madeleine *woof*

i don't have any adorable munchkins of my own to follow around and take pictures of but i do have a cute little pup. =)

it was so hot this past week so we stayed indoors and madeleine found a sunny spot in front of the sliding door. the lighting was so nice i decided to take some pictures of her.

i love her freckles and red fur. little punk.

she started getting sleepy...

so sleepy...

zzz...

it's amazing how quickly she can wake up from a nap.


look at her crimped fur. she's an 80s gal.

a past life...

i love the idea of my family having had a life before me. that's why i love looking at pictures--they tell a story and leave room for imagination. plus, i love the fashion!

working for the korean embassy afforded them the life to see so many different places. this was before i was born, but it's nice to look at where they've been.

they must've been the best dressed couple at the beach...

i love this picture, i think it was taken in rome. my mom looks so young and happy. she mustve been in her 20s in this picture and he was around 30.

my dad either in paris or rome... it must've been around when elvis was big. look at those crazy sideburns!

my mom in london, she says it was her least favorite city in the world. too much rain!

this picture makes me laugh. what is the story behind this?

my dad once told me when he was younger, he'd play guitar in bars and they'd pay him in beer!

this picture was taken on my mom's birthday. i think she's my age in this picture.

they were stationed in cairo for a bit, which is where my brother was born.

here's my brother and sister and mom, i'm guessing in korea. i want that yellow shirt.

i love the energy in this picture.

boys will be boys.

they were also in UAE for a bit, i'm guessing this was taken there. check out the graffiti... i hope it's not something bad!

my mom told them to pose. I guess my brother didn't quite get it...

Oven Baked Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with Homemade Pasta Sauce

I love Italian food. That's my intro.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1 lb ground meat (I used pork for this recipe, but any meat is good: turkey, lamb, beef, sometimes I mix it up like half lamb and half turkey or whatever.)
about 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used mozzarella, but parmesan tastes good too, any cheese should be good)
1 clove garlic (diced)
1/4 onion or green apple (diced)
1 egg
1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko, because I ran out of breadcrumbs)
salt and pepper

Pasta Sauce:
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz--or you can just use fresh tomatoes instead of canned)
1 can stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz--can be substituted for fresh)
1/2 onion (diced)
mushrooms-- a lot (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (diced)
sugar (about 1 tbsp)
basil (about 1-2 tbsp--I used dried, but I'm sure fresh would taste better)
parsley (about 1-2 tbsp)
Italian seasoning (about 1-2 tsp)
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
optional: red pepper flakes

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat up a large pot and add some olive oil. I ran out, so I actually used grapeseed oil. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and if you like spicy pasta sauce, add some red pepper flakes too.

photo taken by Andrew

Cook until mushrooms shrink down and onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes (diced and stewed) and tomato paste. Mix well. Add the basil, italian seasoning, sugar, parsley, and bay leaves. Italian seasoning is good because it's basically all the herbs you want for italian food (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, etc) but in one container. Add salt and pepper to taste. I also added some cayenne pepper because I like my sauce spicy, but this is optional as well. Allow the sauce to heat up and bubble, then turn down and let it simmer while you make your meatballs. Stir occasionally.

photo taken by Andrew

Mix the ground meat, onion, and garlic. Add salt and pepper. Add the egg and incorporate thoroughly. Add the breadcrumbs and mix well. The egg helps keep the meatballs together, and the breadcrumbs keep the meat tender. The onion helps keep it nice and juicy plus adds flavor. Just kidding, I made that up... but it seems right. (?) Sometimes instead of onions, I use green apples. YUM! and if I'm in an extra good mood I also add diced mushrooms and chives.

photo taken by Andrew

Next, you want to take about this much meat and shape a little "pocket" to stuff your cheese.

photo taken by Andrew

Stuff that little pocket with cheese. Either cover the hole with more meat, or shape the meat you already have into a little ball about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter. You can make them bigger or smaller.

photo taken by Andrew

Place on a baking sheet/pan. You can spray with something or whatever so it doesn't stick. I didn't and mine stuck, but then I got to eat the stuck pieces. Also, some of the cheese will melt out so you might want to cover with foil. You should make about 12-16 meatballs depending on what size you made them. Bake for about 10 minutes, turn over and bake for 10 more. Or don't and just bake for 20 minutes.

