Mint Walnut Pesto, served with Gnocchi

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
• 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup roasted slivered almond
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (or more) extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp kosher salt

Directions:

• In a food processor, blend the first 6 ingredients to coarse puree.
• With food processor running, slowly and gradually pour in the olive oil. Continue blending until it forms smooth puree.
• Transfer to a bowl, season with salt.
• Serve mixed with gnocchis, or your preferred pasta.

Beef Larb (Thai Beef Salad with Herbs)

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The signs of fall have not been seen a lot in my part of the world. Here in sunny northern CA the afternoons are still warm, summer dresses are still making appearance everywhere, and our local farmers market are still keeping with their Saturday schedule. 

Instead of being outside enjoying the last of the summer, I am currently sick with this terrible cough (my chest hurts!). It is very annoying as I can't even finish one sentence without hacking like a mad old woman speaking in tongue. 

Sickness aside, the offspring still need to be fed. Beef larb is one of the dishes that I can whip up quickly, without sacrificing the quality or the flavors of the meal.

It has good balance of heat from the chili, tartness from the lime juice, pungent and saltiness from the fish oil, and nuttiness from the toasted rice powder. And the best part, no trip to the Asian store required.

Side note: 

1. Skirt steak can also be substituted with ground beef. Cook and brown ground beef in a skillet, cool down and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

2. Substitute beef with any meat, like chicken, pork, or turkey.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoon uncooked sticky rice (regular rice is ok if you can't find sticky rice)
• 1 lb skirt steak
• 1/2 red onion, slice thinly
• 1 cup packed cilantro
• 1 cup packed mint leaves
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon red chili flakes
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• Juice from 1 large lime (3-4 tbsp)
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

• To make the toasted rice powder: Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat, toss the rice into the skillet (no oil), stir constantly until the rice turns golden brown and smell fragrant (about 15 minutes). Cool down a little bit and grind using mortar and pestle until rice turns into coarse powder. Food processor works fine, too. Set aside.
• Spinkle salt and pepper on both side of the steak. Grill steak to your liking, let sit for 15 minutes and slice thinly. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
• Add onion, cilantro, mint leaves, fish sauce, lime juice, chili flakes, sugar, rice powder, salt and pepper into the bowl. Toss together to combine, making sure that the beef is well coated with spices and dressing. Dish it out onto a plate, serve with cooked sticky rice and enjoy!

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Orecchiette with Tomatoes, Sausage, and Arugula

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I am not even going to talk about how long has it been since my last post, it's just downright embarrassing. All I can say is I can't believe how fast time flies, or how much my life has changed in the past year or two. 

Little C is a freshman in high school (holy smoke!). He's loving it so far! 

Big C graduated high school last May, and after a short summer break, has started his life at US Naval Academy. It's been quite an adjustment for him, and also for us. Being away from home at (not) college has proven to be a bit challenging for him. Not having him at home makes everything just weird. 

But I believe eventually all of us will get used to the idea that he's a grown up now, and will have to do grown-up things. 

Me, on the other hand, find myself with more time in hand than I know what to do with. So back to my true nature, I cook. And I bake. And realized that maybe I need to start posting stuff on my blog again, and get myself busy, before I get bored and decided to move to Annapolis to get closer to big C (J is really against this idea! With good reasons).

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dry orecchiette, cook according to package direction, rinse and drain, set aside
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 smoked sausage links, sliced 1/2"
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (unless they're small, then leave whole)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for sprinkling
• 3 cups arugula
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

• Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add sliced sausage into the skillet and cook until brown, stir occasionally. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• In a different large skillet, warm the remaining 2 tbsp oil, add garlic and chili flakes. Cook until fragrant and almost brown. Add cherry tomatoes into the skillet, toss until well coated with garlic oil. Cook for about 3 minutes until the tomatoes start to wilt. Add pasta, sausage, and pasta water into the skillet, mix until combined. Next, add grated parmesan into the pasta, stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the skillet from he heat, gently fold in half of the arugula. Transfer pasta into individual plates, top with more arugula and sprinkle with more parmesan. Serve and enjoy.

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Rosemary Lime Roasted Chicken Thighs

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Really??

My last blog entry was in March. How lazy am I?

But summer is almost here. My rowdy teenagers have two more weeks of school, then the school break is here. I'm telling you, I'm psyched about it.

Finally I would have time to sit down and relax a little bit, get inspired to try some new recipes I've been meaning to do in the past few months, read books, and maybe some beach time here and there. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

The first half of 2015 passed by so quickly. Everybody has been busy doing something (except Stuey the crazy Dale, he spends half of his day napping and the other half begging for food), dinnertime is the only time our family can sit down and be together, then they're off to do homework or whatever else. Most days, I have one hour to cook dinner, if I'm lucky.
So needless to say, dish like this roasted chicken thighs is a lifesaver. It's quick, it's super easy, and it's definitely tasty.

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
• 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from about 2 limes
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 green onion, sliced, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

• In a bowl whisk together olive oil, mustard, garlic, lime juice, rosemary, salt and pepper until well combined. Transfer marinade to a large sealable freezer bag. Add chicken thighs to the bag, seal and shake to coat. Place freezer bag in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
• Preheat the broiler. Take out the chicken and lay them on broiler pan, skin side up. Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken, then broil the chicken until the skin turns golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. 
• Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F. Continue roasting until the thermometer temperature reaches 165 F. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, garnish with sliced green onion.