Musabaha

This recipe is a recreation - to the best of my memory, and with some tweaks to make it more convenient, accessible, and affordable - of one of my favorite Syrian dishes introduced to me by a lovely family from Aleppo. Every since I first had it I've been wanting a recipe, and I recently came across Luay Ghafari's great recipe and realized it was pretty close to perfect. I can't claim any authenticity for my version, but it is a deliciously vegan dish that I crave whether I'm off meat or not. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Chili Garlic Noodles

This is another experiment in quick, delicious meals. The lovely original recipe is from Aaron and Claire and is very Korean thanks to the gochugaru, but I've found these also taste gorgeous with a more Chinese twist using the Chinese chili flakes. This is usually a go to for me on fasting days, but they're quite lovely with meat as well. However you make them, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Spicy Mixed Noodles

This is another gorgeous cold noodle dish from Korea, 비빔국수 (bibim guksu when transliterated). These noodles are perfect on a hot day and pair beautifully with a ginger ale or a beer if you've got either one kicking around. I've combined Korean Bapsang's recipe with Maangchi's more streamlined recipe with one or two tweaks, but obviously do what works for you! I hope this helps cool down your summer as beautifully as it does mine!

Cold Soy Sauce Noodles

It's finally starting to feel like summer where I'm living at the moment (why yes, it is mid-June, why d'you ask?) and so I've switched from all things soup to craving cold dishes and refreshing foods that help beat the heat. This particular dish is a lovely cold noodle dish from Korea - I mostly followed Kimchimari's great recipe, but took some inspiration from Aaron and Claire's recipe as well. It's simple, straightforward, and deliciously refreshing on a hot day. I hope it helps you chill out as much as it has me!

Deviled Eggs with Soy Sauce 'n Sesame

I will never not crave deviled eggs, but even I occasionally tire of the divine dill (gasp! I know!!!) deviled eggs I usually make. The other day I started pondering what a vaguely East Asian deviled egg would taste like...and then I did some googling and came across Eric Kim's awesome recipe and it just had to be! What follows is mostly his recipe, but with a couple of adaptations to make it better fit my family's tastes. If you love deviled eggs as much as I do definitely give this a try, I don't think you'll regret it!

Palestinian-style Split Lentil Soup

It's been a chilly, rainy spring so far this year and I've consequently been into all things soup. More recently I found myself craving the delicious lentil soup served at an Aleppan cafe in one of my old neighborhoods, but beefed up a bit to work better as a proper lunch or dinner on its own. This Palestinian version of the same soup (شوربة عدس) did not disappoint! 

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

Dumplings are rarely (never?) served in China, Taiwan, or other countries with communities of the Chinese Diaspora without some sort of dipping sauce, which can range from fairly simple (a bit of vinegar or soy sauce) to complex. What follows is largely Vicky Pham's lovely recipe, tweaked (as always!) to better fit my family's more northern Chinese tastes. The original is worth checking out if you have a bit more of a sweet tooth, but this version works great for us. Whichever you try, enjoy! 

Easy Brownies

This is largely the Gimme Delicious recipe, but obviously with adjustments to better fit my family's tastes. Try this out, try out the original, do as you feel led - there are very few wrong ways to get your chocolate fix!

"Hamburger" Soup

This is a "hamburger" soup in the sense that it uses ground beef as its protein, not in the sense that it tastes like a burger! What follows is largely Spend with Pennies' great recipe, but somewhat modified to better fit my family's preferences and make it a proper soup. (It was somewhat stew-esque as originally conceived.)

Cheesy Grits

I've used a variety of grits recipes over the years, but what follows is my current adaptation developed in the empty spaces of the Canadian Prairies during the more isolated days of the COVID pandemic. I am not a Southerner, so I can't speak to how authentic this recipe is. I do know what I myself like, however, and this fits the bill pretty nicely!

Coffee Creamer

This beautiful recipe is from my sister! After listening to her say making coffee creamer at home was so easy and not believing it for years, it was a little funny to finally give her recipe a go and discover that she was not wrong. (Sorry, little sister! I should have believed!)

