Cabbage and Spam Soup (Vivi)

This is a really fast soup that I made when I was in a hurry to make dinner before my family came home. It's pretty dang healthy, and REALLY cheap, especially if you just toss in whatever vegetables you got on sale in the supermarket. It can also be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth for chicken, and using firm marinated tofu instead of SPAM. Plus, the garlic and chili is good for sinuses, so it's a good recipe for cold weather or when the family starts exhibiting symptoms of cold.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (or whatever oil you like. I just use what I have)

6 cups of low/ no sodium chicken broth (I make my own from chicken bones, but canned is alright for other people's tastes)

half of medium cabbage, shredded

two cloves of garlic, crushed

one whole onion, chopped

two large potatoes

one can of Light Sodium SPAM, diced

any other vegetables you may want to toss in

pepper to taste

crushed red pepper to taste

oregano to taste

Directions:

1. Brush the oil onto a deep pot and saute/caramelize the onions and garlic, shredding the cabbage and chopping up your other vegetables. The vegetables should all be cut up about the same size so they all cook evenly.

2. pour in the 6 cups of broth into the pot and add in all the vegetables. Heat it to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer until potatoes are tender, but not mushy. Sprinkle in the spices to taste.

I made brown rice to serve with the soup, as the soup itself isn't very filling for a family of 5, as well as the fact that brown rice is delicious and very healthy for you. If you make it in the rice cooker, and you put it to make when you started the soup, that is the amount of time it should take for the soup to be done. Enjoy~

Deliciously served in my Kitty Soup Mug<3

Like flames right out of hell coming from your mouth! (Vivi)

OK, so I'm not sharing a recipe this time, but a life changing experience. I'm talking about Wing Stop's Atomic Wings. You heard me. Atomic. And they're not lying on the menu either.

The Atomic Wings

I might be a little late in reviewing this restaurant, as it's been out for years, but this is the first time I've been to one. And being the adventurous eater that I am, as well as being the proud owner of a 50% Mexican stomach that can take a jar of jalapenos without anything to wash them down, and eats fresh jalapeños or broiled Serrano peppers with tortillas for the kicks.

Regardless of that, This half beaner was still a bit nervous when, upon ordering 25 Atomic Wings the cashier looked at us dubiously and asked if we were sure we wanted Atomic. We were, and so she hesitantly wrote down the order and gave it to one of the cooks, who, upon looking at it, rose his eyebrows up to his hairline and asked us if we were sure we wanted 25 Atomic wings. Not to mention, many of the other customers were looking at us strangely, or giving us pitying looks. But this beaner was nothing if not confident in her abilities to take the heat, so I said we were sure, and sat down to wait for our wings.

Let me tell you, when we got them, I could already taste the spiciness coming from the bag as I opened it and smelled the wings, they were that spicy. We couldn't wait to get home, slather these wings with ranch and see what all the fuss was about. Well, it wasn't long until we found out.

I think I must have swallowed about a gallon of water thanks to these wings, and I finished two thirds of my ranch bottle trying to tone down the heat of these babies, but to no avail. My lips literally started hurting on my 5th wing, and by my 8th I had to call it quits for the day. It wasn't until the day after that I looked up the recipe to these little hellfire wings and almost cried when I saw that the sauce was made out Habaneros. Not just made out of them, but there were actual pieces of the pepper in the sauce.

If you don't know how hot a habanero pepper is, check this out. Not as hot as the ghost pepper, but still close enough that my ears were complaining to me about what I was eating.

The next morning, I made a soup, and hoping to tone down or dilute the heat from the wings, I added them to it and helped myself to a big portion. I was out of luck. I had to deal with Atomic flavored soup for the rest of the day as the rest of my family would have none of it.

I'm not saying I'll never go to Wing Stop again, but I will be more cautious next time when the cashiers ask if I'm sure I want what I ordered. And next time, I'll be sure to get only 10 Atomic wings instead of 25.

Throw-It-All-In Curry (Vivi)

Ok guys, in reality, I don't even use a recipe for this, as I've been making curry for about two years now, and no matter what random stuff I put in, it ends up tasting great, so this is just a basic "template" if you will of what I usually put in.

