I know that I always talk about how picky of an eater I used to be, almost to the point where I’ve become redundant. But the more I cook and the more I expand my tasting horizons, the more I realize how much I’ve missed out on over the years by being finicky. For example: this salsa would’ve been Nopes-ville for me a few years ago, thanks to its inclusion of raw red onions, green peppers and (the dreaded, soapy-tasting) cilantro. And now, I can’t get enough of it. After begging for the recipe, I’ve made it three times within the past month alone!

The reason I love this recipe so much is because it represents how far I’ve come; now when people ask me if I’m picky about food, I can proudly say “no”! Well… I still can’t stomach raw celery, blue or goat cheese… but I’m working on it.

Actually… I’m pretty sure I’m always going to hate celery, so we can just leave that off the list… please.

Whoops, I digress–let’s get back to the salsa! It’s best with fresh or frozen corn, but if you’re in a pinch you can definitely used canned corn… don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I’ve used both canned and cooked lentils with similar results, so long as you drain both very well. And if you’re a fan of heat, feel free to mince half a jalapeno pepper (de-seeded of course) and toss it into the mix. I prefer to leave it out in case people are not heat-inclined.

Lastly: I know that the pictures feature yellow bell pepper, but that was during one of my trial runs for this recipe. I definitely recommend green bell pepper instead.

Isn’t it funny how we seem to be much more productive when we have less time to do everything? Now that I’m on a regular work schedule again, I find myself making to-do lists left and right. I’ve also opted to do less time-consuming recipes than usual–less preparation, fewer dishes, easier techniques… and I’ll admit that I’m definitely prone to eating a frozen pizza when I’m really lazy. (Totino’s forever! …I hate it, but I love it.)

Wings fall into this category, simply because they require little in the way of preparation in order for them to be–simply put–damn delicious. They’re pretty cost-effective for how tasty they turn out to be if you cook at home, too! I recently picked up ~3 lbs. of wings at the local Asian supermarket for $5.00 and used the entire bag to make this recipe. One dirty skillet (yes, only one pot to cook!) and an hour later, James and I had enough wings to feed us for the next two meals.

These wings are so, so good–savory, sweet, sticky, spicy… all things amazing. They re-heat in the oven well, too! The ginger, star anise and cinnamon (yes, cinnamon!) go a long way toward making these wings pack a spiced punch that is delightfully exotic. Honestly, the original recipe (featured on Andrew Zimmern’s blog) is practically perfect the way it is written. The only changes I’ve made were to enhance the ginger and star anise in the flavor profile, as well as ramp up the spiciness and the intensity of the savory glaze. Seriously, talk about umami–this recipe has that essence in spades.

I know that my pictures feature a skillet, but I would recommend using a pot instead–you don’t have to worry about stirring carefully, and the high sides of the pot will catch the oil when you’re initially pan-frying the chicken wings. And I found it helpful to have the wings closer to room temperature before cooking, as it reduced the cook time and the oil splatters. I ate the wings with some cucumbers and rice, but feel free to eat them as a stand-alone!

Recipe adapted from andrewzimmern.com.

We were hanging out at a friend’s house playing board games when hunger struck–painful and relentless, as always. Since it was already nearing the wee hours of the morning, she jumped up to take a peek at her pantry and found a bag of Sichuan peanuts from the local Asian market.

I was wary at first–I’m a fan of heat, but the word “Sichuan” (or Szechuan) has always been a red flag. I can handle spicy, but can I handle Sichuan spicy? As soon as I took my first bite, however, all of my fears dissipated and were replaced by my need to eat the entire bag. My tongue and then my entire mouth went numb, and I was still as happy as a clam. I devoured the peanuts dutifully, as if they were an additional objective to winning the game.

Sichuan flavors are bright, unapologetic and brash–the dishes are almost always spicy, but it would be insulting to say that Sichuan cuisine is a one-trick pony that only relies on heat to convey its flavor. The red oil that is so easily recognized in many Sichuan dishes is a rich mixture of cardamom, star anise, five spice and Sichuan peppercorn–as well as the tried-and-true aromatics of garlic and ginger. The Sichuan peppercorn is the reason that your mouth numbs and tingles after a few bites–hence its literally translated name “prickly ash”.

James and I found the bag of Sichuan peanuts at the store shortly afterward, but I wanted to try making it on my own–and I think I’ve found a worthy home-made alternative to the store brand, minus the inevitable MSG and additives that are usually included in most snack foods. I’ve even added orange peel, which brightens the flavor of the peanuts and adds a sharp, almost floral contrast to the spiciness of the peppercorns.

