the chicken in a single layer), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken skin-side down, and sear until golden brown. Add the garlic cloves to the pan and flip the thighs over. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and has gotten a little brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the chicken/garlic from the pan and set aside.

With the pan still hot, add the onions, lemon slices and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the onions have wilted and the brown bits on the bottom of the pan have loosened, 6 to 8 minutes. Nestle the thighs skin-side up in the onion mixture. Add the garlic, olives, and any juices that have accumulated from the chicken resting plate. Squeeze lemon juice over everything and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Scatter fresh oregano leaves over the top to serve.

Carrot Soup, Tahini Lemon Drizzle, Crispy Chickpeas

Lots of soup weather happening right now. And lots of quarantine too. The world has been pretty crazy and since it's been awhile since I've updated, the COVID-19 lock down of basically most of the United States has been a huge change for everyone. California was the first state to go into lock down for the nation (first San Francisco, then Los Angeles) and today is officially the 23rd day for Los Angeles. I'm going to recap some items that I've seen on different forms of social media at the end of this post, just so there's a weird form of documentation for this crazy time.

Due to some mass panic buying throughout the beginning/middle of March, we had to adjust with some of the recipes that we've been making. A lot of basics were cleaned out (rice, eggs, flour, onions, potatoes, garlic, pasta, dried beans, etc) - plus, toilet paper and any/all sanitizing items were gone (though that has nothing to do with cooking!).

This soup was one of the things that I made earlier in March, from Smitten Kitchen. The use of a ton of carrots and very little else makes this a great, healthy soup. The crispy chickpeas and tahini lemon drizzle are optional, if you don't have them on hand. A dollop of sour cream or yogurt might be nice in a pinch.

Carrot Soup, Tahini Lemon Drizzle, Crispy Chickpeas
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 4-6

2 Tbps olive oil
2 lbs carrots, peeled, diced/coined
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp regular table salt
Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
4 cups chicken broth

Crispy chickpeas:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained, dried
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Tahini Lemon Drizzle:
3 Tbps tahini paste
3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water

Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add all the soup ingredients, with the exception of the broth, and sauté until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add broth and stir around to mix thoroughly. Cover pot with lid and simmer until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally, about 25-30 minutes.

Heat your oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas to coat evenly with olive oil, salt and cumin. Spread them on a baking sheet and roast until they’re browned and crisp, tossing after 10 minutes and then every 5 minutes thereafter. It can take anywhere from 10-30 minutes for them to become crispy. Taste as you go to check!

In a small bown, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, salt and water until smooth and yogurt-like. If more liquid is needed to thin it, you can add a little more lemon juice or water, until you get your desired consistency.

~~ THIS IS OUR COVID-19 PANDEMIC WORLD TODAY ~~

First case reported to World Health Organization on December 31, 2019

Declared as an international public health emergency on January 30, 2020

Declared as an international pandemic on March 11, 2020

• Gas prices have gone to as low as $2.50 for Los Angeles
• School cancelled for the rest of the year. Students and teachers are adapting to distance learning.
• Parents feel what it’s like to home school their children while trying to work and trying to feed them 3 meals a day and 2 snacks.
• Social distancing measures are on the rise. Stay at least 6 feet away from others.
• Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers from each other.
• Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
• Non-essential stores and businesses are mandated to be closed. Essential services need to carry a letter to explain why they're going into work, in case they are stopped.
• Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.
• Entire sports seasons - cancelled.
• Summer Olympics of 2020 in Japan - postponed.
• Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.
• Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.
• No masses, churches are closed. Services are streamed.
• No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, now 10 or more.
• Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.
• Children's outdoor play parks are closed.
• Racism and hate crimes again Asian Americans.
• Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.
• Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
• Panic buying - have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels, no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer, no baby products.
• Shelves are bare - dried beans, pasta, yeast, flour, eggs
• Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
• Government closed international borders to all non-essential travel.
• Low domestic travel. Tons of flights cancelled and some flights with just one passenger.
• Fines are established for breaking the rules ($1000, misdemeanor, removal of non-essential business licenses/utilities)
• Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of COVID-19 patients.
• Press conferences daily from the President and the state governors. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
• Government sending stimulus package to most Americans.
• People are wearing masks and gloves outside. California is requiring masks to be worn at anytime outside, as of April.
• Essential service workers and medical field workers are afraid to go to work and to go home to their families.

Cast Iron Steak with Spring Vegetables

Steak, it's what's for dinner. And what a glorious steak this was. I can't ever eat an entire steak anymore, so I usually just buy one and split it with M (just like at a fancy steakhouse!). I think after a few slices, I'm done and he can happily eat the rest. This meal was so good - one skillet, minimal cleanup, lots of veggies, amazing crust on the steak. I didn't think the cast iron pan would be capable but it was fantastic.

