30 Day challenges

[30 Day Challenge] Haiku Every Day

Random Observation/Comment #436: Poetry is beautiful, but writing poetry and the process behind it is just amazing. As with all my challenges, I’ll explain it all in an FAQ (and yes, some of my friends asked it this way): Q: What’s with this #haikueveryday? I see you posting it every day. A: It started when my friend told me about the famous...

[Food Review] Something Stewed

Random Observation/Comment #406: Anything with Guinness is delicious. Recipe: Something stewed – Beef and Guinness Stew Just like the good old days (2 months ago), I’ve decided to complete those left-out items from my cooking challenge. This one was rather simple. In short, I browned the beef, sweat the onions, and used the tomato paste to scrape all that goodness from the...

365 Day Challenge

365 Day Challenge

Random Observation/Comment #400: I’m always surprised at how a positive attitude can change everything. Also, Yay on 400 posts! Just as with all New Year’s Resolutions, this one is going to be a sweeping declaration. Hopefully, this time, I will not fill half of the days as “exception days” as I usually do with my 30 day health/diet challenges.  Most...

[30 Day Challenge] New Leaf Fitness Challenge!

[30 Day Challenge] New Leaf Fitness Challenge!

Random Observation/Comment #392: Fitness challenges make a lot more sense when you’re inspired with a group. Q: I thought you just finished a challenge. What is it now? A: Despite my efforts to cook somewhat healthy, the 30 Day Cooking challenge left me a little flabby around the edges. I almost expected it to happen, so I certainly jumped on...

[30 Day Challenge] Cooking Challenge Impressions

[30 Day Challenge] Cooking Challenge Impressions

Random Observation/Comment #391: Start your cooking challenge with the full realization that you will probably gain weight.   The purpose of this cooking challenge was to simply cook more things and host more parties. I wanted to take my cooking hobby to the next level, and I think I successfully did just that. Challenge completed! I didn’t cook every night,...

[30 Day Challenge] Something on the Spot

[30 Day Challenge] Something on the Spot

Random Observation/Comment #390: The best meals I’ve ever made have been invented on the spot with the different ingredients I had available. Yay, backpacking! Recipe: Something on the spot – zucchini and sweet corn stuffing What do you do when you A) ran out of casserole dishes for making the planned zucchini and corn meal and B) have the last casserole...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Ridiculous

[30 Day Challenge] Something Ridiculous

Random Observation/Comment #389: Sometimes the creativity and bizarre combinations going into food will make it more appealing for people to try. Other times, you’re just freaking weird. Recipe: Something ridiculous – Ramen burger Luckily, the ramen burger was one of those things that everyone saw and had to try.  I totally made up most of the recipe. The only thing I learned...

[30 Day Challenge] Turkey Lurkey, I Love You

[30 Day Challenge] Turkey Lurkey, I Love You

Random Observation/Comment #388: I love the feeling of hosting a fun party where people loved the food and ended the night fully satisfied. I just wish there were less dishes to do. Recipe: Making Turkey Lurkey, Gravy, and Stuffing  The recipe I used for the turkey was the one I saw on Gordon Ramsey’s show.  I had a few months...

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Curry

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Curry

Random Observation/Comment #387: I don’t know what it is about curry, but it’s something next to mashed potatoes that I’ll always want to eat. Oh man, I should make curry mashed potatoes. Recipe: Something with curry – Curried cauliflower I erred on the side of caution with this recipe because I didn’t want to make anything too over-powering. Because we had a...

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Venison

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Venison

Random Observation/Comment #386: People say venison is gamy, but that’s probably because they’re eating frozen, thawed, and refrozen venison. The fresh stuff is just like a steak. Recipe: Something with Venison – Venison Stroganov When my parents gave me a package of venison to bring to my brother’s, I looked up a couple of recipes that I thought would be pretty...

[30 Day Challenge] Epic Thanksgiving Events

[30 Day Challenge] Epic Thanksgiving Events

Random Observation/Comment #385: Doing this cooking challenge makes me appreciate my mom and her food so much more. She’s been doing a 30 YEAR cooking challenge. Now, that’s amazing. I’m about 3 weeks into the challenge, and I’m actually really happy I’ve come this far. Moving forward, there are a few big events that I would like to cook for,...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Sweet

[30 Day Challenge] Something Sweet

Random Observation/Comment #384: I’ve never been a big fan of sweets. I’m more of a savory kinda guy anyway. Plus, baking means I need to follow the recipe exactly, which feels much more like chemistry than art. Recipe: Something sweet – honey cupcakes Honey cupcakes use a lot of honey. We bought the good stuff form a farm near New Paltz...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Fun to Make

[30 Day Challenge] Something Fun to Make

Random Observation/Comment #383: “Okonomi” means “whatever you like” and “yaki” means “fried”, so I just fried everything I like. What a great idea. Recipe: Something fun to make – Okonomiyaki The only part I followed from the recipe was measuring out the mixture of flour, chicken stock, and eggs. I wanted to make sure to get the texture correct, but everything else...

