To All the Meals I've Cooked Before
An open love letter to all the meals I've lovingly prepared and enjoyed
For me, the best part of celebrating Lunar New Year is hands down the food (the lucky red pockets are a *very* close second). My extended family gets together at my grandma's house and we all dress in red (a colour that signifies good luck—it's supposed to scare off the bad spirits!) to celebrate. Every…
To All the Boys: Always and Forever officially arrives on Netflix today, and *of course* I had to bake a signature Lara Jean recipe to celebrate! I can't host an in-person viewing party this year, but I plan on dropping these off to my friends so that we can all eat and enjoy them as…
To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You officially arrives on Netflix today, so naturally I’m hosting a viewing party tonight. ICYMI: The series is near and dear to my heart (I even wrote about how much it means to me for The Kit!) and it’s actually the inspiration for this blog. I wanted…
Shepherd's Pie is one of my ultimate comfort foods. I have so many fond memories of my mom making a huge casserole dish of it it after Thanksgiving or Christmas, when she had lots of creamy leftover mashed potatoes to use up. Since it's neither Thanksgiving or Christmas and tragically, I don't have any leftover mashed potatoes, I made this smaller scale version to fit my cast iron skillet. The lazy cook in me loves that I can cook almost the entire meal in the skillet (except for the mashed potatoes), and honestly, I just love the way food looks in my skillet.
I grew up happily eating Italian Wedding Soup from the can and in bottomless bowls at East Side Mario's (the Olive Garden of Canada) and to this day it's still one of my favourite soups because of all the childhood nostalgia I associate with it. Recently I saw a can in the grocery store and…
Mushroom pasta is one of my all-time favourites (see: my creamy mushroom mafaldine), but sometimes when I’m craving that earthy mushroom flavour without all the heavy cream, I make this herby mushroom and sausage balsamic ragu. It’s loaded with all off my favourite herbs, and big splashes of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil for a lighter, more summery version of my favourite pasta.
Jap Chae is one of the first Korean dishes I learned how to make - it’s something I had at restaurants countless times (I’m obsessed with the chewy texture of the noodles!) but it had never occurred to me to try making it at home until I scrolled past a homemade recipe for it on my IG feed. Beyond the noodles, jap chae is really just a stir fry recipe at its core, and it’s surprisingly easy to make at home.
Stir-fried cheung fun (rice noodle rolls) is something I grew up eating for brunch or a light meal on weekends - my mom would whip some up as a treat for me and my brother whenever she had a chance to pick some up from the Chinese grocery store. I have a lot of fond memories of eating it in pyjamas on lazy Saturdays, and cooking it always makes me feel nostalgic.
Making dumplings with my family at my grandma's house is one of my most fond childhood memories. I loved when the whole family would gather around big bowls of dumpling filling, stacks of dumpling wrappers on the table, competing for who could make the most perfectly plump dumpling (without overstuffing!). It doesn't hurt that the result would be hundreds of steaming dumplings for dinner, dipped in the tangy combo of Worcestershire and soya sauce.
I love learning my mother and my grandmother’s home style Chinese recipes - they’re the foods I crave that I just can’t seem to get anywhere else. This pork tenderloin with silken tofu and crunch green beans is one of my all-time favourites that never disappoints, and always leaves me feeling extra grateful that I got to eat this so often growing up.
To All the Meals I've Cooked Before 