I’ve made this dish twice now, and I need to emphasize the importance of using kosher salt or a finely-ground salt; otherwise the peanuts are spicy but bland. If you want a little bit of heat but not a lot, reduce the number of dried chilies and peppercorns. Lastly, I should note that you’re not going to easily find Sichuan peppercorns at your local grocery store; you’ll probably need to head over to a specialty spice store, Whole Foods, or a local Asian market. (I recommend the latter; the prices will be much more reasonable.) This is a great snack for guests–and a better alternative to potato chips if you’re a snacker. I personally enjoy them while playing games myself… and even more so when I win them!

I recently put chalkboard paper on some of my kitchen cabinets to make the kitchen look a little less plain and a little more interesting. A grocery list here, some inspiring quotes regarding food, cooking and the pursuit of happiness there… and at the bottom, a funny little list titled ‘What Would James Eat?’. James is always asking me to make something or other–and while I am always up for the challenge, I tend to lose track of his numerous requests. So I decided to honor his insatiable appetite (and my burgeoning attempts at interesting dishes) by giving him some space in my kitchen for a list.

(What’s on the list, you ask? Homemade pho and Taiwanese beef noodle soup, among other things. But those are other recipes for other entries!)

Magic mushrooms have been on the list since before the list existed, however, and I’m glad I was finally able to deliver with a version all my own.

Magic mushrooms are our favorite appetizer from Hapa Sushi, which is a fusion/nouveau-type sushi restaurant in the Metro Denver area. Whenever we visit Denver, we go to Hapa and order this appetizer without fail. However, it’s been well over half a year since the last time we’ve managed to patronize this sushi joint–so I only had my memories as reference. If you’re a Denver native or you’ve eaten at Hapa before, you’ll have to tell me whether I’ve managed to create a worthy copycat recipe, okay?

I would advise you to make sure you have a nice, sharp knife before attempting to make these; a dull knife won’t be able to create the thin slice necessary for the rolling of the salmon around the avocado. Additionally, this recipe requires vigilance: you can’t really walk away from any of it while it’s cooking. There’s not really much I can offer in the way of a shortcut other than buying the sweet soy sauce (or unagi sauce) at the store instead of making it yourself–but the consistency will be thinner.

Even if these mushrooms taste nothing like the ones at Hapa, I still think they’re pretty damn tasty. You’ll be dismayed at how quickly they disappear relative to the amount of work it takes to make them–but hey, you’ll get credit for being an awesome cook, so all’s well that ends well!

James and I made a rookie mistake yesterday: we bought produce from Costco. Now I have enough garlic to fight off an entire army of vampires.

We also ended up with 24 oz. of cremini mushrooms, or baby portabello mushrooms. I’m pretty sure we’ll be eating mushrooms until they grow out of the tops of our heads. However, the surplus of mushrooms allowed me to make one of our favorite soups… so I suppose we can’t complain too much.

This mushroom soup was one of the first things I learned how to cook from scratch a few years ago–which should tell you how easy it is to scrape together. The most important ingredient (apart from the titular mushrooms of course) is paprika–or rather, Hungarian sweet paprika, which gives this soup its je ne sais quoi. If you don’t have any on-hand, you can easily substitute regular paprika; of course, I would still recommend buying Hungarian paprika at your local European market or deli. The earthy sweetness of this particular paprika is really hard to replicate.

The “hardest” part of this recipe is reintroducing liquids back into the pot and evenly distributing the roux, or the mixture of flour and butter that coagulates around the mushrooms and onions. And it’s not really that hard–just pour the broth into the pot a little bit at a time (¼ c. or so) and stir. At first, the introduction of liquid will create a paste; with the addition of more liquid, this paste will break into lumps and eventually dissipate into the broth, leaving a glossy, thick soup.

I should also note that I halved the recipe since James and I are no good with leftovers, but these measurements are easily doubled and/or tripled for the amount of people you need to cook for.

Lastly, I switched out the sour cream for greek yogurt to make this recipe a little more healthy; I think we actually prefer the yogurt to the sour cream because the flavor is milder–almost like a creme fraiche. And I threw in cayenne pepper because I didn’t have hot paprika on-hand–but feel free to leave it out if you don’t like a little kick at the end of each spoonful. This soup is hearty enough to be served on its own but also pairs well with some warm, crusty bread. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Closet Cooking.

