Chicken Liver Pate with Wine and Cilantro -- aka Chicken Liver Mousse or "Terrine de Foie de Volaille"

I never really liked winter. Having lived in the north part of this country for over a decade, I see winter as this long season (usually six months) consisting of cold winds and short days (and horrible snow storms sometimes). ..Until I went to southern France, where you could have an outdoor Christmas market in December, drinking mulled wine and sampling foie gras. What fun! How delicious! Oh, I miss it terribly...

Well, mulled wine isn't that hard to make. In fact, we've been making it every winter now. Homemade foie gras though, is tough. I mean, unless you live in the center of a metropolitan city or live in the middle of nowhere on a farm, where can you lay your hands on some goose liver here in the states?

No worries, I've found a cure, namely the chicken liver pate -- "terrine de foie de volaille" if you will. It is just like foie gras, but a bit less fatty. Perhaps a little healthier as well? (Oh, did I mention it's Paleo compatible?)

1-Minute Homemade Cheater Cappuccino in a Mason Jar

My relationship with coffee is a complicated one. I LOVE it and resent it at the same time.

Crunchy Cheese Straws with a Kick-- farewell to cohabitation

This would be the last concoction from the old loft -- the place where cohabitation existed, where there were once upon a time, 2 life to balance. It is coming to an end. I am still a bit sad about how it has concluded, but life goes on. Technically this should be the last post under the current blog name, but I am too preoccupied at the moment to open a new blog, so consider the rest of this blog a not-so-organic continuation, if you will.

I decided to make something a bit different, a savory snack that I have never attempted before.

Heart Warming Chicken "Noodle" Soup with Spaghetti Squash -- for ONE, on a rainy day

As if things can't get worse, I got a cold, with a bloody nose. The rain outside did not help lightening my mood, either. Sigh. I had to do something to cheer myself up. My lunch did the trick -- it was so comforting that it may have cured my cold!

Roast Chicken for ONE -- after a hard breakup

I cried. Hard. For a while. After a 4.5-year-relationship has finally come to an end.

It felt like a whirlwind of emotions, intense and overwhelming. And my nose started bleeding, even more violently than my heart.

Consolation from friends and family has helped me to stand on my feet again. It is becoming clear that taking care of myself is the first priority right now, starting with -- nourishment.

Rye Berry Salad with Grilled (Wine Marinated) Chicken Breast, White Eggplant & Purple Dandelions -- eating with your eye

I have been a lazy bone, especially when it comes to blogging.

It is not that I am tired of cooking -- I still cook everyday, and have managed not to repeat a single dinner for several months (with the exception of ratatouille and fish en pappillot). I'm also not tired of blogging -- it's still in the back of my head. In fact, there are so many pictures of food stored in my phone my local storage is running short.

The problem is: the day is getting shorter and shorter nowadays, and by the time I finish cooking, there simply isn't enough natural light to make the dish look as appetizing as it really is. I would usually spend a good 10 minutes moving the plate from one spot to another, holding down my urge to just devour the dish because it smells so good. Finally I'd be too hungry, and ended up settling on some photo snaps, and finish dinner in 5 minutes, hoping that lightroom will save the world when it comes to under/over/uneven exposure. (Don't judge the fact that it took me less time eating that fiddling with the lighting situation.)

Guess what? It is weekend today, which means that I got to visit the farmer's market and finish cooking before sunset!

Greek Yogurt Blueberry Muffins -- maximizing goodies from the farmer's market

If you are like me, you will find it hard to resist getting that fresh pint of blueberries from the farmer's market, together with the peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, and strawberries. It is just impossible to go through those fast enough as a two-people household! Still, come the following week, despite the fact you've checked your fridge and warned yourself not to go crazy, you'll grab another pint...This happens every single time. After blueberry pancakes, berry-banana smoothies, berry-topped yogurt, here comes the final bomb: blueberry muffins.

No-Bake Dried Fruit Coffee Bar -- a perfect post-workout snack

D has started working out again: bought a new bike, and has been going on 25-mile rides on weekdays and 50-mile ride on weekends for the past couple month. Believe it or not, one can easily burn over 1500 calories per ride!

To help with a speedy recovery, I made this yummy treat after reading this article about caffeine and cycling.

the Simplest Homemade Peanut Butter -- the Beer-Nut Butter

Laziness often lead to the creations of something great. Why else do we appreciate the the remote control or a dish washer so much? Today, I may have just stumbled upon another great thing to have in your life (assuming you are not allergic to it): beer-nut butter!

