Sauce: Smoky Tartar Sauce

Here is the recipe for the smoky tartar sauce as promised. It pairs great with meat and vegetables, and is wonderful as a dip. You can just pulse everything in a food processor or mix by hand. Remember to refrigerate sauce for a couple of hours before serving. 

-Keep refrigerated-

Breakfast: Hearty Ggyeranjjim

This is my second butchered "Korean" recipe, ggyeran jjim also known as steamed egg mixture. I was inspired by the sweet chef Maangchi's Ttukbaegi ggyeranjjim recipe and made some alterations for a "heartier" result. The dish in itself has a very mild and clean flavor with a spongy tofu texture. You can serve this with rice and/or grilled meat or as an appetizer. 

Please check out her website and videos for more authentic Korean recipes. 

Sauce: Salsa Roja

If you were to search online for a salsa roja recipe, you'd come across hundreds of results. Similar to most sauce recipes you can add, substitute, or even eliminate ingredients to your liking. There just isn't one perfect recipe because (honestly) they all are! Here is my take on a milder  and sweeter sauce that is great for making chile rellenos, huevos ahogados, enchiladas, chilaquiles, or any recipe that asks for salsa roja! I hope you give this recipe a try!

I guess I should have garnished it a little before taking a picture...

Curry Hambagu

Last month I was on a curry frenzy. For two weeks I had nothing but Kimchi curry, pork curry, chicken curry, green curry, and coconut curry. With nothing but curry thoughts running in my head, I was inspired to make this curry flavored hamabu but rather drenching the patties in curry sauce, I decided to infuse curry flavor into the meat. As for the sauce, I made a smokey tartar sauce that really paired well with the meat. If you love hambagu and curry then you are in for a treat!

I'll unveil the tartar recipe next week so stay tuned!

Soup: Spicy Shabu Shabu Soup Base

I accidentally deleted my old posts about two weeks ago and just last week somebody asked me for the 'Spicy Shabu Shabu Broth' recipe. Reading that brought me great joy to my heart because I thought I was the only person who read my blog. So this recipe is dedicated to you fellow awesome stranger!

Breakfast: Tangy Grits

A couple of days ago i saw this interesting recipe on youtube by EntertainingWithBeth (you guys should subscribe to her channel!). In honor of earth day, she shows you how to make a delicious mushroom ragout with creamy polenta. Her video inspired me to create this less exciting dish with a less exciting name, 'Tangy Grits'. 

Basically I used chicken stock to cook my grits, mixed in a slice of american cheese and red pepper flakes while the grits was still hot, and topped it with bits of crispy salami, sun-dried tomato, and cilantro. Because this is a breakfast, I wanted something hearty yet not too oily. If you don't find this filling, you can top it with a poached egg or a sunny side up. 

Banana Bread with Cajeta

Imagine a moist banana bread with a crunchy and chewy exterior and an interior that has the perfect balance between sweet and tart. Drooling much? Yes? Well lucky you because today I'll be sharing my easy banana bread recipe! This bread has everything you dream of, a slight tartness from the dried cranberries, a bit of crunchiness from the roasted nuts, and chewiness from the cajeta and honey topping. 

If you are wondering what is cajeta, it's basically a goat's milk caramel that's rich in flavor with a slight silky texture. Cajeta is often sold in glass jars or squeezable plastic bottles located in the Hispanic section of most super market. If you don't like cajeta or can't find any in your local super market then you can easily substitute it with caramel sauce.

You may notice that the bread in the photo is slightly burned around the edges. Do not worry, that's just flavor (excuses excuses). Anyways, thank you for stopping by and I hope you give this recipe a try!

Breakfast: Bibimveggie

This is my take on the traditional Korean bibimbap (but with a lot less rice). I usually make this the night before and let it chill in the fridge before enjoying it the next morning. This is the easiest and most forgiving dish ever. You can substitute or add more vegetables, carbs, and/or protein; be adventurous. I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy!

Sweet or Savory for Breakfast?

How to Naturally Control Pests in Your Garden

Honestly, I only have three large pots of herbs so I wouldn't call it a garden but I thought somebody might find this helpful. Also please keep in mind not to drown your herbs with this spray or the leaves will wilt. 

See those little black specks on the clay pot? There were a lot more swarming around.

Giving up for Good.

I love snacks. Especially crunchy, spicy, salty, oil-bursting, acne inducing, and heart-clogging snacks. It really doesn't help when I live right by the Mexican border where papas locas, churros locos, churritos, chicharrones, etc (you know where I'm getting at, right?) are plentiful. I was once an unhealthy snack survivor and now that I've fallen back in the arms of Takis locos, my health and waistline has shifts to it's new form. In tearful honesty I am now a pimply and flabby Chinese girl with 0% sex appeal.

That's my grubby hand going for some Japanese peanuts.

So now that I've shared this with you, I want to make changes. Starting tomorrow I'll be cutting down a lot of fatty fried foods from my diet and savor fresh foods a little more. I'll be blogging and showing recipes to those who have fallen like me, especially to those whose first item on their new year's resolutions list were either to "lose weight, eat healthy, and/or exercise more". However, we are in April so I'll be calling this my trimester resolutions.

To those who don't give a damn about healthy recipes, no worries! I'll put up other sweet and savory recipes  about once a week (if time permits).