Appetizer Croquettes!

Master Chef Vick came armed with a croquette receipe one evening to share with us! What is a croquette? It is like the Japanese version of the hash-brown, except it is fried using a different type of batter and the potatoes are mixed with a variety of ingredients. We used groud beef and green peas! The recipe is actually quite simple:

1. Gather all these ingredients!

2. Sautee the ground beef with some onions in a skillet until fully cooked.

3. Peel and boil some potatoes and green peas.

4. Mash these ingredients together until you get a smooth, consistent mixture. (Yum, you can probably just eat it like mashed potatoes!)

5. Next, the fun part is molding the croquettes! Angela was a pro at this. You can really make them any size and shape you like!

6. Coat the pieces first in flour, then in a beaten egg mixture, and then in tempura batter (or coating of your choice). The egg mixture ensures that the batter will stick to your croquette!

7. Now deep fry the croquette pieces until golden brown on both sides.
Health-conscious? Blot out excess oil on paper napkins immediately after frying:

8. Serve as a side dish to any meal or just as a tasty snack!

- Candice :D

A Little Something Sour, Spicy, Salty and Sweet

Gloria's Home-made MOSS BURGER Burger

"Why did you want to make a MOSS burger? "-Me (thinking that she could have just heated up some leftovers that laid out in front of her).

"Because I was sooo hungry! Haha"-Gloria

Ah, I've been there. When you get so hungry that only the most filling of foods (which usually requires precious time and energy to prepare) can only satisfy such a greedy gut. Sure, if you're really hungry just rip up a bag of chips or pop a can of spaghetios in the microwave-but why not amplify that feeling of satisfaction to the max by feeding a crying stomach that's willing to swallow any edible crud you throw at it and treat it with a meal worthy of being a called a 'hearty meal'.



1) Mold the rice with a little sesame oil and hon dashi into a patty 2) Fry over medium heat until it's crispy enough to hold itself.





3) Customize your own fillings and sauces, in Gloria's case she sandwhiched in some black bean and pepper beef and lettuce with chili oil sauce mixed with a little sugar and soy sauce.



The crispyness of the rice was soooo good, well done Gloria.

Vick's New Ice Shaver

It was only $5 at the 99 Ranch and had made its way to be Vick's most used kitchen appliance. Pro: I get to eat shaved ice to my heart's content Con: The damn thing sounds like nails on a chalkboard and makes me cringe with every crank





"Mashed taro is a must!"- Vick





Vick drizzles the condensed milk dramatically

Hot and Sour Soup and Fried Bean Curd with Mrs. Wang

This woman is one of my role models for providing wholesome motherly cooking. As I expressed my utmost admiration for her dishes, she graciously offered me a sweat deal:

"Angela, I will teach you to prepare 2 different dishes a week if you'd like"- Mrs. Wang

"Wow! Really? Thank you!" Me, in broken Chinese

"But, only under one condition. You must help me download my favorite dramas."



Eggs, black fungus, carrots, ground pork, tofu and bamboo shoots

Make sure to scramble the eggs with a little cornstarch and water before flowering it in the boiling water.



Salt, hon dashi, white pepper, white vinegar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar.



Put in the cornstarch and vinegar and white pepper in last to adjust taste.



Now a great vegetarian dish- Fried Bean Curd

Wet bean curd ( IMPORTANT: make sure to pat dry with towels do prevent splattering when it's hit the hot oil)





Sauce: Soy sauce, garlic, white whine, sugar, chili oil, hon dashi







It was crispy outside and moist with tangy spicy sauce soaked in the inside a very easy and delicious dish.

My First Cream Puffs

Afterall that salty, spicy food I had a hankering for something sweet and creamy





For finishing touches i decided to drizzle some chocolate and sprinkle some confectioner's sugr on top, makes a major difference in appearence and taste.



Yes, they were as good as they look :)

-Angela

The Great Outdoors and Visualizing Jam

During the summers as a kid, I grew up adventuring around and getting dirt under my nails in my grandparents' big backyard. They lovingly grew plump peaches, plums, pears, cherries, and lemons that we always picked together as a family activity. They also have a fishing pond decorated with lotus flowers that I would just stare into and fish in for hours. So when Candice called me up to go fruit picking all those memories of my grandparents' little summer getaway brightened me up.

We stopped at Impossible Acres, a quaint family-run farm in Davis that opens to the public for fruit picking with charges based per pound.

As you an probably tell from these great photos that Candice took, these fruits were delicious!

So what are some of the things you should you do with bundles of fresh fruit? Learn how to appreciate its form at a deeper and intimate level. "Huh?" Well, ask June Taylor-

This weekend Vick surprised me with a fishing trip to Fallen Leaf Lake south of Lake Tahoe; our target: Crawdads.

We used all sorts of bait and we found that crayfish have a taste for korean kalbi and drumsticks (our leftover dinner). With these flavorful baits we were able to catch about 4 pounds worth during our trip!

That night we had a real feast; Vick had never tried them before and was cynical about the fact that crawdads have very little meat, most of which concentrate on the thumb sized tail. But let me tell you, crawdads are like orange-floawored tic-tacs; tiny but punch a pack of awesome flavor, their strong seafoody flavor are very much worth the maticulous process of unshelling the little buggers. Plus, they make great convo food.

-Angela