Best-Ever Sticky Asian Ribs

July 7, 2014 by Christine Skari

You know those foods you could just eat forever?

Like THESE.

Ever since I was little, barbeques meant two things around my house: lots of family and lots of good food. I grew up living just five minutes away from both my obachan and ojiichan (Japanese grandparents) and a handful of my cousins, so family get-togethers were a weekly event. It was only for special holidays, though, that my mom or obachan would make these Best-Ever Sticky Asian Ribs. Have I mentioned we’ve had this recipe in the family for over 30 years? I hardly ever make a recipe more than once or twice since I like to explore new flavor combinations, but these always keep me coming back for more. If you haven’t caught my drift yet, these ribs are one of my all-time favorite foods <3. Sweet and salty combinations make my world go round and the BEST pairing in my opinion is sugar and soy sauce. Go ahead and forget alllll about salted caramel or dark chocolate sea salt truffles, because this, my friends, is where it’s at.

Now let’s get one thing straight. These ribs aren’t tea party food or food you want to eat on your first date with Ryan Gosling. They’re gooey and deliciously messy and you end up with half your face covered in sauce and oops… how did that chunk of meat get in my hair? It’s beautiful, really. This is a recipe meant to be shared with family and people you’re comfortable with fighting for the last piece because trust me, it’ll happen. So go on and grab a rib (or ten), some family, and a year’s worth of napkins and get ready for your tastebuds to go straight up to the golden gates!

Simple Baked Squash and Potato Rounds

July 3, 2014 by Christine Skari

You know when some recipes are so simple and easy that you feel like they almost don’t deserve to be called a recipe?

I DO.

But then you realize that sometimes, simple and easy is best. Recipes like this one for Simple Baked Squash and Potato Rounds means no fuss or mess (hooray for “making” the dish in a ziplock bag!) and equally delicious leftovers that can be transformed into something new.

And you know I’m alllll about leftovers. Kyle makes a killer breakfast hash out of these the next morning where he adds in eggs, cheese, onions, and some sort of meat (more bacon, please <3). Also, is it just me or does food taste a bajillion times better when someone else makes it for you? Hint hint… cough couch… FEED ME MORE KYLE.

So here ya go! A not-so-complex “recipe” that makes the perfect healthy side dish. Yummers.

WIAW: Short and Sweet

July 2, 2014 by Christine Skari

Hello hello! Happy Wednesday!

This post is going to be short and sweet since I already wrote up a post on The Best of June and I spent most of my free time watching Orange Is the New Black on Netflix. I’m getting to the point where I really just need to finish the new season so I can move on with my life and actually be productive. It just sucks me in everytime I’m near my laptop 😯 .Then, all of a sudden I’m 4 episodes in and haven’t checked anything off my to-do list. Woops.

Anyways, FOOD! More specifically, fruit. I just could not get enough today.

Breakfast:

I really had zero appetite this morning so I just whipped up a serving of steel cut oats cooked with vanilla extract and cinnamon and topped them with blueberries and a bit of honey.

Then, it was off to my comparative literature class. In between that and my ochem lab, I grabbed a quick build-your-own salad.

Lunch:

Lettuce, carrots, beets, corn, chicken, a little tuna salad, and craisins. All topped with honey mustard salad dressing.

Post-lab snack:

Mangoes and dark chocolate with coffee <3.

Also, how gorgeous are these mangos? I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but about a week ago the body part of my camera decided to randomly insert a huge black bar into all of my photos. Turns out the sensor was deciding to be a butt and, long story short, I ended up having to shell out some big bucks to buy a new one. I slightly upgraded to a Nikon D5200 (from a D5100) and LOVE it. I didn’t think it would make too much of a difference since I’m still using the same lenses, but I’ve been getting great shots with my new D5200 on the first try and without having to do any editing. Not complaining!

Dinner:

A massive pile of Garlic Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and pan-fried chicken. An un-pictured whole wheat english muffin on the side.

Post-dinner snack:

More blueberries. I blame Trader Joe’s for selling a huge 1.5 lb container of them for just $5. I bought them yesterday and they’re all gone excepts for a puny 1/2 cup serving that I’m planning on having tomorrow morning.

So there you have it! A day’s eat in a quick nutshell.

Question of the Day: What’s the best thing you’ve eaten so far this week?

Best of June!

July 1, 2014 by Christine Skari

I’m going to throw the stereotypical “how is this month over already” intro out because… well… how the heck is June already over?! It simultaneously went suuuupper slowly thanks to my finals at the beginning of the month and incredibly fast once I finished my classes and had time to relax. Right now I’m back up at Santa Barbara for the summer and just moved into my new house…

OMG. You guys. It’s gorgeous. More on that in a little.

Let’s jump right into the recap!

1.) I finished the worst academic year ever.

Never ever ever ever again will I have to take ochem, labs, physics, and two bio classes at the same time. Ever ever ever. Never.

Ever.

2.) I had a great birthday and am one year closer to finishing my undergraduate education!

