A few years older, a few lessons wiser (I hope), but still the same Young girl who believes in love, the goodness of people, and that there is no bad day that cannot be fixed by a good grilled cheese. Young & Always Hungry is a collection of my most inspired thoughts, memories, and meals. Stay hungry.
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Wishing I could be home with my dad and whipping up something fun in the kitchen. This man taught me everything I know.
Happy Father’s Day to all the great men in our lives…and in our kitchens. ;)
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Another in between.
I wish people wouldn’t just see me as the Asian girl who beats everyone up, or the Asian girl with no emotion. People see Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock in a romantic comedy, but not me. You add race to it, and it became, ‘Well she’s too Asian’, or ‘She’s too American’. I kind of got pushed out of both categories. It’s a very strange place to be. You’re not Asian enough and then you’re not American enough.
(Source: joanwatson, via purpleishboots)
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Happy Happy Happy National Doughnut Day!
Yes, that was three “happys.” In honor of one of my favorite FRY-day indulgences, here are a few links to my favorite ladies in the kitchen and their awesome take on the classic treat.
- Chocolate Cream Filled Vanilla Sugar Doughnuts by Joy the Baker
- Baked Blueberry Doughnuts by Spoon Fork Bacon
- No Yeast Cake Doughnuts by SFB + Design Sponge
- Apple Cider Doughnuts by Smitten Kitchen
- Greek Yogurt Cinnamon Roll Donuts by Damn Delicious
- Maple Bacon Bars, by yours truly
And while we’re talking fried dough, I’ve been dying to try Revolution Doughnuts in GA and these crazy Cronuts people are buzzing about. Any others I should add to my list? How are you celebrating today?
Ps. I wish these guys would get back to posting.
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The countdown is on. New beginnings coming soon.
In the meantime, I’ve mastered cup rhythm in my recent anthem.
Happy almost Friday!
A West Coast Strawberry Crumble of Perfection
It was a late arrival into SFO last Tuesday, but waking up on the west coast with a large cup of coffee and one of my best friends cooking me breakfast—it seemed that all was right in the world.
So after a hike to find a hike (yeah, long story), we ended up at an awesome grocer in Walnut Creek called Sprouts. Great produce and lots of grains and treats to buy by weight. Trained by my Momma, I seem to have hawk-like eyesight when it comes to red signs in stores that include a four letter word that starts with an “S” and ends with an “-ALE.” (No lie, I practically learned percentages and fractions at 6 years old, during a Macy’s Super-Saturday sale calculating prices of an INC blazer for my mom.) Anyways back to my “bird of prey” vision. As we walked through Sprouts, the bright red that caught my eye this time was not from the sale sign, but in fact stacks and stacks of the most beautiful, freshly picked strawberries! And ON SALE for $0.99 too (the sign was yellow)?! To restate—all was right in the world.
After arguing at the checkout of who got to treat for groceries, it was time to hull.
To hull a strawberry means to remove its green calyx (the leafy stem), which is great in color but no fun to eat. Now most people hull strawberries with a paring knife, but I prefer to use my “STRAWS-n-Strawbs” trick. This was the second occurrence in two weeks that I got to share this fun little trick with friends.
“STRAWS-n-Strawbs” Kitchen Tip
Using a classic straw (no bendy straws or the crazy straws that do roller coasters with your juice), start from the bottom of the strawberry and puncture the bottom point of the berry.
Gently, but firmly, push the straw upwards and along the core of the strawberry, aiming to have the top of the straw breakout and hit the green leafy calyx at the top. This should push the calyx up for you to pull the entire top and core from the straw. Remove the straw from below (instead of sliding all the way through) and discard the leafy top and core.
It takes a bit of practice, but when you get in the rhythm, it moves quickly and should leave you with more the the strawberry then cutting tops off with a pairing knife, and a pretty easy cleanup.
Now onto the crumble.
STRAWBERRY CRUMBLE
Source: Heart, Mind and Seoul
Makes about 4-6 servings, in ramekins or a single casserole dish.
INGREDIENTS
Strawberries
- 5 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and diced
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Salt
Crumble
- ½ cup whole grain flour (or whole wheat or all purpose)
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 6 tablespoons butter, cut into small dice
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl, gently toss your fresh strawberries with the maple syrup, cornstarch, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.
- Place four oven-proof ramekins or your single casserole dish on a cookie sheet and divide/fill the strawberries (evenly) among them.
- In a separate bowl, combine the teaspoon of cinnamon, flour, oats, butter, and brown sugar. Using a fork, pastry blender, or your hands (my preference!), create a crumbly mixture ensuring that the butter is well worked in, but there are still pea-sized crumbles included.
- Evenly cover strawberries with crumble mixture.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until crust is golden brown and the berries are bubbly. Serve warm and thank the strawberry season gods for this amazingly easy and satisfying dish.
My host was even sweeter and more beautiful than this perfect dish. Much needed QT with my dear friend Jenny seemed to be the warmest welcome home after a few crazy weeks of volunteer work and stuff in the office.
And this was just the first food adventure from that week-long trip. Little did I know that I would soon be elbows-deep in 60 lbs. of slow-cooked carnitas. But more on that later. ;)
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I bought this piece about a year ago and I still love getting lost in it.
I like to think each experience in my life is like one of these layers—described by the beautiful artist, Valerie Roybal, as “bits and pieces from discarded books and magazines, found ephemera, antique postcards, hand written letters and recipes…” All of us have had some “torn edge” moments or unique, mismatched-pattern experiences; but at the end of the day, they make us beautiful, inspiring, unique and complex individuals.
Embrace your layers.
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Some things come full circle. I posted this on a big day in 2011 when I needed to convince myself that I made the right decision, that I took the right chance, that I still believed in myself. Looking back, there was no way of knowing what was “right” or what might turn out “wrong.”
But today, I find myself doing the same thing…and it feels right for now.
Sometimes you need to write yourself simple love letters from the heart. You know what you need to hear.
What do you do when you fly home to California and find out that the most beautiful strawberries of the season are on sale for $0.99 at Sprouts?
Day 142: Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
note to self: Quit waiting and go be it.
“Too stressed to drink” LEMON BUTTERMILK CAKE
It’s been a while since I last posted, but for good reason. I was stressed and not sleeping very much. Too much going on at work, at home, in my head. So while most people would meet their friends at the local watering hole for a beer, I retreated to the place where I feel safe to vent and release my built up frustrations from the exhausting week I was in. My kitchen.
Flour came out. Buttermilk measured. Oven preheating.
Baking is something that let’s me zone out and just follow simple and direct instructions. 1, 2, 3. Measure this. Add that. It’s almost robotic. It calms me down and I pay more attention to the details of this process, so my mind is not able to create more and more lists in my head.
LEMON BUTTERMILK CAKE
Source: Real Simple
Recipe makes 1 loaf.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for the pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pan
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Suggested to serve with:
- 2 pints pistachio ice cream
- 1/4 cup chopped roasted pistachios
DIRECTIONS
- Heat oven to 350° F. Brush an 8½-by-4½-inch loaf pan with oil and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla.
- Add to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 65 to 75 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- Slice the cake. Serve with the ice cream and sprinkle with the pistachios.
The bread broke beautifully and gave my head (and heart) the break they needed as well. I didn’t even need to eat it that night…I just need to make it. It’s often the process and journey that help you heal and refocus, many times more than making it to the very end. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway. ;) But about that “To Do” List…
Ps. Oh and I shared the loaf with my office the next day. It was a big hit with the right amount of tang, and just enough sweetness in the crunchy crust!
