June 14, 2017

Photo Journal :: Favorite Photos From Cornell (College Year II)

Some of my favorite photos (DSLR and iPhone) from this past school year:

June 7, 2017

Byron Talbott's Steak and Potatoes

My take on Byron Talbott's "Steak and Potatoes" recipe for my brother's birthday (if you missed the birthday cake, take a look at it here!). Wilson loves mushrooms, so I threw in maitake mushrooms from Shibumi Farms into the pan, sauteeing with the residual juices/garlic/rosemary as the steak rested. The farmers working the stand that day recommend them to me, saying that maitakes are "the gateway mushroom".

(Unrelated note - I love talking with farmers and learning more about where my food comes from! Seriously, I can't recommend going to your local farms/farmers' markets enough. Your level of respect for farmers will skyrocket, and you'll appreciate your ingredients by ten-fold.)

We don't really use sour cream in our home, so I used Greek yogurt instead. Couldn't find horseradish either and mixed the yogurt with scallions. I'm no good when it comes to cooking steak; you can tell from the photos that the steak was quite rare ("umm, Hannah, it's a little too rare for me..."). I had to throw some pieces back into the pan for a few seconds ;].

Will, I hope you had a great birthday. Your big sis is so proud of the way you treat everyone with so much kindness. You're more sympathetic than anyone I've ever met, and I admire the way you lead with humility and a level-head. Love you, bud!

June 4, 2017

Momofuku Milkbar's Birthday Cake

My (not-so-little) brother, my best buddy, turned eighteen this past Monday! Historically, he's always requested a red velvet birthday cake from Coldstone's, but he finally got tired of it last year. I've been begging him to let me bake a cake for his birthday, so this year was my year. 

I developed an obsession with Christina Tosi, the genius behind Momofuku Milkbar, a few months ago. I couldn't stop listening to podcast interviews and watching YouTube videos of her baking and talking about her creative process. She was a transfer student, loves math, can eat cereal all day long, and took an unconventional path into the culinary world. It's like we're twins. My dream is to become the mom who can bake like Christina Tosi!

This birthday cake is one of Milkbar's most popular items, and it's also one of the trickier recipes that other recipe/food bloggers have struggled with. As you can tell from my photos, the cake didn't turn out perfectly, but I was still pleased with the results - and more importantly, my brother loved it! I'll definitely be making this again in the future, using the tips that I've picked up from this trial (listed below). 

May 31, 2017

Almond Crusted Coconut Milk French Toast

My love for Beth Le Manach's and Randy Sharp's dinner party videos will be put into action this summer - this summer, I plan on improving my cooking techniques by hosting a few dinner parties! 

To warm up, I cooked a simple brunch for my high school best friends last Friday. The menu included coffee from a French press, almond crusted coconut milk French toast (topped with a mixed berry compote and coconut cream), and a strawberry-pecan salad (Jersey grown red bibb lettuce, strawberries, toasted pecans, 12 minute hard boiled egg) with a mustard vinaigrette. We were fortunate enough that the rain held up and allowed us to sit on the patio as we ate and caught up. 

So much happens when we're apart, yet we're always able to pick up where we left off and enjoy both lighthearted and deep conversation topics. If you're lucky enough to have friends like that, go tell them how much you love them!

Recipe: Almond Crusted Coconut Milk French Toast
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Eight 1" thick slices of bread (day-old or stale works best; I used a whole grain/seeded variety from Wegman's)
1 cup of full fat coconut milk (reserve the solid cream on top)
1 egg, beaten*
1-1.5 cups of almond flour

butter/oil to cook with

reserved coconut cream 
2 cups of mixed berries (I used frozen that was defrosted overnight in the fridge)
maple syrup


Preheat the oven to 375*F. Mix the coconut milk and beaten egg in a shallow dish. Place the almond flour in a separate, shallow dish.


Add the berries to a saucepan. Cook the berries on medium heat, until the berries have released their juices and are soft, about 7-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, soak each slice of bread for 30 seconds on each side. Let the excess custard drip off and dredge both sides in the almond flour. Place the dredged bread on a cooling rack set above a baking sheet.

Heat a pan (or griddle) over medium-high heat with a little bit of butter/oil. Once the pan is hot enough (flick some water onto the pan - it should start "dancing" and sizzling), add the bread, making sure to not overcrowd the pan. Just cook to brown both sides. Once browned, remove the bread and place back onto the cooling rack contraption. Bake for 5 minutes.

To serve, top each serving with the berry compote, a dollop of the reserved coconut cream**, and maple syrup.

*To make this a vegan recipe, simply omit the egg! The coconut flour will be more pronounced, but the recipe still works!
**If the reserved coconut cream is too runny, place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set up. 


Want another French toast recipe? Try this one:

May 23, 2017

Monkey Run

Two runs: 7 am on a 70 degree, humid, sunny morning, and 4 pm on a 60 degree, windy, cloudy afternoon. No matter what the conditions are, this place will look stunning!

May 17, 2017

Liberty Hyde Greenhouse (Pt II): with Michelle!

I've mentioned how empty my first 1.5 semesters at Cornell were...sometimes, you just gotta hold out for God to strategically put the right people, the ones who are more incredible than you could ever imagine, in your life. Michelle is one of those people!

May 14, 2017

What We Ate: BARCELONA

We're ending the Spain blogposts, five months later, with a photo journal of what we ate in Barcelona! I hope you've enjoyed these photos and stories; I hope I've been able convey some of Spain's magic through them. This country is so magnificent, and there's so much more we'll have to see next time. If you missed the "What I ate: MADRID" post, check it out here, and for the full Spain archive, find it under my Travel section. 

Like in my Madrid post, I'll preface this one by saying that this isn't a comprehensive review of restaurants, nor is it an ultimate travel guide. There are plenty of other restaurants on our list (like Taktiki Berri, Flax and Kale) that we missed, so the purpose of this post is solely to share our experiences and a few thoughts :). Enjoy!

May 10, 2017

Miso Glazed Tofu Medallions over Lemon Herbed Quinoa with an Avocado Chia Cream

What a long name for a fairly simple dish!

These look a lot like scallops, but they're in fact tofu that I free-handedly carved into medallions with a paring knife. Make these for mom as a light and summer-y Mother's Day lunch?

May 7, 2017

Ithaca Falls

She's a real beauty, isn't she? 

I'm so fortunate to go to a school that has jaw-dropping-ly magnificent gorges, sprawling plantations, and hidden gardens between academic buildings. I took a quick 15 minute hike to Ithaca Falls, the base of Fall Creek Gorge (see here and here), a few weeks ago - enjoy these photos!

April 30, 2017

Port Olimpic


Pardon the brevity (and the lack of a blogpost on Wednesday!) - hell week part II has struck, and academics are consuming my everything ;) I hope you liked these photos from Barcelona's Port Olimpic - they scream "summer" to me.

April 19, 2017

Park Guell and Hiking Carmel Hill

Aside from La Guernica, Gaudi was the second big takeaway I left my 10th grade Spanish class with. There's really nothing like seeing the places and works you studied for so long, in person. Nothing! 

My dad really surprised me when he suggested that we hike an off beaten path up this hill (this from the man who doesn't like to rough it). This area of Park Guell (Bunker del Carmel) is free to the public, but since there's no real path, it was pretty secluded - as if it were a secret spot. The hike up wasn't bad, though I'll have to warn you, the hike down can get a little treacherous if you wear shoes without any traction (whoops!). But take that risk - the panoramic view of Barcelona from the top is really like no other.