May/ June Randoms

Man, I am so behind on blogging. My free time is so different now then it was before. All of my free time is outside of the house, which I'm still getting used to. That means less cooking, more working out, more working and less blogging. But can't complain, it's great, just different.

Anyway, here are some snapshots of the past two months, including our transition from being residents of Illinois to Missouri. Which reminds me, I need to get a new driver's license. 

Seoul Taco- Kimchi bulbogi burrito, YUM!

Look at my handsome PhD! I'm so proud of my Doctor!

Becky's birthday, love painting with her

Saying goodbye to my co-workers in Champaign. I miss them so much!

I have experience stacking cargo y'know?

Got our keys to our new place! 

First night at the new house. No food, no furniture. Board games on the floor with beer and candy.

Unpacking can be... fun?

Trying some vegan food at Lulu's Local Eatery

Prepare to spend many hours and many moneys

Pho is life; Pho Grand

Eating ice cream in Saint Charles

Milkshakes and BBQ from a local favorite, Sugarfire

Kimchi bloody Mary is my new favorite from Treehouse

But first brunch (Treehouse again)

Berry and Lime & Cucumber Mint sorbetto for dessert from Gelato de Leone

Neapolitan ice cream cupcake from Jilly's Cupcake Bar

Popsicles from Whisk on a hot day at the farmer's market

Tower Grove Park

Brazilian Brunch Buffet, say that three times. Brasilia

Whatchu looking at? Laumeire Sculpture Park

Reminds me of the sculpture at UH

Latte and chocolate peanut butter smoothie from MoKaBes

Drinking cocktails with Billy at Shakespeare in the park

Love it when we get to eat with our hands. Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant

Finished a DIY project: reupholster dining chairs

Double Benedicts for brunch at Mangia

Holy moly we ate a lot of restaurants in June. But I guess that's what happens when you insatiable and move to a new city with lots of restaurants. And there's more where that came from. We've only been to less than half of the restaurants in our neighborhood, and we need to go back to some for something other than brunch. The future is looking bright, and just a little chubby. But happy belly leads to happy life, no wonder I have to spend all my free time at the gym. 

Happy eating!

-Akemi-chan

Meet Me In St Louis: Moving to the Lou

Hello everyone. We are Missourans! Is that a word? It seemed like it was a word. Anyway, I finally feel like we settled into the house and everything is going smoothly. It's a brand new chapter in our lives and I can't wait to get started.

Missouri is home to many thing that I can't wait to sink my teeth into, sometimes literally. Of course being in St. Louis, we are in barbecue country, but there's wine country, hiking, caves, and lots of history to soak in. But first thing's first, we had to furnish the house.

Bryan and I came to St. Louis with not a lot of stuff. And by not a lot of stuff, I mean a lot of little things, but not a whole bunch of big things. So we went to Ikea and  spent more than a person probably should spend in a trip. Okay, it was two. Alright three! But now we have a comfy cozy home to call our own. 

Here's a little picture tour, mini Goofy for perspective.

Bryan relaxing on our couch...

...watching the new TV

Our dining room, complete with board game collection

Dining room again, but with a view of Bryan's office

Guest room for our visitors

Master bedroom

Bryan's handmade closet

Kitchen

Art Studio- kitchen adjacent

Thank you everyone for your love and support during our move. And a big thank you to our former roomie/landlord for taking care of us all those years. Missouri, we're here!

-Akemi-chan

Pita Bread

I made bread. And no, not in a bread maker. Like real bread. Like roll it with a rolling pin, kind of bread! Who would've thought? 

I always drool over the pitas at the store. So light and fluffy and perfect for sandwiches or hummus, but so expensive. I on,y get four for the price of a whole loaf of sandwich bread. But now, I can make my own! I mean, I doubt I will do it regularly, but now I know I can.

Pita Bread

1 1/4 cup lukewarm water

1 tbsp dry active yeast

2 tsp honey

3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

In my stand mixer with the dough hook, I mixed water, honey and yeast. Then I let it rest for 5 minutes. Add  2 and 3/4 cup flour, salt and oil to the water and mix until a ball forms in the mixer and it does not stick to the walls of the bowl. 