[30 Day Challenge] Something New

[30 Day Challenge] Something New

Random Observation/Comment #381: Making a salad isn’t exactly cooking, but I’m combining this with making garlic bread, which required some time in the oven. Recipe: Something new This recipe for salad with garlic bread croutons was made up on the spot to go with the baked ziti. I added thinly sliced cucumber and some lettuce with lemon zest, lemon juice, salt,...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Italian

[30 Day Challenge] Something Italian

Random Observation/Comment #380: I feel like everything Italian I eat today reminds me of visiting my aunt in Pennsylvania. Since I had Chinese food made by my mom every night, other cuisines are a pretty good treat. Recipe: Something Italian – Baked Ziti Once again, I adjusted the recipe, but I think for the better. I used extra ricotta cheese with the...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Amazing

[30 Day Challenge] Something Amazing

Random Observation/Comment #379: I love mashed potatoes. It’s become a bit of an obsession that I’ve controlled over the years. When it’s Thanksgiving, I eat it like a maniac and mix it with everything possible. That’s my exception day. Recipe: Something amazing – Garlic mashed potatoes I made a fairly simple mashed potatoes, but as mentioned in the last post with oxtail...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Soupy

[30 Day Challenge] Something Soupy

Random Observation/Comment #378: Oxtail sounds really gross, but there’s quite a lot of meat on it, and when you make soup with it, the bone thickens the broth and brings the taste to a whole new level. Recipe: Something soupy – oxtail soup I did not follow the recipe from allrecipes because I’ve made this soup at least 20 times. I altered...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Boozy

[30 Day Challenge] Something Boozy

Random Observation/Comment #377: Fruit in alcohol is dangerous, yet so delicious and fun. Recipe: Something boozy – Sangria I did not follow the recipe I intended to because my friend’s Mom made this awesome Sangria for a party and I wanted to try her recipe. She probably makes her own adjustments to the recipe because mine doesn’t taste as good. I  also...

[30 Day Challenge] Something New Soupy

[30 Day Challenge] Something New Soupy

Random Observation/Comment #376: I’ve only ever made Chinese style soups. I’m really looking forward to experimenting with potato soups because that just sounds like mashed potatoes to me. Recipe: Something new soupy – Ham and Potato soup  I followed the recipe for the most part except I decided to add squash because I had extra. I also added some heavy cream at...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Childish

[30 Day Challenge] Something Childish

Random Observation/Comment #375: I had my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich when I was in college. True story. Recipe: Something childish – Grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich I don’t really eat PBJs because my Mom packed dumplings or leftovers from dinner for my elementary school lunch. I don’t think this has negatively affected my upbringing one bit.  This take on...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Indian

[30 Day Challenge] Something Indian

Random Observation/Comment #374: Chicken Tikka Masala and Palak paneer are my favorite go-to Indian dishes. I’d make the Palak Paneer, but I have no idea how to make that cottage cheese taste even close to that good. Recipe: Something Indian – Chicken Tikka Masala I have to admit, I was very intimidated by this recipe. It required a complex marinate for the...

[30 Day Challenge] Something to use with extra guac

[30 Day Challenge] Something to use with extra guac

Random Observation/Comment #373: Tex mex nights are great for parties. I wonder if it’s weird for Latinos if we were to have a sandwich making party. Recipe: Something to use with extra guac – burritos Once again, I just used whatever I had in the refrigerator and nearby grocery store to put together my own ghetto burrito. I even bought refried beans...

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Dip

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Dip

Random Observation/Comment #372: I don’t know how to pick the best avocado, and I think that means I still do not have the Force. .Recipe: Something with dip – Guac and chips I’ve made guacamole plenty of times in the past for picnics and tex-mex nights, but I really enjoyed this particular take on it. I think the diced garlic and bit...

[30 Day Challenge] Something Chinese Comfort Foody

[30 Day Challenge] Something Chinese Comfort Foody

Random Observation/Comment #371: I remember the first time I made congee in college – I fed my entire dorm room and then I was too lazy to do the dishes, so we didn’t have congee again until 2 months later. Recipe: Something Chinese comfort foody – jook/congee I didn’t follow the recipe at all on this one, but instead did my Mom’s...

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Meatballs

[30 Day Challenge] Something with Meatballs

Random Observation/Comment #370: I love going to Meatball Shop for mashed potatoes. I guess their meatballs are good too. Recipe: Something with meatballs – meatball sub I actually followed the recipe for most of this. The breading to meat ratio is definitely the big secret to having fluffy meatballs. I also made sure that the cooking time was right so it stayed...