Sesame Tofu (Vegan)

So I have made General Tso’s Tofu before and it is pretty good, but Sesame Chicken is my favorite Chinese food when I eat out or get take out.  I am actually really happy with how my Sesame Tofu and Broccoli turned out.  I would suggest cooking the tofu for longer than the recipe says(linked down below).  Also, this is good on top of rice, and I like the jasmine rice from Aldi.

Pan Fried Sesame Tofu with Broccoli

Restaurant Reccomendation

JINYA! This is the best ramen I have had in the NOVA area.  There are a few different locations, but I have only ever been to the fairfax location.  My favorite ramen in the tonkotsu black ramen (pictured below).  It has pork that melts in your mouth and a perfect soft boiled egg.  The broth is so amazing too. 10\10 would recommend.  The cha cha cha ramen is also very good.

Image result for jinya tonkotsu black

My Favorite Restaurant (in the US)

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My 3rd favorite restaurant ever is called the Bavarian Chef.  It is located near Charlottesville, VA and it is my favorite restaurant in the whole country.  It has the best German food that I have eaten (excluding food that is actually in Germany).

My favorite entree there is the Mandel Schnitzel.  All the entrees come with a ton of amazing sides such as potato dumplings.  It cannot be understated how amazing the food is!  alkjf;lagsahgashfkhsaghs you have to eat here because it is so delicious.

Image result for the bavarian chef charlottesville

Smoothie Recipe

Now I know that it’s not even April yet, but we have had a few warm days, so there is no turning my brain around.  My brain has fast forwarded to summer and I am counting down the days.  Now here is a smoothie recipe that will help you look like less of a blob fish at the beach.

This is my own special creation that I have hand perfected over the years.  We are going to call it green blast, and it is a smoothie bowl.  It tastes soooo good.  I eat this every single day in the summer.

The smoothie ingredients are:  kale, orange juice, pomegranate juice (optional), frozen mango chunks, yogurt (any type works but low fat Greek yogurt is a healthy option), and fresh mint leaves.  The topping ingredients are: fresh cherries, granola, chia seeds, flax seeds, shaved coconut, pomegranate seeds, and berries.  Any combination of these is good, so don’t worry if you don’t have all the topping ingredients.  If you want an extra boost you can add crushed or powdered vitamins in.

What I do is I start out with a little kale, and everyday I add a little more because you notice it less overtime.  The mint also helps blend the taste of the kale.

Image result for green smoothie bowl

Ghost Ritual Offering! sCaRY! NOT CLICK BAIT!

SHOUT OUT TO GET SPOOKED! Thank you for collabing with me and helping me create high quality content. Here is the link to their amazing post!

I am about to teach you how to cook a special ghost offering.  The ingredients you will need are:  ghost shaped marshmallows, gram crackers, chocolate, crushed peanuts, chia seeds, and agave.  Simply make a s’more with the ghost shaped marshmallows and put it on a decorated plate.  Then add all the extra toppings.  If you know the secret ghost language, then write welcoming phrases on the plate.

When you have finished cooking, bring this to the woods and chant Dobredojde doma!

Have fun with your new ghost friend!  😉

Valentines Day Food

In a word:  chocolate.  Here are 5 foods that will make you forget that Valentines Day is just another Thursday in February where you don’t have a date:

1. Chocolate Covered Pretzels (see my previous post here for instructions)

2. Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I.  There are a lot of ways to do this.  You can melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in the                  microwave for just a few seconds(make sure to not overcook).  I like to use wooden                dowels as skewers for the strawberries.  You don’t need a chocolate fountain to                        have fondue.

3. Literally anything dipped in Nutella (ok, maybe not anything)

4.  Heart shaped pancakes

I.  step one: make pancake mix

II. step two:  pour in shape of heart

Image result for heart shaped pancakes

5.  dum dums (or those heart shaped lollipops that taste 100x better than normal lollipops)

Image result for heart shaped lollipops

Healthy Eating

If you read my last blog and followed my advice then you probably need this post.   Lets get right to it…

  1. The most basic healthy meal:  Avocado toast  (don’t hate me…this had to be here)…I make mine by popping whole wheat bread in the toaster and spreading half an avocado on each piece.  Then I cook 2 eggs over easy, and plop an egg on each slice.Image result for avocado toast
  2. Simple cod recipe:  heat a pan with butter or oil (about 1/2 tbs per filet), add garlic and paprika, cook for about four minutes(time may vary depending on size), then add a squirt of lemon.
  3. Class up that instant oatmeal.  Start by buying organic, preservative free instant oatmeal (I like apples and cinnamon).  Then, buy some steel cut oats.  Keep some steel but oats soaking in milk in the fridge overnight.  In the morning just combine the soaked oats with milk and instant oatmeal.  Pop this in the microwave and you are good to go.     P.S. instant oatmeal is made with rolled oats and not steel cut (which have more nutritional value).  Instant oatmeal also has a lot of sugar, so it is good to tone it down with plain steel cut oats.  This recipe helped me crave sugar less because you can slowly make it contain more steel cut oats and less sugar.

