Spring rolls

December 27, 2022 9:31 PM

So, I made spring rolls about a month ago. Two months ago? Who knows at this point. I had this whole blog post planned out in my head about how I was making these fancy lunches, but now it's many weeks later and I don't remember any of it. But I'm looking at these food pics that I took, and I'm like, man, I really want some spring rolls.

Why did I wait so long to make this post? Well, I've had ideas brewing in my head about revamping the layout, and I didn't want to make another post until that was done. Turns out that web design is hard, and I still have things I want to change. But I think I need a break from tinkering this layout.

I don't know why I thought making spring rolls for lunch on a weekday was a good idea. Spring rolls are so much work! And then I decided to make this even crazier by seeing if there was a way I could wrap these so the shrimps were on the outside to make it all aesthetic.

Okay, I know, it's not about how it looks. It's about how it tastes. And spring rolls are delicious. But I think I actually prefer pork over shrimp. I mean, I prefer having both pork AND shrimp, but if I have to choose one, I think I go with pork.

But it doesn't matter if I add pork, shrimp, chicken, whatever. Spring rolls are always good. And even though it is freezing cold outside, I could really go for some spring rolls right now.

Cooking almost every day

June 14, 2022 11:30 PM

I've been cooking a lot lately! Like, almost every day. I'm usually not thinking about the food blog every time I cook, but occasionally, I do take photos. I used to regularly make "Odds n Ends" posts where I would show a few different things I made, without really telling any sort of cohesive story about them. So, here's a quick glimpse into some of the foods that I've been cooking.

I ended up having a lot of that udon noodle soup. In the middle of a busy workday, it was nice to be able to take ten minutes to prepare my lunch.

I've been really into making rice dishes lately. They're easy, flavorful, and they taste even better after I reheat them on the pan. I really like making this yellow rice chicken skillet, but I also occasionally make ground turkey rice dishes too.

Another one of my go-tos is this Mediterranean hummus bowl, which I just took a picture of because I like how colorful this dish is.

I've also been trying out some new recipes! I attempted to make broccoli lemon carbonara, but I don't think I quite understand how to make a good egg-based sauce that doesn't just turn into scrambled eggs. I also really wanted to get that cute pasta shape that was in the recipe, but I couldn't find it, and I had to settle for boring old penne.

It's probably not going to be a recipe that I try to make again, but I still ate it all, and I even packed it for lunch when I went into the office last week.

Quinoa burgers

March 5, 2022 8:22 AM

Some of my co-workers mentioned a food blog called Half Baked Harvest and when I hear good things about a food blog, I have to check it out. I've been scrolling through all her recipes deciding on one to make, and I settled on these quinoa burgers, which is kind of a complicated first recipe to try, but I still had quinoa from who-knows-when and I really wanted to use that up.

The recipe also called for making some caramelized onions and sweet potato fries. I love caramelized onions so I was all for that, and I also love sweet potato fries, but this was already getting too involved, so I just bought frozen fries. Plus I also decided to fry up some bacon.

Bacon?! Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a veggie burger?

Hey, my goal wasn't to make a veggie burger. It was to use up the rest of the quinoa. And I want my burger to taste good. The bacon added some nice texture to this.

Not that the burger tasted bad without the bacon. This came out surprisingly well and had plenty of flavor. The shredded cheese that melted into a gooey blob with crispy edges was a really nice touch. I always thought that getting sliced cheese is better for a burger, but no, definitely go for shredded and sprinkle the cheese all over, making sure some of it spills off the patty to create extra crispy cheese pieces.

I even took the time to sauté more onions and fry an over easy egg during lunch on a workday just so I could fully enjoy my last burger.

No hectic or busy workday is going to stop me from putting together a delicious gourmet lunch.

New Year Tacos

February 4, 2022 10:19 PM

As part of my newly established Lunar New Year tradition, I made fish tacos! I have no idea how long I've been keeping these tilapia fillets in the freezer, but I'm really trying to actually clear out the food in my kitchen. I've made these spiced catfish tacos so many times, and it's become one of my go-to recipes.

In the past, I've sliced up the sweet potatoes in thin quarter circle shapes, but this time I went with dicing, and I think that makes their flavor stand out more in the taco. And in my continued effort to not accumulate more food in my kitchen, I bought a bag of "RAINBOW VEGGIE SLAW" instead of buying a head of cabbage. Plus it's easier since I don't have to cut up any cabbage.

I cooked five tilapia fillets and we just about finished all of it. That mayonnaise + lime + sugar dressing makes it so good. We just had a single half of a fillet left, which I ate the next day (as well as a pork taco using leftover pulled pork from another meal).