Friday, February 7, 2020

Valentine's Day Cookies

Valentine's Day Cookies - made dough January 30, 2020 from Buns in my Oven
The other easy way to Valentine-ize cookies is to add red, pink and white M&Ms. That's about the extent of my "decorating" for the holiday. Yup, that's all I got.
But hey, it's not so bad. This is a typical M&M sugar cookie which is easily customizable  for any holiday as long as you have holiday-appropriate M&Ms to use (green and red for Christmas, red, white and blue for Memorial Day and 4th of July, etc).
The cookies themselves are like chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips: crisp edges, brown sugar overtones, chewy middles. I did use white chocolate chunks to supplement the M&Ms

I also included these cookies in the care packages going to deployed service members. I shipped the packages the day after I baked the cookies so hopefully they'll get it somewhere close to Valentine's Day, if not before. Although, I will admit, it felt a little weird sending hearts-y cookies and Valentine's Day-themed cookies to strange men I'd never met before who don't know me at all. I assume they know I know they have wives and girlfriends and that this is more of a "hey, thank you for your service" gesture than anything romantic, lol.
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Valentine mix M&Ms
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  1. Combine melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until well combine. 
  2. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
  3. Add flour, baking soda and salt; beat until just combined. Stir in M&Ms and white chocolate chips.
  4. Cover and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to firm up dough. Portion chilled dough into 12 dough balls. Cover and refrigerate or freeze for several hours or overnight.
  5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies (with a chocolate heart center)

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies - made January 30, 2020 from Our Table for Seven
It's February so time for some red velvet. It's also the time where you can easily "valentine-ize" almost anything by sticking a Dove chocolate heart on it so here ya go.
This is a play on peanut butter blossoms - you know, those peanut butter cookies rolled in sugar, baked then have a Hershey's kiss pushed into the center. This is the Valentine version with red velvet cookies and a Dove heart center.
I like this better for two reasons: 1) it tastes really, really good. The texture is soft and chewy and hey, red velvet. Plus the hearts are cute. 2) Because it doesn't have peanut butter, it's good for anyone with peanut allergies who couldn't eat a peanut butter blossom.
I made this for a care package going to a deployed military service member so I only took one taste test cookie and vacuumed sealed the rest to go into the box. After I ate the taste test cookie, I'm not gonna lie, I was tempted to hold back another cookie for myself. It was that good. I didn't do it but it was close. Guess I'll have to bake another batch. For another care package, of course. Really.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
dash of salt
1-2 teaspoons red food coloring
coarse sugar, for rolling
Dove chocolate hearts, unwrapped
  1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing briefly to incorporate. Add vanilla and red food coloring; mix just until combined.
  3. Add in dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.
  4. Portion into small dough balls, cover and refrigerate or freeze for an hour or up to overnight.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place coarse sugar in shallow bowl. Roll dough balls in sugar, coating completely, and evenly space on baking sheets.
  6. Bake 9-11 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Do not overbake. Immediately press an unwrapped chocolate heart in the center of each cookie. Let cookies sit on baking sheets for 5 minutes then remove to cool completely on a wire rack. Chocolate heart will melt into cookie center but retain its shape. Cool completely to keep chocolate hearts in place.

Friday, January 31, 2020

Graham Cracker Toffee Bars

Graham Cracker Toffee Bars - made January 30, 2020 from Tastes Better From Scratch
I have a bunch of other recipes to put up that I made before this but I'm leap frogging this to the front of the line because it's just that good and I want you to make it as soon as humanly possible. Actually, it's also because it's amazingly easy. Like, seriously amazingly easy.
I modified the original recipe slightly to make it even easier. I used chocolate chips which I already had in my pantry instead of running out to get Hershey bars. I also skipped the step of covering the newly baked bars with foil after placing the chocolate on top. Instead, once you take out the bars and turn your oven off, blanket the top of the bars with chocolate chips, put it back in the hot (but turned off) oven for 2-3 minutes (no longer!) then take out and the chips should be melted enough to spread easily.
Sprinkle the top with any garnishes like toffee bits while the chocolate is still melted so they'll adhere more easily. Then let cool and set. You'll want a sharp knife to cut these. The graham cracker layer is still crisp and makes for a nice base. I think that's also why I liked these so much. There's a nice texture contrast between the crisp graham crackers, the crunch of the toasted pecans and the richness of the chocolate.
I made these to put in the care package for a deployed military service member and they also turned out to be a good choice for mailing. The food vacuum sealer fit snugly around the bars which will also help them from getting crushed or broken and won't move around in the box during shipping. Last pic shows all the cookies and brownies/bars I made and vacuum sealed for shipping. I'm such a stickler for freshness that I don't think I'll ever mail non-vacuum-sealed baked goods again.
1 package honey graham crackers
14 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped and lightly toasted
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13" pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.
  2. Place graham cracker sheets along the bottom of pan, covering completely.
  3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Add pecans and boil mixture for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
  4. Remove from heat and pour mixture over graham crackers, spreading in an even layer.
  5. Bake for 7 minutes. Turn oven off and remove pan from heat. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, blanketing mixture completely; this is not the time to skimp. Put bars back in hot oven for 2-3 minutes, no longer.
  6. When chocolate begins to melt, remove from oven and spread melted chocolate evenly over top. Sprinkle with toffee bits or M&Ms if desired. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Bistek Tagalog