While reviewing past recipes and the write-up before the recipes, I’ve realized that my blog entries follow a very sad outline:

1. Kris used to think ________ was icky! What a travesty.
2. (soul-searching paragraph)
3. And now she doesn’t. Yay ________!

Today, we are tackling pickles–which I also disliked for a long time. But since I seem to have disliked everything when I was growing up (ha), I’m going to skip over that fact and talk about how amazing Korean food is instead!

My first and dearest experience with Korean food was at a little joint called San Chang in Colorado Springs when I moved there in 1999. I had tried “Korean” food before at Pan-Asian restaurants around Delaware as a child, but not like San Chang. What were these funny grills doing in the middle of the table? Why were there so many vents? And why were there so many versions of pickled vegetables in tiny plates?

It wasn’t until I befriended Korean-American classmates at college that I learned the magical name of these vegetable dishes–banchan. But I loved banchan from the start, and often stuffed myself on it before the main course arrived at the table. My favorite banchan involved radishes in various forms: julienned, cubed, sliced, and so on, pickled in so many delicious ways. I loved the cool, crisp crunch of the radish and the subsequent explosion of pickling juice that would follow with each bite. They were a sharp, effective palate cleanser to the salty savoriness of galbi or the sweetness of bulgogi. Ever since that first magical visit, I’ve been a fan of Korean food and flavors… and most importantly, pickles!

James linked this pickled radish & jalapeno recipe to me while I was in the Philippines, so I gave it a go when I came back to LA and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make. I tweaked the ratio of sugar and jalapenos because we prefer our pickles a little spicier and less sweet, but feel free to play with the ratio according to your preferences. I also chopped the radish rather coarsely because we are radish fiends–but you can make smaller slices if you wish, especially if you’re using the pickling juice as a sauce for meat. Either way, I hope you give this very simple recipe a try–whether you’re a banchan fan like me or looking to spice up the condiments at your dinner table. You won’t be disappointed!

Recipe adapted from Top Chef Korea.

James is going to be turning the big 3-0 soon, and he was determined to knock a few things off his ‘Dirty Thirty’ list before his birthday. One of the items on his list is getting in shape–so he told me flat-out that he wouldn’t be eating any desserts or breads that I normally love to bake. Truth be told, I was pretty sad at first. I love baking, even more so than cooking, and I find it both challenging as well as relaxing. But I slowly grew accustomed to cooking for his dietary needs and along the way found myself enjoying the challenge. Adding moments of calm with products from Indacloud like delta 9 gummies also helped make the transition smoother and more enjoyable. If you’re looking for IQOS products, you can explore IQOS Terea Armenia. If you prefer smoking cigarettes to help you relax, then you may check out discount cigarettes here. You may also consider trying Terea Turquoise products.

(This is the reason my site has been bombarded with vegetable recipes as of recently, if you couldn’t tell!)

While most of the food I make nowadays is health-conscious, we still miss the more ethnic foods we normally enjoy with our families. We bid adieu to rice and rice-reliant recipes with heavy hearts, figuring that we’d be able to revisit them again with our rock-hard beach bodies. But as my interest piqued with Szechuan/Sichuan food, I realized that I needed something to balance out the spicy, intense flavors of Szechuan dishes. What to do?

Cauliflower to the rescue–again!

I’ve tried a few cauliflower rice recipes, but none that really felt like a worthy substitute for rice until now. And this recipe is so plain, so easy… you can spice it up as much as you want or leave it bare-bones as a nice, bland counterpoint to a flavorful meal. Sauté minced garlic before adding onions or add cilantro and lime at the end… use it as a substitute for rice when making fried rice… the list goes on. I’ll be honest–I grew up on rice, so nothing will truly replace the satisfaction I feel when I eat rice. But this is as close as I can get, so I’ll take it!

Recipe adapted from Om Nom Paleo.

The basic preparation for cauliflower usually includes steaming or boiling, but trust me when I say that there is no more satisfying way of eating cauliflower than roasted cauliflower. The cauliflower head takes on a golden-brown color as the aroma fills your kitchen; by the time you take the cauliflower out of the oven, your mouth will be watering for those crunchy florets. Most of the time, I’m satisfied with the standard flavors included in roasting vegetables–salt, cracked pepper and olive oil. But in this particular case… you can’t go wrong with buffalo sauce, right?

I found this recipe last week and my curiosity was piqued; so much so that I went out and bought cauliflower that same day for a trial run. And after making it three times in less than a week (!!), I’m not only sure I’ve improved on the recipe… I know for a fact that we’ll be coming back to this recipe time and time again. James and I are not vegetarians–far from it, really–but the ease of preparation compared to actual chicken wings can’t be denied. I love wings, but sometimes I love being lazy just a little bit more.