3.) I put out some great new recipe for both Apple of My Eye and Savory Style.

Here are some of my favorites!

Gooey Lemon Raspberry Brownies: I put on a similar glaze to the ones on my Skinny Yogurt Muffins with Sunshine Glaze and they are to die for. I mean, why choose between a gooey brownie and a tangy lemon bar when you can just have both at the same time?!

Easy Caramel Apple Turnovers: My newest recipe! You guys know how I feel about apple pie in general… LOVE. So really it was just a matter of time till I put it into pastry form. These are SO easy and come out looking incredibly impressive and flaky. The flake level is off the charts, yo’.

5-Ingredient Lemon Panko Shrimp: Light on the calories and with a tasty lemon flavor that’s perfect for the summer!

4.) I decided to start income reports.

Gulp, first one to come in the next week once ad revenues are finalized. Thank you guys SO much for your input on the matter. One of biggest reserves is not wanting to come off sounding like monetizing was my main objective, so it was a huge relief to hear your opinions on it. Between all the Starbucks I drink and the money that goes into vanilla extract (WHY SO EXPENSIVE 😯 ), making a few extra bucks to help cover the cost is awesome.

5.) I moved into the most GORGEOUS house with equally gorgeous friends.

This is the view from the upstairs balcony:

We are literally on the beach and have a completely unobstructed view of the water. And the kitchen!! It’s HUGE. Coming from a tiny apartment last year, I can’t get over how much counter space I have.

6.) Apple of My Eye was featured on HuffPost and BuzzFeed!!!

Even though I didn’t post too many new recipes because of my finals/post final exhaustion, Apple of My Eye had its best month statistically ever! It’s way too cool to see so many people come visit my recipes and to think that they are actually making my Blueberry Pie Oats or Crockpot Breakfast Casserole.

7.) I went to the pier.

My older sister, Marie, came back from studying abroad in Ireland for the year and we went out to lunch with our parents, Kyle, our friend Ryan, and some Norwegian relatives.

See my cousin on the far left next to my dad? He’s around 6’7″. Also, he’s only 15 years old 😯 . He has 3 other brothers and they’re all giants as well. I guess I missed out on that gene hahah.

I never got a chance to recap this since I was busy moving my life into a new house (packing is exhausting!), but we has a lovely lunch out on the pier.

“Modeling”

So there you have it! June in a quick nutshell. Overall, it’s been a great month and I’m excited by how much more free time I have. Hopefully more good things to come in July 😀 !

Easy Caramel Apple Turnovers

June 29, 2014 by Christine Skari

Is it weird that cooking and baking with some ingredients intimidate me? Yeast for bread baking used to give me the heeby jeebies and, fun fact, I even went as far as to use it as one of the topics for my college essays. What?! You never used a fungus to help sway your way into higher education? #lonewolf

Well, apparently it worked because I’m in college (woo!) and eventually overcame that weird phobia and now can make delicious baked goods like focaccia and Norsk boller and cinnamon rolls.

Annnnddd guess what! Today I crossed off another food-related fear and used puff pastry. There’s something so intimidating about it. Like, for reals, there must be some catch behind all those flaky layers. I had this idea in my head that the dough would be all temperamental and cranky to work with or that I would need to let it rise a million times, but nope. The exact opposite is true. EASIEST thing ever.

Okay, okay. Maybe using pre-made puff pastry is cheating slightly, but ain’t nobody got time to make their own. I’m all about convenience, and if using store-bought dough means I can have Salted Caramel Apple Turnovers in my mouth that much faster, sign me up! No food snobbery here.

The hardest part of this recipe is probably cutting the apples. Especially if you’re like me and have to stop every 30 seconds to eat the peeled apple skins. My Obachan (Japanese grandma) always laughs at me and calls me rabbit for nibbling on the scraps, while my mom scolds me for my “dangerous” apple cutting technique. Ahhhh family love at its finest.

Once the hard part is over, you get all your apple bits and caramel ingredients going in a pot. Add a little heat, and presssttooo!

Then, you take out that scary looking puff pastry, unroll it, and cut it into squares. Add a dollop of apple filling into the middle (don’t get too excited and overfill them like me, though), fold the square into a triangle, crimp the edges, and throw em in the oven.

And that’s it. You pull these gorgeous and bakery-worthy treats out of the oven and impress everybody. I’ve been staying over at Kyle’s apartment with his roommates, and shocked them by serving these babies up in 30 minutes. One of his roommates exclaimed that he JUST saw me stewing up some apples a few minutes ago, then all of a sudden I had these gorgeously flaky pastries on a plate in front of them. They probably think I’m some sort of magical goddess of turnovers now. Throw in an intense World Cup match (ahhhh the PK shootout!) and you’ve got yourself a house full of happy boys.

These are perfectly sweet and the flake-factor of the puff pastry itself is insane. Oh! And a pretty drizzle of powdered sugar glaze is completely mandatory.