Food Maker, Chef, and Traveling Diner
Hello everyone! I hope you had an awesome week. We had a pretty busy weekend for Halloween. I spent most of the week just recovering and trying to keep things together. But it was good to have some healthy things for us to eat during …
That’s the way the holiday starts! Another year of Tamales and Pozole. I am so grateful that I could continue to share these amazing little delicious packages of yumminess with my family. It’s pretty amazing how many tamales I made and always make but when …
I can’t believe that Maleeya is already 4-years-old. It’s almost a month later and I’ve been slacking on my food blogging, but this was a very special birthday party catering and since I’ve blogged about each of her birthdays, I can’t stop at 3. So here is the 4th edition.
This year Maleeya had a Minnierella (Minnie Mouse as Cinderella) themed princess birthday party for her friends at our house. My mom made Maleeya’s beautiful pink dress for her Minnierella costume and my sister decorated the house. Everyone enjoyed playing games, catching up, delicious food and togetherness and I don’t think we’ve ever had so many people in our house at one time, which was really fun. We had a special feast of Maleeya’s favorite foods for her party. I asked Maleeya what she wanted to serve at her birthday party and her list was as follows: latkes, fruit, veggies, salad, chicken, strawberries and cake. So with those directions in mind, as well as some special Vegan and Gluten Free requests, I came up with this menu and we had a blast.
Menu
Fruit Tower and Melon and Grape Platter
Fresh Vegetable Tray
Sweet Sesame Chicken Skewers
Turkey Meatballs
7-Layer Bean Dip
Pico de Gallo
Grilled Sweet Soy Chicken Drumsticks
Italian Pasta Salad
Chinese Chicken Salad
Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons
Bread Basket
Latkes
Grilled Vegetables and Tofu
Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate this very special little lady, or as she liked to be known that day, Minnierella. Happy fourth year of fun, love and excitement, Mighty Maleeya!
Cheers,
Unrivaledkitch
Happy New Year! Already 12 days in and I’m still feeling the freshness of the new year and all that it has in store for us. 2014 was a great year, lots of amazing opportunities and growth that I look forward to carrying over into …
A first birthday in my family is nothing to be trifled with. For Amaya’s big day, we had to do something that would keep everyone relatively cool, since August in the San Fernando Valley can get up to 100 degrees or higher. My family has …
After a week of working hard, teaching yoga and witnessing the effects of the holidays on children in my classes, it was really interesting to see the shift in their attention and mood, as well as in their parents’ or caretaker’s moods. When the holidays come up, energy is either very low or extremely high and temperament can be extremely unpredictable. It’s been a good beginning of the holiday season, as I remember to carry a heightened sense of awareness, a commitment to staying with change and constantly reminding myself to embrace the present moment in my teaching, practice, and life.
I am so grateful that I was able to take time to cook a delicious Thanksgiving dinner for my family. Sometimes we don’t really get to all spend very much time together but it’s always nice to share the holidays with my family because they mean so much to me. I took on the cooking. We had our traditional spread of dishes and mom and dad took care of some of the other big items so my oven didn’t have too much wait time between sides. Granny, Maleeya and my sister did an amazing job with decorations and clean up. It’s always a team effort with everyone and I’m so grateful for my awesome family. My brother and sister-in-law brought a delicious pumpkin pie for all of us to share.
My kitchen is a place for me to be completely in tune with what ingredients, ideas and delicious dishes that are produced and I love that. Though I’m not cooking as much as I used to, Thanksgiving was a nice reminder of what I can still do in there. Dinner was ready in no time at all and all of us were able to sit down and eat without too much excess running around. It was Amaya’s first Thanksgiving and Maleeya had a great time feasting on pumpkin pie and everything else we normally save for special occasions. It’s so wonderful to have my little nieces here with us to celebrate our family traditions and make new ones for them to share in.
I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving with their families and friends. I am so grateful for everyone that has shared their time and love with me on Thanksgiving and to all of you! May the season of gratitude carry you into the rest of the holiday season and throughout the New Year!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Menu
Roasted Turkey with Lemon and Herbs
Granny’s Stuffing
Roasted Zucchini and Cauliflower Gratin
Roasted Asparagus
Sausage and Spinach Sautéed Kale
Candied Spiced Yams with Roasted Marshmallows
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Roasted Apple, Pineapple and Golden Raisin Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Candied Yam Bread Pudding with Fresh Whipped Cream
Mom and Dad’s Contributions
Honey Ham
Green Bean Casserole
Pumpkin Muffins
Bachan Jello
Spinach Dip
Granny’s Deviled Eggs
Auntie Linh and Uncle Kyle’s Homemade Pumpkin Pie
cheers
-Unrivaledkitch
My 28th year is here and I believe it will be (and has been) one of the best years of my life. I’ve undergone and am still undergoing a great transformation in my life—learning so much about myself, my relationships with others, my yoga …
My niece just recently turned two on Monday, April 8th. I can’t believe she’s already two! It really goes by fast and I know that’s a very cliché thing to say, but it does. It feels like just yesterday that my sister told me she …
I’m so grateful that my family was all able to be together for Thanksgiving. I’m amazed by how much love and gratitude we have for each other. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, of course. There’s nothing better than bringing people you love together over a huge meal. I was very fortunate to have Brandon with me to help with the Thanksgiving traditions and not to mention my craziness in the kitchen. We all pitched in to make a great day for everyone—I think Maleeya really enjoyed herself. I’m still in a food coma after all the cooking and eating. I hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving with some very special people. Enjoy the holiday weekend with lots to be thankful for all holiday season long.
My dad and mom brought:
Spinach dip, pimento cheese dip and ranch dip with crackers, sliced baguette and crudités (raw mixed veggies)
Two-layer Jello
Honey baked ham
Green bean casserole
Menu
Fresh Citrus and Herb Sweet-Brined Turkey with Roasted Zucchini, Black Olive and Scallion Stuffing
Turkey Breast Stuffed with Sausage and Mirepoix Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes with Irish Butter
Roasted Fall Aromatic Turkey Gravy
Spiced Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Kabocha Mash
Candied Yams with Homemade Roasted Marshmallows
Roasted Haricot Verts
Herb Roasted Mushrooms
Roasted Red Potatoes
Cranberry Relish
Cheddar Cheese, Mozzarella and Smoked Paprika Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Mixed Green Salad with Balsamic Marinated Vegetables and Buffalo Mozzarella
Roasted Cauliflower, Broccoli and Zucchini Gratin with Spicy Sausage and Pancetta
Creamed Corn with Red Onions, Chives and Turmeric
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash and Crispy Pancetta
New Year’s day is one of my favorite days of the year because it’s time for family and friends, new beginnings, reflections and always tons of food. Last year I went over the traditions behind everything (if you want a bit more information, check out this post) and this …