Flourless peanut butter cake

HIIIIII!

Last night I was craving peanut butter cookies, but just not any peanut butter cookie. It was a recipe that Uyen handed down to me...one she got from a home economics (that's just a weird phrase, btw) teacher at her school a few years ago. It was a simple one: 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, and an egg. No flour. Mix, bake, eat.

The cravings for peanut butter cookies started around 8pm, but by 11:30 I was making peanut butter cake. Since I didn't have a recipe, I made one up based on the cookie recipe.

Here it is:

About 1 cup peanut butter
About 1 cup brown sugar
About 1 tsp of baking soda
About 1 tsp of baking powder (maybe a little less than that)
A couple pinches of salt
A splash of vanilla extract
4 large eggs

(I didn't really measure anything...I know, this is baking, I should have, but I also didn't have a recipe so it didn't really matter.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix everything except the peanut butter in a bowl. I used a fork and kind of beat it like scrambled eggs. I did it for about a minute to get it "fluffy" since there was no flour. Then add the peanut butter and beat/whip again until creamy and all the peanut butter "dissolves" into the mix. Grease a cake pan...and this is important. USE A CAKE PAN. The first time I tried this recipe I used a loaf pan and the center DID NOT cook AT ALL. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 25 minutes. Top should be nice and brown.

I made a butterscotch sauce for it and it was pretty tastey. It's good on its own as well. I would suggest a chocolate sauce so it's like eating a deconstructed (my new favorite culinary term) Reese's peanut butter cup. If you have gluten-intolerant friends, they'll love you for this.


The glamour shot


In the pan


Drenched in butterscotch sauce

What we eat when we're poor

Beef stir fry with green beans, red bell peppers, red onions over couscous

Pork Stew

I made this a while back. The pork was unbelievably tender. Served with a couple of old standbys.

Tofu Curry with Curried Lentils

Andrew is not a huge fan of curry or lentils. This was not made for him. The lentils were a nice change from the usual white rice that would normally accompany this. This is basically the curry my mom used to make except I added some fresh corn off the cob for a little sweetness.

Fish Tacos

Lena is my gorgeous 20-year old niece, whose presence has been making me feel OLD. She likes to tell me, "You look good for your age, Auntie."

What I thought was going to be Lena's last night with her turned into her extending her stay by another week. Must have been the fish tacos.


Little Lena ain't so little no more.


I used tilapia filets. I usually bread the fish with panko bread crumbs, but forgot to buy them at the store. Instead I used some corn flour I had in the cupboard. They were nice and crispy.


I had some unused eggplant, so fried those up the same way.


The following morning, I made Huevos Rancheros from the leftovers for the little squirt.


Here we are hanging out at the New York Philharmonic free concert at Central Park.

See ya soon, squirt!

Robster and Crams

Went to hang at Ted's mom's house in Connecticut last weekend. Kat and Ted prepared a lobster boil and steamers. I usually don't care much for lobster, but I got into it. It was fun dismantling the little dude and satisfying to pull out hunks of meat. Mostly it was awesome to sit around a table outside with friends.


Poor little guy.


Serious business.


I don't know.


Na-na-nay-nay! Poor Masha in the back. Her bravery was admirable.



Thanks Kat and Ted!

We met at fat camp.

This post is dedicated to Kim, whose love for food and cooking inspires my own. Sunday dinners at Kim's apartment were always filled with amazing food and company. Up until she left for Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago, we made sure to have Sunday dinner together every week. I'm also pretty sure that when I named this blog, I was subconsciously thinking about our single days together. She used to tell dudes who were hitting on us that we met at fat camp.


I made pulled pork sammies, mashed taters, and roasted carrots for our final (for now) Sunday dinner.

The following photos are from Kim's bachelorette/bridal shower weekend that happened back in April.


We had a bridal shower Sunday dinner for Kim in the Diner airstream. The food was awesome, the airstream was awesome, and the friends were awesome. I keep dreaming about the chicken liver mousse or something. It was retarded (i.e. awesome)--like Corky from Life Goes On.

We had a bachelorette party/trip that was pretty tame. We stayed at Kate's Lazy Meadow upstate. It was very cute and very retro.


Look at the cute kitchen we didn't use!


Creepy busts that Kim and Tu tried to terrorize me with at night.


This is what we ate. Hostess fruit pies are even more awesome when you pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds.


Awesome totem pole chimney.


We were on a safari or something.


City slickers.


You can rent cute little airstream trailers too.

Kim, I am so excited about seeing the life you make with Tom in Hong Kong. And I can't wait to meet baby Maia. I miss you so much, mama.

Squid Ink Pasta and Steak

This is what we eat when we're being healthy.

Breakfast tart with asparagus and caramelized onions

I made this breakfast tart when we had Pete and Olivia over for brunch. Pete called it a breakfast pizza, which makes it more awesome. I overcooked the eggs, obvs, but it was still delicious.

Vietnamese BBQ Pork Chops with broken rice, pickled daikon and carrots, steamed pork cake

I still can't get my pork chops exactly like Mama's, but they're good enough to satiate the craving. I usually try to go to Dat Thanh when I'm in San Jose, which specializes in broken rice dishes. It's a classic though, which means that you can probably order it any Vietnamese restaurant with confidence.

after school snacks

Classed up the chicken fingers with panko bread crumbs. They didn't turn quite as golden as when I use regular bread crumbs, but they still tasted delicious. Served with Bud, obvs.

roasted cauliflower soup

I know--it's boiling hot right now. Just turn up your AC, don a scarf and pretend for a minute, ok?

