Blog Break

I’m here to announce that I will be on a long blog break—I have come across something that needs my full attention and will be using this time for it. I’ll explain in detail what this exactly is once I get back. I hope you will understand! In the mean time, take care everyone! xoxo

Late Wishes

Happy New Year everyone! Please excuse my late wishes…I have been a tad bit busy since my last post. The new year has been a glorious three days though . I started off the year with a wonderful prayer and sermon session until 1am. On New Year’s Day, I had a ton of traditional Korean sae-bae activites. What is sae-bae you ask? We Koreans get together in beautiful Korean dresses/suits (han-bok). The younger generations wishes the older generations a year full of good luck, while the older generations share their wisdom with the younger generations along with some cash

I failed to dress up this year (it’s quite uncomfortable >.<), but my younger cousin did

We also have traditional Korean food on this day, including:

I can feel that 2010 will be even more awesome than 2009!

My resolution this year is to be less selfish. I know all of us are selfish to a certain extent, but I believe that I think about myself too much. Who cares what other people think of me—I should stop avoiding what makes me uncomfortable. 2010 will be more about giving to others, and not doing so with complaints, but with a smile on my face

How about you? What are your resolution(s) this year? What did you eat on New Year’s Eve/Day?

Reflections and Thai Food

Hi everyone!

As the end to this year draws to a close, I feel as if I should do a reflection post. And not just because Sophia said so (although that might be one of the reasons why… ). 2009 has been one of the most memorable and life-changing years of my life. The most important change is how strong my faith in God has become. With the help of many friends, I was able to reach out to God and trust that He will take care of me. I started to understand that it is futile to worry endlessly about minor details—I was able to let go of some of my OCD tendencies. Who am I to worry when He already has the best plan out there for me? Although I am not entirely free from worries (I am only human after all), my life has become so much more enjoyable and relaxing. I am actually able to go out with new people, without worrying too much about what they think.

Other highlights of 2009 include: becoming more social, graduating from college (undergrad), quitting my job, starting up grad school, TAing a course, breaking up with my first bf (pre-blog days), starting a blog (!!!), and cooking/trying new dishes.

Speaking of which, I might not have mentioned this on the blog before, but Thai food is one of my most absolute favorite cuisines (along with Korean ). There are many different kinds of dishes ranging in various degrees of spiciness, sweetness, saltiness, and freshness. They all have tons of intriguing flavors. However, I have not been satisfied with most Thai restaurant in my area (most of the fabulous dishes I tried was from my favorite city, Vancouver)…until now:

During the holidays, my family decided to try a Thai restaurant nearby. We started with a hot and spicy soup with mushrooms, chicken, tomatoes, and cilantro,

and the traditional papaya salad with green beans, carrots, and cabbage.

For our entrees we had the infamous Phad Thai:

Not too sweet, with all my favorite sides—bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, scrambled eggs, lime juice, and scallions.

We also had another noodle dish called Phad See Ew:

It was chock full of broccoli, tender chicken, and a slightly sweet soy-sauce based sauce.

Next up was a very flavorful seafood dish:

This dish has scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari, salmon, corn, carrots, green beans, onions, mushrooms, and more!

Because we love salmon so much, we ordered another dish with it and some eggplants, in a chili-based sauce:

Then, we ordered two curries, one coconut milk-less curry with chicken:

and a coconut-milk based green curry:

all served with brown rice:

Nothing was too greasy or salty, and everything was absolutely phenomenal. I was so happy to be eating such delicious, flavorful, and healthy foods. Although I was stuffed to the brim, I pranced out of the restaurant with a smile

What are some unforgettable memories of 2009? What are some of your favorite cuisines?

Christmas Bash

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas day! I had an amazing one filled with a bunch of family (think ~30 people)!

We all started with fancy appetizers, prepared by my aunt, beginning with these stuffed endive spears:

There was also a cheese and cracker platter:

There were four type of cheeses including cheddar, sharp white cheddar, pepper jack, and Roquefort blue cheese. I absolutely loved the pepper jack, but I have to say that the blue cheese was not tasty, to say the least.

Another round of appetizers includes homemade sockeye salmon sushi rolls, made by my uncle:

and chocolates and peppermint bark dishes:

After those delicious starters, we lined up for the main meal:

I didn’t have much of an appetite (I’m recovering from a flu), so here is my small plate of food:

I also ended the meal with small pieces of cheesecake and tiramisu:

It was quite a lovely night:

What did you do on Christmas day? What was the best thing you ate?

