Hello 2022!

Happy New Year! I’m a little late writing my first post of 2022 because…frankly, I’m still processing lol. The month of December was such a fog. I caught a cold from, I think, the one night I chose to go out with a big group of people for Santa Pub Crawl. It wasn’t Omicron, but who knows anymore with all this talk of false negatives. However, I didn’t have those related symptoms and I tested twice and was negative. But other people I had interacted with that night tested positive for Covid. I hadn’t been sick in 2 years so this felt strange.

In today’s pandemic climate, you really can’t see people or go out in public when you’re sick, even if it’s not Covid. So I had to cancel all my plans over the holidays and then semi-isolate. I hadn’t seen a single person in over 2 weeks from before Christmas and into the new year. It was so depressing. As much of a homebody and introvert as I am, it still took a toll on my mental health. The last couple years of pandemic have been so exhausting. I’m exhausted. And I know I’m not the only one, but wow. This is never-ending. Even with the vaccine and the booster.

I spent Christmas at home solo eating soup. By NYE, I still had residual symptoms but I felt better. I had more energy and was comfortable venturing out. Since I couldn’t see anybody and had such a lonely Christmas, I wanted to do something nice for myself for New Year’s Eve. I wanted to treat myself to a gift (because retail therapy does work some of the time) but the designer item I wanted was sold out after I had my heart set on it all week and I waited in line for an hour. That was disappointing. So then I went to the grocery store to pick up stuff to make myself a nice dinner that consisted of more than just broth—spaghetti arrabbiata with burrata and pumpkin tart.

But I still felt off mentally. I really didn’t want to carry that negative feeling into the new year but it was really hard to shake off. I had been isolated for over 2 weeks. I worked over Christmas and NYE holidays because I was available (since I had to cancel all my plans) even though I was sick. I hadn’t really been drinking much alcohol for the last four months since I’ve been on a hydrating kick and sort of lost my enjoyment for cocktails, wine, and bubbles. Once I felt better physically, I learned that a lot of my friends and their families caught Omicron and therefore, had to isolate and were not available. On the first work day of the new year, my work laptop died and I lost some of my work and a lot of time. Spent those first 2 work days trying to resolve that situation on top of being on a tight work deadline. I know these setbacks seem small, but I just kept feeling defeated.

By the end of the first week though, I did find that sold out item (I called incessantly to inquire) that I wanted to gift myself and it did bring me some joy. I connected with a new friend in the neighborhood and we both decided we’re commited to getting out of our sweatpants (although I love love sweatpants) and out of the house more. I signed up for some events, met some more new people, and also went on a couple of new hikes. I’m trying to do all the things while being Covid-safe. I’m not entirely there yet, but I’m trying. It would be nice if there was one simple solution that always worked, but there’s not.

It does feel good to get dressed up again and see people so sharing with you some of my recent outfits because I don’t have that much else to share at the moment. I have purchased so many sweats, joggers, and hoodies in the last 2 years! I also have several new, unworn outfits that still have tags on them sitting in my closet. These outfits need to be worn! Another reason to get out more! Human interaction/connection, exercise steps, fresh air, and to wear my unworn outfits! Even though I enjoyed being out again in the last 2 weeks, it definitely felt like work to get dressed up, go out, and socialize, being the introvert that I am. And everything seemed more expensive. Prices have increased and quality and service have declined a bit—all natural side effects of the pandemic. It’s also an adjustment going from isolation and only spending money on necessities to paying for entertainment and fun again. I could really use a massage too.

Life right now is strange. Gotta find all the little things that bring you joy. It has been raining a lot in LA lately and I like it. The gloom and overcast matches my mood and it’s comforting. It will all disippate soon though. Follow the light and eventually the fog will clear, right?

Fortunately, Chinese New Year is in 2 weeks and I will have another shot at resetting for the new year.

The Perfect Pumpkin Tart

Typically, pie is not my favorite dessert with the exception of pumpkin pie. A pumpkin tart is even better because it has the perfect ratio of filling and crust. Most pumpkin pies or tarts tend to be a little too sweet for me. Because it’s the holiday season, I thought I’d try making it myself. And it was so easy and so good! I was actually impressed with myself. Lol. It’s probably one of the best pumpkin tarts I’ve had in my humble opinion :) Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

THE PERFECT PUMPKIN TART

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST

·       1 cracker sleeve of graham crackers (9 cracker sheets)

·       6 tbsp butter

·       1 tbsp sugar

·       Pinch of salt

FILLING

·       1 can of pumpkin puree (I prefer Libby’s)

·       ½ cup + 1 tbsp brown sugar

·       3 eggs

·       ½ cup heavy cream

·       1 tsp vanilla extract

·       Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter on stove.