Sprinkle the remaining flour onto a flat surface and put dough on floured surface. Split dough into 8 even sections and roll each section into a ball. Cover rolling pin in flour. Roll all 8 balls into 1/4 inch thick disks. Let rest for 30 minutes to puff. 

Rolling the dough

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place pizza stone in oven to heat up. Once oven is at 450, place the disks onto the stone and bake for 10-15 minutes. Sit back and watch the magic. Puff time!

Flat

Puffed

Finished product

Pocket

I basically ate nothing pt pitas for a day straight. I was obsessed. Dip, ranch dress, salads, sandwiches, just pita with honey drizzled on it. I love it. Now I know my pitas came out a little more dough-ier than I wanted, but it still tasted good. I might try to make the disks thinner. But either way it'll be more than edible. 

Enjoy!

-Akemichan

Honey Soy Garlic Ginger Chicken Thighs

More backup blogging. So many recipes I used to try when living in Urbana. Now I only cook on the weekend. I guess that's what happens when you work longer hours and commute. Anyway, back to cooking.

Sometimes I just want greasy Chinese takeout. It doesn't happen often, but when It does, regret always comes after. I overeat noodles and rice and feel guilty later. If I make my own Asian inspired chicken, less guilt, and less likely to binge on fried rice. 

Honey Soy Garlic Chicken Thighs

1 inch ginger, grated

3 cloves of garlic, grated

1 cup soy sauce, low sodium

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 tsp fish sauce

1/4 tsp sesame sauce

6-7 chicken thighs

Green onions, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce and sesame oil. Whisk together until consistent. Sometimes I add mustard or hot sauce in here to give it some kick. 

Put chicken thighs in sauce and mix until well coated. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and pour chicken into dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until chicken reaches 160 degree internal temperature. Let cool for 10 minutes, serve with green onion sprinkled over top. 

Enjoy

-Akemichan

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

It's seems like it's taken us forever to get settled, but then I realize, it's only been two weeks. Back to blogging. Going to pick up where I left off, aka, when I started packing.

Spring means strawberries in my mind, and it appears the grocery stores agree. Strawberries were plentiful, and that means one thing in our house, strawberry rhubarb crisp. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

3 stalks of rhubarb, cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups of strawberries, cut into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup of white sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup oats

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine strawberries, rhubarb and sugar for the filling. . In another medium to large bowl, combine remaining ingredients for the crisp.

Grease casserole dish with butter, I just use what was on the butter wrapper. Fill with strawberry mixture, then top with oat mixture. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy!

-Akemichan

March/ April Randoms

As our time in Champaign-Urbana draws closer to the end, I've been reflecting on some things. What will I miss bout this little town? What will we not have in St Louis that was so accessible here? What are some of the things I should do before I leave? Is there anything I left undone?

We've had so many wonderful memories here, but it's been almost 7 years, and although this town has treated us well, it's time for the next stage in our lives. In just a few short months, we'll be packing up and moving to a different state and a bigger city. Many great things on our horizon and the best is yet to come. 

Here are some little memories from March and April 2016.

Steak and kale salad with blue cheese

Lucky Charms cupcakes for St Patty's

BLT salad

Finally warm enough to drink outside

Birthday brunch at Rooster in St Louis

Birthday ice cream at Jeni's

My coworkers are so cute

Rick's Bakery Alfajores: Shortbread with dulce de leche and coconut

Mini tacos

Art Party Studio painting time

Swordfish with tomato and squash salad

Purple donuts, cuz FedEx

Roasted veggies

Goofing off for employee appreciation

Fly my prettys

Always with the treats

Coconut melon mojito

We play board games on the floor. Gose and Dead of Winter

Finally eating Papa Del's Pizza

Art Party Studio, part 2

No, thank you!

Many things will be changing the next time I post a bi-monthly wrap-up. But good things do not happen without change. As Spring turns into Summer, we will turn into Missourans. Ekk.

Akemi-chan