Since our church service ends around 9:45 each Sunday morning the family is regularly placed in a dilemma about what we should eat. Should we go home? Should we try and find an open restaurant? It’s always a battle to decide where we are going to eat. Well, finally we’ve put an end to the back-and-forth and decided from now on we’ll go home to make a late breakfast. I can’t believe that the plan has actually worked so far! Both Sunday’s since we started, I’ve made a Breakfast Frittata. I had heard the name tossed around but I never really knew what the dish was (or looked like) before I started watching Master Chef! After seeing all the delicious frittata’s being made on the show I decided I’d try my hand at making this delectable breakfast food. The recipe basically consists of Sauteing your vegetables (spinach, onions, ham, bacon, potatoes, etc.), adding your egg mixture, cooking it on the stove for a while, then putting it in the oven for about 15 minutes. It’s super easy, and quite delicious if I do say so myself! I’ll definitely be keeping you guys updated on my other breakfast experiments each week! Any good breakfast recipes?
Category Archives: Consume
Monster Movie Marathon
Rachel,
I’m dedicating this post to you because you inspired me to make this movie marathon weekend. I still remember coming home from a tiring day of school to the most adorable card with a sombrero and a sparkly piñata saying “Mexican Themed Weekend!”. Last week, while I was missing you, I was inspired to host a Monster’s Inc. Marathon for Maddie and Megan with “monster pretzels” and “monster tea”. To be honest, I was pretty proud of myself for pulling it off just like I imagined! Friday, when we got home from school, Mom and Dad had already left for their Valentines stay at the Astor hotel. So I whipped up the giant soft pretzels while we watched ‘The Road to Eldorado’ in the kitchen. While the pretzel dough was rising we ate a quick dinner of ramen and fried rice. After the whirlwind of baking the pretzels we carried our warm crispy pretzels and giant Arizona tea upstairs to watch ‘Emperor’s New Groove’ and ‘Monster’s University’.
To be honest, I have just watched too many serious romance and action films lately, so it was really refreshing to see some light-hearted Disney movies! I know you have been having a difficult week, but I would encourage you to take a break, and just like you suggested to me – give yourself the chance to relax. I would totally recommend one of the following movies: ‘Frozen’ (adorable like ‘Tangled’), ‘Emperor’s New Groove’ (the oldy), or ‘Monster’s University’ (if you want to laugh).
Our Monster Movie Marathon was not complete without you – we all miss you so much!
Thanks for teaching me how to be a better older sister!
xoxo, Jessie
Rainy Sunday
Dear Rachel,
This Sunday was a rainy, slow day and it reminded me of all the cozy fall days spent with you last year. After all the work I’ve been doing this quarter it’s nice to finally cozy up and enjoy the rain. I woke up to a much needed cappuccino, chocolate chips pancakes (made by mom), and some family conversation that brightened my morning. The rest of the day consisted of music (my fall playlist, of course), reading Harry Potter, and writing an essay for school. I have to admit, the writing an essay part wasn’t too great but it didn’t keep me from having a great day.
Me and Jessie are hoping to start our fall challenge soon, let’s start it together! And yes, if you were wondering, Megan pulled another front tooth today. Now she is missing three of her front teeth eeek! Miss you tons xoxo!
Love, Maddie
P.S. We need your Pumpkin Latte recipe ASAP!
KimChi Rice
I am a big fan of Korean food so when I found this recipe on Cakies Blog I couldn’t resist trying it out myself. I picked up a package of kimchi at the store and tried my hand at Korean cooking. However, I didn’t read the recipe close enough to know I needed 3 cups of kimchi and I only had about 1 cup’s worth. “No problem, I’ll just half the recipe,” I thought. Well I prepared the dish following the recipe adding seaweed as a garnish, but I have to admit it was a little bland. Hey, I’ll get it next time, I’m sure of it. Anyhow, it was a good try and I’m not giving up on my Korean cooking just yet! The full recipe can be found here.
We used this korean sauce (actually meant for meat) to add more flavor. 
