I was completely touched by Zachary’s surprise gift on this Mother’s day.  While everyone slept the night before, he stayed up late making me the most special parfait.  In the morning when I saw how much creativity, planning, and love went into making this parfait…I couldn’t stop crying.

이글 쓰면서도 눈물이….. 너무 고마워서… 다 자는 밤에 혼자 깨어 아침을 정성스럽게 만드는 막내를 생각하니 예쁘고…고맙고.

After running a half-marathon and Joy’s graduation party on Saturday, I was incredibly tired…. As soon as I returned home, I went straight to bed. I think hubby also fell asleep soon after.

When I woke up in the morning, forgot it was Mother’s day. As soon as Zachary saw me, he quickly turned off his computer as he has done something wrong.. I asked if anything was wrong. He said no. Then he said, “Mom, I made a breakfast for you.” Just then I realized it was Mother’s day.

He made me sit at the kitchen table and presented me with this yummiest Parfait.

It had a cookie on the bottom, covered it with sweet yogurt (he actually sweetened the plain yogurt with sugar), apple slices, pretzels, popcorn and a cherry in the middle. “I made it last night while you guys were sleeping”. He also made a special juice with fresh squeezed orange juice, sugar, and salt. He said he added salt to balance the sweetness… He even included a straw.

I was speechless…. he put so much thought into this parfait! I imagined how he planned to make this when everyone was asleep and how much thought went into it… I’m sure he did quietly so no one would wake up either. So touching.. so loving and so thoughtful.

Then he gave the card he made from school and a pair of turtle earrings that he bought at Art & Wine Festival with his dad.

Zachary and I sat down and deliciously ate the parfait together. SO Nice.

Then Sheena woke up and gave me this lovely jewelry box~  it was perfect for earrings that Zachary gave me. Sheena apologized about not making the card and not wrapping the gift…it’s okay Sheena.

It was the most memorable and best Mother’s gift ever… this is far more better than any expensive gifts… hope to cherish it day for years to come. Thank you Zachary and Sheena too.

This colorful and delicious Antipasto salad goes well with just about anything!

Kay unnie specifically asked me to make this salad for Saturday lunch at God’s Image practice. I tripled the recipe to accommodate all the kids at God’s Image. I had a fun time spending a good hour just chopping the vegetables.^^*

I have used different pasta, veggies, beans and meats in the past, and they all worked so well together. This simple dressing is so easy to make and tastes so good too.

Today’s Recipe

1 package (16 oz) Rotini pasta or Penne (any shape of  pasta you prefer)

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

about 4 ounces chopped ham  pepperoni or cooked chicken

1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

4 fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons salt

1 -1/2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup olive oil or vegetable oil

2/3 cup lemon juice

Cook the pata according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a large salad bowl. Add the next 12 ingredients; mix well.

In a jar with tight-fitting lid, shake oil and lemon juice. Pour over salad and toss.

Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Stir before serving.

Perfect with grilled meat on a warm day…. Enjoy~

This finished salad is ready to go… to the kids at God’s Image.

The close-up shot~^^~

Today’s photos don’t justify how wonderful and yummy this cake really is… ^^ if you’re a lemon lover, you’ll  love this cake. Everyone who tasted it absolutely loved it.Yup, our kids and myself  finished every crumbs.

I ran out of poppy seeds during baking and ended-up using only 1 tablespoonful instead of 1/4 cup. I will definitely use more next time.  This recipe is from Debbie Macomber’s Christmas Cookbook.

Cake

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup poppy seeds

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)

1/4 cup sugar

For cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a small bowl, stir sour cream, poppy seeds, lemon zest, juice and extract.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and blended.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.Beat in vanilla.

Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream mixture, beating until just blended. Do not overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack; cool for 10 minutes.

For glaze: in a small saucepan over low heat, warm juice and sugar until sugar dissolves into a syrup.

Invert cake on wire rack. using a toothpick, poke holes all over the cake; brush with some of the syrup. Set cake right side up, poke holes in top of cake and brush with remaining syrup. Cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy~

Please have a slice…

Posting kids’ April lunches… with a spring break and STAR testing, not too many lunches needed this month.

Again…preparing these lunches brought me so much joy~ I’m always happy to see kids’ bring back empty lunch boxes after school…. ^^….

Egg roll-up and 유부초밥 Seasoned  tofu pockets stuffed with rice.

Grilled cheese sandwich and skinny fried potatoes

Spaghetti with meat sauce

Ham & cheese sandwich

A close-up picture~ Oh~ there’s turkey bacon too!

Cheese kimbap with ham roll-up. It was a good idea, kids liked these kimbap!

Macaroni & cheese

Broccoli, turkey potato fried rice

One more photo~^^

Tofu & white chicken meat jeon & rice balls

Kabocha turkey caramelized onion sandwich

These baked kobocha slices are great for sandwiches filling or eat them as a snack.

Looks good…

Ryan’s Bacon wrapped rice balls

Sheen’s Lunch box

Susan’s lunch~ fruit salad, purple cabbage salad, almond meat balls with brussels sprouts

One for Susan and one Joy..

