Homecooked Goodness

So after getting home from the culinary heaven that was our vacation, we landed ourselves back in the thick and thin of things, starting with leftovers in the fridge.

Thankfully, there wasn't very much leftovers in the fridge, so we made some congee from whatever rice that was leftover (note the cute monkey spoon I got in California).

And some honey mint tea with the homegrown mint:

Look at that floating loveliness...

And I have to say that even though the cocktails at the resort were nothing sort of amazing, it still pales in comparison to the simple taste of mint.

I also cooked up some breakfast with the chives in the backyard (hubby didn't like it but I insisted on some "vegetables" in the eggs). The pancakes are from a mix, and Hubby complained it was too thick (roll eyes).

I on the other hand settled from some cereal (I really missed the crunchy goodness of colorful flakes and cinnamon-ma-bobbers!)

 

Then for lunch I settled for some congee, homecooked burdock and a colorful plate of sweet bell peppers and bulgogi (store-bought marinated beef). The thing on the top right-hand side is spicy squid, which I also whipped up myself.

 



 

For dinner, I settled on some braised tofu and mushrooms. To get it right this time, I actually googled a recipe as well as yes, how to cut the tofu so it's perfect for this dish.

 



 

So apparently, you're supposed to half it then cut it again into four long blocks, then for each block make 4 cuts to create 10 pieces each. In the meantime, soak some mushrooms in water to expand the meat of the mushroom.

 



 

Once that's done, throw everything into a pan, along with some green onions. Cook on medium-high for about 3 minutes.

Then create a semi-glutinous mixture of soy sauce, corn starch, rice vinegar, salt and sugar (and a dash of spice if you'd like) and leave it there to cook on medium-high.

 

You want to cook until most of the juice has been absorbed by the tofu. This makes the tofu both firm and juicy, exactly how Hubby likes his tofu. I dropped some goji berries in to add some color and nutrients to this meat-like dish.

 



 

In fact, he liked it so much he ate the whole thing, leaving none for me to even try. And that's okay, as long as he does the dishes.