The key to this recipe is in the preparation of the cauliflower. Roasting the entire cauliflower head instead of cutting it into florets first allows the individual stems to stay crunchy while still imparting that charred, roasted flavor. Pan-frying the cut florets in a little bit of olive oil crisps the edges and changes up the consistency of each bite. Throwing sauce onto vegetables is easy, but making sure the vegetables taste outstanding before the sauce comes into the picture is the key to making a truly successful vegetable dish.

If you prefer your buffalo sauce mild instead of medium regarding heat, reduce the sriracha amount. I’d say that this mixture creates a medium heat. And if all else fails–bleu cheese or ranch dressing will go a long way in taming the spiciness levels. We either eat this as an appetizer or as a main dish with other vegetable sides. And something tells me that this will come in handy for Fridays during this Lenten season…

Recipe adapted from Leite’s Culinaria.

James & I hosted a game night at our place last weekend and had a lot of our friends over–certainly more than I thought would be comfortable in our cozy apartment. But our lack of space brought everyone closer together (literally) and made for a very fun time… or at least I like to think so! We asked people to bring over things to snack on or to drink while we would provide the main meal and dessert. While most opted to bring alcohol–which I could never complain about!–one of our friends brought a few side dishes from a restaurant called lemonade. Everything she brought was delectable, but one dish in particular stood out to me, both in its simplicity and its deliciousness: curried cauliflower with raisins and pecans. What a simple yet tasty combination! Even before I had finished eating the last bite, I was determined to replicate it at home.

There is one very important component to this recipe that I feel I should address, as everything else in this list of ingredients is very straightforward: ghee, or clarified butter. While you can technically substitute regular butter or even olive oil for this recipe, neither will provide the same subtle sweetness and clarity of flavor that ghee provides this dish. You can obtain ghee by either purchasing it at the grocery store (I would suggest Whole Foods or something more culinary/organic-oriented) or by making it at home–it’s really quite easy! I followed Nom Nom Paleo‘s guide to DIY ghee, which added an additional 10 minutes to my prep time.

Ghee differs from traditional clarified butter because you allow the solids that separate from the butter during the cooking process to brown, creating a nutty, slightly sweet flavor that isn’t unlike brown butter. This, coupled with the ginger and raisins, create a sweeter profile for this particular dish and pairs well with the curried cauliflower. Add the pecans for some crunchy texture and you’ve got a great Indian-influenced side dish that tastes a lot more complex than it actually is!

This is the honest truth–as soon as I put my camera down, I chowed down this entire plate of cauliflower and promptly ate another. If you’ve never considered the sweeter side of curry, I definitely encourage you to give it a try!

When I tell my friends in Colorado that the nights are cold in Los Angeles, I get at best a jealous eye-roll and at worst a derisive laugh. I’ve already been told numerous times by different people that I’ve “lost my Colorado card.” Honestly, I’m fine with that; I can’t claim to miss the sub-zero wind chills, the 200% chance of eating it in a driveway on black ice or the biting pricks of pain at my earlobes when I step outside. I miss the snow when I’m feeling sentimental, but I think that’s almost exclusively connected to the Christmas season. I still remember being absolutely sick of snow in Februaries past when living in Denver; by the time May came around, I would be stir-crazy for summer. (Colorado’s Spring looks a lot like everywhere-else’s mild winter and only stops to become summer sometime in May.)

Whether I’m cold in Los Angeles or freezing in Colorado, however, the frigid weather always puts me in the mood for soup. I love rich, hot soup that warms me from the inside out. Even better if it’s a soup that is both substantive and comforting–no thin chicken broth for me, thank you. I want flavor that will linger on the tongue and keep my belly warm!

Broccoli cheddar soup is one of those comforting, homey soups to me. When it’s cold outside and I’m in the mood for soup, the first thing that usually comes to mind is broccoli cheddar in a sourdough bread bowl. Creamy and luxurious, but packed with fresh vegetables that give the roux-based soup substance. Plus, broccoli and cheddar are a match made in heaven!

I usually wing it when it comes to throwing together the ingredients, but I hope that this recipe will serve as a good guideline to you when you’re in the mood for something comfy on a cold day. If you really want to up the ante on the creaminess of the soup, you can use half-and-half instead of milk and use an extra tablespoon of butter. Whether you add your own flourishes to this bare-bones recipe or stick to the basics, I hope it keeps you warm!