Ingredients

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, or 3 fresh jalapenos
2 tbsp. sugar
2-1/2 tbsp. curry powder
3 tbsp. tomato paste
salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (you can use a whole chicken too) or tofu
4 tbsp. oil
2 cups of chicken broth (I use my homemade chicken stock for this)
2 cups + 1 can of coconut milk
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 large onion chopped
3 medium potatoes
2-3 carrots, cut into large bite-size chunks

Any other vegetables or fruits(yes fruits. I've put apples in curry and it tastes great... just make sure they're not too ripe as that will make them too sweet for the curry. its all up to you with curry) that fit your whim. I put canned corn, mushrooms and yams in addition to apples in this curry.

Directions

1. In a bowl, thoroughly mix the salt, red pepper, sugar, curry powder, and tomato paste. Coat the chicken and marinate for 10 minutes. If using tofu, add a bit of milk to the paste so as to soften it and do the same as with the chicken.
   
   
2. Heat oil in a deep pot and stir-fry the garlic, onion, apples (if using them) ad jalapenos. Add chicken (or tofu) and stir-fry for a few minutes more
3. Add in the broth, 2 cups of milk, and 2 cups of coconut milk on top of everything, then stir in the potatoes, carrots, canned vegetables and yams and simmer until vegetables are tender. That's about 15-20 minutes depending on how large you chopped them..

And Voila! The result is delicious and easy to make curry!

I always serve it over rice, but that is up to all of you. As for the rice, I made it in my rice cooker, adding some spinach when it was just about done.

ChoChoSan is so Funny (Rana)

ChoChoSan is a Sushi restaurant I frequent when I'm back home. Their prices are reasonable, and their quality amazing. Yet, yesterday while I was there, I noticed a new roll had been advertised on the revolving belt. The Vegan Delight.



Don't see it? Here, let me elaborate:



Can someone explain to me when fish eggs became vegan?
Or cream cheese?

I think it's just hilarious, and a little insulting.

Unless they meant VEGAN caviar, which is essentially seaweed, salt, and olive oil. It would be good to elaborate. For more information on Vegan caviar, go here:

Vegan Caviar

Speaking of Vegans, I made my first recipe from the Veganomicon!
A delicious Corn and Edamame Asian salad!
I have no pictures, but let me tell you, it was really delicious and crisp. I just wish I'd had time to roast the corn.

See you soon!
Rana

Food, food, FOOD! (Rana)

Glad to see you're back, Vivi! I'll be sure to make that amazing looking Cheesecake during the holidays.

Now as Thanksgiving has passed, I think a post showing what I ate for that glorious night is in order!

I'm just going to barrage you with photos, but let me list what you will see.
The 21 lb. Turkey
The veggie casserole (made with tons of cheese and a cream sauce)
Butternut Squash soup (The recipe of which you Spree-ers know. :])
Tabouli (Arab Parsley salad)
A separate salad that I made out of spring greens, balsamic vinaigrette, and topped with cranberries, homemade candied walnuts, and gorganzola cheese!
Roasted Lamb legs
Buttery carrots (right above the casserole)








Some things that I am much too lazy to post up:
Rosemary Roasted potatoes
Hummus and Babaganoush
The bread display
Meat pies (We call them Kubbeh)
Ceviche
and Shrimp Stew

NOW ON TO THE DESSERTS!



Pies upon PIES! We had banana cream, pumpkin, MORE PUMPKIN, and peach to name a few.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:




Happy birthday, Grandma! Her birthday is so close to Thanksgiving, we celebrate both on the same day! <3

See you soon!
Rana

Vivi's Back! Pumpkin Cheesecake

So finally I make a post after, what, a year? It feels like forever, anyway. But here I go. My computer is finally fixed, my camera finally works, and I finally have a reason to share these recipes. Truth: I have no life, I might as well spend my time cooking and baking ^^;

So here it is. For anyone who wants a cheesecake and pumpkin pie for Christmas, plus the goodness of marshmallows.

