Samosas

Sometimes I crave samosas. They're usually an appetizer served at Indian restaurants. I found a website called Samosa-Recipe.com (pretty simple) which has the recipes for the fillings as well as the pastry.


I like the vegetarian samosas the best so here is the recipe:

1 Potato finely diced (5 to 10 mill cubes)
1 carrot finely diced - as above
2 cloves of crushed garlic.
1 Onion finely chopped
1 Cup of frozen peas
1 tblspn vegetable oil
2 tspn curry powder or your own spices according to taste (note: curry powder is @#$%ing DELICIOUS and it smells soooo good!!)
Salt, Pepper to taste.
100ml of vegetable stock.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic, mix in the spices and fry until soft. Add the vegetables, seasoning and stir well until coated. Add the stock, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until cooked.

Brian and I made this for dinner a few weeks ago. For the pastry, we used puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm). We didn't want to waste oil frying it so we baked it (more healthy alternative anyways). The reason why the picture shows some open samosas is because we didn't have a roller and couldn't make the flat circles...so we went with squares. I admit, I was a bit impatient (I was so hungry and the smell was making it worse) so I rushed on the folding and stuffing part so we could bake it quickly and eat it quickly.

It came out well; the ones that were fully enclosed sealed the flavor in really great (but was also piping hot). After we ate the samosas, we finished the rest of the filling by itself!

Chicken Pot Pie

After seeing a picture of LJ and Dan's turkey pot pie, it looked so delicious that I had to make my own. So I made chicken pot pie! I bought some rotisserie chicken to speed up the process. Below I have copied&pasted the ingredients and directions to make this.


It was a huge success with my family! Generally my parents (especially dad) dislike foods other than Chinese food, so it was really a compliment when they scarfed down the pot pie.

Had some leftovers!

INGREDIENTS

Crust

1

box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1/3

cup butter or margarine

1/3

cup chopped onion

1/3

cup all-purpose flour

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon pepper

1 3/4

cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

1/2

cup milk

2 1/2

cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey

2

cups Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan.
2. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.3. Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.4. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Original recipe

Annual WMACS Thanksgiving Break Dinner

This year, WMACS took over Mama Wok off of Key West Ave. It was great seeing everyone again, and we (well, Liz) ordered such great food. I only had one request: the string beans. I like them spicy and crunchy! There was also the chicken in the black pot that was super juicy and tender. I need to remember to ask Liz what it is next time I go to Mama Wok!

Thanksgiving All Around

Hoecker Thanksgiving - photo courtesy of David

This Thanksgiving was unlike previous years--in a good way! My family isn't too big with traditions (besides some of the Asian holidays) so we normally never had a huge feast for Thanksgiving. My father dislikes duck and turkey, so in all my 23 years combined (well, only 17 years in America), I probably only have had turkey for Thanksgiving about 5 times. Sad, I know.

That's why when I finally had my own kitchen (junior year of college in Courtyards), I had to be the one to host a Thanksgiving dinner for my roommates and significant others (...and Warren) AND be the one to cook the turkey. That year (2008), the turkey came out REALLY well. I was nicely pleased at my (and Brian of course) cooking skills. Unfortunately the next year, we bought the turkey too late and so it didn't thaw all the way and some parts of it were not entirely eatable. Sad face.


Which brings me to this year! This year, I had the luck to have turkey twice! Once during the ESOL Thanksgiving luncheon and once with the Hoecker family. Brian invited me to have Thanksgiving lunch with mom's side of the family at his grandmother's senior living apartment. It was buffet-style with a waitress serving us soup, salad, and coffee. The coffee was pretty good actually! Also, I loved the butternut squash soup. It was too hot at first, but I soaked some bread in it first. I also finished Brian's, hehe. I didn't take a picture of my food because I didn't want to make a bad impression with his family. They had the standard Thanksgiving food: turkey, pineapple ham, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, string beans, etc. Brian and I shared pumpkin pie. After lunch, we retired to his grandmother's room, where we chatted, looked at the Hoecker family lineage book I conveniently found sitting by the TV. We also drank sparking apple cider (my absolute favorite non-alcoholic drink) and had walnut pie. WOW. I've never had walnut pie before and this one was so good! It was sweet, nutty, and I regret all the past walnut pies I've ignored in the past.


After this Thanksgiving lunch, we had to go to the Ku's Thanksgiving. My long-time friends since 4th grade, Esther and Kathy, and their family invited some of their families and other family friends over for dinner. My mom made salmon with broccoli, and since Brian and I didn't have time to cook or make anything, we brought over some chips. This meal was very Asian with some American influences.

I tend to start eating before I remembe

There was some long flat Asian noodles, spicy cucumber, braised beef in man tou (steamed bread) with pickled veggies and peanut sprinkles (oh goodness I dream about this sometimes), and even chicken feet and liver. As a wise Mrs. Ku said, if you don't know what it is, don't eat it! I tried offering Brian some liver, but he quickly changed his mind and didn't want to try it.