Since spring is coming up, this is a great transitional dish. I made this months ago but had gotten some carrots at the local farmers market, which I roasted with red onions while the steak was being prepared. Though most of the country is in lockdown mode right now with COVID-19 on the loose and steak might be hard to find (along with rice, pasta, toilet paper, bottled water, hand sanitizer, etc) ... save this dish as a celebratory meal once all of this craziness is over.

Cast Iron Steak with Spring Vegetables
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 2

Boneless ribeye steak or New York strip steak, patted dry
5 garlic cloves (1 clove grated, 4 cloves thinly sliced)
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp olive oil
5 green onions, thinly sliced
1 10oz bag frozen peas
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1" pieces

Season steak generously with salt and pepper. Use more salt than you'd think you'd need.

Whisk together the grated garlic, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, honey, cayenne pepper, 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 Tbsp water until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper until it tastes great. Set aside.

Heat a medium cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Rub steak all over with 1 Tbsp oil and cook, turning exactly every 2 minutes, until medium-rare, about 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the steak. Make sure to get the fat cap along the side at the end, using the tongs to hold the steak up on its side. Transfer steak to a plate to rest. Pour off oil from skillet, leaving crispy bits behind.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in same skillet over low heat. Add sliced garlic cloves and most of the green onions (save some for garnish) and cook, stirring often, until translucent and softened, about 3 minutes. Add peas and a splash of water and cook until peas are tender, about 3 minutes. Finally, add asparagus; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until asparagus is just tender, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Slice steak, which has had ample time to rest, and arrange prettily in the skillet over the vegetables Drizzle with some mustard sauce, garnish with reserved green onions. Serve with additional mustard sauce on the side.

Cabbage Roll Soup

This soup may not look like much but I assure you, it was glorious. I think M and I were both surprised at how delicious it was. We had so much cabbage left over from St Patrick's Day that I needed to find some uses for it! After all the corned beef, I think this was a pretty healthy choice.

Cabbage Roll Soup
Serves 8

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb ground beef (I used grass-fed, since that was in the freezer) or turkey
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cabbage, cut into 1" pieces (whatever size)
2 carrots, sliced or chopped (I like coins)
4 cups beef broth
2 8oz cans diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook until beef is nicely browned, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon. Add onion and garlic; mix thoroughly throughout and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add all the other ingredients except fish sauce and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, then turn the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf and add fish sauce. Taste, then season with additional fish sauce, salt and pepper.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Doesn't this salad look incredible? Am I tooting my own horn? Does it just scream "springtime" when you look at it? Whatever the answer to these questions are, let me assure you that this salad is the epitome of spring flavors at their best. I couldn't stop photographing it and M couldn't stop eating it, which was pretty surprising.

It does take some time to make, since you have to remove the strings from and then slice up all the sugar snap peas but I find it pretty therapeutic. Slice them in thirds the long way or at the diagonal and you'll get this cool slivered-but-kinda-fancy look.

I took inspiration from a BonAppetit article called "Which Trendy Spring Vegetable Are You?" and I was like "M, we need to go to the farmers market RIGHT NOW!" ... and luckily for him (and his stomach), he decided to oblige. Aside from the time spent on slicing the sugar snap peas, this dish comes together really quickly, making it a perfect weeknight side.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 2

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (whole or 2%)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, grated
3/4 lb sugar snap peas
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest

Stir together yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and some salt until smooth and sauce-like. Adjust for seasoning. Spoon and smooth onto the bottom of a plate.

In a separate bowl, mix together sugar snap peas, lemon zest, olive oil and some salt (fancy flaky salt, if you have it). Combine thoroughly and then arrange on top of the yogurt. Serve with anything! We ate it with grilled chicken but it would be a good side dish for any protein, or just on its own when the days are hot.

Green Bean Casserole

This is such a late Thanksgiving post! I totally fail. But since M and I have moved in together ... we were celebrating our first Thanksgiving. So I decided to make a little meal for the two of us, since we weren't going to be in town during Turkey Day (hello, Vegas!).

We went to Sprouts and I bought a turkey breast - it was $3.99/lb which is a little steep compared to the entire turkey selling for $0.79/lb but an entire turkey is SO MUCH TURKEY for two people. Even the smallest whole turkey was 12 lbs. So even though the turkey breast was the same cost as an entire turkey, it made more sense for the two of us. Though I did miss the dark meat.

The turkey was brined overnight with cider, brown sugar and salt ... then roasted to juicy turkey perfection in about 90 minutes. I made some stuffing from the box, roasted some tri-colored potatoes with garlic and rosemary, roasted some carrots with thyme, cranberry sauce and sauteed some pea shoots.