Merry Christmas!!!

I sincerely wish everyone a wonderful Christmas filled with love and happiness!

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2:10-12

Early Goodies

Now that finals are over, I can join in on the Christmas fun. The holiday carols, gift shopping, Christmas church service, card exchanges, and comforting baked goods all remind me of what a wonderful time of the year it is. It turns this ugly gray weather, into something magical and beautiful. I captured most of the edible goodies on camera to share with you all…

My mom brought home this cinnamon swirl bread from Great Harvest,

I love anything from that bakery! Sadly, I did not have a chance to try their pumpkin breads yet (gasp), but this cinnamon bread is a close favorite.

Next up, is not as healthy, but oh so delicious. After trying that amazing panettone at my aunt’s house on Thanksgiving, we bought our own loaf at Trader Joe’s (or should I say Trader Giotto’s?):

This amazingly moist, cake-like bread, is lightly sweet and has the most delectable aroma of orange zest. Yum!

My dad knows how much I love Starbucks, so he brought home the instant variety for those extra rushed mornings:

Definitely a must for a sleepy college student.

I couldn’t wait until Christmas and finally opened the mini cookies my Bloggie Secret Santa sent me,

and wow, were these ever so flavorful! Chock full of candied ginger and goji berries. Good and good for ya

Yesterday, my mom came home with two homemade goodies from her boss. I think I was more excited about my mom’s gift than she was:

This bread was extremely moist and flavorful, I’m dying to get the recipe (or replicate it)—need to catch up on some much-needed baking anyways!

I cracked open the little jar of homemade blueberry jam and ate it with almond butter on toast. Delish!

 

What holiday goodies have you been enjoying so far this season?

Final-ly Done!

Hey everyone! Long time no post—sorry about my hiatus from the blogosphere. I had a ton of stuff going on during finals week, including, but not limited to: a final project, final report for the project, research paper, two finals, and grading a final for the class I’m TA-ing for. Whew, I’m glad it’s all over and that I get to “see” you again I was going to do a post last night, but couldn’t think after the craziness.

 

Despite all the busy stuff going on, I was craving for comfort food, since it was quite dreary outside. I thought I’d make a quick (key word) stew type of thing:

which turned out to by a comforting curry! I sautéed onions, garlic, shredded carrots, zucchini, peppers, and then added curry paste, curry powder, chicken broth, and a big splash of coconut milk. After it simmered together (~10-15 minutes), I mixed in tofu and peas for the finishing touch.

I also made those quick tuna stuffed zucchini again, along with peppers this time:

Served with roasted brussels sprouts, which was from this strange brussels sprout branch(?) thing my mom bought from Trader Joe’s:

I guess this is how brussels sprouts grow?

These brussels sprouts were seriously the freshest most delicious little guys I’ve ever had. If you see them still on their branch(?), I recommend you purchase it!

For the brussels sprouts, I made a quick sauce using these four sauces:

and garlic, all roasted up together in the oven (smells divine!).

In the middle of this hectic week was a delightful little surprise from the blog world. I received a lovely package from my Bloggie Secret Santa(!!!).

Yes, I know I couldn’t wait until Christmas. Thanks so much, Megan!

Happy weekend, everyone!

‘Tis the Season

To have a lovely Christmas tree:

For sweeeeet Christmas cards from…

isn’t it obvious?

For Candy Cane flavored Green Tea,

served in a holiday mug (which I actually use year round):

For quick canned soups,

during those times when you need to finish up final projects:

Let me tell you, I’m extremely picky about canned soups, and this is the first one I’ve ever liked (must try more of Amy’s soups!).

Or homemade wonton soup (courtesy of Grandma and leftover Thanksgiving turkey—note: these wontons were made a while ago and then frozen, perfect for quick meals):

And awesome DVD deals:

Did anyone watch Julie & Julia? What did you think?

Also, what are your favorite canned soups/quick soup recipes?

I can’t wait until finals are over so I can truly get in the holiday spirit (although I’m pretty much already there…)!

Dynamic Duo

What would you consider the stereotypical health-nut duo? To me, that would be granola ‘n yogurt. Although there are many health benefits to both, I keep reaching back for them because of how mighty tasty they are. For those of you who have been reading Hearts Whole Foods for a while, you may remember that I used to stay away from dairy. I’ve had chronic stomach issues, and found that a combination of Kombucha and less dairy kept it away (maybe it was just the Kombucha?). However, about a month ago, I added dairy back into my diet in the form of yogurt and cheese and have been completely fine. This makes me soooo happy because Greek yogurt is the best.thing.ever.

