These soy-glazed chicken wings are a dish from Ben’s childhood that really live up to the memories. His mom makes it almost every time we go over for dinner, and it’s a tasty treat that is gobbled up in minutes every single time. Everybody loves it. For years, I kept asking her for her recipe and method, and she didn’t have a recipe, but insisted it was really simple- just simmer the down the wings in a soy sauce mixture with Chinese rock sugar. That was it.
I tried to recreate it a few times, following various recipes I found online for proportions, but always ended up with something that came out beige-ish and tasting like boiled chicken wings… with some soy sauce. They did not hit the spot. Last time we had dinner at her place, I asked again for her method, determined to figure this recipe out. She must have known I would ask, and smiled as she pulled out a bag of rock sugar she had set aside just for me.
How did she know I still hadn’t actually tried it with rock sugar? (I have like 25 lbs of white and brown sugar already at home- it’s hard to justify buying more haha). Well, she was right, and guys: IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE. It had that extra special flavor and gave that extra syrupy sheen that was missing before.
But I didn’t know that until I went home and decided to just kind of wing it (har har) instead of using an online recipe. I made two other adjustments this time, increasing the amount of soy sauce and keeping the wings in one single layer in the pan. I used my potsticker method: pan-frying for a bit, then adding liquid (sauce instead of water though) and letting them simmer down until almost all the liquid evaporated. I guess that’s kind of like braising?
Anyway, they turned out AMAZING. The wings had a rich, glossy sauce and were finger-licking DELICIOUS. I am happy to say that we have a new easy weeknight go-to chicken recipe to add to the mix! Try these, and maybe you will, too!
I’ve always thought of bread as a labor intensive process, or at least a time consuming one. I remember early attempts of bread making that involved creating warm spaces, punching dough, kneading, and a lot of setting timers… only to be met with a lot of, “Meh, I can get a much better loaf for a lot less effort at the bakery.”
So I decided to leave the crusty bread loaves to the experts. I would stick to cookies and brownies in my bakery.
Then my friend Sandley shared an exciting find on her blog: Jim Lahey’s no-knead dough. As convincing as her bread story was, it was the photos that did me in. That, and this line: This bread has a wonderful crusty exterior, soft air-punctuated interior, and looks amazing.
Well, then.
Last year, she moved away (sniffles!) and left me with the rest of her instant yeast. There was a lot, so I decided to give the recipe a go, and I haven’t looked back since. Actually, I have looked back a lot. I have looked back at her blog and the recipe many times and decided it’s time to get this well-loved recipe onto MY blog for ease of use (and to share with all of you!). It is now a staple at our dinner table and is perfect for sopping up sauces or enjoying alongside a carby pasta dinner.
Some other things this recipe has going for it:
- It only required 4 basic ingredients: Flour, salt, yeast, and water.
- The only special equipment required is a dutch oven (though I guess this is a con if you don’t have one. Or an excuse to buy one? 😉 I have used this Lodge 7.5 qt for years and love it!).
- You can start it at night before going to bed and bake it the next evening for dinner.
- You don’t need a mixer or dough hooks, or wrists of steel for kneading. It’s a no-knead recipe!
- The kids love it. One loves the crusty outer parts, the other loves the soft and chewy insides. Ben and I love both- tasty, full of great texture, and delicious!
I never thought I’d write about vegetables.
I never imagined I’d buy a cookbook focused completely on vegetables
I never thought I’d buy my best friend a cookbook about vegetables as part of her birthday gift.
But look! Here I am, writing about vegetables because I got this cookbook on vegetables which I liked enough to buy for my BFF for her birthday! To be fair, I also gifted her some of my favorite chocolate products, but… vegetables. I’m sure she didn’t see that coming.
Because I like pastries. And chocolate. And coffee. And milk tea. And bacon. And fried stuff. And usually, vegetables don’t fall under any of those categories (except veggie tempura and onion rings, I guess, but does that really count??).
If you really think about it, though, it totally makes sense that I should get a cookbook on vegetables. Veggies are my relative cooking weakness, so why shouldn’t I turn to an expert who LOVES them and get advice on how she prepares them? I mean, if I wanted to make more delightful desserts, I’d look to the greats like David or Thomas or Dorie
I promise I’m not becoming a super health nut (har har). But a friend wrote glowing reviews about making cashew milk on Facebook, and curiosity got the best of me. Plus, the recipe was promisingly simple: 1) Soak cashews for 4 hours, then 2) Add water and some simple flavoring and blend.
As she wrote about various types of nut milk, all-capped words like “SO GOOD!” and “AMAZING” stood out to me, not to mention “It tastes like chocolate milk even without the chocolate!!” (hazelnut milk, that is). Well if that doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will.
Plus, I had this huge tub of cashews I had bought at Costco to make these grain-free waffles (thanks to a tempting photo from a friend on Instagram) and had plenty to use up. So last week, I threw a cup of cashews into some water and the next morning, I whirred it up to make the lovely bottled concoction pictured above.
It was YUMMY! Creamy, cool, refreshing. It reminded me a lot of how I like to jazz up my vanilla almond milk, since I add honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to that, too. But much creamier. Although I’ve never attempted a nut milk from scratch before, it was a much easier process than I had expected. No straining or anything. That means few dishes, little hassle, and no waste! I thought my Vitamix had something to do with the super creamy and smooth consistency of the milk, but the original author of the recipe says any ‘ol blender will do.