The green bean casserole (top right corner) was leftover from our Friendsgiving the night before and I was lucky to snag that little bit because people went CRAZY over it. So much better than the old school version which involves opening multiple cans.

Green Bean Casserole
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 8 as a side

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp fall-purpose flour
1 Tbsp panko or breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp table salt (more even distribution for frying)
Fresh ground pepper
High-heat oil for crying (canola, saffron, vegetable, peanut)

3 Tbsp butter
1 package cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Fresh ground pepper
3/4 tsp table salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tbs green beans, stem end trimmed

To make the onions, toss all the ingredients (minus the oil) together thoroughly. Heat about 1/2 an inch of oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Test the heat of the oil by dropping in one drop of water. Once it hisses, it will be hot enough for frying!

Fry onions in handful batches (it'll probably take you 2-3 batches) until they're golden brown. It'll take a bit longer than you think. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon and spread them on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

Preheat oven to 400degreesF. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook green beans on a full boil for 5 minutes. Drain and then put in an ice bath immediately to keep the green color. Once cooled, cut green beans into 2 inch pieces.

Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and sautee until they release their liquid and are nicely browned. It'll take anywhere from 7-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute, then add flour and stir to evenly coat all the mushrooms.

Add the broth slowly, 1/4 cup at a time while stirring the whole time. Try to mash through any lumps with the back of your spoon/spatula so the pieces break up and melt into the sauce. Simmer for a minute to cook off the raw flour taste. Pour in cream, stir thoroughly and then bring back to a simmer, cooking until the sauce thickens up, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently.

Mix in cooked, drained green beans and stir until coated. Pour into casserole dish and top with the crispy onions. Bake for 15 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and the onions are a bit darker. Eat hot!

Roasted Chicken with Cranberries and Potatoes

I love buying cranberries during the fall, especially since it used to be hard to find fresh cranberries. Sometimes I get overzealous and find myself with a few extra packets of cranberries when the season is over! So what to do but continue to cook with them? I usually throw the packages in the freezer and pull them out as needed.

I love using the baby tri-colored potatoes shown above, simply because they're pretty. The medley of colors in this dish is insane and would make a great presentation for an dinner party, or just a cozy dinner with your family/friends. The fact that it's one pan is also helpful!

Roasted Chicken with Cranberries and Potatoes
adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Serves 4

4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 Tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp butter
1 lb tri-colored baby potatoes, halved
4 carrots, chopped into 1" pieces
1 cup white wine or chicken broth
3/4 cup fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Trim extra fat/skin from the chicken. Rub with 1 Tbps olive oil, thyme, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest. Really get in there with your hands and make sure everything is evenly and thoroughly coated. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large oven-safe skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sear chicken skin-side down until golden, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from skillet.

Add butter, potatoes, carrots and a pinch of salt/pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Pour in wine and deglaze. Scrape around for all the pan bits and flavors. Simmer for 5 more minutes, until reduced slightly.

Remove from heat and nestle in chicken. Squeeze lemon juice all over.

In a small brown, toss together cranberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle cranberries over the chicken and transfer pan to oven. Roast for about 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked and potatoes/carrots are tender. Serve hot.

* if you are me and love flavors AND your chicken is a bit on the oily side, you can make ANOTHER dish for the next day. We ate the chicken and veggies but didn't use any of the "sauce" at the bottom of the pan because the chicken fat, butter and oil combination made it a bit greasy. I scooped out the chicken and veggies, leaving as much of the sauce behind as I could.

I bought another pound of tri-colored potatoes (halved), 10-15 brussel sprouts (halved), 3 carrots (cut into 1" pieces), and 1/2 onion (sliced) ... and tossed all those together with the flavor bits and chicken fat at the bottom of the skillet. There should be plenty to go around but if you need to, add a couple more tsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then roast in oven for about 30 min or until tender, stirring once halfway through.

Two dishes for the price of one, and just as pretty. I loved it! Feel free to use whatever veggie combinations you would like, including cauliflower, turnips, butternut squash, etc. OR my other new favorite thing to do is roast leftover crudite platters from parties! Most of the time, there is so much food that the crudite platter is barely touched. Everything is already basically cut up so you can just throw and roast. But feel free to cut into more manageable pieces for stuff like baby carrots, celery and radishes (which I've also discovered is great when roasted).

Kale & Butternut Squash Stracciatella Soup

Ignore all items in the photo except for the soup on the right hand side! The other items were just part of dinner ... Korean potato salad, some veggie that I love but cannot seem to find the name for, and a baked sweet potato.

This stracciatella soup is courtesy of Bon Appetit and is very very low maintenance for nights where you don't want to do too much. But you want soup! Because it's cold! Or as cold as Southern California gets.

