We went to New York for two days, but it felt like we were there for at least a week! This trip wasn’t really about the sight-seeing. Instead, it was about the people we wanted to meet and visit. Okay, and it was a little bit about the food. We took the train into the city and walked around practically EVERYWHERE because we were cheap and didn’t want to spend too much money on the subway, especially after we found out that they got rid of their one day fun pass! Of course it had to rain ALL day and that made us now weak-sauce Californians both catch some nasty colds, but it was fun and refreshing to visit our old stomping grounds again. Joe turned to me at one point and said, “I kind of miss this… the walking around.” Yeah, me too. [...]

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I am currently in Philadelphia without the husband, who is the designated photographer, but I wanted to take advantage of my family and some of my old school friends for a Small Bites photo shoot. This East Coast “photo shoot,” was accomplished through me taking all the pictures through my phone. It included two different states, three cities, two babies, and a pair of expectant parents. Here’s just a little tidbit of what my friends and family accomplished together. I’m definitely one lucky duck to have people in my life who gladly offer up their babies to be my models…free of charge! I even got an offer to photograph another baby when I get back to California. Yup, we are surrounded by babies right now, and that’s why we came up with the idea to start a foodie onesie line in the first place.

We did have to battle against some quick moving little ones, which resulted in a whole slew of unfocused, majorly blurry pictures, but I think we also got a few good ones. [...]

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I’m usually good about keeping you updated with what’s going on and what I’m up to, but before I knew it, I was packing my bag and up in the air already. Well, after an all-day excursion of two plane rides, including a layover in Houston, and an over-priced Panda Express lunch at the airport, I’m here in Philadelphia, my home town.

I arrived on Wednesday and have been very occupied with my family and especially my nephew. The first and last time he saw me in person was when he was 3 months old, and now he’s turning one! In Korean tradition, when a baby turns 1, you have this big celebratory shin dig called a “dohl.” So I’m here for that. But I’m also going to be making the most of my 2 1/2 week trip by meeting up with as many people under the sun as I can.

Joe will be joining me here next week. But before I left him behind, I made sure that my non-cooking husband would be well fed. I made huge batches of three different dinners entrees in one night and froze everything in individual portions for him. Yeah, sometimes I even surprise myself. [...]

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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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