5 Recipes for Hot Summer Days

Long time no blog! Thankfully this unforeseen four-day weekend has allotted me time to study for my APs, blog, *and* make tasty food.

BRUNCH: Omelette on Crumpet

 Little known fact: I love cooking. I woke up around 10:30 and decided to procrastinate studying for APUSH by making myself a bomb ass brunch. I layered a toasted crumpet with an omelette that contained sautéed onions, spinach and tomatoes. To top it off I added cubed avocado, sour cream, chives, basil, parsley, parmesan cheese and some pepper. WOW. I would never make this on a school day.

Here is a cross section of my crazy omelette-crumpet concoction. 

Makes enough for one—15-20 minutes

1/3 tomato diced

Handful of baby spinach 

1/8 cup of diced sweet onion

1/2 tbsp butter or olive oil

1 egg + a splash of milk

1/4 avocado diced

dollop of sour cream 

various herbs to top 

pinch of salt 

Crumpet

1. In a small to medium size non-stick pan on medium high heat melt the butter

2. Turn the heat down to medium, add the onions and when they begin to brown add the tomatoes and then the spinach you could add some garlic here too if you'd like

3. Sautée for 2-3 minutes then set it aside

4. In the same pan add a bit more butter and let it melt  

5. As the butter melts, in a small bowl whisk the egg and milk together.

6. Pour the mixture in the pan and wait 2-4 minutes or until it seems to be cooking through to the top. If you want the omelette to be thinner, add more milk and use a bigger pan. If you want it to be thicker add less milk and use a smaller pan. 

7. Add in the sautéed vegetables to one half of the pan and fold the other half of the omelette over it. When you feel confident enough about the firmness of the omelette and in your ability to flip it, flip it.

8. If you totally botched it, just mash it together and call it fancy scrambled eggs instead, but if you were successful place it on top of a toasted crumpet. 

9. Top with herbs, avocado, sour cream, pepper, and shredded parmesan cheese to your liking. 

To keep myself hydrated as I study, I made myself some flavored water. I have a horrible habit of not drinking enough water if I'm not exercising or seriously thirsty, so adding fresh flavors to it encourages me to drink more of it. 

Makes enough for one—1 min 

1 glass of water 

A couple icecubes 

2-3 blackberries

1 slice of lemon 

2 leaves of basil (rip them up to dispel more flavor)

Between then and dinner I had a couple spoonfuls of Safeway caramel ice cream, but it's not too pretty so I won't show it here. Besides cooking, studying, and watching anime I didn't do much and rarely left the house save my one short walk to the park. If you're looking for a good anime to watch I *highly* recommend Psycho Pass. 

DINNER: Soba Noodles with Warm Brussels Sprout Salad 

Brussels sprouts are horribly underrated in my opinion. They resemble teeny weeny cabbages. That's so cute! How do people not like them?? I followed this recipe: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jD5qBnsVew). 

Soba is a Japanese noodle made from buckwheat and has a darker brown color. You can find it and its dipping sauce at most asian markets. 

Makes enough for one—6 mins 

1 handful of soba noodles

A bowl of cold water

2-4 tablespoon of soba noodle sauce

Shredded dried seaweed to garnish

1 tsp chopped green onion to garnish 

1. Place a pot of water on the stove and get it boiling. 

2. Cook the soba noodles for 3-5 minutes. 

3. Traditionally soba is usually served cold so you can submerge it in cold water but if you don't care and you want to save water because you live in California, you can skip this step. 

4. Plate your soba and add your garnishes and then add your sauce.

If you can't find the sauce you can use soy sauce, mirin, and dried bonito until you achieve your desired taste. 

I was really surprised by these, the flavor had an unprecedented depth and richness even though the ingredients are relatively light. The salad is quite filling while providing incredible nutrition. 

Makes enough for two—10 mins 

1 lb. brussels sprouts

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp honey 

2 tbsp butter

Handful of crushed walnuts

Handful of dried cranberries

Salt and pepper

1. Wash and cut the stems of the brussels sprouts then slice them in half lengthwise

2. In a pan on medium-high, heat the butter until melted

3. Add the brussels sprouts then salt and pepper and mix to make sure the sprouts are coated 

4. Put a lid over the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes or until fork-tender. 

5. White the sprouts are cooking, in a separate bowl mix the vinegar and honey together. This gives the brussels sprouts an alluringly sweet flavor. 

6. Take the sprouts out and into a mixing bowl and add the dressing, then walnuts and cranberries.

DESSERT: Blackberry Smoothie Popsicles

My mom had made a smoothie earlier but there was too much so I poured some into these popsicle molds instead. Four hours later, they prove to be perfect for dessert! The molds from Daiso make four small popsicles and have little spouts for you to drink up any melted popsicle you may have left. How thoughtful! 