Crush graham crackers in a food processor until it looks like sand. Pour into a bowl. Mix with melted butter, sugar, and salt. It will then look a little like wet sand. Add crust mixture into a nonstick removable bottom 9-inch tart pan placed on a baking sheet. Spread mixture evenly along the pan. Using the bottom of a measuring cup, flatten the crust. Set aside.

Mix the ingredients for the filling. Stir evenly. Pour over the crust in the tart pan. With the tart pan on top of the baking sheet, place in oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Allow to cool completely before serving. Serve with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Indonesian Mie Goreng Noodles

Mie Goreng is a popular Indonesian fried noodle dish made with mixed vegetables, topped with a fried egg, and served with lime and chili sauce. It is sometimes served with meat or shrimp. When I traveled to Bali years ago, I ordered this dish at almost every restaurant I visited. I love noodles and thought it’s about time I try making the dish for myself. I packed my recipe with lots of vegetables because I love vegetables and wanted the dish to be healthier and less carby. Feel free to cut down on the veggies and add protein.

MIE GORENG (serves 4)

Ingredients:

7 oz of dried egg noodles (I used lo mein noodles but you can also use noodles from instant ramen packets)

1½ cups of shredded cabbage

1½ cups of bean sprouts

2 cups of shredded bok choy

1½ cups of scallions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

7 oz of fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ tsp dark soy sauce (for color)

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp chili sauce

1 lime, cut into wedges

4 fried eggs

extra chili sauce for serving

Directions:

Cook egg noodles and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots. Lightly toast.

Add cabbage and shiitake mushrooms and let cook for a few minutes.

Throw in bok choy and scallions and cook lightly. If your veggies start to burn, add a tablespoon or two of water.

Lower heat. Add noodles. Pour oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and chili sauce over the noodles and toss thoroughly.

Add bean sprouts and toss some more. Cook briefly.

Turn off heat and set aside.

Fry eggs sunny side up.

Serve noodles with fried egg on top, chili sauce, and lime.

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, & Gruyere Puff Pastry Bites

A couple years ago, I ordered a mushroom-stuffed puff pastry at a French restaurant as an appetizer and I remember loving it. But then again, I love anything with mushrooms. Since then, I had been wanting to experiment with puff pastry sheets. It’s not something I’ve ever used before. The result of my experimentation were these delicious little bites! These bites work well as an appetizer because they are easy to pick up and munch on as finger food. The puff pastry is soft and flakey. The mushroom mix is light and flavorful and the cheese is goey. If you are a mushroom lover like me, you need to try this recipe. It’s easy to make and it’s so good. Next time, I might try making a puff pastry turnover since that might be a litte heartier.

CARAMELIZED ONION, MUSHROOM, & GRUYERE PUFF PASTRY BITES (makes 18 small rounds)

Ingredients:

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp thyme

1 clove of garlic, diced

1 tbsp butter

¼ cup of white wine

1 tbsp olive oil

1 egg, whisked (for the egg wash)

2 puff pastry sheets

1 small sweet yellow onion, diced

8 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

3.5 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

5-6 slices of gruyere cheese or shredded gruyere/swiss cheese blend

chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, cut puff pastry into little rounds using a cutter. I didn’t have one available so I just used a small sauce bowl that is 2¾ inches in diameter and cut around that. If you prefer, you can cut your puff pastry sheets into squares, which would be even quicker. Set aside.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil into a medium frying pan. Saute diced onions over medium heat until caramelized. Add 1 tbsp butter and let melt. Toss in garlic and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until the mushrooms have shrunken. Pour in wine and let reduce.

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, arrange puff pastry rounds. Brush with egg wash. Add a spoonful of the sauteed mushroom and onions onto each round, leaving space around the edges. Bake for about 14 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees.

Pull out baking sheet tray from the oven. Add small slices of gruyere cheese on top of each round. Return to oven and bake for about 4-5 more minutes.

Garnish with chopped parsley. And that’s it! Easy peasy and delish!

Colombian Aji Sauce

One of my longest relationships was with a half Colombian boy who I met in college. He was genuinely a really nice guy. But we were young and had a lot of learning and exploring that we needed to do on our own. We were together for 6 years and we cohabitated for about half that time.

While the relationship did not last, I became familiar with a lot of Colombian dishes. I had the best homemade tamales, hearty steak dishes, and delicious soups. Even though it has been awhile, I distinctly remember the Colombian Aji sauce that was often served with empanadas and steak. I used to smother it over every Colombian dish I ate. Like chimichurri, Colombian Aji sauce is packed with herbs, but it has a thinner consistency. It tastes really good with steak and crispy potatoes! And if you don’t eat steak or meat, try it with roasted vegetables, rice, eggs, or fish. The sauce tastes great with everything! I could go on and on.

Below is the recipe for my version of the Colombian Aji sauce. If you’d like to learn how to make the perfect pan-seared steak to pair with it, you can also check out my previous Pan-Seared Steak recipe.

