Category: Cooking

Spicy Miso Ramen

When you can have handmade ramen noodles, you can forget about the instant stuff that is like wilted cardboard in styrofoam cups. Why make your own when you can get instant noodles in a cup for less than a dollar? That’s because traditional handmade noodles have a beautiful texture that…

Family Brunch

Brunch this morning is a family event, featuring made-from-scratch dishes. Much of this is experimentation, but it all turns out nicely. Spinach and mushroom crepes Asparagus and mixed greens salad Broccoli artichoke bacon frittata Blintzes with blueberry sauce

Scallion and Ham Frittata

Ingredients: A bunch of green onions (12) Half pound vegetarian ham 8 eggs, beaten Salt and pepper Half cup Parmesan cheese   The process: Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Cut up the green onions and ham. In a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, sautée until the scallions are reduced and the meat…

Summer Figs

Yan brought back fresh figs, and we decide to make the most out of them. First, there are quartered figs with blue cheese and walnuts drizzled with honey. Then, there’s fig flatbread with more blue cheese and arugula. All this turned out so well.

Tiramisu in Shot Glasses

Assembling this dessert in shot glasses is similar to making tiramisu in a pan. The only problem was that all the stores were out of ladyfingers. Apparently, those ladyfingers are seasonal. This time, instead of using store-bought ladyfingers, I made them into disks instead of fingers: separate the yolks from the…

Marinated Baby Artichoke Hearts

The three artichoke plants produced a lot of baby ones this year. The artichokes were picked today. After lunch, I trimmed, steamed, and marinated them with garlic, black  pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, and thyme. They should make good addition to salads.

Grilled Artichokes

This afternoon, I prepared and grilled some artichokes. Every since my first time having some grilled artichokes at the Rutherford Grill in Napa Valley, it’s been a favorite. Here’s the version with lemon thyme marinade. Cut artichokes in half, trim, and de-choke. Dip the artichoke halves in lemon juice mixed…

Rustic Olive Bread

Last night, I put together ingredients for a nice loaf of bread—for today’s picnic lunch. It’s a slight modification of the wonderful Sullivan Street no-knead bread made popular by the New York Times. I reduced the recipe to two-thirds so that the bread would fit into my Pyrex glass covered…

Halloween Brain Pâté and Chips

For this year’s potluck at the clinic, I thought it would be a nice change to make a savory dish instead of dessert. First, I chopped up garlic and a quarter of an onion. Then, I sautéed it in butter. In the meantime, I heated up cream cheese, mayonnaise, milk,…

Barbeque by the Pond

We had a group of friends over for a simple barbeque by the pond. The main course was vegetarian burgers, and the sides were grilled zucchini and corn on the cob. I also grilled top sirloin steak seasoned with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette marinade. Afterwards, some people suggested that I…

Dim Sum Party

We had a group of friends over to make Dim Sum to celebrate Chinese New Year. Menu   薑汁皮蛋 Thousand Year-Old Eggs with Ginger 豬肉燒賣 Pork Shumai with Minced Mushrooms 羊肉白菜餃子 Lamb and Cabbage Potstickers 紅燒烤麩 Braised Gluten with Daylily Knots 蝦餃 Shrimp Dumplings 雙菇腸粉 Stuffed Flat Rice Noodle Rolls…

Christmas Eve Dinner

We just had Christmas Eve dinner on the top floor overlooking the city. It’s a good way to end the week and to start the weekend. We had fun cooking and eating. Here’s the menu: APPETIZERS Brie Topped with Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce Caprese Salad in Extra Virgin Olive Oil…

Summer Grill

A lot of friends came over to share garden produce. I made some lamb kebabs along with grilled vegetables from our garden, including eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions. Some of the fresh herbs were also picked from our yard—rosemary, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves.

Mothers’ Day Grill

There were all sorts of things from our garden that we put together for this grill event celebrating Mothers’ Day. The lettuce was fresh from the field, as was the rosemary for the potatoes.

January Grill

Over Christmas break, we went to San Simeon and toured the Hearst Castle. There, I had picked up a brochure for their grass-fed beef, and because of the special deal, I ordered some tri-tip. Even though it’s January, the weather is perfect, and we had a barbeque. We grilled asparagus,…

Dumpling Party

A group from Hangzhou came to visit Loma Linda University, and we invited the group, as well as friends connected with the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, to come over for a dinner of homemade dumplings.

Bamboo Shoot Party

It’s now bamboo shoot season. From the way it looks, this is probably golden bamboo, Phyllostachys aurea. After picking, slicing, peeling, and blanching, we made bamboo shoot salad.

Latte Art

I got a milk steaming pitcher, and after some practice, I made my first piece of latte art.