I have no idea what my mom put in this smoothie. It just tastes like a ton of fruit, which, by the way, are just ripened plant ovaries. (Have fun studying for AP and SAT Bio everyone). If I did make the smoothie I would want something like this: 

Makes enough for smoothie for two and some popsicles—5-10 mins plus 3-4 hrs freezing time

1/2 cup blackberries 

1/2 cup raspberries 

1/3 cup coconut flavored almond milk OR 1/4 cup of actual coconut milk sounds yummy too 

1 banana 

A couple of ice cubes 

1. Blend the ice first 

2. Then add in the fruit and then liquid last 

3. Pour into popsicle mold, and freeze for 3-4 hours 

4. To take them out pour hot water over the mold to easily remove them. 

Let us know if you try any of these out! 

- K

Spring Forward

Although we lose an hour of sleep this weekend, at least we know later sunsets and warmer days are to come. This weekend in the Bay Area is full of blue days and sunny skies, so K and I have brought out the start of our spring wardrobes for this post. (Of course, we’ll still go spring shopping to replenish and renew our closets for the warmer seasons ;) ) Please check out A’s (our lovely photographer) beautiful travel blog.

K's Outfit

From a young age I have always held fashion with a certain fascination. Fashion is transformative. It has allowed me to redefine who I am with a simple change of clothes. Somedays the preppy pleated skirt must find its way in my outfit and on other days I just want to bust out the obnoxious gold disco pants. Yesterday I could be into streetwear, today I could be into k-fashion, and tomorrow I could be feeling bohemian.

But today my outfit makes me feel some what like Marilyn Monroe. In fact, the skirt I am wearing is a tennis skirt from the 50’s that I found in a thrift store near Berkeley for $15. The pleated circle skirt’s annoyingly flirtatious fabric has given me a fair share of scandalous moments reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe’s subway grate “mishap”. The red, white, and navy blue colors also make me think this’d be a perfect Fourth of July outfit.

The silhouette of the breezy skirt and the cut-out, bustier type top makes it very appropriate for spring and summer climates. I rolled up the hem of the top to fit with the higher waisted skirt, and can roll it back down to fit with moderately high-waisted jeans. I’m really loving this unique top because of it’s fun pattern that adds a cheerful touch to my wardrobe. Recently I’ve been into exposing a bit of midriff. I haven’t delved far into this trend before so it’s interesting for me to try out. Usually I prefer contacts over my glasses since it’s less of a hassle and looks better but in this outfit I think they add to this look here.  

 

        

I ended the look with some oxford flats for a preppy feel. This pair was from F21 and as you can see, have been quite beaten and frayed at the shoelaces. I’ve been meaning to tape them back up but just haven’t gotten around to it. BEWARE these shoes have absolutely no traction. I have landed squarely on my butt many a time while running to class because of these slippery soles.

S's Outfit

Today’s outfit is pretty urban, with a bit of a retro, cutesy twist (hence the mysterious stare towards the right side of the photo). The cropped fishtail jacket is definitely more of a masculine and urban styled piece, but I think it balances well with the floral prints and more feminine details of other pieces of clothing such as the collar on my shirt, my oxfords, and my golden bar necklace.

My collared chiffon blouse is from Urban Outfitters, found at the bottom of a heap clearance clothing for $5.99 - thank goodness for the store’s 50% off Clearance sales. The shirt has a unique, diamond like floral print, and I just can’t get over the peter pan collar. The shirt is pretty sheer, so I always pair it with a bandeau of bralette underneath. The golden bar necklace is from H&M, and while it looks nice, it’s broken on me plenty of times! I still love it regardless, I think it adds the perfect touch to many outfits.

Being the height that I am, finding pants can be quite a nuisance, especially as I’m not one to get clothes tailored. I’d been looking for looser-fitting, breezy pants for awhile, and came across this pair from Nordstrom, by Lush, in about December. These pants are great for warmer days and a great alternative to jeans, because let’s be honest, you’ve gotta give your legs a break from being so restricted all the time.

I’m all for floral prints - and anything that comes in black, so these were an automatic “YES” for me when I saw them. Best part - they were 50% off for $22.99! In all seriousness, not only are they cute and chic, but they are so comfortable as well. They’re so soft, I could sleep in them.

Lastly - my long loved and very worn out oxfords (let’s just call them vintage). I got these almost three years ago, but have never stopped loving them. They are my go-to flats, as my feet aren’t quite suited to the shape of ballet flats. My favorite part of these shoes are the black outlining/detailing, I think it makes the shoes pop and stand out a bit more than they would without it.

