Not so underground anymore

Well hello!

The past few months have been - suffice it to say - nuts. I guess that is what moving across the country will do to you. It has been quite the roller-coaster ride - new job, new co-workers, new roommates, new routines... exciting and also - literally - unsettling.

And what suffered the most? My cooking, or lack thereof. And when I say "cooking," I mean so much more than just making food - it's a little bit food shopping, food prep, recipe browsing, Food Network watching, cookbook reading, and actually cooking.... Usually I am brimming with ideas and plans of what I will cook, but with all these changes going on in my life, any notion of cooking went out the window. As a result, I have been feeling somewhat incomplete.

Inari sushi

Ask and you shall receive. It is kind of crazy how this works out sometimes.

Inari sushi is one of those things that only Japanese and Korean people eat/like - amirite? I mean, try explaining what it is is to someone unfamiliar with it ("it's rice stuffed into a fried tofu pocket that has been soaking in a sweet liquid"), and just see if they will take a bite.

Accidentally vegan thumbprint cookies

I do not seek out vegan, or gluten-free, or even vegetarian foods (even though I don't eat beef or pork). And despite the name "vegan thumbprint cookies", these cookies appealed to me because they sounded really yummy and very easy to make.

And they were quite yummy - a lovely nutty, oat-y, soft yet crunchy base, perfectly balanced with the sweet and tart jam.

Leftover green curry

In my never-ending quest for the meal for one, I've encountered several challenges, including how to use up an ingredient (herbs are usually the main culprit), and how to make a single portion out of a larger recipe (clearly never going to happen with roast chicken, although - maybe a cornish game hen?).

A new spin on this last one is, how can I make manageable leftovers? As I've said before, leftovers are my frenemy - sometimes they are totally awesome, and sometimes they are the bane of my existence.

Strawberry scones, and a baking mishap

Have you ever wondered what happens if you mistake baking soda for baking powder? I have not.

But, now I know. In the grand tradition of Anne of Green Gables, Jo from Little Women, and the going-blind cook from Downton Abbey, I mistook one ingredient for another, resulting in some very dry, nearly burned, metallic-tasting scones. My error was not as egregious as theirs, I think (salt for sugar, blech), and at least I discovered it before I served it to anyone else.

The thing is, I've made these scones before! This was probably my fourth or fifth time making them, that's how much I like them. I was over confident? Or just distracted? Who knows.

Spinach egg

I went to California recently, to spend some time with relatives and also to get away from work/New York. I came back with a long list of food ideas.

For one, spinach and egg for breakfast. I've had spinach and egg together for dinner in a simplified bibimbap, even kale and egg on toast for lunch or a snack (or a late night dinner), but it never occurred to me to have it for breakfast until my cousin made it nearly every morning I was there.