The secret to an awesome Greek yogurt mix? Nu Naturals Liquid Stevia Drops and a shake of cinnamon. Makes any yogurt tasty phenomenal. Although I like the flavor of Greek yogurt, I’m not a fan of the extremely thick texture (gasp), so I like to mix it with whatever nondairy milk I have on hand:

I also happen to like the blogified version of granola ‘n yogurt, which would be muffins ‘n yogurt:

 

And of course, the ever so delicious Froyo:

Speaking of granola, I was sent a box of granola, cereal, and toaster pastries from Nature’s Path a while back.

I was most excited to try the Crunchy Maple Sunrise cereal,

which has a crunchy texture and an interesting variety of shapes. The maple flavor was definitely there, but that was all that impressed me. I didn’t taste the deep flavor of whole grains that I usually like from cereal, in addition, this was a bit too sweet for my breakfast.

However, the whole grain flavor was renewed in the Pumpkin FlaxPlus granola:

Oh so nutty from all the wonderful pumpkin seeds and flax seeds! Not too sweet either, especially for a granola. I highly recommend any of Nature’s Path’s granolas (I’ve tried several kinds before).

And the last review is the Frosted Toaster Pastries in Cherry Chocolate Stripes:

Honestly, I wouldn’t eat this for breakfast –this was more like a dessert pastry. However, I have to say that I was pretty impressed with it. It had an awesome cherry and chocolate flavor and I love how gooey it gets in the toaster. Great for those addicted to Pop Tarts

 

What’s something you tried to let go of, but came back to? I admit that I quit having coffee during the summer but came back to it during the school year. Le sigh, college students can’t live without it!

Deceptively Quick and Easy

I honestly wasn’t fishing for compliments in my last post, but you all made me blush! Thank you so much for the sweet comments!!!

 

I’d also like to thank those who left awesome meal ideas. I actually used one that very day I received it! I was super excited to make use of this idea because it sounded fancy and gourmet, but claimed to be a quick meal. What is it you ask? Erika of Dancing Around the Kitchen suggested making a stuffed vegetable dish, which I always thought was a complicated task. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever stuffed anything.

Once I read Erika’s comment when I was supposed to be working down in the lab, I thought of the various ways I could stuff these gorgeous zucchinis I had in the fridge. Erika did say “you could stuff it with anything”! Well, at the moment I was craving a hot tuna melt (brrr…getting colder these days!), so I thought, why not? Which brings me to:

 

Tuna Stuffed Zucchini Boats with Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna

1/2 Tbsp mayo

2 Tbsp cottage cheese

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp tamari

1 clove garlic (you can add less if you prefer)

1 tsp maple syrup

hot sauce to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium-large zucchini

1-2 Tbsp of your favorite hummus

2 Tbsp shredded cheese (I used raw Swiss cheese)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350*F (I use my little toaster/convection oven—saves energy and much faster to heat up!).

2. Mix tuna with the mayo, cottage cheese, balsamic vinegar, tamari, garlic, and maple syrup. Once everything is incorporated, add hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.

3. Take the zucchini and cut it in half or thirds, depending on how long your zucchini is. Then slice it down the middle (lengthwise). Grab any old spoon and scoop the center to make room for the stuffing. Season the zucchini with salt and pepper. You may drizzle a little olive oil over the top as well (I should do this next time, but it’s still tasty without it).

4. Stuff the zucchini pieces with the tuna mixture:

And slather on a nice even layer of hummus!

4. Bake the boats for about 15 minutes.

5. Take the boats out of the even and add some cheese on top. Put it back in the oven and leave it in there (you can set the oven on broil here) to get the cheese ooey gooey. About 5 minutes.

I served my zucchini boats with broccoli (I have a ton of zucchini and broccoli in the fridge right now, so this is a perfect way to use up produce too!) and a piece of toast with raspberry preserves and almond butter.

Note: I ate all 4 pieces of zucchini and could not finish the broccoli or the slice of toast. It was that good!

What’s that bowl in the corner there you ask? One of my favorite dips with broccoli:

This is a combination of Trader Joe’s Smooth and Creamy Spicy Hummus:

And ketchup. The flavorful and rich hummus along with sweet and tangy ketchup, makes for a perfect combo

Was there ever anything that you found was surprisingly easy?