Thai Fish Curry

I miss so many things about LA–and given that I’m in the middle of yet another sticky and humid Korean summer, the weather is #1 on my list. However, multi-cultural cuisine is definitely a very close second! I miss being able to head out and eat  Ethiopian injera,  Indian samosas, or Middle Eastern falafel on a whim, and an inexpensive whim at that. Compared to this ethnic food oasis, my current home of Icheon, Korea is akin to an ethnic food desert!

Orange Cake with Whipped Apricot Frosting

Few things annoy me as much as a dry cake.  You know what I’m talking about–cakes that fail the “fork test.” Can you pick up those leftover crumbs on your plate with just the s-l-i-g-h-t-e-s-t pressure from the backside of your fork? Does the cake gently spring back if you give it a little nudge with your finger? No? Then you might as well be eating a cracker…

Heavenly Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

One of my FAVORITE culinary expressions is a Korean one:  “둘이먹다 하나 죽어도 모른다.”  It means that something tastes so good— SO DIVINE — that even if the person next to you were to drop dead, you wouldn’t notice!

Let me tell you, these oven-roasted tomatoes certainly qualify. They are so heavenly that I have to exercise extreme willpower not to eat every single one of these babies straight out of the oven. Something truly magical happens as the sugars in the tomatoes caramelizes and melds with Italian herbs, garlic and olive oil.