the munchkins are coming!

the munchkins are coming to visit this weekend...

yay :)

Banberry Pie

I LOVE Polly's banberry pie. Anyone else feel the same way? Anyone? Somebody? Anybody? Hello? Bueller? Bueller?

This is, I swear to you, the easiest pie you will ever bake. In fact, it requires no baking. Yes, I could've made everything from scratch. But sometimes, a girl just wants simplicity. aka she wants to be lazy. And by she, I mean me. And by me, I mean I.

The best part is? You don't have to tell people that it was easy. Oh. So maybe I should've lied and said I made it all from scratch. Oh well! Too late for that.

Ingredients:

1. 9" graham cracker crust

2. 2-3 bananas

3. Instant vanilla pudding

4. Instant strawberry jello

5. Cornstarch

6. Water

7. Sugar

8. Heavy whipping cream

9. Strawberries (washed and ... de-stemmed? de-leaved?)

Slice bananas and layer at the bottom of the pie tin. Next, follow the instructions on the instant vanilla pudding (I think all you need to do is add milk. I did a mix of milk and heavy whipping cream) Pour the pudding over the bananas. Next, add the strawberries.

In a saucepan, mix 1 cup sugar and 3 tbsp cornstarch. Add 1 cup of water and allow to simmer, stirring constantly. When it thickens, add a bit of jello powder until you get the color you want. HOWEVER, if you add too much, your glaze will be the consistency of jello. So, if you'd like, you can add a teensy bit of jello for taste and then add red food coloring. Pour it over the strawberries. WARNING: if you stop stirring, or wait too long, the glaze will thicken and then you'll be sad. Why? Because you have to do it again. So be quick!

Lastly, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Pipe around the edges of the pie. I didn't add sugar to the whipped cream because the glaze and pudding are pretty sweet. However, if you like super sweet things, you'll have to sift powdered sugar and add it to your cream. I don't recommend this unless you like diabetes and cavities. =)

If you want to make a homemade crust, mix about 1.5-2 cups of graham cracker crumbs with 6 tbsp of melted butter. You can also add about 1/4 cup sugar if you'd like. Press to the bottom and sides of a pie tin. Bake at 350 for 7-10 min.

If you want to make homemade pudding, then you're just an overachiever.

Donkatsu à la Hurry Curry

Hi. I'm sorry about the super blurry pictures. Though I've had my camera for several years and the lens for just about as long... I still don't know how to use it. Hee hee. One day, my sister wanted to make donkatsu. And she did. And it was good. The next day, Andrew was coming to visit so I decided to make some for him as well. So I did. And it was good. The difference was that I finished it off in the oven because I'm afraid of deep frying things. Really, I am.

Here's what you do:

1. Go to the market and ask the butcher for some boneless pork chops. If they're too thick (which they will be), ask him to halve and flatten them for you.

2. Make some curry.

3. Make some rice.

4. Take out the tenderloin. Wait. I mean pork chops. Put a layer of saran wrap over them, use the meat tenderizer and further flatten them. Why? Because I said so. Pat them dry with a paper towel and season with s&p.

5. Similar to this, you're going to have 3 different plates/saucers/whatever of stuff. The first will have flour, the second eggs, and the third with panko and whatever seasoning you want. (S&P, onion/garlic powder, paprika... whatever.)

6. Heat up a skillet and melt some butter on it. Add some oil as well. Fry both sides of your donkatsu until it's nice and brown. Maybe 3-5 minutes on both sides.

7. Oh, I forgot to tell you. You should've preheated your oven to 350.

8. Place the donkatsu on a baking sheet and bake until cooked all the way through. (About 20-25 min)

9. Plate with rice and curry. And the red stuff if you have it.

If you don't like curry, serve with some donkatsu sauce. But then don't forget the chopped cabbage with thousand island dressing! (That's Korean style)

Quinoa, Pea, and Mint Salad

Have I mentioned how much I love this salad? I know I posted it before. It goes well with everything. The mint makes it taste fresh and as a plus, quinoa is really good for you. I'm kind of weird about mint. For instance, I can't drink mojitos bc I feel like I'm drinking toothpaste water. But this is goooood. Trust me!

I got this from Martha Stewart. I LOVE her cookbook Dinner at Home. Everything I've tried in it thus far has been excellent.

Here's the recipe for this:

2 cups Chicken stock

1 cup White Quinoa, rinsed

1 cups Shelled fresh /frozen peas (unthawed if frozen)

3 tbsp EVOO

3 tbsp Fresh mint leaves

Salt and Pepper

Bring stock and quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook 10 min. Add peas. Cook until quinoa has absorbed the liquid (about 5 min). Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 min.

Season with s&p, then add oil. Let cool about 5 min before stirring in the mint. Enjoy!

Motivation vs Laziness

I realize that I have a lack of motivation when it comes to a lot of things. At the beginning stages of a project, I get excited and am full of ideas. But soon, the novelty wears off and I don't follow through. How do you stay motivated?

Here are my current "projects" that I'm excited about along with concerns:

1) I'm starting school next month and want to pack lunch at least 3 times a week rather than eating out. This is both for monetary and health reasons. As a student, I definitely will not have the funds to be eating out daily. Also, I'd like to do some portion control as well as eating more healthy food. Though I'm excited about the possibility of things to cook, I already feel unmotivated for various reasons... time, energy, laziness.

2) I started swimming again a few months ago and this is something I'd like to keep up. I feel healthier and more energetic than when I wasn't exercising. Once I start school, realistically, how often will this happen?

I don't know if it's motivation that I'm lacking or if it's that I have too much laziness and too many excuses. Hm...

Coconut Cake

I've never had coconut cake before. Really. So this was fun to bake and yummy to eat! I got this recipe from Food Network, or more specifically, Ina Garten. Did I ever tell you I thought that her name was Contessa for the longest time?

Anyway, I did make a few adjustments. I used coconut milk instead of regular milk and I used 2 tsp of vanilla extract and 1 tsp of almond extract for the cake. Also, I used 6 large eggs instead of 5 extra large eggs. Where do you even purchase extra large eggs? Anyway, I also put less than 1 lb of confectioner's for the frosting.

All in all, it was a good cake, easy to bake... but really really really dense and rich.

This picture looks alien-esque. Hehehe...

Do you have any cake recipes to share?

Bruschetta... Sort of.

There's something about the combination of tomatoes, basil, mozzarella olive oil, and balsamic vinegar that tastes so good.

I call this "Bruschetta... Sort of." because bruschetta is actually just sliced baguette topped with olive oil and rubbed with garlic. I call the tomato, basil, garlic, etc. part bruschetta. But who's going to stop me?

Anyway, here's how I make it:

Start with some good tomatoes. These happen to be two heirloom and one... from my sister's garden. Shh!! Don't tell her! You can use any type of tomato you want. Even cherry tomatoes!

Chop them up into little cubes. My sister takes out all the insides so you don't end up with a watery bruschetta... I like to be lazy. =)

Next, mince up some garlic and chop up some basil. How much? I don't know... about this much. I like a lot of garlic. I think I put in like 3 cloves. As far as basil, I think I put about 7 large leaves.

Next, add a few glugs of olive oil, a few less glugs of balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Taste it. Does it need more salt? More vinegar? Adjust accordingly. =)

Slice up some of your favorite baguette. This one happens to be Acme Bread Company's Sweet baguette. Serve with fresh mozarella.

Sorry about the photo quality... they're all from my phone =)