Hearty Pork Stew

Pork Stew 20171213 (5)

These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb. ~ Najwa Zebian A few weeks ago, winter officially set in with snow drifts and cold snaps across most of the Northern hemisphere. Here, hovering by the equator, I was trying to shed the pounds that has lovingly stuck onto me – stubborn […]

Italian Sausage and Kale Stew

Italian Sausage Kale stew

It’s okay to play with your food. ~ Emeril Lagasse How many of us indulged over holidays? We told ourselves it was only an extra drumstick with “only a few tiny” drizzles of dressing, one more slice of pie (a la mode, of course, why stop at pie), one more helping of noodles (to represent ‘healthy […]

Sunday Morning Tomato Basil Frittata

Sunday Morning Tomato Basil Frittata

“A journey into a new year begins with a Sunday Morning frittata served around a warm hearth.” As I was preparing to write this week’s post, I hesitated over which story to share. The Gregorian calendar stands poised at the cusp of a transition and Earth is about to embark on another orbit around the Sun. Past and […]

Easy Turkey Meatball Soup

Turkey Meatball Soup

May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs. ~ ‘Twas The Night of Thanksgiving’, C.J. Beaman There is a collective gentle sigh as we see the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers. Despite our best intentions to limit our portion sizes, the intentions remained just that – intentions. Folks generally go all out with the food for this […]

Healthy Meat Sauce and Whole Wheat Spaghetti

Whole Wheat Spaghetti Meat Sauce

Spaghetti can be eaten most successfully if you inhale it like a vacuum cleaner.  ~ Sophia Loren These days, the mornings are misty, the chill is nippy, and here in California, Uggs® are making their annual appearance. It is not so bone-shatteringly cold as it is in the northeast, though fear not, west-coasters have their own […]

Taiwanese Ground Pork Rice 卤肉饭

Taiwan Ground Pork Rice image

If you’re going to eat pork, eat it till your mouth drips. ~ Yiddish proverb ~ TAIWAN STREET FOOD SERIES – Part 2 ~ The last time we married east and west over a bucket of Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken amidst the drama of English aristocracy. Today we continue bringing the tastes of Taiwan street food into our homes in California. […]

Easy Claypot Chicken Rice

Browsing through my saved recipes recently, I came across Claypot Chicken Rice on Rasa Malaysia. It brought back memories of my family’s claypot poised over a charcoal stove, slowly cooking stews, broths and savoury dinners. Smoke from the charcoal infused the food with a woodsy, smoky flavour. The claypot kept heat and moisture in long after the food was cooked. The pot was […]

Chicken Porridge (‘chook’) 粥

Porridge (粥) is a comfort food especially on cooler evenings. I am partial to the semi-watery version, where the rice is broken into pieces but not so watery that the grains cannot be tasted. The ginger adds a nice touch of heat, countering the evening temperature. This can be eaten on its own, thanks to […]