1. Roast cauliflower in oven at 425°F until tender. I like to char it in the broiler at the end for carcinogenic flavor.
2. Meanwhile, peel two russet patatas (that's potatoes, dummies!) and simmer in a lot (totally accurate measurement) of chicken broth until fork tender.
3. Puree patatas in a blender. Careful, it's hot! Put it back into the pot. (Also, this is a really good way to make mashed taters. Just pour out some of the chicken broth, then add milk and butter. You almost don't need salt. Smooth and delicious.)
4. Puree the roasted cauliflowers. You may need to add some of the potato mixture to get it started.
5. Put cauliflower into pot with the potato puree.
6. You may need to add more chicken broth or water until it's the consistency you like.
7. Add a bay leaf. Simmer.
7. Stir in some heavy cream for richness.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add some herbs too. I think I may have used thyme or rosemary. But I can't remember anymore. What if recipe books were all written like this? The point is, just do you!

hamburglar

english muffins rule for burgs.

food flashback

His.


Hers.

Fill 'Er Up

These are old photos from my trip back to California that I'm finally getting around to posting. I swear, I'm getting a real camera soon.


Vegan Vietnamese Bun Bo Hue, or Spicy Fake Pork Noodle Soup, Hue Style at Di Lat in San Jose. The word for vegetarian in Vietnamese translates to bland. This was definitely not. Regular bun bo hue is one of my favorite dishes. My mom's is soo good and so spicy. Still no place in NY that can make it.


And the reason I was eating vegan, dear Helena. She recently adopted a wholly vegan diet. She's been really tolerant, if only a little judgmental, about my all-meat inclusive diet over the course of our gazillion year friendship. (I love you, H.) I also find Vietnamese vegan to be the tastiest vegan there is. If you are ever in San Jose, go to Tofoo House for awesome vegan Vietnamese Banh Mi.


Banh Bot Chien which translates roughly to fried flour. I don't know what it is exactly except that I love it. The dipping sauce is like a sugary soy sauce. I could probably Google what the hell it is, but why don't you do the research let me know. A recipe would be great, too, ta very much!


Oh, Hannah. You are a muffin and a half. Little Vietnamese Babies (LVBs) love their pho. In restaurants the bowls usually come with a pair of scissors to cut up the noodles. Also, LVBs do not like cilantro or scallions in their pho, thank you very much.


Here's my bowl of pho. I got the Xe Lua, which translates to train. Yeah, there was no stopping me. I think Hannah could have gone for a dip in the bowl. I finished the whole damn thing, too.


But wait, you say, that's not the same bowl. You have continuity issues. I say, God you are so linear. This is the after bowl of the next bowl you see, which is actually not pho. Not pho? you say. Why, no. Read on to find out what filled this bowl.


Hu Tieu Mi Nam Vang. This is the fatty express. Wide rice vermicelli and egg noodles combo with shrimp, pork, and the most delicious broth in the world. The best place to go in San Jose for this stuff is Samkee.


Mi Xao Don Thap Cam. Combination Crispy fried egg noodles. I didn't eat this. My nephew did. The young ones like to eat this kind of stuff. I loved it as a kid too. Ok fine, I had a little taste. It made me want to be a kid again.

I miss all the great food so much, but really, I miss all the company that came with the food. Can't wait to eat with you all again.

Chili Bowl

Andrew is mildly obsessed with the European football, ne´ soccer. His big game today concerned his team, Arsenal, versus Chelsea. Today also being Superblow Sunday (ha!), I couldn't pass up the excuse to make chili. I hoped the chili would help to soothe any disappointment the Gooners might cause my baby or at least replace the bitter disappointment with heartburn. Nothing like the contrast effect to improve a situation.

Pictures of chili always look disgusting. It's a good thing the photo I took is busted.

So I had this post all planned out and was so pleased with the chili. Well, I think I ate too much of it. So much of it that I ended up making myself sick. The title Chili Bowl has several meanings.

It was still delicious.

Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground Turkey or Beef
1/2 medium onion, diced
2-3 bay leaves
handful of chili powder
handful of cumin
2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
4 jalapeno peppers, diced
1/2 can of tomato paste
2 cans of beer, any
2 cans of diced tomatoes (the small cans)
2 cans beans (black or red--small cans)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Brown turkey in large pot over high heat. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add handful of chili powder and handful of cumin. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add tomato paste. Mix thoroughly.
4. Add diced tomatoes and beans. Mix again.
5. Stir in beer. Turn to heat to high and bring to boil.
6. Turn down heat and simmer.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.

Again, I should not be giving out recipes, but seriously, go with your gut. Especially when your gut says, "Stop eating chili."

How much is that doggy in the window?

I definitely appreciate the simplicity of New York hot dogs, but why can't New York ditch the water dogs and go grilled like this yummy guy I hold in my hands courtesy of San Francisco? Bacon-wrapped, smothered in onions, mustard and ketchup, please.

p.s. I failed at my bucket list (no burrito), but I'm pretty sure I made up for it in other ways.