I Love The Pork Shop

...but not for their pork!

Just a quickie, my lunch today, a caprese salad. Fresh Mozzarella from The Pork Shop, located across the street. Styling courtesy of my room mate.

Caprese Salad for 2

2 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced in wedges
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 lb ball of fresh mozzarella cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

~Slice the mozzarella to an appropriate size in relation to the tomatoes and basil.
~Arrange nicely on a plate. Or don't.
~Drizzle with olive oil.
~Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Cakes and Pies and Cookies, Oh My

It's been a busy week of baking...

First there were vegan chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting, for a playdate my sister had with a friend who was allergic to eggs...

plain for the adults...

...rainbow sprinkles for the kids!

...and then a peach blueberry pie...

OMNOMNOM

...and last of all, a lemon-thyme shortbread, recipe courtesy of Elissa of 17 and Baking. I made these with my sister, too, and she had a great time picking out which cookie cutters to use. The bunnies and bears were her choice. A jar went to my boyfriend; the rest were reserved for me.

My week in sweets.

We Are So Asian

I think everyone has figured out by now that I have a baby sister. She is 3 years old, small, Asian, and adorable. Strangers who see us together seem to automatically assume I am a teenage mom. Guests who come to our house are only too quick to mistaken my baby pictures for photos of her. Everyone who meets her loves to hug her, talk to her, and play with her. Except me.

Is that horrible? Probably. But it doesn't change the fact that the thought of "playing" with my sister, running after her on her tricycle, changing the outfits on her Polly Pocket dolls, pretending to be princesses together, makes me inwardly cringe. For everyone who thought that my love for cooking and baking (and eating) means I'm a motherly, domestic type, I'm sorry to crush your hopes and dreams. It's not that I dislike children, but I am really more of the book-reading, creepy-movie-watching, note-book-doodling type than anyone you really want babysitting your kids.

Naturally, this fact horrifies my father, among many other things about me which would if he only knew about them. He's always pestering me to spend more time with my sister, and doesn't believe that making bentos for her is an admissible expression of my care for her. So, recently to placate my father and simultaneously get some bonding time with my baby sister, I have been cooking and baking with her. She can now crack an egg cleanly on her own, a feat that I didn't accomplish until I was 13, and I am very proud. Dinner tonight? Wontons.

Wonton Soup
Okay, so here's a confession...in most Chinese cooking, there is not so much a "recipe", with exact measurements and whatnot, as we just chuck the correct ingredients in in the amounts we feel are right. I've tried to approximate it down for this blog...but basically assume that everything here is "to taste", because I did not actually measure any of this.

1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup chopped scallions
3/4 cup portobello mushroom caps, diced fine
1 tbsp salted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 package of wonton wrappers

~Mix the ground pork, scallions, egg, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, and pepper together in a mixing bowl.
~In a small pan, melt the butter and saute the portobello mushroms until brown(er). Mix in with the pork.

~Go here to learn how to fold wontons, oldschool style.
~Bring a pot of water to boil, and drop the wontons in one by one. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Wontons will be done when they float to the surface.
~Serve immediately in a bowl with soy sauce and sesame oil to taste.

Makes enough for 5 people.

Maryland-ish?

A lunch request from my mum: Crab Cakes.

An Alternative to Fish Sticks

1 lb can of lump crab meat, drained
1 egg, well beaten
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup diced onions
1 clove of garlic, minced
panko bread crumbs
1 lemon


~Mix all the ingredients except the panko in a large mixing bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.
~Form the mixture into whatever shape or size your little heart desires. Just keep in mind the bigger the cake, the longer it will take to cook, and you risk singeing the breadcrumb coating by frying it too long.
~Roll the cakes in the panko until it is well-coated.
~Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
~Heat up enough oil to completely submerge the cakes. When the oil is hot (it should sizzle enthusiastically when you flick a drop of water into the pot), drop the cakes into the oil and fry until golden brown.
~Squeeze the lemon over the crab cakes and serve with whatever sauce you want...which, my my case, was ketchup.

My sister ate them, reluctantly at first and then with greater enthusiasm when she discovered they were somewhat like fish sticks.

Obento for a Picky Eater - Week 2

MONDAY

Contents: Rotelle-cheese pasta with shredded carrots and broccoli, watermelon and mango fruit salad, corn, kidney bean, and chickpea salad, and three cherry tomatoes.
Verdict: She ate some of the pasta, most of the fruit salad, most of the corn salad, and one tomato.

TUESDAY

Contents: Seven cucumber and cream cheese heart sandwiches, one crab cake, bottle of dressing, corn, kidney bean and chickpea salad, piece of banana, mini apple bunny, two cherry tomatoes, blueberries and raspberries.
Verdict: She ate four of the sandwiches, half the crab cake, and the fruits (tomatoes excluded).

WEDNESDAY

Contents: Four shiitake mushroom onigiri, egg-sheet rolls tied with spaghetti, cucumber and cherry tomato flowers, blueberries and raspberries, mango cubes, corn and chickpea salad.
Verdict: She ate two fo the onigiri, the egg rolls, the fruit, and one of the flowers.