chef julie yoon - life is delicious

I’ve been a bit MIA because of our new business. I’m still trying to work out the balance of running a business and being a blogger at the same time. I’m not gonna lie, some days I just can’t motivate myself to be creative, entertaining, or charming. And not to get all depressing on you or anything, but I’ve been having a few health issues too. But everything is on its way to getting resolved now, so it’s time to saddle up the horse again.

This recipe was invented after I felt like eating a California Roll, you know the Japanese maki or rice rolls that are filled with crab, avocado, and cucumber. But the problem was, I didn’t have crab or cucumber. However, I did have turkey bacon, perilla (sesame) leaves, and alfalfa sprouts! By the way, if you put turkey bacon, avocado and sprouts together in a sandwich, it’s the bomb diggity- which is probably why I had those ingredients in the first place.

In an earlier entry, I gave you the recipe for traditional beef kimbap, or Korean rice rolls, where the flavor comes mostly from sesame oil and individually seasoned ingredients. At the end of the entry, I promised to one day post a “Julie version” of kimbap, which requires simpler ingredients and less prep time. So today is the day I deliver. [...]

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Do you like comfort foods as much as you enjoy light, fresh, and healthy dishes? If so, I’ll be nice and tell you one of my secrets on how you can enjoy both at the same time. Anytime you have a craving for a nice creamy or cheesy pasta dish, cut the cream way down by adding in chicken stock! Who knew, huh? Since I graduated from a French culinary school, I’m a big believer in using real butter, cream, and wine. But it doesn’t mean that you should use an excessive amount, especially if you’re trying to watch your girlish figure! Sometimes all you need is just a touch.

So this delicious mushroom pasta is the perfect recipe for you to try to test my theory. I adore orecchiette pasta, because the little cute “ear-shaped” pieces are like little cups that hold all your glorious sauce. If you don’t like the taste of mushrooms, you can skip this recipe, because the flavor base comes mostly from cooking mushrooms and cooking them right. Intrigued? [...]

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It seems like everyone and I mean everyone around us is having a baby right now. I think it just comes with our age and current season in life. We are already an Aunt and Uncle, and of course we love our niece and nephew! But now we have so many more babies to love because most of our friends are taking on the roles of first time parents. It’s definitely exciting! Let me tell you, my facebook news feed is covered with just pictures of babies! Since we wanted to join the party too, we’d like you to welcome to the world, our long awaited brand new baby, Small Bites! This is the “project” we’ve been lovingly nurturing lately, so we’re excited to FINALLY reveal it and share it with you!

Small Bites is a line we specifically designed to help kids develop an interest in food and even cooking, starting from an early age. We are beginning with baby onesies as a nod and tribute to all of our friends who are currently expecting, or have just become new parents. We thought it would be a fun way to first introduce healthy foods to young kids, through these cute and quirky characters. And of course the onesies would make perfect gifts for parents who are foodies!

But the real reason we are revealing this to you TODAY is because it also happens to be my 30th birthday! That’s right! I thought it would be fun and symbolic to celebrate a new chapter in our lives, and the “birth” of our business, on a day that is an important landmark to me. Woah…deep. [...]

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I tend to film vlogs whenever I get inspired, but then I usually don’t get around to editing them until way later. That was the case for this video. It was Fall time and I was in the mood to make an “Autumn Granola,” with tons of nuts and ruby red dried cranberries. Something about the crisp weather made me want to turn on my oven and make something sweet, crunchy and toasty to munch on.

Good thing my friend Vanessa was on the same wave length and wanted to make granola too. But this was our first time making it, so we came up with a recipe based off of whatever looked good at the market. Therefore the good news is that if you feel like making it too, you’ll be happy to know that this recipe is quite flexible. You can throw in whatever floats your boat. You can go here for the recipe. [...]

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It’s after the holidays and you’re probably craving something light and healthy right about now. We’ve been trying to be more conscious about what we consume as well. That means we’ve been eating lots of fresh veggies and less carbs. But just in case you need a break from all that healthy eating and crave an easy and satisfying recipe to comfort your soul, here’s my almost non-recipe for tortellini and meatballs.

Eating this reminds me of my childhood, when my sister and I ate Chef Boyardee after school. And although it’s not a meal from a can, it’s almost just as easy to prepare because, oh yes my friend, this recipe uses refrigerated pre-made tortellini and frozen meatballs! I figured I gave you a more complex recipe last time, so why not ease it up a bit today? [...]

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I plucked a gray hair off my head. It was the most discouraging kind…the one where it’s colored half and half because as it was growing, it started to lose pigment. I naturally have black and I mean dark black hair, so when I have a menacing white hair, it’s totally noticeable. I can’t be bothered with the truth or myth about when you pluck a gray hair, two more pop up in its place. When I spy one, out it must come! In fact, I think I have gray-hair radar. Sometimes I even yank them out of my friends’ heads, often even without their approval.

I guess that just means that it’s time to face the music and embrace the fact that another year has passed, and I can officially kiss my twenties goodbye. Yes, in less than two weeks, I will be thirty. But honestly, I don’t mind being 30. In fact, I’m actually looking forward to it. I hear that women gain confidence and become more comfortable in their own skin when they reach their thirties. That’s a good thing, so I’m hoping that this is true for me too. I’ll let you know.

But besides me becoming another year wiser, I’m looking forward to a ton of stuff this year: [...]

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