Thanksgiving 2015

Hellooooo, everyone. How was your Turkey Day celebration? 

Andrew and I did our usual drive to Pittsburgh for the weekend.  His sister joined us for the ride made up of catch up chats, Invisibilia, and Criminal. This sweetie greeted us when we arrived. Golden retriever puppy Maya.

Hey, what's up? Will you be the sucker who feeds me food I'm not supposed to have because I will 100% get diarrhea from it?

 

If I had to choose a photo that sums up the weekend, it would be this one. Let's relaaaaax with drinks!

There is no way I could be imbibing on that T Day level in front of my mom or other Korean elders. Oh, there would be judging, for sure.  I've only just begun to drink ANY alcohol in the presence of my mother.  She bought some red wine to pair with our Costco steak.  The second I took a sip, she sniffed at me and remarked, "It's such a turn off...the smell alcohol off of a woman's breath." This is about a minute before she poured herself some of wine.  I know.  Confusion. 

Anyway, the family's Italian so what do you expect? Of course, there is gonna be some wine...and tequila.  Because why not.

Settlers of Catan. This was a way more civilized version than what we attempted last year.  One of the cousins tried to teach us Settlers of Patron.  The frat boy aspect of taking shots with this game got neutralized by the REALLY nerdy aspect of Catan.

Review: Cooking with Blue Apron

I was super excited when our friend sent us a trial of Blue Apron. Getting food sent to us and avoiding the hell that is grocery shopping in New York City (tiny aisles, tons of aggressive customers) is awesome in itself. But also getting the right amount of ingredients without any waste and easy-to-follow recipes.... I couldn't wait to get started!

The basic Blue Apron plan is $59.99 a week covering three meals for 2 people.  You can choose between vegetarian, pescetarian, and meat/fish meals. There are also options to feed more people, at $9.99 per person, per meal.

Our 3 meals came in a huge box with colorfully illustrated recipes.

The insulated liner holding all of the ingredients was monstrous. It's also biodegradable!

 All of the ingredients are included, down to the little bottles of vinegar and soy sauce.  And very neatly packaged!  According to the Blue Apron website, most of this can be recycled!

Cooking Korean Japchae (Stir-Fried Noodles with Beef and Veggies)

I used this fantastic, easy-to-follow video (with the cutest Korean lady) to make my Japchae.

The video and recipe can be found here.

I actually omitted the white onions since it gives my husband gas. (haha)  I then added 3 jalapenos (we like things SPICY) and about 7 Korean long green peppers (but I suggest only 2-3).  I stir-fried the peppers like all the other vegetables.  I found that the amounts of sesame oil and soy sauce suggested resulted in Japchae that was too bland for me. So I added a LOT more.  You should definitely add to your taste.

Prep Work

My husband had four helpings of the dish. I call that a success!  (Although now he's knocked out on the living room floor from what I imagine is the starch. Or maybe just plain food coma?  He did go H.A.M. on that Japchae!)

This circumference of this bowl is probably comparable to that of a hubcap.  That's a lot of food.

My Attempt at Making Curry Chicken

I'm a terrible cook.  I take that back. I am a very inexperienced cook.  However, it's been a goal of mine to learn some simple recipes.  And since I love curry, I decided that it would be one of my first missions.

Look how excited I am about handling chicken.  Doesn't this meat have more risks from undercooking?  Salmonella and all?  Perhaps I should have started with beef.

Right after this photo, I was revved up to go. Then I realized that I didn't have a peeler for the potatoes...or curry powder.  So back to the grocery store for me.  *insert sad trumpet noise here

When I finally had all of my ingredients, it was time for the prep work.  I wanted to make it a more veggie heavy curry for my husband.  Unlike his Del Taco-obsessed wife, he likes to maintain a healthy diet.

Just the beginning: Ain't that beautiful?

The Opposite of Food Porn

Sometimes I feel bad about not being a great cook for my husband. But then I look at cookingforbae's Instagram and feel much better. #struggleplates

images via cookingforbae on Instagram

An Easy Meal!

I'm a lazy chef.  I can't say that I'm a horrible cook because I honestly don't try too hard.

It's the thought of buying all the groceries, mixing all the ingredients, and the COOKING part.

So here's an easy recipe!

Plain yogurt is the BEST.  You can throw in honey, fruits, oatmeal, granola, pretty much whatever you want!