Colombian Aji Sauce (about 3-4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 6 scallions, thinly sliced

• ½ cup of finely chopped cilantro

• ½ jalapeno, deseeded and finely diced (or more if you like spicy)

• 1 medium sized tomato, diced

• 1 clove of garlic, minced

• 1 lime, juiced

• 2 tsp white vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

• 1 tsp sugar

• ¼ cup of filtered water

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together and let it sit for about 15-30 minutes before serving. It may look too thick at first, but don’t worry. The herbs will soften and melt into the liquid as the ingredients settle and meld together. Taste and adjust as necessary with additional vinegar or jalapeno.

Rotisserie Chicken Soup for the Soul

Chicken soup is always good for the soul but especially during a cold winter night. I might be part of the minority who loves soup all year round though. Recently, I made chicken soup using a rotisserie chicken. Store bought rotisserie chickens are amazing. They are inexpensive, delicious, and usually around $7.99 and can last several meals. The only downfall for me is that I don’t really love white meat and I don’t want to eat chicken for more than a couple meals in a row. So I decided to save the dark meat to eat on its own and use the rest of the chicken to flavor a pot of chicken soup. I’ve never tried making soup this way before but was recently inspired by another food blogger. Typically, I make soup from scratch with raw chicken but this method was a lot easier and was still flavorful. It tastes even better the next day and it’s still delicious as leftovers after being frozen.

Rotisserie Chicken Soup (serve about 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 whole Rotisserie Chicken (store bought)

4-5 celery stalks, trimmed and sliced

3 whole carrots, peeled and sliced

1 small sweet yellow onion, diced

1 medium sized white potato or 2 small ones, peeled and cubed

1-2 cobs of corn (shaved) or 1 can of roasted or regular whole kernal corn (fresh is better and sweeter though)

2 cloves of garlic, mashed

1 chunk of ginger, peeled

1 tbsp olive oil

1 bay leaf

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

2½ tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

dash of sugar (optional)

3½ quarts of water

Directions: First, I remove the dark meat from the rotisserie chicken. I love to eat dark meat with rice, soy sauce, chili, and cucumbers. I separate the dark meat from the bones, save the dark meat in Tupperware to be eaten later, and set the bones aside. Then I remove the white meat from the bones and break it up into shreds with my hands and set it aside, keeping all the bones. I usually use about 1½ cup to 2 cups of shredded white chicken meat in the soup and the rest I save to use in my salad.

In a 8-quart pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and lightly brown. Place all the bones from your rotisserie chicken (including some skin and wings, for more depth and flavor) into the pot and pour in 3 quarts of water. Make sure bones are mostly submerged. Toss in carrots along with bay leaf, ginger, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and a dash of sugar. I personally prefer to cut up 1 carrot into big chunks to use at the beginning and cut 2 carrots into thinner slices to be added in later. Because of the thickness of the carrot chunks, it can withstand being cooked longer while sweetening the soup early on. The thinner slices are added in later so it won’t be overcooked and mushy but will be better for the aesthetic and for eating, in my opinion. Simmer for 45 minutes on medium to medium low heat, covered with lid slightly ajar.

Remove ginger and discard. Add celery, potatoes and corn to the pot. At this time, you can also add in the thinner slices of carrots. Toss in shredded chicken. Pour in 2 cups of water. Simmer for 45 more minutes with lid slightly ajar.

Taste broth. Add more salt, if necessary, and cook for a few more minutes. Remove all of the bones with tongs and discard.

Enjoy!

Happy 2021!

Happy NEW Year! I had been meaning to check in on the blog but then chaos ensued after only a few days into the new year. The riots at the Capitol were so upsetting. I had a lot of feelings and needed some time to process. I’m deeply saddened by the acts of ignorance, hate, racism, and white supremacy in our country. I can’t help but feel a little scared and nervous about the future with everything happening right now. While I think that having new leadership will help, as a country, we still have a long way to go and so much to learn.

Here in Los Angeles, we are still in a lockdown. I survived the holidays. It was a little lonely and isolating but I bounced back quicker than I thought I would. People all around me are still traveling and seeing their friends and carrying on as normal (or close to normal) and I’m wondering if I should be doing the same? I haven’t seen my family in a year and a half. I haven’t been on a plane in a year. I do see people occasionally for social distant hangs, walks, and hikes but probably not as regularly as I should to maintain my mental health.