Spontanious Garage Party
There is no such thing as too many “Connecting 4 Meetings” – or maybe its just our excuse to spend time together with some good food! Whichever it may be, Rachel and I planned a “spontaneous” Connecting 4 “barn party” (which actually was to be held in the garage because our grandma doesn’t have a barn). Food Network magazines provided the recipes for our two main dishes: roasted chicken salad and grilled zucchini and feta cheese salad.
I was so proud of grilling my grandma’s fresh zucchinis and actually creating a delicious dish!
In the end we actually ended up on my grandma’s front porch because the garage was so hot… hey – it was still fun!
Maple Anniversary Cake
I made this two-tier cake for my grandparents’ 50th anniversary last week. I was going for a woodsy theme as we were spending the weekend in the Black Hills, South Dakota. Maple is a favorite with Gramps hence the frosting is a silky, rich & earthy, maple buttercream.
Before leaving my Grandparents’ house for the Hills, I made both an 8-inch and 6-inch vanilla cake for the special occasion. Working all day before we were to leave, I finished the cake’s most important components, leaving just the assembly to be completed at the cabin.
Simply put, this anniversary cake is compromised of rich vanilla cake, maple buttercream filling and frosting, and candied pecans sprinkled between each layer and atop. It was a huge hit. We enjoyed this cake together while watching slides of different events and snapshots of Gramps and Grams’ married life (including Gramps’ time serving in Vietnam)
On Site: Old Town Alexandria
Michael, Jessie, Maddie-
Today Christine and I headed over to Old Town for the afternoon. We had such a nice time together. I will try to let the photos speak for themselves.
Making my mark at the Torpedo factory-transformed into an art center- in Old Town.
Fully satisfied my ice cream craving at this vintage ice cream parlor.
Temporarily occupying the local Anthropology while sleeping on their beyond comfortable beds and reading Kinfolk magazines.
Enjoyed this street performer while walking. He played the Star Wars theme song which reminded me of you, Jessie!
Oh, and since I arrived in DC, I’ve been to the grocery store twice! If only we could transfer one to China, baking would get SO much better.
Bucket List: Malaysian Lovers
This afternoon Michael, Jessie, and I made our first proper meal all week! With just three of us in the house, full meals are not necessarily a priority- we’ve been eating sandwiches and lattes everyday for a while now.
My Southeast Asian meal is definitely checked off the bucket list with this lunch consisting of Malaysian curry, stir-fried bokchoy, and Chinese tea (普洱茶).
Bucket List: Celebrating Local Friendships
Maddie-
We missed you this evening at our get-together with the Chin family. With an aura of celebrating relationships felt throughout the afternoon, I dearly missed you.
I was invited to share some baking techniques with Sister Cai and her husband to give them time together and a shared pursuit. I so enjoyed teaching and guiding them through the process of making chocolate cupcakes.
After a successful turnout, we topped the freshly baked cake with dollops of whipped cream. You know I love it when a sweet treat is thrown together in a completely natural way.
What started out as a cupcake-baking lesson turned into a Chinese cookout with our Uncle and Auntie Cai. We grilled meats of all shapes and sizes: lamb, shrimp, and fish skewers, grilled beef steak, and even a delicious rotisserie chicken in the oven!
We made a huge dent in my bucket list today. What fun.
Mother’s Day
Dad is out of town for two weeks, and with Michael still in HK finishing up his semester, its just girls for a while…
Being Mother’s Day yesterday, we had real reason to celebrate as we have a truly wonderful Mother. So, after a relaxing post-church rest time, we all went out for a late Sunday lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant. Everyone is usually so busy with school/work, that we never have the opportunity to spend an entire day simply being. As a result, days like these are rare and precious.
Arriving back home, we immediately piled onto the sofas and quieted down for an afternoon movie. During intermission, I served this coconut cake, tea, and coffee to everyone.
(roasted artichoke and red onion pizza)
(on my list of beverages to make in the NEAR future: Italian lemonade- there were hints of basil amidst the citrus sweetness)