After baking, I like to put the meatballs into the bubbling sauce and let it soak up some of the flavor of the sauce before I serve over pasta.


Oh. I almost forgot. Don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving. You don't want to eat those... or, if you do... then eat them. I don't care and I won't tell.

Want to hear something funny? I like mixing my pasta with sesame oil before I eat it. My mom always made spaghetti like that and now I can't seem to stop. Be bold and give it a try!

my new hobbit. i mean hobby.

i have picked up yet another hobby. can you guess what it is?

hint 1:

hint 2:

hint 3:

hint 4:

hint 5:

did you guess saxophone? because you are absolutely incorrect!

andrew has been teaching me how to play bass. i suck. but i have a good luck charm!

i like that he signs a bass clef after his name.

note: this is not my bass. but i had fun taking pictures of it! =)

Fronk's Restaurant

Andrew and I have decided to try one new thing every month. Unfortunately, I can't ever think of anything besides food. So we tried a new restaurant called Fronk's, not frAnk's, in Bellflower that a friend of mine recommended.

The decor was really eclectic and kitschy. There was a ton of stuff on the wall everything from American flags and plastic lunchboxes to Picasso's Don Quixote.... and a baby doll sitting on a radio holding a fork. It was really... confusing and interesting and fun.

My favorite decor by far, was the endless shelf of condiments.
A sight that is so pleasing to me. (And tasty!) But the burger was so good, can you believe, I didn't use any condiments! ME! The lover of all condiments.

The place is really casual and weirdly nostalgic of the American past... or the crazy uncle of the American past. This is weird, because 1. I wasn't alive before the 80s and 2. I was born in Korea.

Our server said the burgers were pretty big so Andrew and I decided to split the Fronkenburger and... something else that I will show you later.
While we waited for our food, I took pictures of the silverware.

Yum!"Juicy 1/2 lb gourmet Angus burger with beer battered onion rings, maple bacon, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, monterey jack cheese, and chipotle ranch sauce."

Even though we split the burger, we could each order our own sides. I got the coleslaw:

He got the fries:

The verdict? YUMMY and super messy/drippy to eat. They also had other things on the menu that I wanted to try, like the Habanero burger. A girl next to us ordered it and was sweating and "dying" from the spiciness. Her words, not mine. She literally said she was dying and finished her coke. Twice. And ordered ice cream.

For dessert:
Peanut butter hot fudge brownie sundae: Homemade Godiva fudge brownie topped with melted peanut butter, french vanilla ice cream, chopped nuts, and whipped cream. In other words, diabetes, cavities, and clogged arteries rolled into one. I'm not a big dessert person but this was oh, so yummy!

Needless to say, we ate the whole thing.

In conclusion, this place is ... different and creative. In a good way. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Fronk's Restaurant

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I first had stuffed bell peppers at a friend's house when I was in high school. My friend's mom was the nicest, cutest, Asian lady ever. Seriously, if you meet her, you won't want to go home. She's just that nice. Anyway, it inspired me to try to make some on my own and my recipe has changed since high school, but it still brings back those fuzzy feelings...

Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1 lb ground turkey
1 head of broccoli
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
a large handful of cherry tomatoes
mushrooms (how do you count mushrooms? basically... a lot?)
salt and pepper
olive oil
basil (I used dried)
parsley (I used dried)
tomato sauce (i used prego... shhh...)
parmesan cheese
4 bell peppers

Pre-heat your oven to 350. Start by making some rice. I just used a pressure cooker. So easy. While the rice is cooking, boil a pot of water. While the water is heating up, cut the top off of your bell peppers and take out all the seeds and membranes. It should look like this:

Next, you're going to parboil, (whatever that means), your bell peppers until they're nice and tender. This will be about 2 to 3 minutes. When you take them out, they should be tender. Be careful not to tear them. (Like me!)

Rinse the peppers under cold water to stop them from cooking. Then turn upside down to drain out excess water. Ignore the very large tear.

Next, dice the broccoli, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves, or quarter pieces. You could also do this while the water is boiling.