Bistek Tagalog - made December 16, 2019 from Lola Kusinera
Growing up, bistek was one of my favorite Filipino dishes. Filipinos shortened "beef steak" to "bistek" but however you want to say it, it's slices of tender beef simmered in a lemon-soy sauce marinade with sliced onions. Or "really good" if you want to keep it simple.

This is a typical Filipino dish of something with a tasty sauce to help also flavor the rice. I can give up rice as long as I don't eat Filipino food because so many amazing Filipino dishes (except the ones with noodles) just beg for rice. And you can't eat bistek with soft, fluffy rice to further enjoy the sauce.

This was pretty good and very easy to make. You just want to make sure you get a good cut of beef, slice it thinly and simmer long enough to soften the beef. Add water during simmering if your sauce starts to dry out but you want to keep enough flavor and not water it down too much.

2 pounds beef chuck roast, sliced thin and pounded
3/4 cup Knorr Liquid Seasoning or 1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup kalamansi juice or lemon juice
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced.
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground pepper
salt as needed
1 large onion, sliced thin and round
1/3 cup cooking oil
  1. In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, kalamansi or lemon juice, minced garlic, brown sugar and ground pepper. Add beef slices to the mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Remove meat from the marinade and reserve marinade.
  3. Heat oil in wok or wide frying pan. Quick fry onion slices and set aside. Using the same wok or frying pan, adjust heat to high and quick fry beef by batches. Remove from pan and reserve.
  4. Pour remaining marinade into frying pan. Simmer on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the fried marinated beef to the cooking pan. Stir and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add the onions and stir. When meat is tender, remove from heat. Serve warm with rice.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Super Moist Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Super Moist Air Fryer Chicken Wings - made December 21, 2019 from Craving Tasty
The last chicken wing recipe that's been - haha - waiting in the wings to be posted. This one is probably the easiest out of all of them since it's basically a dry rub that you rub all over the chicken wings then let it cook in the air fryer. Simple.

It was also pretty tasty. If you want a quick snack or an easy, low-carb meal, this fits the bill. I ran them in my air fryer a little bit longer to make sure the chicken was cooked so mine don't look as moist on the outside as the original blog's but inside it was still pretty moist and the outside was crisp. A reminder to keep using my air fryer more often with good results.

12 chicken wings (drummettes and wingettes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  1. Dry the wings with paper towels and place in a medium bowl. Mix the salt, chili powder, garlic and baking powder in a small bowl. Gently rub the seasoning all over the wings, ensuring even coverage; set aside.
  2. Lightly rub the cooking rack of air fryer with cooking oil to reduce sticking or lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the chicken wings on the rack in a single layer, allowing for free air circulation.
  3. Set temperature of air fryer to 400 or 410 degrees F. Set the cooking time to 20 minutes and start.
  4. After 20 minutes, check time for doneness and cook further if needed or if you want more crispness.
  5. Serve immediately.

Monday, January 20, 2020

MLK Day of Service

Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service - January 20, 2020

This is going to be a different post than I normally write. I have to admit, I'm getting tired of baking the same things and writing the same things about them. As I continue to struggle with the should I/shouldn't I give up the blog issue, I decided to take a break and post a bit more about how I'm spending my time in retirement. I have a lot of thoughts running in my head, namely, that retirement doesn't change who you fundamentally are, but that's for a future post.


For today, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr and the MLK Day of Service, I wanted to showcase one of the nonprofits I volunteer at, namely the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. These pics are from the various distribution events I've gone to over the past 2 months.


I've volunteered at food banks back in the Bay Area, namely the Second Harvest Food Bank, but, because I worked so much, it's typically been (very) sporadic. I often didn't have the time or the energy or either. What I love about being retired now is I do have the time and I'm getting enough sleep to definitely have the energy.



My prior food bank volunteer experience has usually been helping sort and pack in their warehouse. I've helped out at the warehouse here as well but now I primarily volunteer at what they call their Mobile Harvest distribution. I try to do mobile harvest twice a week and I also help out at the food bank office every other week, helping them catch up on their data entry for volunteer activity. Based on working with other volunteers and meeting food bank clients directly, I wrote a note about the lessons I've learned by volunteering at the food bank. I'm posting an updated version here based on the additional learning I realized at last week's mobile harvests.



