Apartment Version Veggie Stir Fry

After blowing 50 dollars on groceries at Trader Joes, I have officially decided that I will not be spending money on food for the next two weeks (MINIMUM) or more. Seriously need to curb the amount of cash flow that is leaking from my wallet these days. Ahhh, the life of a college student.

Luckily though, I have a nicely stocked refrigerator that should get me through these next couple of days without too much trouble.

For dinner, I decided to fry up my broccoli and onions before the broccoli  went bad and make a janky version of my usual stir fry.

Instead of using fresh, minced garlic, I used the power version I bought in the store. Which turned out to not nearly be flavorful enough. But until I get some real garlic from the Bestie (THANKS DAVID!), the powder will have to do. It definitely is more time efficient.

I also forgot to steam the broccoli first, and just tossed it directly into the skillet. But with enough frying time, the broccoli did end up being soft enough to my liking.

Compared to the stir fry I am used to at home, this dish pales in quality and taste. But, given the conditions-college student mode, time crunching, cooking through exhaustion, and with a more limited amount of groceries (mushrooms went bad :[ ), I'd say that this stir fry is more than satisfactory for me.

For dessert, Raf made me try some of his mashed avocado with sugar mixture. Despite not looking or sounding especially appealing, this is actually delicious! Can't wait to make some for myself when my avocados ripen. 

Notes:

1. Garlic powder isn't as strong as real garlic, so be sure to apply more of it.

2. Don't have any starch in stock, so no gou qian for me. :(

And speaking of the life of a college student, after this dinner I foresee a Saturday night of nonstop studying with the Bestie. WoooOOOooooo! YOLO? 

Twin Salad

On a fine, beautiful Saturday morning, I decided to make a salad for my twin.

Is she not the cutest?

This time I added paremesan cheese and tortilla chips. But in all honesty, making salads is a lot messier than you would think, simply because I don't have an adequate mixing bowl. And the taste can never quite mimic my HSPH lunches. So I think from here on out, I am going to x-nay the salad making. I'll get my salad fix at Smart Alex's and SF Soup Co and Saturns from here on out.

Still, it was nice to use up my lettuce and have the Twin over in my apartment for the first time. Great way to start a Sunny Saturday in Berkeley. Love! 

TGIF Kimchi

It's fiiiiiiiiiinally Friday. Which to me just means time to CTFO and breathe. Grandma Jen needs to REST ya'll.

So after my one and only class (12-1 Español) of the day, I headed straight home, made some food, and watched 4 episodes of Community.

No shame. Noooooo shame.

Got around to adding toasted peanuts this time, but am simply way too lazy to crush them (I MISS YOU STONE GAVEL :( ), but it was yummy. And my he bao dan turned out great too. I want to experiment with he bao dan by making it with parmesan and basil next time. ooOOOooo, faAaAnCccyyYy.  

Oh, and I am now officially out of kimchi. So I am going to have to branch out and try making some different foods. Merrrrr.

Scramblin' Egg Scramble

This first week has been absolutely cray.
I completely forgot what it feels like to be walking to and from class, and then later having to attend meeting after meeting on consecutive days. I forgot how much energy it requires. I'm so tired I can barely breathe.

these were about to go bad, oops

How did I do it last year?  Regrettably, it feels like I am starting from ground zero. Which totally sucks. Or more like, I am unaccustomed to the hectic lifestyle that I've brought upon myself at this school, because it has been an entire summer. But I do believe (AND HOPE) that I'll start getting back into that grind and feel less exhausted by the end of each day. It's not that I can't handle it, it's just I need to get used to it again.  #OPTIMISM

scrambly scrambly

So mentally? I think I am prepared and experienced (FLASHBACK-getting over sophomore slump). Even though I am feeling absolutely down in the dumps from exhaustion now, time should smooth out these wrinkles and equip me with the strength to carry me through these long busy days.

But while past experience is fueling my optimism, I need to work better at fueling my body. The physical weariness I am feeling is something that not even coffee can fix (which says something because I basically regard coffee as the fountain of youth). Not having a meal plan anymore has proven to impact my routine more than I would have predicted. Because I am on campus with a backtoback schedule, I see now that I took for granted how convenient it was to grab a quick (albeit, not so tasty) salad from GBC just around the corner. These days I am finding myself without any means of getting food between classes because I didn't pack in advance, and sometimes there isn't time to wait in line at SF Soup or Chipotle. WAHHH FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS.

Okay so yeah, it isn't that bad, at all, actually. But the bottom line is that I do need to start learning how to cook in BULK, and in ADVANCE so that I can bring food to school on the days where my schedule is most busy. Also to save me some dineros.

Urgh. Having to be a responsible, self sufficient adult. Why.

On this particular day, after a long day of classes (got off at 6pm!) a friend was nice enough to take me to Emeryville to buy the last (FINALLY) items on my furniture list of things I needed. Although I was already completely spent, this trip was absolutely necessary, so I simply had to push myself to keep going. 3 hours of wandering around giant stores and seeking employees and figuring out curtain measurements later, and I seriously felt like every single ounce of whatever is inside my body was out. the. door. I was done. If it weren't for the fabulous company, I might have just withered in the corner of the bed and bathroom section of IKEA and chosen death over life.

I'm not dramatic at all.

Point is, I finally get home after 9pm and am hungry.as.balls. So I made this quick and easy egg scramble for myself and it made me feel infinitely better. You can tell just how tired I was because I didn't even bother separating my egg whites. 

