Curried Egg Salad Sandwich

Curried Egg Salad Sandwich

Something easy to make is egg salad. I recommend this to anyone who likes eggs especially boiled eggs. However, I would not recommend anyone to eat it on a daily basis because it is loaded with mayo and consists egg yolks, which can increase bad cholesterols.  It’s a nice to have once in awhile.  The egg salad goes well with bread. I had mine with a lightly toasted Kaiser roll. I hope you enjoy the recipe. The curry was very creamy and the curry powder added a kick to the salad. Read more for the recipe.

Air-Popped Popcorn- Kettle Popcorn, Plain Popcorn, and Butter Popcorn

Popcorn packaged in zip lock bags

My Presto PopLite air popcorn machine came in the mail awhile ago, but I have not got a chance to use it until recently. I love air popcorn because it is delicious and a healthier alternative to snacks such as chips and crackers.  There is no oil needed to pop the corn and 2 cups of plain air popcorn is only 62 calories.  Although I added butter and sugar to make my homemade butter and kettle popcorn, it is still a healthier alternative to popcorns out in the market because I have control over the butter and sugar I add. In addition, there are no preservatives.

I went a little wild and made 3 batches of popcorn-plain popcorn, kettle popcorn, and butter popcorn. Read more for instructions on how I made these different kinds of popcorn. In the future, I am planning to explore different seasonings for my popcorn now that I have a popcorn machine. Maybe during the holidays, I will make an assortment of flavored of popcorn to give out to my friends and family---oh the possibilities.

Plain Air popcorn: Just add 1/3 cup of dried corn kernel to the machine and then plug in the power. Before you know it you will have a big bowl of delicious popped corn.

Adding kernels to the popcorn machine

Kernels popping

Kernels still popping

Almost finish popping

Finished product

Kettle popcorn: Pop kernels in the popcorn machine. In a saucepan, heat about 2/3 cp of brown sugar, 2 tbsp of oil, and 2 tbsp of water. Stir the mixture constantly until all the sugar has dissolved. This process should take a few minutes. Once all the sugar has dissolve and the mixture has a somewhat sticky thick texture, drizzle it into the popcorn and toss until evenly coated. I covered the big bowl with a big pan lid and shook the popcorn to toss. You can also just use a spoon.

Sugar mixture for kettle corn

Kettle Corn

Butter popcorn: Add about 1 tbsp of butter to mini cup that is placed on top of the popcorn popper. I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter instead of butter. The butter will melt while the popcorn is popping. When the corn stops popping, drizzle the butter in and toss. Enjoy!!!

Unmelted butter added to cup on top of popcorn machine

Melted butter

Butter Popcorn

Stir Fried Vegetable Macaroni

Stir Fried Vegetable Macaroni

Lately, I have not been cooking much and eating out, mainly foods on the go. I think I am going to try to get in the habit of freezer cooking. In college, I used to cook large amounts at a time to freeze and eat at a later time. Eating out too much can be unhealthy, especially since salads and vegetables are not my first choice when I am hungry. Prepared foods are usually loaded with sodium and fat so it’s better to cook for myself and freeze leftovers in case I am too lazy or don’t have time to cook. In addition, it saves money when you prepare foods yourself. This weekend I made enough stir-fried Macaroni for 4 to 6 servings. I had some for lunch and saved some dinner. Then I froze the rest. Read more for the recipe.

Broken Rice with Grilled Pork, Shredded Pork, and Egg Quiche from Pho Ha Saigon

Broken Rice with Grilled Pork, Shredded Pork, and Egg Quiche from Pho Ha Saigon

I love Vietnamese food. I usually get Vermicelli with Grilled Pork or Chicken when I go to a Vietnamese restaurant, but this time I decided to get a rice dish. I dined at Pho Ha Saigon in South Philly on Oregon Ave. The Vietnamese restaurant is relatively new. I think it open up about a year ago and according to my mom it has switched owners through the course of the period.  Pho Ha Saigon is a clean restaurant and the waiters are friendly.  I also think the food was overall good and affordable (most of the entrée range from about $7 to $9) so I will give this a Vietnamese restaurant a 4.5 star.  You should definitely try the restaurant if you are in the neighborhood.