I was starting to feel the isolation creeping in on me again as we entered the new year. So then last weekend, I made plans for 2 back to back hangs, 2 days in a row. One was a challenging 4 mile uphill hike to Sandstone Peak in Malibu and the other was a 5 mile walk along Zuma Beach in Malibu. I had also hiked 3 times that week leading up to the weekend and had a few back to back FaceTime calls the Friday night prior. That following Monday, I was completely exhausted and as a result, was not as productive as I had wanted to be. Plus, my body was completely sore from all the hiking and exercise. By Tuesday morning, I still had not recovered. I woke up with an allergy attack and was basically incapacitated on the couch for the whole day. My body did not like all of that action! As an introvert, too much social activity can be draining but now, in a pandemic, after becoming accustomed to quarantine and isolation, I must have hit a whole new level of social exhaustion combined with too much physical ventures. Anyway, because of that setback, I worked all of this weekend on my cookbook to catch up with the time that I lost during the week.

With my consulting at a halt at the moment due to my project ending last November, I finally have the time to refocus on my cookbook. It was hard to transition back to a creative and entrepreneurial mindset and schedule though. It took a couple of weeks of resistance in December before I found the momentum to get going again. In the last year, it was not possible for me to work on the cookbook while also juggling full-time consulting work, brand partnerships, content creation, and my blog. I believe this break from consulting is a blessing in disguise because now I can commit my time to the cookbook again. My passion project requires more energy. Creativity for me requires more energy. I notice that when there is too much space and time between each piece of the cookbook that I work on, it then reflects in my work. The quality, depth, connection, and flow suffer. I’ll forget why I wrote something or how I made a dish.

Since mid-December, I’ve been FaceTiming with my mom several days a week to discuss my recipes, photos, Khmer translations, ideas, and facts about our history. I’m going back through all my recipes and editing the writing, reorganizing the flow, and deciding which ones I need to reshoot. Even though I devoted the entire 2019 to cooking most of the recipes in the book (and thought I was almost done), I’ve just added more new recipes to my list and I still have desserts that I need to make. And I’d like to add more stories. I still have a lot to do and it has been so exhausting. One evening, I spoke with my mom for 2 hours just about herbs! HERBS! Each of our calls last 2 hours. There’s so much detail to go through and understand. But I know I can do it!

Last week, on a call with a new therapist, she asked me what I do for fun after I had updated her on all the things I’ve been working on and all the emotions I had been feeling. Her question made me pause and think. I had been spending all my time working on the cookbook, FaceTiming with my mom or sister to brainstorm about contents of the cookbook, going to virtual therapy, and attending virtual support groups. Basically, all my time had been devoted to either my cookbook or my mental health. It has been awhile since I’ve dedicated a day or even a few hours to doing something that brings me joy. I was diligent about allocating one day a week to joy last summer and I did do a couple road trips in November that brought me some joy. But I hadn’t really incorporated joy into part of my everyday life recently. I’ve kind of lost my balance again. And that’s okay. It happens. It’s hard to maintain balance all the time.

So this coming week, I’m going to be thinking about some new ways to spark joy for me and try to incorporate it more regularly into my life. I also think that we all need to show ourselves a little compassion and grace for just surviving everything that is happening in the world right now. It’s a lot. In the meantime, I hope you find some way to bring a little bit of joy into your life as well. And if you have ideas, please comment on this post and share! I’d love to hear!

Chinese Egg Drop Soup

This week I was craving soup. I’m always craving soup though. But I didn’t want to make anything complicated. Perfect solution: Chinese Egg Drop Soup. Requires very few ingredients—chicken broth, eggs, scallions, and ginger, and a few seasonings. If you have homemade chicken broth even better. I chose to add a few shiitake mushrooms and corn because I like a little variety in my soup, but it’s not necessary. This soup is all about the eggs anyways. It’s clear and soothing. It’s supposed to be a very quick soup to make, but I tend to cook it longer than most recipes because I prefer a stronger ginger flavor. However, 45 minutes for soup is still fairly quick. Even though I freeze almost everything, I wouldn’t recommend freezing this soup only because cooked egg doesn’t freeze that well. If you want though, you can freeze the cooked broth without the egg and add the egg when you’re ready to eat it. Hope you like the soup! Let me know what you think!

EGG DROP SOUP (makes about 6 small bowls)

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups of chicken broth

• 2 cups of water (1 hot, mixed with cornstarch)

• 1 tbsp cornstarch or flour

• 1 chunk of ginger, peeled

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 4 eggs

• 1 cup of canned kernal corn (optional)

• 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and thinly sliced (optional) 

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 cup of chopped scallions

• optional toppings: fresh ground black pepper, chili oil, or fried garlic

Directions:

Bring chicken stock with 1 cup of water to a simmer with ginger. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper.  Cook for 30 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of hot water mixed with cornstarch or flour. Add mushrooms and corn. Cook for another 15 min. Pour in beaten eggs and slowly stir in one direction using a fork or chopstick. Allow eggs to cook for a minute or two. Add scallions and serve. You can also top your bowl of soup with fresh ground black pepper, chili oil, or fried garlic.