nommin'

I was too lazy to make the Spanglish sandwich (world’s greatest sandwich). Rather, I didn’t want to put it between 2 pieces of bread then get the muck all over my hands and whatever plate I was using and have to wash up later. So I tried making a salad. It actually turned out quite deliciously! Here’s what I did:

- Cut up 3 leaves of butter lettuce and a tomato and put into a bowl.
- Fry 3 slices of bacon.
- Fry an over easy egg.
- Slice up some monterey jack cheese.
- Make a dressing out of 1 tbsp mayo, 1/2 tbsp balsamic glaze and 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (cuz that’s all I had)
- Layer egg over tomato and top with cheese. Crumble bacon over cheese. Pour on dressing and nom.

I probably should have mashed up the egg first so it wouldn’t be so messy mashing it up in the salad. Now that I think of it, this sounds awfully familiar to the frisée salad my friend loves. Huh. I think the French came up with salade frisée before Thomas Keller came up with this sandwich, so sorry Tom, the frisée is the original greatest. (???)

I wanted to make a sandwich one evening, so I bought an uncut loaf of bread. Thing is, these things happen where I make one or two sandwiches, then the bread molds because I left it in its bag and etc etc etc.

So this time, I am going to make a sandwich menu, and I will eat a sandwich every day until I finish my bread (which shouldn’t take more than 5 days). Because I am only feeding myself, I’m really grateful that the local deli people are so accommodating to my small requests (6 slices of bacon, 4 slices of Jack cheese, 4 slices of turkey, 1/3 of that block of Cotswold).

Monday
Farmer’s Sandwich
- A few slices of nice, sharp cheddar
- A thin slices of apple
- 2 leaves of (butter) lettuce
- Slices of tomato
- Mustard
- Mayo
- Onion jam (optional)

Tuesday
Cheese and Onion Sandwich
- 2oz of English cheese (like Cotswold)
- Slices of onion, chopped finely
- 1 sprig of green onion, chopped finely
- 1 tbsp mayo
- Salt and pepper

Wednesday
The Greatest Sandwich
- 3 slices of bacon
- An over-easy egg
- 2 slices of (butter) lettuce
- Slices of tomato
- Monterey Jack cheese
- Mayo
- Salt and pepper

Thursday
French Onion Grilled Jack Sandwich
- The rest of the onion, sliced thin
- Monterey Jack cheese
- Balsamic glaze
- Butter
- Bread
- Oil

Friday
Turkey Jack Sandwich
- Slices of turkey breast
- Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 leaves of (butter) lettuce
- Slices of tomato
- Mustard
- Mayo

Challenge accepted!

i don’t particularly care for it. it’s oily and has very little veggies. also, my parmesan crisp is always soggy, and they don’t allow extra crispiness. the mushrooms barely exist, the tomato is gone in one bite. sigh. but it tastes good, for what it’s worth.

what is worth getting, in my opinion, are the fries. because of umami ketchup. i can’t get enough of this stuff. apparently it tastes like worcestershire ketchup. that’s fine. give me fries (truffle fries) and half a bottle of umami ketchup and i’ll see you next month.

So, I moved. And with moving comes displacement, boxes, storing stuff in boxes… See where this is heading? It is awfully difficult to cook and bake when all of your beloved equipment is in a storage facility (ie. my cousin’s room) 40 miles away. So, when the itch to cook or bake comes along… you must find a simple, easy recipe. And this (lemon) yogurt cake is just that. 

Apparently it’s the cake that French kids grow up learning to bake. I can see why; it’s dead easy and you make it in one bowl, no mixer needed. And it requires no butter. You don’t have to wait for anything to soften or come to room temperature, you just dump it and go. See how easy? It’s practically foolproof! OH, and on top of that, you can customize it however you want. Don’t like lemon? Fine, throw in some blueberries instead. Make it plain and top it off with chocolate glaze. Whatever suits you, I’m cool either way.

Thought I should note… jar in this case refers to a yogurt jar, about 125 ml or in my case, 170ml. That’s another great thing about this recipe: most measurements are in jars. Don’t even have to wash it, you can just dump/recycle the jar afterward.

Lemon Yogurt Cake (adapted from Orangette and smittenkitchen)

1 jar plain yogurt (whole milk is better)
2 jars granulated sugar (I used 1.5)
3 large eggs
3 jars unbleached all-purpose flour (I added in wheat flour)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)
1 jar canola oil (or really just any veggie oil)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, dump in the yogurt, sugar and eggs and mix until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder and zest and mix until just combined. Add the oil and stir until it combines, which may take a minute or two, but it eventually mixes in. If you have anything to add, mix it in too, just make sure it’s dry; otherwise, omit a tablespoon of flour from before and stir it up with your mix-in before mixing in. Pour into a buttered/floured 9-inch cake pan or 8.5-inch loaf pan. Bake for 35 minutes, or more.** Whenever the cake feels springy to the touch, is nicely brown and toothpick test comes out clean, you know the drill. Just don’t bake it too long.

Cool cake for about 20 minutes, then have your way with it. I made a lemon glaze out of lemon juice and sugar and brushed it on top, just to make it even more moist and lemony.

**I’ve used two disposable paper loaf pans (65x175x45mm… 3 for $1.50 from Daiso!) and a 15cm metal round cake pan to bake this cake. Baking time really depends on the size of your pan. I’d say bake it for 35 minutes, then watch it closely.

i don’t even really like chocolate all that much, but this… this is amazing, delicious, raw and (almost) vegan. just… go make it. if you’re in orange county and need cashew butter, i’ll loan you a few tablespoons just so you can try it. heck, use peanut butter instead. nom.    nom.      nom.

I’ve been to Japan twice. I barely remember both trips. So… I’m going to document this trip using the latest technology available… tumblr.

i had a nice long post, but my internet has been an absolute nightmare lately and never saved my post as tumblr has so kindly started doing, so i just have this. [insert immune system attraction anecdote here]

in a container, layer thinly sliced onions, garlic, and honey. squeeze in the juice of a lemon. let it marinate for a little, preferably in the refrigerator, and partake occasionally. it works. make sure you have breath fresheners.

perfect potstickers? every time? yes. every time. unless you use the force required to scrape black cooked stuff off a burned pot. so. here we go.

1. put the potstickers (assume they’re frozen) in a non-stick pan or shallow pot, flappy part pointing up. fill the pan about halfway with water, and fire up the stove on medium-high-high. place the pan on the stove and cover with a lid that fits.

2. cook the potstickers until almost all the water is gone, about 1/4-inch left. the pan will bubble and boil and spew but don’t be alarmed. open the cover occasionally… or just let it be.

3. when the water is about gone, pour it out into the sink. rinse the pan twice with a bit of water each time. depending on how many potstickers you’re cooking, add some oil, just enough. cook the potstickers again, covering the pan… until the bottoms are nicely browned. 3-5 minutes should do.

4. carefully use a spatula or tongs or some kind of leverage to pry the potstickers out. serve as your please. ta da! delicious potstickers!

source: chinese chefs

for my first after-christmas purchase, i drove myself to whole foods and bought stuff to make a delicious and indulgent cheese plate.

clockwise from top:
fra mani soppressata
supreme brie
my cousin’s homemade pear vanilla bean jam
dare vinta crackers
unie kaas robusto
trader joe’s cornichons
beehive cheddar big john’s cajun rub

i have a problem. i have a big problem! and it starts with a cheese plate.

i haven’t been wanting to cook or bake lately. all i want to do is eat sushi. and fried chicken. and more sushi. and wash all of the badness down with green juice cuz drinking greens is much nicer than chomping on them. because i’m lazy.

SUSHI