I have been planning this special dinner for awhile… wanted to congratulate Joy and Susan on their start of professional careers as a teacher and a nurse. Also I really wanted to make a special meal for Priscilla who is currently training for her very first half-marathon.

As I was preparing today’s dinner, I shared with my hubby how much I really enjoyed making all the dishes.(아~ 재미있다).  Every dish was carefully thought through and made with lots of love. I had a fun time.

These are the most healthiest and diet friendly dishes I have ever made for my guests…well except for a couple of desserts.

Cauliflower rice, baked extra lean meatballs and organic fresh mint chutney

Most of the dishes were very low in fat, high in protein and had plenty of veggies.  Extremely nutritious!

Surprisingly everyone seemed to enjoy these healthy dishes, even Priscilla.

Baked shrimp kabobs

Baked Extra lean ground chicken & pork and ground almond meat balls. They are loaded with protein along with plenty of fiber from almonds, zucchini and carrots.

Yummy Cauliflower Rice..

I made it as a replacement for rice. It worked so well and tasted really good too. They really didn’t miss bap!

Purple cabbage salad.

Slow cooker salsa chicken drumsticks

Sauteed brussel sprouts with onion, garlic & almond

Okay,,,this isn’t a healthy dish.. olive oil, cream, bacon and cherry tomatoes. Yummy~ I made it for Joy, Priscilla and kids.

For dessert… I prepared fruit skewers and placed them in a water pitcher… strawberries, grapes and kiwi.

I baked a special dessert especially for HER!

Brownies… I got this bed-time brownie recipe from a cook book called “Grandmom’s knee” Everyone loved it!

I also baked some lemon poppy seed cake and chocolate chip cookies too. Chocolate chip cookies are a must!

We enjoyed the fruit skewers….  Delicious but also pretty to look at.

We had a pleasant Sunday night…

I wish and pray all the best for them as they start their new careers  ~ Yeah… they didn’t turn out to be professional bakers but I will settle for a nurse and a teacher. Congratulations to my beautiful nieces~

Priscilla will be rocking next week at Mermaid run.

Lovely set of  four tea coffee cups and saucers from Susan and Joy~ Thank you~

Hubby ran the first annual Pleasanton Half-Marathon yesterday. It was the cheapest half-marathon race we’ve ever paid for! With an exclusive 50% off deal, we paid only $30!  He received a nice finisher’s T-shirt, impressive looking metal and a bag too.

On Saturday, we went to Pleasanton to pick up his bib number, we had an option to have it sent  to our house for $10, but we decided to take a nice to drive to Pleasanton.

Ryan was at SAT prep class and Zachary at God’s Image… Just the three of us had a pleasant drive to very pleasant city of Pleasanton.

We picked-up his bib number at Fleet Feet.

The Expo was very small…

We spent about about 15 minutes there and headed back to pick-up Zachary from God’s Image. My Sheena looks so grown-up…

Sheena took a nice pic of us just before we left.

When we arrived home, we saw Ryan getting all stressed out over his bow tie. ;( He was late for his Jr-Prom but was unable to get his tie on.  Handy dandy daddy was there to rescue him~ I can see a big ?!? on Ryan’s face. Yeah~ he made it on time and had a great time at the prom.^^

Unexpectedly we were invited to Oppa’s house for dinner. It was a pre-race party for hubby. He didn’t eat a lot but we really enjoyed our dinner. O-dang kook, meat and Ssam etc. It was a fun night.^^ Thank you!

We got up early morning on Sunday to drive back to Pleasanton. The hardest part is getting early for a race.

It was their first but was well organized. Hubby described that the course was mostly flat but recalls it had 4 miles or more of unpaved (gravel) trails.

He didn’t get to do much training but he still did a good job~

He was little disappointed that he was a bit short of his personal best.

They provided burritos after the race. Nice~

With hubby after the race..

We had a small party after the race with Susan, Joy and Priscilla. More on this later…^^..

This creamy and tangy lemon curd goes with any baked goods.^^

Unlike me, our kids love any desserts or food with lemons in it… Once I bought a jar of lemon curd from Trader Joe’s and the kids just devoured it in a couple days. Since then wanted to make some myself.

With this easy recipe from the box of lemon cake mix, I was able to make this wonderful lemon curd for the kids on Easter. It was a wonderful complement to lemon cake.

Lemon Cake with Lemon Cure Filling 

1 box lemon cake mix, prepared according to instructions.

Lemon curd (see recipe below)

1 cup whipped cream

Lemon Curd Filling 

3 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together eggs and sugar until light in color. Add lemon juice and butter; cook over medium heat, whisking until the mixture is thickened; stir in extract.

Cool and refrigerate to thicken.

This rich and creamy lemon curd is ready to use…

Our kids like to put lemon curd on top of a toast. It goes great with just about any dessert.

Cut cooled lemon cake into horizontal layers. Spread of lemon cured between layers….

Decorate cake by piping or making dollops of whipped cream.