Heat a large saute pan and then add oil. When the oil is hot, add the turkey. Break up into small pieces and season with salt and pepper. When it's ALMOST done cooking, add the other vegetables (not the bell peppers!) and stir all together.

When everything is cooked: the broccoli should be bright green, the onions and mushrooms should be nice and soft, and the tomatoes slightly smushy. Season with salt and pepper. The next step is up to you. You can add some tomato sauce (amount varies on your preference) now, or you can use it all later. At this point, add some basil and parsley (About a tsp of each) and mix well.

Next, stuff your rice and veggie mixture into your bell peppers. Cover the bottom of an oven-proof container with pasta sauce and place bell peppers on top of sauce. Cover with freshly grated parmesan cheese and pop into the oven until cheese melts. About 10-20 minutes.

Remove from oven, and place on a plate, spreading some sauce on the bottom first. Enjoy!

I forgot to take an "after" picture. So I "borrowed" this from google images. (jdfoods.net) I thought the idea of putting the tops back on was cute. And it looks like they used couscous. I love the idea of variations. Tell me yours!

p.s. I know I used prego, but my favorite pasta sauce that comes in a jar is RAO's homemade spicy arrabbiata sauce. They carry it at whole foods. So expensive! So oily! So good!

Lettuce Wraps

a few months ago, andrew and i went out to eat and i had the yummiest lettuce wraps. i forgot all about them until this past week when it was my mom's birthday. i wanted to give them a try so we had these, along with the hugest juiciest steaks cooked by my brother, and everyone loved them.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp (deveined, deshelled, de-tailed? haha)
1-2 heads of butter lettuce depending on the size
1 small napa cabbage
1/4 of a red cabbage
1 bell pepper (i used yellow, but i think red or orange will also be pretty)
1 medium sized carrot
1/2 red onion
a large handful of mint leaves
1/4 bunch of cilantro (chop off the bottom 1/4...unless you like stems)
optional: mango (i forgot this ingredient)

Dressing:
2 cloves of garlic
8-9 tbsp olive oil (I sort of lost count. Oops! But basically, 1/2 cup)
8 tbsp (1/2 cup) soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar (about 5 1/3 tbsp if you're lazy like me and want to keep using the tbsps)
3 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 bunch cilantro (no stems...)
Juice of 1 lime
1 small "arm" of ginger, peeled of course. (About 1/2 to 1 inch)
1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

Start by washing, drying, and then chopping up all your veggies and herbs except the butter lettuce. This is all preference in terms of how you like your salad. For me, I chopped everything pretty small and used a mandoline slicer to julienne the carrots. Mix it all together in a fairly large container. You can save it for a couple hours, but not too long because all the veggies will start to wilt and brown... and you'll have a sad looking salad.

it should look something like this

Next, make your dressing. (But before that, take a big whiff of your "salad." It smells sooooo good. Anyway, where was I?) This is super duper easy if you have a food processor. For me, I just put it all in and emulsified until I was left with a nice greenish dressing. Not too liquidy, not too thick. If too thick, add more lime juice. If too thin... I don't know. I didn't have that problem.

Oh, if you don't want to use a food processor, just mince your garlic and ginger. Chop up your cilantro, and whisk everything all together. Still yummy.

Next, skewer your shrimp and rub some olive oil, salt, and pepper on it. oh, i forgot to tell you that i removed the tails after.
mmmm... raw shrimp. just kidding. Throw the shrimp on the grill about 1 min 30 on the first side and 30 seconds on the second. It should be nice and pink, but too long will make it rubbery. If you don't have a grill, I'm sure you can just cook it on a pan/grill pan.

On each leaf of butter lettuce, place a handful of your "salad."

Place a couple of shrimps on each and drizzle with your dressing. Make sure the shrimp isn't hot, or your veggies will be sad.
yummy and fresh!

The good thing is, if you're eating it as a side, you'll have a lot of the "salad" and dressing left over so you can eat it again later. Unless you hate it. Then throw it away or give it to your worst enemy.

*note* If you don't mix up all of your veggies in the beginning, you can store them separately in ziploc baggies or containers and they'll probably last longer and not get all brown.