Summer Plans

It's official! I finally bought my airplane ticket to Frankfurt, Germany. I will be spending eight weeks in Goettingen for language immersion at the Goethe Institut. SO EXCITED!

So I will try to stop neglecting this blog and post more often. It seems like once school starts, I don't have time to write. Psh, it's not like I'm that busy. I admit it, I'm just lazy. I WANT to get over my laziness and have a less dead blog.

Well, this summer is going to be exciting, so I'll have a lot more to write about. So look forward to it! Like anyone visits this blog anymore... do I hear crickets?

To be continued.... eventually.

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Summer Memories: Part 1

I've had some pictures left on the back burner that I never got to post. Among the many things I made over the summer, I made green tea ice cream.
I fell in love with green tea ice cream the first time I tried it. That was quite a few years ago, and I think I had it either in a Japanese restaurant or we bought a pint of Haagen Daz. Either way, green tea ice cream was a rare treat since it was hard to find in the grocery stores and we didn't frequent Japanese restaurants. Also, when I did find it in the freezer of an Asian store, the quality of the ice cream was sub par. It would either be icy or just off-tasting. Some had crap ingredients like Blue No. 1. Good green tea ice cream has the distinct taste of grassy matcha tea and the green color is purely from the tea. The flavour is pretty delicate, so it shouldn't be masked with any off flavours. The texture should have a rich mouth feel. This isn't a light, low fat ice cream.

Wish I could eat this right off the computer screen

The green tea ice cream I made was a custard based ice cream, meaning that there are eggs in it that thickens the base. That is how you make ice cream with a rich, creamy mouth feel. Yum. 

I also used a good quality matcha powder. Don't skimp on the powder, because it makes or breaks the ice cream.

Awesome ice cream making ingredients

What is unusual about this ice cream is that I used whole eggs, instead of just the yolks. Some custard ice creams have a scary amount of yolks, and I didn't want to have a ton of egg whites left over, so I just used the whole eggs.

Green Tea Ice Cream

1 cup milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

3 whole eggs

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp matcha powder

In a blender, blend the milk, eggs, sugar, and matcha powder together. Alternatively, whisk the ingredients very well in a large bowl. 

Pour the mixture into a large saucepan and add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream. Gently heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring very frequently. Keep an eye on the mixture, so that the bottom doesn't burn or boil over. Do NOT let it boil, you just want to cook it so that it thickens slightly. It will be done when the base is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon in an opaque layer. Chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Had a little ice cream base left over

When the ice cream mixture is thoroughly chilled, churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacture's directions. I churned mine in my Cuisinart for about 25-30 minutes. When it is done, place the ice cream in the freezer to harden.

Go, ice cream maker, go!

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Days of Simple Eating

I swear I'm not dead. Although I haven't posted since June, I have been cooking lots of food all summer. I was just too lazy to write about it. This summer was the summer of salads, sushi rolls, bubble tea, homemade froyo, store bought froyo, basil lemon ice cream, peach smoothies, fruit tarts, noodle soups, grilled veggies and a lot more. I was cooking up a storm all summer, and enjoying my updated kitchen and new kitchen toys. The powerful, versatile Vitamix blender and an Old Mountain grill pan were added to my collection. The blender was used at least once a day, making smoothies, shakes, juices, and vegetables made with whatever fresh vegetables were lying around. The grill pan was used not nearly as frequently, but I made good use out of it. I grilled perfect steaks about twice a week, along with grilled onions, mushrooms, eggplant, scallions, potatoes, squash, and peppers. The grilled onions were my favourite.

Fruit Tarts and Peach and Blackberry Pie

Well, good things can't last forever, and summer has come to an end. I said my goodbyes to my wonderful kitchen and toys. I will miss you, beloved ice cream maker and grill pan. I don't think I can live without a blender, so I took one along with me. So off to college I went, to get my edumacation. Now I am reduced to using a rice cooker, microwave, mini fridge, not-as-powerful blender, and a full kitchen that is a building away. But thanks to my suite mate, now I can use an electric skillet as well!


Cooking during the school year will prove to be challenging and require a bit of creativity. I am up for the challenge, and I already have some recipes up my sleeves that I can't wait to try. I will have to drastically simplify the way I cook here. Unlike at home, I don't have access to my fully equipped kitchen with a well stocked spice cabinet, fridge, and pantry. It also isn't very convenient to do simple kitchen tasks, such as chopping vegetables. Therefore I will try to use a few shortcuts without sacrificing taste. For example, I'm using seasoning blends like Italian seasoning, and jarred minced garlic.


Tonight, I made a simple dinner of lentil soup. It was comforting and nutritious, but made me long for some real home cooking. You will need a rice cooker.


Lentil Soup
makes 2 very generous servings


1 cup dried lentils
1 can diced tomatoes
1 carrot or a few baby carrots, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning


Place dried lentils in the rice cooker pot. Sort through the lentils to make sure there are no small stones or other foreign objects. Rinse with cold water.
Add the can of tomatoes, carrots, and garlic to the pot. Fill the tomato can with water and add to pot. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Turn on rice cooker and cover with the lid. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, depending on your rice cooker. The soup is done when the lentils are soft.
Eat with crusty bread, preferably in the company of friends.

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