Things I Learned Volunteering at the Food Bank
Thanks to my current semi-retirement, I’m realizing my goal of volunteering more often and giving back to my local community. One of the nonprofits I now regularly volunteer at is the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. I try to volunteer at a “mobile harvest” distribution at least twice a week. Mobile Harvest is when the food bank sets up at a predetermined site to distribute food to its clients. As the name implies, “harvest” refers to the fact that the bulk of the food given away is fresh produce: grapes, tomatoes, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery, and other produce. Sometimes there are proteins like pork patties, eggs and dairy like milk. I’ve also done volunteer shifts at their warehouse and I go into the office itself every other week to help with their administrative tasks.

What I’ve learned during all my volunteer shifts:

  • There’s a core of volunteers who show up faithfully at each one of these and I’m starting to recognize some of the “regulars”. They, like me, are mostly retired, although I’m still probably one of the youngest volunteers there. At first I thought they were also like me in that they are fortunate enough to be able to retire. Maybe they are. But I also noticed some of those die-hard volunteers are clients of the food bank themselves.
  • Hunger has no race. I never take pictures of clients (just the food being distributed and the food bank truck) but I have seen a steady stream of Caucasians, Hispanics, Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Middle Eastern and others I probably can’t easily identify.
  • Hunger has no gender or age. Clients are both men and women, elderly folks pushing walkers, young couples with babies in their arms, mothers with children in tow, pet owners with dogs on leashes, single folks, middle-aged, old and young.
  • Clients have jobs. I hear them talking about their work shifts, overtime, not taking sick days and working the night shift.
  • Clients don’t “just take free stuff”. They are given the option to accept the allotted food from each station. Some refuse, saying they have something already and would rather that particular food “go to someone else who needs it”. Or, even more touching, they take their full allotment and talk about sharing their extras with their (often elderly) neighbors who physically can’t get out to a distribution event.
  • Clients are grateful. Whatever their circumstance that leads them to being a food bank client, many are cheery, volubly thank the volunteers for what they’re doing and express their appreciation. Many look you in the eye, smile and say thank you.
  • Clients help each other. As each person goes past each station to receive the allotment of food, they help each other with placing the items in their bags, wait patiently as the person in front of them takes a bit longer to get all of their items in order and don’t complain. Lines in retail stores at the mall could learn something here.
  • Volunteers are an amazing group. We stand in the freezing cold for 90 minutes to 2 hours, setting up, cleaning up and breaking down the stations when it’s over. No one complains. One man uses a cane and has to sit for his shift but he shows up and has been showing up for the last 10 years. They are kind. They are respectful to the clients. They greet them like old friends. They have heart. They wait until the end before they take their allotment of the food distribution. Some of them have been volunteering for years.
I’m always grateful for the opportunity to give back. But I didn’t expect to receive so much in return. If you ever have a chance to do it, I highly recommend it. You will be repaid tenfold.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Korean Fried Chicken in the Air Fryer

Korean Fried Chicken in the Air Fryer - made December 13, 2019, modified from Tasty Kitchen
This was from last month when I was still going through my Korean Fried Chicken and chicken in the air fryer phase. This recipe let me combine both themes.
At this point, I'd finally broken down and bought the more expensive chicken wings from Costco. I don't know why chicken wings would be more expensive than thighs or drumsticks but if I wanted to try actual chicken wings, I had to buy chicken wings.
The air fryer worked beautifully to cook the chicken with far less mess than frying them in hot oil and is healthier. The drummettes and wings came out crispy enough. I did double the sauce recipe though as it didn't look like there would be enough sauce for all the chicken. I think I still have the Filipino mindset where you need enough sauce to go with the rice.

Good KFC though, in my experience, doesn't need to be sauce heavy. Part of the allure is having enough to make the chicken flavorful but not be too heavy handed. It isn't meant to be saucy enough to be sopped up with rice.
Still, this turned out pretty well. The gochujang makes it spicy so I could've probably cut back a little on the sauce and done a better job tossing the chicken to coat. But it was "good enough" for me.
Chili Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons ginger, grated
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)

For the Chicken
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 whole chicken wings, separated and tips discarded
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 stalk green onion, for garnish
  1. Chili sauce: combine soy sauce, vinegar, corn syrup, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and gochujang in a large bowl; set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, egg and salt for the batter until it's a thick paste. Add the wings and mix with your hands until wings are thoroughly coated.
  3. Place coated wings in air fryer basket and drizzle with oil. Cook in air fryer for about 35 minutes or until brown and crispy.
  4. Add fried chicken to the sauce and add sesame seeds; toss to coat completely. Serve hot, garnished with green onion.