Ingredients:

3/4 cups of sugar

1/4 cup of brown sugar (I had none at the time so I used pilloncillo/rapadura. If you're Hispanic, you know what I'm talking about. If not... don't worry about it. It's just unrefined brown sugar.)

1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese softened

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tbs sour cream

1 tbs flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp cloves

2 eggs at room temperature

Marshmallows (whatever size you want. I used normal size since minis are too troublesome to arrange and jumbos would overpower the cheesecake)

Directions: Very simple, easy instructions. ^^ If you don't want to go through the "trouble" of baking it, just follow instruction 2 and 3, and just put the marshmallows on, pop it in the oven on "toast" until they have a nice brownness and then chill for 8 hours or over night.

1.Preheat the oven at 325○

2.Combine sugar and cream cheese until smooth

3.Add pumpkin and the rest of the ingredients except the marshmallows(add only half the amount of canned pumpkin and omit sour cream, flour and eggs if not baking)

4.Pour in pan (I used pre-made graham crusts) and bake at 325○ for 35 minutes or until cake is set. turn oven off and cool for one hour with the door slightly open. (Slightly, not halfway open)

5. Arrange as many marshmallows as you want on top of the cake, and set it on toast for about five minutes, turning the cake around frequently so that the marshmallows don't burn. (that means you don't have to close the oven door!) Cool with door open.

6. When you can pick up cake with your bare hands, cover it and stick it in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.

So there you have it. Easier than pie pumpkin cheesecake that takes at the most, two hours to make (not including the hour cool off when you can be doing something else.) Mind you, this is the first cheesecake I've actually Baked, (for Thanksgiving. It was the first one to be finished!) so it really is easy!

Catching up- Restaurant Reviews and my Birthday gift!

So while at school you have to eat a lot of fast food. I'm not saying you have a choice, you really don't. It's somewhat mandatory. Or, and yes, big OR, you can find places with AMAZING lunch specials and cheap delicious food! The two places I'm reviewing are:

Hong Kong Restaurant and
Sushi Cuisine

So, honestly, one of the greatest things you can get at HKR is their Won Ton soup! The lady that works there knows my order by heart once I say 'Won Ton Soup with extra-.' She'll automatically giggle and continue to say 'Bok Choy and chicken. See you in 10!'

Several weeks ago I went with my boyfriend to this amazing find of a restaurant, and we ordered some Mu Shu Chicken, the Won Ton soup, annnndddd CRAB RANGOON!These little buggers are 6 for... something under 3 dollars. I'm not sure anymore. But they are DELICIOUS!



Hot and crisp on the outside, with a slightly chewy texture, and then this flavorful cream cheese and crab mixture on the inside that is ABSOLUTELY to die for.



Okay, so now that I'm over the crab rangoon, let's continue on to a more recent dining event. At Sushi Cuisine you can find cheap, huge chunks of Salmon and Tuna that are good quality (but I've got high standards, coming from L.A. and having been to Japan). Their nigiri is priced lower than most sushi places in the area, and their lunch specials are just unbeatable!

For $6.50 my boyfriend got a bowl of Oyaku-don! What is Oyaku-don? It's like a chicken omelette with seaweed atop rice. If you know my boyfriend, you know that he'd be in heaven eating something of that sort. :]



Me, having been a little more adventurous than my usual Sake Nigiri, Cherry Blossom Roll, or Beef Teriyaki, I got the Beef Sukiyaki.



Let me just say that this is not on the lunch menu, and is not necessarily cheap, but for about $12 you get enough food to fill you, and then enough to fill you for dinner, and then enough to fill you for breakfast. There is a TON of food. I regret not sharing with my boyfriend, he seemed to love the tender tofu, glass noodles, and the extremely savory/sweet sauce that just tasted so satisfying. All in all, a wonderful meal!

Okay so today is my birthday!

Woo!

And you know what my boyfriend got me?

You guessed it!

Incentive to COOK MORE, and POST MORE on this website!



So my boyfriend put two and two together: I love reading, and I love cooking.

And he got me something amazing that I could use to entertain, and to enjoy myself with! This book has so many recipes that I just adore, and everything can be changed up to accommodate the carnivore in me and my friends!

So here's a thank you to my baby boo! <3

-Rana