At Pho Ha Saigon, I got broken rice with grilled pork, shredded pork, and egg quiche. The dish came with scallions over rice, fresh lettuce and tomato, grilled pork, shredded pork, and an egg quiche that consisted of pork and fungus. You can say it was a very porky dish, which I don’t hate since I like pork. The grilled pork was tender and very flavorful but not too salty.  The egg quiche was very simple. There was not too much ingredients in it and the texture was very soft. I have tasted egg quiche at other restaurants where the egg is a little firmer, had some more ingredients in it such as clear noodles, and some more seasoning such as ground black pepper. I think it really depends how you like your egg quiche.  I thought the simplicity of egg quiche at Pho Ha Saigon added to the lightness of the dish.  The only heavy part of the dish was the grilled pork. Regarding the fish sauce, it was appetizing. The fish sauce was not too sour or too sweet. It had the right balance of sourness and sweetness. I think some restaurants or individuals prepare the sauce too sour or too sweet or too bland, but this one was quite perfect in my opinion.  I really enjoy the lightness of the entrée and that it comes with carb, fresh vegetable, and protein.  If you are looking for foods that are not heavy such as creamy pasta, hoagies, fried foods, curry, etc., you should try some of the dishes on a Vietnamese restaurant menu. 

Eating in New York, Again

So I spent the pass Friday and Saturday in New York City to celebrate a friend’s birthday-sorry for the delay post. I had to upload the pictures from my camera. In this post, you will see the lovely free food sample from Uniqlo, the fancy dinner that my friend’s loving and generous sister treated her, me, and another friend to, and an average breakfast.

On Friday, while we were taking the escalator down to exit the retailer, Uniqlo. A sales associate announced over the microphone that Uniqlo will giving out free food samples to celebrate Japan Week at 4PM on the second floor. Since it was 3:55PM, we decided to take the escalator up again to wait in line for the free sample-who can resist free food, right? The employees distributed green tea and Christina Tosi milk cake truffle. They were both delicious and I enjoyed them both very much. The milk cake truffle was moist and had this milky sweetness to it. It also had one of my favorite fruits in it- coconuts. The milk cake truffle tasted like it was worth more than a dollar for the little piece of truffle. When I researched the Christina Tosi milk cake truffles online, it said the truffles were from Momofuku Milk Bar, which has a number of locations in New York. Although when I looked at the menu, milk cake truffle does not appear on the menu. However, according to this website, they do have milk cake truffles. l I must try Momofuku other sweets when I am in New York, again.

Uniqlo associates handing out samples

My free sample of green tea and Christina Tosi's milk cake truffle

For dinner, we headed to a fancy restaurant in the Meatpacking District, STK. For appetizers, we had scallion bread and scallops. I did not particularly like the scallion bread or scallops. It did not amaze me at all. When the bread came out, it looked more like a cinnamon buns with it glazed topping than bread and it was cold. Regarding the scallops, I thought it could have been more flavorful. The little glass bottle of sprite actually impressed more than the bread and scallops. For my entrée, I got the Pomegranate Glazed Duck. I was very pleased with the Pomegranate Glazed Duck. I enjoyed the sweetness of the sauce and the tenderness of the duck. I thought the fruity pomegranate sauce complement the duck very well. For dessert, I opted for something light and fruity- sorbet. Overall the sorbet was good, it tasted very refreshing and homemade rather than store bought.

