Say Jajangmyeon

During the 2020 pandemic, while kids were going to school online and parents were learning how to make sourdough bread, I was learning how to make Jajangmyeon, a Korean-Chinese noodle dish with black bean sauce, pork, and vegetables.

The dish is still a work in progress and so are the kid's Korean pronunciations.

Gamsahamnida!

Waffle turkey

Turkey for breakfast? Indeed! Bring some morning magic to your Thanksgiving table.  It might convert any vegan back to their carnivore ways.

Happy Thanksgiving!

{Ingredients: Waffle, apples, bananas, chocolate chips, pomegranate seeds, maple syrup}

Portia makes Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

Creating donuts from canned biscuits is incredibly easy.  Watch Portia take ordinary biscuits to a cinnamon sugar high!

Portia makes a Baked Apple Crisp

A baked apple crisp is the easiest dish to make when you're in a pinch to whip something up for an afternoon tea snack or a last minute family gathering.  Watch Portia make it look so easy.

Watermelon flower pot

It's a bowl! It's a pot!

Whoever came up with this mini watermelon flower pot is my idol.  I was so excited to recreate this flower pot in honor of springs fresh blooms while awaiting the arrival of summers perfect addition to every backyard bbq, WATERMELON!!

I received high marks and not one bad review.  Looks like I exceeded my mini critics seasonal expectations.

{Ingredients: Mini watermelon, oranges, carrots, clementines, raisins}

2-ingredient tacos

We're celebrating Cinco de Mayo with cookie tacos! I first saw this insanely cute recipe on SheKnows last year and have been waiting till May 5 to recreate these sweet tacos for desert or afternoon treat.  

I whipped these up with just two ingredients, as opposed to nine listed on the original recipe.  I mean when can you find crisp lettuce, shredded cheese, and tomatoes in a kit? And who knew you could make ground beef, taco shells, and sour cream out of a box?

If only dinner was this easy.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

{Ingredients: Black and white sandwich cookies, fruit roll-ups}

Spaghetti and garlic toast

When the kids don't finish their meals I save it and make them eat it later.  I don't always stick to what I say (it's an ongoing struggle and I'm work'in on it) but when it comes to wasting food I KEEP MY WORD..."Finish it now or you're going to have to eat it later!"

Hence, Portia's Tuesday night's spaghetti dinner became today's spaghetti hair buns lunch with a side of garlic toast!

No food was leftover in the making of this edible food art plate!

{Ingredients: garlic toast, cuties, blueberries, spaghetti, string cheese}

You are rawrsome

MWAAH...

Wishing you a rawrsome Valentine's Day weekend! Go kiss someone and please tell them how much you love them!!!

{Ingredients: ketchup, fries, dinosaur nuggets}

Me + mini in the kitchen

When I was little I used to love being in the kitchen watching my mom cook.  She taught me how to make rice in a rice cooker, the basic prerequisite to Asian cooking.  And while watching her mix and steam her Chinese pork meatloaf, I caught on quickly to our culture's little-bit-of-this, little-bit-of-that measuring style.

Fast forward thirty years later, Portia is now watching me and falling in love with cooking too.  She loves mixing...pouring...stirring. Anything of a sweet batter consistency that she can lick the spoon after prep are her favorite recipes. Portia has even discovered the likes of Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, and Ree Drummond. Her obsession for Food Network has her curious about what celebrity chef is going to make what and who will win cupcake wars!  

Before we look at pictures, let me stress by saying how an unskilled baker is teaching an aspiring baker (who sees me as a pastry God) how to bake somehow all makes sense in the eyes of a four year old.  She's going to read this one day and not remember me as gastronomically challenged but just special moments in the kitchen with Mom.

Enough talking.  Portia's Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins!!

Fly the nest

Truman turns nine in thirteen days! Crazeeeee! Soon my babies will be fleeing the nest.

I will probably suffer from empty nest syndrome...for five days...then transform the boys room into my walk-in closet and turn Portia's room into a LEGO play space for David.  And after all the interior decorating is done, David and I will TRAVEL...ALONE!

The kids are not the only ones with future plans.

{Ingredients: stick pretzels, hard-boiled eggs, carrots, raisins, salami, persian cucumbers, and grape tomatoes}

Cheep, cheep

I've been spending a lot of time in the backyard digging, planting, just doing basic landscaping (more like landscraping).  I've been tired and sore everyday but trying to beautify our backyard has made it worthwhile.

The kids have been keeping me company swimming, running around, and playing kickball. I love that we can enjoy being outside and basking in the sun together.  So, although it's unofficially summer and everyone wants the last day of school to come already, here's to you spring...you're still one of my favorite seasons!