I thought it’d be a one-time recipe experiment, but after I finished the last glass, I found myself craving more, so not only did I blend up another big batch and finish up the last of my cashews, but I got a WHOLE NOTHER TUB of the nuts so I could keep going! I’ve made several batches now. I’m kind of addicted to the stuff now. Who would have thought?? I feel healthy adding a glass to my morning breakfast– it’s easy protein and tastes darn delicious! I recommend. Try it and let me know what you think!
This is not a recipe. This is a technique. One you should skim, try, and then thank me for later. Trust me, there’s no turning back once you’ve tried it! It makes even the least exciting slice of pizza better, and elevates good pizza to a whole new level. It makes freshly delivered pizza even more mouthwatering and transforms leftover pizza into better-than-fresh-from-the-pizza-oven. Seriously!
I’m all about the crispy crust and hot, gooey cheese and toppings. Give me a limp crust and I give you a sad face. When I was a kid, I microwaved my pizza leftovers, resulting in melted cheese with a crust that was too hard and chewy at the edges, and too limp and soggy toward the middle. No good. When I was older, I reheated it in the toaster oven. The top would have nice, bubbly cheese, but the crust was still inevitably soggy… especially with thin crust pizzas.
Now that I am all grown up, I only reheat on the pan, with a simple piece of foil on top:
Pork tonkatsu! (Plating and photo creds to Chris C.)
Last week, I bought about a million pounds of sliced pork tenderloin from Costco. On top of the usual Costco bulk discount, there was a “manager’s special” which brought the price down an additional ~20%! I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do with twelve huge hunks of pork loin, but there was one thing I did know: pork tonkatsu was definitely on the menu this week!
Tonkatsu is a Japanese food where pieces of meat (usually pork, but I’ve also seen chicken) are breaded and fried. It is key to use panko (bread crumbs
Is there arsenic in your tomatoes? New tests reveal that tomatoes contain high levels of…
…JUST KIDDING. I hardly know anything about that stuff. But here’s what I DO KNOW: I’m tired of using just one tablespoon of tomato paste and eventually throwing the rest away. Seriously, can you think of a time when a recipe called for more than one tablespoon of tomato paste? I cannot.
It happened again today, as I was brewing up a batch of Beef Bourguignon (aka fancified French beef stew). I looked at that 1 tablespoon tomato paste on the recipe and had that inner dialogue again: Tomato paste. Doh. I don’t have any. I guess I could buy some. But do I really need it? For that ONE tablespoon? I won’t even use the rest. I guess I could cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge til the next time I need it. But that probably wouldn’t be for a long time, and then I’d end up throwing it out anyway. No. I don’t need it. But… I’m spending all this time doing everything else by the recipe, what if… bah it’s just one tablespoon. Who needs that…
Well, you get the idea. I mean, I was doing other things while I pondered this, but the tomato paste conundrum simmered away in the back of my mind, one of the 2,857 tabs I’d have to come back to.
1/10/2018: This is the updated recipe I use now (with or without the Instant Pot)- it’s thicker and more hearty!
Now that cooler weather has hit us, I’ve been transitioning into warm, roasty toasty breakfast foods. One comfort food that I am happy to welcome back is this warm-ya-to-yer toes apple cinnamon oatmeal!
Mmmm! This is a delicious and heart-healthy way to start your mornings! I prefer steel cut oats over other types because I like the toothsome texture better, and also because they’re less processed (i.e. better for you) than other oat varieties.
*8/28/2014 UPDATE: Congrats to Teresa A., winner of the giveaway! Thanks, all for your participation!*
California Dreamin’
I live in California. There’s a lot to love, from the weather to the diversity to the FOOD! The food, my friends. The food. And it’s not just me– these people agree that when it comes to food, California is tough to beat! I was particularly impressed to learn that California produces half the nation’s supply of fruits, vegetables, and nuts! WOW! That makes the whole “eating local and fresh” thing so much more enticing!
I’m sure you’ve heard it before: eat organic, eat local, eat fresh. It’s not just for hippies or hipsters anymore– groceries stores everywhere are reflecting the increasing demand for fresh, local, and organic products. I can get behind that. And so can a lot of other people, apparently. For example, over the last few years, I’ve been hearing more and more about juice bars: cafés serving freshly prepared fruit juices. It’s a thing. And why not? There are few things more satisfying than sipping exquisitely fresh, tasty, and healthy juice!
I have a feeling most of my readers are not from California, though. Wouldn’t it be nice to get some fresh-pressed, made-to-order, organic, locally-sourced, raw, California-sunshined juice delivered to your doorstep… tomorrow?
When I first got married, I had no idea how to cook.
“Oh, but you bake!” friends would say.
Baking ? cooking, my friends.
The whole thing was so overwhelming to me, from menu planning to grocery shopping to actually making edible things. If my husband hadn’t been so incredibly encouraging about the whole project and agreed to wash all the dishes (and there were a lot in the beginning, before experience taught me how to streamline better), I don’t know where we be today.
Since I was so daunted by the prospect of making upwards of 200 meals a year, I instead focused on making it a personal goal to simply find five good recipes to “add to the mix.” I decided to research 5 of the diet friendly dishes closest to me, to try and inspire me.
Yes. Five.
That sounds totally doable, right?
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