Orange Tulips

... in December? Yes! I love, love tulips any time of the year.

Loads of Laundry

Doing all the laundry before New Year's Day...

Niçoise Pasta Salad

...without eggs.  

Husband is not a fan of tuna pasta, I am... so I usually make this on my day off or while I'm on vacation like today. Otherwise, I have to cook the pasta two ways - with tuna for me and with ground beef in tomato sauce for hubby and the Little Guy.

The arsenal for this Niçoise Pasta Salad:  orecchiette, tuna in can, grape tomatoes, capers, anchovies, green beans, a sprinkle of salt and a generous cracking of black pepper.

Playground

"Playground, playground ... let's go to the playground Mommy."

"Bye, bye duckies... bye, bye birds... I'm going to the playground."

"Slide... weeeeeeee!"

Winter Morning Stroll

We ventured out to the park to see some migratory birds on our way to meet-up with hubby for lunch.

Banana & Ice Cream

What I made to satisfy my sweet cravings...

Fried banana coated with turbinado cane sugar and then topped with Tillamook old-fashioned vanilla ice cream and Christmas sprinkles.

Ham & King Crab Legs

... cheese platter, grapes, pasta and red velvet cupcakes on our table on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day

The Little Guy was so excited to open up his presents. He got everything on his Christmas wishlist plus more.

Christmas Eve

Cheese platter, grapes, artichoke dip, bruschetta and riesling with lemon, apple and pomegranate seeds.  Cheers to a joyous Christmas!

By the Fireplace

...on the night before Christmas. 

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Shrimp and Grits

The shrimp is sauteed in butter, chopped garlic, smoked paprika, lemon juice and parsley, then seasoned with salt & pepper. 

The grits is instant and cooked in water, parmesan cheese, a tablespoon butter, and also seasoned with salt & pepper.

Fried Rice

Transforming left-over rice into a delicious meal with soy sauce marinated flank steak, juicy tomatoes, green onions and scrambled organic cage-free eggs.

Indoor Grilling

This is what you do when temperature drops and it gets too cold to grill outside.

Salmon and Caperberries

Interesting contrast of flavors and colors....salmon, grape tomatoes, sliced lemon and caperberries cooked on a cast-iron skillet.

Cookies for Santa

We baked some cookies for Santa, but it seems like the Little Guy is going to finish them all.

Fondue

On a cold night like this, fondue sounds like a perfect dessert... apples, oranges, kiwis and bananas on luscious Ghirardelli chocolate... yum!

Spaghetti with Shrimp in Pesto Sauce

In times like this, when work life gets too hectic, when I have to work until the wee hours of the morning to get reports done, this is one of my go to recipes... spaghetti in pesto sauce topped with shrimp sauteed in lemon garlic sauce.  

Mapo-Tofu

This is another quick and easy dish to prepare, perfect for a working mom like me. Just a pound of ground beef, two packets mapo-tofu sauce, a block of soft tofu and green onions. In less than thirty minutes dinner is served.

From our neighbor…

Calamansi! Now, I have my favorite calamansi juice for two weeks… hip, hip, hooray!

Lebanese Lunch

It's hot and cold mezze for lunch with Grammy today at Carousel in Glendale.

On the table: lentil soup, mousakka, kebbeh nayyeh, fattoush, liver and pan-fried fish 

Genwa Korean BBQ

Twenty three banchan and melt-in-your-mouth prime galbi... the best Korean restaurant in Los Angeles hands down... and I have been to many. 

What’s for breakfast?

Bacon, eggs, potatoes and coffee...

Beef with Carrots and Peas

This is the dish to make when you have less than thirty minutes to whip up a delicious dinner.

Filipino-style Chicken Soup

This is chicken wings and thighs, cooked in chicken broth and water, with chayote and spinach.

Filipino-style Spaghetti (sans hotdog)

… is cooked exactly the same as regular spaghetti except that the sauce we use is on the sweet side and it has sliced hotdog. 

At CityWalk

... to take a snapshot of the Christmas Tree. 

Carne Asada Taco Night

Taco night is always a fun night.

I cooked Mexican rice, made a jar of salsa and grilled a flank steak marinated overnight in ponzu sauce, soy sauce and Knorr liquid seasoning.

Rigatoni with Sausage

I'm not really a fan of rigatoni, but that has changed since I had it at GC Marketplace in Universal City.

This is rigatoni cooked in San Marzano tomatoes, mild Italian sausage with fennel and finished off with two cups of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Buon Appetito!

Salmon Soup

A comforting soup on a cold night... chunks of salmon, tomatoes, napa cabbage and okra cooked in seafood broth.

Shabu-Shabu Lunch

Thin slices of raw beef from the Japanese market dipped on hot water with dashi, enoki mushroom,  tofu and young onions.

Chirashi Night

A bowl of rice topped with seaweed, seasoned salmon roe, uni, furikaki teriyaki bonito and sashimi-grade toro, maguro, salmon and hamachi.