Oven Roasted Ratatouille -- affordable farm to table cuisine

If you are like me, you probably watched the infamous Disney movie featuring a mouse chef before having tasted the dish. I still remember the night I went and watched this American film dubbed in French during my year in Montpellier, and coming out of the movie theatre, hungry for a plate of ratatouille. I was somewhat shocked, a couple days later, to found out that this dish was such a pantry stable, that it actually came in a can (just like tomato puree)!

Never the less, if made right, this dish is a killer. My good Swiss friend Stephanie brought it over for a Thanksgiving's dinner once, and oh mine, the nicely roasted turkey found itself neglected that night.

Secret Chocolate Birthday Cake -- shh...don't tell anyone

When it comes to birthday cake, I constantly find myself debating between lemon, chocolate, and coconut. Really, it is just too hard! In the end, chocolate wins 80% of the time, as it is rich, scrumptious, and very seductive.

It turns out that I am not alone! Not long ago, when my dear friend S wanted to make (for the first time) a birthday cake to surprise her boyfriend B, she opted for CHOCOLATE (black forest to be exact).

We had a practice run at my loft a week before the actual birthday (S is the best girlfriend one can have!), and since it was meant to be a surprise (and ok, I have been a bit lazy these days), here comes the delayed post.

Healthy Crispy Beef Sliders with Homemade Buns -- perfect for a summer picnic

I love everything that summer brings us -- the sun, the beach, music festivals, county fairs, vineyard trips, fruit picking, and picnics! The ladies from D's family is going to have a girls' night out tomorrow with some great poetry and delicious food. I have been so excited that I started the food preparation way far in advance.

In my opinion, no social gathering shall be complete without some good bread and cheese, and of course we need to make our own bread. 3 days before the event, I had to drag D for some groceries, most importantly -- flour. Between the D&D sessions and Game of Thrones parties, we ran through a whole 5 pound of flour within a week. Record usage within one day: three loaves of crusty bread + home-made pasta + Arya's lemon cake = 12 cups of flour/day! We also hulled home six packs of cheese, some greek yogurt, crab sticks, ground beef, and the regular salad stuff. I became immediately happy 5 hours after the grocery trip, because of these cute slider buns came out lovely.

Fresh Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs with Asparagus and Cauliflower -- quick (and balanced) weeknight dinner

I was going to write the past weekend, including the last show of the season at the Yale Rep, hanging out with friends at our place catching up till 3 a.m., a tasty Mother's Day brunch with D's family, a great run of Dungeons and Dragon's, and a Game of Thrones viewing party...Then I quickly realized that we were so busy DOING things, that we only took ONE photo, for all that have happened!

Though this photo is of my favorite people -- J&C enjoying their fluffy chocolate pancakes at the Mother's day brunch. The pancakes were bigger than their faces! J kept saying that his hands got dark (because of the melted dark chocolate chips), yet both seemed to have enjoyed lunch very much. They finished the pancakes without a single drop of maple syrup. I love how they stuck to the true taste of a plain old chocolate chip pancake! The brunch for adult included bacon & salmon eggs Benedict (with homemade hollandaise sauce), hash browns, more bacon, and mimosa (of course)! We were too busy eating and chatting for pictures. So...I won't be writing about that.

Instead, I will be writing about random dinner, that I happened to snap a couple shots before it was gone.

Braised Beef Shank in the Slow Cooker -- something good to have (especially when you are exhausted!)

D and I spent the past whole weekend moving and cleaning. Yes, we are officially out of our cute studio downtown! Both of us are thrilled about the upgrade to our downtown loft, though I wish the cleaning process was easier!

Smart of us to plan ahead! We ate out on Saturday, simply ran out of time to cook lunch. On Sunday, we had brunch from leftovers, and planned a hearty dinner worthy of the hard work, and this is what our typical second (or third or fourth) serving looked like:

Not too shabby, huh? Let me tell you, D had to fight for his share on this one. Beef shank is the most precious cut in a lot of Asian countries, and I was not being polite when it came to tasty dinner!

(Warning!) Addictive One-step Green Hummus

I used to laugh at folks making a big scene about coffee addiction, until I started to get headaches in Asia without it. I realized I was having five mugs (not cups) of coffee a day, finding it soothing to have a cup of joe in my hand. I sort of sensed it was not a good thing but simply could not stop.  Finally, I decided to give it up for two weeks during Christmas break for a change. The first couple days were TOUGH. I was never aware how MUCH I was relying on those cup of dark liquids that pulled me through numerous papers and assignments in college, and warmed my spirit and soul through many winter days. I have given it up almost completely now, except for the occasional treat of a foamy cappuccino.

Last weekend, I found myself in the very same situation: I was UNABLE to stop eating the green hummus made for St. Patrick's Day gathering. Danger! Danger!! Lights started flashing. I was glad that our guests were willing to take some home, so that I was not exposed to long term seduction. Though on a second thought, it easy quite healthy and easy enough to make, so...

Family Gathering for St Patrick's Day with an Awesome (Healthier) Soda Bread

This post is a bit delayed -- we've been having guests over for dinner EVERY SINGLE NIGHT since Saturday, and there was simply not enough time left for blogging besides all the lab stuff and fun gatherings. But I'm ready to share the party that kick-started everything -- the family gathering to celebrate St Patrick's Day. D's got some real Irish blood in his vein, have lived in Ireland, loves a real Guinness and has a harp tattoo on his back -- in case you are wondering why we were so eager and had the celebration party way before actual day and the parade! Our guests were awesome -- they spread green and joy everywhere in our loft. 

Together we shared corned a great time over black velvet, green hummus, beef and cabbage, Irish flag oven fries, almond butter coconut cookies, and this Irish soda bread.