Garnish with lemon slices.

Kids LOVED this lemon cake with lemon curd filling. So did hubby~

I’m so happy with how this lemon curd turned out~ so nice and delicious~

Wow~ I had a great time making these yummy(really!) jalapeno go-chu jeon!고추전

They can be eaten with rice as a side dish or cut into small pieces and served as appetizers. I love how they turned out both look and taste…. ^^…

A couple of weeks ago, I saw these beautiful giant jalapeno peppers at a Korean market and I HAD to buy some…it was very reasonably priced too!! Whenever I see fresh ingredients I get a bit greedy.. Do you?

I spent all afternoon happily making go-chu jeons in my kitchen… very happy.^^

Last time I made these jeon and brought some to my mom and she really loved it. I didn’t forget to save some for her as well. (뭐가~ 아렇게 맛있어…)

I think these are the biggest jalapeno peppers I have seen! They were about big as my hand.

Most Korean go-chu jeon you see at the restaurants or markets are much thinner and smaller sized than these.

A couple of giant jeon would be enough for hardy lunch if complemented with some soup or salad.

Today’s Recipe

12 giant jalapeno peppers, mini bell peppers or any

8 0z ground beef, pork or chicken

8 oz ground firm tofu, squeezed

4 green onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 cup flour

2 eggs

1 cup bread crumbs like panko

Oil, for frying

salt & pepper

Place the tofu on a plate and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Drain liquid from the plate. Crumble tofu with the back of a knife or by hand.

Mix ground meat, tofu, green onion, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt and ppper. Set aside.

Cut jalapenos into halves, remove the seeds and the ribs of the pepper. (Wear gloves and a spoon is very useful)

Coat peppers with flour well; shake off excess flour.

Stuff the peppers.

Coat the flour again.

Dip into the egg mixture.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Drop heaping tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil, add stuffed peppers.

Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes depends on sizes of your peppers and filling. Turn and fry the other side until golden, about 1 minute.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve with soy sauce.

You can also cut into small bite-size pieces and serve with the toothpick as an appetizer.

Take a look at inside. Enjoy~

If you want to save some calories … here is my healthier version of gochu jeon for you! :ㅇ

After a dip into the egg mixture, dredge in the panko crumbs, pressing to coat.

Then bake them at 400 degrees (preheated) for 20 minutes.

I really like this version too…

Looks really good!

Pick your favorite!

These scones are tender, moist and delicious~~~Apple and cheddar cheese deliver a wonderful taste both sweet and savory.  Perfect for breakfast or brunch.^^

These scones are pretty easy to make and I actually made them in one morning. They made my kids super happy!! These fluffy scones makes me happy too.

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon

6 tablespoons(3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 large egg, plus 1 beaten egg, for egg wash

1/4 cup milk

2 tart apples peeled,very thinly sliced and chopped

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper.

In corporate the butter with a pastry blender or two knives just until mixture resembles coarse crumbs

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Stir it into the flour mixture.

Gently fold in apple and cheese.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough just enough to assure ingredients are blended.  Roll into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Gently pat out the dough into 8-inch circle, about 1-inch thick.

Using an oiled knife cut round into 6 wedges.

Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Whisk remaining egg in a small bowl; brush over scones.

An egg wash is brushed on top of the scones before baking to makes the finished crust golden and shiny

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy~

Take a look inside…

Delicious!

I’m really excited about this special salad… The main ingredients of this salad are purple cabbage, mint and cilantro which are from my garden. This was my first time growing cabbage in my own garden!^^

I planted four tiny cabbage sprouts I bought from Home Depot last fall… It was hard to imagine that a few baby leaves will grow into a whole cabbage…. after four months they did. They were so pretty I couldn’t pick them for a long time…

this photo was taken in January

In early April…

it’s ready to be picked. Yay~

Bounty of mints. I can have them all year round.

I have two Cilantro plants which yield plenty…

Fresh mints, cilantro, cabbage and this wonderful sesame tahini.. It delivered a perfect salad for me.

If you don’t have tahini, use almond or peanut butter.

Today’s Recipe

6 cups red cabbage, shredded

2 cups napa cabbage, shredded

4 green onions, finely chopped

4 yellow or orange mini bell peppers, julienned

1/3 cup mints(depends on your taste)

1/3 cup cilantro(depends on your taste)

1/4 cup slivered almonds,plus more for garnish

1-2  tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish

Dressing (see recipe below)

Today’s Dressing

3 tablespoons Tahini

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 teaspoons sugar

1-2 tablespoons water(optional)

In a large mixing bowl combine the first six ingredients.  Gradually add the water until your desired consistency is reached. The dressing turned out to be too thick so I added about 2 tablespoons of water to thin it out. I liked the consistency and taste of the dressing. It turned out nice~

Add all the salad ingredients into the dressing mixture bowl.

Gently mix well.

Transfer to a salad bowl. Right before serving garnish some sesame seeds and almonds.

It turned out so yummy.. I was happy…it must be my purple cabbage…

This salad was delicious even next day.. Enjoy!