{Ingredients: whole wheat bread, cheddar cheese, Horizon snack grahams, raisins, carrots, celery leaves, and Annie's Homegrown Bernie's Farm animal cookies}

Domos in the mist

If you follow any Japanese food artist, you know that Domo is a required mascot in most edible portfolios. Domo in bento boxes.  Domo katsu.  Domo donuts.  Domo on curry.  It's so dang CUTE!!

My need to craft Domo has been in preproduction for years.  I was fearful of not giving this brown, furry monster the love and attention his sawtoothed mouth deserved...until now.  

While shopping in the frozen aisle, I came across these alien shaped chicken nuggets based on the Boov race in the movie Home. I found my Domo body and the rest is history!  

Domo dangling from trees in the rain forest just made sense:

{Ingredients: Banquet chicken nuggets, Mott's fruity rolls, string cheese, raisins, asparagus, and cashews}

It's owl good

I figure since this struggling (food)artist thing is working out, I'm going to start posting my work!

I love taking everyday foods or even just left overs in the fridge to create kids edible art on a plate. Sometimes it's a bust when the kids interpret my food differently than I had envisioned them to.

But today, Portia said, "It's an owl!" and I felt triumphant!!

{Ingredients: Applegate hot dog, broccoli, carrot, wheat toast, hard boiled egg, turkey, Trader Joe's Fruity O's, and raisins}

I'll be posting more food art from the past and future.  Stay tuned!

Flan gone wrong

Flan flop or flan fail means to utterly suck at making flan.  Here are some examples:

Exhibit A - Lopsided flan.   

Why you need childless friends

No one can argue having quality friendships make life rich and full.  But childless friends is a serious asset in my life.  Taking a little break from having "baby on the brain" is so reinvigorating. Having infertile conversations is refreshing too.  Although my kids are the heart and soul of my being, my childless friends pull me out from my stay-at-home mom rut at times when I need a little R&R.  

I love hearing them talk about exotic vacations they're taking or activities they're doing while taking mental notes to possibly do with David or the kids when they get older.  My favorite thing to do with them is meeting up at a new restaurant over-the-hill for a yummy meal and juicy girl talk.

Sometimes I feel out-of-touch being a stay-at-home mom in the San Fernando Valley not knowing the latest buzz going on outside my community.  This is where my girlfriends do a great job keeping me up-to-date on current trends and the present pop culture scene.

And if anything it's so fun going out with bright lipstick and wearing my fancier shoes.

(Picture taken at Blue Plate Oysterette Los Angeles)

IHOP, home of the fluffiest pumpkin pancakes

Holidays bring good cheer, family, friends, and pumpkin pancakes from IHOP.  It's my annual, one-stop autumn eats I can't go without:

A tutorial on how to make a PB&J sandwich

Step 1.  Spread peanut butter on BOTH sides:

Step 2.  Pause.  Lick.  This is a crucial step to ensure the yummiest sandwich ever made.  Any chef knows that:

Step 3.  Spread jelly on one side:

Step 4.  Plate.  Oh wait! Always taste your food first:

Step 5.  Say out loud, "This is the BEST peanut butter and jelly sandwich!!!!"

Step 6.  Now you're ready to plate:

"Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a chef and on my day off I'm going to take you to the movies.  Then I'm going to get you a housekeeper."

Presley knows me too well.

Click here to read Presley's tutorial on how to eat a hot dog.

Ingredients:
Laura Scudder's Unsalted peanut butter.  Peanuts is the only ingredient!
Welch's Natural Strawberry Spread. No high fructose corn syrup!
F&E Veggie, Sticks, & Chips.

A tutorial on how to eat a hot dog

Step 1. Make sure you find a bun that's wider than your face:

Step 2. Be generous on condiments.  If it doesn't drip down your mouth and onto your shirt you haven't put enough on.  You're ready now so wolf it down:

Step 3. You are victorious:

Pizza night

Blueberry muffins have to be one of my favorite childhood baked goods due to Jiffy and Jade.  She used to always make blueberry muffins using the Jiffy muffin mix.  I'm sentimental to their name and little blue boxes.  So when I saw their pizza crust mix and for under $.99 how could I resist not trying this.  It turned out to be a very pretty dough.

Just another dinner

Best deal of the week at Ralphs was 2/$5 blueberries (they rarely go on sale). So, what do you get when you add Mochiko to fresh blueberries? Blueberry mochi cake:


My blueberry lovers had to finish what Truman calls, "the best turkey meatballs in the world" before dessert. What could be better than homemade balls and bows:


All this cooking done in the middle of a bottle feeding, a homework session, sibling feuds, and multiple toddler tantrums. I'd say dinner was successful.