Chef Mommy

Mostly for tradition's sake, I still like writing and blogging for New Year's Eve and/or New Year's. Back in high school and even some of college, I liked to fill out those survey questionnaires and post them. They seemed so trivial at the time, but they're nice snapshots of a moment in time of your closest friends, favorite foods, hobbies, and a tiny glimpse of personality during a time when your life and you are constantly changing. Well, things don't change that much anymore.

I thought about what I could write about this year, but everything seemed to be occupied by baby. For good reason. I mean I've had lots of time to sample the best diaper brands (we've used about 7 different ones), the most necessary and unnecessary baby items, and must-have baby gadgets worth the splurge even as frugal parents. Being that my every day is filled with baby, I wanted to write about something different for a change.

After Sasha was born, I really missed cooking. Not cooking with the perspective of a chore of cooking food to eat because we were hungry, but cooking as an activity of being creative and combining ingredients to make something delicious and wonderful. Trust me, cooking because we are hungry is still a laborious chore.

So throughout the last 8 months of the year, I've been lucky enough to have moments to enjoy my kitchen again as a creative outlet. Here are some of the items we've cooked. This isn't meant to share recipes because there would be so many in one post, but if you see something interesting, please don't hesitate to ask me questions or ask me for the recipe! Also, in the same thinking as Ugly Delicious, these are not perfectly plated Instagram worthy pictures of food, but just what I've managed to document through the year. And honestly, I like it that way.

 1. Biscotti

One of the first recipes we attempted to make was biscotti. It was the frontrunner of our Friday night baking experiments after the baby learned to sleep longer stretches without waking up every hour to eat. It was also a way for us to spend time together as a couple while keeping the budget low and staying in without having to hire a sitter. Not as crispy and hard as store-bought biscotti, but I think my teeth appreciate that. :)

2. Radish Cake

I've made this recipe before many times before the baby was born, but it was nice to be able to make a big batch again and freeze them for later. Makes a great midnight snack or quick meal with a few hours of thawing time.

3. Cookie Cake

I already had a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but out of curiosity one day, I decided to make it into a cookie cake. It was wonderful. 

3. Bao Zi （包子）

I blogged about our first try at steamed bread （饅頭/馒头） a while back here. Since then, we have been able to try twice at making baozi. This time, our second try, we also had a 3-tier steamer which made the steaming process go much smoother and faster.

Another great food to spend an afternoon making large batches and freezing them for later snacks and meals.






4. Double chocolate chip banana bread

I use Pati Jinich's recipe for this. I really enjoy watching her cooking show on television and there are some other great recipes she's made before. I'm not the biggest fan of authentic Mexican food, but she's introduced me to some dishes that are truly delicious. I also just love listening to her say the word "mushy" in her accent. 

5. Fried chicken

I can't remember when I started making these fried chicken tenders, but it was amazing when I figured it out. It's almost restaurant quality. And I only say almost because these are not deep fried but pan fried.


6. Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake

I found the recipe for this cake when I was pregnant and saved it as a bookmark. Months later I went back and found it and we decided to make one as one of our Friday night date nights and went out and spontaneously bought a springform pan because I've never had one. It was very good.

So good.

7. Dutch Oven Bread

A friend of mine once made a dutch oven bread and I got really curious a few months ago and decided to try it myself. I found an easy recipe and gave it a shot. I always have beginner's luck and my first try turned out wonderfully. My second one...had some errors. Yes, you absolutely need to flour the bottom of the dutch oven.

PS - see those browned bits at the bottom that get burned onto pots and pans from the oven? Baking soda removes them without damaging your pot! I could write a whole post on the wonders of baking soda.

8. Pork Sung/Meat Floss （肉鬆/肉松）

I've loved this as a child. I never actually knew it was made with real meat (it is!) until recently. Who knew meat could dry to become a fluffy texture? I'm too frugal to buy this from the Chinese supermarket myself, but it really is one of my favorite foods from my childhood. The store sells it for about $10 a pound, sometimes more. Keep in mind that is the dry weight, so you'd probably need 2 pounds of meat to make 1 pound of meat floss. But even at 2 pounds of meat, it would cost you about half to make it yourself if you knew how.

I tried, and then I realized why people pay $10 a pound for this stuff. Unless you are very experienced and know exactly what you're looking for by texture and feel, this is not a recipe for amateurs or something you want to try "just for fun." Mine was a little too dry and turned hard and crispy more than dry and fluffy. What went wrong? I think the heat was too high...that's ok. It still makes great sandwiches with peanut butter (My friend told me about this recently. So. Good.) and an add-in for rice porridge. Will I make it again? Probably not....unless I can get my hands on a bread maker which can automatically stir and heat for you. Otherwise it's a high-maintenance recipe that involves lots of babysitting.


9. Biscuits

I haven't bought frozen biscuit dough in so long because it is so easy to make and only requires 6 ingredients: flour, butter, milk, sugar, salt, baking powder. They're also way more delicious (and healthy) and cost a fraction of the price. It's also a great recipe to know so you don't have to make a trip out to the grocery store just to buy biscuits last minute if you ever realize you want them and don't have any. 

I make mine rustic (aka not round) so you don't waste any of the dough or have to roll it out twice. The recipe has said they can be frozen and baked later, but I haven't tried that yet. The fresh ones are amazing though!

10. Char Siu （叉烧/叉燒）

I've always loved this Asian pork. My dad used to buy it once a week or so and we'd add it to our dishes for a meal or two. The ones from the store have the iconic red color which actually doesn't give it any flavor (who knew?). A few years ago I bought a flavor seasoning marinade and tried making some. It wasn't bad, but it didn't have that Asian flavor I was looking for. I found a homemade recipe and tried it sometime later, and it was good, but it still wasn't anything like at the restaurant.

Then, I came across a second recipe and tried it, and we loved it. It had the most authentic flavor of the three versions I've tried, and was the closest I've ever had to the ones from restaurants. It's also not as sweet as some of the ones at restaurants which I appreciate. I have frozen some of the raw marinaded meat and baked it later in the oven and the results are still fantastic. This one's a keeper.

11. Baby Food!

My daughter eats her colors. I've included this on the list, not so much because this is for us (although I have tasted every single thing I've ever given her, pouches, homemade, and all!) I actually find making baby food very therapeutic. I don't make giant quantities at once, only about 4-6 jars at a time, and each jar lasts about 2-3 servings. It takes me roughly an hour start to finish and I usually make a batch once a week. But this is way more efficient to me than spending 2-3 hours at once to make 2-3 times the amount. Because chances are my daughter naps for an hour no problem. Anything over an hour is a bonus to me and hard to come by.

I choose to use vacuumed jars and not freeze in ice cubes because that eliminates the thawing step. And let's face it, the thawing is what takes forethought and we don't have time for forethought when it comes to babies. We also just conveniently have a Foodsaver and the jar attachment already, so why not? I bought two dozen jars for $1.00 each including the cost of shipping and they have been well worth their value to me.

It's been quite the year and we have been super blessed with our baby as well as the good food we still manage to eat. Cheers to 2019 and many more recipes to try.

Messy eating only looks cute when you're this small.