homemade Italian

i finally had the chance to invite my roommate from last year over to my apartment and cook with her! A and i decided after shopping in downtown Evanston for a while that we were going to cook Italian, so we headed to Whole Foods and picked up some stuff. most of the things from the meal were ready-made: Caesar salad with dressing (which, by the way, many people think is Italian because they associate it with Julius Caesar, but it's actually of Mexican origin), a fresh demi-baguette, pre-packaged parmesan cheese, and ground pesto, as well as fresh ravioli from Trader Joe's.

we heated the bread in the oven for a while and then essentially made "bruschetta". notice that it's in quotes because i honestly didn't bother looking up any recipes or suggestions - i just tossed together some ingredients and made my own (aka substituted cilantro for basil). it actually turned out really nicely! the pictures look so pretty, don't they?? red + green = happy! maybe because it reminds me of Christmas..it's just so bright and happy!

the ravioli was the chicken sausage ravioli with mushrooms and cheese from TJ's (my favourite grocery store EVER).

we cooked it and then browned it in some pesto sauce..we originally were going to make a cream pesto sauce, but A somehow made it curdle HAHA. okay, i blame her but i honestly don't know if it was truly her fault ;)

we also bought some vodka sauce from WF that we're going to test out with our Conchgliette pasta some time soon (: stay tuned for delicious pictures some time soon!

homemade Asian food

i haven't been too good with keeping up this blog, have i? :( sorry!

school and work have definitely been keeping me busy, and i've barely had time to EAT in between all my meetings, let alone cook. that's why this entry is going to focus on something i cooked a while ago..

i bought some frozen squid at H-Mart and decided to make my own version of Kung Pow Squid. you know, it actually turned out quite nice!

i added an insane amount of serrano peppers as well as some Siracha garlic pepper sauce. yum!

i paired this with some stir-fried bean sprouts and, of course, my mixed wild rice.

i think there's about 7 or 8 types of rice in the mix that i bought from Whole Foods, and i really love it! it makes you feel super healthy when you're eating it, and the overall texture is very chewy and nice.

a nice big plate of food makes me very happy (:

pumpkin spice cupcakes

it's been a long time since i've actually baked! probably a bit over a year now..wow. i've been craving pumpkin spice cupcakes for the longest time, and i finally decided to do something about it. i made a batch for a dinner with family friends, and they were well-enjoyed!

the presentation looks quite nice, doesn't it? (: i loved the cracked tops!

these are completely 100% hand made from scratch. and by scratch, i mean even the nuts on the top were cracked open by a hammer HAHAHA. seriously. (those who know me understand that i only like eating nuts that i take out of the shell by myself..peanuts, pistachios .. and everything else keke). okay wait, i realise that i used canned organic pumpkin - but everything else was definitely from scratch!

i altered the recipe i got to cater to my crowd - i used mostly whole wheat flour, added some extra pumpkin, and i probably cut the sugar by half, if not more. the frosting was also made with light cream cheese, and instead of the normal amount of sugar, i used only 1/3. it wasn't as sweet as normal cupcakes would be, but they're definitely better for you!

the preparation was a tad difficult because, like i said, i had to do everything by hand, including the mixing. it's very, very hard creaming butter & sugar when you only have your arms and a fork. time to invest in a kitchen aid mixer for sure haha (:

let me know if you want the recipe! these are fun to make and definitely makes your house smell delicious!

Thanksgiving: recession style

since i'm currently in the UK, i didn't expect to have an elaborate Thanksgiving. seeing that half of my flatmates didn't even understand the concept until i explained it, i figured there would be no way that everyone would be keen on celebrating it. still, at the last minute, E and i decided to whip up a mini meal, and we headed to get groceries at 8:30 pm...haha!

we used some stuff that we already had in our fridge, and then bought a few things to make the sides. in total, E and i only spent ~£8 on groceries! fantastico! (:

a few of the things we bought: stuffing mix for 39p, pie crust for 87p, sweet potato for 88p, créme fraîche for 71p, evaporated milk for 51p...

we also bought some carrots, some butter, and some other basics like potatoes & gravy.

did you know that they don't have pumpkin puree here?? i've moaned and complained about this for 2 days straight now, but .. it shocks me! instead of making pumpkin pie, i had to make sweet potato pie instead (RECIPE BELOW).

DIY popcorn

i always used to think that you needed a popcorn maker to make your own popcorn, but it turns out that it's as easy as popping kernels on the stove!

i've recently become quite addicted to making my own popcorn; partly because it's a lot cheaper (69p for a decent sized bag of popping kernels that lasts you for at least 5 pops vs. £3 for 3 packs of microwavable ones), and partly because it's a lot healthier. do you really want to know what they put inside those microwavable ones? neither do i.

all you have to do is get about 2 tbsp of butter (or vegetable oil spread, or whatev you please), a non-stick sauce pan with a lid, and some kernels. you NEED the butter - listen to me on this one. i don't like using it because it adds the extra oils and such, but if you don't, the popcorn will burn immediately and you'll have wasted batch after batch before you realise that it's a necessity.

heat the pan up for about 3 minutes on high, then add the butter. wait until it's bubbling, and then add about 3/4 of a cup of kernels. turn down the heat to medium-high, and then continuously shake the kernels around so that none of them start burning. once you notice that the butter has seeped in a bit, put the lid on and alternate shaking it and keeping it on the burner (15 seconds each). when it begins popping, just keep it on the stove and do what you'd normally do for microwavable popcorn - listen for the popping to slow.

voila - healthy popcorn that provides fiber and happiness!

i've gotten into the habit of adding ground pepper on top - i have no idea why haha. of course, you can add salt and sugar to your liking, but if you're going to try and stay healthy, use something like cinnamon instead.