As soon as my mom ascends the stairs and disappears into the guest room, I arrange the mise en place for rolling spring rolls (or lumpia as they're called in Indonesian) on the kitchen table: a stack of wrappers, a bowl of ground pork and bamboo...
Before I had my son Isaac, I shopped at the farmers’ market weekly and prided myself in making everything from scratch, poo poo-ing anything that came frozen, in a box or a can. Fast forward four years to today. It’s 6 p.m. and I’m staring into my...
When my husband was deployed for one year last year, he was entitled to a two-week R&R (rest and relaxation) trip which meant the military would fly him anywhere in the world. Many choose to go home but we decided to entrust Isaac to the...
When I bake banana bread, I'm so eager to slice the end off and chomp down that barely five minutes passes from oven to mouth. And I have my red, sore fingers to prove it. Sweet and chewy on one side, and thick and crusty on...
The Lunar New Year celebration lasts 15 days so there's still plenty of time to eat your fill of lucky and auspicious foods for a prosperous year ahead. Egg rolls (also called fried spring rolls) are a favorite all year round but they're considered an auspicious...
Since the launch of the paperback version of “The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook,” I’ve been doing book events and signings around town. Rather than just talking about the book and the process of putting it together, I’d like to encourage everyone to emulate it and start recording...
In today’s uncertain economy, we're all looking for ways to cut down on the monthly grocery bill. One way I try is to reduce the dollar amount spent on meats, by far the most expensive ingredient in my bill. I do this in one of two...
Doesn’t this vegetable look familiar? You can find it at just about every corner grocery store and you probably know it by another name: baby bok choy. In fact, its proper name is Shanghai bok choy or green stem bok choy. True bok choy has snow-white...
The durian is one of my favorite fruits, although at 357 calories and 13g of fat per 1 cup serving, it isn’t exactly as nutritious or as good for you as say, an apple. Hence, I don’t have it very often. Plus, I can’t finish an...