Bread

Scallops

My cool 8 oz glass Sprite Bottle

My tasty Pomegranate Glazed Duck

My refreshing sorbet- I am sorry I forgot to take a picture before eating it

Lastly, I will share with you my review for Brasserie Athenee. After walking around for a while and searching for food in the morning, we decided to walk into Brasserie Athenee located in Hell’s Kitchen District for breakfast.  Although the service was good, the food was mediocre. The breakfast menu did not feature anything that caught my attention. Some examples of the foods on the menu were croissant with jam, pancakes, crepes, eggs, and Belgian waffles. I ordered a Brioche French Toast with a side fruit salad since I craved French Toast the other day. I didn’t think there was anything unique about the French Toast or fruit salad; therefore, its pricetag of $7 for some bread and fruit is definitely overpriced. Not only was the food overpriced, my drink was overpriced. They charge me $3 for tea, which is very pricey for a cup of hot water and a teabag, which probably cost a few cents. I was surprised that the restaurant was quite busy. I don’t know what people like about this place. Do they like the expensiveness of the food or the simplicity of the food menu. Maybe, just like us, they were out of town and just looking for a place to have breakfast. I choose to believe the latter since the first theory does not really make sense to me.

Brioche French Toast

Papaya Smoothie

Papaya Smoothie

My mother purchased some ripe papaya the other day. Luckily, they were loaded with sweetness. In the past, there were times when I purchased ripe papayas, but they were tasteless and bitter. I decided to put these sweet and delicious ripe papaya to use and make a smoothie.  You can find the recipe at the end of the post. The recipe yields about 3 cups of papaya goodness.

Not only did the papaya taste good, but it also offers a number of health benefits. Similar to other fruits, they are the most nutritious when ripe.  Papaya, a fruit that is believed to have originated from Mexico and Central America, is rich in antioxidant as it contains high levels of Vitamin C, carotene, and flavonoids. Their antioxidant properties help with the prevention of heart disease and cancer.  It is

Banana Cake

Banana Cake

A Slice of the Banana Cake

I think I am going crazy. For some reason, I thought it was my mother’s birthday yesterday. I baked her a banana cake since she likes simple and moist cakes. She doesn’t like icing so I just melted some chocolate chips in the microwave. Then, I placed the melted chocolate in a ziplock bag and cut a piece of the corner in order to squeeze the words “Happy Birthday Mom” onto the cake. Unfortunately, my efforts did not necessarily pay off since it was not my mother’s birthday. I guess with all my co-workers' and friends’ birthdays in March, I got confused. Her birthday is not 3/12, but 5/12. I am two months ahead of myself. When she came home, she saw the cake and told me that it wasn’t her birthday, but she will still eat the cake. I guess I will have to bake another flavor cake on her real birthday. Maybe, I will bake her a lemon cake. She likes lemon flavor foods. Read more for the banana cake recipe.

My Free Medium (24 oz) Iced Tea From Dunkin' Donuts

Free Iced Tea with Sugar and a Slice of Lemon

Free Iced Coffee or Iced Tea Punch Card

If you live in Kent and New Castle Counties, DE; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, and Salem Counties, NJ; Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia Counties, PA. You should have received a card for a free medium (24 oz) Iced Coffee or Iced Tea every Monday from 3/5/12 to 4/30/12. I wanted to redeem an ice tea last week, but it was too cold for an iced drink. Luckily, today was warm enough for a cold drink. Even though I redeemed a Ice Tea for 3/12/12, the associate behind the counter punched the holes for 3/5 and 3/12. Maybe she was afraid I will try to redeem an extra drink when I am not suppose to or maybe she punched wrong hole the first time. I hope it is the latter because it if was the first theory, that would be ridiculous. 

Another free food offer that is coming up is free fries for Saint Patty’s Day from Burger King. They are giving out free fries along with green ketchup on 3/17 and 3/18 so make sure to stop by a participating Burger King for your free fries. Check out their Burger King's facebook for more information.

My Free Auntie Anne's Original Pretzel

Auntie Anne's

 Free pretzel

I love freebies. The other day while I was in The Gallery on March 3^rd. Auntie Anne's was giving out free original or cinnamon pretzel from 10AM to 3PM. Of course, I had to wait in line and get one for myself. These things usually cost about 2 to 3 dollars so how could I not wait in line for a free one. The line went really fast and I got myself an original Auntie Anne's pretzel. It was sizzling hot and extra buttery when I got it. They should do this more often, but that would be unrealistic.