Food to Cure Your January Blues

The holidays are over now, which can be kind of sad.  So to cure the blues, just eat good food.

Chick-Fil-A is perfect comfort food, especially their milkshakes.

Picture from: http://media.graytvinc.com/images/810*455/Chick-fil-A17.jpg%5B/caption%5D

This is just a food staple.

Image result for top ramen image from: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRjT0PNkyHrVFfI3OdO60wVA4xzIV91TN0DR9IynXVdzoVCkHtn:https://www.cvs.com/bizcontent/merchandising/productimages/large/7066201003.jpg%5B/caption%5D

Everything made of chocolate can definitely make you feel better.  Ferrero Rocher is one of my favorites.

Image from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Ferrero_Rocher.png/150px-Ferrero_Rocher.png%5B/caption%5D

Good ice cream is always a good fix.  Ben and Jerry’s is really good.  My favorite flavor is Chunky Monkey, and my second favorite is the Tonight Dough.

Image from: https://www.benjerry.com/files/live/sites/systemsite/files/flavors/products/us/pint/open-closed-pints/chunky-monkey-landing-open.png%5B/caption%5D

Trader Joe’s Taco Bites are good, but any type of mini taco or taquito is good.

Image from: https://www.becomebetty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wp-1480194333365.jpg%5B/caption%5D

 

 

That’s all for now folks.  Munch on.

Christmas Stuff

I have two words:  Gingerbread Houses.  They are a must.  I always make one with my siblings around the holidays, and it is always so funny.  Drab gingerbread houses are a big no no.  Homemade gingerbread houses are also a big no no.  To avoid these, buy a gingerbread house kit from the grocery store, and make your gingerbread men look like they are doing weird stuff.  Sometimes our gingerbread men are having a party on the roof, or they are having a dip in the pool out front (yes in December…yes it is supposed to be weird).  Just because you gingerbread house is weird doesn’t mean it shouldn’t look good.  Make sure the details are nice and not sloppy.  When people look at this gingerbread house they should go, “oh that’s nice,” and then they should go, “wait a minute.”  Simply put, your ginger bread house should put a little ‘ho-ho-hold up’ in the holidays.

Picture from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiC3pTS8ZbfAhWwct8KHbKHB3AQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcooking.nytimes.com%2Fguides%2F47-how-to-make-a-gingerbread-house&psig=AOvVaw025zE60fTOvlz74CAL0B3-&ust=1544587136850017%5B/caption%5D

Thanksgiving…But now it’s Christmas

This Thanksgiving, my family went to my brother’s in-laws’s house.  They are Greek, so they make regular Thanksgiving food and Greek food.  The Greek food was amazing.  There was baklava and pastitsio, which are some of my favorite foods.  I had a little bit of Thanksgiving food, which was also amazing.  I was so happy that there was baklava and tiramisu because I’m not much of a pie person.  The tiramisu was homemade and IT WAS THE BEST TIRAMISU THAT I HAVE EVER HAD!  Now I’m not a huge tiramisu person, but this was insanely good.

Pop out the advent calendar.  Put lights up. Pick you Christmas tree.  Make some food.

Now it’s time to get into the Christmas spirit.  My must try recipe for the first weekend in December is a type of chocolate pretzels that are so easy to make.  I can not emphasize how easy they are and there is no mess.  All you need for this recipe is pretzels (preferable the waffle shaped ones), Hershey Kisses, and M&Ms.

Image result for pretzels with hershey kiss and m&m Picture from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=imgres&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwik2bLVy4HfAhXoYN8KHT27BfAQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F226517056227942761%2F&psig=AOvVaw3jZnH1GbYjVtmX2G5PC6TB&ust=1543855396329032%5B/caption%5D

Get out a cookie sheet, then preheat the oven to 350, and spread a layer of pretzels on the cookie sheet.  Next, place one Hershey Kiss on each pretzel.  Pop these in the oven and check on them about every minute.  It’s important that you don’t overcook them or else the chocolate gets hard and not melted.  Once the chocolate is melted, place one M&M in the center of each kiss.  Voila…you are done.

 

 

P.S.  comment what you would like to see in the rest of my December posts.

Snow Day Cooking!

Yesterday there was a Snow Day!  It was such a blessing because going to school for 5 consecutive days is such a struggle.  I woke up and nobody was home (also a blessing), but there was almost no food in my house because my parents always forget to go grocery shopping.

Image result for snow day Image from: https://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/opinion/john-roach/roach-madisons-20-inch-snow-day/656385170#%5B/caption%5D

I looked up pancake recipes online because I had all the basic cooking ingredients (sugar, flour, etc.).  I found a recipe for cinnamon roll pancakes, so I made them and they were so good.  They are really thick and filling, so you can’t eat too many of them.  Here is the recipe I used:  https://therecipecritic.com/cinnamon-roll-pancakes/.  I would definitely recommend making these.

