jess

My favorite flowers are flours.

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Baked Chicken Katsu

We've had a bag of panko sitting in the pantry for way too long, so though I normally don't like making breaded goodies at home (something something calories), I thought it was about time to use this up. Plus, I had a huge craving for CoCo Curry, so this hit

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Beansprout Banchan (Kongnamul Muchim)

This is a quick veg to whip together that keeps in the fridge well and can be pulled out during meals and served cold for any moments you're seeking some extra veg or a different savory element to enjoy during your meal. Ingredients * 1 lb soybean sprouts * 1 tsp salt

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Mille-Feuille Nabe

Inspired by a YouTube video (I've since lost the link, but look up "mille-feuille nabe" and you'll find tons of results, I was drawn in by the beauty of the dish with all of layers. I love hotpot, and this looked extra aesthetic, so why not try it. Ingredients * Shabu

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Sichuan Boiled Fish (Shui Zhu Yu)

This is one of our go-to's whenever we hit up Sichuan places (highly, highly, highly recommend Z&Y if you're ever in the Bay area), but given the circumstances with shelter-in-place, we've been trying to recreate the dishes we love at home, and I'd say it's been a great success.

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Oil-Free Hummus

Hummus is pretty cheap to buy pre-made, but compared to getting the ingredients yourself and putting it together, especially considering the flavor difference, it can stupidly overpriced. Ingredients * 1 15 oz can of chickpeas * 4 cloves garlic * 1/4 cup lemon juice * 1/3 cup tahini * 1/4 to 1/

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Apple Pie

For the crust: * 2.5 c all-purpose flour * 1 tsp salt * 2 tbsp sugar * 2 sticks unsalted butter * 6 tbsp ice water For the filling: * 1/2 c sugar * 1/2 c dark brown sugar * 1 tsp ground cinnamon * 1/4 tsp ground ginger * 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg * 6

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Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou)

My best friend often tells me about making this for potlucks, and I could see why he does--it's pretty quick and easy and scales well to making a large batch. I've never actually eaten hong shao rou in my life, but my roommate enjoyed this, so I think it was

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Clam Spaghetti

When I was making clam chowder, I initially bought some canned clam for the recipe, but ended up getting my hands on some frozen clams to use instead, so this can has been sitting in my pantry for quite some time. In conducting some Google-fu on what canned clam could

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Pre-portioned Monkey Bread

One of the summer camps I went to as a kid had different clubs you could join, and ~naturally~ I found myself drawn towards the cooking club. We baked fun treats and recorded the recipes down in our little booklets. The only recipe I remember making is monkey bread because

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Cast Iron Pizza

We recently acquired a new roommate named "Basil" that now sits on top of the desk I'm typing this from. At first we thought he might suffer the same fate as "Leggy Succulent" and "Rose" due to various potential circumstances--low lighting, too much water, too little water, weird mold situation

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Gyudon

It's crazy how good and fast and cheap gyudon can be in Japan... I think we paid $4 for the best bowl I had there, and it was at one of those small shops where all the salaryman would come in, swallow a bowl in a minute, and leave. Incredible.

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Focaccia

I was inspired by Brad & Samin's video on the Bon Appetit channel because (1) I love bread and (2) I love easy bread that I don't have to knead and get all over my fingers. Original recipe here: https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/fat/ligurian-focaccia Ingredients For the dough: * 600g warm

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Raisin Buns

My mother and I used to go to the HK Bakery every weekend to grab pastries, and the raisin bun was always one of my favorites. Ingredients For tangzhong: * 25g bread flour * 1/4 cup water * 1/4 cup milk For dough: * 350g bread flour * 55g sugar * 1 tbsp + 1tsp

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Chickpea Tuna Salad

I see vegan YouTubers chomping this down all the time in sandwiches, and I love tuna salad sandwiches, so I wanted to give this a try. My mayo is still egg-based...but you could get a vegan mayo to have an animal product-free product! Ingredients * 1 can chickpeas * 2 stalks

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Cheater's Korean Beef Stirfry

Super speedy dinner to put together since everything's already in your freezer, fridge, and pantry. It has the sweetness of bulgogi, but the value of ground beef. Ingredients * 1 lb ground beef * 1 bag broccoli (or whatever veggie you like...) * 1 tbsp sesame oil * 4 cloves garlic * 1 tbsp ginger

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Vegan Nacho Cheese

Thanks to hotforfood for the amazing recipe! I always see variants of this showing up in Lauren's recipe videos, and I finally caved and tried it out since I had all of the ingredients on hand. Ingredients * 1 cup potatoes * 1/2 cup carrots * 1/4 cup neutral oil * 1/

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Papaya Bars

Fun story--I used to hate papaya when I was younger because I thought it was so disgusting. A lot of this was due to the way I was forced to have it...my mother would blend it up and then heat it up, making a disgustingly thick, hot, goopy and

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Simple Mint Cilantro Chutney

We started growing mint, basil, and cilantro at the kitchen window because (1) I can't be bothered to go out and buy a bunch of cilantro for the one recipe that calls for cilantro every now and then when I know that's it's so cheap to grow yourself, and (2)

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Lemon Cookies

Soft cookies are the best cookies, and lemon is such a nice bright flavor for all times of the year. As you guys know, I'm a fan of Nikki Limo's cooking segments, and she tested out a recipe from Emma's Goodies that looked bomb...so I wanted to give it

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Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats

Steel cut oats are delicious--chewier and with more texture--but they can take a while to cook up, and your girl does not have time to waste on that. Some internet-ing informed me that cooked oatmeal freezes well and can be easily brought back to life by Chef Mike (your microwave,

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Vegan Pumpkin Mochi

My team at work had a vegan spooky treat potluck to celebrate Halloween, with folks bringing in fun cocktails, "blood" hummus, "witch finger" pretzel treats, and such... I knew I wanted to make something pumpkin-related to fit the season, and from a recent trip back from Japan, I was craving

would make again

Cacio e Pepe

Perfect for a lazy dinner where you can't be bothered to whip out tons of ingredients to wash, prep, measure out, or whatever. It's just pasta, cheese, and pepper. Adapted from bon appetit: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cacio-e-pepe Ingredients * salt to season the pasta water * spaghetti (I used half

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Peanut Butter Granola

My roommate at CTY in 7th grade introduced me to granola...and I ended up eating it with vanilla yogurt every day for the rest of that summer. Since then, I've been careful to stay away since it's hard to eat a controlled portion and many of the store-bought granolas

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My Mother's Sticky Rice (Nuo Mi Fan)

It's the dish that family and family friends always ask my mother to bring to gatherings since it's such a hit. Ingredients * 3 cups short grain sweet rice * 4 Chinese sausage aka lapcheung * handful of dried shrimp * a splash of cooking oil * handful of mushrooms (or omit this if you're

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Cast Iron Naan

There was an Indian food joint among the campus dining options at my university, and they would give you a takeout container that you could fill with whatever you wanted. I always popped the container open, filled one side with veggies and protein, and filled the lid complete with freshly