family, traditions, weekends1 Comment

A New Tradition

Hoang S.

Wow. I bet you’ve wondered where the heck I’ve been, right? I’m happy to tell you that I am still here, breathing and kicking. Things have changed quite a bit since I was here last, and although I always tell myself to set aside some time for blogging, it always comes down to the multitude of other things that takes precedence over writing. Alas, this morning, at 6:40 a.m. I am allowing myself some time to write while my daughter and husband sleeps. I’ve been doing that a lot lately – waking up early, that is. It’s a new habit that … Continue reading A New Tradition

cooking, Dinner, experimentsLeave a comment

On vows and sourness

Hoang S.

Dear reader, if there’s any vows that I wouldn’t mind repeating again besides my wedding vows, it’s this: I vow to always follow my instincts when it comes to cooking. My tendency to ignore my instinct has gotten me in trouble a few times in the past. Take, for example, test taking. In college, I always over-analyzed my test questions, and as a result, ignore my first instinct, which was usually the right answer. Today, many years later, you’d think I learned my lesson but unfortunately I am taking this mentality into the kitchen. Let it be known that I am a … Continue reading On vows and sourness

baking, chocolate, Cookies, SuccessesLeave a comment

The first time in a long time

Hoang S.

A proud moment occurred in my life recently. This may seem trivial and small to you; however, I assure you from the standpoint of someone who has regular mishaps with cooking, the fact that I managed NOT to burn something as simple as chocolate chip cookies is a celebratory moment for me. It may seem like I have disappeared off the face of the earth, with the lack of writing recently, but rest assured–I have been busy with other things–one of which is preparing for my daughter’s first birthday party! *GASP* It sounds cliché, I know, but I am constantly … Continue reading The first time in a long time

baking, Cakes, SuccessesLeave a comment

We have another night

Hoang S.

Why, hello there. I know this is a rather late post about Thanksgiving, but as with the holidays, time is a flurry for me. I’ve spent the past week recovering from the lovely tryptophan-induced coma I was in, while being secretly glad that I won’t be eating any more turkey for at least another year. I’ve been looking at and reading up cookbooks–specifically baking books, like this one. I’ve spent my Black Friday (luckily) avoiding crazy crowds and realizing that Black Friday is full of media hype that benefits retail stores but not the customer.  I’ve managed to read about 15 … Continue reading We have another night

Canning, Successes1 Comment

Time is precious

Hoang S.

Yes, time was something that I had a lot of as a teenager. Prior to getting my first job, I always wondered to myself what I should do after school and on the weekends. Should I hang out with friends, do homework, watch TV, plan out my next move on my crush? Should I write him more love notes and slip them in his locker? Oh, those were the days. These days, I wonder to myself where I can find more time to do things I need to do. Long gone are the days when I wondered what I should … Continue reading Time is precious

baking, Breads, SuccessesLeave a comment

A random occurrence

Hoang S.

After my Butternut Squash debacle, I was very hesitant to step back into kitchen. It must’ve been a coincidence then, when I was still recovering from killing my beloved butternut squash that my husband came home and asked me what the burning smell is. I feigned ignorance to the smell, casually saying, “Oh I was just boiling water. Nothing major.” He looked at me incredulously, with a half amused expression. Like, really. “No really, I was boiling water,” I responded. Yes, that’s right. Yours truly has managed to create smoke by boiling water. Don’t ask me how that happened—it just … Continue reading A random occurrence

baking, Beginnings, Failures1 Comment

A long way to go

Hoang S.

Epic FAIL last night. Just when I thought I’d be successful at making dinner I ended up failing miserably. I should just be banned from the kitchen, period. At least for a couple of weeks. I need time to recover from this major failure. Cue the kitchen doctor, please. Apparently it is NOT a good idea to put hot contents into a glass baking dish because it’ll break. How on earth did that happen- you tell me! I’ve actually baked using that dish before – with hot contents inside, and it has never broken until now. With my luck, it … Continue reading A long way to go