Pota-toma-to Pie -- a savory pie to celebrate summer (my first pie contest)

9th Square is a fun neighborhood -- bar crawls, soccer village, and now a pie contest! Here is the deal: for $15 dollars, you get to enter the block party with tables piled with pies, where you get unlimited pies, ice creams, live music, and a cash bar. Everything goes to charity, and if you bring a pie to share, you get to get in for free. Sounds like fun huh? I mean, can you think of a better way to start of the weekend than all-you-can-eat pies?

Salmon Steak en Papillote with Spinach, Summer Squash and Cherry Tomatoes -- dinner in a packet

Believe it or not, the all time most popular post on this blog is about using the "en papillote" method to cook whiting fish. It was among the first few posts that I wrote, the formatting was a mess, the pictures were directly from a low-quality cell phone camera, and I didn't even write out the recipe in the end! I don't feel my post  did the method justice -- it is a fool-proof method to cook a delicious fish (and a ton of other things).

There are three things about "en papillote" that I love. It is easy -- all it takes is some assembling and you can just throw it into the oven. Done! It is also pretty hard to mess up. Cooking fish can be hard because it gets dry quite easily. But with all the juices sealed in, it almost guarantees the moist fish with packed with flavors. I like the fact that I get to OPEN something as well. If you get it at a restaurant, it is like a surprise parcel. Even when making it at home, it is still mysterious as you never know how things will turn out exactly. It also reminds me of Christmas time and makes me very happy.

Want to guess what is "en papillote" this time? (Technically one would use parchment paper, I am cheating a bit with heavy duty aluminum foil here. )

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.

Open Face Chicken Naanwich -- leftovers are wonderful for lunch

I love dining out in summer time -- sitting out on a patio with a glass of white sangria or margarita. I also love the numerous barbecue parties -- blue cheese burgers, grilled steaks, corn on the cob, and of course, lots of beer. My point is, with the increasing dining options, I tend to cook formal meals less frequently in summer. Heating up the stove twice a day is just not that appealing somehow.

So when I do cook, I make more than enough for a meal, and rely on the leftovers for a while. Trust me, leftovers can be very tasty! Here is a lunch we have been having for lunch ever since I discovered the fun of making naan at home.

Homemade Naan Bread -- for dinner, lunch & BREAKFAST!

What do you think of when it comes to Indian cuisine? For me: aromatic spices, crispy veggies and tender meat, and NAAN!

I had always thought that naan would be unattainable without a clay oven, until I stumbled upon this. It seemed so simple that I ought to try it!

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.

Herb Roasted Split Chicken Breast -- end-of-the-week dinner hack

It's that time of the week again -- we departed from the excitement from the last weekend; lunch rotation has made a full round from sandwich to wraps to salad to leftover casseroles, and dinner had gone through beef/pork/salmon/tofu, yet the next grocery trip is not quite here yet. You wanted to make something delicious but am already somewhat worn-out. It's high time, to pull out some chicken breast from the freezer, again.

A life-changing trick I learned recently was to defrost meat in the fridge with added spice and herbs, which forms a pseudo-marinade -- The flavors sink in while defrosting, and no additional time is needed at all. 

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.

Lemonade Chia Seed Muffins -- we all have lazy days

It's time for breakfast again, and I had NOTHING prepared. Digging through the fridge, I found nothing but eggs and milk, along with some cabbage and dried shrimp & squid (!) What can I do?!

Luckily, D has got some lemonade in stock, way way in the back. How lucky! With a pantry stocked with flour, baking powder and vanilla, I could totally pull it off -- or could I?

Gluten-Free Corn Muffins with Chia Seeds -- start your day with a smiley face

It's 2 o'clock in the morning. I'm not sure how many of us would stay up to write or read about food. But if there's a group of such, then I'm one of them.

As you may have already guessed: breakfast is the most challenging meals to make for me. D doesn't really like the eggy flavor at all, and I can never get up early enough for a gourmet morning deal. So I made more muffins. Day after day until we ran out of flour! The horror! Out of desperation, I whipped up some corn muffins with fresh blueberries, and oh my, they were good.

Farm Fresh Hangover Detox Smoothie -- for someone you love

One perk of being a graduate student here is the numerous social hours -- monthly happy hour and First Friday at Five, biweekly TGIF, spontaneous outings, etc. It also helps to have brilliant and generous friend who offers to pay for beer as his new Science article is getting super hot. It's no surprise then we got to kick start our weekend with some free pizza and beer, from where D and others moved on to a restaurant downtown for dinner, and continued with flowing delicious beverage, until...until it's time to crash. (I got home early, not 100% by choice -- I was still recovering from the night before, from pitchers of Negra Modelo at the allegedly best Mexican restaurant in CT.)  D's hangover today was only natural -- I just need to find a CURE to it.

This brings me to another perk of living here -- an awesome food co-op and a great farmer's market a few blocks away. Fresh from the market today -- garlic greens, rapini, and a cherry tomato plant.