Scallion Pancakes

Notes:

• I froze two of them for later. It's a little harder to make sure they get cooked in the middle without burning the outside but they still taste really good.
  

Verdict: I already knew I liked scallion pancakes, and fresh homemade ones are even more of a treat. They're kind of a lot of work, but really delicious.

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RECIPE: Cong You Bing Scallion Pancakes (The Woks of Life)

Chamomile Tea Cake with Strawberry Icing

A friend recently introduced me to the work of Eric Kim and I love his ideas for recipes, so when I saw this one made with multiple flavors I really like, I wanted to give it a try.

Verdict: This was really lovely tasting and the icing color so vibrant. The supercharged strawberry flavor was great! I would gladly make it again.

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RECIPE: Chamomile Tea Cake with Strawberry Icing (Eric Kim, for the New York Times)

Cilantro Sauce

because the sauce all by itself might look a little gross, lol

When your partner buys three bunches of cilantro the day before he leaves you in the house by yourself  for two weeks and you're trying to find ways to use it up, you try this.

Verdict: It added some good bright flavor to the Mexican and Middle Eastern style food I ate it with. Not sure I'd make it on purpose again but it was a decent addition to my food for a while. I froze a bunch of it and have yet to see how that preserved, but hopefully it will still look and taste OK.

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RECIPE: Cilantro Sauce (Umami Girl)

Easy Aloo Gobi

Notes:

• The potatoes and cauliflower took a LOT longer to cook than the recipe says and needed more water than it shows.

Verdict: It was all right and decently easy, but didn't have the richness of flavor I really like from Indian restaurant food. It was mostly just spicy. I wouldn't go out of my way to make it again but if I had all the ingredients on hand I would possibly try it again.

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RECIPE: Easy Aloo Gobi (Veena Azmanov)

Kimchi Fried Rice

I occasionally buy kimchi and want to learn to eat it more regularly and have it in ways other than by itself. As it turns out, kimchi fried rice is a pretty basic home cooked meal for Koreans so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Notes:

• I left out the salty meat since I didn't have any on hand, and added some salt toward the end.
  
• The kimchi I used was from a Japanese grocery store so I suspect it was a quite mild variety in terms of spicy heat level.
  

Verdict: It was yummy! I will probably add some gochujang next time to make it more spicy, though it might have just been a really mild jar of kimchi I had this time.

Edit 3/31/23: I made Maangchi's kimchi fried rice recipe today, but I liked the flavor of this original recipe better.

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RECIPE: Kimchi Fried Rice (NYT Cooking)

Cinnamon Rolls

I had some leftover cream cheese frosting from making gingerbread cookies and a hankering for cinnamon rolls, so I made these.

Notes:

• I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast (letting it bloom in the milk/butter mixture for about 10 minutes before adding it to the recipe) and it worked fine.
• I used a stand mixer to mix and knead the dough.
• I did not make the icing in this recipe so I haven't tried it yet, but this particular recipe author tends to know what she's doing so I bet it's great.
  

Verdict: These are probably the best cinnamon rolls I've ever made. They had a really nice texture, very soft and pillowy on the inside. I would absolutely make them again, and now that I have a recipe I know I like, I can keep using it!

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RECIPE: Easy Cinnamon Rolls (Sally's Baking Addiction)

French Onion Soup

We had everything we needed to make this (even Gruyere cheese!) and I hadn't made French onion soup in a LONG time so I decided to give it another go.

Verdict: I was not especially happy with it, for some reason. The flavor was not quite as rich and robust as I am accustomed to. My stomach also did not agree with it. I might try a different recipe next time.

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RECIPE: Essential French Onion Soup (Smitten Kitchen)