Today at Work I Made...

A Flank Steak Burrito. I used the electric grill press to grill steak, onions, peppers, and chayote. They were marinated with lime, cilantro, garlic, and tamari. I added some Colombian sofrito to the rice and topped it with my pickled beets. I'm trying really hard to feed people burritos now since they come is packs of 10 and I know I shouldn't have that much flour.

Today at Work I Made...

Halibut, Soft Boiled Egg, Sweet Potatoes, and Grilled Millet Bread. I have a pretty limited kitchen and cooking supplies at work which is why my certain foods and ingredients recur more often than others. I assembled this meal for lunch so I can go to the gym after work. I marinated the fish in a plastic bag with olive oil, dried cilantro, salt, pepper, basil, and garlic. I roasted the sweet potatoes with garlic, pepper, salt, "butter," and a little olive oil. I topped the fish with a very under-boiled soft boiled egg and added capers to add tartness to the bland egg and fish. The millet bread was hard and dry which was perfect for the mushy plate.

Today at Work I Made...

Thit Kho: Caramelized Braised Pork and Hard Boiled Eggs. This is a traditional Vietnamese dish that every family makes; it is a simple comfort food that you won't find in restaurants. My mom would make a large pot early in the morning for us to eat throughout the day as a quick meal with cucumber and pickles and it packs well for lunch.

Fish sauce and cane sugar are in almost every Vietnamese dish. The intense flavors are often balanced with fresh vegetables, pickles, and rice. I think I apply this logic to foods I make.

Today at Work I Made...

A salad. I brought red chard, spinach, a tomato and pickles to assemble a salad. I made a simple dressing with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, and dijon mustard. I think a soft boiled egg is great when using a simple vinegar dressing. The vinegar  cuts the yolky lipids and makes a satisfying, creamy dressing. This is my first time using the pickles and they're perfectly sweet, crunchy, and tart.

Pickles #2

I ran out of pickles! I eat them often as a side dish to intensely potent dishes because they are cool, crisp and flavor neutralizing. For that reason I keep them simple. I soak them over night in salt to dry them out, rinse and squeeze out excess water, and then soak them in 5 parts vinegar/ 2 parts water/ 1 part sugar. I cut them in chunks and paper thin slices for some textural variety.

Today at Work I Made...

Sesame Beets, Salmon, and Black Rice. Beets have been all over lately. I keep a beet box in my refrigerator for snacks and sides and I will be pickling them soon to keep them alive. They taste like sweet dirt. I crave sugar so beets fill and satisfy me. I coated steamed beets with sesame seeds. I added sesame oil and soy sauce as seasoning. The colors were nice today; they were really deep and bloody.

Today at Work I Made...

I've had these 2 noodly Asian quickies (!!!) on reserve because I messed them up. Neither was what they were supposed to be but I guess that's no reason to hide them since they were both edible. I made egg noodles stir-fried with green beans, zucchini, bell peppers, chilies, and thai basil. I caramelized sugar and soy sauce to make a brown sauce. My big mistake here was trying to cook the noodles in a bowl of hot water. It became a large dumpling.

This is a salad I made which was supposed to be "summer rolls" but I forgot the wraps. The pork was poached in vinegar solution. I turned the peanut sauce (hoisen sauce, peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, and mung beans) into a dressing by adding more vinegar.