Kimchi Jjigae with Potato

I'm a big fan of all things Korean, but I've got a somewhat North American aversion to soft tofu - sometimes I like it, oftentimes I don't. As a result I've adapted Maangchi's and The Korean Vegan's kimchi jjigae recipes to drop the tofu and up the potato, which resulted in a new family favorite! (If you enjoy a bit of jiggly tofu in your life, then follow the links and you'll get squared away.)

Northeastern-style Kung Pao Chicken

When I moved to China I quickly discovered that as a foreigner I was supposed to really like kung pao chicken (宮保雞丁 / gōngbǎo jīdīng in Mandarin), which was news to me as I couldn't even remember if I'd had it before! I grew up with Cantonese food and some stereotypically Chinese-American food, but we moved enough during my childhood that I really couldn't say whether or not kung pao chicken made an appearance on my plate when we were in North America - if it did it certainly didn't stand out. Despite all this I caved to the pressure to try kung pao chicken and was a little embarrassed to realize I did really like kung pao chicken!

"Mongolian" Beef 'n Rice

Voltaire once said of the Holy Roman Empire that it was "neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire," and I must say that I have a similar feeling whenever I come across "Mongolian" barbecue, "Mongolian beef," et cetera, when in North America. I have never had the privilege of visiting Mongolia, but I did live next door to it for years and my favorite cousin has actually lived there for quite some time, so I do have an idea of what Mongolian food is...and this recipe isn't it!

Cinnamon Honey Cake

This recipe is largely based on Arman Liew's excellent recipe, but with a couple of additions to spice up the end result. This honey-forward dessert brings back warm memories from three continents for me, I hope it brings similarly warm feelings to you if you give it a try!

Cardamom Banana Bread

Once upon a time I lived where my books live, including the dear booklet of family recipes my paternal grandma helped make before she passed. I'm hoping one day to share that recipe here, but until that's possible I've been using my adaptation of Olga's great recipe. My main changes have been to make the recipe more aromatic and fragrant with the addition of the cardamom and orange blossom water, but the original is definitely worth a try too if you don't like either of those. Whatever you do, enjoy!

Green Borscht

Green borscht is a much less well known part of the borscht family, one I've long wanted to give a try! I wasn't able to source all the authentic ingredients where I live, so I've written my recipe with the necessary substitutes. If you want to check out original recipes from actual Ukrainian cooks (Ukraine is the home of borscht after all!), then check out Nataliia or Iryna's great recipes!

North American-style Pancakes

Here is my preferred recipe for fluffy North American-style pancakes. Enjoy!

Northeastern Chinese-style Braised Squash

This comforting, hearty recipe is my adaptation of Old Northeastern Cuisine's great recipe for northeastern Chinese braised squash with pork (肉片炖板栗瓜 / ròupiàr dùn bǎnlì guā). The original recipe is worth a try, but I've made some adaptations to make the dish match one of my favorite lunches from my days teaching at public schools in Manchuria. That version also had pork (pork knuckle) and often had chunks of corn on the cob too, but I've gone for a somewhat simplified dish easy to make on any weeknight. If you're wanting that extra bit of protein, then replace the vegetable oil in my recipe below with some ground pork, sautéing it until it's thoroughly cooked through before proceeding with the recipe. Whatever you do though, I hope this comfort food favorite of mine hits the spot for you too!

Kimchijeon

Kimchijeon (김치전) or savory kimchi pancakes are a beautiful dish and have long been a family favorite. My recipe is largely the Korean Bapsang recipe with a touch of influence from Maangchi's version. I usually make my jeon in a wok and tend to make them on the smaller side (I really enjoy the crispy edges!). Even so, about three kimchijeon fill me up if I'm making a meal out of them. I've also seen larger, pizza-sized jeon as well though, so do as you feel led, and enjoy!

Easy French Toast

I decided to make French toast for the first time in ages and went to double check the ingredients as I was fuzzy about how much milk to use, and that's when I realized I never saved my recipe for posterity! (That is to say, forgetful me!) What follows is my long-term go to. Make it as is, change it completely, but the basics (an egg with a third of a cup of milk) make a lovely, quick, very customizable French toast. I hope you enjoy it as much and as long as I have!