Yuuum Yaaaaay Egggssss! #thattimeeggssavedmylife

YES. This is the good life. 

Difficulty: 3

Willingness to make again: 10

Over-all: 8

Notes: 

1. Don't let mushrooms go bad. USE ASAP.

2. Next time add some baker's tofu :3 

3. Use more than 2 eggs/spinach/mushrooms because the quantity isn't as much as it looks when you actually fry everything up. Oops. 

Asian Pahtee w/ da Kimchi Quinoa Again

I forgot to take pictures because I left my camera in the pimp cavern last night. :(
But it's okay because I just made kimchi with quinoa again.

Only this time I melted daiyi cheese in it, which made it nice and sticky. Honestly, I can do with or without though.

BUT I added SIRACHA SAUCE, which is basically like, allthatisgoodintheworld mixed together in a plastic bottle. I have a theory that absolutely anything tastes good in siracha sauce, even poo! Even satan's ovaries! Even cucumbers?  <--Okay sorry, that was taking it TOO far.

I did forget the egg on top though, oops.

It's because I was preoccupied cooking for me and two (ridiculously tall) boys. Karl and Eric, two very long-time family friends, came over the other day to have lunch with me. Karl and I see each other around campus pretty often. Eric is an incoming freshman, and I have to say, seeing him on campus is WEIRD.

I mean, I've known this kid since I was 7. I would post some sort of photographic evidence but we've known each other before I even had my own camera and laptop.

But to give you a mental image, on one of our family vacations we spent the ENTIRE week listening to my Nsync CD in my dad's mustang. It's how I know all the lyrics to every song to this day.

Anyway, I like to think of this as my first baby Azuhn Pahtee. Which is fitting since Asian dinner parties was essentially the only medium through which the three of us hung out in the first place. Way back when.

I was anxious to make sure everyone was well (and constantly) fed, because my issue in cooking has always been predicting how much food is enough to feed X amount of people. It also disturbingly reminds me a little too much like my mother, and all other generations of Asian mom. Sigh. Woe zee hypocrite is me, I hope I don't make my future daughter fat.

I'd Make a Sandwich for *Her*

Due to a whirlwind of rapidly changing events, it has been officially decided that the Cousin is staying an extra year in the bay area before going back to MIT, with MOI! Yay!

Although she is still apartment hunting and transitioning, I've been seeing a lot of her around lately, which is always the bees knees. And from now until Wednesday, she will be crashing in my apartment before taking a short trip back to Houston. 

Thankfully, school isn't deathly intense yet (whew), so we have time to enjoy each other's company. If there is anything better than JenJennyTime, it's JenJennyTime in Cali. Freals.

Nowadays I can't even distinguish whether we are cousins or seestars. 

^onions+avaoado+hummus

So I made her a sandwich.

Sandwich = Love. 

First Day of School but Reminiscent Basic Salad

I made my first real "official" meal in my apartment today! After a very hectic couple of days moving in, spending soul-sucking amounts of money, catching up with friends, figuring out scheduling and trying to fall back into the routine that is school, I finally found a chance to actually cook. In my kitchen. My new, beautiful kitchen. Full of fresh groceries. Oh the possibilities!
After a summer of preparation. Of mistakes and lecturing, criticisms and successes, the time had come. What do I finally decide to debut the start of my independent era of cooking with?

Drum roll....
Wait for it....

SALAD! TA-DAAAAAAAAA!!

Not.

Except, it wasn't even out of laziness or time-crunching. No 10 page papers due or piles of midterms that need to be crammed for (yet) (yikes) (fudge). And my fridge is full of enough ingredients to give me many more options. Honestly, real talk, home girl just wanted salad. Specifically, my HSPH salads that I would eat for lunch every day.

But I miss the girl I ate salad every day with more than the salad itself. :(

Here is my attempted replication

Sometimes I ain't too hard to please.

This salad consisted of mixed greens (courtesy of BERKELEY BOWL woot woot. I feel like a true Berklian now), cut up carrots, red onion with soy cheese and raisins.

Then for dressing I tried a mixture suggested by one of my lovely friends, who has been a major inspiration and support in my newly embarked vegetarian/culinary adventure. She is actually also extremely into nutritional sciences and personal health, and so is essentially a great role model for me. For a visual, think Alice Waters with an Amelie face.

ANYWAYS, she told me she likes mixing olive oil, balsamic vinegar with a touch of honey. And I can't say I disagree. While not MIND-BLOWING-ZOMG-WHAT, the mixture together was tasty. I think the olive oil I bought is a lot stronger in flavor than the one I am used to from home/HSPH, but I still like that olive oil taste nonetheless.

Despite the, arguably anti-climactic dish, it nonetheless marks the beginning of my student-cooking life. It's like, before this was all just the build up and now I'm finally at the actual Beginning. Did that make sense?

Difficulty: 1
Willingness to make again: 10
Over-all: 7

Topped it off with a greek yogurt+honey dessert. Obsessed!

All in all, school is just, school. It hasn't really started yet since it has only been two days. But already I have been surrounded by all my good friends and can see a very memorable (and stroke-inducing stressful) semester ahead that I await with open arms.  (minus draining my soul in the library).  If there is anything I have learned at my time here it is that you can't expect anything but the unexpected. To junior year, OPPPAAAA~