We’ve been experiencing bipolar weather in Southern California. One day it’s warm and sunny, with hints of summer just around the corner. The next day it’s cloudy and cold with Spring showers and hail. A mere 40-mile drive also makes a big difference in our weather. When I left Orange County this past weekend, it was warm and sunny, but when I arrived in Santa Monica, it was overcast, I needed a sweater and the next morning...
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At one time or another, all of us are probably guilty of throwing out leftovers and senselessly wasting food. I know I’m guilty, unfortunately, on more than one occasion. I recently read a post by a foodie friend at Kimchi Mom which reminded me that I needed to renew my efforts to not waste food. I’ve been trying to change my ways for a while. For example, since Bebe E and I are typically home for lunch during the week, we...
Read MoreChinese New Year arrived quite early this year on Monday, January 23, 2012. I wasn’t prepared for it as I was still recovering from Oshogatsu (Japanese New Year’s) and dealing with life’s curve-balls. I debated whether I would cook this year or not; whether I would write a 2012 Chinese New Year’s post. Last year, I was highly motivated and made two dishes: Chinese – style egg rolls and Jai (or Buddha’s...
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As a kid, I never used to like pork much. Especially pork chops. These days, I seem to like pork more, not just because lean pork is lower in calories and fat than beef, but because I like it’s versatility. However, I still don’t make pork chops very often, in fact, I rarely make pork chops although Bebe Dada would enjoy it if I did. Instead, I’ve been using thinner bite-sized cuts of lean pork typically found at Japanese...
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I’m a victim of fraud! This isn’t how I wanted to start my day nor my post on mabo tofu but that’s just how it is. I never thought it would happen to me, but apparently it’s not uncommon. I use my Bank of America issued pink and white Hello Kitty debit card everywhere. I love my cute Hello Kitty card… I usually don’t carry much cash with me and rely on my debit card for even the smallest $3 purchases. I...
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Dreary, cold, June Gloom isn’t so bad when I know we’re having shabu-shabu for dinner. I’m sure there are many of you reading this that are thinking, “What? Shabu-shabu in the summer?” Trust me, it worked really well for us in Southern California last week while my mom was visiting. I woke up one morning to very gray skies and cool weather. I decided right then that we would have shabu-shabu for dinner that...
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How often have I started a blog post with, “I love ____ ! It’s absolutely my favorite childhood food that my mom used to make for us.” If you’ve been following my blog, I think you would agree that I have a lot of favorite childhoods foods, more than you could count on one hand, and if I really think about this, it’s very hard for me to pick just one food that is my absolute favorite because my mom lovingly made...
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Some nights for dinner, I must indulge bebe dada and cook whatever he chooses to bring home from Costco. Yesterday, he found Zesty Italian Sausage (7 sausages in 1 pack, sold in a 2 pack carton for $8), a huge carton of button mushrooms for $4 and a bag of bell peppers (2 each of yellow, orange and red) for $6… Bebe dada was happy to find some good value items. You’re probably wondering what we were going to do with 14 giant...
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