Hot dogs, Burgers,  corn on the cob, macaroni salad, baked potatos on grill.  (For those not in USA: this is merely traditional BBQ array of food on national holidays like Memorial  day, 4th of July, or any outdoor BBQ feast, etc)

My 14 yr old nephew, who is a chef-in-the-making, whipped up a special sauce for the burgers that is used at the famous hollywood restaurant “In & Out.”

long grain jasmine white rice in rice cooker with chicken, curry powder and coconut milk a success :) added a bit too much liquid but still tastes nice not too mushy

Homemade fried rice with cashews, broccoli, black beans. Blueberries for dessert. 

Spaghetti tossed in a pan with sautéed sweet red pepper, garlic, sage, and sunflower seeds, added almond milk, spices, and an egg. 

I'm trying to quit most milk products-cheeses (or at least yellow cheeses), hence the seeds. They added a nice touch, I can't deny.


I had 2 slices of Banana Bread/Cake earlier for snack/desert, which I baked this afternoon. Hooray that I managed to make it, 'cause usually, whatever my intention, the bananas just disappear before they manage to ripen enough for banana bread in our house (they were hidden this time muahaha)! I usually follow this recipe, but this time I substituted half of the flour with oats, and added dark chocolate flakes. (Next time I'll try a butter free version!)

 Estelll:

Spaghetti tossed in a pan with sautéed sweet red pepper, garlic, sage, and sunflower seeds, added almond milk, spices, and an egg. 

I'm trying to quit most milk products-cheeses (or at least yellow cheeses), hence the seeds. They added a nice touch, I can't deny.


I had 2 slices of Banana Bread/Cake earlier for snack/desert, which I baked this afternoon. Hooray that I managed to make it, 'cause usually, whatever my intention, the bananas just disappear before they manage to ripen enough for banana bread in our house (they were hidden this time muahaha)! I usually follow this recipe, but this time I substituted half of the flour with oats, and added dark chocolate flakes. (Next time I'll try a butter free version!)

I’ve used applesauce in place of the butter before with decent results.   Recently I forgot to add the butter and the bread came out a little spongier and heavier but edible. :) For some reason the bread can come out more bland when using applesauce so I’ve added extra cinnamon or other spices to give it some oomph.  

I made some Sri Lankan style fish buns for the first time at home as a snack during tea time. Its a fluffy baked bun with a curried fish and potato filling. The smell of it baking was really nostalgic (we used to have them all the time as kids).

For dinner it was beef and broccoli stir fry with rice. This time I tried making the beef and broccoli spicy by adding sriracha, red pepper flakes and freshly ground Sichuan pepper to the sauce. But it still wasn't to the level of spice I wanted it so next I would definitely add more.