When someone says, “I made cioppino for dinner,” usually it means she followed a recipe for this Italian tomatoey-seafood medley. When I say the same thing, I really do mean, I made cioppino for dinner. I didn’t have a recipe, but felt brave–hey, I knew its basic ingredients. You might understand me better if I give you a bit of my personal cooking history, or revolution. Growing up in a Chinese home, my family came to the supper table expecting simple, but delicious Chinese dishes each night. Chinese cuisine is such that you can look in your produce drawer, take inventory of your veggies, slice up some meat, and stir fry them up together; then, serve it over rice. So, naturally, I got married knowing nothing of meal planning, following a recipe, and making a list for the grocery store. For example, planning to make Chicken Cordon Bleu on Wednesday, […]

Around our house peanut butter and jelly is actually cashew-macadamia nut butter and jelly from Trader Joe’s due to peanut allergy. Though still a favorite among the three boys, CMNB&J just doesn’t do it for me most days. My tastebuds crave adventure, sophistication, a paradox of flavors. The rest of me just wants it to be simple, affordable, low-cal, with almost no dishes to clean up afterward. This pan-toasted Vietnamese spring rolls lunch I fixed for myself today met the requirement splendidly. (Don’t let the preparation of the spring rolls discourage you…you take an hour to do them all, and you’ll have many days of hassle free meals to come.) Vietnamese Spring Rolls (best prepared as a large batch and frozen ahead of time) 1 package rice spring roll wrappers (not the pasta-like egg roll wrappers) For Filling: 1 clove garlic, minced grated ginger, about 1 tsp. 1/2 lb. lean […]