In other news, I’m a huge tea fan right now.  I went to a friends house a few days ago, and her dad made Indian style chai tea.  It was so good.  I have been trying to recreate it ever since.  I haven’t made it quite the same, but I have made my own creation now.  I use Bigelow Vanilla Chai Tea.  Then I add ginger powder and cinnamon to the pot of tea.  After that, I put sweetened condensed milk in my cup of tea.  What I make isn’t exactly what I was originally going for, but I like it.

P.S. I have now been told that the Indian chai tea uses cardamom and not cinnamon.  I haven’t made any with cardamom yet because haven’t seen at the grocery store.

Cookie Brownies!

Cookies=good

Brownies=good

Cookies+Brownies=AMAZING

For those of you who don’t know what a cookie brownie is, it is brownie batter baked with cookie dough on top.

Image result for cookie brownies

This is a picture of cookie brownies from the Today Show. To read their full article click the link: https://www.today.com/recipes/cookie-brownies-brookies-t103334

Cookies and brownies are fan favorites because they are two of the most classic desserts.  There are so many different ways to make cookies and brownies.  The great thing about cookie brownies is that you can use virtually any method of making cookies and brownies.  You can use box mix for brownies and cookies, or you can make one or both from scratch.  This new trend is starting to catch on, so in some places, cookie brownie mix already exists.  I have tried the Bakers Corner brand of cookie brownie mix and it is just a good as from scratch.

If you still feel like making cookie brownies completely from scratch here is a good recipe for doing so:

https://www.alattefood.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-brownies/

 

Psst…Get ready for next weeks blog because it’s almost Thanksgiving.  Brace yourselves.

My Trader Joe’s Favorites

One of my all-time favorite grocery stores is Trader Joe’s (shout out! please sponsor me!).  It is perfect for when you are too lazy to cook but you still want to eat some good food.  Some of my favorites from Trader Joe’s include:  Kringle (seasonal), Strawberry Yogurt O’s, almond croissants, pork gyoza, frozen Indian food, cookie butter, dried mango slices and mushroom ravioli.

The Kringle has a different flavor for each season.  I recently had the pumpkin one for spooky season and it was delicious, but my favorite Kringle is the Christmas Kringle.  The Christmas Kringle is like a pastry meets a Cinnabon and it is amazing!

The Strawberry Yogurt O’s and the almond croissants are my favorite breakfast foods.  The almond croissants are from the frozen section, and you just let them thaw overnight and cook in the oven.  They taste almost as good as some of the croissants I had while I was in France.

Image result for trader joe's almond croissants

The Indian food, pork gyoza, and mushroom ravioli are always perfect for easy and delicious dinners.

Image result for trader joe's mushroom ravioli

 

 

Pictures from:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjB_snipqfeAhVQJt8KHbZpCNcQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F75505731231283038%2F&psig=AOvVaw1kTXKCMs9KW_HPoWZRr9eY&ust=1540753111368582

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-59co0DDJGMI/WiXX8sOvPEI/AAAAAAAAEfQ/mQUAkMNL1og9oQ4tyMxsFtz5nTWEUIILwCLcBGAs/s1600/pumpkin%2Bdanish%2Bkringle%2B%25284%2Bof%2B7%2529.jpg

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwia-rODp6feAhXFVN8KHRxUCDcQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bakeat350.net%2F2016%2F09%2Ftrader-joes-Pumpkin-Caramel-Danish-Kringle-review.html&psig=AOvVaw2MgK6SPSLGWN423V3yRqO3&ust=1540753183074562

Fall is Here and So Are the Pumpkins!

When October rolls around, I am ready to wear jeans, leggings, and sweaters.  Sometimes this is a bit of a struggle when it’s still 85 degrees in Northern Virginia.  One thing that cannot fail you when fall rolls around is food, especially pumpkins!  Pumpkins cannot be avoided in the fall so you might as well embrace it.

Snicker doodles are one of my favorite cookie types.  I figured that in the spirit of fall I would make Pumpkin Snicker Doodle Cookies.

The recipe I used was from Live Well Bake often and the cookies turned out great.  I made these cookies super late on a school night and I was still able to easily follow the directions.  I’m an impatient person so I made the dough one night and baked the cookies the next night, which worked out great.

Here are some pictures of my cookies:

Directions:

  1. Whisk together 1 and 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl, then set this aside.
  2. Use a mixer to combine 1/2 cup of softened, unsalted butter, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar until combined.
  3. Mix in an egg yolk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree.
  4. Combine the dry and wet ingredients and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350 and take the dough and roll it into balls of about 2 tablespoon.
  6. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl and roll each ball of cookie dough in the mixture.
  7. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake for about 13 minutes.

Here is the link to see the original recipe:

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

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