Surprisingly, my stomach still had some room (somehow) to fit in the food. Right as I began Black Friday shopping (I let my sister talk me into going to Montgomery Mall at midnight) I got a little hungry. Strange stomach, I will never understand. It must've been the 15 minutes of exercise Libby, Esther, and I did while watching Brian face off Mr. Ku in ping pong.

This was such a great Thanksgiving, filled with people, food, and games I love (we played Taboo) and I hope next year is just as great!!

ESOL Thanksgiving

 Happy almost Thanksgiving! Today ESOL had their annual Thanksgiving potluck luncheon. It was great seeing (almost) everyone back at the base office enjoying each other's company and good food. The secretaries made the turkey (I think by slow cooker) and there were 2 big trays of turkey which was tender and juicy. Everyone made something (or contributed money for the turkey and ham) and there was so much food my camera couldn't capture it all.

One of 4 tables of food

Juicy tray of turkey

My plate of food

As much as I try to grab only tiny bits of each food as to sample the whole smorgasbord, my plate almost ripped apart (you can see the tiny tear on the bottom right edge of the plate). I have to give kudos to co-worker Sharon's noodles, Cynthia's sushi (she lived in Japan for a few years and can make a mean sushi roll), and someone's corn-cornbread. Cornbread with corn! How genius.

Desserts had their own table

I made pumpkin chocolate-chip bread, located at the far middle back of the table. Originally I wanted to make them in muffin form, but couldn't just make 6 or 9 huge muffins (how could one share?) and I couldn't find a mini-muffin pan, so I just made a loaf. Libby also wanted to take a picture of the loaf since she uses that term indispensably.

After this huge luncheon, I had the rare opportunity to chat with some people that I hardly get to see. And of course, no one wanted to work after that (serious food coma) so it was all good.

The Joys of Coffee

Well, I only recently discovered why we're best friends.

Believe it or not, I only started drinking coffee this summer. I've tried in the past (all during WMACS week since those are the times I put my body to little to no rest--3 hours of sleep tops) but I didn't know how to drink it. I drank it tons of packets of sugar and it just made my fingers numb. Recently I discovered that serious lack of sleep make my fingers numb, not caffeine. This time at WMACS, I first put some ice cubes in my cup before getting the coffee, pumping a few pumps of creamer, and adding some sugar (pure ice coffee style). Now that was heaven! Since that first day, I shocked myself when I didn't even add sugar one day and couldn't notice it. Ever since then, I've appreciated coffee.


So obviously when the seasons rolled around and Starbucks debuted their pumpkin spiced latte, I had to try it. But I kept putting it off...so I ended up not having it. There's always next year!
BUT, I have tried Starbucks' peppermint mocha and caramel brulee latte. Thanks to their holiday happy hour a few weeks ago, I bought a caramel brulee and gingerbread latte for myself and my family. They all shared the gingerbread. I didn't get to try it because I was sick with a cough and didn't want to get them sick; instead I just chugged down my caramel brulee latte.

Annandale Adventures

Photo credit: Bonchon Bay Area

One of my best friends Tina came back from Taiwan for a weekend, and we went to Ulta to buy some makeup/nail polish (lots of nail polish for her but she gave me a base coat!) and then all the way to Annandale, VA for Bonchon. This is the world's (well, the East Coast's) best fried chicken. I'm all done eating American fried chicken, no it's all about the Korean fried chicken now!


The first time I had Bonchon was in Brighton-Allston (Boston) with my grad school friend Jenny. She had heard about how good it was, so we set a date to meet up and try it out. We ordered the small combo with garlic-soy sauce and some sushi, and it was perfect. The meal was nicely filling and the chicken had all the right type of crunch and none of the greasiness. Oh man. It was so good I dragged Brian there when he visited me towards the end of my stay in Boston.


Back to the present now, Tina and I met Liz and some of her lion dance group at Bonchon. They had just finished performing at a wedding (on a Friday weirdly) in VA so we met up there. After Bonchon (I literally had no time to take pictures because I was so busy chowing down) we went to Shilla Bakery (owned by Koreans, as Annandale is known for) and ordered some delicious desserts. We each got our own; I can't remember what Tina got, but Liz got a huge strawberry shaved ice, and I got this cute little chocolate cake (very chocolate-y).

Truly a gift for me!

When I discovered Indian Buffets

Ok, not only do I love lobster, but I also love Indian food. This is more of a recent revelation which I have honed while in Boston. Luckily for me, Indian food is (usually) cheaper than lobster. Especially since I found a lunch buffet just a few minutes away from my base office!! I went the first time with my friend Liz who was still on summer break from teaching 3rd graders. The second time I went was with my mentor Vickie. Both times were delicious, although they did serve different things when I went those two times.

I always start out with a samosa, and end with the butter chicken.

$7.99/lb take out

The third time I didn't really have anyone to eat with so I opted for take-out. Lunch buffet is $8.99, and take out is $7.99/lb, which really adds up since I tend to pile up my Styrofoam box of yummies. However, this box lasted me for 2 meals, so really, it all adds up and I didn't over-stuff myself either.

