To me, a delicious pasta salad is the perfect accompaniment to any BBQ meal during the summer. I’ve experimented with so many different version of pasta salads – changing up the type of pasta, the dressing, the vegetables….but I’ve settled on this one as my all time favourite. The dressing is simple – just mayonnaise and lemon juice – and the pasta shells just reinforce the summer, beachy theme. Also, the shell shape is the perfect receptacle to absorb and catch all the other ingredients. The carrots add the right amount of crunch, and the red onion add the much needed zip. The thick cut bacon ..read more

Whenever I hear “Salisbury steak”, I think of those Hungry Man frozen dinners. Prior to this recipe, I had never had salisbury steak before – definitely not on my Vietnamese mom’s rotation of recipes! I only knew of it from seeing it on frozen dinner boxes at the grocery store. But just recently, for some reason I started googling Salisbury steak and I thought that it sounded like it would be a very hearty and comforting meal. I’ve tried and tweaked a few recipes now, and this is what I’ve landed on. The little teaspoons of ketchup, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire in both the beef patties and ..read more

I don’t know about everyone else, but ever since this pandemic hit, I’ve been ordering take-out way too much. I’ve justified it a few different ways: 1) I’m supporting local restaurants; 2) I’m too stressed with work to cook; 3) I’m trying to survive a pandemic – I deserve this! Also, it seems like my social media is just flooded with really great takeout deals from local restaurants so the temptation is much higher too. Anyways, I’ve decided I needed to slow down on the takeout a bit, because both clothes and money are getting a little tight. The husband and I have both been working out of th ..read more

Well hello there! It has been so long since I posted that it took me three tries to remember my password for my website! Between having my second baby, going back to work, and then this COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve just forgotten about this poor blog. I’m still cooking and I often share my cooking on my Instagram stories, but I just haven’t had time to perfect and post any recipes. However…..I made this recipe and shared it on my Instagram stories the other day and received so many comments on it. Further, my husband declared that “this was the best pasta ever, better than in any restaurant”, so of ..read more

Hey everyone! So I’m just over a month postpartum with my second child and we are just starting to get into a routine. The past four weeks has just been filled with cuddles, feeding and just relaxing and recovering. I am determined to start eating healthier. I was not healthy at all during this second pregnancy. I was too sick during the first trimester and too tired after that to exercise. And my diet was just atrocious – my intense craving for chocolate had me foraging all over my workplace for chocolate since I tried not to keep any in my office to tempt myself. This is our last bab ..read more