Kale & Butternut Squash Stracciatella Soup

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 4

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1./2 onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

8 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 butternut squash, sliced into 1/2" slices*

1 bunch Tuscan kale, stemmed and shredded

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded chicken (optional)

Crushed red pepper flakes and crusty bread (optional)

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Cook onion and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with some salt and pepper. Add chicken broth, water and butternut squash. Add some salt and pepper, then bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer for about 5-7 minutes, until squash is tender. Add kale, stir thoroughly and let everything cook together for another 5 minutes.

Whisk cheese into beaten eggs along with 1/4 tsp salt, in a small bowl. Stir the soup with a spoon and then slowly drizzle in egg/cheese mixture, from about 6 inches from the top of the pot. Let sit for about 15 seconds, then stir thoroughly into the egg-size pieces you prefer. Less storring means bigger ribbons of egg and more stirring will break them up more. I did a pretty thorough stirring so my eggs look more broken in the photo above.

Season with some red pepper flakes and additional salt and pepper. The cheese in the eggs are salty as well so use a light hand at first. Remove from heat and stir in chicken.

Serve with bread and additional cheese, if desired.

* I find that supermarkets are charging 4-5x the cost of butternut squash, just to peel and cube it for you ($0.99/lb in its original form vs $3.99/lb in prepared form). DON'T FALL INTO THAT TRAP! Buy a medium-sized butternut squash (about 3/4-1 lb) and peel it with any vegetable peeler. Using your largest kitchen knife, slice it in half on a sturdy service. Be careful not to cut your fingers off. Remove the seeds with a sturdy spoon. They're kind of like pumpkin seeds. Slice off the stem and bottom, then place cut-side down on a cutting board and cut into 1/2 in slices.

Miso Pesto Ramen

So this recipe has been raging all across Instagram lately ... Bon Appetit's ramen noodles with miso pesto. I decided to try it out based on the rave reviews.

First of all, this makes WAY too much pesto for two people. We made three balls of noodles and as you can see in the photo above, the noodles were fully dressed and I only used half of the sauce. So use caution when tossing and dressing!

M didn't like it as much as I thought he would. I kept pressing him to see what it needed to make it better and he finally said ... "It needs more protein" ... SMH. A seared scallop or grilled chicken might be a nice addition if you are like M (haha).

Miso Pesto Noodles
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 2

6 cups baby spinach
2 cups cilantro leaves with tender stems
1 Tsp white miso
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup grapeseed or sunflower oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt (I used sea salt)
Fresh noodles (flour or ramen, which you can find in the refrigerated section of all Asian supermarkets)
1 Tsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Toasted sesame seeds

Boil a medium pot of water and cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and do not rinse.

Meanwhile,  puree all other ingredients together, except the butter. Pour into large bowl. Once noodles are drained, add to 1/2 the amount of pesto and all of the butter. Toss together thoroughly. Add more pesto incrementally as necessary.

Divide between bowls and top with sesame seeds to serve.

Chipotle Lime Shrimp Summer Salad

Made this awesome salad the other night, which we ate while watching Terrace House (version Boys and Girls in the City) amongst all our boxes that still need to be unpacked. But we are 90% done, which is pretty good. Summer weather makes me want to minimize the amount of time spent in the kitchen.

Chipotle Lime Shrimp Summer Salad
adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Serves 2-4

1 white peach, pitted and sliced thinly
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 ear white corn, kernels cut off
Handful of heirloom grape tomatoes (whatever you have)
Large handfuls of spinach and/or arugula

Shrimp:
1 lb shrimp, peeled
1 tsp smoked paprika (I had some from Spain!)
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
Zest of 1 lime and 1 lemon
1/2 tsp honey
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp olive oil

Croutons:
2 slices foccacia/ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Dressing:
1 medium avocado
1 cup cilantro
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 jalapeno, membranes/seeds removed
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
Juice of 1 large lime

Preheat oven to 350degrees F (or toaster oven, since this is just for croutons). Mix bread, oil, salt and pepper together. Bake croutons for 15-20 min, until crispy. We happened to have focaccia from Bub & Grandma's (one of the best breads around) so we used that - it was amazing.

Combine shrimp with smoked paprika, chili powder, lemon/lime zests, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside to marinade while making the rest of the salad.

Blend all ingredients for dressing in a food processor or blender. Adjust for seasoning. Since my avocado was small, I threw in another 1/2 avocado. The dressing should be thick but not too thick. Think the consistency of bleu cheese dressing (the kind from the bottle).

Grill shrimp, either outdoors or on an indoor grill pan - about 2 min on the first side and 90 seconds on the second side. Be careful not to overcook. Toss together with vegetables and croutons, then put in about 1/2 cup dressing. Toss thoroughly before adding more dressing - you want the greens flavored but not soggy. Eat and beat the heat!