Trucks Full of Food

Ok, I've been gone for a long long time, but no one really reads this so it's allll good! Anyways, here are some brief updates of food that I've taken pictures of since my hiatus.

Truckeroo!

Excuse my terrible, terrible cell phone pictures. This was before I realized I had to clean the camera lens (I just bought a new phone off of Amazon) so the pictures after this day are all better, I promise.

Lobster food truck!

A little overhyped, but still delicious

TaKorean tacos!

I LOVE lobster rolls. I wish I lived in Maine just for these babies

Over the weekend, I picked up Delicae Gourmet Big Easy Jambalaya Slow Cooker Dinner in some store. I figured that it could be the bulk of my meals for the week. It required some other things to be picked up from the grocery store, so I bought some andouille sausages, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chicken broth to add to the mix.

The first time I made it, I invited Barry over to have some, and it turned out really well. The sausage was so tender...I think I'm never going to pan cook ever again! Although a lot of the "vegetables" were dehydrated in the mix, it didn't really taste too terribly. I took a crappy cell phone picture (but will soon get a new and better cell phone in a couple days, yay!!) on Monday, and today I made it again (because I realized that the mix was for a 4-5qt slow cooker and not a 2qt like I had) and took much better pictures.

The second time I included some shrimp 15 minutes before eating it

The second time was also more...liquidy (it probably wasn't split very evenly)

I'm really enjoying slow cooking my meals...too bad I'm moving back home and probably won't be cooking for myself for a while.

Federal Jack's Lobster Roll

This past weekend, I went to Kennebunk with Lauren, Nicky, Sara, and Jeff and Jeff insisted that we eat at Federal Jack's. Jeff suggested the clam chowder (but L, N, and I shared a special seafood chowder instead which was still very delicious) and I ordered the Fresh Maine Lobster Roll. You know me, I love my lobster!

The meat was kinda cold...which I was disappointed about, but other than that, it was delicious. The entree costed $16.99 (their current market price) which was decent for the size. The fries were really crispy and I traded some sweet potato fries with Jeff too.

I also ordered a beautiful watermelon-esque martini drink thing. Don't remember what it was called anymore, but it was very yummy.

Beef and Chipotle Burritos

I decided that today was a good day to try cooking with a slow cooker since I had time in the morning/early afternoon. I followed the recipe by the title name at SlowandSimple.com.

Although Nicky's slow cooker was only a 2qt, I was able to put everything in. I bought a 1lb boneless beef round steak and didn't include onions...and apparently I also forgot to add cheese in at the end. Sitting at home smelling the slow cooker's goodness was too enticing for me to add cheese I guess!

After 4 hours on high, I pulled out the beef and began to shred it

Some shredded, some still in chunks

So tender and spicy!

The chipotle peppers in adobo sauce really added the main flavor of the beef. It was so deliciously spicy!!

I included some of Lauren's leftover peppers and onions from her fajita last night, somewhat homemade guac (I used a mix), and sour cream for my burrito. Today also marks the first day I wrapped a decent (although slim) burrito roll!

I definitely plan on trying to cook more using the slow cooker in the future. Too bad I don't have many days left in Boston...maybe my mom has a slow cooker I can use!

Update
I realized, when talking to my mom on the phone, that I totally forgot to add rice (and cheese) to my burrito. Guess I truly was excited to eat that I forgot a lot of what goes in a burrito!

SED Counseling Potluck

 On Sunday June 12, Lauren and I hosted the end-of-the-year SED Counseling program (minus the sports psych jocks) potluck! The potluck was in a "Top Chef" style, where we unveiled the secret ingredient(s) to be LEMON and LIME! It turned out really well, and I took some pictures of the lovely future counselors (and guests) with their creations.

Some of the counselors huddled around the appetizer table

Raspberry Lemonade Cocktail, made by Lauren and I.

Fresh raspberries really did the trick, it was such a pretty shade of pink!

Erin's frothy lemon fruit dip

Fruit dip up close

Lauren's pounds of shrimp

Prior to putting MORE shrimp on top

Roommate Nicky's salmon dip with crackers

My southwestern cavatappi pasta (don't know why the lighting sucks for my picture)

Jack's spinach salad with chipotle-lime dressing. Love the face!

Jack's salad up close

*uncovers* FAJITAAA!!!!

Andrea's fajitas 

Ziggy brought some beer and classic lemonade!

Chelsea's dill potatoes. She also made lemon squares but I didn't get a picture of that

Caitlyn's homemade guac with hint of lime chips

Ali's grilled veggies salad

Meagan's lemon chicken

Jenny's key lime pie with homemade crust

Me & Erin

Appetizer/Salads table!!

After we had our fill, we "voted" for best appetizer, main dish, dessert, and drinks.

Best Appetizer: Jack's salad

Best Main Dish: Andrea's fajitas

Best Dessert: Jenny's key lime pie

Best Drink: My & Lauren's raspberry lemonade cocktail

After eating, we played charades and apples-to-apples. I am so fortunate to have met these people because they are so awesome. I'm sad that I'll be moving back home to Maryland and won't see them again for a while :'[