Happy Memorial Day!

It's Memorial Day, so I'm working on marinating some beef short ribs for Kalbi/Galbi, a Korean bbq dish. Here's what it looks like so far:

A little gross looking, but will be soooo delicious!

Happy Memorial Day!!!

"Free Them" 5k Walk/Run

I'll be participating in a 5k walk/run on May 7th. It's an event that is raising money to battle child trafficking in southeast Asia. This organization provides job opportunities for families living in poverty, so that they don't have to send their children into the cities (or entrust them to crooks) for jobs. They provide education for children, so that they are less likely to roam the streets, and make safe havens for those rescued out of trafficking. Here is more information about how they use donations.

As a child of Vietnamese immigrants, this program is very dear to my heart. It is my first time participating in a 5k, and I'm very excited! I've already donated $25 to the cause, and am begging you to help me raise more money! (Many thanks to my amazing friend Shelly over at Peanut Butter Shelly Time and Rarely Wears Pants who made a generous donation yesterday.) Please, any amount will help! Thank you!

Click here to donate!

I love sprinkles. Duh.

Thanks to my friend Greta, I got lost in the world of pinterest.com today. More specifically, I could not find the willpower to leave the Tasty Treats section.

There were many photos and recipes that stood out for me, but these two in particular made my heart sing:

Photo: Rosco Weber, BraveTart

5 words: Make your own motherloving sprinkles. I never thought of making my own before, but now I simply must. Many thanks to the duo of Stella Parks and Rosco Weber for this inspiration.

Which leads us to...

Photo: Kokomama of Kokocooks

While attending college, my lovely friend Shelly (Peanut Butter Shelly Time) would often make Funfetti cake to celebrate birthdays. Even though it was just a white cake, the sprinkles somehow made it seem tastier and wonderful. This homemade confetti cake from Kokocooks is absolutely beautiful, and the entry that the recipe is posted in is very touching.

Now, who wants to make confetti cake with homemade sprinkles with me???

Happy Easter!

Bird's Nest Cookies

These super easy cookies were made using a recipe I found on JOY. They are peanut butter cookies made out of crunchy chow mein noodles. For the eggs, I used Whopper's Mini Robins' Eggs, because I think they look more realistic than jelly beans or M&Ms.

Here is my adapted version of JOY's recipe:

1/2 c sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/2 c peanut butter (I used creamy, but crunchy would do!)
1 c chow mein noodles (and approx 1/4 c more if you like them crunchy)
1 bag of Whoppers Mini Robins' Egg/ Jelly beans/ peanut M&Ms
Servings: Approx 15-18 nests per batch

1. In a medium sauce pan, over med heat, combine sugar and syrup. Once it boils completely, turn off heat.
2. Add peanut butter into the sugar mixture. Stir until completely blended.
3. Add noodles, and stir until they are coated.
4. Spoon cookie mixture into a measuring cup (1/4 c), and drop onto wax paper. Use a small spoon (or your hands) to form dents for the "eggs."
5. Add eggs onto the nests. (I found each can fit 3-4 eggs).

Hope you're all enjoying your Easter!

Will and Cate

Photo: Papa John's Pizza

Ok. I get it. We have royal wedding fever. Sure, I may wake up at 4am on Friday, April 29th to watch Barbara Walters talk about the wedding of people I've never ever met in my life. I may fantasize about being a princess one day, or wonder what it's like to be white and British...but that's NORMAL. Who doesn't do that??? This Will and Cate pizza, however, is just too much. But creative.

Nutella brownie pie

Nutella brownie pie

***NOTE: Since this recipe was originally posted on 03/25/2011, I've made some revisions. You can find the new recipe here. ***

It is currently 1:00am in Seattle, and I just finished a slice of pie. Go ahead. Judge me. I don't care, because it was one of the most amazing slices of pie I've ever had in my life. Now that you're done judging...Be. Jealous. Sucker.

I needed a new pie recipe for a pie auction we're having at church this weekend. I wanted something exotic/delicious/easy. My friend Andrew encouraged me to make a Nutella pie, because Nutella is like crack and vicodin, it's so good. Most Nutella pie recipes involved making a mousse, and I just wasn't down with that. I wanted something even easier. So I looked at other recipes. I didn't want a fruit pie, or a pudding pie. Maybe coconut cream pie? I went back to looking up Nutella recipes, and found cookie and brownie recipes. I'd heard of brownie or cookie pies before, and then it hit me...Nutella brownie pie.

It's dense, moist, chocolate-y, hazelnut-y, and abso-freaking-lutely amazing. It's not too sweet, but the the brownie is rich and melts in your mouth. I didn't add enough brownie filling, so there's too much crust, but it doesn't matter. I'm telling you. It's the best pie I've ever made.

Nutella Brownie Pie
1 pie crust (9 in. pan), store bought or homemade
     my favorite crust recipes are here and here
3 batches of Nutella brownie recipe by Abby Dodge (I only used 3 ingredients!!!)
     3 batches should be enough to fill the crust, or you could do 2 batches with a layer of whipped cream on top (just make sure you don't die from deliciousness)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Make the crust. Make the batter and pour it into your pie crust. Bake for 20-30 min. You don't want to thoroughly cook this pie, so that it gets that soft, gooey, fudgy, melt in your mouth middle. Top with whipped cream, vanilla iced cream, or melted Nutella. I think I'd rather enjoy it with a fresh cup of coffee. Please try this. Right. Now. And send me photos. Giggity.

Most typical face on the planet

Below is a NatGeo video about the most typical face on the planet...Makes me wonder about the most commonly eaten food in the world. Is it rice? What do you think?

Another question to ponder...Does this mean that those "all you Asians look the same" jokes will truly never end?

7 Billion: Are You Typical? — National Geographic Magazine @ Yahoo! Video