On S:

Headband - F21

Necklace - H&M

Cropped Fishtail Jacket - Delia’s

Collared Blouse - Urban Outfitters

Track Pants - Nordstrom (Lush)

Oxfords - DSW (Not Rated)

Cali Sundays: Denim Shorts and Dim Sum

What was an obligatory food review for my school's magazine publication became a blogging opportunity. Sunday was idyllic and warm enough that the environment enabled me to wear shorts. Even though the warmth was quickly replaced with a cool chill on Monday, the reprieve from colder temperatures was greatly appreciated. I've always been a shorts-and-tank kind of person because I love the tingling sensation of sunshine on my skin that comes every spring and summer. Please excuse my awkward stance as I found this was the least awkward photo from a plethora of other horrifying options. 

Many things I want to say about this shawl that I'm wearing: 1) I made it for five dollars using this tutorial and a scarf from H&M  2) It should *not* be called a kimono. Calling this shawl a kimono is actually cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is when someone takes part of another culture and adopts it without recognition of the significance of what they have appropriated. This doesn't sound bad but it can get offensive really quickly. I don't think many people know what cultural appropriation is (at least I didn't until the magazine I write and draw for wrote an article on it)  and how insensitive and inaccurate we are every time we call this article of clothing a "Kimono". A kimono is far more elaborate and holds much more cultural importance than those at Brandy Melville could ever express. I'm not calling for a boycott of these trendy shawls (though lets be real selling flimsy fabric for over $50 is kind of an injustice), but let's just rethink what we call these breezy pieces :) 

This shawl took me about 5 minutes to figure out? It was really easy and I love the colors! 

I found this gold snakeskin print bag in the recesses of my mothers closet. I have no idea where she got it and how often she must have worn this baby in her 20's but I now use it for almost every outing. 

This silver bracelet was actually a gift from a beloved Aunt in China. 谢谢小舅妈！You can't really see it in this photo but the bangle has a star charm and a doll face charm. It goes with so many outfits and every time I wear it I'm reminded of the family I have in China <3

I bought this crop top from Choies and it came out to be a little more cropped and looser than I'd hoped. However, it works out well here with the high waisted shorts so that I'm only exposing a classy bit of midriff. It's a very comfortable, stretchy material but the sleeves also end at a bit of an awkward length, and without staying tight. Overall I really like the items I got from Choies but I wish processing and shipping was a little quicker :/ It was my first time ordering but I thought the VIP membership points were very disorganized and not made lucid to customers. They have very cute clothes and very affordable prices though so I can't really complain.

Shawl- DIY (scarf from H&M) 

Striped 3/4 Sleeve Crop Top- Choies

High-waisted Shorts- F21

Sunglasses- Stanford Bookstore 

Silver Bangle- Gift 

Assorted Leather Bracelets- Choies

Gold Bag- Mom 

Flip Flops- Old Navy (not pictured)

After my lovely photographer, E, helped me with these photos we went to divulge in my favorite food: dim sum. 

Ahhhh yes, obscure asian drinks! I grew up going to dim sum every other sunday lunch with my family in the very cantonese town of Union City. I've never gone without my family so this was exciting for me and I felt like such an adult. We went to Cooking Papa because it was the closest authentic dim sum place around. 

^ My photographer and partner-in-crime besides S.

Hong Kong Milk Tea $2.50- The tea flavor was deeper, richer, and more... burnt? But in a good way. Taiwanese milk teas tend to have more sugar and milk in them than I would like but this is more appropriate for a morning drink than boba.

 Steamed Pork Buns $2.50(I think?)- Cha shu bao, I've missed this so much! The fluffy, sweet and white dough resonated well with the barbeque-honey flavors of the pork. This is one of my childhood favorites.

 Steamed Shrimp Dumplings $4.50(I think?) The wrapping is clear and the bamboo in the shrimp filling offered good texture to the dumplings which I either never noticed or has become a unique variation on dumplings. 

 Siu Mai $4.50?- Another one of my favorites. Steamed pork and shrimp dumplings with fish eggs on top. 

Steamed Turnip Cake $3.50?- I usually like the fried version better but this was flavorful too. 

After dim sum, E and I went to Sno-Zen to have some shaved snow! I'm not sure how the Taiwanese come up with so many amazing snacks but props to them. 

 Not sure of the price but the shaved snow is vanilla with sweetened condensed milk, strawberries, and lychee jelly. The flavors together offered a quintessential asian taste commonly found with shaved snow and pearl milk teas. 

- K