French Yogurt Cake

When I was studying abroad in London, I volunteered for a great organization called Keeping in Touch (KIT).  It’s a non-profit that sends people into care homes to chat with the elderly and provide them with social stimulus.  The organization also teaches the elderly how to use computers and access the Internet.  The founder, Jeremy, started the organization after seeing that the elderly in his mother’s care home rarely had any interaction with each other or the outside world.  I remember after my first day volunteering, Jeremy said something that never occurred to me: “The people out there don’t really care about the people in here.”

Mochi Pancakes

Back in high school, I would always cook breakfast for my family if I ever was the first to wake up.  From scrambled eggs, home fries, or scallion pancakes, breakfast on the weekends was always something special.  We hardly had the time to eat breakfast during the weekdays – a quick fried egg or piece of toast while going out the door was the norm, so being able to all get together first thing in the morning was fun.  I loved having the whole kitchen to myself and then calling everyone down to the dining table.

Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

My suite mate gave me some large sweet potatoes that she didn’t want today.  I was pretty excited because I haven’t eaten any in a while.  I managed to eat one baked, but I wanted to try something different with the other.  Anyone can get tired eating the same thing twice.  Taking into account that I had some left-over mature cheese in the fridge, the solution that I came up with is probably pretty obvious.

Blueberry Mochi Cake

Here in California, my family is a frequent visitor of a supermarket chain called 99 Ranch.  For years, we actually mistakenly called it Ranch 99, but I digress.  Two years ago, back when I was still in high school, I remember passing by a display in the grocery store for mochiko.  I had heard of mochiko before, but I had never actually cooked with it.  I managed to convince my mother to buy a box of the unknown substance under the pretense that it would be part of an amazing creation.  In reality, I had no idea what to do with my new purchase.  I knew that I could probably make mochi, but I was hoping to make something less obvious.  When I finally came across this recipe for a blueberry mochi cake, I was absolutely thrilled.  Now, every time I go back home during breaks from school, my mom will ask me to made a batch or two of this mochi cake for her to freeze and munch on while I’m gone.  They don’t last very long, though.

Avocado Mac and Cheese

The temperature outside has been steadily dropping, but, while I don’t mind the cold weather, the rain is an entirely different story.  I know… rain helps the crops grow, and it replenishes water supplies, but wet weather has an uncomfortable feeling.  There’s always the awkward walk with your umbrella where you try not to bump into other people with umbrellas.  There’s also the fear of being splashed by passing cars, and the mastery of a walking pace fast enough to get you out of the rain yet slow enough to not make you slip.  In addition, wet clothes are never desirable.  On rainy days such as today, I feel the best plan of action is to stay in, appreciate my dry surroundings, and watch a movie.  Of course, I’ll get some school work done as well.  Maybe…