This long weekend I decided to work on a baking project I’ve been thinking about for a bit: a Porg Pot Pie. The inspiration was this awesome Porg pie bird that my dad got me two Christmas’s ago. Key parts of this challenge for me were to: make my first double-crust pie, successfully blind bake…
Category: Food and Drink
How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust
I am slowly getting better at pie baking, after struggling with some basic skills. I think I am finally getting the hang of blind baking a pie crust, which is the technique to pre-bake a crust so that it is browned and properly cooked when the fillings are added. Here’s the techniques that I have…
What I Learned from 12 Months of Intermittent Fasting
This week marks one year of me following the dieting method Intermittent Fasting (IF)! I didn’t have many expectations when I started. Really I was just tired of hearing raves about IF from so many friends. So I did some research and decided to try it out and see how it felt. Turns out, I…
First Time Making Danish Pastry!
One of my projects during the holiday break has been learning how to make one of my favorite desserts: Danish pastry! Somewhere between a brioche and a croissant, Danish seemed like a good next step in my baking journey. First step was choosing a recipe. After scouring the internets, I decided King Arthur Flour /…
Easy Roast Duck (recipe)
INGREDIENTS 1 4- to 5-pound duck Freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup soy sauce, more or less Equipment: roasting pan rack PREPARATION Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard or reserve for another use. Cut off excess fat from duck cavity. Place duck, breast side down (wings up), on a…
Filipino Turon (recipe)
I made Filipino turon for the first time! This is one of my favorite Filipino desserts, which is always a hit at parties. It’s a super simple recipe, but very labor intensive. I used plantain instead of Saba banana for the filling , along with jackfruit. I also dialed back the sweetness, which brings out…
Intermittent Fasting Update: August 2020
I’ve been practicing intermittent fasting since January, and I have zero regrets. It’s been quite the lifestyle change, but very little suffering from my experience. I’m at my target weight and feel as energetic as ever. I started, like most people, with an 16:8 schedule (16 hours of fasting, 8 hour eating period.) This was…
Julianna’s eggplant boat with sauteed nuts and mushrooms (recipe)
Here’s a yummy vegetarian recipe from my colleague Julianna , who was riffing on this one. I made some modifications and added some steps to my version. Ingredients: Olive oil 2 medium eggplants, halved and scored 1 cup walnuts / pecans, chopped 1 cup mushrooms, sliced or chopped 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp cumin…
Nan’s Pancakes (via Maria V)
This recipe comes from Nan, a friend of my friend Maria in Holland. I’m still trying to dial it in, but love how fluffy these come out. Might need to steam them for a bit after frying on both sides. Instructions Sift together into a bowl: 2 cups all purpose flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder,…
8 Weeks on 18:6 Intermittent Fasting Diet
I finished my 8th week following an 18:6 intermittent fasting schedule (18 hour fast, 6 hour window to eat). I’ve found it not as much of a struggle as I had feared! Typically I get to 19:5 without much extra effort. I’ve gotten my body used to eating two meals a day at noon-ish and…